Intervention: A Science Fiction Adventure (20 page)

“I’d say your walk
did the trick. You look much more relaxed.”

“I feel much better.
I’ll go wash up.” During dinner Christopher suggested, “I have
to go to the library in the morning for a little bit. When I get
back, how about we go to that carnival in town I saw today. Maybe I
could even talk you into getting on one of those scary rides with
me.”

“That’s a great
idea. I haven’t been to a carnival since your father passed away.”

“Then it’s a deal?”

Mary smiled. “Deal,
except for the scary ride part.”

First thing in the
morning, Christopher found his way to the local library and spent a
little time on one of their computers. In a moment he was on the
internet conversing with Professor Stevens, still teaching part-time.
He knew Rick was working as the head of the technical department with
one of the major telecommunications companies. Professor Stevens was
able to provide Christopher with Rick’s phone numbers, both work
and home. Christopher, equipped with a roll of quarters so as not to
leave a trail to connect him to Rick, called Rick from a pay phone.

“Rick Tanner,” the
voice on the other end said.

“Rick? This is
Christopher Adams from MIT.”

“Christopher, last I
heard you were with the CIA.”

“I still am. Listen,
Rick, I need a favor.”

“You name it. If it
wasn’t for your help on those programs, I never would have
graduated. What do you need?”

“Can you interrupt a
commercial satellite feed?”

“I can feed a signal
to eighteen different satellites. We’re talking a couple hundred
channels. What are you up to, Christopher?”

“I can’t tell you,
but you were always up for a good joke. Are you up for a big one?”

“This is a side of
you I’ve never seen, Christopher. What have you got in mind?”

“I’m sending you a
video tape. You’ll have it first thing tomorrow. I want you to
interrupt every video feed you can with this tape just after eight
tomorrow night, but only if you can cover your tracks. I don’t want
you to get in any trouble.”

“Consider it done.
And don’t worry—they won’t have a clue as to where it came
from. Do you have my address here at work?”

“Yes. Thanks Rick. I
owe you one.”

“I owed you several,
but this is a big one, so we’ll just call it even.”

Christopher left the
library and found a local Fed-ex office, put the tape into an
overnight envelope and addressed it to Rick, paid the clerk, and
headed for home. Christopher felt good—he had done the right thing
and he was willing to deal with the consequences. Hopefully, after
the tape aired, Cindy would not feel the need to go public and would
feel differently about him. He also wondered how his mother would
react. He strongly suspected she would approve and think he did what
he knew was right. She would also understand the last few days a
little better.

The little wooden
bridge looked better as he drove over it this time. He saw his mother
sitting on the porch as he drove up. “Are you ready for the
carnival?”

“Yes. Would you like
to have a sandwich before we go?”

“Let’s just go fill
up on hot dogs and cotton candy,” Christopher replied. He knew
there was a good possibility that this might be one of the last days
he would have to spend with his mother. Right after the video aired,
he would have to leave. He wouldn’t risk involving his mother. He
wasn’t sure where he would go yet, but he still had some time to
figure that out.

“This was a great
idea,” Mary said as they walked down the midway. “I had almost
forgotten how much fun this could be.”

“Me too. Let’s go
in here, okay?” Christopher pointed to a house of mirrors.

“That looks like fun.
Let’s go,” Mary replied. Inside they went from mirror to mirror,
standing first in front of one that made then look tall and thin,
then one that made them look very short and overweight. They laughed
and carried on together like two children. Mary couldn’t stop
laughing, which started Christopher laughing, too.

“Come on, Mom. I’ll
win you a teddy bear,” he said leading her towards a row of game
booths.

“Look at that cute
camel over there,” Mary said pointing to a large fuzzy tan-colored
stuffed camel in a game booth. The two walked over for a look. The
camel stood three, maybe four feet high. “Nothing’s too good for
my mom. Consider it yours.”

