Phasewave

by David Gill

  'What is your take on all that? Do you believe that those people were killed by the Phasewave?'

  'Oh yes. The alien was definitely there and was responsible for the deaths. Listen, this is exactly what happened, this is how the alien was created. When the discharge came down into the Phasewave unit it contained organic material from the comet tail which was compressed and accelerated by the Phasewave before the unit exploded. What it achieved in that fraction of a second was the creation of a life form, a life form which had no physical content. It was just a massive memory that needed energy to survive, and it was kept alive inside the Phasewave by the stray currents coming off the sub-drive. Because of its intelligence, it rapidly became aware of its surroundings and started to listen to all the mass of transmissions passing through the base. It infiltrated the base monitors and sensed human presence, then started watching the crew. When Rogan was examining the damaged unit one day he touched its metal case and the alien entered his body, unfortunately killing him in the process. The alien did not know what it was doing and, until then, had no idea that it might inadvertently harm another life form. It did the same with Sewell but managed to keep him alive for a while longer before he, too, succumbed. With Carrick it very nearly succeeded, but Carrick lost his mind before he died and in his last insane moments managed to find and kill Ellen, who never actually came in contact with the alien.'

  'So there weren't any modifications to the Phasewave or the tracker?'

  'They were not necessary. The alien was able to transfer straight from the metal casing of the unit into a human being.'

  'Rogan was the first crew member to die, so why didn't the alien die with him? How was it able to go on to kill the others?

  'How big is electricity? Theoretically the alien could exist in one Phasewave unit or one hundred units or any installation that could provide the power to sustain its existence. When the alien expands into another location, it can only move enough of its entity to be sustained by the host's dynamic environment. Once that environment ceases to exist, so does that part of the alien - when Rogan died, so did a small part of the alien.'

  'If it was not confined to the Phasewave, could it have transferred to a human from anywhere it existed?'

  'No, it needed a particular type of energy to penetrate a human body, and it initially got that from the sub-drives. The domestic power supply did not enable it to transfer from the monitors or base equipment. Once inside a human being, however, the alien does not have access to sufficient power to penetrate external human skin, so the only way for it to transfer to another human being is during sexual intercourse or via the tongue, where those parts of the body concerned are only protected by sensitive membranes. You can, however, receive a fatal electric shock through the tongue if you are not careful.'

  'How can you be sure of all this if you were not there at the time?'

  Jenna held up her hand. 'Once again, not so fast – this story will go much deeper before you fully understand it. Now you know what Ellen went through, and I feel really bad making her out to be some kind of monster when she was a truly loyal partner to Carrick. That was all in the diary, and I think I have told you all I can for the moment. It is very important now that I catch up with Brant.'

  A thought had begun to develop in Declan's mind. 'Do you remember Gil told me two days ago that a Phasewave unit had been broken into, and we speculated that it could have been Brant?'

  'I cannot think why anyone else would attempt to break into a Phasewave base. It had to have been Brant.'

  'Are you surprised?'

  'No. I knew that Brant would try to reach a Phasewave if he got the chance, but I have no idea how successful his mission was.'

  'What was he trying to do?'

  'I cannot tell you.'

  'Apparently Brant was found wandering around inside the Phasewave base having lost his memory and was taken to a prison hospital. Was that part of his plan?'

  Jenna laughed. 'That at least makes it a bit easier for me, because now I definitely have to visit the Phasewave.'

  'Unfortunately I don't know which one he broke into.'

  'The bases need to be sited hundreds of kilometres apart to avoid interference with each other, so there can only be one in the Kalmis area.'

  'You must tell me about Brant. How did he manage to break out of prison and into a high security Phasewave base?'

  'First tell me what you think about Brant.'

  'If I'm honest, I think that Brant is the alien. Am I right?'

  Jenna looked at Declan for a long time before answering. 'Partly. You will guess the rest in due course, but you need to be aware that the presence of the alien has no boundaries. It is in the base equipment on Bouron and it came to Vennica inside Brant, and by now it is certainly in the prison and Phasewave security systems. At the beginning the alien killed the first crew members by accident when it transferred too much energy into them and practically fried their brains, but by the time it entered Brant it was learning and the first thing it did was to copy his memory, thinking that was where the human life force was located. When Brant died it realized that it was on the wrong track, but worked out that it could rebuild his body using Brant's own DNA, which is why his lifeless body was jerking and twitching so much as the nerves were stimulated. The alien had to work quickly because when Brant died it lost its host's power source and was using up whatever was left of its own energy. After it had regenerated Brant's organs and started the lungs and heart, it rapidly accelerated the process before Brant's body rotted beyond recovery and then, when he was self-supporting, the alien gave him his memory back. Although Brant did not seem to be very well at first, he actually had the internal organs of a young person and, even if he was a bit absent-minded, he was still the same person with the same personality, more or less. Hopefully, now that Brant has accessed the Kalmis Phasewave the alien will be installed in the Phasewave units.'

  'What is so special about the Phasewaves?'

