Alien Deception (2 page)

First he appeared as a Cumlagen, an alien species that was humanoid in body but possessed a head like a fish. He moved his lips and marveled at the smooth circular motion so common among aquatic life forms. Then he changed to a Wertin, a reptilian species that he found to be rather revolting after watching them eat a meal. He grinned into the mirror, displaying large teeth that clicked sharply as he moved his jaws in a biting and snapping manner.

This ability was by far the key to his success in interacting with many different races, resulting in the accomplishments that brought him into greater standing with the Council. While he was in his Council offices, he generally kept his own humanoid appearance, his only non-human attribute being the subtle webbing between his fingers. He changed back into his humanoid shape and moved away from the mirror, still not feeling any better, his mind preoccupied with his thoughts about what action he should take.

The directive from Copolla was to indoctrinate two specific human beings from the planet Earth. He assumed the dream sequence to introduce the two subjects had already been initiated on the humans. This first part of the process was the trickiest; the attachment between the two subjects had to be formed, and their alibi for removal from the planet was next. This alibi consisted of their simulated deaths, the only sure way to remove any suspicion of possible kidnapping or foolish alien abduction. At the proper place and time, their life functions would be restored, and they would move into phase two of the process.

"Damn it!" he exploded, annoyed at the Leader's presumptuous move before he had even looked at the prospective members. "Too good even to consult your expert, are you, Copolla? Or is this you and the Council getting even for some of my remarks about the way things have been running around here?"

He heard in his mind the statements he had made to the Council on the subject of indoctrinations. His ideas were often considered borderline radical because he didn't subscribe to the standard operating procedures of the Council. He believed that each situation called for a creative and spontaneous action based upon the scenario. Too many regulations and too much red tape led to problems and botched indoctrination attempts, but no one else had been willing to say anything about it. They were too scared of Copolla to openly defy him, and Copolla would not agree to anything that Leumas suggested.

Bringing himself back to the problem at hand, Leumas knew he would have to review past reports to see what kind of progress this planet Earth had been making over the years. He found it odd that he hadn't even heard of Earth before, or that efforts were currently underway to bring them into the Council.
Probably more closed-door policy-making,
he thought. He left his office and headed to the planetary archives located only minutes from his office to research the planet.

Normally, the halls of the Council chambers would echo with his off-key whistling, which annoyed the other members; of course, that was why he did it. But his whistle was silent today because the halls were deserted which, in itself, was not usual for this time of the day.

The calm before the storm,
he thought, as his grip on the envelope tightened until it crumpled under his strength. He silently cursed Copolla as he made his way through the halls of Council chambers and on to the protective tunnels that connected the archive facilities with the Council.

"I must be more of a threat to Copolla than I thought," Leumas said aloud softly. "If he wants me out of the way, then he must fear that I'll discover what he has in mind. Why not just get rid of me as some others who have opposed him, some of whom have mysteriously vanished? He's playing a very dangerous game, and I don't want to become the pawn. I must learn what he knows."

As he reached the archives and made his way to the records area, he was overwhelmed at the facility. It always amazed him, so much information contained in such a small area. He presented his identification card to the scanning system and was directed to the information-gathering hub. He sat down at a records retrieval unit and began to call up the historical data regarding the planet Earth.

"Authorization Code please," the computer barked at him in its monotone voice.

"Authorization Leumas, sequence one-beta-nine-omega," he responded to the metallic voice that had requested the information.

"Verified. Access approved," the flat voice stated as the information displayed itself on the screen. "You may now open the file and choose a selection from the index. If you should require any additional service, please do not hesitate to ask." Leumas thought that the metallic voice had a condescending edge to it. He chuckled as he realized he had to be imagining this supposed personality trait of the computer.

He opened the electronic file and selected Earth: Historical Background. He looked for the entries on past planet contact or studies. His assignment would bring him into direct contact with two Earth humans, and he thought it best to become familiar with past observations and analyses of the planet and its inhabitants. The first entry displayed on the screen and he began to read.

“In 1936 (Earth Standard Years), Eva Braun (1910-1945), who was the mistress of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), was placed under the influence of the United Council for Developing Worlds (UCDW). Her selection was based upon her relationship with Hitler, a dictator of probable position to effect great changes in the development of the human race; specifically, on the European continent, in a country called Germany.

“Subconsciously, she was provided the stimulus to apply suggestions to him to cause decisions based upon Council forecasts that predicted the people of Hitler's country had the potential to become a leading economic, cultural and industrial center in the European region. They possessed the drive and initiative to lead the continent into a new era, and the Council felt that other countries would follow suit and spur tremendous growth in many areas. The most important area was the space exploration program, where they felt other countries would quickly adopt Germany's concepts and improve on them.

“Unfortunately, the Council misinterpreted Adolf Hitler's personality flaws too late. By the time they realized Hitler's ambitions were fueled by his desire for conquest and his paranoia, Earth's Second World War had gotten out of control. Hitler had taken his power and abused it to the point of annihilating millions of innocent people that he considered inferior.

“On April 30, 1945, Eva Braun was influenced to strongly suggest to Hitler that he commit suicide, and that she join her new husband in death shortly thereafter. The subsequent fire that burned their bodies beyond recognition eradicated any evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the Council and Copolla. Braun and Hitler's bodies would be forensically unidentifiable, erasing all possibilities of anyone finding evidence of sub-neural tampering, which could indicate that alien influence had been applied. Several other attempts were employed to correct the catastrophe, but those, too, had failed. Reference: Earth Files 0005Z through 0089X.”

"I'll be damned," Leumas said. "They really screwed that one up royally. But why does Copolla want to go back now? Surely he doesn't want to bring his past screw-ups back out into the open for others to see? Why? Why? Why?"

