Parasites Love Earth!, Page 8

  "Put it in me, James," she whispered.

  "I... I can't," said James.

  "You can't?" Julie said. She looked down. After nearly an hour of petting and kissing, James was not erect. In fact, he looked smaller than he had ever been. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she said.

  ********

  They were building an interspatial folding envelope. They would use the Advanced Particle Manipulator at the Oak Ridge facility, with some modification, to open a doorway to a giant black hole, and then encase themselves in the interspatial folding envelope and travel inside the black hole, back in time to the very origins of the universe. Hemrissk had one team working on the particle manipulator, to open the doorway, and another working on the enveloping technology. Work was proceeding at a slow but acceptable pace, in his estimation.

  But Hemrissk noticed that James was increasingly distracted at work. He asked him what the problem was.

  "My wife," said James, and in those two words Hemrissk knew everything.

  "You must understand that your past animal life is no longer relevant," said Hemrissk. "As an animal, you were focused on consumption, nesting, reproducing, and mating, all quite important things as an animal, but as an advanced being, those things are quite behind you now."

  "I know that," said James. "But still... it would be easier if you could accelerate Julie too."

  "What skills does she possess?"

  "She's very bright... for an animal life form," said James, realizing who he was talking to. "She has our highest degrees in chemistry and biology."

  "This project does not require those skills." Hemrissk turned to go.

  James put a gentle hand on Hemrissk's arm. Hemrissk looked at him, and James removed it. "Please?" said James.

  Hemrissk considered for a moment, and nodded. "Bring her here."

  ********

  James had never invited her to his place of work. Never.

  After the incident on the night of their 20th wedding anniversary, neither of them had spoken about it. Impotence was not unheard of, but Julie knew it was a sensitive subject for men. James simply pretended that it didn't happen. But somehow Julie sensed it was more than just impotence, that something fundamental was happening to her husband, something she didn't fully understand.

  And so when James invited her to a party after work, she should have been suspicious. It was so uncharacteristic of him.

  And yet she went.

  But when she got there, there was no party. Just James, a few of his scientist friends, and the mysterious Mr. Hemrissk.

  She listened in silence as Hemrissk explained who he was, what he was doing, and what he had done to James and the others.

  "You... all of you chose this?" she said, staring at the other scientists. There were nine in all in the room. They looked normal enough. Had they all been accelerated?

  "Yes, they all chose it," said Hemrissk smoothly. "And you will too." He stepped forward.

  "James, no," said Julie, taking a step backwards. But James held her tightly, preventing her from retreating. "James, what are you doing?" she cried.

  Hemrissk gently grabbed Julie's head. "You will find this to be a very enlightening experience, I promise you."

  "James, no, don't let-" her voice was cut off as Hemrissk's hands turned into machinery, and the process began.

  James anxiously kept an eye both on his wife and the time elapsed. He wasn't going to let Hemrissk "overaccelerate" Julie as he did Tyson. It was to his relief when Hemrissk finished, some five minutes later.

  "It is done," he said, stepping back.

  "Julie? How do you feel?" James asked.

  Julie blinked, and looked around. She started to speak, stopped, grabbed her head, blinked rapidly, and then said, "James... I have... so many thoughts... so many thoughts... it's amazing! It's spectacular!"

  James smiled and gave her a hug. Hemrissk hid his disapproval. Once he had finished completely accelerating James, such acts of animal appreciation would no longer be of any interest to him.

  ********

  It was only later, when they got home, that Julie understood the full implications of what was going on.

  "You're going to go back to the beginning of the universe's creation?" said Julie.

  "We are," James corrected her. "Isn't that exciting?"

  "Wait a minute. Once you get there, how do you get back?" Julie asked.

  "We'll be travelling in an interspace envelope tethered on a cosmic string in transdimensional space. From there, Hemrissk assures us we can go anywhere our thoughts can take us," said James.

  "And you're travelling into a black hole to get there."

