Sedona Conspiracy

by James C. Glass

  “We see you. The bay is opening.” An unfamiliar voice.

  Slightly south of their position, a dim red hole suddenly appeared on a flat just west of jagged peaks. There was a thud, and a whine as Sparrow’s lifters cut in, and they seemed to float towards the hole until it was beneath them and no longer visible. Eric grunted when they dropped rapidly, and then slowed. He saw the edges of the bay ceiling pass by, the red glow on rock walls, and felt the soft concussion of landing pass beneath him.

  Dillon popped the canopy and techs were already swarming the wings. One saluted Dillon. “Lots of excitement here, sir.”

  The ceiling was closed by the time they were unstrapped and out of the cockpit. Eric followed Dillon out. There was applause from a small crowd gathered around Sparrow. Smiling faces. Davis was there, Hendricks and his crew, Brown, and a man who looked much like him.

  Alan should have been here, thought Eric. He stepped onto the wing and ran his hand along Sparrow’s fuselage. There was no sign of scarring or burning, even after reentry from space.

  Davis was the first one to shake his hand. “Now I can retire”, he said, and Eric knew instantly the man was serious. “I’ll need a debriefing, but Brown wants to talk to you first. He says it’s important.”

  “While the flight is still fresh in your mind,” said Brown, who had come up behind Davis. “It’ll only take a few minutes, Colonel.”

  “I’ll be in my office,” said Davis, and he joined a small group of people crowded together around a computer to look at pictures that had been transmitted during the flight. An image of Ariel floated in blackness there. As Eric walked past them, Rob Hendricks stuck out a hand. “How does it feel to be spokesman for an entire planet?” he asked, and grinned.

  Eric shook his hand. “Hasn’t sunk in, yet. I’m a little numb.”

  Brown took him by the elbow and steered him away. Seeing Brown in normal light for the first time, Eric thought the man had the good looks of a celebrity, a sort of dark, brooding look.

  Another man who could have been Brown’s brother approached them, held out his hand, and Eric shook it.

  “This is my closest colleague, Mister White,” said Brown. “He has been my right hand on this project.”

  “So glad to meet you at last,” said White. “I must admit I had some doubts about you at first, but I should not be surprised at your performance. Your heritage demanded it.”

  Eric nodded politely, thinking the man was simply complimenting an American ally, but Brown squeezed his elbow and pulled him away. “We can have dinner together this evening, but now I have private matters to discuss with Doctor Price. Please excuse us.”

  “Of course,” said White. “I’m sure he has a thousand questions.”

  “Nice to meet you,” said Eric, as Brown pulled him away.

  “He does love to talk, especially about Ariel. Davis will be there, and two other members of the Council. I think you’ll find the evening most entertaining, but now some private things need to be said. I’ll even buy you a cup of coffee.”

  The man actually smiled. “Okay,” said Eric.

  They went to Mess Hall and found a corner table. Eric spooned sugar into a tall cup of coffee, and Brown drank tea.

  “First there’s the matter of project continuation. We want you to be a part of it.”

  “Any trained pilot can work with Dillon, and he’ll certainly agree to it. You don’t need me for anything. I did what I came here to do. I’ll likely be reassigned soon,” said Eric.

  “Not if we request your services here. Reliable support for this project goes to the highest levels in your government. It’s the reason we brought Sparrow to you in the first place. You’re a scientist, an analyst, and the first to fly Sparrow in N-space. Your voice is the first from earth to be heard by the Arielian people. And there is one other thing, probably most important.

  Brown paused and frowned, but Eric remained silent.

  “There’s no subtle way to say this, Doctor Price. In every practical definition, you are an Arielian. It would take a DNA sequencing to show the difference between you and a pure human strain. The only differences appear in viral fragments. We’re cousins, so to speak. We share a common ancestor, gone long before either of our written histories begin.”

  Eric smiled. “I think I read that somewhere.”

