OCTOBER 5TH, 1230 HOURS (1130 HOURS MOUNTAIN TIME)
Holding a copy of his own report, Major Eiken walked around the large table and sat down in the chair to the right of Colonel Stevens. Olivia came in the room a few seconds later, her own folded copy crushed within her small hand. She navigated to the other side of the table and sat across from Major Eiken and to the left of Colonel Jennings.
Major Eiken gazed down at the pages and covertly entrenched himself in the ambience. Quiet and tension mostly prevailed around the dark wooden table, except for the quick flip of a page here and there. But, of course. General Tauring would probably expect thoughtful, intelligent interactions, even this early on.
Some worry seeped into Major Eiken’s mind; hopefully all the important points were adequately present in his report.
General Tauring finally entered the room and rushed over to his usual chair at the head of the table. With Colonel Stevens swiftly rising up and readying a salute, Major Eiken scrambled up likewise, lifting his hand to his forehead. Olivia and Colonel Jennings did the same.
“As you were, officers,” General Tauring said quickly.
Barely saluting, they all sat back down, along with the general.
General Tauring placed his copy of the report on the table’s surface. He grasped his hands together, laid them on top of the report, and took a quick look at each person with his steely gray eyes. “Not gonna sugar-coat this, ladies and gents. This is quite the complex, perplexing, and disturbing situation we have encountered.” He tilted his head back to a slight degree and lifted the report upright. His eyes scanned intently. “I am going to summarize and then open the floor for questions and comments. From Major Eiken’s summary, we appear to have an EBE instigated event, dealing with both intergalactic- and interdimensional-capable aliens, who are phenomenally intelligent, it goes without saying. I say intergalactic, since Mr. Turrone was supposedly transported, though that remains unverifiable for now, to space without stars or galaxies present. And I say interdimensional since we have perception of the Turrones, and then we do not. We don’t have cameras picking up images or video, but then we do. We don’t have weight, and then we do. We have tools being used to remove samples of the unknown material, and then they vanish into the unknown material. We have the Turrones shrinking in size after light flashes which vary in color depending on the viewer. And we may have them accelerating forward in time. And lastly, but certainly not least, due to Dr. Bohanek’s simple little experiment to test homogeneity with total internal reflection, their realm could be experiencing an increase in the speed of light, a little tidbit we all know is pretty much damn impossible. So, my humble opinion? We’re dealing with masters of illusion. In fact, I seriously wonder if Lang and Evan are even alive anymore, but merely reanimated, what with their unrestricted breathing capabilities, and lack of thirst, hunger, and a need to relieve themselves.” He tapped the report’s bottom edge on the tabletop a few times and then laid it down. “All right, officers, let me hear it.”
“Sir, if I may,” Colonel Stevens said.
“Go ahead, Colonel.”
Colonel Stevens held up his copy of the report, the pages already flipped over, and stared at one section. “Before Major Eiken and Major C’est arrived, Dr. Mukherjee, from the CDC, used a pen light to observe Lang’s pupils, since the encasing material allowed him to do so. And Lang’s pupils dilated. A dead person’s pupils do not dilate, sir.” Colonel Stevens became quiet for a moment, reading more on the page. “This is, of course, after Dr. Mukherjee’s stethoscope was seized off his ears and absorbed into the encasing material.”
“I know,” Colonel Jennings said softly, smiling, glancing down at her report. “I read that too. But it didn’t matter much. His stethoscope didn’t detect anything.”
“So I read,” General Tauring said.
Major Eiken couldn’t help but smile likewise. He gave the general a direct though cordial stare. “Sir, if I may.”
“Yes, Major.”
“As I mentioned, before we departed from Park River, Dr. Bohanek, Dr. Hatzen from the health department, and Dr. Mukherjee were all present as Dr. Bohanek used an ophthalmoscope to check Lang’s retina. The unknown material cooperated and they found no sign of brain trauma or circulatory problems. And again, sir, they confirmed that Lang, and Evan, after it was used on him too, are alive.”
“So these aliens would have us believe,” General Tauring said. “Granted, they’re probably alive, but I’m still sticking to my initial response. Masters of illusion. By the way, how are the Turrones doing? The colonels and I will be meeting with them shortly.”
Major Eiken grimaced a moment. “As good as can be expected, after decreasing so much in height. They seem quite upset by this, but they are trying to relax in their room.”
“Yes, we certainly can’t blame them for that.” General Tauring flipped over the pages of the report until stopping on one page. “A decrease of approximately six point five inches for Lang and five point six inches for Evan. And thank you for the centimeters to inches conversion for this stubborn, older general.”
Major Eiken smiled. “You’re welcome, sir.”
But the general remained serious. “Like I said folks, disturbing.” He looked at Major Eiken. “And after your request for their background - they’re mostly Chippewa, with some other nationalities thrown in?”
