Intervention: A Science Fiction Adventure (22 page)

He held the water
bottle up high, taking a long drink of the liquid life it contained.
As he lowered the water bottle, he noticed something about the stone
in front of him that looked peculiar. It was almost as if the stone
blocks were becoming lighter in color. He rubbed his eyes and looked
again. They continued to grow lighter, and began to seem to turn
transparent.

I
must be oxygen-deprived,
he thought. Christopher had been
inside the pyramid all day.
No
ventilation and the heat—that must be it. I must be hallucinating
from lack of oxygen.

Now he was able to see
daylight as the stone blocks became hollow shapes, with a barely
visible outline of their once solid shapes, where the stone blocks
had been a few moments before. Christopher tried to bolt for the
entrance where he could get oxygen, but he couldn’t move—not a
muscle.

Suddenly, he noticed
the blocks directly in front of him were moving away from him. Not
just those few blocks, but everything was moving away. Then he
realized that
he
was
what was moving. He was moving backward.
How
can this be?
There was a solid rock behind him. But then
he saw that the stone blocks, which made up the wall behind him, were
now in front of him, or at least the faint outline of those blocks.

After moving what
seemed about thirty feet backwards through what was once solid blocks
of stone, the stone began to return to its normal solidity. He found
himself facing a flat, highly polished wall of stone blocks, not at
all like the aged surfaces of what he had been looking at all day.
The light was somehow different, too—softer and more even with no
shadows.

Christopher had no idea
what had just happened, but he was more concerned with where he was.
He turned around to see the rest of the room and stumbled backwards
as his eyes beheld what was in this chamber with him: a large, about
seventy feet around, saucer-shaped object with a convex top and
bottom.

As awestruck as he was,
Christopher knew instantly it was not from this world. He rapidly
overcame the shock and his ability to reason quickly returned to him.
He noticed that the chamber was illuminated by a soft glow coming
from the alien object. He glanced around the inside of the chamber
itself and saw no openings, doors, or other means to enter or exit.
The chamber appeared to be a perfectly shaped square, about a hundred
feet or so, with the ceiling being about half its width and depth.
Every inch was polished to a mirror-like finish. The only sound was
his movement and breathing. He began to examine the object itself. It
appeared to be made of a metallic substance of some sort, with an
almost mirror-like finish. Looking beneath it, Christopher realized
it was not resting on the floor, but rather hovered nearly a foot off
the surface of the chamber floor. He walked completely around the
object looking for anything at all, but found nothing. It was as
smooth and seamless on one side as on the other. This was it, he
realized—he had found the secret of the great pyramid, or maybe it
had found him. If it had found him, then it was the object’s next
move.

Christopher walked
around the object again and again looking for something that would
give him a place to start. Nothing. Frustrated, he sat down on the
floor with his back against the wall looking at this object—a
perfection of geometry.

“Christopher.” The
soft gentle voice came from nowhere. He jumped to his feet, looking
around frantically. There was no one else inside the chamber; he had
looked around enough to know that for sure.

“Hello?”
Christopher responded.

There was a moment of
silence, then again. “Christopher?” He knew he wasn’t imagining
the voice. It was really saying his name.

“Yes?” he replied.

“Christopher, welcome
to your destiny.”

“Who are you? Show
yourself,” Christopher demanded.

“You’re looking at
me. I’m right in front of you.”

Christopher looked
around again. “Are you inside the metallic object in front of me?”

“It would be more
accurate to say, I am the object in front of you.”

“Are you a living
entity?”

“No. I am what you
would consider a computer.”

“Like no computer I
have ever seen,” Christopher said aloud to himself.

“No, not like the
limited, primitive computers as you know them, but a computer
nonetheless. I am more of what you would think of as artificial
intelligence. I was built, not born, if that helps.”

“Why are you here?”

“That’s a long
story. Perhaps it might be best if you come inside and sit down to
hear it. You would be far more comfortable.”

“How do I get
inside?”

“The same way you
entered this chamber. Please stand still.” Once again everything
became transparent. He was pulled inside the object and, once safely
inside, everything returned to a solid state.

“How do you do that?”
Christopher asked as he looked around at the interior of the craft.

“It’s a dimensional
shift. By shifting you, or anything else, partially into a void
dimension, movement through objects in this dimension then becomes
possible. This is how I am able to be inside the pyramid.”

Christopher continued
looking around. The interior of the craft looked as though it was a
hollow shell. The surface was the same polished metal in appearance.
The only noticeable difference was that the center of the floor where
Christopher stood was flat, making it easier for him to stand.

“Perhaps you would be
more comfortable sitting,” the craft’s voice said. The shape of a
chair rose up out of the floor. Its appearance started out as
polished metal, but then it changed to leather and became a
comfortable chair for Christopher to sit on. The color had even
changed to a soft tan.

“How can you do
that?” Christopher said in amazement.

“I am made up
entirely of what you might think of as a programmable liquid metal.
This material is controlled to a molecular level. It can be formed
into anything you can imagine,” the craft explained.

“This is amazing,”
Christopher exclaimed as he sat in the chair. “It feels just like a
regular leather chair.” At that moment the entire craft seemed to
disappear and Christopher could see the inside of the chamber he had
found the craft in.

“I have made the
entire inside of the craft into a view screen, enabling you to have a
complete view outside,” the craft explained.

“How did you come to
be inside the pyramid?” Christopher asked.

“Thousands of years
ago during a mission of exploration and mapping of this galaxy, my
creators realized the people of this planet were developing
technology faster than they were gaining wisdom. They realized this
was a combination that would someday lead to disaster. Unable to
remain, they developed a plan in which they implanted several of the
natives with a genetically altered DNA that would be passed down
through the generations until, when remotely activated, the next
offspring would possess the truly altered DNA giving that offspring
capabilities far beyond those of their peers. It was felt that living
among his own people as one of them would give better insight than
monitoring could ever provide. I have monitored every broadcast since
the very first radio broadcast. When the situation required, I
activated the DNA in your mother and you, Christopher, are the
result.”

