—Next story. On the way to the supermarket, Lisa found a lottery ticket on the ground…
—Do you come up with these yourself or did a team of psychologists create these little gems? I mean, would anyone really say they’d steal it? Then again, what if there’s no one around? It’s not like you can put an ad in the paper…
—I do not belie—
—Never mind! Sure enough, there was a name and address on the back. She returned the ticket to an old man who lived a few blocks down. When the man died, she found out he put her in his will and left her everything. Is that touching enough for you?
—Very well. I will now enunciate a word, and you will tell me the first word that comes to mind. What is the first thing you think of when you hear…War?
—Death.
—Luck?
—I don’t know…Friend.
—Defeat?
—Rise.
—Country?
—Gratitude.
—Father?
—…Loss.
—Trust?
—…
—Ms. Resnik?
—Fund. Are we done?
—We are for now. I have a few more questions, but they are not part of the test.
—And yet you’re still going to judge me based on my answers.
—I will, but in a much more subjective way. Can you tell me what a Night Stalker is?
—It’s a member of the 160th SOAR, Special Ops Aviation Regiment. It’s an elite force. They specialize in low-altitude night-flying operations.
—Are they good?
—They’re the best of the best.
—And you are one of them.
—I am now!
—Why now?
—I lost my flight status. I got a teaching job at the Sabalauski Air Assault School after I hurt my eye, but you already know that.
—So you teach them how to fly but you cannot fly with them?
—I know you expect me to see some irony in there, but I never could. It’s special ops. They don’t take women other than in a support role.
—Who is “they”?
—The US military doesn’t allow women in combat or special operations.
—How does that make you feel?
—How does what make me feel? That women can’t join special ops? I knew that when I joined the Army. There are still a lot of rewarding jobs for women in the military. Do you wanna know if I’m upset I can’t fly anymore? You bet I am. It feels like my legs were cut off.
—You like flying that much?
—Most kids want to become firemen, policemen, fighter pilots, astronauts. Most people change their mind when they get older. I always wanted…No, that’s not true; I wanted to be a princess. But I knew I wanted to become a helicopter pilot the minute I saw one hover over our house. I must have been five or six. I haven’t changed my mind ever since, never questioned my choice to join the armed forces. It’s who I am. It’s the only thing that really makes me feel alive.
—Could you fly if they let you?
—Could I? Yes. I could. I see fine.
—Let me ask you this. Why were you in Turkey?
—I’m really trying not to be a smart-ass here, but you’re making it difficult. You’ll have to be more specific.
—I mean why did they send you? This seems to be the type of mission the law is designed to keep women away from, and you just told me there is an entire regiment of people who specialize in just that sort of thing. Why did they send a twenty-four-year-old woman with an attitude for such an important mission and not SOAR?
—The commander knew me. I flew support missions for him in Afghanistan. And it’s NATO, things are a little different. In any case, all the commander has to do is call it recon, or support, then I can go. There are some really good women pilots in the Army. Good commanders find ways to use them.
—One last question. What if I told you I could get your flight status reinstated? What would you be willing to do?
—Anything.
—Be careful how you choose to answer. You might regret it later.
—Then tell me what I have to do.
—Would you be willing to put your life at risk?
—That’s a ridiculous question. Anyone who gets in a military helicopter knows they’re putting their life at risk.
—Would you be willing to put the lives of innocent people at risk?
—If I trust there’s a good reason behind it. It doesn’t really matter what you ask me. Like I said, I’m willing to do anything if there’s a purpose to it.
—You are a soldier in the United States Army. Presumably, you are not always told the reason for everything. Have you ever been sent on a mission without knowing its purpose?
—It happens. Not as often as you’d think, but it happens.
—Then how do you know it was worth putting your life in danger? You do not strike me as someone who would blindly trust anyone.
—I guess I didn’t do too well on that test. You’re right, I don’t trust people easily, but I have faith in numbers.
—Interesting.
—I do. I think people are scared, and dumb, and selfish on their own, but put enough of them together and they’ll be half-decent. The Army’s a big clumsy machine, but I trust it to do the right thing more often than not.
—Can you keep an open mind? Are you willing to challenge what you know to be true?
—I suppose no one ever thinks that they’re close-minded. You tell me.
—Thank you very much for your time, Ms. Resnik.
—Oh, again with the cryptic ending. Come on! Tell me more…No? Ask me more questions, then! Don’t go…I’ll tell you more stories about little Tommy sitting on the stairs!
FILE NO. 017
INTERVIEW WITH CW2 RYAN MITCHELL, UNITED STATES ARMY
Location: Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington State
—Good morning, Mr. Mitchell. Dr. Franklin tells me you are making progress.
—Oh yeah. Like she says, all you need is some faith and trust…and a little bit of pixie dust…We’ve been flying all over North America for just over four months now. It’s sort of like crop dusting at night, only from a lot higher, and it’s probably a lot more illegal. Operation Tinker Bell, that’s what we call it. It was too easy, flying around leaving a trail of magic powder behind.
