[24/6/2020 - A/N: IMPORTANT UPDATE: If you haven't met Fedora before,
please read the last scene in Chapter 12 ∞ Friends,
because that scene originally came from this chapter
and you'll be missing out on some details that previously were posted here.]

Day Nineteen ∞ Tuesday afternoon

MICKMI STUDIED THE OBJECT. "This, my friends, is a micro-filament. It is made of ultra-thin, inert metal fibers—well... normally inert. It can be activated – by a burst of microwaves – from a distance of... up to three miles away." Her smile didn't waver as she angled what looked like hair-fine wire before her. "When that happens, the microwaves realign the ions in the inert metal so they emit a short radio signal. After emitting that pulse, the metal reverts to its inert state, which cannot be picked up by an ordinary scanner.

"A very sophisticated and ingenious way to keep track of somebody, without being discovered. Unfortunately for 'the Agency', 'not-so-public' history is one of my strong subjects."

Incredulous, Dr. Kruger walked around the table to her, fished a magnifying glass out of his lab coat pocket and scrutinized the object.

"How do you know it is the CIA's?" Dr. Bogdanov asked.

"This device seems extremely advanced. Beyond our current technology." Kruger handed the glass to Bogdanov and returned to his seat.

"Public current technology," Mickmi said, holding it out for Bogdanov to inspect. "I know the CIA will not admit to the existence of this technology for another seventy years. At least, in my timeline. I suspect in yours, they will not easily acknowledge it either."

"Do you know how it got into your shoulder?" Bogdanov asked.

"Aye," she replied without hesitation. "One of the assistants asked me for permission to give me an injection before I went to sleep. He said it was some vitamins." She glanced at Dr. Mahoney. "He told me Doctor Mahoney ordered it."

Mahoney raised his hands in protest. "I have absolutely nothing to do with that. That guy used my name to incriminate me."

"Can you describe the man for me?" Kruger asked.

"That is not necessary. Just look at me for a second."

Kruger's expression darkened as soon as he met Mickmi's gaze. "That's Mister Evans!" He turned to Mahoney. "Your orderly."

Looking over Danny's head, Kruger lifted his hand and made a fist, then raised two fingers twice. Puzzled, Danny checked over his shoulder and found a surveillance camera on the far wall. Moments later two guards entered from each side of the room.

Kruger pointed at Mahoney. "Take him into custody. Total isolation. Level three. Requisition anything electronic on his person."

Mahoney jumped up protesting vehemently but the guards ignored his claims of innocence and took him away.

Once the door closed behind them and left silence in the room, Kruger turned to Mickmi. "My deepest apologies, Miss Wamba. You have shown nothing but willingness to cooperate and edify us here."

She dipped her head in acknowledgment and placed the filament on her plate. "I appreciate your sincerity, Doctor Kruger. Let us not waste time on what just happened." Looking around the table, she smiled. "I know you have more questions."

"Oh yes," Kruger said, deciding to take the lead this time. "But let me secure that for analysis."

Mickmi pushed the plate over to Bogdanov who passed it on to Kruger.

"Thank you... Fascinating," Kruger added as he lifted the fine wire with the tip of one finger. "The filaments Doctor Bogdanov saw... What can you tell us about them? And the moving lights traveling on them, were those nervous impulses?" He placed it on a clean paper napkin.

"Excuse me," Danny blurted, "but what about the orderly who injected that thing into Mickmi? Aren't you going to have him detained too?"

"That won't be necessary, Mister McGahn." Kruger carefully folded the napkin several times and slipped it into his breast pocket. "He was only carrying out Doctor Mahoney's instructions. But he'll be monitored."

"Oh... okay then." Danny turned to Mickmi, checking her shoulder. "Is it still bothering you?"

"Nay." She exchanged a fond glance with him and turned to Kruger. "You ask about impulses... I am afraid I had not enough time to get to the nervous system... The luminous filaments Doctor Bogdanov experienced are part of our energy matrix—our Qi. It is like a... luminescent blueprint of each of our bodies. Our cells organize themselves following this map, and our bodies use it to repair themselves. It is how the cells orient themselves spatially.

"When the body is wounded by a knife cut for example, the tissues are pulled apart—become disorganized. But the energy matrix remains unaffected by this. That is how the body can fix itself.

"The luminous pulses Doctor Bogdanov saw are emissions of the Qi traveling on their pathways... And by the way, that matrix is also the cause of the 'ghost limb syndrome'."

"Oh, you mean when a person's had a limb amputated and still can feel the missing limb?" Dr. Yusuf asked. "Even feel intense itches or pain in an extremity which no longer exists?"

"That is correct. The limb is not present but the energy matrix for it still exists. That is a proven fact, not speculation. Using the sensors Doctor Bogdanov perfected, you can detect the electrical activity in the position where the missing leg or arm used to be. Just as Kirlian photography will show the shape in place of the missing piece of a leaf."

"Ahaa," Bogdanov said, nodding. "When I saw those bright... nebulae... inside my energy matrix, I noticed very clearly many thin... almost like silk threads spreading... or radiating into space... Could you say what those are?"

