The Bovine Connection (44 page)

“Yes, you heard correctly,” Dr. Wallace chuckled.

“It is used to travel between Earth and Mars, but only for a select few. There are special crafts that take passengers and cargo.”

Dr. Wallace smiled sarcastically. “The teleportation chamber or -- if you will -- ‘The Jumper,’ is top secret.” The casino’s noise had picked up. The sound of the slot machines rang out in the background just before the sound of quarters pounded the metal baskets.

Angelica raised her voice over the background noise. “This all just sounds so unbelievable.” Angelica put her pen down. Dr. Bishop watched anxiously as Dr. Wallace glanced around the hotel.

Dr. Bishop straightened his back. “Dr. Wallace, there was a scroll found that told of portals opening… I’ll call them doorways, opening for travel between time and space. It was from ‘The Tomb of The Visitor’, or rather “The Chamber of Knowledge’. I believe Giano purchased it to build the teleportation chamber.”

Angelica looked at Dr. Wallace. “Okay, what is Giano’s objective, I wonder?”

“I do not know. Maybe it’s about Eplar.” Dr. Bishop scoffed.

“Yes, Dr. Bishop, you are on to something there. ‘The scroll or blueprint,’ as we called it, is for teleportation technology… After it was deciphered… we built ‘The Jumper’ just as we were told.” Dr. Wallace’s shoulders dropped revealing her frailty. As she repositioned in her seat, her bun rubbed against the back of the upholstered chair and several strands of black and gray hair fell loose.

Dr. Bishop had an idea. “What about the teleportation chamber at the facility here? If we could get inside… you know how to operate it. We go to Mars,” he announced. Angelica laughed spontaneously.

Dr. Wallace frowned… “Yes, if we could get inside and to the chamber without being seen.”

Angelica’s face straightened and she bit down on the edge of her thumb nail. “Dr. Bishop, I’m trying to follow you. Say we get to Mars. Once there… what’s next?” She laughed sarcastically.

Dr. Bishop sat back, appearing to give up on the idea. “Well, you wanted to go inside the facility so why not go to Mars, once inside?”

Angelica chuckled as she shot a look of bewilderment at Dr. Wallace. “I wanted to go inside upon approval of an interview. I never said I wanted to break in, Dr. Bishop.”

Angelica then appeared to contemplate. She looked around the room and then back to Dr. Wallace. “Teleportation chamber… and you know where it is. Could you get us in the facility, Dr. Wallace… if we went tonight? Perhaps, just for a few photos.” Angelica asked.

Dr. Bishop perked up, his eyes grew wide. Dr. Wallace jerked… “Oh, no,” she said. ”Not a good idea.” Dr. Wallace shook her head back and forth. “We will be killed! There are armed guards in SUVs everywhere on the property; they’ll spot you a mile away. I thought you were speaking hypothetically.” Dr. Wallace laughed nervously. “You two are nuts!”

Both Angelica and Dr. Bishop appeared disappointed. Dr. Wallace pursed her lips and tapped her foot on the floor.

“Well then, where is the facility located?” Angelica looked sharply at Dr. Wallace. “I want to see it.”

Dr. Wallace took a deep breath and thought for another moment. She looked around the hotel, squeezing her hands tighter. “Perhaps… I could show you. What the hell. I’ll contact my friend at the base and see what I can do.”

Angelica smiled at Dr. Bishop but Dr. Wallace wasn’t smiling. Dr. Bishop suddenly appeared to be deep in thought. He sat back confidently. “Say we were to get in and see the chamber, you know how to use it…”

Dr. Wallace bellowed out, “You two are brave -- but nuts!”

A
fter working on the story back in her room for several hours, Angelica closed her laptop. She raised her fingers to her temple. She was anxious and second guessing whether they should try to enter the base, she knew she needed to rest to clear her mind. She slipped off her clothes, pulled the sheets back, and lay down onto the bed. She quickly drifted into REM sleep.

Suddenly she found herself standing at the edge of a sapphire blue lake, shimmering with sparkles of sunlight. The grass under her feet was short, green, and lush.

Angelica looked around, unsure of where she was. The landscape was unfamiliar. She had never seen a place as exquisite. Angelica took a step back and looked up in awe of the calm, perfect blue sky… the landscape was vibrant and mesmerizing. She decided she must be dreaming.

Angelica looked across the lake to the buildings on the other side. They were unusually shaped modern white structures of mostly glass. The material in between the glass was shiny and sleek.

The air was pleasant and fresh, no smog… no pollutants… pure. It felt like spring. Angelica filled her lungs and then allowed it to flow back up through her chest. It was intoxicating, leaving her feeling high.

Angelica suddenly sensed someone standing behind her, and quickly turned around and gasped. A young boy around the age of six or seven with large black eyes was smiling endearingly at her. Oddly, she could recognize some of her own unique features… the shape of his mouth and the high cheekbones that were a distinct genetic trait of her lineage. But the boy was clearly non-human and a bit frightening. His skin was translucent grey. His frame was thin but with well-defined muscles and bluish veins visible just under the dermis. The child’s head was proportionately bigger to his body but he exuded a majestic and confident aura.

“Hello,” she said as she smiled apprehensively. The boy stepped forward, appearing nervous. Angelica stepped back startled.

“Hello,” he said while tilting his head wondering why she was acting strangely.

Angelica stood statuesque, examining him. She smiled and extended her hand as she took a step cautiously toward him. He appeared to be harmless. “Don’t be afraid. I won’t harm you. Can you tell me where I am? I think I am lost.”

The boy walked methodically over to Angelica. “You don’t remember? He tiled his head once more, curiously. You are on Eplar.”

