The Adventures of Deacon Coombs (8 page)

“Now this is the most believable lead yet.” Deacon perked up, but not without his mind filling with uneasiness.

“Unfortunately, Deacon, this is the easiest way out but the most difficult to prove. If aliens are already here among us and have the power to bend Vesper waves, make people commit suicide, hide themselves from detection, and influence trial outcomes, then we are doomed. If they are among us now, you have the impossible task of finding them, identifying them, and advising us on their weakness so we can attack or contain. This will be your greatest case ever!” Deacon sat attentively, believing that Landrew’s reference to finding aliens could expose his own weaknesses.

“Finally, for the safety of our people, for the sake of the future of the Alliance, you must investigate… the members of the High Council. Maybe Geor and Como were killed for something that they discovered about one of us. Maybe there is a touch of madness among us. Or maybe we are the first targets of an invasion.”

Deacon smiled. “Well, this makes my task easier, for I intended to do just that.”

Landrew replied, “Have fun with our checkered backgrounds. Deacon, all the information that you require is in the History Archives Library and at your complete disposal, including copies of all of your works. No file is too confidential, no transcript denied, and no request withheld. You have the highest security clearance ever given to a public resident.”

“Permission from a potential madman?”

“Correct again,” Landrew said with a hearty laugh. “The entire history of all mankind wherever he dwells, whenever he has been documented, is at your disposal. To aid you in your research, we have entrusted to you the top-of-the-line Owlers. They are called Gem and Jim. Their three major functions are performed to perfection. Firstly, they will protect you from all harm and will kill offenders to accomplish this. Secondly, calling them efficient researchers would be an understatement, since they research and assimilate data at light speed. Finally, they are expert navigators to travel with you and protect you wherever your clues lead you—even to Nix!”

Deacon sat rigidly with an astonished glare. “Travel? Nix? I… I… I will not leave Earth.” There was an edge in the room as he rose and stood nose-to-nose with Landrew. Time passed. “Do they cook?”

His query broke the tension. “Best cooks in the galaxy, Mr. Coombs. The next time that I see you, I figure you will have gained twenty pounds.”

“Ask them to come in.”

“What makes you so sure that they are nearby?”

“Where else would they be if their primary goal is to protect me? I can only presume that they are doing their job; I presume that they are outside.” Landrew signaled, and two humanoid specimens entered. They had identical six-foot frames with lifelike hands and faces. They were trim in build. Their stares were expressionless, with glassy eyes peering out from sandy, tanned faces. Their movements were graceful, fluid. One wore a blue strap over the shoulder; the other had a red belt around the waist.

The one with the blue strap, dark green eyes, and slick black hair spoke first. “Villya, I am Jim, the latest of the line of modern security Owlers. Let me take this opportunity to introduce my partner, Gem.” Jim’s voice was deep and his hands were animated upon speaking. The reply from the other was smoother, with a slightly higher pitch.

“Greetings. I too look forward to service under you, Deacon Coombs. We are equally efficient, here to obey your commands.” Gem had platinum short hair and sparkling blue eyes.

“But I was the last one off the assembly line,” Jim said.

Deacon grinned and looked at Landrew. “An assembler with a sense of humor.” He then directed his attention to the Owlers. “Yes, yes. I am confident that you will perform up to your expectations. Now, I still have discussions with Landrew, so I would ask you to wait outside, please.” The Owlers obeyed him without hesitation.

“That wasn’t necessary,” Landrew said, “as they maintain strictest confidentiality and cannot be influenced. They will be your most trusted allies on this quest. Emotions do not figure into their analyses.”

His hand under his chin, Deacon looked at Landrew. “A test of ultimate loyalty. To you? Or to me? They passed the test. You stated that the Owlers do not let emotions interfere with their decisions, yet I detected distinct notes of affection in the one called Jim.”

“Human engrams. Engrained in Jim for your benefit, not theirs. A little humor to break up the monotonous chores they systematically perform.”

“You said earlier that they are excellent pilots.”

“Correct. They will navigate your craft safely, anywhere.”

“What craft?”

“The ship docked at space hangar seventeen, the
Heritage
, reserved exclusively for you and Jim and Gem.”

