The Harbinger

by Mary Eicher

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The cameraman opened his kit and started polishing lenses just to keep busy.

  “Just a few more to go,” he said to his companion, a pretty blonde who drew the reporting short straw and was assigned to cover the conference.

  “We got the legal stuff out of the way and some of the religious reports. I kinda liked that country pastor from Eureka. He was cute,” Sheila told him, popping gum for the hundredth irritating time.

  “Bet you can’t remember a damn word,” he said annoyed.

  She shook her notebook at him. “Don’t have to. I can always replay the tape you’re making. And I’ve already picked out the sound bites for tonight’s news.”

  The cameraman sighed at her inexperience. “The last three speakers are the most important, Sheila. The sound bites will come from them. We’ve got Assemblywoman Stone, Dr. Fielding, and some lawyer woman whose name I can’t pronounce.”

  Sheila checked the time. “It’s 2:30. I have to have my material in by 4:45. These last speakers had better say something special to make me change my picks.”

  She blew a bubble until it popped and then used her pencil to stuff the gum back in her mouth.

  *

  Dr. Fielding stepped up to the podium and introduced himself by giving a two-minute summary of his career and credentials. He adjusted his glasses and began to follow the script on the teleprompter.

  “The National Institute of Health in conjunction with the World Health Organization has completed exhaustive testing over the past five months. We have determined conclusively that the phenomenon known as the Harbinger is not a pathogen. It is not infectious and is not communicable in any medium. We cannot detect any physical aspect attributable to the phenomenon. In short, the existence of an actual Harbinger has not been proved.

  “What is provable is the issue of mental health related to what I prefer to call the Harbinger effect. We have verified discussion of the Harbinger causes widespread anxiety and social unrest. Well, to be accurate, discussion doesn’t directly cause any of these things. Fear and misinformation cause them.”

  He removed his glasses momentarily to rub the bridge of his nose.

  “The existence of a Harbinger effect is disturbing. And it is fueled by a growing number of similar reports that appear to have morphed into a consistent story. The experience is related over and over in numerous social media descriptions. It begins with a sudden excruciating headache accompanied by the harsh sound of a tolling bell. The sensation lasts for a few seconds. Then it ceases completely.

  “It is reported that approximately three days later, the subject dies. The investigation of thousands of deaths associated with such reports have been attributed to normal causes ranging from accidents to the end state of serious disease known to predate the Harbinger experience. The most common cause of death is heart failure. In no case was the Harbinger as such found to be a cause of death. And there is no measurable change in death rates which remain constant save for areas experiencing armed conflict or natural disasters.”

  The audience murmured its discomfort with the information that neither dispelled nor substantiated their fears.

  “Additionally, we have verified that people continue to die without having experienced the Harbinger headache and its accompanying auditory sensation. Although collecting information of every human death is understandably impossible, it is believed that the number of people experiencing non-Harbinger deaths may be diminishing.”

  He scanned the field of faces staring at him waiting to be reassured, released from their apprehension. Abandoning the teleprompter altogether, Fielding reached into his moral compass and found the truth. He knew his superiors were going to be displeased with what he shared. They were going to refute it. But they would have nothing better to offer. He folded his glasses and slipped them into his chest pocket.

  “When the phenomenon first appeared, I dismissed it as a hoax. I believed that to accept a Harbinger of death meant acquiescing to the kind of superstition and violence that was visited upon this city just a few hours ago. My purpose here was to urge people not to believe rumors and to have confidence in their leaders and in science. But I cannot deny what I have learned.

  “We have detected a change in the area of the brain associated with auditory stimulation. This is consistent with the report that Harbinger experience involves the auditory sensation associated with bells. The change in the cortex permits this area of the brain to process an increased flow of blood. Indeed, the change may be the result of a sudden increased flow of blood.

  “While it cannot be explained, in my opinion the Harbinger is real. And neither I nor anyone truly understand what that portends for humanity.”

