Chapter 5: First Strike

"We need a dog. Hello Melissa."

Mark stared his mother. A dog? After old Duke died, his mother vowed she could never bear to get another dog because it was so hard to let go when they died. She waved at them as they stood with their arms around each other. Then she disappeared into her room.

"Mark. Come in here. Now." Rachel's voice was tense as she called from her bedroom seconds later.

He went in with Melissa right behind him. His mother stood and stared at the screen. There was a message in bright red letters, "AN ATTEMPT HAS BEEN MADE TO ACCESS THIS COMPUTER. WHAT ARE YOUR WISHES?"

"Mom? What is this?" Mark was amazed at the message.

"Son, you know more about it than I do. After all, you are the one Teacher talks to, not me. So, you tell me what is happening here."

"Teacher, what is the meaning of this message?"

"I installed the security program on both computers in your home in anticipation that an event like this would happen."

Again, Teacher had taken unasked for and independent action. "Where is this attack originating from and who is doing it?" Mark asked. "Please put the information on the monitor so my mother can see it also."

The screen changed and showed the Net address where the attempted intrusion originated, then listed name, the intruder's telephone number was listed under, including the extension. Following that was the make, serial number and specifications of the computer used to attempt the intrusion.

"That can't be right." Rachel looked shocked at the information. "C. E. Sharkey is head of security at the plant. I'm going to call right now and get to the bottom of this."

"Can you disable the computer presently attempting to crack into this system?" Mark was certain he already knew the answer.

"Yes." Somehow, Mark felt that Teacher seemed a bit smug.

Rather than wait for an okay from his mother, Mark ordered, "Put all the data you can find on C. E. Sharkey on his screen, beginning with any arrests or criminal convictions. Also, put up a picture of his family or friends on his computer monitor. Lock it so that it will scroll continuously."

Seconds later Mom called from the other room, "Mark, are you messing with Mister Sharkey's computer?"

"Yes ma'am. I wanted to get his attention." He felt very smug right then.

She laughed and called back, "Stop it. You're scaring the man." Mark ordered Teacher to return the man's computer to normal.

Melissa had watched, wide-eyed and unbelieving. She looked confused. "What is going on here? You almost act like you are telepathically in communication with your mother's computer."

Mark patted her rear end and squeezed her close to him. "That's an approximation to what's happening. I'll explain and give you a demonstration later, as soon as we get this matter settled." Mark tried to figure out not only how to explain to her, but how much to tell her. The secrecy was hard to get used to. Before this Mark had always been honest and open with Melissa.

Rachel came in then, still talking on her cell phone. "Listen, CE, I don't care what you say about security breaches. There were none. I had accessed my workstation and you tried to interfere with me. You were spying on me.

"When I go in to work tomorrow, either you or I are going to leave the company. Furthermore, right now I don't care which. I refuse to work for a company that would let a sneaking moron like you have any authority over me." She punched the off button and tossed the phone on Mark's bed as if she hated to even touch it.

"Please, Mark. Will you please tell me what is going on here? I came over to talk to you about my father. Right now, I feel as if I have walked into the middle of a bad science fiction movie. Please?"

"Ask her to place the gold band on her head." Teacher seemed very insistent.

"Here," he told her as he removed the band from his head. Slip this on your head and everything will be explained to you. Better sit down first."

She hesitated a moment. Then she accepted the band and placed it on her head as soon as she sat down on the edge of Rachel's bed. Her eyes widened, her face registered shock. Her eyes grew larger and she reached for the band. Then she stopped and let her hands drop into her lap.

She sat quiet for what seemed to Mark a long time. Then she reached up and removed the band and handed it back to him. "We have to go back up into the mountains tomorrow and pick up my band. Teacher told me it would be waiting. We're supposed to get married." She gave an embarrassed laugh, "He called it 'mating.'

"I already know that. Just as soon as we are legal enough, we are going to have the best mating we can design. I've always known that."

"We were chosen for each other." She started to blush and said, "We are the beginning of the new priesthood."

"Oh." That came as a shock. "Why did Teacher tell you and not tell me you are already a part of this?" Mark felt like he had been let down or betrayed or left out of the loop.

"I had to be examined, sort of like being tested. At some time in the past, people like us were bred and designed to meet each other and get married. Something about our genes causes us to become close and eventually mate. I couldn't understand the part about the genetics involved.

