Invasion

  Eugene pushed off the mantel and bent over to look at the two discs. “Let me understand you: you’re trying to say that this solid little thing formed a slit where there is no seam or even microscopic evidence of a door or a flap.”

  “I know it sounds crazy,” Jesse said. “I wouldn’t have believed it either if we all hadn’t seen it together. It was like it unzipped and then welded itself shut.”

  “I just thought of something else,” Sheila said. “We had a strange episode in the hospital. A man from housekeeping died with an unexplained circular hole in his hand. The room where he’d been found was all strangely twisted out of shape. You remember, Jesse. You were there.”

  “Of course I remember,” Jesse said. “There was some speculation about radiation, but we never found any.”

  “That was the room which my fiancé was in,” Cassy said.

  “If that episode is associated with this flu and these black discs, we’ve got a bigger problem than we think,” Sheila said.

  Everyone except Eugene, who’d gone back to leaning against the mantel, stared at the two black discs feeling skeptical about what their minds were telling them. Finally Cassy spoke. “I’m sensing that we are all thinking the same thing but are afraid to say it. So I’m going to say it. Maybe these little black discs aren’t from around here. Maybe these things are not from this planet.”

  After an initial impatient sigh from Eugene, Cassy’s comments were greeted with total silence. The sounds of respiration and the ticking of a wall clock were the only interior noise. Outside a car horn honked in the distance.

  “Come to think about it,” Pitt said finally, “the night before Beau found one of these discs, my TV blew up. In fact a lot of us students lost TVs, radios, computers, all sorts of electronic equipment if the equipment happened to be on at the time.”

  “What time was that?” Sheila asked.

  “Ten-fifteen,” Pitt said.

  “That’s when my VCR exploded,” Sheila said.

  “It’s also when my radio blew up,” Jonathan said.

  “What radio?” Nancy asked. It was the first time she’d heard of it.

  “I mean Tim’s car radio,” Jonathan corrected himself.

  “Do you think all those episodes could be related to these black discs?” Pitt asked.

  “It’s a thought,” Nancy said. “Eugene, has that surge of powerful radio waves ever been explained?”

  “No, it hasn’t,” Eugene admitted. “But I wouldn’t use that fact to support some half-baked theory.”

  “I don’t know,” Nancy said. “I’d say that it makes it at least suspicious.”

  “Wow,” Jonathan commented, “that would mean we’re talking about an extraterrestrial virus. Cool!”

  “Cool, nothing!” Nancy said. “It would be terrifying.”

  “Whoa, everybody,” Sheila warned. “Let’s not let our imaginations run away with themselves. If we start jumping to conclusions and talking about some Andromeda strain it’s going to be a lot harder trying to elicit any help.”

  “This is just what I was trying to warn you about,” Eugene said. “You are all beginning to sound like a group of paranormal nuts.”

  “Whether this illness comes from Earth or outer space, it’s here,” Jesse said. “I don’t think we should be arguing about it. I think we better start finding out what it is and what we can do about it. I don’t think we should be wasting a lot of time, because if it is spreading as fast as we think it is, we could be too late.”

  “You are absolutely right,” Sheila said.

  “I’ll isolate the virus if it’s in the sample,” Nancy said. “I can use my own lab. No one questions what I do. Once we have the virus we can present our case all the way to Washington and the Surgeon General.”

  “That’s if the Surgeon General isn’t already infected by the time we get the information,” Cassy said.

  “That’s a sobering thought,” Nancy said.

  “Well, we have no choice,” Sheila said. “Eugene is right in the sense that if we start calling around now without something more than hearsay and conjecture, no one is going to believe us.”

  “I’ll start the isolation in the morning,” Nancy said.

  “Is there any chance I could help?” Pitt asked. “I’m a chem major, but I’ve taken microbiology and worked in the hospital lab.”

  “Sure,” Nancy said. “I’ve noticed people acting strange at Serotec. I won’t know whom to trust.”

  “I’d like to offer to help figure what these black discs are,” Jesse said. “But I wouldn’t know where to start.”

