Pit Bulls vs Aliens (12 page)

Lucas sat back with no expression. “The signal repeats itself. It’s aimed at the seas where you will find the most intelligent and easily trainable animals on our planet. Whoever is sending the signal is training the mammals of the seas to do something for them.”

“What?” Barbara asked.

“I don’t know,” Lucas said.

Brian nodded. “It makes sense. Let’s assume that Lucas is correct. And let’s assume that whoever is sending the signal is getting closer. What would aliens from another world need mammals of the ocean to do for them?”

The room grew very quiet as everyone pondered the question.

Steven spoke up. “I’ve got it. Food. They’re coming to our planet for food. They train the fish beforehand . . . uh, I mean mammals. Then when they get here, they hover above the water and lower cages, and the dolphins and whales and such are already trained and swim right in. Then the aliens go back home with tons of fresh seafood.”

Darren smiled. “Sounds plausible to me.”

“You want another scenario?”

All eyes turned to Lucas again.

Darren nodded. “Sure.”

“If any alien race invaded,” Lucas began, “what would be the biggest threat to them?”

“Our atmosphere?” Darren asked.

“I’m talking offensively, moron. What would be the biggest military threat to them?”

No one paid attention to the “moron” remark, not coming from Lucas. Plus, they were too engrossed in the question.

“Our navy has a great arsenal with the nuclear subs and massive battleships and carriers. That’s our strongest military might,” Brian said.

Lucas smiled. “And where do you find those?”

The room was silent again.

“Wait,” Barbara said. “You think they could train whales and dolphins to destroy ships and subs? I don’t think so.”

“I don’t know,” Brian said. “With millions of them, it could be done.”

“I agree,” said Darren. “Just like a flock of birds can take down an airliner.”

Barbara sighed. “Well, if that’s the case, we don’t have to wonder about intentions anymore. If that’s not proof of hostility, what is?”

Darren corrected her again. “We’re just spitballing ideas here. These are just ‘what-ifs.’ None of it is proof of anything.”

“Then maybe we should attack this from the other end of the spectrum,” Brian said.

“What do you mean?” Darren asked.

“Let’s assume they are friendly,” Brian said. “Let’s assume a visit would be a good thing. Looking at it from that angle, what would be the reason for the secretive signal aimed at the seas?”

“Very good,” Darren said. “Okay, everyone, let’s do that. Let’s hear any hypotheticals that would coincide with a friendly visit.”

After five minutes of total silence, the small group of SETI employees began to see how dim the future looked.

Soon they began to talk about other subjects. They talked for several more minutes until Darren looked up and saw something that made him stop. His boss, Dr. Vincent De Luca, and the director of SETI, Dr. Natalie Zimmerman, stood at the entrance to the conference room. They had strange looks on their faces, which automatically changed the dynamics of the attitudes in the room.

“Hey, come on in,” Darren said. “We were just having a brainstorming session. You guys can join in if you like.”

Dr. De Luca and Dr. Zimmerman walked to the head of the table. “That won’t be necessary,” Dr. Zimmerman said. “We have some information for you.”

Darren looked at them both with anticipation. “Tell us.”

“We’ve had a call from the Pentagon,” Dr. De Luca said.

“The Pentagon?” Darren repeated. “What is it?”

“It’s that building in Arlington with five sides, but that’s not important now.”

Everyone turned again to stare at Lucas.

“Sorry,” Lucas said. “Just a joke. Please continue.”

Dr. De Luca looked over the room. “Why don’t you guys excuse us for a minute and Darren can fill you in later.”

The employees grabbed their notes and filed out of the conference room. Brian was the last one in line and closed the door behind him. When they had their privacy, Dr. Zimmerman and Dr. De Luca turned their attention back to Darren.

“Let’s have a seat,” Dr. Zimmerman insisted.

They all sat down.

“So, tell me. Has the Pentagon learned something new?”

Both Dr. De Luca and Dr. Zimmerman nodded.

Darren was getting excited. “Okay, tell me. Have they learned where the source is and how far away they are?”

Dr. Zimmerman reached over and took Darren’s hands in hers, a very odd gesture from her or any scientist, especially one’s boss. She squeezed his hands gently and looked him in the eye.