  "Yes," said James. "I thought that was all clear."

  "It is, but I have just one tiny question," said Julie. "If you open a portal to a black hole, what happens to Earth?"

  James opened his mouth, and closed it. He had been so focused on his work, so focused on the specific assignments that Hemrissk had given him, that he had never considered that incidental aspect.

  "Think about it, James!"

  And James did.

  "The Earth will be destroyed, won't it?" Julie said.

  "It... It might," said James. "But we will be safe."

  "We? Does that include your children, James?"

  "Genetic reproduction," said James dismissively.

  "Is that where evolution has taken you? To dismissing your own children?" Julie asked. "Hemrissk may not have evolved me as much as he has you, James, but I still care about our children. I don't want them to be swallowed up in a black hole. Come to think of it, I don't want all life on Earth to be destroyed by a black hole, either."

  "Let's talk to Hemrissk," said James. "Surely there must be something we're overlooking."

  But there wasn't.

  When they went to the lab the next day, Hemrissk looked surprised by their question.

  "Wasn't it entirely obvious from the moment I explained it to you?" he asked.

  James and Julie shook their heads.

  "The Earth will be swallowed up by the black hole, of course," said Hemrissk. "It is a regrettable side effect, but quite necessary, I assure you, in order to establish a connection."

  Julie looked around at the other scientists, the scientists who Hemrissk had accelerated to various stages of future mental development. "Did all of you know this? Is this fine with all of you, wiping out the human race?"

  "The human race never produced much of consequence. It will not be missed," Hemrissk assured her.

  "The human race produced us," said Julie.

  "I produced you," said Hemrissk, with a hard edge in his voice.

  "No, I won't let you do this," said Julie. "I won't." She turned, and started to go to the exit.

  "Stop," said Hemrissk.

  Julie stopped in her tracks.

  "Come here," said Hemrissk.

  Julie slowly turned around and went to stand by Hemrissk.

  "Is there nothing I can say to change your mind?" Hemrissk asked.

  "About destroying the entire human race?" And Julie actually gave a bitter laugh. "I don't think so."

  "Very well. I admire your integrity, if not your intellect," said Hemrissk. And then he gave the smallest twitch of his head, and Julie collapsed to the ground.

  "Julie!" James cried, running to her side. He felt for a pulse. "She's dead."

  "I am sorry," said Hemrissk. "But she was going to expose us."

  "You killed Julie," said James, and there were tears in his eyes.

  "I wouldn't have expected that reaction from you, James," said Hemrissk. "You are far, far evolved beyond the days of taking a mate and engaging in outdated reproduction. You should no longer even feel the need to insert your genetic material into a female's body cavity. When I am done with you, you will be able to reproduce by pure thought, by pure energy!"

  "No," said James, shaking his head. "No."

  Hemrissk reached out with his hands. "Let me convince you otherwise."

  ********<
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  "A dead scientist?" said Jack.

  "At the Oak Ridge Particle Research Facility," said Sam. "The incident report said he fell into the particle stream."

  "Ouch," said Jack. "I hope those places have good railings." He looked at Sam. "But there's something more to this, right?"

  "The initial reports from the coroner raised some concerns, so we were called in to give a second opinion," said Sam. "Doctor Whistler did an analysis, and said that the corpse showed signs of genetic acceleration."

  "Genetic acceleration?"

  "His DNA looked like it had been accelerated a million years or more into the future of human evolution."

  "That's odd," said Jack, toying with his datapad. "Do particle streams do that to human flesh?"

  "No, sir," said Sam. "We think Dr. Tyson was murdered, and his body inserted into the particle stream to cover up what was really done to him. Dunlop 4 says that one of the parasites we are searching for has the ability to evolve people rapidly."

  "Evolving people? That doesn't seem very parasitical to me," said Jack.

  "It distorts human development. And the creature that does this doesn't exactly ask for volunteers," said Sam.

