Chapter No. 115. Revelation

Life must go on.

Things settled down after the latest Tyco confrontation. But it was obvious that everyone was on edge. No one knew where the next attack would come from.

In my case, I just assumed that it wouldn't come for some time, time that Tyco needed to come up with a new plot.

I was in my bed watching an old Voyager episode when I saw someone approach. It was Alexa who evidently doesn't like clothing.

"I think I know what's going on here with this Tyco idiot."

"Oh, really?"

"I don't think he's alive. In fact, I don't think he was ever alive."

I smiled. "That's certainly a different theory."

"Yeah, I know that. Listen to me. I think that what Space Command knew about Tyco was not what we think it is. I believe that he wasn't a proto human android at all. He was Clavier Fox."

"Never heard of him. Clavier is a German name, but Fox isn't."

"You're right, but this guy was a brilliant physicist. He disguised himself as a proto human to fool Space Command."

"Why Tyco? Why did he use that name?"

"Because Tyco means Devil in the proto human language."

"What are you suggesting, that he's a devil?"

"I don't know about that, but if you think about it, what we're experiencing is something like a cosmic conflict between good and evil."

"I think I see what you mean. It suggests that I . . . and all of us are being put to a test to see if we're worthy of eternal life. That sounds a lot like some sort of religious idea."

"I'm not sure if I would consider it a religious experience, but it is rather obvious that we're being tested to see if we have the mettle to bring peace to the universe."

"If this Tyco is a true devil, it means that he could have access to powers."

She averted her eyes. "Yes, and that's not a good thing."

"I agree. What do you think we should do to defeat him?"

"Give me some of your powers."

I stared at her for a moment but didn't see any evidence that she was joking.

"I don't know that I could do that."

"I think you can. If you make contact with me through the central core processor, I think that I will inherit some of your powers."

"If I do that, what would you do with them?"

"Help you save our asses."

It took me several minutes to consider her idea, but in the end, I decided it was a good idea. I thought about the central processor and I saw that her mind was connected. It was a simple act of thought to give her some of my powers. Evidently, the androids had created this process because they realized we would need it.

"Okay, you should have them now. Don't let anyone know that I did this."

She gave me a serious look. "Don't worry, I won't."

She teleported back to her quarters.

Actually, I knew that the androids were aware of what I had done, but they didn't appear to be opposed to it, which made me think that they were expecting it. The good thing about this is that Alexa is not much for bragging or loose talk. I was satisfied that she would keep it secret.

I lay in my bed to watch more of the old TV show, but I couldn't stop thinking about what she had said. It struck my mind that this whole Phoenix project was a ruse. What if the original mission to destroy the reptilian home world was a fabrication to escape from the conflagration of the asteroid collision.

I began to examine the original Explorer-1 manifest. What I saw startled me. Many of the first names of the crew were the names of androids that we use as assistants. Judy could be Judy Wilson. Ben could be Benjamin Feldstein. I began to suspect that I had been duped from the start of this charade.

I teleported to Alexa's bedroom. She looked at me and smirked. "You're doing my trick of not dressing." She pulled the sheet up so that I could slip next to her.

"I think I see what you mean about this Tyco character. It seems that we were completely wrong about what happened on Explorer-1's initial voyage. The crew was already resurrected as androids, and so were Molly and me. What I don't understand is why there was a power malfunction."

"That did happen, but it wasn't just to revive you two from stasis."

"That's another thing I don't understand. Why didn't they revive the main engineer instead of me?"

"That's an easy one. You were chosen because you knew the math. Same thing with Molly. Clavier realized that you and she were his best shot at getting the Explorer-1 back to Earth as quickly as possible in order to establish his new empire."

"He was taking a big gamble. He must have known that we would eventually discover his deception."

"I think he assumed that the androids would prevent that from happening."

I sighed. "I just realized that a lot of these androids that we use as assistants are actually the original crew. The only reason I didn't realize that back then was because they didn't eat food like us."

She smiled. "Yes, and that's the reason that Clavier's avatar, Queen, could control what was going on the whole time and keep the original crew from revealing who they were."

"What I find so weird is the fact that I didn't realize that I was murdered."

"You were fortunate. Molly and you were murdered in your sleep. We were executed while we were conscious of what was happening."

I shook my head. "I guess there's no use in crying over spilt milk. You and I will have to work together to end this threat."

"Speaking of working together, I'd like some payback."

I tilted my head. "What did you have in mind."

"I want you to bang me."

I squinted. "Do you want a child?"

"No. My reproductive algorithm is not activated. I just want you to bang me."

"I wonder what your mother would have thought of you."

She chuckled. "My mother was a prostitute."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry about that . . . "

"You have no reason to be sorry. I'm no longer under her influence. I just want to have fun."

I pulled the sheet away. "Okay, climb aboard for a ride on the Love Train."

She laughed before doing just that.