Chapter 35

Erica and Sally had just finished freshening up when Donna said, “Luanna in Suite 425 is quite upset, almost hysterical. Her friends said that it started when she accessed the visitor information for her home. They aren’t having much success in calming her down.”

“Okay,” replied both.

Sally said, “Tara, get the group you were with today and wait by a shuttle.”

“Think it is that bad?”

“Not sure. Pick another team to go with us as well.” By this time, both Erica and Sally were jogging toward the suite.

Erica knocked on the door. When it opened she said, “Hi. Donna advised us that Luanna had a problem.”

“We don’t know,” replied Daniéle. We were looking at the photos of the visitors to our house. When she saw one of the photos, she just burst into tears.”

“Okay. Let’s see what we can do.”

Sally and Erica moved over next to Luanna and Nikki, who were hugging her. Sally quietly spoke to Luanna while Erica monitored her thoughts. While Sally was speaking, she pushed out calming sensations. Luanna slowly quieted.

After a few moments Erica said, “Come with us Luanna, let’s go see if we can help them. They can come back here if they want to.”

Luanna looked up at Erica and Sally. Her eyes and face were red and tear stained. She said with a sob, “It’s too late.”

“Come on, let’s go find out. Nikki, you can come with us as well, for that matter any of you can. Let’s roll.”

“Sally,” said Tara, “Erin’s and my groups are here. Bot23 and bot24 who worked with Erica today are here as well.”

“Good. We are on our way now. You take the flight deck. Ask the C&C drone, to try locating the visitors.”

“Aye.”

It was only moments later that Sally, Erica, Luanna and Nikki entered the shuttle. As soon as they stepped inside the door, it closed and the shuttle began to lift. Erica and Sally immediately began putting on their tactical suits.

Sarah’s and Amy’s Clans monitored the group leaving in the shuttle as they headed for dinner. When they arrived at the dining room Jill went to Ann and said, “We have a few that will be late for dinner.”

“I noticed the activity. So did a lot of others. It will be a few minutes until we are finished setting up.”

“Do you have enough help?”

“Pretty much. Several bots have been assisting us which has been a big help. I hate to ask the candidates for assistance. They are cleaning up after themselves which really helps.”

“Yea, I’ll say something later when we talk about activities.”

While they waited for everyone to arrive and the food to be ready, Sarah’s Clan split up to visit with their guests. Seeing what Sarah’s Clan was doing, Nancy’s and Amy’s, along with Jean’s, Maureen’s and Siobhan’s Clans followed their example.

It wasn’t long before Ann tapped the serving table with a spoon, quickly drawing everyone’s attention. With a wave of her arm she shifted their attention to Sarah and Rusty who were standing together.

Sarah and Rusty together said, “Good evening and welcome. The activity you noticed by the shuttle area was a few people leaving to check on a guest’s friends. It is my understanding that some of Luanna’s friends came to visit her home. Based on their appearance she thought they might be in danger. She based this on the way they were acting and knowing about some recent activity involving them. The group who went with her are to provide tactical support if it’s needed. We will give you an update as soon as we hear anything. Ann has just indicated that the serving lines are open. Even though we have more people than we originally planned on, there is definitely enough food. So eat hardy, seconds are available so we don’t really need to put side boards on our plate.”

“You should talk,” said Joyce loudly sticking her tongue out, causing many to laugh.

“Ann’s Clan does such a great job it is sometimes difficult not to take a little more.” More laughter.

So without further delays why don’t we begin? Gillian’s and Carmen’s groups, why don’t you lead off?”

As people started through the serving lines Sarah added, “It may seem obvious, but if any of you have concerns about friends who visited your residence please let us know. We value you and them. Because of that, we will do whatever we can to ensure everyone’s safety. As to calling home, your home phones are now being forwarded to your room. To make a call, it is as if you were at home, except press 7 before dialing the number you would normally do. Remember, to outsiders this is a conference on concepts for space exploration and manufacturing.”

