ON A CLEAR MOONLIT NIGHT

ON A CLEAR MOONLIT NIGHT

The brightness of the full moon illuminated the field below as Matt stared down from the top of the ridge. The brilliance was incredible; as if a cordon of floodlights had been switched on so clearly could he see everything. The four cows tethered by their feet, lowing crazily in an effort to escape their imprisonment and, high in the trees, the net threshing back and forth as the captive attempted to dislodge the trap from where it had catapulted once sprung. Matt, accompanied by the two Brazilian security guards, stood, mouth agape, at the sight of the creature swinging frantically in the mesh that surrounded it and held it ensnared. He was vaguely aware of his companions crossing themselves over and over. They had done it! They’d actually caught one. Jesus H Christ!

Retrieving the tranquilliser gun from his ute, he slowly made his way down the incline. The two Brazilians seemed reluctant to follow but Matt urged them on. The brightness highlighted the creature from behind and, for a brief moment, Matt feared that they had inadvertently entrapped a child, so small was the body but, as it turned its face towards him, he knew for sure, his heart palpitating at a dangerous speed. We’ve bagged ourselves a real life fucking alien!

It had been Cliff’s suggestion to set the trap in this spot and, as his walkie talkie crackled, he knew that his assistant would be arriving imminently and, boy, was he in for a shock. Cliff had reasoned that, out of the more than three hundred incidents of animal disembowelment that had occurred during their tenure here in Varghina, Brazil, more than 60% had happened in this valley and all had occurred during a period when the moon had been at its fullest. By using cattle as bait and securing them near the tree line -a natural place for cattle to shelter from the heat of the sun or out of the rain -it would be possible to lay a ground trap, secreted by grass, allowing them a good chance of capturing any intruder and, even though Matt had been sceptical, he had gone along with the crazy idea.

The sound of a jeep braking on the gravel road above alerted him of Cliff’s arrival and he could hear his assistant’s feet crashing down through the grass towards him. “Oh my God. We got one. We got one. I knew it”.

“Calm down will ya? It can hear you. You’re agitating it”.

“Calm down? Are you crazy, boss? This is unbelievable. Oh my God, look at the size of that head. This is straight outa fucking Roswell. What are you waiting for, boss? Sedate it so’s we can get it down and back to base. Hey, where’s its craft?”

The thought of the alien’s mode of transport had not even occurred to Matt -so wrapped up in the captive had he been. He signalled to the two security guards to search around but they seemed paralysed to the spot. Matt aimed his gun and fired. Though no noise was heard, all four men clearly perceived a screech of pain as the dart hit the creature.

“What the fuck was that? I clearly heard it scream but…”

It took another shot -with the same reaction -before the tranquillising drug started to have an effect. Matt also fired a dart in each of the cows as he was afraid that they would rip their feet off so crazed were they to escape this place.

On the way back to base with the creature bound in the back of the ute, Matt was thinking fast. He radioed ahead and spoke in English, knowing full well that his two security guards spoke only Portuguese, and arranged for two US military guards to be ready to place the two Brazilians in detention. No word of this was to get out.  Ever since he had been selected to head this joint NASA/ AEB project here in Varghina, the UFO capital of the world, he had longed for this day and he wasn’t about to let any petty bureaucrat snatch this moment of glory from him.

At base, he waited for Cliff to arrive then they brought in their prize via the back passage and under cover of a tarpaulin shrouding the trolley. Once in the lab, they carefully laid their specimen on an operating table and secured it with strapping. They stared at each other as they lifted the body from onto the table; the skin was so soft -almost as soft as their own. 

What do you want me to do, boss?”

“The works, Cliff. Blood test, DNA, anything and everything. No disrespect but I’m placing an armed guard on the lab door. Nobody comes in or out without my okay”.

Cliff looked questioningly at his boss. “We’re gonna notify DC, right?”

“No. At least, not yet. If we breathe a word about this, some asshole is gonna swoop down and grab this baby and ship it back to DC for experimentation. We’ll never hear any more about it. No, this is our find and we’re gonna figure out everything we can before we notify anybody”.

“Jeez, boss, McKenna will go crazy. We could all lose our jobs”.

“I’ll take full responsibility. You leave McKenna to me, Cliff. Get on with the tests”.

Dwayne McKenna was the former Head of NASA and, now, the Chair of the space organisation. He had been responsible for selecting Matt for this prime posting and had been a good mentor to his protege throughout his space aviation career. Back in his office, Matt called his old guru.

“Mac? I’m sorry to wake you but I’m working on something over here and I wanted you to hear about it straight away. No, I can’t explain fully, right now, but, if this comes off, it could be big. I just need 24 hours, okay? Yes, sir, 24 hours. I’ll be in touch. Thanks, Mac”.

Cliff summoned Matt by phone from the lab several hours later.  

“His blood type is O”.

“O? My blood type is O! Isn’t that strange, Cliff?”

“Not really. Although animals tend to have a different blood range to humans, primates, for example, can share similar blood types”.

“Cliff, you just referred to the alien as his…”

“Figure of speech. Oh, and you better get down here; he…it’s coming round”.

Matt pulled up a chair and watched as the alien began to recover consciousness.  Cliff was watching from the observation room, cameras recording everything. Up close, Matt was mesmerised. The creature was no more than three and a half feet tall, had a huge head and bulging eyes. As Cliff had noted, it was something straight out of Roswell. Matt fretted that the straps might be too tight.

