Coalescence (Camden Investigations Book 1) (15 page)

Evan lowered
his head, raising a half-closed hand, spiderlike. “Yet we might stand to lose
more if we take no action. You heard Gavin, about six of our seven billion
people might perish and those who are changed might exist in servitude. If you
will please let me continue, I will explain why I feel such a control mechanism
might
be
very
possible.”

Iris suppressed
a grin. She could just feel Evan’s placidity deteriorating. Although if she
could indeed detect such feelings, she might have to admit that Evan was at
least partially correct. But she was quite certain there would never come a
moment when she likened herself with an ant.

Evan
proposed survivors would be subject to the whims of a grand morphic field.
“Morphic fields seem to already exist but on small scales. Dogs seem to detect
when their owners are coming home, even when that time varies. But humans and
other species on the planet might not be so attentive to such fields. Yet if we
were to evolve into beings with our consciousnesses much more attuned to those
around us, we could easily fall prey to the power of suggestion. One thought
could be sent out via a massive morphic field and be heard by all. An agenda
could not only be developed but carried out. I would think the bugs would want
control of our resources. It’s why they haven’t just dropped a bomb on us. They
need to protect our water and minerals. They can achieve this through rapid
evolution.”

“Again, do
we have any examples of humans falling prey to those fields in our current
state?” Rachel asked Evan.

“Have you
ever felt someone staring at you from behind? When you weren’t certain if
anyone was there, but you could feel them looking at you?”

Rachel
smiled. “Yes, my grade school librarian. She would always sneak up on us,
making sure we were reading
approved
material.”

Kassidy
laughed. “Yeah, I recall her eyes boring into the back of my head. But she
wasn’t too good at the power of suggestion. I read comic books in
study—to Stan Lee’s delight.”

“Then,”
Mitchell said, “we have to give Evan credence for what he has proposed. Rapid
evolution could enhance the ability to observe, to be controlled. Now, if what
the presence says is true, I probably won’t survive the first stage. I’ve
received inoculations. That means my body might not be able to produce enough
antibodies to resist what our bodies will perceive to be an attack. But I can’t
stand here and condone the remaining populace be converted into slaves despite
their higher consciousness.” He gazed at Iris. “I wouldn’t wish that on my
enemies, let alone those I care for.”

Evan nodded.
“What Mitchell is referring to—a sickness—would be an appropriate
body response in the first stage. DNA can store light. Imagine our cells
suddenly flooded with light, with information. It would overwhelm. But when the
body adapts, the pineal gland will take the light and start instructing our
brain to make code changes. It’s why we all might be telepathic or possibly
even levitate, at will.”

Rachel
grunted. “I don’t think Kassidy needs a higher consciousness to fly.” She
positioned her arms like Superman. “She gets her wings from a bottle.”

Evan nodded,
wearing a frown. “You can disparage all you like. But these theories will be
proved. We have even predicted such genetic events. I would label the enemy’s
plan as coalescence, which measures the variation in DNA sequences. These
variations might result from an event. I think we can all agree that what we’ve
been discussing would certainly be classified as such. A form of this
coalescence can be experienced as a genetic bottleneck.” Evan raised a hand and
grimaced. “Please, no more imbibing jokes. Anyway, if a small group—namely
the one billion remaining survivors—were to be responsible for
repopulating the planet, there would be a limited pool of genes, albeit a very
advanced one. I surmise one superior race would emerge. That might sound
intriguing to Hitler’s ghost, but it would spell the extinction of individual
races. That said, I think we would want to prevent from this happening.”

Iris
countered. “Again, I am not discounting your theories. But why should people
like us be indebted to such a task? Might we consider there are more qualified
people to judge whether or not we engage the dial with a power source?” Iris
could feel the weight of Mitchell’s stare. She didn’t need a morphic field or
whatever phenomena Evan espoused. Besides DJ, Mitchell was the only one who knew
what her father did. She realized, based on Mitchell’s earlier reactions, the
ufologist opposed men like her father. They supposedly kept the secrets he
labeled cover-ups. But couldn’t some of those cover-ups be for our benefit?
Bottom line, Iris believed her father dealt in classified tech. Mitch believed
that classified tech had alien origins.

Evan
whispered something to Mitchell then said. “Galloway has suggested the
government might already be aware of the enemy’s plans. It’s why they avoided
the inoculations. How can we consider the best course of action to emerge from
those already in collusion?”

Iris slammed
her hand on the table. “That is supposition. It would be thrown out if we were
in court. We have no way to prove what Galloway charged. Damn it, Mitchell!
Somewhere in your subconscious mind you know Galloway is a manipulator. He fed
you a hook about conspiracy, and you swallowed. It’s possible he could read
that from being in your mind. He used you. Placated your concerns about his
omissions; maybe he’s the conspirator. Have you stopped to consider that?”

