“So, this is a game?” Rhona shot back.
“Not in the sense of triviality or playing without thinking of the consequences to others. However, turbulent human society provides many more opportunities for making excellent business moves than the more static Abantu society.”
Excitement shot through Rhona. Laura had just acknowledged motivations that seemed much more aggressive than what she had gleaned about Abantu society from casual conversations with others. She needed to think before following this very interesting rabbit trail. Fortunately, current topics provided a screen for her private thoughts. “Is Dulcis still watching over the Abantu living in Europe?”
“Most of her excess capacity is focused on them right now.” Laura gestured at another table where Sam and Trixie were holding a lively conversation with several Abantu women. “I’m still concerned.”
“So am I,” Keene responded. “We’ve run out of clues on Scott Rucker and we can’t even prove Enzio Martin is still alive. Martin supposedly lives in Europe. Between them, they kidnapped several people and killed some of them.”
“Yeah,” Rhona agreed as her hand slipped off the table and fingered the healed wound on her side.
Laura’s eyes blazed white for a few moments. “Martin also killed a number of people working for him.”
Keene finished his omelet and set his fork on his empty plate. “I know we already talked about our surveillance activities in Italy. Your arguments made sense back then, however, Dulcis apparently can’t continue providing the highest quality coverage. I think Sam and Trixie should go to Italy. They can use the chariot instruments to enhance our surveillance network.”
“Oh,” Laura said. “Is that necessary? Marlee and the others already have good equipment.”
“Sam and Trixie would bring a fresh viewpoint,” Keene countered. “We sometimes get complacent with familiar things. A new set of eyes might see something important.”
“What does Sam think?”
“He’s concerned enough he mentioned it to me again this morning before the women mobbed Trixie and him. We both think Rucker and Martin are planning something nefarious.”
“Do you have any hard clues?” Rhona asked.
“No–just the record of their past actions and the fact neither of them has come out of hiding.”
The ring of Rhona’s phone interrupted the conversation. She pulled it out of her pocket and looked at the screen. “It’s Diana,” she said to the others and then she answered the call. “Hello.”
Diana sounded breathless. “Rhona, I’m glad I reached you.”
“What’s happening?”
“I came into the office a little early this morning to do some extra cleanup. There were vans from two TV stations in the parking lot. Two reporters and camera crews jumped out when I pulled off of the street.”
Rhona nodded as the idea the media had been much too quiet since the president had made the announcement of the Abantu Embassy surfaced in her mind. Actually, there had been a tsunami of media interest since Ceres started moving, but reporters had hounded scientists and politicians rather than people on the street. Rhona activated the speakerphone and spoke when Diana stopped for a quick breath. “What did they want?”
“They wanted information about you.”
“Oh. What did you tell them?”
“Nothing.”
Rhona chuckled. “Were they satisfied with your response?”
Diana’s voice was harsh. “No, they pushed and shoved each other and stuck microphones in my face. Kids in kindergarten get ‘time out’ for far less obnoxious actions.”
Keene leaned close. “Diana, this is Keene. Are you inside the office right now?”
“Yes. They chased me to the door yelling questions. They tried to come inside but I pushed the door shut on them and locked it.”
“I don’t suppose they went away,” Rhona observed.
“They’re still outside. Elaine should get here in about twenty minutes and Joan and Kelly should be close behind her.”
Rhona watched Keene rub his upper lip. It was a sure signal he was concerned. He spoke again. “You mentioned there were vans from two TV stations. Which stations?”
“One of them was local,” Diana responded. “I didn’t recognize the other one.”
A few shuffling noises came over the phone and then Diana spoke again. “I’m looking out the bathroom window. The other van is from a station in Sioux Falls.”
Rhona frowned. “Sioux Falls is over 300 miles away. Why would they show up in Rapid City at the same time a crew from the local station showed up?”
Laura held up both hands. “We’ve been getting over a thousand requests per day from the media for interviews. We reject all of them with the same polite message.”
“I knew we were getting requests, but I didn’t realize there were that many,” Rhona responded. “That might explain why one crew would show up at my dental office, but not two on the same day before the office opens. Especially, not from a station from out of town.”
“What should I do?” Diana asked.
After looking around the table, Rhona answered. “Nothing different than you are doing now. Let Joan or Kelly talk to the media if they want to. The media will probably lose interest and leave within an hour or so.”
“Maybe not,” Diana responded. “I’m still peeking out the window. A van from an Omaha station just pulled into the parking lot.”
“Somebody is orchestrating this,” Charles interjected. He smiled and held up his hands when several sets of eyes impaled him. “I don’t know what, or why, but news crews only follow what they consider big leads when they go out of town.”
“It’s all about market share,” Rhona groused.
“I agree,” Judith replied. She waved her hand at Laura, Rhona, and Keene. “Do you folks know what is happening?”
