The Waterhole

by Warren Chazan

  The others were staring at her. No one had anything to say to counter her argument.

  “Furthermore, what if as the professor says, we’ve opened some sort of portal to another dimension or another universe? We have no way of knowing if that door once opened will stay open, despite shutting down the machine. If that’s not bad enough, it takes three days to power EMB back up before we can relaunch. Who knows how much chaos could have occurred by then if we are in fact wrong. Most importantly, we would’ve lost all access to EMB and any possibility of using it to put things right.”

  Steve was rubbing his temples. “You’re right, honey. I wish you weren’t, but you are.”

  “She may be right,” said Drew, “but what other choice do we have?”

  There was silent contemplation all around

  Finally Alastair said, “Maybe we need to try shutting it down. I mean, it’s not as if we have an alternative plan or anything. We can hope, my dear, that you’re wrong.”

  “I just don’t know,” said Sheri. “It doesn’t feel right to me. Ever since I became involved in EMB there’s always been something that worried me, something that was overlooked, that just never felt right. I wish I knew what it was.”

  “I say we take a vote on it,” said Drew.

  “And if we decide to shut it down, how do we get authorization to do that?” Sheri asked. “We need the shutdown codes.”

  “Oh don’t worry about that, lass,” Alastair said. “Perhaps you’ve forgotten what I do for a living? Some would say I’m a bit of a whiz at cracking codes, even authorizing shutdown ones!” His cheeks had reddened, and his words were starting to slur. He was onto his second glass of whiskey.

  “Let’s put it to a vote, then,” said Steve.

  “All those for shutting down EMB raise their hands,” said Alastair.

  Everyone, apart from Sheri did so.

  “All those against.”

  Sheri raised her hand.

  “It’s settled, then, three against one. A clean win for the shut-downers,” said Alastair, lifting his glass into the air before eagerly gulping down the last mouthful of his Scotch.

  “I think we’re making a mistake, but hey, I support democracy,” said Sheri, gathering up her papers. “Never wanted to be so wrong about something before.”

  “Okay, Prof, best start working on shutting it down. Damn shame though,” said Steve. “The biggest find mankind has ever made, and we have to flush it all down the toilet. It’s like winning the lottery and then having to give the money back!”

  “Well, my boy, as I said, perhaps the universe is not ready to give up all her secrets as yet. Perhaps we should be happy to know that at least we’re not alone, and perchance we will now find others out there in a more conventional way.”

  Steve shrugged his shoulders. “I guess so.”

  “One small problem, guys,” said Drew.

  The group turned toward him. He was looking terribly pale. “Yes?” asked Steve.

  “We’re only a link to the EMB, which is physically situated at NASA HQ, over six thousand miles away. If we try doing anything funny here, the blokes there will pick it up in one second flat. All the big wigs who designed this baby are across the big pond.”

  “Not all the big wigs,” said Sheri. “You seemed to have forgotten that the biggest wig of all is right here—me!”

  The others nodded in agreement.

  “Well, lads, let’s get to work,” said Alastair, wiping his thick moist lips with his sleeve. He paused then glanced up. “There’s another reason we better get this shut down soon.”

  “Why’s that, Prof?” asked Drew.

  “Because if we don’t, I’m guessing it won’t be long before the Russians do it for us, and if that happens, I doubt there’ll be much left of us or EMB!”

  CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

  September 19, 15:20 Australian EST

  (2 hours and 20 minutes past original EMB deadline)

  After a delay of nearly four hours trying to escape the chaotic traffic of Canberra due to a massive tide of refugees flooding the city from Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle, and other coastal towns and cities, the four-wheel drive finally made it back onto the open road.

  The journey to Stromlo was almost surreal. The white flakes, now heavier, had coated the arid landscape in a white glaze. Janine scanned the sky. It was glowing a deep purple color. Every now and then a veil of mauve would drift across the clouds in a brilliant burst of luminescence. The day was eerily quiet, the only thing audible was the sound of the wipers brushing the melting flakes back and forth across the windscreen. The white landscape captured the aurora and like a giant mirror reflected it back toward the sky.

