by Susan Lain
He thought he knew exactly where to go next.
Chapter Seven
"That was a little weird, wasn't it? I'm not the only one thinking that, right?"
Alek quirked an eyebrow at Eliot. "That depends on what you thought was weird."
Eliot rolled his eyes, then squared his shoulders, which wasn't easy to accomplish inside a car. "I'm not talking about his change of heart, politically speaking, but how his car trouble happened. His gas gremlin made no noise beforehand? All the complaints I went through, the first sign of trouble was excessive growling, each time."
"I noticed that too. It's a definitive discrepancy. I'm just not sure if it's a significant one. Could be a random anomaly. Or the driver could be wrong."
Eliot sighed. He put his feet up on the dash—he had mishmash socks; one orange, the other green—and said pensively, "Breaks in patterns don't always mean something important, it's true. It is noteworthy, though. Perhaps it happened differently because Arrington is different. He lobbied for oil and gas, now he doesn't. He used to be a republican, now he's not."
"You pity him," Alek said, addressing out loud what he had seen inside.
Eliot harrumphed. "I can empathize with people who were disillusioned by the republican government. I'm not above some gloating, sure, but…that seems so stupid now. I mean, the world was going to hell in a handbasket but it's not anymore, so I don't want to waste my time sucking it to the hicks who were burned by the republican party. It's counterproductive and immature. I'd rather focus on the matter at hand."
Alek continued to drive. The streets had less traffic than they did a year ago, so they made good time. Eliot was right of course. Laughing at people who'd been too foolish or willfully blind to see what the republicans represented served no purpose in the long run. Eliot clearly tried to be the better man here and move on with his life.
Alek had already done that. There were no sides left. The whole world was fucked.
"Where to now?" Eliot asked, startling Alek out of his musings.
Alek smirked at Eliot. "Would you like to see the MERF labs?"
Eliot's tropical-green eyes widened with excitement and he yelped in glee. "Yes!"
After that declaration going to the Mythkin Energy Research Facility was a no-brainer.
*~*~*
Conveniently, the CEPA and the MERF buildings stood across from each other, nothing but the National Mall park and the Smithsonian in between them. The United States Department of Energy government building was, like the University Library they'd visited at Georgetown, another shining example of the Brutalist architecture, blocky white concrete and glass standing on columns, befitting the monuments of the nation's capital, even if esthetically displeasing.
Eliot chuckled as they walked toward the employee entrance. "I never realized MERF was this close to CEPA."
Alek shrugged. To him, one building was very much like the next. "It made sense to house our research facility here since all three buildings belonging to the Energy Department already have underground levels. They were merely expanded deeper and retrofitted for the necessary laboratories."
Biometric scans—fingerprint, retina, and voice—guarded the entry points into the structure that housed Alek's workplace. He guided Eliot to an elevator requiring not only a keycard but also facial recognition and palm print scans.
Eliot whistled low, eyes wide in astonishment. "High end security you've got here."
"Important sites deserves nothing but the best," Alek deadpanned.
Eliot gave him the stink eye. "And CEPA's not worthy of such technological marvels? We only protect the civilian population and the environment. Two things barely worth mentioning, eh?"
Alek smiled lopsidedly at Eliot's sass. "Hate to burst your bubble but there's always more people out there, and trees can be replanted." He was totally goading. He knew it. He just wanted to see what Eliot would do.
Eliot gasped, first depicting shock, then fury. "That is the most irresponsible—"
"And here we are," Alek interjected with a sharp singsong voice, his finger stinging from the DNA scan that used a tiny needle to extract a blood sample. Saliva cups hadn't worked so well.
The last double doors to the labs, made of armored glass, parted without making a sound.
The sight, familiar to Alek but novel to Eliot, finally shut the brazen young man up.
Ultramodern was definitely not an exaggeration. Eliot slowly descended the short flight of metal stairs to the main area: a steel-and-glass rotunda in a sunken floor. Above them, a well-lit dome of reinforced glass formed a high arching ceiling, creating a sensation of a high-tech cavern. Holographic touch-screen interfaces and thin-as-paper laptops dominated the white tables, some high, others low, people at their workstations sitting or standing. Some wore lab coats, others regular office wear.
