The Light From Other Suns (The Others Book 1)

by V. E. Lemp

  “You can sit here.” Leena indicated one of the fan-backed wicker chairs. “Ian will be with you shortly.”

  “And how are you, Leena?” Karen asked, sitting down. “Or are we all business today?”

  Leena Rebani’s smile did nothing to warm her expression. “I’m perfectly fine, thank you. I see you’re looking well. I suppose we have Mr. Hallam to thank for that glow you’ve acquired recently?”

  “We’re not discussing Mark Hallam. And how would you know about any recent changes to my appearance? You haven’t seen me in over ten years.”

  Leena stared at Karen for a moment. “Haven’t I?” She turned on her heel and walked away.

  Karen sank into the cushions of the chair. She stared at the ocean, studying the waves—gray rolling into green, with a lace edge of foam that crashed upon the wheat-gold sand.

  “Karen Foster,” said a familiar voice. “We meet again. At last.”

  Karen turned to watch Ian Vance’s approach. He was still the tall, athletic figure she remembered, but his hair was now as gray as the driftwood that decorated his home. His face, bearing traces of a summer tan, was creased with wrinkles, and his lips had thinned to a sharp line. There was something of the hawk in that visage, sharp and predatory. The strange amber eyes, as bright as ever, regarded her with absolute detachment.

  “Hello, Dr. Vance.” Karen realized she was biting her lip and willed herself to stop.

  “Please, don’t get up.” Vance settled into a chair across from Karen. “We needn’t stand on ceremony. We’re old friends, aren’t we?”

  “No,” Karen said.

  Vance leaned back in his chair, the picture of relaxed elegance. “So we get right to it? I can tell by your expression you bear no love for me. What a pity. I’ve always had a soft spot for you, my dear.”

  “Really? Is that why you enticed me into the Morpheus Project and never told me what it was about? Lied and manipulated me and the rest of your test subjects to achieve your ends, regardless of consequences?” Karen leaned forward in her chair until she was sitting on the edge of the seat. “Allowed your associates, or whoever they are, to threaten and maim and kill anyone who got too close to uncovering your secrets?”

  “How very well informed you are. I suppose Mark Hallam has been providing you with his carefully collected information. He really is an industrious individual.”

  “Some information I’ve discovered on my own. With the right motivation, anyone can uncover such things.”

  “I daresay.” Vance smiled, and Karen felt the hair rise on her arms. “I do know about your little excursion to visit your fellow Morpheus Project subjects. Yes, I like to keep tabs on you. You know I always hoped you’d return to us.”

  “I’ve heard that from a few sources,” Karen said. “Isabelle, for one. An avatar for the Oneiroi, I believe. She seems quite involved with you. Must be a close friend.”

  “Friend? The Oneiroi are not my friends. We have a mutually beneficial arrangement, that’s all.”

  “They give you—what? Advanced technology? Which you use to enhance your own wealth.”

  “And that of my backers,” Vance said. “But they don’t hand over completed technology, Karen. Their devices wouldn’t work without alteration, not on this world. They give us some data, or advice, or simply point us in the right direction. Only bits and pieces—hints, you understand. Exocorp must still take the information and develop products that will work on Earth.”

  “How philanthropic of you.”

  “It does make us money, of course, but where would we be without scientific or technological advancements? Our understanding with the Oneiroi offers the world significant benefits.”

  Karen frowned. “I’ve heard what they get out of it. The right to use our world as their laboratory. An entire population of lab rats. Freedom to do whatever they wish while those in power look the other way.”

  Vance’s face betrayed no distress. “Yes, you’ve hit the nail on the head. We allow them a certain latitude, and in return they give us various types of assistance.”

  Karen stood. “And this latitude includes allowing them to abduct people and experiment on them? Not just adults, but also children.”

  “They have scientific interests beyond our understanding. At any rate, the Oneiroi don’t directly conduct those experiments.”

  “It’s their machines.” Karen crossed the room and stood before Ian Vance’s chair. “They’re the ones ultimately responsible. You think it’s acceptable to do anything as long as you don’t see it, as long as you don’t dirty your own hands?”

