The Oracle Trilogy Book One Ohm's Node

Part 1 Everything on the table / Alligator Crossing

'Because....'

'Because the results may have been too good and not dangerous at all'

'Say again, how far did they get.'

She listened while following flocks of tropical birds getting out of Dodge. Her heart swelled in sadness. Thousands of years down the toilet, a miraculous naturally occurring intricate web of connections ripped apart and tossed into a growing primordial stew once again.

'So, they're..'

'So, everything is still dark. The Chinese official word is that there were too many complications and the whole trial is being reexamined.'

'So, bullshit?'

'We're not sure but we believe that there have been too many excuses right after the news in December of what they termed a seminal moment'

She laughed. 'I imagined just a healthy human with maybe a few augmented senses. And I suspect the Chinese thought the same. Tad, you know that the best laid plans don't always turn out as you hoped. They would have kept going if things looked good, right? I mean what's to lose. You better see if your mole can dig up more intel so you can make an informed decision. What if they stopped because, oh I don't know, maybe the trial subject displayed some disturbing behavior?'

'Beth, the luxury of time for research has passed. We've decided to go ahead and cross any bridge when we come to it.'

She felt the pain coming back. She knew they were all good people with honorable intentions that had reached the last wall, fire wall ironically.

'Okay, for now but what do you need from me?'

She heard a deep sigh and whispering.

'Do you have any knowledge of Moon?'

'Moon, the Quantum computer?'

'That's LUNA, no, a woman who Bill knew back in the day. They were close for a few years, rode together in a motorcycle gang.'

''You're kidding, right.'

'No, it's a part of his life he's kept to himself. I only know about it because I overheard him and another rider talking one night in the library about their crazy wild time before they became serious about reentering civilized society again. Beth, he was only nineteen, rebelling from his blue blood heritage, doing something so directly contrary to what his father expected of him, that I believe those years are still burned into his memory like it happened yesterday.'

'And this Moon?'

'Yes, a terrible thing happened, and he's believed ever since that she died, having received no help from him. But with the extraordinary detective work of one woman on my research staff, we've located her. What I called for was to ask you an almost impossible favor, one that Naomi and I have argued about to no end. And if you have any qualms or..'

'Wait, wait, back up, what terrible thing?"

'They were members of a motorcycle gang, and she was the leader's girlfriend. She apparently looked too long at a guy in a roadside diner near Flagstaff which led to her being tied up to a cactus naked and left to die.'

'She liked Bill?"

'Homey, yes very much but absolutely unrequited.'

'And you want me to talk to her?'

'Yes.'

'And let her know somehow when I pass.'

'Yes.'

'Because you need Bill and his resources and money.'

'Beth, he's my father. I want him on my side. To do what needs to be done, we need all those things and the island and the camp. The only way he's going to understand the gravity and switch sides is the shock of your death and a ghost from the past by his side.'

'Have you talked to Moon?"

'No but have spoken to a number of people who have known her, and all say that she's a remarkable woman going to great lengths to make me appreciate how their lives were made richer because of knowing her. It's really a remarkable story and if you decide to help, I hope you hear it for yourself.'

'What if she isn't interested?"

'For everything that people have told me, I would hazard a guess that it would seem like karma coming home to roost. Nothing specific, only some mentioning her being haunted by her past. It was something beautiful interrupted and well,..'

'Where?'

'A Benedictine Monastery in California.'

'Okay,' sighing and was about to push ignition when a family of alligators decided to cross the road.

Next ~ Moon Ascending

Happy Holiday's!

Steve