The young man shrugged. “Possibly but that depends entirely on you.”
Thomas squirmed under the man’s penetrating stare, which sunk into the very fiber of Thomas’s being. The stranger’s demeanor was calm and calculated. He is obviously trying to scare me into compliance, Thomas thought.
“How does it depend on me? I’m the one drugged, stuck to this table.”
The man nodded his head in agreement. “True, but you can cooperate, which will make things easier on you, or you can resist, which I wouldn’t recommend. You see, we are at war here for our very survival. We will do what is needed, Thomas, to ensure the survival of our race. We will take what we need, or you can make the wiser choice and help us willingly.”
Thomas felt a pinching sensation in his stomach after he heard his name, and the hair rose on the back of his neck.
“How do you know my name? What is yours? And where am I exactly?”
The stranger walked closer, circling Thomas, then stopped a few feet in front of him. “Well, you and I had some nonverbal communication, where I learned a great deal, which will help us on an as-needed basis and…”
“Nonverbal? You mean telepathy? I thought you weren’t allowed to do that without someone’s consent?”
“Ah… Yes,” he said, nodding. “Let’s get that cleared up. You’re not in the compound anymore. Whisterly does not control us here. We do what we must. I know your ‘true’ name because you gave it to me. Still you can choose to help us willingly,” he said, “or I will use that information to its greatest advantage.”
“So, while I was drugged, you pulled information from me.”
“I asked you questions. Yes. Intruding telepathy was not necessary. The drugs provided your uninhibited response. However, if necessary, I would have used telepathy to gain the information I needed.”
“I see,” Thomas responded, hoping to sound cooler and calmer than he felt. “Still haven’t told me your name, true or otherwise. You do have me at a disadvantage.”
“Allow me to set that straight,” he said with a grand bowing motion. “My name is Simon, which is the only name of mine you will ever know. I’m committed to helping these doctors heal my people. For better or worse you are part of that solution. Whisterly and her tribe are not quite as noble as they would have you believe. Your sister was almost a casualty of your capture. One of our men died interceding on her behalf, due to Whisterly’s attempts to grab you first.”
The scene in the meadow once again came rushing back to Thomas. The bright lights, the screaming, the guns, and Belle. Then everyone’s stunned silence as the crafts hovered in the air. It had all been real. He remembered tackling Belle in a protective instinct. Was she dead or alive? He couldn’t trust Simon. But how would Thomas know? These two “sides” were involved in a tug of war of sorts, and he was the prize.
Whisterly and Arista had come for him; it’s what he had longed for deep inside but not at the expense of his family. He needed more answers. After all, he didn’t understand how he came and went the first time. Maybe, if he played his cards right, Simon would give him a few answers of his own. He gritted his teeth, his hands forming fists, as he thought of his defenseless little sister, alone, scared, and vulnerable.
“Is she all right? Was my sister harmed? None of this was her fault, and she is not infected as I am with the disease that you are curious about.”
“As I said, one of our men died in her defense. Once we captured you, Whisterly’s ship left in pursuit of us, or, I should clarify, in pursuit of you. They didn’t stay behind to survey the injured. They are more narrow-minded and desperate than you know. And they will stop at nothing to gain their goal. You are a resource to be mined, depleted, and discarded. Surely you saw through their disguise to their true nature and intent?”
Thomas remained quiet. Disappointed by what he heard, and hoping in disbelief that his time with Whisterly and Arista had not been all based on deceit and lies, he listened while Simon conveyed a much different scenario of events than Thomas had heard at the compound. How could he tell which version was the truth? Tuning back in completely to Simon’s rant, he heard the rest of what Simon had to say.
“And, yes, you are on Remeon. But this is your first actual visit here. I’m just scratching the surface of the lies you’ve been told.”
GARRICK PACED, WAITING for his comrades, his frustration building. What fools we are, he thought. We have bungled this in the worst way! All the years of suffering, then all the time of subsequent planning, testing, and failure after repeated failure! They all should have listened to me! Me, who had it right from the start. Me, who knew what it would take. The sacrifice, the cost, and the suffering, so that our race might prevail and become again the dominant force in the universe.
He felt the approach of Novaryous and Riam, and, reaching out, implored them to enter. “Hello, my compatriots. Time is short, and I believe we are all of like mind, are we not? Our lame council has failed to act with expediency, and we have lost the target. Are we strong enough to do what must come next? Or will we fall in line with those weak souls we are forced to call leaders?”
Garrick led them to a spacious room, where they each took a seat around a table.
“What we are proposing is cruel, even by our rudimentary standards,” Riam said. “Our code of ethics—that we agreed to when joined with the council—prohibits our intentional harm of a member of another race. While I am with you, this does cause me pause and concern over the long-term impact this might have on our council and even possibly our race.”
Novaryous glowered at Riam.
“What race?” Garrick asked. “If we do not act, our race will die out, become extinct, as we wait on our council to proceed. The Night Dwellers have our prize, the culmination of decades of research, testing, and planning, in their hands. We let him slip through our fingers. Now we must get him back. Novaryous, what say you? You know the stakes. You know the proposal. Do you trust our council to act in our best interest, the interest of the Day Watchers?”
