CHAPTER 1
Place: Ligonier, Pennsylvania
Date: May 13, 2029
The weather forecast for Thursday, 13 May, 2029 was good, a high of 58 degrees with a slight breeze and partly cloudy skies. Retired Navy Commander, Adam Johnson, was doing what he did most mornings when the weather was pleasant, enjoying a cup of coffee on his patio. The predawn glow from the eastern sky was not yet bright enough to produce shadows but was sufficient for him to see everything in his back yard.
Except for birds chirping good morning to each other and fluttering down to the ground looking for worms, it was quiet and peaceful. He knew that soon the sounds of dogs barking, cows bawling for their morning feeding and roosters announcing the arrival of a new day would fill the air.
He liked his back yard. It was nothing special but it was large, almost a half-acre. He scanned the lawn. What he and his spouse Joan called grass, was whatever nature decided to grow; Ryegrass, various fescues, Crab Grass and a mixture of weeds. No matter, it was green and looked okay when mowed.
Joan was a gardener with a green thumb. She had fenced off a 50 by 100-foot section of the yard for what she called her English Tea Garden. With raised beds, Butterfly Bushes and Knock Out Roses along the fence and a Jasmine covered entrance arbor, it made a charming addition to an otherwise boring yard. The Johnson house enjoyed the fruits of her labor year around - fresh produce in season and from Mason Jars in the winter.
As he sipped his coffee, he pondered the new normal he was living. He was a super hero in a sense. Although the public was aware of REM Man's existence; his missions and specific ties to the government were classified "President's eyes only".
Adam took another sip of coffee. His thoughts drifted back in time. He remembered the power and money hungry Sam Throckmorton and Doctor Freedman, who along with his alien accomplices from the planet Zector created the Night Quest syndicate. He shivered thinking how close the syndicate came to taking control of the world. Visions of past day mares, the death of their dog Heinz, his transformation into REM Man, and the bloody battle on Syndicate Mountain in Westernport, Maryland passed through his mind's eye.
He thought about Della, a nurse, who helped him destroy the syndicate, a woman he could have easily fallen in love with but didn't. Then there was the alien female Technical Officer he made love to during a REM sleep visit to Zector. She came close to killing him. He hated what the syndicate had made him into, but the past could not be changed.
He dumped his now Luke warm coffee on the grass and headed for his truck. It was time to check materials and tools to make sure he had everything he needed for the three service calls Joan had scheduled for the day. He felt fine as he left for his 8:00 am appointment but halfway there he was overcome by a sense of fatigue.
"Maybe I'm coming down with something," he thought.
His HVAC business was generating good revenue and his family seemed to be happy. The economy in south west Pennsylvania was stable with unemployment at 4.6% and the Pittsburgh Steelers were predicted to make the playoffs. The world was at peace and there had not been a terrorist attack in two months. Everything was going well but he just couldn't settle down and was having reservations about his decision to take over his father-in-law's business.
After what he and Joan had been through in 2022 with the Night Quest Syndicate and then serving the country as REM Man, living in a small town where the excitement most weeks was going to Tony's Pizza on Friday night for a few beers was difficult.
The HVAC business was a money maker for sure. There was enough each month to give 10 percent to his in-laws, and the rest of the profit, when added to his Navy retirement, provided them a very comfortable life. Never-the-less, he was restless.
Joan on the other hand was content. She was living in the house she grew up in, the boys were finishing high school and the oldest would soon be attending Penn State. With the boys now being able to take care of themselves, she was enjoying her freedom.
On most days, the gym, a massage, shopping, working in the garden and enjoying a drink with Adam before supper was her routine. Three or four times a year she went to the beach or a casino with some of her high school girl friends or with Adam. Life was good for her.
Adam was finishing his last service call when he again felt fatigued. He looked at his watch, it was almost 4:00 pm. He pulled a small syringe filled with 2 ccs of stimulant from his breast pocket, twisted the cap off and injected himself. His doctor told him to use one of the syringes when feeling tired. He felt better almost immediately.
"I need to go to Bethesda and get more syringes from Doctor Tharman," he thought.
Adam had been wondering for a number of years why he sometimes felt fatigued, even after a good night's sleep. Being in complete control during REM allowed him to interact with the world, or just lay in bed and enjoy deep sleep. Chronic fatigue should not be an issue.
Moreover, he was not used to dealing with health issues. He grew up in the country in a house with no central heat and drinking water from a shallow well.
His teenage years were spent working on a Dairy farm. A cold house made it hard for bacteria and viruses to thrive and sandwiches eaten with manure under his fingernails washed down by well water made for a strong immune system. Being sick was not something he was familiar with.
