Intervention: A Science Fiction Adventure (23 page)

“Certainly. She won’t
know the difference until you tell her,” The computer responded.

“As soon as she’s
asleep, we can bring her aboard with the interior made to look like
her bedroom. Then I can explain everything to her.”

“Everything? Is that
a good idea?”

“She can handle it,
and I can trust her not to tell a soul. Besides, she is my mother.
Let’s give reshaping the interior to her bedroom a try.”

With that, the computer
transformed the interior of the craft to an exact duplicate of Mary’s
bedroom. “Incredible!” Christopher responded. “If I didn’t
know better, I’d swear I was in her room. This is great. She’ll
feel right at home. I guess all we have to do is wait for her to go
to sleep.”

The computer asked, “If
you like, I can easily induce sleep.”

“No, we can wait.
She’s had a rough day. She’ll be worried about me, but she’ll
go to sleep soon enough.”

A few hours later, Mary
grew tired and finally went to bed. She was soon fast asleep.

“Christopher, your
mother’s asleep now.”

“Good. Make the
transformation to her bedroom.”

The craft turned its
interior to an exact duplicate of Mary’s bedroom. The computer
shifted Mary and brought her gently into the duplicate of her bed
inside the craft. Christopher looked at her for a moment. She looked
so peaceful, he thought, he almost hated to wake her.

“Mom?” he said
quietly. “Mom, it’s Christopher.” Mary came out of her sleep,
opened her eyes, and saw Christopher.

“Christopher…I
didn’t hear you come in. I thought you were in Egypt. When did you
get back?”

Christopher just
smiled. “Just now, Mom. I had to come see you so you would know I
was okay.”

Mary looked at his face
with eyes full of motherly love. “There were some men here today
asking a lot of questions. Are you in any kind of trouble?”

“It’s nothing for
you to worry about, Mom. I left the agency and they don’t know
where I am, and that kind of worries them. Listen, Mom, I sort of
solved the puzzle of the great pyramid.”

“That’s wonderful.
I knew if anybody could it would be you. What did you find?”

“What I found will
come as a big shock to you. I want to show you, but I don’t want
you to be afraid. You know I would never let any harm come to you.”

“I know that,” Mary
replied.

“Brace yourself, Mom.
Right now we are not in your bedroom. You’re in an alien spacecraft
made to look like your bedroom.”

“I think you were out
in the sun too long. I certainly know my own bedroom. Now really
Christopher, you know I love you and trust you more than anyone, but
well, I just don’t know what to say.”

“All right, Mom, I’ll
show you. Stand up next to me and try to stay calm.” Mary climbed
out of bed and stood next to Christopher. “Computer, return the
interior to its original configuration.” With that, what Mary
thought was her bedroom transformed back into its original empty
metallic space. Mary’s eyes grew large as she clung to Christopher
for safety. “It’s all right, Mom, I’m still right here.”
Christopher said reassuringly. After a moment or two, Mary had calmed
down a little.

“You’ve always been
full of surprises, Christopher, but this most definitely takes the
cake.”

“Mom, it’s
important to me for you to know I’m alright. Nothing can harm me
inside this craft. I found out our government is up to no good and
it’s up to me to stop them. I don’t have time to explain
everything right now, but you know I’ll do the right thing.”

Mary looked at
Christopher and said, “You always do. That’s one thing I know I
can always count on.”

“One more thing, Mom.
It’s very important that you never breathe a word of this to
anyone. Also, the agency has the house bugged and the phone tapped as
well. So be careful what you say.”

“I will, son.”

“I have to go now,
but I’ll be back. If you ever need me for any reason, just call my
name. Wherever you are, I’ll come.”

Mary gave Christopher a
big hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Now close your eyes and count to
ten and when you open them, you’ll be back in your bedroom.” As
soon as she closed her eyes, the craft shifted Mary back into her
bedroom.