Christopher’s
statement reminded her of Joe, almost bringing a tear to her eye. He
was a real chip off the old block, she thought. It was a skill game
with a twist and would present little challenge to Christopher. “What
do I have to do to win that camel there?” he said indicating the
large stuffed toy that had caught Mary’s eye.

“You have to toss a
dime so it lands on one of these plates and stays there, three times
in a row. A lot of folks been trying for that camel all day. I wish
you luck.”

Christopher wouldn’t
need luck. He could figure out the trick to these carnival games in a
flash. He reached in to his pocket for some change. The carnival
worker watched as he set three dimes on the counter. He picked up the
first dime and tossed it in a high arc toward a plate. The dime flew
into the air toward the plate with an evident slight back spin
hitting the rear of the plate and rolling to rest in the center.

“Nice toss, mister,
but if you want to win the camel, you have to do that two more times
in a row without missing.” Christopher didn’t acknowledge the
man, but simply picked up another dime from the counter and without
hesitation, tossed it into the air. It was like an instant replay,
duplicating the previous toss exactly. The man working watched
Christopher closely as he immediately picked up the third dime and
sent it into the air. As if in slow motion, the man saw his prize
camel vanish as the third dime landed just like the two before it.
“Mister, I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve never seen
anyone do that before.”

“Here you go, Mom,”
Christopher said handing her the camel.

They started feeling
hungry, so he bought some food form one of the stands. He set the
food and drinks on the picnic table in front of the hot dog stand
where Mary sat waiting. “Now that’s a switch,” Christopher
said.

“What is?” Mary
asked.

“Me waiting on you.”

“I kind of like it,”
she replied.

“After we finish
eating we can go on some of those scary rides.”

“Well, maybe the
Ferris wheel. I think that’s about all the scary I can handle.”

“Okay, Mom. The
Ferris wheel it is.”

They finished lunch and
soon found themselves on their way to the top of the Ferris wheel.
After a few rotations, the ride came to a sudden stop, with Mary and
Christopher at the very top.

After a minute went by
without any movement, Mary said, “This is getting a little scary. I
wonder what’s wrong.” Christopher couldn’t hide the large and
very guilty grin on his face. “Christopher Adams. You had better
not have done what I’m thinking you’ve done!”

“Well, since you
wouldn’t go on any scary rides, I had to make this one a little
scary.”

“I’ll get you for
this,” Mary said laughing. “Just like your father.” A few
moments later motion returned to the Ferris wheel and in no time Mary
and Christopher were on the ground.

“Would you like
another cotton candy or taffy apple?” Christopher asked.

“If I eat one more
thing I’ll burst.”

The sun had long since
hidden below the horizon before they grew tired of the games and
rides. They had a terrific time. Mary hadn’t laughed so much in
years. When they returned home, Christopher quickly built a roaring
fire in the fireplace to remove the evening chill.

Mary said, “We’ll
have to do that again sometime. I haven’t had so much fun in I
don’t know how long.”

“Me too, Mom.”

“I’m going to make
some tea, would you like a cup?”

“That sounds great,
sure, Mom.” Christopher sat on the sofa watching the fire
flickering in the fireplace. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw
something different. Looking toward the front door, he realized it
was just the large stuffed camel he had won at the carnival. He
looked at it for a minute, watching as the light from the fire
flickered and threw light into the dark corner where the stuffed
camel stood.
That is it!
he thought.
Of course, Egypt.

Christopher had always
felt that the great pyramid was the ultimate unsolved puzzle. This
was his chance to see it firsthand and take a crack at it himself. He
knew several people connected to high government officials, so it
would be easy to obtain the necessary permits.

Mary came with a cup of
tea for him, and said, “How about we see if there’s a good movie
on the television?”

“Sure, Mom. And, Mom,
I’ve decided that since I have my problem taken care of, and since
I still have a few weeks of vacation left, I thought I’d go take a
crack at that big stone puzzle in Egypt: the great pyramid.”

“Are you serious?
Really? I know how long you’ve wanted to do that, but what about
this young lady Cindy?”

