Variations on Humanity

by Paul Eslinger

  “Thank you,” Rhona whispered in his ear while she returned the hug. She let go and smoothed the front of her flowing green dress with both hands. Inexplicably, her bra had increased one and a half sizes as the subdermal armor continued growing. The defensive and offensive equipment built into her bra took up another size, and her breasts looked monstrous when she looked down into her exposed cleavage.

  Keene followed her gaze and correctly interpreted her expression. “You look good enough to take on the entire world.”

  “Thanks. My self-confidence must be taking a vacation. We have to face two worlds.”

  “You can do it,” he encouraged.

  “I can, with you here with me,” she replied when they started across the room.

  “Always.”

  The personal conversation ended when family and friends enveloped them. Forty-five minutes later, they moved into the cafeteria for a meal catered by Beverly and several store employees. All of the fresh food came from the store and the prepared food came from the underground facility.

  Everyone was enjoying the meal when Rhona leaned over and looked at Nanda. “Are you ready?” Rhona asked.

  “I am.”

  Rhona touched Keene’s hand. “Can you whistle for attention?”

  “Sure.” He put his fingers to his lips and blew. The whistle was just loud enough to still the rumble of side conversations.

  Rhona rose to her feet and stepped back from the table. “I have a quick announcement and then you can continue eating. We’re going to play a wedding song, but I’ll let Nanda introduce it.”

  The Abantu woman rose to her feet as fluidly as any teenager and began speaking. “All of you know I visited Earth twice before moving here. Using the Gregorian calendar, the first visit started in the year 4103 BC. We stayed fifty years and I became good enough friends with Noah and his wife Abigail that I attended the wedding of their son Japheth to Hadar. Their other two sons Shem and Ham were there, along with their wives Chanah and Dvorah. All four men played a flute accompaniment as Chanah and Dvorah sang a wedding song for Hadar.”

  Nanda beamed while she looked around the silent room. “They never knew I recorded the song. Now, half a lifetime later, we get to enjoy the song again.”

  The music began when Nanda sat down. The flutes had a pleasing mellow sound, and the full-bodied music was flawless, both in pitch and timing.

  Moments later, two females, one alto and one soprano, began to sing. The listeners didn’t understand the words, but appreciation didn’t need to rest on understanding. The singers sounded better than any vocalist Rhona had heard. They supported the notes perfectly and they didn’t strain while reaching for higher notes.

  Olga’s voice came over Rhona’s earpiece just as the music faded. The security team had promised to include Rhona if they faced any difficulties. “We may have a situation.”

  “What’s that?” Sam asked.

  “The two men visiting at the Becker residence are heading this way. We saw them put two quadcopters in the back seat of their car.”

  “Genyao Sliva and Donald Jahnke?” Trixie asked.

  “Yes,” Olga responded.

  Rhona covered her mouth with her hand to hide the conversation from those around her as she interjected a comment. “Sliva has connections to Breneman.” She could see her mother’s concerned face across the table.

  “He also has a double-mind trace,” Adara added.

  Keene reiterated their predetermined plan. “Adara, kill the quadcopters if they try to fly them onto school grounds. Olga, watch the men.”

  “Yes, sir,” Olga said and severed the connection.

  “Is something wrong?” Judith asked when Rhona dropped her hand and reached for a coffee cup.

  “Probably nothing.”

  Judith raised her eyebrows. “You don’t sound convincing.”

  Chapter 38 – Double Minds

  The vehicle Olga Booker drove now displayed an Abantu emblem on the side rather than the insignia of the old Hodgeman County sheriff’s department. She pulled around the school and stopped in the middle of Bramley Street. She could see west through town along the most likely route the two men would use. The air was so still that not even a twig moved in the leafless trees lining the street.

  She stepped out on the pavement and leaned back against the front of the pilentum with her arms crossed. Keith and Cecelia routinely hosted out-of-town guests, most of them hard-eyed men. She would have stopped the so-called guests at the embassy border and refused them entry, but Keene and Laura had decided differently.

  The protective suit she wore didn’t have the wealth of displays available in the vehicle, but it still had marvelous capabilities. A heads-up display materialized and Olga watched the distant vehicle turn in her direction.

  Adara’s voice came from her post in the underground Intelligence Center. “Arrival in four minutes.”

  There wasn’t any traffic, so Olga saw the car coming when it was still six blocks away. She heaved a sigh of relief when it pulled over and parked while still a block from the school. She was positive the driver saw her vehicle, even without her using flashing lights.

  A few moments later, Olga couldn’t resist talking to Adara. “They unloaded two quadcopters.”

  “I see,” Adara replied. “Standing by for your call.”

  They hadn’t expected any security problems around the rehearsal, and there were only five people on the guard detail. Olga was in charge. Clyde, Isadore and Deputies Stacey Thierolf and Bruce Dalton rounded out the team.

  Olga watched the two quadcopters rise into the air and dart towards the school grounds. The operators didn’t attempt to disguise their destination. She sighed. “Get ready, Adara, they’re almost here.”

  Moments later, Olga spoke again. “Take them down.”

