Jayewardene said nothing for several minutes. Perhaps his vision had been wrong. The beast appeared so vicious. A normal person would have been crushed to a paste between the monster's teeth. No. The dream had to be true. He couldn't allow any self-doubt, or the ape would have no chance at all. They outraced the storm back to Colombo.
Jayewardene paused outside Tachyon's door. He'd been sleeping when the alien called. Tachyon had apologized for taking so long to get back to him and began listing the reasons. Jayewardene had interrupted and asked if he could come over immediately. The doctor had said yes with little enthusiasm.
He knocked and waited, then raised his hand again before he heard footfalls from the other side. Tachyon opened the door, wearing a puffy-sleeved white shirt and blue velvet pants sashed with a large red scarf. "Mr. Jayewardene? Please come in." Jayewardene bowed and went in.
Tachyon sat down on the bed, underneath an oil painting of Dunhinda Falls. A scarlet-plumed hat and a partially eaten plate of rice were on the bedside table. "You are the same Mr. Jayewardene from the helicopter? The one Radha told me about."
"Yes." Jayewardene lowered himself into the lounger next to the bed. "I hope Mr. Braun wasn't injured."
"Only his already battered pride." Tachyon closed his eyes for a moment, as if trying to gather strength, then reopened them. "Please tell me how I can help you, Mr. Jayewardene."
"The military is planning on attacking the ape tomorrow. We must stop them and subdue the creature ourselves." Jayewardene rubbed his eyes. "But I'm not starting at the beginning. The military deals with harsh reality. But you, Doctor, work in the context of the extraordinary on a daily basis. I don't know you, but I am in a position of needing to trust you."
Tachyon placed his dangling feet firmly on the floor and straightened his shoulders. "I've spent most of my life here trying to live up to the trust of others. I only wish I could believe the trust was warranted. But you say we must stop the military and subdue the ape ourselves. Why? Surely they're better equipped-"
Jayewardene interrupted. "The virus doesn't affect animals, if I understand correctly."
"I know the virus doesn't affect animals," Tachyon replied with a shake of his curly, red hair. "I helped develop the virus. Every child knows…" He covered his mouth. "Ancestors forgive me." He slid off the bed and walked to the window. "For twenty years it's been staring me in the face, and I missed it. By my own blind stupidity I've sentenced some individual to a living hell. I've failed one of mine again. The trust isn't warranted." Tachyon pressed his fists against his temples and continued berating himself.
"Your pardon, Doctor," Jayewardene said. "I think your energies would be more beneficial if we applied them to the problem at hand." Tachyon turned, a pained expression on his face. "I meant no offense, Doctor," he added, sensing the depth of the alien's guilt.
"No. No, of course not. Mr. Jayewardene, how did you know?"
"Not many of our people have been touched by the virus. I'm one of the very few. I suppose I should be grateful to be alive and whole, but it's in our nature to complain. My ability gives me visions of the future. Always about someone or some place I know, usually myself. And so detailed and vivid." He shook his head. "My most recent one showed me the ape's true nature."
Tachyon sat back down on the bed, tapping his fingertips together. "What I don't understand is the primitive behavior exhibited by the creature."
"I'm sure that most of our questions can be answered once he's a man again."
"Of course. Of course." Tachyon popped up off the bed again. "And your ability. Temporal displacement of the cognitive self during dreamstate. This was what my family had in mind when they created the virus. Something that transcends known physical values. Amazing."
Jayewardene shrugged. "Yes, amazing. But it's a burden I would gladly give up. I want to view the future from its proper perspective, the here and now. This-power-destroys the natural flow of life. After the ape is restored, I plan to make my pilgrimage to Sri Pada. Perhaps through spiritual purity I may be rid of it."
"I've had some success reversing the effects at my clinic." Tachyon twisted his sash. "Of course the success rate isn't what I'd hoped. And the risk would be yours to take."
"We must deal with the ape first. After that my path may become more clear."
"If only we had more time here," Tachyon complained. "The tour is supposed to leave for Thailand day after tomorrow. That leaves us little margin for error. And we can't all go chasing out after the creature."
"I don't think the government would allow it in any case. Not after today. The fewer of your people we involve, the better."
"Agreed. I can't believe the others went off like that. Sometimes I think we're all suffering from some kind of creeping insanity. Hiram especially." Tachyon walked to the window and opened the mini-blinds. Lightning flashed on the horizon, briefly silhouetting the wall of towering thunderclouds. "Obviously I must be included in this little adventure. Radha can give me maneuverability. She's half-Indian. There have been problems between your country and India lately, I believe?"
"Sadly, yes. The Indians support the Tamils, since they have the same cultural heritage. The Sinhalese majority looks at this as support for the Tamil Tigers, a terrorist group."
Jayewardene looked down at the floor. "It is a conflict with no winners and too many victims."
"So we must have a cover story. That Radha was hiding out, afraid for her life. She might present the answer to some other problems." Tachyon closed the blinds. "What weaponry will be used against the ape?"
"Two waves of helicopters. The first will move in with steel nets. The second, if needed, will be fully armed attack ships."
"Could you slip us onto their base before the second wave gets off the ground?" Tachyon rubbed his palms together. "Possibly. Yes, I think I could."
"Good." The alien smiled. "And Mr. Jayewardene, in my own defense, there's been so much in my life, the founding of the clinic, unrest in Jokertown, the Swarm invasion-"
Jayewardene cut him off. "Doctor, you owe me no explanation."
"But I will owe him one."
They'd stopped the car a couple of miles from the gate to put Radha into the trunk. Jayewardene took a sip of tea from his Styrofoam cup. It was thick, coppery, and hot enough to help ward off the predawn chill. Since the road to the air base was bumpy, he had only partially filled his cup. There was a cold ache inside him that even the tea could not reach. Even in his best case scenario he would be forced to resign his post. He was overstepping his authority in an unforgivable manner. But he couldn't worry about what might happen to him; the ape was his first concern. He and Tachyon had stayed up most of the night, trying to cover all the things that might go wrong and what to do if the worst happened.
Jayewardene was in the front seat with Saul. Tachyon was in back between Danforth and Paula. No one spoke. Jayewardene reached for his government ID as they approached the well-lit front gate.
The gate guard was a young Sinhalese. His shoulders were as straight as the creases in his khaki uniform. His eyes were bright and he moved with measured steps to Jayewardene's side of the car.
Jayewardene rolled down his window and handed the guard his ID. "We wish to speak with General Dissanayake. Dr. Tachyon and two representatives of the American film company are in our party as well as myself."
The guard looked at the ID, then at the people in the car. "One moment," he said, then headed over to the small booth beside the gate and picked up the phone. After speaking for a few moments he walked back and handed the ID back with five laminated visitor badges. "The general will see you. He's in his office. Do you know the way, sir?"
"Yes, thank you," Jayewardene said, rolling his window back up and clipping one of the badges onto his shirt pocket. The guard opened the gate and motioned them past with his red-tipped flashlight. Jayewardene sighed as they drove through and the gate closed behind them. He directed Saul to the officers' complex and patted the driver on the shoulder. "You know what to do?"