by Nick Cook
‘Actually, there’s just over ten thousand. Some of the names might shock you. Follow me.’ Alice wheeled her chair along the curving wall, stopped and scanned down the list of names in front of her.
She pointed to one and the air caught in my throat as I read the inscription. ‘J. F. Kennedy.’
Jack stared at Alice. ‘You have to be shitting me. You’re telling us that the Overseers were behind President Kennedy’s assassination?’
‘Indeed they were, Jack. Kennedy was determined to reveal the truth about aliens to the general public. His efforts eventually came to the attention of the Overseers. We all know the rest. And it wasn’t just Kennedy…’ She pointed to the name below the American president.
Goosebumps rippled over my skin as I read the name.
Marilyn Monroe.
‘No way!’ I said.
‘I’m afraid so,’ Alice replied. ‘The rumour was that Kennedy was having an affair with Monroe. And thanks to Kennedy she saw evidence about the existence of aliens and their craft retrieved by our military. When she threatened to go to the press and blow the story wide open, the Overseers stepped in again, but in her case they made it look like suicide.’
‘This is all too much,’ Jack said.
‘I know how you feel,’ Alice replied. ‘But there’s a final name I would like to show you all.’
We followed her round the curving wall and stopped next to a door opposite the one through which we’d entered. Here the list of names ended and Alice pointed to the one of the very final ones.
As I read it, I had to bite back a sob as tears filled my eyes.
Lucy Jacobs.
Alice reached up and squeezed my shoulder. ‘I’m so sorry for the loss of your aunt, Lauren.’
I nodded, wiping away my tears.
Jack gave me such a broken look that it lanced my soul. I could see the echo of the loss of his wife written in his eyes.
Mike patted my shoulder.
‘Sorry, everyone,’ I managed to say. ‘My aunt’s death is still really painful for me.’
‘Never be sorry for loving someone,’ Jack said.
I slowly nodded as my heart seemed to pull me towards him. Here was someone who really understood.
Alice pointed to the names after my aunt. ‘And these are all people who have died since at the hands of the Overseers – including the victims who were killed in the hospital on Orkney and the people who helped you on the rig.’
My gaze snagged on Greg’s name, followed by Calum and Jim at the bottom. It felt like a slice of ice was being pushed into my heart.
‘So many lives,’ Mike whispered.
‘Too many,’ Alice replied. ‘And that’s why I wanted you to see this memorial. I know how committed you all are to bringing the Overseers down and locating the other micro minds. However, if anything underlines just how dangerous that could be, it’s this long list of victims.’
I wiped my eyes again and looked at her. ‘Alice, I can only talk for myself, but I intend to do whatever it takes to bring those bastards down.’
Mike nodded. ‘Yep, me too. Somebody has to stop them, especially when they’re risking the survival of our world.’
I felt strong arms wrap round my shoulders and turned into Jack’s hug. ‘We’re in this together, Lauren. Always.’
I nodded, feeling my love for these guys so damned much that I wanted to cry even more. ‘You two really are the best.’
‘You’d better believe it,’ Mike said.
‘And I promise you all right here, right now, that I will give you every support resource I can to help make this happen,’ Alice said. ‘We’ll combine our efforts to take this fight to the Overseers. What do you say?’
Jack released me and stepped forward. ‘Alice, I think I can speak for all of us and say that the moment we stepped on to your X101 from the oil rig, we were already on board in more ways than one. So a big fat yes to helping you kick the Overseers’ asses in any way we can.’
She gave him a small smile. ‘In that case, we need to discuss how we can work together – specifically what I can do to help you discover the whereabouts of the next Angelus micro mind as it comes online. But first you need some good food and drink in your stomachs, not to mention some well-needed sleep.’
‘Yes to all of the above. I’m shattered,’ Mike said.
Alice wheeled her chair to the second door, which rotated open and Jack and Mike followed her through. But I hung back.
I traced my fingertip over Lucy’s name. For her, for all those others who had died, and for the sake of our world, we had to win this.