“I think we
all need a break. It’s very late—or very early—based upon your
perspective,” Mitchell said, his hands raised as if in surrender.

Evan nodded.
“Yes, it would seem this is all about perspective isn’t it? I apologize to
everyone who had a workday planned for tomorrow. Entertain the idea of a sick
day. We’ve all had a lot to digest.”

Iris balled
her fist. She meant to derail Evan’s logic by exploiting his temper. But he
remained cool, even apologetic. Meanwhile, she managed to piss off Mitchell, so
not
what she intended.

Minutes
later, the ghost hunters—sans DJ—assembled in the kitchen.

“Are you all
with me?” Iris asked Kassidy and Rachel. We need to refuse Galloway’s wishes.
It would go a long way if you two stood by me. It seems Mitchell’s team already
had their minds made up.”

Kassidy and
Rachel traded glances. “That could be a problem,” Rachel said.

“What do you
mean by a problem?” Iris asked. “I heard you two out there. I was proud of your
critical analysis. You didn’t buy into a theory because someone with a higher
education tried to belittle you with big words.”

Rachel
arched an eyebrow. “Uh, that’s not how I felt. What I mean to say is that I
don’t think Evan or Mitchell talked down to us. Yes, some of their beliefs are
transparent, but then again, ghost hunting is so not an exact science. I know
what I said about Galloway. He’s living, uh, scratch that, proof that ghosts
exist. But beyond that, we don’t have much tangible evidence either. Look at
the video footage. Can we even begin to explain what happened there?”

Iris nodded.
“I can. I should have presented it to the teams, to you guys. I’m sorry.”

Kassidy
feigned an accent of British royalty and cocked a wrist at Iris. “You mean you
segregated us from your theorizing. The audacity . . .”

“Enough of
the mocking, Kassidy,” Iris said. “I have more than theory. I think Ron was
manipulated by some of Galloway’s enemies. I don’t think my original
investigation was correct at all. Ron wasn’t affected by ghost children. He was
altered, at least in his mind, by an alien presence. I saw it in my mind’s eye
during my last contact with Galloway.”

Kassidy
shook her head. “I haven’t had that much to drink. What the hell are you
getting at?”

“I believe
aliens cooked up something out of a Stephen King novel—for our benefit.
It proves what they show us can be deceptive. If that’s true, everything
Mitchell and I experienced could be trickery. We can’t believe these
aliens
to
even be
aliens.
”

Kassidy grunted.
“But you just said aliens pretended to be human ghost children. Doesn’t that
mean they are
aliens?
”

Iris clenched a fist before her mouth to suppress a yawn.
“Okay, you know what I mean. Information gleaned from Galloway is suspect
nevertheless. This was going to be my final argument. I thought I would have
you guys to back me up on the rest. So, I ask you again, are you with me?”

“A
HYPER-COMMUNICATION
network . . . phantom
DNA . . . we exist in a place for a time even after we’ve
left . . .”

“Yeah, I
recall her eyes boring into the back of my head . . .”

“Can you
tell us how it weaves its way through the fabric of our universe without
detection?”

“Consider
visitations by aliens . . .”

“If six out
seven would die, you have to stop it . . .”

“We need to
enjoy our time together, it may be short . . .”

The voices
continued to swirl about Iris. At times they sounded clear, other moments
garbled as if mumbled under water. She was certain of who the voices belonged
to: her team, Mitchell’s team, and what seemed to be a thought telepathically
confiscated from DJ’s mind.

But where
she was and what moment this was remained enigmatic. And as the voices
continued to swirl, she caught a panning glimpse of what appeared to be an
alien being. She was floating toward it. Its profile suggested it was seated at
the conference table in her living room. From its side, she caught it mimicking
a human posture. Its over-sized eyes and taut mouth line were a dead giveaway
as to its original origins. No one else seemed to notice. She struggled to
discern what it was saying amidst the voices. A sudden realization sent a chill
through her. She recoiled back in reaction.

Damn it! It
was one of them. Someone she believed she knew and trusted—

A louder
voice than any other shocked Iris out of her slumber. She fought off grogginess
and bleary eyesight to discern who it was. Mitchell was on his cell and quite
upset.

“I am so
sorry about this. I’m just glad no one was hurt. I’m sure arson investigators
will figure this all out. The lab should be insured.”

Mitchell
continued rambling, trying to offer comfort. She could only surmise it was the
botanist, the MUFON researcher who had analyzed the tainted corn samples. She
shook her head. Rachel charged over to her with a glass of water. “Here drink
this. Guess you dozed off for a minute.”

Kassidy, who
was watching a TV news broadcast on her laptop, cocked her head toward them.
“Yeah, you didn’t miss much. Only the beginning of an all-consuming fire that’s
going to eat the world . . .”

