Phasewave

by David Gill

  'Who is responsible for all this supressing and revealing of evidence?'

  'There was a department called Judicial Review, the existence of which was known to only to a few people. It reported directly to the Law Lords outside the remit of the Security Council, and was funded by the Phasewave Company. The Law Lords gave instructions to them to supress this case, mainly due to immense pressure from the Phasewave Company' who had Goldman on their side and were paranoid about any possible drop in their share price as a result of the alien allegations. Now the Law Lords have been moved aside and the information is being released by the Security Services. Do you think you may be able to help me?'

  'I think I can,' said Glen. 'Back there I was looking at Jenna's drawings when a lot of things suddenly became clear.'

  'In what way do the drawings help?'

  'Humour me for a while. Let's go back again to the point where Jenna and Declan were rescued from the Phasewave. You were involved in the wash-up, weren't you?'

  'Yes, but other people were also involved.'

  'Wasn't there some speculation about how Slater was killed?'

  'He tripped and was accidentally killed by his own gun.'

  'Now I remember. So, if my memory serves me right, Slater and Jarvine took Declan and Jenna to the Phasewave to kill them and make it look as though they accidentally received electric shocks from the Phasewave machine. That wasn't a bad call because Jenna had previously asked to visit the Phasewave, which appears to have a history of killing people, but, incredibly, the reverse happened and it was Jarvine and Slater who ended up dead.'

  'That's about it.'

  'So Slater and Jarvine, who were armed with an electronic prod and a handgun, managed somehow to lose their lives trying to kill two unarmed people in their custody, one of whom had his arms tied behind his back. Who in their right minds would believe that?'

  'I know what you're thinking, but I spent days with Moran going through this, and the only scenario that fits the bill is the one provided by both Jenna and Declan – that Slater, after killing Jarvine, accidentally fell and killed himself with his own handgun.'

  'Let's test that theory,' said Glen.

  'There's no point,' said Milo. 'Don't forget that Jenna and Declan both confirmed those events, and they would have had no reason to lie, they were the injured parties. It's all history.'

  'I promise you it isn't,' said Glen. 'Right, let's assume that this room is where it all happened and that this kitchen unit here represents the Phasewave machine. Where would Slater have been standing when he was killed?'

  Milo took a few places backwards. 'About here, his body was face-down pointing away from the Phasewave.'

  'And where were the others?'

  Milo moved around the room. 'Jarvine's body would have been here, lying on his back. Declan was sitting on the floor over there with his hands tied behind him, and Jenna was supporting him when they were both found.'

  'Did Jenna touch the Phasewave?'

  'Yes, her traces were found on the casing just next to where you're standing.'

  'You reckon Slater killed Jarvine with an electric prod. Where was the prod found?'

  'It was lying behind Jarvine's body, near the wall.'

  Glen walked over to the spot. 'So, after Slater killed Jarvine, how did the prod end up here, four metres from where Slater was standing?'

  'That was the first thing we picked up on. Declan said that the last time he saw the prod Slater was pointing it at Jarvine, after which things happened too fast for him to recall, but Jenna said that Slater definitely threw the prod to the floor after using it. When questioned about its location she suggested that it may have been unintentionally moved by one of the security staff after they entered the room. There were fifteen people in that room at the time and I questioned every one of them - no-one could definitely say if the prod had been moved or not.'

  'Well, when Slater brought them to the Phasewave he ultimately had no choice but to kill Jenna and Declan because they were the only witnesses to what had gone on and would certainly have incriminated him. The only way to make their deaths look accidental was to kill them with the prod and blame the Phasewave for the discharges, but, after killing Jarvine, Slater then discarded the prod, leaving himself no alternative but to finish them off with his handgun, which would have completely blown his story. That doesn't sound right to me.'

  'I know, but I assure you it can be the only explanation for what happened,' said Milo.

  'Then try this for size. Slater doesn't kill Jarvine. Jarvine is killed by an electrical discharge from the Phasewave. '

  'That was just a line being pushed by Slater,' said Milo. 'There is no evidence that the Phasewave was unsafe.'

  'The Phasewave wasn't unsafe,' said Glen, 'but I do think it killed Jarvine. This is how it actually happened: Jenna is standing next to the Phasewave putting her traces on the machine casing, which Slater needs her to do to give their story a shred of credibility, but it is Jarvine who is holding the prod, not Slater, and he intends to kill Jenna after she has put the evidence on the Phasewave. Before he can do so, however, a discharge comes out of the Phasewave and kills him. Jarvine falls backwards and the prod lands against the wall behind him. Slater didn't have the prod; he was holding his own handgun at the time, covering Declan.'

  'You're saying that an accidental discharge conveniently killed Jarvine just before he was about to kill Jenna?'

  'Although it was convenient it wasn't accidental.'

  'I'm not following you.'

  'Jenna is not who we thought. When Jenna touched the Phasewave she contacted the alien, and it was the alien that triggered the discharge to save Jenna's life.'

  'How did the alien manage to communicate with Jenna?'

