The New Age

Part 2: Dawn of the New Age

Spoiler Warning: This scenario is taken from the Delta Green rule book. If you are a Delta Green player you may wish to ask your Keeper if they intend to run any scenarios in that book before reading this write-up, as pertinent scenario information will be revealed.

Sunday, June 19, 2005, 12:35 p.m. EDT

Outside of the Enolsis Foundation, off I-44, Southwest of Tulsa, Oklahoma

MORGAN's plan was to send Agent MALCOLM into the Enolsis Foundation headquarters. "All I want you to do," said MORGAN to MALCOLM, "is walk up to the gate and find out how easy it is to get inside."

"You want me to be a Polish mine detector," replied MALCOLM.

"Dodge doesn't sound Polish, but okay."

MAYA pointed out a flaw in the plan. They were about 30 miles away from Tulsa. It would look suspicious if he simply walked up to the gate. To this, MALCOLM responded, "Thank you, Voice of Reason!"

MAYA had a suggestion. They could hide in the bushes while MALCOLM took the car.

"One problem," said MALCOLM. "I can't drive."

"Not at all?" asked MAYA.

"Well enough to pass a Massachusetts driver's license test... but, no."

"You live in New Mexico and you can't drive," pointed out the female agent. "Do you ride a camel?"

"There's a shuttle."

"So what you're saying is you live some place that's built specifically for your work?" asked MORGAN.

"It's an Air Force facility."

"Hmmm..." said MAYA.

The agents were getting hungry. They turned around, got back on the highway and drove back to exit 211. They pulled into a gas station. MAYA filled the car with gas. They walked inside the convenience store and bought lunch. MAYA had a slice of pizza she was sure was no more than three days old, MORGAN had 2 chili cheese dogs microwaved to the point where they became a rubbery molten goo, and MALCOLM had a turkey sandwich that came in its own plastic half-wedge. While they were at it, they all bought sunglasses and baseball caps (except MORGAN, who skipped the sunglasses). MAYA's cap was a Dale Earnhardt Jr. NASCAR cap, MALCOLM's hat had the logo for Oklahoma State University, while MORGAN bought a classic Van Dutch trucking cap. After paying for lunch, the glasses, and the hats, they got into the car and drove back to Enolsis.

MORGAN handed his crystal to MALCOLM. "This is your realizer."

"Don't saw it in half," added MAYA.

"Don't saw it in half," agreed MALCOLM. "I read the case report."

They exited the interstate and drove along the surface road to Enolsis. They pulled over a mile from the Enolsis campus. MALCOLM worked at making his cap look worn in.

"Are we going in?" asked MAYA.

"I think we should go in," replied MORGAN.

"Why?" she replied.

"So we can get a tour of the facilities."

"What happens if we get captured and they throw us in a hole in the ground?"

"I'll bloat the guard," said MORGAN. "We'll take the keys, and we'll get out."

"Bloat?" said MALCOLM. "'Bloat the guard'? What?"

"Blow up," said MAYA. MORGAN's knowledge of the Bloat spell was never mentioned in their reports. "Blow up with a grenade."

"Huh? What?" asked an incredulous MALCOLM. "You just said 'bloat the guard'."

"How long have you been in Delta Green," asked MAYA.

MALCOLM realized what she was asking. "Have you come across any, uh, interesting texts in your investigations?" He thought for a second. "Yes, I remember reading that you had. There was a thing in New York, where people were hydrated."

"It wasn't him," replied MAYA, pointing to MORGAN. "Not there, anyway."

"I'm not sure exactly what you mean," said MORGAN, "but it does seem you have more information about us than we do about you." MORGAN paused, then made an executive decision. "We're going to get out of the car and we're going to go hide in the bushes. You're going to go up and you're going to ask for a tour of the facility. Then you will come back and give us a full report."

MALCOLM expressed severe misgivings about the plan. He would have to drive the car up to the Enolsis front gate, but he couldn't drive. It was his belief that MORGAN thought he was expendable.

"That was an order," said MORGAN. "Are you questioning my order?"

"I'm not questioning your order. I'm just saying it's a bad idea."

"Okay," replied MORGAN. "Duly noted that you think it's a bad order. Please proceed."

"If that's what you want," said MALCOLM, "then get out of the car."

The other two agents got out of the car and MALCOLM climbed into the driver's seat. Apparently he once had driver's lessons. He put the car in gear and carefully drove up to the gate. He signalled a left turn, turned off the road, continued down a short driveway and pulled up to a security gate.

As MALCOLM drove away, MORGAN sent a text message to ALPHONSE asking for background information about Agent MALCOLM.

* * *

MALCOLM was greeted by a security guard carrying a clipboard. The guard asked MALCOLM if he was visiting for the day or planning to stay overnight. The Delta Green agent said that he just planned to visit for the day. He said his name was Jeffrey Marks, and that he was visiting from New Mexico. The guard wrote this down and took down the car's license plate number. The guard peeled a sticker off the sheet on the clipboard, reached into the car and slapped it against the windshield. He directed MALCOLM to the large parking lot just beyond the gate. Past the parking lot was a cluster of buildings. The large building in the middle was the main hall. The guard told MALCOLM that he would call ahead and that someone would be waiting for him in the hall. MALCOLM thanked the guard. He put the car in gear and carefully drove to the parking lot.