Angelica flinched as her heartbeat accelerated. “Where did you say?” She was frozen with shock. “No, you are mistaken. That is far away from…” Angelica shook her head and lifted her fingers to her lips. “Eplar?”

The boy appeared confused. “Yes.”

Angelica took a deep breath and looked back towards the buildings. “What city is that?” She pointed.

The boy smiled and tilted his head. “You don’t remember?” Angelica shook her head with a blank expression. “Where is your family?”

The boy smiled warmly with patience, appearing to take pity on Angelica. “You are my family, you are my mother.”

Angelica started to shake her head and took another step back. “No, you are mistaken. I am not your mother,” Angelica quickly confirmed while noting his unusual eyes; they were so large and black, but felt sincere. She looked at his smooth head, his features… he was definitely not human, well, not entirely, she thought.

“You do look familiar. Do I know you?” Her shoulders dropped.

The boy moved closer. “You are my mother, Angelica. Do you not remember me?” the boy asked, as he lowered his head.

“Wait, yes I do,” Angelica quickly replied. She didn’t want to upset the boy. “Do you mind helping me? I seem to have lost some of my memory. I do remember you, I just don’t remember myself. I think I just need to rest and I will feel better.” Angelica raised her hand to her temple. “Will you help me remember things?” she asked carefully, in almost a whisper.

The boy’s face lifted. “I was worried about you. You left me on the transporter vessel and said you would be back soon. You didn’t come back soon… as you said. I couldn’t find you. I waited…” His voice sounded wounded.

Angelica lowered her chin and knelt down onto her knee. Her eyes were wide. She opened her arms and extended them. “It is all right. I am here now.”

The boy rushed over and hugged her tightly. Angelica smelled his neck and observed his flawless grey hairless skin. “You are so perfect,” she whispered, as she ran her hand softly down his cheek.

Angelica felt warmth in her chest. She was mystified by the revelation that she felt love for the boy.

The boy stepped back, away from Angelica and pointed up to the sky. “We are all connected and we are made of light. Don’t you remember, Mother?” Angelica peered up at the sky.

Angelica took a deep breath. The sound of the word mother was strange to her, and it was impossible, she thought.

The boy took her hand and squeezed it. Angelica looked down and observed his long sinewy fingers in hers. He had no thumbs. She pulled him back and observed his face. Angelica was beginning to remember him.

Angelica leaned back and placed both of her hands on the top of the boy’s arms, just below his shoulders. She looked into his large oval shaped black eyes, so dark that she could barely discern where his pupils began, and she could see her reflection. “How long have I been away from you?” she asked softly.

The boy suddenly appeared sad. He lowered his chin before looking back up and glaring deep into her eyes. “A long time.”

Angelica frowned. “I’m sorry I left you.”

The alarm sounded. Angelica shot up startled. She needed to hurry and get ready and meet Dr. Bishop and Dr. Wallace out in front of the hotel, so she tried her best to shake her dream that was the most vivid and real of her life.

A
ngelica stared out of the passenger window into the darkness at the baron Nevada terrain, preoccupied with thoughts about the boy from her dream. Angelica was deeply conflicted over her emotions. She couldn’t stop thinking about him. She felt incomplete.

Dr. Wallace glanced over at Angelica. Angelica was quietly peering through the glass with her knuckles folded under her chin. “Having second thoughts?” Dr. Wallace asked.

Angelica looked over at her. “No,” she responded, her expression sullen.

They pulled off the paved highway after about a forty minute drive and onto a dirt road with a noticeably large white metal sign shining in the headlights of Dr. Wallace’s red Ford Explorer. The sign simply read, “No Trespassing.”

Dr. Wallace turned off the headlights and drove slowly, relying only on the light of the full moon to guide them.

Dr. Bishop’s stomach was upset and feeling queasy, and he instinctively rubbed at it. It had been a quiet drive. No one said anything… And there was no doubt that they were all second guessing their decision to go to the facility.

Angelica thought about her mother in Asheville. She wondered if she’d ever see her again. If her mother knew she was preparing to break into a facility in the middle of the desert with armed security ready to shoot to kill, she’d probably fall over of a heart attack, she thought. Then there was Michael. What a fool she was. She could be safe with him in Manhattan, in his arms… making love. Angelica reflected back on their evening together in Elberton when he whispered in her ear, “The true strength of one’s character is their resilience.” She still wondered if he was referring to her.

Angelica felt apprehensive and the tension in the SUV was palpable. It was clear to her that she had lost her mind. Angelica looked over at Dr. Wallace to speak, but no words came out. Dr. Wallace stopped and turned off the engine. “We’ll leave the Explorer here behind this ridge.”

Angelica glanced back at Dr. Bishop in the backseat. He didn’t look so well, she thought. “Everything okay, Dr. Bishop?”

Dr. Bishop looked nervous. “Yep,” he said, but obviously he was not. He appeared extremely anxious.

They sat in silence for a moment, and then stepped out onto the dry desert soil. Dr. Wallace opened the rear hatch as Dr. Bishop stepped around to assist her. Angelica walked towards the other side of the ridge where the lights of the ASTIC Aerospace Facility glowed down in the valley.

Dr. Wallace took a gun from a dark blue back pack in the trunk and handed it to Dr. Bishop. It was a black military issue Colt M45. “Best handgun for close quarter combat,” Dr. Wallace said with confidence and an air of authority. 

Dr. Bishop looked at it as if it were made of radioactive material, and then stuck it in the back of his jeans. Dr. Wallace put the back pack on and then closed the hatch. They both walked over to Angelica, where she was standing at the edge, peering out at the brightly lit white metal buildings.

Angelica’s hands were trembling. ”How far is it… do you think?” Her voice shook. She was visibly nervous.