Encounters 1: The Spiral Slayers (12 page)

“She didn’t know about the doctors, nurses and any others who
might know about your newly acquired youth and immortality, but…”

“My God, they’re really going to do this, aren’t they?”

“The fountain of youth, immortality? It’s just too damn big,
too powerful. Too dangerous. Personally I think De Bella wants it no matter
what it takes. Harrington is appalled and she said Leewood is too, but he has a
thing about following orders – he’s going through a lot of pain over it.”

Adamarus quickly looked away. He “had a thing” about
following orders too. He had disobeyed one once and…the cost…he shook his head
and put that issue aside. “So, Leewood is upset? That’s not too surprising.”

Radin looked down at the floor. “They plan to grab you and
your family tomorrow after you’ve met with Bugs. Leewood is supposed to do this
with two sleazebags De Bella has coming in tonight – I guess De Bella doesn’t
trust Leewood 100 percent. Leewood doesn’t know where you’ll be taken or held,
or what will happen to you afterwards. De Bella has a second team coming in
tonight that will fake the accident that supposedly kills all of you. Where
they’ll get the bodies… I don’t even want to know.”

Adamarus sat there and listened in disbelief. The ugliness he
had feared was actually here and coming to pass…except…he and his family would
not be there. And hopefully what he and Bugs planned would be in time to save
the others who had been cursed simply by being aware of Adamarus.

Radin had been talking but Adamarus had not been listening. Radin
saw this and snapped his fingers in front of Adamarus’ face. “I’m sorry, my
mind wandered. What were you saying?”

Radin snorted but repeated himself, “We need to get you,
Grace and Nero out of here tonight. I’ve got a plan that will…”

“No.” Adamarus interrupted. “It’s all taken care of.”

Radin gave him a long hard look that silently asked, what are
you talking about?

Adamarus gave him a sly grin, “Really. Tomorrow many things
will happen and I promise that neither I nor my family will be around when they
try to grab us. And, if they fake an accident…they’ll be in for a nasty
surprise.”

Radin leaned forward, “Adamarus…I’m not sure that their
actions should be stopped. If everyone becomes immortal, don’t you see the
horrific problems our world will face?”

“Trust me on this, Radin.”

“But how can anyone keep this,” Radin motioned to Adamarus’
face and body, “a secret?”

“We are not going to.”

“We’re not? We? Who… is we?”

“Bugs and I – we hashed this out all day.”

“And?”

“We have a plan.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I think.”

Adamarus cracked his fingers in one twisting underhanded
motion. “We’ve already kept my newfound youth and immortality a secret for what
– it’s probably three months now.” He gave Radin a look, “Since we know that eventually
there will be a leak…”

Radin caught on at once, “You want to control the leak…,” but
then his face twisted in confusion, “What? The timing?”

Adamarus nodded.

“Okay…who, when, where and how?”

“The when is tomorrow at a very precise time and the who is Dr.
Harrington. You will tell her what she needs to do, and more importantly, at
what time she’ll need to do it. Here’s what’s going to happen…”

---

Radin had left and Nero’s video show ended. Nero came running
in the kitchen chasing some imaginary enemy and voicing the theme song from his
favorite video show; Swing Fist – Super Spy. “Dun…Da Da Da…Dun Da Da Da…”

Adamarus caught him as he ran by and swung him into the air
and around in a circle. In a deep voice Adamarus said, “Emergency extraction
‘Swing’ – there’s trouble in your bedroom and you're needed!”

“Ah, Dad!” Nero said between laughter.

Adamarus set him down, “Big trouble--you’re needed right
away!”

Nero ran down the hallway firing his toy rifle as he went,
“Dun Dun Da Da Da…”

After Nero was tucked in, Adamarus and Grace went into the
den. He sat on the couch and she sat across from him in the love seat. Adamarus
explained what the Loud had told him today, about his not aging—his immortality
and about all the thoughts that had passed through his head as a result. He
summarized the plan he and Bugs had worked out. Seeing her astonishment, he
then told her what Radin had said--about the grab and the fake accident. Grace
listened quietly with ever widening eyes and at the end was overwhelmed. She
just shook her head and then put her head in her hands for several minutes.
Adamarus just waited.

Finally she looked up, “My God, Adamarus! This is too much!”

“Sweetheart, we've discussed the treatment over and over, and
now more than ever, I think we should do it. However, in the end, it's your
decision."

Grace got up and sat beside him on the couch and hugged him. “Oh,
Adamarus…” the tears came and she held him tighter, “what should I do?” After a
few seconds she pulled away and tried to put on a brave face, “Look at you! In
your thirties again! It’s not fair. I’m so scared.” She stared at the floor for
a full minute then looked up. "OK," she said softly.

