Humans and other Aliens: Book 1

by Winzer, Alexander

  Ivan grinned as Mov walked over to Jon. “I’m Professor Abramov. Welcome to RISA. Please forgive my childish colleague who seems to be caught in the illusion that he will be awarded eternal glory and enter the annals of the scientific history of mankind.”

  Ivan blushed, while Jon smiled at Mov, shaking his hand. “Thank you. I’m Jon Adams, lead scientist at ARC.”

  Jon sensed that Prof. Abramov was well aware of the work he and Eva were doing. He wasn’t surprised. He had suspected Eva of being in regular contact with Prof. Abramov. It would have been one of the prerequisites for the professor agreeing to her joining his team. He knew that Iris would have asked the exact same thing of him if the situation had been different.

  Mov looked at Ivan, who was still clutching his gun. The professor shook his head in amusement as he observed the two scientists. “I see you’re making good progress. This portal gun is quite impressive. When will we see the first success in countering alien attacks?”

  Jon felt that Mov knew the answer to his question already. Yes… He definitely had a way of keeping a steady flow of information rolling. “We’re forming response teams as we speak. We’ve collected qualified people from all over the world who’ll be working in pairs. This increases the strength they require to keep the aliens from attacking. We hope that another person, operating a portal gun, will be able to trap them in a portal and thus remove them from the planet.”

  Mov nodded. “So you’re transporting them out into space. Are you sure they won’t return? What will happen to them out there?” Mov pointed up into the sky.

  “Our calculations indicate that they should simply revert back into their wavelike state and thus dissolve into the universe itself. They won’t be able to appear as an individual anymore.”

  Mov raised an eyebrow. “I hope your plan works … sounds challenging to say the least. Well … good luck. I have to go, busy agenda.”

  Jon nodded as Mov slowly walked towards the door. “How is my Eva? I haven’t heard from her for a while. I hope she’s OK?”

  Jon carefully weighed up what to say next. My Eva… Why did he say my? How close were they? “Very well, thank you. I’ll tell her to contact you.”

  Mov nodded his head, smiled, and left Jon with Erik and Ivan who were in a heated discussion about the portal gun’s functionality. Erik seemed to be overwhelmed by Ivan’s flood of words, looking confused, occasionally nodding his head as if to fake a certain understanding.

  “Ivan, we should go back. I don’t want Eva worrying about us.”

  Ivan picked up his gun, showing Erik how he programmed the coordinates of the destination. He stood next to him allowing him to pull the trigger, which sent another grain of sand spinning in the transparent sphere, opening up a portal that now displayed the familiar surroundings of the lab they had left only a few minutes ago. This time Jon jumped through first. He felt a cold, tingling sensation, similar to jumping through a thin wall of icy water, then emerged on the other side where Eva ran towards him, hugging him. “I’m so glad you’re back. I was worried about you.”

  “And what about me? Didn’t you miss me at all?” Ivan grinned.

  “I missed you both.” She gave Jon a kiss on the cheek and did the same to Ivan who was visibly proud of himself.

  “Mov says hello. He seems to be missing you. He wants you to contact him.” Jon noticed Eva’s face changing color. There seemed to be a sense of urgency bubbling up in her chest. “OK… I will. I have to tell you something… later.”

  Jon thought that he already knew what she wanted to confess. “Don’t worry, it’s OK if you want to let Mov know about the progress we’re making here.”

  Eva’s eyes grew wide. “Thank you, Jon…” Eva mumbled silently into his ear.

  Jon smiled. “I love you too.”

  Forty

  Team

  Ivan had finished assembling the fourth portal gun and was working on the fifth. He looked up as Jon entered the lab. “Hey, Jon, I’ve received a whole bunch of these suits that you and Eva ordered. They do look very impressive… at least if you intend to look like some kind of superhero.”

  Ivan grinned at the dark blue skin suits that were made of highly flexible, woven Kevlar supported by carbon-fiber inserts protecting the more delicate parts of the body.