In that moment I felt a clarity and sense of purpose that maybe I hadn’t had in a long time. With a fresh determination to see this through to the end, I followed the others through the doorway.
Chapter Four
After the succession of wonders we’d seen, what was before us still managed to steal my breath away.
Mountains were silhouetted in the distance and bright star constellations shone in the night sky overhead. Golden light streamed from the windows of a large log mansion, I would have been prepared for anything. But as I stepped through into the next area to join Jack, Mike and Alice, my mind whirled at the sight a few hundred metres away, nestled in among some pine trees. To the right of it lay a beautiful lake, reflecting the stars overhead and surrounded by willows.
Beautiful by any measure.
Yet we still had to be far below ground level. And wasn’t it still daytime?
‘Whoa there,’ Jack said, summing up exactly how I was feeling.
Alice spun her wheelchair to look at us. ‘It’s quite the head rush the first time you see it.’
‘Some sort of projection?’ Mike asked.
‘Some, but not all of it,’ Alice replied. She tapped a few keys in the arm of her wheelchair. Instantly the star consolations were replaced by a bright blue sky with the sun shining down on us, transforming the scene to a summer’s day.
At last the spinning sensation, not too different to the feeling of stepping off an intense rollercoaster, began to calm in my mind. I could now see what was really going on to create this illusion.
We were standing in the largest chamber yet, in which the natural stone dome had been transformed by huge display panels mounted on to the walls. The sky and mountains were projected on to these displays, but the house and lake were different.
‘That house looks real enough for someone to live in,’ Mike said.
‘That’s because someone does – me,’ Alice replied. ‘That building is actually my old family home from Wisconsin. I had it transported here and rebuilt, log by log. I realise it’s a huge indulgence, but it’s a connection to my old life that I hated to leave behind. This is my home from home and also my sanctuary.’
‘Going by the name Citadel for your office above, I was expecting some sort of fortified bunker down here,’ Mike said.
‘Trust me, it’s that too. Right now we’re standing a good three hundred metres beneath the surface. As bunkers go, this one could give the American military’s NORAD mountain base a good run for its money. I don’t get out much these days, so I’ve tried to make this as comfortable as I can down here. And living in my old family home gives me all the memories I could wish for.’
I caught the edge to her words, realising there was a whole history behind this mysterious woman about which I had no idea. And why had she shut herself away from the world down here? A broken heart maybe? Or possibly something more prosaic – perhaps she had some autoimmune disease that made her susceptible to infection? But then surely we would have had to pass through some sterilisation process before meeting her. Whatever the answer, I was certain it would be interesting, because Alice was, without doubt, a complex and fascinating woman.
I gestured around us. ‘This is truly and once again astonishing, Alice.’
‘Why, thank you, Lauren. I invite very few people into my inner sanctum. But for you I’m going to make an exception. I’d like
you to stay with me whilst you’re with us. I have more than enough guest rooms for you all.’
‘Are you sure that wouldn’t be putting you out?’ Jack asked. ‘You must have lots of sleeping quarters elsewhere in Eden.’
‘We do, Jack, but I see kindred spirits in all of you. Besides, I want to be a good host, especially after everything you’ve been through. Tom tells me that you were all tortured by the Overseers?’
‘We were,’ Jack replied. ‘And Lauren got herself shot rescuing Mike and me.’
Alice gave me a concerned frown. ‘And how is your injury now, Lauren?’
It was a good question. With everything that had happened over the last few days I hadn’t really given much thought to my physical well-being since we’d fled the oil platform on board the X101. I started to do a physical inventory and immediately noticed a dull throbbing ache in my arm where Alvarez’s bullet had luckily passed straight through.
‘Don’t worry, Jack did a great job of fixing me up in the field.’
‘But we should check your dressings,’ Jack said. ‘Not to mention get some more antibiotics pumped into your system.’
