Bruce spoke up, “Howard, Marlin, Ursula, Colonel, is there a chance that another one of the research team besides our feline friend has been playing a double role here? Are we sure we know every thing there is to know about them?”
The Colonel answered, “Howard, Marlin, Ursula and I did a major search of the history and credentials of the team members. But I would be the first to admit that it was mostly based on documents. To my knowledge, we did not conduct interviews or verify individual events or affiliations. Is that right, Howard, Marlin?”
“No, each one of the team members, except perhaps the Cougar, has a lengthy recorded history of accomplishments and citations for work in this area. Could one or more of them be leading a double life? Possibly!”
I intervened, “Let me put the cat in with the pigeons. Suppose, just suppose, one or more of these animals is not from our universe. Let us further suppose that he, she or they are from the world you have been experimenting with. Let us further suppose that they are attempting to retard your progress without giving away their identity or intent. Finally, let us suppose that some entity in this other world is controlling their efforts. A sort of General Turmoil in reverse.”
Shocked looks around the table. Marlin answered first. “A week ago, I would have said, ‘That’s nonsense!’ Now I’m not so sure. Several of our experiments that seemed totally worked out have failed. Some of our data has been corrupted. Accidents? I don’t know.”
Howard added, “I have been frustrated by some simple activities that should have been no-brainers but have ended up being disappointments. Like Marlin, I’m not sure.”
The Colonel, who had the most experience in traveling to multiverses, growled, “Which alternate world are you using for your experiments?”
“Susanna Shrike identified it and set up our transit abilities. We refer to it as Biosphere X. We don’t know what the inhabitants call it. It’s like our Earth. Our observations suggest there are only a few sentient species like us but we haven’t done a complete survey. As far as we can tell there are no Homo Sapiens.”
“Do any of them know about you and the team or our world?”
“Like Marlin, a week ago, I would have said ‘Absolutely Not.’ Now, I’m not so sure. As part of her set up for our experiments, the Shrike travelled there but she claims she was not observed and certainly not approached. The Shrike thinks the world is uninhabited. It is extremely small. She simply left a miniscule device in a heavily wooded area and came back.”
“Or so she says!”
The Porcupine looked annoyed. “Or so she says!”
Otto piped up. “Can you send another observer, like me, to Biosphere X without the rest of the research team knowing?”
Marlin responded. “We probably could. What do you have in mind?”
“Getting an independent look at the land. The Cormorant saw me briefly at the Kennedy Center but didn’t say a word to me. I didn’t speak to him, either. The rest of the research team doesn’t know me from my uncle Adam. I’m pretty good at appearing, disappearing and getting out of tight spots. You got most, if not all of your information from the Shrike. Wouldn’t you like another view of Biosphere X from a separate but hardly disinterested source?”
The Colonel looked at Otto. “We don’t even know whether anyone lives in that world. And if there are inhabitants, an Otter might stick out like a sore paw.”
“Not if I operate in stealth mode. You know, ‘Now you see me, now you don’t.’ (Where had we heard that one before?)
Belinda spoke up, “You might be taking an awful risk, Otto.”
“Or, Bearoness, it might just turn out to be a walk in the park. What do you think, Octavius?”
“Well, my Lutrine friend, it might tie up some pretty loose ends but if you find yourself in any kind of danger, you get the hell out of there, Pronto.”
“That’s the story of my life. Rescuing or being rescued. I just want to find out if any of these folks on the research team are not who they say they are. Or they may be a lot more than they say they are. How do we do this, Howard?”
“The Colonel is the expert. I move electrons.”
The Great Bear held them up. “Before we disband, let’s spend a little more time considering these murders. The Armadillo may be right. If someone is intent on stopping these experiments and is willing to kill to do it, anyone who knows anything about them may not be safe. The Cougar probably killed off the Professor in a fit of pique over his financial two-timing. We still need to prove that. But I think Covington met his fate for different reasons and I’m not sure the carnage will end there. Senhor Condor, have you completely scrubbed all of the e-mails you intercepted?”
“Not by a long shot, Doctor Bear. Ursula and I have all of the correspondence to and from each of the other team members to go through. There may be some nuggets hidden there.”
“By the way, did you ever figure out how the Cougar and Muskox, neither of whom were technically sophisticated, used such strong encryption to protect their mail?”
“I think it was provided to them by an as yet unidentified third party. They could apply it without really knowing how it worked. They were the only ones making use of it and only between the two of them. The other research team members are using a strong but different algorithm and key management process. It’s good but not that good. (Ursula chuckled!) But what bothers me is it’s not the same system that Howard and Marlin use when they communicate with the team.”
The Bear snorted, “I’m not sure I like that.”
Marlin squeaked, “I know damn well I don’t. Howard, we’re being cut out. What started out as a confidential but straightforward and above-board research project is turning into a cloak and dagger morass. “
Howard nodded and then asked the Condor. “Are you still monitoring their traffic?”
“Oh, yes. It’s not as heavy as it was. Maybe the Cougar’s death has inspired more caution.”