He looked into the large side mirror of his work van. He was forty-four years old and looked thirty. He always had a baby face and a clear complexion. He stuck out his tongue. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for but didn't see anything that bothered him.
"What the hell is going on. I should call Tharman," he said to himself.
What he didn't realize was that he was an addict.
The syringes didn't contain a prescription stimulant, they contained a powerful mixture whose main ingredient was a brain altering chemical called Bersilium. His Homeland Security doctors had been studying Adam's health and performance since 2022 and had discovered a number of things.
First, they noticed the sensitivity of the synapses and neurons in his chemically altered brain slowly diminished over time. Interviews with two Night Quest Syndicate doctors, both serving 25 years in prison, revealed the main ingredient in the chemical mixture the Zectorians used to alter Adam's brain was an element called Bersilium. The only source is located in a cavern on the planet Zector in the Andromeda Galaxy.
Bersilium has the ability to create a quantum mechanical change in intelligent brains that allows reality to be generated and experienced in the sub-conscious brain during REM sleep. No one knew how this incredible transformation actually worked but it did.
However, like Marijuana, Bersilium is a fat-soluble substance with an elimination half-life of 11. Using the standard formula, 5.5 times elimination half-life, meant Adam needed booster shots every two months.
In 2022, after the syndicate was destroyed, Homeland security collected enough Zectorian brain altering chemicals and sleep drugs from Syndicate Mountain and from captured alien REM Soldiers to maintain Adam's altered brain for twenty years. They hoped twenty years would be enough time for scientists to synthesize Bersilium in the lab, but so far, they had failed.
Engineers and scientist working in a highly-classified research project managed by Home Land Security, were certain the answer could not be found using Earth's current understanding of physics and human biology so they focused on reverse engineering the Zectorian technology and chemistry. They set up dozens of teams hoping one of them would be successful.
One project was an effort focused on a theoretical concept in physics where particles are assumed to be one dimensional strings with essentially no cross section. Physicists call it String Theory.
Strings have vibrational states that can mimic nuclear weak and strong, electromagnetic and gravitational forces. Thus, string theory could be the mathematical construct that brings the "Unified Field Theory" that Einstein worked on for decades to fruition. Physics based on "Unified Field' concept would give intelligent life control of almost anything, including the very reality they live in.
One speculation is that a brain with Bersilium enhanced synapse and neurons can generate something called String Waves that consist of millions of coherent one-dimensional energy strings vibrating at various frequencies. The strings can neutralize nuclear weak and strong forces allowing Adam's body to become a complex energy wave that could exceed light speed.
Scientists took this thought process a step further and speculated that a string wave resonating at certain frequencies would behave similar to what some scientist believe about gravity, that a change in one place is instantly felt everywhere in the universe. This might explain how Adam could imagine being somewhere and instantly be there.
Other super human abilities could be temporarily acquired just by concentrating on an attribute, in effect changing the String Wave frequency mix to becoming transparent or fly. It kept the staff busy but no progress had been made.
Three years ago, they realized that similar to Opium based pain killers, Bersilium was addictive. Adam was needing to use the 2 cc maintenance syringes more frequently. 2 cc is a small dose compared to the 60-cc booster treatment he gets every two months to maintain his abilities, but they were critical to maintaining his daily energy level. The small doses acted like amphetamines, like uppers.
Adam got through the day without issue. At 5:45 PM he was finishing up his last job at a small downtown deli.
"Thank goodness. All I have to do now is check the Freon level and I can go home."
Twenty minutes later, he pulled into his driveway, locked his truck, went into the house, washed his hands and face and made himself a Bourbon and diet soda. Joan was working in the garden. He walked out to say hello.
After more than two decades of marriage, he still thought she was as beautiful as the day they were married. She saw him coming.
"Your home, I'll be in to fix something for us. Did the service calls go okay?"
"Yeah, nothing out of the ordinary. No need to cook, I'd be happy with a Cottage Cheese and tomato salad and a frozen dinner."
"Okay with me. I'll be done in about twenty minutes. I want to get these onion sets in the ground."
He watched her as she picked up a hoe and began creating a two-inch deep trench in one of the raised beds. The rhythmic motion made her breast wiggle back and forth. Adam felt a pang of jealousy toward every man, known and unknown, that ever dated her, kissed her or slept with her. She was sexy even in the junk closes she was wearing. They were loose fitting and covered with interior house paint stains.
"You know sweetie, you would look sexy dressed in coveralls and a straight jacket."
"Are you hitting on me Mr. Johnson," she asked with a smile.
"No, I just think your gorgeous. I'm going inside."