In spite of his lack of skill, MALCOLM managed to park the car without incident. He sat in his car and snapped some pictures with his camera phone. In front of him was a large water fountain. Beyond the fountain were three buildings, the largest one — in the middle — was the building the guard called the main hall. To the left of the fountain were three rectangular buildings that looked like four-story apartments. To the right of the fountain was the compound's most obvious structure, a large white pyramid made of metal and concrete.

MALCOLM sent the pictures to to MORGAN's phone, and then phoned MORGAN. He told MORGAN that all you have to do to get into the facility is to drive up. "I just wanted to make contact to let you know how easy it is to get inside."

"Have you made contact with anyone inside," asked MORGAN.

"No. I've been too busy snapping pictures and calling you." MALCOLM hung up. He got out of the car and pulled his duffle bag out of the trunk. He walked to the main hall.

As he approached the hall, he could see that the Foundation's property was really quite big. Behind the main hall was a large farm run by inhabitants of the campus. MALCOLM passed the fountain, which had a huge gem in the center. The gem reflected and refracted the light of a bank of multi-colored lamps and several lasers. A sign in front of the hall indicated that it contained a welcome center, a book store, a day care facility, and a telephone call center. MALCOLM entered the hall.

The place was crawling with people, most of whom were not employees. Surprisingly, there were a lot of children about. Apparently this was the Enolsis cult's equivalent of Disneyworld. Families — in nuclear units comprising of a father, a mother, and usually at least two children — filled the book store/souvenir shop, and the nearby cafeteria. The building was set up with families in mind. The hall's atrium was ringed with balconies and glass walls. From the hall's main doors he could see a children's playland and an arcade on the second floor, and a large library on the third floor. Each of these places was filled not quite to capacity with people who seemed completely relaxed and in fine spirits. The Tulsa headquarters was obviously more than just a recruitment center and administrative hub. It was a tourist trap.

To the left of the main doors was a concierge desk. MALCOLM walked up to it just as a young couple stepped away, map in hand. "May I help you?" asked the woman at the desk, with a sincere smile.

"Yes, I am Jeffrey Marks, from the Albuquerque, New Mexico office."

The woman welcomed him, warmly, and handed him a package that included Enolsis introductory pamphlets and a map of the facility.

A well dressed man in his early thirties walked up to MALCOLM. "Excuse me," he said, "Mr. Marks, is it? The guard booth said you were coming through." He shook MALCOLM's hand. "Steve Bolsley. I'm with the Public Relations department. So how are you this fine afternoon?"

"Wonderful," said MALCOLM.

"Oh, I'm glad to hear it!" said Bolsley, with all too much sincerity in his voice.

"How are you?" asked MALCOLM.

"I'm doing superbly, thank you very much!"

The conversation continued that way for several minutes. Bolsley asked where MALCOLM was from, and the two small-talked about Albuquerque, Enolsis, and "Jeffrey Marks'" interest in the Foundation. MALCOLM said that he was there for the day, but was considering staying overnight. Bolsley said that an overnight stay was probably no problem at all.

A woman joined them. Bolsley smiled at her. "Hi, Fran!"

"Hi, Steve!" said the woman, with every ounce of enthusiasm that Bolsley had displayed. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine, thank you!" He turned to MALCOLM. "This is Fran Crowe." He turned back to the woman. "Fran, can you see if there is a dormitory available for this fine gentleman?"

She smiled. "I will check on that, Steve! Just one moment." She walked behind the concierge desk and typed into a computer. She came back, still smiling. "We actually do have space for you!"

"Well, thank you!" said MALCOLM, echoing the Fran's and Steve's enthusiasm.

Fran went to get MALCOLM's pass key, while Steve offered to show MALCOLM around. Fran returned with the key. Steve escorted MALCOLM out of the building.

They headed to the four buildings that MALCOLM earlier thought looked like apartments. Those buildings had been off to MALCOLM's left as he walked to the main hall, so they were now to his right. As they walked, Steve pointed to the building on the other side of the main hall. He said it was their "E-Compatibility Research Center", where "we discover new and better ways for humanity to serve the needs of the Earth." Steve explained that the building was used for environmental research, including studies in the use of solar energy and investigation into global warming. There was a deep connection between Enolsis and the environmental movement. This aspect of Enolsis fascinated MALCOLM; MALCOLM was an environmentalist, which was one of the reasons he didn't drive.

The next building they passed was the headquarters of Enolsis' publishing arm. It was a combination warehouse, printing facility, and office building. Every piece of Enolsis literature was published from that building.

Bolsley took MALCOLM to the second of the buildings he thought looked like apartments. These structures were the Foundation's dormitories, where visiting Enolsis members could stay free of charge. Bolsley escorted MALCOLM to a room on the third floor. The building could accommodate 120 families, so altogether the campus could house about 1,500 members at any one time, including those who worked on campus. Bolsley slid the pass key — which looked pretty much like the electronic pass card from a hotel — into the lock. The door opened. The room had a queen-sized bed, a small desk, a desk chair, an easy chair, a love seat, two bed-side tables, and a couple of lamps. It had a bathroom, but no television, no microwave, and no refrigerator. Bolsley explained that there was a common room on the floor with a television, DVD player, and stereo equipment. MALCOLM looked out the window. It gave him a stunning view of the building across from him. By pushing against the glass he could see the nearby perimeter fence, which was a simple nine foot high chain link fence. Short street lamps lit the pathways between the buildings at night. Security cameras were plentiful, pointing at the entrance of each building and pointing at the chain link fence.

