by John Ricks
“Five twelve.”
He got up with tears in his eyes, turned around, and walked to a console and started working.
“Four fifty-four. Four fifty-three. Four fifty-two.”
Susan walked up to him and said, “Freddy, don’t be angry. Before you make a black hole, we need to have a long talk.”
“Three fifty-eight.”
“Captain, if you want me to stop the black hole from forming, then I would suggest you let me be.”
Susan quickly backed away.
“Two eighteen.”
Freddy continued to press buttons and type into a console. He typed so fast that his hands were a blur. Then he disappeared.
“One forty-seven.”
Dr. Landers yelled, “Over there!” He pointed to the opposite side of the hole. Freddy was there, working at a console. What was worse, however, was that the pit was moving.
“Thirty-three, thirty-two, thirty-one, thirty.”
In the pit was a moving energy, and it was building up. A small explosion was seen in the center, and the movement became circular and picked up speed. After another explosion in the center, the speed was fast enough that Susan could feel the pull.
“Twenty, nineteen, eighteen.”
Susan yelled, “Get back! Get away from the edge, and hold onto something!” Stacy and Dr. Landers dashed to the console and grabbed hold. Susan beat them there. The pull was getting stronger.
“Four, three.”
A large explosion sent them to their knees. The pull stopped, and Susan looked up. The pit was gone—closed up—and the floor was clean. Freddy was stomping across the new floor, and he did not look happy.
“Captain James! If I could have sent the three of you out of here, I would have, but the energy fluctuations were too great for me to transport you without possibly leaving you in the astral plane forever. Helping me is one thing—and thank you very much—but why did you just ruin my project? It will take me months to set that all back up and fifty years for Earth to be aligned with the pools at the exact angle to the sun correctly again!” Turning to Stacy, he added, “And why did you slap me? For goodness’ sake! What did I do now?”
Stacy yelled at him, “You tried to build a black hole right under my feet! That’s what you did! How dare you! That’s the most dangerous thing I’ve ever heard of! How can you do such a thing to me? I should tell all the specials what you almost did to them! You could have killed us all!”
Stacy was in tears, and Freddy was in shock. Then he seemed to come out of it as he turned and looked away. “Shop!”
“Yes, Freddy.”
“What did you tell them?”
The shop repeated everything that was said since Freddy’s accident.
Freddy sat down in the middle of the new floor. He was in tears. “Shop, next time tell me if you’re worried, and we’ll talk about it. And if you still think I’m doing something dangerous, then ask Susan to talk to me. Don’t let it escalate to a point where people get mad at me.” He looked up with a sad expression and added; “Don’t tell Susan what I’m doing, just that she needs to have a talk with me. I trust her.”
“Confirmed.”
Susan sat down next to him and took him in her arms. “That’s it, Freddy. No more games. No more places where you can build all by yourself. You can have a private office in the new office building where you can invent, but no build areas without supervision.”
“But—”
“No, Freddy. I have to report this to the president, and she is not going to be happy. You stepped way over the line this time. I’ll need to let her know we stopped you and that we are taking measures to ensure it never happens again. You could have killed us all and destroyed the planet and the human race. Private playtime is over.”
“I’m sorry, Susan, but I can’t allow that.” Susan was shocked and starting to get a little angry, but before she could say anything, Freddy said, “No, don’t. Not now. We’re too emotional at this time. Let’s talk about it tomorrow when I’ve calmed down. Right now, I’m confused and too mad to talk about anything rationally. Shop, how much time went by outside?”
Dr. Landers said, “Freddy, it’s only been thirty minutes at most.”
“Four hours and twenty-eight minutes, Freddy.”
Freddy turned and looked at everyone. “The micro black hole would have worked, Dr. Landers. It would have supplied enough power to fulfill the world’s needs for ten thousand years. No more pollutants, no more hazardous waste, and no more worry of attack. However, it has side effects, like time distortion, and that’s what I was worried about. Not hurting people. Just displacing some of the workers that we would need down here in time a little. A few days at most. Now, I can’t do it again for fifty years. I forgot about that message. I should have canceled it. I felt so bad about what I was doing that I stopped and rethought the entire process. I assure you I would not have continued if I didn’t know what I was doing or if I might actually have harmed someone. Susan, you know me better!”
Dr. Landers said, “Sorry, Freddy, but next time talk to us. The entire world would have been against you on this one. They’re a people made up of fears, Freddy. A black hole, no matter how small, is a fear that would have caused panic and riots. Its political effects could have resulted in war. In the future, when we are comfortable with it, perhaps we can try it out on one of the other planets in a different solar system and beam the energy where we want it. Until then, I would have to say no black holes, my boy. Not here. Not where I live.”
“Well, it’s too late for here anyway, sir. I’m a little tired and a lot hungry. Can we eat now?”
Susan couldn’t help but hug him. “I’m sorry also,” she said. “However, this is not over, sweetheart. We will talk about it first thing in the morning—before you go into the shop or anywhere else. We’ll also talk about the trip. I want to know what you have planned.” She got up and pulled Freddy up with her.
