Intelligent Design: Revelations to Apocalypse (3 page)

When Janus stepped in front of his workstation, four monitors emerged from below the desk: and two keyboards and two stacked tablets appeared from a concealed drawer.

Simultaneously, the other desks revealed various sized monitors, elaborate displays of key tasks and holographic images suspended in space. He looked at each screen in turn. They recognized his retina and gaze, and started sorting through various programs.

“Right now those carnivorous monsters will destroy everything that is smaller and unarmed. And while Terra might be out of harm's way from asteroids and the debris field, the heliosynchronous orbit that keeps it out of Earth’s view might change in the course of millions of years. But that’s for you to see should you and the other Keepers survive,” he said absently as numbers and equations flooded his head.

“Sadly, unless I am able to perfectly titrate the cryogenic plasma solution, preserving you and the others for that long will be impossible. I will need a DNA sample when you have a chance. You do not much care for these dinosaurs, especially the carnivorous ones. You know they did not evolve from our rodents?” the Keeper said with more than an inflection of humor; something Janus would have considered thoroughly had he more time.

But why does she need a DNA sample?

“Yes, I don’t care much for dinosaurs or rodents. And we only have three days before we’re destroyed, so we’d better get started.”

His hands flew between the keyboards and the monitors flashed with different graphs, equations, columns of numbers and maps. Images changed with a look at the monitor and a gesture of his eyes.

“Of course, if you leave now, you would be able to see the project through after our demise and keep the novice architects focused on their duties for years to come,” the Keeper said.

“I’m impressed with your persistence.”
Though not surprised
, Janus smiled at the fact that his master computer said nothing in response.

“If the stasis chamber works, I might be revived someday to see the results first hand,” Janus said to fill the void, while considering the material he needed to figure out his ecological problem.

“Perhaps, should the stasis chambers, underground power sources, control mechanisms, and the planet’s crust survive the impacts.”

Janus began to draw up plans for a Keeper on Earth.

“I will leave if you do, Keeper.”

“You know I am unable to leave this world; I am a part of it. While there can be records and images of me, I cannot be removed and relocated due to my connection to Mars.”

“And that’s the same reason I will stay. My roots are here, on Mars, in this room, with you, doing my work. Even in certain death there is hope for new life.”

“I assume your response is an emotional construct that is not amenable to logical debate,” the Keeper said.

“You are accurate.” The Master Architect thought of yet another opportunity that could spring from the approaching disaster.

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated
- Confucius

This is such bullshit!
Andrea Perez thought. Arms and legs folded, Perez had spent two hours sitting in a twelve by twelve spartan interview room with two silent federal agents. The growls of her hunger pangs pierced the silence, and she regretted not eating her chocolate glazed donut or the cinnamon muffin before she’d set her experiment. The simple experiment had involved light beams, prisms, ice, and new experimental holographic equipment sent by MIT. While it had taken hours to set up, the test would have taken only twenty seconds to complete had the school’s dean not shown up with the department chair and three agents flashing badges and spewing the words ‘national security.’ She hadn’t thought to take her food on the way out. It didn’t seem like a viable option at the time, and it wasn’t as if she were in any danger of starvation.

At least she had her good lab coat on; the others were too small and stained with everything from grit and oil to pizza sauce.

The doorknob turned for the first time in two hours, and Perez spun around, eager to hear a voice, any voice, but preferably one that would tell her what was going on. So far, she’d only had the sound of the fluorescent lights and her stomach to keep her company. An older man in full military dress entered the room.

“Dr. Perez? Thank you for waiting. I know this is a little out of the ordinary, but I think after the meeting you’ll understand the necessity.”

Tall, physically fit and with very nice blue eyes, ‘older’ may have been too much.
Seasoned maybe; mature.

“Let me guess: national security reasons.”

“Exactly.”

“What’s really going on here?” Perez demanded as she stood.

“You don’t have the right to hold me. Why did these guys take me out of my lab?”

“I know it must seem odd to you.”

“No … why would it be odd? Three FBI dudes show up at my lab, flash their badges and whisk me away. And the dean and department head just keep saying ‘don’t worry,’ as they wave me off. Who are you people, and what do you want?”

“Please, Dr. Perez…”

“I’m not a doctor! I’m a doctoral student. What the hell?”

The soldier held up his hands as if surrendering.

“Okay. Please sit down, Ms. Perez, and I’ll explain everything.”

Perez stopped and consciously unclenched her fists and jaw. She took a deep breath and sat. Another loud, protracted hunger pain broke the silence. After two hours of sitting in a small, blank office with two silent FBI men who were totally unresponsive to any questions, her blood was boiling. An image of her dad flashed in her mind along with a sudden sense of concern. He was a military man who practiced clinical work with the Veterans Administration.

“Does this have something to do with my dad? What do you want from him? He’s had enough shit happen and doesn’t need to be pulled into anything you people have to offer.”

Perez sat away from the small table with her arms folded and her legs crossed; her body language made it clear she was not happy to be in the room. The officer shook his head and sat on the chair opposite her, then took off his cap and pulled his seat into the desk. He made eye contact with the FBI agents and they moved towards the door. Perez locked her eyes on the new arrival and spoke in an even, sarcastic tone.

“Hey, guys? Thanks for the conversation. Let’s do it again soon.”

To their credit, they left the room as silent as they had been for hours.

Who the hell are these people?
Tension tightened her shoulders, neck and arms. Even her face felt tight.

“Again, I apologize for the secrecy and the strange way we had to move, but it was necessary to ensure that we secure your work so you can continue …” the man said.

“I’m not talking to you or anyone until I have a name and a clear explanation of why I was brought here against my will and without reason. I want to know, right now.” She kept her tone low and calm, but anger laced every word.

