Milo Moon: It Never Happened (18 page)

‘Mary worked in ARC. She’s very clever. She kept all the files and recorded all the information.’

‘And you?’

‘I just screwed nuts onto bolts.’

‘Sorry? What do you mean?’

‘I worked in a place putting nuts and bolts into little bags.’

‘Right, I see,’ Marie said, without understanding at all.

‘That’s why I don’t understand why George chose me. The others are really smart. Not me.’

‘He must’ve had a good reason.’

‘Maybe he just made a mistake.’

‘Oh Milo, I don’t think so. It sounds to me like George planned everything very carefully. He must have had a very good reason to choose you.’

‘I don’t know,’ Milo said, unconvinced.

‘Now, are you comfortable here. Do you have everything you need?’

‘Oh everyone has been so nice Marie. The only thing is that I can’t see behind myself anymore.’

‘That’s all right Milo. Dr. Fleury will explain that to you. Okay?’

‘Yes. Okay Marie. Mary is coming to see me later.’

‘Oh that’s wonderful. Can I come and see you both together?’

‘I think Mary would like that.’

‘Great. I really look forward to it then.’

‘Marie?’

‘Yes Milo.’

‘When can we go home?’

*****

Marie was pondering the conversations in the short time she had had with Mary and Milo. Michael and Anne had been very dominant when she had first met them but was now starting to form an opinion that while Michael and Anne were mature and highly intelligent, perhaps Milo and Mary were much younger. Possibly even adolescent. There was a childish innocence about both of them that was becoming clearer each time she spoke to them.

‘I know it’s probably not my domain doctor, but I’m starting to think that Milo and Mary may be much younger than we think.’

‘What do you mean Marie?’

‘I don’t know. Just that I found Anne and Michael to be much older when I spoke to them. But now, with Milo and Mary, I feel like I’m speaking to children sometimes.’

‘There’s a lot we don’t know about these two. Too busy trying to keep them alive up to now, but yes, I’ve noticed a difference.’

‘And what about Anne and Michael? Have they completely disappeared?’

‘That I can’t answer. We’re not sure what we’re dealing with. There were definitely two personalities when we first met them, but they were medicated with so many types of hallucinogens it’s hard to know what was real for them. They may have just imagined the other personalities.’

‘So you don’t think Anne and Michael were, well, I know it sounds silly, but….real.’

‘I don’t think either of them have had any concept of reality. Hopefully as their physical condition improves, we can start looking at their psychological problems.’

‘I still sense that I’m talking to children though.’

‘Keep communicating with them. They trust you. But it’ll be sometime before we find out what we’re dealing with so tread carefully. They are psychologically very fragile.’

*****

‘How are you feeling, Milo?’

‘Oh Mary, it’s you! I’m feeling much better. And you?’

‘I’m fine. The doctor said I’m getting stronger.’

‘I can’t find Michael.’

‘Yes, I know. I haven’t heard a word from Anne in two days now.’

‘What happened?’

‘I don’t know. I asked Marie, and she didn’t know either.’

‘It’s really strange without Michael. It’s his body, so I feel lost.’

‘Same for me. This is Anne’s body remember.’

‘At least you’ve got nice breasts. I’ve just got a bit more hair.’

‘Oh, I nearly forgot about them Milo. They are nice aren’t they?’

‘Yes Mary. I think they’re beautiful.’

‘So are you, Milo.’

‘Oh that’s silly, Mary.’

‘Hello you two.’

‘Marie! Please come in,’ Mary said, with a big smile.

‘Hello Marie,’ Milo also said with a smile.

‘Well, it really is wonderful to see you both smiling and happy. I was very worried about you.’

‘What’s wrong with us?’ Milo asked.

‘You were both very sick for a few days. The sudden change from Sootere I think.’

‘So we’re back in Sootere now then?’

‘No Milo, of course not. Why do you ask that?’

‘Because it feels like Sootere. There’s no blue up there anymore.’

‘Oh, the sky.’

‘I could see it before. Before we moved here. From my other bed.’

‘Yes, you could see it through the window in Geneva.’

‘So where are we?’ Mary asked, and had Marie thinking as quickly as she could to find a suitable answer to what was clearly a sensitive question. Underground didn’t seem like a very good idea.

‘When you were in Geneva, there was a problem,’ Marie started slowly. ‘We’re not sure, but maybe someone from Sootere was trying to find you.’

‘To take us back?’ Milo asked.

‘We’re not sure, Milo. But we just wanted to make sure you were safe while you recover.’

‘But where are we Marie?’ Mary asked again.

‘We’re in a new hospital. One just for you. The blue is just above us, but we don’t have windows here like in Geneva. When you’re both a little bit better, perhaps I can ask Dr. Fleury if we can all go and see it.’

‘Oh I’d like that,’ Milo said with a smile. ‘I really like the blue.’

‘Me too,’ Mary chipped in, and Marie was relieved that she had hopefully settled them both.

‘You have nice breasts too, Marie.’

‘Oh Milo. I don’t know what to say,’ Marie said, as she felt herself blush a little.

‘Better than mine, Milo?’ Mary asked, with a stern look on her face.

‘Oh no Mary. Yours are the best.’

‘You are feeling better then Milo,’ Marie said with a smile.

‘I’ll feel much better when I see the blue again.’

‘Yes, me too,’ Mary said. ‘It’s so high.’

‘And the white fluff too.’

‘Oh, you like the clouds too Milo.’

‘Clouds.’ Milo repeated.

‘And the blue is called the sky.’

‘I like sky and clouds, Marie.’

‘Me too.’

