Parasites Love Earth! Read online

  "There it is again. That word," said Janice.

  "What's it mean?" said Jack.

  "I have no idea," said Janice. "Now here's the really interesting thing." She switched to infrared, so they could see the rider under his clothes.

  Every time Truk started to say 'Mamoomishom', the rider started to pulsate, especially strongly.

  "It seems that word has some meaning for it," said Janice. "It's intelligent, that's for sure."

  "Just be sure to keep that thing locked up," said Jack.

  "You can count on it, Colonel. Oh, Cindy?"

  A nurse with short red hair came forward. "Yes, Doctor Whistler?"

  "It's time for his midday feeding. Please give him lunch."

  "Yes, Ma'am." The nurse smiled at Jack, and then at Sam, and then turned away.

  But when Jack looked at Sam, he saw she had a puzzled frown on her face. He looked more intently at her, and she shook her head.

  Jack drew his blaster, and in one smooth motion shot the nurse in the back.

  "Colonel!" Janice cried, jumping up.

  "Don't move," said Jack, pointing his gun at her. He turned to Sam. "Is she Infected too?"

  "I think she's all right," said Sam, staring intently at Janice.

  ********

  A hazmat team was called in. The nurse was stripped. They found an alien worm...

  "Oh no," said Jack, wincing. "That's got to hurt."

  "Wrapped around her clitoris," said Janice. "It was a smart move by the parasite. It's a cluster with thousands of nerve endings, a very sensitive area."

  "Controlled? So Nurse Nixon is controlled too?" General Henderson asked.

  Janice shook her head. "This parasite doesn't have the same degree of control as the other one. Although we can't remove it, not without severely injuring Cindy, she was able to tell us what happened. Apparently when she went in to deliver Mr. Truk's food yesterday, this worm creature attached itself to her clothes. Then it burrowed... inwards," said Janice delicately.

  "But that still doesn't explain where this worm came from."

  "I think I know," said Janice. She put up a display of a thermal holographic recording. It showed the outline of the rider, and something slowly... oozing out of it.

  "It came out of the pancake?" Jack asked.

  "It reproduced," said Janice. "One change we noticed in the rider is that it started to acquire a gold rim. That would seem to suggest some kind of sexual maturity. Enough to reproduce."

  "Doctor, I want all your staff checked for these... worms," said General Henderson. "And I want no one to enter the same room as that man unless they are wearing hazmat suits and are thoroughly decontaminated."

  "Yes sir," said Janice.

  "Major Arden, congratulations again on sensing another of these aliens. What is it you detect from them?"

  "I'm not sure, sir," said Sam. "Just... the presence of life... intelligent life... something different. Every life gives off a kind of... signature. I'm used to the ones human beings produce, of course. But these... these were something I've never encountered before."

  "Your service to us has been invaluable. Without your help, the entire base could soon have been overrun with these things."

  "Yes sir, thank you sir," said Sam.

  As they left the conference room, Jack put an arm around her. "You did well, Major."

  "I did, sir?" she smiled up at him.

  "Didn't I just say so?" said Jack, raising an eyebrow.

  "I never mind hearing it twice, sir," she said, looking up at him longingly.

  In response, Jack smiled, pushed her away and went down another corridor.

  Sam enjoyed the kind of back and forth she had with Jack. She loved her husband Gavin, but they never had the same kind of rapport that she and Jack had.

  Chapter 2: Baby Bomb

  The news was horrific.

  "Let me see if I can understand this properly," said General Henderson. "In a hospital in Quincy, Massachusetts, seven babies were born prematurely. But the way they were born was by cutting their own way out of their mothers' wombs. When they emerged, they were found to have claws and fangs and were bent on consuming their mothers. All the children had to be euthanized, and three of the mothers died."

  "Yes sir," said Major Arden.

  General Henderson turned to Doctor Whistler, who was sitting there in her white lab coat. "Doctor, is there anything in the physiology of the worm or pancake creatures which suggest they may be capable of this?"