  “Our contact with humans goes back at least ten thousand years. Our people have stayed here for many different lengths of time, but the times have become longer in recent centuries. Breeding with humans has been natural; many Arielians have had families and lived out their lives here. There are records we could have checked to find you, but it was only after Natasha discovered you that we did that. You are second generation, Doctor Price. Your grandmother on your mother’s side was from Ariel. She was a cultural anthropologist who spent half her life doing field work on Earth.”

  “My mother was a native American,” said Eric.

  “She was half Arielian,” said Brown. “She gave you that spiritual quality we’ve never understood in ourselves, that quality that connects our souls. Poor Natasha connected with you so quickly, well before you discovered your feelings for her, and now she’s miserable because of something I asked her to do to help her own people on both sides of her heritage.”

  “Nataly?”

  “Yes. Her father came from Ariel as a young man, looking for land of his own. He was an important contact in the early stages of our project. We suspect he was murdered because of it, but I think it’s now safe to say that justice has been served. I’ve known Natasha since she was a little girl, Doctor Price. I feel her misery, and yours as well, and I bear the guilt for it.”

  Brown was looking at him closely, his forehead creased with the signs of worry. “Knowing what you know now, would you have done the same for your people?”

  “I think I would have told the whole truth to someone I loved, and who said they loved me.”

  Brown shook his head. “You all had to believe you were dealing with an Earth-based power for as long as possible. Dealing with an alien power is either unbelievable or too frightening. We have experienced that problem on Ariel. It came close to destroying us. We didn’t intend to inflict that on Earth’s people. The whole truth can gradually be released as our relationship grows. Natasha loves you with all her heart, Doctor Price, but she did what she had to do. Her soul has been bruised, and so has yours, and I will suggest a cure, if you’re willing to listen.”

  “I’m willing,” said Eric.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  PARTNERS

  Nataly dressed in a Santa Fe skirt and a sleeveless white blouse for the occasion. She brewed a pot of coffee, and then arranged her business plan and a few sketches of the proposed gallery on her desk.

  The call from Vasyl had come the previous evening. Whenever she heard his voice, now, she anticipated bad news about Eric, but this time it wasn’t so.”

  “Is this about Eric? Is he leaving?”

  “He’s still thinking about it, Natasha. I promise I’ll let you know when he decides something. No, this is about a project you’ve had in mind for quite a while. You remember Leon, of course.”

  “Yes! Is he getting better?”

  “He’s recovering nicely. I went to see him, to thank him for saving Eric’s life, actually. The man talks and talks. He mentioned your ideas about a gallery addition to your shop, and said you’d need a partner to help run it.”

  “Leon and I actually talked about that,” said Nataly. “I already knew he was a CIA agent at the time, but I think he has a genuine interest in art. Is he retiring from government service?”

  “Oh no, this isn’t about him. But, you know how it is; he has a friend of a friend from Phoenix who would be interested. Leon has talked to him. The man will arrive in the morning. I thought I might bring him up to meet you around noon? I think it would be good for you to have a new, creative project, Natasha. You need a distraction. I want you to stop being so sad.”

 
; “I know you’re trying to help, Vasyl, but I’m not a little girl anymore. I’ll get over it.” It’s just my soul that’s dying, she wanted to say. “Sure, bring him over. If nothing else, I can get a second opinion of my ideas.”

  “We’ll be there at noon.”

  “Vasyl?”

  “Yes?”

  “I thought I might at least hear a goodbye from Eric. You’ve talked to him. Has he said anything about me?”

  “No. We talked, though. I told him everything about you, about your father.”

  “You didn’t!”

  “Yes. He also knows his own heritage, now. I told him about his grandmother. I’m trying to get him to remain with the project, Natasha.”

  “What was his reaction?”

  “A bit stunned, I’d say. He has a lot to think about. Be patient with him.”

  “I’m trying,” she said. It’s easy to be patient when your heart isn’t crumbling into pieces over something you have no control of. “See you tomorrow.”

  Now it was noon, and Vasyl was habitually prompt. There was a pleasant coffee odor throughout the house, and it was a sunny day. Nataly opened the doors to the balcony, put three coffee cups and saucers on the table there.

