CHAPTER 12

March 4, 2060

Greg Miller entered the dimly lit room. A glass lamp flickered on and off in the corner. He tightened the bulb and the light stayed on. The despair in the room was palpable.

He knelt beside his old pal. Billy had barely changed in the three years since his last visit. Work in England kept Greg away. He was surprised that Billy had survived his incapacity. So much wasted time. A futile existence. Greg spoke softly, as if he didn’t want to disturb his friend.

“We’re on the brink of war unless cooler heads prevail. The President says he wants peace, but nobody believes him. There’s tension between the superpowers about oil, water reserves, the same bullshit reasons people always fight about. We want this tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Should that be part of the United States? Why do we want it? Of course…oil.” His habit of talking aloud to Billy hadn’t stopped in spite of his listener’s failure to respond.

Billy heard Greg’s words, but couldn’t let him know that he remained trapped inside, desperately searching for a way out of his nightmare.

“Billy, maybe you’re the lucky one? I’ve done terrible things. I’m not a religious type, so I guess this is my ‘confessional.’ Good lord, I haven’t done that since my parents dragged me to Gesu church when I was a kid. I’ve got some catching up to do,” he sighed, Billy lay motionless, his breathing heavier than what Greg remembered.

“Anyway, old pal. I bet you don’t have much to say. I’ve learned these conversations are one-sided. I’ll say you one thing about you...when it comes to listening, you’re the unsurpassed champion. I wish Tiffany listened to me. We split up and got divorced. She took half of what I had, and she spent every damn cent I earned overseas. She had expensive taste. I got to keep a few pieces of the furniture. Great, now I can plant my ass in a fancy designer chair instead of that old green piece of shit chair you had when we were kids. That was a long time ago. Now were adults with jobs, well, at least I’ve had a few jobs in my career. The last one was awful, a place called FOND. In hindsight, I was not fond of that place. No reply from the peanut gallery on that one? These men at FOND were a trip. They were evil. Almost as nasty as President Dodge. The money was fucking unreal, but what remains from that job is guilt, not cash. I’ll have to do something really special in the future to atone for my sins. They had me go back to work for Greenpeace as a spy. Can you believe that? It’s not the movies. I’m as close to James Bond as I am the King of England. It was boring. I dug out files for information and forwarded them to a contact in Florence, Italy. Not exactly like speeding through town on a motorcycle, and crashing into a fruit stand. I gave them all kinds of inside information and when there was nothing left to find… they fired my ass. Tiffany spent my money without hesitation, and stuff costs more in Europe than it does in the States. Man, could that girl burn a paycheck, whew! When she found out that they fired me, things went from bad to worse. Stop me if you want to hear the part about her screwing another guy? Surprise, surprise, she did, twice. I never cheated on her! When they fired me, I came home to tell Tiffany the bad news. She struts into the family room, turns off the television, and lays it on me. Turns out she’s having sex with this arrogant bastard that worked with me named Chambers. She couldn’t have picked a worse human. Can you believe his name was Chambers? Ruined the whole fucking cookbook thing for me I can’t even watch that ‘Twilight Zone’ episode anymore.”

Greg paced back and forth across the room, wiping his brow with a cloth and fussing with the top button on his shirt. “Now I live in Chicago, working part- time for TGH. They assemble airplane parts for the army. I help with the design features. That’s right up my alley. People have lied to my face, cheated on me, and to top it off, with the information FOND learned from me, those assholes hired trained assassins to kill the top executives at Greenpeace. I have blood on my hands. That’s a horrible thing to live with. Have you ever seen a man die a violent death? I have. Let me tell you, it’s not a pretty sight. Those murders brought an end to Greenpeace and hurt the environmental movement. Now we’re digging for oil, gas, and coal wherever we can. We found huge oil reserves in the Pacific, but the oil is too deep to retrieve. If anyone can figure out a way to get the oil from there, whew, that would be a game-changer. Fuck the planet, that’s the FOND way. The world is overpopulated, the waters are over-fished, the earth is contaminated, and the air sucks. Other than that…things are great! Stop me if I’m boring you. You might think this sounds funny, but you’re sitting pretty well from where I stand. My freakin’ hair is turning grey and your hair is brown. It’s the stress of living that causes hair to turn color, that and aging. Lord knows there’s no stress inside your head, huh? While you flip over a few times a day, in the real world, people are trying to figure out whether or not to worry about the environment or the economy. Can’t we find a happy medium? You wouldn’t believe it if you saw it with your own eyes. I’m glad you haven’t seen the way the world is turning.”