Off to the right, MALCOLM could just make out the white pyramid. MALCOLM quickly leafed through the pamphlets he was given. The pyramid was called "The Hall of the Living Power". Since "the Living Power" was the name given to Gene Downing, head of Enolsis, MALCOLM assumed that Downing lived there.

"The Hall of the Living Power. Is that off limits?" he asked Bolsley.

"Oh, not at all! The whole facility is for everybody. We hold concerts there, we hold our conferences there. And, of course, the Living Power lives there." He smiled. "Would you like to meet him?"

"I would like to!" replied MALCOLM.

"Well, I'd be happy to take you to him!"

"I didn't think I'd be able to meet him today."

"He may be busy," warned Bolsley. "But lets find out!"

As they crossed the campus toward the pyramid, MALCOLM paid close attention to it. It looked like a miniature version of the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, in miniature. Lines of lights crawled up along the pyramid's edges. Concrete steps ushered the way to a large pair of double doors. At the bottom of the steps, on either side, were abstract sculptures done in marble. MALCOLM and Bolsley walked up the steps and through the doors. The interior looked very much like a concert hall. There was seating for about a thousand people. The seats were arranged in an arc facing a stage. The stage was framed by an impressive rack of speakers and lighting equipment. In front of the stage was an elaborate mixing board. A portable dais stood on the stage. MALCOLM recognized this as the place where Downing's press conference took place.

A couple of technicians were talking to someone near the stage. Bolsley cleared his voice and said, "Excuse me." The acoustics were excellent, and though Bolsley spoke in a normal tone of voice, all three men turned to look up at him as though he had shouted. MALCOLM immediately recognized the man the technicians were talking to. It was Gene Downing, the Living Power.

MALCOLM looked suitably awed as Downing walked up the steps to where MALCOLM and Bolsley were standing. "Yes?" asked Downing.

Bolsley said, "I would just like you to meet Jeffrey Marks, from Albuquerque. Jeffrey, this is the Living Power."

Downing stuck out his hand, and MALCOLM took it. "This is such a pleasure!" said MALCOLM.

"Oh, no," said Downing, "the pleasure is all mine. I hope you're enjoying your stay. Have you had lunch? Has Steve taken you to the cafeteria?"

MALCOLM said that Steve was showing him the place, and that Steve took him to his room. "I'm glad to have you here! Steve, make sure you get him over to the cafeteria. I understand that we've got a wonderful roast beef today. It's just something to die for."

"Sounds marvelous," said MALCOLM.

"Glad to meet you, Jeffrey." He put his left hand on MALCOLM's shoulder, shook MALCOLM's hand with his right hand, and then walked back to the technicians.

"Come on, I'll take you to the cafeteria," said Bolsley. "He's really something, isn't he?"

"He sure is," said MALCOLM.

Downing hadn't lied, the food in the cafeteria was good. The beef was purchased from local farmers, and the vegetables were all grown organically on the Foundation's property. MALCOLM ate all of the vegetables and some of the beef. Bolsley joined him. They talked about the facility and Enolsis in general, though MALCOLM learned very little that he didn't already know.

Soon after they finished eating, Jan walked up to them. "Excuse me, Steve, I need for you to go over a few things with me."

"I'll be right there." He stood and extended his hand. MALCOLM stood and shook Bolsley's hand. "Have an enjoyable stay," said Bolsley. "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call me." Bolsley left the cafeteria.

MALCOLM went to the book store/souvenir store. Along with a wide selection of Enolsis literature, the store was well stocked with tacky souvenirs. This included mugs and t-shirts with the face of famous celebrities who were also Enolsis members. MALCOLM bought an extra-large travel mug and a t-shirt. He filled the mug with coffee. While he waited in line to pay for these items, he picked up some pamphlets that he didn't already have. He paid cash for the souvenirs, and then went upstairs to the library to do some research.

* * *

After MALCOLM phoned MORGAN, MORGAN and MAYA hid behind a clump of bushes a few yards from the road. They sat down and waited. And waited.

MORGAN spent the time backing up the "weird stuff" on his hard drive to DVDs. After he was done, he made a second set of backups.

When the backups were done, they stood, stretched, sat down and talked to while the time away. And then they waited.

* * *

The library had every pro-Enolsis book ever written, along with critiques of Enolsis criticism. MALCOLM pulled a couple of the standard texts from the shelves and began reading them. He found the books to be both insipid and incredibly dense. It was so full of New Age mumbo-jumbo that the hours he spent there was mostly wasted. He signed out a book using his room card. He walked back to his room.

On the way back to the room, he made a point of checking out the security cameras. He spotted several aimed at the fence. Sneaking in over the fence would be problematic. On the way into the dormitory he noticed a locked door that led to the basement. He went up to the third floor. The nearest camera to his room was mounted on the outside of his building opposite a locked closet. The camera had no exposed wires. It was unlikely that he'd be able to disconnect the camera. If he wanted MAYA and MORGAN to join him, they would have to come in through the front entrance.