  The doorbell chimed four times, and she went to the door and opened it.

  Vasyl was standing there with a slight smile on his face, and Eric Price was standing next to him. Nataly felt heat come to her face, and a little gasp escaped her.

  “Okay, so I lied just a bit,” said Vasyl.

  Eric’s eyes glistened. He held out his hand. “Hi. I’m Eric Price. Mister Brown here says you might consider the application of a total idiot to help you run an art gallery you’re planning. I’m here to apply for the job.”

  Eric blinked. A tear edged up in one corner of an eye, and hung there.

  His hand was cold when she touched it. She squeezed lightly. “Why don’t you come inside, Mister Price?” Her chest was so tight it was hard to speak, but the instant she touched him delicious warmth surged within her, and she willed the flow of it to her hand and into his.

  Eric brushed past her to go into the house, and Nataly turned again to usher Vasyl in behind him.

  Vasyl was gone.

  Nataly closed the door. Eric had walked to the balcony and was standing there with his back to her. She walked up to him, reached up to place her hand on a shoulder blade.

  “Eric,” she said softly.

  “I’ve been a damn fool, Nataly. I’m still carrying baggage I should have dumped a long time ago. I had no reason to feel betrayed, but I felt it anyway. I don’t know how you can love a person like me.”

  She rubbed his back. “But I do love you.”

  Eric sniffled. “I love you, too. I tried to deny it, and it just made me miserable. I’m supposed to be Mister Tough Guy, with lots of walls. I didn’t want to get hurt again, so I hurt you instead.”

  Nataly grasped his arm and turned him around to face her. His eyes were red and puffy, and he looked at her with an intensity she’d seen before and had dreamed about seeing again. And then he touched her, his hands, now warm, sliding softly up and down her arms.

  “I’m still here,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for you to come back to me.” She reached up and put her arms around his neck, pulled his head down towards her, and kissed him.

  It was a forever kiss, soft and deep, and time became irrelevant, a folded-up dimension. Two souls kissed, and expressed the bond between them that would not be denied.

  Their lips finally parted, and his cheek was pressed warmly against hers. “I’m back if you really want me,” he said.

  “Oh yes.” Nataly squeezed him tightly, and held on for long seconds.

  “Your friend told you one thing that’s true. I’m looking for something to do here.”

  “Are you leaving the service?” Nataly looked up at him and ran a finger across his cheek.

  “Not just yet. I called my section chief, and he’ll approve a phase-out to retirement over five years while I work as a consultant on what they’re now calling the Ariel project. I’ll be on call, but I doubt I’ll spend more than half time at the base. Leon really did tell us about your gallery project. He’s already been reassigned. He’ll be gone in a week, and there will be no more tax-payer-funded-art sales for local artists. But the Phoenix office really did set us up with some good contacts. I think those will be useful if I get involved with a new gallery here.”

  Nataly kissed him quickly, and smiled. “So, do you want to be my partner?”

  Again, there was that intense look that made her heart sing.

  “In every way,” he said, and pressed her to him.

  “We probably should have some sort of contract,” she said, and curled a leg around his.

  “Whatever you want,” said Eric.

  “I’ll show you what I want,” said Nataly, and she led him through the house to the bedroom and the big brass bed where they would conduct their first business together.

  EPILOG

  “It was quite a hassle, Gil, but we got it done,” said Arthur Evans. “I’m sorry I had to deceive you for such a long time, but if I’d told you everything you’d have switched to the Democrats and kicked me out of office.”

  The President of the United States listened, then laughed. “I only let my antennae show after the fourth martini. There just isn’t any real difference between us, Gil. We come from the same stock, and nearly all of us born off Ariel are a mix. My blood is so diluted the people in the old country will call me Earthling. Your Eric Price will get a better reception, I bet. His was the first voice from Earth that they heard, and he’s a lot closer to pure blood. That will be something to watch when he arrives in the star craft. As for me, I’ll be sent through the portal, quick and dirty, after the initial excitement cools on Ariel. Not spectacular, but dignified. It’s a nice way to end my presidency.”

