Earth on Target (Survival Amidst the Stars)

by Angel Bright

  A bright rectangular opening appeared. She caught my hand, and we went into the wall together.

  We found ourselves amid green high grass in a deserted harbor area. It was an unknown coastal town and a hot afternoon. We walked in a random direction for the sole purpose of getting to a busy street, and we managed to hail a taxi to get to Hotel Baltimore. There, we got a room, and my aunt started talking on the phone with people I did not know.

  I fell into a deep sleep, broken by the events and by the natural ability of children to recover from sleep.

  Two days after the hotel, we moved into a furnished apartment in the eastern part of San Diego on 708th Street, Building 41. I was enrolled at the local elementary school after long negotiations between my aunt and the school principal.

  Despite everyone’s doubts when I turned fourteen, I did not lag behind. And in some of the subjects I was among the top students. I did not play sports, but I was interested in the labs. I was lucky because the sponsor of the school was a big electric power company, and the laboratories were excellently equipped for research in the field of energy. I liked to repeat the experiments conducted by the lab technicians, and I noticed details that these educated men had difficulty explaining to me and considered to be of little importance. Here I learned different ways of grounding, energy points, capacitors, and high voltages. This interest allowed me to observe a number of serious professional research studies conducted in school laboratories because of the excellent equipment with suitable machines and apparatuses.

  For about seven years, I became a permanent observer in each and every experiment. But I was required during the conducting to take a well-defined safe place suitable for a monitoring and also to be in front of the eyes of the experimenters. High electrical voltages and strong magnetic fields were used, and strict safety rules were established. My afternoons passed through the planning, organization, and dynamics of the experiments. It turned out I could be irreplaceable in the experiment processes because I could see—yes, I could see—the electromagnetic and electrostatic fields as colorful radiances and indicate their exact position relative to the electrodes. That was extremely important because the shape of the fields is important in many processes in electrical power engineering, metallurgy, and especially in scientific experiments in the fields of physics and chemistry. This was the reason I was admitted to almost every research and also allowed to learn the methods and tasks to achieve the desired results.

  In my fifteenth year, I had already acquired extraordinary theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of energies. At the same time, I had acquired the ability to discover the so-called energy points from where I could draw from the earth’s energy for my own needs and to cast out the accumulated tension in my head to save myself from my headaches and seizures.

  Moreover, I also learned the methodology for following in scientific studies for the gradual accumulation of the necessary information and a thorough analysis. I applied these methodologies to my problems, and an absurd and joyless picture formed before me. I was connected to the ground. Continuously. A dark-purple thread came out of my head like a ray of light that followed me like a shadow and bounced around on the ground, the walls, or the trees. Later, I learned to relieve my sufferings through it, and as I stepped on the contact points on the ground, this light thread disappeared as if going straight down.

  The planned conducting of experiments in connection with the electric power company was steadily becoming more frequent. Increasingly complex cases of research and increasingly different methodic research processes arose. I began to see that the power company’s sponsor was taking external orders because of the changing nature of the used components and the increase of the studied capacity.

  I also heard part of a conversation between technicians.

  “Big capital is invested in this, and it is going well for now.”

  “Let’s hope the boy withstands the load.”

  Did they mean me? Indeed, I was almost constantly standing among the scientific team, but I did not think someone expected specific orders from me. Well, sometimes I would be asked if the magnetic field was uniform or why the electrodes were wearing out only on the lower side, and I was helping with the settings because I saw where they did not succeed. From time to time, they handed me some money, which I gave to my aunt in the evening to help cover our expenses, but we never talked about what kind of money it was.

  Days before my fifteenth birthday, while the technicians were preparing the next experiment, I was arranging my colorful circles of beautiful intertwined energy threads, and as the dark-blue thread was turned on, the whole circle collapsed. I thought I had made a mistake, and again I created a colorful circle of some of the weaker colors—yellow with red edges, light blue, and orange. I interwove the dark-blue thread between these colors, and the colorful circle collapsed again in a swarm of sparks. For the next few days, I constructed different combinations of bracelets of intertwined colorful energy threads and broke them by including dark-blue threads or some of the violet threads.

  The dark-purple thread that was constantly dragging behind me frightened me with its presence, but I did not know how to stop it. Whenever I looked around at passersby, I rarely met anyone who was dragging a thread like this; usually, their threads were barely noticeable with pale, unsaturated colors. It was enough to shoot a short violet flash to their energy point situated somewhere on the surrounding surfaces, and their light tails disappeared. I tried the same with myself but never dared repeat it again because of the painful burning stroke on my head. I accepted the fact that I would be forever with a light tail that did not harm me but annoyed me immensely. The lesson I received was pretty painful, and I think that if I had put more energy into it, I would be dead. It made me think and create a constant safe circle around my energy points. An increase at the base of my colorful bundle solved the problem.

  One day in the lab where we worked, a good-looking young woman appeared, and we started a conversation about the observed processes, the need for safety measures, and the unique school where I was studying, which gave such great opportunities to look into the world of science. We talked quite a lot, and I think we’d become friends when we parted.

