"No problem, boss. Meet you outside the building lobby."
Hmmm. That's interesting, thought Devon. Fifteen families. Only three new families in the past few months. I wonder if we missed something in their background check? Devon gripped the handheld with white knuckles as he tried to calm himself. He took a deep breath trying to calm himself. But after extending a level of trust to all new colony families, the sense of betrayal threatened to overwhelm him.
He bottled up his frustration and eventually got himself moving. A few minutes later, Devon found Rufus and two others, Troy Jackson and Carl Wilson, waiting near the front doors to building 431.
"What now boss?" asked Rufus. As Rufus drew near, his hulking form made Devon take a step back before Devon caught himself. Yes, thought Devon, the man was effective by simply being.
Devon moved to the side of the building and pressed a hidden panel. The panel slid away revealing a touch screen display inlayed into the wall of the building.
Security fell under Devon’s umbrella of responsibility, but others might interpret the “special” system as having crossed the line. Part of him agreed, but at the time the Mars Base Incident left a lingering paranoia that made him an easy sell for the upgrade.
The others must have sensed Devon’s mood. They kept quiet while he pushed buttons, initiating the AI.
“Hello and thank you Mr. O’Malley for inputting your validation code. What would you like to do?” said a sultry, woman’s voice through a hidden speaker in the control panel.
“Main menu,” answered Devon.
“Main Menu,” repeated the woman’s voice, “Lockdown, Surveillance, Crowd Control, Fire Services or select Other for more options.”
“Surveillance,” said Devon.
“Surveillance. Would you like to select a specific residence or full system initiation?”
“Residence. Start with apartment 10A, then cycle through at thirty second intervals.”
“Thank you,” said the voice, “Initiating script, thank you for using Prima Safety Systems.”
The control display faded. In its place a video feed blossomed to life, showing a view from inside apartment 10A. The Prima Safety system equipped regulation smoke detectors with a hidden camera that could rotate and angle, providing a near 360-degree view of a room. The unit also had a microphone pickup, sensitive enough to capture a whisper from twenty feet away.
On the display they could see Jean Simpson sitting in his Galactic Comfort chair and his wife Gloria busying herself in the kitchen. Both were senior citizens who had retired to New Hope two years ago. Gloria asked Jean to take out the trash, but Jean didn’t budge from his place in front of the vid-feed.
“O’Malley, this is Central, come in,” said the voice of Trish Levreau, assistant to Ruppenthal. Why now? thought Devon. He took a few deep breaths before answering.
“O’Malley here,” he gritted through his teeth.
“O’Malley, the Council has asked that you not engage the suspect,” said Trish in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.
“What! I’m so close,” barked Devon.
“Mr. O’Malley . . . Devon. Locate the suspect, but please return to Central for further instructions. Ms. Ruppenthal wishes to meet with you personally on this matter,” said Trish, her voice softening slightly. The past few months Trish and Devon had been dancing around the fact that they had feelings for each other. It seemed others also knew of their interest for each other. Devon had to compliment Ms. Ruppenthal on her strategic choice of making Trish the one who delivered such messages to him.
“Got it. I’ll be back within the hour. Thanks Trish,” said Devon, focused back on the screen which had cycled through to the third apartment by now.
At thirty second intervals, it wouldn’t take the system long to finish a full cycle through the building. When the vid and audio came up for apartment 30B, Devon knew he found what he was after.
* * *
"We got a problem," said Jill. Without pausing, she went into the bedroom leaving Bill and Rachel waiting. She located a conservative dress with small, baby-blue flowers. She finished stripping off her sweaty dark clothes, throwing them in the corner of the closet. Once changed, she returned to the main living area.
“Suzy down the hall didn’t have the spices I needed for the recipe, so I went out to see if any of the stores were open, but none were. I’ll have to think of something else to cook for dinner,” said Jill.
With her hands, she signed in clipped hand-code, “I entered the Facility. One separate three story building, no windows. Guards at door. People going in, but different people coming out. O’Malley’s men after me.”
