Intelligent Design: Revelations to Apocalypse (26 page)

Perez was positive Clematis agreed with her plan. Nonetheless, Perez summarized her logic again. With the small table between them, Perez leaned heavily on the table top.

“If my father is going to go back to Earth anyway, why not have him meet with General Farrell and tell him about Jupiter? We should turn off the emitters and let me convert them into yet another power source for our life-support and energy needs and give Earth evidence we are here. Let’s get them focused on the really important event—the coming of the second sun.”

“And simply appearing and confirming that we exist will keep the Earthers from coming here? Earth’s history has taught me that they tend to be pretty violent when new frontiers open,” Clematis said.

Perez nodded in agreement. There was simply no denying humans’ lust for exploration and conquest. Perez was careful in choosing the words for her retort, less out of a concern that she might offend Clematis, but more to soften her own fears about her father heading back to a doomed planet.

“Once Farrell focuses on Jupiter, he and the others will figure out that resources have to shift to preserving the human race as a species. The drop in sunspot activity, shifting of warm ocean currents to the bottom of the seabed while the cooler currents replace them on the surface, potential plate tectonics and rifts, volcanic activity, and the potential shift of the Earth’s axis are all factors that might precipitate another ice age. They will figure it out.”

Even as she uttered the words, she knew they sounded hollow and empty. She wanted her father to stay with her and be safe. He wanted to help Earth. Perez was still thinking about her father when Clematis chimed in again.

“Perez the Elder will be the best ambassador to Earth. He will also be well cared for by Reich and her team. She has already made excellent headway in preparations,” she said. Her tone was more reassuring than Perez expected.

“Yes, I know.” Perez said quickly. She took a moment to refocus on her other task. “As for us here on Terra,” she started again, “Our thin atmosphere and upright planetary axis will result in an increase in violent storms on both sides of the planet. And with periodic light from a second sun emerging on the dark side at regular intervals, it is hard to say what will happen with our frozen ocean. And even though we have far less tectonic activity than Earth, it doesn’t mean we won’t have any issues with quakes.”

As if to punctuate that point, a sustained flicker of light danced along the transparent walls and the low sound of thunder could be heard above the howling wind. Clematis smirked at the timing.

“That was not my doing,” Perez said, although she was sure she didn’t have to clarify.

Clematis nodded in response and Perez chuckled. It took a moment for them to get back on track.

“All right, Immunes Perez. I will present this to the powers that be and hope they see the logic. And you are sure you can convert the holographic emitters to energy sources for air generation and electricity? That would be helpful to know…” Clematis asked.

“Positive. Your builder, Architect Hades, did a remarkable job in the creation of the machinery—and these buildings,” Perez said. As soon as she mentioned the architect’s name, she immediately regretted it.

“As it turns out, these pyramids were actually designed by junior architect Iris of Venus and the emitters were created and constructed by an old grand architect, Guiana. Still, it
was
junior architect Hades who put it all together. And speaking of Hades…”

Perez raised her hand in a preemptive apology. Clematis was standing erect, with her hands behind her back. Somehow the stance made the five-foot-four hominid look taller. Even her sloping forehead and short powerful limbs seemed elegant in that pose.

“You know I tried to convince him to give up his quest. How he managed to get a team to actually search for some mythical land is beyond me,” Perez said.

“Rumors, myths, and legends of a lost world have circulated for centuries. Even if I ordered everyone to stop looking, the citizens would pursue it on their own. As annoying as it is, at least assigning a small task force to dig and search for this dream world keeps everyone else focused on their assigned tasks,” Clematis said.

It was evident that she was perplexed and annoyed about having to allocate resources to a fruitless task, but her point about guiding the process rather than fighting it was well conceived and implemented.

I guess that’s why you’re a leader and I am not,
Perez thought.

