“What is UFO?” Bob asked.
Amy gave him a quick rundown on flying saucers and the past fifty years.
“They look ready to go,” I said. “I just wonder how long it’s been since anyone used them.”
“Once again we just discovered something fabulous,” Alice mused, “and now we must leave it to those who follow us to figure it out.”
“Can I scratch a ‘Kilroy Was Here’ on the wall?” Shan asked. “If Carl should come this way—he will know.”
“I insist you do,” M1 replied.
M2 got busy with his camera and we walked around for a closer look. The finish on all of the machines was a dust free uniform dull black and the surfaces held no trace of doors and windows. Harry did discover a manual hatch on the underside, but we agreed it might be wise to let others be the first to look inside. By accident, while taking a drink, Bob discovered that the saucer surface repelled water. Odds were that these did not come from Germany. The only other objects of interest were in an alcove just to the right of the tunnel. It looked to be a variety of electronic equipment, but they were very dusty, dormant and utterly alien.
“These machines are similar, but not identical to the one in the Hollow Mountain,” Harry said. “Maybe the Nazis were trying to reverse engineer these things. All of this gear is relatively small with handles on each side. I’ll bet when they wanted to use this stuff, they just carried it outside. I imagine it’s some sort of remote control equipment.”
“How can you tell?” Amy asked him.
“We can’t, really,” he replied. “In situations like this we just take our best guess.”
“They look so futuristic,” Amy said. “I hope to high heaven that time travel is not involved.”
“Lordy, no,” Harry said. “Do not even suggest that.”
“Okay, Harry,” she said. “I won’t, but I did—how’s that for a paradox?”
“Oh, lookie what I found,” Alice said eagerly, while pointing at a small golden sphere sitting under a transparent dome atop a Kleenex-size box. “It’s one of those instantaneous radios like we found on Paradise. I’m sure Moses will want to see this. Maybe its frequency settings could give him a clue as to who was using it.”
“That’s right,” M1 said, “and if they determine it’s safe, we’ll have instant communication with the one that’s now on Enigma or with Moses. Alice, I’ll go with you to get your radio. M2 can finish photographing this stuff then we’ll all meet outside.”
The two left the cavern, but the rest of us hung around to provide company and light for M2. It didn’t take him long and soon we gathered outside at our lunch spot. Alice and M1 returned and we all sat down around the smoldering remains of our little fire.
“Should we close the door thing when we leave?” Bebe asked. “I’m the only one who can open it.”
“I didn’t think of that,” M1 said. “Alice, you call the director and then we’ll decide.”
She placed her radio on the ground in front of her and made the call, again on speaker. The director picked up after the first ring.
“Alice, Moses is here. I’ll use my speakerphone. Go ahead.”
“Sir, you had better send some specialists here right away.”
“Specialists? Specialists in what discipline?”
“Flying saucers, sir.”
The director entertained us with a short burst of laughter. We could tell he was talking to Moses when he said, “You see why I love that woman?” He then recovered and returned to the phone. “You didn’t hear that—right?”
“Hear what, sir,” she replied.
“Good. Now please expand on that last bit of news.”
“We found a small, empty building made from the forever material. The place looks familiar to both Bebe and Harry. Then Blue sniffed out a hidden barrier curtain on the cliff face, which responded only to Bebe. There was no portal, just a big cave with six saucers and some, we think, control equipment. The last item of interest was an instantaneous radio like the one we found in the Seuss Provence on Paradise. I think Moses would like to have it if it still works. M2 has photographed everything and I’ll upload it to you in a minute.”
“Wonderful,” he said, “but I say that every time we talk. I’ll get these balls rolling right away, but I want the thoughts of the Dance Band, all of you. This is another massive discovery that will once again change the world, but regarding your mission, do you think there is any link to the Nazis here? I don’t want you to get diverted from that mission for now.”