The telephone in his room looked like a regular phone. MALCOLM wanted to open it up to see if there were any listening devices in it. Unfortunately he was not able to unscrew the phone's base plate. There was no television in the room, but there was a radio. He turned it on. The room filled with the soothing sounds of Zamfir and his pan flute. MALCOLM tried to tune in another station. The radio was entirely digital. It was set up so that he could not tune in anything but the pre-programmed channels. The music stations were limited to New Age music or "adult contemporary". One of the channels played a series of Gene Downing's lectures. MALCOLM turned off the radio. He lay down on the bed, and read the book he borrowed from the library.

* * *

MORGAN and MAYA continued to wait in the bushes as the sun set. MORGAN spent much of his time carefully cutting off the barrel of his shotgun with a pipe cutter. When he was done, he stuffed the shotgun and the barrel into his duffle bag. He and MAYA spent the rest of the time talking and napping. Fortunately it was a warm, sunny day, and the bugs weren't too bad.

MORGAN received an e-mail message on his cell phone from Agent ADAM. The e-mail contained background information on Agent MALCOLM. MALCOLM was a Delta Green friendly who first entered Delta Green as Agent THEODORE in T Cell. On October 21, 2004, T Cell was investigating a series of mysterious disappearances in Minnesota, when the rest of his cell mysteriously disappeared. They were searching a mausoleum, in broad daylight, in an area central to the disappearances. Agent TRAVIS — the cell leader — asked THEODORE to go back to the car for some infrared video equipment. When THEODORE returned, the rest of his cell, and the mausoleum, were gone. THEODORE was investigated and cleared of any involvement in the disappearances by Agent ANDREA. He had not operated as a full agent since then.

A few days ago he reported sighting an object in space heading toward the solar system's inner planets. He reported this to A Cell, who saw a correlation between this sighting and Agent MICHAEL's final report. They sent THEODORE to meet with MICHAEL and relay the information. MICHAEL was killed while THEODORE was en route. When the rest of M Cell was sent to the hospital, A Cell ordered THEODORE to join M Cell, and so he was reactivated as Agent MALCOLM.

MORGAN sent a text message to MALCOLM's phone. It read, "Our plane has landed. We are ready to be picked up."

* * *

MALCOLM received the text message. He phoned MORGAN.

"MORGAN," answered MORGAN, when his phone rang.

"This is MALCOLM."

"So you're not dead."

"Of course I'm not dead." He went on to explain what he did during the afternoon, finishing off by explaining that he had a room at the Foundation for the evening. "What were you guys doing?"

"We've been waiting for you to give a field report in a timely manner," said MORGAN, who was just managing to keep his temper in check. "And since you haven't done that, why don't you come and pick us up and we'll show you how it's done."

"I'm sorry, I think you're breaking up," said MALCOLM. "Can you repeat that?"

"Get your ass out here!"

"I'm sorry, I think I'm losing you."

The line went dead as MORGAN evidently hung up. MALCOLM clipped his cell phone to his belt, grabbed his car keys and wallet, and left the dormitory.

* * *

After an angry MORGAN hung up, MAYA pulled out her cell phone and called a cab company in Tulsa. She requested that a cab pick them up and take them back to their hotel. When she got off the phone, she turned to MORGAN and said, "I can not work with this man!"

"They didn't disappear," said MORGAN in reference to the members of T Cell, "they voluntarily left!"

"It's Not Easy Being Green" rang out from MORGAN's cell phone. The number indicated that it was Agent MALCOLM. MORGAN handed the phone to MAYA, as he was not prepared to talk to MALCOLM.

She thumbed the talk button. "MAYA."

"Uh, hi, this is MALCOLM."

"Well hi!" she said, with mock sincerity.

"I had to leave the room," said MALCOLM, "I didn't know if it was bugged, so I didn't know if I could speak freely."

"Ah."

"Now I'm going to walk around a little bit out here as if I'm still having trouble."

"Okay."

MALCOLM told MAYA that there were two ways for them to get into the Foundation's campus. He could make some sort of excuse so that he could leave to pick them up, or they could sneak around the side and climb the fence. He did not think that just walking up to the guard shack was a good option. He asked MAYA if they would be recognizable to the people at Enolsis.

MAYA was afraid that they might be, that Enolsis might somehow have their picture. She said that they had a cab on the way to pick them up, since they didn't know what was happening and they had been in a field all day. MAYA suggested that if he could make some excuse to leave the campus later on, he could drive out and meet them back at their hotel. In the meantime they were heading back to the hotel in Tulsa.

MALCOLM mentioned that there was a camera watching the fence, and so they probably needed another way for MORGAN and MAYA to get into the facility. He asked, "So what is our objective? Run that past the leader. We all need to be on the same sheet, here. I don't want to hear that I'm now to proceed over to Agriculture and perform a hydroponics experiment, or something."

MAYA said she would run that past MORGAN. She asked if MALCOLM had seen any telescopes. After all, if Enolsis was somehow connected with the large body in space they might have telescopes to view it. MALCOLM said he hadn't seen any.

She asked him what the big white pyramid was for, and he told her that it the Pyramid of Power, that it was a concert hall and Downing's living quarters. He added that they were doing some sort of wiring in the building. "I think they are preparing for something big."

