Mission: Harbeasts of Mars Read online

  “Your minions never bothered to ask about my medical history before they started abusing my person. And if I'd had a medical examination before I left Earth, I think I would have known if I had alien DNA.”

  “You don't remember the last time you had an examination or a trip to the doctor?”

  “About six months ago. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

  “No odd or out of world experiences that might explain it?” I shook my head.

  “Hmm,” he said and frowned. “Well, that is a conundrum, isn't it.” He gave me a deeply suspicious look. I don't think he believed me, but I wasn't going to give him any hints or clues about what happened to me at Hussa.

  “This gives rise to a theory I've had for a very long time.”

  “What's that?”

  “It's an offshoot of the old Panspermia theory.”

  “Planetary seeding?”

  “Yes. But in this case, perhaps a special alien bacterial spore or some kind of alien virus can be sent out into space to seed not planets but is engineered to seek out other life forms to “seed”. Perhaps to help create higher, more advanced life forms. My thoughts are that this virus can attach itself to any living thing, whether, plant, animal or higher being, and over time, transform it into something much greater. I believe this is true now. I'm looking at an example in you. Perhaps these aliens have brought it with them, unknowingly. Or perhaps, some of them have released this virus within the human population on purpose. Or perhaps this seeding came from elsewhere, far away out in the universe, unrelated to the Erautians.”

  “But you said it was somehow related to their DNA.”

  “Ah, yes. A mystery. It may not have to come from Eraut to share some likeness. Perhaps they had nothing to do with it, but it is something that seeded their own planet long ago? Hmm. You would be the first case I've run across if my theory is true. I call it the Superman theory.” I had to admit that I was intrigued.

  “What does the alien DNA look like?” I asked, very curious.

  “Like nothing we've ever seen before. Anyway, for now I have decided that I would like to keep company with you. I find you. . .intriguing because of this genetic anomaly. Until we have further need of examination and have decided what to do, as long as you do not cause trouble you will be accorded every respect and comfort at Triskelion.” He turned to one of the medical assistants in the room. “Bring him to the manor after he is dressed.”

  He turned and left and I was allowed to shower and then I was given a dark blue velour jumpsuit. Four burly security escorts, three men, and one woman came to fetch me. Crossing through halls and room after room we descended down a floor, a basement sub-level where I saw wide rooms with windows where various experiments were being carried out, either on animals, aliens or people. There were quite a few exotic, alien looking animals I'd never seen before.

  I was brought to an elevator lift after going through a long and wide marble tunnel. I'd made a point of watching whenever I saw anyone using the code boxes on any door. By observing closely while I was down in my cell though I didn't see the code they punched, I noticed that anyone punching in the code moved their hand in a specific pattern. The hand would move from left to right and then down near the middle row of numbers and then to the third and last row of numbers, once again moving left to right. I suspected that the code was all odd numbers. I heard twice on one occasion the amount of numbers punched and I distinctly remember hearing five numbers punched. I was sure that at some point they would change the codes. The only problem was when?

  I filed this away for later use.

  We went up two floors and through a wide, airy plexi-glass skywalk. This elegant, plexi-glass tunnel was also a hothouse garden. The air was very warm in here and all along, reaching up across the wide, tall glass walls of the tunnel walkway were exotic plants in urns and long boxes; all manner of desert flora, especially many varieties of desert flowers. The smell of the air was sweet and I breathed deeper, enjoying the intoxicating scents. But as we made our way toward the tall doors of the mansion I thought I detected a very faint scent that was different, among the plants. Something that had intruded into the pleasant garden-like space, something foul. It smelled like something dead. It was the faintest of smells and so brief I 'd wondered if I had imagined it. This alone stood out as a warning to me that no matter how wondrous or beautiful the surroundings around me, death lurked in this place like a foul shadow.

  “What is that?” Asked the woman, wrinkling her nose.