  Glen picked up the drawings and held them in front of Milo. 'When I first saw these drawings I immediately thought that they could not have been done by a human being. As it turns out they weren't. These drawings came straight from an alien memory.'

  'Jenna had the alien in her?'

  'I think it was in her all the time. If I had seen these drawings earlier I would have twigged what was happening. We both accept that Brant has the alien in him and know that it can be transferred between humans by intercourse. Brant and Jenna were lovers and it is now obvious that he had transferred the alien to her.'

  Milo stared at Glen. 'This is incredible. How, then, did Slater meet his end? Why wasn't he electrocuted?'

  'I'm not sure about that, but maybe he was standing too far away from the machine. Regarding Slater's demise, if Slater is standing where you are, Declan is on the floor over here and Jarvine is dead then the only person who could have killed Slater is Jenna.'

  'That's ridiculous. Jenna could not have overpowered Slater, he was much too strong.'

  'On her own she couldn't, but she had help, didn't she? It would be reasonable to assume that having an alien inside your body might give you some physical advantages, and what a brilliant story to concoct afterwards. Nobody would believe Jenna could do such a thing, so they had to accept the story put out by her and Declan because there was no alternative. After she overpowered Slater she went to Declan and quickly briefed him what to say because she could hear the guards running towards them, which is what was taking place when they were discovered. That was a neat trick.'

  'When Slater's body was examined he was still grasping his handgun, how could Jenna have fired it?'

  'She has small hands and could have put pressure on his finger inside the trigger guard. Slater would not have anticipated an attack by Jenna and probably would have been a bit slow to react.'

  It was Milo's turn to walk the room. 'I have to admit all this has a horrible ring of truth to it. I had never considered Jenna having made contact with the alien, but it seems clear the way you put it. Why then didn't she just come clean and say what happened in the unit that night?'

  'Probably because she thought that no-one would believe her. Even worse, she could have risked facing a
dditional charges relating to Slater's and Jarvine's deaths. The Security Service is hardly renowned for its impartiality. Jenna knew that she had to remain free to be able to find Brant and return to the Phasewave.'

  Milo shook his head. 'If she had the alien inside her, why did she need to contact Brant?'

  'I'm on a roll now,' said Glen. 'Let's take a look at Brant. First of all, Brant was in prison but escaped. How could that happen? Quite easily, as it turns out. After Brant arrived in prison he transferred the alien into the prison security system using the tongue method. The alien then took over all the security alarms and cameras and allowed Brant to escape. After escaping, Brant used the same technique to enter the Phasewave base and then transferred the alien into the Phasewave unit itself. Neither Brant nor the alien could contact Jenna because she was out of touch in Plano. After the Phasewave killings, Jenna was taken to prison where she contacted the alien, which was already installed in the prison security system, and, via the alien, Brant, who had also transferred the alien into the hospital security system. They planned their escape and arranged to rendezvous at the Phasewave installation. Next, Brant walked out of the hospital and Jenna and Declan walked out of prison. After rendezvousing at the Kalmis Phasewave complex, the three of them then lay down touching one of the machines and, almost exactly as the autopsy described, the lives drained out of them and into the Phasewave.'

  'So how did Declan become involved?'

  'Jenna and Declan had been having sex, so the alien must also have been inside him, passed on by Jenna.'

  'And how could they travel via the Phasewave? Have they abandoned human form for good?'

  'I don't understand anything that goes on inside Phasewave, but I don't think it would have been their intention to permanently abandon human form. After all, how much can you achieve without a physical presence? Think about the last recording made by Gil. You said he was out of his mind and that he said he had met Declan in the flesh. I think he was telling the truth - he had met Declan, but Declan was in someone else's flesh.'

  'How would that work?'

  'Remember that once inside the Phasewave the alien has access to sub-drive energy and can transfer directly through human skin. So here is a scenario: inside a Phasewave unit is the alien life form, and then along comes an engineer or a cleaner or whoever and grabs hold of the metal case containing the Phasewave. The alien instantly transfers into him or her and shuts down their memory, and from that point on it literally hijacks their body. Later, after the alien has completed whatever physical task it intended, it returns to the Phasewave unit, restores the person's memory and transfers back into the unit, leaving the owner with no recall of the event, only an unexplained absence from whatever activities he or she was engaged in.'

  'If that happens they can operate both as fully functioning humans and alien life forms. That is something to think about.'

  'I do wonder if the experience of meeting Declan in someone else's body may have finally tipped Gil over the edge.'

  'It could have, Gil was definitely suffering at the time. How certain are you that this is what really happened?'

  'Well,' said Glen, 'I think I am on the money with this one. I just knew Jenna was holding something back when I spoke to her and I got the distinct impression that she had another agenda. I was also suspicious when she told Declan not to worry because she was not going to go through the brainwashing. Then, remember when she told Declan that she could guarantee his meeting an alien? No wonder she was so confident, Declan had already met one. It also explains why Jenna was so desperate to catch up with Brant and visit the Phasewave.'