“No.” Keene shook his head slowly. “We compiled a long list of trigger events or items of concern. We expected a media mob to show up here, but it hasn’t. A half-dozen people, mostly alien conspiracy theorists or representing alternative media venues, have visited here the last few days.”
“Were we on your list?” Diana asked.
“Yes,” Rhona responded. “You are because you worked for me, not because you have met any Abantu.”
“Other than Trixie.”
Rhona chuckled. “You’re right. You cleaned her teeth.”
“I hope they don’t stay very long,” Diana said. “Some of our customers would love to talk in front of a camera, but most of them will just leave. We’ll have a rescheduling nightmare.”
Judith shook her head. “It takes a long time to drive from Omaha to Rapid City. The people in the van either stayed in Rapid City overnight or they drove half of the night. We’re missing something.”
An itch started near the base of Rhona’s shoulder blades when she nodded in agreement. She brought the phone closer to her lips. “Diana, we need to do some sleuthing. Keep your phone with you and call us the instant anything changes, including any media representatives that leave.”
“Okay.”
Rhona stood and picked up her food tray. “We need to head up to the Intelligence Center and figure out what is going on.”
“That’s right.” Judith also stood and retrieved her dishes. “Don’t forget to go to the infirmary and get your shot.”
“I won’t forget, Mother.” Rhona smiled as she headed towards the busing station. She had always enjoyed being around her parents, but they were developing a strong working relationship as adults. She looked down at her hands, confident she wouldn’t forget to take the shot. Even though she still had freckles, her skin looked younger than before and it was smoother than ever in her life.
A dozen people gathered in the nearly dark Intelligence Center a few minutes later. Dulcis powered up an interactive
display for each of them when Rhona took point in the search. “Why are several media teams visiting my dental office right now?” she asked.
Sam called out even before everyone reached their display. “I may have something.”
“What?” Rhona responded and Laura echoed the words.
“Dulcis flagged a BBC broadcast that aired last night for review.” He issued a command and a large screen came to life. “Watch this,” he said.
In the broadcast, an earnest-looking man in a suit looked at the camera. “Good evening, I am Peter Hammond and this is the daily world health update. Our story today comes from the country of Cameroon.”
The image split, showing the man and a map of central Africa. “If you are a history buff, you may know Ebola was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The deadly Ebola virus is only transmitted by direct contact. In recent years, about fifty percent of the people infected by the virus died a horrible death.”
“Yesterday, workers from the World Health Organization confirmed that several people living near the town of Pitoa in northern Cameroon have contracted the virus. There have been several outbreaks of the disease in the last couple of decades, but fortunately, the disease has not spread worldwide. No current vaccine or medicine is effective against the disease although researchers continue to work on the problem. The incubation period for Ebola can vary between two and twenty-one days but many people start displaying symptoms about fourteen days after exposure.”
A picture of a village with grass-thatched huts surrounded by bare ground replaced the map. The commenter continued. “This story has an unusual twist. Several of the people who contracted Ebola claim two Abantu visited their village about two weeks ago.”
“The people of this village speak the Kanembu language, which is spoken by only about 75,000 people. Fortunately, one person working for the World Health Organization speaks the language. In addition, we contacted a couple from the state of Kansas in America working for the Wycliffe Bible translators who are conversant in the language.”
The village picture changed to a picture of a grey-haired man lying on a rough bed. He looked in terrible physical shape and he spoke slowly in a hoarse voice. A smoother voice provided an English translation. “We were going out to butcher a goat when the air glowed yellow like fire and two people suddenly appeared on the trail in front of us. They had white skin, black hair, and were about six foot tall–a man and a woman.”
The sick man shuddered. “We thought they were demons, and we stood still in terror when they approached. They looked like people, but their eyes were like cat eyes with black around the edges. They spoke, but not in any language we ever heard. They seemed astonished we didn’t understand them. They stopped, looked at each other, and put their hands on their mouths. They then stepped closer, patted us on the head, and stepped back. Moments later the glow ate them.”
The commentator took over the story. “The villagers had more to say, but this excerpt has all of the salient facts. Unfortunately, we have more questions than answers. Why did two Abantu visit a small village in Cameroon? Why did they pat the villagers on the head and then disappear? Why did these same villagers come down with Ebola two weeks later? We have to wonder what the Abantu wanted and why they stayed only a few moments. This is Peter Hammond with the daily world health update. Good day.”
Chapter 9 – Media Storm
“Clever spin,” Rhona muttered, “but they got several facts wrong.”
“Like what?” Judith asked.
Rhona looked at Laura. “The height of a male Abantu?” she asked.
“Yes. Females are about six inches taller than males.”
“There were two obvious things wrong with the description of the transmission.” Rhona held up two fingers.
“Wrong color,” Keene interjected. “The star portal gives off green light, not yellow.”
