Chapter Eleven
Fabritz had been a student at Vanderbilt in the Astronomy major when he'd been given the chance to work with CowBelle for study of his senior thesis. She'd been supposed to treat him as a student, but instead she'd treated him as her colleague and when he'd passed in his thesis, she'd hired him on full time. Fabritz had spent many a night up at the Dyer on the roof with CowBelle going over seemingly endless numbers and mathematical calculations. They'd spent long dinner conversations debating over the search for extra-terrestrials and the signals and how physics worked. They made jokes about string theory and atoms and all kinds of shit that I didn't understand.
Once, I'd been jealous about Fabritz and asked CowBelle if there was anything going on, if I needed to be worried. She'd laughed in my face and that was the night I learned that Fabritz was gay. "He's more likely interested in you than me," CowBelle had scoffed. Then she'd gotten pissed I'd questioned her loyalty to me.
Fabritz had ended up being CowBelle's best friend.
And I hadn't had the heart to talk to him since the night he'd seen her car veer off the cliff.
"I was wondering if you would call today," he said.
I took a deep breath. "I gotta talk to you about somethin'," I said. I looked at Gliese, and she was mouthing the words she'd told me to tell him, but I knew that right now wasn't the time. I ran a hand over the back of my neck. "Can we meet up somewhere? Maybe downtown? I'll buy you lunch?"
"I'm not located in Nashville anymore," he confessed.
"You aren't?" I asked, surprised. I waved off Gliese, who was frantically trying to make me say the words she wanted me to say. I turned away from her, covering my free hand and hunching to listen.
"I left Tennessee a couple months ago," Fabritz said, "I was offered a better position than Vanderbilt could provide -- so..."
"What about Project Whitenoise?" I asked.
"Had it relocated," he answered. "We have a dedicated satellite here."
"Where are you?"
He paused. "I work with some guys at the Aricebo Satellite site," he said.
"Where the fuck is Aricebo?" I asked. The name sounded familiar. "Is that near LA?"
"Aricebo is the name of the satellite," Fabritz replied. "It's in Puerto Rico."
I fell silent. Gliese was tugging on my arm, trying to get me to turn around, to pay attention to her. I ignored her tugging. I remembered where I'd heard the name before now - a long time ago, back when CowBelle was waiting on SETI to finalize plans and get everything put together to begin the project, when she'd been assigned the Dyer, she said, "Well it's not Aricebo, but it's a satellite location." Aricebo, apparently, was a big mother fucker of a satellite. The largest of its kind, the most coveted satellite the US government had control over, I guess, or something. So this was impressive, Fabritz being moved to Aricebo. Whitenoise being controlled at Aricebo.
I turned and looked at Gliese, who was flapping frantically for attention. She was mouthing the words she wanted me to say still.
"Look... I really need to see you," I said, "About Project Whitenoise."
"There's not a lot I can tell you any longer about it," Fabritz said, "Honestly without Bellatrix involved you're not really a part of the project any longer."
"But I'm a shareholder," I argued, "I paid for the satellite."
"Yeah, the satellite we're not using anymore," Fabritz said. "It's government-run now, Nick. I can't really talk about it."
I stared at Gliese for a long moment, took a deep breath, and said - reading her lips, "It needs to be stopped now... they're coming to stop it."
"Excuse me?"
"What do you know about Keplars?" I asked.
Fabritz was quiet. So quiet I thought he might've hung up.
"Fabritz?"
"What do you know about Keplars?" he asked.
I hesitated.
"I have one standing in front of me," I replied.
It was Fabritz's turn to hesitate. "I'm sorry... what?"
"I need to see you," I replied. It suddenly occurred to me that if Fabritz was working for the government at Aricebo, if Project Whitenoise was government-run, then a conversation about it on the telephone would be most interesting. Perhaps we were being tapped, maybe the government was listening in. Maybe we were being watched. Suddenly I felt paranoid as this thought began to sink in more and more.
Fabritz's voice was low, "Can you come to Puerto Rico?"
"Yes," I replied.
When I'd hung up after getting information for where to meet him once we got there, I turned to Gliese.
"Well?" she asked.
"We gotta go to Puerto Rico."
"Puerto Rico?" she asked, surprised.
"Yes," I answered. "Project Whitenoise got relocated there. If we're gonna talk to Fabritz about the project, it's gotta be in person. Anyone could be listening over the phone wires," I added darkly.
Gliese nodded.
I led the way back upstairs to my studio and sat down in front of the Mac Gliese had been assaulting earlier. I shook the mouse and the stars disappeared, Gliese looked surprised. "So this is your control panel," she said triumphantly.
"It's just a computer," I replied. I navigated onto the internet and pulled up the airline site, looked for the flights to Puerto Rico and discovered one leaving the next morning. I booked a couple seats for a steep price, but it was worth it. We had to move quick if Gliese was telling the truth, if her people if --- what was his name? Borucki? -- was as blood thirsty as she made him sound.... And Fabritz had heard of Keplars, I reminded myself. This was becoming more and more real. And the idea that Project Whitenoise was now government run... well, that just meant that they now saw potential in the project. Once upon a time, CowBelle had fought for SETI to even believe in the project.
Something must've made the government take notice.
Maybe, just maybe, they'd discovered the Keplars, too.
I was printing off our boarding passes when it occurred to me... I swiveled in my seat and looked at her. "We have a problem," I said.
"What problem?" she asked.
"Well to go to Puerto Rico, you're gonna need identification and a passport," I said. "Which, unless you can materialize paperwork, we don't have."
She stared at me. I took her worried expression to mean she couldn't materialize papers.
"I don't even have CowBelle's anymore..." I said.
"Who does?"
"Probably her parents..." At these words, Gliese made an expression I wasn't sure I could read. "What?" I asked.
"Her father is definitely a Keplar in disguise searching for me to take me back to the ship," she explained. "I had a run-in with him trying to get to you to warn you about the attack. He is... particularly aggressive in his mission," she added. "He's one of Borucki's henchmen."
"Her father is?"
Glise nodded.
"So how do we get the papers?" I asked.
She looked deep in thought. "It is impossible to get on this --- you called it a plane? --- without the papers?"
"Yes, impossible," I said, nodding, thinking of the heightened security at all the airlines.
Gliese took a deep breath. "We'll have to chance it."
"Chance what? Getting on the plane without the papers?" I asked, incredulous. "Maaaan, I'm telling you, we can't do that. We'll end up arrested and shit will fly. You don't wanna fuck with the security at the airport. Seriously."
"I meant retrieving the papers," she said, shaking her head.
"Retrieving the papers?"
She nodded. "Do you know how to get to Bellatrix's father's home?"
"Yeah but --"
"We must go, get the papers, and get out."
"But I don't have any idea where they'd keep that stuff..."
"I feel like this knowledge is a part of the DNA that I have assumed," she answered. "I can find them quickly." She patted her chest by her heart. "I feel like I know it here..." Gliese paused. "I feel like I'm beginning to feel a lot of things she knew and felt here," she added. She stared at me, "You make her memories awaken. Like you are a part of Bellatrix's DNA."
I felt a lump rise in my throat.
"Let's go," Gliese said.
I glanced at the window, at the sunlight streaming in. "Maybe we should wait until it's dark out," I said, "So that we have the cover of night."
Gliese nodded. "Okay."
"Okay."
Whitenoise by Pengi