"Where's all the, uh, gadgetry?" Eliot asked, gesturing about.
Alek snorted. "This is the lobby, strictly for computer work. The labs are around this area." He waved Eliot to join him. "Follow me."
Leading Eliot on a tour of the facility made Alek happy for some reason. He was unwilling to analyze the feeling further. It made him uneasy. He downplayed the emotion to simple lustfulness.
Long winding corridors of concrete, steel, and glass split up from the lobby, like spokes on a wheel. Each was lit at the ground level by a different color.
Alek pointed at neon lights. "The colors indicate the various sections around here. Green is biology and ecology labs, blue is oceanographic and limnology labs, and so on."
Eliot stared at everything in awe, eyes wide and mouth gaping in wonderment. "Wow, this place is so high tech and futuristic. Must be awesome to work here."
That stumped Alek. He'd never thought about it. One building, aesthetics aside, was much like another. He never bothered with the intricacies of interior design. The only thing he cared about was functionality and practicality. The rest was pointless noise.
"You know," Eliot mused, ambling at Alek's side. "You never did answer me how many mythkin MERF has documented over the past year."
Alek quirked an eyebrow. "Would you like to see some of them?"
If Eliot could have exhibited an ounce more excitement, he'd probably have spontaneously combusted. "Yes. Oh God, yes."
No smells floated in the cool, climate-controlled hallways. Heavy fortified double doors of metal blocked sounds from the numerous laboratories they passed.
Alek guided Eliot toward the blue section. "Water mythkin have proven elusive to study as they tend to evaporate, or disappear, quickly. Rainomalies, for example, are difficult to detect. They seem to exist for a few seconds in a drizzle, translucent and intangible."
"Aren't all mythkin essentially intangible?" Eliot inquired.
Alek nodded. "Yes, but a few seem to exist for such a short time that observation of them becomes virtually impossible. Rainomalies are one such example. They appear quite detached from technology and power sources. They have baffled us for a long time."
Eliot sighed for some reason, as if sad. "All the mythkin I've heard of attach themselves to technology and power sources, that's true."
The hum of unseen machines behind the walls was nothing but a whisper. The labyrinthine facility seemed to go on forever. They came across a scattered few scientists in lab coats, but they had their noses buried in their tablets or engrossed in hushed conversations with other researchers. Alek didn't bother any of them.
"Here we are."
Alek stopped in front of a heavy metal door with a keycard reader and a palm print scanner side by side. Alek swiped his card and placed his hand on the cool surface shining blue.
"What does that mean?" Eliot asked, pointing at a simple metal plaque by the door, stating W-04-S in plain block letters.
Alek followed where Eliot was pointing. "It's a code designation for the mythkin species studied in this particular lab. In this instance, that'll be rainomalies. The W stands for the element of water, 04 the chro
nological order in which this class of mythkin was discovered, and S informs that exposure is harmless, as in they're safe to touch and be around."
A deep boom and clang inside the wall heralded the door sliding open. Alek entered, Eliot on his heels.
The back wall of the large, shallow laboratory comprised of nothing but a floor-to-ceiling window with armored glass. Scientists in lab coats stood in front, scribbling notes into their tablets or papers, and talking in groups with reverent voices. The rest of the room had metal walkways and railings, high tech machines with extending robotic arms and gadgets, glass panels that projected holographic images. Computer screens filled the walls, and laptops and tablets rested on desks made of glass. White and blue lighting above and close to the ground gave off diminished illumination, flickering ever so slightly, same as the monitors and projections.
"Wow, this is so space age." Eliot's amazed voice stroked Alek's ego.
"Agent Saroyan." A middle-aged, dark-skinned woman approached them with a curious, if baffled, expression. Her black hair had been combed into a tight bun on top of her head, smoothing out the flawless skin that Alek envied. He wondered how many wrinkles he would have at her age. "Didn't expect to see you here." Her Italian accent flowed like water.
