AMPED (17 page)

“I was just going to say, if she agrees to this—a huge
if
in my book—she’ll have zero chance. Even if she takes one of her pills when you encounter her.”

“Don’t forget that she and her Icarus friends can come up with breakthrough technology every time they’re enhanced. Very little is beyond the reach of their minds. And even without a technology advantage, if she’s able to take a gellcap, you don’t want any part of her. That’s where the tranquilizer comes in. We use one to put her to sleep. When she’s down, we maintain our positions—snipers and helos—for ninety minutes. Even if she enhanced herself just prior to the encounter, the effect only lasts about an hour. After ninety minutes, we tape her mouth shut so she can’t surprise us and take a pill, strip her naked to eliminate the possibility of hidden technology, and take her in.”

“Easy as pie,” said Kolke dryly. “What are we waiting for?” He paused and shook his head. “It’s a good plan, Colonel. But I’m still afraid she’ll never agree to it,” he added.

“That’s funny,” said Jake grimly. “I’m more afraid that she will.”

20

Madison Russo finished her prepared statement, took a seat on the podium, and Dr. Timothy Benari replaced her at the lectern. He glanced down at his notes.

“I’m going to keep this short and simple,” he began. “As Dr. Tobias mentioned, my work is in the field of zero point energy. I’m glad Miss Russo described relativity to you. The other major breakthrough that occurred around this time, which Einstein also had a big hand in helping to launch, was quantum physics. I’m not going to explain this to you now, simply because it’s
so
strange that it makes relativity seem intuitive. Even Einstein could never bring himself to really believe the implications of this theory. This being said, modern electronics wouldn’t be possible without it, and it is arguably the most successful theory of all time.”

He paused. “But it
is
unbelievably bizarre. What it says is that particles can be in two places at once, can be linked over unlimited distance, and can pop into and out of existence. Oh, and it suggests something else: that there is a nearly infinite amount of energy in every square centimeter of vacuum. That the vacuum really isn’t a vacuum. That as close to a free lunch as this universe will ever offer is just waiting to be harvested. Zero point energy.

“This was confirmed in 1997, an event the
The New York Times
described particularly well in an article entitled,
Physicists Confirm Power of Nothing, Measuring Force of Universal Flux
. I’ll read a few excerpts from it now:

“
For half a century, physicists have known that there is no such thing as absolute nothingness, and that the vacuum of space, devoid of even a single atom of matter, seethes with subtle activity. Now, with the help of a pair of metal plates and a fine wire, a scientist has directly measured the force exerted by fleeting fluctuations in the vacuum that pace the universal pulse of existence
. . .
Dr. Lamoreaux’s experiment was the first direct and conclusive demonstration of . . . the Casimir Effect, which has been posited as a force produced solely by activity in the “empty” vacuum. His results came as no surprise to anyone familiar with quantum electrodynamics, but they served as material confirmation of a bizarre theoretical prediction.

Quantum electrodynamics holds that the all-pervading vacuum continuously spawns particles and waves that spontaneously pop into and out of existence on an almost unimaginably short time scale.

This churning quantum ‘foam,’ as some physicists call it, is believed to extend throughout the universe. It fills empty space within the atoms in human bodies, and reaches the emptiest and most remote regions of the cosmos.”

Dr. Benari stopped reading. “So why is any of this relevant?” he said. “Because speeding up an object the size of a car to near light speed takes some
serious
energy: more than the total output of our sun over a fifty year period. With current human understanding, the only way this could be done is if a civilization found a way to tap this zero point energy. Even taming antimatter wouldn’t provide enough power. I’ve spent my entire career trying to find some way to tap this infinite free lunch, and so have my colleagues. We haven’t gotten very far, to say the least. Many of us believed it couldn’t be done.” He nodded his head slowly. “Well, now we know otherwise.”

He paused for several seconds. “I’ve theorized that if this zero point energy, or ZPE, were tapped,” he continued, “it would change something called the Planck constant. I’d be happy to explain what this is later on. The bottom line is that an object harvesting this energy would change some fundamental properties of the universe around it, including light, and result in a telltale spectroscopic pattern that I’ve called
Casimir Radiation
.”

