“Sircus II. An alien planet? And we came here through a wormhole?” Jabo had released his grip on Ryan’s throat to allow him to explain himself. Just about. “This is bullshit, and you wouldn't believe it yourself, if someone told you.”
“The man is insane,” Maria spat. “Don’t let him out of your sight. Or he’ll kill us all. In this torture chamber. Or wherever it is he’s brought us.”
Ryan noticed Maria was speaking in short, staccato sentences, stopping to catch her breath. Jabo had more or less let go of him now but even so he still felt faint. Was it just nervous tension or was the oxygen supply running out even faster than he had feared?
“I’m telling you the truth,” Ryan tried again to convince them. “I’m not spinning a yarn. That is exactly what happened. Maria, you have to believe me.”
He glanced over at Ai who had turned her face to the wall and was listening in silence. “Ai, tell me at least you haven’t lost your memory.”
In reply she just shook her head.
Ryan had enough. “For God’s sake open your mouth and say something, woman. Help me here! Tell them I’m speaking the truth.”
Jabo grabbed him again, his hand closing like a pincer around Ryan’s throat, preventing him from breathing. The giant bent down until his face was only inches away. Ryan could smell his sweat.
“In case you haven’t understood, lunatic, this woman is dumb. She can’t speak.”
Ai nodded in confirmation.
Could it be he was still trapped in a nightmare? Because if not, he saw no likelihood of the situation resolving itself peacefully. As commander of the mission, he, had the right to use force if need be, even against his fellow crew members.
He glanced at the black metal box about six feet away against the wall. It contained five pistols, two high-powered rifles and several magazines of ammunition. Just in case the planet turned out not to be as uninhabited as the CERN researchers had assumed. Right now a horde of aliens bent on sucking his brain out would have been preferable to having to use a weapon against his friends.
“Okay,” said Jabo, “I’ve had enough of this. We’re getting out of here. Maria, try opening the door again. I’ve got a hold on this guy.”
Maria walked over to the door and began activating the mechanism that released the airlock, more calmly this time so that it looked like she might manage it. Ryan gasped. Within a few seconds she’d have the first airlock open. If she then released the second the planet’s atmosphere would rush into the ship. The planet, Ryan remembered, was said to have a breathable atmosphere for humans. But if this much had gone wrong with the trip, he wasn't so sure about that either. Perhaps they would just suffocate from lack of oxygen. Or unknown constituents in the atmosphere might corrode their lungs.
He had to stop her. If they really had all lost their memory there was only one thing he could use to shock them, his last chance of convincing them he was telling the truth and that they were the ones who had gone crazy.
Maria had fully activated the mechanism, all she had left to do was to start up the airlock opening sequence. Her fingers were only inches from the sensor.
“You can all help me save Proctor,” Ryan said, as calmly as he could. “He is our last hope. And you could help him. With your gifts.”
Maria gasped.
Jabo shot him a look.
Ai turned away.
For a few long seconds nobody said a word.
Finally Jabo broke the silence: “Our gifts? How do you know about my gift?”
“I know what special gift each one of you has,” Ryan said. He turned to Maria. “And it’s your ability I need, Maria, to save Proctor.”
She turned away from the airlock and walked over to Ryan, who was still held tightly by Jabo against the control panel. She shook her head in disbelief. “No. You can’t possibly know that.”
“Each one of us has a special gift,” Ryan said. “That’s why we were chosen for this mission.”
He looked back at Proctor, still lying motionless in his cradle seat. Then he turned his gaze back to Maria and said beseechingly: “I know that you have the gift of healing. Use it. Help him. Help Proctor!”