by Lee Stephen
He chuckled. “Well, if you want to go to Xenobiology, that’s not the one you want to get on. I will show you where to go.”
Her face lit up. “Thank you so much!”
As he began to walk, he glanced back. “Where are you from?”
“I work for a company in Melbourne,” she answered. “It’s on the southern coast of Australia.” Extending a hand, her smile remained. “Calliope Lee.”
“Ekpo.”
“Just Ekpo?”
He laughed. “Yes, just Ekpo.”
“Well, just Ekpo, I think you just saved my day.”
Several minutes later, “Calliope” found herself being led through the various twists and turns of the Anthill. Occasionally groups of armed operatives rushed past them, as if en route to something urgent. After witnessing this several times, Esther raised a genuinely curious eyebrow. “There seems to be a lot of activity. What’s happening?”
Ekpo shook his head. “It is because we are at orange alert. The defense force has been activated.”
“Orange alert?”
“You have not heard?” he asked, looking at her strangely. When she didn’t answer, he went on. “Novosibirsk has attacked a ship from EDEN. They killed Klaus Faerber’s son.”
Esther’s jaw dropped. “What?” For that single moment, her guise disappeared. She quickly reassumed it. “I mean, how? Why?”
“They sent ships to America and somehow intercepted the unit with his son. They shot him down then tried to return to Novosibirsk. Only one ship made it.”
“Why would Novosibirsk do that?”
Ekpo shook his head sadly. “I do not know. I have never met anyone from Novosibirsk, but I have heard terrible things. Their general is named Thoor. He is a bad, bad man.”
“He must be,” said Esther. “To kill Klaus Faerber’s son.” She watched Ekpo with hesitant eyes. “So...what happens in an orange alert? Are you going to go to battle?”
“I will not, no. Unless Novosibirsk decides to come visit Cairo.” He chuckled. “But I don’t believe they care about us.”
Brushing her bob back past her ears, Esther kept her deeply troubled eyes averted from him. “So you don’t work much with Novosibirsk?”
“No,” he said. “We are unrelated.”
“They don’t ever send extraterrestrials this way? I know how much focus Cairo puts on Xenobiology. It’s the reason I’m here.”
Motioning with his arms, he affirmed casually. “We get things from time to time from all bases. But I do not do much with that. Holmes will be able to tell you much more.”
Esther smiled and extended her hand. “Well, I look forward to meeting him.”
For the next several minutes, Esther followed Ekpo away from the security hub and down several winding halls. She scanned the area around her constantly, her high heels tapping rhythmically as she followed the security guard. The more they walked on, the more the demographics changed. Fewer and fewer soldiers walked about now. It seemed as if everyone was some sort of scientist.
“The tram to Xenobiology is not part of the regular tram system,” Ekpo explained. “Some of the other science wings also have their own trams, but Xenobiology is the most secluded.”
As their trek continued, the hall they were on gradually grew wider. When it reached its climax, they were standing in a kind of miniature pavilion. The room was sparsely populated, despite the various circular tables that sat along the walls. At the end of the room was a red metal door with a pair of armed guards standing beside it.
When Ekpo was in earshot of the guards, a short dialogue in Arabic took place, the names Calliope Lee and Giro Holmes arising once from the otherwise indecipherable chatter. The two guards occasionally looked at Esther; she met them each time with a timid smile.
“I explained to them who you are,” Ekpo finally said, “and that you are here to see Holmes. One of them will take you to him now.”
Eyes widening, she asked, “Now?”
“Yes. Run your I.D. through the reader.” Pointing to a wall-mounted card reader beside the door, Ekpo stepped aside to allow her to near. When she ran the card through the device, a green light appeared. The door slid open. “You are now in the system. Because you only have a civilian I.D., you will not be able to pass through the other security measures. Simply present your I.D. to one of the guards on post and they will manually bypass whatever checkpoint you are at to let you through.”
Nodding, Esther rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m sure I can find Holmes on my own—I’d hate to take someone away from their post.”
