‘Jesus,’ said Emmy. ‘You actually thought that would work. You assumed that because I’m gay I’ll instantly fall for the first woman to show me attention. Did the colonel put you up to this?’
Dr Stark continued to avoid eye contact.
‘You’re pathetic,’ said Emmy. She then walked across the lab, stopping when she was directly in the field of one of the security cameras. ‘Nice try, Colonel, but I’m just not that sort of girl. You need me more than I need you, and for that reason – I call the shots when it comes to who does and who doesn’t use my machine. Do you understand?’
She threw the photograph of Dr Stark’s husband down onto the table and gave the other woman one last, sharp stare, before walking out of the lab. There was now one less conundrum for her to worry about.
Chapter 19
Following the breach in the medical bay, Esteban was assigned to Jimmy’s side at all times. Sensors were set up throughout the complex, which had the capability of registering the presence of any astral being. Despite Emmy’s insistence to the contrary, the colonel still believed the incursion to have been terrestrial. His belief was that if it happened again, they would be able to follow the intruder back to the source.
‘Are you going to protect me?’ Jimmy asked.
‘That is why I’m here,’ replied Esteban.
From what he had so far seen of the young psychic, the soldier was not entirely sure that his presence was required. Back at the Opera House, he had seen the boy take down two terrorists and was midway through apprehending the third when he had intervened.
‘What are you protecting me from?’ asked Jimmy.
‘That is what we hope to find out.’
‘So you don’t know?’
Esteban placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder.
‘Whatever it is, we will deal with it. Remember the train? You and I make a great team.’
‘The train was all you. I did nothing. Even my vision turned out to be false. I saw those people die and made no effort to prevent it. You’re the hero, not me.’
‘A hero is not defined by a single event. I fear that my account is not yet in the black.’
Jimmy looked at the soldier with puzzled eyes. Despite his ability to see the future there were times when he could not see what was right in front of him.
‘Never mind,’ Esteban said. ‘Whatever fortune has in store for us both – we will find out soon enough.’
***
The equipment passed the safety inspection and Emmy was cleared for another astral journey. The colonel had ordered her not to leave the confines of the base, but thanks to a little trick learned from her grandfather, she did not think that he had much chance of stopping her. She had disabled the manual override on the Astral Projection Unit, meaning that when on a journey, only she would have the power to end it. Then as soon as her consciousness separated, she transported herself back to the place where all of this had started. She returned to the observatory at Jackson’s Hill.
She could instantly see the effects of the radiation. The amount of energy was far greater than it should have been relative to the local wildlife population.
It was easy for her to distinguish between the material and the ethereal beings due to the concentration of energy within. The animals appeared dense and solid and they maintained their physical shape. The others were vague and indistinct, but still different from the energy encountered in space that had taken Sam Carlton. The disembodied energy here was tethered. Silver cords ran across the landscape like power lines, connecting these lost spirits to their inanimate bodies back at the desert base.
‘The radiation shields them from the harvesters.’
She spun around. Her former partner, Charlie, was standing right in front of her. At least, a projection of his consciousness was in front of her. Due to the insubstantial nature of his being, she had not sensed him reaching out to her.
‘Harvesters?’
‘When we named them, we used Mandarin. Harvesters is the closest literal translation that I can think of. It is still rather apt. They come where there is death and take away the soul.’
She thought back to the first time she had encountered one of these beings. It had been in the early stages of the trials. Back then she had been in awe, but when one had taken Sam Carlton, she was filled only with regret.
‘What are you doing here, Charlie?’
‘We are here for the same thing. We are both looking for answers.’
‘But are we asking the same questions?’
Charlie moved away from her and began to glide upwards. She followed closely behind, allowing him to lead her up and onto the observatory roof. Their former residence was like a small island set within a sea of green. As they came to rest, they regained their tenuous physical contact.
‘Does the radiation draw them here?’ she asked, hoping that he would be able to shed more light on the matter.
‘I don’t think so,’ he replied. ‘I think they freely choose to come here. I’ve been studying them for some time now. They don’t seem to be aware of my presence or even each other.’
Looking around, she estimated there to be fifty to sixty energy forms that did not belong. This accounted for just under half of the patients being held at the base. The rest were either in more complete hibernation or projecting themselves elsewhere.
She paused for a moment in order to think over what she was about to say. This was not just a conversation between colleagues and friends. She was negotiating directly with an agent of a foreign government.
‘I could really use you back on my team,’ she said.
‘You know that cannot happen. I have no problem with you, but your team can never be trusted. Look around you. An entire town was destroyed.’
‘That was my grandfather. Besides, how is your side any different to the Americans?’
‘I am not being forced to comply under duress. Can you say the same?’
She did not need to answer. They both knew that she possessed no real control over the project. If she had any freedom, she would never have returned to the experiments at all. They had already cost her more than she was ever willing to pay.
