The Eleusian Effect
Chapter 12 An Important Test

September 5, 2169 0800 Hours

The Kennedy was still in orbit around earth. Captain Tanner was waiting for my results before we set off to Mars. Time was of the essence. I needed volunteers and I started with the medical staff. Flowers and Lieutenant Barbara Wilson (formerly Robert), from the xeno-biology section volunteered. Like myself, Wilson was an enhanced female. I got up 2 hours early to prepare the test chamber. I pressurized the tanks with the pheromone blocker and blended the breathable air, matching the normal conditions on the ship. The previous day, the volunteers were instructed to go about their normal routine, both on and off duty. This is to ensure the best possible result under normal conditions. The test chamber would have the normal amount of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide as if everything were normal. An enhanced female and a normal man together for a few hours should create the proper effect. Flowers brought in some work to do as did Wilson. After an hour, Flowers began to get flushed. He was also looking at Wilson repeatedly. At first, he would steal a glance and then after a while he was staring. “How are you feeling, Flowers?” “Did the heat get turned up?”

“No. The temperature has not changed.”

“Okay. I’m all right.”

He continued to work with difficulty and after another half hour he stopped and got up. He wandered around aimlessly then he sat down next to Wilson. He struck up a conversation and they seemed to be just talking. Flowers was sweating a lot and he tried to walk away from her. He went back and she stopped and looked at him. She started to become more interested in him. He noticed that and he began to stroke her hair and she liked it. They were becoming more interested in each other and soon they were kissing. It was then I administered the compound in gaseous form. I started the timer to gauge how long before it took effect. After about 5 minutes they stopped and pulled away from each other. Flowers was embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.” “It’s okay. It’s part of the test. It’s actually good that you were affected. If this is successful, we’ll be able to live easier knowing the males won’t fry their brains.” “I suppose you’re right, although it wasn’t my brains I was worried about.”

“Besides,” Wilson smiled wryly, “You’re not a bad kisser.”

Flowers smiled. That seemed to break the tension. “Thanks, I enjoyed it, too.”

I brought both of them out of the chamber and did medi-scans on them. Flowers’ pheromone levels were normal as was his mean body temperature. Wilson’s level of pheromone output was the same. The compound worked! I informed the Captain and she was ecstatic. “Administer the compound immediately!” “I can send it through the ventilation system.”

“Do it. I will inform GASA Control that we have solved the problem and that we are ready to head to Mars.”

“Aye.”

About 20 minutes later, the Captain made an announcement. She sounded the Bosun’s Call which is typically used for ceremonial purposes and things of great importance: “Attention, all hands, this is the Captain speaking. Due to certain important health issues, our voyage to Mars was postponed. I am glad to say that those issues have been resolved and we now have permission from GASA Control to depart for Mars. As of 1130 hours we will be leaving orbit and heading to the Red Planet where we will pick up supplies, receive new crewmen, and drop off some new crew for a new assignment. We will also participate in some research to prepare us for the greatest journey mankind has ever taken. I am proud of this crew, there is none finer, stronger, smarter and better trained. I plan to return in a year with this crew intact and receive a hero’s welcome, because I believe that all of you are heroes. May God bless the Kennedy and its crew. Prepare to leave orbit in 30 minutes.” I have heard similar speeches but this one definitely left me with goosebumps. I decided to call Bill. I wanted to see him before we left. Subspace messages will be functional at least while we are still in the solar system. “Hey Babe.” “Hey yourself. You’re still in orbit?”

“Yes for another 30 minutes. I just wanted to call you before we left.”

“I’m glad you did. I miss you.”

“I miss you too.”

“Hey look who’s here!” Two figures came up behind Bill. It was my parents.

“Hi Mom, Hi Dad! You guys are over Bill’s?”

Mom cut in. “Yes we decided to get together every so often until you come back.”

“That’s nice. I’m flattered.”

Dad spoke up. “You guys are real heroes. Everyone wants to hear about your Mars mission.”

“I’ll report back when we get there.”

“I figured you’d be close by now.”

“We had some issues to take care of. We’re leaving orbit in about 20 minutes.”

“Okay, well we’ll let you go. We love you! Be safe.” Dad was tearing up. I started to, too.

