The aurora city
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| companion 30 to 40 years old. Mature,
stable gentleman, financially secure, well-educated, conservative and reliable. Was Indian chief in former life, and a member of the men in black.’ A few eye witness reports did seem credible. In one or two cases, people had actually received verbal warnings from men in black not to discuss things they had seen. After thirty minutes, Cassiopia decided there was little helpful information and gave up. She folded up her laptop and decided to head for the dining car for something to eat. The coach cars were much busier now. Ample baggage protruded from the overhead storage. There were empty seats but most rows were occupied. The men in black were still gone. Cassiopia purchased a turkey sandwich from a machine, along with hot coffee. She sat at a table, ate, and stared out the window. The rattle of the car made concentric rings in her coffee. She loved the smell of fresh coffee. Here it was mixed with a touch of machine and people smells. She wondered what Scott was up to back at home. The robot and dog were now his only company, and his relationship with the TEL robot was sometimes tempestuous. On several occasions he claimed that the machine was making fun of him or even laughing at him,
something that was just not possible. It was true there were unexpected side- effects from Cassiopia’s programming, and the machine had been exposed to some very unusual environments, but it was still just a mobile computer, nothing more. At least, that was what she still believed. Scott was as difficult to understand as the robot. At times, he would carry on about the spiritual side of life, and other times think nothing of fighting to the death with bad guys. Her various university degrees were impressive but seemed of little interest to him. He had barely scraped through high school. It was strange how trouble always seemed to find Scott, as though life considered him an antidote. At least, she had come to understand one thing. She was deeply in love with the man.
Shouldn’t it have been someone advanced in the sciences? Someone who spoke her language? Could someone with a high IQ really bond with someone whose outlook was purely spiritual? It seemed like two opposites. And, he still was quite reluctant to say I love you. Marriage was probably out of the question. She had once promised him their plan would be to have no plan. She would need to keep that promise. Apparently this human relationship thing was something not easily understood. A one-day at a time experiment. Cassiopia finished her coffee, dropped her garbage in the trash slot and headed back. She slid open the door to the next coach car and froze. There in the forth isle down, sat one of the men in black.
It was impossible. It looked like one of the same men who had been left behind on the platform. There was no way they could have re-boarded the speeding train. They would have had to drop in from a helicopter and there hadn’t been time to do something as absurd as that. Cassiopia caught herself staring and quickly regained her composure. She walked by the man and dared a quick glance without turning her head. This time he was staring back, folded newspaper in his hands, his clothing just as pristine as before. His face was expressionless. Bewildered, she hurried along to the next coach car. As she crossed over, she nearly bumped into someone going the other way. She looked up and let out a small yelp of surprise. It
was the second man in black, waiting to pass by. He did not apologize for startling her. He waited with a flat stare as she moved on. With her hand on her racing heart, she made it back to the roomette. She shut herself in and again took her seat facing her still-sleeping father. It took a concentrated effort to slow her breathing and regain her poise. She sat staring into oblivion for a moment, the finger tips of one hand over her mouth, trying to understand what had happened. How could they possibly have gotten back on the train? Bumping into the second one had not been by chance. They were letting her know she had not escaped, perhaps also expressing their displeasure with her trickery.
Cassiopia nervously tapped her sleeping father’s leg. “Father, something happened.” The Professor stirred but resisted waking. “Father…” Professor Cassell reluctantly struggled to open his eyes. He blinked and stared out of focus, finally nodding to his daughter. “Yes? We haven’t arrived?” “No, we’re not there yet but something happened that scared me. I think I may have acted too impulsively.” “You? Surely not.” Cassiopia recounted everything that occurred while the Professor stared silently. “What do you think, Father? How did they get back on? It’s a mystery.”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “There was no way they could have gotten back on. Even a helicopter could not have picked them up and lowered them aboard in that little time.”
“I do not know the answer,” was all the Professor could say. He briefly looked around the roomette, tilted his head against the window, and again went to sleep. Annoyed, Cassiopia dug her cell phone out of her purse and hit the autodial. Markman answered on the first ring. “Hey.” “Hi. It’s me.” “Are you alright?” “I think I may have gotten myself involved in something I should not have.”
“You? No…” “Please Scott, I’m serious.” “Okay, what did your conniving little mind come up with this time?” “I was only trying to test an hypothesis.” “And what poor unsuspecting soul did you do something to?” “No. It’s not like that. It’s those men we’ve been seeing parked near the house.” Markman’s voice dropped to a more somber tone. “I was just about to call you. I know who they are and why they are watching us. It’s okay.” “Tell me, please.” “It’s too much on the phone. I’ll meet you at the conference and we’ll go over everything. In the meantime, there’s nothing to worry about. They won’t do anything.”
“When will you come?” “I’ll grab the first flight out.” “Are you sure?” “It doesn’t bother me at all.” “I’ll pick you up at the airport, then.”
“No, I’ll get a rental. You might be tied up at the conference. I’ll find you. Will the construction people be okay if none of us are here?” “Yes. The building plans are all firm. In fact, they seem annoyed when I try to help out.” “No.”
“You’re being funny again.” “Will the dog be okay with just the robot?” “Are you kidding? The TEL is a dotting den mother. I will have to look into that when I get back.” “I’ll see you soon, then.”
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