"Then there was something about an unanticipated natural disaster that happened almost five million years ago. Anyway, the 'special' subjects got loose and mated with the wild ones of their kind. The disaster, a great meteorite struck Earth, damaged Teacher and killed most of the beings who tended him. After the cataclysm, it was a long time before Teacher, as you call him, was able to function again in even a limited way. Many parts of him are still not fully repaired.

Since then he has tried to recombine the divergent lineages, to get them back together. That is how our priesthood evolved. We are the first two completely acceptable members of the 'special people, ' whatever that is in fifty thousand years."

Mark felt exhausted. "I'm going to bed," he told them. "I'm all worn out. Let's talk tomorrow. Good night." He hated to be so impolite. A wave of fatigue hit him. Then he felt he couldn't stay awake another minute. He went to his room, undressed and went to bed. He was asleep the instant his head touched the pillow.

The next morning he woke up refreshed. He felt hungry. Other than the sleep the previous night, he felt better than he had in a long time. He got up, showered and got dressed. His mother and Melissa were already out in the kitchen. They started breakfast without him. He dropped into his usual chair and asked, "You spend the night?"

Melissa smiled and answered, "No, Mother called and asked me to come home around ten o'clock last night. She was upset and wanted my company. She definitely plans to divorce him, no matter what the bishop says."

"Hurry up and eat, Mark, I have to face that bloated snake, CE, and then we need to see Hank about the security program. If I'm not mistaken, this will turn out to be a very valuable bit of software. Of course, I may be unemployed and job hunting."

"Mom, why don't you quit any way? Right now, we have so much going on in our lives I need you to keep everything straight and organized. The investment program alone will keep you running. Teacher will set it up. However, it will need a lot of oversight. Then, as soon as possible, we must buy that property. Believe me, with all that we'll have going on, you won't have time for anything else. Please, Mom? I need your help here."

Rachel looked at her son. She had a pleased, yet wistful look on her face. "Mark, this is the first time since you were very small, about six years old, you've asked my help and said you needed it. Thank you for needing me."

Melissa asked, "Where do I fit into all this, Marky?"

"You fit right in the middle of everything, Babe. Well, you do if you stop calling me Marky. You know how I hate that. How would you like it if I started calling you Melly Girl?' You wouldn't like that at all."

Her nostrils flared, "Don't you dare. I hate the name Melly Girl. He used to call me that to tease me." I hate that name." She looked like she was ready to fight him. Her cheeks were puffed out like always, when she became angry.

Before she could stop him, Mark took his two middle fingers and pushed in on her puffed out cheeks. Her lips made wet, sloppy, bubbly noise and Mark laughed. She laughed, in spite of herself. Rachel shook her head at their antics. He ate a roll and drank a glass of milk. Then they left to attend to the problem with Sharkey.

Melissa and Mark sat in the back seat of Rachel's mini van and held hands as always when we were together. They talked and planned for the trip up into the mountains.

Rachel glanced over her shoulder as she concentrated on her driving, "If we can get the funding, we should start at least two separate corporations. That way we can acquire the land through more than one entity. I believe we should try to acquire all the land from the access road on back to the foot of Elizabeth Mountain. We shall probably need to protect every acre up there, eventually."

She thought a moment and added, "We should also try to get control of everything between State Road 150 and Pineview. Ask Teacher how much land they plan to open up, if he can access the information. We need a game plan.

Before Mark could ask, Teacher told him, "One and a half million acres," He told his mother.

"Oh boy," Rachel said, "That's going to take a lot of money. We'll need a large line of credit and a healthy amount of ready cash before we even begin. I have a hundred thousand dollars I can get my hands on right away. The problem is that's only a drop in the bucket to what we will eventually need. Any ideas?"

"How long before they let the property go up for bid?" Mark asked Teacher.

"A little over a year. There is much dishonesty involved. One of the directors of the Bureau Of Land Management in Washington DC has been bribed to make it a closed bid. Albright Banking and Development Company will be awarded the bid through one of its subsidiaries."

Mark told Rachel what Teacher related to him. "We better get busy," she answered and concentrated on her driving. Melissa sat quiet and said little. She picked her words with care and spoke in a low voice. What she had to say troubled her.

Marky, er Mark, you know that I don't really believe much of what my mother's church teaches." He nodded and wondered where she was going with this. "Well, it seems to me what you need is to start a new religion."

"But..." he tried to cut in.

"No, please, don't interrupt me, I ... I hate trading a fantasy for a lie but the best way to keep the government at arm's length might be to put it all out in plain sight, where everyone can see what we're doing. The government will back off, at least a little, if we make it a church and do everything out in the open. You see what I mean?"