“We haven’t found any direct link to them, sir, though these UFOs are disturbingly similar to that prototype in the Hollow Mountain. I’ll start the upload now and call you shortly.”
“Excellent. I’ll be waiting.”
Alice then handed her radio to M2. He began the upload and the rest of us settled in around the rekindled fire for a group discussion. I didn’t know where to begin. I glanced at some of the others and saw they were doing what I was doing which was nothing much. M2 finished his upload then set the device to record. This way we could send our thoughts to the director without having to write up a report.
“Anybody?” Alice queried. “Anything? I’ve already mentioned we have several very interesting pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Where do we take it from here? James, we often lean on you at times like this.”
“Here’s how I see it,” I said. “We have a direct portal to Earth from Enigma, we have UFOs that have at least some similarity to the prototype in the Hollow Mountain, but we have no evidence of Nazi presence. These things are not markers that point in any direction—it’s frustrating in the extreme.”
It was quiet for a time while we all looked into the fire.
“I have a pure speculation,” It was Bebe, who was first to speak. “Although I am new to the group, Alice has told me much of your recent adventures. I recall her telling me of the different class levels of the Primes. Moses was of the second class and Mary was of the first, but she revealed something unknown to even Moses and others of his station. It was that the real ruling class was unseen and mysterious. She knew virtually nothing about them. This intrigues me even more than the origins of the gray men. I ask myself, if there was one hidden and mostly unknown class of Primes could there be other, even more remote and smaller groups. Or was this ruling class another race of aliens. You must know I revel in political intrigue and I smell that on Enigma. Where did the Primes of Mary’s class go? I believe Enigma will lead us eventually to the answers. Why I believe this I cannot say, but my belief is strong.”
“Thank you, Bebe, “M1 said. “This is the sort of speculation that keeps our wheels turning. “Anyone else?”
“I’d sure like to know,” Alice said, “why someone from Enigma found it necessary to come snooping around here. This is an exotic place, but compared to Paradise or Enigma it’s not a vacation spot. Now there’s an excellent question. Just why were they here? What were they looking for and what could Terrans possibly have that would interest an advanced society?”
“It’s obvious Moses didn’t know of this place,” M2 said. “He traveled here in a starship, not knowing a portal was already here, but then the man was dormant and so who is to know? A lot was happening back then that he knew nothing about. I wonder why? I’m sure he does too.”
“It’s curious and comforting,” Bebe said, “that you attribute no deception to Moses.”
“It’s the old gut feeling at work,” Alice said.
“Look at our record and our method,” I said. “Much of the time we react to what we find or what confronts us. Our path has been a constant and unpredictable surprise. We’re finding pieces of a big puzzle we didn’t even know existed when we began. I think we’re doing splendidly. Now if I was thinking about it I would say that the most worrying and dangerous thing about this is that we believed the Nazis were possibly trapped light-years from Earth. But why did they go there at all? Was it a trail that led somehow back to a different place on Earth? It now see
ms that there may be other portals to Earth. I think it’s safe to assume if there is this one there may be others. We’ve found no evidence of the Nazis here, but they could have used one we haven’t discovered. Remember that they had a map. I suggest that we scour the Old City—Manheim and elsewhere on Enigma and locate as many of these Earth portals as we can. We need to make sure that none of them were ever used by Hitler’s henchmen. I’m sure the next fork in the trail lies somewhere on Enigma.”
“Harry?” M1 asked. “Any thoughts?”
“The cigarette butt may tell us something, but like James, I think we’ll find the big answers on Enigma.”
M1 then turned to Alice, “Then we go?”
She nodded yes and then said, “I’ll make the call.” M2 gave her the radio and she pushed a single button. It must have been redial because I heard one ring and the director answered: “Yes, Alice?”
“I’ll upload the audio from our meeting, which may or may not be helpful, but the consensus here is that we return to Enigma.”