  The low hum of rotors died just after Olga gave the command. The defunct quadcopters quickly lost speed and altitude. One crashed in the street behind Olga and the other one bounced on the turf of the front lawn.

  The two men stripped their control goggles from their faces and stared in her direction. She could see them talking animatedly, but they were too far away for her to hear what they were saying.

  Olga’s gut tightened when the men got back in their car and accelerated in her direction. Fortunately, they slowed and stopped in the intersection rather than trying to ram her vehicle. She straightened to her full height of five foot two inches and called out crisply. “There is a private event here today. Take your quadcopters and leave.”

  The driver got out, slammed the door shut and started moving in her direction. Blood engorged his neck veins and darkened his face. “I’m not doing anything of the sort, you dumb shit,” he shouted.

  Olga reached for her Taser while ignoring the ensuing flood of obscenities from both men. The closest man was only a few steps away when she pulled the trigger. The blast of electricity froze his muscles and he slammed down on the pavement like a falling tree in a storm.

  She let off the trigger and the man surged up, howling in pain and anger. He had scraped one elbow and blood dripped from scratches on the side of his face. She reflexively pulled the trigger and he slammed down again. They repeated the sequence two more times before she noticed the other man was now running full-tilt towards the school.

  “Get the other guy,” Olga screamed before she noticed that Clyde was already between the running man and the gym doors. She hit the man trying to attack her with the Taser one more time while reaching for a tranquilizer dart. He collapsed a few seconds later.

  * * *

  Everyone at the rehearsal dinner now knew something was happening. Sam knew they only had a skeleton force outside and the urge to join them grew stronger. He stepped over beside Keene and jerked his thumb towards the door. “I’m going outside.”

  “Okay. I’ll–” Keene
started to rise, looked around the room, glanced at Rhona, and then plopped back on his seat with a frustrated expression. “I’ll stay here.”

  Sam was most of the way to the door leading into the hall before Keene finished talking. His feet drummed on the tile floor as he sprinted towards the exterior door. He glanced back once and saw Trixie coming out of the cafeteria. He didn’t slow and wait for her.

  Discussions with Trixie had given Sam a superficial understanding of the new sensors. A wild thought made Sam speak through gasps for air. “Adara, is the man still coming ... the one with a double-mind trace?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can you turn the power up … way up … on the mind detector sensors?”

  “It’s possible.”

  Sam slowed and hit the crash bar of the exterior door with both hands. “Can you do it now?”

  “Give me a moment.”

  Outside, he watched Clyde bring up his Taser and fire as the other assailant approached. Apparently, the man was wearing a protective vest, because the Taser leads bounced off without any effect.

  Reflexes learned in high school football practice kicked in and Sam dove forward in a picture-perfect tackle. The man slammed down on the concrete sidewalk with Sam’s arms wrapped around his knees.

  “Are you okay?”

  Sam slowly got to his feet. “I’m fine, Clyde. Not even a scratch.”

  Clyde gestured at the fallen man. “You punched out his lights.”

  “I don’t think so,” Sam replied as the man drew a ragged breath, groaned, and started to rise to his knees. “Adara, can you make that change?”

  “Coming up … now.”

  The man on his knees suddenly convulsed. His arms flailed as he fell to the concrete and rolled over on his side. His heels pounded on the ground and his back arched in an impossible arc. “Leave me alone!” he shouted in a guttural voice. “You have no authority … leave me be!”

  Moments later, the man screamed impossibly loud and then went slack. His chest still rose and fell, so Sam could tell he was still alive.

  Startled, Sam spoke more sharply than he intended. “Adara, tell me what happened.”

  “The double mind split,” she said in a wondering tone. “One mind is still on the ground and the other has disappeared.”

  “What happened?” Sam demanded.

  “There was a little blip of energy and then it disappeared.”

  “Did it die?”

  Adara sighed. “I don’t think so, but I’m not positive. It seemed to just go away.”

  Clyde gestured at the supine man. “What do we do with this guy?”

  “If it were me,” Sam growled, “I’d lock him up forever.”

  “Our briefing called for–”

  “I know, I know” Sam barked. “We check him for serious injuries and then dump him outside the embassy boundary.”

  “I have a suggestion.”

  “Go ahead,” Sam replied when the man on the ground began moaning and rubbing his left elbow. Sam could already see a bruise forming on it.

  “They’re here visiting Keith and Cecelia Becker. Let’s dump these guys at their house and make them do the dirty work.”

  “I like the way you think.” Sam chuckled and slapped Clyde on the shoulder. “Let me check with Keene.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Sam pounded on the door of the Becker residence. His shout was far louder than the doorbell. “Hello? Anyone here?”

  “I’m coming,” said a muffled male voice. The door opened just far enough to expose a nose and one eyeball. “What do you want?”

  “Your friends got unruly. You can take them back to Senator Harper.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t waste my time,” Sam barked. “I left a party to take care of this. We’ll just leave them here on the porch.”

  As he spoke, Clyde and Isadore carried a slack man up the walk and unceremoniously dropped him on the porch. Behind them, three more people lugged a larger man up the stairs and laid him beside his fellow conspirator.