‘Our masters cannot keep out of each other’s way forever,’ she told him. ‘The Americans are already convinced that spies have breached the base. It is only a matter of time before they retaliate.’
‘Is that a threat?’
She noticed that he seemed more amused than concerned. In this state and with this level of communication, she could sense intent in his thoughts much more clearly than she could read an expression back in the material world.
‘More of a warning,’ she told him.
‘I have three years head start on you, remember? My people are more than prepared for any attempted incursion. I would not advise you or any of your American friends trying to cross into our borders. To all intents and purposes – that is a threat.’
‘Then this conversation is over,’ she said. ‘Once I have cured these people, I am going to close down the Americans for good. I expect you to do the same at your end or I will do it for you.’
With that, she broke away from her former friend and partner, and returned to the base. After a few moments, Charlie did the same. He expected it would not be long before she came looking for him again. In fact, he was counting on it.
***
Constance was in the colonel’s office attempting to salvage what was left of her career. She knew that given the top secret nature of the work, if she was taken off the project they would never allow her to return to a normal academic posting. Instead, she would likely be sent to some remote scientific outpost. Somewhere completely cut off from civilisation. Somewhere cold. If it ever came down to a choice between the poles, she would choose the South.
‘If you give me another chance, there’s still a great deal I can contribute to this project,’ she said. ‘I can still work alongside Dr Rayne.’
‘Your relationship with Dr Rayne is not
our greatest concern,’ replied the colonel. ‘Washington has set a new agenda. One that will take the research down a different route. If you are to be a part of this work, we need to be sure you won’t lie to us again. You should’ve told us that you knew Dr Rayne previously.’
‘I didn’t know her. I do a lot of guest lectures and there’s no way I could’ve known she had attended one. Please, just give me another chance. I’m willing to do whatever it takes.’
Her apparent lack of professional integrity piqued the colonel’s interest. He leaned forward, projecting a more intimate tone to the meeting.
‘You’re willing to do anything, you say?’
‘Yes.’
This time her voice was less assured. She could tell from his demeanour that she might have played her hand too soon. It was too late for her to take back the offer, placing her completely at his mercy.
‘Does this mean you’ve no moral objection to this technology being used in ways that could be considered as militaristic?’ he asked.
‘The way I see it, the military have been running this project all along anyway. Besides, I just provide the information. What you people do with that knowledge when you have it is none of my business.’
‘And the patients from Jackson’s Hill?’
‘They’re strangers to me.’
The colonel sat back in his chair. He saw no reason for the meeting to extend any further. She had already given him all the information he needed.
‘Okay, Dr Stark, you’ve got your second chance. I expect nothing short of your best this time. I hope you won’t let us down again.’
‘Don’t worry, Colonel. Whatever it takes – you can count on me.’
As she left his office, she wondered if just maybe, she was letting herself in for more than she could handle.
Chapter 20
When the order came through, Emmy was not in the least surprised. Ever since Jimmy’s testimony about the apparition and the colonel’s unreasonable assumptions regarding the event, it was only a matter of time before he decided to act. Curing the residents of Jackson’s Hill was no longer his chief priority. She wondered if this had been the real plan all along.
The revised mission outline was simple. Esteban was to be trained as an astral traveller and once he was deemed ready (by the colonel, not Emmy), they would launch the attack. It was insanity. They did not even know who or where to strike. Her biggest fear was that they may try using Jimmy. Provoking foreign governments was one thing, but messing with the laws of causality would have much more serious repercussions.
Not for the first or the last time, Emmy wished she had remained in hiding. She wished she had listened to Lucy. Things had been so much clearer when it was only the two of them. Back then, everything really was black and white instead of so many shades of grey. Her thoughts again returned to the brief time they shared together.
The cracks had begun to show not long after Jimmy’s brief visit. It was then that Emmy noticed her partner becoming more withdrawn, less open about her feelings, suspicious even.
‘Do you love me?’ Lucy had asked, one night after Emmy returned from picking up supplies at the nearest town.
‘Of course,’ Emmy replied. ‘You know I do. I tell you every day.’
She placed her groceries on the counter, ready to be packed away into storage cupboards. It had not occurred to her that there might have been a problem with the relationship.
‘Then why are you thinking about leaving me?’ asked Lucy, making no effort to assist.
Whilst it was true that she had contemplated moving on and returning to civilisation, Emmy had not for one minute considered doing so without Lucy by her side. They had made a promise to each other and she intended to keep it. The love they shared was what she lived for.
‘I would never leave you,’ she said
‘Was I not enough for you?’ Lucy then asked, with a faraway look in her eyes.
‘You are enough. You’re everything to me. We can make a fresh start and still be together. We can find jobs, get a real place, we can have a real life.’
