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“She seems to be doing well. I like her a lot. But she’s not talking yet, is she?” Charli looked at him.

“Not talking, but responding more. I can tell she adores you, by the way. The psychologists say to give her time. The dog is good for her.” Sophia and Boondoggle were inseparable, and the psychologists reasoned that it helped her feel safe.

“You’re riding great, Charli, I’m impressed. But we’re coming to a big hill now. They call it the wall. There’s no shame if you have to walk your bike. I’ll wait for you at the top.”

As they started up, Charli turned to Jake. “I saw some biking on TV, I think it was the Tour of France, and one of the guys did a breakout or something.”

“A breakaway.”

“Yeah, yeah, that was it.” Charli snapped her fingers and pointed at Jake. “He stood up on his bike and went really fast.”

Jake replied, “Well, now you're getting into the technical stuff.”

“It’s like this, right?” And with that, Charli stood up and accelerated away.

He watched her ride with perfect form.
Ah, now I see what’s going on here.
He stood up and almost caught up with her when she really took off. He tried his best to close the gap, but she was gone—soon out of sight. When he got to the top of the hill, she'd been waiting for a while, enjoying the view, especially the view of him struggling.

With exaggerated concern, she rushed over. “Oh, Jake, are you okay?”

“You faker!” He was totally out of breath and a little lightheaded. She was laughing, and he couldn’t help but join in.

“Hey, Jake, there's no shame in walking. It did get a little technical in the middle there.” She put bunny quotes around technical.

“I didn't walk.”

“You didn't? Huh. I was thinking, you know, since it took you so long. I figured you stopped to walk. And wow, I’m really glad I removed those training wheels. That made all the difference. Thanks for that tip.”

Jake imitated her voice, ‘Jake, how do these pedals work?’ Jeesh. And you faked that fall? I noticed that you fell in just the right place—right next to the car—so you wouldn’t hurt yourself. You even loosened the strap on your helmet, didn’t you?”

She put on a Southern Belle accent and batted her eyelashes. “Why, Jake, ah’d never do a thing like that!”

They were still laughing when Charli leaned over and kissed him. They both froze. Her blushing went ballistic. She recovered faster than he did and took off with that perfect form. Jake’s muscles were trashed from the hill climb, and when he got back to the parking lot, her car was gone.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

September 21, 2018

Jake surveyed the assembled group. Everyone, except young Alex and Martin, looked tired compared to two months ago when he’d started. Well, Charli looked pretty fresh. She played with her long, straight hair as she talked with President Hallstrom. She threw a quick glance at Jake. Did she notice him looking at her?
Apparently, yes. There’s that blush.
Nice effect with the pink cheeks and blue eyes. She’d avoided him in the week since their bike ride.

“Okay, here it is, folks, hot off the presses.” Alex held up a plastic device that looked remarkably similar to a TV remote. It was sixteen inches long but only had one button and a dial. He put it on the conference table and everyone took a look, but no one touched it.

Martin took up the presentation. “And the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question is … what does it do?”

Jake made a rolling gesture with his hand. “And the answer is?”

“We have no idea.” Alex gave an exaggerated shrug. “We’re sure that we made it right because the 3D printer has a verification mode.”

Charli asked, “But how do you know if it passed? I mean, here on Earth, we know that “ding ding ding” means correct, and a buzzer means wrong. But how do we know what sounds or color the aliens use to mean “good” or “bad?”

“Simple,” Martin said. “If it fails verification, the printer immediately destroys it.”

“Destroys it?” Charli said.

“Crushes it. Crunch.”

“It waits until the device is completed before destroying it?” Charli frowned. “Can’t it stop as soon as there’s a problem?”

Martin held his hands together and looked up at the ceiling. “The machine doth work in mysterious ways.”

“So, you truly have no idea what this device does?” asked Jake.

“Not really. It’s got a dial and a button, and it looks like this is the business end.” Alex pointed to the end of the device, which, just like a TV remote, had a little window. The plans suggest it’s something you point at a living creature.”

Martin took the device and pointed to the dial. “You might think that dials are so 1960s, but this one has no traditional physical connection to the device. It floats in this depression but doesn’t touch anything. We expect that the user can turn the dial, and that the device can turn it, too.

“Have you turned it on?” Jake asked.

“Daddy won’t let us.” Alex cocked his head toward the president.

Hallstrom smiled, crossed his arms, and shook his head. “Well, what do you think it does, Alex? You must have thought about it.”

“I’m pretty sure it generates a field, like a ray gun. It comes out here,” Alex pointed to one end, “and, based on the optics, widens out the farther you get from the device. I’m also sure that the dial is a timer. So, you set the timer and then you ush-pay the utton-bay.”

McGraw spoke up for the first time. “We’re going to test it on the monkey in an hour.”

“Hey,” Martin crossed his arms, “that’s no way to refer to my brother!”

* * *

One hour later, Jake was the last one into the lab. Housed in the basement of an old building near the White House, the rooms were small, with acoustic tile ceilings and painted cinder-block walls. Jake squeezed in.
A little crowded here.
The advisers stood looking at the monitors and controls. The rhesus monkey, the device, and the remote-controlled servo system that would physically push the button were in the next room. This was a precaution in case it exploded.

Of course, the device could suck up the whole planet, but putting it in a separate room was the compromise that Hallstrom and Guccio had come up with. The arguments went back and forth, but the deciding factor was that this was an extraordinary situation, and the device could help Earth deal with the alien. Of course, Jake suspected it really came down to this: everyone wanted to see what would happen.

The monkey appeared on the video screen, strapped to a chair with the device pointing at his head.

Jake leaned against the wall. “No animals were harmed in the testing of this device.”