“Right.” Rhona lowered one finger. “In addition, Trixie told us transmissions only work between pairs of portals.” She swung around and stared at Laura. “Is that correct?”
Laura nodded. “That is correct, however, I have not studied the new technology.”
Rhona held both hands in a gesture of surrender. “We can study that later. The important thing is someone set up a fake situation and got the BBC to air it. Any number of xenophobes could have done this, but can we figure out who orchestrated it?”
“There’s essentially no technology in the village.” Sam glanced at Trixie as he made the comment. She nodded in affirmation of his comment. “We’ll have a tough time finding out who talked to the old man, especially when none of us know the language.”
“Dulcis can translate,” Laura said.
“Yes, but we would have to put someone on the ground to ask questions.”
“This is interesting, but we’re getting off track,” Charles said. “What will the media do in Rapid City?”
Judith clutched her husband’s hand in hers. “In addition, a lot of those villagers will die. They don’t have to.”
Rhona nodded while she considered her mother’s words. She knew they were making big strides in setting up the medical manufacturing. She asked a question to keep the discussion going. “Why not?”
“We just made an initial production run of a general antiviral medicine and we made enough to treat about 25,000 people. Nanda says it will work against every known human virus. You simply take two pills about 12 hours apart.”
Charles nodded. “In addition, we have produced about the same number of health improvement kits. Each kit contains a sequence of twelve shots and a year’s supply of dietary supplements.”
A muscle in Rhona’s jaw twitched. “I can see it now. You ride into town in a chariot and stay for a day. Everyone who is sick with Ebola recovers that very day. You hand out the free kits and tell people they won’t get sick if they use it. Good marketing.”
“I don’t like seeing people suffer,” said Laura with a hint of a quaver in her voice. “However, it is a good marketing strategy. You were the one who suggested it.”
“I may have, but I wasn’t thinking about being the spokeswoman at the time. This offer needs to be presented correctly.”
Laura smiled. “That’s right, and I nominate you. You can meet both needs.”
Rhona already knew what Laura was going to say but she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. “In what way?”
“Go to your dental office and talk to the media. Other folks can deliver the medicine at the same time.”
“Okay, I’ll do it.”
“Great.” Laura looked absent-minded as she waved one hand in agreement. “The second road vehicle is operational and a third one is nearing completion.”
“I’d need to take a chariot to make sure I get there in time.”
“Of course,” Laura agreed.
Rhona looked around. “We pulled out all of the Abantu living in America and brought them here. The sharks out there still want to assert control. They’re starting to snap at the heels of the next level of acquaintances.”
Laura glanced at Keene. “Do you agree?”
“Yes.”
“You’re probably right.” Laura nodded. “What pilot do you want?”
Rhona smiled. “Sam or Keene, or anyone else, can do the honors.”
Keene put on an expression of innocence. He had just passed the pilot’s test and soloed in a chariot. It was a little burr under his saddle that Sam had qualified first by a few days. “Don’t you trust me?”
“With my life,” Rhona responded as she caught Keene’s hand in hers. “I just don’t know what else Laura has planned for today.”
“You can both go,” Laura said.
Rhona’s thought moved to living arrangements. She was hoping Diana and Elaine would move to Jetmore. “I’ll try to recruit Diana and Elaine while I�
��m there. Are there any open apartments here?”
Laura chuckled. “We’re only about half full. However, this place feels like it is bursting at the seams, given the number of people who lived here the last hundred years.”
The living arrangements were very pleasant, but Rhona could see how the facility could become a prison if things didn’t go well. She shivered.
“Is something wrong?”
“We have an embassy, but we are holing up rather than spreading out. I hope we don’t have to build walls around the entire county.”
“We can talk later,” Laura said. “You should also take a pickup.”
“It takes a long time to drive.”
“No, no.” Laura waved both hands. “The pickup integrates into the bottom of the chariot. You can carry it along and set it down on a road when you get there.”
“Oh.” Rhona closed both eyes for a moment as she thought about the new information. “That works. How long will it be before we can leave?”
Laura made shooing motions with both hands. “Go now.”
The extra weight of the pickup didn’t appreciably slow the chariot. Thirty minutes later Keene released the pickup in a small deserted parking lot on Skyline Drive less than two miles from the dental clinic. His voice came over Rhona’s earpiece when she vaulted out onto the ground. “I’ll circle close by and watch. Keep in touch.”
The team from the local TV station had already left when Rhona arrived, but the other two vans were still there. She pulled into a parking spot and walked towards the reporters rushing her direction. “Can I help you with something?”
The closest female reporter spoke rapidly. “Are you Rhona Lantier?”
“Yes.” Rhona turned slightly and gestured at the building. “I am the primary investor in this dental office.”
Another reporter pushed close. “I thought you lived in Jetmore, Kansas.”
Variations on Humanity Page 7