LOST AND FORGOTTEN: BOOK THREE - ENIGMA Read online

  LOST AND FORGOTTEN

  Book 3 – Enigma

  Maurice Barkley

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, without permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events or locales is entirely a coincidence.

  Copyright © 2017 Maurice Barkley

  All rights reserve

  To My Children

  Diane Barkley Spacher (Kevin)

  William (Bill) Barkley (Sandi)

  Special thanks for priceless advice,

  counseling and inspiration.

  Robin Pudetti

  Rose and Rick Taubold

  Sue Jerrems

  Ted Williams

  and Alice

  Edited by thEditors

  Rocky Mountain Press

  Publishers of Pinnacle Fiction

  Table of Contents

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  CHAPTER 26

  CHAPTER 27

  CHAPTER 28

  CHAPTER 29

  CHAPTER 30

  CHAPTER 31

  CHAPTER 32

  CHAPTER 33

  CHAPTER 34

  CHAPTER 35

  CHAPTER 36

  CHAPTER 37

  CHAPTER 38

  CHAPTER 39

  CHAPTER 40

  CHAPTER 41

  CHAPTER 42

  CHAPTER 43

  CHAPTER 44

  CHAPTER 45

  CHAPTER 46

  CHAPTER 47

  CHAPTER 48

  CHAPTER 49

  CHAPTER 50

  CHAPTER 51

  CHAPTER 52

  CHAPTER 53

  CHAPTER 54

  CHAPTER 55

  CHAPTER 56

  CHAPTER 57

  A PARABLE

  In a far place, where units of time are different from our own, a woman with flowing hair walks alone toward the center of the city. Her white robe trails behind her on the stone pavement, erasing her footprints in the dust. Graceful balconies hosting delicate minaret-like towers drift past on either side. Intricate stone arches call to her—speak to her of what they conceal. The air is still. The city is silent. She will be the last to leave.

  At the city’s center she walks the path between the water to the great monument. Holding a small instrument, a shower of sparks cascades down from a symbol she burns into the stone. She turns to look back down the avenue, knowing this is the end. A deep sorrow is the only emotion that flows from her pale bronze face. Her eyes echo the robin’s egg blue of a sky that has never held a robin.

  And then she is gone. The city is dead.

  Part 1

  CHAPTER 1

  From the start the Dance Band’s specialty has been following the path less traveled. At the beginning there was me, James Cagney, retired Army Ranger, recruited by agents of the FBI. Then there were the two agents, Don Clark (M1), Mike Gunner (M2) and Alice Dance, their supervisor. My estranged wife, Jean was the last to join the original set.

  Later, Jean went her own way, but the diminutive Amy Bassett took her place. Our pilot, Harry Bismarck was a valuable and entertaining addition. Eventually Carl Manheim, the original villain, joined us, along with the aliens, Moses (with his robotic extension YDRII), Bob, Shan and Blue, her dog-like creature. If that wasn’t enough there was Bebe Ricardo from Panama—words fail me and Jesus, my cat—again, words fail me. Finally there was Lonesome Joe, my personal semi-integrated computer/companion. We are still in the getting acquainted phase.

  Apparently the Dance Band is unable to follow any trail without picking up every hitchhiker we see along the way. And worse than that, the Band seems utterly incapable of avoiding that dodgy country lane that promises even deeper mysteries. Is there an end? We hope not.

  Amy named the planet Enigma. Enigma is a strange name for a planet, but in this case I think she got it right. In my memory it is an eerie, mysterious, intriguing and exquisite place. We had to leave with more questions than answers, but now the Dance Band was returning—returning to an enigma. But first, much to my delight, we had to visit Paradise.

  When the band left the Nexus planet with its world girdling transfer station, I told Bebe I was taking her to Paradise. I didn’t tell her that the Paradise waiting for us was the beautiful satellite of a gas giant bigger than Jupiter. The natives of a province Amy named Shenandoah called that planet Ket Gai. They worshipped the giant globe as their God, and I could see why; it truly was spectacular. People from other places on Paradise had other names for the gas giant—all of them spiritual. Shenandoah, an idyllic land devoted to small farms, was where we met Shan, a young, impossibly pretty thing, with a spirit of adventure old Chris Columbus himself would be proud of. When we left there, she came with us and has been a member of our band ever since.

  Our visit to Shan’s home was deemed necessary by our FBI boss, Director Monroe. Soon after our visit, a company of Special Forces would arrive to set up an initial staging area and facilities to explore the rest of the planet. This village will host a transfer station through which many more troops would pass. Our purpose was to assure the farm residents that our troops were the good guys. The good guys would have more people with them that would explain what was about to happen.

  Sometimes I find myself pondering that description. ‘The good guys,’ what does it really mean? Those people would come bringing technology, medicine and guns. Soon after the concrete, steel and plastics would arrive. Their mission is to protect the people of this wondrous place—true enough, but sometimes, late at night I wonder, what kind of Paradise will our people leave behind? I loved this place for its beauty—thousands of miles of nature and wonder in every direction. Concrete and steel are not so easy to love I think.