"Doctor Alduino," Alek greeted her with a curt nod. "I'm giving a CEPA representative a guided tour. Doctor, this is Eliot Tate. Eliot, this is Doctor Alessandra Alduino."
Eliot and Alessandra shook hands, exchanging polite greetings.
"I'm terribly sorry if I'm in the way," Eliot murmured apologetically, a sweet disarming smile on his full lips. Alek was impressed with the man's social skills, possessing such subtlety and ease. There was no subterfuge, only true friendliness.
To Alek's surprise, Alessandra graced Eliot with one of her rare smiles. Alek himself hadn't seen it more than once. "No need to apologize. We're not in a crucial stage in our research. This is as good a time as any." She waved toward the observation platform in front of the window. "Please, step closer."
Eliot was bubbling with enthusiasm, practically running to the window, placing his hands on the edge of the glass. Alek watched him with moderate amusement and followed to stand at his side. Eliot smelled nice, a woodsy, earthy scent that had to come from soap, not aftershave.
"How much do you know about rainomalies, Mr. Tate?" Doctor Alduino asked.
Eliot flashed her a wide, childlike smile of pure joy. "Please call me Eliot. And virtually nothing. Never seen one."
Alessandra nodded. "Neither had any of us until in this very lab."
"What's that on the floor?" Eliot asked, for all intents and purposes pressing his nose to the glass, eyes as big as saucers. "Looks almost like a disco age club."
The large research chamber was cylindrical in shape, made of gray concrete, with dozens of round showerheads above creating a steady stream of simulated rain. Overheads shone between the sprays, all fluctuating but only slightly. The floor was composed of honeycomb-shaped tiles that fit together perfectly.
Alessandra laughed. Alek stared, never having heard the sound from the surly, tight-lipped scientist. Maybe she was like that with just Alek. "The tiles are pressure sensors. Sort of. Listen."
She pushed a blue button on the tablet she was carrying. Unseen speakers turned on inside the lab—and music drifted through the air. There were harmonious notes, but the melody was mere cacophony. Alek wouldn't have described it as particularly enjoyable to listen.
Eliot gasped, his gaze switching between Alessandra and the soaked chamber. "Where's it coming from? The rainomalies?"
Alessandra nodded, walking to one of the many computer screens on the wall. "Rain is not a power source humans utilize. Therefore, we've been puzzled over the existence of the rainomalies. It turns out that they create kinetic energy."
Eliot bounced on the balls of his feet. "Like those pavements that harness kinetic energy of people walking on them?"
"Sort of, yes." Alessandra beamed, apparently as impressed with Eliot as Alek was. "What we've also learned is that the rainomalies prefer surfaces that create sounds. The more musical, the more attached to the objects they become. Hence the floor of the chamber. Each tile represents a different chord. Of course, distinguishing the sounds the rainomalies create from the dissonance of regular raindrops requires some work."
Eliot blew out a breath. "That is amazing. Just awesome." Then he sighed, sounding rueful. "Too bad they don't live long enough to enjoy the music they create."
Alessandra glared at Alek who wondered what he had done now to upset the good doctor. "We thought so for a long time, but we've discovered new evidence to suggest those previous theories were incorrect."
"Oh?" For the first time since meeting her, Doctor Alduino had Alek's undivided attention.
Chapter Eight
"This is a zoom-in video recording we obtained using high definition slow motion capture cameras, the same technology ornithologists use to record hummingbirds." Doctor Alduino tapped on the screen and raw footage from inside the chamber activated. "We were under the impression that rainomalies only exist for a brief interlude; the time it takes a raindrop to form in the clouds and descend to the ground."
Eliot watched intently. This had to be the best day of his life. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted that Alek too watched the monitor with great interest and a narrowed gaze. He rocked the intense look, his jaw hardening, his eyes burning with a dark glow.
Then Eliot saw them.
The size of a needle's tip, the critters were shaped like tiny balls composed of water. They had two black eyes, a cute mouth, two webbed hands and two stumpy feet, with four fingers and four toes. They blended into regular raindrops so seamlessly that if the footage hadn't advanced so gradually and Eliot hadn't seen the visual indicators for himself, he would have missed them.
