X war infiltration, p.7
X WAR: Infiltration, page 7
"Yup. Check out her picture on the internet so you'll know her by sight. If she's still around, then you can start your investigation by interviewing her or something."
He placed a hand on her upper arm. "Thanks, Jenna. I owe you one."
"You don't owe me anything, Elsner. I'd like to wash my hands of this UFO nonsense and get back to covering some real news, so consider it a gift, free of charge."
He started chuckling. "You sure? You'll be kicking yourself when I prove this is all true."
Jenna's skeptical look didn't change. "I bet you will. I've got my worthless piece on this convention done, and now I'll be flying out in a few hours. Good luck, and I hope you find what you're looking for."
A NUMBER OF LARGE, air-conditioned tents had been erected at the small parkland in between the civic center and the museum, in order to shield the convention-goers from the afternoon heat. More than three dozen registered vendors had set up kiosks inside these tents, offering everything from printed t-shirts, to books, and even UFO themed cookies.
Elsner had briefly returned to the auditorium before going back out again. After downloading Irene's picture onto his smartphone, he had been combing the huge crowds, hoping to spot her, but so far he wasn't successful.
Moving underneath a covered walkway, he maneuvered his way around the various onlookers milling about, going past an adjoining tent in which a supposedly licensed therapist would offer personal insights and analysis to anyone who had ever had an alien encounter for the price of just fifty dollars.
A large, pudgy old man sat behind a table to his right as Elsner walked on by, his stand filled with recently printed periodicals. "I was in Los Angeles when it happened," the man said to no one in particular. "This is the beginning of an invasion, and you'll need to buy my book if you want to know how to survive it."
Elsner gave a dismissive smile as he continued on, almost bumping into a gaggle of squealing kids wearing tinfoil hats and alien makeup running past him.
Just ahead of an alien bakeshop and t-shirt stand was another adjoining tent, this one belonging to the Ether Society. Unlike the other kiosks, this pavilion had its own separate air-conditioning system, which clearly marked them as being no ordinary vendors. The sign above the entrance to their black tent was marked by glowing neon hieroglyphs that were purportedly of extraterrestrial origin, according to the books he’d read about them.
A young man with a bowl-cut and a middle-aged woman, both dressed in white robes, sat behind a desk by the inner tent's entrance, smiling and handing out newsletters to anyone who stopped by. Elsner had spoken to them the day before, and he quickly remembered their names as he stood in front of them, smiled, and gave the Etherian salute by holding his right palm up, locking his thumb and index finger together, keeping his middle and ring fingers intertwined, and all the while leaving his pinkie finger separate.
The young man nodded and returned the salute. "Mizzim, my brother. What brings you back to our humble booth?"
"And a good mizzim to you, Tom," Elsner said. The word was supposed to mean some sort of alien greeting, but he thought it was just a joke. "I was actually hoping to see Miss Lancet. Is she here by any chance?"
Tom looked towards the older woman before returning his gaze to Elsner. "I'm sorry, my brother, but she is not here. Do you have any business with her?"
"Yes, my work on researching the phenomena that's been occurring has opened my eyes, and I'd like to share my insights with her. I believe she is the right person to talk to concerning the question of whether we are alone or not."
Marge was the name of the older woman, and she made slight adjustments to her thick glasses. "You were asking some different questions yesterday, what made you change your position?"
"When I attended the symposium at the auditorium this morning, it was as if something awoke inside of me, and now it all made sense," Elsner lied. "An inner voice popped up in my head, telling me that Irene Lancet was the one who could guide me towards the right path."
"Miss Lancet is a high ranking keeper in our order," Tom said. "Only those who have gone past the First Veil are even allowed to speak to her on these kinds of matters."
"I am ready to go past the First Veil," Elsner said.
Marge looked at him intently. "Once past the initiation, you will become a full fledged member of the Ether Society. Only those who truly believe will be chosen."
"I'd like to join," Elsner said.
Tom gestured to the slightly open flap leading into the inner tent. "Then enter, my brother. May our fathers of the sky be with you."
Elsner smiled before stepping inside. "Thank you, my brother."
The interior was bathed in twilight. The inner tent's extra thick black canopy seemed to have filtered out most of the sunlight from the outside, and it felt like he had entered a climate controlled enclosure displaying an eerie night sky full of stars.
A bearded, heavyset man wearing a black robe sat in between two tables, and he gestured towards Elsner the moment he stepped inside. "Please, come over here, my brother."
Elsner tentatively approached him. Glancing at the tables filled with various sorts of electronic devices, he quickly tensed up. The man in dark robes was evidently operating a polygraph machine, otherwise known as a lie detector.
The man gestured at an empty folding chair beside him. "Please sit down, my brother."
Not wishing to act suspiciously, Elsner sat down.
After getting up, the man quickly placed a finger, arm, and a chest sensor over Elsner's body. "This is just routine, my brother. All prospective initiates must take this test."
"What's all this for?"
The man smiled. "To learn the truth, brother."