“I will, Dad. I love you, too. I will call when I get to Mars.”

“All right, sounds good.”

The screen went dark and for the first time in a long time, I felt a little homesick. I shook it off and went to the bridge.

September 5, 2169, 1230 Hours

The Bosun’s call sounded again. The commander’s voice came over the com:

“All hands, prepare to leave orbit.”

The ship took a collective breath and Tanner gave the command. “Engage engines, half-light speed.” The bridge was fully staffed and prepared to run the ship. Tanner was in the Captain’s Chair; First Officer Tracy Felloner was posted at the Operations Station, the communications officer Ensign Sarah (formerly Samuel) Conway manned comms and Petty Officers Capshaw and Warren were at navigation and propulsion respectively. I was sitting at the bridge medical station and stared at the forward view screen. I glanced at the console and everything was normal. We were on our way. Two planets in less than 6 months. It never really dawned on me that only a short time ago we were finally able to send a man to Mars. Now Mars trips have become routine. It’s an administrative trip at best to drop off crew, pick up the rest of our supplies and head to outer space. Once we were moving, I approached the Captain’s Chair. “We’ll be in Mars orbit in about an hour and a half.” Tanner was calm and collected. I was excited enough to lose the homesickness I was feeling earlier. “How long will it take to finish out business there?” “Not long. Half a day with no issues I suppose.” I want to spend as little time there as possible. By the way, I’ll need daily progress reports on the status of Eleusian data research.” “Will do, Commander. Are we picking up any more crew on Mars?”

“Not to my knowledge. But there’s always a possibility. We’ll see what GASA decides.”

The trip to Mars was quick and uneventful. We entered orbit in 93 minutes and contacted the Martian Spaceport. Tanner piloted the ship with relative ease. The navigator opened the comms’ frequencies as they aligned. We had had audio first. Tanner adjusted in her seat. “Ensign, hail Mars Command, please.” “Aye, Sir. comms open.”

“This is Captain Tanner of the USS Kennedy, requesting permission to enter Mars orbit.”

A voice came across the audio. “Please wait while the ship security protocols engage. Identity confirmed. Welcome to Mars, Kennedy. You may shuttle down at your convenience.” “Thank you, Mars Command.” Tanner looked puzzled. “What’s wrong?” I was curious.

“We should have visual on the screen. The audio and visual signals are combined in the feed. Why couldn’t we see them?” “We could ping the signal, check the subspace integrity.” Conway was checking the comms algorithm. “That should verify the integrity of the signal.” “Would it be effective this close to the planet? Subspace transmissions are used for long distance communication.” “The function algorithms are the same, except for long distances the modulation and power outputs are higher.” “Do it. Let me know what you find.”

“Aye, Sir.”

Tanner turned to Tracy “I’m probably paranoid, but I want a security detail with every shuttle going to the surface. Something doesn’t smell right.” About an hour later, the first ground crew was ready to shuttle to the surface. There were two security officers, 2 from General Science, 2 medical staff (myself included) and 2 bridge crew for administration. Their initial mission was to secure the supplies we needed for deep space and make contact with Mars Command. Normally, we would download all collected data to the Archives, but we had to encrypt everything concerning the Eleusians and the Venus Mission. Tanner was leery about letting that information out; fortunately, our data research team was able build solid encryptions and dummy algorithms to boost the firewalls and shield the data from wandering eyes. Tanner arranged that the data be the last thing we deal with and then make a hasty exit. I agreed.

The shuttle landed on the pad and a crew was waiting for us. A tall, dour looking man walked up to us and introduced himself. “I am Chief Petty Officer Wesley Barton and I am going to be handling you resupply operations.” “I am Dr. Obama. This is Lieutenant Wilson, my assistant. We will be handling the medical supplies while my colleagues will handle everything else.” “What about those two?” Barton was all business.

“They are security. Just a precaution for any Anti-space sentiment.” I was trying to mask their true reason for being here.

“This is highly unusual. Who would travel to Mars and be anti-space?”

“I hear ya, but Captain’s orders.”