“As odd as the idea of ‘Hades’ being a place rather than our planet’s great architect is, I do wish it were true,” Clematis said. Perez was surprised at her response. Clematis was known for being practical, logical, and efficient in both her professional and private life. Perez involuntarily squinted her eyes and tilted her head. The expression of confusion was not lost on Clematis. “As improbable as the dream is, I can hope it’s true,” she said.

There is no fear for one whose mind is not filled with desires.
—The Buddha

“Why are you in such a rush?” Reich asked.

It was at least the fourth time that Lux had asked Bella when they were going to land. Reich had been obsessing over what to wear. She was not sure if she should go with her favorite Midwestern garb, which she felt most comfortable in, or with a more Northeast “rich Yankee” look that might impress the local real-estate office. She finally decided to go with the East Coast outfit—to reinforce the “Reich Enterprises” etched boldly on the private plane’s tail.

She kept trying to push thoughts about breaking her cover of being deceased and visiting her sister and family to the back of her mind.

Six hours away from here. Straight shot to Wyoming.

Suddenly, fear crept into her heart. The thought of Sir Pierce—still missing, armed, and dangerous—somehow finding out who she really was and using her family as leverage was terrifying. Lost in thought, she felt the landing gear hit the ground. Jarred back to reality, she turned to see that Lux was already unbuckling her harness and opening the door to disembark. Reich took her time doing the same. She slowly found her footing and moved through the small passenger section in her tailor-made suit and understated jewelry and heels that matched her outfit perfectly. By the time she caught up to Lux, she could see the dilapidated, deserted airfield and its network of buildings. Dust and dirt blew all over her eight-hundred-dollar shoes. She immediately wished she had gone with Midwestern attire of jeans, boots, and a comfortable blouse. She forced herself to focus on why she was here and brought her black-marble-colored tablet online.

“I still think you had a momentary lapse in judgment when you recruited children to come up with a plan to save the world,” Immunes Lux said. She was in her nondescript, customary reddish-brown slacks, work shirt, and workaday boots. Standing just under five feet tall, her sloping forehead, large jaw, heavy brows, and cable-like limbs gave her a less-than-threatening presence. Especially with chestnut shells and remains stuck to her shirt.

Reich knew better than to trust appearances when it came to Terrans. In her first meeting, Lux had been one of four female warriors who took out a group of dangerous rogue federal agents—who had superior firepower and a helicopter for backup. That’s when she became a believer in the existence of a rumored all-female Navy SEAL team, called Epsilon Team. Reich knew that such a team had never existed on Earth, but on Terra it was one of their most elite task forces. At nearly six feet in height, Reich smiled down at her friend of several years. Their divergent attire made Reich look tall and chic while Lux appeared like an ill-groomed teen. While their time together had been forged in battle and grew over years of special operations, she still found her Terran friends “cute.” They of course found her lack of hair, preening, and grooming not only time-consuming but counterproductive—it made her Earther appearance look even worse to them since they valued hairiness over hairlessness.

“Are you listening to me, giant one? Did you have to go out on that limb?”

Reich nodded while she walked toward an open security checkpoint and its collapsed security booth, which sat in front of what were some ostensibly abandoned buildings. When the plane’s engines fell silent, there were just the sounds of old wood and metal rattling in the wind. Reich was busy preparing her Keeper to queue up the facilities’ information as they neared the main building. The ground felt as if it had recently been rained on, and the smells of rotting old wood from the buildings ahead of them were unmistakable. Reich knew that Lux was waiting for her to respond.

“I heard you, my primate friend. You must admit that, after just two months of research, they’ve come up with a dizzying array of suggestions, locations, and novel ideas. One of which corresponded to this very location—which the Keeper and Pax came up with as well. Not a bad showing for a group of kids still in school,” Reich answered.

Since Lux didn’t respond immediately, Reich assumed she was trying to think of a witty comeback to address Reich’s shot about her being a primate. She didn’t have to wait too long.

“With respect, my hairless friend, it is your species that are the primates. Even your embryonic length, while similar to ours, never reaches its full state of maturation in ten Earth months,” Lux said.