“That’s correct, sir. Though they are quite Americanized.”
General Tauring gave a sly grin. “As an African American, Major, is that the current terminology for denying one’s ancestry? No disrespect intended, mind you.”
“And none taken, sir. No, it is not a current terminology. I only mean they walk, talk, and adhere to standard, or should I say, Christian…America.”
“Very well, then. And that is their prerogative.” He glanced around the table. “Any other comments, thoughts, suggestions?”
Colonel Jennings directed her eyes on the general. “Sir, if I may.”
“Go ahead, Colonel.”
“I believe it is too early to make a determination on their lack of hunger, thirst, or the need to relieve themselves. It’s only been since about 0900 hours this morning, Central Time.” She glanced at her watch. “That’s only about three and a half hours.”
“Noted, Colonel. Time will tell, then. Anyone else?”
Major Eiken couldn’t summon up anything else to say. And surprisingly, no one else could too. It had to be as Colonel Jennings reasoned; it was just too early to make adequate sense of any of this.
“All right then,” General Tauring said. “I’ll have you all know the Turrone’s Suburban arrived via another shuttle on MTS72. Additionally, I am assigning teams as of now. Colonel Stevens, you will be in charge of the human component. Colonel Jennings, the vehicle component.” He leaned his forearms on the table and eyed each of them in turns. “Because, ladies and gents, we have our work cut out for us. At the same moment in time that the Turrones experienced their unfortunate capture in this unknown alien material, approximately 1445Z hours, five other people, from different time zones and from varied countries around the world, experienced the same event, with both their bodies and vehicles.”
That wasn’t actually so surprising, but Major Eiken tried not to show it. “Sir, really?”
“Yes, Major. Three people, a bus driver and two male passengers, became trapped in the unknown alien material after exiting a commuter bus in Melbourne, Australia. A doctor from Accra, Ghana, is another unfortunate victim, similarly trapped once exiting his older Ford Mondeo. And a Japanese woman, a hotel clerk, from Sendai, Japan, the last one on a Subway bus, is our seventh victim.”
“A Ford Mondeo?” Colonel Stevens questioned, holding back a grin.
“Yes, Colonel, shockingly.” General Tauring’s eyes twinkled with amusement, but he didn’t smile.
Colonel Jennings became more alert, energized. “Sir, if I may.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Did the Turrone’s vehicle, and the five other people, and their associated vehicles, all experience the same light flash events with the decrease in size, increase in time, and increase in mass?”
“That is a very good question, Colonel. From what we know, yes, the decrease in size for both vehicles and people has been verified, along with the light flashes. The increase in time and mass will need to be established yet. ”
“Well, that’s helpful, those two conditions,” Colonel Jennings said calmly, though her face showed mild shock. “Something they all share.”
Olivia’s jaw had dropped and she was blinking a lot. “Then they must all share the same dimension.”
General Tauring nodded. “Quite possibly, Major.”
“But are there any others, sir, beyond these seven?” Colonel Stevens asked.
“Another good question. No, not that we have determined so far. Real time satellite imaging and intense computer analysis of particular behaviors, since we could not rely upon actual images, and conducting these procedures over the entire globe, could not find any other incidences. The seven people, and their corresponding hunks of transportation metal, are all we have.”
“Unbelievable, sir,” Colonel Jennings said.
“I do agree, Colonel. And as an added note to your question, we cannot yet confirm the increase in light speed for all concerned. However, let me continue with my main point. Each of these unfortunate souls’ associated countries of course agreed to let us handle this, what with our vast experience in extra-terrestrial encounters. And hence, in several days, they and their vehicles will be gracing our fine underground establishment. But, unfortunately, that is not the worst of any of this. The worst is clean-up, folks. And that’s where you two come in.” He eyed Major C’est, and then Major Eiken. “Major Eiken, you’ll lead the team. We already have unit members dispersed in Minnesota, but evidence is spreading rapidly. Fortunately, since we suspect most witnesses’ phones and cameras weren’t successful at recording any digital evidence, we can’t say that with certainty. Nevertheless, all online videos, social media and texting, and of course all the local doctors, other agencies, and news media involved, need clean wipes, and fast.”
Major Eiken recalled all the reporters present by the time he and Olivia showed up, not to mention all the emergency personnel involved. “But Sir, if I may. Can it all be eventually diluted or banished from such a broad range of media?”
“Good question, Major. And I don’t know. But that’s your job, so get it done.” Grasping the report, the general stood up by the table, his head held high, his shoulders square and stalwart. “And one more item. I’m already getting tired of unknown material, encasing material, alien substance, etc., etc. Get that kid Evan to pick a name for the stuff and let’s stick to it. Kids are usually good at naming things.” He inhaled deeply and relaxed his shoulders. “You are all dismissed for now, until further notice.”