Bright Horizons

by Wilson Harp

  “Thanks, but I feel like it.”

  “Had the MRI yet?”

  “Nope, had the snake yet?”

  “Yep, got that the first day. Knew it was coming, asked to be first in order to get it out of the way.”

  “Good call, Alex waited and now he is all worked up about it.”

  The door opened and in walked an old man with a full head of white hair. He didn’t say a word, he just walked to a desk and hit a few buttons.

  “Over here, gentlemen” he said as he walked over to a small white table. He hit a switch on it and a hologram of a molecule floated above the table’s surface.

  “Mister Martin, how familiar are you with chemistry?”

  “Colonel,” Williams said reflexively.

  “What?”

  “Colonel. His name is Colonel Martin, not Mister Martin.”

  “Do I have to salute him?”

  “Well, no, you don’t.”

  Kyle smiled at Williams. “He’s got you Sergeant Major. Why don’t you call me Kyle, Doctor Schroeder. And assume that I am as familiar as Sergeant Major Williams here. If I need to ask a question along the way, I will, don’t worry.”

  “Very well, Mister Martin. Do either of you gentlemen know what this molecule is?”

  Williams looked at it closely. “I’m more familiar with non-organic chemistry, but it looks like a protein.”

  “Very good, Mister Williams. It is a protein. It is in fact a protein taken from human saliva. Now what do you think this is?”

  The hologram shimmered and changed.

  Williams looked at it closely and finally shook his head.

  “It looks like a protein again, but there is something wrong. What is that, and that?” Williams said pointing at little parts of the molecule.

  “Good eye, Mister Williams. Those are why I called you today. This is a protein from a sample of saliva we were able to retrieve from the Fletcher. We are positive that it is a sample from a Hedali. In fact, I have been in conversations with the Hedali and they confirmed that is what we have. I reciprocated by sending molecular structures of many different materials from earth, and you know what they told me?” he paused for dramatic effect.

  “What did they tell you Doctor Schroeder?”

  “They told me I was modifying the information. That I was leaving something out.” He leaned over to the hologram and pointed at what Williams had found odd. “They claim I am leaving out that.”

  Williams stared at it intently. “It is a bond of some sort, like a peptide, but not quite right,” he said softly.

  “Mosar.”

  “What?”

  “Mosar is what they call it.”

  “What is mosar?”

  “An element we missed on our chart Mister Williams.”

  “Excuse me? We missed it?”

  “Yes Mister Williams, we missed it.” Schroeder walked back over to his desk and pulled up a small piece of cardboard with the periodic table printed on it.

  “Tell me Mister Williams, what are we missing on this chart?”

  Williams took the chart and looked it over. “Nothing Doctor Schroeder, everything is here from Hydrogen to Untroctium.”

  “What about zero, Mister Williams? What element has no proton?”

  “There isn’t an element without a proton. There can’t be.”

  “Just like there can’t be a number that doesn’t represent anything?”

  “Zero. That was what opened up mathematics.” Williams fumbled for a stool nearby and sat down. “But how did you discover this?”

  “The Hedali explained it. They were rather dismayed that I didn’t understand a basic building block of chemistry. They rather looked down upon me when I expressed my ignorance.”

  Kyle was a little confused, but he thought he was starting to catch up to speed. ‘So Doctor Schroeder, are you telling me that you have discovered a new element that makes up our bodies?”

  Schroeder looked at Williams and smiled. Kyle heard Williams start to hyperventilate.

  “No Colonel, he’s telling us that we don’t have this element at all.”

  Kyle looked at the hologram as the implications came closing in.

  Chapter 7

  04 August 2042

  Emily Troy stood on her toes looking over the small crowd.

  “Great,” she thought. “I look like a seven year old on the first day of school. Why couldn’t he be taller?”

  Her brother was only 5’ 8” tall, not exactly what someone would imagine of one of the most highly decorated Marines in U.S. history. He was also very good at moving through a crowd unseen.