  "Not that I'm aware of, General. But remember this. We found six different cells on that ship. Only one contained DNA scrapings consistent with the worm and the rider creature we have in captivity. This could easily be the work of one of the other six."

  The General turned to Jack. "Colonel, take your team to Boston and find out what is going on."

  "Yes sir."

  ********

  They soon learned that there was only one connection between the seven women. They all had the same nurse.

  "No one had ever seen her before," said one of the doctors. "She just came in, was here for a few minutes, and then vanished."

  They produced holographic records of the missing nurse. She looked like an elderly, brown haired woman. Not very remarkable, except, perhaps, for her age.

  Doctor Whistler soon had some answers when she had analyzed the dead babies.

  "Their DNA has been altered," said Doctor Whistler.

  "Janice, you said the DNA scrapings from one of the cells were of a cousin to humanity. Did these match?"

  Doctor Whistler shook her head. "No, those scrapings were of a being far more advanced, far more developed than this. If anything, these babies have move backwards on the evolutionary chain. They have been turned into unthinking beasts who reject their hosts so much, that they are instinctually driven to try to destroy them."

  "Babies taught to kill their own mothers in the womb," said Jack. "Is that possible?"

  "You've seen it here," said Janice. "I interviewed the surviving mothers. They all saw the missing nurse. The missing nurse simply touched them on their bellies for a few moments. They all remembered feeling some warmth, but nothing unusual."

  "So we're dealing with an alien who can alter baby DNA without even the mothers really noticing," said Jack. "I'd say that's a problem."

  "Sir, we've gotten an urgent message from HomePlanet Security," said Sam. She read the holographic message. "There's been another alien incursion. A second alien ship has landed."

  "Another one?" said Jack.

  "Yes sir. This time, in North Carolina. Teams are already on the way. We're to meet join them onsite."

  ********

  This alien spaceship was different from the previous one. It was smaller, and triangular shaped, and it actually landed, rather than crashed. They could see from aerial recon that this ship had also suffered damage in battle, which raised the obvious question as to whether it had been in combat against the first ship they had already encountered.

  This time there were six GEV's surrounding the alien ship, which had landed on a grassy field in western North Carolina.

  Soldiers from HomePlanet Security were surrounding it and awaiting Colonel Sullivan's permission to go in.

  As Sam looked at the ship, a few hundred feet away, she blinked, and swayed slightly.

  "Sam?" said Jack.

  "It's made contact," said Sam.

  "Contact? Like the creepy mind control kind of contact?" Jack asked.

  "No, not like that, sir," said Sam, trying to concentrate.

  "If you were under alien mind control, would you tell us?" Jack asked.

  "He's friendly, sir," said Sam.

  "He? How do you know that?"

  "I just know," said Sam. And with that, she started off, to the alien spaceship, at a fast pace.

  "Arden! Major Arden!" Jack cried, paralyzed with indecision. Did Sam really know what she was doing? Or was she under the control of some alien life form?

  For a momen
t, Sam turned around, and for the first time in his life, Jack felt her words in his head. "Trust me." She smiled tightly at him, then turned and went the rest of the way to the alien ship.

  A man met her at the entrance. He was tall, brown haired, and dressed in a silver shirt and pants.

  "Major Samantha Arden," said the man, extending a hand.

  "Dunlop 4," said Sam, extending hers. Under normal conditions, Sam would never trust herself to shake an alien's hand, not now, not when they were facing an alien invasion.

  But when Sam touched Dunlop 4's mind, she felt such incredible goodness, such purity of spirit, that she knew it couldn't be faked. And then when he touched her hand, and she again felt the same thing, she knew he had to be on their side.

  Their hands touched for a moment. Dunlop stared into her eyes, and Sam saw charisma and deep wisdom.

  "You're here for the others," said Sam.

  "That's right," said Dunlop.

  "What are they, some kind of convicted criminals?"

  "Worse. Much worse. But first, is there some place we can go to talk?"

  ********

  "I represent a grouping of worlds called the Stellar Union."