Laughing quietly, Ekpo winked. “This is what we do, Miss Lee.”
“Well thank you so much.”
“I must return to my post now,” he said, waving as he stepped back. “They will take you to his office.” Turning, Ekpo left her alone with the guards.
Walking through the red metal door, one of the guards motioned for her to follow. She obeyed, soon finding herself walking down a short hallway that ended with a second checkpoint. A retinal scanner was built into the wall. Ignoring it completely, the guard instead approached a small keypad mounted beside the door, where he typed in a short combination. Esther stretched her neck to watch the input, but to no avail. The guard’s body was blocking the keypad. There was an affirming chirp, and the door slid open.
Beyond two immediate security checkpoints were the trams bound for Xenobiology—two parallel pickup points heading off into the distance. The room was as plain as could be. No murals on the wall. No ambient noise. Everything from the walls to the ceiling was stark white. It was more than obvious that this had been constructed after EDEN’s purchase of the theme park metropolis.
“Where do the two trams go?” she asked.
Approaching the tram station on the right, the guard once again inputted several codes into a terminal keypad. Another green light, another chirp. “Heaven and Hell,” the guard answered humorlessly. “It is what they call Confinement and Administration.” He looked back. “Administration is Hell.”
Though Esther said nothing, the hair on the back of her neck bristled. Looking at the terminal display for the rightmost tram, she watched as a digital ticker counted down. One minute, thirty-seven seconds, and moving: the time it would take for the tram to arrive.
Stepping briefly to a glass window shielding the standing zone from the tram track, Esther looked at her reflection. Angling her head, she scrutinized her glasses and inverted bob. Absently, she gripped her handbag tighter.
The time it took for the counter to tick down was spent in silence, as nary a word came from the guard or Esther. The first true sound she heard was the hiss of the tram as it drew near. Moving away from the track, she watched it slide smoothly into position. It was a small tram—only a single car without a driver. On the tram’s door was a small image of a flame.
Administration.
Motioning for Esther to board the tram, the guard followed in behind her. Taking seats across from each other, they gripped the hand rails as the door slid shut and the tram began to hover away.
Any amount of comfort that had existed between Esther and Ekpo had completely dissipated with the new guard. He spoke only when spoken to, and the words he used were short and matter-of-fact. The whole while the tram moved, he said not a thing. The only way for Esther to diminish the uncomfortable atmosphere in the tram was to keep her eyes ahead through the car’s front window. They were moving fast. Very fast. It was impossible to determine their exact rate of travel, but it was clear that they were traveling a significant distance. There was a noticeable arc to their direction as well as a constant downward descent. They were spiraling beneath the surface of the Anthill. Like riding down a corkscrew.
Another digital display in the tram was counting down their time to arrival. As it approached zero, a literal light at the end of the tunnel could be seen. The tram slowed, coming to a stop at another docking station. With a hiss, the doors slid open. Rising from his seat, the guard exited the car. E
sther followed. The tram behind them remained in place, awaiting its next assignment.
This second hub was much like the first, right down to the second parallel tram. Were it not for the fact that they had indeed traveled somewhere, it would have been easy to believe they were in the exact same hub as before.
At the far wall was another security door with a new pair of guards. Esther’s guard approached them, and once more, an Arabic conversation ensued. Nods were exchanged, and the guard who’d gone with Esther walked back to the car they’d arrived on. One of the posted guards addressed her. “Follow me.” Once again, a keypad was used, and once again, the security door slid open. The manual bypass was apparently at every checkpoint as an alternative to the scanners.
Immediately beyond the security checkpoint was a reception area—and vastly different aesthetics. Gone was the stark white barrenness of the tram hubs. Wooden columns lined the walls. The floor was lushly carpeted in dark red. A receptionist smiled from behind her desk.
“She is here to see Holmes,” said the guard.
The receptionist looked at them strangely before turning to a display on her desk. “What was your name?” She was American.
“Calliope Lee,” Esther answered.