  “My dear Karen, what a crusader you’ve become. And all because a few individuals may have been harmed by certain research projects. A handful of people, really. Hardly enough to tip the balance, especially when you consider all the good we’ve derived, and may still glean, from our bargain with the Oneiroi.”

  “Numbers aren’t the determining factor between good and evil. Whether it’s one or one billion it’s still wrong.”

  “You’d think that, wouldn’t you? But numbers do make a difference. The money Exocorp generates, for example, is very important. Not simply to line a few pockets, but also to keep other companies and even nations afloat. If Exocorp were to fail, to be destroyed, millions of people would be harmed. Many more than have ever been touched by the Oneiroi, I promise you.”

  Karen stared at him for a moment and then shook her head. “Your arguments are all self-serving, Dr. Vance. I’m not deluded enough to take them at face value.” She paused to collect her thoughts before continuing. “Hope you know I intend to reveal the truth. I plan to expose you and Exocorp and our oh-so-helpful alien friends to the world.”

  “I’m sure you’d like to do so. But really, my dear, who do you think would believe you?” Vance’s predatory smile sent a chill down Karen’s spine. “A woman who once attempted suicide and spent time in a mental institution? What makes you think anyone would take what you say seriously?”

  “I’ll get the proof, and I have people who are eager to help. You may think there’s no one willing to oppose you, but you’re wrong.”

  Vance’s beneficent expression never wavered. “Karen, my dear, how I wish I could convince you to come back to us. You possess a great gift, you know. The Oneiroi can communicate through your dreams better than any of our other subjects. And your wonderful drawings are so valuable. The Oneiroi find your artistic talent quite compelling. They admire you greatly.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t value their opinion that highly.” Karen met his smile with a cold glare. “I’d never willingly work for you again, Dr. Vance. I won’t help you fulfill your devil’s bargain. Not when I know the truth.”

  “Willing or not, it’s your destiny, my dear. You can’t run away forever. One day you’ll realize it’s in your best interests to return to the project.” Vance’s eyes flashed with a ferocity that made Karen take two steps back. “All these people you care about, don’t you want to protect them? If you were working for Exocorp no one would dare to touch them. Otherwise …” He spread out his hands and shrugged.

  “And there it is.” Karen pressed her hand against the arm of an adjacent chair. “The threat. I knew you’d come to it sooner or later.”

  “I do hate to threaten anyone. I truly don’t wish your friends or family any harm. But, to be perfectly honest, I’m afraid I must do whatever I can to convince you. I’m not entirely a free agent. I too have those who demand things of me. They’ve made threats of their own. I need you to agree to return to us, eventually. I’ve little choice in the matter.”

  “Everyone has choices.” Karen eyed him, suspicious of the tinge of desperation she detected in his carefully controlled voice.

  “Perhaps, but you see, my dear, I promised the Oneiroi something once, something they deeply desire. I’ve yet to fulfill my side of the bargain, and while they are quite patient they won’t wait forever.”

  “That’s scarcely my problem.”

  “No,
but I doubt you’d wish me ill. It’s not in your nature.”

  “Isn’t it? I might make an exception for you, Dr. Vance.” Karen fixed him with an implacable stare. “You had Drew Bronski killed. Valerie Rice died because she couldn’t live with what was done to her. And you,” she said, her voice filled with icy rage, “murdered Alex Wythe.”

  “Ah, so that’s where this is coming from?” Vance rose to face Karen. “I should’ve known. I saw how much you loved him then. I didn’t realize how much you still cared. Your loyalty is quite ferocious, isn’t it, Karen? One of your more endearing traits.”

  “Don’t try to tell me you didn’t kill him, or at least have him killed.”

  “I did not,” Ian Vance said. “On this point, your information is quite inaccurate. I do not have Alex Wythe’s blood on my hands.”

  “I don’t believe you.” Karen stepped forward to stand toe to toe with him. “I saw you there before the explosion. You were hiding out with a dark-haired, dark-eyed man. One of the avatars. I tried to tell the authorities, but they wouldn’t believe me. But I know what I saw.”

