Lee blinked in fascination. “When?”
“We’re not sure,” Alison answered. “But we know it was a long, long time ago.”
Lee sat in stunned silence. He continued staring at them, trying to grasp the meaning behind all of what they just said. His reaction felt strange. After all the years of speculation, of movies and stories about aliens, now for it to actually be real, felt… odd.
“So… what do you need from me?”
Clay rested his weight onto one of the crutches. “We need you because we don’t think the place we found in Guyana is the only one.”
“You think there’s more?!”
Clay nodded. “One more. Hidden somewhere in Africa.”
The younger Lee looked back and forth between them again. “How do you know that?”
“We’re theorizing,” DeeAnn answered. “The place we found in Guyana was hidden inside solid rock. But everything, even rock, eventually erodes. It eroded there. Enough to let some of what was inside trickle out and seep into the water. Which is how it reached the plants. We think it’s what caused the changes in Dexter too.”
“The monkey.”
“Yes. He’s old, Lee. Very old. Much older than he’s supposed to be. And he’s smarter than any primate I’ve ever seen before. You’ve witnessed some of the tests.”
Lee turned and looked at his monitor at the live video feed from the habitat downstairs. “I didn’t realize…” He let his voice trail off before clearing his throat. “So, what does this all mean?”
“It means there might be more of what changed him still out there. And if there is, we have to find it, before someone else does.”
“It extends your age?”
“It’s more than that,” Alison said. “It accelerates healing and slows aging to almost nothing. In fact, it might even reverse it.”
“We saw it happen,” Clay nodded. “Onboard the Bowditch, while you and Chris were in sickbay. But the ship was attacked and the Chinese destroyed whatever was still left in Guyana. They were not about to let anyone else have it.”
Lee looked intently at DeeAnn. “And that’s what you and Juan went back for.”
“Yes.”
Lee fell silent for several minutes. His eyes grew somber as his brain worked to piece things together. When he finally looked up again, a glint of determination could be seen in his tired eyes. “So, if there’s another location out there, we have to find it before the Chinese.”
“Bingo.”
“Do we know where it is?”
To that, Clay turned to DeeAnn.
“No,” she said. “Not really. The reason we think there’s a second site is because of our own genetics.” She paused, then took a deep breath. “We think what we found in Guyana changed Dexter’s DNA. We think the same thing may have happened to the dolphins and their DNA based on the plants we found underwater. And we think it may have happened with humans too.”
Lee’s eyes grew wide again. “You think it influenced human DNA?”
“It’s possible. A discovery by a research group recently found very similar brain types existing between just a few different species on Earth. Brains that not only evolved to have very similar designs and functions but share common genes that affect brain development. So similar, in fact, that the chances of this happening independently through evolution is almost nil. Dolphins, humans, and primates all have practically identical looking brain designs. What differences there are tend to be rather slight. Things that affect size and weight. The discovery by that team was called the Trio Brain theory.”
Lee was still incredulous. “Wait. If whatever it was you found is responsible for Dexter’s DNA, and Sally and Dirk’s, you think it could be responsible for ours too?”
“Correct. Probably a long time ago, and much earlier on our evolutionary path. And probably close to where humans first originated. In Africa.”
“Wow,” Lee said, shaking his head. “Just wow! If you’re right, then that’s huge!”
Clay continued. “And there’s more. But before we go any further, you need to decide on your level of participation.”
Lee leaned forward in his chair. “I’m in. I’m definitely in.”
“It’s not that easy, Lee. Alison, DeeAnn, and I are now part of a very small team that knows. Some, like you, now have pieces of what we’ve found so far, but not everything.”
Alison nodded. “No one knows what is happening here, Lee. Or how big this is. Not the public, not even the military beyond our core team.”
“And no one can find out,” Clay finished.
Lee’s expression abruptly changed. “Wait a minute. You’ve already told me a lot. At what point do I know too much?”
“We want you, Lee. We want you and your skills on the team.”
“And what if I say no?”
Clay shrugged. “We’re not going to make you disappear if that’s what you’re asking. The government has far more sophisticated ways of keeping people quiet. Better ways to deal with loose ends.”
A sudden look of worry passed over Lee’s face before Alison shook her head at Clay with mock displeasure. “Stop that.”
Clay laughed.
“Oh my God,” Lee exhaled. “I thought you were serious.”
DeeAnn’s eyes were also wide. “So did I.”
Clay’s laugh faded, and he grew serious again. “I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t dangerous. The Chinese killed a lot of people, including Juan, and destroyed an entire mountain to try to hide it. Which should give you an indication of just how far people are willing to go for this.”
“How many people are on this team?”
“Myself, Ali, DeeAnn, Steve Caesare, and Will Borger. Plus, Admiral Langford and Secretary of Defense Miller. A few others have some limited involvement, but they only know what they have to.”
Lee sat quietly, thinking.
“This is big, Lee,” Alison said softly. “Really big. Some of the biggest questions we’ve ever had, not just as a civilization but as a species, might just get answered.”
DeeAnn shrugged. “Or they might not.”
“True.”
“Before you say yes,” Clay added, “there are a few things you need to understand. There are caveats. Steps that will need to be taken to ensure no one finds out what we’re really after. And I mean no one.”
“What kind of caveats?”
“No contact with family or friends. At least for a while. We’d have to make an exception for your wife under strict guidance, but you’d be away from her for at least a few months. Maybe more. You would have to tell everyone else that you were off the grid, on a remote project.”
Lee frowned.
“Phones would be restricted to only a few numbers, and encrypted.” Clay paused and took a deep breath. The next part was something he hadn’t spoken to the others about yet, not even Ali. But Langford and Miller were adamant.
“There’s something else too,” he said, his gaze turning to Alison. “And it’s something none of you are going to like… at all.”
5
Alison’s expression changed at once, and she looked expectantly at Clay. As did the others.
He rose again and propped one arm under a crutch for support, keeping most of his weight off his left leg. There was no easy way to say it, so he spit the acronym out quickly.
“IMIS.”
The three looked at each other with confusion before Lee responded. “IMIS?”
“Yes.”
“That’s the caveat?”
Clay nodded.
“I don’t—” Lee stopped when he noticed the look of understanding on Alison’s face. It was combined with fear stemming from years of paranoia over what the government might decide to do.