The Cocoon Trilogy

by David Saperstein

  Wally stepped forward and gestured to Arnie that it was time to leave.

  “Can’t we discuss this?” asked Arnie.

  “The boss says leave,” Wally told him. “There is nothing to discuss. Why don’t you have the young lady call her boyfriend on the radio? I’m sure she is mistaken about our dock. Let’s go.”

  Wally watched the car clear the gate and walked back to meet Shields. “They’re gone. Funny, she didn’t argue with you. She was on the dock today, you know.”

  “Yeah, well, she didn’t see any boats down there, so she’s not sure. What she didn’t know was that there is no way I could call the police. The boss would have a fit.”

  As they spoke a slightly dazed Frank Hankinson came up the path from the dock toward them. They stepped back along the shrubs, but he was distracted and never noticed them.

  “That guy looks like he saw a ghost,” commented Wally.

  Shields watched Frank for a moment. “Maybe he did.” Then he turned toward the dock and listened. The faint hum of diesel engines grew louder. The Manta III was docking.

  After they drove out of the Antares complex, Judy, who had been silent up to now, spoke. “Arnie? Can you get your boss’ boat tonight?”

  “Not tonight, but you can bet I’ll have it tomorrow after work!”

  They drove for a few more minutes before Sandy spoke. “Please let’s be careful. I don’t want to get Jack in trouble, and that place gives me the creeps.”

  Mary ordered a second round of martinis with her escargots. The ladies were quiet and Bess’ depression hung like a cloud over the table. Now is the time, thought Mary. “Ben told me that the boys are thinking of buying a fishing boat,” she said quietly.

  “A what?” Rose Lewis asked.

  “A fishing boat. That’s where they are tonight. Out on a fishing boat to try it out.”

  Alma was smiling. “Joe would get seasick in a bathtub. What would they want with a fishing boat?”

  “To have parties with… you know, like that girl they were with in the parking lot today,” Rose exclaimed.

  “What girl?” Bess asked, suddenly interested.

  “Oh,” Alma said, “it was before you came back from seeing your sister. The boys were talking to a young girl in the parking lot. We saw them from my balcony.”

  “Talking, my ass!” Mary said. “They were behind Building B with her and they took her phone number.”

  “My Arthur did that?”

  “Your Arthur was the one who wrote down the number.”

  Bess was angry. “So the sex maniacs have decided to go outside for their action.”

  “Let’s not jump to conclusions girls,” Mary suggested.

  The martinis arrived, and the ladies paused for a moment to take a much needed sip.

  “It may be innocent,” Alma told them. “Perhaps the girl has something to do with buying the boat.” Alma was proud of her logic, but as she looked around the table she saw that her story had convinced no one.

  “Maybe,” Mary then agreed. “I didn’t think of that. I suppose it’s possible. All I can say is that Ben has some explaining to do. I don’t like surprises!”

  “I’ll second that,” Rose announced.

  The other two reluctantly agreed, and the rest of dinner was spent discussing how to help Bess get her sister to another nursing home.

  Jack docked the Manta III smoothly. Ben tied the fore and aft ropes to the dock cleats. The five men headed toward the back door of Building B. Wally and Shields crouched behind the shrubs and watched. Ben sent the message to the others. That creep Shields and his henchman are hiding in the bushes. What should we do?

  I’m going to stop and tie my shoelace. You think ahead to Bright and tell him they are out here but I’ll see to it that it’s not for long. As Joe Finley telepathed to Amos Bright, Ben Green knelt on the path and faked tying his shoelace. When the others had entered the building, he turned toward the bushes and sent a mental jolt into Wally’s stomach. The handyman fell over in pain. Shields was stunned as he watched Wally roll over in pain. Then Ben sent him a kick in the ass. Shields jumped up yelling and flailing his hands at thin air, trying to hit whoever kicked him. Then Ban gave them both a pounding headache. Both men turned and ran toward the parking lot, got into Wally’s car, and took off.

