Chapter 38: Return to Zurich

Cynthiana’s compound in Zurich, while not as big as her Paris estate, was still pretty daunting to the eye. The main house, from the outside, reminded me of a cross between a massive French villa and a hunting lodge from the Canadian northwest

The massive double front doors opened to a three story atrium with a ceiling of glass panels. The atrium itself is oblong (left-to-right) and filled to overflowing with flowers, plants, and even small trees. From the entry, it’s almost impossible to see anything except a wall of greenery, but whichever one of the two visible paths you chose to take will determine where you can get to.

The left path leads (eventually) to the hallway to what Cynthiana calls the guest wing. These are the living accommodations for everyone in the house except Cynthiana, and include the kitchen, dining rooms, two different family rooms, (one formal, the other informal) and the bedrooms. The swimming pool, the spa, and a fully-equipped theater are in the basement under this wing.

The right path eventually leads to the hallway for Cynthiana’s wing. There, her offices and living quarters take up most of what I had seen so far. Granted, I haven’t had the time or freedom to explore that wing.

In the center of the atrium is a small waterfall, and next to that is a life-sized statue of a Panda Bear that was gifted her by the zoo in Berlin. You have to be looking for it, because it is not on a path going anywhere else.

On the opposite side of the atrium from the front door is the terrace that overlooks Lake Zurich. A popular place for breakfast on warm mornings.

I followed Reggie from the car, into the house, and through the atrium to the informal family room. Standing there in front of me were not one, but two beautiful models. I mean they looked like models. More importantly, they looked exactly alike. Twins!

“Alex, this is Sarah and Samantha,” Reggie said by way of introduction. Then to Sarah he asked, “Any troubles getting here?”

“No, sir. We drove up yesterday and had no problems,” she told him.

“Well, you have your instructions. Take some time to get to know him, but be aware that there are multiple bogies out there,” he told them as he left the room.

An awkward silence ensued as both girls allowed their eyes to roam over me. I couldn’t fault them, because I was doing the same to them. Their light brown hair was cut short, barely reaching their chins, and their eyes were sparkling blue. The one on the left had more pronounced dimples than the one on the right, but other than that, they looked identical. They wore identical white crew neck shirts with a racing strip over their left shoulders and navy blue slacks with deck shoes. They both had sweaters with the sleeves tied around their necks. They looked like they were ready to go sailing.

“We understand you like to go sailing,” said the one on the left. The one with dimples.

“I just got back from a two week cruise from Antalya to Nice,” I told them.

“Was it fun? Did you have a good time?” asked the one on the right. I sensed a genuine interest there.

“It was both exciting and relaxing,” I told them. “Are you my bodyguards?”

“Of course!” said dimples. “Why don’t we go to the kitchen and grab something to eat. Then we can tell you all about us and answer all your question.”

So that’s what we did. And over a late lunch, I got to know Sarah and Samantha. They were twenty-three years old from Edwardsville, Kansas. Their father was the president of a local bank (naturally) and the girls had attended the University of Missouri in Columbia on scholarships from the Foundation. Samantha’s degree was in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, while Sarah’s was in Mechatronics Engineering.

After a few minutes, it was obvious (to me) that Cynthiana had gotten to them early. Spotted in a local dojo while still in junior high, they had received an extensive seven year course of study through both high school and college in the mixed martial arts, also on scholarships from the Foundation. They had been working for Reggie for about a year as members of the Security Team.

“Part of what we are supposed to do is an in-depth study of your pheromones,” Sarah explained. She was the one with the dimples. “Tomorrow, I’ll draw some blood and do a panel study. The information will be restricted to Cynthiana and whoever she decides to get involved. It will not be made available to the medical community. She said that that was a major concern of yours.”

“Why is that?” Samantha asked.

“Did Cynthiana tell you about me getting struck by lightning?” I asked.

“She mentioned it, but said you would fill us in,” Samantha replied.

“Do you have smart phones?” I asked. “With you?”

“We have the ones that the foundation provides,” Sarah offered.

“Do they work?” I asked.

The twins looked at each other and then at me. “Of course they work,” Sarah replied.

“Better check,” I told them.

They each reached for the smartphones in their back pockets. As they pulled them out, they could see that they were smoking. They quickly tossed the smoking devices on the table.

“How? How did you know?” Samantha asked.

I walked over to the house phone on a side table and when someone answered, I asked for Reggie. Seconds later I explained that he might need to get the girls new phones. He didn’t even bother to ask why, just said that they would be here in the morning and for me not to leave the house until then. I relayed the information to the girls as I sat back down.

“Okay, Alex. What did you just do?” Samantha asked. I could tell they were both becoming agitated.

Starting at the beginning, I explained everything, even the bright shining light, but not the travel through space or the visit to the pink planet or the dark planet that resembled a graveyard. They listened intently, interrupting only for clarifications and occasional questions.

Samantha was more interested in what I did to the Navy ships and planes, while Sarah was more interested in the bright shining light.

“So it’s not your EMFs?” Samantha asked.

“We don’t think so. The physical limits on EMFs would seem counter to all the things I can do,” I replied. “If you like, we can set up some experiments in my free time.”

“Who can we discuss this with?” Sarah asked.

“On the energy stuff, only Dr. Roland Rappeneau knows the full extent. Reggie and Cynthiana know a little. On the bright shining light, you would have to talk to Carina. That’s Dr. Carina Rappeneau,” I replied. “Also, Isabella seems to know quite a bit about it as well.”