he debated whether to even return to work. Although it was only noon, he didn’t relish going back to his office, but there was nothing for him at home either.
“Hey.”
Dr. McNair turned to see who was behind him. “Oh, hey there. Mrs. Eagle, right?”
“It’s Miss Eagle.”
“Oh, in that case,” Dr. McNair joked, holding out his hand, “I’m Stephen.”
She shook his hand and smiled. “It was very nice of you to let me go first in there.”
“Well, it wasn’t really about being polite,” Dr. McNair said with a smile. “You scare me.”
Glenda laughed. “Let me make it up to you. My flight isn’t for a couple of hours. Can I buy you lunch?”
“That’s the best offer I’ve had in a long time.”
“Great,” Glenda said. “While we eat you can tell me when the world is going to end.”
“Pfftttt.” Dr. McNair smirked. “Boring. I want to hear more about your pit bulls.”
Chapter Seven
“How can this be the right way?” Darren glanced over to his boss, Dr. De Luca, and then back to the SETI director, Dr. Natalie Zimmerman.
“We can’t go to the president or secretary of defense without evidence,” Dr. Zimmerman snapped. “And we will not be creating a worldwide panic when we don’t know what this signal is. It could be directed at Earth accidentally.”
Natalie Zimmerman wore a suit as well as any man, but she was much more masculine than most men were. Her blonde hair was spiked upward with enough mousse to make concrete out of Jell-O. Not a trace of makeup or jewelry to be seen. She was barely over five feet tall and as wide as she was tall. When she walked, her shoulders stayed perfectly perpendicular to the direction she was going, and the swift short movements of her legs made her mimic the movements of a tank or bulldozer. In fact, “Dozer” was the name everyone called her when she wasn’t around.
Dr. De Luca stood with Darren. “Director, the signal is real and not of this world. And it’s getting closer. I agree with Darren on this. The worst-case scenario is that we go public, inform the White House, and nothing ever comes from it and we look stupid. Or the other worst-case scenario could be we keep it a secret, and something does come from it and we look incompetent.”
Dr. Zimmerman wouldn’t budge. “It’s not a matter of appearances. As long as I’m in charge, we follow protocol.” She looked at Darren. “I want you to head up this investigation from the Washington office. You’ll have everything you need and get to put together your own team. This is still your baby. Don’t make me regret that decision.”
“Thank you.” Darren was glad to be in charge of that at least. “When do I leave?”
“About noon tomorrow.”
Darren stayed up late that night going over tons of data. Although the signal had now been verified by every SETI lab in the world, they still knew nothing about the signal, like what it was saying or why it was directed at the oceans.
His two bosses slept in a rented RV while he and Roscoe had the lab to themselves.
“What do you think?” Darren asked of Roscoe. “You’re the real one who discovered the signal. It should be called the ‘Roscoe Signal’ instead of the ‘Mitchell Signal.’”
Roscoe yawned. Apparently he had no opinion at all.
Darren finally got to bed around 2:00 a.m. but couldn’t sleep. This was, after all, the biggest thing that had ever happened to him, perhaps to anyone. He finally got up at six and continued packing his stuff.
An hour later, Dr. De Luca and Dr. Zimmerman returned and helped him finish getting ready before they said their good-byes.
After they left the lab, Darren took a look around. He hadn’t been here long enough to grow attached to anything and was glad to be leaving, but one thing had happened that he couldn’t forget. He decided to make one last trip into town, this time in the truck.
As he drove around with Roscoe in the passenger side, he searched for the Chevrolet
“Hey.”
Dr. McNair turned to see who was behind him. “Oh, hey there. Mrs. Eagle, right?”
“It’s Miss Eagle.”
“Oh, in that case,” Dr. McNair joked, holding out his hand, “I’m Stephen.”
She shook his hand and smiled. “It was very nice of you to let me go first in there.”
“Well, it wasn’t really about being polite,” Dr. McNair said with a smile. “You scare me.”
Glenda laughed. “Let me make it up to you. My flight isn’t for a couple of hours. Can I buy you lunch?”
“That’s the best offer I’ve had in a long time.”
“Great,” Glenda said. “While we eat you can tell me when the world is going to end.”
“Pfftttt.” Dr. McNair smirked. “Boring. I want to hear more about your pit bulls.”
Chapter Seven
“How can this be the right way?” Darren glanced over to his boss, Dr. De Luca, and then back to the SETI director, Dr. Natalie Zimmerman.
“We can’t go to the president or secretary of defense without evidence,” Dr. Zimmerman snapped. “And we will not be creating a worldwide panic when we don’t know what this signal is. It could be directed at Earth accidentally.”
Natalie Zimmerman wore a suit as well as any man, but she was much more masculine than most men were. Her blonde hair was spiked upward with enough mousse to make concrete out of Jell-O. Not a trace of makeup or jewelry to be seen. She was barely over five feet tall and as wide as she was tall. When she walked, her shoulders stayed perfectly perpendicular to the direction she was going, and the swift short movements of her legs made her mimic the movements of a tank or bulldozer. In fact, “Dozer” was the name everyone called her when she wasn’t around.
Dr. De Luca stood with Darren. “Director, the signal is real and not of this world. And it’s getting closer. I agree with Darren on this. The worst-case scenario is that we go public, inform the White House, and nothing ever comes from it and we look stupid. Or the other worst-case scenario could be we keep it a secret, and something does come from it and we look incompetent.”
Dr. Zimmerman wouldn’t budge. “It’s not a matter of appearances. As long as I’m in charge, we follow protocol.” She looked at Darren. “I want you to head up this investigation from the Washington office. You’ll have everything you need and get to put together your own team. This is still your baby. Don’t make me regret that decision.”
“Thank you.” Darren was glad to be in charge of that at least. “When do I leave?”
“About noon tomorrow.”
Darren stayed up late that night going over tons of data. Although the signal had now been verified by every SETI lab in the world, they still knew nothing about the signal, like what it was saying or why it was directed at the oceans.
His two bosses slept in a rented RV while he and Roscoe had the lab to themselves.
“What do you think?” Darren asked of Roscoe. “You’re the real one who discovered the signal. It should be called the ‘Roscoe Signal’ instead of the ‘Mitchell Signal.’”
Roscoe yawned. Apparently he had no opinion at all.
Darren finally got to bed around 2:00 a.m. but couldn’t sleep. This was, after all, the biggest thing that had ever happened to him, perhaps to anyone. He finally got up at six and continued packing his stuff.
An hour later, Dr. De Luca and Dr. Zimmerman returned and helped him finish getting ready before they said their good-byes.
After they left the lab, Darren took a look around. He hadn’t been here long enough to grow attached to anything and was glad to be leaving, but one thing had happened that he couldn’t forget. He decided to make one last trip into town, this time in the truck.
As he drove around with Roscoe in the passenger side, he searched for the Chevrolet
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