Rachel
intervened. “Kassidy, that was so uncalled for!”

Kassidy
grunted and returned her attention to the screen.

“Rach,” Iris
moaned more than said, “what the hell is going on? And how long was I out?”

“Only
minutes, you all about collapsed after we voted. I’m sorry, Iris. I know I must
appear a traitor, but I had to conclude we can’t trust government officials to
do the right thing for the public.” She slapped her hands against her thighs.
“I mean, shit, look at what just happened.”

The cold
realization that the teams had agreed to pursue Galloway’s quest seeped back
into her consciousness. And whatever she had just witnessed in her sleep was a
testament, it would seem, that pursuit would only lead to the kind of danger
she had feared. Only she hadn’t a specific image to rely on before. Now, she
did. Rachel had just confirmed she was only out for minutes. Not enough time to
go into REM. That meant she’d had contact in a dream vision. It was a
premonition, a warning that someone among them might not be who they claimed to
be, and it made her stomach flop. She clutched it as Rachel retrieved the glass
of water from her hand. “Oops. Sorry. Guess water wasn’t a very good choice.”

Kassidy
tapped a finger against her vodka bottle. “This will put you straight.”

“Straight
into a—” Rachel’s response was terminated by a tap on the shoulder from
Iris.

“Shush,
Rache. Mitchell is closing his call.”

Iris
observed Mitchell’s body language. He ran a hand through his hair, staring
inquisitively at his phone for a nanosecond. Then, he nearly broke it in half.
Seconds later he held his phone in his left hand and its battery in his right.
“This is how we must have leaked it. I mean, this is how
I
must have
leaked it. I can’t believe I was so careless.” He tossed the phone onto the
conference table and stood glaring at no one particular, hand on hip.

Evan whisked
the phone off the table. “Someone could have listened in. Or, maybe someone
heard what our botanist friend was telling someone else. Mitch, don’t beat yourself
up. He could have leaked it too; he was hell bent on writing a journal. He
could have had conversations with any number of people.”

Mitchell
sighed. “I know. But the deal is done. A lab with infinite value has been
turned to ashes. Thank goodness, no one got hurt.”

Kassidy
pounced from her seat with laptop in hands. “Wait a minute. You’re talking
about the lab? I thought you were talking about the cornfield.” She held the
computer in front of her chest and peered down at it. “See. The farmer’s
cornfield, the site of our crop circle, was torched overnight.”

Mitchell
shuffled away, turning his back to the screen. This is bad. Really bad.” He
suddenly shuffled back toward the screen like some Motown dancer. Then, he
glared at everyone. “I hope you all know what this confirms. I’m sorry, Iris.
But we were all right to agree to Galloway’s plan. This is evidence.” He
pointed at the screen and continued trading glances. “We can’t trust
officials.” He paused. Iris broke her gaze with him.

She felt as
if he was referring to her Dad. She was the only one in the room who knew it or
thought it. Still it was painful.

She finally
returned her glance and lifted herself off the couch. “You may be right in that
regard, but it doesn’t mean what you plan to do won’t be fraught with danger.”
Her calculated, deliberate tone even alarmed herself. But she was confident in
her premonition. Something involving a dark secret would emerge if they pursued
their plans. She wasn’t going to combat anyone anymore. She let her words hang for
emphasis. If someone here could not be trusted, she had let them know in an
indirect way of her suspicions.

“I don’t
think anyone can disagree with Iris on that,” Mitchell said. “I will give you
ladies time to rethink if you want to join us or not. In the meantime, we need
to solicit aid from the Hopi Nation. They may be our only hope of finding a
guide to navigate us through Chaco Canyon.”

Darian and
Gavin powered down their phones. Mitchell turned to them. “I suggest you also
deactivate them, take the batteries out. We’ll be traveling in radio silence.
No phones, laptops or GPS. We’ve already learned the hard way. I never thought
I would work a case so close to the truth. But that’s where we stand right now.
We’ve already begun to unravel something. There was a message in the cornfield
and there was evidence of what happened to the corn. It’s gone now. They’ve
eradicated proof. But they haven’t stopped us.”

Iris felt
her stomach flop again. She was watching a man she considered a close friend,
possibly more, ranting as if he wanted to throw himself down the rabbit hole.
Iris knew that kind of pursuit was reckless. If someone were out to suppress
evidence, they would surely be motivated to finish the job. Now Iris had to
wonder who might represent the bigger enemy. The enemy aliens Galloway claimed
existed, and possibly now were confirmed in her premonition, or government
suits, possibly. But if they were feds they sure as hell weren’t her father.
Dan Camden would never harm anyone. Despite his broken marriages, Dan never
raised a hand to any family member. Iris was certain of this, and she didn’t
need any psychic connection or premonition to confirm that truth.