"Your connection with different aspects of your life. Each filament represents an attachment you have created with a person or event you experienced, positive or negative."

"How so?" Yusuf asked.

"Every time you meet a person, an attachment is created. The connection can be on several levels. The more levels or Chakras are involved, the deeper and more meaningful the relationship is.

"Take the example of a girlfriend. You meet her, and you feel a certain attraction—and she does, too. So both of you share a connection at the level of the first and second Chakras. You start talking and find out you have many interests in common, so you share also a connection at the fourth Chakra. You—or she—proposes a date. During the date, you talk about your professional lives and find you work in compatible fields and have similar working dynamics. So you establish another link, this time with the sixth Chakra, or Third Eye." She paused as she glanced at each of the scientists.

"You must understand, the more energy centers that connect each other, the deeper and more meaningful the relationship becomes, and the stronger the feelings associated with it become. But this is just an example. This connection is not limited to opposite-sex relations nor it is necessarily a pleasant, loving one. Hatred is also an attachment, which can be equally strong."

"Oh, before I forget," said Bogdanov, "I remember when I saw the proton, I knew exactly it was a proton and I knew I was zooming into it—like the magnification was increasing—and I knew a lot about the electrons' orbitals... or layers. That information was coming from your mind, right?"

Mickmi nodded and finished her lemonade with her eyes on the door.

"And I saw a shadow inside the proton... the proton wasn't like a solid body. Rather, it looked... it looked like a cloud, a little misty. There was no definition to the shape. And when I tried to see inside, it looked like there was something in the form of a hexagon. Well... Not so defined, but kind of..."

She smiled. "The proton is composed of other elemental particles called quarks. That is what you got a peek of. And you are correct, elemental particles are more like a cloud than physical objects."

Bogdanov became thoughtful. "Then why did I see the proton blinking so fast?"

She stared into space for a moment before replying, "There are several theories about that... Classical quantum physics postulates that elemental particles only exist as a mathematical matrix of probabilities: it is only when it is observed that the probability function 'collapses' and the particle can then be seen and measured.

"Another theory postulates elemental particles are continuously rotating between two or more parallel dimensions, staying in our own plane only long enough to interact with other particles and give off the illusion of solidity."

"So, which one do you think is correct?" asked Kruger.

Mickmi hesitated for a moment, then met his gaze. "To be honest, I am not a physicist. I just shared what I learned from my History lessons and... advanced Qi-yoga training. I am not in a position to give you definitive answers to all scientific matters. Or technical."

The men exchanged disappointed glances.

She turned to Danny and rested her hand on his with a serene smile. "It is time."

"What is?" He rose with her.

Kruger looked at them in surprise, and Bogdanov jumped up, about to speak just as the door opened. A soldier in a gray shirt entered, and after scrutinizing the room, spotted Kruger and headed straight to him.

"Excuse me, Doctor Kruger. Command requests that you bring your subjects back to the medical wing." The messenger saluted smartly, turned on his heels and left.

"I guess our time is up," Kruger said, pushing himself out of the chair.

"I'll accompany you," Bogdanov said. "If you don't mind, Hans, I still have so many questions." He exchanged glances with Yusuf who nodded.

Kruger chuckled. "Me too."

∞

Almost 2,000 miles east, the Fedora man strode into Boston Public Library, impeccably dressed in his usual dark gray suit and white hat. Once he ascertained he wasn't being watched, he disappeared into the hidden passage leading far underground through the security scan to the Command Center.

As always, Fedora scanned the multiple satellite and status feeds on the huge wall-screen first as he headed for the bald-headed senior agent.

Baldie shook his head, before ungluing his gaze from his personal screen. "I've pulled eyes from all sites to task but without an area to focus on, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack the size of Mount Everest. We don't even know what we're looking for."

"Hm." Fedora rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, keep them on it. By our asset's report, it may be a serious threat."

"Right." 

"What about our visitors? Any new development I need to be aware of?"

"Yeah... the EBE girl just exposed a CIA agent who'd infiltrated the medical personnel of the Xenobiology Department."

Fedora spun his head around. "What? Show me!"

Baldie pressed a series of switches and speedily tapped on the keyboard. A list of icons appeared on his screen. He then reached for a large orb on his right, rolled it quickly and tapped a side button, causing the blinking cursor to highlight and expand one of the video files.

Intently, both men watched the black-and-white view of people eating and talking around a large oak conference table.

"Freeze it," Fedora snapped when the girl pulled something invisible out of her shoulder and held it up. "Zoom in on it!"

The agent obliged to reveal a silky, stiff strand of what looked like hair between the girl's fingers.

"I want that! Make it happen. And warn all who saw it not to breathe a word to anybody about it. We need that technology and we need it now. Got me?"

Nodding smartly, Baldie started typing, communicating the new orders through the intranet.

"Are the results from the last Psych evaluation I ordered ready yet?"

"Oh, yes, they just arrived," Baldie replied.

"Soo... what's the conclusion?"

Baldie extracted another file from a different server. He rolled his chair aside to accommodate his special agent in charge who pulled an armchair over to sit next to him.