  "Yes, I remember reading the briefing about that one," said Jack. "Himrisk."

  "Hemrissk," said Sam.

  "Sounds Swedish," said Jack. "How dangerous could he be?"

  "Dunlop 4 says that Hemrissk has advanced himself a million years in his race's evolutionary history. He has the powers of telepathy and telekinesis."

  "Sounds formidable. How do you and Number Four plan to stop someone who can move objects with his mind?" Jack asked. Jack called Dunlop "Number Four", partially as a joke, but also there was something else attached to it. Jealousy?

  "We don't exactly have a plan," said Sam.

  "You're looking for a guy who can move objects with his mind. Objects including you, I might add, and Number Four has no idea how to stop him?"

  Sam grimaced. "I didn't say Dunlop had no idea how to stop him. I just said we didn't have a full, finalized plan."

  "I stand corrected," said Jack. He paused a moment, and then gave Sam a sly glance. "Are you two becoming an item?" he asked.

  "Sir?"

  "You've been spending a lot of time together," said Jack.

  "We're working together, sir. Just like you and I," said Sam. She blushed as she said it, realizing there could be a double meaning.

  "Just like you and I," said Jack. "I actually haven't seen a lot of you since old Number Four showed up."

  "Then come with us to Tennessee," Sam offered

  "No, it sounds like you kids can handle 'old super mind powers man' yourselves," said Jack dismissively. He held up the datapad. "I have my own work cut out for me. 200 leads on parasites. If they're as useless as the last 200, I'm going to be running around, accomplishing nothing for days, while you two steal all the glory."

  Sam suddenly realized that Jack was actually jealous of Dunlop. He didn't seem to be joking. There was an embarrassed silence. Then Jack turned to her and waved, without making eye contact. "Go. Go now with Number Four. Come back with your shield, or on it."

  "Yes, sir," said Sam.

  ********

  "Hemrissk does not view himself as evil," said Dunlop. They were sitting on a stratoliner, heading for Nashville. "In fact, there was a spirited debate over whether to classify him as a parasite at all."

  "Really?"

  "He doesn't take things from people. But he does distort them. He changes them. He claims that he is advancing them, talking them to the logical endpoint of their evolution, one where the brain is extremely advanced, and emotions and feelings are pushed aside," said Dunlop 4.

  "It sounds a little like you," said Sam.

  "I do have feelings," said Dunlop 4, smiling slightly at her. "But I am also programmed to do a job."

  "Programmed?"

  "Compelled," said Dunlop. "I have the memories of the original Dunlop, and like him, the same motivation to fight the parasites. But in me, as well as the other clones, that motivation has been strengthened."

  "So that it comes before everything else. Like feelings for others."

  "Yes," said Dunlop 4.

  Sam looked at him with pity. She abruptly changed the subject. "Are you saying that Hemrissk doesn't truly evolve people?"

  "He does," said Dunlop. "But there is more than one path to evolution. What people are experiencing are his own beliefs of how a race should evolve. Their natural evolution may be quite different. And of course, it would occur over a long period of time, giving people time to adjust. When you give someone a million years of evolution in a few minutes, it can have devastating effects on the mind, especially for..."

  "Less advanced races?" Sam smiled.

  Dunlop smiled back at her. "I don't wish to offend you, Major Arden."

  "Sam," she said, touching his hand. "Call me Sam. Or Samantha." And then she thought of Jack. If he wanted to be jealous, let him!

  "Which name do you prefer?" Dunlop 4 asked.

  "My father wanted a boy, so called me Sam. But Samantha is a woman's name."

  "Then I will call you Samantha, because you are most definitely a woman," said Dunlop 4. It was a statement of fact, and yet he said it in a way that made Sam blush and shift uncomfortably.

  She strived to change the subject. "So how do we stop Hemrissk? You told me he has impressive mental powers. How did you stop him last time?"

  "Last time," said Dunlop 4, getting a gleam in his eye. "Last time, he was distracted." More, he wouldn't say.

