This was becoming increasingly confusing. We’d come to the moon to wipe out a dangerous parasite, but the parasite was telling us that it was actually a valuable symbiote. The infected individuals were claiming that they were living harmoniously in their symbiotic relationship. How the devil was I to put this over to NASA?
Back in the com dome I needed a confidential session with Neil at mission control, but with Anna and Bill present to ensure that I didn’t omit anything that was crucial.
Penny had been monitoring the communications desk while Dave and Pete were continuing to repair other consoles which had been damaged during the LRPs’ control of Moonbase. We still couldn’t send live video to Earth from anywhere except the com dome. It was very frustrating in this situation. I had to ask Dave and Pete to stop their repairs while I spoke to NASA..
‘Hi, Mark. Neil here, over,’ he said.
‘Anna, Bill and I have just finished a session with Roy and Crystal, and I wanted to speak to you about it. There’s a video on the way. Who else is with you there? Over,’ I said.
After the interminable four seconds, ‘Okay, Mark. I have Bob with me, and a couple of technicians are assisting. Over.’
‘Right, Neil, I think I’d prefer to keep this tight. Would the technicians mind leaving you to it for a while?’ I asked and added, ‘Over,’ as an afterthought.
‘Give us a moment, Mark.’
It was probably less than a minute before Neil continued, ‘Okay, Mark just Bob and me. Over.’
‘Who is Bob?’ whispered Bill.
‘Head of NASA. Dr Michaels,’ Anna replied quietly.
‘Oh, yes,’ said Bill.
‘I can see a serious problem arising. Over,’ I said.
‘Okay. Speak freely. We’ll listen. What sort of problem? Over,’ said Neil.
‘It’s complex,’ I said and tried to marshal my thoughts. ‘We’ve been talking at length with Roy Williams, Crystal Mitumba and Vicky Jones. They are all infected. Roy and Crystal, as you know, since before Linda and I escaped, and Vicky is a recent case.
‘As you are aware, Roy required safe passage before they would come to Moonbase for a conference in the geo dome. We brought the multidirectional projector into the room and had five Marines standing guard, including Mike Robertson. We were fully prepared if they became aggressive.
‘All three of them seem to be sharing their knowledge with their LRPs, including the newly infected Vicky. They all claim that the LRP gives them fabulous benefits including total recall of all memories and experiences, going back, would you believe, beyond birth to the time in the womb. They also claim improved mental skills and control over their bodies. Roy says his LRP slows his heart when sleeping. The memory claim is real. It was demonstrated comprehensively to me. An event years ago was described to me in the most extraordinary detail. You’ll see it in the video which is on the way to you.
‘I offered to free them of their parasites there and then, but none of them wanted that. It horrified them, in fact, as you’ll see in the video. They say that they now live in harmony with their LRPs and don’t want to change back. Over.’
‘Do you think it is genuine?’ asked Bob.
‘Over,’ added Neil quickly.
‘Yes. It is certainly genuine as far as we can make out. Either that or it’s a phenomenally cunning ruse. Over,’ I said.
‘How much memory can the LRPs hold? Over,’ asked Neil.
‘We don’t think they hold the memories which are recalled, they just access them within the host’s mind. Over,’ I said.
‘What do Anna and Bill think? Over,’ asked Bob.
‘I think it is a real symbiosis,’ said Anna.
‘There’s a natural suspicion,’ said Bill. ‘But it seems to be real, as far as I can make out.’
‘If it was anyone other than Roy I was speaking with,’ I said, ‘I’d say I was still suspicious, but I’ve known Roy for years and I do believe him. Over.’
‘And this memory thing, how do we know that is real? Over,’ asked Neil.
‘You’ll see in the video. I am certain it is real, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Over,’ I said.
‘The video file has just downloaded, Mark,’ said Neil. ‘Bob and I would like to watch it. Can you keep them as guests while we do that? Over.’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘We’ll do that and Anna, Bill and I will take a break and discuss strategy further. Over.’
‘Sounds good. Won’t be long. Out,’ said Neil.
‘Doug,’ I called over personal intercom. ‘Can you change the guard on our guests. Ask them to find out if they’d like any more food or drink. If they want the toilets, ensure the area is irradiated afterwards.’
‘Will do, Mark.’
Anna, Bill and I made our way through to the common room, giving back the com dome to Penny and her team.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
The three of us tucked into a substantial lunch with eggs from the hens, beans and sausages.
‘It really bothers me,’ I said. ‘Roy wouldn’t lie to me and he is adamant he wants to keep the LRP.’
‘Yes, but they’re still dangerous,’ said Bill. ‘How do we know they won’t try again to take us all over?’
Anna said, ‘If they lulled us into a false sense of security, they could then make their move on all of us.’
‘And how could we ever allow one of them back to Earth. It could be a disaster,’ said Bill.
‘It would be a ticking timebomb for ever,’ said Anna.
‘Yes. It’s the fact that they can still totally dominate whenever they wish that worries me most,’ I said.
‘Yes, suddenly no longer Mr Nice Guy and everyone on Earth is assimilated… like the Borg in Star Trek!’ Bill said and chuckled. ‘Except it’s a real threat.’
We’d just finished lunch when Penny called us through to the com dome to talk to NASA again.
‘We’ve been thinking about this long and hard, Mark,’ said Neil, ‘and we feel we need to find out whether the attachment is genuine. This is the plan we suggest…’
We all listened intently.