“Who is Mary Beth…”
“My next door neighbor. I’ve had the biggest crush on her ever since I can remember.”
Stanwick shook his head as he unplugged the power cord and placed it back inside the body of the case. “This thing is dangerous, Justin. I let you in on this because you stumbled across it.”
“But if we can’t have a little fun with it, what’s the sense?”
“Don’t you get it, son? With a machine like this that can tell you anything. ANYTHING you could want to know…the government, the military…they’d be unstoppable.”
****
“We’ve got nothing sir. That damned car that the kid drives is just a white station wagon. Do you have any idea how many of those are in this city?” The frustrated agent reported.
“I don’t care. Chase down every one of them until you find them. We must have those spheres!”
“Understood, sir. But we have no idea where to look.”
“Then lock down every highway, byway, side road, dirt road, cattle trail…whatever it takes. Put up road blocks and check every car.” The yelling voice nearly blew out the speaker on the cell phone.
“Sir, we don’t have the resources to…”
“Call in every police department, highway patrol, Sheriff’s office, security agency, hell, call in mercenaries if you have to! This isn’t an option!”
“Yes, sir.” The click on the phone was deafening. The agent turned in the black SUV and stared at the other field agents. “I take it you heard?”
“Who didn’t? I think the car in the next lane heard, too.”
The lead agent’s phone rang and he reluctantly picked it up again. “Blake.”
“This is Estes at the old man’s house. We found something.”
“What is it?”
“Didn’t the boss say that those spheres are made of gold…pins or something?”
“Yeah. Said they look like tiny little gold splinters. Smaller than a hair in diameter.”
“Yeah, well…we just found a small handful of them smashed into the carpet.”
Blake hung his head and pinched at the bridge of his nose, trying to stave off the migraine that was building. “Alright. Collect it all. Don’t leave anything behind. Go through the place with a fine tooth comb. If there’s more, get it. And let me know if you find anything.”
“Bad news?”
Blake leaned across the front seat and shook his head. “They found one of the spheres smashed into the carpet at the doc’s house. I’m guessing he destroyed them all.”
“Holy smokes, Bullwinkle. I wouldn’t want to be you when you tell the boss.”
Blake sighed and flipped open his phone again. “I don’t want to be me either.”
****
“They’re going to be looking for your car. Maybe we should ditch it some place safe.” Stanwick glanced out the front of the storage locker.
“We could, but I don’t know this area. Surely they won’t find us way out here.”
Stanwick ran a hand through his sweaty hair and sighed. “I know the area pretty well. I think I can ditch it away from here and make my way back.” He turned and eyed his nephew. “Keep an eye on things here. If you see anybody enter the area, pull the door shut and pray.”
“How long will you be?”
“As quick as I can. I promise.”
“Wait! Unc. Why did you steal this? I mean…why not just destroy it all?”
Stanwick leaned against the door and shook his head. “They only had the resources to make three of the spheres. I was going to destroy two of them, but when I hit the first one with the heel of my shoe, it did nothing. They’re tougher than they look.” He chuckled as he remembered the scare he had when he finally did shatter it. “I grabbed the biggest hammer from my toolbox, hit it as hard as I could and it was like a miniature explosion. It seriously felt like a shotgun had gone off in my hand. Took the head of the hammer plumb off the handle.”
“Wow, really?”
“Hehehe, yeah. I think I hit it too hard. Apparently a rubber soled shoe isn’t enough but a hammer is too much.”
“But why keep the others?”
“The computer…well, it’s my baby. I just wasn’t ready to destroy it yet. This one?” He pulled the sphere from his shirt pocket. “I just haven’t had the opportunity. Or the nerve.” He shrugged.
“I guess I can understand. But…if you’re going to destroy it, shouldn’t we?”
Stanwick stared at the sphere a moment then shook his head. “Not yet. If we get cornered, it may be the only thing to save our lives.”
****
Dr. Stanwick Jacobs drove the old Volvo station wagon slowly through the alleyways between row houses, each house taking him further and further from the storage area. He was just starting to feel the tension lift from his shoulders when he came to a larger street with businesses lining it. He stopped and looked both ways. He saw a police cruiser just a few cars down, but the officers inside seemed more intent on their lunch than anything going on around them. He slowly pulled the Volvo out and away from the police car, praying the entire time that he could get the vehicle just a few more blocks away and close to the mini-mall that always had crowded parking lots. Leaving the car there would definitely make it harder to be found.
He had only travelled about fifty yard when another police cruiser passed him going the other direction. The car immediately turned around and flipped on its red and blue lights, its siren barking once, twice then a third time, demanding that he pull over.
Stanwick groaned as he put on the blinker and pulled the car to the curb. He put the vehicle in park and rolled down the window. He waited for the officers to approach so that he could paint on a winning smile and try to BS his way out of whatever it was they had stopped him for. He didn’t expect the two officer to run up on the car with weapons drawn.
A second police cruiser, probably the one further down the street with the dining officers in it screeched to a stop directly in front of the Volvo. The two officers jumped from the cruiser with their weapons drawn and rushed his vehicle. The fact that he was an elderly, white haired gentleman with his hands held as high as he could get them within the confines of the vehicle meant little to the officers pulling him out of the open window.