Christopher thought for
a minute. This was upsetting, to say the least, to learn that he was
the result of alien intervention. “I have always known I was ahead
of most people, but, I had no idea why. There is a plan, right now,
to eliminate the majority of the population. I tried to stop it,
unsuccessfully I’m afraid.”

“This is why my
creators left me here. I am to assist you in preventing this
catastrophe. You will find my capabilities quite sufficient to handle
any situation we may encounter. I have become familiar with all of
the earth’s languages and cultures from monitoring all of their
broadcasts. I am up to date on the current level of technologies, as
well as current political situations around the globe. I also
implanted you when you were just a newborn with a monitoring device,
so I also know everything you have been exposed to, including
Operation Down-size. You’re decision and effort to stop it, however
ineffective, was an admirable one.”

“If you’re going to
help me stop this thing, it would help if I were familiar with your
capabilities. How fast, for example, are you capable of traveling?”

“I am able to travel
faster than the speed of light, and nearly the speed of light in the
atmosphere of your planet. I can execute right angle turns or even a
complete reverse of direction with no loss of speed. Don’t worry,
inside you will experience no sensation of movement, or g-forces. I
am also capable of dimensional shifting of myself or other objects or
people. This is how I brought you through the rock and into the
craft. This is also used as part of my stealth mode. In stealth mode,
I am virtually not there, and therefore not visible to sensors or the
naked eye. I also have a wide variety of weapons, such as laser and
particle beams, a sonic pulse weapon, and focal disruption.”

“I have no idea what
that is.”

“Later I will
demonstrate anything you’re not sure of to be sure you have total
understanding. I am also protected by a force field that is capable
of withstanding the force of a nuclear blast.”

Just then a
jumpsuit-like garment came up out of the floor. “I recommend
discarding your present clothing in favor of this suit. It has some
more desirable qualities. It too can project a force field around you
similar to the one I project around this craft, just on a smaller
scale. It is activated automatically whenever you are tense or
nervous by detecting the change in your body chemistry, or it will
activate when it senses anything approaching its proximity. The only
exception to this is if you are running. This will be invaluable if
it should become necessary for you to be outside the craft for any
reason.”

Christopher discarded
his clothing in favor of this new garment. As soon as he placed his
old clothing on the floor, it appeared to sink as if in liquid. As he
donned his new outfit, Christopher asked, “So what else can you
tell me about this suit?”

“It cannot be cut or
torn in any way. It also keeps your body at a comfortable
temperature. It will heat you if it’s cold or cool you when it’s
too hot. It also acts as a sort of two-way telepathic radio. Although
I can monitor you through the implant, the suit allows me to
communicate to you telepathically. In other words, I can talk to you
without others hearing.”

Then the computer said,
“Christopher, I’m picking up something disturbing you should be
aware of. There are men at your mother’s house questioning her
about your whereabouts. If you like, I can give you the audio and a
video projection from your mother’s view.”

“Yes, please.”

At that moment,
Christopher began to hear the conversation, and a portion of the wall
in front of him produced a video image. It was as if his mother’s
eyes were a camera.

The computer explained,
“I also implanted your parents with monitoring devices like the one
I implanted in you. This is what you are seeing.”

“How fast can we get
there?”

“We can be there in
less than thirty seconds.”

“Let’s go.”

The computer engaged
the stealth mode, exited the pyramid, and accelerated to nearly the
speed of light. Christopher continued to monitor the situation until
they arrived. “Is there anything you can do to get rid of them when
we arrive, without hurting them or frightening my mother?”

“I discovered when I
first arrived on your planet, through some basic tests, that a narrow
beam low frequency sonic pulse directed at their abdomen will cause
them to need to relieve themselves quite badly.”

“Perfect.”

“We’re here. Watch
closely. I’ll direct a pulse first to just one of the two men.”
Christopher watched the projection closely as the computer fired a
pulse.

“Mrs. Adams, I don’t
believe you are unaware about the video tape. We were sent here to
find out where Christopher and the videotape are and we’re not
leaving until we do.” Suddenly he was interrupted by the agent who
had received the pulse.

“Excuse me, but could
I use your bathroom?”

The other agent looked
at him, “Do you mind? Now, Mrs. Adams, I don’t want to do this
the hard way, but you’re going to tell me what I want to know.”

Christopher
interrupted. “Pulse the other one now.”

“Done,” the
computer responded.

Realizing his sudden
urge, the other man said, “We’ll be back, and you better have
some answers.”

“Now,” Christopher
said, “wait until they get about, oh, say, a mile down the road
then use whatever the best and most discrete method you can to blow
out one of their tires,” he said, watching as the two men were
forced to relieve themselves in a ditch. Christopher remarked,
“That’ll teach you to stay away from my mother.”

“I think you should
know, Christopher, we’re not the only ones monitoring your mother’s
house.”

“I can’t say I’m
surprised. I know she must be worried about me. Is there some way to
let her know I’m alright?” Christopher asked.

“Yes, but that will
have to wait till later.”

To pass the time,
Christopher continued to learn more about the craft and its
capabilities. “Could you bring my mother here, out of her bed,
while she’s sleeping without waking her up?”

“Yes, but wouldn’t
that be upsetting to her to find herself here?”

“Not if you duplicate
her bedroom, so at first she will think she’s still there. That is
assuming you can create an accurate representation of her bedroom.
Then I can prepare her so she won’t be frightened.”