Alien Virus (17 page)

“I’ll explain that later. The important
thing is that you know where you’ve come from: you are not from
planet Earth – you originate from another Universe, and you’ve come
here to assist this one.” We looked at each other in stunned
silence. Then Gareth spoke.

“I’ve always thought I was here for a
purpose. And I’ve never really fitted in with anyone else. I don’t
feel like an alien though…”

“What do you expect an alien to feel like?”
asked Audrey, to whom this wasn’t a surprise. Frank had talked to
her before about his Universe.

“I dunno – just different I suppose.”

“Is there any time when we know who we are?”
I asked. “I mean, know that we’re not from Earth.” Frank and Tony
nodded. Tony obviously knew a lot more than he had every told
us.

“Oh yes,” replied Frank. “In the few minutes
between ending one life and starting the next –
then
you
know. But once your new life begins, the memories quickly fade. In
my case, that fleeting few minutes of knowing didn’t stop on one
occasion, and I found I still had an awareness of my previous
existence as well as my new one. It was very disorientating at
first. But gradually, over time, I found I could be selective over
what I recalled. I don’t know what caused it – but I’ve only come
across one other person with the same characteristic.” There was a
bit of a buzz now – excitement around the room. I then noticed that
Harry and Jo had been very quiet.

“Are you two all right?” I asked. Jo nodded
and thanked me.

“In one way, it’s quite a shock Kevin –
about aliens and other Universes. But we’ve both always believed in
other lives. Having just one – and then nothing – has never made
any sense. Life is all about learning, and there’s no point in
learning anything if you’re going to a black abyss of nothingness
when you die.”

“We’ve just never thought of aliens,” added
Harry. “But when you think about it, there must be millions of
other Universes in the Cosmos – and some must support life. So why
shouldn’t they get in contact with us?”

“That’s right, Harry; but you’re actually
one of them – you’re just visiting this Earth.” Frank knew it was
going to be difficult for them to accept, but he knew they’d come
round eventually.

We stopped for coffee – Audrey insisting she
made the drinks, and Harry and Jo supplied the biscuits. Frank
thought we’d had enough information for the day – ‘enough to last a
lifetime,’ Gareth said – and after coffee we began to discuss the
Sandi and salt situations.

“What was your feeling about the Police,
Harry?” asked Tony. “How long do you think we’ve got before they
come back to you?” Harry looked at Jo.

“We were talking about this last night” he
said. “I think a week at the most – maybe less. Shaws will deny
they put the salt in the barley sacks, and probably blame their
source – a farm near Stromness I believe. All that police procedure
takes time – but we can’t afford to stay around too long, just in
case.”

“Then there’s Sandi,” I said. “After being
tied up, you can bet she’s going to the Police. We really need to
get away and lie low for a few days – that’s what I think.” Tony
nodded.

“Anyone else?” he asked.

“I think Kevin’s right,” replied Kate. We
also need some salt, and I can’t see us getting that on Eday.” I
suddenly recalled our visit to the other islands.

“What about Papa Westray? Remember,
Kate?”

“Oh yes, of course! The woman there was very
friendly and helpful.”

“And there’s places to stay there – very
comfortable,” I added.

“Great! What do you think Frank?”

But Frank was nowhere to be seen.

***

Twenty
-
Three

Mrs Shearer finished cleaning the kitchen
and went to put the kettle on. It had been very quiet at Beltane
House now that the tourist season was over. She wondered if the
people who’d stayed a few days ago would be back.

“Such a nice couple,” she’d said to her
son.

“Where were they fram, ma?”

“Edinburgh, I think they said – though come
t’ think of it, they sounded English. Aye, well
he
certainly
did. But they could come from the planet Zog fr’all I care. It’s
not where you’ve come fram that counts, it’s where you’re going
to.” Hamish nodded. He’d heard his ma say that a hundred times, but
he still didn’t understand it. Still, it sounded very wise.