"I guess what we need to do is get in there," MAYA said, talking about the pyramid, "and find out what is going on, and if it has anything to do with this big planetoid heading toward us."

MALCOLM corrected her by explaining that it wasn't a planetoid as it was bigger than Mars, so it was a planet-sized object, not a planetoid. She rolled her eyes and refrained from comment.

With nothing left to add, MAYA said, "Okay, bye MALCOLM!"

"Uh, MALCOLM out," was his reply.

MAYA turned to MORGAN and gave him a recap of their conversation. MORGAN grumbled that MALCOLM was being belligerent and evasive. MAYA pointed out that while that may be true, they had to work with him, at least for now.

The cab arrived and took MAYA and MORGAN back to their hotel in Tulsa.

* * *

MALCOLM went back to his dormitory. Instead of stopping at the third floor, he continued up to the fourth floor. Looking around he found a door leading to the roof. He tried the door. It was locked.

He then walked around and talked to people in the building. Everyone was pleasant and friendly, and eager to help. MALCOLM walked into the fourth floor common room and stared out the window. From this vantage point he had a clear line of sight to the pyramid. He could just barely see the top of the pyramid. He noticed that there was an array of three satellite dishes on top of the pyramid, each one pointing to a different area in the sky. He took more digital pictures.

As he stared out the window it occurred to him that, as the plan stood, he would have to drive all the way back to Tulsa! He was nervous enough about driving out of the parking lot. There was no way he could drive all the way to Tulsa. He walked out of the building and phoned MAYA, as she seemed to be friendlier towards him than MORGAN.

He explained the problem with him driving. They formulated a new plan. MALCOLM suggested that they use the Richard and Joanne Strauss cover. Their cover story would be that they were driving from Topeka, Kansas, to visit Richard's family in Dallas, Texas. Along the way they decided to meet up with Joanne's brother, Jeffrey Marks — which was MALCOLM's cover identity — as he happened to be vacationing in Tulsa. They agreed on that plan. MAYA said that she and MORGAN would leave shortly.

MALCOLM hung up and returned to the fourth floor common room. As he stared out at the pyramid he saw a Yellow truck company tractor trailer pull up to the side of the pyramid. A large set of service doors opened up in the side of the pyramid. A half a dozen burly men walked out of the pyramid and into the truck. They started hauling something out of the truck and into the pyramid.

MALCOLM left the building. When he got outside he was just in time to see them shift the last of the load using hand carts. The carts were loaded with six wooden crates. Each crate was about two and a half feet tall, wide, and long. The doors in the pyramid slammed shut. The driver shut the doors to his trailer. MALCOLM watched as the driver got back into the truck and then drove the truck out the main gate.

The Delta Green agent carefully made his way over to the pyramid. He photographed the closed side doors. He walked around to the front of the pyramid and walked inside. Technicians were still doing something with the wiring. They asked if they could help him. MALCOLM said that he was looking for Steve Bolsley. They told him that Steve was over in the main hall. As they talked, MALCOLM looked around. He didn't see any of the wooden crates. He watched what the technicians were doing. They were apparently installing more speakers and more light fixtures. He thanked them, and left the pyramid.

He went over to the main hall and looked for Bolsley. He found him in the gift shop talking to some tourists. When Bolsley was through with the tourists MALCOLM told him that his sister and her husband were passing through. He was going to go out for dinner with them. Bolsley said that he hoped he had a good time with them. MALCOLM said that he would be returning. He asked if it would be okay if he brought his sister and brother-in-law back to the dormitory later. Bolsley said that wouldn't be a problem.

The agent added that his sister was interested in Enolsis, but that his brother-in-law was a skeptic. He wanted to show his brother-in-law that Enolsis was not a cult, and that showing them around the Foundation's headquarters might go far in convincing him of the Foundation's motives. Bolsley said that was a splendid idea. He asked if they lived in Tulsa. MALCOLM said that they were just passing through. Bolsley said that he could give them a tour of the place that evening, but it would be better for them to see it the next day, in the daylight. The agent asked if they could come back the following morning, and Bolsley said that wouldn't be a problem and that he was looking forward to meeting them. His cover story established, MALCOLM thanked Bolsley and left the hall.

"Hey," shouted Bolsley as MALCOLM was leaving, "Have a great meal!"

"You, too," MALCOLM shouted back.

Once outside, he phoned MAYA. He told her that they were welcome that night and that Bolsley would give them a tour of the facility the next morning if they wanted. MAYA said that sounded like a good idea and hung up.

MALCOLM went back to his room.

Sunday, June 19, 2005, 8:10 p.m. EDT

Outside of the Enolsis Foundation, off I-44, Southwest of Tulsa, Oklahoma

MAYA called MALCOLM when they were ten minutes from the Foundation. They had been to the hotel, changed clothes, and rented a second car. MALCOLM was to look for a white Dodge Intrepid. MALCOLM hung up and walked to the front gate. A few minutes later, a white Intrepid pulled up.

"Richard!" shouted a gleeful MAYA to MALCOLM. She then realized that Richard was MORGAN's name, not MALCOLM's. She recovered by yelling, "Richard, look! It's my brother!"

MALCOLM told the guards that he was going to dinner with his relatives. He walked through the gate and up to the car. He got into the car and they drove down the road.

