And the World Changes

by A M Kirk

  Mark and Director Roberts told them all that had happened, from Mark’s rescue in the glen to the killing of General Miller.

  “I couldn’t save him,” said Mark quietly.

  “What do you mean?” asked Roberts.

  “If I had known then what this ‘power’ can do, I could have saved him. I wish to God I could have. But I guess I was too shaken up by what had happened back at the road. You see, one of the men had a rocket launcher or something and he was about to fire it right at us. I kind of reached out with my mind and the next thing I knew it blew right up. It blew him to pieces. I couldn’t believe it.”

  “Well it’s no wonder you were shaken up! It’s a miracle you’re not a gibbering wreck!” said Janette.

  Carrie, listening intently, took his hand in hers. They hugged. Roberts saw tears appear in Mark’s eyes.

  “But when the other man, Henderson, came,” Mark went on, rubbing his eyes, “the one from this morning in the glen, I could have made his gun misfire, or deflected the bullets or something. If only I had known then what I could do now, the General needn’t have died. There doesn’t seem to be much limit to what I can do, but I just didn’t know about all that. Not then.”

  “You’re not responsible for that, Mark,” said Roberts.

  “Absolutely not!” agreed Carrie.

  “What happened after that? How did you get away?” asked Janette.

  “That’s the strangest part – “

  “As if it could get any stranger!” remarked Carrie.

  Mark smiled and shrugged. “It was as if they had never been after me at all. The guy Henderson just walked away, saying something about following orders. Oh – Mister Roberts – I took the General’s gun. I suppose you’d better take it. It’s in the rucksack.”

  “Okay, Mark. No problem.”

  “What did you do then?” asked Carrie.

  “I stumbled around for a bit, I think, then the next thing I remember is coming across an old barn.”

  “Choppers were up looking for traces of you. If you were concealed in a barn, that explains why you weren’t picked up,” said Roberts.

  “In the barn I passed out, I guess. Then the dreams started again. Mum, they were terrible. I saw – “

  Haltingly, with much effort, he related what he now knew of his father’s motives and actions. He unconsciously touched a finger to his birthmark as he told his horrified listeners about the syringe.

  “My God!” whispered Janette. “I never knew. I never knew.”

  Mark reached over to take her hand and said, ”Mum, don’t blame him. You mustn’t blame dad. He didn’t start any of this. In his way, he was trying to finish it. And what he did… I think he was right.”

  “But he could have killed you, or caused brain damage…”

  “I know. And he knew. He agonised over it, mum, it tore him apart. But he was right. He was right. That’s what has made me… “

  “Made you what, Mark?” asked Carrie. “What are you? Superman?”

  Mark grinned. “I don’t know about that…”

  “Well, is there anything you can’t do?” Carrie asked. “Hmmm?”

  Mark considered the question. “I really don’t know all what I can do, but I don’t have x-ray vision.”

  “Anything else?”

  “I can’t lick my elbow.”

  “Very funny, I don’t think! Be serious.” She hit him with a cushion from the sofa.

  “I hardly know where to begin to describe what I feel I can do,” Mark replied simply. “I just stopped an atomic bomb from going off. I mean – what the hell else can I do? I just don’t know, Carrie.”

  “Well,” said Roberts. “There are some things to be done. First of all, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll call my wife. She may be worried after the way I left this evening. Then I’ll call in and find out how your parents are, Carrie.” He went into the little lobby to make his calls. The three fell silent for a long moment.

  Janette frowned. “What I still don’t understand is where your dreams or visions or whatever they are actually come from. You’ve seen things you couldn’t possibly have know anything about. Where do they come from, Mark? Do you know yet?”

  Mark nodded slowly. “I think I do. They come from the Soros. The aliens are ‘sending’ me these dreams.”

  “How? Why?” asked Carrie.

  “How? Through that organic whatever-it-is at the base of my brain. Why? I don’t know that – yet. But I aim to find out.”