Deacon was firm. “There is a gross misunderstanding. I work exclusively from my facilities at Moonbeam. You know that. My laboratory, my library, my scanners, the comfort of my home—these are the tools of my trade.” Landrew was patient as Deacon summated and rambled and justified the single time that he had departed Earth to assist Geor.

“My dear Deacon. This assignment may take you elsewhere.”

“Where?”

“Wherever your heart leads you. Wherever your brain directs you. Wherever your instincts compel you. Wherever the evidence must be gathered.”

“The Owlers can go; I will stay here and direct their activities, await transmissions. My facilities are the best in the world. I will lose time and competitive advantage by departing Earth. To voyage to Nix as you suggested earlier is even more ludicrous.”

Landrew replied with a soft “No.”

“Then you shall have to find someone else.”

“Then I order you on behalf of the High Council.”

“Am I to understand that you are coercing me to accept this case?” He pointed a finger at the authoritative figure. “I will bargain with you, compromise, but I will not accept these duties under duress.”

“I cannot, in clear conscience, Deacon Coombs, force you to undertake this mission. However, I ask you, I beg of you to admit the gravity of this situation. The Alliance is at risk. Thousands of years of building relationships, an economy, and our future are being tested and threatened.”

“Landrew, the Alliance has supreme fleets of fighters, brave soldiers, vast armies of Owlers and deadly robots, intelligent commanders, and technology. I am but one individual. What is my role? How can you be so sure that I can make a difference?”

Landrew was becoming irritated. “We are utilizing all available resources to solve these crimes. As an extension to our efforts, we, the High Council, would greatly appreciate the opinions of Deacon Coombs to act independently of all our other authorized efforts, to take a completely different, unbiased route to the solution, to act with the respected good judgment of Deacon Coombs. Please, Mr. Coombs, once again, I plead with you to do so. Your opinion and findings are important to us, for you act independent of the High Council’s other efforts.”

“You still withhold information.”

“How so?”

“Why the emphasis on Travers? The time is past that a sole mortal could influence history or be a threat to civilization.”

“Okay. Sit down. Let us not quarrel. I will put Travers in perspective according to Landrew. Vespering was an exact engineering and science for millions of years, until that fateful day when the
Sleigher
departed for Aralia. The Vesper beam vanished without a trace. The ship’s captain was… Travers.”

Deacon was genuinely surprised. “Could the incident be attributed to faulty equipment?”

“Highly unlikely. One, the next ship beaming outbound from Jabu to Aralia made its destination. Two, the equipment was checked at both stations, and there were no malfunctions at either Vesper station.” Landrew motioned with his hands and arms to keep Deacon silent. “Travers was also the captain of the ship that went to Nix six years ago. I told you that we used mild mind-altering drugs to erase the memory of the crew then. Well, Travers was not drugged. He comes from fine, honorable Aralian blood.” Landrew sighed in disgust.

“After the recovery of the
Sleigher
on Aralia, Travers and his crew were detained at the medical facilities at Froora. Before his discharge, before we had a chance to conduct an interrogation, he escaped without a trace. No one witnessed him leave. Believe me, Deacon, when I tell you that we have searched everywhere for him in our known worlds with huge resources and we can’t find him. Travers has vanished.”

Deacon felt cold. “And you… want me… to go out there”—he pointed to the roof of the theater—“out into the depths of space… to find Travers.”

“That was the conclusion I hoped that you would reach after your own investigations in the library. Travers seems to have an intersection with these recent events.”

“I might very well fail, for it is not my style to travel around the galaxy looking for a missing person with a one-in-a-billion chance of finding him.”

Landrew smiled. “I trust you. Don’t forget, I previously stated that we have other resources. We simply ask you to act independently of them.”

“Disprove two suicides, find the power that bends Vesper beams, investigate the sanities and vanities of the High Council, and find Travers, who is hiding, place unknown, in our space.”

“An excellent summation!”

