Back To Earth - Rutter Melanie 5 стр.

The two cronies listening to the conversation of the diners would have given anything to be able to see the photos being shown to the Colonel.

“Damn!” cried the larger one. “We have to get our hands on that handheld device.”

“Let’s hope that at least one of them reads it out loud,” replied his thinner companion.

“Let’s hope that this ‘romantic dinner’ is over soon. I’m sick of sitting outside in the dark, and what’s more, I’m starving.”

“Starving? What d’you mean? You’ve just eaten my share of the sandwiches.”

“Not all of it, my friend. There’s one left and I intend to gobble it up.” Smugly, he turned to remove it from a bag on the rear seat. In turning, however, his knee hit against the power button on the recording system, which gave out a faint beep and died out.

“You clumsy idiot! Are you trying to attract attention?” The thin guy hastened to switch the instrument back on. “Now I’ll have to restart the system and that will take at least a minute. Just pray that they’re not saying anything important, otherwise this time I’ll kick your fat ass to the Persian Gulf!”

“Sorry,” said the fat guy in a quiet voice. “I think it’s time you went on a diet.”

“The gods buried the vessel with precious contents to the south of the temple, ordering the people to stay away from it until they returned, for fear that some terrible calamity would otherwise befall all nations. Four blazing guardians were stationed there to protect the site.

“This is how I translate it,” said Elisa proudly. “In my opinion, the correct name for it is not ‘tomb’ but ‘temple’, and the Ziqqurat of Ur, where my research was carried out, is none other than a temple erected for the gods. There are certainly a number of Ziqqurat in this area, but none of them are this close to the house belonging to the person who, presumably, was the one who inscribed the tablets: dear old Abraham.”

“Very interesting.” The Colonel was scrutinising the text. “The place that everyone has identified as the ‘House of Abraham’ is only a few hundred metres from the temple.”

“Also,” Elisa continued, “if these beings really were aliens, imagine how interesting this ‘vessel’ could be to the military. Perhaps even more so than the ‘precious contents’.”

Jack was pensive for a moment, then he replied, “that’s the reason for all this interest on the part of ELSAD. The buried vessel might be much more than a simple earthenware container.”

“Well done. And now for the moment of truth,” cried Elisa theatrically. “Ladies and gentlemen, I now present what I found this morning.”

She touched the screen and a new photo appeared on the device. “But it’s the same symbol as the one on the tablet,” exclaimed Jack.

“Exactly. But I only shot this photo today,” replied Elisa, feeling pleased with herself. “Apparently, Abraham used the same symbol to represent the ‘gods’ as the Sumerians had already used: a star with twelve planets around it, and, incidentally, it’s the same as the one I found engraved on the cover of the ‘container’ that we are in the process of unearthing.

“That might not mean anything,” remarked Jack. “Maybe it's just a coincidence. That symbol could have hundreds of meanings.”

“You think so? How about this one? What do you think it is?” she asked, showing him the last photo. “We took this from the outside of the container, using our portable X ray equipment.”

All Jack could do was stare in amazement, his eyes wide open.

Theos spacecraft – Data analysis

Petri was still absorbed in his analysis of the probe when Azakis returned to the bridge. “They said they’ll get back to us,” he said.

“Which means they’re going to discuss it amongst themselves,” remarked Petri bitterly.

“More or less what we expected, eh?” replied Azakis, patting his companion on the back. “So what can you tell me about this hunk of metal?”

“Apart from the fact that there is very little of the hull that hasn’t had the paint scratched off, I can assure you that no message has been sent from our three-bladed friend. The probe seems to have been designed for the sole purpose of studying celestial bodies. A kind of lone space traveller, recording data and transmitting it periodically back to base.” He pointed out some details of the antenna in the hologram that hovered in the room.

“We probably flew by too quickly for it to record our presence,” ventured Azakis.

“Not only that, old friend. Its on-board instruments are programmed to analyse objects at distances of hundreds of thousands of kilometres. We passed so close that, had we not been in a vacuum, our slip stream would have left it spinning like a top.”

“And now that we’re further away, do you think it might reveal our presence?”

“I really don't think so. We’re much too small and quick to be of any interest to them.”

“Good,” said Azakis. “At last we have some good news.”

“I tried to analyse the data transmission method on the probe,” continued Petri. “It doesn’t seem to be equipped with ‘light vortex’ technology like ours. It’s still using an old frequency modulation system.”