  He let the implications of this intention sink in. But before either could ask any more questions Roberts came back in. He held out his mobile to Carrie.

  “It’s your mother. I’ve told her a little about what’s happened and that you’re safe. She’s at your father’s bedside in Stirling Royal. He’s okay, he’ll be fine. Here – talk to her yourself.”

  Carrie’s face had passed from concern to relief and she took the phone from Roberts’ outstretched hand. Her mother did most of the talking at first, Carrie nodding now and again, then she began her tale, which was not long in the telling. When she had finished the call she turned to the others, handing the Director back his phone.

  “I should go to them,” she said.

  “I’ll arrange that,” said Roberts. “I have to call in back-up now. CIS has to go over this place with a fine toothcomb. There’s an interface there that might come in very useful and those tools and workbenches by the wall have not just been used for hammering in nails.” He turned to Mark and Janette. “But what am I going to do with you?”

  “Don’t you have to take us in for questioning?” asked Janette.

  “Well, yes, but in fact we’ve already covered a lot of the ground. And I think you’ve been through enough for one day. Do you have… “ Roberts hesitated. “… is there any place you can go to? Any relatives in the area? I mean, I can put you into protective custody if you want, but…”

  Janette raised her brows in surprise as it hit her again, with some force, that she and Mark had no home to go to. “I don’t… well, no. There’s no one.”

  “Well, you leave everything to me,” said Roberts reassuringly. “I’ll see to it that you get a place of our own as soon as possible and for the time being I’ll see if there’s a safe house available for you in this area.” He stepped into the lobby to make the arrangements over the phone.

  Again a silence fell between them, yet it united instead of separating. They could hear Roberts’ voice from the lobby.

  At last Mark asked: “Have you yourselves figured out what the next move is? What my next move has to be?”

  Janette and Carrie exchanged a glance and both nodded at the same time. “I have a bad feeling that you’re going to the Museum,” said Carrie. “You’re going back on board their ship.”

  Mark nodded. “There’s something I have to see. And I have to speak to the one with the Striped Arm, their so-called leader. That ship is like a magnet to me now, pulling me to it. I have to go back. But it’s not controlling me – at least, I don’t think it is. I have to go back because that is where the truth is, and that’s what I have to find out.

  “What happened today – those people hunting us in the glen, General Miller and the rest – I think that’s all part of their plan. Like I said before, they’re playing games with us, very cunning games. I think all that was to get my attention, to get me good and mad, to provoke me into doing something, to use my power. I saw all that when I was asleep, or unconscious, or in shock, or whatever it was. And they tested me tonight. That bomb was a test.”

  “And you’ve passed?” asked Carrie.

  “Yep, I reckon so.”

  “Chris-sake, Mark!” cried Carrie, “you make it sound like you sat a National Vocational Qually in Defusing Nuclear Bombs! What happens now? Do you go on next week to get a diploma?”

  Mark smiled weakly. “Well, maybe so. But you see, it seems to me now that there must be something special about humans – something that only we can do. And the Soros kno
w this. I don’t know what this thing is, but it’s something to do with these powers of mine. Passing through walls, bending matter, all this ‘magic’ for want of a better word – somehow this is something that the Soros want, or need, to use. They can’t do it themselves. Their implants only work on human brains. And I somehow know that they’ve carried out a great many implants. The Human Freedom League, for example, have really been governed by the Soros. Those people are being manipulated by implants. That is pretty clear to me now.”

  “This is ghastly,” whispered Carrie.

  “Yes, I agree,” said Mark.

  “When are we doing this thing – this act of complete madness?” asked Janette. There was no mistaking the depth of fear in her question.

  “Tomorrow, mum. I’m going tomorrow. And I need you to help me persuade Mr Roberts to take me.”

  Janette did not need a mother’s instinct to know that there was no mistaking the fear in Mark’s voice either. Fear shone clearly in all of their faces.