Before Adam could sit down, the phone rang. Caller ID showed a 412-area code.
"That's Pittsburgh, must be a solicitation," he thought.
"Hello,"
"Hi Adam. Bad time or can you talk?"
Adam recognized the voice. It was his Pittsburgh Homeland Security handler. He felt a twinge of adrenalin shoot through his chest.
"It's been over a year, I'm actually glad to hear from you. Now's a good time, I'm alone."
"We have an unusual assignment for you. It's a local HVAC job with old Freon."
HVAC job with old Freon was code for we need to meet at 7:00 pm the next day. Old Freon meant the Five-Points Diner, new Freon meant the Skyline Café.
"Got it. I'll take the job," meaning Adam would be at the diner at 7:00 pm.
He hung up, turned around and almost knocked Joan over.
"Damn it Joan, you know you shouldn't ease drop. The less you know the safer you are."
"Sorry, I was just going to give you a kiss on the cheek and go take a shower. You hung up just as I was about to kiss you. I didn't hear anything."
"Sorry I snapped at you. I've been tired today."
"But the jobs went well?"
"Yes, finished all three. Tom and David completed five jobs between the two of them. I have a meeting after work tomorrow. You know what that probably means. I'll leave David in charge while I'm gone."
"I guessed as much. I'll worry as always but I understand."
CHAPTER 2
Place: Ligonier, Pennsylvania
Date: May 14, 2029
The next day Adam arrived at his first job early. It was a small independently owned quick stop on the west side of town. Looking at the overall condition of the establishment, he knew before he walked in that getting paid on time by this customer would be problematic at best.
The front door was framed by a rack of ten-gallon propane tanks on one side and a large, aluminum colored ice chest on the other. The front window had been turned into a messy bulletin board covered in community advertisements of every sort, sloppily hung in the glass panes with scotch tape. The building needed gutter repairs, paint and new shingles.
Inside, the display of merchandise was slightly better than managed chaos. It looked like a Walmart store stuffed into a twocar garage. The only thing well organized was the Lotto Ticket sales area behind the counter.
After a brief exchange with the owner he proceeded to the large refrigerated display cases in the back of the store. He went to work immediately as he was anxious and wanted time to pass quickly. As he worked he fought the urge to check his watch. Each time he did, he was disappointed that only ten or fifteen minutes had passed. Day dreaming about the past and contemplating the future while trying to focus on work was a challenge.
Finally, the work day ended and he headed for his appointment.
He pulled into the Five Points Diner parking lot at 6:50 pm and saw a blue car with a man inside, sitting next to a dumpster. He guessed it was his contact and parked beside it. The driver stuck his arm out of the window and motioned for him to get into his car.
"Dusty, it's been awhile."
They shook hands and Dusty handed him a coffee.
"Black with two sugars, right."
"Good memory, thanks. What's up?"
"This job is a favor for my big boss. There is a volunteer fire department member in Kensingville that is having problems."
"I know nothing about firefighting."
"That's not the issue, the president of the unit's social club is in trouble with a local bookie. He started running numbers on his own and the mob found out."
"I'm not a hit man or an enforcer for local law enforcement. Get the state police to deal with it."
"Listen, Adam, the Firemen's Club president is sort of special. Yes, he's a petty criminal but gambling is something many private clubs offer to its members to generate cash in order to keep dues and the cost of alcohol and food low. They also use the money for fireworks displays on the fourth of July and community barbeques.
Criminal, maybe, but law enforcement knows about it and no one gets hurt. Each club or bar gets busted every couple of years, pays a fine and continues on. It's just life in the rust belt."
"I still don't like it."
"But that's not the reason. The real reason is the club president is Jeb Saunders nephew."
"Dammit, Dusty, you're not playing fair. You know I owe Jeb a lot."
"Sorry, but I need to get both your heart and mind into this job."
"Okay, give me the details," Adam said with a sigh.
"Pretty simple, as I said, he decided to become a numbers bookie in the Kensingville area. The regular bookie caught him and the mob wants the money he made returned or they will hurt him bad."
"How much money?"
"$30,000.00, which he doesn't have. He used the money to buy a new beer keg and bar tap system for the club and a used car for his wife."
"How do you want me to play this,"
"Convince the kid to stay away from the numbers racket, convince the mob he means it and get them to back off. There's thirty grand in this envelope. If the mob plays ball, give it to them."
"And if they don't want to play nice?"
"Maximum sanctions are authorized, if needed. Here is the man's address. His name is Ronald Saunders."
"Maximum sanction, to protect a want-a-be bookie?"
"Yes. One last thing, this job must be carried out without attribution to the administration, Homeland Security or state government."