TWENTY MINUTES LATER, Elsner walked out of the Etherians' inner tent feeling both ashamed and foolish, his already throbbing headache more painful than ever. The bearded man had asked him a series of personal questions, and he was required to reply with only a yes or a no. The whole lie detector test had made him uneasy, and he was certain they had found out about his less than honest intentions for joining their cult.
Tom and Marge remained courteous as they took down his contact details, promising to get in touch with him should he be accepted into their organization, but Elsner had a distinct feeling they would never call. After waving goodbye, he walked out of the vendors' area and slowly made his way towards the adjoining museum to the north.
Damn it, he thought. My one chance to join their damned cult and I blew it. But how could I have known they were gonna hit me with a lie detector test?
The Ether Society was known worldwide, but their inner workings were pretty much a mystery to outsiders. Unlike other UFO groups, the Etherians didn't just accept anybody, and now he’d found out why. As far as I know, no undercover reporter has ever gotten in and did an inside story on them.
To date, no Etherian had ever been in any sort of legal or criminal trouble, although rumors abounded about them having an army of lawyers who could cover up any sort of illicit activity from the public. Another strange fact was that no single member of their order had ever left it; once an initiate became a member, they were there for life.
Elsner remembered the stories about angry relatives trying to get their siblings and children back from the cult, only to be rebuffed and sued until they could no longer fight back. There had even been one Etherian who had committed suicide after his parents used mercenaries to kidnap him away from the organization.
Terry Campbell was part of their group, now he's dead, Elsner thought as he made his way around the museum entrance and instead headed over to the adjoining planetarium. He had already been inside the museum yesterday, but had yet to check out the Goddard Planetarium. Besides, the museum also seemed very crowded, so he decided to take a break and ease the gnawing pain in his forehead.
Walking in through the lobby, he wandered around for a bit until he saw that the door leading into the digital theater was partly open. With a slight sense of curiosity, he made it to the edge of the entryway before stepping inside to take a look.
The circular interior was only partly illuminated. The seats surrounding the wraparound screen were empty, save one. Elsner felt a strange compulsion that made him go forward, moving closer towards the seated figure along the upper aisles.
By the time he had cleared his mind, she stood up and turned to face him. Irene Lancet was tall and thin, with pale skin and jet black hair reaching down past her shoulders. Dressed in reddish formal attire, she flashed a sardonic smile at him.
Elsner was speechless. It felt like her dark brown eyes were boring into his very soul, seeing him for who he truly was.
Irene's voice was deep, almost masculine. "I heard you were looking for me."
Elsner quickly put his thoughts back in order. "I'm sorry. I thought you had left or something."
"I'm always around to help out my fellow brothers and sisters of the Ether. What can I do for you?"
Elsner figured she must have been communicating with the people in the tent, and the game was up. "Well, I just wanted to join up, but I don't think I did a good job with that lie detector test I took."
"Were you lying?"
"I told as much of the truth as I could."
Her red stained lips curled into a slight smile. "Your test was inconclusive, but that's hardly an indicator that you have been rejected. We do get a fair amount of results like yours and Leroy isn't exactly an expert when it comes to interpreting the data."
Elsner's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Oh? So what does that mean?"
"It means we'll just have to test you in some other way."
Oh my god, they could actually accept me, he thought. "So what now?"
"I should ask you that. Why are you looking for me?"
This is it, don't blow it, Elsner thought. "Epsilon six Magog."
Irene briefly turned away, as if someone had just slapped her across the cheek. It took her a few seconds before she regained her cool composure. "You know the code to get past the First Veil. Who told you about it?"
"I'm afraid I can't answer that question."
She nodded. "Very well. Since you know the code, I am compelled to offer you the path towards the Second Veil. Do you wish to proceed?"
Elsner had to stop himself from jumping up and hollering in victory. "Yes."
13 Munich
LATE AFTERNOON, AND Ingrid Huber was already beat. After riding on the U-Bahn, Munich's underground subway train, from Garchen back to the city center, she boarded a bus to take her back to her apartment in the Unterföhring District.
Four straight days of internship work at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics had given her a migraine, and it felt like someone took a sledgehammer and hit her skull. The only way she could keep the pain at bay was by sleeping, and she was desperate to get back into her bed.
Even though higher education in Germany was free, she still had to pay for rent, food, and other expenses, and her grant money was nearly depleted. I might have to find some part-time work soon, or else move to a cheaper place, she thought.
Her smartphone started ringing, so she pulled out the device from her jacket and answered it. "Hello."
Monika's sultry voice came on the other line. "Hello there, beautiful. I bet you're looking gorgeous right now."
Ingrid gave a short giggle while running her other hand through her blue dyed hair. Monika was her girlfriend, and always made her feel at ease. "I'm just on my way home. I had to do another shift at the institute since Professor Bergweiler didn't show up again."
"Oh you poor, poor girl. I guess this means you'll be enjoying yourself even more when we all meet at the club tonight."
"I'm sorry, I don't think I can join you and the others later."
"Oh?"
"Yes. I am so tired right now. I have to attend several classes when I get back to the university tomorrow, and also I'm scrambling to find the professor's notes in order to try and piece together the research paper we were working on."