‘Yes, I know you do,’ Marie said to them both. ‘I promise you’ll see the sky and clouds again soon.’

*****

‘I received these few images just an hour ago,’ the president said, as he handed copies to his fellow Federal Councillors. There was a silence as the copies were circulated to the six councillors, and it persisted as they all studied the images.

‘This just can’t be true,’ Alfred Letsch almost whispered to himself.

‘I’m afraid it is. The analyst’s report I have here says that this is the western edge of the complex. The cavity height is estimated to be approximately ten to fifteen metres. In image two, small enclosures or buildings can be seen. There appears to be windows and doors on these, and image five is a blow up of these buildings.’

‘So how far down is it?’ Marc Guyer asked.

‘I’m told that it’s just a few meters below the base foundations of the Hadron collider.’

‘It looks like a small village,’ Françoise Klausner said.

‘The village of the damned,’ Marc Guyer said, and induced pensive silence from his colleagues.

Chapter 17 - My Enemy’s Enemy

The president of Switzerland, Rudiger Staheli sat at his desk, stony faced. He had only taken over the rotating presidency a little over six weeks before, and was now confronted with one the greatest dilemmas of his thirty-two year political career. His foreign affairs councillor, Françoise Klausner, was due in ten minutes to discuss her meeting with the US Secretary of State. The meeting in Geneva had been arranged some months before, but now possibly provided an opportunity to start discussions regarding the secret facility beneath CERN. Staheli pondered the options as, Klausner, although an experienced politician was new to the foreign affairs post, he felt a direct approach by himself towards the US President or even the UK Prime Minister may be too forthright under the circumstances.

There was a knock at the office door and his personal secretary showed Françoise Klausner in for their meeting.

‘Good evening, Françoise, please take a seat.’

‘Thank you Rudi. So, where do we go with this?’

‘The Secretary of State is arriving in two days.’

‘Yes, late morning Friday so we’ve got a little bit of time. What do you think?’

‘I was hoping you might have an idea, Rudi,’ Françoise almost half smiled along with her sarcasm.

‘Well, it’s an opportunity to raise the issue. Maybe not directly, but perhaps hinting that we may have information regarding a suspicious facility on our soil. Without referring to who we might think is responsible.’

‘Wouldn’t it be better to go directly to the top?’

‘I really don’t want to do that, Françoise. Not just yet. We’ve got so little information.’

‘But surely if I raise this on Friday, it will end up there anyway. I mean this is dynamite. The sheer mention of human experimentation would get picked up pretty quickly I think.’

‘In a way I suppose you could have a point, but we’ve got to get moving, but slowly, on this. When their first reaction was to start shooting nurses at HUG, these people could be capable of anything. That’s what concerns me. Whoever they are, they now know we have uncovered the facility and will react. But politically, we have to be careful.’

‘But, the main aim must be to find out who’s really running the operation?’

‘Yes. But that’s not going to be easy without cooperation.’

‘From who Rudi?’

‘Well, perhaps the US or UK.’

‘What about France? There was no mention of France in the file we obtained. And they currently hold the EU presidency.’

‘That’s a possibility I suppose.’

‘And who’s to say the facility doesn’t extend to French soil also?’

‘The one benefit of course, is that we could turn this into a European problem and not just a Swiss issue.’

‘It would avoid being politically isolated.’

‘Yes Rudi, and if the Russians, Americans and British do know anything, I’d rather have France and the EU on our side.’

‘But don’t forget that the British are in the EU, Françoise.’

‘Well, that’s always been debatable, hasn’t it Rudi?’

‘Let’s not get into that right now. So, if you approach your French counterpart with this, what would you expect?’

‘That the issue will be raised by the French on Sunday when the US Secretary of State is in Paris.’

‘In what depth?’

‘It depends on whether I hand over the images we’ve seen, and more if you can get them, plus the copy of the 1951 document from the file.’

‘I suppose you will need to. And our two guests in Bern?’

‘No mention at all I think at this stage, Rudi.’

‘Yes. Perhaps wise.’

‘The only problem I foresee, Rudi, is that in the 1951 document it states that control of the facility would pass to the eleven members of CERN. One of which is France of course.’

‘Yes. But the document also clearly states that it was the US, UK and Russia that were responsible for keeping the program running after the war. When officially, they said the program had been terminated.’

‘It’s a pity we don’t have the complete document.’

‘Yes, but I think this is enough,’ Rudiger said, and thought for a moment before continuing. ‘Look Françoise, I think the French idea is the right way to go.’

‘Should we consult the rest of the council?’

‘I don’t have to for such a matter. Look, see if you can arrange a meeting in Paris. Maybe tomorrow or tomorrow night.’

‘That’d be highly unlikely Rudi. It normally takes at least three weeks to….’

‘Tell them it’s a matter of national security for both France and us.’

‘You make it sound like an impending terrorist attack.’

‘That’s exactly what I’m afraid of Françoise.’

‘All right Rudi. I’ll get on to it right now.’

‘When you’ve got it fixed, we can discuss it at tomorrow morning’s federal council meeting.’

‘Right Rudi.’

*****

A few days made a difference for Milo. His condition had not only stabilised, but was now improving rapidly. At the same time, Mary was getting stronger and spending much less time resting each day. The time was approaching for Fleury to make the decision about when to begin psychological assessment and treatment. His major cause for concern was the implants that while having been disabled in Geneva, still posed an issue. As they hadn’t been fully analysed, there was no guarantee that they were still not operating in some fashion that could still be having an effect. The most sensible solution was removal, but the facilities they were using were certainly not suitable for delicate brain surgery.