Chapter 27

ID: 1762291   (Rated: 13+) Artifact Man  A thriller, new age, sci-fi novel about a strange man found in the desert. by Hyperiongate

ID: 1812956   (Rated: 13+) Part One Epilogue  The aftermath of the attack is cleaned up. by Hyperiongate

Saturday, April 3rd, noon
Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada

Saturday, April 3rd, noon
Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada

“What is your name?”

“JD11.”

“No, what is your real name. The name you had before you were found in the desert.”

“I had no name before.”

“Don’t you mean that you don’t remember your name? Certainly you were called something other than JD11 at some time in your life.”

“I had no name before because, for me, there was no “before.” I didn’t exist before I was found.”

“You realized that what you are saying is not possible. At some point in time, you were born. You had a life of, I’d say, about twenty-five years or so before you were found. Can’t you remember any of that?”

JD11 looked around the room. He knew they wouldn’t understand, at least not yet. He knew this because he didn’t understand himself. This was the third time they’d asked him to come by to “answer a few questions.” They went out of their way to make it feel like a social visit. It was all very welcoming; non-threatening. And it was all fake.

He was aware of the fact that Colonel Lanier was watching and listening. There was no one-way mirror or anything that even remotely spoke of an interrogation room. The setting was that of a professional office. There was carpet on the floor and books lined the walnut shelving. His “interrogator”, Thomas, wore a sweater over an open-collared shirt. He was always seated behind the giant desk when JD11 arrived and then made a big point out of coming around to sit next to JD11 during the “conversation.”

It had a “nice and cozy” feel to it - just the two of them.

That is, if you didn’t count the numerous bio-sensors, cameras and microphones that dwelt anonymously amongst the various trappings of the office.

JD11 knew they were there. He couldn’t see or hear them. He knew they were there simply because they were there. The “knowing” part was what he couldn’t explain nor understand. He mentally Goggled Lanier and became instantly aware of where he was and what he was doing. How that happened was a mystery…for now.

“Where did you come from?” Thomas asked, ever the pretend conversationalist.

“I don’t know.”

“What were you doing in the desert the day you were found?”

“I was dying.”

Thomas looked out of the corner of his eye at the picture hanging on the wall to his left. He knew Lanier would be looking back at him through the lens embedded there. This had been going on for the better part of an hour and they were getting nowhere. His look was intended to send the colonel the message, “We need to try something else.”

JD11 could feel Thomas’ frustration. He’d tried to be helpful but there was little he could do short of making up answers. Of course, he saw Thomas’ glance. He traced it to the picture on the wall and understood immediately that the colonel was somehow on the other side of the picture.

He stood up and walked slowly over to the picture; raising his had as if to touch the smooth surface, only to stop just short. He closed his eyes and stood perfectly still be several seconds. Finally, he allowed his hand to fall to his side. Turning back to his host/interrogator, he asked, “You can tell Colonel Lanier that it’s time for him to talk with me directly?”

Thomas stood up quickly as his mind raced for a rebuttal. Something to refute what was clearly a very clever guess – or was it. How had JD11 known to walk right over to the picture; after all he, himself had barely given it a glance. There was something more to his subject than anyone suspected.

Thomas had no way of knowing that there was no limit to what Colonel was willing to accept about JD11. The Colonel had been in this business a long time. He’d made a career out of investigating strange phenomena for the government. In his job, there was plenty of room for skeptics but he’d found it beneficial to have an open mind.


Larnier stared at screen image of the young man staring back at him. This was someone truly special. The colonel was certain that JD11 was telling the truth about not knowing anything about his past. At the same time, it appeared that JD11 was extraordinarily aware about his “present.”

When JD11 had first approached the camera embedded in the picture, Lanier had immediately become concerned that his anonymous observations had been discovered. Almost immediately thereafter, he had the feeling of JD11 soothing him. It was as if the young man was telling him, the great Colonel Lanier, to not be afraid; that it was okay to be curious but there was no need to hide.

Somehow, the colonel felt grateful for the reassurance. As someone that had never needed any reassurance in his life, the colonel was surprised by this. He was also surprised by the sudden sense of affection and loyalty he felt towards the young man peering at him through the lens.

A few moments later, Colonel Lanier walked into the interview room; somehow a different man than he was only moments before.

“Thank you, Thomas. I’ll take it from here,” he said, dismissing the “conversationalist.”

JD11 and the colonel stood for a moment, just staring at each other. Finally, the colonel gestured to the chairs. Both men sat down, still completely silent.

Can you hear me? thought the colonel.

“It doesn’t work like that,” said JD11

“If it doesn’t work like that, then how did you know what I was thinking?”

“I’m not sure. Somehow it seemed obvious. But I can assure you, I am not reading your mind. I don’t hear your silent voice in my head.”

The colonel looked for the tell-tale signs of deception and saw none.

“Tell me what you do know. For example, where are you now and why are you here?”

“I am at your office in an underground base located in the southern part of the state of Nevada. You brought me here for my own safety and for future study. You believe I am…not of this world. At first, you were trying to figure out if I represented a threat to your government. Now, you are not so sure what you are looking for.”

Lanier’s expression didn’t change. This, in spite of the fact that JD11 had just revealed a motivation that he’d not yet come to realize was true about himself. The colonel accepted that surprises were part of his job. Instead of dwelling on it, he mentally pressed forward. JD11 was telling him the truth; there was little doubt about that. There was the possibility that, over time, more would come to be revealed. However, there was no way of telling when and if that would ever happen. He couldn’t keep JD11 there indefinitely. Well, he could but had no desire to do so.