  Alice Dance held similar doubts it seemed. “I’m somewhat conflicted about this,” Alice said to me. “Rationally, I know this has to happen for the ultimate good—God I hate saying that, but it’s true. One way or another the lives of the inhabitants of Paradise will be changed forever.”

  “I feel exactly the same,” I said, “but this is a gigantic operation. It will have its own momentum and it’s happening now.”

  The happening was a massive but hopefully minimally violent takeover of the five home worlds of Moses’ race. Very little resistance was anticipated. Managing any of this was out of our hands—we were hunting the elusive Nazis. Once we had our say at the farm, we were free to continue on to Enigma.

  CHAPTER 2

  No one was there to greet us as Bebe and I stepped from the portal. At my earlier request Alice, Amy, Shan, M1, M2, Harry, Carl and Bob had gone outside—shutting the outer dome door. I stopped in the middle, so that Bebe could look through the windows without seeing the sky.

  “It is simply lovely,” she said. “It’s like an old master’s painting—the few bu
ilding remnants look tragic but beautiful.”

  “Brace yourself,” I said, as I opened the outer door and walked her out.

  She looked up and gasped. “Ave Maria.”

  I was right there to steady her while she absorbed the bigger than life image of the gas giant, Ket Gai. At the moment, it was high overhead, in a cloud-free sky and in a gibbous phase. Two of its lesser satellites were crossing its face. Even though I’d been ready for it I had to take half a breath myself.

  “So this is Paradise,” she said to herself. Then to me, “Next you will be telling me a legion of angels will descend and sing to us. How can something this glorious be real?”

  “Very real,” I replied, “but it’s something you’ll never get used to.”

  Bebe pointed at my left hand. “Why did you make that curious pinching motion, James?”

  As I explained the local religious gesture to her, I wondered why I did it so automatically. It’s not really a god—just a collection of gas and ice.

  Joe had a thought or two. James, why is there this corporal need to worship inanimate objects? Is there a particular desire for subservience within your species?

  I thought back. Joe, if you ever develop a sense of wonder, you will have your answer.

  We stood there, under the spell of the sky-filling orb, until M1 brought us back to the task at hand. “Before we get neck cramps, we should get moving. The sky’s the same down at the farm. Besides, Bebe needs to see a morse.”

  Blue had gone ahead, so Shan’s call to Arnold, the village’s morse attendant and blacksmith was redundant. It was no surprise to see a lineup of people laden morses waiting for us as we exited the pine-like forest. Shan was immediately engulfed by her family and friends. I held Bebe’s hand while looking for my morse, Donna. As we approached the line of big beauties, all of their heads swung toward us and they moved to form a solid circle with Bebe and me in the center. Donna was there. She moved her head between the two of us.

  “James,” Bebe said, in a shaky voice, “What is happening? What should we do?”

  “There’s no danger,” I said. “Just stand still.”

  Donna lowered one ear over our heads and suddenly all three of us were one—Donna, yours truly, and Bebe—a young Bebe. It was history, but it was a silent movie. I saw her running through the roots of a banyan tree and under a waterfall. I saw her walking with an older woman toward distant mountains. But I wasn’t seeing this through her eyes. I was like a camera following her. Finally I saw one glowing eye. It came slowly closer—expanding until my mind passed through the lens—and there were stars. Bebe had told me she remembered little of her early life. The memories were just bits and pieces of mostly ordinary scenes. As a young girl her story was one of survival and hardship until she reached Colón.

  Donna lifted her ears and my connection was lost. All I saw of Bebe were her arms wrapped around that monumental snout. Her hands were flat against that fabulous hair, as were mine. Donna stood still, allowing her humans the pleasure of touch.

  Alice tapped me on my shoulder. “So, what was that all about?” I had no answer. “Joe,” she said, “Give us a virtual hand here. What just happened?”

  “I am sorry, Alice,” came the voice from my second button. “When this began, I was overwhelmed and had to shut down momentarily.”

  “I think Jesus didn’t like it,” she said. “His claws can penetrate my jacket.”

  “Bebe, what did you see?” I asked.

  She glanced at Ket Gai and then quickly away, almost as if a little intimidated. “I saw... nothing, James. There was a pressure, but no pain. I think Donna was examining me, but it is just a guess.”

  No one had anything to add and soon we were enjoying the hospitality of Shan’s people. Bebe’s reaction to the male morses was unexpected. “Beautifully ugly, James,” she said on approach. “Look deep in their eyes. They have a great need for companionship and affection. I can tell they are very happy here.”