  Silvery lines traced up the legs and back as well as over the shoulders joining just below the collarbones where a triangle emblazoned the chest, surrounding a shape that resembled a shield. The lines would start glowing once a couple held hands, working as an indicator for the shields that a connection was established.

  “Wow… why don’t you put one on? I wouldn’t mind seeing you in one of these.” Eva smiled as she looked at Jon who held up a suit to his body, checking the design.

  “You wish…”

  “It’s close to one o’clock. They’ll be here in a few minutes. What’s your plan?”

  This was more of a rhetorical question. Of course Eva was well aware of the intensive program Jon had planned for the whole group, but Ivan looked perfectly unaware of the role he would be playing and Eva thought it was about time Jon informed him of his task for this afternoon before he started assembling another one of his toys.

  “Ivan, Peter, do you mind?”

  Ivan looked up as if someone had just woken him from a dream. “What…?”

  Jon smiled. “You know that we’ve been forming teams that will work together just like Chris and Suki already do. Now that we also have the portal guns I’d like to form four groups consisting of two couples each. You two will each lead a group, while Zoe and I will lead the other two. The leaders operate the portal guns while the two couples work as shields protecting us from alien attacks.”

  Ivan’s face went pale. “You… want us to have an active part in fighting the aliens? Like… for real?”

  “That’s exactly what I want. At least for now, before Zoe can recruit more people to operate the portal guns. We’re not in a position to ask for more staff, nor do we have the time to train them.”

  “How do you expect the shields to be able to force the alien into the portal? I can’t imagine they’ll jump in voluntarily…”

  Jon nodded. “I spoke with Delta earlier today. Chris and Suki told him that they’re pretty sure that the aliens will be attracted to the portal as long as it points to a location in deep space close to the sector they initially came from. The prospect of being unified with the whole, that’s how he called it, should be a temptation that they will find hard to resist. We might only have to push them lightly, basically help them over the initial threshold.”

  Ivan laughed. “You make it sound like we’re helping an old lady cross the street… I’m sure it won’t be that easy.”

  Jon sighed. “I guess that’s another risk we’ll have to take. There’s no way around it. We can’t simulate this situation. We’ll have to try it and see how it goes.”

  Ivan looked unsure. “I don’t like it, but I don’t have a better idea… so… let’s do it.”

  Peter nodded. He seemed to be easy with whatever Jon asked of him.

  “Eva, you’ll have to remain here and coordinate the different groups. We need someone that has a quick and clever mind, someone that is able to make snap decisions combined with the ability to take a risk when necessary. You’re the perfect choice for this role.”

  Eva sighed and sat down. “I knew you’d try to keep me away from danger. I’m not happy about it, but I see your point… at least for now.”

  Ivan went back to his desk and turned on his holographic display. It showed a representation of earth. A few red markers were visible, mostly in large urban centers, counters ticking up continuously.

  “What are you doing?”

  Jon wasn’t sure if this was the appropriate message to send to the new arrivals.

  “I just wanted to make it clear that this isn’t a game. That people are dying every few seconds while we’re still preparing for our first real mission. I think it’ll instil
l some kind of urgency.”

  Jon was impressed with Ivan’s sober judgment of the situation. “Leave it on.”

  “I think they’re all here.” Eva poked Jon in the side, taking his gaze away from Ivan’s holo screen, which reported the day’s death toll of 4899, now clicking to 4900 and counting.

  “We’ve formed four teams, each consisting of two couples and a portal gun operator. Today each team will receive a set of coordinates, establish the portal, and travel to the indicated destination. At the destination we have set up a training scenario where you’ll be protecting a group of people from an alien attacker. Of course, this is a simulation. The alien attacker will be a man in a red suit while everyone else will be wearing green.” Jon pointed to Ivan, Peter, and Zoe. “These guys as well as myself will be your portal gun operators.”