After climbing in, he asked, "Geez, why did you rent a Dodge?"

"Because they didn't have any more Ford Focuses," said MAYA.

They drove to Bristow, Oklahoma. They had dinner at the Mid-America Stockyard Café. While they ate, MALCOLM checked his e-mail to see if there was any news about the planet-sized object. There was no news. They finished eating, and then drove back to Enolsis.

MAYA drove through the gate and parked in the large parking lot, near their Ford Escape. MALCOLM escorted them to the main hall and showed them around. He asked the receptionist if Bolsley was around. She said he was upstairs, in the library. She called Bolsley and had him come down.

MALCOLM introduced Bolsley to his sister Joanne and his brother-in-law Richard. They exchanged pleasantries. MORGAN said that he was a medical supply salesman. MAYA never said what Joanne did for a living. During their conversation, Bolsley offered to give them a tour of the campus the next day. MAYA said that they'd love to take the tour.

MALCOLM asked how the technicians were doing over at the Hall of the Living Power. Bolsley said that they were still installing the sound system. MALCOLM said that he knew a bit about electricity and electronics, and that he'd be happy to help them if they needed volunteers. Bolsley said that he would keep that in mind. Bolsley excused himself.

The agents walked back to MALCOLM's dormitory. On the way there, they stopped to look at the fountain, which was lit up with lasers of various colours. The centerpiece was a huge crystal with water cascading over it. It was hard to tell if the crystal was a huge chunk of quartz, or a big piece of glass. MALCOLM noticed, for the first time, that the display used a blue laser. Blue lasers were pretty new and very expensive.

They walked around the fountain for a few more minutes and then headed for the dormitory. When they entered the dormitory, MALCOLM pointed to the door to the basement. It was still locked. People were chatting in the hall and hanging out in the first floor common room, so they didn't think they could get into the basement without being seen. Instead, they headed for the fourth floor and the stairway to the roof.

There were people in the fourth floor common room. MAYA propped her purse up against the wall to block the view. She started to work on the lock with a lockpick set, all the while making it seem as though she was rummaging through her purse. MORGAN and MALCOLM moved so that no one in the hall could see what she was doing. After three minutes she managed to unlock the door. The door opened with a loud creak. Beyond was a set of stairs, leading up. The agents slipped through the door and into the staircase. They closed the door behind them and locked it.

They climbed the stairs to the roof. At the top of the stairs they found another door. It was locked. Coming from beyond the door were the sounds of machinery, though MORGAN was pretty sure it was just an air conditioning unit. MAYA picked the lock and they slowly opened the door. No one else was on the roof. The sounds they heard did, indeed, come from an air conditioning unit.

From the roof they could more easily see the top of the white pyramid. They saw the big satellite dish and the two smaller satellite dishes that MALCOLM had noticed before, but they saw nothing else. They were looking for a telescope in particular, but there was no telescope sticking out of the roof. MORGAN went to the edge of the roof and scanned the facility with a pair of binoculars. MAYA continued to stare at the pyramid.

MALCOLM thought to look behind him. He turned around and saw a video camera mounted above the stairs. He quietly told the others that they were being filmed. They calmly turned around and walked back through the doorway. MAYA locked the door behind them. They walked back to the fourth floor, slipped through the doorway, and locked the door behind them. They then headed down MALCOLM's third floor room.

They discussed their next course of action. There was a good chance that something was happening at the pyramid. Breaking into the pyramid sounded like a good idea. The agents waited a couple of hours until most of the dormitory's residents were asleep. Just after midnight they slipped into the cool night air.

The agents sneaked over to the pyramid. They tried to get in, but it was locked. They tried to get into a couple of other buildings, but they were locked, too. MORGAN and MAYA went back to MALCOLM's room. They got their things and drove back to Tulsa. MALCOLM went to bed in his Enolsis Foundation dormitory room.

Monday, June 20, 2005, 7:30 a.m. EDT

Enolsis Foundation, off I-44, Southwest of Tulsa, Oklahoma

The alarm clock beside MALCOLM's bed woke him up at 7:30 a.m. MALCOLM was groggy. He felt like he had slept for less than four hours, but clearly he had slept for at least six. He picked up his watch.

His watch said that it was only 5:15 a.m.

He called MAYA on her Delta Green cell phone. "MAYA," she said, in a sleepy voice.

"MALCOLM."

"Uh, huh?"

"What... what time is it?"

There was a long pause before she answered. "My clock says 7:30. Why?" There was another pause and a gasp. "Evidently Tulsa has time warped because my cell phone and my watch say 5:15. But my clock says 7:30. How..."

"My room clock says 7:30," said MALCOLM, "but my watch says 5:15."

"Hang on," she said, and put the phone down.

* * *

MAYA pulled on a robe, staggered down the hall, and banged on MORGAN's door. Sunlight streamed through the window at the end of the hall. MORGAN opened the door.

"What... I mean, yes?" said MORGAN.

"What time does your clock say?"

MORGAN looked at his clock. "Seven thirty-two."

"Now look at your watch."

MORGAN walked over to his bedside table and picked up his watch. "Five seventeen."

She had him check his cell phone. It, too, was showing 5:17. He checked his laptop, which he had with him in the field outside of Enolsis, but which he had left in their hotel in Tulsa when they went to meet MALCOLM. By the time it booted up it displayed a time of 7:36.