“Susan, you know better. I’m not about to give away my surprise until I’m good and ready. We can talk about it all you want, but the chances are really slim.” He turned to the computer. “Shop, please engage backup power. Power up the transporter, and teleport us out of my retreat.”
“Compliance.”
Instantly, they were on the outside of the fake door. Shop whispered to Susan, “Thank you, Captain James.”
“You’re welcome, Shop. Please do exactly what Freddy stated and lock in that order to report to me so that no one, not even Freddy, can change it.”
“Completed.”
“Thank you.”
Blue looked at Green. “I thought that making a black hole to supply power was impossible. We asked the Reds to work on it, and they said it could not be done.”
Gray asked, “What about this white hole he said he has for his research ship? That sounds powerful. And where is that research ship?”
Green said, “I was on the team that worked on the math for the black hole. What we said was, ‘With our current knowledge we cannot create a black hole.’ We simply do not have the ability at this time.”
I snickered.
Big Yellows said to me, “Quiet, unless you want to supply us with the knowledge.”
I said, “Fat chance.”
Gray asked, “Can we recreate this white vortex?”
Green said, “I do not think so.”
Black said, “We will find this research ship of his. We will have this new technology.”
I said, “Do not worry. She and her six twins will find you. But they are old technology. You should be worried about my recent creations.”
Black said, “You can stop, child of Earth. We do not believe you.”
I smiled and nonchalantly said, “Okay.”
Yellows said, “Please, Green, continue.”
Chapter 20
Assassins
This has been a bad day, I thought. They ruined my project, and I can’t blame them. I should have been better at communicating. My fault.
Even though I’m tired, dinner and the cake cutting went very well. Several specials came up to me during the cake cutting and wanted to talk, and I actually enjoyed myself.
After singing “Happy Birthday” to all the appropriate people, a little girl named Samantha came up to me. She had her hands on her hips like she was really mad.
She said, “Freddy Anderson, you messed up my room. Putting all that adult stuff in there was not nice. If you want to play with your big sisters, you leave me out of it, or I’ll tell my mommy.”
She stomped on my toe and then stormed off, leaving me hopping on one foot and holding the other. Everyone was laughing at the sight except one woman. I stopped my jumping around and touched her open mind. She was upset that she had let that little girl attack me, and she was debating on taking the girl out. She considered the specials as “dangerous.”
I became as serious as possible. Susan saw and said, “Now, Freddy, you brought that on yourself. She had every right to confront you about the prank you played on her and Colleen.”
“I agree with that Susan, but I don’t agree with a person who is harmful to specials.”
Katie was there, eating her cake, and she looked up, asking, “Who, Freddy?”
“The lady over there in uniform. Looks like one of the marines. Very short dark hair, jaw like a brick, and tall. She towers over the people next to her. She was thinking about taking out Samantha, as she considers specials—including me—as dangerous. She considered what Samantha did as an attack on me. However”—I paused, thinking—“she believes that it makes no difference, as I’m about to die.”
Katie instantly went into action, and the team surrounded me. She made a small hand signal and pointed. The tall marine suddenly collapsed to the ground after being stunned by one of my disintegrating pistols. Six team members went to her—three navy SEALs and three marines. When they reached the woman, I heard Susan say in a very nasty tone, “Sorry, but you’re being replaced. Katie, take Freddy out of here. Margaret, have this one investigated before she’s removed. I want to know how she made it this far and what her plans were.”
“Freddy, duck!”
Because of the warning, I teleported myself into my bedroom, just as I heard a shot ring out. I quickly checked myself, and I was all right. The shot had missed. The problem was that the shooter was in my bedroom. He turned and fired. I instantly put up a psychic shield, and the bullets that were coming pinged off the bubble that surrounded me. I then quickly tried to mind-freeze the shooter. Instead, he disappeared.
“Home, where did he go? And is anyone harmed?”
“He is outside the shop door. He knocked out the guard. He’s trying to get inside. The bullet missed everyone.”
“Thanks.” I ran to my transporting portal. “Shop.”
“Freddy, I have an intruder.”
“Release a black dot.”
“Working. Completed.”
“Now open a door to my private shop.”
“Opened.”
I stepped into my secret shop and ran to my research suits. “Shop, block all use of psychic energies.”
“That will leave you helpless, and he has a gun, Freddy.”
“Understood, but I can’t catch him when he can teleport at will.”
“Completed.”
“Shop, where is he headed?”
“Toward the small ships.”
“Lock down all ships, and shield security A1. Anyone in that area?”
“I’ve already evacuated them.”
“Where’s the black dot?”
“He destroyed it before it got near him. He has a weapon that dissipates energy. Security in place and holding. He looks angry that he can’t use his abilities.”
“Great, just great. No sense releasing another black dot if he has the ability to destroy it.”
“I can take him out with the lasers.”
“And have nothing left of him to investigate? No thanks.” I quickly climbed into one of my new research suits and powered up. I turned on the shields and checked the visual indicators to ensure that everything was working. “Shop, where is he now?”
“He is at the main entrance to this area. He is trying to force open the fake door.”
