The Hum (10 page)

CHAPTER 17

“This town is one of many that have been experiencing this strange humming noise. In 1977, a British newspaper received upwards of 800 letters complaining of sleep loss, dizziness and shortness of breath, headaches, anxiety, irritability, deteriorating health, and inability to read due to an incessant humming sound. The British humming was never tied to the one here in Taos, but I think there’s definitely some sort of connection there.” Amanda paused for a drink of water, and to adjust the pillows supporting her back. She winced at the pain in her abdomen, as she did so.

She continued, “It seems that many of the locals here in Taos banded together in 1993 and petitioned Congress to investigate the mysterious humming sound, with hopes of helping them find the source. Nothing conclusive came from that investigation, but one prevailing theory holds that the hum was created by a Top Secret military communications system used to communicate with submarines.”

Changing gears momentarily, Amanda said, “Can you help me move this blasted pillow up? It’s stuck underneath my backside, and I can’t lift my body without pulling a stitch loose.”

“Of course.” Kevin replied, making his way over next to Amanda to provide his assistance.

Even with his mind completely focused on what she was telling him about Taos and the hum, Kevin couldn’t help but take notice of Amanda’s shapely figure as he pulled her pillow free from her back side. Her strength and determination only added to her appeal. For a brief second, he pictured her in a tight skirt and tank, sporting high heels and throwing back a beer. In his mind, that was sexy. Amanda was…

Once her pillow was back in the right spot, Amanda said, “According to the report, hearers say the noise begins abruptly and never abates. It interferes with sleep and is more noticeable inside a house or car than outside. Some even went as far as to describe it as sounding like a diesel engine idling outside their home or place of work. Since it has proven undetectable by microphones or VLF antennae, its source and nature are still a mystery.”

Still coming out of his fantasy, Kevin moved back over to his seat and said, “This thing sounds kind of spooky. Leave it to me to move to a town where people are hearing voices.”

“Not voices, humming noises. Quite the difference there and it’s not everyone.”

“I know. It just sounded better to say voices instead.”

“Have you ever heard it before, Kevin?”

“What? Me? Have I heard the humming?” Kevin stalled, surprised at being put on the spot.

“Yes, you. I never heard it when I lived here, but that doesn’t mean it’s not real.”

“No, I can’t say that I have.” Kevin said, lying. He just wasn’t ready to put that much out there for Amanda to dice up. He imagined her tossing each occurrence up in the air and slicing through it with the precision of Japanese chef.

Amanda continued, “Even though we might be in the majority around here, the hums presence is irrefutable. Anyhow, a small band of hearers of this strange hum got together around 1993 and petitioned Congress to investigate the phenomena. This led to Congress directing scientists and observers from some of the most prestigious research institutes around the country to look into the mysterious Taos hum. The team consisted of a dozen investigators, such as Joe Mullins from the University of New Mexico and Horace Poteet of Sandia National Laboratories, who also happened to write the team’s final report. Some research organizations from New Mexico were also involved in the investigation—Phillips Air Force Laboratory and the Los Alamos National Laboratory just to name a few. In order to alleviate concerns that the hum might have been caused by the Department of Defense, the investigation was conducted in the open, involving a wide range of subjects.”

After another gulp of water, Amanda continued, “The first thing that the investigators did was interview people claiming to have heard the strange hum, to try to determine its nature: the sound it made, its frequency, timing and the effects it had on those who heard it. Next the team planned to survey residents of Taos and the surrounding communities to determine how widespread the hum was. Finally, the team tried to isolate and determine the cause of the hum. Surprisingly, the team of investigators didn’t go into this with the mindset of disproving the hum’s existence— there was a generally clear understanding that something strange was happening here, but just exactly what that was, is still to be determined.”

“I’m surprised the locals around here wanted the government poking around in their business.”

“From what I read in the report, many of the townspeople weren’t exactly friendly to the investigators, and some were downright hostile. One of the investigators even reported he was met at the front door of a few homes by shotgun wielding patrons who forcibly escorted them off their property. In the end, I think the ones experiencing this thing were just scared and wanted some answers. It sounds like it divided the town for a while, at least until the ‘hearers’ moved away.”

“What? They all moved away from the area?” Kevin asked surprised.

“I know, it sounds a little fishy to me too. You might not be too happy with me, but I did a little looking into your family also, Kevin.”

“You did? Why?”

“Just trying to make sure I covered all my bases. You insisted on staying around to help look after me, so I thought it best I knew your background.”

“Then you know all about the death of my brother, Wayne?” Kevin asked, hoping to steer clear of his wife and kids.

“I’m sorry you lost him at such a young age. It’s kind of wild how we both lost our older siblings, but to me, Jordan kind of died after she was raped; she was a different girl after that.”

A little frustrated to learn Amanda was snooping into his past, Kevin said, “So what else did you find out, Detective Billingsley?”

“That your father was part of that investigation, that he was one of the original hearers.”

Shocked, Kevin said, “What? He was? He never mentioned anything about it to us.” For the next few minutes, he wracked his brain, trying to remember life with his father before Wayne died—
was murdered.
He knew his father often complained of headaches, but he’d never mentioned anything about the hum. Had he kept it from him all this time?

”Anything else?” Kevin asked.

“Other than your move to Michigan, and your parents’ deaths years later, that about covers it.”

Kevin began to wonder why Amanda hadn’t mentioned the other murders. Were they still on his record? Had Father Gregory pulled more strings for him? He also couldn’t believe his good ole dad was a hearer too. He began to regret not mentioning the hum to him, not telling him about Wayne’s violent behavior during their younger years.

“Mind if I switch back to the investigation here in

Taos?”