‘You can talk, mate. What about all those scalpel wounds in your chest?’ I turned to Alice. ‘This poor guy was cut to ribbons by that bastard Overseers colonel, Alvarez.’
Jack shrugged. ‘Ignore her, I’m fine. I don’t need anyone fussing over me.’
‘Typical doctor in other words,’ Alice said. ‘Even if their arm was hanging off they’d say it was just a flesh wound. We have an excellent infirmary here with state-of-the-art medical facilities. So if you don’t mind, if only to humour me, please let my medics check each of you over.’
‘Not necessary for me,’ Mike said. ‘I got off lightly compared to these two. Just some bruised muscles.’
Alice smiled at Mike. ‘Please don’t try to argue with me. Mike, I realise you’re too old to be my son, but please think of me as an overprotective mother looking out for your well-being. I just want to make sure you’re OK after what you’re been through, both physically and emotionally.’
‘You’re talking about psychiatric help too?’ I asked.
‘Post-traumatic stress disorder wouldn’t be unexpected with everything that you’ve recently experienced. I’m not suggesting that you have it, but offering help if you want to take me up on it.’
I was probably more messed up than I cared to think, especially after the amount of deaths I’d seen recently. And then, of course, there was what had happened to Aunt Lucy. I probably did need someone to talk things through with, but I didn’t want to admit that. Maybe I just needed to catch my breath first after the whirlwind ride from Orkney, debrief with the guys and kick back before confessing I might need the help of a shrink. I guessed I wasn’t alone. Instinct told me Mike was OK, not least because he’d taken the moral high road of choosing not to kill anyone, a luxury I envied. But who knew how recent events had messed with Jack’s head, a guy who was still deeply screwed up over the death of his wife. Yet his face was relaxed as he shook his head at Alice.
‘I’ve had my fair share of therapy so I’ll take a rain check on that,’ Jack said. ‘And with regards to my physical injuries, you do know that doctors make the worst patients, don’t you?’
‘Of course I do,’ Alice replied. ‘But that won’t stop me ensuring you get some help. Whether you want it or not, you’ll at least have a physical check-up. I insist.’
It was like watching an unstoppable force meet an immovable mountain as they stared at each other.
But then a smile filled Jack’s face and he slapped a mock salute. ‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘Good, I’m glad we understand each other,’ Alice replied, also smiling. ‘In a moment I’ll get Jodie to escort you all up to the infirmary. Then afterwards you’ll come back here to join me for dinner. People tell me I’m quite the cook and my New Orleans-inspired gumbo always seems to snare hearts and minds.’
‘That sounds great and everything,’ I said, ‘but we also need to sit down and have a serious talk about the Kimprak threat that Lucy, the Angelus AI, told us about. After all, they’re on their way to harvest this world for resources.’
Alice’s expression became drawn. ‘And we will, Lauren, I promise, as a matter of priority. But that can wait until tomorrow – after you’ve had a decent night’s sleep.’
The following morning I woke up after probably the best night’s sleep I’d had in years. The room wasn’t too hot or too cold, the mattress was ridiculously comfortable and the eiderdown duvet as cosseting as any bedding I’d ever known. My idea of heaven in bed linen form.
I stretched my arm against the fresh bandages that one of the Eden doctors, Mary, had administered. She’d given me a thorough check-over and seemed very impressed by Jack’s handiwork in the field in dealing with my bullet wound. Thanks to that, I was set to make a full recovery, Mary had told me. Though I might be left with some lingering stiffness that could play up in extremely cold weather. She’d wrapped my arm with a fresh bandage and started me on a fresh course of antibiotics, just like Jack had suggested. The dull throb of pain from my left arm was noticeably easing this morning.
Mary was much less impressed with Jack’s care of himself, who had protested every step of the way in the neighbouring cubicle to mine as she’d redressed his chest wounds. Jack hadn’t been exaggerating that doctors made the worst patients.