Several clapped and then everyone joined them.

“Thank you. We are sorry we didn’t arrange this earlier. Before we continue, several of you looked uneasy but didn’t say anything just now. Again, if you have any concerns about the safety of your friends, please let us know, or you can simply raise your hand and one of us will come to you.” Several hands were raised. One of Sarah’s, Amy’s or Nancy’s Clan went to each one.

As they went through the serving line Sarah said, “The candidate I talked to forgot about a commitment he had made. He wondered if his friends could come here. I told him we would like to know more about them before answering. He then asked if it was okay to feel them out first. I told him yes.”

“We noticed that,” replied Janet and Nancy. “So we gave a similar response.”

“Did they all have a similar questions?”

They shared their conversations with the candidates, then Rusty said, “If they all come, it’s only going to add about 50 people, maybe a 100 at most. I don’t see that as a problem. We do need to get a good idea of their friends’ capabilities and other relationships before making a commitment.”

“Agreed,” replied everyone.

“Since those who don’t stay will remember this as a dream,” said Judy, “the only concern I see is someone being disruptive. Hopefully, we will sense that ahead of time.”

During dinner the hosts did as they had done at previous meals and sat with a group of candidates that they hadn’t spent much time with. When people were finished eating, they carried their dishes to the kitchen then cleaned off the table. The newest arrivals followed the lead of the others. As the last tables were being cleaned off, Sarah’s and Amy’s Clans went to the front of the room. Together they said, “Good evening. Welcome to Naked Holiday Resort. We hope you are enjoying the location, the food and activities.”

“Our group is known as Amy’s Clan,” said Amy. They then introduced themselves in turn. Afterward Amy added, “Erica is another member of our family. She just left on the shuttle with Luanna.”

“Our group is known as Sarah’s Clan,” said Sarah. They then introduced themselves with Joyce adding, “Sally, Erin and Tara are members of our clan. They are with the group on the shuttle. We expect them back before long.”

Joyce said, “We’ve done this before, but considering the number who’ve arrived since the last time, let’s go around the room and introduce ourselves. This time let’s include your major and hometown besides your name. Please keep it short though. We will start with us.” Joyce started it and they soon worked their way around the room leaving the newest arrivals till last.”

When the introductions were completed Rusty said, “When we delivered the invitation to come here for a week, the groups who met with you gave you a brief outline of the opportunity and our background. We are going to go over that information in a little more detail. Before doing that, we need to emphasize a couple of points. If you have a question or don’t understand, speak up, raise your hand or stand up so you get our attention. From our perspective, there aren’t any dumb questions except the one you don’t ask.

“For those who arrived today, we strongly encourage you to watch three video presentations. Why? Because they will provide you with more detailed information about our background, the ship history, those who arrived with it and us. More specifically, one covers the history of the people who arrived with the ship and why it is here. It also includes information on how us Earthlings came to be involved with those from the ship. Another reviews the physical differences between us and you. This is in addition to the differences you’ve likely already noticed, such as our hair, stature and feet. The third discusses why we’ve asked you here. Specifically why we need help and what we want to do. You are probably wondering why we are doing this.” Several heads nodded. “We feel that is essential that all of you know the history and background of our situation. There are physical and physiological differences between you and the crew. We don’t think the differences are a problem, but you need to be aware of them. Facts are always much better than hearsay, and knowing the differences should minimize misunderstandings.

“As to goals, our immediate goal is to bring the ship back to full operational status. We see it as critical to our survival. At this point, we haven’t thought much beyond that goal. However, I think it is pretty obvious, that to ensure our long term survival we will need to do more than that. So we need to grow. This means adding more ships. As to where to build them, a settlement on Mars seems to be a good choice. Our space ship was built for exploration so it has limited defensive capability. Based on the information in the library, we know that there are other civilizations out there. From the records we have, we also know that some are not very friendly. As a part of refurbishing our space ship, we intend to improve it defensive capabilities. At some point down the road, we need decide our future. Do we stay in this system? If we go to another, then where? This is something for us to think about as we address our current needs.