The Frau, who had been taking all this in, turned to the Otter and said, “Herr Otto, I have been assisting the Colonel in many of his other-world trips. Come with me and we will get you set up. Herr Howard, please give us the coordinates for your Multiverse electron generator on Biosphere X. We’ll put Herr Otto down next to it.”
Just as the group was about to break up, the conference room doors crashed open. “Poppa, Momma, guess what we found. A real missile silo and rocket! Can we fire it off?”
Chapter Nineteen
Soaking wet, Otters caper and leap
And a soft seaweed bed’s where they sleep.
They eat flat on their back,
Giving shellfish a crack
With some rocks they bring up from the deep.
Otto awoke in a heavily wooded area. It took a few minutes for him to recalibrate his senses and remember what it was he was doing. (Most successful universe transfers take place with the traveler fast asleep at the outset.}
“OK, here I am on Biosphere X. I hope I’m on Biosphere X. I really don’t want to spin off to somewhere else where the Wolves can’t keep track of me. We agreed I would spend 12 Earth hours here and then they would pull me back. Not exactly sure how they were going to do that but both of them have had very positive results with their journeys. First thing to do is to find the electron entangling device left here by Susanna Shrike. Howard had provided the coordinates, but this is a different venue. Do you measure distances the same way in a place like this? Now that I’m here, this doesn’t seem to be the hot idea I thought it would be.”
Uninhabited world? Hardly! What the Otter didn’t realize was his arrival had triggered off a series of alarms in monitoring stations covering the surface of Biosphere X. Unaware but cautious, Otto decided to invoke his high adrenal level and disappear while he got his bearings.
His sudden “now you see me, now you don’t” action had
attracted the attention of several surveillance monitors who passed on their assessments to the Headquarters that controlled entry and exit from the planet. “Who was this new arrival and where is he or she at the moment?” First reaction: a malfunction in the scanning system.
The Protector ordered a diagnostic sweep of the monitoring stations. They showed no change in status. “Keep a close eye on that quadrant and report any change immediately.”
The Protector, a very large, grizzled White Tailed Eagle, was charged by The Supreme Council with assuring the existence of Biosphere X (known to them as Home World) remained a closely guarded secret. The Home Worlders, all of them some species of Raptor, were aware of alternate universes and expended major efforts, motivated by paranoia, to prevent exposure while they in turn, examined the Multiverse for threats. A special team of avian voyagers had arrived on Earth twelve years ago and had subtly inserted themselves into environments from which they could observe and report any possible efforts to uncover Home World’s existence. They were authorized to take radical steps as necessary, to discourage or abort any such efforts.
After years of inaction, they discovered an experimental program on Earth to remotely affect electrons in other universes. Home World was a target environment. This could not be allowed to proceed or, worse yet, succeed. Two of them, a Shrike and a Cormorant, were appointed to sabotage the effort. Yes, the same Shrike and Cormorant.
Of course, at the moment, Otto knew nothing about this, although he had his suspicions. First things first: locate the electron generator. It was supposed to have a homing signal that he could invoke. He gave it a try. No response. He tried again. Same result. Was it damaged? He took out his smart phone and used GPS to physically locate the device. Zilch! Suddenly it dawned. He is on another planet and there may or may not be positioning satellites in the space around it. In any event, this was getting him nowhere.
Just then, a large winged shape with a very substantial wingspan descended out of nowhere. Otto had let his invisibility slip and the bird spotted him immediately. Before he could zap, he was trapped in a pair of talons and lifted off the ground. The Protector had caught him.
They flew over the ground at high speed and increasing altitude until they reached a large and formidable aerie built into the side of a mountain. The Eagle flew up to an entrance portal and unceremoniously dumped the Otter into a cage. He settled into a seated position on a lavishly decorated bar and stared at Otto as only an Eagle can stare. He started to screech as only an Eagle can screech.
Otto raised one paw and with the other reached into his backpack and pulled out his UUI Peapod translator. The Eagle thought it was a weapon and jumped back behind a stone platform partially covered in instruments.
Otto screeched at him. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to threaten you. This is not a weapon. It’s a language translator. Can you understand me?”
The Protector resumed his seat on the bar and screeched again. “Who are you? Where did you come from? Why are you here? “
Otto decided to play dumb. “My name is Hairy Otter. I was sound asleep and when I woke up, I was in that forest where you found me. I don’t know how I got there and I would very much like to go back to my bed. Where am I and who are you?”
“This is Home World and I am the Protector. I deal with any strangers who cross our borders. With that back pack and your translator, I don’t believe you were in bed. I believe you made a deliberate journey here and I want to know why.”
“I’m from Earth. I am part of an experiment to see if we can use teleportation to move around our world. We experimental animals don’t control our travels. I was supposed to be sent to a spot nearby our lab. Something must have gone wrong for me to end up here, wherever here is.”
“You’re trying to tell me that you are not part of a plot to invade Home World?”