  Dunlop 4 was sitting in the conference room in HomePlanet Command. Two armed guards stood behind him.

  "I've never heard of it," said General Henderson. "Our Survey Service has been exploring the galaxy for nearly a hundred years, and with one deadly exception, we have never come across any intelligent life, much less a galactic government."

  "Nearly a hundred years," Dunlop 4 smiled, as if it were a joke. "General, the galaxy is a big place. Even the Stellar Union covers only a fraction of what you call this galaxy. But nevertheless, it exists, and I am a member of it." He paused, before continuing. "I am part of a special... unit, assigned to handle extreme threats."

  "Extreme?" Jack said, raising his eyebrows.

  "The most hazardous. We have identified the worst of the worst, the most deadly parasites to plague sentient life. We identified them, fought them, and destroyed them, for the most part."

  "Why not all of them?"

  "The Stellar Union does not execute prisoners, Colonel Sullivan," said Dunlop 4. "We do not consider that civilized."

  "Perhaps you should have made an exception for these guys."

  "Perhaps we should have," said Dunlop 4. "These final survivors of the parasite wars were on their way to be transported to Dimension 93, when, by means still unknown, they escaped, and overpowered their crew."

  "Let's skip that part about Dimension 93 for a moment," said Jack. "Their crew. Would that be those three lifeless husks we found?"

  "Yes, there were three, Zenia, Zhanna, and... Zarabeth."

  Sam stared at Dunlop as he said Zarabeth's name. It seemed that there was some kind of connection there. Or perhaps he had feelings for her.

  "So what do we have running loose on Earth at the moment?" General Henderson asked.

  "Six of the most deadly kind of parasites to be found in the galaxy. Left unchecked, they will conquer or destroy your form of life in an exceedingly short period of time."

  "We've faced enemies of this kind before," said General Henderson. "Fifty years ago, an intelligent virus was brought back to Earth. It took over the minds of our people on a microbiological level. They spread themselves by sexual contact. We fought them and beat them."

  "I am familiar with this form of life. It is thought that they were wiped out, millennia ago."

  "They're not," said Jack. "If you have the time and want some fun, go to 70 Ophiuchi. Look for a cave next to all the abandoned spaceships. You'll just love it there."

  "Jack," said General Henderson, giving him a reproving stare. He turned to Dunlop 4. "If I understand it correctly, you are offering to help us fight these alien creatures?"

  "Certainly."

  "And you will tell us all you know about them?"

  "Yes, as much as it will help you."

  "And why do you say that?" General Henderson asked.

  "General... I mean no offense, but the technology of your planet, while impressive surely to yourselves, is much less... advanced by our standards. I believe this is why the parasites chose your planet to come to."

  "They thought we'd be easy pickings?" Jack asked.

  "If I understand the phrase correctly, yes," said Dunlop 4. "If you want my help, return my weapon and allow me to go. I will track down and destroy these creatures."

  "All by yourself?" The General asked.

  "That's the way I've been doing it for centuries," said Dunlop 4.

  "Well, you see, we have a problem here," said General Henderson. "It's occurred to us that you might simply be an alien invader in another form. That you might appear to us, in this friendly guise, so we would lower our guard."

  "But... I want nothing from you."

  "Other than being able to roam freely on our planet, unhindered by our security forces."

  "Yes," said Dunlop 4.

  "We will consider your offer," said the General. He motioned for the guards to take Dunlop 4 away.

  Dunlop 4 accompanied them without resistance. "Consider well, General. Each day you hinder me means that dozens, perhaps hundreds of your people will fall to the parasites."

  After he left the room, Jack said, "That sure sounds scary to me."

  "As he intended, Colonel," said General Henderson. "Major, what do you think?"

  "I think he is very much what he seems to be," said Sam. "I... touched his mind. He is very determined, very disciplined and very....."

  "Very what, Major?"

  "Very genuine, sir," she said, smiling. "It's hard to put into words. He's like... a breath of fresh air."