“Based on the interaction between the different civilizations or races on Earth, we don’t believe our presence would be tolerated for very long once it is known. For this reason, the place we refer to as our island home, is cloaked. All of our flight operations are cloaked, as some of you have noticed.”

He then nodded to Sarah who said, “While based on the same scientific principles that we understand, the technology we use every day evolved in an entirely different way. Using Earth’s knowledge base, one small example of the significant divergence would be to compare current analog and digital computers.” Several laughed. “Some of you are thinking, what is the benefit of working with us?” Several nodded. “You gain experience in solving problems and implementing the solutions. So while the technology we have is not directly transferable, we believe the knowledge you gain would aid you in finding solutions within Earth’s technological framework. But best of all, you get the opportunity to work safely in space. Joyce.”

She said, “Some have asked why we picked you. This is because all of you are highly intelligent and have a strong technical background. You’ve shown an ability to find workable solutions. Based on your group interactions, you have good socialization skills. Most of you are near being six feet tall or taller. Why is that important? Our ship was designed for tall people, and changing that is not a simple task. Also, we believe that all of you are either already telepathic, or have the ability to be telepathic.”

Judy said, “Some of you looked doubtful when telepathic ability was mentioned. It is real. It is an important ability because our safety procedures depend on it. As has been noted several times, it is used for much of the communication on the ship. It is essential to our safety procedures because it doesn’t require additional equipment and works in a vacuum.

“As a part of our offer to you for considering this opportunity, we offered you a physical. You will need to complete the physical before you can go to the ship. It doesn’t take long. After the physical, you will be evaluated for telepathic capabilities. The telepathic evaluation takes longer than the physical because we need to show you some aspects of it. If it turns out you are not telepathically capable, you can still go to the ship. It just means you need an escort at all times. Why? Safety. Lacking telepathy will not keep you from accepting our offer, but it will likely limit your choices in duty assignment. Again, we are quite certain that all of you have sufficient telepathic ability to work with us.”

Jill said, “Some of you have asked why we suddenly offered you the opportunity to come earlier. Simply put, it was to keep you from potentially disappearing. I am not going into detail as more is available in our library. Briefly, we discovered that several groups had some of you in their sights and were planning to abduct you. Fortunately, in all but a few cases we thwarted their plans. Why were they going to abduct you? They had a new career planned. It could be working in a high class brothel but it could be as a someone’s slave. It could be as a baby maker. As I said if you want to know more, try the library or ask Donna for a reference as we have a few who have experienced it firsthand. Oh. I almost left out one other aspect, once you were in the hands of the abductors, your identity would vanish or it would appear that you had a tragic death which left no body. With no relatives, there would be no one to raise the alarm.”

Janet said, “Our library is available to you. It is an electronic library and contains the full history of the crew, its culture and their activities since they have been in this solar system. This includes the recent events regarding our recruiting. All of this is available at the terminals in the recreation area or on the ship. To use it, just ask Donna, our site AI.”

Siobhan and Maureen stood to get her attention, when she nodded they said, “We would like to add that you may want to watch the orientation videos more than once. We’ve seen them several times along with new arrivals and each time we saw things we didn’t remember.”

“Okay. You’re getting as good at doing duets as we are.” Several chuckled. Others had confused looks on their faces.

“Let’s show them the grand duet.”

“This is what we mean by a duet,” said Sarah’s Clan in unison. The newest arrivals had an amazed look on their faces when they heard the clan’s voices in harmony. Several looked around to be sure they were really seeing what they were hearing.

Jill said, “For the next couple of days the videos will be shown a half hour after breakfast and lunch. Alternatively, you can watch them in your room. Remember, if you have questions about any of the content ask Donna. If she can’t answer it, she will find one of us to assist.”