  Ben Green chuckled to himself and headed toward Jack’s room.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX - THE NEGOTIATION

  It was the beginning of a night they would remember always. Amos, All Light, No Light, and Beam were in the room when Art, Bernie, Joe and Jack arrived. Copper man two stood outside the door. Ben followed a few moments later.

  They greeted each other out loud and kept their thoughts blocked inside. Joe felt a sad presence.

  “I sense some of your soldiers have died. Is that true?”

  “Nine more a short while ago,” All Light answered. “We have said the words for them.”

  “Serve the Master as you did your own.” Joe said.

  “You have taken your reward,” Art continued.

  “Guide us if you can as you move among the stars,” Bernie added.

  “We love you.” Ben finished the words.

  “Thank you,” answered all the Antareans.

  Ben spoke directly to Amos. “We have come to some decisions, but no final conclusion until we have more information. And, of course, speak to our wives.”

  “Understood. How shall we proceed?”

  “Let’s talk about this army business first. Exactly what kind of army would we be?”

  Amos and the commanders once again, but in more detail, explained about the Antarean base on Earth and why they came to evacuate it, leaving the army buried in their cocoons. The damage to the cocoons was not foreseen. This army was one of many operating throughout the Milky Way galaxy. It was one of the reasons why the Antareans have survived so long and why they were universal travelers. This particular army was formed and trained for diplomatic service. That was why they were on Earth to begin with.

  The Antarean base here was a diplomatic center as well as a trading center for their Galaxy. The role of the army was that of service, translation, education and supplying comfort to the almost endless variety of visitors who came to the base in this quadrant. They were not a fighting army. Their purpose was not war. Antareans and all of the advanced galactic beings put war far behind them millennia ago.

  When Amos finished his description of the army, Ben spoke. “We know that your equipment can do things to our bodies so that we are able to travel in space. But from what you describe, this army has very special skills and knowledge that we don’t possess. How do we learn?”

  “It will require programming and training. We have the methods to accomplish that task. Beam has assured us that your brain and nervous system is quite capable of assimilating the knowledge.”

  “And exactly how many soldiers do you need again?” Joe asked.

  “Nine hundred forty-one,” No Light answered.

  “Who will command?” Bernie asked.

  “We will make nine commanders,” All Light said.

  “How does that work. I mean what’s involved?” Art then asked.

  Beam understood his concerns. “It will require special training and some, well, changes to part of your nervous system. But only to those chosen for command who, of course agree to assume that rank.”

  “Surgery?” Art asked.

  “Special implants and one small device that activates a portion of your brain,” she answered.

  “Brain surgery?” Bernie was also concerned.

  “Yes. You might call it that. In what you call the medulla. Your brain’s center. It must be enlarged and attached directly to certain nerves. It’s quite safe. I assure you. I’ve already prepared the programs should you choose to…”

  “Safe? Screwing around with the brain is never safe!” Ben was adamant.

  “But,” Amos said, “you men have been screwing around, as you put it, with your brains for the p
ast week yourselves. The procedure Beam speaks of is as safe as what you have been doing accidentally.”

  Mary Green heard the phone ringing as she entered the condo. She answered the call in the kitchen. “Hello?”

  “Hi Mary. It’s Frank Hankinson. Is Ben there?”

  “No Frank. He’s out with the boys for a while. Can I help you?”

  “No. It’s okay. Can you ask him to phone me when he comes in?”

  “Sure. But he may be late.”

  “Tell him no matter when he comes in. I’ll be up and waiting. It’s important.”

  “Is everything all right, Frank?”

  “Yeah. No problem. It’s business. I have some information for him.”

  “Okay. Bye. Oh, Frank. Is this about the boat?”

  How did she know what happened to him on the boat? “The boat?” he asked sheepishly. “What boat is that?”

  “Oh, nothing really. I thought it was something else,’ she said quickly. “So, I’ll have Ben call you. Bye again.” She hung up.