 Adamarus took a deep breath and let it out. "OK,"
he repeated. “You will both come with me tomorrow.” He looked into her eyes. “I
arranged to get both of you the same treatment that I’ve gotten.”

Her eyes went wide, “What? Both of us?”

“Soon, if all goes well, everyone who wants it can have what
I have. But even if not, at least our family can get it and we’ll be together.”
He took her hands. “I know it’s scary but…”

“Scary?” She interrupted, wiping her tears from her face. “An
alien immortality treatment? Hell, yes, it’s scary! But does this mean I’ll become
twenty years younger like you?” Adamarus nodded. She laughed, “Then…to hell
with scary. I’ll do it. But Nero too? What will happen to him? He can’t get
twenty years younger.”

“He won’t change at all except that once he reaches his prime
age – around thirty years–he’ll stop aging.”

Grace got giddy again, “How long does it take to work?”

Adamarus told her all he knew. After talking about the
changes some more, they went into the bedroom and they made love like they
hadn’t done in years. After going at it twice, they rested in each other’s arms.

“Hmmm, well, I do kind of like this new you.”

“You’ll like me even more,” said Adamarus as he rolled onto
her for a third round.

“Whoa, cowboy… maybe you’re a spring chicken but I’m still a
sprung chicken.” She pushed Adamarus back over to his side of the bed and
rolled on top of him. They were both covered with sweat. “I’ll tell you what
though,” her eyes got very big, “let’s drive over there now!”

“Oh no…” Adamarus laughed.

“Oh yes…” she went nose to nose with him and whispered, “it’s
only twenty minutes away. Then we can come back and go at it all night.”

“Don’t you remember, after you take it, you’ll feel a little
sick, then sleep for several days.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” Grace giggled and pulled
Adamarus on top of her again.

Chapter Eight – Immortality

“As you know, the Loud come from the star
designated G214-H which is 112 light years away. They traveled here at relativistic
speeds reaching ninety-nine percent the speed of light for most of the trip
using a propulsion technology they call Graviton Focal Enhancement. It took 182
years for the journey, though to those aboard the ship, only a fifth of that
time passed. They arrived here just over three years ago and have been studying
us to determine if we were peaceful and ready for contact. I am very glad that
we passed their tests! (applause) They also wanted to learn our languages and
customs to ease the first contact process. They claim that contacting us is the
most important event in their history. I would suggest that it is the other way
around. (applause)”

Dr. Wayne Brittan, Chairman of
the House Science Committee

Introduction to The 23rd Amular Symposium
on Quantum Physics

Source: The Archive

  Adamarus had gone over the plan again with Bugs. He could
think of nothing they’d forgotten. Adamarus sat down and glanced at his watch. “I
was surprised yesterday, when I told my wife about Nero—she got over the safety
issues faster than I had thought she would. Are the two treatments ready?”

Bugs replied, “No.”

Confusion clouded Adamarus’ face, “No?”

“No. It takes twelve hours to prepare.”

Adamarus didn’t know what to say! Then, “Well, why didn’t you
start the preparation yesterday?”

Now it was Bug’s turn to look confused, “We did. All is
ready.”

“But you just said that it wasn’t ready.”

“It wasn’t ready yesterday.”

“Right. Okay.” Adamarus wasn’t sure what had just happened
but all was okay now. He guessed another translator hiccupped and shrugged it
off. He checked his watch – his family was due to arrive in ten minutes. He
reminded Bugs of this. “Your biggest challenge is still ahead of you.”

The giant alien gave Adamarus a look.

Adamarus raised his hands in a helpless gesture, “I told my
son that he could ask you any two questions and that you would answer him. You’re
supposed to be the ‘all knowing’ alien so, don’t let me down!”

The Loud’s large body quivered and jerked violently actually
lifting off of the floor. Adamarus jumped up alarmed – it looked like Bugs was
having a seizure. But as soon as he was standing, he realized he had seen this
before, just nothing this violent. With a bust of insight he realized that this
was the Loud equivalent of laughter. He looked on amazed as Bugs jerked and
quivered, the violent movements jerking him across the floor. It lasted only a
few seconds and then it was over. He shook his head. He should have caught on
to this before.

The alien swelled, jetting upward then came back down forcing
out the air. As usual, despite all the soundproofing, the un-Godly screech
could be heard while wave lengths above and below his hearing range sent
shivers up Adamarus’ spine. He realized that he was used to this, but Grace and
Nero would not be. He’d have to try to prepare them. The translator said, “I
will do my best, but what have I done to earn this punishment?”