“I have no idea if you can hear me or whether you can understand me. But I’m really sorry for the way we captured you. It’s not how I imagined this ever happening, I assure you. I’d like to loosen your bindings but…well, if I’m honest, I’m scared. Do you intend to try and hurt me? Are you a threat?”

Once again, though he heard nothing, Matt received the answer clearly as it entered his mind.

“No threat”.

“You can transfer your thoughts?”

“Yes”.

“Is there anything I can fetch you? Food? Water?’

“Water”.

Matt fetched a beaker of water and fed the creature slow sips. He then loosened the straps.

“Thank you”.

“Anything else I can do for you?”

“Take me back”.

“Look, I have a ton of questions. Help me out here and…I promise that I’ll do the right thing by you. Okay?”

“Yes”.

Just then the lab fax machine began to click into action.

“Excuse me a moment”.

Matt crossed over to the machine and watched as the paper started to print.

LABORATORIO CURITIBA

DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC TESTE

Matt watched as the results of the DNA test started to print out slowly in full Portuguese scientific jargon -none of it making any sense to him. He let the paper continue printing, thought about summoning Cliff to translate and actually reached for the internal phone but stopped himself as the machine finally came to a halt. Matt tore off the long sheet and scanned down to the bottom of the page.

RESUMO

HUMANO -100%

Matt staggered back in shock. Humano???

He turned and stared at the creature lying inert on the table. How was this even possible?

“You’re…you’re fucking human?”

There was a pregnant pause of several seconds. Then, finally:

“Yes”.

For the next two hours, Matt listened as he was told how man would destroy the planet through an elite power grab brought about by greed. Books, movies, TV shows -even comic books - had long predicted the destruction of the Earth but nothing could prevent mankind from fulfilling this evil prophecy. Wars, chemicals, pollution. The belief that the only way to control the population growth was to secretly kill people by corrupting the food, drink, medicines and very air that people breathed -this had become the mantra of the elite; the justification for their crimes. Man-made viruses deliberately unleashed, vaccines that damaged the immune system rather than aiding it. 15 minute cities, cashless societies, electric cars-all enabled full control of the populace worldwide. Scarcity of food would force man to revert to the ancient method of hunting. Wild animals would be culled in this way. Then, cattle, sheep, pigs and so forth. Eventually, humans would be reduced to hunting dogs, cats, birds, rats, mice -anything that could sustain human life. The elite were not interested in a cancer cure; they sought new ways to increase the disease. In this year that Matt lived, there were more than 200 different types of this plague. The oceans would become polluted unable to sustain any form of marine life. Men would form defensive groups, become feral and, ultimately, would have no other choice but to resort to the greatest taboo - cannibalism - in order to survive.

Matt was stunned, his brain working overtime. Too much to take in.

“But…if you are here…then you’re what? From another planet? Some people escaped and colonised Mars or the Moon or something?”

“No”.

“Then I don’t understand?”

“There is no life in space-just a myth perpetuated by the elite. Through everything I have told you that will come to pass, the one thing that progressed was technology. After all, Einstein said that yesterday, today and tomorrow are but an illusion. Traveling at the speed of light makes it possible for us to return to the past…”

“You fucking time travel? Is that what you’re telling me?”

“Yes”.

“You expect me to believe that?”

“No. It’s too much to comprehend. But it’s true. Pockets of men survived, retained their morality, sought out others. Together they overcame evil. There was a huge price to pay. Lack of vital foodstuffs, vitamins, clean drinking water all contributed to the mutations that occurred. Swollen brains, thyroids, size deficiencies, you understand. I don’t look like you but I bleed the same blood”.

“But, surely, there is something that we can do. If we could just explain to the right people…”

“We have tried. So many times. Do you think I am the first of my time to be captured? We cannot undo the past. Many have tried but the truth is always covered up”.

“But the animals, the ritual disemboweling. What was the purpose of that?”

“We have merely being recreating those animals that provide foodstuff; animals that don’t exist in my time”.

Matt left the lab, his mind reeling, spinning, trying desperately to make sense of everything he had been told. He believed it. That was the crazy thing. He knew that the downfall of man had already begun. Cliff came rushing to meet him.

“What was he saying, boss? I could see you talking, gesturing but we couldn’t hear or get his responses”.

“Cliff, get the trolley and tarp. We’re taking him back”.

“What? Are you crazy? This is insane”.

“I’ll explain on the way but I made a promise and I’m goddamn going to keep it”.

The two men watched as their fellow human walked down into the field, turning once to look back at them. Matt felt a sense of immense loss. Cliff, who had listened to everything Matt had to say on their journey to the valley, felt like his world was caving in. The visitor from the future reached a point near the trees, the ground vibrated and he simply disappeared.  

“Believe me now?’

“I don’t know what to believe. I’ve only got your word for all this. All I know is DC is gonna be furious. McKenna will can us both…”

“I have the blood test, the DNA result. I’m grabbing the first plane to DC. I need to try at least to get this message across. I’ll speak to Mac. Take me to my place so I can pick up a few things and then to the airport”.

Cliff watched as Matt exited the jeep, bag in hand, and entered the terminal. As he turned to wave at Cliff, two men emerged from either side and each grabbed Matt under his armpit and hustled him away and out of a side exit. As Cliff looked on, he saw his boss, struggling gamely, thrown into the back of a waiting unmarked van. His phone rang.

“Yes, sir. All taken care of. Yes, I’ve destroyed the tape. No problem, Mr McKenna. You can rely on me. I understand. National security. Thank you, Mr McKenna”.