  “Have you noticed the sky today, Jack?” asked Janine.

  “I have, it’s pretty unbelievable. The glow from the aurora seems to have increased. I don’t think it’s a good sign, or that we’re seeing snow here in late September.”

  “I thought it snowed in Canberra?”

  “A few days on the odd occasion during the height of winter, but never at this time of the year, and never, ever this heavily.” Jack opened the glove compartment and pulled out a packet of gum. He offered some to Janine, who declined the offer, then tossed a couple of pieces in his mouth and began chewing. “In lieu of smoking. I gave up about a year ago.”

  “I guess we’re really screwed, aren’t we?” She shut her eyes. A wave of exhaustion washed through her, and she ached for an afternoon nap, but knew that it was out of the question. “And I guess it doesn’t help that there’s a complete psychopath running the United States,” she added. “Perhaps when all this is over I should consider moving to Australia?”

  “Believe me, we also have our fair share of crazies here.”

  As they continued on their 35-minute journey, they came across a multitude of cars pulled up along the side of the road, most of them abandoned. Some had people inside them, some looked alive, others not. There was no time to stop and check. The usual civilized laws had to be placed on hold. Janine knew that the information she had with her had to be seen by Sheri Johnson, and seen quickly, if there was to be any chance at all for the survival of the planet and all that she cared about.

  “Do you think there’s any way we could contact Sheri?” asked Janine.

  “I doubt it. I bet all their incoming calls will be traced or tracked. Besides which, I doubt she’ll believe what you tell her. I know I wouldn’t without proof.”

  “What if I forwarded the video clip to her phone?”

  “It’s not worth the risk. If the general is as crazy as we think he is, he’d have full control over every piece of information that goes in and out of Stromlo and NASA. You’re just going to have to tell her in person.”

  Jack glanced in his rear-view mirror. “I think we’re being followed,” he said.

  Janine spun around. She saw an Audi, about five hundred feet behind them. The car was too far away to identify the driver. All she could be certain of was that there was a male at the wheel.

  “Do you recognize the person?” asked Jack.

  “Nope, too far away and he’s wearing a baseball cap and glasses.”

  “Well, seems we might have a bit more of a problem than we thought getting inside.”

  Janine sighed. “I guess so. Any ideas how to get around that?”

  “Not at the moment, but give me a few minutes and I might think of something.”

  Janine switched on the radio. The prime minister was addressing the nation.

  “Australians, wherever you may be in this darkest hour, I would like you to know that you are not alone in your sorrow. I understand that we have all lost ones dear to us in these fateful last few days. I, too, have lost people close to me, as have my entire cabinet. We are currently doing everything possible to save as many lives as we possibly can. A few hours ago, an enormous tide visited our eastern shores and brought with it massive destruction right down the entire eastern seaboard. Fortunately, we had some warning and we
were able to evacuate thousands away from the shores of our great cities, but I’m afraid to say that the ocean has left half of greater Sydney, Brisbane, Newcastle, Wollongong and Cairns uninhabitable. Our beautiful Sydney harbor is in ruins, and the entire CBD, and part of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge are submerged. The tide is expected to retreat back in a few hours’ time, and we will attempt to save whatever and whoever we can. I wish I had some good news for you all, but I have been advised by our scientists that the waters will return again in eight hours, and may possibly move even further inland with the next tide. There has, however, been a glimmer of hope. The city of Melbourne, due to its geographical location seems to have escaped major damage and is still functional. Please try to stay calm, and do not try to make your way there, as the city’s infrastructure will be unable to cope with the influx of so many people.