“You’re the investigator.” Kevin said, still feeling a tinge of frustration towards Amanda for snooping into his past.

Unfazed by Kevin’s words, Amanda said, “The initial investigation focused on ten hearers, and quickly found that there were key facts surrounding the hum: it was persistent, only a small number of people heard it, and the sound was extremely low on the frequency scale. It ranged somewhere between 30 and

80Hz. Of course, there were differences in what people thought the hum sounded like: some compared it to the low rumbling of a truck, some claimed it was audibly speaking to them, others claimed it sounded like a steady pulsing. They also learned that the sound wasn’t limited just to the area around Taos, but also in Britain and other places around the world, as I mentioned earlier.”

“Is this story going anywhere, because it sounds like a bunch of technical mumbo jumbo to me.”

“Be patient. I’m getting there. Some of the hearers claimed the hum caused dizziness, insomnia, pressure on the ears similar to traveling through the mountains, headaches and even nose bleeds. According to the August 23
rd
, 1993 Taos Hum Investigation informal report, most hearers initially experienced the hum with an abrupt beginning, as if some device were switched on. This is why many of the hearers believed there was a connection between the hum, the military installations in and around New Mexico, and the Department of Defense. There was also a theory that the hum was caused by the U. S. Navy’s Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) stations in northern Michigan.”

“Did you say northern Michigan? What part?” Kevin asked, wondering if there was a connection to his father’s desire to move there. At the time, he’d thought it strange his old man would settle down in the north, after being born in and living in the heat for most of his life.

“It didn’t say. Why…? Oh, I understand. You lived in Michigan after you left here. I never made that connection.”

“So, let me get this straight. The entire town is part of some military experiment? Will we all turn into zombies here soon?” Kevin tried making light of the situation, because truth be told he was having a hard time understanding it all. He seriously began to wonder if his father and maybe everyone else involved were in on the experiment for the military. Was he also part of the experiment? Had they injected him with something to make him kill his brother and the others?

Continuing, Amanda said, “Hey, anything’s possible, but that’s not what I believe. Can I finish now?” “You’ve got the floor, but could you at least throw a

few more interesting facts in every now and then? The technical stuff is killing me.”

“How about I throw my cup at your head? Would that keep you awake?”

“Uh, that’s not necessary. I’m all ears, Miss Billingsley.”

“Thank you. The investigation ended up surveying over 1,440 residents, leading the team to extrapolate that roughly 2% of the Taos population actually heard the hum, while everyone else did not. With such a large number of hearers, they focused on external possibilities for generation of the low frequency hum. To make a long story short, and to keep you from falling asleep, some believe the key to understanding the mysterious Taos Hum may be hidden in a technology invented by Dr. Patrick Flanagan, called the NeurophoneTM. He came up with it, when he was just fourteen years old.”

Kevin was having trouble focusing. The hum, the murders, the move to Michigan—they were all a little too convenient. What was the tie, he wondered.

“The NeurophoneTM was developed based on an understanding of sound transfer using different “hearing” pathways to the brain. The standard sound measuring and diagnostic equipment used today would be ineffective in locating the source of our hum. Patrick Flanagan’s NeurophoneTM is a low voltage, high frequency, amplitude modulated radio oscillator. It acts on the skin of the listener by converting radio waves into a neural modulated signal that bypasses the cranial hearing nerve and transmits intelligence directly into the brain. In other words, the NeurophoneTM allows the listener to hear things without using the ear canal or the bones and nerves to do so.

“Sounds like a pretty amazing machine, if it works. But I still have to ask the question: What bearing does it have on the way people are acting here in Taos?” Kevin asked, still focused on his father’s possible involvement, the headaches, and the
other
things he associated with the sound.

“Even though the findings of the investigation were inconclusive even with the use of the NeurophoneTM, the report got me thinking about the people that were interviewed. I decided to do a little snooping around, and you won’t believe what I found.”

“Is this your way of keeping me in suspense? Well it’s working. Tell me already.”

“My, my, you are an impatient one, aren’t you? Everyone that heard the strange hum is either dead, in jail, or in a mental institute. And none of them still reside in the great town of Taos. I’m not sure what this thing is, but I can tell you it’s causing people to do some pretty crazy things.”

“Are you suggesting that the hum is causing people to...?”

The door suddenly opened, and in walked the extra pleasant nurse from the front desk. “What are you doing in here, Mr. Black?”

“I…I just stopped in to see Miss Billingsley.” Kevin replied caught off guard.

“Only family can be in here, and since you’re not, you need to leave.”

“It’s okay, Nurse. He’s a good friend of mine.”

“Be that as it may, he still needs to leave. We can’t have visitors here at all hours of the day, especially ones that sneak in.”

“And why is that, Nurse? Is it because I’ve been asking too many questions around town? Is that it? Is Judd’s family getting a little nervous? Well they should be. I won’t stop until I find out who’s responsible for Jordan’s murder.”

“Don’t make me call security, Miss Billingsley. He needs to go now, and if you keep it up, I will be forced to give you a sedative to calm you down.”

“Go ahead and try it!” Amanda said, daring the nurse.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Hold up. Stop just a minute. Look, I’ll leave.” Kevin said to the nurse. To Amanda, he said, “It’s alright. Just keep calm and do what they say. You’ll be out of here soon.”

“If they come at me with another needle, I can’t

make any promises.” Amanda replied defiantly.

As Kevin turned to leave, the nurse said, “Don’t come back here again, Mr. Black. If I catch you sneaking back into this room, I’ll have to bring in Sheriff Bowman.”

“That’s nice. The Sheriff and I have been getting pretty close as of late. We’re having tea and biscuits later this evening.”