—Is the compound working?
—Definitely working. Hats off to Dr. Franklin, she sure can cook. ARCANA, she calls it. It means “secrets,” or in this case Argon-Rich Compound for Aerial Nocturnal Application. I think she just liked the acronym. When we first started, pretty much everyone but Dr. Franklin thought this was a complete waste of time, but we found another arm piece in Vermont our first week out. We almost crashed again, though. Kara thought…
—Pardon me. Kara?
—Chief Warrant Officer Resnik. I’m sorry. We’ve been working with civilians for a while now. I guess it rubs off. She and Dr. Franklin thought we’d be fine flying at eight thousand feet, but when the arm piece we found activated, our engine stopped just like it did in Turkey. Fortunately, we were high enough for autorotation, and she was able to restart the engine before we hit the ground. She’s really amazing to watch. Not the most tactful person you’ll ever meet, but the girl can fly.
—I am happy to see you two are getting along. I was hoping you would. Do I detect a hint of infatuation in your voice?
—I wouldn’t go that far. I’m well aware of the Army’s fraternization policies, but you’d have to be made of stone not to find her attractive. She’s built like a swimmer: long legs, very strong, and shoulders that would put most men to shame. I don’t know how to say that without sounding like a jerk, but the men at the base say it makes their day just to watch her walk away. She has the darkest hair for someone that light-skinned. It just makes her eyes jump out at you. That pale green, it’s very…disconcerting. Well, you’ve seen her. You know how hard it is not to stare at her eyes.
—I never no
ticed. You must realize you are not operating in a typical military environment. You would not be jeopardizing the chain of command.
—Actually, we would be. In the Army, the co-pilot is second-in-command. That means she’s my superior. We have our own tiny little chain of command to jeopardize, and the Army is pretty serious about the Uniform Code. It doesn’t matter anyway. I find her attractive, that’s all. And believe me, she’s not the least bit interested. She acts like she barely tolerates me.
—Coming from her, I would take that as high praise. Let us get back to the mission.
—Yes! We’ve divided the country into a grid. Each box on the grid is roughly the square mileage we can cover in one night, based on the time it takes to get there from the nearest Army base. We can cover a good portion of the map from here, and we go from base to base to clear the boxes farther east and south. We’re just about halfway through the grid right now.
—Have you been able to disperse the compound from a safe distance? I would rather the two of you not nearly die every time you discover a new body part.
—We have, sir. As I mentioned, we almost crashed our first week out, so we went up to fifteen thousand feet on the next flights. We were unsure whether it was close enough for the pieces to activate before we got too far away to see them. It took about a month before we found another part, a lower leg, then a foot, along the Kansas-Missouri border.
—A foot?
—A big one. I was hoping it would have some giant toes, but it looks more like a fancy thick-soled boot than a foot. It’s a beautiful piece though. Dr. Franklin said she had good taste in shoes.
It turns out flying higher is also a lot faster, the ARCANA dispersal pattern is much wider at high altitude so we need fewer passes to cover the same area.
—So you found five pieces so far?
—Six. We just found a thigh under the Tennessee highway. That thing is huge!
—How large is it?
—I’m not really good with measurements, maybe sixty feet. Big enough to make a hell of a mess, I’ll tell you that. The highway was completely destroyed for about half a mile. The way Dr. Franklin explains it, these things are buried very deep underground, around nine hundred feet deep, and they rise to the surface really, really fast when they’re turned on. I’m glad we’re in a helicopter. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be around when these things come up. It’s got to feel like the world’s coming to an end.
—Thank you, Mr. Mitchell. I just realized that, while Dr. Franklin talks about you on a regular basis, this is the first time you and I have met. It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.
—Thank you, sir.
—Tell me a little bit about yourself.
—There’s very little to say. I’m a soldier in the United States Army.
—I know you can do better than that.
—What can I tell you? I’m from Detroit. My father was in the Army. What else…I went to Henry Ford High. I played ball.
—Baseball?
—Football, sir. Trojans. I was a cornerback. I enlisted after graduation.
—Was your father a helicopter pilot, as well?
—No, sir. He was a mechanic. I never had any taste for it so I applied to Warrant Officer Candidate School. I thought I could do something different.
—He must be very proud of you?
—Yes. His father was also in the military. It’s sort of a family tradition. I wanna thank you for taking me on board, sir. I know you didn’t really choose me, but I’m really glad to be here. I’m very grateful. This is more exciting than anything I ever imagined.
—I chose the both of you because of how well you complement each other. I would not have chosen Ms. Resnik had she not worked so well with you in Turkey. There is no need for you to feel any less deserving.
—It’s OK. I understand. I’m the co-pilot. She’s great. You were right to pick her.
—I will take your enthusiasm to mean you are adjusting well to your new working environment.
—Oh yes. Very well. Dr. Franklin takes very good care of us. We spent nearly a week with her before we flew anywhere. She brought us up to speed, showed us everything she’d been doing. She made us feel like we’re really part of the team, not just some grunts doing the legwork. That hand is amazing. Do you really think it came from…you know…out there?