  “I’ll take them into my lab,” Eugene offered. “Even if it’s just to prove to you alarmists that they are not from Andromeda, it will be worth my time.”

  “Don’t touch the edge,” Jesse warned.

  “No need to worry,” Eugene said. “We have the capability of manipulating them from a distance as if they were radioactive.”

  “It’s too bad we just can’t talk to one of these infected people directly,” Jonathan said. “Heck, we could just ask them what’s happening. Maybe they know.”

  “That would be dangerous,” Sheila said. “There’s reason to believe they are actively recruiting. They want the rest of us infected. They may even come to view us as an enemy.”

  “They’re recruiting all right,” Jesse said. “I think the police chief is actively searching out people on the squad who’ve yet to get the illness.”

  “It might be dangerous, but it might also be revealing,” Cassy said. She stared off for the moment with unseeing eyes while her mind churned.

  “Cassy!” Pitt said. “What are you thinking? I don’t like that look on your face.”

  13

  6:30 A.M.

  “THESE PEOPLE ARE WITH ME,” NANCY SELLERS SAID. Nancy, Sheila, and Pitt were standing in front of the Serotec Pharmaceutical night security desk. The guard was fingering her ID. Nancy had already shown it at the gate before driving onto the parking area.

  “You people have any picture IDs?” the security man asked Sheila and Pitt. Both produced driver’s licenses which satisfied the man. The trio trooped to the elevator.

  “Security is still on edge after the suicide,” Nancy said.

  The reason Nancy had them get there so early was to avoid the other workers. And it worked. As yet no one else had arrived, and the entire fourth floor was empty. The fourth floor was reserved entirely for biological research. There was even a small menagerie of experimental animals at one end.

  Nancy unlocked her private lab, and they all entered. She locked the door behind them. She did not want any interruptions or questions.

  “Okay!” Nancy said. “We are going to wear containment suits and everything will be done under a level three hood. Any questions?”

  Neither Sheila nor Pitt had any.

  Nancy led them into a side room which had changing cubicles. She gave them appropriate-sized gear and let them change. She changed as well.

  Meeting back in the main room Nancy said: “Now, let’s have the samples.”

  Sheila produced the coffee-creamer jar containing the snippet of desk blotter. She also produced multiple blood samples from people who’d acquired the flu. The samples had been drawn at various stages of their illness.

  “All right,” Nancy said, rubbing her gloved hands together in anticipation. “First I’m going to show you how to inoculate a tissue culture.”

  “WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET THIS THING?” CARL Maben asked his boss, Eugene Sellers. Carl was a Ph.D. candidate who also worked for the physics department.

  With raised eyebrows Eugene glanced over at Jesse Kemper, whom he’d invited to watch the analysis of one of the black discs. Jesse told them that it had been taken from an individual who’d been arrested for lewd behavior.

  Both Eugene and Carl expressed interest.

  “I don’t know the details,” Jesse admitted.

  Eugene’s and Carl’s faces fell.

  “Wel
l, I do know that the man had been arrested for making love in the park,” Jesse said.

  “My God! It’s amazing the risks people take,” Carl said. “It’s dangerous just to walk in the park at night, much less make love.”

  “This wasn’t at night,” Jesse said. “It was at lunchtime.”

  “They must have been embarrassed,” Eugene said.

  “Quite the contrary,” Jesse said. “They were irritated at being disturbed. They said that the police should be more concerned about the rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the resultant greenhouse effect.”

  Both Eugene and Carl laughed.

  As soon as Jesse told the story it reminded him of the conversation the previous evening about the infected people’s concerns about environmental issues. The possibility that the noontime lovers were infected people had never occurred to him.

  Redirecting his attention to the task at hand, Carl said to Eugene: “I don’t think this is going to work.” At that moment behind a darkly tinted glass screen they were blasting one of the black discs with a high energy laser to knock off some molecules. A gas chromatograph was poised to analyze the resultant gas. Unfortunately the laser wasn’t doing the trick.

