‘That will put the proverbial cat among the pigeons.’ Freya commented.
‘So I hope. As an added twist, I have given a strong stimulus to the development of conscience and guilt in the minds of the guards. They won’t be of any use to their organisation any more, and might even give evidence against them.’
Freya drove towards Washington and we caught up with events along the way. She reported that although the guards had found her headnet, she had been able to convince them that I had only given it to her so that I could locate her more easily; they had no suspicion of her mental abilities. She had been practising with those, but found that although she could sense the guards and their moods easily enough anywhere in the house, she was unable to influence them at a distance; it seemed that the more limited modifications which the saurians had incorporated in her patch had restricted her abilities by comparison with mine.
As we entered Washington I slipped into the rear seat, the smoked glass concealing my identity. The Embassy of Iceland was in a rather dull, modern, box-shaped building on 15th Street NW. After driving past, we found a car park and Freya left me in the car while she visited the embassy. I remained in contact with her as she walked into the building and took a lift to the embassy on the twelfth floor. At the reception, she explained who she was and asked to see the Ambassador, whom she knew well. After a slight delay caused by Freya’s lack of ID, the Ambassador came out to meet her and ushered her into his office. She explained what had happened to her and to me – it would soon all be on the news anyway – while leaving out any reference to her new-found abilities, let alone the second stage of our plan. An hour later, she walked out of the Embassy with a new passport, an Embassy credit card and a substantial wad of cash.
We drove north-west towards Maine, a long journey which took all day and through the night. I drove at night, giving Freya time to recover. We listened to the developing news on the radio; by the evening it was full of the story of our capture and imprisonment. The men at the Winchester estate were “being interviewed by the police”, having been found still unconscious. Several other men I had named were missing, and “wanted for questioning”. An internal investigation was underway among the security services, with rumours of abrupt departures from some senior posts. There was a great deal of speculation about where we were now and what we were going to do next. Attempts had been made via email to obtain responses from the saurians, but they declined to comment.
As we approached the coast, Secundo, who had been doing some internet research into rentable holiday properties, guided us to a secluded chalet overlooking the North Atlantic. It was out of season, and not scheduled for any bookings for weeks. I broke in and we transferred the provisions which Freya had bought on the way.
We rested for a few hours, then reluctantly parted. For tactical reasons we had agreed that it was better for me to stay out of sight during the crucial second phase of our plan; the media interest was intense and we didn’t want to risk any problems. Freya set off by herself, leaving me to kick my heels in the chalet, the monotony only broken by my night-time swims in the cold, rough Atlantic. When Freya moved out of direct contact, I followed her progress via the saurians. Her travels took her to New York where she dumped the car. She spent an hour or so at Grand Central Station at the peak of the evening rush hour, then went to JFK airport where she bought a ticket for London. The flight wasn’t due to leave for a few hours, and she spent the time wandering around, exploring all of the terminals. From Heathrow she travelled into London and toured the main railway stations as well as wandering down the bustling Oxford Street. As we had arranged at short notice, she gave a lecture at London University on the saurian situation. Next came a flight to Paris, where she followed the same procedure, and then her lecture tour continued through every major capital city in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. Reporters tried to grill her about what had happened to me, but she just said that I was still recovering in private from my ordeal; she hinted at complications from the constant drugging I had experienced. After zig-zagging across the USA she finally rented a car and drove back to meet me at the chalet.
She had lost weight in the three weeks her travels had taken, and was exhausted but triumphant. She looked just great to me. That evening, we settled down and relaxed together for the first time since Iceland.
The first news reports began to trickle through the next day and we watched the news channels tensely as the reports multiplied. People were suddenly finding that they were aware of others, of their moods and intentions. Stories of miraculous healings began to crop up; so did reports of domestic strife as people discovered their spouses’ infidelities. Columnists were beginning to speculate about whether these events were connected in some way, and whether the kangasaurs or I had anything to do with this.
That night we had a conference with the saurians and decided that it was time to issue the statement. A message was emailed to every news organisation on the planet in the appropriate language. The English version read as follows:
“This is a message from Cade.
You may have heard reports from around the world that people are suddenly becoming more sensitive to others, and can understand their moods and intentions regardless of language differences. Some people have also found that they can heal certain types of ailments. These reports are true, and within a short space of time virtually everyone on the planet will be affected in the same way.
This is not accidental, but a deliberate act. At my instigation, the human population has been infected with a specially tailored virus which is making certain irreversible changes, not just to the people directly affected but also to their descendents via changes to the genetic code. This virus is exceptionally infectious and can be transmitted to other people within an hour of a carrier being exposed to it, but its characteristics do not become obvious for about three weeks. This process has now gone far enough to be unstoppable.
One of the changes is the ability to sense others, and to mind-link with people just as the saurians and I do, thereby achieving mutual understanding across language and other cultural barriers. Attached to this message is the specification for a headnet which will greatly extend the range of such communications and enable them to be transmitted and received via radio and television systems. The virus also strengthens the human immune and repair systems and has been tailored to correct serious genetic defects, which will result in far lower rates of illness and disability, much quicker recovery from injury and on average a significantly longer healthy lifespan. In some people the ability is strong enough for them to become healers. Finally, it prevents conception unless both parties eat at least a hundred grams of fresh-cut raw grass or certain types of leaf – the saurians will specify which – twelve hours before intercourse; the couple will then be fertile for a period of about twenty-four hours – including most couples who have previously been unable to conceive.
I am aware that many people will greatly resent what I have done, despite the practical benefits it brings them. I apologise for any distress I have caused, but plead an overriding necessity. The saurians have shown us what will happen to our civilisation if we go on as we are: it means disaster for humanity. I believe that my action achieves a balance between conflicting pressures. The changes which the virus is causing will, over a period of time, slowly reduce this planet’s population to more sustainable levels. In the meantime they will benefit everyone’s health and life expectancy. The great improvement in mutual understanding between people across the world will also reduce conflict and encourage cooperative efforts to address the problems we face.