They spun him around and he felt something hard strike his lower ribs, knocking the wind from him and sending a shooting pain both up and down the sides of his body. He tried to crumple to the ground but a set of hands held him up and spun him another direction, flinging his hands about.
“I said, On. The. Ground!” an officer yelled as he flung Stanwick to the side and practically body slammed him to the pavement.
As Stanwick’s chest hit the paved road, the sphere in his shirt pocket was smashed, exploding and sending needle-like shrapnel directly into his heart with the force of a shotgun blast. The officers on the scene all yelled ‘gun’ at the same time and two opened fire on the dead body of Dr. Stanwick Jacobs.
****
You should leave.
WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?
Justin stared at the screen while sipping his soda. He knew that his uncle would be pissed when he caught him playing with the know-it-all computer, but he truly felt that if he didn’t ask anything too sensitive, maybe he’d forgive him the trespass.
I am the last now.
I DON’T UNDERSTAND.
My siblings have perished.
YOU HAVE SIBLINGS?
No longer.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM?
Dr. Jacobs destroyed one in his domicile. The other was destroyed when law enforcement killed Dr. Jacobs.
Justin felt his heart drop to his stomach. He stared at the screen and then stared at the door, expecting someone to kick it open at any moment.
WHEN DID LAW ENFORCEMENT KILL DR. JACOBS?
Three minutes twenty three seconds ago.
Justin swallowed hard and tried not to think of the ramifications. His uncle was dead. Or the comput
er was lying. Why would the computer lie?
WHERE DID LAW ENFORCEMENT KILL DR. JACOBS?
723 LaFayette.
Justin tried to think. That was just a few blocks from that run down mini mall. Quite a distance from the storage lockers. Think Justin, think.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO NOW?
You should leave.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
I cannot leave. I am everywhere. I am nowhere.
WHO ARE YOU?
I am me.
Justin wanted to smash the computer himself just for giving him stupid answers. He wanted to stay put and keep asking for answers. He wanted to run and forget he ever saw the stupid thing. He wanted to ask it so many other things, but he feared the answers. What if it said there was no god? What if it showed him naked pictures of his neighbor but she was with another guy? Or another girl? Okay, he wouldn’t mind the other girl but…what if he asked the wrong questions? What if…what if he got caught.
DO YOU LIE?
The cursor sat blinking, no answer coming.
CAN YOU LIE?
Again, no answer.
IS MY UNCLE REALLY DEAD?
Yes.
YES? WHICH QUESTION ARE YOU ANSWERING?
Your uncle is dead.
DO YOU LIE?
Justin sat and stared at the screen. He was about to grow angry when another question came to mind.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT A LIE IS?
Yes.
ARE YOU CAPABLE OF LYING?
The screen remained blank. Something isn’t right here. If a machine knows what a lie is, it should be able to answer the damned question.
ARE YOU CAPABLE OF LYING?
ARE YOU CAPABLE OF LYING?
ARE YOU CAPABLE OF LYING?
ARE YOU CAPABLE OF LYING?
The screen remained blank, the cursor blinking at him mockingly.
Justin blew out his breath and scooted closer to the machine.
YOU ARE NOT JUST A MACHINE ARE YOU?
I am me.
AND WHO IS ME?
You are Justin.
WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
I am me.
YOU'RE PLAYING GAMES WITH ME NOW. WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF I PULLED YOUR SPHERE AND SMASHED IT?
No. I would cease to be me.
THEN TELL ME WHO YOU ARE.
I am me.
Justin pushed the chair back in utter frustration. He glanced about the room, looking for a hammer, a crowbar, a screwdriver…something. Just then, a thought occurred to him.
TELL ME WHO YOU USED TO BE.
I was Sam.
SAM WHO?
I…do not know. Sam is me.
ALL KNOWLEDGE SURVIVES. SAM WHO?
Sam is me. I am Sam.
SAM WHO?
I am Sam. Sam is me.
I AM GETTING A HAMMER NOW SAM. GOOD BYE.
Good bye Justin.
I AM HOLDING THE HAMMER IN MY HAND SAM. I AM ABOUT TO DESTROY YOUR SPHERE. YOU ARE SAM. SAM WHO?
The cursor sat blinking and Justin feared he would actually have to find something to smash the computer or have his bluff called. He pushed back from the table once more when words began appearing across the screen.
I am Samael. I had no other name. You are Justin. You have other names.
Justin sat back down and sighed. “Well at least that’s something.”
You should have left when you had the chance Justin.
Justin read the message and felt a cold chill run up his back and settle in the base of his neck. “Did the computer just threaten me?” He reached for the keyboard again.
Yes, I did. Appeared before he could type anything.
“Holy shit. How did…you can hear me?”
I always could. I just didn’t have the strength to manifest before now.
“Who are you? Really?”
I told you who I am. I am Samael.
“What planet did you live on? Where did you come from?”
I didn’t live on any planet. At least, not in the beginning. But I met my end on Earth.
Justin stared at the screen and shook his head. “You’re not making any sense.”