  When they arrived at the facility, the first thing Sam realized was how big it was. "There are 12 wings, with over 400 scientists. Let's split up, we can cover more ground."

  Dunlop 4 nodded. "If you sense Hemrissk, do not engage him. Come back and get me first."

  "I will," said Sam. She checked her blaster in her holster. "Hey, take care of yourself, Dunlop 4."

  "And you, Samantha," said Dunlop 4.

  ********

  It had been three days since Julie had died.

  Once Hemrissk had given James the final acceleration treatment, he realized that his unhappiness had been irrational. Julie had been his gender counterpart, back from a time in his animal life which was now obsolete. The loss of her was regrettable, but given the cosmic importance of his life, and what he was about to achieve, her loss was little more than a footnote in what he was about to accomplish.

  Or so James told himself. But as he slept at home, alone, night after night, he found his advanced mind drifting back to thoughts of her. James no longer had feelings, Hemrissk assured him of that, but he still had memories.

  And his memories of Julie plagued him. The first time they met. The first time she smiled at him. Their first date. Their wedding. And then their honeymoon--full of physical pleasures that should mean nothing to James now. And yet he remembered and savored every detail in his mind.

  The birth of Brenda. Then Troy. And then Annaliese. And then there was Julie herself. Always greeting him at home with a smile and a kiss. Asking about his day. For years it had meant nothing to him. And now it should mean nothing to him.

  And yet it did.

  Doubts began to creep into his mind about the project. About the annihilation of the planet Earth. It shouldn't have. None of the other scientists were concerned, and they were all less advanced than he was--only he, James, had been given the full 1,000,000 years treatment that Hemrissk had promised. His mind was now 40 times faster. His arms and legs were thinner but more dexterous. He was told in time that he would develop telekinetic and telepathic skills.

  And yet, James continued to wonder. They had the ability to destroy the Earth. But did they have the right? Was humanity really a lower life form that merited no more consideration than an ant hill?

  Those thoughts and concerns only grew in his mind as the project neared completion. The Interspace Envelope had been completed two days ago and tested. That only left the gateway. They we
re doing finishing work on modifying the projection aperture now. Hemrissk thought they could be ready by tomorrow.

  Ready to experience the birth of the universe. In his old, animal mind, he would have been elated. In his new, evolutionary advanced mind, James wasn't sure what to think.

  ********

  "Can I help you?" a man smiled at her.

  Samantha Arden smiled back at him. After walking around and seeing all these dour scientists, it was refreshing to see a friendly face.

  "You're with the Survey Service, aren't you?" said the man, looking at her uniform. Sam was wearing her formal blue jacket and matching skirt outfit. Even though she was attached to HomePlanet security, she was officially still a member of the Service.

  "Actually, with HomePlanet security," said Sam. She had spent a wearying two hours reaching out with her ESPer powers to try and sense Hemrissk. All she had detected was the very ordinary minds of scientists after covering five wings of the research facility. As she entered the sixth, the Reactor Wing, this friendly man had greeted her.

  "Carl Denning," said the man, extending a hand. She shook it back, casually scanning him. Nothing unusual.

  "Samantha Arden," said Sam.

  "Is there something I can help you with, Samantha Arden?" Denning asked.

  "No... I'm just conducting a routine security sweep," said Sam.

  "Using your ESPer skills, no doubt," said Denning.

  Sam quickly scanned him again. Still nothing. "How did you know that?"

  "You're looking for someone," said Denning. "You won't find him in this wing."

  "How would you know?" Sam asked, taking a step back.

  Denning's eyes grew powerful. "You checked this wing. There was no one here of interest."

  "Did I?" said Sam.

  "I just met you on the way out. You checked the wing, but found nothing of interest," said Denning.

  Sam looked confused for a moment, then looked up at Denning. "I... I guess I didn't." She smiled at him. "It was nice meeting you."