  26The Soros #1

  Mark and Janette passed a restless night in a CIS safe house – a small former farmhouse to the east of Stirling. The house was most commonly used for witness protection, and although it was comfortable enough, with its cheap Ikea furniture, neither Janette nor Mark could settle. Separately, they paced, they flicked through television channels, they wandered outside from time to time to look across at the steep looming slopes of the Ochil Hills, and as they looked they were aware that over to the right, not far away, the Soros craft waited in its field.

  They had, however, managed to snatch a few hours sleep. Janette had woken up feeling better, the drug’s after-effects having dissipated, and Mark’s sleep had been untroubled by dreams so he had recovered a little after the trauma and exertions of the past two days.

  Roberts had stayed with them. They had reunited Carrie with her parents at Stirling Royal. Mark had dearly wished she could have stayed with him, but her place just now, he had to admit, was with her parents. Roberts then ferried them straight to the safe house. He had also arranged for the motorbike Mark had stolen to be returned to the rightful owner and the stolen bank money and other goods would be returned or paid for in due course.

  Over mugs of hot chocolate (and a stiff brandy for Roberts and Janette) Mark had outlined his plan, such as it was, for the Director. He had agreed without much discussion, and gave his reasons for his acquiescence.

  “There is something utterly remarkable about you, Mark. I don’t think you’re truly aware of it yourself, but you are… you are, quite simply, probably the most important human being on the planet. But you’re such a nice, unassuming guy you don’t realise it. So if you say to me that you want to go to the Soros ship and you want me to drive you and not tell anyone what we’re doing, of course I’ll do it. In any event, I’m probably as keen – well, maybe that’s not the right word - as determined as you are to see this through. Of course I’ll do it. But why do you need me to come?”

  “Simple,” said Mark. “You’ve got a car and I can’t drive.”

  Roberts smiled.

  “Thanks, Mr Roberts. And we’ll pick Carrie up at half-past eight. She insisted on it, I’m afraid.”

  And so it happened that at nine the next morning, the morning of Tuesday July the third, Roberts’ car was skirting the perimeter security fence surrounding McIntyre’s Field.

  **********

  The vast circular ship glinted dully in the morning sunlight. It appeared completely harmless, like a rather clumsy prop left over from a long-abandoned film set decades ago. Mark, Carrie, Janette and Roberts got out of the car and stood at the security fence looking at the Soros ship. The world had changed the day it landed, changed irrevocably and forever. More changes had still to come, Roberts reflected, glancing at the seemingly self-assured boy beside him.

  This day the Museum was obviously closed for business. Disappointed bus parties were being mollified by the uniformed human staff at the ticket kiosks.

  No, we’re very sorry, we’re not quite sure why, madam. Perhaps it’s some kind of essential repair work. Certainly we will refund your money. No problem, sir.

  The four had spent a long time watching from a safe distance the goings on. As well as coach parties, police cars and military vehicles were much in evidence. Behind them, in the little narrow lane that ran alongside the field, the car sat with its engine running. The heightened security was undoubtedly a result of General Miller’s assassination by the League, reflected Roberts.

  At last Mark sighed heavily and said, “Well. No time like the present.”

  “Can we not come with you?” asked Carrie. The tremble she could not control in her voice was proof that she was clearly very frightened indeed.

  Mark gently took her hand and put an arm tenderly round her shoulder. “No, we have to do it like we discussed earlier. I’m pretty sure I can protect myself, but I’m not sure I could protect you. And you know, in almost every story I’ve read and film I’ve seen, it’s always the girl that trips over her high heels and gets captured by the baddies, and creates endless complications for the hero. Think about it. It’d be a disaster.“

  “I’m not wearing high heels!”

  “It’s better this way,” continued Mark. “This way, if anything does go wrong, you can tell the story to everyone. Tell them what happened.”

  “You won’t reconsider? There’s absolutely no other way?” asked Janette. “We can’t just go to Miller’s people?”