MORGAN remembered their mission in Tampa when his GPS unit lost the satellite signal. He took his GPS unit from his duffle bag and slipped it into his manpurse. He wanted it with him when they returned to Enolsis.

He turned to MAYA. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to disrobe."

"Excuse me?!?" cried MAYA.

"I'm going to have to check you out."

MAYA told MALCOLM that they would phone him back, then she hung up. She was none too pleased about it, but she disrobed. MORGAN inspected her with a magnifying glass.

He didn't find anything untoward until he pushed back her hair and looked at her scalp. There he found some very, very fine scars, like she had been expertly cut with an incredibly fine knife. The scars were almost imperceptible with the magnifying glass, let alone the naked eye. MORGAN told her what he found.

MAYA gasped. "Where did that come from?"

"You've had the top of your head removed."

MAYA rushed to the bathroom and looked for herself. She pulled MORGAN into the bathroom and looked at his scalp under the room's bright lights. She finally found the same scars on him. He had the top of his skull removed, and replaced, too.

MORGAN called MALCOLM. When MALCOLM answered, MORGAN said, "We're taking you to brunch. We need you to gather up all your stuff and put it in your car. If anyone asks, we are going to meet up at the restaurant and then we're going to go our separate ways afterward." He paused for a second. "It's very important that you gather up all your stuff. You must do this quickly. We will be there shortly."

MAYA snatched the phone from MORGAN. "Can you drive?" she asked MALCOLM.

MALCOLM was unnerved by the fact that he had somehow lost more than two hours time that past evening. "Since I went crazy? Uh, sure, I can drive now, I'm a wonderful driver."

MORGAN took back the phone. "We have something we need to talk to you about. It's very important..."

After MALCOLM agreed to meet them outside the gate, in the car, in about an hour, MORGAN hung up. He looked at MAYA. "Remember Mars?" he said. "Remember the things that took us into the spacecraft? Remember, at the end, they cut off the top of our heads?"

"No!" cried MAYA, unconvincingly.

"Remember the brain in the metal container? Agent KIM, was it? They began cutting off the top of our heads just as we began to swirl and came back here." MAYA said nothing, as she stood there grinding her teeth. "We're dealing with Mi-Go, most likely. They've done something to our brains, and probably done a full download."

"For some people that wouldn't take so long," said MAYA.

She put on her robe and rushed back to her room. The two agents dressed, gathered up their stuff, and left the hotel. MAYA quickly drove out of Tulsa and toward Enolsis, while MORGAN called ALPHONSE on his cell phone.

The phone made the "ringing at the other end" sound, then there was a click, and then it began ringing again. Someone answered the phone. "ADAM", said the voice at the end of the line.

"ADAM? MORGAN here. We have a situation. MAYA and I have been compromised."

"What do you mean, 'compromised'?"

MORGAN described the "missing time" and the scars. He put it down to "tampering by an alien influence". He told ADAM that they were going to extract MALCOLM, but they didn't know what information the aliens might have.

"ADAM?" asked MAYA. "Why is ADAM answering ALPHONSE's phone? Where's ALPHONSE?"

"I'm dealing with something here," said ADAM to MORGAN. "I understand the importance of what you are saying. You are the cell leader. Handle this the way you feel is best. We will give you all the resources you need. Right now I have to deal with some other issues."

MORGAN hung up. He told MAYA what ADAM said. "Oh, great. What's more important than having the top of your head removed! I bet this has something to do with ANDREA!"

* * *

Agent MALCOLM checked the time on the television in the common room after he got off the phone with MORGAN. It, too, said that it was 7:30. He had read enough about UFOs to be aware of the phenomenon known as "lost time". He suspected they were victims of this phenomenon. He went back to his room, packed up his things, and hurried to the Ford Escape.

He gingerly drove the vehicle out of the parking lot, through the gate, and onto the road without incident. The rendezvous point was a mile up the street at an intersection with a wide shoulder. He pulled onto the shoulder and waited. Twenty minutes later, the white Intrepid with MAYA and MORGAN pulled up.

MALCOLM got out of the Escape. MORGAN and MAYA got out of the Intrepid. MORGAN walked up to MALCOLM. "Hold still." He brushed the hair away from MALCOLM's scalp and inspected the top of his head. As he suspected, MALCOLM had the same incredibly fine scars as the other two.

"Here's something I have to tell you," said MORGAN. "There's an alien race known as the Mi-Go. We had an encounter with them before."

"Is this what MICHAEL was talking about?" asked MALCOLM.

"When did you talk to MICHAEL?" asked MAYA.

"In his report that was forwarded to me. Which is why I was coming to St. Louis to meet with MICHAEL. He had a vision of a planet. He theorized that the 'Mi-Go' were trying to stop the strange red planet."

"During our encounter with this race," said MORGAN, ignoring MALCOLM's question, "we discovered their propensity for removing brains of humans."

MAYA described the Mi-Go by having MALCOLM imagine the typical "grey alien" from television and movies.

MALCOLM asked why MICHAEL thought the Mi-Go were involved with the planet. MORGAN put it down to something that came to MICHAEL in his vision. "I just don't see the connection," said MALCOLM. "And now you're telling me that the top of my head has been removed?" He thought for a second. "What did they put in there if it's not my brain?"

