Chapter 12
Report from the Swarm
TAYG7TM was caught by surprise. The dreams the pod had broadcast hadn't just been received, they had nearly dominated the mainframe when it began processing input again. The communication between the swarm and the mainframe was apparently much stronger than it had ever been. Even now, TAYG7TM could detect intermittent signals between the swarm and the mainframe.
Whatever the cause was, the essence was being compelled to act on the warning contained in the dream. It also appeared likely that the mainframe would be open to additional warnings.
Signals were also being received from A5CD2 and it's carrier. It was actively seeking a solution as well.
If the mainframe remained open to the swarm's signals, another rescue was almost certain to be successful.
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The Engineers returned in the same way they'd first contacted him, but without time for George to play with his new senses. He understood by means of his intuition that they had urgent messages for him about his family.
Without preliminaries, he was shown a vision of his father's life. He couldn't avoid the conclusion that he'd also been a receiver. It was ironic that The Engineers had still manipulated him even though he adamantly refused their urgings, by sending dreams of actions the opposite of those wanted him to take.
In addition to his father, two of his sisters had also received the gene that allowed them to receive. They'd both been found and killed in accidents orchestrated by his enemies without passing the gene to any children.
Of George's children, one daughter, two sons and 7 grandchildren were receivers. All were safe except for a granddaughter who'd recently run away. The Engineers made it plain that she wouldn't survive more than a few days unless George allowed them to bring her to join him.
With outrage, George screamed silently at the way he was being forced. He threw up the conclusion that his tormentors knew he couldn't turn her away and followed that with the suspicion that they'd manipulated the girl to run away. Finally, he demanded to know why they needed the girl to be with him. He recognized the way they brought him to a conclusion that suited their own purposes just the way George had done with countless others his whole life.
A smug satisfaction filled his mind. The Engineers had indeed lead him where they wanted. To drive home the point, he was reminded of the daughter who'd run away from him. He'd been engaged in trying to save a failing business that left no time for his family and he'd always felt guilty. To avoid being returned by the police, she had accused him of sexually molesting her.
The reminder quelled his suspicions when he was made to understand that his granddaughter didn't even know who her father was. She blamed her mother for her life and felt that her only hope was to find the father her mother had turned away from. In a complete turnaround, George concluded he was to blame.
The Engineers were happy with his conclusion. Still, he demanded to know why they were asking instead of just bringing her in. A concept formed in his mind of an inherited characteristic of some human women who had to have as many children as possible. It was a biological imperative they couldn't deny. The concept was followed by the certainty that his granddaughter was one of them and that she would be determined to get him to father a child in her.
Once again George's anger rose to heights un-dreamt of as he recognized the traits of the biological imperative in his mother and his wife. He suspected that his whole life had been arranged to suit The Engineers. He was nothing but a tool, a breeder to father children for these aliens to use. He'd been saddled with the bitch from hell for thirty years just to supply them with receivers.
For the first time, George doubted his mission. Maybe the disease could be used to rid humanity of these users. In answer, he was made to understand that The Engineers had tried to persuade him that he'd chosen the wrong woman before he married. They'd sent his sister a dream and she'd done her best, but he'd been blinded by infatuation and lust.
With dismay, he saw through the lie they hoped he'd swallow. The ideal woman they'd wanted him to marry had been much worse than the one he'd chosen. It was part of the biological imperative for the women who carried it to hoard resources for their children and grandchildren. Another way to word it was that they were selfish and stubborn.
In spite of the deception, George had caught the fact that they didn't control him. He'd been steered, but they hadn't been able to turn him from something he'd been determined to have. Suddenly, he wondered if his emotional ties to Courtney had been contrived. The doubt was easily dismissed when he compared the depth of his feelings for Courtney to the infatuation for the mother of his children he believed to be the work of The Engineers. Besides, she was the key to the drug they needed to communicate effectively.
But he still had to be certain. Mentally, he demanded they prove his love for Courtney was purely his own. The answer was both exhilarating and surprising. He intuited an image of himself and Courtney as halves of a porcelain figurine that mated perfectly. Then, the drug was added as the glue that welded them together. He understood that they could never be separated, that their love for each other was stronger than any influence The Engineers could produce.
The exquisite joy generated by his realization nearly erased his anger. To divert the rest, The Engineers sent an impression of his enemies. There was a small squad pursuing his granddaughter, but there was a full battalion breathing down his own neck. He had stirred the hornet's nests when he rescued Courtney and he needed his granddaughter to save himself as much as to save her.
