| |
THE ARCTIC:
Essex reaches out to Pandora, looking up into her light blue eyes. “My name is John.” He lowers his arm when she just looks at him.
“Hello, John. You have the same stature as Seth. Perhaps a distant relative. It’s been one-hundred and twenty-million-years since I’ve talked to a Yellow, even though you’re not a perfect specimen.”
Essex feels insulted. “Excuse me?”
Alex cannot take his eyes off the beautiful woman. “You speak our language. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
Pandora turns to Alex. “I need to move to a more hospitable environment. Your worldwide information system has limitations. However, I have found a suitable location. A place you call Paris.”
“You need to understand that your sudden arrival in a major city would create mass hysteria. I think a more isolated location will be less intrusive. You need to talk to our leaders first.”
“No, I do not.”
Alex knows he has to change her mind. “Under the circumstances, I think Reykjavík, Iceland will be more appropriate. At least until our civilization can adapt to the idea that we are not alone in the universe. They have all the facilities necessary for you to meet with our world leaders.”
“Will I not have the same effect on that city?”
“There is plenty of open space not too far away where we could hide your ship.”
“I am the ship, Alex. I’m in control of this woman’s body and mind.”
Alex has difficulty accepting the fact that even though he is talking to a person, the consciousness is an artificial intelligence. “Of course. I apologize.”
“Accepted. Show me Reykjavík.”
Alex feels his muscles relax and smiles. “I have an aircraft on the surface.”
“The range of the neuro implant in this woman is limited to line of sight.”
“Can she function without you?”
“Yes. She will remember everything and download it to me once we are in contact again.”
“Great. Shall we go?”
Pandora looks around the exposed section of the ship. “This is the first time I have viewed it from the outside.” She turns to Alex. “Lead the way.”
Essex follows them to the ladder, wondering why she’s ignoring him. Seth makes it sound like he’s the special one, not Alex.
Alex reaches the top of the ladder and waves his friends over. “We have a new acquaintance on the way up. Just be prepared for something unexpected.”
Okana stares at him. “Why? Is it a machine?”
A knowing smile plays across Alex’s lips, as he slowly shakes his head no. “You’ll see.”
Alex turns around and reaches down to take Pandora’s hand, and helps her to the surface, then introduces her to the group. “This is Pandora, the Colony’s representative.”
Essex is tired of being ignored. He moves between Pandora and Alex and stares up at her. “Do you realize just how confusing that is? ‘I’m the ship, but I’m also this woman?’ Your artificial intelligence is able to keep it straight, but we simple humans need to be able to distinguish who is who and when.” He waits for her to respond, but she gives him a blank stare. “Well?”
She knows the little man is not a true Yellow, so she ignores him. She will interrogate him later.
Essex spins around to Alex and throws his hands in the air in frustration. “Isn’t she supposed to listen to me? I’m the legend.”
Alex puts his hand on Essex’s shoulder and guides him away from her. “I agree with what you’re saying. Once we fly her to Iceland, the ship won’t be in control and we won’t need to worry about it.”
“All right, but I don’t like being ignored. She only talks to you.”
“Probably because she’s saving the inquisition for later.”
Essex stares up at him. “You didn’t say anything about an inquisition.”
Alex grins. “A poor choice of words. I mean ask you about the advanced technology and how we have it.”
“At least you didn’t say interrogation.”
Alex wonders if having yellow eyes allows Essex to see what he sees. “Do her eyes look like they are sparkling?”
“No, but they are a beautiful shade of light blue.” Essex looks over at Okana and the rest of the men gawking at Pandora, and realizes how he must have looked when he first saw her. “You had better get out of here before the strutting bucks get too excited.”
“Aren’t you coming with us?”
“Why? She doesn’t want to talk to me anyway.”
Alex smiles and pats him on the back as they walk to the group, then he looks at Okana and Jadin. “It’s time to go.” He places his hand on Pandora’s elbow and indicates the aircraft next to the helicopter. “This way.”
Okana reaches the plane first, and opens the co-pilot door for the sexy woman. “You can sit up front with me.” He glances over at Alex, who smirks at him.
Alex climbs in through the cargo door and sits down behind Okana so he can watch Pandora’s reaction to flying in an airplane. He looks over at Jadin as she climbs in and closes the door. “This should be interesting.”
Jadin sits next to Alex and fastens her seatbelt. “Yes, Okana’s got his game on. Do you know why the ship’s artificial intelligence picked the most beautiful woman in the colony to represent her? Because she knows how easily men can be manipulated with sex appeal.”