  It was a great surprise to me two days later when the head of the experiments yelled at me, demanding to know why I had given an interview for the local scientific and technical newspaper. He handed me the first page and pointed to an article: “Student-Wunderkind Conducts the Scientific and Technical Experiments of GENCo.”

  The reporter had not written anything special, but the writing was filled with sympathy and, of course, with huge exaggeration of my role in the experiments and my personal qualities.

  “I have not said such things,” I said. “She stood next to me, and we became friends. But I’m not a braggart, and I do not claim other people’s achievements.”

  I knew that whatever I said would be just empty words. I hung my head and walked away. By the end of the day, one of GENCo’s bosses approached me and told me they were preparing a long-term contract for me as a company employee for the position of consultant. I would be given a fixed salary, but the agreement would have to be coordinated with a number of state organizations. I was told not to worry about the delay because the agreement would be backdated.

  I decided to notify my aunt when the agreement was ready so she could decide whether I should accept the terms of employment, the remuneration, and so on. I really felt proud. At my age, I already had a full-time contract of employment for work at a prestigious company.

  The news spread fast, and I was number one at school. Everywhere at meetings or in passing, people nodded and smiled, and some even dared to shake my hand. The girls unwittingly dropped their pens in front of my table. It was a real circus!

  One day, the heads of the Experimental Department were busy, and the day’s experiment with new dielectrics was postponed for a less busy day.

  Immediately after school, I made a quick v
isit to the library and headed home.

  To save time on my way home, I always went through the block subways and the narrow passageways that were always used by children but never by adults. So, I suddenly appeared in our inner courtyard, and when I entered, I heard the dry flapping that I heard every day in the labs and saw someone—my aunt!

  Pressed in the corner created by the two gloomy brick fences, she was being subjected to violent blue energy lashes inflicted by two attackers disguised as clowns. My aunt just about managed to defend herself with thin orange threads coming out of both her hands, but these attempts were rather to divert or reduce the force of the lashes that were probably very painful for her. She appeared to be ready to faint.

  When she saw me, she cried out.

  “Run! Run! Save yourself, and never come back here!”

  The next stroke pushed her to the ground, and the clowns were now turning to me. I was numb and choked with anger. I stood with arms raised defensively. My aunt was my only support. Who were these men? What had she done to them, and how had she ended up in their trap?

  One of the attackers fired the blue thread of his whip to the energy point where my light link was connected. I was expecting that. His hand received a strong, painful kickback. He screamed and collapsed on the flagstones. The other raised his hand to me, but the lost second cost him. I struck his hand with green lightning, and it instantly burst into bloody particles. I saw the horror and the pain filling his eyes. In the next moment, his teammate recovered and extended his left hand to me. I had to react before him. He stayed there—on the slabs where I smudged him. His companion screamed something unintelligible, and his body dissolved in the air. I was unable to react because of my surprise. They had been here and then disappeared. I ran to my aunt. She lay unconscious but was breathing. I embraced her and burst into tears of pity for her and for me. How was I going to cope without her in this cruel world?

  I heard an ambulance siren, but a police car flew in first. The two police officers bustled around us with their yellow tape but made way for the paramedics team with the ambulance stretcher. With experienced movements, the medics quickly prepared my aunt and carried her to the ambulance. It did not make sense for me to think it was possible for both teams to be informed and arrive immediately. I held my aunt’s hand and walked beside her to the ambulance. The bigger of the cops tried to hold me for testimony but gave up when he met my eyes. The paramedics also tried to prevent my entry into the ambulance, but the policeman said something, and they scurried into the cabin and moved off.

  My aunt was breathing heavily, intermittently, and with wheezing, and I suddenly wondered why the both paramedics had climbed into the cabin. At least one of them had to be with us at the back of the ambulance. They seemed to be afraid of me. The policemen were afraid, too. Had they watched the entire attack closely? I lifted my head and met the eyes of the paramedic sitting next to the driver. He tensed, turned quickly, opened the door, and jumped from the ambulance while it was moving. The driver did the same. The ambulance continued rocketing forward on autopilot. Down the road, the red iron rail of a bridge was visible.

  I pushed my fingers on the glass in the middle window. I had to sneak into the cabin. The high speed kept the ambulance moving straight ahead because modern cars were adjusted to do so, and it helped me get to the driver’s seat in time and step on the brakes. I stopped just before the bridge.

  We were out of town. When I looked back down the road, I couldn’t see the bodies of the two paramedics anywhere.

  I stopped a car coming the opposite way. The driver was traveling with his family, and he agreed to drive the ambulance to the nearest hospital. We returned to the city and reached the hospital without any new attacks. The man answered questions as my aunt was admitted. I went back to the apartment for documents and money that would soon be needed, and I then stayed in the hospital, next to my aunt.

  I did not know what to do. Now what? Who attacked us? Did they want to kill us?

  Why was their organization so complex? Had they planned a kidnapping? What would they want from us? And why did we always run away in panic? How and where did the kidnappers disappear? It was as if they were terrified of my presence.