Barton was offset. “Very well. He turned on his heels and walked into the hangar bay. I clearly outranked him but this was his domain. I decided to remain diplomatic, knowing how anxious Tanner and the rest of the Kennedy crew were about being here. We followed Barton into the vestibule then the main corridor. He stopped and turned around. “The labs and quartermaster are that way,” he pointed to the left. “Sickbay and medical supply are that way. You are free to take advantage of any part of the facility, barring the classified areas. They are marked by the red and yellow hash-marked stripes. Please do not try to access them without permission.” I was curious. “Why do you have classified areas?”

“We have several, highly sensitive experiments going on and we need them to remain undisturbed.”

“Okay. We aren’t going to be here too long. Captain’s anxious to get out there.”

Barton grunted. “Hmm. Well I let you get to it then. Contact me on the station comms if you need anything. I am on duty until 1800 hours.” Barton excused himself and walked off towards the operations center. “That guy creeps me out.” Wilson was put off by him.

“Yeah, me too. Maybe he’s been on Mars too long. Anyway let’s get to work. I want to get out of here as soon as possible.” The next couple of hours went smoothly as we loaded several storage containers to be sent up to the Kennedy. We met with Barton at 1545 hours, to clear the station and prepare to load the Eleusian data into the Archives. During the download, the current archive would also be uploaded so we would have all the information from the Martian database. Barton met us at the Archive Upload Port to assist us. He had a data card as did we. Our security protocols were contained on the card, and both cards had to be inserted into the com port console in the Archive to initiate the data exchange. Once it began it could not be stopped; any attempt to stop or interrupt the process would trigger a complete data dump in order to protect the station, not to mention GASA interests. Barton inserted his card and I inserted mine. We started the process and waited for a few minutes. Small talk with Barton was next to impossible.

“So, where are you from?”

“Minnesota,” he responded mechanically.

“Must be cold.”

“Mmm.”

I thought I might try a bit of an experiment. I suspected that I might be able to control the level of pheromones I radiated so I thought I would try to flirt with Barton to see if I could get a rise out of him. I moved in closer to him and he squirmed a little. I dropped my voice just a little and looked at him. He met my gaze and acted a little shy. I pouted a little. “It must get lonely here.” He broke the gaze and moved away. “I have a partner here. We’re very happy.”

“You mean like work partner?” I was purposely playing a little dumb.

“We work and live together.”

“That’s good. It’s not good to be alone out here.”

“GASA thought the same so they allowed us to bring partners or spouses. He was already in GASA so it was easy to get assigned together.” “Your partner is male?”

“Yes.” Barton was smitten and moved closer to me.

“That’s too bad.” I decided I had tortured him enough and moved away. I returned to my professional demeanor. Barton snapped out of it but he was a little thrown. I looked at the console and saw that the data exchange was synced. “It’s done. We’ll initiate the classified data next.” “O-okay.” Barton was snapping out it but my quick experiment was a success. I didn’t want to overwhelm him but I was able to gain his interest despite the fact he was gay. It was a fascinating development and I decided I would later isolate the pheromone for further study. In the meantime, I felt it would have been cruel to push Barton any farther.

I contacted the Kennedy and requested the encrypted download. We together initiated the process and it was significantly shorter. I kept my distance from Barton but he would steal glances every so often. I wondered if I had gone too far. I turned to him. “Are you okay?” He stammered a bit. “You seem to have an unusual effect on me.”

“How so?” I decided to play dumb again.

“When you were close to me, I felt-“

“Felt what?” I knew what he felt.

“Attracted to you. I’ve never been attracted to a woman, any woman for that matter. It’s a new experience.” “I’m flattered.” I felt bad I messed with Barton’s head. It was a mistake. “Do you know why you feel this way?” “No. It’s like I’ve been drugged. It’s a very strange sensation.”

“Well I am a doctor, I could check you out?” That sounded horrible.

“No, I think I should go to the infirmary for a checkup. Thank you.” Barton turned to leave and I wanted to apologize because I knew it was my fault, but it would compromise the Eleusian data, not to mention our entire mission. I had to live with that. “Take care, Mr. Barton.” “Safe travels, Doctor.” Barton walked out of the port room. I hoped the best for him and I endeavored to get to the truth about the Eleusians and this condition they left us in. I met the ground crew to do a quick debrief and return to the Kennedy. I reported in and recorded our activity without mentioning my informal experiment with Barton. I hope I didn’t ruin him.