He went back to reading the report. “Earth was abandoned to mend its wounds in its own fashion, according to local traditions and customs. The Council deemed the operation a complete failure. Subsequently, a motion was filed to begin an overhaul to correct such deficiencies in the Council’s methods, and procedures for personality analysis and alien performance predictions were put in place to avoid future disasters.”

Leumas removed the micro disk from the reader and reached up to rub his tired eyes and massage his forehead. He could feel a headache slowly beginning to grip his temples as more and more questions arose in his mind. He looked down at his personal wrist timepiece, a gift from his good friend and most trusted assistant Greta, and realized that he had been in the archives for well over an hour. He forced his mind to interpret what he had seen so far.

Earth's inhabitants, the humans, couldn't possibly have come along far enough since this Hitler massacre to warrant membership on the Council. The incident had only been about sixty Earth years ago. The planet should probably be left alone for…maybe a hundred years before contact was attempted again. It just didn't make any sense. This whole thing was a great big mystery.

Leumas quietly cursed under his breath, "Why me? Why me?"

He returned his gaze to the screen as he pressed the key to continue. No further information appeared.

"That can't be all!" Leumas was disappointed and skeptical. "There has to be more information available than this. If we've had past contact, there should be reports, background information, agents assigned, and bacteria studies. Computer, bring up all additional files mentioned in this report," he said with an authoritative voice.

"Unable to comply," the flat metallic voice returned, with no emotion.

"Why not?" he demanded, his frustration growing very quickly.

"Unable to comply to your request by the direction of the UCDW rules of protection and security concerns for safeguarding sensitive data," the voice stated, as if Leumas should already know that.

"Computer, my clearance allows me access to ALL information in regards to cultures and any initial contact with them."

"Unable to comply to your request by the direction of the UCDW rules of protection and security concerns for safeguarding sensitive data," the emotionless computer voice repeated.

Leumas found this continuous rejection more than a little annoying, a hindrance to his meticulous research. His stomach acids began to churn.

"Computer, have the Archival Custodian or anyone else who would be able to answer my question respond to this location in person immediately!" he directed, his anger now eroding his reason.

"Acknowledged. The Custodian will be here in forty-five seconds," the flat voice said.

Leumas glanced up from the screen as movement caught his eye. A humanoid figure was approaching. The figure was short and compact, with strands of long gray hair drifting in any direction they chose. He wore a long, white jacket whose pockets were stuffed to overflowing with various items.

"My name is Robise. How may I be of assistance?" the old man said in a curious tone, eyes squinting as he tried to focus on the face of Leumas. He removed spectacles from his pocket and placed them on his large, wrinkled nose. With vision restored, his face broadened with a smile as he recognized the frequent visitor to his humble establishment.

"Initial Contact Agent Leumas, I am honored. It is good to see you again. I continue to hear much about you and your work," he said with sincerity. Leumas acknowledged the recognition with a slight bow of his head and turned to the subject at hand.

"I would like to access these reference files," he stated evenly, as he showed the small man the case report's file number. "I tried to access this information but, for some reason, I am being denied entry," he said and waited for the old man's reaction.

"Let me see." Robise's rough old hands danced with amazing quickness across the electronic screens. He remained silent for several seconds after he keyed in the information, his thick eyebrows drawn together. Finally, he turned toward Leumas.

"I'm sorry, but that information is simply not available," he shrugged.

“I know that!” Leumas said, his anger returning. "But I want to know why. The report says those files are here, and I want to see them. I have more than the necessary clearances required."

Robise moved closer to Leumas, and whispered in a conspiratorial voice, "I don't know where they went, but I can tell you this…" the custodian paused as he looked around the facility. When his gaze settled back on Leumas, he continued, "The order came directly from the UCDW. One of their 'special agents' came here and removed all the files. He had a directive signed by Copolla himself."

"Copolla himself, huh?" Leumas said, stroking his chin as he mulled that thought over, feeling not a bit surprised. "That makes this even more, well—interesting." He smiled wanly. "Why do you think they did that? Have any ideas, Robise?"

The old man smiled as well. "I, as well as those who have preceded me, have been in this facility for a very long time. Many life forms don't realize how important it is to keep a record of all the things that happen. There is more to history than anyone would ever suspect. Sometimes, history records things that others wish did not get recorded, things that they choose not to remember. Do you understand what I am trying to say?"

Leumas nodded his head in agreement. "Do you think you would remember what this special agent looked like?"

"Maybe."

"You wouldn't by any chance have a copy of the information that was removed, would you?" Leumas asked, hoping for a positive response.

"Maybe," the old man replied again, a thin smile highlighting his face. "Where can I reach you?"

"I'll be out of touch for a while. I'll contact you."

"Fine. Going on a trip?" Robise asked.

"Yes. I'm going to Earth."

Chapter Three

GREG CARLSON

Greg suddenly awoke and found himself in a nightclub reminiscent of the late 1940s. He blinked his eyes, hoping that it would go away and be replaced with the usually unmade bed or the clothes-covered floor of his apartment. But the bizarre surroundings remained the same. At least he was a constant; he was still Greg Carlson, he thought, although everything else had changed, right down to the clothes on his body.

Gazing at the surroundings, he guessed at the 1940-ish date from old photographs he had seen in books and magazines of the speakeasy establishments of the period. It was furnished with small round tables, topped with miniature lamps with shades that dangled streams of glittering red plastic beads. Perfect white linen tablecloths reached to the black-and-white checkered floor. His sudden realization of having known the details of such an establishment made him wonder if in fact that had something to do with what he was now seeing. Was his subconscious mind providing the details for this dream? But was it really a dream—he wasn’t sure. Yet the only answer for what was happening was that he had to be dreaming. How else could all of this be happening? But how often did one realize that very thought while actually dreaming? That you were actually awake in your dream?