  “Did you indeed?” Amusement lit up Vance’s amber eyes. “How interesting. No wonder you always questioned the official reports.”

  Karen’s hands tightened into fists. “There’s nothing humorous about this.”

  “No, but it’s ironic. Of all the things you could pin on me, you choose the sin I can disavow. I claim total innocence for Alex Wythe’s death. Well, perhaps not total innocence, but it’s certainly the one thing for which I will accept the least culpability.”

  “What are you talking about? If you had nothing to do with Alex’s death, then who did? I know it wasn’t an accident.”

  “You are correct. It was no accident,” Vance said. “Perhaps you had better sit down.”

  “Why should I?”

  “Because I’m going to tell you something very difficult for you to hear. A secret I shouldn’t expose. Still … it might change the way you perceive certain things. It might even give you a reason to return to the project.”

  “I can’t imagine anything would make me want to do that.”

  “Can’t you? Sit down, Karen,” Vance commanded.

  Cowed by his tone, Karen dropped into the chair. “Very well, but I’m prepared to question everything you say.”

  “Of course, my dear, but I think you’ll see the light once I’ve explained a few things to you.” Vance turned his back to her, staring out at the sea. “You’ve learned quite a lot in a short time, due to your own efforts and those of Mark Hallam, and, of course, the intervention of David Cole. I imagine Cole’s explanations were particularly helpful in understanding the truth of the Morpheus Project, among other things.”

  “He … only gave me limited information.” Lying to this man could surely be considered a virtue rather than a fault. “He told me he wasn’t allowed to say more.”

  “Oh, my dear”—Vance turned to face her—“you needn’t concern yourself with Mr. Cole’s welfare. Though your loyalty to him is charming, all things considered. But I can’t touch David Cole. He has powerful friends who’d never allow me to harm him.”

  “Good for him.”

  “Yes, well …” Vance examined Karen, his thin mouth twisted into an ironic smile. “Did he explain why the Oneiroi’s avatars look so much alike?”

  “They’re inclined to create similar creatures because it’s more efficient or something like that.”

  “Quite true. But what he did not say,” Vance said, his eyes shining brighter than Karen had ever seen them, “is that the Oneiroi are capable of doing whatever they wish, as far as creating avatars, that is. If they choose to keep things simple, it’s merely that—a choice. It also helps them identify one another, of course. But they possess technology to make another decision. They can create avatars that look completely different from say, Isabelle or her kind.”

  “And?” Karen raised her chin and met Vance’s gaze without flinching.

  “And so you’d not necessarily recognize another type of avatar if you saw one, would you?”

  “I suppose not, if what you’re saying is true. But I don’t understand what that has to do with anything.”

  Vance sighed. “I do hate to tell you this, believe me. And I’m breaking an agreement by doing so. But I think you’ve lived in ignorance long enough. Despite what you may think, I’m not totally heartless. I believe it’s time you knew the truth.”

  “I’d love to know the truth, if I can trust you to tell it.”

  “Oh, in this matter you may trust me implicitly.” Vance walked toward Karen’s chair until he was looming over her. She involuntarily shrank back into the cushions. “What if I were to tell you your friend David Cole was just such an avatar? A very special creation. One of a kind.”

  “I’d say you were lying.”

  “I am not. Think about it for a moment, my dear. Search your heart. Could it be possible?”

  Karen took a deep breath. “I suppose it’s possible. I’ve seen and heard enough strange things lately to believe anything’s possible.”

  “So, given that it’s possible,” Vance said, his eyes never leaving her face, “who do you think is controlling the being you call David Cole?”

  “One of the Oneiroi. Who else could?”

  “Who indeed? Though it’s strange, isn’t it, how much interest Mr. Cole has taken in you? So protective, so concerned for your welfare. He’s even contacted me several times to make sure I do nothing to harm you. This is not the type of behavior the Oneiroi normally exhibit, despite their fascination with individuals like you. No, it’s more personal than that, don’t you think?”

  “What are you saying, Dr. Vance?” A tremor radiated from Karen’s breastbone out to her fingers.