“I’ve given you your head and that won’t change. I can hardly wait for your next discovery. By the way, is this on speaker?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. You know the Special Forces are aware of your existence and some of your exploits. Some political figures here and in Germany know this as well. In addition, rumors abound in the general population. Most of them are dead wrong, but the media knows something big is afoot however the lid still stays on tight. The rest of our world will know soon enough. Has anyone ever had more fun—ever?”
“I know I haven’t, sir,” Alice replied.
“Then, off you go with our blessings. Oh, yes, take the instantaneous radio with you and pass it on through Nexus.”
“Bye for now, sir. We’ll leave the portals open until we can figure out why they only respond to Bebe.”
She finished by pushing the button to upload the audio from our meeting.
“Grab your stuff,” M1 said. “We should be back before dawn.”
The moment I saw the dome, I felt a surge of the same irritation.
“Here we go again,” Alice said. “For no reason I just don’t like you guys anymore. What the hell is going on?”
“Look,” Harry said, “Maybe this is some sort of barrier to keep people away from this place.”
“I feel this strange emotion as well, “Bob said. “It is without reason.”
“Ugh, I hate this,” Amy said, “Any chance we just head back to Germany and go that way?
Shan startled us by saying, “Shut up, Amy, don’t be so stupid. That would take ages.”
Amy drew back as though to take a swing at her, but then took a breath and looked away. “DONALD!” she shouted, “get us the hell out of here.”
In all, it took us less than a minute to pile into the dome and pass through the portal.
CHAPTER 6
Once back in the dome at Manheim we had to spend several minutes assuring Shan that we knew she didn’t mean what she said and Amy convinced her that all was forgiven.
The three surprised troopers we left to guard the portals showed no pleasure at our early return. They had been looking forward to at least a full day’s stay on Enigma, including an evening with the snewels. M1 solved that problem by sending one of them back to Nexus with a message to the effect that we needed them here for at least another day. He also gave him the little golden radio and the cigarette butt to forward to Earth. In addition M1 advised the three to move their chairs to the top of the outer steps. There, they could still monitor the portal and at the same time see something of the city.
It was still nighttime on Enigma. Without a vote we went to our balcony and turned in. I slept soundly until Bob shook me awake along with the others.
“You must see the dawn,” he said, excitedly. “It is a sight that is memorable.”
He was right.
Great ribbons of red, gold, mauve and silver white lay on the horizon below a dome that went from deep blue to a star filled indigo overhead. Bebe was next to me. She touched my arm for balance as she rose up on tiptoe to whisper in my ear: “James, do you remember the dawn in Colón?” I had to confess I did not. At that moment back then, I was in a near coma from exhaustion. “My city is renowned for beautiful sunsets and dawns, but they pale in comparison to this.”
I saw Shan glance at Alice, looking a bit anxious, but she said nothing. I thought maybe that negative aura around the Peru portal seemed to have affected Shan worse than the others and that she still seemed a bit irritated at herself for not being able to keep her words in check and for being rude to Amy.
“Glorious,” Alice said. “This is the most gorgeous sky ever and I’ve seen a few.”
“You must not say that,” Shan said. She looked genuinely frightened. “Ket Gai will hear.”
“The girl is correct.” Bob said. “Ket Gai hears all and is very jealous. He does not tolerate rivals.”
Alice, caught off guard, nodded and said, “Yeah, uh, of course.” she looked up to the heavens. “Uh... sorry, Ket Gai. I mean it’s … umm the second nicest sky ever.” She turned away and gave me a wink and a grin. “Anyway, I’ll generate the coffee. See Harry for the solid stuff.”
“Look,” Harry said, while serving our brew, “I’ve been thinking about the street plan of this place. From what I’ve seen this far, the layout is like a grid. Let’s say the plaza with the monument is the city’s center. I kept track as we hiked here and I know the trolley station is six streets over that way and six streets up from there. My thoughts are we might find significant buildings if we go six and six to the other three corners of the big square.”