Charli smiled at him. “Not yet, anyway.”

“Okay, we’re ready to go.” McGraw looked at the others.

“Beam him up, Scotty,” said Alex.

McGraw typed in the computer command, and the human-designed servo devices adjusted the dial and then pushed the on button. Nothing happened. The monkey appeared completely relaxed. Of course, he had seemed pretty relaxed before the test.

Jake said, “Seth, why is he so relaxed? I mean, in general?”

McGraw answered without looking up from what he was doing. “Oh. We’ve trained him to stay calm when in the chair.”

A second video monitor showed the dial slowly moving back to its starting point. As soon as it stopped, the monkey looked around. Alex sighed.

“Try it again,” Jake said. “I think I noticed something. Set a longer duration this time.”

They repeated the test. While the beam was on, Jake said, “Notice that he’s not moving at all. Watch what happens when it stops.”

Sure enough, the timer got to zero, and the rhesus looked around as if wakening from a trance.

“Excellent,” McGraw said. “Now let’s find out whether he likes it.”

Jake looked over at him. “Yes. By all means. Let’s give him a questionnaire. How satisfied were you with the ray gun? One, very satisfied, two, somewhat satisfied, three, neither satisfied nor—”

“No, no, no, watch this.” McGraw pointed to the monitor showing the monkey. An assistant entered the room and moved a lever over next to it, released the restraint on the monkey’s right arm, and left.

McGraw continued to stare at the screen. “When the monkey depresses the lever, which he’s sure to do quite soon, I will turn on the device, and—ah, here we go.”

The monkey cocked his head and reached over to the lever. He moved it this way and that then he pushed it down, and a beep sounded. McGraw activated the device, having set the duration ahead of time. After it timed out, the rhesus did it again. This continued for a while. The monkey didn’t depress it frantically or hold it down. There was nothing to suggest that the effect was unpleasant or pleasurable.

“Next, we see how it affects his behavior.” McGraw nodded to the assistant who went into the other room and wheeled an apparatus over to the monkey. It seemed to recognize it and welcome it. The rack held what was essentially a computer tablet and a feeding tube.

McGraw looked up. “This is a task that he is used to working on. He solves a puzzle on the screen, and when he completes it, he gets a shot of banana-flavored goo through the tube.”

“Really? Banana?” Charli asked.

“Yes. They love the stuff,” McGraw said.

The monkey started playing his video game and when he apparently solved it, there was a bell, and he put his mouth on the tube to get his reward. He started working again, and McGraw turned on the ray. The monkey stopped and looked relaxed. As soon as it went off, he blinked and continued working on the puzzle.

“I’ve got an idea. You have to try it on me.” Jake pushed off from the wall.

“No way,” Charli said.

“Look, we don’t have time to screw around here. We’re not making a lot of progress on this alien issue. Just put it on me, turn it on for a few seconds, and I think I can tell you exactly what it’s for.”

Charli crossed her arms. “And if your brains squirt out your nose, we’ll be out one idea man.”

Jake smirked. “You mean idea person, right?”

McGraw held up his hands. “Hold on, guys. The ethics are a little complicated, but I’ve already got a volunteer from the lab to sit in that chair. So that’s what we’re going to do.”

Jake raised one eyebrow. “So you found someone disposable.”

“He’s a volunteer, just as you were.” McGraw pressed a button on an intercom. “Tell Ron Kane we’re ready for him.”

Jake watched McGraw. Seth had been working long hours but still approached his work with the enthusiasm of a teenager. How long would he be able to keep that up?

McGraw said, “Ron Kane is a smart guy and he’s eager to go. He’s a bit of a character and a practical joker, as you’ll see. Jake, what do you think this thing does?”

“Well.” Jake looked at the ceiling and scratched his throat. “I’ve got a guess. I don’t want to say anything yet.”

“You don’t think it will do anything bad to Ron.” McGraw raised his eyebrows.

“That’s correct. I wouldn’t have volunteered myself if I’d thought that.”

Ron popped into the room, breathing heavily. He was a twenty-something and wore jeans and a T-shirt under his lab coat. His narrow face held an impish grin.

McGraw clapped him on the shoulder and looked at the others. “Ron has signed lots of forms showing he understands what he’s getting into, but note that we have dispensed with a lot of the usual red tape in this situation.”

Everyone shook Ron’s hand and thanked him. With the mood turning suddenly serious, Ron cleared his throat and looked over at the exit.
Is he having second thoughts?

McGraw said, “Ron, there really is a significant risk here, and no one will think worse of you if you want to change your mind. You can just go back to the lab. Are you sure you want to go through with it?”

Ron straightened his back. “It’s worth any risk if it gives me what you promised, Dr. McGraw.”

McGraw frowned. “What I promised?”

“You know. You said it’ll make my you-know-what bigger.”

Everyone but McGraw laughed. “Okay, no more joking now. This is serious. I like your sense of humor, but if you even cross your eyes as a joke when I turn it on—”

“Don’t worry, I’ll behave, sir.” But when McGraw turned away, Ron crossed his eyes at the others.

With little ceremony, Ron went into the room where the monkey had been and sat down in a human-sized chair. McGraw activated the device. Ron gave a little frown, and the device turned off, even before the timer dial counted down. The dial snapped to zero by itself. Everyone looked to him.

“What happened?” McGraw asked him over the intercom.

“Well, that was weird.” Ron’s voice was audible over the speaker, but everyone trooped next door into the experiment room.

“What was weird?” Jake asked.

“Well, I was thinking about what will happen and my mind had just wandered to thinking of a date I’m going on tonight. When the device went on, I was thinking about—”