“That’s too bad honey,” said Bill, “I’m starving. Hopefully you can whip something else up with what’s around.
He signed back, “People come and go from buildings all the time. So?”
“Maybe you're right,” said Jill, “Rachel honey, do we still have any eggs left?”
Jill signed, “The people exiting, wearing same clothing as the people who entered. Also, why retinal scanners? Maybe the rumors true. This may be evidence we need.”
“Uh, yeah Jill . . . I mean mom, let me check,” said Rachel blushing.
Rachel signed, “They wouldn’t expect anyone to go back so soon. I’ll get in and find out more. Signal when I’m at school.”
“Thanks Rachel, dear,” said Jill.
“Sounds like we’ll continue routine in the meantime,” signed Bill.
“Great, I’m going to get back to work while you two ladies figure out dinner,” said Bill out loud.
“Be careful and try not to kill anyone,” signed Jill to Rachel.
“Oh please, that last one was an accident,” said Rachel out loud, getting a cautionary look from both Jill and Bill.
None of them had noticed the small LED light glow coming from one of the smoke detectors overhead. They continued not to notice as it remained on for the better part of a half-hour before turning back off again.
* * *
Vidphone sent up a soft twirl of bells, signifying an incoming call. Bill who worked out of the apartment for the civil engineering group, left his spot at the table to answer it. Trish Levreau’s plain face and short, black cropped hair appeared on the screen.
“Good morning Mr. Peasley. Sorry to disturb you. Could you and your wife come down to the school? There was an incident at the school with your daughter Rachel.”
“Is Rachel okay?” asked Bill pulled his handheld free from his pocket and outside the view of the Vidphone screen he started dialing Jill.
“No. No. Everything’s fine. How soon do you and Jill think can be here?” asked Trish in a pleasant tone.
“She’s out running errands. I’ll track her down and we should be there in fifteen minutes,” answered Bill.
“Perfect, I’ll let the school administration know you are on your way.” The screen went blank.
“Hello?” came Jill’s voice over the handheld. Bill was shaken out of his reverie.
“Rachel sent you a message that she got to school fine, after she took care of that other issue, right?”
“Yes, why?” said Jill with alarm rising in her voice.
“School just called. We are expected there in fifteen,” said Bill.
“Do you think. . .” started Jill.
Bill interrupted here, “Meet you downstairs in a few and we’ll head over together. I’m coming prepared.”
There was a pause from Jill at those words. “Okay Bill honey, I hear ya. See you soon.” The call ended.
Thirteen minutes later, Trish ushered Bill and Jill into the office of the Administrator of Education Services, Sam Winsworth. As Trish closed the solid metal door behind them, they froze in place.
Rachel was there, sitting in a chair with hands in her lap and a dejected look on her face. Instead of Sam Winsworth, Prashna Ruppenthal sat behind the administrator’s metal and glass desk.
A welcoming smile filled the face of the woman. Prashna wa
s tall at six-one and had a charisma about her that made her a perfect candidate for Chief Administrator of New Hope. What immediately struck both Bill and Jill, according to their files Prashna should be a woman in her early eighties but looked like a strong, handsome woman in her mid-fifties first assigned to New Hope twenty five years ago.
To Prashna’s right stood a seething Devon O’Malley glaring at them. Both Jill and Bill nearly jumped when they turned and found Rufus standing in the corner where the door had hid him from view when they first entered.
“Good morning Bill and Jill. I’m Prashna Ruppenthal. I’m glad to finally make your acquaintance.”
“Who are you really?” snapped Devon O’Malley.
“Devon please. All things in their time,” said Prashna. “Bill and Jill, please have a seat and relax. I just want to talk.” Prashna motioned to a pair of chairs near Rachel's chairs. Bill and Jill looked at each before taking a seat.
“I’m left with a dilemma,” started Prashna.
“We were told to come to the school because Rachel had an incident?” asked Jill trying to sound sincerely confused.