  With that, Fielding stepped away from the podium, descended from the stage, and marched down the main aisle to a smattering of applause. Hemsley replaced him on the dais to introduce the final speaker. The audience was ready for the long day to be over and not especially impressed with the information that had been provided. Children began to fidget in their seats. It was approaching 3:45.

  *

  The cameraman checked the framing of the stage through his lens. It was fine. He yawned and took a fresh cup of coffee from Sheila.

  “Jesus, Sheila. That’s hot.” He wiped a dribble of scalding liquid from his chin. “You should have warned me. I’m half asleep after listening to these eggheads.”

  “My bad,” Sheila apologized. “But that ought to wake you up. There’s only one more to go.”

  The cameraman gave her a high five and centered his camera on the speaker. Hemsley was calling for attention. Behind him at the edge of the stage was a slender woman in an exquisitely tailored business suit. The camera zoomed in for a close-up. She was tall and willowy with a look of serenity on her beautiful face.

  “Wait until you see her. She’s got the most amazing blue eyes,” the cameraman told the reporter. “The camera loves her. I don’t give a damn what she has to say. I’m just gonna enjoy the view.”

  Sheila’s cell phone flashed a message, and she was hearing a voice in her headphones. “Apparently you’re not alone. The guys back at the studio agree with you.” She nudged the cameraman in the ribs. “There might be something good enough to make the news after all.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Good afternoon,” Artemis began in a low, confident voice. “Evolution is not the gradual, arduous process we’ve been taught. It is a constant force that can be swift, even violent, but it is always to the good. The Harbinger is just such a change. It is a gift to humans; not a phenomenon to be feared.”

  Hemsley sat back in his chair and smiled as he listened to the audience fall silent, giving its full attention to the positive message being delivered by the exquisite woman he had brought them. After all the negative news of the day, the governor would be redeemed if she became the face of his convention.

  “We are confronted daily with news about how our physical world is changing. If we are to believe that humans can warm the climate and pollute the oceans, then how can we deny that those changes must affect humans in return? We are subject to the same forces of change. The Harbinger is that change. It is an enhanced sensory ability—one that enables humans to perceive events slightly in the future. The Harbinger makes us different, yes, but that difference makes us better.”

  She paused and glanced at her family seated in the front row. Lucy smiled up at her, and Strang nodded encouragement. Even Angie was attentive. The room silently waited for her to continue.

  “We’ve associated the Harbinger with death, but that is incorrect. The Harbinger gives us the power to foresee significant events in our future. Death is a significant event, of course, as significant as it gets, you might say. But it isn’t the only one in our lives. We just haven’t looked for other instances of enhanced precognition. When we do, we will find them.

  “The question of how we acquired the Harbinger sense is more complex. Something profound must have a
ctivated this ability. And there is evidence that the change extends far beyond our brains or our planet or even our solar system. The universe itself is involved.”

  Hemsley grimaced. Artemis was pressing her case too far, and the audience began to buzz restlessly. Jim gave him a told-ya-so look and shook his head.

  Artemis took a tape recorder out of her coat pocket, set it on the podium, and pressed play. The sound of a tolling bell reverberated through the auditorium. The room itself seemed to gasp. People covered their ears and jumped to their feet. Babies began to cry, and children tore into the aisles. Pandemonium broke out before the fifth bell had rung. Artemis turned off the player and watched the reaction.

  In the front row, Lucy looked stricken. Angie giggled, and Strang gave her an amused grin. Beside them, Governor Hemsley gritted his teeth while his chief of staff dropped his head into his hands.

  “Oh, God, no!” Nothing said thus far had been controversial enough to cause political blowback. Jim knew that had just changed.

  Artemis stared at the torrent of angry faces glaring at her. She had their attention and hoped she knew what to do with it. The crowded room was in chaos. It was the reaction of the children that struck her most. It was seven minutes to four. She ran her tongue along her lip, took a deep breath, and continued.