  We stayed with the big boys until the call to dinner. The spread was lavish and we all took advantage of it. At her parents insistence Shan took a raised seat at the head table. She had Carl sit next to her so that he could continue telling her of his adventures before he joined our group. The two were fast developing a father-daughter relationship. Alice’s prediction that our little girl would soon become legend was well on its way. At the start of the feast, some servers passed around goblets carved out of a very dark and hard wood. The bowl was perfectly round with a thin rim around its middle. It didn’t take us long to realize that it was a representation of Ket Gai. We also quickly learned to make the pinching motion before every sip of the local wine.

  After the feast, we had a short meeting with Arnold, the blacksmith and the other leaders of the farmstead. They welcomed the news that more people from Earth would very soon be among them. Before the meeting ended, M1’s phone beeped. He put it on speaker. “This is Don Clark—go ahead.”

  “This isColónel Brockway. I’ve been in charge of communications on Nexus. I’m now on my way to Enigma to set up operations for that planet. I have a message for you and the local population. We can’t delay the troop transfer to Shenandoah. The big problem is the ability of the Nexus lakes to regenerate oxygen. They aren't very good at what they do and the military expedition that’s headed your way sucks up more breathable air than the big ponds can replace.

  “My communications crew and drone operators with their aircraft are already in the Old City on Enigma, waiting for us. Everyone’s orders, both on Paradise, Omaha and Enigma, first and foremost, are to find out what the hell happened to those Nazis. There’s a hell of a lot of technology out here and the thoughts of those guys having seventy odd years to play around with it gives me the jitters.”

  I saw M1 glance at M2. I knew he wasn’t happy with an inexperienced advance party going ahead of us. “I hope they don’t do any exploring,” he said.

  “No,” theColónel replied. “They have strict orders to wait for you at the trolley station. Anyway, the big group heading your way now is a self-contained, structured force. They have a wide array of tactical weapons and support troops. Some will stay on Paradise to check out the whole planet—they’ll have plenty to do. Command does have a concern about our troop’s interactions with the native population. It’s a problem they are well aware of. Others will have rail cars to take them down to the Omaha portal. They’ll have more combat types. Their job will be to hunt for Nazis, quell the gray men and locate portals to the other four planets. Abraham and Lamont will be with the Omaha Division. Abraham wants to return by way of Nexus—said he’s curious to see these new places, having been confined for so long in the library in Duula. Their knowledge of that city is highly valuable. By the way—regarding that ceremony at the library where they would place food at the entrance—Lamont confessed that it was he that took it.”

  “Nice to know,” Alice said, “but it doesn’t help us at all.”

  “I’m just a messenger,” he replied, “I leave nothing out.”

  “Sir,” M1 said, “We’ve had a very positive reception here, so I see no problem in sending them here early.”

  “Very good,” theColónel said. “Ready or not, here they come. I’ll see you on Enigma.”

  “Let’s do what we can to smooth this operation,” Alice said.

  There was a flurry of activity for the next few minutes as Alice and the boys gave more instructions and advice to the farm leaders. The basic plan was to set up a small headquarters unit in the farm compound while most of the arrivals would proceed to the railroad and there create a large staging area. Some troops would be engineers to get the railroad up and running with some small, highly portable steam engines. The idea was to take advantage of the wood piles along the track. There would also be surveyors and a variety of organizational personnel along with medical and even a few cooks. Their ultimate job would be to smooth the path and prepare for an even larger staging area. It was quite a load to dump on the farm
people, but they took it well. We said goodbye, strapped on our packs and walked out.

  “I heard it’s about sundown on Enigma,” Alice said. “If we hurry, maybe we can catch the snewel extravaganza. I know Bebe wants to stay here longer, but Enigma will change her mind. I wish there was a shortcut from here to Enigma. The transit through Nexus is depressing.”

  “Walk faster,” M1 said.

  CHAPTER 3

  After a mercifully brief transit through a very busy Nexus, Bebe and I were the last of our group to exit the Old City portal on Enigma. The headquarters building that housed the portal was beautiful on the outside, but the interior was completely empty except for the line of people arriving to set up camp. There was little to impress the girl from Colón as we walked out from the portal.

  “This building looks abandoned—even fake,” she said. “I hope it is better outside. I am missing Paradise already, James—except that the air smells like the interior of a flower shop,”

  “It’s like this everywhere on Enigma,” I replied. “At least everywhere we’ve been so far and I know a place where there will be music in the air.”

  We began to descend the staircase. “The lower gravity makes me want to dance.”

  “Feel free,” I said. “Once outside that urge will be overwhelming. We think the whole planet was planned and built to be one huge holiday resort. Every rock and tree is a work of art designed to be pleasing to the eye.”

  It was early afternoon on Enigma and the rest of the Band was waiting for us outside. They were busy kidding Alice about the accuracy of her time information and laughing at Shan’s attempt to speak the German that Carl was trying to teach her.

  “This is almost too beautiful,” Bebe said, a catch in her voice, “but tragic that its creators abandoned it. It gives me a strange feeling to look down that avenue. My heart swells at the sight. It could be a painting of an artist’s fantasy. The buildings of carved stone are lovely beyond any dream I have ever had.”