“Isn't that the one used by our predecessors before the Great Revolution

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“Exactly. It wasn’t too efficient, but for a long time it enabled us to exchange information throughout the entire planet, and it definitely helped us get to where we are now. "

Azakis sat down in the command chair, chewing his finger in a moment of reflection, then he said “if this is the communication system currently in use, maybe we could also pick up some transmission of theirs.”

“Are you hoping to see what porn films they’re making?” joked Petri, sticking his tongue out to the left of his mouth.

“Cut out the bullshit. Instead, why not try and adapt our secondary communication system to this technology? I want to be as well-prepared as possible when we get there.”

“I understand. I expect I’ll have to spend several hours in that cramped compartment.”

“What about getting something to eat first?” suggested Azakis, anticipating his friend’s next question, which, he imagined, would have followed soon after.

“That’s the first sensible thing I’ve heard you say today,” replied Petri. “All this excitement has given me an appetite.”

“Okay We’ll take a break, but it’s my turn to decide what we have. That Nebir liver you chose yesterday got stuck in my poor stomach so long that it seemed to be taking root.”

Ten minutes later, while the two travelling companions were still busy consuming their meal, a young engineer in the NASA Mission Control room on Earth was picking up a strange alteration in the course of the probe he was monitoring.

“Sir,” he said into the microphone attached to his headset, which hung a few centimetres from his mouth. “I think we may have a problem.”

“What kind of problem?” the engineer in charge of the mission asked anxiously.

“For some unknown reason Juno has suddenly shifted slightly off its set course.

“Shifted?” By how much? Due to what?” Already he was feeling a cold sweat. The cost of this mission was exorbitant. Nothing should be going wrong.

“I’m analysing the data right now. The telemetry is indicating a deviation of 0.01 degrees with no apparent explanation. Everything seems to be functioning normally.”

“It could have run into a rock fragment,” ventured the older engineer. “It's not actually that far from the asteroid belt.”

“Juno is pretty much in Jupiter’s orbit now, and there shouldn’t be any,” said his younger colleague, tentatively.

“So what’s happened then? There must have been some kind of malfunction.” After a few moments of reflection, he said, “I want a couple of checks run on all on-board instruments. I want the results on my computer in five minutes,” he ordered, closing communication.

The young engineer was suddenly aware of how much responsibility he had been given. He noticed his own hands trembling, but chose to ignore them. With the help of a colleague, he carried out a differentiated check-up on the probe, keeping his fingers crossed. The computer began to run the programme controls sequentially, and within a few minutes the results of the analysis appeared on the screen.

Check-up complete. All instruments operational.

“Everything seems fine,” remarked his colleague.

“So what the devil happened? If we don’t find anything in the next two minutes, the chief will have both our asses.” Feverishly he began typing commands into the keyboard in front of him.

Nothing. Everything was working perfectly.

He absolutely had to come up with something and fast. He began to drum on the desk with his fingers. He continued for about ten seconds, then decided to resort to the first unwritten rule of the workplace conduct manual: never contradict the boss.

Switching on the microphone, he said “Chief, you were right. It was a small Trojan asteroid that sent the probe off course. Luckily, it wasn't a direct hit. It just passed close by. Evidently, the asteroid exerted a small gravitational attraction on Juno, making it alter its course slightly. I’m sending you the data now,” he said, holding his breath.

After an interminable length of time, the proud voice of his superior reached his headset. “I was sure of it. My dear boy, you can’t out-do the instincts of an old salt.” Then he added, “Try to activate the engines on the probe and correct its course. I won’t accept any errors.” So saying, he switched off. A moment later, he came back, adding “Nice work, son.”

The young engineer noticed that the blood had begun to flow around his body once again His heart was beating so hard that he could hear his pulse in his ears. After all, this could actually have been the correct explanation. Turning towards his colleague, he gave him the thumbs up. The other relaxed, and winked at him. They were in the clear, at least for the time being.

Nasiriyya – After dinner

The recording system reactivated with a soft beep. The professor’s voice could once again be heard from the small speaker inside the machine. “I think it’s time we were leaving, Jack. I have to be up early in the morning, to continue with the excavations.”

“Okay,” replied the colonel. “I’ll go and thank the chef, then we’ll go.”

“For heaven’s sake!” cried the thinner of the two listeners. “Because of you we’ve missed the most important part.”