"Oh my God, they're freaking adorable!" he exclaimed, making a loud 'aww' sound, his hands clasped to his chest. The cute little orbs were the most charming things he'd ever seen.
Alessandra chuckled. "You're not the first to respond in such a fashion."
Eliot was glad he wasn't seen as unprofessional. He'd never let out an 'aww' at work before. Then again, he'd never observed anything as precious as these rainomalies.
"Why do they look so…human-like?" he asked, baffled. He would have expected beings from another dimension to appear vastly different.
"We don't yet know the cause of their anthropomorphic qualities," Doctor Alduino replied. "Could be a sign of mimicry. Or that could be their real physiological image."
"Is mimicry a sign of intelligence?" Eliot asked, his heart skipping a beat at revisiting this issue after Alek had presented the idea earlier.
"Not necessarily," Alek refuted, speaking ahead of Alessandra. "In this instance, the fact that rainomalies look human or appreciate music doesn't mean they're inherently intelligent. It is the same as birds and their songs. We know that, regardless of how elaborate bird songs can be or how well they emulate new sounds, it is a signal language or parroting, pardon the pun."
"Agent Saroyan's opinions aside," Doctor Alduino cut in sharply, her scowl aimed at Alek. "We are not ruling out the possibility that the rainomalies' fondness for listening to and producing music could be a form of communication, one chord at a time."
Eliot drew in a breath. A sudden flashback to Close Encounters of the Third Kind almost sent him into a giggling fit. "Holy. Shit."
She gestured toward a youngish man ambling about the lab with headphones on, humming and writing notes on sheets of music, lost in his own headspace. "There is our resident musical genius," Alessandra commented.
If the piercings, tattoos, smoky makeup, and tight leather clothing weren't a clue, Eliot recognized the man's face.
His eyes widened in surprise seeing the self-professed gender-neutral artist. "Is that Berry Bomb, the punk rock star?"
"Yes." Alessandra pursed her lips disapprovingly. "He's here to see if, once all the noise has been filtered o
ut, the rainomalies create anything resembling—"
"A classical symphony?" Alek finished sarcastically.
Eliot punched him on the arm, hard enough to bruise. "She said if, in case you missed it. It's called 'research' for a reason."
"I like you," Doctor Alduino said, a gloating smirk aimed at Alek.
Eliot blushed. "He's dismissive a lot."
"He is at that," Alessandra agreed.
Alek rolled his eyes. "I'll believe it when I see it. Or, in this case, hear it." Then he waved at the monitors. "What were you saying about their lifespan?"
With a disgruntled mien, Alessandra pointed toward the slow-mo recording. "Watch what happens when they land on the tiles."
If Eliot could have opened his eyes any wider, he was certain they would pop out of their sockets. He barely blinked. He didn't want to miss a second.
The tiny round creatures fell in sync with the rain, hit the floor—and bounced back up.
"Oh wow, they're like rubber balls," Eliot declared, whooping a little with astonishment.
Alek didn't exactly gasp but he did breathe more heavily. "They can control the density of their surface tension? Fascinating."
Alessandra nodded, her attention on the video footage as well. "Not all of them do, though, as some dissipate on impact. Others do bounce back from the hit, if only for a short time, and after rising they evaporate into water vapor." She paced around, her gestures animated. "Whether they're able to reconstitute themselves or if they simply fade from this world, that is still up for speculation, pending further investigation."
Alek had leaned in closer to watch the video. Now he straightened up again. "We have no conclusive proof to suggest the mythkin are subject to the laws of physics or nature as humans are. Their dual existence makes that a difficult determination."
Alessandra shrugged. "Sometimes regular raindrops do not immediately break apart upon impact with the ground or other objects."
"Their integrity is compromised, though, and they don't last long," Alek pointed out.
As Alek and Doctor Alduino continued to argue, relatively dispassionately this time, Eliot had to keep watching, mesmerized by the sight. It never stopped raining inside the test chamber. Huge droplets showered down on the tiles. Alessandra must have turned off the microphones since Eliot could no longer hear the music.