I breathed in the almost sweet air wafting in from my open bedroom window. I swung my legs out of the bed and padded across to look at the view. I pulled the curtains back to see the sunrise kissing the lawns with golden light. Ducks paddled on the lake, ducking their heads for underwater morsels. The shadows of fish, trout maybe, were visible in the crystal-clear water beneath the white flowering lily pads floating on the surface. An arching footbridge crossed the lake, which seemed so familiar I was sure I’d seen it somewhere before. Nearer to the house, chickens in a large coop pecked at the ground. Three robotic lawn mowers trundled over well-tended lawns. And in the meadows beyond, two black and white cows munched their way through the lush grass.
OK, so this place was fake, but that didn’t stop it being wonderful. It was certainly testament to Alice’s vision of achieving the impossible, a vision that she seemed to apply to everything she did. She was my sort of woman.
I pulled a white fleece dressing gown on and tied the belt round my waist, enjoying its silk-soft touch.
Now for some coffee to kick-start my brain…
I headed downstairs into the large kitchen. Thanks to all the family photos and portraits lining the walls, it had a very homely feel to it, with several old-fashioned dressers housing patterned plates, cups and saucers. I could easily imagine Alice’s grandparents living here.
The scent of fresh coffee snagged my senses and I spotted a half-full cafetière on the side. So I wasn’t the only one up with the sunrise. As I walked over to the counter, one of the larger photos caught my eye – a younger version of Alice, probably in her early twenties, sitting at the controls of a light aeroplane on the tarmac. The door was open and she held up her thumb and beamed out at whoever was taking the photo.
Beneath the photo someone had written Alice’s first solo flight.
So she’d been a pilot once. That probably explained a big part of her fascination with all things flying and the Sky Dreamer’s rocket programme. Alice was one of those people destined to do great things with her life because she was simply extraordinary.
I helped myself to a mug from a cupboard and filled it to the brim with black coffee. I breathed in the scent of freshly ground beans, possibly Java, and in a dreamy happy state gazed out of the window at the ducks paddling across the lake. This place really was a little slice of heaven.
The murmur of distant voices came through an open doorway. I headed out on to a veranda and spotted Jack and Alice sitting at a table facing the lake, gazing out at the virtual mountain range. Alice’s head bent slightly towards Jack and he extended his hand
to squeeze her shoulder, a tenderness in the gesture. I couldn’t hear their conversation, but their body language made it obvious they were talking about something painful for Alice, especially going by the way she was now staring at the ground. Whatever this conversation was, it was a private one.
But just as I was about to turn round and head back inside, Alice’s sixth sense must have kicked in because she glanced up and saw me. She raised a hand and beckoned for me to join them.
I padded over the lawn, the soft grass like velvet under my feet.
‘And I thought I was an early riser,’ I said as I reached them.
‘I like to be up at the dawn, even if it is a virtual one,’ Alice said.
‘And I found it hard to sleep,’ Jack said with a waver in his voice.
I couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t turn round to look at me. What was that about? There was a bottle of pills next to his coffee too. Probably antibiotics like those Mary had prescribed me…but what if they weren’t?
‘So how did you sleep, Lauren?’ Alice asked.
‘Like a proverbial baby. That bed is incredibly comfortable.’
‘Oh, don’t I know it. I’ve stayed at the finest hotels around the world, but I never sleep as well as I do in the beds here.’
I nodded and turned to Jack. ‘So have you been bringing Alice up to speed about everything that happened back at Orkney?’
He finally looked up at me and I saw the redness round his eyes. He’d been crying – and crying hard. The feeling that I was intruding ramped up tenfold. But I was here now and couldn’t exactly turn and run away – although part of me wanted to do just that.
He coughed, clearing his throat. ‘Not yet. I thought it would be better if we brief her together. I didn’t want her to think I was crazy.’
Before I could stop myself, the question was out of my mouth. ‘So what have you guys been talking about?’ I could have groaned at myself for being so tactless.
‘Chewing the fat, that’s all,’ Jack replied, avoiding my eyes.