September 5, 2169 1730 Hours

We took off from the pad and headed up to the Kennedy. As we rode, there was a faint sound like a distant thunder. I looked out the shuttle window and saw that half of the Mars Command Center was blown out and people were scrambling to get to the escape pods.

“Turn Around!” I commanded. Wilson was piloting the shuttle and responded immediately. “Send a distress call to the Kennedy. We need medical and engineering for triage and disaster recovery!” “Aye Sir!” Wilson was an expert pilot and put the shuttle down to the damaged area. “Oxygen suits!” Wilson pressed a button on the console and the emergency closets opened. All of us trained for this so we all donned suits and marked ready. Wilson was the pilot but I was the senior officer in charge. “Deploy!” Wilson punched the airlock control and all the air rushed out of the shuttle. We bounded out to render assistance. “First priority is secure the personnel!” I screamed. Everyone, including the security detail scrambled to grab the choking people. We moved as fast as we could. I grabbed a shirtless male and dragged him into the working airlock. It was fortunate that explosion happened near multiple airlocks. I pulled him in and hit the decompression switch. When I rolled him over, I saw that it was Barton. He was unconscious but alive. I administered an oxygen push to supply his cells with oxygen. He came to with a start. I took off my helmet and calmed him down. His skin was red due to bursting capillaries. He coughed and gasped for air and when he could he spoke. “Explosion in Archive. Last download-virus-tried to remove it-created a feedback loop. “ Barton struggled and then passed out from his injuries. I brought him to the infirmary, which was not damaged in the explosion. From a quick check he would be okay. I felt a twinge of guilt as I turned to leave the infirmary. I went back to Barton who was in and out of consciousness. “I am so sorry Barton. For everything.” He seemed to have heard me so I kissed him on the cheek and left. I rushed out to the airlock and peered through the window. There were body parts floating and teams containing plasma fires. The recovery system sealed the hole but several crew were assisting in making sure it was a good seal. The Martian climate is a harsh one. I put my helmet back on and shut the airlock. I had about 2 hours of air so I went outside to investigate. The northeast wing of the complex had a twenty-foot hole in the wall and roof. What was left of the data core hung apart like a carcass that blown out from the inside. The computer operations system seemed to remain undamaged. The wall seal was a like balloon like mass that sealed the hole as it expanded. The crew held it by cable until it seated in place. They applied the corbomite sealants and secured the barrier. Once secured, air was pumped into the room to make it habitable. Emergency protocols required that we remained in our space suits with ample air supply in case of a breach. The shuttle crew met in the data core room.

“Is everyone accounted for?”

“Yes, Ma’am. All the crew is here.”

“Okay, what happened?”

Wilson stepped up. “As far as we can determine the source of the explosion was the core.”

“The core?”

“Yes, Ma’am. About 65 minutes after we uploaded the classified data, the core went critical and exploded, blowing out this section of the wall.” Wilson gestured towards the sealed wall.

“What do the scans show?”

“Nothing abnormal, at least until,” Wilson paused.

“Until what?”

“An attempt was made to access the classified data.”

“Was it authorized?”

“That’s the weird part. The user was authorized but the security prompts failed.”

“Failed? They were working fine before we left.”

“There was one odd thing, an anomaly if you will, that was detected before the explosion.”

“What was it?”

“A psionic pulse. Whoever tried to access the data, got a brain blast from the computer.”

“That’s not possible! We’ve barely scratched the surface of psionic science.”

“There is one clue. Not sure if it’s even that. The pulse left an image on the screen.”

“Were you able to capture it?”

“Yes, it’s pretty much burned into the screen. It even left bumps.” Wilson pulled out her pad and showed me. It was an alien language. One that anyone who visited Venus a few months ago and was changed could read. Wilson was discreet when she didn’t reveal that she and I, could read it. It said in Eleusian language, “The Battle continues, long live the Eleusian Revolution.” Wilson and I looked at each other, not really knowing what to say. I spoke up. “We’ll need to report this to the Captain.” September 6, 2169 0110 Hours

“You’re sure you read it right?” Didi was in her night clothes. She had kept abreast of what was happening with the shuttle crew. She was looking at the image of the screen. I was really exhausted but I wanted to show it to her in person. “I’ve shown it to several of us and they all said it said the same thing.” “Yeah, that’s what I see too. How the hell did this happen?”