"Why is he still not back?"
"I don't know what's going on. He disappeared over a week ago, and not even his wife knows where he is. The staff at the institute are very worried, because someone broke in and stole a large amount of research material and a computer virus wiped most of our hard drives. The police are looking into it, I think."
"My god, shouldn't you just let the others handle it?"
"I'm his graduate assistant—that means if he isn't around, then I have to cover for him. The other problem is that someone stole my bag while I was having lunch the other day, and that had most of my notes too. It's like being close to the finish line in a footrace, only to find out that all the distance you've run doesn't count, and now you have to backtrack."
"Do you think it was deliberate, Ingrid?"
"I shouldn't be paranoid, but it's starting to feel that way. The professor and I were supposed to be participating in a videoconference with other scientists from around the world, but from what I heard, those other researchers disappeared too."
"Wow, what are you and the professor working on?"
"A few months back, one of Professor Bergweiler's colleagues in Japan made some sort of breakthrough with dimensional analysis. All the top scientists in that field were sharing their findings, but everything's ground to a halt because everyone and their research materials are gone."
"Dimensional analysis? What's that?"
"Oh it's mostly about denoting the nature of physical quantities, that sort of stuff."
There was giggling on the other end of the line. "You've already confused me, Ingrid."
"Sorry, it would be too complicated to explain it all over the phone."
"You're right, I'm just glad to know someone as smart as you, Ingrid."
She turned and noticed the bus was now approaching her stop. "Oh, I have to get off now. I'll see if I can try to get some time off next week. Then I'll promise we'll get together again, okay?"
"Super. I'll be missing your luscious lips and your hard nipples tonight."
Ingrid sighed as she got up and began to move towards the exit. "You're turning me on now. Stop it."
Monika laughed again. "Okay, sleep well tonight and get some rest, my sexy beauty."
"Enjoy yourself, Monika. Don't get too drunk or too high. Goodbye."
Ingrid's headache had gone away by the time she got off of the bus and began walking along the wide, tree-lined boulevard. She had been going out with Monika for more than two years now, ever since they met at one of the many nightclubs the city had to offer.
Monika stayed at a rented flat with two other women on the other side of the city, and Ingrid had thought about asking her if she could move in to keep expenses down, but quickly nixed the idea as a bad one. Monika and her roommates are party animals, and I'll never be able to get my doctorate degree if I stay with her. Too many distractions. I'll need to find a quiet roommate, perhaps.
The sun had yet to set, and Ingrid's thoughts turned inward as she continued to walk down the street towards her apartment complex. I should have told her about someone hacking into my personal email and deleting all the research material I had, but it would only make her more worried. The police are on the case anyway, and they said not to say anything until they got back to me.
Turning onto the next street, she couldn't help but notice a disheveled man of about thirty or so years of age, standing beside one of the trees on the opposite side of the road, staring at her intently. His grizzled face and sunken cheeks seemed to match the surplus German Army jacket he wore.
Ingrid looked away and quickened her pace. She had deliberately chosen this neighborhood because it was quiet, and the street was pretty much deserted except for the two of them. An unseen dog barked somewhere in the distance.
Then she remembered. He looked like the same man she had seen loitering near the cafe where her bag had been stolen a few days before. It can't be him, she thought. If it is, why would he be here?
A creeping sense of paranoia started to wash over her mind once more, along with the pounding headache that had seemingly returned without warning. Ingrid grimaced as she focused on her destination. The apartment block was no more than a hundred steps away, maybe half that if she widened her strides, which she did.
Sensing danger over her right shoulder, Ingrid nervously glanced back. The man had crossed over to her side of the street, and now he was moving directly behind her, no more than twenty paces away.
Ingrid nearly sprinted as she reached the front door of her apartment complex. My god, is he after me? Reaching into her pockets, her nervous fingers grabbed hold of the keycard, only to drop it onto the concrete pavement the moment she got it out. Ingrid quickly knelt down and grabbed the electronic pass before successfully placing it into the slot after several failed attempts.
The positive buzzing noise came from the now unlocked glass door, and she quickly pushed it open and made it inside before slamming the barrier back into place. The man following her had broken into a sprint the moment she got to the main entrance, and he was less than a meter away when she managed to secure the door.
For a few seconds they both gave each other blank, wild-eyed stares through the transparent entryway. Ingrid knew the front door was composed of thick temperate glass, and the strange man on the other side would need a weapon of some sort to break in.
The man merely stood there, continuing to glare at her with his opaque blue eyes, before he suddenly turned and moved out of sight.
Letting out a deep breath, Ingrid did an about face and began walking up the stairwell. She had been tempted to call the police, but the man had never laid his hands on her, and she was certain he would be gone by the time the authorities arrived anyway.
With the surge of adrenaline having dissipated, her legs now felt leaden as she slowly trudged up the stairs. The mounting fatigue that her body had been able to hold back now returned with a vengeance, and Ingrid was worried she would instantly fall asleep the moment her eyes closed.
