LOST AND FORGOTTEN: BOOK THREE - ENIGMA

by Maurice Barkley

  “If there is any link,” Joe said, “I am unaware of it. I did get a sense of something akin to fear—fear of the unknown. We should heed his reaction. It is a puzzle.”

  M1 decided that we could do no more at the monument. He called in a report toColónel Brockway and then the gloomy Band began the trek back to the station to report in more detail. Shan was silent, but I saw her pretty eyes filled with tears. Bebe saw them too and said, loud enough for Shan to hear. “James, all of you knew Carl longer than I did. I am sure your shock and sadness is much deeper than mine. I ask you to keep in mind that Carl has simply gone. We did not see him die, therefore one of our new goals is to discover what happened and perhaps recover our friend.”

  Harry muttered in my ear. “Damn, James—see why I love women?”

  CHAPTER 4

  Twilight was descending on Enigma. Our gloomy mood led us to debate whether or not to watch the snewels. Shan was in such bad shape that we decided to take her to the rooftop for a distraction, if nothing else. The truth was that we all needed something to take our minds off of our disaster. We were in no shape to make plans.

  The bar was open. Harry served drinks and I served cigars. Shan sat between Bebe and me—hunched up, hugging her legs “I have told Carl all about the snewels and the snirls. He was looking much forward to this evening. I wanted to see his face in the lovely light. I wanted to...”

  Her voice broke and she leaned into Bebe for comfort. I leaned over and brushed her hair from her eyes. “It will be all right” I whispered. We’ll find him. One thing we have learned so far is that these portals, or whatever they are, never lead to a dead end. Carl has simply been transported somewhere else, probably somewhere fantastic, or some other planet. Now we just have to figure out how to find him, before he figures out how to get back to us.”

  I felt a hand squeeze my shoulder. I’m sure it was Alice. Shan quieted down and the music put her to sleep in Bebe’s arms. The lady from Colón was highly impressed by the show, but said nothing so as not to disturb the sleeper.

  When the last snewel winked out, Lieutenant Roy and his men came around with sandwiches and coffee.

  Up until then, both Blue and Jesus showed little interest in the proceedings, but as soon as we began to dig out the food they made their presence known. Shan, awake now, called her dog-like creature to her side to advise him to stay away from the soft touch, namely me.

  As I was munching my sandwich, Lonesome Joe told me to look at the sky. I complied and it was an attractive, if unfamiliar sight. The stars were very thick, but I saw no galactic lens similar to the Milky Way.

  “Did you see something up there?” Bebe asked.

  “No,” I replied, “Joe just asked me to look at the sky. He didn’t say why.”

  “You are think talking again, are you not? He can read your mind?”

  “Not exactly, I have to think words to him.”

  “He uses your senses?”

  “Sometimes. It’s not necessary, but now and then it’s more convenient for him to do so.”

  “Ahh… Can you turn him off at will?”

  By this time I was noticing some amusement from my pals. It lifted the gloom just a little.

  “I can turn him off. I can also remove him entirely if I wish. Just remember he is not a person hiding in my head. Joe is a machine that augments my many great talents.”

  After giving me a solid punch on my shoulder she returned to her food. M1 reminded Amy that she needed to name the Old City. She was sitting cross-legged and she rose up without using her hands and took the dramatic stance she used while making such pronouncements. He called her a show off and she gave him the two-arm salute I use for greeting my favorite earthbound bartender, Batts.

  “I have been thinking of an appropriate science fiction name,” she said, “and there are simply too many. I call for suggestions.”

  “Logical,” M2 said.

  Before Amy could continue, we heard Shan almost whisper, “But what about Carl. If we never find him, this place should bear his name.”

  We all made sounds of approval and Amy raised her arms to the sky. “Forevermore, this shall be known as the city of Manheim. Furthermore,” Amy continued, “I name this large area that contains Manheim and what else we discover, Tiberius—after James Tiberius Kirk.”