  'The alien cannot survive without a constant source of power, and, in that respect, the most reliable source of power available is in the Phasewave system. All Phasewave units are assured continuous power through the sub-drives, and, equally importantly, from inside the network it can travel throughout the universe.'

  'To what end?'

  'It has its purpose, that's all I can tell you, and Brant has not lost his memory, it has just shut down. Now I desperately need to see him. Can you help me?'

  'You talk as if we are free to come and go as we please but right now we are in a bad place to be. Gil is pessimistic about the Company allowing any visits; however, tomorrow we will be back in Kalmis and I will try to persuade Gil to put some pressure on the Company.'

  'Well, do try to think of something because we won't be able to move on until I can confirm that the alien is installed in the Phasewave system.'

  'You actually believe that you will be able to contact the alien?'

  'Only if it is in the Phasewave system. If it isn't installed, I don't know what else we can do other than try to get in touch with Brant.'

  Declan lay back and tried to collect his swirling thoughts. Jenna had answered a lot of questions about the alien, and he felt that he was now getting closer to the truth. Then he recalled Jenna promising him he that was going to meet the alien and, whilst trying to stifle any speculation, for the first time began to believe that something very profound was about to happen in his life.

  Chapter Eight

  Milo and Glen stared at each other. Eventually Glen got up and returned with a pack of cigarettes. 'Well, there's a turn-up for the books.'

  Milo accepted a cigarette from the offered pack and held it, unlit, in his hand while he thoughtfully contemplated what they had just heard. 'It's amazing what people come out with when they think no-one's listening. Who would have thought it?'

  'I was more surprised to hear what Jenna said about Goldman. What's your impression of him?'

  'There's something of the night in Gold
man; the man has a bad temper and a worse reputation. Everyone knows that he has arrangements with most big businesses on Vennica, and I believe he would probably go the distance to protect those relationships.'

  'I'm beginning to think that we might be in danger,' said Glen, 'especially if it's discovered that we continued the surveillance after being told to pull it.'

  Milo lit his cigarette. 'When Gil finally made contact today I was careful to give the impression that we had shut down the surveillance as requested, just in case Slater's crew are still listening in. But you are right, there's no point in putting ourselves at risk until we've left Plano, after which we can work out what to do with the latest recordings. We now obviously know a lot more than we did, but I still think we're not getting the whole story, and, although Gil appears to be back in control, I think we can assume that Slater and Jarvine had something else in mind when they hijacked the case and may still be somehow involved.'

  'Maybe they took that contract I heard about and planned to kill Jenna and Declan.'

  'Maybe they did. In which case, with five million dollars at stake, I think we probably are in danger and need to protect ourselves. What a mess.' Milo got to his feet and walked out of the room. When he returned he was carrying a handgun.

  'You never cease to amaze me,' said Glen. 'When did all this start?'

  'The moment I stopped trusting people who smiled at me.'

  'And I suppose that thing is licensed and everything?'

  'That would be highly unlikely. Just don't ask me if I've ever used it. Changing the subject, I've been considering this situation and I don't think anything will happen before dawn, in which case I suggest we hide out somewhere else tonight until the transport comes to pick us up in the morning. That way we can check who's in the cruiser before showing ourselves. Declan and Jenna will still be here, so I'd like to leave a couple of remote recorders running for another day or so in order to monitor anything that happens after we've left.'

  'Is there anything we can do to help Jenna and Declan?'

  'I don't think so. Gil plans to come and pick them up tomorrow and once they are back in Kalmis they should be safe.'

  'We seem to be relying a lot on Gil, who has already been taken off the case once. Isn't there anyone else we can share our concerns with? What about Moran, doesn't he deputize for Gil?'

  'Moran's a safe bet, but I don't want to contact him directly. There is a general view nowadays that the communication lines into the HQ building have been compromised, and I think we must assume that everything recorded on the surveillance and any direct communications have been made available to other parties, such as Slater. Fortunately all this recent stuff was already being streamed to your apartment, so there shouldn't be any leaks. Which is just as well considering what we've just been listening to.'

  'And what is your view on the alien?'

  'I can't get excited about that business. Clearly something out of the ordinary happened on Bouron and I think Jenna is now mostly telling the truth, or what she believes to be the truth, but I have no idea where that is leading. If Brant really is carrying the alien, now is the time for him to call in a favour, but let's first do a reality check. We don't know for sure that Jenna is telling the truth, and, even if she is, Brant and the alien are not even on our radar. We think that Slater may be carrying out a contract, but have no evidence of that, or even if there is a contract, and if someone were to turn up now or tomorrow to move them somewhere else, what are we going to do about it? We are only assuming that they, and possibly ourselves, are in danger, but there is no confirmation of that.'

  'I think you're right. Where do you think we should move to?'

  'There's a caretaker's accommodation in the back section of the adjoining apartment block. If the transmissions were intercepted Slater will have discovered that, so far as they were concerned, the surveillance stopped as soon as we received the instruction, in which case they are unlikely to worry too much about us, especially as the pick-up in the morning is going ahead. Even if they were concerned, they will be concentrating on Jenna and Declan, so I can't see them wasting time searching the complex. They will be looking for a quick in-and-out, and if they do come looking for us ...' Milo picked up his gun and checked the magazine. 'I'm quite prepared to put a bullet through Slater's ugly head.'