Mary opened her eyes to
find herself back in her room. Going right back to sleep was out of
the question. Mary went to the kitchen and boiled some water. She put
a tea bag into a cup and set it on the table. When the kettle
whistled, she poured some hot water into the cup and dipped the tea
bag a few times. Adding a spoonful of sugar, she stirred the tea
while gazing off into space out the window. As she reflected on what
she had just experienced, she thought to herself,
How’s
he going to top this one?

“I need some time to
think of a way to stop Operation Down-size. Let’s go back into the
pyramid.” Christopher said. The craft was instantly underway, and
in no time was back inside the pyramid. After a short while,
Christopher realized he wasn’t thinking clearly. He thought perhaps
a change of surroundings might help. He asked the computer, “How
about a change of scenery?”

“What would you like?
I can duplicate any environment,” the computer responded.

“Actually, I was
thinking more of the real thing. Would I be correct in assuming that
you can detect life forms?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go somewhere
in western American. Somewhere with a mild climate and nobody around,
so I can get out and walk around a little. It always seems to help my
thought process for some reason.”

“We are in route. I
am detecting an area in Montana with no people nearby. It’s in the
foothills, and you should find the climate quite comfortable.”

“That sounds
perfect.”

A few moments later,
the craft set down in a sandy clearing, hovering a foot or so off the
ground as it did inside the pyramid. Christopher said, “Would you
shift me outside?” The computer did and then Christopher turned and
looked at the shiny metallic craft as it sat in the open. It was
still difficult to believe, even seeing the craft hovering just a few
feet in front of him.

“Computer, do you
detect any drinkable water nearby?”

“Yes. There is a
stream about twenty yards due west.” Christopher looked up at the
sky to see the position of the morning sun, then walked in the
direction he deduced to be west. When he came upon the stream, he sat
on a large boulder on the edge of the stream. He thought of the
things he had been told about Operation Down-size and how they
planned to carry out their mission. He would have to figure out a way
to stop the submarine launched missiles, the land-based missiles, and
the aircraft that would be dropping their payloads as well. He felt
that with the help of the craft, with its advanced technology and
incredible speed capabilities, it could be done. The timing of
stopping them was critical.

“Christopher,” the
computer’s voice sounded in his head. This must be what it meant by
telepathic communication.

“Yes,” he thought,
testing to see if the computer could hear him as well.

“I’m monitoring a
very critical situation that has developed aboard the space shuttle
now in orbit. I think you should return at once.”

“Yes,” Christopher
responded. Much to his surprise, he was instantly being shifted as
the craft moved closer to him in order to expedite their departure.
Once inside, Christopher inquired, “What’s the situation?”

“While monitoring
NASA communications, I discovered that your friend Cindy’s safety
tether was somehow severed during a spacewalk. She has begun to drift
away from the shuttle into deep space. Here’s the current
transmission.”

The interior was
instantly filled with the radio communications between the space
shuttle and mission control in Houston, Texas.

“Roger, Houston.
That’s six, two, two, seven, four. I repeat, that’s six, two,
two, seven, four.”

“Copy that, Columbia.
Six, two, two, seven, four. Stand by.”

A short static filled
pause followed, then “Houston, Columbia.”

“Columbia, Houston.
Go ahead.”

“Yes, Scott says it
looks like the tether must have got caught on a sharp piece of the
damaged satellite we retrieved. It cut the tether like a knife.
Over.”

“Roger, Columbia.
Copy that. We’re working on the fuel figures now. Stand by
Columbia.”

“Roger, Houston.”

Another pause in the
radio communication between the base and the space shuttle gave
Christopher the opportunity to ask the computer, “What do you make
of the situation?”

“It doesn’t look
good, I’m afraid. They’re trying to figure out if they have
enough fuel on board to alter the shuttle’s course to retrieve
Cindy and still have enough fuel left for their re-entry maneuvers.”

“How do you see it?”
Christopher asked.

“From what I’ve
heard, combined with her distance and direction from the shuttle, at
the rate at which she is drifting away, things don’t look too
promising for her safe recovery.”

Just then the radio
crackled, “Columbia, Houston.”

“Houston, Columbia.
Go ahead.”

“We need an update on
Cindy. See if you can give us a more accurate fix on her position
relative to the shuttle. Over.”