  “Most likely Lafayette's little pet caught and hid something among the plants again. I'll get a labor mech to find it and get rid if it,” answered one of the men. My thoughts were confirmed.

  I was taken inside the palatial manor house and directed towards a spacious, fabulously decorated living room. Everything was all sleek, cool, white and brushed metal surfaces and silver and black leather accents. Dr. Lafayette was reposing on an elegant white leather chair. Its feet were carved black heads of a strange creature with tiny inset ruby eyes that gleamed. Beside him sat a similar looking creature that gave me a terrifying start. Lafayette grinned widely, petting its sleek, black fur in long, sensuous strokes.

  The creature was strange, malevolent, like a huge, gross shadow out of a nightmare. It wore a diamond and ruby collar, shaped very much like my own. I absently touched the collar around my neck. The creature had been busy licking its paws when I entered the room. Its black eyes eventually flickered up at me and it emitted a low growl.

  “Et, Et!” Warned Lafayette sharply and the creature went back to grooming itself but I could still feel the low-pitched, inaudible growling of its displeasure at my presence.

  “Leave us.” He waved away my security escorts and went to stroking the creature's back again. The guards left and the doors shut with a soft thud behind them.

  “There, there, Appa,” he said soothingly. He looked up at me and smiled pleasantly. “She detests strangers, but she'll get used to you.”

  '”She looks dangerous,” I said quietly, not wanting to anger the beast. It looked like something between a panther and a wolf.

  “Don't worry. I have her well in hand.” He got up and went to a wide sleek slab of marble decorated with great Medusa heads at each end. The carved heads had open mouths as if set in indefinite howls of rage. He touched a small screen which lit up silently and then the marble separated and a well stocked bar rose up. Lafayette took up a crystal glass and poured himself a drink. He offered one to me.

  “Would you like something to drink?” I stared at him warily, and then at his drink. I finally nodded.

  “I'll have what you're having,” I said.

  “Good choice,” he said. “I'm having Royal Bracla. This one is one hundred years old. Never been available for sale in the public, you know. One of the best single malt Scotch whiskies in the world.” He handed me a short crystal glass of the golden liquid.

  “Really?” I murmured, sniffing it. I watched him drink his glass and then I drank mine. It was a revelation to me. I'd tasted some good Scotch whisky before, but nothing like this.

  “Mmm-hmm. It was said a case was found in 1984 in a warehouse. That was how it got around. You still can't get it for sale in public.”

  “It's wonderful.”

  “I'm glad you think so, Mr. Astor. Welcome to Triskelion Paradise,” he said, sweeping his arms wide in a grand gesture. “The true name of this place.”

  “What is Triskelion. . .Paradise?”

  “Triskelion is the paradise of gamesters. It's my estate here, and also the name of the research center I run. I also own a larger estate on Earth, named Haros Lake. But my work has taken me away from Earth for years at a time.”

  “So, you're a very rich man then?”

  “One could say that. I live well.”

  “What all does this lab create besides human marrow for aliens? I've heard that one of the biggest projects out of this lab was terraforming through vegetation.” He shrugged.

 
“We do engineer and grow seeds, plants and bacteria for the vegetation. Terraforming was one of our biggest and most important projects. I'm sure you've seen some plant matter out there in the desert blooming under the bio-dome.”

  “I did.”

  “We engineer vegetable and fruit crops for food production and farming on Mars. We also clone genetic material, especially animals for food production. Though not nearly as much as we used to. Others have taken much of that work over.” His eyes seemed to darken briefly at this. Then his face brightened. “But we're moving beyond that. Alien DNA research and manipulation is our next phase of research now.”

  “When did you get into the human bone marrow thing?”

  “Years ago,” he said nonchalantly. “You see, some of these alien beings seem to have a defective gene in them. Not many, as most have no need for human marrow, but there are some that do. It's my belief that this gene was introduced through too many years of inbreeding among some of them. There is a growing trade because even for those who don't need it, they have managed to convince themselves that it is addictive. For those with the defective gene, I've found through my own research that they are products of long time inbreeding in their families. Some notion of purity of nobility and such. While I understand the notion of purity, inbreeding is a foolish practice that weakens the gene pool. Products from such unions are not fit to live.” He sounded like someone who subscribed to the idea of Social Darwinism. I couldn't resist the chance to get a jab in.