  “No other way. What could the army do against them, the Soros?”

  Carrie leaned her body close to his and held him tight. “Don’t go,” she whispered looking into his eyes with her direct gaze. Tears were about to flow. “Don’t go, Mark. Please.”

  Mark kissed her and returned her embrace. Then he said, “I have to. There’s absolutely no other way.”

  As they finally disengaged, Roberts said, “Look, I’ve still got General Miller’s gun in the glove compartment. Do you want to take that with you?”

  Mark shook his head. “I’d be as much use with a gun as I would be driving a car. They’d probably detect it on me, anyway. I don’t suppose you can travel across a galaxy and not have some idea about customs control. No, my weapon has to be up here.” He tapped his head. “Whatever force enables me to go through solid walls is what I have to rely on.”

  Janette nodded. “Well…” The muscles around her mouth began to tremble and she had trouble with the words, but she could not allow Mark to from her with a memory of negative, despairing hopelessness. So she mustered up a composure she did not truly feel now, and breathed, “Go to it, Mark. We’ve got faith in you. Remember that.”

  After a final hug, Mark turned from them and faced the fence. He passed a hand through his hair, and Carrie and Janette both smiled, recognising the familiar gesture.

  Mark raised a hand in front of him and the tungsten steel fence parted without a sound. He stepped through, still apparently calm. Inwardly, however, he felt as a high diver might feel the first time he ascends the top board. He was almost giddy with fear, and the thought God, let someone else do this kept running through his mind, accompanied by God, don’t let them see how afraid I am! Let me be strong for them! Each step he took now (and he felt he walked with knees that shook like jelly) was a triumph of reason over emotion, of will-power over terror.

  The air almost seemed to crackle as he moved and Janette, Carrie and Roberts were conscious of the incalculable, incomprehensible power that lay within him.

  Is there anything he can’t do? Janette wondered.

  “You come back to us!” called Carrie, but her voice came out as a squeak and it occurred to her that Mark could not have heard it. “I love you.” Her voice tailed off. She didn’t think he had heard her. Janette slipped an arm round her shoulder.

  Somehow Mark’s legs carried him across the field to the ship. Some official, or military policeman had seen his movement and was calling out and hurrying from the mai
n gate. He was vaguely aware that other soldiers had begun to cross to intercept, but they were too far away. A long, curving line suddenly appeared in the hull and the familiar ramp slid soundlessly down towards the ground. The soldiers began to run.

  “They know he’s coming!” said Janette.

  This is a trap I’m walking into, thought Mark.

  Carrie and Janette watched as Mark walked up the ramp and disappeared into the ship’s dark interior. The soldiers were still a hundred metres away and stopped in confusion. The ramp soundlessly and seamlessly closed behind him. Carrie turned her face into Janette’s chest and burst into tears. Janette, feeling her own tears beginning to course down her cheeks, led her back to the car, assisted by Roberts.

  **********

  Mark sensed rather than heard the door silently close behind him, and the fear that had gripped him began to loosen its hold. There could be no going back now. He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly and looked around. The Reception Area was much as before, but there was no feeling of nausea this time as he passed inside. The shaking in his legs subsided now too.

  Subtle lighting compensated for the doorway being closed, but the feeling of being totally cut off from the outside world was now virtually overwhelming.

  Mark. Welcome. Sit, please.

  The words sounded in his head. Words, and yet not words, not as he knew them. Soros words, Soros thoughts, Soros telepathy.

  There was a feeling of laughter, but Mark drew no comfort from it.

  The one with the Striped Arm was sitting at a console, much the same as the one Mark had seen in his “dream” at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel. The alien wore the same white suit, human in form since it had two arms, two legs and a head, but the swirling bulges and appendages were unlike any human space suit. The Soros leader turned to face him. Mark saw his own form reflected in the helmet’s opaque visor. Words came clear in Mark’s mind.