“Don’t you start. . .” spat Devon, as he took an angry step forward. Prashna held up a hand that stopped him. Bill gave Devon a level stare and didn’t look away. Devon finally calmed himself some and was the first to break eye contact.
“We have a vid recording of your coded sign language, which our mainframe AI is deciphering. Not to mention Rachel’s stealth skills are excellent, but we didn’t stop her as we watched her entry into the Facility,” said Prashna. “Which takes me back to my dilemma . . . We are for the most part pacifists, in our attempt to stay away from the conflicts that resulted in the breakup of the Terrestrial Conglomeration and the tragic events on Mars Base ten years ago.” Devon shuffled nervously.
“My first option is to let you in on our little secret,” said Prashna. “After which we can work out some sort of . . . arrangement. Or we can have you on the next transport, none the wiser. You can return to whatever agency or company sent you and report that you found nothing, because you didn’t. If you or they return, you’ll find nothing, except a thriving colony.”
“Want me to shake some sense into them?” asked Rufus. Bill turned slowly to face the giant.
“Try it and you won’t have any fingers left to collect any more of your precious rocks,” said Bill matter-of-factly. Rufus simply grinned back at Bill as if he found what Bill had said humorous instead of threatening.
“Please stop it all of you!” commanded Prashna. “Bill, Jill and Rachel . . . I’m less interested whether you are here on your own agenda or someone else’s. I’m not asking you to betray any allegiances. But I ask you to consider an additional allegiance; an allegiance to the people and vision of New Hope.
“We’re listening,” said Jill suspiciously.
“What is it you want in life? What does anyone really want in life? Maybe you’ve seen the dark underbelly of life and no longer feel there can be more to life. No pun intended, but New Hope can give you hope for a brighter future.”
Jill, Bill and Rachel looked at each other puzzled.
“What exactly are you saying?” asked Rachel, a slight excitement in her voice. Jill didn’t blame Rachel. The colony was thriving and the colonists were warm and kind. Rachel had said it felt like what she imagined home feeling like. Always travelling, Jill was a distant memory, a distant feeling.
Prashna looked hard at each of them for a several moments before she nodded to herself as if making a decision. She stood and made her way to the door.
She stopped at the door, her hand on the handle and then turned back to them. “I believe no matter what any of us have done in the name of duty, addiction, selfishness or self-preservation, I believe each person is built with a void in their life. A void only filled by choosing to believe in something greater than themselves. Unfortunately, some are so lost they don’t see it, even when it’s staring them straight in the face. Sometimes it takes one person to trust them with a truth that could change their life forever. I want to earn your trust, so I’m going to show you our secret.”
“What? No!” protested Devon.
Prashna gave Devon a sympathetic look. “Remember where you were when we first found you? Do you not have hope now?” Devon stopped in his tracks and then dropped his head nodding in agreement.
“Come,” prompted Prashna as she left the room.
* * *
The group of six stood before the windowless building that stood alone within the grounds of the Facility. Prashna turned to them looking each in the eye.
“I don’t know what your beliefs are; whether you believe in the system, science, the good or evil in all men, the gods or one God. Either way, all belief systems agree there are things in this universe we can’t always explain. So prepare yourself.” She turned and approached the retinal scanner. An audible click came from the door as it unlocked. The guard pulled the door open and the group entered. A few feet in, Bill, Jill and Rachel stopped as their eyes drifted up to encompass the entirety of what they were seeing.
In the center of the open, three-story space pulsed a purple-fluorescent oval ring. It floated three feet above the ground, as it glowed with brief intensity on each pulse. It was approximately fifty feet high, thirty feet wide and three feet thick. The building’s large lights that drenched the rest of the room in clear luminescence, seemed unable to pierce the blackness at the center of the ring.
From out of the bottom of the blackness, flowed a slow trickle of liquid. The silvery liquid fell the three feet into a small pool where it collected into a smooth, unmoving surface. A thin mist hung above the surface. Jill figured the liquid was slowly evaporating, which explained why the constants trickle from the ring didn’t overflow the pool.