  “And so you sell out your own people to these aliens? What happens when they eventually destroy the human race? Did you forget that you're still one of us?” His smile was cold.

  “I'm an opportunist at heart. I care for scientific research and the progress, money and power it brings me. I believe in the Self. Nothing less, nothing more,” he said. His eyes were rounds of blue ice. “And science brings us genetic superiority, the most important thing in this universe. It's a dark and cold place out here in space. Only the fittest, the strongest, and the most intelligent, deserve to live in it, alien or human. And no, I care not for other humans I don't know, respect or admire. I descended from men privileged to be of the Schutzstaffel from long, long ago. I know who I am.,” he said rather matter-of-factually. “I do not fear the future, nor do I fear anyone.”

  I sat back and looked at him, not knowing what to make of this monster. His words struck me like a comet from space. His pet creature stretched her powerful body and got up on her haunches, peering at me through small, glittering black eyes. Then she stood and slowly crept toward me, sniffing me, her unearthly growls becoming considerably louder. I shrank back slowly, falling into a recliner behind me, wishing I could disappear. I clutched my glass closer to my chest.

  “Appa! Et, et! Stop! Come here!” He commanded and the beast gave me one last assertive sniff, grunted, and slinked toward her master and buried her large, black head in his lap. He rubbed her between the ears and then she finally bounded off, out of the room.

  “Don't show fear, my man. That's the important rule with any predator. That attracts them like flies to feces.” Remember, he could sic that thing on you at any time, Bob. Watch your mouth!

  “And. . .uh. . .what is she?”

  “She's a snagar. One of the last of her kind. Grown from a few cells in a test tube by an alien scientist. She's the progenitor of most of the harbeasts bred on Mars. Most harbeasts that were bred were weak and eventually died out, but a few were strong, like Nightflame, one of the original female harbeasts that is able to survive the harsh desert. Which brings me to another thought. We also engineered other wild animals to populate the Martian landscape. We create breeds that we think are hardy enough to withstand the harsh conditions, to even deal with the lack of oxygen in the atmosphere if they have to.” He set his glass down on a sleek, metal table so highly polished that I could see into it as if it were another room in another dimension entirely. In fact, it didn't behave like normal metal at all. I thought I saw it ripple and wave slightly to his touch, like extraordinarily dense water.

  “Come,” he beckoned. I will show you some of the place.” I drank down the rest of my scotch. It went down rich and smooth. No reason to let that go to waste. I had no idea if I would be heading back to my cell or become dinner for his pet snagar. So that's what snagars look like. Hideous. It reminded me of a hound of hell, with the teeth of a saber-tooth tiger and short, sharp looking whiskers.

  We walked through many gleaming lavishly decorated rooms and eventually entered a large indoor courtyard through another elevator lift in the house. In this courtyard, there was a large, glittering pool. Several scantily clad women and female aliens were swimming or laying about the edge of the pool. None of them bothered to take any notice of me.

  Down the steps of the courtyard he led me through a lavish garden of desert plants, many fantastical and huge as earthly trees and some with foliage of colors I couldn't describe growing along in harmony with various desert earthly plant life. We passed by what Lafayette called his agave garden. It was filled with enormous agave plants and these surrounded by white beds of desert poppies. The air here was sweet and fragrant with the exotic flowers. I saw tiny insects flitting to and fro from the exotic plants and flowers in the garden. In fact, Lafayette's garden was actually several large and small gardens connected together through gazebos, graceful red rock bridges, and natural rock footpaths. Through a large, wrought iron gate we stepped through into what I could only describe as a menagerie.