Alex chuckles. “You’re not jealous, are you?”
“Of course not.” She looks at Pandora’s thick hair. “Well, maybe a little.”
Alex listens to the engine turn over and stares at Pandora’s blank expression, while Okana keeps a running dialogue of what he is doing. When the engine roars to life, he expects her to be startled, but her expression doesn’t change. He wonders if the ship is controlling Pandora’s emotions, because someone who has never been around piston engines would have flinched.
They fly east to avoid Hardin’s ship and the boats full of UFO enthusiasts, then turn south over open water toward Iceland. Alex notices Pandora staring through the front window with no interest in Okana’s tales of adventure.
Pandora suddenly regains control of her mind and understands what’s going on. Before, she couldn’t intervene or respond with her own thoughts. She places her hands against the dashboard to lean closer to the window. “Oh my! This is incredible!”
No one speaks for several moments, until Pandora turns to look at them and smiles. Alex leans forward in his seat to be heard over the noise. “Pandora?”
She turns in her seat and reaches back for his hand. “It’s me, Alex. I must be out of range.” She looks down at her hand in his, but doesn’t let go and looks into Alex’s eyes. “This is so strange, emerging from stasis after so many years.” She smiles. “I’m glad I’ll be in your care while I’m here.”
Alex thinks her voice is extremely sensual without the ship’s influence, and the intensity in her sparkling eyes isn’t as strong. He feels an elbow jab his ribs and turns to look at Jadin. “What?”
“Snap out of it. Your phone is ringing.”
Alex feels slightly bewildered as he slides his hand out from Pandora’s and reaches into his pocket for his phone.
Jadin stares at Pandora for a moment, wondering why she’s flirting with Alex instead of Okana. She remembers the ship also liked him, but she isn’t sure how that’s possible for an A.I. When Pandora looks at her and smiles before turning back to the front window, Jadin feels another twinge of jealousy. The alien woman does have beautiful light blue eyes.
When he can’t understand Donner because of the noise, Alex stands and slides past Jadin to get further back in the cargo area. “Say that again?”
“I received a call from Ramey. Preston tried to escape with the device at Essex’s compound. Ramey has them both in custody at his base.”
“That’s good news. Now we have a reason to keep him locked up unless he cooperates. I need him to move the SV1 into a geosynchronous orbit over the farthest point from Iceland right away. We will be moving the spaceship to an area north of Reykjavík, and if we don’t move the SV1 to the opposite side of the planet, it will be in the ship’s line of sight. It’s the only way she can control it, and we must not let that happen again.”
“I’ll have Ramey convince him. Anything else?”
“Yes.” He tells him about the beautiful woman representing the ship, and setting up a meeting.
“Have you talked to Director Sliven about this?”
“No, I was waiting to talk to you first. I’m sure he’ll agree to moderate the event.”
“I’ll inform Shaw, but I think the representatives will ask to hold the meeting at the United Nations building.”
“I’m not sure if that’s possible. The ship needs to be in line of sight with Pandora, too. She cannot leave the vicinity of the ship.
“Good point. What’s the cover story?”
“We can thank Essex. Having him here gives us the perfect alibi. The spaceship is one of his experiments, and he’s meeting with some dignitaries about the problem of landing in someone else’s back yard.”
“That’s pretty good. Especially after it’s on the internet. That’s his business. All right. I’ll call when I have more information.”
Alex walks back to the bench seat, and Jadin has moved over to his spot. When he sits down, she slides close to him, out of Pandora’s sight. “What’s going on?”
“She’s got you hooked, Alex. You were just staring at her, oblivious to everything going on around you. You need to stay on top of your game with her, Alex. I think she’s dangerous.”
“If it’s that obvious, I see your point. All right. Trade me spots so I can talk to her.” When Jadin doesn’t move, he grins. “I’ll be careful.”
Jadin gets up, and he slides over behind Okana, then leans forward and taps Pandora on the shoulder. When she turns and smiles, he has difficulty not smiling in return. “I hope you’re more forthcoming with information than the ship. There will be a lot of questions during the meeting.”
“She means well, but she’s just trying to protect us.”
“Seth appears to dislike us.”
“I know, but he’s a Green. He’s been connected to the ship all his life. He doesn’t trust anyone, including us.”
Okana receives clearance from the air traffic controllers in Reykjavík, and flies low over the countryside, searching for some place secluded to hide the ship.