“Oh I’ve seen some things. It would blow your mind.”

Perspiration dripped down the sides of his head, and he wiped his brow and face dry.

“Hot in here. I’m sweating like a pig. He plopped his rear on an industrial chair built to last decades, but not for comfort.

“Damn, this chair is uncomfortable. I guess the bed isn’t comfy either.”

The doctor on call entered the room and stopped Greg cold in his tracks.

“I didn’t realize Billy had a guest,” said Dr. Davidson, “Hello Mr. Miller, good to see you again, it’s been awhile.”

“I come say hello when I can. Billy’s not much of a conversationalist.”

“Thanks for coming. You’re the only visitor he gets. We joke that he’s the only patient that doesn’t complain about the food in here. I sure would like to know what’s going on inside that head of his.” The doctor flipped open the electronic chart on his hand held device and pressed the keypad several times. “Our records indicate you’re the first one that’s paid a visit in quite some time. Don’t be a stranger.”

“I’ve been visiting him about once a year. It’s my own little way of keeping in touch with my past. I should be going. Tell me, Doc, how much longer?”

“Do you mean when is he going to die? Or when is he going to wake up?” said the doctor.

“Either.”

“That’s up to God.”

“Take care of him, Doc.”

“Promise.” said the doctor. “Oh, one more thing if you don’t mind.”

“What is it?

“Would you be the one making the arrangements if he passes away?”

Greg never contemplated his friend dying. He was an American institution… The Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Billy.

“Sure. Here’s my card.”

“Thanks,” said the doctor.

Greg left the room, headed to the lobby and out to his car. A tear touched his left cheek. It was the first tear in all the times he had seen his friend.

Greg’s electric-powered car raced north on Cedar Road and headed to interstate 271. Billy remained in the room with his inner terrors. The teacher returned with a new chapter for him to view.

“That was a pleasant visit. It must be reassuring to know he cares for you despite the passage of time.”

“How long have I been with you? It seems like a few weeks. Greg sounds older than I recall. I’m missing something.”

“You and I have known each other for nearly fifty of your Earth years.”

“That can’t be true. That would mean I’m over sixty years old. When I look at myself when I’m with you, I’m still the boy who survived the earthquake.”

“That’s our sophisticated programming. You are much older than you appear to yourself in our journeys together. I have been able to slow down many of your life functioning systems and you will not have aged in the same way as your friend Greg. It was not my intention to deceive you.”

The teacher took Billy on another tour of the planet.

“There isn’t much more for you to witness. Our time together is almost over,” said the teacher.

Hundreds of years of fighting left the planet scarred and permanently damaged. He and the teacher assessed the damage.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything left to fight for,” said Billy.

“Are you ready to return to the room where Talath and Arani once spoke of peace?”

“If it gets me outta here, the answer is yes.”

They returned to the same meeting room from long ago. The furniture was different, and the windows broken. Misshaped pieces of metal failed to block the cold air that rushed in.

The first time the teacher brought him to this room it was full of hostility and anger. Ten years passed in Billy’s world. A woman and a man occupied the room. The building was void of security guards and foul tempered assistants seeking revenge.

The woman, named Leeta, was dressed in black. Her counterpart, a man named Rerick, stood with his muscular forearms folded and a furrowed brow above his blue eyes.