  “We have our entire military, police and SES out in full force helping as many of you as we possibly can. We have set up tent cities for refugees in the Blue Mountains and Southern Tablelands, as well as throughout inland areas of Queensland, and have also been in contact with other countries such as the United States trying to understand and rectify whatever we can so as to prevent any further deaths. I absolutely implore you not to go anywhere near the EMB facility at Mount Stromlo, as the army has orders to shoot anyone trying to enter the building. The scientists at the facility are having a hard enough time trying to put things right and they do not need any further assistance in aggravating the already dire problems we face. I have been in contact with the crew at Stromlo and if it is deemed appropriate to shut down EMB, it shall be done, but there are many things to consider, even the possibility that shutting down the machine could actually aggravate the situation.

  “I will update you as more information comes to hand. Please, try to be patient, try to help your neighbors, and be guided by the spirit of the Anzacs all those years ago. These are desperate times for humanity, but we are and always have been a resilient nation, and we must not lose what it is to be human. In the meantime I will be updating the nation every six hours.”

  Janine switched off the radio, and looked over at Jack. His face had turned gray, his eyes firmly fixed on the road in front of him. He said nothing.

  “I guess what we heard on that recording at EMB was accurate,” said Janine softly, her eyes welling up and a tear rolling down her face. She wiped it away and was angry with herself for losing control, but when she thought of all those people drowning, all those children, all that loss and devastation, she just couldn’t hold back.

  “Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay. Think positively, we’re going to get inside Stromlo and deliver this tape to the scientists who will understand its significance, and then they’ll do what’s necessary to put it right, and then you’re taking me out for dinner, remember? I already have a restaurant in mind.”

  Janine half managed a smile through her tears, which Jack wiped away. He put his broad hand on the back of her neck and squeezed it gently. “So tell me about that sister of yours.”

  “Kath? What can I say, she’s perfect!” Jack’s hand massaging the back of her neck was exactly what she needed right now.

  “No one’s perfect,” said Jack, raising an eyebrow.

  “Oh but she is. She’s everything I’m not. She’s kind, considerate, loving, intelligent, caring, and the greatest mother a kid could hope to have.”

  “You really are crazy about her.”

  “Jack, she’s everything to me.”

  “What about your parents? Are you … were you close to them?”

  “My dad died when I was three, but I do have the odd happy memory.” She felt a warmth flow through her as she thought about him. “I remember him putting me on a donkey at the zoo, and a tricycle he bought for me. There’s not much else inside here,” she said, pointing to her head, “but enough to know that he loved me.”

  “It sounds like he did. I’m sorry you didn’t get to know him better. What about your mom?”

  She sighed. “After my dad died, Mom went off the rails. Kath was just taking her first steps at the time, and before I knew it Mother dearest had remarried this guy called Tom. While she spent most of the cash Dad had left her on alcohol, Tom spent his days at the racecourse, gambling away the rest of it. Dinner consisted of a can of spaghetti and a piece of bread, apart from the occasional takeout that Tom would bring home after he sporadically won a few dollars on the ponies.”

  “Sounds like a beaut. What about Kath? Who took care of her? She was just a baby.”

  “Me. I was barely five at the time and just toilet trained myself, but I changed Kath’s diapers. I fed her and washed her and I pretended she was my living doll. Mom would on occasion sober up enough to go out and buy some supplies and groceries, and I’d make a list for her as to what she needed to get.”

  “That’s so sad. You never had a childhood. It was stolen from you.”

  Janine couldn’t believe how comforting it felt to finally talk to someone about this, someone who actually listened and really seemed to care. The words just kept pouring out.

  “I was a mother to Kath at the age of five, and as we got older, I continued in the role right into our teens. Then when we were teenagers, and started developing, Tom took a newfound interest in us.”

  Jack swallowed and his face hardened. “You don’t mean he-”

  “Oh no, I was much too clever for that. I knew what the scoundrel was up to. You see, Tom may have been a sexual deviant, but he was also a complete idiot. I never allowed myself ever to be caught alone with him, and I could tell how frustrated he would get.”

  “What about at night? Could he not have snuck into your bedroom?”