  “Hey sis!” Alex Ramirez said as he pinched Emily’s bottom.

  She gave a sharp yelp and slapped his shoulder as she turned towards him.

  “Jerk!” she laughed as she gave him a big hug.

  “It’s good to see you,” he said gripping her so tight she squealed a bit. “How are my nieces?”

  “They are doing great! Marcy had the lead in her third grade play and Becky is this tall now,” Emily said holding her hand out right at Alex’s chin. “She is the second tallest in the entire fifth grade. And she loved the card you sent her for her tenth birthday, Alex, she was so excited that she slept with it under her pillow. I told Mom, and she said that she had gotten a call from you the week before, but was in such disbelief that she didn’t want to tell me until she could be positive that you had been released. Why did they let you out? Scratch that, you couldn’t tell me anyway. So anyway back to the girls, Marcy and Becky said to give you a hug when I see you, so here is a hug from both of them.”

  Alex hugged her twice and started to speak, but Emily cut him off again.

  “I was so excited when Dr. Berg called. I mean, to get a call from the head of NASA’s exobiology department saying he wants me to be his team lead on a new project. It’s just unbelievable. I haven’t talked to him since we were in Argentina, and out of the blue he calls me. It’s so exciting. Rumor is that they found a couple of fossils in a meteorite on the moon. Do they know the origins of the rocks? Look who I’m talking to, why would you know?”

  Alex stood shaking his head. She was still his little sister. Even though he missed her 40th birthday last year it didn’t stop her from talking full speed like she had when they were teenagers.

  “Come on, let’s get in the conference room” Alex said as he started moving her towards the door of the auditorium.

  Emily thought it was strange to hold a meeting for a bunch of geologists in the Pentagon, but she also thought it odd that she didn’t recognize many of those wearing the guest tags.

  “Hi Emily.”

  Emily caught her breath when she saw Kyle.

  “Kyle. Colonel Martin... why are you here?” Emily asked, clearly confused.

  She thought back to the first time she had met Kyle Martin.

  It was 18 years ago at a cookout at her parent’s house. She was halfway through her Doctorate program and was home for a visit with her husband when in walked a very normal looking man and his pretty, very pregnant wife.

  Her father had seen him and waved him over.

  “Kyle, so glad you and Sandy could make it. This is my daughter Emily and her husband Brett.”

  “Nice to meet you both, thank you for the invitation, General.”

  “Are you in the Marines, Kyle?” Brett asked without a hint of sarcasm.

  Emily had rolled her eyes at this question, as anyone who spent time around the military would instantly pick up on the subtle hints that Kyle was a Marine.

  “Yes, I am Brett. What line of work are you in?”

  Emily had noticed that Kyle had quickly, and effectively, changed the subject.

  “I just finished Law School and am studying for the Bar right now,” Brett replied.

  “That’s great Bill. General, is Alex here yet?”

  He knew Alex. A cold chill ran up her spine.

  After Kyle had excused himself, Emily had asked her father if Kyle was
one of his officers.

  “No, he is Alex’s CO,” Victor Ramirez said looking into his daughter’s eyes with no doubt as to the real question and answer.

  Again Emily shuddered. She and Brett had left the cookout early when she told her husband she was feeling sick. She never told him the real reason. Emily had just met a man who was a cold blooded killer. A few years later the world knew him as “The Butcher of Hyderabad”. She just knew him as “Kyle”.

  “Emily?” Alex shook her shoulder a little harder to get her attention. “Earth to Emily. You there?”

  Kyle was looking at her expectantly.

  “I’m sorry, must have zoned there for a second. How are you Kyle?” she finally sputtered.

  “I’m good.”

  “And why are you here?”

  “Because I’m the military liaison for this… endeavor,” Kyle said.

  She looked at Alex and back at Kyle.

  “So the reason Alex is here…?”