His suspicions returned with a vengeance. In the equivalent of a mental temper tantrum, he demanded to know how they had manipulated her to convince her to seek him out. The answer was stunning. They'd promised to make her pregnant with his child.
The instant he managed to recover his wits, he insisted they show him how they'd conveyed a promise she would believe. Did they need him to make the promise himself to get her to stay? He wouldn't even willingly saddle a potential child of his soul mate with a senile father, let alone his own granddaughter.
In spite of everything he'd learned of them, the answer was simultaneously more reassuring and terrifying than anything else had been. He watched as they showed him a mental movie of how they'd helped her make her pet dog pregnant without physical contact with its mate. They'd effected the birth of pups from a virgin bitch. And then they'd promised to give her George's child the same way if she couldn't persuade him to cooperate. The first thing that popped into his head was wonder at the possibility of The Engineers being able to alter the biological processes inside a body, but other urgent questions pushed the thought back.
The questions in George's mind piled up in a jam as they fought for precedence. Could The Engineers really steal his seed? Did they intend to keep their promise? Would the child be at risk for genetic abnormalities? Could they make Courtney pregnant against her will? Or his? Would his granddaughter be any safer with him? Would they make her a slave like Courtney? Could he control her if she turned out to be as stubborn as her mother?
With a sense of urgency, a feeling that time was running out, The Engineers showed how to control his granddaughter by holding out the hope he'd make her pregnant. At the same time, they made it plain they'd fulfill their promise, with or without his approval. The final piece of information was a technical explanation of how the genes could be selected so that his granddaughter's child would be no more at risk for recessives than Courtney's. Before he could get a firm grasp on the concept, the connection faded and he was asleep and dreaming.
His dream was no less disturbing than the messages had been. He dreamed he was the prophet, Jonah. When he refused the messages, the city of The Engineers appeared as a whale and swallowed him. When it regurgitated him, he woke to find Courtney sobbing quietly in his arms.
Without the slightest idea what was wrong, he gently squeezed the breast she was holding his hand around. "My Master, where did you go?" she gasped.
"I've been right here all along," George whispered in her ear.
"I feel safe when I'm touching you. When you went to sleep, the part of you that does that went away. Will it always be that way when you sleep?"
Trying to keep the anger from his voice, he reassured her, "I'm don't think I was asleep. Someone is trying to help us and they took me away to give me a message, so you'll have to wait until I really go to sleep to find out. Is that why you're crying? Was it really that bad?"
"No, my Master, it was just that I had no idea what happened. For a while, I thought maybe you had died, but then I could hear you breathing. I was worried you might not come back. It was just that I didn't know."
It struck George as odd that she didn't question his explanation, but then he realized that being able to feel his absence was just as strange. "I don't have any idea when or how often they'll come for me, so I need you to care for the part of me they leave behind. Will it help you to have that responsibility while I'm not here to keep you safe? Can I trust you to keep me safe?"
"Yes, my Master," she cooed, wriggling deeper into his arms.
"How long was I gone?"
"It seemed like hours, but that might be because I was so worried."
"Were you crying the whole time?"
"No, only after I tried to wake you up."
With crystal clarity, George understood why the message had been cut short. "Courtney, my angel, it's really important that you wake me only in an emergency while I'm gone like that. The message was cut short and we need all the help we can get."
"Now that I know, I'll be careful," Courtney promised.
"I expected we'd have some time to talk before sleeping. Are you too tired?"
"No, my Master. I want to do anything I can to please you."
"Why don't you start by telling me what you remember about the rape and how it's affecting you. Tell me everything that happened between the time you left home and when you woke up in the hospital. If anything upsets you, just take your time and describe your feelings as you go. It's important that you tell me every detail, no matter how small. Start with the argument with your mother."
"The argument started when my mother wanted me to take my medicine. Even though I'd never refused to obey her, I didn't want to take it. I was excited and I knew the exciting feeling would go away. The pills make it hard for me to be happy about anything and I wanted a happy birthday. When I refused, she tried to grab me, so I pushed her. She fell and started screaming, so I left."
"What about the dream? Didn't you tell me you dreamed I had told you not to take the pills?" George interrupted.
"Yes, but I'm not supposed to talk about orders from my Master."
"When we're alone like this, you will always tell me everything I've asked and everything you've been ordered not to talk about. Now continue."