“We don’t know. Science is checking the Eleusian drives and searching for anything that might provide a clue.” “Do me a favor. Get the xeno-historians in on this. I want to know what was going on with the Eleusians when things went south in their society. That information may prove just as useful.” “Aye, Sir.”

“Also make sure your shuttle crew gets some rest. It’s been a long day. They can report to duty at noontime tomorrow. Give them the morning to rest. More if they need it.” “Thank you, Captain.”

“It’s after hours, Doctor. You can call me Didi.”

“Good night, Didi.” She smiled when I said her name. I needed that.

I slept pretty well. I decided to take the morning off and rest. I caught up on some reading and got a massage. I wanted to check in with Tanner at noontime and she agreed. I wrote a few letters, to my parents and Bill. I had a late breakfast and started toward the Captain’s Quarters. I pondered our next move. I met Tanner outside her quarters. Under normal circumstances, we would have left orbit by now. I suspected that due to the accident, the Captain consulted with GASA and they had us wait and conduct a full investigation.

“Stuck here for a while, are we?” I tried to lighten her mood.

“Yes,” she grumbled. “Full investigation, the whole nine yards. Damn, I wanted to get out of here.”

“I know. Me, too.” Tanner had her hair down and styled. “How is your friend, Barton?”

“He’s stable. Once he’s able to talk without difficulty, we should ask him questions.”

“Right. Who else was down there?” Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ FɪndNovᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Most of the staff was off-duty. The crew quarters were on the other side of the complex so casualties were minimal.” “But we lost some?”

“Yes. Four. Once the bodies are retrieved, we will do full autopsies.”

“Do you know what happened?”

“I sent you the brief and the shuttle crew statements.”

“Danna, (she started calling me that) What happened, really? You were there.”

“We were already in the shuttle when the explosion happened. Somehow the archive core exploded.”

“Why, in your opinion?”

“I have no idea, but,”

“But what?”

“I think it has to do with the Eleusian drives.”

“The data? What kind of data causes an explosion?”

I pondered. “The alien kind.”

Tanner walked over to the bay window. “I don’t understand.”

“The only thing that was unusual about the download was the Eleusian data. It has to be connected.”

“How long until we know for sure?”

“No way of telling.”

“Damn. The last thing I wanted to do is spent a lot of time here.”

“I know but GASA won’t let this go. They’ll want answers.”

“All right. Start an investigation-coordinate with Ship Security and get this thing buttoned up.”

“Aye, Ma’am.”

“Danna, I want to be kept abreast of the investigation. Before GASA if possible.”

“You got it.”

“Thanks.”

I nodded and Tanner headed towards the bridge. I figured I should inventory the data and check the drives that we uploaded to the Mars core. I contacted Wilson and we went to the Computer Science Lab. We brought up the logs and poured through exobites of the Eleusian data. After about an hour of finding nothing unusual, I broke for a cup of coffee. When I came back I continued viewing the logs. After about 10 minutes, I discovered an anomaly in the encrypted data stream. “Are you seeing this?” Wilson looked over at my screen. “Yeah, I see it.” “What could it be?”

“It’s a repeating pattern. It seems familiar.”

“It sounds familiar to me too.”

Together it seemed like the pattern was saying something to us. We both sounded it out:

“Beware the strands, the result will destroy!”

Wilson and I couldn’t believe that we understood it.

“That’s what it said, right?” Wilson was stunned.

“Yes. I suspect that it’s another benefit to being an enhanced female. We need to report this to the Captain.” “Shouldn’t we tell security first?

“Let me brief the Captain then you can brief security. She wanted to know first.”

“Is that kosher? I mean security should really have the first briefing, shouldn’t they?”