“You mean Donna doesn’t have all the answers?” asked a male voice.

“Not always, just like we don’t have all the answers,” responded Sarah’s Clan.

Joyce said, “We have a few more things to cover so why don’t we take a five minute break so we can stretch our legs?”

During the short break only a few left the room, but those who did quickly returned.

“Well, looks like we can start again,” said Sarah. After a few moments she added, “Two nights ago we made a commitment to check out a lodge two groups of our guests were invited to. We did that yesterday morning and quickly came to the conclusion that it was fortunate that they didn’t go there. When we arrived, the first thing we saw told us it was operated by slavers. Since they weren’t aware of our arrival, we were fortunate in being able to rescue all the victims still there. Initially they received medical care on the space ship and will likely arrive here tomorrow. That is the good news.

“The less than good news is that we found a filing cabinet full of documents that included photographs, drivers’ licenses, credit cards, etc. This implies that there were a quite a few victims and that this enterprise had been in operation for some time. Since we were there first, we removed everything we could find related to those we rescued. In addition, we were able to obtain a full copy of the data on the computers. Included in that was a list of customers, the videos purchased and who performed in each video, the money made by selling the videos and the victims. Based on what was in the lodge, the videos were of couples or groups engaging in sexual activity, bondage and BDSM. Since they were profiting from the sale of the victims, the BDSM probably wasn’t very harsh. If it was too harsh it would have reduced the victims’ value.”

Rusty said, “We left the site just after the arrival of two deputy sheriffs. Once they gained control of the site and secured the staff, they were able to remove the computers and a lot of the videos, CDs and DVDs before the site caved in.” There was a gasp. “Yes, the place caved in several hours after the law enforcement officers arrived. Based on their reports, all the buildings were built over a large cavern. The cave in was triggered using explosives. This was most likely set off remotely. The cave in resulted in many people being trapped in the ruble. Rescue operations were underway when someone said they thought they smelled gas. This intensified the effort to get people out. Unfortunately the gas ignited not long after that. The resulting explosion and fire destroyed everything that was in the hole. There were quite a few injuries from the explosion as well as damage to equipment. The remains of four large LP gas tanks were found after the fire was out. Currently there is a lot of speculation around the explosion. Was it planned? Was it the result of the cave in? Where did the tanks come from?

“Currently news reports are claiming that thirty-two emergency workers and law enforcement officers are confirmed dead. Again, Donna can provide you with a news feed if you want to hear more about it. It has created quite an uproar in the rural community.”

“We believe the people behind this were involved in the attempts on some of you,” said Terry. “Many here feel we should try to put this organization out of business. We agree. From what little we know, they appear to be well organized with connections in many places to thwart discovery. There are more than thirty people that were on our list of candidates who have vanished. For those who vanished, we are unable to find any record of them ever existing. However, we only looked at records which are searchable electronically, such as, school records, drivers’ licenses, birth certificates, and medical records. There are likely isolated records still in existence. With no relatives, there is no one to raise the alarm and who knows where to look, or for what. About the only thing remaining would be a few photos, but for us nerds there are usually not very many of those.” Nearly everyone laughed. “We do have the information we collected, so perhaps that will help us figure out how the records are disappearing, which should lead to who is doing it.”

Janet said, “While our focus is on bringing the ship to operational status, our AIs and computer whizzes will try to see if they can identify those behind the abductions. It will likely require some luck, or a mistake on their part, as so far they have been very good at not leaving any traces or trails to follow.”

“Most of all, we hope you will join us in this adventure in space,” added Jill, “and these side events will not diminish your interest in this opportunity. More detail on the incident at the lodge is available in the library. Our goal is to provide you with access to all the information we have, so you can comfortably decide your future direction. While some parts of this may have sounded like a sales pitch, it was definitely not our intent. Now I am sure there are many questions, so ask away.”