“I like it,” M1 said.
“How about we continue on our original diagonal for another six and six?” Alice proposed.
Everyone approved of the idea and about fifteen minutes later, avoiding the monument, we completed our six and six. Another trolley station was there—quiet and deserted. Like the first trolley line, this one ran east and west. M1 pressed the circles to call up a car. They lit up, but no car appeared.
“I’ll bet we’ll have to wait until the track cleaning doodad does its job,” Amy said. “That is if it’s still working.”
“Did everyone notice,” Shan asked, “that the other surrounding buildings also look the same? Perhaps we might find another portal here.”
“Coney Island, here we come,” Alice said. “I suppose we should check it out while we wait for the track cleaner.”
“Shan,” M1 said, “before we do, can you read this plaque here. Maybe it will tell us where this line goes.”
Shan approached and bent over for a close look. “It says the line west goes to the manufacturing or assembly area. I can’t make an exact translation. The east direction says something about transfer or movement, I think.”
“Good enough, Shan,” M1 said. “Sounds like a trucking company to the east and maybe a factory to the west. This could be valuable.”
“Who knows,” Alice said, “the western complex could be our Joe’s birthplace. Maybe YDRII got his start here too. I kinda wish he was here instead of back on Earth with Moses.”
“Kinda wish, you say?” Joe said. “I am not good enough?”
“Jeepers, Joe,” she replied, “that’s not it at all. I wish Stephen Hawking was here to help figure things out. What I meant was that we need all the help we can get.”
“It is okay, Alice,” he said. “I was just kidding—friends?”
“Yes, Joe, friends forever.”
We left the station and walked around to the large building and up the staircase and almost without pause, the boys opened the modified dome door and in we went. Two minutes later the boys verified that this portal linked to Nexus. M1 called Colonel Brockway and gave him the portal number on the other end.
We crossed to the other side of the chamber where we found the alcove with the crosses, but this time Blue left it alone. I pushed down the cross bars, M2 opened the recess; M1 opened
the modified dome door then manipulated the probe loaned to him by Moses.
“Readings are identical to Peru except the temperature is a little cooler,” he said. “Same drill. M2 and I will go through and take a look. Bebe, I need your magic touch here.”
Bebe opened the portal. The boys went through, but only a few seconds before M2 popped back and said, “All clear, but turn on your flashlights. Once again we’re in a cavern of some sort, only bigger. No bad feelings, but be prepared in case that anger aura shows up.”
M2 didn't exaggerate. It was a very big chamber, warm, dry and devoid of stalactites or mites. It didn’t look natural to me. It looked like the builders had formed it by melting away the rock. The reason for its large size was that in addition to the dome, we saw eight of the black flying saucers. They sat on either side along with the same control equipment, but no golden radio. The entrance was right at the front of the chamber, but like the one in Peru, the vines filled the opening. M2 got busy with his saw and soon we were all standing on a narrow ledge and again we were high on a cliff. Since we saw no ledges, our assumption was that this chamber was it. The view was very different. Instead of a shoreline we were one of a bunch of colossal boulder-like formations whose bases were resting on the floor of a large bay. Dense jungle vegetation covered everything except the water. To our relief no one felt upset or angry.
“Okay. Joe,” Alice asked, “where do we be? Is this still on Earth?”
“We are somewhere in the Phi-Phi Islands in Thailand.”
“This is nice,” Harry said. “We could start a travel agency.”
“I would like to explore this area,” Bob said.
Alice responded, “A good travel agent has to visit and experience every destination. Maybe we could take a few days off and go lay on that beach I see over there.”
“I can see you doing that for a good fifteen or twenty minutes,” Harry said, “before you’re ready to go again.”
“Best you make your phone call.” M1 suggested.
Alice turned to her transmitter and thumbed a button. The director picked up part way through the first ring.
LOST AND FORGOTTEN: BOOK THREE - ENIGMA Page 5