“Jesus,” Sean breathes. “What happened to the other EBE . . um, Gabriel, right?”
“That’s right,” Sloan confirms. “Like I said before, Gabriel was the more innocent and naïve of the two, but even he realized Jericho left him out to dry, and he offered to help the group find Jericho and bring him back. But . .”
“But what?”
“But,” Sloan explains, “the head of the research team was so infuriated with Jericho, and so worried about another escapee, he had Gabriel promptly terminated.”
Despite the finality of Sloan’s statement, Sean thinks he might have misheard her.
“Terminated? As in executed?” Sean questions.
Sloan nods.
“Just like that?” Sean asks, clearly unsettled. “How did they do it? I mean, since they couldn’t be killed by conventional weapons-”
“They froze him to death,” Sloan responds deadpan, not a touch of sympathy or pity in her voice.
“I don’t understand,” Sean argues, “these creatures have managed to create a defense system that can essentially render our weapons ineffective, but their . . what was it again? Biotechnology? It can’t fend off something as simple as a cold environment?”
“I think you’re splitting hairs, Mr. O’Connell,” Sloan counters. “To devise a defense system that can virtually blunt all trauma that threatens to harm them, I would consider that an utterly remarkable feat.”
“I would agree, Ms. Sloan,” Sean acknowledges, “but being susceptible to a cold environment seems to me like a pretty significant weakness, especially on a planet like ours.”
Another thought occurs to Sean. “Out of curiosity, could this sophisticated endoskeleton be the root cause of their vulnerability to cold environments?”
“The Foundation had the exact same thought, Professor,” Sloan smirks. “That somehow the endoskeleton is susceptible to cold and breaks down in such a climate. And, in essence, taking the EBE with it.”
After a pause, Sean addresses another thought on his mind.
“How long were they in the Foundation’s . . custody?”
“Nearly two years,” Sloan answers.
“See, that bothers me, Ms. Sloan,” Sean indicates. “Since you’ve clearly noted the fact that they are physically and mentally superior to us, as well as their ability to change their appearance, why did they wait so long before escaping? In fact, I have a hard time understanding how they were captured in the first place.”
“Very good point, Professor,” Sloan nods. “And believe me, that has been widely discussed and theorized from the beginning.
“The most common and accepted explanation why the EBEs were captured was because they wanted to be captured. Many believed this was done for two reasons. First, by being in close contact with human beings for such an extended period of time as the EBEs were, it afforded them an opportunity to understand us more deeply . . deeper than, say, a nanoprobe could get. So while the Foundation conducted their tests, they had no idea that at the same time, they were being closely studied and analyzed by the EBEs, test subjects themselves in a manner of speaking.
“It was suggested that the second reason for the EBEs’ acquiescence to captivity was because they wanted to display their extraordinary abilities to their human captors. While several members of the Foundation argued that arrogance and pride are strictly human characteristics, and that it is foolish to believe the EBEs possessed such traits, the flip side to the argument is that it was a subtle method of intimidation used by the extraterrestrials on their captors.”
“In other words,” Sean states, “the EBEs were laying down the gauntlet, challenging us to try and match their technology. They were insinuating that if there is ever a war between us, we already know the end result.”
“Exactly, Professor,” Sloan affirms.
“Then, when Jericho decided he had learned enough,” Sean concludes, “and they had adequately ‘shown off’ their unique abilities to their captors, he drops one final bombshell by shape-shifting into the head of the research team and splitting, leaving his partner holding the bag.”
Sloan nods and they remain silent for a moment.
“But why leave Gabriel behind?” Sean asks. “What was the purpose of that? I mean, the way you describe these . . beings, there must have been a rationale behind it.”
Sloan shifts in her seat and shrugs, “That was never very clear. Some believed that Gabriel, despite being treated like a lab rat with all the testing and experiments, began to like his human captors. He came to admire their curious and exploratory nature, something that seemingly angered Jericho.
“Others suggested that Gabriel and Jericho were not ‘getting along’ around the time Jericho escaped. Supposedly they had several heated exchanges in their native language just prior to the escape. Some even believed Jericho was simply acting out and would return soon, that he would be unable to handle the outside world and would come back with his tail between his legs. A ridiculous assertion considering the way these beings are able to adapt to their surroundings.
“The fact is, Professor, no one really knows why Jericho left Gabriel behind,” Sloan says. “But there is no doubt this is what doomed Gabriel to his fate. And whether Jericho knew that would happen, well . . I certainly wouldn’t put it past the son-of-a-bitch.”
FOUR
General Parker and Lieutenant Colonel Hermann arrive back in Tamawaca and notice almost immediately the media throng has thinned considerably outside the makeshift gate constructed to keep the press corps at bay. A number of them have been dispatched to cover the explosion that occurred on Lake Michigan, not far from the site of the terrorist attack. Those who do not have access to a helicopter to reach the location where the explosion occurred, however, have become more vocal regarding the lack of information provided by General Cozey and his staff. What the remaining members of the media lack in sheer numbers, they compensate for in the escalated level of disruption and cries of censorship starting to be heard. They want answers, they plead that they need answers to their unending flow of questions:
Was the Sword of Allah responsible? How many victims were there? What type of bombs or incendiary devices were used? Are there clues to the whereabouts of the perpetrators? Was there any warning of the attack or any information received by the American intelligence community that an attack was forthcoming? How could this happen again on American soil? Was the explosion on the lake only a couple hours before somehow related?
After their tireless rhetoric was exhausted regarding the people’s right to know and that freedom of the press was being curtailed, they began to ardently appeal to whoever would listen that they are not being allowed to do their jobs. Every media outlet around the world obviously reported news of the attack, but what they need now are details. They need sound bites, interviews, the who-what-how-why of the attack, and most importantly, they need to fill in the blanks for their readers and viewers as to how something like this could happen again.
The media’s earlier compliance with Cozey’s gag order was perhaps a brief bout of fervent nationalism, a surge of patriotism that allowed for a short respite from attacking a story of this magnitude with their usual ferocity and ruthlessness. They had relented because they expected, in fact anticipated, periodic reports and updates of what had been discovered thus far. When they continued to receive little to no new information, they began to feel stonewalled, ignored, and disregarded, actions the American press has never been inclined to accept lying down. They are no longer