“I don’t know anything about Home World. (Cute and innocent Otter face number 12) I am trying to make some money to pay for my education. We volunteers are payed to undergo teleport experiments. Am I the first one to arrive here? Have you sent anyone to Earth?”
The Protector skipped a beat. “I’ll ask the questions. You say you don’t have any knowledge of an Earth-based team trying to enter our universe. We know better. We have been aware for a long time of an effort to cause a remote-control change in our physical structure. We are not taking that threat lightly. You are under arrest. I will confer with our Supreme Council to determine what to do with you.”
That suited the Otter. He wanted to identify the prime movers of this biosphere and see if Home World was indeed sending representatives to Earth to meddle with inter-universe projects. Once he got that information, he would zap back to his arrival point and wait to be ported back to the Bear’s Lair.
A large screen crackled into life revealing three large birds - a gray owl, a vulture and another eagle. “What do you wish, Protector?’ This from the vulture who looked to be in charge.
“I have a non-avian being from Earth in captivity here. He insists he got to Home World by accident, but I don’t believe him. Do you wish to interrogate him, or should I simply dispose of him?”
“Do you have contact with our Earth agents?”
“Not at the moment, but that is easily taken care of.”
“Check with them. See if they recognize this fellow. If they do, it’s a good sign our efforts have been discovered. If not, we may probably continue to obstruct their electron entangling project. In either case, after you have done that, dispose of the invader in our usual manner. We do not want him returning to Earth knowing about us. Good work!”
“It shall be done!”
This was the moment that Otto was waiting for. Let’s see who the Protector conjures up.
“Madame Shrike! How goes our great protective work?”
“Bingo!” thought the Otter, “Susanna Shrike is an Agent for Home World!!”
“It goes well. The fools think that I am staging breakthroughs in their entangling efforts. I even have them convinced that I placed an electron generator on the surface of what they call Biosphere X - our Home World. I did nothing of the kind. They will be puzzling for a long time why they cannot establish an entanglement.”
“What of Commander Cormorant? I am going to contact him next. These communications with you two are difficult and expensive. I try to keep them to a minimum.”
“The Commander recently disposed of a major source of leakage in the project. A Cougar venture capitalist. He was selling the research team’s progress reports to several Earth entities in spite of a pledge of confidentiality. He got himself caught up with a crackpot Muskox who wanted the information to support a series of lawsuits he had concocted. Intolerable! The Cougar killed the Muskox and the Commander in turn, killed the Cougar.”
“Unfortunately, this brought the minions of the law down on the research team and an overwhelming Kodiak Bear who has been financing the Project. He is wealthy beyond belief and quite learned. He is under suspicion for the deaths. We want to keep it that way. So far, neither the Cormorant nor I seem to be under any serious suspicion. If that suspicion becomes more pressing, we may have to call on you to teleport us back to Home World.”
The Eagle screeched. “I don’t know how you two continue to operate, surrounded by a menagerie of ridiculous animals. We may want to consider replacing you. You have put in a long and worthy tour on that abominable planet.”
“Thank you, but we have risen to the heights of our professions and it would take a great deal of time and effort to replace us. I appreciate the concern. Now, what prompted you to call me?”
“I have a captive animal here who says he arrived in Home World by accident. He claims he was participating in an Earth-bound teleporting experiment that went wrong. Do you recognize him?”
He turned the camera on Otto’s cage, raised the lighting and swept ove
r his prisoner.
“No, he is not a member of the research team. I have never seen him before. He may be an associate of the hateful Bear, but he is not part of our team. Perhaps the Commander may have seen him. He is physically closer to the people involved than I am out here in the West Coast of the United States. What are you going to do with him?”
“I cannot allow him to return to Earth. After I speak with Commander Cormorant, I will dispose of him and take whatever steps are necessary to cover our tracks. Thank you and good fortune!”
Otto had been taking all this in and trying to decide when he should disappear. He opted for waiting till the Commander appeared and verified that he indeed had killed the Cougar.
More static and snow on the video screen. Then a large bird came into focus. “Greetings, Protector! What can I do for you?”
“Greetings, Commander! I just finished speaking with the Shrike and she gave me a report on the progress, or lack of it, of the Quantum project.”
“We have to be very careful, Protector. We must seem to be moving forward but encountering devilish delays and mishaps. So far, remote electron entanglement is more of a hope than a reality. At some point, we expect the team to abandon its efforts.”
“That is the Supreme Council’s desire. I need to check two things with you. Did you indeed, kill Covington Cougar?”
“Yes, he was sharing highly secret information about the project with too many animals. In fact, he had a falling out with a Muskox Professor who planned to use the project results to extort funds from concerned entities. He killed the Professor. He then attempted to use the information to enhance his own fortune. We want the information to remain a closely guarded secret. The Cougar had to be stopped. We met at the salt marshes of Cape Canaveral and I struck him several times with a tire iron from his car. I left his body in the marshes where it was discovered. I then joined a team of law enforcement officers and scientists who inspected the cadaver and made inquiries about the Cougar’s activities. I believe I am above suspicion. What else do you want to know?”
The Suit Case Page 11