  “All right, turn it off,” Eugene said.

  The bright beam of coherent light was instantly extinguished when the power was interrupted. The two scientists gazed at the small disc.

  “That’s one hard surface,” Carl said. “What do you think it’s composed of?”

  “I don’t know,” Eugene admitted. “But I’m as sure as hell going to find out. Whoever made it better have a patent or I’m going to file one.”

  “What should we do next?” Carl asked.

  “Let’s use a diamond drill,” Eugene said. “Then we’ll vaporize the shavings and let the gas chromatograph do the work.”

  SLIPPING AN ANTACID TABLET INTO HER MOUTH, CASSY emerged from the airline terminal building and waited her turn in the taxi line. She’d been anxious from the moment she’d awakened that morning, and the closer she got to Santa Fe the worse it had become. She’d magnified the problem by having coffee on the plane. Now her stomach was in a knot.

  “Where to, Miss?” the cab driver asked.

  “Do you know anything about this Institute for a New Beginning?” Cassy asked.

  “For sure,” the driver said. “It’s brand new, yet it’s the destination of half my fares. Is that where you want to go?”

  “Please,” Cassy said. She sat back and blankly watched the scenery roll by. Pitt had been adamantly against the idea of Cassy visiting Beau, but once it had taken hold in Cassy’s mind, she couldn’t let it go. Although she admitted there might be some danger as Sheila predicted, in her heart she could not imagine Beau would ever harm her in any way.

  “I have to drop you off here at the gate,” the driver said when they had reached the edge of the institute’s property. “They don’t like car exhaust up near the house. But it isn’t far. Only a couple of hundred yards.”

  Cassy paid the fare and got out. It was a pristine location. There was a white fence as if it were a horse farm. There was also a gate across the driveway, but it was ajar.

  Two nicely dressed men about Cassy’s age stood off to the side of the gate. They looked tanned and healthy. They were both smiling pleasantly, but as Cassy approached, their smiles didn’t change. It was as if their faces were frozen in an expression of gaiety.

  Even if the smiles seemed contrived, the two men were cordial. When Cassy said she was hoping to see Beau Stark, they replied that they understood perfectly. They directed her to walk to the house.

  Mildly unnerved by this strange interaction, Cassy followed the twisting driveway through the trees. On either side beneath the shade of the trees she caught sight of an occasional large dog. Although every dog she saw turned to watch her, none of them bothered her.

  When the shadows of the pines gave way to the sweeping lawns surrounding the mansion, Cassy was impressed despite her anxieties. The only thing that marred the gorgeous scene was the huge banner draped across the entrance.

  The moment Cassy started up the front steps a woman appeared who was approximately Cassy’s age. She sported a similar smile to the men at the gate. From inside the house Cassy heard sounds of construction.

  “I’m here to see Beau Stark,” Cassy said.

  “Yes, I know,” the woman said. “Please follow me.”

  The woman took Cassy back down the steps and around the enormous house.

  “Beautiful home,” Cassy commented to make conversation.

  “Isn’t it,” the woman replied. “And to think this is just the beginning. We’re all very excited.”

  The rear of the house was dominated by a large terrace complete with ivy-draped pergolas. Beyond the terrace was a swimming pool. At the edge of the pool was a large umbrella shading a table seating eight. Beau was at the head of the table. About twenty feet away lay King.

  As Cassy approached she studied Beau. She had to admit that he looked wonderful. In fact he’d rarely looked so good. His thick hair had more than its usual shine and the skin of his face glowed as if he’d just emerged from a refreshing plunge into the sea. He was carefully dressed in a white billowy shirt. The rest of the people were dressed in suits and ties, including two women.

  Several easels were set up to support large pads of paper. The exposed pages were covered with arcane schematics and incomprehensible equations. The table was strewn with papers with similar content. A half dozen laptops were open and humming.

  Cassy had never felt more uncertain in her life. Her anxiety had gone up a notch the closer she got to Beau. She had no idea what she was going to say to him. It made it worse that she was interrupting a meeting with important-appearing people. They were all older than Beau and looked professional, like lawyers or doctors.