“I have no problem with another race dying so that ours may live.”
“WE APPEAR AS fools,” Riam said. Nervously he stood and paced, hoping this action might cover the feelings he now had trouble keeping below the surface. If he put up defensive walls in his mind, his councilmates would become aware of his doubts. He continued speaking, all the while his uncertainty growing ever stronger. A child was now a part of this, of no use at all to either side, involved in this life-and-death battle, being set up as a pawn. Surprised at himself, he felt sickened by it. But, unwilling to betray his unsettling thoughts, he focused again on the conversation. He paced in the opposite direction, maintaining his tone and composure, as deep in his mind he recalled the council’s shock and the unsettling decisions that now had to be made, all because of the events of the prior day:
I thought it best to wait for your return, Captain, Whisterly said, for a full explanation in person as to what exactly happened here. You have not brought back Stephen, as the council ordered, but Belle, his younger sister, who has no medical benefit to us. And this was accidental?
No, ma’am, the captain said. Her life was in danger by the interference of the Night Dwellers. She could have been killed or worse, captured. Instead of engaging in open battle among the humans, once Stephen had been captured, we protected his sister and retreated to base. The only way to ensure she would be unharmed was to bring her back with us.
I see. However, your questionable decision has placed us in a truly untenable position. We never planned for her involvement. I believe we must quietly return her at once. This will be a decision for the council to ratify. I will call an emergency meeting for the morrow and then we will proceed.
Understood, ma’am.
Riam paused. He lifted his head, his eyes bulging, as he faced the two council members he counted as friends. Garrick and Novaryous were silent and stared at him. Riam attempted to cover his mental tracks of the past few moments and then r
ealized it had, indeed, been longer than a few minutes. How long had he been lost in his own reflections? He felt the intrusion. They were inside his head. How careless he had been. As Novaryous and Garrick inched toward their victim, they locked their consciousnesses into one, actively probing his thoughts. A sickening crackling noise erupted in Riam’s head. Wide-eyed, he opened his mouth to scream. No sound came and then only deafening silence as the telepathic rape ensued.
WHISTERLY SHIFTED IN her bed uneasily, feeling steadily more uncomfortable as the minutes ticked by. Still asleep, her mind reached out to find the source of disharmony. She sensed no immediate resolution, then was fully awakened. Immediately connecting to Arista, she found her daughter at ease and in peaceful slumber. This is fortunate, she thought, reaching out for the slippery coolness that would bring her temporary nourishment. Now fully functional, she sought a connection to all the council members and, one by one, made mental contact. While she completed the bond with each in turn—Hailo, Kaixin, Vinique—her mind wandered to her most recent problem at hand: Belle.
The choice to leave the child on Earth seemed prudent at the time; however, she knew dissension existed among her council members. For now, a leak of misinformation would keep all from knowing the truth immediately, while buying time with the Night Dwellers. A decision had to be made quickly, and this wrong corrected, but, for now, she and Arista must let their plan play out. The hologram projection would not fool anyone for long but maybe just long enough to promulgate their plan. This child could help lead them to Stephen, if they were careful. Given the opportunity, however, there may be those who would take advantage of this innocent youngling.
Clearly their mission had failed. Stephen was not with them and had been captured by the Night Dwellers, but this secondary mission involving Belle was important as well. And lastly a stealth mission must be organized to bring Stephen back to where he belongs, so the important work of a cure could be continued. Pawk, Aero, Thinn… Novaryous, Kix, Garrick. Riam… Where was he, and why could she not connect with him? Was there a problem with his rejuvenation cycle?
Only seconds later Whisterly felt the panicked touch of her daughter, as Arista’s mind met her own. Something has happened, Mother. I feel a forceful malevolent presence. It is among us and very strong.
I feel it as well. I was just checking in with each council member and have connected to all but one, Riam. Arista, we must convene. Prepare at once to call an immediate emergency session. We cannot wait until the morrow. We will poll each member—and hopefully reach Riam as well—and determine and deal with the source of this imminent threat.
THOMAS SPENT HIS days ruminating over his current predicament, suffering through more testing, with short intervals of interview sessions thrown in here and there for purposes of intimidation, he guessed. The doctors appeared pleased with the tests they were performing and seemingly with the progress they were making. “Happy to be of assistance,” Thomas yelled back, as he was once again returned to his dingy, cold, foul-smelling cell. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Simon leaning on a far wall. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” Thomas sneered. “Normally you just awkwardly probe my brain. Now you actually want to talk?”
“Look, I am doing what is needed—no, what is required—for my people to have a chance at life, a chance that those Day Watchers, who you love, want to take away from us.”
Thomas garnered his most determined look of loathing that he could muster and stared in Simon’s direction. “As usual you have me as your captive audience, so just continue with whatever method of torture that you have planned for me today. I really don’t care what you have to say.”
“You certainly sound more clearheaded. That would be the drugs wearing off. We’ve almost concluded our testing.”
Thomas gave his best feigned-gleeful impersonation in quick response.
“Ah, good. Quick wit as well. So this is the real Thomas.”