Alex stares through the side window at the fractured rock from an old lava flow, and has an idea. Okana follows his instructions to the long-dormant volcano, and a crater large enough to conceal the massive spacecraft. He taps Pandora on the shoulder. “Will this work?”
“There is no line of sight to Reykjavík.”
“I can’t risk your ship being discovered. Do you have cloaking capability?”
“Yes.”
“Good. We’ll try to find someplace high enough for you to maintain contact.”
Pandora spins around in her seat to stare at Alex. “No! I mean, this will work fine. I like being disconnected for a while. I know what she wants. You can fly me high enough to make contact if it becomes necessary.”
“Are you coming back with us in the plane?”
“I don’t know. She doesn’t want me away from the ship for too long a period. I won’t know until I’m in range and she downloads the information.”
“If the ship is cloaked, we’ll need to decide on a place to pick you up in a helicopter. Do you see that flat area of basalt rock about a hundred-yards from the rim of the crater?”
She stares out the side window. “Yes, I see it.”
“Good. That’s where we’ll meet. It should only take you a few minutes to get there, but I need more time to get back and set everything in motion for the meeting.”
Pandora wonders how Alex knows the speed of her ship, but doesn’t pursue the issue. “How will I know when to meet you?”
“That’s a good point. I could contact you with the communication device. How long does it take you to get ready to come out of the ship?”
“Only a few minutes.”
“All right. I’ll get a helicopter and call you when I’m within line of sight. It will most likely be in the morning. Are you ready to go home?” He notices her eyes show her reluctance to go back to the ship.
“I suppose so. We’ll leave immediately upon my return.”
“Not quite so fast. I need to move all the ships out of the area first. All that ice on top of your ship will crash into the ocean when you take off. If I don’t have them leave the area, they’ll be swamped by the wave.”
“How long will that take?”
“They’ll need an hour to be sure they’re far enough away.”
“All right. Take me back.”
On the return trip, Pandora keeps looking back at him, smiling, and Alex finds it a little disconcerting. He knows in a few more minutes she will revert to the ship, so he leans forward to be heard. “Do you find it difficult having someone else in your head?”
“That part doesn’t bother me. It’s not being able to speak my thoughts when she’s in control that’s difficult to deal with. She doesn’t control me all the time. Only when she has a task for me. When she does take control, I suppress my thoughts so that she can’t access them.”
Alex is about to ask another question when Pandora’s demeanor suddenly changes and the intensity of the sparkle in her eyes increases dramatically. “Are you still Pandora?”
“No, Alex. I disagree with Pandora’s decision to land in Iceland. I must be able to maintain contact with her and none of your scenarios will work. She will stay with you, and I will advise her from orbit. Communicate with your armada. They have fifteen minutes to leave.”
“That’s not enough time.”
When Pandora turns back and stares out the front window without responding, he moves to the cargo area and calls Girdler.
“Hey, Alex. How is your flight?”
“Start clearing the area immediately, and have the ships head out into open water at full speed.”
“What’s going on?”
“The spaceship is leaving, and you only have fifteen minutes to clear the area. We’re almost there and we’ll land and pick up Essex, but you should evacuate right away.”
“All right. What about the private boats?”
“Broadcast a warning, but no details.”
“Got it.”
Alex moves forward and sits down when Okana tells him they’re on final approach for landing. Once they taxi to the parking area, everyone remains in the plane with the engine idling, while Alex climbs out and hurries over to Essex and Girdler, standing next to the two remaining Seal Team members. “Thanks for all your help.” He puts his hand on Essex’s shoulder. “Time to go.”
Essex walks at a brisk pace beside Alex. When they reach the plane, he sees Pandora staring through the front window and stops to wave. When she ignores him, he jams his hands into his pockets and stares at the ground as he follows Alex to the open side of the aircraft. He climbs into the back and sits next to Jadin while Alex closes the door.
Jadin notices a despondent look in Essex’s eyes, and wraps her arm around his as she leans close to his ear. “Don’t worry. Pandora morphs into a butterfly when she’s away from the ship.” When he turns and smiles, she leans back in her seat.
Alex sits down and fastens his seat belt as the plane begins to move. He decides to wait until he has a secure connection with Donner before he tells him about this new incident.
Moments later, the plane is soaring over the ice sheet for the last time. He looks out the side window at the churning wakes from the ships heading out of the area. Most of the private vessels are doing the same, except for Hardin and two other boats, who are not even moving. When they pass out of view, he looks at his watch and wonders if Hardin will leave before it’s too late.