Dr. De Luca slid a manila envelope across the table. “Classified” was stamped in red ink across the front.

Darren pulled his hands away from Dr. Zimmerman and opened the envelope, took out the contents, and began to read. His lips moved as he silently read the papers on top. As he flipped through the stack and read, his eyes got wider and wider. “You mean—”

“That’s right,” Dr. Zimmerman said. “They’re already here.”

Dr. McNair opened his eyes. From the look of the hospital room, he knew it had not been a dream and they were still in Africa. The room was dark and musky. A doctor and nurse were standing over him. A policeman came in to get a statement.

After he told the officer what happened, and the policeman informed him of the outcome, he was allowed to get out of bed and visit Sally in her room. She was in a coma. They had bandaged her neck, but she had lost a lot of blood and swallowed a lot of seawater. Dr. McNair felt tears run down both cheeks as he stared at Sally while the respirator pumped air to her lungs through the tube down her throat. He thought back to his wife and daughter. He always felt like his work had pushed them away, but the guilt was much worse now. It was his direct actions that led to the current situation. He had been so ready to have one last adventure that he had not considered the danger, even when Erique had made it clear.

Several days passed. He was released from the hospital’s care with minor abrasions and contusions. But he wouldn’t leave, waiting only for Sally to hopefully come out of the coma. After several days, she finally woke.

When the doctors concluded that she was going to be okay, Dr. McNair approached her. Her eyes lit up when she saw him. The tube was still down her throat so she couldn’t talk. She took a marker and wrote on a legal pad and turned it to face him. It read, “Are you okay?”

He nodded as tears ran free once again. “I’m fine.”

She scribbled again. “Erique?”

Dr. McNair nodded. “He’s fine.”

“Insurance?” she wrote next.

Dr. McNair shrugged. He hadn’t even thought to ask Erique if he was covered for the damage. The damage of course being that his boat was totally destroyed.

The next note made him laugh.

“Goofy?”

“He’s fine as well. He waited around hoping you would wake, but he finally had to go back home. They say you’re going to be fine. Should be out of here in a few days. You should know that Thomas saved your life. You were clinically dead and he revived you with CPR. Well, like I said, I thought you should know.”

She nodded. Then she wrote again on a new sheet. She turned it around. “Are you saying his lips were on mine? YUCK!”

Dr. McNair laughed. But her next message made him gasp as he stared at the three-word sentence. It read, “I saw them.”

Sally told him everything via notes and he believed her.

The next day, Dr. McNair took a taxi to the waterfront and asked the driver to wait. He walked the familiar path down the dock to where Erique’s boat was docked before. There was nothing and no one there. He found another fisherman and asked if he knew Erique. He did and told him where he lived.

Dr. McNair walked back to the taxi and gave the driver the address. Fifteen minutes later, the taxi pulled up to a very small cinder-block house. There were a couple of old cars on blocks in the front. There was no grass at all. The yard for this house and every house in the neighborhood was pure dust.

The cab pulled away without waiting as Dr. McNair walked up to the door. He knocked.

Emmanuel opened the door.

Dr. McNair smiled.

Emmanuel turned and yelled back into the house. “It’s the man, Papa.”

Erique came to the door and looked confused but was hospitable. “Come in, Dr. McNair. Please come in.”

Dr. McNair followed Erique to the small kitchen and sat at the little wooden table when prompted.

“This is my wife, Leena,” Erique said.

“It is my pleasure to meet you,” Leena said. “Can I get you something to drink?”

Dr. McNair nodded. “Some cold water would be great.”

She smiled and went to the fridge.

“How is the woman?” Erique asked.

“She’s fine,” Dr. McNair answered. “We’re going back home soon. I wanted to come by and see if you were okay.”

“I was not hurt,” Erique said.

“I didn’t mean physically,” Dr. McNair said.

Erique looked confused.

“I meant financially,” Dr. McNair clarified. “Did you have insurance on your boat?”

“It does not matter,” Erique said. “I would not go back out there if I could.”

“Really? You seem very much at home on the water.”

“Maybe once,” Erique said. “But things have changed. The ocean has changed. It is not a place for people anymore.”

Dr. McNair nodded. “What will you do?”

“I will go to work for my father. He is a roofer. There is much work here now.”