Dr. Benari smiled broadly, unable to help himself. His theory had been attacked without mercy, and until yesterday, his prediction had been considered to be untestable. What a difference a day made. Einstein had predicted that light from a distant star coming close to the Sun would be bent, but it was years before an eclipse occurred and proper equipment was in place to measure it. Once it was, the deflection of the light turned out to be 1.7 arc seconds, matching Einstein’s prediction exactly, proving his vision of gravity and spacetime and making him the most famous scientist on the planet. Now it was Benari’s turn.

“Turns out my theory isn’t just a theory anymore,” he continued. “We’ve discovered this Casimir Radiation coming from the object, precisely as my theory predicted. Whatever is coming towards us is not only alien life, and
intelligent
alien life, it’s from a highly advanced civilization that has conquered the ultimate energy source.”

He raised his eyebrows. “And assuming it doesn’t veer off course, I, for one, am dying to get a peek under the hood.”

21

Jake trained a pair of binoculars on the red SUV that had just entered the center of the wide ravine. Hundred-foot cliff walls rose sharply on both sides.

“Nice choice,” noted a self-assured voice from the earpiece in his left ear, coming in clearly despite the whipping sound made by the blades of three helos circling overhead, maintaining a three mile surveillance perimeter. “How many men do you have on each cliff?”

“One or two,” replied Jake noncommittally.

“More like five or ten, I’m guessing,” said Kira Miller. “And helicopters to boot. Looks like someone was paying attention the day they taught how to take the high ground in military school.”

“Just a sign of how much respect I have for you,” said Jake.

“Lucky me,” she mumbled wryly. “I’m getting out now,” she added. “How about reminding your men of our little agreement. No killing the helpless girl.”

“They know,” said Jake.

A moment later the front door of the car sprung open and a lithe woman stepped out wearing faded blue jeans and a teal, v-neck blouse. He could see her well enough but he used the binoculars to zoom in on her face. His heart picked up speed. It was Kira Miller in the flesh. At least it seemed to be. With this woman you could never be sure of
anything
.

“Walk ten or fifteen yards away from your car with your hands in plain sight,” he instructed.

She was wearing a headset as he had asked, so her hands were completely free. She raised them above her head and began walking. “As you can see, it really is me,” she said into the microphone extending toward her mouth. “I’ve done everything you asked for. I’m in your control. Now how about living up to your end and texting my associates where to find your prisoners?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll stick to our agreement. But I’m not quite satisfied. Not yet.”

“Another sign of respect?”

“I’m afraid so. I’m going to add someone to the call. She’s going to ask you a few questions.”

He manipulated his phone and a second later a woman joined them on the line. “Tell me the properties of a Type III restriction enzyme?” she said, her voice low and scratchy.

A wide, unselfconscious grin came over Kira Miller’s face, which Jake saw clearly through his binoculars. “Okay,
now
I’m impressed,” she said. “You take caution to whole new levels, Colonel. If this isn’t really me in the middle of nowhere, who do you think it is? You think I found a perfect double and convinced her to give herself up in my place?”

“Probably not. But I thought you were in the building I destroyed, and I was wrong about that. You can never be too careful. I promised to give up Desh and Rosenblatt for Kira Miller. Not a stand in.”

“A fair point,” allowed Kira. “Okay. A Type III restriction enzyme cuts DNA about twenty to thirty base pairs from its recognition site, which consists of two, inversely oriented, non palindromic sequences. They have more than one subunit, require AdoMet for DNA methylation, and need ATP as a cofactor. They methylate only one strand of DNA, at the N-6 position of adenosyl residues.” She paused. “Are we done?”

“Not quite yet,” said the woman. She went on to ask four additional questions, each of them more difficult, and several which could only be answered by someone with a practical knowledge of genetic engineering, rather than just book knowledge.

When Kira had answered the last question, Jake’s expert told him that in her professional opinion the woman on the phone was a top flight molecular biologist, and left the call.