  'You've given me food for thought,' said Milo. 'Your theory ticks all the boxes, but I can't see myself using any of it tomorrow. Gil was let off lightly the last time a public statement was made, probably because the media felt sorry for him after such an amateur attempt to lie his way out of trouble. This time it's not going to be so easy, and enough material has already been leaked to give them a taste of what to expect.'

  'What about the contract on Jenna and Declan? Is there anything there that you can use?'

  'I'm convinced that Goldman arranged it and Phasewave fronted the money, but I have no proof. Slater and Jarvine are dead and Goldman, who was employed by the Phasewave Company after leaving the Council, is believed to have since left the planet.'

  'You've been given a tall order,' said Glen. 'What's your take so far?'

  'I haven't got a clue,' said Milo. 'What I have told you is virtually the full extent of my knowledge, and I still have no confirmed information that an alien exists or that the Colonies plan to invade Vennica. It promises to be a very short presentation.'

  'The media will tear you to pieces.'

  'Thanks for that reassurance. I thought I was imagining it.'

  The sun was going down later that day when Glen, suffering from the effects of consuming too much coffee and too many cigarettes, got to her feet and walked around the room to stretch her legs. She could hear Milo talking to someone on his messager in the next room and wondered how he was going to cope the following day. The sight of the piles of paper and files lying all over the room filled her with a sinking feeling and she started to appreciate the hopelessness of the situation.

  Milo re-joined her in the room. 'This thing just gets more and more bizarre. I've just been talking to a contact of mine in the local television network, and he says that they are not particularly interested in the alien or the invasion, they are going after the Judiciary and the Phasewave Company.'

  'Was any reason given?' asked Glen.

  'Apparently aliens and invasions are past their sell-by date and the media now have bigger fish to catch. They have found out that Goldman and another Law Lord, Corrie, were on the Phasewave payroll and that Slater and Jarvine had each received payments of one million dollars two days before they took Jenna and Declan to the Phasewave to kill them. But, and this will really amuse you, they do not accept that three people could simply lie down and die inside a Phasewave unit, they think that the Security Service murdered them and are now involved in yet another cover-up.'

  'That's brilliant,' said Glen. 'So, after all the cover-ups so far, they are getting blamed for one that doesn't exist. I love it.'

  'I thought you might find a certain irony in that bit of news. The media do not accept any of the autopsy findings on the three bodies, or, more specifically, the lack of any findings. They are going to hammer the Security Services tomorrow.'

  'Are you thinking of pulling out?'

  'I wasn't, until I got that message, but now I think I will go crazy if I try and think about it anymore. Do you know what else I've been told? The lead story in the press tomorrow is going to be about the moon breaking into pieces and collapsing onto Vennica. For God's sake, how many times have we heard that story before? Competition like that puts into perspective just how important my presentation tomorrow really is. Let's give this thing a break overnight.'

  'It won't be any different tomorrow,' said Glen. 'We have to stick to it until you can cobble up something, anything. Despite the media interest in the Law Lords, now we know just about everything that happened in the alien case why can't you simply offer the truth and let them make of it what they want?'

  'Because so far ten people associated with the case have died, which leaves us ten witnesses short to call on to confirm anything we say. We are now the only people left who know what actually happened, and if we give the media the truth we won't be credible unless we can back up our story with evidence. The media have already seen the original investigation material and still don't buy into the alien presence, so how can I explain the deaths of three people in a Phasewave who died in unusual circumstances? If I do turn up tomorrow I am going to be put in front of the media and press and grilled. Every word I say will be challenged and I am not allowed to say anything that cannot be referenced.'

  'You will only be going down the same route as before, surely some of the media will be curious about wh
at happened in the alien case.'

  'They have already had access to all the case records, including ours. If, at the time they were produced, we did not believe what we were hearing, how can we expect anything more from the media? Jenna's admission that she made up most of her story doesn't help, either. I really can't see her version of events as being rated other than fiction.'

  'Is there anything on the colonial invasion?'

  'External Security is on full alert, but there are no signs of anything heading our way, and the Diplomatic Forum has no knowledge of any particular rumblings from the Colonies other than the ongoing tax saga. There's even less on that than the alien.'

  'If that's the case, what are your options?'

  'I think this has now become a pointless exercise,' said Milo. 'Do you know what I am really worried about? I think that if the media drag down the Law Lords and the Security Service it could signal the end of the Judiciary and leave Vennica without a government.'

  'Who would take their place?'

  'There's only the military. Remember that the Phasewave Company was instrumental in bringing down the last government. A lot of money changed hands to vote in the Judiciary, and it all came from them. The media were side-lined during that election and it's now payback time for them, especially if they can link Slater's and Jarvine's million dollar payments to the Company.'

  'Will the military be able to do any better than the last two governments?'

  'Who knows? I've decided to kick the ball back into Moran's court and let him and the Law Lords slug it out in public.'

  'Moran isn't up to speed on this case. What can he contribute?'

  'He probably won't be able to add anything to the brief, but he is paid to be head of the Security Service and this is his shout. I'm going to call him now and tell him what to do with his cover-up.'

  'Don't do it,' said Glen. 'Sleep on it and call him in the morning. Something might occur to you overnight.'