  I was sitting scared at my aunt’s bedside and plotting plans. Useless plans!

  But this morning, life had been so wonderful.

  I swallowed my tears silently.

  What if they attacked us here? It was possible to repeat because we were immobile. I covered the windows and the walls with thin, hot blue threads. I could always block the door shut and spend the cutting invisible blue threads there. I was not completely helpless anyway. But how long could I last without falling asleep? Could I trust someone here?

  The hours were flying by without anything changing about my aunt’s condition. She still exhibited the same heavy and intermittent breathing. Laboratory samples did not produce any results but puzzled doctors. They were waiting for a medical genius to arrive with a team from Boston, but that could not be done quickly.

  Suddenly, the door opened, and my father came in.

  He looked authoritative and serious.

  He nodded casually as if we had last seen each other yesterday and stood beside the patient’s bed. He muttered something. Finally, he made a smoothly intricate movement as if he were removing a cover that ended over my aunt’s forehead.

  We stood motionless.

  Nothing happened.

  My father concentrated deep within himself. He almost fell into a trance. Only his hands were drawing intricate figures over the body on the bed.

  The glasses on the small table beside the bed began ringing. This time, silvery luminous threads curved from his fingers and concentrated on my aunt’s body. She stretched out, groaned, and opened her eyes.

  “Oh, Gordon. Well, you came in time.”

  “OK, OK. Let’s go.” My father turned to me. “You…you come with us. You’ve done well.”

  We had no luggage.

  I grabbed my bag and passed by the numb physician. My aunt, my father, and I went down to the basement. Through a brief ritual on the wall, we entered into a spacious hall.

  I needed to learn this useful trick for a trip.

  Several people were in the hall. They were pretty strange looking but people nonetheless—human beings.

  I thought I was having a nightmare, and I surreptitiously pinched my thigh.

  It was in vain, for I did not wake up.

  We were now in my father’s house…but not quite.

  They assigned me a richly furnished room. There were several doors that I began opening to explore what was behind them.

  Behind the only door opposite my bed, I found a large, cozy room with walls lined with bookshelves filled with books of unfamiliar script. The room also had comfortable workstations with desks and sofas for resting. I did not find computers, but I sensed this library was being used and cleaned regularly. There were also doors to other rooms of…of what? Was the building a luxurious hotel? Was it the home of high-ranking persons, friends of our family?

  It was yet another stop in our endless escape.

  The next door led to a small furnished salon and to an open terrace with a splendid view of a beautiful, large garden. The low railing and the ground floor made the access to the walkways winding around the flower beds convenient. Only four steps separated me from the green challenge of the surrounding paradise—a completely uninhabited paradise.

  I kept going through the doors and enjoying the splendor of the surrounding space. When I got back into the first room, waiting for me on the table was a tray with a slightly pungent, sweet drink that quenched my thirst. Behind one of the doors, I found a comfortable bathroom where clean clothes were prepared, and I washed and changed my school uniform, which was a bit tattered from the adventure in the ambulance. My clothes fit but were somewhat unusual. In the crystal mirror, my eyes met those of a slender young man dressed in mousy overalls loosely covering his body.
r />   I looked good.

  I found on the clothes rack a black belt with a bronze buckle. I liked its monogram, and the belt looked good on me when I put it around my waist.

  I did not know I could look that way, somewhat respectful, considering the sharp sight that had troubled me for a long time and made other people stay away from me.

  It was probably around noon because I was hungry, but where were the people? Where could I find food?

  I went on a journey back to the unexplored part of the building, hoping to find someone who could direct me to a place where there was food. The magnificence of the rooms amazed me, and finally I slipped into a large salon where some men and women were sitting around a table lost in a deep conversation. The table was covered with food and soft, sculptured utensils. One of the people having lunch was my father.

  He felt my presence and introduced me to the people he was talking with.

  “This is Raymond. He arrived today from the other side.” He then turned to me. “Your aunts Lanet, Zir, and Surya, and your uncles Stern, Drew, and Overn.”

  One by one, everyone nodded to me coolly and with restraint. They pointed me to a chair next to the unoccupied end of the table, and I was out of their attention, which was welcome for me. Two women appeared behind the nearby column and silently did the serving.

  I seemed to have fallen in the midst of some animated conversation, but I did not understand the language they spoke.

  I was served a meal of seafood, which I was not particularly fond of, but the wine in my glass was very good because it was mixed with the juice of some exotic aromatic fruit and had a wonderful ruby color. Anyhow, I ate from the sauces and some of the fish in them and started looking around.

  The hall was quite large. In the center, a dome of glass-like matter rose. By its diameter, almost closing it underneath, lay a circle-shaped plane, which created a sense of massiveness with the color of old bronze or red gold. There was a strange relief on the lower side. Eight interlocking comma-shaped strips were placed near the edge of the circle. A huge eight-pointed star was at its center, and from each tip beamed a sinusoidal strip as if they were signs of active radiation. Some harsh perfection drew and held my sight there, and this beautiful piece of equipment was mysteriously attached to this place, which seemed to have been designed and built specifically for it.