  “This is where I keep some of my wilder pets,” he said proudly. Oh, because that monstrous creature you have in the house isn't wild enough for you? I thought.

  He directed me toward a wide walkway, with a high fence on both sides. On one side I could see large pens, some of them being administered to by what I could only guess were zookeepers and caretakers. Armed mechs floated back and forth or beside the zookeepers. On the other side, it looked wilder, like a small game reserve created right in the middle of the property. It was the very dark heart of Mars. A mech handed him a laser rifle. We passed by the harbeast pens first.

  “I can appreciate many fine things in life. This universe has opened up in ways the ordinary man cannot comprehend. I hope you’re not ordinary, Robert.”

  “I don't know. I don't see anything wrong with being the ordinary guy,” I said, feeling a little put out but I managed to control my anger, seeing that he had the means to blast my head off if I said anything that offended him. He smiled coldly.

  “You may resist the idea my friend, but, in fact, I have it on record now that you are quite the unique man.”

  “My blood samples.”

  “Of course. Your cells are both human and alien. And these cells seem to be living cells, not junk DNA or dead material, but living, breathing, functioning information.” He took aim and shot something unseen to my eyes. A sharp, ululating wail came forth out of the thick foliage and then something in the bush slumped over. It didn't sound like a harbeast at all but whaever it was, it must have been massive. I could feel his pleasure at the killing of whatever animal was hidden in the foliage. It felt cold, slimy and hateful. I felt his pleasure poisoning me.

  “So, what do you think of Triskelion?”

  “An interesting place,” I countered slowly. “With vast scientific and political potential. Why did you bring me here?“

  “Well, I thought you might appreciate coming here and seeing more than just the laboratory,” he said, raising his rifle and aiming for some other unseen quarry in the bushes up ahead some yards away.

  “Earlier generations of harbeasts were eventual failures, as their descendants tended to die out. Each successive generation became smaller and weaker than their parents. We mated the snagars with lions, ligers, tygons and tigers. The ones that descended from the lions and tigers we've noted, it is their lines that seem to thrive best and live on and reproduce normally.”

  “Do you experiment on these animals here in the zoo and the reserve, or let the
m out in the wild?”

  “These are some of the best we've ever produced, genetically. Some of them I have retained for my own pleasure because they are the most beautiful out of the strongest animals. I enjoy collecting things. I like to put them on display for my guests when they come.”

  “I see. They do have a certain majesty about them.”

  “My experiments are not limited in creating animals, either. I think of all the genetic variations that could be created. The power and might of these animals. Speed and strength. They make for excellent big game hunting.”

  “I would imagine so. But, why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why create these beasts? They're dangerous. They run around out there attacking and killing people. Why not something less ferocious?”

  “That bothers you? If Mars is to ever be colonized properly, either by aliens or humans, it needs to be it's own sustainable eco-system. My former colleagues would say so. You can't have such a thing with no animals. And we don't just have predators. We have a few herbivores and omniverous creatures that the harbeasts feed on out there. Right now, we are seeking some of the new nests for the desert devils, large ferocious rodent-like creatures that we've created to be tough enough to live out in the natural Martian air. Besides, I love predators. They are the greatest, the strongest, Robert. They give excellent sport. Big game hunting is making a huge comeback. It's going through a resurgence like never before. Some come to Triskelion to have animals engineered for their big game retreats. We have them grown to order.” I nearly gasped.

  “Grown to order? For hunting?”

  “Oh yes. There are vast sums of money to be made and this place is in the forefront of preparing to serve that desire,.”

  “I have no problems hunting. I've been hunting myself, but this? I don't know.”

  “This is big league hunting, my man.” He sighed. “I was lucky to find it when I did. The hard work by its previous owners had already been done in creating the structure and the lion's share of research. But we haven't forgotten terraforming completely,” he said, as if to throw me a salve. My expression must have fueled that comment. “We also have a lot of mice out here for the rodents to eat. We're building that food chain. Our new genetic project is a type of desert bird.”