Unprepared for the comeback, Adamarus just shook his head.

Bugs said, “Now remember, I will deposit their doses on the
table by the sink. While I’m doing this, the light outside the door will turn
red for about five minutes to vent the room, place the doses and re-pressurize
the room and heat it. During this time you need to stall…act like you are
preparing your family to meet me. If the guards see the red light on they will
think it unusual and may not allow you and your family to enter. When the room
is ready to enter again the light will turn green.”

“I understand. And again, thanks.” Bugs somehow managed to
nod his head – another human gesture. Adamarus checked his watch, “Okay, I’m
going to meet them.”

---

Grace was nervous as hell. She was wearing a gray business
suit and hoped it was appropriate. She knew that the Loud didn’t use clothing
and wondered what they thought of it. She glanced over at Nero in the seat next
to her. He looked so handsome in his brown wool suit, white shirt and tie. She
realized that he had not said a word since getting in the limo. He had to be
nervous, too.

The black limo rounded the corner and in the distance she
could see the alien ship and the dome. Nero noticed it as well and his eyes got
wide. He looked afraid. Grace tried to distract him, “Hey, what two questions
are you going to ask him…or ‘it,’ I guess, since they don’t have sexes?”

Nero turned to his mother and shook his head, “Can’t
tell…it’s a secret.”

“Hmm” replied Grace.

The limo made its way to the large dome. The limo’s door was
opened and Adamarus and two other uniformed men came out to meet them. Grace
realized that her knees were weak and walked carefully, determined not to
stumble.

Adamarus embraced her, “You up for this?”

Grace replied, “Absolutely,” but her voice said otherwise.

Adamarus stared at her for a moment then knelt down to Nero. “How
about you, tiger?”

“Okay, I guess” but his voice caught.

“What will you ask Bugs?”

Again Nero shook his head. “Can’t tell. Secret.”

Adamarus’ brows went up, “A secret, huh?” He brushed some
imaginary lint off Nero’s coat. “Well, okay. Let’s do it then.”

He led them into the entryway. The two uniformed men followed
them in but remained on the lower level as they stepped onto the moving
walkway. When they reached the top Adamarus looked down the 100 foot walkway at
the door. Behind the two uniformed guards he could see that the light was red.
As always, the guards faced away from the door and could not see this. Adamarus
paused and turned to his wife and son. “Now there are a few things I need to
warn you about. The Loud evolved on a low gravity planet with very thin
atmosphere.”

“We know all that, Dad. The Loud are loud,” Nero said in an
exasperated voice.

“No son, you think you know but you don’t. Even though we
will be in a soundproof room, sound comes through and there’s more than just
the sound. There’s a concussion which can make you feel uncomfortable. It can
cause everything from a headache to chills. You may feel the hair on your arms
and neck stand up, or it may feel like your insides are vibrating.” He looked
at both of them. They both looked pale. Well, he thought, meeting an alien
being is not something you do every day.

“Dad, do we call him Bugs or Mr. Bugs or…”

This got a smile from both mom and dad. “You can call him
Bugs.” Adamarus answered.

He glanced down the hall – the light was still red. “Son,
when we go in, you and your mother will have to drink this stuff. It…prepares
you for meeting aliens,” he said lamely. In a way that was sort of true. “No
big deal, just wanted you to know about it ahead of time.” He glanced back down
the hall, still red. It seemed like the guards were looking at him strangely.
Come
on, Bugs
he thought.

Nero started walking down the hall before Adamarus could stop
him. “Let’s just do it, Dad.”

Damn
, Adamarus thought. He looked at the door, the
light was still red. He started walking, trying to catch up. Grace followed. Nero
was almost sprinting down the hall. Adamarus realized he would have to run to
catch up with Nero and this would look strange. He slowed down.

Grace caught up to him. “Adamarus, what’s wrong?”

“Ah…” he couldn’t explain now, the guards were too close,
“nothing.”

Nero reached the guards, stopped and saluted. The guards
smiled and saluted back. Behind them the light was still red. He and Grace were
now ten feet from the door. He tried to think of something, some way to buy
more time. He could say that he forgot something and had to go get it…but what?

They reached the guards, time was up. The guards nodded to them.
Adamarus blurted out, “Oh damn…wait. I forgot…” What? Damn it! “Ah…”

“Sir?” The second guard gave him a strange look.

The other turned towards the door to press the button. He saw
the light but now blocked it from Adamarus’ view. “Now that’s damn strange,” he
said, then turned and gave Adamarus a look Adamarus could not read.

Adamarus stammered, “Ah…if you mean…”

The guard interrupted him, “You forgot something?” Behind the
guard the door started to open, “Well, sir, you can’t blame it on age anymore.”
The guard winked and moved aside for them to enter.