Leeta stood by the window, and observed the ruined landscape, “Once we leave, without proper maintenance, the buildings will decay and rumble. With each passing season, the ground will swallow whatever else remains. Centuries from now there won’t be any record of us setting foot on this place.”

Rerick retorted, “I reviewed scenes from the first orb last night and studied the passages of the first year we landed. There was a man named Hargudus. He led the landing party.”

“I never heard of him,” said Leeta.

“The orb showed him and his peers. They were proud. In their era, it was an achievement to land on another planet. Now it’s commonplace. The solar system is full of planets that sustain life. I can’t predict where our people will go, but I can predict more pain and suffering.”

“Rerick, the history books describe the ships that arrived here and the newly erected buildings. This place had potential to be the saving grace for our planet. I understand our star has thousands of years remaining before it explodes, but scientists can’t guarantee a precise timeline.”

Rerick moved to the window. Disappointment filled his heart. “This should have been an ideal place for us. Perhaps a bit undersized, this planet is an easy place to relocate our populaces, at least the ones chosen to leave our home and have a chance at life here. The entire colonization project is under review. This land won’t be inhabitable again for millions of years. The damage we’ve done is incalculable. A few of my top scientists believe the ecological damage of drilling deep into the core will cause the land mass to separate. I wouldn’t want to be here if that happens. We’ve done a terrible thing here. What a shame. However, we must move on. Have you read the terms of the truce?”

“I did, what do you plan do about paragraph 10?” asked Leeta.

“We’re going to set fire to anything that isn’t already destroyed. The contamination level is so high that you and I will probably die of radiation poisoning on the trip back home. There’s not enough medicine for all of us. I have a contact who works in the clinic. I’ve offered an absurd amount of money for additional pills. I’ll be in contact with you if I can get my hands on them. The planet has been designated a disaster zone and quarantined. The leaders don’t want evidence left behind.”

Leeta wasn’t prepared to trust Rerick. “Selfishness cost us a million lives and this entire planet. Don’t insult me and tell me that you have my interests in your heart. I’m not buying that line. We’re not friends and never will be. I’ll secure medicine for my family without aid from the likes of you.”

Her words registered no impact on Rerick. He moved on to the next point on his list.

“The last item on the peace treaty is to monitor how your side will remove any remains from your half of the planet prior to our departure. Have you finalized the plans?”

“You can be assured we’ve taken precautions to eliminate any remnants of our presence. We’ve agreed to split the orbs. We’re each taking one of them. It may be useful when re-colonization is discussed,” said Leeta.

Rerick gave her a stern glance, “The inter-galaxy review board will download the information within the orbs and see who is to blame for our situation. That would be regrettable. Neither one of us would come out of it unsoiled. There could be grave repercussions if the wrong people get a hold of those orbs. Lawyers on both sides can debate the written record. It’s those damn orbs. We’d have difficulty explaining our actions.”

Leeta asked him, “Are you saying we should eliminate the orbs?”

Rerick gave her the official government line, “That would be highly irregular and against the code of conduct oath we both signed for our respective sides of this conflict.”

“What if they disappeared and we had no idea where they were?” she asked.

“The board won’t be pleased. They’ll have the written records to review. Let’s be realistic, the orbs show terrible crimes. The weapons used on this planet have left it scarred and barren. This may be the only viable exit strategy for us. You should be working on our side of the conflict. We would have avoided a catastrophe if you had switched sides,” said Rerick.

Leeta voice rose in anger, “That would never have happened. You’re a savage! I could never have worked alongside you.”

“You’re talking about doing that precise thing. My grandfather told me never to say ‘Never.’”

Leeta ignored his comments and moved on to the problem of the orbs and their visual record of the Aliens life on Earth.

“The orbs have a tracking device, it would be difficult to hide them,” she said.

“Let me deliberate this plan. I’ll contact you in a day or two.”