M
ITCHELL
DROVE
and Evan rode shotgun. Darian and Gavin shared the
backseat of the SUV. The ride to Arizona would be a long one. It’s the only
reason Mitchell agreed to Darian’s request to stop at a friend’s home on the
route out of town. That friend, Kim, had quite a few books on mythology, among
them one dedicated to the caduceus, the winged serpentine creature the OBOLs
had supposedly created as a crop circle—an image now decimated thanks to
arsonists.

“So guys,
what does that book say that’s so important? I hope it will keep my eyes open
during this ride.” Mitchell and his team were only awake via adrenaline. No one
had slept. No one could. Pursuing a power source in the ruins of Arizona and
news that an arsonist was out to destroy evidence competed for everyone’s
attention. Mitchell hoped the mythology book might give everyone a release from
that tension.

He gripped
the wheel tighter. He thought about the consequences of stating his concern
aloud. No one carried any electronic devices, but he still couldn’t be sure
“ears” might be listening. Finally, he gave his thought life. “I feel quite
bad, needless to say, about the cornfield and lab. But I think it means whoever
is behind this, might still be in the dark as to what our real mission is.”

“And that
is . . .?” Evan inquired, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’ve
got to get used to this altitude. I’m sorry, what’s your thought?”

“I don’t
think they are on to the dial.” Darian, using Kim’s car, had checked in on it
at the storage facility. No fires. No locks cut open. The object was safe and
secure along with other less important items like ugly lamps from the 80s and
bad knockoffs of Van Gogh. “Darian, thank Kim again for me. I’m glad we didn’t
use any of our vehicles. I just hope we weren’t tailed at the rental agency.”

Evan
laughed. “Buddy, you take the cake for paranoia. I think you’re even more
paranoid than that
X-Files
dude, Mulder.”

“Don’t know
if I can claim that quite yet. I haven’t seen any people with black oil seeping
out of their eyes,” Mitchell answered. He tapped his fingers on the steering
wheel, waiting for everyone’s snide remarks to subside. But paranoia made him
think about the information leak—again.

It didn’t
have to be from a phone, Mitchell pondered. What if Iris made good on her
threat? What if she shared some knowledge with her father, maybe as a means to
test him? He wouldn’t put it past Iris to challenge his suspicions about her
dad. If she told him about the corn . . . well, then she had
been proved wrong. Her father couldn’t be trusted. He just hoped she omitted
details about the dial As long as the pursuers were in the dark about the dial
and its purpose, they might yet accomplish their task without opposition. But
they had to find the power source to do that, and at the moment, Mitchell was
certain it was one big Easter egg hunt they were sure to fail at without assistance.
But the outlook wasn’t entirely bleak. The Hopi had agreed to meet with them,
after all. Mitchell prompted Darian and Gavin to share their new insights on
the caduceus. It would keep his mind off the possibility that the Hopi just
might refuse to assist them.

Gavin began
by noting how the winged serpentine creature was born from Greek mythology yet
came to be revered by physicians who used it as a symbol of medicine.

“But not all
cultures interpret the symbol the same. The serpents, coiled on the staff,
might represent the pituitary and pineal glands. The staff itself might
represent the spinal column, and the wings, the two hemispheres of the brain.
That might mean,” Gavin concluded, “that humans might not only have the power
to heal—as seemingly inferred by the medical profession—but the
capability of transcendence as well.

“If this is
true,” Gavin added, “it lends credence to the notion that the enemy’s weapon
might truly cause humanity to evolve. Maybe the OBOLs created the caduceus so
we could see the truth behind Galloway’s prophecy. Galloway believes most would
die as if infected by a plague. But if what Evan proposes is possible, then
some might evolve into higher beings from the light, the caduceus seems to back
up those claims.”

“Yet,”
Darian offered, “we can assume many would die in this transformation. So we’ve
got to ask if sacrifice is worth the cost. Maybe, it is. Put simply, humanity
is likely already on an extinction course, and if something doesn’t come along
to change us, we might all die out regardless. But if we allow this change to
occur, humanity in the long run might be stronger for it. Bottom line, it might
survive to live on a planet that has become festered with pollution from
overwhelming greed. Maybe it’s time for us to stop being so greedy.”

Gavin
whistled. “Wow, that’s a pretty radical stance, Darian. I know you’ve been
preoccupied, but I never knew you might oppose our involvement.” He shook his
head. “I can’t really believe you believe what you just said. And if you shared
this earlier when we voted, you’ve might have given Iris an ally.”

“It’s just a
thought. You know how I voted. Come on, Gavin, don’t make such a big deal of
it.”

Evan tapped
his window to gain their attention. “What Darian feels is valid. From a
scientific standpoint, using only cold, rational logic, we might deduce rapid
evolution might be best for the species as a whole. But we aren’t just cold,
rational scientists. We have emotion. We just can’t willingly sacrifice the
many for the few.”