Shaking her head, the receptionist said, “Did you have an appointment? I don’t see it on the calendar.”
Esther’s palms began to sweat. Her pupils searched the area, stopping at the nameplate on the receptionist’s desk. Her gaze returned to the receptionist, just as the woman turned back from her monitor. “Are you...Janice?”
The receptionist blinked. “Yes, I am.”
“I believe I spoke with you several months ago. I’m a civilian contractor working with EDEN. I’m based out of Melbourne.”
Janice looked dumbfounded.
“I’m working with Sydney on a reevaluation of their Xenobiology department,” said Esther. “I’d wanted to speak with Mister Holmes about his operations here to take back with me to Melbourne. My meeting with Sydney is in a month.” She offered the most confused expression she could muster. “You don’t recall speaking to me at all?”
Exhaling exasperatingly, Janice shook her head. “I’m so sorry, I don’t. But I talk to so many people. I don’t know why I didn’t put it on the calendar.”
“Does Mister Holmes know I’m here today at all?” Esther asked, grimacing for effect.
“No, I’m sure he doesn’t.” Janice’s words were accompanied by a sigh. “I’m so sorry, Miss Lee, I don’t know why I didn’t put this on the calendar.”
Maintaining a hopeful smile, Esther asked, “Do you think it’s possible for me to still meet with him?”
Janice picked up her desk phone. “I’m calling him right now to see if he can fit you in. Again, I’m so sorry.” Her tone abruptly changed. “Giro! Would you have time to visit with a Miss Calliope Lee? She’s a civilian contractor helping out Sydney.” Several seconds passed before she spoke again. “No, it wasn’t. That’s my fault.” Another pause. “Great! I’ll send her back now.”
Esther smiled as Janice hung up. “He can see me?”
“Yes,” she said, sounding relieved. “I’ll show you to his office.” The guard, upon hearing Janice take over, bowed out of the room.
“Before we go, does there happen to be a restroom here?” Esther asked.
Janice pointed. “Yes, right down that hall, first door on your left. I’ll be here when you come back.”
“Thank you so much.”
Walking down the indicated hallway, Esther found the women’s restroom. Stepping inside and seeing that it was empty, she closed and locked the door. She placed her hands at the edges of the sink. “Oh my God,” she said breathily, moving a hand over her rapidly beating heart.
“Calliope Lee,” she whispered to herself. “Calliope Lee.” Blowing out a breath, she examined her glasses and hair, then looked herself in the eyes. “Hi, Mister Holmes, I’m Calliope.” She shook her head. “Hi, Mister Holmes, I’m Calliope Lee. Hi, Mister Holmes—Calliope Lee.” Flapping her lips disgustedly, she said, “Hi, Mister Holmes, I’m Esther Brooking. Got any Ceratopians I could borrow?” Cracking her neck, she took several moments to compose herself. Straightening her cashmere suit, she walked out the door.
Janice was waiting for her when she returned. Together they left the reception area for the office of Giro Holmes. Office workers of various nationalities walked all around them, conversing quietly with papers and cups of coffee in their hands. Hell, indeed.
After several twists and turns down various halls, Esther and Janice finally arrived at Holmes’ office. Tapping on the door, Janice waited for a response. A voice answered from the other side. “Come in!” Janice opened the door, smiled politely, and ushered Esther in.
Giro rose from his chair, removing his spectacles and setting them on his desk. He smiled warmly and approached Esther. “Hello!” He extended a hand. “Giro Holmes, it’s very nice to meet you.” The man was a carbon copy of his photo from Scott’s folder. Despite the English sounding name, his accent was purely Indian.
Esther’s smile matched his. She shook his hand generously. “Hi, Mister Holmes—Calliope Lee.”
“Come, sit down. Tell me what brings you to Cairo. I am so sorry for the confusion with the calendar.”
Janice excused herself from the room as Esther sat. “I’m working with Sydney for a reevaluation of their Xenobiology department. I was hoping to pick your brain a bit and see how you’ve set things up here.”