  Zoe smiled. Jon knew she was looking forward to it. She had met with Ivan a couple of hours before and learned how to operate the device. She was a natural and comfortable with any kind of gun, portal or not. “The idea is to shield the green people from the red attacker while establishing another portal that will lead to outer space. Of course, in the simulation it will only lead back to this lab, but once we battle a real alien…”

  Indrani raised her hand. “This sounds very dangerous. What happens if someone touches the portal?”

  Jon nodded and took over. “These missions will be dangerous, but what we know from Chris and Suki is that the shields will be safe. The aliens will not harm them. But don’t touch the portal once it has been opened unless you would like to experience how it feels to float in deep space without a spacesuit on… There’ll be no way back.”

  Jon paused for a brief moment before holding up one of the suits ARC manufactured. “We had these suits made up for each of us so we’re easily recognizable. We need people to know that we’re here to help and to keep out of our way, especially away from the portal gun… I know some of you might find this attire a bit unusual, but that’s what we’ve been assigned for now. If you could please choose the correct size, put them on and then come back, thank you.”

  Jon felt awkward wearing a suit that felt like a highly flexible neoprene wetsuit that a surfer would wear. He had to admit though that the material was amazing. It was featherlight but at the same time able to provide a level of protection that he wouldn’t have expected from such a thin membrane. It was nearly impossible to cut through and it would even protect the body from low-powered weapons like hand Tasers and similar devices.

  He observed the group of people who were looking at each other, laughing at their funny appearance. It felt good to see them relaxed and joking instead of afraid. “Ivan, you’ll be working with Jai, Amber, Sanjee, and Pari. Zoe, your team is Kal, Indrani, Edward, and Chloe. Peter, you’re with Ryan, Sia, Neil, and Myra. I’ll work with Chris, Suki, Anaya, and Ciaran. Eva will be our operator back at base. You can reach her anytime with the communications device that is built into the left shoulder of your suit. There are also two button cameras set into the front and back of the suits so Eva can observe what’s happening at your end.”

  Jon watched how the groups moved together and the portal gun operators started explaining the portal device emphasizing the time window of 1:30 minutes for each portal that was created. Jon turned his attention to his own team. Suki smiled at Chris who was visibly uncomfortable in his tight outfit while Anaya and Ciaran seemed to be at perfect peace with their changed appearance.

  “Chris and Suki will jump through the portal first, I’ll go after them, and you’ll bring up the rear. Once we’re there I’ll create another portal. The portal should attract the alien like a magnet. Your task will be to protect me as well as the other people in the room and when the alien is close enough to the portal, try to form a barrier behind it. Hopefully this will force it into the portal, taking it to a place where it can’t harm anyone. Any questions?”

  Ciaran looked at Anaya, who had just grabbed his hand as if to test if their connection was truly working. The contact made the silvery lines on their suits glow. “I think we’re ready. Let’s do this.”

  Jon watched as the other teams created their portals in the area of the lab assigned to them before entering the coordinates into his gun and establishing the portal. Chris and Suki walked through first, quickly followed by Jon and his rear guard.

  It was a huge room, dimly lit, lights flickering and people in green suits screaming as a man in a glowing red outfit moved through them dropping them to the floor in droves. Jon acted fast; he entered the coordinates of the lab they had just come from and created the portal while Chris and Suki, holding hands, tried to get between a group of green figures and the approaching attacker. Anaya grabbed Ciaran’s hand and followed Suki’s lead, branching off to the other side, moving in front of another dozen people, mirroring Suki and Chris. She tried to keep the newly generated portal between herself and Suki, creating a funnel-shaped space ending at the portal.

  Jon waited behind the portal. He felt like tiny bait on a fishing hook while a massive predator was about to snap at him.

  The man in red approached Anaya and Ciaran who slowly moved closer, again copying Chris and Suki, aiming to reduce the space between the fake alien and the shimmering portal. The attacker suddenly jumped at Anaya and knocked her over while Ciaran tried to push him away, taking care not to let go of her hand. Chris and Suki had moved in even closer, basically cutting him off from the people in green who huddled together in the far end of the room. The only open path was directly in front of him. The portal was his only option. Jon checked the counter. The portal would dissolve in less than ten seconds.