  “It’s all right.” She put her hands out and motioned for them to be seated. “Everyone is perfectly safe. I assure you. What you just heard was a facsimile of the Harbinger. Not the real thing.” She used a voice loud enough to be heard above the chaos. “I made that recording weeks ago and have listened to it many times.”

  “You can’t say this is boring.” Sheila chuckled in the press booth.

  The cameraman gave her a withering look. “That scared the hell out of me. This woman’s nuts.”

  Sheila nudged her companion in the ribs. “Come on. This just got fun.”

  Artemis could sense the shock and anger beginning to subside. Only the children seemed to remain highly agitated. Strang lifted his arm and twirled his hand, motioning for her to continue. Artemis looked down at Angie and winked. But Angie was poking at Lucy and no longer watching the podium.

  “Like all evolutionary change, this new ability is most prevalent in the young. The children know. They have no fear of what we adults call the Harbinger. They process the information it provides as they process information from their other senses. They sense changes in their environment. They know when something is about to happen. And they tell us about it—if we listen.”

  A man in the fifth row stood up and shook his fist at Artemis, yelling something about her being insane. She glanced again at Lucy who smiled so weakly it nearly made Artemis laugh. The governor rose from his seat and began trudging up the stairs to the stage.

  *

  The cameraman zoomed in on the obviously unhappy governor. More than clouds had rained on his little parade.

  “Here comes the gov to put an end to it.” He turned to his companion. “I bet they are loving this at the network.”

  Sheila tapped her headset and assured him they were. The studio had decided to broadcast Artemis’s speech in full once she played the recording. That meant there was a slight delay between what was on the air and what was currently happening.

  “They love anything that makes the governor look ridiculous. Hemsley built this thing up. It’s kind of fun to watch that woman burn it down.”

  Hemsley stepped beside Artemis at the podium and turned the microphone toward him.

  “Thank you, Miss Andronikos, for your interesting and highly speculative point of view.”

  She gave him a shrewd smile, amused at his discomfort.

  “Look at the children, Governor.” She pointed to the growing disturbance happening in the audience. “We need to listen to them right now.”

  Babies were howling and scores of young children were darting from their seats. They ran up and down the aisles, calling to everyone and insisting they had to leave. Their embarrassed parents chased them through the aisles toward the exit. The commotion continued to build as several older children charged into the aisles. Angie stood on her seat and yelled to Artemis.

  “We have to get out,” Angie kept repeating. “We have to go now.”

  Lucy tried to pull her back into the seat, but the little girl resisted. Angie jumped to the floor and charged up to the podium.

  “Now.” Angie ran to the edge of the stage and yelled for people to leave.

  Artemis picked her up and headed for the stairs. Angie reached out and touched the governor. “You can come too.”

  They hurried down the stairs and joined Lucy, Strang, and Hemsley’s distraught chief of staff. The aisles began to clog with people heading to the exit at the rear. Jim pointed to a door beside the stage.

  “There’s a receiving dock over there with an exit to the street.”

  Angie dragged her mother toward it. Artemis fixed a lock on the governor’s arm and brought him along with Strang bringing up the rear. They opened the door and hurried toward an open loading dock.

  “I fail to see the point in this charade,” Hemsley said as they ran. He tried to pull free of Artemis’s grip. He opened his mouth to deliver a scathing rebuke when the roar of an explosion rent the air behind them. Uberdorf’s bomb detonated with force sufficient to tear out support beams beneath the stage.

  The building rumbled as the concussion of the explosion reverberated against the walls of the auditorium and produced a rolling motion undulating beneath the floor. The stragglers exiting the auditorium were knocked off their feet. Those still near the stage caught flying debris as they made a scramble for the exits. Dust and tiles descended from the ceiling and fixtures swung ominously overhead. The huge building quivered as another undulation traveled through it. Water from broken pipes began to cascade down on the crumbling stage. A ten-foot section of ceiling crashed to the floor, narrowly missing those fleeing.