—Dr. Franklin certainly thinks so. I have neither the knowledge nor the inclination to disagree with her.
—I wouldn’t dare either. She’s very motherly. I can’t imagine what she’d be like if she were mad. I’m sure it’s not something I want to find out. She’s very nice. And she’s incredibly smart. She tries to dumb things down when she talks about what she does, but there’s still a lot I don’t really understand.
—That is why we chose her. How are things in the laboratory? Is everyone getting along?
—Yes, sir. Dr. Franklin is in a great mood. Kara—sorry, Chief Resnik—and her, they get along great. It’s hard to tell at first, but they’re a lot alike. They have completely different manners but they both have that drive, that sense of purpose. I think they even look alike, when you get a good look at them together, like sisters, or cousins. They have the same dark hair, the same intense stare. They seemed to make a connection right away.
—I was told Mr. Couture has arrived.
—The linguist? Yes, he showed up. Some cocky French-speaking kid from Montreal. Vincent, I think that’s his name.
—Have you two had a chance to interact?
—Not really, we don’t see much of him. They moved the panels to another room; that’s where he spends most of his time. They say he’s real smart. I thought he would have a French accent, but it’s nothing like I imagined. He sounds…German, or something.
—He is Québécois, not French.
—I know where he’s from. I just thought they spoke, you know, French. He sounds funny when he speaks any language, actually. Dr. Franklin has him speak to her in French. She says she never gets to practice. Even Kara gets a word in here and there. I think I’m the only one who can’t understand anything he says.
—It sounds like you do not really like him.
—I wouldn’t go that far. We’re just very different people. He reminds me of the kids we used to pick on in high school. I don’t like to think about that.
—You are not proud of the way you treated people as a teenager? You do not strike me as someone who would take pleasure in bullying others.
—Well, it’s not like I beat up or tortured anyone, but I wanted to fit in as much as the other kids. Football team…you know how it is.
—I do not.
—The guys on the team used to make jokes about kids that were less athletic. They would pick on them in the hallways, any chance they got. I was smart enough to know it was wrong, but not brave enough to stop them. I didn’t stand up for the weaker kids and maybe I should have.
—You were a teenager yourself. It seems unfair to judge your actions through the eyes of an adult.
—Maybe. Look, I don’t lose any sleep over it. You just asked why I don’t…I thought it might…It doesn’t matter. I’m sure we’ll get along fine once I get to know him. Can I ask you a question?
—Certainly.
—Why are we doing this?
—Do you believe that artifacts left on Earth by an ancient alien civilization are not worthy of our attention?
—No, I mean why are we doing this? I understand how amazing this is, and I can see why Rose is on board, but why is the military involved?
—First of all, the military is not. As far as the Army is concerned, you and Ms. Resnik are on a training assignment. But to answer your question, I feel a discovery of this magnitude might have repercussions that the scientific community is not best suited to handle. You saw what happened in Turkey. We needed crowd control, an extraction team, someone to handle the local authorities. I feel these are all things best accomplished by people with military training.
—Do you think what we’re after has military applications?
—That is not my primary concern. I do believe we might learn something—a lot, actually—from this discovery. Whether what we learn is of military interest or not, only time will tell. I am absolutely certain, however, that this project has a better chance of success with you and Ms. Resnik on board.
—Thank you, sir. I just don’t wanna find out I was part of someone’s secret agenda.
—Do you think I would tell you if you were?
—Probably not.
—Then rest assured, Mr. Mitchell, we are all in this for the greater good.
FILE NO. 031
PERSONAL JOURNAL ENTRY—CW3 KARA RESNIK, UNITED STATES ARMY
We killed a child today. We killed a little girl!
We should have seen this coming. It was bound to happen at some point. The highway should have been a wake-up call, but we were so caught up in finding the next piece. It’s easy to forget that when these things were buried, there was basically nothing around, just woods and plains. It was just pure luck that we found the first four pieces where we did. And now that little girl’s dead! They’re all dead!
We were so happy. We were making good progress, moving through our grid faster than we had planned.
It was such a beautiful day too. I got up earlier than usual and made it to the lab early in the morning. Since we fly at night, we never really get to spend time with Dr. Franklin or anyone else at the lab. But they were all there and we got to talk for a few hours, swapping anecdotes, learning about one another’s work.
Mitchell and I left around 10:30. We drove over to the base to prepare our flight plan. We flew straight to Nellis Air Force Base, near Las Vegas. My eye didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. It doesn’t hurt anymore, but it gets watery after a few hours. It’s not so bad at night, but this was a long trip during daylight and it had me worried a bit.
We slept for a couple hours when we got to Nellis, then we took off again. We had to cover the northern part of Arizona. This was the farthest we’d gotten from the base. It was a long day, but we were excited to fly over the Grand Canyon, neither of us had ever seen it. We wouldn’t really see anything at night, from this altitude, but it still felt good, like a layover in Paris. You never leave the airport, but even so, you’re in Paris.