  But before Cassy reached the table, Beau turned toward her, smiled broadly when he recognized her, and leaped to his feet. Without a word to the other people at the table, he ran to Cassy and took her hands. His blue eyes sparkled. For a second Cassy swooned. She felt as if she could have fallen into his huge black pupils.

  “I’m so glad you’ve come,” Beau said. “I’ve been so eager to talk with you.”

  Beau’s words nudged Cassy from her momentary helplessness. “Why didn’t you call?” she asked. It was a question she’d not dared ask herself until that moment.

  “It’s been so hectic,” Beau explained. “I’ve been busy twenty-four hours a day. Believe me.”

  “I guess I’m lucky to get to see you,” Cassy said. She glanced over at the group at the table who were patiently waiting. Same with King who’d raised himself to a sitting position. “You’ve become quite an important man now.”

  “There are responsibilities,” Beau admitted. He led her a few yards farther away from the group and then pointed up at the house. His other hand still held hers.

  “What do you think?” he asked proudly.

  “I’m a bit overwhelmed,” Cassy said. “I’m not sure what to think.”

  “What you see here is only the beginning. Only the tip of the iceberg. It’s so exciting.”

  “Only the beginning of what?” Cassy asked. “What are you doing here?”

  “We are going to make everything right,” Beau said. “Remember me telling you over the last six months that I was going to play an important role in the world if I got a job with Randy Nite? Well, it’s happening in a way that I never could have anticipated. Beau Stark, the boy from Brookline, is going to help lead the world to a new beginning.”

  Cassy looked directly into the depths of Beau’s eyes. She knew he was in there. If only she could get to him behind this megalomania facade. Lowering her voice and not taking her eyes from his she said: “I know this isn’t you talking, Beau. You are not doing this. Something…someone is controlling you.”

  Beau put his head back and laughed heartily. “Oh, Cassy,” he remarked. “Always the skeptic! Believe me
, no one is controlling me. I’m just Beau Stark. I’m still the same guy you love and who loves you.”

  “Beau, I do love you,” Cassy said with sudden vehemence. “And I think you love me. For the sake of that love come back home with me. Come to the medical center. There is a doctor there who wants to examine you, to find out what’s made you change. She thinks it started with that flu you had. Please fight this, whatever it is!”

  Despite Cassy’s vow to keep her emotions in check, they welled up anyway. Tears came and formed rivulets on her cheeks. She’d not meant to cry but was powerless to prevent it.

  “I do love you,” she managed.

  Beau reached out and wiped the tears from the corners of Cassy’s eyes. He regarded her in a truly loving way. He pulled her toward him and enveloped her with his arms, pressing his face against hers.

  At first Cassy held back. But as she felt Beau clutching her she relented. She put her own arms around him and, closing her eyes, squeezed him tightly. She didn’t want to let him go, ever.

  “I do love you,” Beau whispered. His lips were brushing her ear. “And I want you to join us. I want you to become one of us because you won’t be able to stop us. No one will!”

  Cassy stiffened. Hearing Beau’s words was like having a knife driven into her heart. Her eyes popped open. With her face still pressed up against his she could see the blurry form of his ear. But what made her blood run cold was a small patch of skin behind his ear that was grayish-blue in color. Reflexively her hand came up and her fingers touched the area. It was rough, almost scaly in texture, and cold. Beau was mutating!

  With a rush of revulsion, Cassy tried to extract herself from Beau’s grasp, but he held her tightly. He was stronger than she remembered.

  “You’ll be joining us soon, Cassy,” Beau whispered. He acted unaware of her struggles. “Why not let it be now? Please!”

  Changing tactics, Cassy abandoned trying to push away from Beau. Instead she quickly ducked beneath his arms and collapsed on the ground. She was up immediately. Her love and concern had turned to terror. She took several steps backward. The only thing that kept her from bolting was the shock of seeing tears had formed in Beau’s eyes.