He was quite happy when there were no
tourists on the island, but he knew his ma liked to have company.
Since she took over the guesthouse at Papay’s Beltane complex, she
had had a new lease of life. Something she needed after the death
of his dad. Whereas Hamish liked being alone, losing himself in his
work on his fishing boat, Liz was a people person – and to deprive
her of company was torture.

Beltane house was the centre of Community
life on Papay. Apart from the guest house, there was a youth hostel
and co–operative shop on the site. Liz enjoyed cooking for
visitors, and was famous for her bere bannocks, made from the local
grain. The opening of the facilities at Beltane, with the
introduction of mains electricity, was a lifesaver for the island.
There was still a battle to keep the island’s mini economy afloat –
but the seventy or so residents were determined to stay and make a
living on Papay.

Liz gazed out of her window looking for
visitors – almost willing them across the short stretch of water
that separated Papay from its parent Westray.

“It’ll be okay ma, I know it will. We’ve got
so much going for us. No–one’s going to take this island from us.”
Liz looked up and smiled at her son. He had been good to her, and
not gone off to seek work on the mainland, as many of the other
youngsters had. The death of his dad had made his mind up about
that. Hamish was the man of the house now, and just couldn’t leave
his ma alone after his dad had ‘gone home’, as she put it.

“I’ve got to go now – take care ma.”

“Aye, I’ll be fine. Thanks Hamish, I’ll see
you at supper.” The door closed, and he was gone, leaving Liz alone
with her thoughts and her dreams.

*

Sandi didn’t know what to do next. Whilst
she was tied up, she vowed to go straight to the police as soon as
she escaped. But now she was free, a pang of guilt held her back.
At first, she’d gone along with their strange ideas only because of
Kevin. She didn’t really believe any of it herself. She’d been very
low when Kevin took her to the pub that day – after her break up
with Marti. When they found out about Frank Peters death, she never
thought it was anything more than an accident. She really thought
she was doing the right thing when she showed his article to
Trevor. He’d have to see it eventually. But looking back on it, she
thought that was wrong of her. It was Kevin’s article, and she
shouldn’t have interfered. It was just that she didn’t want him to
get into trouble – or get fired.

Kevin always said she was on a drug called
‘Interferon’. Perhaps that was her motherly instincts. Or perhaps
she just liked everything her own way. She really did like Kevin’s
friends (Gareth in particular of course), even though they were a
bit weird, but she didn’t trust Harry and Jo. She called the Police
because she really thought she had to protect Kevin and Gareth from
the salt – she really thought the government was right when they
banned it. And if Harry and Jo were arrested, so what? She didn’t
mean any harm to the others.

But despite that, she felt guilty. She
hadn’t been open with any of them – least of all Kevin. So, as long
as they left her alone, she wasn’t going to squeal on them again.
From now on, whatever happened would be the consequences of their
own actions. She wouldn’t even write the article she was planning
for the magazine: ‘Salt – another reason to kick the habit:
confessions of an addict.’ It they wanted to kill themselves, good
luck to them.

Somehow, though, she had to retrieve the
handbag she’d left in Kevin’s chalet. It had all her valuable
inside, and she must get it back before leaving the island. But
how?

*

Frank was an interesting character. Not only
had he put the finger on Sandi (which surprised us all), but he’d
neatly packed up all her belongings with the intention of putting
them in an outhouse with a big sign saying ‘Sandi’. After deceiving
us, and actually putting us in danger, I would have thrown all her
things into the sea. But then, I’m not Frank.

“Better than her breaking a window,” he
said. “And Gareth won’t have to see her this way.”

“Do you really think she’ll come back?” I
asked. Frank nodded.

“She left her handbag with all her valuables
– money, car keys, credit cards. She’ll be back.”

I took the bag for Frank and put it in an
outhouse with the sign on the door.

“I suppose we should tell the others what
we’ve done?” Frank agreed. Reactions were very varied. Tony said
cautiously, ‘Well, if Frank thinks so…’ Audrey exclaimed, ‘Oh, what
a good idea!’ Kate replied, ‘Shall I wait outside for a bit to make
sure she sees it?’ And Gareth said (almost crestfallen), ‘Oh, I
thought she might come back to our room for her things’.