Deacon felt despondent. Landrew continued. “Now for another surprise. The crew of the ship
Sleigher
has been rendered totally insane. Permanent brain damage has been sustained by all these poor souls. They are mindless vegetables, bodies alive. The insane asylum at Brebouillis is their resting place. Oddly, those who spoke to Travers at the hospital before he disappeared say that they felt Travers was not touched by this madness. Somehow he made the same trip on the
Sleigher
but did not suffer the same fate as his now-demented crew. Something is terribly, terribly wrong, Deacon Coombs, just as Geolo stated. In confidence, I will share with you that I am fearful of what the future holds!”

“So Travers is the common thread. Como dies on a night that he blasphemes Travers; Geor dies as he is investigating Travers as the corrupt head of a powerful union; a trade ship under Travers’s command disappears from a Vesper station, and Travers does not suffer the same fate as his crew. There is no direct evidence in all of this data to say yet that Travers has done anything wrong.”

“Ah, Mister Coombs, this is your challenge.”

Deacon felt some shivers. “Travers took that second film on Nix, didn’t he?”

Solemnly, Landrew replied, “Yes. Well, probably. We found the film on the
Sleigher
in Travers’s cabin after the ship was disposed of at the Vesper station. Can you imagine the scenario? First the
Sleigher
disappears in a Vesper beam. Then it gets directed to Nix, where there is no materialization station. Then the film is taken by Travers, the crew rendered demented, and the ship returned to Aralia—and by whom? No explanation from my other resources pleases me. I need peace of mind about Travers. We need information and facts quickly.”

“You have my curiosity. I realize your fascination with the man Travers, but I shall restate that the Owlers can perform in space.”

“You are not the only hope, Deacon.”

“Can you disclose to me who else has been assigned to this case, so I don’t interfere with their work?”

“No. You must work independently. Press the Owlers, Deacon. In this facility you have all the information you need. You will find the logs of all Travers’s journeys. Then, when you are prepared, you can depart for Brebouillis to study the demented members of the crew and meet two people who will prove to be invaluable. Brebouillis is a moon that orbits planet Aralia. Patiently, doctors there await you.”

“Who are they?”

“Two doctors with ample backgrounds and insights into this investigation.”

“I am most curious why Travers did not suffer the same fate as his crew, unless…”

“Unless what?”

Deacon remained silent to Landrew’s query. Landrew expressed his frustration once again. “We are helpless against this evil. I fear it may strike again soon. The members of the High Council researched you thoroughly, and you are the one. You and I know why you should take this difficult mission.”

Deacon shifted uncomfortably. “I’m not sure what you reference.”

“You don’t need to deny your gift with me, Deacon Coombs. Your scholastic records are impeccable, your intelligence quotient as high as any recorded, and I know that you have the power to receive and transmit energy waves emitted by the human brain at a level rarely documented on Earth.”

“I see you too are a sleuth.”

“Rudimentary. A little snooping here, a little cooperation there, and suddenly I discover a man whose extraordinary skills are what we might need. You are indeed gifted. I know this is the very reason that you hide, or shall I say work, at Moonbeam. You are uncomfortable interfacing and intruding into the minds of others, receiving unwelcome thoughts.”

Deacon was startled. “You are correct in your assumptions. But I do not perform this purposely, and I receive only certain wavelengths that compose a small part of the brain’s emissions. I prefer to shut myself away at Moonbeam as you have stated, for I don’t wish to intrude on other people’s thoughts. It is an affliction.

“Just on this plane ride from Anglo, I was subjected to recognizing the details of an affair by a gentleman, a mental pass from a lady sitting across the aisle, and two girls thinking and recalling their vacations in Anglo in intimate detail. I don’t wish to be bombarded with this, Landrew. My mind wants to be left alone.”

“Interestingly enough, Deacon, I did not speak of Travers taking the film on Nix. I only sent it to you mentally. And you received it!” Landrew said proudly. “You are the one.”

“I find great solace at Moonbeam. I don’t want to read other people’s minds.”

“And will you believe me, Deacon Coombs, when I tell you that this affliction will save your life on this mission? With this so-called disease, you will have to invade the sanctity of the minds of others to save our world. You might discover terror. You might find evil. I don’t envy you. But my prayers will always be with you, Deacon. You must do this!”