  Sam didn’t look at the crack in the door as he gave a final instruction. “They should wake in half an hour. They need to leave the embassy grounds before midnight.”

  Much later in the evening, Nana and Orin joined Rhona, Keene, Sam, Laura, Trixie, Nanda and Olga Booker in the Intelligence Center to review the actions of Sam and the security people.

  Rhona slowly spun in a circle, catching glimpses of action from recordings made by several sensors. She had reviewed the recordings already, and an itch was crawling up and down her spine. A new insight brought her to a sudden stop and she slammed her clenched fist into her open palm. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Why not?” Nana asked.

  “Think of it this way. Senator Rucker has sent a long stream of people to Jetmore looking for an angle to give him control over the situation.”

  “Yeah,” Sam grunted. “Any quadcopter surveillance clip they take here that shows an Abantu goes to his office. He has quite a library of action shots.”

  “Right,” Rhona agreed. “They know our wedding is tomorrow and they know the president and several other world leaders are coming. Sending up quadcopters to look for security-related changes makes sense if you’re looking to disrupt the event or complain.”

  “So, what doesn’t make sense?” Keene prompted.

  “Their response when Adara brought down the quadcopters. The senator is paying for the equipment, so they aren’t even out pocket money.”

  “I see,” Olga said. “The driver went berserk when I asked him to leave.”

  “Listen to your words.”

  Rhona issued a command and Olga’s recorded voice emerged from the speakers. “There is a private event here today. Take your quadcopters and leave.”

  A video feed showed the face of the driver. He looked irritated when the car arrived. His expression after Olga spoke was more feral than a rabid dog. His face regained the same feral look every time Olga let off on the Taser.

  Rhona pointed at the image of the man’s face now frozen in the air. “I like Olga’s choice of words–berserk.” She spun and pointed at Nanda. “Did he show signs of psychedelic drug use?”

  “No. We scanned both of them and took blood samples. No drugs of that type for at least a month.”

  “It makes no sense for the other man to run towards the gym.” Rhona continued.

  “They tested our reaction time,” Trixie offered.

  “In a sense, yes.” Rhona twirled a lock of curly hair around her finger while she thought. “I wonder whether the real reason isn’t buried in what the second man said after Adara funneled extra energy through the mind scanning sensors.”

  “What did he say?” Orin asked.

  Rhona issued another command and the words of the man resounded in the big room. “Leave me alone! You have no authority … leave me be!”

  Rhona let the words fade before continuing. “We have a number of recorded conversations for this individual. His voice is totally different than before.”

  “A body slam on concrete can change your perspective,” Sam said dryly.

  “I know, but I don’t think that’s the reason.” Rhona nodded. “One of the phrases he spoke may hold the key.”

  Nanda jabbed her index finger in Rhona’s direction. “You have no authority,” she quoted.

  Rhona nodded and held up three fingers. “Three things are obvious.” She grabbed one finger with her other hand. “First, a separate ‘intelligent entity’ was sharing that man’s body.” She grabbed the second finger. “Next, the feedback Adara sent through the mind mapping sensors caused enough discomfort that it fled. And third, that entity recognized an authority structure–one to which Sam, and the rest of us, don’t belong.”

  “Hmm,” Keene harrump
hed. “I wasn’t thinking about it in that manner, but it makes sense once you spell it out.”

  Rhona pivoted so she could look directly at Nanda. She could see Nana’s intent face over Nanda’s shoulder. “Was this entity one of the evil ones–a Son of God or a Nephilim?”

  Nanda began shaking her head. “I met one of them in person. These were totally different. They’re bad, but they are quite benign when compared to the ancient ones.”

  “What do we–you–do?” Nana asked.

  Silence fell like a curtain. Rhona shifted and reached for a lock of hair again. “Something Elaine said a while back is starting to make more sense.”

  “Remind us,” Keene said.

  “I’ll try,” Rhone replied. She took a deep breath and searched her improving memory. “If the major themes of the Holy Bible are true, then there are powerful entities–not human or Abantu–that influence people and events towards evil or good. Making true progress toward good can only occur if the influencers can be shifted.”

  Sam clapped his hands together. The burst of sound echoed off the far wall. “My grandmother would have liked Elaine. I think Adara just gave us a lever we can use to shift some of the influencers. I didn’t feel anything strange while I was standing there, but this feral entity did. It gave up the human host and ran.”

  “I agree,” Adara said. “We didn’t get precise data because I almost overloaded the local sensors, but the second mind became extremely active when I made the change. The level of activity diminished slightly just before it disappeared.”

  “Where did it go?” Nana asked.

  “I don’t know.” Nanda shuddered. “But I think we want to put a couple of high power sensors in the room with every Star Portal.”

  Nana’s face looked grim. “I won’t leave to go home until you do.”

  Chapter 39 – Wedding

  Rhona woke early and took a long shower the next morning. Excitement and apprehension warred with each other while she dried off and fluffed her hair. Excitement finally won out as she thought about Keene’s sense of humor and his thoughtful actions. He would make a wonderful husband.