  Mary felt better. Frank sounded evasive so she was sure he was involved in buying the boat. He almost let the cat out of the bag. She guessed it was supposed to be a surprise of some sort. She called the other wives and told them. They all felt better.

  The discussion continued for over an hour in Jack’s room. Ben was in his glory. This was an actual negotiation, but he wasn’t pitching a new advertising account. It was their life and future that was being discussed. They were coming to final terms, all of which would depend on their wives. And of course there was the eight-hundred pound gorilla in the room - if a deal was struck they would have to find nine hundred thirty-three more seniors willing to leave Earth, possibly forever.

  Ben summarized the discussion. “So this is where we are. We will most certainly help you with the immediate problem of your protective skins. We will work with you to get the remaining cocoons reprocessed and put back securely under the stones. We will absolutely keep all of this secret and help in any other way we can. As far as becoming your army, if it were up to the four of us you would have no problem. But this is about the most far-out thing that has ever happened on Earth, so I am sure you will understand our need to proceed with some caution - for ourselves and for your sake too. Step one will be our wives. I think that our plan for tonight is good...perhaps a bit unfair to the ladies, but certainly dramatic. If they are convinced, then we will be able to turn to raising the rest of the army. We have some ideas to explore in terms of how to do that efficiently and keep it under wraps for as long as possible. The last thing we need is the authorities or media getting wind of it. Let’s all think positively. Any questions?”

  Bernie, Joe and Art had none. Neither did the Antareans.

  “Then we will see you in an hour in the, uh, our health club.”

  The four men headed home, and the Antarean party went to the processing room to prepare for visitors. As he walked down the hallway, Amos took a moment to discuss how they would handle Shields and Wally Parker tomorrow. The old men’s positive attitude had invigorated the Antareans. Beam couldn’t wait to play her role in the plan.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN – MAGIC TRICKS

  The four couples met at the deserted pool. It was after 9:00PM. Each man had returned home to an argument. Each had played innocent. They did not argue, but rather quietly took a verbal trouncing from their wives. The only one who ran into unexpected problems was Art Perlman. Bess broke down and told him about Betty. He immediately offered to pay for private nursing. This time she didn’t refuse, but didn’t accept, either. At least she knew that if she and her friends solve the problem, then Art’s money could. It relieved her burden.

  Ben Green called Frank Hankinson as soon as Mary told him about the urgency of Frank’s call. Frank didn’t want to talk over the phone but Ben said it was too late to meet that night. They would meet by the pool at nine the next morning. Frank kept asking if everything was okay. Ben assured the snowbird that things were fine. After the conversation he telepathed the strange call to the other men.

  As the four couples sat in the dark around their husbands’ card table, the four women waited for their husbands to announce their purchase of the fishing boat. Their expectations could not have been further from the truth.

  “Tonight is going to be a very special,” Joe Finley began. The men had chosen him to speak first. “We ask that you lovely ladies allow us to present, to tell you, actually to show you something absolutely wonderful that we have discovered.” The women looked at each other and smiled knowingly. “Please hold your questions.” Joe then raised his hand dramatically and, with a flourish, continued. “First, I would like you all to reach over and touch Art’s bald head.”

  Each woman slid her hand across his scalp.

  “You got a transplant?” Bess asked.

  “It feels fuzzy. Like a baby.” Mary.

  “Next, Mr. Green will perform his famous aqua-show.”

  With a flourish, Ben stood, kicked off his loafers and took off his pants and shirt, revealing a bathing suit underneath. In one swift movement he ran to the head of the pool. Joe invited the women to poolside. Ben dove into the water and swam four laps underwater in just thirty seconds. He leaped out at the spot where he began. Bernie threw him a towel. Joe asked the ladies to sit down again. Mary shouted to Ben to see if he was okay. He wasn’t even out of breath.

  “How in God’s name did you do that, Ben?” she asked.

  Joe interrupted her. “No questions yet. Please. Now, for our third trick, oh, event Mr. Bernard Lewis will take center stage.”