  The motion stopped as swiftly as it had begun, leaving an eerie silence in its wake. Artemis and the others stood staring at the door they had just passed through and covered their faces against the dust-filled air. Artemis gave Lucy a reassuring hug and knelt to make sure Angie was okay. Strang brushed dust from his jacket and appraised the walls, looking for cracks.

  They could hear shouts coming from the auditorium. Artemis rushed back to survey the damage. She knew it was the work of the Servants. Somehow Uberdorf had gotten his revenge. Lucy handed Angie to Strang and joined Artemis who had begun tending to the injured.

  Hemsley looked to Jim who was fielding calls from the governor’s disaster recovery team. They exited the room through the loading dock and stepped onto the street. The rain had become a storm. People who’d fled the auditorium were milling around in a state of soggy surprise more than shock. The windows and glass doors had been shattered by the blast, and the building seemed to sag in shame. Arriving emergency vehicles were driving onto the sidewalk, and the governor’s security guards were running toward him.

  Hemsley wiped water from his suit coat and smoothed back his wet hair. He was shaking, and all he could think was he needed to get to his office in the capitol. He had to manage the response and initiate the cleanup that would be needed. His Harbinger conference was over—not that it was the most pressing matter at the moment. He reached out and patted Angie on the head.

  “How did you know?” he asked her.

  Angie shrugged. “We just know.”

  “She means the children,” Strang told him, giving Angie a gentle hug. “You might say they just provided a proof of concept.”

  *

  Lucy’s cell phone buzzed again for the third time. She found a clear space to stand and answered it. “Hello, Jake.”

  “I need a complete bio on her immediately.” He was talking rapidly. Excited or stressed; Lucy couldn’t tell. “And I want pix. Send as much as you can. We’ll sort it all out here.” He took a breath.

  “Whose bio?” Lucy asked as if she didn’t know.r />
  “Don’t toy with me, Luce. That Artemis friend of yours. That woman’s the country’s hottest commodity starting about ten minutes ago, and I can sell the hell out of information about her. Holy shit!”

  The broadcast had caught up to the explosion, and Jake watched it in horror, his phone pressed against his chest. The camera had remained in place and showed the destruction in vivid detail.

  “Are you guys okay?” he asked. “I mean the whole place just came crashing down on TV.”

  “We’re fine, Jake,” Lucy responded. “You’re getting it all on a delay.”

  “Great. Well anyway, now I really need everything you can send me, Luce. You’re my inside track. Send everything you’ve got on Artemis Andronikos. Her age, all her vitals, hell, and her bra size. Anything you’ve got. Her IQ. Her birthday. What she eats. Where she went to college. Who she’s currently fucking. I want to know everything. Everything!”

  Lucy held the phone away from her ear and could still hear him issuing orders.

  “Not going to do it, Jake. Temmie would hate it. You’re not getting more than I put in my earlier wholesome profile of her. Use that. And don’t go inventing things about her. You don’t want to make her mad.”

  He rattled off a string of expletives and threatened to fire her. She laughed.

  “There’s no way you’d fire me today, Jake. I’m golden. Tell you what I’ll do. I’ll update the original profile adding a few more facts and a detailed expose of her theory, run it by her, and send it to you. In the meantime, I’ll cover the rescue effort here.”

  She heard the pipe clinking in his teeth as he accepted that was the best he’d get.

  “The presses roll in less than three hours, Luce. We’re doing a special edition,” he reminded her in a familiar grumpy tone.

  “Hold the presses,” she quipped as she ended the call. Grinning at Artemis, she added, “I’ve always wanted to say that.”

  *

  Uberdorf entered the room with handcuffs and a scowl. He was glad Artemis had responded to his request, but the venue was humiliating. He sat across the table from her and slumped. He had questions, and she was the only one who might know the answers.