  'You really are the man of the moment,' said Glen, sarcastically.

  'Let's just say that, come the time, I intend to exceed your low expectations,' said Milo with a grin. 'I'll pack up the equipment in here so if anyone looks in it will appear that we've terminated the surveillance. Once we're installed next door I'll hook up a radio link to the sensors so that we can see who's coming and going. Are you okay with that?'

  Glen laughed. 'I'm fine. I can't wait to see you sleeping with that cannon under your pillow.'

  'Let's hope we won't need it. I think we've had enough surprises for one day.'

  'Are you awake?'

  Milo rolled over in bed and grunted. Fifty per cent awake, he thought.

  'I want to talk to you.'

  Milo opened his eyes and found Glen staring at him from across the pillow. Seventy per cent awake. He knew what was coming next. First the intimacy, then the inquest. Was it was worth it? Yes, of course it was. Ninety per cent awake and climbing.

  'A little bird spoke to me.'

  Here it comes - wide awake now.

  'You've been going to that pick-up joint again, haven't you?'

  It was a well-worn track. 'No, not really,' he said, 'and I keep telling you it's not a pick-up joint.'

  'Yes you have, you were seen there last week.'

  Milo reached out and switched the light on. He climbed out of bed and returned with two glasses of water. 'Okay, it was me. I admit it and would like another fifty offences taken into consideration.'

  'Why do you go there? It's full of drunks, escorts, predatory women on the prowl, and who knows what else. What do you see in that?'

  Milo thought for a moment. 'You've just about covered all the reasons for going there. Which one do you have a problem with?'

  'If you're not prepared to listen I don't think there is any point in going any further with this conversation.'

  'Okay,' said Milo. 'Since you are so concerned about my bad habits, I haven't been with a woman for the best part of a year. I've mostly been working on Spaceport during that period and have had a really bad time. So bad that when I came back to Vennica I think I suffered some kind of life crisis.'

  'What went wrong on Spaceport?'

  'Just about everything, but it was the place itself and the kind of people who live there that really got me down. Imagine a thousand metal containers crushed together and people living inside them. No windows and constant noise, whistling air supplies and pumping fluids, the grind of machinery and the smell of thousands of people jammed together using communal toilets - I've been inside better prisons. When I got back I had to burn all my clothes to get rid of the smell. As far as I was concerned it was a living hell. I went out to work on a batch of prosecution cases, but came back realising that there are no such things as law and justice any more. It was all a blatant stitch-up by the visiting judge. Innocent people were being sentenced to prison while criminals paid money and walked free. Everything was so openly dishonest that I was ashamed to be associated with the law, and when I came back I felt depressed and the apartment was so empty that I couldn't bear to stay in it on my own. I kept thinking of all those lonely people with nowhere to go. Take Declan and Jenna, for example - what a couple of losers. Declan would rather spend the rest of his life in the backside of space than set one foot on Vennica, and Jenna is a just a reject from the Colonies, complete with that wonderful "it was so much better in the Colonies" attitude.'

  'Until they were blown out of existence by another of those "wonderful" Colonies,' said Glen. 'I think Jenna got it in one when she said that people like Declan were bred to kill people like her.'

  'So that's when I think it dawn
ed on me what a totally pointless life I lead and, as a result, I drifted back to the bar again. At least there you meet people who are doing things and want to get something out of life, people who are actually enjoying themselves.'

  'Isn't this the point when you tell me that you tried to hang yourself but the rope broke?' asked Glen. 'You should have called me; I could have sorted out your problems. That's what friends do.'

  'I couldn't impose on you. This was something I had to work through on my own.'

  Milo turned and looked Glen in the eye. 'Why don't we try to make a go of it again? Let's move in together.'

  Glen stiffened. 'Not so fast.'

  'You sound like Jenna,' said Milo. 'She always says that when Declan asks the money question. But what have you got against it?'

  'Only the fact that we've done all this before,' said Glen. 'Several times, in fact. None of which worked for us. What's different this time?

  'Maybe I'm a different person.'

  'I'll think about it,' said Glen. 'Neither of us is getting any younger, and I have no intention of rushing into anything. When I was re-employed I felt that I at least could make a contribution to improving other peoples' lives, but now all I get are the women and children cases and I'm surrounded by pure misery from dawn to dusk. It started to get to me, but I recognized what was happening and made a conscious effort to leave it outside my private life. Now, when I get home, I mentally shut a door and never open it again until I am back at work. I know I'm cynical and irreverent and have no respect whatsoever for the people we work for, but that's the way I cope with things, and it does not affect what I do to try to help others. If I hadn't made that choice I think you would have found me on the end of a rope a long time ago. This could be our last chance to do something together, and I'm going to give it some serious thought before making a decision. Don't get excited.'