Sarah, Amy, Rusty and Jim answered questions working from the front of the room to the back. When they reached Allister Rusty said, “Allister, sorry it’s taken so long to get to you.”

His expression showed his surprise at being addressed by name, but then he realized they had done that with everyone. “This has all been very interesting but what did you do before you came here?”

“Most recently, I worked on network security and as a programmer. Sarah, Sally, Terry and I worked for Nancy and Bob at N&R Security Services. Their business provides secure data storage, network security evaluations, network installations and similar services along with personal protection. Nearly all of my spouses have at least one college degree or certification in a needed area of expertise.”

“With that background, why do you think your group can command the space ship?” asked Allister. His question drew several gasps.

“Simply because of the support we have on the ship and the way it evolved. We did not appoint ourselves to be in command of the ship. In fact that is impossible to do. It isn’t something we sought out either. If you’ve seen the presentations, you know how we arrived in this society. We are pleased that we are here, as should be clear from our actions and by our comments. We were reluctant to accept the role, even as events pushed us to visit the ship’s bridge.

“This was a little less than two weeks after the ship’s Master-AI told us of the need for a Command Staff. She provided us with more details regarding the events that brought the ship here. Since then we know she met with us in order to get a better idea of our capabilities. After we accepted the role, she and another have acted as coaches and mentors as we strive to fill the role. Even before the critical event, it was clear to us that we needed more resources in order to survive. When the time came, what we learned from the Master-AI likely eased our acceptance of the role.

“The critical event was Amy’s Clan being infected with an unknown virus. This removed what minimal command structure we had. Our response resulted in us going to the ship much sooner than anyone expected. It was also our first visit. While there, we simply followed our intuition as events unfolded, as we have done at other crucial times.

“As the visit progressed, several things occurred with little or no planned input from us. When we approached the bridge entrance the doors opened automatically, indicating acceptance of our identity and responsibility. How did the ship know about us? We don’t know. We now know for certain it was not something Star, the Master-AI, could have done. On entering the bridge, we went straight to the command column, and automatically grasped the ring to form a circle around it. How did we know to do that? We don’t have a clue. Within moments of forming that circle, all of us knew the information necessary to command the ship. After a challenge by the Command-AI and subsequent coded response by us, the ship’s AIs all accepted our group as the Command Staff.

“Together, we immediately began evaluating the ship for additional destructive devices and traps. Once those were eliminated, and there were quite a few, we moved the ship from its dormant status to stand-by. It had been in hibernation since the sabotage which was some 200 years ago. It is a testament to the quality of our ship that all but two systems spun up. For those that didn’t, we had choices for covering the short-fall.

“Our response to the sequence of events on the ship’s bridge was intuitive, by us as a group. Our actions all felt natural, which is unusual for a first experience. Looking back at it from our point of view, the number of consecutive events leading to an unplanned and unanticipated objective is quite surprising.”

“Why was the ship dormant? Didn’t it have AIs to manage its systems?”

“Yes,” said Rusty, “but the ship’s operating procedures did not permit the ship’s AIs to maintain the ship above a hibernation level without a functioning biological command staff. Violating those protocols would initiate a total shutdown. The people who built the ship wanted to limit AIs to only a supporting role. AI self-awareness was feared. We have not had time to look up the source of that fear.”

Sarah continued with, “We have since learned that a number of the challenges we faced on the bridge that day were built into the system. The purpose was to test our ability to handle command situations. The seriousness of those tests, as we found out later, was greatly increased by whoever planned the original sabotage. Whoever it was apparently wanted to make sure this ship and its crew did not survive.”

“Thank you for your patience with my questions.”

“You are welcome. If at some time you would like to see what happened, ask Donna or Star for the location of the information. I know that sounds repetitive. Our library is open to all of you. The only restricted information is some operational information and command codes.”

“What is the rest of the crew like?” asked Kirsty.