They watched as one of the colonists, Gloria Simpson, approached the pool in a white robe. She was humped over from age and walked slowly. Another colonist was there to take the robe from her naked body, before helping Gloria down into the pool of liquid. She moved to the middle of the pool where it reached her neck. She sank down, disappearing under the liquid’s surface. A moment later, she reappeared as she stepped out the other side of the pool where another assistant waited. Gloria was still Gloria, but not Gloria. She walked upright and with ease. Not only did she look ten years younger, but her features had . . . softened. Jill wasn’t sure if that was the right word for it, but there was something different about the woman.
“What the . . .?” said Rachel.
Prashna waved her hand in the direction of the purple ring and said, “About a year after we settled here, this portal appeared out of nowhere just as you see it today. Devon was sent immediately to investigate and fell in accidently.” Bill, Jill and Rachel all looked at Devon. He didn’t meet their eyes.
“When he emerged . . . eh, changed; we quarantined him and the area. After a month of no apparent adverse effects, quarantine was lifted. Some thought the ring a left leftover of an alien technology. Some thought we had found the legendary fountain of youth. Others thought God was blessing us for giving people a fresh beginning here at New Hope.”
“Regardless of its origin, we dug out an area where the waters could collect. As colonist prove themselves loyal to New Hope, they are told of the portal and given a choice whether to participate in the baptism or not.”
Prashna saw questions forming on the faces of the trio, “Yes, we tried to send in probes, but none ever returned. We had one brave soul, tethered to a line and in full enviro-suit. Two minutes after entering the portal, the line went slack. We pulled it back, but he was gone. We’ve stopped trying to determine the origin of the portal or the waters that flow from it. We simply count our blessings.”
After a couple of minutes, Prashna asked, “So now that you know our secret, what do you plan to do with this knowledge? Can you please tell my why came to New Hope and who sent you?”
* * *
The transport shuttle took less than thir
ty minutes from ground launch to orbit. Jill watched out of the viewport as New Hope grew smaller by the minute, then disappear from view.
As they accelerated away from Primus VII, the background of space filled Jill’s viewport and her reflection looked back at her. She traced the space around her eyes where the crow’s feet no longer were. When she first had arrived on Primus VII, she wore deep laugh lines that were all but disappeared now. Her body didn’t ache and she felt like she could skulk through the shadows without tiring. But there was something more, something inside her that had also changed. She just wasn’t sure what it was yet, but it felt good.
Bill dropped in the seat next to her. She turned to look at a man also changed in more than just years. “All set. Report sent in,” said Bill.
“Do you think they will buy it?” asked Jill.
“They have no reason not to. I’m glad Rachel chose to stay. I hope the little actress-slash-cat burglar finds a family in the people of New Hope. It was fun getting a taste for once at being a parent.” Jill smiled and nodded in agreement.
“The short version is our report states we could not find evidence to substantiate the rumors of rebellious sentiments or activity against the newly formed Cosmic Conglomeration. And if anyone asks about the change in us . . . well, we did the trendy thing and got some “work” done.”
After a long silence Bill said, “You know. In theory the people on New Hope will live forever. I may have to retire there one day.” He stared off, leaving the thought linger between them.
Jill returned her gaze to the planet that was now a spec in the blackness of space. Speaking just above a whisper, “Immortality or not, if you look for it, you can still find hope in the universe.”
THE GOD FREQUENCY by Mark Fetterolf
A loud crash of breaking glass rang out from the kitchen. Jenna and her brother Peter looked at each other briefly before bolting from the dinner table to run into the other room. They found their father, Edgar Stiles, unconscious on the floor, their traditional Sunday dinner of corned beef and vegetables decorating the floors and cupboards.
Science Fiction Short Stories Books 1 & 2: Twelve Engaging Sci-Fi Tales (One Mind, Different Voices Series) Page 3