  "How can we know that he's not simply deceiving you?" General Henderson. "Maybe he can control the way his mind is viewed by you."

  "Maybe he can, sir," said Sam. "But my instincts say to trust him. And you brought me here, and promoted me to Major, because you trust my instincts. I hope you do, sir."

  Jack raised his eyebrows. That was a very gutsy thing to say to the General.

  Henderson paused, considering. "Very well. But I want him watched closely, especially at first, Major. No unauthorized trips on his own until we establish a level of trust."

  "Yes sir."

  After they left the meeting, Jack brushed by Sam. "You were good in there."

  "Was I?" she grinned.

  "Fishing for compliments again?" said Jack, giving her a flirtatious stare.

  "You know me, sir," said Sam.

  "Yes.... yes I do," said Jack, a bit sadly, it seemed. Sam wondered why she had sensed sadness from him. She sensed that, from time to time, ever since she had married Gavin.

  ********

  Dunlop 4 wasn't overly excited to be given his freedom, or even to have his weapon returned to him. He just wanted to start his work.

  "We have a lead on one alien in the Boston area," said Sam. She described how babies were ripping their way out of their mothers' wombs.

  "The Klinisterians," said Dunlop 4 immediately.

  "Klinisterians?"

  "They were a race of beings who existed thousands of your years ago," said Dunlop 4. "They had developed technologically at a pace that far exceeded their emotional maturity."

  "What do you mean?" Sam asked.

  "They produced a technology that met all their needs, but they were not emotionally mature enough to appreciate it. Having spent their entire existence struggling to survive, they felt mentally uncomfortable no longer having to worry about food or clothing or heat or shelter," said Dunlop. "The entire population started to entertain group phobias. They felt they were destroying their world."

  "How?"

  "By the mere fact of their very existence," said Dunlop 4.

  "We had something like that a few centuries ago," said Sam. "There was a widespread belief that carbon dioxide produced by mankind was destroying the Earth, despite the fact that carbon dioxide is needed for plants to survive and is part of
the cycle of life. Some people went crazy and insisted we should dismantle all our technology."

  "On Klinisteria they were even worse," said Dunlop 4. "They discovered the secret of immortality, and decided to sterilize their entire population, so they would not increase in numbers."

  "They sterilized themselves? That's... that's what they're doing to us, isn't it? To our babies?"

  Dunlop 4 nodded. "But even that didn't satisfy the Klinisterians. They started to wipe each other out. They felt that their planet could only be pure once it was purged of all sentient life forms."

  "So... who do we have here?"

  "We thought the Klinisterians were all gone. But it seems a few escaped, to carry out their philosophies on other planets. The ship I was guarding had two of them."

  "We know what one of them looks like," said Sam excitedly.

  "No, you don't," said Dunlop 4. "They can appear however they wish."

  "Then how can we find them?"

  "I can sense them," said Dunlop. "At limited distances."

  ********

  They flew up to Boston. There were reports of more monster babies, clawing their ways out of four women's wombs in a Roxbury hospital. Dunlop wasn't interested in going to the hospital, however. He assured Sam that the Klinisterians would be long gone. Instead, he simply wanted Sam to drive him around the city. She tried to engage him in conversation along the way.

  "If you don't mind my asking, why is there a number at the end of your name?" Sam asked. "Is there a Dunlop 1,2, or 3?"

  "There was," Dunlop nodded, looking around him as they drove, though not only with his eyes.

  "Was?"

  "The war against the parasites produced a lot of casualties. Dunlop, one of the greatest of the parasite hunters, was not sufficient to fight them all himself. So clones were made."

  "You're a clone?"

  Dunlop 4 nodded. "I have all the memories of Dunlop, up until the time he was cloned."

  "But... do you have a life of your own?"

  "A life?"

  "A woman? A family?"

  Dunlop 4 thought of the original Dunlop's wife, Sirena, and he winced. "No, not as you mean it." He looked sharply outside. "Stop here," he said suddenly.