Giro grinned, entwining his fingers as he leaned back in his chair. “So you get to work with Amisha, eh? How is that?”
Esther put the new name to immediate use. “She’s ambitious,” she said, restraining a knowing smirk.
“Yes, yes, she is. So what can I do for you?”
Adjusting her posture, she reassumed her professional tone. “Sydney’s mindset is that, if there are going to be any alterations, they need to happen while the cement’s still wet.”
Giro looked at her curiously. “I thought their Xenobiology lab was one of the first things finished?”
“For the most part, yes. But Amisha has several concerns about the current schematic going forward. She and the brass at Sydney are somewhat...” she frowned hesitantly, “at odds about this. That’s probably not something you should repeat.”
Giro shook his head quickly. “Of course not.”
“What she’s hoping to do is present an updated schematic—no drastic changes—with an additional two thousand square feet for Confinement.”
“Hmm.”
Esther straightened herself again. “I’m here primarily to see your Confinement facilities, if that’s something that can be arranged. I can absolutely work around your schedule.”
“Of course, sure.”
“I want to make this as convenient as possible. I know this visit wasn’t expected.”
“Did you want to go now?”
She blinked. “Ahh...sure. If it’s not a bad time for you.”
The director grinned widely. “It is never a bad time to go to Heaven.”
It took Esther a moment to get it, but when she did, she chuckled awkwardly. Dork humor.
“Just what we call things,” Giro explained. “This place is much like Hell. Too much red tape, too much paperwork. Seeing our alien visitors always puts our place in perspective. The universe is so big, and we are so very small. It never ceases to amaze me. Come. Let us go.” Smiling warmly, he led her out of the office.
As they walked toward the tram hub, Esther found herself subjected to constant questioning from Giro—almost none of which applied to her cover story. What was her favorite species? What did she think about the war? Had she ever seen an alien up close? The director’s enthusiasm was obsessive, almost childlike. For every answer she offered, he offered a story in return—how he’d discovered the Bakma species’ sense of humor, or how he’d taught a canrassi to perform for food. The man was a tome of knowledge and gullible to the point of a fault.
He was easy prey.
The tram ride to Heaven was slightly longer than the ride to Hell. It made a certain degree of sense. Extraterrestrials would take advantage of any opportunities to escape, regardless of how unfeasible that might have been. It was good planning to put them farther away from escape than anyone else. The only sentient beings looking to break out of the administration wing were office workers.
The tram slowed to a stop; Esther and Giro stepped out. “So, two thousand square feet?” the director asked. “Does Amisha know what she wants to do with that?”
“Primarily Ceratopian storage,” Esther answered. “She’s not confident that she can keep them in custody the way it’s set up now; there’s just not enough room to house them comfortably.” She frowned. “It’s unfortunate that no one caught that during the planning phase, but...well, you know.”
“Hmm.” The vocalization was painful. “Yes, all too well, I’m afraid. Hindsight is always better. So is it Ceratopian Confinement you’re most interested in?”
She nodded. “That would definitely be the most beneficial. I need to go back with more information on that than anything else.”
“Well come right this way—and get ready.” Placing his eye against a wall scanner, Giro’s retina was read and accepted. The doors swung open, and Esther stepped inside. She went rigid immediately.
A soft-featured, uniformed Ithini stood in the center of the lobby, its oval eyes locked on them. The scout gasped out of sheer surprise.
“Good evening,” Giro said to the alien. Sliding his hands in his pockets, he looked at Esther. “Calliope, this is Ju`bajai.”
Goose bumps erupted on Esther’s neck. “It’s...”
“An Ithini, yes. Things are run somewhat different, here, you see. The extraterrestrials have come here to attack us—that much is obvious. But we make a mistake when we assume they’re all mindless killers. Ju`bajai, in fact, has been very helpful.”
Ju`bajai’s opaque gaze focused on Esther. The alien’s pupils started to widen.