“Oh, come on. I didn’t do it on purpose,” said the fat one, defensively. “We could always say that there was a system malfunction and that we didn’t manage to record all of the conversation.”

“I always end up having to cover your ass,” claimed the other.

“You’ll thank me. I already have a plan for getting our hands on that handheld device.” Squeezing his nose between his thumb and forefinger, he said “We’ll go into her room tonight and copy all her data without her even noticing.”

“And what do we do if she wakes up? Sing her a lullaby?”

“Don’t you worry, my friend. I have a few tricks up my sleeve,” he replied, narrowing his eyes.

Meanwhile, Jack and Elisa were preparing to leave the restaurant. The colonel switched on his handheld communicator and spoke to the escort. “We’re on our way out.”

“Everything is quiet outside here, colonel,” a voice responded into the earphone.

Cautiously, the colonel opened the door of the building and scanned the area around him. The soldier who had accompanied Elisa earlier was still standing near the car outside.

“You can go, son,” ordered the colonel. “I’ll take Doctor Hunter back.”

The soldier stood to attention, saluted, and saying something into his communicator, disappeared into the shadows.

“It’s been a marvellous evening, Jack,” said Elisa as they left. She inhaled the fresh night air deeply, adding, “It’s been a long time since I spent an evening like this.” Thank you so much,” she said, with another of her wonderful smiles.

“Come on. We're not too safe standing out in the open here,” and so saying, he opened the door of the car and helped her in.

With the colonel at the wheel, the big dark car pulled away quickly, leaving an appreciable cloud of dust behind it.

“I had a good time as well. I would never have thought that an evening with a ‘presumptuous professor’ could be so much fun.”

“Presumptuous? Is that what people think?” and she turned away, pretending to be offended.

“Presumptuous, yes. But also very understanding, intelligent and definitely sexy.” Seeing that she was facing away, he took the opportunity to stroke the hair at the back of her neck.

The contact sent a series of shivers along her spine. She could not surrender so soon, she thought. But she could not help but feel a growing sense of anticipation. Not wishing to say anything, she allowed herself to enjoy this short, soothing massage. Jack, encouraged by the lack of reaction to this gesture, continued to stroke her hair for a while. Suddenly, he began to slide his hand towards her shoulder, then ran it down her arm until he gently reached her fingertips. Still facing the window, she took his hand and squeezed it firmly. It was a large, strong hand. The contact made her feel safe.

Not far away, another dark car was following the couple, its passengers trying to eavesdrop another interesting dialogue.

“I think that ten dollars is now going to end up in my pocket, old friend,” said the fatter one. “He’s taking her to the hotel, she’ll ask him up for a drink, and that will be it.”

“I hope it doesn’t end up like that, or else how are we going to copy the data on that handheld device?”

“Man. I never thought of that.”

“You never think of anything that isn't going to wind up in that bottomless stomach of yours.”

“Come on, don’t let them get too far away,” said the fat guy ignoring the provocation. “I don't want to lose the signal again.”

For a while, they remained hand in hand, without saying anything, both staring through the windscreen. The hotel was getting nearer and nearer and Jack began to feel awkward. This wasn’t the first time he had been out with a woman, but that evening he felt the shyness that had tortured him in his youth resurfacing. He had thought he’d overcome that. He felt paralysed by the prolonged contact. Perhaps he should have said something to break the embarrassing silence, but, fearing that whatever he said would ruin the magical moment, he chose to postpone this.

He was grateful for the automatic, which meant that he didn’t need to remove his hand to change gears and drive in the night.

As for Elisa, all the so-called ‘men in her life’ were starting to come into her mind, one by one. So many stories, dreams, plans, so much joy and happiness, but always ending up in disillusion, bitterness and pain. It was as though destiny had already made its decision for her. On a professional level, she had certainly led a life of satisfaction and recognition, but it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that no one would be at her side to share it. Now she was there, in a foreign country, travelling hand in hand with a man who, until that day, she had considered merely as an obstacle to her plans, but who was treating her with such tenderness and affection. More than once she asked herself what she should do.

“Is everything all right?” asked Jack, worried at seeing her eyes become increasingly damp.

“Yes. Thank you, Jack. Just a moment of sadness. It will soon pass.”

“Is it my fault?” asked the colonel anxiously. “Have I said or done something wrong?”