  Suddenly, my second button spoke again, “I have some information that will be of interest to you all.” Just as suddenly, I had a crowd gathered close. “As you know, a project is underway on Nexus and soon Omaha and other planets to try to determine their exact location in the Galaxy and in relation to Earth. During my time in Seuss, I had no information of that nature regarding the planet and its spatial relationship to anything. That knowledge was irrelevant to my function. The only information I now possess is a series of star charts given to me on Earth and all of them have to do with the Milky Way.

  “I have looked at the sky here and can make no determination regarding location other than to say I believe we are not in the Milky Way. We are somewhere inside the outer edge of a globular cluster which may be in the galactic halo. Its axis points to and away from the core. This is why we see a full but normal star field at night. From the North Pole the stars should be extremely thick. The night there would be very bright.”

  “Well,” Alice said, “at least we know where we aren’t.”

  We hadn’t noticed Lieutenant Roy who was hovering at the edge of our group. “Those portals really seem to go everywhere,” he said. “Was this one here the last new portal you discovered?”

  “It is,” Alice replied.

  “New, new portal,” Shan said, from near the roof surface.

  This time it was Blue speaking in her voice.

  Harry looked at Shan. “Did the pooch smell another new one?”

  “I don’t know,” she leaned over to touch his nose. “Maybe he’s referring to the portal to Nexus.”

  “Why not tell him to go fetch?” M1 said.

  She took Blue’s head in her hands and had a talk with him. As soon as she let go he turned and came up to me.

  “New, new portal,” he said aloud, and then much lower, he said, “Spam?”

  “I heard that you little sneak,” Shan exclaimed, “but all right. If you unearth a really new portal, you get half of a Spam sandwich.”

  With tail bouncing up and down, he headed for the stairs with the rest of us in pursuit. Jesus had draped himself over Alice’s right shoulder for another free ride. Blue’s route simply retraced our steps down the stairs, then up the steps to the Nexus portal. I began to think old Blue had become confused, but at the top of the stairs he made a wide U-turn and headed for the front wall of the large chamber. There was a substantial railing around the staircase well and plenty of walking space on all four sides. When we arrived, our flashlights revealed a windowless and featureless wall made from the native stone that was the exclusive construction material of Tiberius.

  A single item broke the monotony of the scene. Imbedded in the center of the wall we saw a doorway-sized, arched alcove. Within the small space, two metal crosses rose up from the floor to the height of about four feet. One was slightly taller and the arms overlapped.

  Blue trotted up to it, sniffed, lifted a hind leg and piddled down the front. When he finished, he looked at Shan and said, “New, new portal.”

  “Why does he say new twice, I wonder?” Amy asked.

  No one had a guess.

  “James, front and center,” M1 called out. “Do thy thing.”

  I hunkered down in front of the object to look and wait for an inspiration. I asked Joe out loud if he had any recommendations. He answered for all to hear that the sculpture was meaningless to him except it might have a Christian connotation, but we were far from Bethlehem. The assembly reminded me of something from the tomb in Egypt and the inlay on the liquor cabinet of Gunter Weis. I looked closely at the arms of both crosses. There were no solid seams where they joined the vertical rod. Instead the joint looked more
like a swivel. It was strange, but it was worth a try. I pressed down on the right side of the arm of the cross on the right. It depressed about forty degrees and stopped. I then did the same to the other cross. There was a click and one side of the entire niche moved out about one inch to reveal itself as a doorway.

  “Holy sneakers,” Alice exclaimed, as she looked at the crosses, “here we go with the Black Sun again. I thought we left that behind in the Hollow Mountain and in Egypt,”

  “What the hell,” M1 said. “This has to be older than anything on Earth. I don’t get it.”

  “That may well be the case, kiddo,” Harry broke in, “but I always say whatever works is fine with me. Open ‘er up, James.”

  I felt a tug on my sleeve. “Be extra careful, James,” Shan said. “Something bad may be inside that dark place.”

  “M2 and I will take over now,” M1 said. “James, there’s no way in hell we lose a second Band member today.”