  Evans listened, and shuffled papers on his desk. Len sat in a chair near him, waiting patiently.

  “I’m not aware of anyone who had previous knowledge of Price’s heritage, Gil. It was just blind luck.” Evans lifted an eyebrow at Len, and the young man smiled, acknowledging the lie. “I think phasing him out with such interesting work was both wise and kind. It sounds like he’s found a new life, and he deserves it. You too, Gil. Lets both of us retire and go fishing.”

  The President laughed again, and hung up the telephone. “Gave him a shock, I did, and he’s one of my oldest friends. Fortunately, he has a good imagination. What generation are you, Len?”

  “Fourth, Mister President.”

  “Gad, even my aid is closer than I am to the old world. I’d better look it up; I think it’s eight or nine generations for me. They’ll ask me about it on Ariel. Want to go with me?”

  “I’d be honored, Mister President.”

  “Then let’s do it. What’s next for today?”

  “Senator Banesfield is here to argue for more wheat subsidies, and then there’s lunch with the Syrian delegation.”

  “Ah,” said Arthur Evans, “that will certainly bring me back to Earth in a hurry.”

  * * * * * * *

  “You’re glowing again,” said Eric, and ran a fingertip over her lips. They had just made love, and lay on their sides, facing each other.

  “So are you,” said Nataly. She gestured above his head. “There are some nice gold streamers here, and some red, but I still see a little patch of blue. We have to fix that.”

  “As long as it takes. We have the rest of our lives.”

  Nataly smiled. “We never talked about age. I’m not so young as you think. I’m actually a year older than you.”

  Eric pulled her to him again, and kissed her softly. “Ohh, a mature, knowledgeable woman. Teach me what I need to know.”

  Nataly giggled, but then there was a sound, a distant, high-pitched whine they heard together. “Oooo, I’ve got to see this,” said Nataly. She struggled out of Eric’s embrace, threw back the covers and ran naked tow
ards the front room of the house. Eric was right behind her when she reached the balcony doors and opened them. They stepped out onto the balcony and Eric enveloped her in his arms as they looked towards the high buttes to the west.

  A star colored red and orange was rising slowly above a butte, then stopped and floated slowly north before rising again. Colors brightened as it accelerated its vertical climb.

  “Someone going home. Maybe it’s Vasyl,” said Eric.

  “No, he’ll use the portal to the presidential building, and so will the rest of the council.”

  “I’ll be going in on Sparrow. Vasyl wants to make a show of it.”

  “He would.”

  The star flared, and then rose faster and faster, dimming with altitude. There was a bright flash, the star winked out and was gone.

  “Someone is sure to see it and call the police,” said Eric.

  “And the report will be ignored as usual,” said Nataly, and leaned back against him.

  “Maybe someday both of us can go to Ariel. In a way, it’s like going home.”

  “Home is right here—with you,” said Nataly, and she looked up at him.

  Eric growled, and Nataly squealed as he swept her up in his arms and carried her back to their bedroom, and they made love again in a cloud of swirling colors.

  AFTERWORD

  Sedona Conspiracy is a work of fiction. I made it all up. A couple of restaurant names are real, or close to real, and the food is good. Area descriptions are accurate. I own two timeshares in Sedona, Arizona. I paint, drum and play didj there with friends. It’s one of my favorite places on this planet. It’s also considered by many to be the New-Age capital of the country.

  New age culture, including UFOs, angels and aliens, is rich in Sedona. The literature is huge, and ranges from quackery to serious reporting. A lot of levelheaded, no-nonsense people have seen strange things in the Sedona area, and will tell you about it. They’ll tell you how the Sedona Fire Department once went into the backcountry to fight a raging fire and was turned back by armed soldiers in black Humvees. And in my own experience, hiking near the end of Long Canyon one day, I heard what sounded like a 747 taking off nearby. Okay, I’m a professional skeptic, a trained physicist who spent thirty years teaching and doing research in physics, but I’m the first to admit that theories are never proven, only disproved. And the mind must always be kept open to new possibilities.