With his mouth half open, Adamarus numbly walked forward. On
passing through the door he glanced at the button. It was green.

---

Shelly White was the star of the show. A fact she reminded
everyone of daily. She had busted balls – literally – to become the anchorwoman
on the GSN evening news and she didn’t take shit from anyone now. She entered
her dressing room, gazing at her name on the door and the star under it.
Yes,
she thought. She had held the job for almost three years now but never tired of
admiring her name on the door of the largest dressing room on the set. She
didn’t “go on” for another two hours, but she wanted to get going early – it
was taking her makeup gal, Dolly, longer and longer to get it right. She would
have to talk to Dolly soon, but not today.

Dolly swept in. They exchanged pleasantries and Dolly got to
work on Shelly White, star news anchorwoman on prime time for the largest news
network on Amular.

As Dolly was putting on the fine line below Shelly’s eyes, Shelly’s
private com unit rang loudly. This startled them both as this was Shelly’s
private line and only used by her two lovers—who knew better than to call her
in the afternoon—and by John Darter, the President of the studio. It was a loud
harsh ring, but not as loud as Shelly’s scream as she watched the eye liner
Dolly held jump up and across her forehead. She gave Dolly a withering look and
got up to look at the com unit’s display screen. The number calling her was not
one she knew—a wrong number then. She sat back down and rolled her eyes as
Dolly started to remove the line across her forehead. After a minute the com
stopped ringing.

---

Harrington cursed as the com unit continued to ring. She wasn’t
answering. She hung up and looked around. She was at a pay com unit on the wall
in front of a convenience store mostly hidden from view by a large delivery
truck. If anyone who knew her saw her using a pay com unit it would look very
strange. And, when the timing coincided with the “leak”...game over! What to
do?

Her instructions from Radin indicated that this call and its
timing had the highest priority. She had to get through. As she pondered her
dilemma, the driver of the delivery truck came out of the store and got behind
the wheel.
Shit
, Harrington thought. She would be completely exposed if
he pulled out. Out of the corner of her eye she watched the driver, but instead
of starting the truck, he picked up a clip board and began checking off items. What
to do? What to do? She started dialing the number Radin had given her again and
that’s when she had an idea.

---

Dolly had finally got the line off of Shelly’s forehead and
had started on her eye again when the com unit rang a second time. Again, both
women jumped. Dolly and her eyeliner struck again–this time on the cheek. Shelly
just closed her eyes. She was so mad she was almost shaking. But she had to
admit it was her fault for not unplugging the com unit. Wrong numbers always
called back. But this time the com unit was silent after the first ring. Ring
once then call again? That used to be a signal between her and her estranged
husband, perhaps he might have this number. So when the com unit rang again she
picked up.

 “Donald? This better be good, you know you are not supposed
to use this number. How the hell did you even get it?”

But the voice on the com unit was not Donald’s – it was
female. “I am employed by the Solar System President and I am “leaking”
information. This is an unauthorized leak of top secret information. Do you
understand?”

Shelly’s eyes went wide. “Who is this and how did you get
this number?”

“You know better than that, Shelly. I’m only going to say
this once so listen carefully.”

Shelly quickly looked around for a recorder she used to make
unauthorized recordings of conversations, but it was across the room hooked up
to her regular com unit so she grabbed an envelope to write on but then
couldn’t find a pen. She whirled around and snatched the eye liner from Dolly’s
hand, then pointed to the recorder and motioned for Dolly to get it. “I’m
listening, she said.

“The person the aliens brought to the ER was Captain Adamarus
Maximus who is still alive. But there’s much more. They made changes to his
DNA.” Shelly began frantically writing on the envelope while Dolly fumbled with
the recorder trying to set it up. The voice continued, “These changes reverted
Captain Maximus’ age from fifty-two to thirty, stopped his cells from aging and
super charged his immune system. In other words, he will never die of old age
or sickness, Shelly. He is immortal.”

Shelly stopped writing and rolled her eyes. “Oh come on
honey! What BS! Call the tabloids! We only…”

The caller interrupted her, “This story can be confirmed by
two other sources. Counting me, that’s three.”

That gave Shelly pause. “Go on,” she said doubtfully. The
recorder was now hooked up.

“You can check the records if needed, but Maximus is
fifty-two years old. Your second source is your ex Donald Little at CRN News. He
got through security and into Adamarus’ hospital room and got a really good
look at Adamarus. But with Adamarus looking so different, Donald didn’t
recognize him. Call him, talk to him, but don’t give your news scoop away. Immortality,
Shelly! This is huge!”