“Perfect. Teleport me twenty feet past him and facing him.” The area disappeared, and I was suddenly standing in the shop proper. I was facing the intruder, and he was busy affixing some type of device to the fake door. I took a second to pick a weapon from the belt, and then I pointed it and fired. He collapsed. “Shop, scan the intruder, and ensure he is knocked out.”
“Scanning. All body functions show that he is fully unconscious.”
“Great.” I walked up to the intruder and touched him. “Shop, any change?”
“No. He’s still unconscious.”
“Allow psychic powers again.”
“Completed.”
The man shot me and disappeared. The bullet bounced off my shield but knocked me back two steps. (Note to self: I need to work on kinetic energy absorption for this suit.) I followed the intruder and teleported to the outside. When I reached the place where he’d exited from the shop, Patricia Henderson hit me hard enough to knock me to the ground, even with my shield on. She shattered the bones in her hand by doing it.
The intruder was lying on the ground. Patricia saw him emerge, and her training kicked in. She hit him hard, almost before he finished teleporting. I went to him and touched his head. I found the spot in his brain where special talents like his develop, and I damaged it. I had harmed a human. I was mad and sad at the same time. I turned to Patricia to fix her hand while talking to Shop.
“Shop, how did he get through your psychic shielding?”
“Using his energy disrupter.”
I was finishing repairing Patricia’s hand by the time the rest of the team reached us. I said, “Hi, Susan.”
“Freddy, what happened? Henderson, report!”
Patricia came to attention. “I took up watch at this point, as per plan C, Captain. When this”—she kicked the intruder—“man emerged, I took him out. Then Freddy emerged, and I hit him before I could stop myself. I think I shattered my hand on Freddy. He’s fixed it.”
I asked, “How are the guards, Susan?”
“Both will be fine, Freddy. They were knocked out, but two of the medical specials are working on them. Please explain what you did, and why are you crying, sweetheart?”
“I’m crying because I’m extremely upset.” I reported to her exactly what had happened and told her that the device was still attached to my fake door. “Susan, I need to remove it before someone gets hurt.”
She took hold of me and gave me a hug. “That was very brave, Freddy. We’ll have one of the others remove it with a shield box. I want to speak with you.”
“Very well, Captain.” I picked up the energy disrupter from the ground and then started taking off my suit. “I need a volunteer to remove that bomb. They can use my shielded environmental suit to do so, and they won’t get harmed.”
Susan ordered, “Chief Darnel, take care of that bomb or whatever it is, and give me a full report. Use the suit, and if we don’t need the bomb then destroy it.”
I showed Summer Darnel how to use my new suit, and she took off to remove the bomb.
“Shop and Home!”
“Yes, Freddy.”
“Yes, Freddy.”
“Please scan this weapon.”
“Working. Completed.”
“Completed.”
“Please scan all areas within a fifteen-mile radius of home. Include all areas in home and the shop. I want an immediate report if any other weapons even remotely like this are found. Sca
n not just type but also power system, possible different styles, and material makeup. Start at home and work your way out.”
“Compliance.”
“Compliance. Freddy, there is another weapon in the room that Marine Sergeant Taylor Reynolds stayed in.”
Susan made a quick movement, and two of the team peeled off, heading toward the small housing units.
“Susan, please stop those two!” I called out, and she did. “The room needs to be guarded, and no one is to enter until a special walks through and tells us who has visited that room.” Susan sent them back out.
Home reported, “Both Shop and I have completed all scans and found no other devices.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Freddy. Shop suggests that she be given permission to fry the next one who illegally enters her areas.”
“That’s up to the captain.”
Susan said, “Permission granted.”
Shop said, “Thank you, Captain James.”
I looked up at Susan and said, “Captain, I want to know who he is working for or what country he is from, so please bring him with us.”
“He’s dangerous, Freddy. I don’t think he should be around you.”
“Captain, I just told you that I destroyed the part of his brain that allowed him to use his special abilities. He’s not a special anymore.” I started to walk toward the main house, but I could sense the fear from some of the other specials. They weren’t afraid of the intruder. They were afraid of my removing their abilities. “Just a second, Susan.”
With tears running down my cheeks, I turned to several specials and said, “Though it hurts me to have done what I did, I did not harm this man. Not really. I simply took away his special abilities. Please let all the specials know that what I did to this special is the same thing I would do to any felon who uses his special abilities to attempt to kill. We, as specials, cannot allow and will not tolerate specials who are criminal. The fear that this would cause throughout the world would have everyone with a gun shooting at us. It would have children being stoned to death or destroyed. Have the precogs look at what could happen. We, as specials, must maintain an extremely high moral standard. That includes not killing people for the purpose of crime. I am going to ask the president to allow us to punish anyone who gets caught and sentenced. With our telepathy, we won’t make mistakes. If someone is guilty of using special abilities to commit a violent crime, then that person doesn’t deserve to have those abilities any longer. Self-protection is one thing and expected, but criminals in our ranks will get us all killed and cannot be tolerated. There is no excuse. A bad childhood, forced into it, doing it for country, politics, or making money are not excuses. I cannot order the specials around, and I won’t, but I suggest that you put it out to the entire world. We will police our own, and we will not be gentle!”