“Unless you have information on my sister, you can continue to probe me for what you need. I’m not engaging with you, you sick bastard.”
“Well, be careful what you wish for. Actually I do have some recent intel, including the status of your sister.”
Thomas’s surprise was apparent as he gasped in desperation. And, a second later, in one disjointed motion, as if another being had taken over his body, he lunged at Simon.
Easily sidestepping and expertly tripping Thomas, Simon grabbed one of Thomas’s arms and slammed his face into the rock wall, then pinned him to the damp earth. “I see I have your attention now,” Simon retorted through clenched teeth. “So either sit up and listen, or I leave you in here to rot. Are we clear?”
Simon threw Thomas aside.
Thomas rubbed his raw jaw and slowly sat up. “You bet.”
“Good to hear. So, if we’re on the same page now,” Simon said, pointing to Thomas, “I’ll continue. We have ears in the compound. Your sister is there and safe for the moment, although definitely a loose thread. Her captivity could complicate many plans.”
“Whisterly would never harm her,” Thomas broke in.
“Whisterly is not always as benevolent as you seem to think. At one time we lived in harmony, before the period when the devastation of this disease was all that mattered. She turned away half of our world’s population, her hopes based on a technology that would temporarily extend her own life.” He paced back and forth, taking his time with each step. “You see, she actually thought she could determine who would live and who would die as she cast us out. To her chagrin, we have persevered, and now we have you.” Simon stretched his arms out in a mock welcome. “We will beat them to a cure.”
Based on Simon’s tirade, Thomas wanted to know so much more, beginning with his sister. “How much information do you have on my sister?”
“I told you that she is alive. I don’t know much else. My turn. Do you know what to do with one of these?”
Simon turned around the weapon in his hand to show Thomas every angle.
It looked heavier and had more parts than the .22 Pa had taught Thomas with. Hopefully the guns would be similar. “Yes, I know how to shoot a gun. Only my targets have been bucks and an occasional bobcat or two.”
“Excellent, then you can learn how to shoot one of these quickly.”
Ignoring his response, Thomas plowed on to his next question. “What do you know about my previous visit on this planet?”
“There was no previous visit. You have been on Earth until our craft picked you up.”
“No, that’s not true!” Thomas said. “I was here. I met Whisterly, Arista, and the council. I stayed at the compound. I was introduced to people.”
“Were you really? How do you know exactly? Did you notice anything different about yourself here than on your home planet?”
Thomas thought back. Yes, there were differences… He didn’t have braces during the prior time here on Remeon. And oddly enough he didn’t remember sleeping, unless drugged. He didn’t think much of this since it all seemed so much like a dream anyway. When back on Earth, he had repeatedly questioned if his experience had even happened at all. Was there more? Thomas thought hard… The food, it had been strange, but he had chalked that up to his new environment. Now here, when he ate, it was the same as at home—not good food necessarily and not enough, but fulfilling and energy sustaining. The differences would be difficult to explain.
“There were differences.”
“I thought so. As I said, this is the first time you have been here. My guess is Whisterly had a trial run, to see if everything would go smoothly. You remained on Earth, but part of your consciousness was pulled here.”
“I don’t understand. How could that be? How could I be in two places at once?”
Simon sighed heavily, shaking his head and speaking again, this time a little slower. “Get this through your head. You were not actually here before now. The technology I spoke of earlier was used on you. The Day W
atchers have spent quite some time perfecting it. Many there are living this lie—among them, Whisterly and her council members. This is life-extending technology. Those who you met were visions. Their true forms lay sick in hospital beds. When you are a hologram, it ‘feels’ real. You can eat, which is actually intricate programming you are ingesting at required intervals. That goo you ate wasn’t food at all. You can ‘cry’ and ‘feel’ your heartbeat, even sweat. But it’s all an elaborate lie, which you have fallen into. All those resources poured into a fallacy, when we needed them to save the dying.”
Thomas jerked, startled back to the memory of his last moments at the compound, when he “returned” to Earth. The vision came to life in his head: the rows and rows of beds, and the pumping and whirring equipment. He was sure that Simon was telling him the truth.
“You’ve been deceived. They didn’t think you could handle the truth. The question is, how strong are you, and are you ready to fight?”
THEIR HOME WAS a ghost house, only a shadow of what it once was. No laughter filled the air; no joking and no jovial banter was heard. The familial way of interacting between one another was now replaced by an automatic system of need and response. Care of Belle was of paramount concern. The necessities of life were fit in by order of importance: care of Belle, search for Thomas, food, and farm, in that order.
As the days passed since Thomas’s abduction, each day seemed just a little longer than the previous one. Chores and daily activities took much longer during the day or didn’t get completed at all, due to family concerns and ongoing searches for Thomas. Family interactions lacked the loving overtone that had always been there, since all were self-absorbed, dealing with the imminent loss of Thomas and the strange stillness of Belle. Both parents stoic and strong, they turned inward as a defensive mechanism. Still in shock and unable to deal with the devastation in front of them, they plowed through the days by clinging to the hope that Thomas would walk through the door and that Belle would return to her usual animated self.
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