Dr. McNair turned up the glass of water and drank it all. “You will miss it, you know?”

Erique smiled. “Yes, I will. A love for the sea is part of a person’s soul. I will always love her.” He looked at his wife and son. “But some things are more important.”

They sat and talked a little while longer until Dr. McNair left to go back to the hospital.

Three days later, Dr. McNair rolled Sally out of the hospital in a wheelchair and helped her into a taxi. As the driver pulled into traffic, Sally’s cell phone beeped.

“Thomas,” she said, holding up the phone so Dr. McNair could see the name associated with the text. Opening the message, Sally giggled. “Can you believe this guy?” She handed Dr. McNair the phone.

“Oh my goodness,” Dr. McNair said with a chuckle. “Is that a pit bull puppy?”

Sally took back the phone and looked at the small screen. The picture message was of Thomas holding up what appeared to be a pit bull puppy and the text read,
Here’s your get well present.

“You know, he’s not a bad guy,” Dr. McNair said.

Sally smiled. “I guess he has a few good points.”

They both laughed.

Two weeks later, Dr. McNair and Sally sat on the bench waiting to be called. They sat motionless, Dr. McNair occasionally wiping the sweat from his brow. He looked over at Sally, who wore a pantsuit similar to the one she was wearing the day they had met, a bandage still around her neck. She had almost fully recovered from the accident and was now waiting to address the Congressional Oversight Committee, which made decisions on various matters, including global warming. The committee had already received her report, and now she and Dr. McNair had to explain it.

The door opened and the same middle-aged woman appeared. “Doctors, they’re ready for you.”

Dr. McNair and Sally walked to the table and took their seats in front of the raised platform where the five senators were poised and ready for their interrogation. Dr. McNair noticed that the room wasn’t empty this time. In the rear, barely visible, sat a small man, almost bald, wearing rim glasses. Dr. McNair wasn’t sure why the man was there.

Senator Elaine Biddle from Arkansas began. “We’ve read your report, Dr. Xie, and frankly, we don’t understand it.”

“Which part do you not understand?” Sally asked.

Senator Weingold from New York spoke up. “To be honest, it reads like a terrible Hollywood movie script. One has to wonder if this was something that came to you in a coma-induced dream.”

“I assure you, Senators, this was no dream.” Sally looked at Dr. McNair for support.

Dr. McNair stood. “She’s telling you the truth, no matter how hard it is for you to believe. We all heard her describe the wall before she was attacked. It is even visible from satellite photos, so it’s quite real.”

“We have seen the photos, Doctor,” Senator Butler confirmed. “We believe the wall is real; it’s just the builders, the creatures who you say are building the wall—that’s what’s hard to swallow.”

Sally borrowed a line from Dr. McNair. “All I can do is report the facts; it’s up to you to decide what to do with them.”

“You want us to believe that they possess that kind of intelligence?” Senator Biddle asked. “You’re saying that whales, orcas, and dolphins, and every mammal in the sea, have been secretly building a one-hundred-mile-long wall of rocks in the ocean. And they’re doing this to change the flow of ocean currents?”

“That’s correct,” Sally said. “Whales bring in the giant rocks in their mouths and drop them. Smaller mammals arrange them in place. I saw it with my own eyes. That’s why they tried to kill me.”

Senator Malcolm from North Dakota spoke. “And you believe this is causing global warming?”

Sally nodded. “It’s making the ocean current go a hundred miles farther south before turning northward. It’s almost reaching the equator now. That makes it pick up much warmer water before heading north. That’s the reason the Gulf Stream has been so warm, why we’ve had stronger storms, and why the ice caps are melting so fast. Along with harnessing warmer water, thousands of whales now travel the current all the way to the northern ice caps.”

“I don’t understand that part,” Senator Butler said. “What does that do?”

“Mammals are warm-blooded, Senator,” Sally explained. “With so many following the current, they manage to keep the temperature a couple of degrees warmer than it would normally be.”

“I don’t get it,” Senator Weingold said. “Why? What is their motivation?”

“We don’t know,” Dr. McNair said. “While it would benefit sea life greatly to kill off every human on the planet, the warmer climate doesn’t help them in the long run. We think maybe they’ve been trained to do this.”