Suppressing a smile, Reich had to admit that gorillas and orangutans did look strikingly similar to humans until the eighth month of pregnancy, and that it was only in the last month and a half that humans took on their final appearance. She had a point.

“But I must give you credit for the results your campus came up with, especially based on the cryptic data you gave them and their short time frame,” Lux conceded.

Knowing when to take a compliment and how to escape further verbal sparring with Lux, Reich nodded in agreement and spoke aloud to engage the Keeper’s audio application.

“Keeper? Brief summary of this site.”

“Twelve point one nine meters below us, there is an abandoned United States Titan Missile complex with 762 square meters of usable space surrounded by 52,607.41 square meters. Built in the 1960s, it was designed to withstand nuclear blasts and other extinction-level events, with the proper preparation. The launch control center, living quarters, garages, work areas, and all other living areas were surrounded by hardened underground material in addition to the planet’s crust surface. The former ICBM silos could readily be transformed into more living spaces, play and educational centers, and storage for food, water, and other critical supplies.”

Reich and Lux stood in the center of the building complex. Since they were far from their nearest neighbors—in Topeka, Kansas—Reich was impressed with the level of graffiti that covered the overall deserted complex.

“So you Earthers would spend money on such a place?” Lux asked. Her astonishment was not lost on either Reich or the Keeper.

“Present listing for this site is $295,000 in US currency. Significant depreciation for a decommissioned military complex and less than fair market value in comparison to other similar listings,” the master computer answered nonchalantly.

Lux rolled her eyes while Reich chuckled. The Keeper went on, as she always did when there was silence from her carbon-based peers.

“The real-estate agent is sixty-three minutes away. I suggest that you resist the urge to find the access port into the facility so as to give the impression of being new to the market. I would also recommend offering $250,000, as this property has been on the market for five years and has experienced twenty-five drops in price. While my experience interpreting human and hominid emotions is at times lacking, it seems clear that the real-estate agent’s vocal changes during your call indicated a shift from doubt to enthusiasm at the idea of selling such a piece of land, buildings, and attached property.”

“Wait a minute,” Reich interjected after she did some calculations. “You got us here an hour early for our appointment—just so we could wait around?” Reich was surprised since her computer was known for accuracy—never early, never late, always on time. Reich turned to share her surprise with Lux, but saw that she was standing a few feet to the side and looking up at the gray, cloudy sky. As Reich moved toward her, she saw that Bella, who had piloted the plane, was already standing beside her and looking up into the same airspace.

Reich turned to make sure that their transport was secured for such an act—leaving transport unattended was very uncommon for them.
What the hell?
Bella, or any pilot on the immediate team, always stuck with the transport to ensure its safety. Reich found that she was getting nervous by how distracted her teammates were. She was not used to being left out of the loop. She turned her gaze skyward again as she spoke to her computer.

“Keeper? What’s going on? Why are Lux and Bella looking up in the sky?”

“Most likely they are searching for visual confirmation of the interplanetary Terran stealth spaceship
Adventus.
It is scheduled to land at these coordinates in one point two minutes and to depart again sixty seconds after,” said the Keeper in her usual even-toned voice.

Reich watched a dark bird silently and swiftly approach, noting that it seemed to be moving far faster than the first Terran ship she had ever seen. While she watched the ship descend, her heart raced. She posed her next question.

“Why is it here?”

“The ship’s mission is to return to Terra with various species of your world’s birds of prey, as well as fox and wolf predators for domestication in addition to the canine breeds Terra already possesses. Various herbs, chestnuts, lemons, and other delicacies are already on board, along with various firearms including military grade, fully automatic weapons with ammunition, and rocket-propelled grenades—”

“But why is it coming here, now? Is Lux or Bella leaving?” A pang of fear, sadness, and trepidation engulfed her at the thought of a team member leaving. For all of their oddities and idiosyncrasies, she had come to care for them.
Surely they would have told me?