  She let the question trail as she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer.

  “I’m here because Colonel Martin needs an aide,” Alex said.

  The three of them stood there in awkward silence for a few seconds.

  “I never got to extend my condolences to you. Brett was a good man,” Kyle said with surprising warmth.

  “Thank you Kyle, it’s been hard but we have adjusted for the most part,” Emily said.

  Alex coughed to get her attention. “Come on, let’s go get a seat. Everything will be clear in the next half hour or so.”

  Emily let her brother guide her into the auditorium as Kyle said goodbye and walked further into the lobby.

  She was still trying to get over the shock of seeing Kyle Martin when a man stepped up to the podium.

  “Thank you everyone. Please find your seats.”

  “That’s Ambassador Thomas,” Alex told her as more people started filling up the room.

  She wasn’t that politically aware, but she still didn’t think very many people would be able to name any ambassador.

  “Alex, I thought this was a geological project. Why are there so many military people here? And why is an Ambassador in charge of this meeting?”

  “Shhh. You’ll find out in a couple of minutes.”

  “But…”

  “Shhh.”

  “Don’t you shush me, tell me what…”

  “Am I going to have to separate you two?” The cheerful voice of Doctor Amanda Reeling suddenly interrupted as she stuck her head between the squabbling siblings.

  “Amanda, what are you doing here?” Emily said as she stood up and hugged her dear friend.

  “Doctor Berg asked me to be a part of the project, do you know who is heading it up?”

  “I am,” whispered Emily as the doors closed and quiet finally settled over the room.

  “Good afternoon everyone, thank you for coming,” Ambassador Thomas began speaking. “Those who are not familiar with our project will be given a set of data with all information. Please hold all questions until the end of our presentation, if you will. Let me lay out a few basic facts that you may need time to adjust to.”

  Emily shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She had agreed to head up this project based upon her previous work with Doctor Berg, but she now had the sneaking suspicion that she had been had.

  “The first fact is that we have made contact with an alien race.”

  Emily felt the blood rush to her head. While others in the room gasped or went pale, she became focused.

  “The aliens that we first encountered are known as the Hedali. Due to some circumstances that arose during our initial meeting with them, we have been invited to have a few of our scientists go to a deep space research facility. This, I think we can all agree, will be a wonderful step towards expanding our knowledge of the Universe.”

  “Indeed,” thought Emily. “This is like discovering fire.”

  “Please, let’s hold all questions for just a little longer,” said Ambassador Thomas, trying to maintain control of the increasingly loud mutterings filling the small auditorium.

  Emily barely heard the rest of the short introduction. She started devouring the information pack and getting ready to lead her team. By the end of the day she knew that she would be in deep space in two months and that her team would be making breakthroughs that would lead humanity into the future.

  28 September 2042

  Emily looked over and saw her brother strapped in next to her. He gave her a quick wink and smile, which made her smile back at him.

  The Shuttle Greenway was roaring to life. Emily and her team were going to be traveling to a deep space research station seventeen light years from earth. Amazingly, the longest part of the trip would be the eight day journey aboard the earth vessel. From there, the six humans who would be continuing on would be in a Hedali scout vessel that would be able to reach the station in less than fourteen hours.

  Doctors Amanda Reeling and Howie Grant were her fellow researchers on this mission. Her brother and Colonel Kyle Martin made up the security detail for her team and Ambassador Jim Thomas was the diplomat who had talked his way into being aboard the station.

  She didn’t really care as she was going to be meeting aliens soon. Real, living, honest to goodness aliens. She felt giddy and started to grin. Then she felt the Shuttle moving and felt her stomach drop. She was never a big fan of amusement park rides, and that is exactly what the launch reminded her of. Gratefully the feeling stopped in a few minutes.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to outer space,” Captain Brendlin announced over the intercom system. “We will be rendezvousing with the Space Station Galaxy in a couple of hours. After a brief stop there, we will continue on to our final destination.”