It was time to try something different.

“Tell me, how is Anne handling all of this?”

JD11 looked the colonel in the eye and said, “I think you know how she is handling this.”

Annie had been “invited” to come to Nellis with JD11. She’d readily accepted which kept the colonel from bringing her along against her will. She was too interconnected with JD11 to not be considered part of the puzzle.

Now, almost a week later, surveillance had shown that her only concern was for JD11. She was perfectly happy playing “house.” They had a suite of rooms in the underground facility. She and JD11 spent of their time together. In fact, it was surprising to the unseen observers how in-sync the couple seemed to be after only being together for a few days. After all, one couldn’t really count the time JD11 was in a coma as quality “getting to know you” time.

Whenever JD11 came back from one of his “conversations,” Annie would be visibly concerned. Very few words would be spoken but you could see it on her face.

“Why don’t you tell me,” said the colonel.

“Annie is afraid that you plan on keeping us here indefinitely. She thinks you see me as a curiosity that needs to be understood, no matter how long it takes.”

“And what do you think?” asked the colonel.

“I think you will let me out very soon. You are looking for a way to stimulate my memory and have very little confidence in progress being made while I am kept in confinement.”
Lanier sat back and briefly wondered if his mind was an open book. “What am going to do next?” he asked suddenly.

“How could I know that?” asked JD11 innocently.

The colonel though he detected a slight smile with that last comment.

“Tell you what. You are right. I’m going to make arrangements for you to move out on your own. I’m assuming you will want Anne to go with you. This time tomorrow, you will be on your way back to Reno.”

JD11 smiled at that last. “Thank you colonel. I’m sure you have made the right decision.”

A few minutes later, after JD11 had left, the colonel sat and contemplated the unfamiliar warmth he was feeling. Only then did it occur to him that something was wrong. No, not “wrong”. Something was different. He never felt warmth. He knew who he was. He was a cool, calculating machine, ever on the lookout for threats to be dealt with; something he was extremely good at doing with “extreme prejudice.”

Something was different and that made the colonel take a closer look at what he was actually experiencing. He looked back at his interaction with JD11. It had all seemed perfectly normal. In the end, he’d decided to send JD11 out into the world. Right? It was the right thing to do, after all. But, if it was so “right” why was he now questioning the decision?

The colonel touched a button on the desk and said, “Thomas, upload a copy of my last interaction with JD11 into my computer.”

A few moments later, “It’s done, sir.”

Twenty minutes later, after several viewing, the colonel sat stunned. There could be no doubt about it. He’d been manipulated by JD11. The decision to send him out into the world had come from JD11, no the colonel.

Now the colonel was feeling something quite different from the earlier warmth. No one had ever been able to do that to him. The idea that he could be “turned” so easily to fit the will of another made the colonel realize that he was possibly dealing with someone, or something vastly more dangerous than he’d previously thought possible.

The colonel pressed a different button.
“Yes, sir?”

“Lock down the base. No one goes in or out without my permission. And sergeant, can you tell me where JD11 is at right now?”

“Yes, sir. He’s sitting at the kitchen table with Miss…..”

“I want their habitat locked down with guards posted outside the door. Let me know when that’s been accomplished.”

“Yes, sir!


Saturday, April 3rd, 2pm
Renown Medical Center, Reno

Lise looked at her beeper and took off running.

He’s awake! She thought; totally oblivious to the knowing smiles from her coworkers as she fled into the stairwell; the elevators would still be out for another week.

Up one floor, turn to the right and down to the third room on the right. She stopped just before turning into the room to catch her breath and try to capture some degree of composure.

Jack died a week ago.

They’d eventually revived him but there was little hope for a recovery. He’d been dead for several minutes before any help had gotten to him. For the last seven days, he’s been in a coma so deep few thought he’d ever come out. His vital signs had miraculously stabilized after only a few days but that was about it. Nearly every major organ was at a shutdown threshold. Then, after three days, his body began to recover. Vital signs improved across the board, with one exception. His brain seemed to have missed the memo. Brain activity was scant; just enough to let the doctors know that someone was home.

Recovery was not in the cards. His ex-wife had been notified; she’d seemed uninterested. There was no other family. This left it up to the hospital as far as maintaining life support. The administrator had met with Lise and offered to let her make the call.

So far she’d stayed silent; hoping that nature would make the choice for her. Still, she knew there was no hope. Jack was going to die.

And then he woke up.

Lise walked into the room, expecting to find Jack barely alive; just alert enough to say his final goodbyes. It wasn’t unusual for that to happen. Often, the dying found the energy to engage with the living one last time before passing on.

Lise was stunned to find Jack sitting up in his bed eating green Jell-O. He smiled up at Lise as if he’d just woken from an afternoon nap. The nurse tending to him looked over at Lise and just shrugged. She didn’t understand this either.

“Jack!” Lise said before running over and throwing her arms around him. She didn’t care about the stars from the other patients in the room. Each wondering what they would have to do to garner such attention from the attractive doctor.

She eventually pulled away and said, “How are you feeling? We thought we’d lost you.”

Jack smiled and took her hand before saying, “Lise, You won’t believe where I have been. I have something wonderful to tell you. We are in for an extraordinary adventure. But first, where are my clothes?”

ID: 1825835   (Rated: E) Chapter 28  Annie and JD11 trade "thoughts" and then get locked in. by Hyperiongate