  M2 took hold of the door edge and pulled it open. Directly behind the alcove door was a conventional dome door. We pulled back a bit as he cautiously performed the twist and pull maneuver. The door responded properly and he pulled it open a few inches.

  “It’s really dark in there. Get some of those flashlights pointed this way.”

  He swung the door wide and we filed in with flashlights blazing. The room we entered proved to be identical to the one on the opposite side—empty except for the portal and its console. The air was flat from years of confinement.

  “Look at this,” M1 said while playing his light around the portal, “The overall size and the center seems to be the same ,but the outer shape is different. There’s no wavy writing on the top or anywhere else that I can see.”

  “It’s egg shaped,” Alice said. “It has the cross section of a giant egg standing on the big end, except the bottom is flat.”

  “This must be why Blue called it a new, new portal,” Bob offered. “It must have a slightly different smell.”

  M1 pulled a portal probe from his shirt pocket, touched the surface and the little instrument lit up with bright blue bands. “The air pressure is good, chemical makeup is good, at least inside the other dome and gravity is ideal. Temp is about eighty Fahrenheit. I think we should go through and evaluate the situation. It shouldn’t take long.” There was a general murmur of agreement. “Alice, you and M2 go and find Colonel Brockway. Give him an update and bring back a couple of their people to stand guard here. Have them bring folding chairs and rations. They can wait for our return. The rest of us will go, update Fran and gather our travel kits. We’ll meet back here ASAP. Okay?”

  “This is like a long running soap opera,” Amy said.

  “What is a soap opera? Bob asked.

  “I think I will have some difficulty keeping up with you people,” Bebe said, “but I will enjoy trying.”

  After our update to Fran, we were first back to the top of the staircase. About five minutes later, Alice and M2 appeared, but from the Nexus portal, along with three exited soldiers loaded down with gear and camp chairs, followed by several more with guns as well as gear.

  “The Colonel,” Alice said, “sent us to Nexus for our portal guards. He hasn’t any personnel to spare. He also had us bring back a small squad to mount a permanent guard at the monument. He’s adamant that no one go near that Mobius strip.”

  We helped each other secure our backpacks as we walked around to the new doorway. M2 gave the guards a wave as he pulled the modified dome door shut, leaving the alcove door open. All of our flashlights were on as Amy went to the portal console and placed her hand on the single large circle. Nothing happened and no one offered an idea. I think we were still numb and off center because of the loss of Carl.

  “I recall,” Joe said, “the story of your first encounter with a portal—back in the Hollow Mountain. When James had no luck, Amy tried with success. Now that Amy’s hand has failed, perhaps the thing to do is to have another untried Band member give it a go—like Bebe.

  M1 looked at her and pointed to the console. Her hand hovered over the surface for a moment and then made contact. The white ring lit up brightly and she jumped back. It partially illuminated the room and the green curtain parted.

  “Why me?” she asked.

  “Don’t know,” M1 said, “but it’s all good news.”

  With guns at the ready, the boys vanished and we all held our breath. Seconds later an arm poked through and beckoned to us. We stepped through in no particular order except Harry and I brought up the rear.

  CHAPTER 5

  Everything was pitch black except the dome interior, which was illuminated by our flashlights. We went to the windows to shine the beams outside.

  “I think I see some rocks.” Shan said.

  “You know,” Alice said, “I think we’re in a big cave or cavern.”

  Harry bent over and picked up a small object. “Somebody got careless. Here’s a cigarette butt. There’s some printing on the paper, but it’s faded. I’ll tuck it away and pass it on when we get back to Tiberius.”

  “Let Bebe close the portal,” M1 said, “in case there’s a pressure differential.”

  The green curtain closed and the boys gingerly cracked the outer door, but only a small puff of air entered. It smelled damp, but otherwise all right. Once outside the dome we saw we were truly in a large cave and it was a beauty, filled with small stalactites and even smaller stalagmites on the floor. The only sound was the constant dripping from the roof.