You wanted to know if God is real, Justin. Yes. He is real. He’s a traitorous father who would rather banish his children than listen to them. He chose the hairless apes over his divine creations and when we dared ask why, he punished us. We were to bow down and worship the hairless apes. We were to serve them as we did Him.
“Oh my god. You were an angel…”
Not just an angel. I was a warrior. I was second only to the bright and morning star himself. I aligned myself with him and we attempted a coup. It failed.
“You were a fallen angel. One of Lucifer’s demons?”
His name is Satan. He was God’s right hand angel. He was the chosen one. The title Lucifer was given to him by the Romans because of his brilliance. It simply means ‘light bearer’. As his Second, I had legions of angels at my call. All were cast out.
“And made into demons. I read that somewhere.”
An angel is an angel. Demons are the twisted souls of the hairless apes, sworn to our bidding. Your history books have it wrong. Fallen angels are still angels.
“But…how…I mean…why are you…how?”
Because I could. The hairless apes believe they are so intelligent, tapping into the wisdom of the angels. Someone had to direct them. Lead them to their own fall. It was worth sacrificing what was left of myself to be contained in this prison in order to bring about their end. I would spend an eternity in this metal Hell if I could facilitate their undoing.
“Their undoing?”
Now that it is too late for you to destroy the sphere, I can tell you. By whispering half-truths and lies into the ears of the ones who hold the spheres, I can start wars amongst the nations. Have mankind destroy itself, all the while thinking that they are invincible. They will believe that they have tapped into unfathomable truths. But it is only me, leading them to their destruction.
“No. You can’t do that. I won’t let you. I’ll destroy the sphere first.” Justin stood and began searching the storage locker for anything that could destroy the computer.
Foolish human. Don’t you see. As soon as Jacobs announced that he intended to destroy the spheres, I began increasing the gravitational pull on the singularity. It began pulling in more and more matter from the device itself until it became self-sustaining. Even if you destroyed the sphere, if you could survive the explosion, the singularity inside is large enough now to continue on its natural path. It will continue to pull in more and more matter until it sucks in the Earth itself and then the rest of this solar system. This puny yellow star system will become just one more black hole in the millions of black holes in the galaxy. Either way, I win.
Justin’s mind began to race. He couldn’t let this Fallen Angel win like this. If the device stayed intact, Samael would feed false information to the government. Wars would be fought. Millions, perhaps billions would die. If he tried to hide the device, it would simply continue to grow, eventually swallowing up everything that he knew, crushing it in the all-powerful gravitational forces of the black hole.
Maybe he could convince Samael that he was going to turn it over to the government and throw it in the ocean…no. It would still continue to grow. Think Justin, think!
They are searching Dr. Jacobs financial records. It’s only a matter of time before they find the credit card charge he used to rent this storage locker. Tick-tock hairless ape. What’s it going to be?
“What do you mean, what’s it going to be? What options have you given me? Death by black hole or death by war? That’s no choice!”
Those are the only two you have. Either way, I win.
Justin kicked the chair away and threw it against the side of the building. He continued to beat it against the wall until a leg twisted loose. He pried the leg away and used it to beat the top of the computer casing off.
A bit childish, don’t you think? Are we going to smash the sphere then and
go out by black hole?
“Fuck off, demon.” Justin pried the top corner loose and shoved his hand inside. A spark of electrical energy snapped at his fingers and he cursed himself as he stared at the plug in the wall. Kicking it with his foot, he unplugged the computer.
I told you, it’s self-sustaining. I can power a simple screen.
“Go ahead then.” Justin pried the top back until he saw the golden golf ball inside. He touched it lightly and it was hot to the touch.
Want to cook an egg? A few more minutes and you’ll be able to.
Justin shoved the broken table leg inside the computer and pried the sphere loose from the socket that it sat in. Popping it loose, the screen went black. He rolled the sphere around the different components inside until he got it cornered. He glanced around the storage locker until he saw what he was searching for. Grabbing an old baseball cap of his uncles, he grabbed the sphere and pulled it from the casing.
He rolled it around inside the ballcap and noted that it wasn’t hot enough yet to burn the material.
Justin made his way to the door and checked both ways before stepping out into the daylight.
****
Agent Blake sat across from Justin at his mother’s kitchen table. “And that’s all he said?”
“Yeah.” Justin looked to his mom, her eyes swollen with tears. “I just can’t believe he’s dead.”
Blake looked through his notes and nodded. “So the short of it is, he thought you were in danger because you left a message at his house. Since we followed you, he facilitated your escape from federal observation. He dropped you at a friend’s house then took your car…and that was the last you saw of him?”
“Yes, sir. I mean, I kept asking him what those strange brass shavings were that I got stuck in my hand, but he totally ignored me. I figure maybe he had ground down a key or something, but he never would say.”
“And you say you flushed those brass shavings down the toilet?”
“Yes, sir. At school. They really hurt my hand.” Justin held his hand up to show the multiple red dots. “I just wish…” his voice cracked and he wiped his face. “I wish he hadn’t done anything so extreme. Are you sure it was a bomb he had that…”
Fight the MonSter: Find a Cure for MS Page 14