"It's your brain," said MAYA and MORGAN in unison. MORGAN said, "They probably took it out like it was a microchip, stuck it in their system, and downloaded it."

"Uh, huh..."

"Remember what I said about trust?" said MORGAN. "We can tell you a story, but you must swear that what we tell you never gets placed in any report."

When MALCOLM agreed to those terms, MORGAN told him about their trip to the past, and how they had to help someone who once saved them. He described how they were sent to Mars in the future, and that's where they encountered the Mi-Go. He finished by describing the last memories they had before leaving Mars, when the Mi-Go opened up their host body's skulls and took out their brains.

When MORGAN finished, MALCOLM said, "You sure they didn't just give you narcotics or something?"

"No," said MAYA. "We've had narcotics before. This was different."

MALCOLM turned to MORGAN. "And you're telling me this because..."

"Because when the Mi-Go are involved, you need to know what you are dealing with." MORGAN went on to discuss the Great Old Ones and the Outer Gods, how they were two sets of very powerful entities and how they seemed to be at odds with one another. He suspected that the Mi-Go were somehow involved in the conflict. "What we need to know is if the Mi-Go are working with us or against us."

"I have an hypothesis," said MALCOLM.

"I'm sure you do," said MORGAN, "and I have medication that can help you with that, but..."

MALCOLM asked that if they were working against the Mi-Go's best interest, why did they put their brains back. MAYA said, "I think we are more of an inconvenience to them — 'those meddling kids' — than an active force against them."

"But if we're not acting in their best interests," continued MALCOLM, "why did they not kill us when they had us effectively dead?"

"Maybe they wanted information and didn't get it, and they are deciding what to do with us." said MORGAN. "It's an alien mindset."

"MICHAEL may have been correct," suggested MALCOLM. "If they wanted to stop this red planet, and they knew we wanted to stop this red planet, they may have just wanted to know what we knew, and then let us go and try to deal with it."

MAYA nodded. "They weren't going to interfere in our efforts to try and stop it, but they wanted to know what we knew, and use it in their efforts to try to stop it."

MAYA and MALCOLM got into the Escape, and MORGAN climbed behind the wheel of the Intrepid. They drove back to Tulsa and returned the Intrepid to the rental place. They got into the Escape and discussed what to do next. The consensus was that they needed to recover their lost memories, to see if they could figure out what happened in those missing two and a bit hours. MORGAN went online and did some research. He discovered the Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital just outside of Tulsa. He made a couple of phone calls, and then they drove to the clinic.

Monday, June 20, 2005, 11:15 a.m. EDT

Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital, Tulsa, Oklahoma

MORGAN entered the clinic while the others stayed outside in the Escape. By flashing his badge and relating a story about how he was investigating the use of certain medicines in the treatment of anxiety, MORGAN was given access to the clinic's medications. He picked out the proper psychotropic drugs, filled out an endless series of paperwork, and left the clinic with the appropriate medicine.

They drove back to the hotel. Once in the room, MORGAN mixed the medication in what he thought was the appropriate dosage, based on what he read in the pharmacology reference CDs he kept with his computer. After the drugs were mixed, he explained to the others how they should go about questioning him. He injected himself with the medicines and sat down.

Once the drugs had taken effect MAYA interrogated MORGAN based on his guidelines. They regressed MORGAN's memory back twelve hours. With slurred speech, MORGAN described how they waited until after midnight before leaving MALCOLM's room on the Enolsis Foundation campus. They headed for the pyramid. It wasn't locked, so they slipped inside. They found the crates that MALCOLM saw earlier that day. He couldn't remember anything written on the crates. The agents were about to open one of them when several people with very long arms grabbed them. The next thing he remembered was lying on a metal table. He wasn't restrained but he could not move. He caught a blur of movement outside his peripheral vision. He felt something tugging at his head. Just before everything disappeared into a misty fog, MORGAN remembered seeing a strange claw-like appendage. He recognized the appendage. It belonged to a Mi-Go.

As the effects of the drug wore off, MORGAN became more lucid. He also remembered everything he related to MAYA. His memory was no longer erased, and the two plus hours of his life were restored. Part of him wished they hadn't been restored, as the memories were incredibly disturbing.

Next MORGAN injected MALCOLM with the medicine and put him through the same process. MALCOLM remembered the same things happening, except he still retained the false memory of going to the pyramid, finding it locked, and giving up. He now had two sets of memories for the same evening. He also remembered something that MORGAN did not; during their scuffle with the people with the long arms, one of them grabbed MORGAN and kissing him.

While MALCOLM slowly clawed out of the drug's effects, MORGAN rushed over to his bag and shot himself full of antibiotics. When MALCOLM had recovered, he was very pale. He moved away from the others to give himself some breathing room. He suddenly had an aversion to inclosed spaces.

MORGAN grabbed the leucopararosaniline, the neo-tissue fluid. He sprayed himself with it. The fluid turned a bright purple. "I'm infected," he said, matter-of-factly. He sprayed MAYA and MALCOLM, but they did not come out purple. "I'm infected," repeated MORGAN.

"We need to shoot him," said MAYA, only half joking.

"No!" cried MORGAN.