“Satisfied?” asked the stunning woman in the gorge below.

Jake signaled to a sniper nearby, and seconds later Kira Miller crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

“Completely,” replied Jake to no one in particular.

***

Jim Connelly broke the lock on the door labeled 47J in the
Pinewood Knolls
apartment complex east of Denver and carefully stepped inside, although he knew this wasn’t an ambush. He had complete confidence in the assessment his altered self had made of Jake’s veracity, and would have bet his life the man would not go back on his word. In fact, he realized, he
was
betting his life.

As he entered the unit, Connelly found David Desh and Seth Rosenblatt bound together in the center of the living room in multiple ways, with layers of gray duct tape firmly affixed to their mouths. Connelly found the keys to multiple pairs of handcuffs and leg irons in a potted plant in the corner, as he had been told he would. He quickly removed these devices from both men and used his freshly sharpened combat knife on Desh’s bonds first, sawing through the tough plastic handcuffs and other fasteners that continued to immobilize him.

While he was doing this he pulled the tape from his friend’s mouth in one quick motion.

“
How could you let her do this?
” demanded Desh the instant his mouth was free. “
She’s more important than all of us combined!
”

Connelly continued cutting through his bonds. “When Kira Miller is intent on doing something,” he responded calmly, in marked contrast to his friend’s rage. “No power on earth is going to stop her.” He gestured toward Rosenblatt. “But let’s talk about this later.”

Seconds late Desh was free, and within another minute they had both managed to free the tall physicist. Desh was still fuming, but he remained silent.

“David, you’re with me,” said Connelly. “Dr. Rosenblatt, I’m going to ask you to stay here for just a few minutes.”

Rosenblatt looked confused but nodded his acquiescence.

Shortly after Desh and Connelly left there was a knock at the door. The physicist eyed it warily and then opened it.

His wife was standing at the entrance, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.

Below her, a tiny figure looked up at him.

“
Daddy!
” squealed little Jessica excitedly, her voice tiny and endearing.

Seth Rosenblatt fell to his knees, and his daughter ran forward and launched herself into his arms.

He drew her close, hugging her as though he might never let go, drawing sustenance from this tiny, precious, perfect little girl—one he had been sure he had lost forever.

Quiet tears poured down his face.
Jake had not lied about her, after all.

“I love you, Honey,” he said. “I love you
so
much.” He continued to cling to her as desperately as if she were a life preserver in a roiling sea.

“Daddy, are you okay?” asked Jessica, pulling away and looking at his face uncertainly. She had never seen her father shed a single tear, yet multiple streams continued to roll down his cheeks.

He nodded. “I’m more than okay, Sweetie.”

Jessica’s mother knelt down beside her. “Sometimes grown-ups cry when they’re happy,” she explained.

The little girl looked up at her daddy, who was smiling through his tears, but she still wasn’t entirely convinced. “Are you happy, Daddy?”

Seth Rosenblatt pulled his daughter close once again and squeezed, his tears continuing to fall. “Oh yes,” he said euphorically. “Happier than you can even imagine.”

22

Kira’s eyes finally fluttered open as the last of the tranquilizer was reversed by the agent Colonel Jacobson had administered several minutes previously. She was dressed in a gray, zippered jumpsuit, and every means of ingress into her body—ears, nostrils, throat, anus, and vagina—throbbed slightly, or in some other way advertised that they had been thoroughly probed. Her hands were bound together with tough plastic cuffs and had been placed in her lap.

She shook herself fully awake and took in her surroundings. She was in a large office, although it was non-descript and hadn’t been personalized in any way. She was sitting before a large desk, facing the man who had appeared on her computer screen to arrange the swap, this Colonel Jacobson. Behind him, an eight-by-ten picture frame was lying face down on a credenza.

The colonel studied her calmly, in no apparent hurry to get the proceedings started.

She gestured to her surroundings with her head. “What, no interrogation room? No leg irons? No spotlight shining in my face and a team of experts behind a two-way mirror?”