  Bernie stood and took a sharp penknife from his pocket. He placed his hand on the table and slit his palm in one quick motion.

  Rose screamed.

  Alma jumped up. “This isn’t funny. Are you crazy? Have you all gone mad?”

  Calmly, Joe Finley answered, “Ladies, we asked that you hold your questions. Please watch Mr. Lewis. This is his favorite trick.”

  The women looked back at the table and watched Bernie wipe away the blood. There was no cut. It had healed.

  “They went to a magic store,” a relieved Rose Lewis deduced. “Just little boys with some new tricks trying to give us heart failure so they will be free to play with their young cuties.”

  Joe sat them down again. He put his arm around Alma. “My dearest, alas I have no tricks to show you myself.” He was the talented actor again and had the audience in his grasp immediately. He flashed a thought to the others: Am I overdoing this?

  Do what you feel, they flashed back.

  “No tricks, because as you know I am not a well man.” Alma was shocked. The other women were embarrassed. He held Alma tighter, as if to say, “Bear with me.”

  “But I do have of trick of sorts. You see, a few days ago, Art was bald, Ben got headaches underwater, and if Bernie had cut his hand like he did, we would all be in the emergency room getting ready to donate blood. Except they wouldn’t take my blood because it was full of white cells. My leukemia.”

  “Oh, Joe,” Alma whispered. He put his finger to her lips.

  “I said a few days ago all that would have happened. My trick is to tell you all that it is gone. My disease is completely and irrevocably gone. Vanished...finito...kaput. I am well again and always will be.”

  Alma threw her arms around him and hugged him. The other women wiped tears from their eyes.

  “When?” Alma asked.

  “Why?” Mary asked.

  “How?” Bess asked.

  “What is going on?” Rose asked.

  “That, dear ladies, is what we’ve been trying to discover for the past several days,” Ben said. “Now, without any questions, we would like to show you the answer.”

  He stood, as did the other men. Each took their wife by the hand and the group moved toward Building B.

  “Are we going to the dock?” Mary asked.

  “No, not the dock,” Ben said so that everyone heard. “We are going to the damnedest health clu
b you ever saw.”

  “Run by some pretty far-out attendants!” Joe added.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT – WE ARE ANTAREANS

  Arnie and Sandy Fischer sat at their kitchen table sipping coffee, speculating about Jack’s mysterious behavior. Sandy was sure there was a logical explanation. Arnie, knowing his brother could be flaky at times, wasn’t convinced.

  Judy, alone in her apartment and feeling deserted, smoked a joint and called Monica. She spent over an hour complaining about Jack. Monica listened patiently and tried to soothe her friend’s anger.

  Shields and Wally Parker sat at the bar of a small local chop house and waited for Tony Stranger, the worst salesman in Miami, to join them. They ordered their third drink but still hadn’t decided how to deal with the weird events at the Antares Condos. They were hoping that Tony, devious man in his own right, might have some ideas.

  Frank Hankinson was more confused than ever. He watched the four couples at the pool area from his balcony. Although it was dimly lit, he saw the women touch Art’s head and go to the pool to watch Ben swim. The screams filtered up when Bernie cut his hand, but Frank didn’t see it. Then there was some hugging and kissing and the four couples walked toward Building B. He felt left out of what appeared to be a private party.

  “It’s cold in here,” Bess commented as they walked down the hall toward the room they were told was a health club. No one answered her.

  The orange door was slightly ajar when the group reached it. Ben halted them for a moment. “What we are about to show you is, to say the least, different. So please keep an open mind, and trust us. That’s important because we’re going to ask you to, well, sort of do some things. I promise nothing will hurt you and the results will be terrific.”

  The women looked at each other warily.

  “Lead on,” Alma said. “Enough talk. Show us this great mystery.”

  The wall was blue. The center table was bathed in soft green light. On the left, all of the cabinets were misting and opened and inviting. In the rear of the room four of the cots were turned on and bathed in green light.