  Ian Vance stepped back and looked at Karen with an expression she was shocked to read as pity. “The person controlling the avatar called David Cole is not one of the Oneiroi, Karen. Not at all. It’s Alex. Dr. Alex Wythe.”

  Karen sat in stunned silence for a moment before leaping to her feet and charging him. “You’re a liar!” She stopped just in front of him, her entire body vibrating with fury. “How dare you say such a thing? Alex is dead. He died in an explosion. A horrible explosion that could’ve killed me as well. I’ve been living with the effects of his death for ten years! How could you be so heartless? How could you say such a thing?”

  “Because, my dear,” Ian Vance said, his expression unchanged, “it’s true. Alex, dedicated researcher that he was, volunteered to travel with the Oneiroi. It was his choice. He was under no coercion. He always wanted to discover new worlds, to have access to unimaginable knowledge, to make an expedition into the last true frontier. That was Alex, wasn’t it? I can see by your expression you acknowledge the truth of my words. Well, the Oneiroi were looking for just such a person. Someone with Alex’s brilliant mind, unflinching will, and unquenchable desire for knowledge. They wanted this special human for their own purposes. So they offered a place on one of their ships, adapted, of course, to support human life. And in exchange they’ve provided us with some quite spectacular bits of technology over the years.”

  “Impossible.” Karen clutched at the necklace Alex had given her so long ago. The sharp points bit into her palm, a pain she welcomed to dull the agony flooding her body.

  “Why?” Vance said calmly. “Because Alex Wythe would never have accepted such an offer? But he did, I assure you. Quite willingly. We had to create the explosion, of course, to explain his disappearance. He couldn’t just walk off into the blue. We didn’t want family and friends nosing about, asking too many questions. Of course, we never counted on your dogged loyalty, Karen, or Mark Hallam’s misplaced sense of justice. After all these years, it’s amazing how determined you two have been to uncover the truth.” Astonishingly, there was something like admiration in Vance’s eyes.

  “Alex wouldn’t have done that! Just left, without an explanation, without a goodbye. He wouldn’t have abandon
ed his family like that. Wouldn’t have walked away from his life. He would not,” Karen said, her voice dropping to a whisper, “have left me.”

  “But, sadly, my dear, he did.” Ian Vance turned away and moved toward the wall of windows. “You need time to think this through and realize what I’m saying is the truth. Search your heart and see what it tells you. When you consider all the pieces of the puzzle you’ll understand there can be no other explanation. I am sorry,” he said, facing her again, his tall, autocratic form silhouetted against sky and ocean, “but you’ve been living a lie for all these years. And you never knew, did you? Such a pity. You could’ve been working with us all this time, still in contact with Alex. But, as he’s told me, more than once, he doesn’t want that. He doesn’t want you to know he’s alive. He doesn’t want you to know where he is.”

  The room tilted slightly to the left, and the ceiling rushed toward her. Karen grabbed the back of one of the wicker chairs and pulled her body to a standing position.

  “I’m leaving now,” she said, aware her voice was sharp and thin as a sheet of tin.

  “Certainly not.” Ian Vance strolled toward her. “You’ve had a great shock. Stay here tonight. I’ve plenty of guest rooms, and Leena can look after you, get you some dinner, that sort of thing.”

  “No, no.” Karen backed away, Mark’s warning ringing in her ears. No one knew she was here, except for Myron Tarrow, who wouldn’t notice her absence for quite some time, and Isabelle, who wouldn’t care. She grabbed her purse from the floor and pushed one of the wicker chairs between her and Vance. “I’m leaving now.”

  “Karen, my dear,” Vance said, in his most soothing voice, “you’re in no condition to drive anywhere.”

  “Doesn’t matter, does not matter.” Karen continued to back away. “I won’t stay here with you. I’d rather die on the highway.”

  “That’s not reasonable.”

  Karen stared at him. “Reasonable? You dare talk to me about reasonable? With what you’ve done? With what you’ve allowed to be done?”

  “I’ve done only what I thought was right,” Ian Vance said. “From the day I first encountered the Oneiroi, I’ve done what I thought would bring the greatest value to the greatest number. I’ve done what would benefit our planet the most.”