Chapter 13

Larry immediately announced a staff meeting after he, Rachel, Beth and Lander concluded their meeting. He included the family members who had arrived to check on their loved ones after the news of the attack got out. It was difficult, but he managed to exclude the reporters and law enforcement officials still wandering about. Some of the reporters had to be escorted outside the limits of the shield by security. The doors to the room the meeting was held in were closed and locked after the last invitee entered the room.

Larry walked up to the podium and tapped the microphone. He kept saying, “Quiet. Quiet please,” until he had quiet and the attention of the group. He explained what was known about the attack. He remarked the damage would have been great and there would undoubtedly have been numerous deaths if not for the experimental defenses around the research campus. He pointed out the defense was still operable and would remain on for the foreseeable future.

One of the people in the audience yelled, “Where did this defense come from? I’ve never seen or heard of anything like that before. If we have something like that why are there still so many successful bombings?”

“I’m afraid there is only one system in existence here on earth and we have it.”

“Well why don’t we sell it. My God, we could make millions with it.”

“People, we’re straying from the main purpose of this meeting. I will say we have discussed the production and sale of the shield defense mechanism. It was decided not to release information on it at this time for many reasons. For one thing, it would take the entire output of a small nuclear power plant to power a defensive sphere large enough to protect large areas.”

“Well then how can we power it? I don’t see no nuke around here!”

Larry looked around then pressed his lips together. He felt as if he was herded into a corner. He tried to not tell the assembly about the shield but felt as if he was being forced. Finally, he said, “Actually, we have a nuclear power plant and that is what powered a shield and the defensive fire that helped protect us from the attack earlier today.”

Someone else yelled, “Yeah, right. Now tell us another one. I’ve lived ‘round here all my life and I ain’t never seen them building no nuke plant nowhere near here.”

“Ok, I was expecting this. If everyone would follow me outside please I’ll show you the plant and then explain the main reason I called this meeting.”

After everyone was outside the building, Larry said loudly, “Lander, would you please come out here where everyone can see you. And if possible, can you prevent people other than those assembled here from seeing you?”

The people that followed Larry outside began looking around to see who this Lander was and where he was coming from. All at once someone said, “Look!” and pointed at the opening double doors on the end of Larry’s personal research building. A murmur broke out when Lander began to slowly appear coming through the doors. Finally, his entire 42-foot length was clear of the building. He moved until he was centered on the crowd and settled gently to the ground. And settled and settled until he had sank nearly four feet into the rocky Arkansas dirt. The side door, or hatch, opened and a couple of ‘bots came floating out in front of the frightened crowd. There was an immediate rise in noise once again when the crowd saw the ‘bots moving out of the door and taking position near the front of the crowd.

A man near the rear of the group said, “Fuck! That’s a space ship. Tom was right. The aliens have landed. Let’s get out of here.” He started running toward the parking lot but was intercepted by security.

Lander said, “Larry, I have tightened the shield and made it refract light in such a way no one can easily see inside the compound. To those who may see something, I appear as a large truck, although fuzzy and out of focus. I am sorry, that is the best I can do.”

Larry let the crowd look and exclaim for a while then demanded their attention once again. He launched into an explanation of how Lander came to be there, his discovery of him, and his reasoning for keeping him secret. In fact, he and the two women spent the next hour talking to the assembled group explaining why they were no longer safe living outside the shield and what they proposed to do about it. It seemed as if he had to spend an inordinate amount of time reassuring his employees he was not an alien and the earth wasn’t on the brink of an alien invasion. Finally, the crowd began to relax and listen once again.

One of the newer employees broke into Larry’s talk as soon as he said it wasn’t safe now for the employees to return home and live outside the protection of the shield. He asked, “Why do you think we won’t be safe in our own homes? We haven’t done anything wrong.”

“No, we haven’t, or at least as far as I know none of you have. It’s questionable whether I have or not, I’ll admit. I feel as if I have been morally and ethically honest but I am also sure the government will not believe so. Some of the technology contained within Lander is years, even centuries ahead of that on earth. You know as well as I do that there are people who will kill to obtain it. Many of them would have no compunction with just moving in and taking Lander by force if they thought they could get away with it. Now, I ask you, who around here has that capability and who might want this technology?