CHAPTER 12: Beyond The Door

 

From the journal of Doctor Jon Quayle Cornelius.  The Department For Paranormal Research has finally obtained for me an electronic key to access the lower levels of the laboratory.  I don't know how many strings were pulled, how convincing they found my report or even how high up they had to go to get approval for my investigation but the key is now firmly in my hands.  Now it is time to assemble my team and see what's down there.

"Well that's the best news I've heard all week.  When will we return to the lab?" asked David, his enthusiasm boosted by Cornelius' news about the keycard.

"This evening, David, as the sun is setting.  Peggy will rendezvous with us there.  It'll be just us three."

"As long as I'm along this time as a researcher and investigator, not just hired muscle." David shot Cornelius a serious and probing look, as he was still resentful that last time they had gone to the lab as a trio his role had been demoted to being a look out and bodyguard.

"Of course.  Although we'll all have to be prepared for hostilities if what is down there is malevolent." Warned Cornelius.  "Anyway, before we head out to the laboratory, I have a slight diversion to take, and a promise to keep" he said, enigmatically.

David followed Cornelius out of the house and down the road to the shack the local conspiracy theorists ran.  Cornelius saw a face he recognised as one of the main people in the group who ran the stall and sold very questionable merchandise of uselessness.

"Miss McCoy" said Cornelius.  "I was hoping to catch either your or Erwin here."

"Watch got, Doc?" she replied.  Cornelius reached into his coat pocket and produced a manilla folder.

"A photostat of my preliminary report on the situation here." he said, handing the folder over to McCoy.

"Cornelius, is this wise?  Do you even have authorisation?" exclaimed David.

"Hey, this is juicy, Doc!  Thanks..." she said, looking into the folder but her initial joy turned to disbelief.

"Hang on a moment!" she said, looking sternly at Cornelius.  "There are heavy black ink marks through some of the words and sentences!  I can't read all of it!"

"Some parts have had to be redacted.  It's a deal I cut with my superiors.  But you'll still find plenty of worth in what remains.  A promise kept, goodbye." said Cornelius, nonchalantly.

"That's a pretty bold stunt you pulled there, Cornelius, I thought you were selling the DPR out" said David.

"Heaven forbid!" Cornelius replied, looking put out.  "Now let's not shilly-shally, it's onwards to the laboratory!"

The three investigators rendezvoused outside of the laboratory:  It was deserted, as usual.  Cornelius looked around with his light intensifier binoculars but saw no outposts or guards on the mesa tops.  It appeared they were completely alone.

"Good...good..." muttered Cornelius.

"What's good?" asked David.

"The army, it seems, have completely withdrawn from this area.  Just as I thought:  Things are so out of their control they've ceded the responsibility for this investigation to the DPR.  Control must have used a lot of her clout to convince them to let us finish the job."

"That's good news" said Peggy.

"But it would be nice to know we can call in the big guns if things get hairy in there" mused David.

They walked on into the base and straight for the locked door.

"Beyond that....lies the answers we seek!" said Cornelius, dramatically.

"Let's hope it's not a let down" said Peggy.

"Something simple and benign would be nice.  As in 'oh, is that all that's gone wrong? We can fix that!'"

"That would be good for the job, not so good for the paper I intend to write afterwards." said Cornelius.

Cornelius produced the electronic key card from his jacket and went up to the door lock.

"Let's hope this works...and that they gave me the correct one" he said, wryly.

"Cornelius...you hold the card to the glowing blue circle on the lock itself.  The magnetic strip at the back will be read by the computer and that will open it"

"Thank you, Peggy, I was actually about to ask you how this works" Cornelius replied.

There was a buzz and a hum and the sound of a heavy bolt being retracted, followed by the sliding of the doors.  Beyond them was a blank room but with a staircase that led down to a dark, murky lower level.

But before they stepped in, they noticed some purple particles floating in the air.  Like brightly coloured dandelion seeds floating in the wind.

"Cornelius!" exclaimed Peggy.

"Hmmm.  I see them...not quite sure what those are.  Flying spores from the alien plants, perhaps?  Be careful and I would advise holding our breaths as we walk through them." Cornelius replied.

They made their way, briskly, though the room and past the spores.  Fortunately for them, the little flying seeds were only in that room and not on the staircase or the lower floor.

Downstairs the light diminished and the laboratory had a darker and more sinister cast to it.  Cornelius investigated the walls.  "Questonite...the hardest substance known to mankind.  Only a few places in the world are capable of manufacturing it" he said as he felt the wall surfaces.

"Why would they use this?" asked Peggy.

"The electronic doors upstairs were designed to keep people out.  These walls are designed to keep something....in" Cornelius replied with a note of dread in his voice.

"There are some lights on at the end of that corridor.  We should head that way" said David, pointing to a corridor to their right.

"Agreed" replied Cornelius.

The light came from a room a short distance away and when the three of them entered it they found it wasn't just a laboratory with cutting edge equipment and TV screens showing data; there were also glass cases that contained specimens that resembled the strange purple pods that were growing all over Strangerville. 

"It's...fantastic!" exclaimed David.

"Cornelius, this equipment has some of the most advanced computer and electronic engineering I've ever seen" said Peggy.

"Indeed, and it's all about THEM!" he said, pointing his finger at the pods.

The three of them walked over to the glass cases and looked at what was within.  There were no labels, notes or explanations written on them but the three could make an educated guess what was inside of them.

"This is the next stage of those pods' development.  I'm looking at the design of the cases and wondering if they're for containment or are they like a greenhouse; stimulating growth?" said Cornelius.

"Maybe those data display screens can tell us which" said Peggy, pointing to the TV screens on a wall.

She walked over to them and studied what was on each but it didn't reveal much to her.  "This screen shows us an X-Ray image of those things...the other screen is tracking their growth.  I can't work out what the third one is meant to tell us"

Cornelius joined her and looked, recalling his knowledge of biology.  "I see...well it seems the purposes of the cases is to keep them inside, hermetically sealed, and also feed them.  I suspect they must have done something to promote a radical growth spurt which is why the base was abandoned and the disease spread."

"Could those purple particles in the air be the cause of the disease, Cornelius?" asked David.

"Probably...although we don't seem to be infected.  Come on, let's look around some more!" 

The three of them searched the two laboratory areas looking for some more information.  David turned to Peggy and said "do you understand how this stuff is meant to work?"

"Give me enough time and I'd figure it out.  This is all so cutting edge, not even NASA has half of what they have here." she replied.

"And there's no paper documents either for us to take.  It's all stored on these computers.  Peggy, see what you can get out of these machines" said Cornelius.

"On it!" she said, quickly skipping to one of the terminals.

"David, let's you and me search around here a little more.  There's a corridor we haven't investigated yet."

Down another murky corridor they went but up ahead wasn't a white glow like before, not lit like the labs they had just been into, but a purple glow instead.

"Cornelius!  Look at that!" exclaimed David, suddenly.  He and Cornelius stopped in their tracks, amazed at what they had just seen.

"Could this be the source of the disease?" said Cornelius out loud; not as a question to David but an articulated question for himself.

"It looks bad...and we're going to need more equipment, Cornelius" said David.

"I think you're right." said Cornelius as the two men looked at the purple cloud ahead of them which seemed to block their way.