Harry and Jo had gone back home by this
time. They’d invited us all for dinner later – an invitation we
couldn’t refuse.

With everything that had gone on, I’d
completely forgotten about the Swedish website. It was Kate that
reminded me.

“Oh shit, yes! We need to start working on
it.”

“Whose name will the site be in Kevin?”

“Frida’s company name. There’s no problem
with that – they register hundreds of names in a holding capacity.”
I wasn’t one hundred percent sure about this, but it sounded
logical. Kate was happy with it anyway. I’d just got my laptop
plugged in when Tony arrived. He seemed to have a sixth sense.

“I’ve been thinking about the website – we
should get started on it as soon as possible. Probably best if I go
over the content with Frank.” We nodded. “Of course, let me know
any ideas you have – the more input the better.” Tony left to see
Frank, and I turned to Kate with a grin.

“Let’s celebrate!”

“What did you have in mind?” she asked. My
eyes moved towards the bed.

“Later Tiger – I’ve got to go and see
Audrey.”

***

Twenty
-
Four

In past ages, repeated efforts had been made
by Frank and others from his planet to stop the virus – but every
time these had failed. In some incarnations, they had been caught
and put to death for their actions – or even merely their views.
But their captors, working under the influence of the virus, could
only kill their bodies – not their souls. And there were always
other body–machines for Frank’s team to occupy. Now things were
reaching a head: the virus could not be allowed to leave the Earth
alive.

Whilst the virus clung to Man, and Man
accepted the virus as good and necessary, there was no hope for the
occupants of planet Earth. It was the task of Frank and the others
to open Man’s eyes to see the virus for what it was. Only then
could he put it from himself. In this sense, the elimination of the
virus was simple. But in practice, it was proving impossible.

It wasn’t that Man didn’t recognize that he
was vulnerable to viruses and parasites. The Black Death and other
plagues, flu epidemics, superbugs and cancer were all known to Man.
But he had no lasting cure because he couldn’t see the single
cause. Consequently, his attempts to eliminate the virus were
doomed to failure.

The 1918 flu epidemic, which killed more
people in six months than the war killed in four years, was spread
quickly by the virus jumping from one person to the next. Vaccines
were useless – as were most other remedies. Many people assumed
that the 1918 flu virus had been cured. But the truth was it had
merely moved on to other areas – and other people.

Frank was dubious about the value of the
website, but he knew they must give it their best shot. He thought
the virus would try to stop the site – probably by influencing Man
to create computer viruses that would attack the website, or the
server that held it. It wasn’t just the virus they were fighting:
they had the majority of mankind against them – humans acting as
agents for the alien virus.

Species of animals around the World were
rapidly dwindling, and that could sound the death knell for Man.
Once the animals had been eliminated from the planet, the virus
would only have Man to live off – and with an all out invasion of
the virus, he would not last long. Then the virus would migrate to
another planet, to destroy another race of beings. Frank could not
allow that – would not allow that.

Tony knew what would happen if they failed.
He knew that his race would have to initiate the complete
destruction of planet Earth – and the virus along with it. But he
never knew exactly how they would achieve that. Unlike Frank, Tony
and the others had no recollection of their previous lives on Earth
or their home planet. He relied on Frank to tell him about his own
Universe. And whatever Frank told him, he would believe. Or, at
least, he wouldn’t reject. The demonstration in Edinburgh of
Frank’s ability to move from one body to another would stay with
Tony to the end of his days – and he would never dismiss anything
that Frank would tell him.

Frank had said that Tony had exactly the
same ability – to move from one body to another. Tony never dared
to try it – just in case he couldn’t get back to his own body. But
Tony never, ever doubted that he was not of this Earth. His ideas,
his thoughts, his very being, were so different to anyone else he
had come across – until he met Frank.

However, although Tony held Frank’s words in
great esteem, he didn’t always agree with the means of putting
those ideas into action. Hence their disagreement about going to
London.