Alien Genesis

2. The Call

CHAPTER TWO

THE CALL

(2017 CE)

The call came on a June evening just as one of northern New Mexico’s monsoonal thunderstorms ebbed. It had been a violent affair with claps of thunder that sent the orange tabby to the safety of Carla’s lap and the little black kitten to her hidey-hole beneath the covers of our bed. We had stepped outside to admire a spectacular double rainbow framing the Sangre de Cristo Mountains when Carla heard the phone ring. A few moments later I followed her into the house, and she handed me the phone. Eyes wide with astonishment she said, “The man said to hold for James Cortell.”

Assuming it had to be some other James Cortell, I answered the phone with a casual “Hello.” It was not some other James Cortell. It was the James Cortell who had served two terms as his state’s Senator; Admiral James Cortell who despite his penchant for pacifism, had served his nation as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the James Cortell who had spent his life, both in public service and in retirement, trying to embolden humanity’s embrace of our better angels.

“Can you put the phone on speaker, we’d like to talk with you both. I have a proposal that I believe will interest you… No let’s not go into details over the phone… If you’re interested in meeting with us I’ll have my assistant get your information in order to make travel arrangements for a trip to the farm in Puerto Rico, but we must insist that for now neither of you discuss this with anyone… Yes, I’m looking forward to meeting both of you too… Your first visit will only be for a week or so. After that we may be spending a good deal more time together. Hold on a sec, Mr. Williams is grabbing his tablet.”

“Hello, Frank Williams here. So, how soon will you be able to get away? … Rather than having neighbors watch the animals, perhaps you’d like to hire a house sitter… Now if you want to do that, I’ll arrange to have some funds transferred to you to cover those costs… Late next week will be fine… We’ll book you to Miami. Captain Roibal will meet you at the luggage claim. He’ll fly you to Ponce in our plane. Following up on the admiral’s comment, I cannot stress strongly enough the need for absolute confidentiality. We’re placing a great deal of trust in your discretion.” …He chuckled, “Yeah, telling people you won a Caribbean vacation will be fine. Clearly you’ve mastered keeping secrets without telling lies… I’m looking forward to meeting you both next week as well.”

Carla and I sat in the living room looking at each other in stunned disbelief. This kind of thing just did not happen. On that afternoon we as yet had little understanding of the true power of knowledge – nor the existential challenge of doubt.