“I can sort things
out with Cindy when I get back.”

“When are you going
to go?”

“There’s a flight
that leaves tomorrow night.” He didn’t know this, but knew it
would be best for him to leave after the videotape aired.

After a hearty
breakfast, Christopher was off to the mall to buy some clothes for
his trip to Egypt. He found a shop that specialized in clothing and
accessories for warmer climates. He bought several pair of shorts and
shirts and a vest with more pockets than a billiards table. He knew
they would be useful crawling around inside the pyramid. He also
bought a backpack, and containers for storing food, two flashlights,
with plenty of spare batteries, and a Swiss army knife. He stocked up
on freeze-dried foods that wouldn’t spoil and a fair share of
energy bars and beef jerky.

As soon as he got home,
he gave Mary the food containers for a thorough washing. He took the
remaining items upstairs to his old room and unpacked everything,
laying it out on the bed and anywhere else he could find a place to
set it. He carefully packed everything into the backpack and added a
few notebooks and pencils for taking notes. Mary brought the cleaned
food containers and canteens up when she had finished.

“I have some bottled
water for you. I don’t imagine their water is as clean as ours and
thought you might want to take some with you.”

“Thanks, Mom. That’s
not a bad idea. I expect I’ll just drink bottled water while I’m
there.”

“What time does your
flight leave?” Mary asked.

“If I leave here
about nine, I should have plenty of time to make my flight.” He
still hadn’t booked a ticket, but planned to do so at the airport.

There were several
hours before the video would air so Christopher decided to cut the
grass around the house for his mother. Opening the door on the shed
behind the house that his father had built brought back a lot of
memories for him. He wheeled out the lawn tractor and topped off the
fuel tank with gas. He turned the key and the mower came to life.
Selecting a forward gear, he began driving the mower around the back
yard leaving beautifully trimmed lawn behind him. After he had
finished, he drove the mower back to the shed to add fuel. He went
into the house for a glass of ice water before continuing. With a
full tank of gas, he steered the mower into and around the front yard
repeating the process. He was nearly finished when he noticed a car
turn off the road and drive over the little wooden bridge. He became
concerned when he realized it was an agency car. The car parked next
to his and when the driver got out, he felt relieved to see it was an
agent he knew quite well, Andy Carlton. He immediately walked toward
Christopher on the front lawn. Christopher stopped the mower and
turned off the motor. “Hello Andy,” he said as he waved. Andy
just gave a quick wave as he approached.

“What on earth brings
you out here, Andy?”

“Christopher, I have
to make this quick. I’m not supposed to be here, but I owe you in a
big way. You’ve helped me out, now I’m returning the favor. He
handed Christopher a small package saying, “This was given to me to
take to the security board of Operation Down-size. If I took it to
them, you wouldn’t be around to see the sun go down. You know that.
I don’t know what you think you’re doing and I don’t care. I’m
putting my ass on the line here for you. Now I suggest you
disappear—get out of the country. When the Security board finds out
what I’ve done, they’ll be looking for me, too. We’re even now.
Good luck.” Andy turned and walked back to the car and disappeared
down the road. Christopher opened the package and looked inside.
Inside he saw what he felt was man’s last hope: the tape he had
made in the motel. His heart sank. If the tape had aired as planned,
at least people would have a chance. Without it, he felt all hope
gone.

Christopher loaded his
new gear into the trunk of his car. He turned to his mother and said,
“Wish me luck. If I can figure out this puzzle, you’ll see my
picture on the front page of every paper and magazine in the world.”

“I’d just like to
see you do it for yourself, Christopher.”

“Well, I’d better
take off if I’m going to make that flight.”

Mary held Christopher
as close as ever. She seemed to sense that something wasn’t right,
and realized she might not ever see her son again. “I love you,
Christopher.”

“I love you, too,
Mom. I’ll call you when I get settled in.” He climbed into the
car and started the engine.

Mary reminded him as he
began to pull away. “Be careful.”