  Emily sighed and relaxed.

  The Hedali had given her team some files describing life on the station and some details concerning the other races that would be stationed there. The station itself was divided into various areas, including common areas and separated living areas for each of the races. The common areas were the galley, the labs, and the docking area. The Hedali had agreed to bring a supply ship for the humans every two months, and to provide long range communication. They would be seventeen light years from Earth, and yet they would be able to communicate with NASA with only a six hour delay. That was an amazing thought.

  Even above the thought of being in deep space and all the magical-seeming technology they would get to see, she was more excited to meet the four races that would be sharing the station. They all breathed oxygen, they all processed foods the same way, and they all had relatively similar requirements for temperature and gravity. The Hedali would be in the warmest part of the station and the Sortag in the coolest. The rooms set up for the humans would be the second coolest, and have the richest oxygen mix.

  The Junniji had the most scientists and staff onboard followed by the Hedali. The Iltia’cor had the same number of scientists and research staff as the Sortag, twelve, but they also had the largest number of security, at twenty two. In fact, the Iltia’cor had more security on the station than all of the rest of the races combined.

  The most surprising thing Emily discovered while going through her information packets was that Ambassador Thomas was not the only diplomat to be on board. An Iltia’cor named Kiltao Bregan was someone of importance. Apparently the name “Kiltao” was a title of command, but also a kind of noble ranking. This particular Iltia’cor was interested in the field of xenobiology for the sole purpose of discovering how easy it was to kill alien life forms; at least according to the Hedali. The Hedali were afraid of the Iltia’cor for some reason, and that was likely coloring their opinions of Kiltao Bregan and his team.

  Her brother and Colonel Martin had warned the entire team to not stay in the lab if the Iltia’cor came in when no other aliens were around. She thought it was pure poppycock, but if it kept the Marines happy, she would make sure her team complied.

  But she did hope to examine them at
some point. The Iltia’cor had a very dense body mass according to the Hedali. They were incredibly strong and quick as well. She could see why they had an intimidating reputation and showed a penchant for using their strength to get what they wanted.

  The Sortag were apparently able to breathe methane and survive in a high chlorine environment. She would love to get more data from them and see what else they would reveal about themselves.

  The Junniji were a gentle, quiet race according to the Hedali, but they were also among the first race to acquire space travel some two thousand years before. Their superior technology and weapon systems kept them safe and their drive for knowledge of all kinds made their scientists the most desirable researchers to work alongside of. She certainly hoped they would help her team some.

  She turned her head when she felt a slight tap on her helmet. Alex was smiling and pointing out of the small window on the hatch of the Greenway. She could see the orbiting space station. She smiled and felt a wonderful glow flow through her. It was a brand new galaxy, and she would get to see it all.

  Chapter 8

  06 January 2043

  “Are you sure there isn’t anything else I can do for you Alex?” Kyle asked as he watched his friend pack his bag.

  “Thanks Colonel, but there really isn’t anything else to do. Emily has to stay here for the mission and the girls need someone to take care of them.” He turned to face Kyle. “You know, when I got the word that Dad was killed, I was angry… sad… full of emotion. But I wasn’t surprised. He was a warrior in the middle of a war. Things like that happen. But a woman in her late 60’s shouldn’t just drop from a heart attack in the vegetable aisle at the grocery store. It’s not right.”

  Kyle shook his head. “No it isn’t, Alex.”

  Alex looked away from his Commanding Officer and glanced around the room one more time. “It… it just feels like I was gut punched, Colonel.”

  Kyle couldn’t believe how much things had changed in the last two days. The first three months on the station, the mission had been going great. Emily and her small team were feeding tons of data back to NASA seemingly every hour. The Hedali had introduced Ambassador Thomas to the three other races that shared the facility, and Kyle and Alex had been the guinea pigs for their scientists as their jobs of “security” had been pretty relaxed.