  “Get him into the portal before it’s too late. Now!” Anaya jumped up, nearly knocking the man in red into Suki and Chris who stood their ground and gave him a slight push. The man stumbled straight into the hole, just three seconds before it closed in on itself.

  “Arghh… that was pretty intense.” Anaya rubbed her ankle, which she had hurt when she fell over.

  “Are you OK?” Ciaran was about to bend down to inspect her ankle when Anaya waved her hand indicating that she was not really hurt.

  Cheers and applause erupted from the green crowd as Jon opened up another portal back to the lab. He signaled for his team to enter before him. They vanished into the portal leaving him in the room with most of the green people still alive. Let’s hope the real deal works out just like the simulation, thought Jon as he touched the portal.

  Zoe and her team were arriving through their portal when Jon entered the lab while Ivan and Peter were still missing in action.

  Zoe walked over to Jon. “How did it go?”

  Jon felt the portal collapsing behind him. “I think we did well. Our man in red here was pretty wild, but we sent him into deep space anyway. I guess we saved about seventy percent of the people in the room.”

  Eva quickly interjected, “Good guess, you managed to save sixty-eight percent while Zoe saved seventy-five percent.”

  Jon was impressed. “Wow, how did you do that?”

  Zoe smiled. “Let’s say it was female intuition combined with smart tactical maneuvering. You can watch our recorded live feed later.”

  Jon nodded. It would be very interesting to learn from each other’s moves and ideas. Another portal opened allowing Peter and his team back into the room.

  “You look worn out. How did you get on?”

  Peter was still panting hard. “We did OK considering that I should be dead by now… We nearly had the red guy locked into a position where the only way out was the portal, but then the portal collapsed and he… he killed me.”

  Ryan, a tall, dark-haired man nodded. “Yes … you’re dead. Lucky you told us how to operate the portal gun, otherwise we’d still be … I don’t even know where we went.”

  Jon smiled. “You were still in this very building, only a few floors lower where we have large rooms that we set up for the simulated battle. I know what you mean, Peter, we only just made it. Three seconds late
r and the portal would have been gone and I would have been dead too.”

  Peter looked shaken. “Seems like being the portal gun operator is not a particularly safe job.”

  Zoe interjected, “We also encountered the same problem. But then I thought I’d simply create another portal just half a meter behind the first one. If you do this before the first portal collapses then you’re perfectly safe.”

  Jon and Peter looked at Zoe with their mouths open.

  “Sometimes it really does require a woman to find a workable solution.”

  Zoe looked over her shoulder as another portal opened. Ivan and his team stepped through, looking thoroughly defeated.

  “You look even worse than Peter. What happened?”

  Ivan put down his gun and fell into the closest seat. “I’m dead. All green people are dead and the red guy is still there having a party.”

  Eva laughed out loud. “It seems your problem started when your portal collapsed. Peter had the same issue and Jon just made it by three seconds while the only female team leader had no such problem at all.”

  Ivan looked at Eva who was still wearing a cheeky smile. “All of you, come over here and have a look at how it’s done.”

  Eva opened the recording of Zoe’s live stream on her holographic display. “See how she opens a second portal just before the first one collapses? That’s how you stay safe as the portal gun operator. And now look at her team. Kal and Indrani are taking the lead, while Edward and Chloe are following close behind. They’re actively seeking out the attacker and when they’re close enough they all join hands, trapping him in their midst while Zoe opens up another portal as close as possible to them without touching them. Now they’re opening the circle at the point closest to the portal and voila… the man in red is gone.”

  Jon watched the whole process, wondering if this would also work in a real-life situation. “Looks impressive… I think we should all follow Zoe’s lead in how she opens up portals. I’m a bit concerned about four people joining hands and trapping the attacker in the middle. I’m not sure what will happen when we try this in a real-life situation. The alien might try to escape and who knows what it will do to the people trying to hold it back.”