Conan of Siobhan’s group stood, Rusty nodded to him. He said, “Kirsty, whether you realize it or not, you may have already met some of them. Erica, Jim, Amy, Connie and Betsy are part of the original crew. The treatments they received in response to the virus gave them some features of Sarah’s Clan. Their physical similarity to the original crew members is still very strong, as you will see when you visit the ship. Once you see the crew on the ship, the attributes Sarah’s Clan received from them will be more apparent.” Several from Siobhan’s group nodded their agreement. “Also, you should know that our groups, Siobhan’s and Maureen’s, joined the crew last night, as did several others who arrived the first day.”

“Rusty, Terry, we have found Luanna’s friends. They are okay. We are on our way back with them. It appears they were being set up for abduction. The plot was different. Oh, I don’t know whether you have noticed it, but the drones are reporting that the teams of watchers have all disappeared since the lodge incidence”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“You will be pleased to know that Luanna was able to locate her friends. They are all on their way back here,” said Sarah. “Everyone is safe and well. Also, the people watching some of your homes have disappeared since the incident at the lodge.” Everyone clapped.

“How do you know that?” asked Nessa, a recent arrival.

“Sally just told us telepathically,” continued Sarah. “That is one of the benefits of the mind-link we share. We mentioned telepathy earlier. When family groups in this society form, they enter into a relationship with two unique characteristics. One is a physiological bond and the second is a mind-link. The mind-link is somewhat like a telepathic link, but much more open. All the spouses are an equal part of the bonding. The physiological bond is beyond anything I have ever read about. It brings all of you very close to each other, so close that sometimes you feel like one person with different facets, where each facet is an individual. The mind-link aspect compliments the physiological aspect. It is a very interesting experience. We think this is a reason that family groups work in this society.”

“Let’s let Joyce take questions for a while. By the way, she is Nancy’s daughter.”

“Hi,” she said. “Let me talk about bonding and the mental link a bit. I hope I do not add any confusion. There are many aspects we don’t fully understand about the dynamics of our relationship. Since being here, our family group has developed a very strong bond along with a very deep mental link. From talking to Amy and Betsy, their family has something similar. It is difficult for us to tell whether ours is the same or somewhat different from theirs.

“We feel that telepathy is a key contributor to group bonding, which agrees with the ships medical literature. When we fully engage mentally, or mind-link, we find we are part of a single mind, but in separate containers. Again, this is stronger than any Betsy has seen before, so we don’t know quite what the source is. We have found that when Siobhan, Maureen, Aoife and Briana join us as part of the command staff, they become a very close part of our mind-link when we are working, but only then. Next, question?”

“Very interesting. What if we aren’t telepathic? Do we have to leave?” asked Morna.

“We would not send anyone away. A question that person would need to answer is how they would feel about not being a part of all conversations in their group. Those will be part verbal and part simply shared thoughts. It is also a group question as well. I was in nearly that situation for a while, as I was not totally immersed in the group of Sarah, Sally, Terry and Rusty. This was when we were living at my home well before we were abducted. When we woke up here, our mind-links were immediately apparent. Sarah, Rusty, Sally, and Terry awakened before I did, so that sequence may have helped us quickly establish the mind-link we now enjoy. When we were at my home, I knew that both Rusty and Sarah made sure to verbalize when I was close by.” The woman looked concerned. “I take it you are worried about not being able to stay.” She nodded. “If you want to know whether you are telepathic right now, one of my spouses can try assessing your potential while I answer questions.” She nodded yes.

“What?” said Renée. “You mean you can look at my thoughts.”

“Yes, to an extent but there are constraints or limitations in reading another person’s thoughts. First, we are bound by this society’s rules which are: You don’t peek unless you have permission. Second, if I look at your thoughts, you will most likely sense it. How much, varies from person to person. Thirdly, others may see me doing it. Lastly, it is rather difficult for me to determine which object in my mind is you unless you assist. Sounds a bit strange doesn’t it?” The woman nodded. “It should be clearer once you work with the medical staff to enable your ability.”