“Normally yes, but with the Eleusian data, it’s an unusual situation and also highly classified. I know all the security staff has clearances, but some of the new crew, male crew may not understand. Until we have more pertinent information, we should brief the Captain first.” “Yes, you are correct, Doctor.”

I contacted Tanner on secure comms. She was on the bridge. “You need to be alone for this.”

“Okay.” She had the comms transferred into her study and sat down. “What’s the latest?”

“We found an anomaly in the Eleusian data stream. The last one we sent through the core.”

“Okay, so what did you find?”

“It was a pattern inside of the data. Wilson confirmed that it was a message.”

“From who?”

“I am pretty sure it was a warning from the Eleusians. We were able to sense it.”

“Sense it?”

“Yes. The Eleusian Effect has given us a sixth sense when it comes to the data.

“Is that what we’re calling it now?”

“Keeps it simple. Anyway due to our enhanced bodies, and now I guess our enhanced minds, we seem to have some mental connection to our benefactors from Venus.” “Let me see it.”

I took my pad and paired it with Tanner’s console. The anomaly flashed on the screen and Tanner looked at it and nodded as if she understood it. “What do you think they meant by ‘the strands’? Could they be referring to DNA strands?” “We think so. Everything the Eleusians have done as far as bio-information management has been at the genetic level. Their tech has bridged the digital to the biological and we are still learning about that bridge.” “What about the autopsies? I want them done here on the Kennedy.”

“Affirmative. The facilities on Mars were damaged so we have little choice. I will have the bodies brought on board, immediately.” “Very good.” Tanner paused for a moment.

“Is there something else commander?”

“I know I said that I wanted to leave Mars as soon as possible but we need to find out what killed those people. I won’t have the deaths of four people hovering over my head while I’m commanding this ship in deep space.” “I will be thorough. I want to know as badly as you do.”

“Keep me posted.”

“Aye.”

“I hate to have you pull an all-nighter, but we need to get this wrapped up as soon as possible.”

“I understand. I probably wouldn’t have slept much anyway.”

I left Tanner’s room and went to the shuttle bay. I contacted the mortuary detail and had them prepare an empty lab to store and study the casualties. It would take about an hour to transport the cadavers up to the morgue, so I went to the cantina and got some coffee. Wilson was there waiting for the shuttle. “I thought you went to bed.” “Couldn’t sleep. I need to know what happened to those people.”

“Me too. I’m doing the autopsies when they get here. Want in?”

“Absolutely. Maybe it will shed some light on what the Venusians did to us.”

“Maybe so.” Wilson’s comment struck a chord. “Why don’t you take that angle?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, once we do the autopsies, we can study that strand and weird message. Find out why we could read it so easily.” “Yeah. I will be happy to solve that mystery.”

“It’s settled. So how are you adjusting?” I pretty much knew the answer, but I figured I’d make conversation.

“I’m fine. Actually better than fine. On furlough, I ran a marathon and raised some money for charity.”

“Wow, that’s great. I just vacationed with my parents.”

“Whereabouts?”

“Cape Cod. We have a summer home there.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure”

“Did a Captain Cleveland come and see you?”

“Yes!” I was very surprised.

“He came and saw me, too. I didn’t know what to say, I just told him who I was. He seemed to already know.”

“Catching people off guard seems to be his specialty. He got me twice. Used his wife to try to get some additional information out of me. I was surprised at such a transparent attempt.” “Same here. The second time I was with my brother and we were boating out on Lake Powell.”

I got even more curious. “Did he have his wife with him?”

“As a matter of fact he did.”

“What did she look like?”

“She was gorgeous. Very tall, taller than him, long blond hair, slender face and build.”

Interesting. What was her name?”

“Elaine.”

“Not Sasha?”

“No, definitely Elaine.”

“I knew something didn’t smell right with him. He working some sort of angle. He wants something from us. Something having to do with the Venus mission.” Wilson was pensive. “I thought that too.”

“Did either of them say what his wife did for a living?”

“Something in bio-engineering. Some biotech company in Denver.”

“Said the same for his east coast wife, ‘Sasha’. He’s either a bigamist or he’s trying to get some information from us.” “Who is this guy? Why is he trying to con us?”

“I don’t know. But as soon as this Mars business is done, I am going to find out.”

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