Fedora skimmed the psychiatric evaluation. "I see. Everybody on the Psych team agreed?"

Thoughtful, Baldie rubbed his chin. "As far as I can tell, they're almost hundred percent sure that guy's a time bomb, ready to blow any minute now."

"It seems there are no more options to be had then, doesn't it?" Fedora sighed. "Alrighty. Put me through to him on a secure line."

The agent typed some more, then handed him a conventional telephone. The black Bakelite communication device looked incongruous in the high-tech room.

Fedora put the receiver to his ear and listened to the rings for a short while. "No answer." He looked annoyed at the other. "Where the hell is that guy?"

Baldie flipped a few switches and read something on screen. "Uh... it looks like he left base and took half a company of jeeps with him."

Frowning, Fedora thought a while, then said, "Okay, put me through to Second-in-command. He's supposed to carry a radio phone on his person at all times."

This time the line rang only a couple of times before a voice was heard over the console speaker and at Fedora's ear.

"Hello! Lieutenant Fleitas s-speaking." Rough noises of engines and movement in the background jarred the lieutenant's speech.

"This is Control," Fedora said. "Where are you now?"

"I'm on – the road. We're – on our way to set up – the ambush, of course."

Fedora's face darkened. "Ambush? Why didn't you clear it with me? I didn't authorize a fucking ambush!" He inhaled and enunciated with a deliberate tone, "It seems our friend has decided to get out of the reservation, don't you think? Were you aware of this and decided to go along with it?"

"No, of course not!" The alarm in Fleitas' voice changed it to an unpleasant pitch. "He gave the order after – talking on the phone. I wasn't – close enough to – eavesdrop and I assumed he – was receiving orders from you. I... I never thought he was – overstepping his bounds. I – I – don't know what to say—"

"Obviously, you should have called me immediately to clear up the situation right away."

"You – you are right, of course." The voice at the other end of the line sounded sheepish. "Sir. Sorry, it was just... Okay, you want me to stop him? I can—"

"Never mind. Too late now to take half-cooked action. Just keep me posted." With that, Fedora hung up, cutting the flood of excuses and protests of undying loyalty.

Baldie lifted a brow at him. "You didn't stop the ambush."

"You're forgetting. He spoke to the general and he'd want to know who countermands above his head. Too much risk of exposure. If the general suspects there's another player, he'll investigate. The less questions, the better for us.

"Let it play out. Besides, what better way to find out what that EBE is capable of?"

For a while, both men stared into space, deep in thought.

"What about the rest of the preparations?" Fedora man asked eventually. "Is everything going smoothly?"

The other man brightened. "Oh yes. No snags there. The consultants are already on site and all the generals you named agreed to the gathering. Several advisors to POTUS were also amenable to go and listen in." He snorted. "They're extremely eager to visit a super-secret military underground testing facility, we probably should have charged them."

Fedora smiled, but his forehead wrinkles did not budge. "Anything else needs my attention before I leave?"

Baldie browsed several briefs on his computer. "The Antarctic site reported testing of the new nuclear submarines is coming dangerously close to our own sub-aquatic habitats. Their sonars aren't sophisticated enough to detect our activities, but that's something of future concern. They asked permission to move the habitats deeper and use better camouflage. I know it's expensive but I think they are right to be concerned. I—"

"Yes, yes, I know. Eventually, US and Russian nuclear subs will go deeper and will have better detectors. Yes, authorize the appropriate budget for the new expenses. No choice there. Anything else?"

"That's it for now."

"Well then," Fedora man stood up and straightened his suit and tie, "I have a meeting to attend. Take care of anything else yourself." As he headed for a side door, he threw over his shoulder, "And let the section chiefs do their jobs. Don't bother me with the beans and other little shit."

Baldie snorted. "Well, you occasionally need to earn your keep too."

Fedora grinned and closed the door behind him. More doors studded both sides of the long corridor ahead, with small illuminated panels on top. He entered the one labeled "Nevada" and strapped himself into a padded seat inside the airtight capsule. Placing his thumb on the circular pad on the armrest, he heard a beep. Then he removed his hat and held it firmly by the rim as he leaned back and waited. After five seconds passed without anything happening, he frowned and checked his chest strap. It needed to be rebuckled.

"Initiating acceleration," a male voice said, "in five... four... three... two... Accelerating."

The inertia dampeners protected the man's body from the growing G-forces as he shot away, first diagonally deeper underground before leveling out. After a few minutes, the momentum stopped and the same voice spoke again.

"Arrived at Terminus 457."

The man unstrapped himself, donned his hat, and opened the door to step onto the platform of a large tunnel filled by an automatic shuttle train. He entered it and took a seat at the front where the glass partition formed the nose, giving him a clear view of the Maglev track. With a silent shudder, the lev-train accelerated out of the station.

Fedora man was the only person on the train.

— ∞ —

©2019 by kemorgan65

Credit:
Banner images: Old telephone http://www.old-phones.com/product-GB.asp?id=1056
Fedora man ©BortN66 - stock.adobe.com
Boston Public Library/Copley Square  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boston_Public_Library,_Copley_Square.jpg