“I will explain everything, Ms. Perez. As crazy as it will sound, I’ll tell you everything, but please let me finish before you ask any questions. Once you hear everything, you’ll have to figure out what questions to ask, because once you find out what’s going on, you’ll grab your balls.”

Perez’s eyes widened at the mention of what she would grab, and she fought to keep a smirk off her face.

The officer’s face flushed and he spoke quickly to recover his equanimity.

“My name is Lieutenant Colonel David Farrell. I run the communication, spectrographic analysis and guidance division of NASA’s space exploration and the search for intelligent life. My job covers a lot of areas, and I work with a lot of brilliant scientists around the world—China, Russia, India, and any other country, no matter how small, that has a telescope, computer and bright people.”

Spectrographic analysis? There’s a whole department that looks at light? And here I thought I was the only nut looking at it.

“As you can imagine, working on such areas with different governments can be difficult, but in this case it’s necessary.” Farrell broke eye contact and looked at his hands. Perez noticed the change, something her father always told her to look for when people were talking.

Was it a mark of anxiety, or an indication that he was hiding something?

“You know, Ms. Perez, we live in a world of dualities. On one hand, we have technology that can pick up chemical compositions of planets outside our solar system, and we can now grow and transplant human organs. There are space probes in deep, interstellar space, and we can tell when and how many times our planet wobbles on its axis,” he said, still looking at his hands.

“At the same time,” he continued, “there’s a cult in Ireland who believe there are aliens living among us. In another part of the world, we have a madman who’s president of a powerful country looking to retake former territories in an effort to rebuild an empire. Finally, we have a pandemic of religious violence to determine once and for all whose god is the most just and benevolent.”

Perez frowned. Confusion, a feeling she loathed, and frustration at his digression replaced her anger.

“What does this have to do with me?”

Farrell held up his hand to stop her. It did, but he stayed silent for a few seconds before he spoke again.

“Ever since Galileo looked at the stars, we knew there were other worlds out there. Other giant minds came, and they were able to pinpoint where we fell in our constellation, how our planet’s orbit affected our world, and where to look for new discoveries. When the space age started, we led the charge into space. The
Apollo
missions,
Luna 16, Mariner 10
,
Spirit
and
Opportunity, Voyager
,
Messengers, New Horizons
, all of them, and many more you and the public don’t know about, all set out to chart, investigate and discover everything at our front door and beyond. When we look out, there are so many possibilities in other galaxies. And when we look close to home, we find that Mars once held an atmosphere and water, and a couple of moons near Jupiter and Saturn hold possibilities for life. Nothing else, or so we thought.” Farrell’s voice trailed off as if he were thinking of something to add.

Perez listened to every word, so focused on what he said that her body unfurled and leaned on the desk towards him, waiting for him to continue.

“Over the past thirty-five years, we’ve picked up unusual variations in our orbit and other small changes in Mars and Venus. They were minute at first but clearly there. In the last ten years, this variation has become predictable, measurable, and clearly indicative that a large body of something out there is affecting our planet’s orbit. Nothing dangerous, but clearly there is another factor, on a planetary scale.”

The room fell silent. Perez noted her shallow breathing, took a deep breath, and shook her head as if to break some kind of spell. “No way! Are you drunk? Is this some kind of psychological game or an elaborate joke Dr. Vincent came up with?” Perez wiped a hand across her suddenly hot and sweaty brow.

Farrell continued as if she had said nothing.

“Fifteen years ago, a series of probes and satellites were sent to specific coordinates to observe this disturbance. That’s after we reviewed millions of images, new and old, from all the probes, missions, and satellites from every country capable of space flight. We found nothing, or rather we
saw
nothing, nothing visual occupying the space we pinpointed. Direct observation was initiated and the
Veritas
probes were launched. When the first one got to its designated location, we lost all contact. When the second and third got into place, all seemed to work well until they initiated spectral analysis and x-rays, then they went dark. The third probe did send back data, and for just a nanosecond we thought we had something, but then some kind of computer glitch happened, and the data was lost. The fourth
Veritas
probe blew up on the launch pad,” Farrell added more to himself than to her.

“You’re not joking, are you?” “No. No, I’m not.”

Holy shit …

Farrell looked at her. “We re-routed a couple of satellites and old probes to our mystery disturbance, but they experienced some kind of problem or their data was useless for some reason or other. China and Russia experienced the same problems. And now, for the last eight years, the internet is alive with chat groups and forums talking about ‘Planet X’ on the far side of the sun.”

“They’re in on this too?”

“Yup. They got similar results.”

“Jesus …”

“The South Koreans successfully launched their own probe. They were able to shoot a light beam in the general direction of the anomaly and got a measure of curvature before it went dark.”

“Curvature? The light bent?”

“Yes. The light’s particles curved as if affected by a large planetary body. When the curvature of the light beam was measured, it was extrapolated that only a planet larger than Earth would have the gravity to do that.”

Stunned, Perez looked directly at Farrell. He held her gaze and continued.

“We have another set of probes getting ready to launch in the next four years with an array of spectrograph equipment and an unparalleled number of telescopes and measuring devices. In addition, we’re establishing a manned launch so we can have direct human observation. All of this in spite of a major economic downturn, a recession that will dwarf the Great Depression. We are doing this as we exit two wars, and the danger from terrorism and maniacal leaders lurks everywhere. A world of dualities.”

“If all our satellites, probes and shit haven’t been able to see it or snap an image, what will sending people to observe do?” Perez’s anxiety had kicked into high gear, and sweat broke out on her forehead, armpits and small of her back.

“We’re not going to just look for it. We’re beyond that now. Everything points to something being out there. And whatever it is, a massive asteroid, planetoids, moon or whatever, we’re going to land on it and bring a piece of whatever it is home.”