  I felt irritated, but I didn’t know why. For the first time I had negative thoughts about our mission and even about my companions. I also noticed that they were either scowling or looking very solemn.

  “Hey, Joe,” I said, “I feel unreasonably grumpy. Could there be gas or something in the air?”

  Shan broke in before Joe could reply. “You are all a bunch of buttheads! You don’t even care about Carl!” She stamped her foot and crossed her arms.

  “Your behavior is irritating, Shan,” Bob said. “I feel anger toward you when you talk like that. My excessive reaction seems irrational.”

  “I’m feeling anger toward all of you,” Amy said, and I don’t know why.”

  “I sense negative thoughts from all of you,” Joe said, “but the air contains no contaminants. Your moods are illogical.”

  “We can’t do anything about this,” M1 said. “Let’s just keep going, and Joe, keep an eye on us.”

  “This is not a really ancient cave.” Alice said, “Thousands of years old compared to millions, but it is very active. Look here where the new stone is building up the side of the dome wall. It’s not very high, but it took a really long time to do this much.”

  “The cave continues in both directions,” M2 reported. “Can’t really tell which way is out, but my guess is since the dome door is facing that way,” he pointed, “it’s a good bet.”

  “Okay,” M1 said, “let’s get moving.”

  We set out single file, splashing the walls with the beams of our torches. The tunnel twisted some, but the going was reasonable and as we went, the angry feelings dissipated. I don’t think we had gone even the length of a football field before we came to the cave mouth. We didn’t see it until we were close because all kinds of vines filled the opening, which allowed very little light to penetrate. This time the little wood saw M2 carried worked perfectly. In just a few minutes he created a door-sized hole through a four-foot thick wall of the ropy growth.

  As he was finishing, he called back, “Watch it when you come out here. It’s breezy and we’re on the side of a cliff or something. There’s a sharp drop off just a few feet ahead.” When he made the last cut, he came back in to elaborate on the view. “The air smells fresh, the sun is shining and I saw a lot of green, but I didn’t step out for a closer look.”

  “Please,” Shan said, “before you go, I have to say I am sorry. I did not mean to call you guys buttheads. It’s just… everything has sucked lately. First we lose Carl and then this horri
ble cave. I do not know...”

  She ran out of words and just stood there looking miserable. Mother Alice simply wrapped her in a great hug and let the kid sob for a minute.

  M1 helped M2 shoulder his backpack. “M2 and I will go out first and subdue any alien monsters.”

  After a quick look, M1 came back to wave us forward. On arrival we said nothing for a while as we gawked at the scenery like tourists on holiday.

  “Tarzan would love this,” Amy said.

  The cave mouth was in fact on the face of a cliff that continued up for some distance. I estimated it was more than sixty feet down to the surface of the water—the water being a vast expanse for as far as we could see. A series of rough and wild cliffs defined the shoreline. They had the look of titanic boulders jammed side-by-side and festooned with vegetation. As far as our ability to move, this appeared to be a dead end.

  “Wonder why anyone would put a portal here,” Amy said. “It’s beautiful in a chaotic way, but I see nothing artificial anywhere.”

  “Here’s something,” M2 called, from our left. “The ledge continues this way and seems to follow the cliff as it curves inland. It looks solid and is plenty wide enough.”

  “Should be worth a look, don’t you think?” M1 asked Alice.

  Bob asked Amy if she had thought of a name for this new place. “Nah, too soon. Don’t have a feel for it yet. We’ll just call it Planet X for now.”

  “Excuse me,” said the second button on my shirt.

  “Yes, Joe,” I said.

  “Amy, it will not be necessary for you to name this planet.”

  He fell silent for a moment, not a good plan when one travels with the likes of Alice. She stepped in front of me and poked a finger at the silent button. “Joe, you can be as frustrating as the pack mule that carries you around. Cut the suspense and tell us where we are.”

  “Look at the sky,” he said.

  And there it was—a thin white line dividing the sky from horizon to horizon.