  “No, he was a coward. He tried buttering me up one night, but I told him in no uncertain terms that I knew what he was trying to do, and should he try anything, he’d better make the most of the experience, because I swore that one night while he slept, I would make certain that he’d never enjoy sex again. I had scissors in my hand at the time and snapped it shut in front of him.”

  “My god, you’re not serious? You must’ve come across like a lunatic. Would you really have done it?”

  “You bet I would have.”

  The deadly seriousness of her tone made Jack’s eyes widen.

  “Remember, Jack, I had no life at that point and not much to lose, and I think he realized that. Would I have really have done it?” She shrugged her shoulders. “Who knows? But as time marched on, he became less and less risk averse until one day he tried his luck. I always took the bus home from school, and one day he arrived to pick me up in his car. He told me he’d heard that my mother had been caught up in an accident and that she was in hospital in intensive care.”

  “Jesus, what did you do?”

  “He gestured for me to get into the car with him. I had to think quickly, so I took out my cell phone and I called her number, and low and behold she answered. I happened to have caught her on a sober day and she was out having her hair done. I remember telling Tom that perhaps she’d been in an accident with a hairdryer, then slammed the car door shut and marched gallantly onto the school bus. Tom hadn’t counted on two things. Firstly, I was no idiot, and I could tell from a mile away that the shit was lying, and secondly, I didn’t really care much about my mother, so I was in no hurry to speed off to the hospital with him. He really didn’t think it through, because if he’d told me that Mable, my Persian cat, had been run over, things may have turned out very differently. I adored that cat.”

  Jack gave a slight chuckle and shifted his weight in his seat, removing his hand from her neck. “You sure are full of surprises,” he managed, shaking his head.

  “Anyhow, I really was never worried about myself, but when I saw his attention starting to turn toward Kath, I knew I had to take a different course of action. Kath was innocent and naive, possibly because I never allowed her to grow up before she needed to.”

  She thought about it for a second and then chose
her words carefully. “I guess I sacrificed my childhood to allow her to keep a hold of hers.” She quickly added, “I never for even a minute questioned myself about that. She was my sister, and it was my duty to keep her safe. I couldn’t rely on my mother to do that, so the responsibility was mine and mine alone. Anyhow, by the time Tom was taking a keen interest in Kath, I had my license and could taxi Kath around to volleyball practice and cheerleading.”

  “But wasn’t Kath still at risk at night?”

  Janine gazed out of the window. The snow was getting heavier, and the sky had darkened a little. Everything was completely white.

  “I made her move into my bedroom around that time, too, just in case. There was never a need for her to be left alone with him, and it all seemed to be working out okay until one day I got sick, I mean really sick, the kind of sick where you can’t lift your head off the pillow. Kath was thirteen at the time, and she needed a ride to volleyball practice, but there was no way in hell that I could do it.”

  Jack placed a hand gently on Janine’s leg. It felt comforting, and she didn’t flinch.

  “Where was your mom?”

  “Mom was, as usual, hungover in bed and Tom was quick with an offer, having fortuitously had a client cancel on him. I begged Kath not to go with him, but being the sweet, naive girl that she was, she couldn’t for one second possibly entertain the idea that Tom had ulterior motives, and after a massive argument with me, she slammed the door and got into the car with him.”

  “Oh dear.”

  “Oh dear alright. I panicked, and I had to think fast.”

  “I think I’m going to enjoy this next bit,” said Jack, a large grin plastered on his face.

  It was the first time she had seen him smile, and was astonished how handsome the man actually was. She winked at him.

  “There was at that stage a boy called Ed that I knew at school. He was mad about me, although I’d been the proverbial ice maiden toward him. He’d been begging me for months to go out on a date, and I’d brushed him off with excuses. Funny thing was, I actually quite liked him, but there was no way that I could go out at night and leave Kath alone in the house with Tom. I recalled that this boy’s father was the chief of police, and so I called up Ed in a panic and asked him to do me a big favor.”