‘No – we can’t. If we are to be together, we have to stay here. Can’t you see that?’
Unfortunately, Emmy could not. She thought that eventually Lucy would come around to her way of thinking. Sadly for her, that was not to be the case. Shortly after that conversation, the pair parted ways and she had neither seen nor heard from her lover since. With the separation of time, those days together now seemed more like a dream than anything real. The sense of loss, however, was every bit real and remained with her, always.
***
Once they got started, Esteban proved to be a quick learner. Emmy recalled the first time she trained a member of the military and it had been a nightmare. There was too much macho posturing and bravado. Everything was turned into a competition. Not so with Esteban. The CIA operative had the discipline and self restraint of a Zen master. He followed her every instruction to the letter and did not once try to undermine her authority. By the end of the week he was ready to undergo the final lesson. She was going to show him how to use his astral presence as a weapon.
Discovering that an astral being can interact with electrical energy had been an accident, but was that not normally the way with science? Newton did not plan for the apple to fall onto his head, inspiring him to come up with his theory of gravity. Sometimes nothing but a stroke of good fortune can alter the entire course of human development.
A disused military compound was chosen as the test site. It was isolated and likely to slip under China’s radar since it was on American soil and well away from the compound in Australia, should their potential enemy be monitoring. As was to be expected, Emmy took the lead, with Esteban following closely behind.
There was previously only one time when Emmy had made a physical interaction while astral travelling and the fallout had been great. She was lucky the only damage done was to property and that no people had been injured by her carelessness. Repeating the process would help to atone for that mistake in the past. It would turn a severe lapse of judgement into something positive. Well, depending on how they would wield this power going forward, it at least had the potential of a positive outcome.
Once she located the strongest power source, a large electrical generator, she took a step back in order to allow her student the opportunity to prove himself. She had earlier given him a mantra to recite in order to focus his consciousness, but he did not need it. As soon as he entered the power source he could feel the energy crackling all around him. For the first time since he had left his body, he felt surrounded by something that was tangible. Something that he could reach out and touch.
With years of military training and self discipline, he was able to channel the energy inward rather than out. It combined with his own life-force and made him stronger, made him almost tangible himself, as if he was once more part of the material world. The electricity was absorbed into his projected consciousness and as it compressed more strongly, tiny atomic particles began to coalesce. He was deconstructing Einstein’s equation, turning energy into mass at the speed of light.
Not since Jackson Fox had developed the ability to reinvigorate himself from the energy of others had one individual possessed so much power as that now held by the South American. The connotations this brought with it terrified Emmy. She became spooked by her partner’s unexpected prowess and the feelings it elicited within her.
Not wanting to take any unnecessary risks, she willed herself to intercept him and as their energies touched, all of the additional electrical energy Esteban had accumulated was forced out of him. An instant later, they were both returning to full consciousness back in the lab.
‘You did it!’ exclaimed Dr Stark. ‘The readouts show that you completely shut down the power grid.’
Emmy was keen to confirm the results, but unlike Constance, she was not in a celebratory mood. Esteban’s actions had suggested that an astral being could take on mass. This raised
far too many questions. They were questions she was under too much pressure to answer, and one in particular troubled her.
Charlie’s team had three years head start - could they have come across a similar phenomenon? Would they have made the same conclusions as she? For the first time she was aware of just how much more advanced her rivals may have become and just how dangerous that could make them.
Esteban was characteristically quiet when he exited his projection chamber. There was so much that Emmy wanted to question him about, but she would have to wait until they had privacy. Dr Stark’s continued presence irked her and she did not trust her assistants either. They were lab rats in every sense of the word. They did not care about pushing the boundaries of science, only the next pay check and increased funding by the military. She had to think very carefully about who she could take into her confidence. The more she thought about it, the more her conclusions surprised her.
***
Jimmy no longer felt comfortable by his mother’s bedside. The apparition, he could handle. It was the thought he may endanger her life again by blindly following one of his visions that worried him. He had lost a great deal of his former conviction in the last few days. The self doubt had set in following the train incident. He could still not understand why his vision had not come to pass. This had never happened before and it set a dangerous precedent as well as offering him hope of one day reclaiming his free will.
Whenever he visited the medical bay, he always made sure to have a guard with him. He would have preferred Esteban, but since beginning training with Emmy, the CIA man could not spare the time. The alternatives were not nearly as friendly as the South American. Jimmy knew that all of the other soldiers feared him. They despised being in his presence and the rejection hurt. Why could he not be normal again?
The colonel summoned him to the office for the first time since the breach, as they were calling it. He sensed a heightened tension within the compound and he suspected they were planning something big, but his gift gave him no clue as to what it was. The rigid and predictable routine of the base was preventing him from having visions as frequently as he had previously.
Diamond Sky Trilogy Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 46