“Roger, Houston.
Stand by.” Once again the crackle of silence filled the interior of
the craft.

Christopher feared the
worst. He strongly suspected Cindy had talked to her fellow
astronauts, one or more of them being a part of Operation Down-size.
Astronauts didn’t have heart attacks, overdose on drugs, or drown
in their bathtubs. This would be the most logical way to cause her
demise. If they cut her tether while on a spacewalk, she would drift
hopelessly off into the depths of space and become no threat to the
operation; just another tragic loss—a glitch in the system of space
exploration. She would become a hero and quickly be forgotten as the
threat she posed disappeared with her. It all fit. Waiting till the
end of the mission, they would have already expended most of their
fuel, having only enough to land safely, leaving her to drift
forever. If only his tape had aired, perhaps she wouldn’t be in
this situation in the first place.

“We’ve got to save
her,” Christopher stated. “We have to,” he repeated.

“There is a way,”
the computer responded.

Just then the radio
signal filled the interior of the craft. “Columbia, Houston.”

“Houston, Columbia.
Go ahead.”

“We’ve gone over
the figures you’ve given us, and it looks like if you try to
retrieve Cindy, there won’t be enough fuel left for the necessary
course corrections for a safe landing. Over.”

“Houston, how about a
not-so-safe landing?”

“Columbia, I’m
afraid you wouldn’t even have enough left for a crash and burn. We
are, however, checking to see if it may be possible to retrieve Cindy
and then dock with the Russian space station, Mir. We’ll let you
know as soon as we know.”

“Roger, Houston.
You’d better figure it out fast, because she’s not getting any
closer. Over.”

“Roger that,
Columbia. We should have the data shortly. Over.”

Again static silence.
“Could they do that?” Christopher asked.

“If they started
after Cindy at this moment, burning enough fuel to reach her before
her oxygen is depleted, then used their remaining fuel to slow their
orbit, they would run out of oxygen at least six hours before Mir
would catch up to them. Neither idea has any chance of success.”

“It looks like they
planned it well.”

“I understand,” the
computer replied.

Just then the monitored
radio frequencies came to life again. “Columbia, Houston.”

“Houston, Columbia.
Go ahead.”

“I’ve just been
handed the figures and I’m afraid Mir is out of the question. You’d
run out of oxygen long before it could catch up with you.”

“Houston, what if we
cut our oxygen consumption to bare minimum? Over.”

“Columbia, that idea
was figured into the calculations. There just isn’t enough fuel or
oxygen reserves.”

“Houston, that just
isn’t good enough. We can’t just sit here and watch her drift
into space and do nothing.”

Just then Cindy’s
voice could be heard. “There’s no point in taking the rest of you
with me.”

“Cindy, don’t talk.
Save your oxygen. We’ll figure something out. You just hang in
there.”

“It’s all right,”
Cindy replied. “Unless you’ve got a miracle up your sleeve, it
doesn’t sound like there’s much any of you can do. At least I got
up here. If I’ve got to go, I’d rather go up here amidst the
stars.” There was an eerie silence.

“How do we go about
it?” Christopher asked.

“We have to wait
until she runs out of oxygen and passes out so she doesn’t say
anything over the radio to expose us. Then we shift her inside and
revive her.”

Christopher thought for
a moment, “We will have to change the interior so as not to
frighten her, like we did with my mother.”

“I can transform the
interior to look like the inside of the shuttle.”

Christopher thought
again, “No, that wouldn’t work. She would know it wasn’t right
because how would I explain my presence. No, it has to be something
else.” He thought for a few more minutes. “How much time do we
have before she runs out of oxygen?”

“Approximately seven
minutes,” the computer responded.

“I’ve got it. A
hospital room. It would be a natural place to regain consciousness.
Can you make me look like a doctor?”

“Yes. Good idea. I’ll
position us to shift her in. They won’t have a visual on her then.
I’ll shift her out of the space suit directly into the hospital
bed. That way they won’t lose sight of her suit drifting away. I’m
not in position to retrieve her. We just have to wait for her to
drift to us.”