The next day, Benson – who was in his office along with Zoe – received a visit from Professor Tompkins. After Zoe had been introduced to the professor and had answered his many questions about her experiences with Zak Araz, the ‘Being There’ computer game and Zoe’s previous encounter with the Soul Snatcher, Professor Tompkins announced that he and his team had located a force field over Cristelee. The force field was confined to Cristelee only, and effectively isolated and separated the town from the rest of the United Kingdom – thus virtually imprisoning its inhabitants. The professor couldn’t explain why Cristelee had been chosen, nor was he able to identify the source of the force field itself.
“It seems to be radiating from somewhere near to the safari park,” he said. “At least that’s where the central point appears to be, but it could be anywhere within a radius of 20 to 30 miles of the park.”
“Won’t that stop people coming into the area?” asked Benson. He thought for a moment and then added, “And vehicles too… including trains, buses, and cars.”
Professor Tompkins nodded in agreement. “And getting out,” he said. “Nobody can get in or out. The town is totally cut off.”
“What about planes?” asked Zoe. “Will they be able to fly above the force field or will they too have to stay clear of the area?”
“It depends on how far the force field reaches upwards and the altitude at which the planes are flying,” replied the professor.
“How come no one has complained?” queried Benson. “I would have expected someone to have contacted the police to find out what’s going on, or to have received some complaints from other police forces or authorities asking why they can’t get into Cristelee.”
“Yes,” said the professor, “but then again, you have to notice it first.”
“What do you mean?” Benson asked.
“Whatever is responsible for this force field has a far superior intelligence to anything I’ve ever seen on Earth,” Professor Tompkins replied. “So I would be very surprised if they hadn’t thought about people noticing, and taken steps to ensure they don’t.”
“How?” Benson was curious.
“I’ve no idea,” said the professor, “but I’m going to try to find out. I have to say that despite the problems the force field will cause us, it’s still very impressive – as indeed is that computer game you brought over yesterday. We’ve analysed and tested it using many different methods. We even used robots equipped with special instruments to play the game, so we could monitor the impact of any underlying low frequency programmes that the game may contain, and the possible effects of these on humans.”
Zoe and Benson stared eagerly and expectantly at Tompkins as he hesitated.
“Well?” Benson queried.
“There is definitely something there,” said the professor. “It’s probably the thing that’s creating the mass hypnosis that Zoe has witnessed. The hum and the rhythmic pulses that Zoe heard when she was forced to play the game are infrasonic. That means they are pitched beneath the lower limit of human hearing. Even so, the frequency that they’re transmitted on is well beyond the range known to us, and I have to say that whatever technology produced that game is way above the capability and knowledge of anyone on this planet. What we’ve found certainly reinforces Zoe’s idea that Zak Araz is this Soul Snatcher creature.”
“How could Zoe hear those sounds then?” asked a puzzled Benson.
“I would guess that her sensory perception was heightened well above normal by her brain because her body was paralysed,” said Tompkins, “and as a result she was able to hear the infrasonic transmissions. The human body can go to quite remarkable extremes in its bid for survival.”
Zoe nodded her head and smiled inwardly as she silently congratulated herself on the accurate diagnosis she had made while forcibly engaged in playing the game.
Tompkins stroked his chin with his hand and continued, “I would also guess there is an element of infrasound somewhere in that force field too.” He paused briefly before adding, “Now, I need to get back to the university to continue my research.”
When the professor had left, Benson spoke softly to Zoe.
“We need to be careful on this,” he said. “Just as you saw in the hospital, there are also a lot of people in this police station who have played ‘Being There’, which means they are effectively in league somehow with Mr Araz. I can’t tell who is and who isn’t, but you can. I know you are a civilian and it’s a lot to ask, but I trust you and your instincts. Will you help me?”
“Of course I will,” said Zoe, animatedly. She was pleased at Benson’s words of praise and excited by the thought of tracking down and hopefully thwarting Kazzaar again. But she was scared too because of what Kazzaar, if it was indeed he, might do should he find out that she and Benson were once again plotting to bring him down. She knew from her previous experiences that Kazzaar was extremely powerful and that he would destroy anything, or anyone, that got in the way of his plans.
“Professor Tompkins’ small team of scientists haven’t played ‘Being There’,” Benson explained. “None of them like computer games and in any case, they prefer exploring the real thing rather than virtual images in a game. So that leaves them – I think there are four of them including the professor – and you as the only people I can rely on.”
Zoe nodded. “What do you want me to do?” she asked.
“You’ve seen Zak Araz and you know what he looks like. Do you think you can follow him without being seen?” asked Benson. “Perhaps wait for him to leave work and see where he goes. I’d do it myself but I have no idea what his appearance is like, and if he is Kazzaar and he recognises me and thinks he’s under police observation, it could ruin our entire investigation.”
“Yes, I can follow him,” said Zoe, emphatically. “I’ll start tonight. Don’t worry, I’ll be discreet and keep a good distance behind him. I don’t want him to see me either as he thinks I’m a reporter.”
“Okay” agreed Benson, “but take care. He may get nasty if he does see you. And watch out for his disguises… which reminds me, if he’s going to pretend to be me, maybe we should have a way of recognising each other so we know it’s not him.”
“Good idea,” said Zoe, who was getting more intrigued by the second. “Have you got any suggestions?”
Benson thought hard for a minute or two. “Don’t laugh,” he said, smiling as he spoke, “but what about if we make a little joke to each other whenever we meet? It could be something very silly, but something that Zak probably wouldn’t understand. I remember one my wife and I used to share with our two boys when they were very young, and they loved it.”
Zoe looked puzzled, but decided to go along with Benson’s idea. “What’s this joke then?” she asked.
“Well, there’s a place called Felixstowe – I think it’s in Suffolk. We often used to go there for our holidays and the children loved the name as it reminded them of a boy they knew named Felix, so we made up a joke up about it. The boys would ask ‘Where’s Felixstowe?’ and my wife or I would reply ‘At the end of his foot’. You and I could try that. What do you think?”
Zoe grimaced. “Couldn’t we just use a password instead?” she asked.
Benson looked disappointed. “I suppose we could,” he said, “but passwords can easily be found out by others, who might be allied to Araz. I just thought that as the joke was something personal and wouldn’t necessarily raise suspicion, it would be safer to use.”
“Sounds a bit complicated,” said Zoe, hesitantly, “but on the other hand, it could be fun, so let’s go for it.” She laughed as she said this.
Benson smiled too. “I’ll meet you in Rickson’s café at noon tomorrow,” he said. “Better not to come here too much. Some people might get suspicious and tell Araz what’s going on.”