A Small Gray Dot

“They didn’t. Terrance was here for a sleepover. His mother dropped him off at a friend’s house the night before and went back home. When the father of his friend finally went out to check on them, well, you know what he found. Terrance stayed with them because he had nowhere else to go. Six months later, the family decided to leave Blue Heaven but they already had four children and couldn’t really afford to care for him. They didn’t want to send him to a government facility so when another family said they would take him in they allowed them to do so.”

“Oh.” I had a feeling this other family was treating him pretty much as a servant. It was nothing I hadn’t seen before and it was reprehensible. I made a silent promise that when this was over, I would check to see if that was the case.

I studied the boy. He was eager to get going but as urgent as I felt the situation was, my watch said it was four-twenty and there was no way I would allow him to go out at that time of the morning. I was certain the doctor wouldn’t hear of it either. “Okay, Terry. But wait until daylight. Everyone is likely asleep and it’s Sunday so no one will be trying to go to work. And anyway, I don’t want you running around in the dark.”

The boy’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Yes, sir, Mr. Murray!”

I smiled. “Don’t you want to get in a nap before daylight?”

“No, sir!”

I studied him, then nodded. Keyed up like a kid on Christmas morning, he wouldn’t be able to sleep.

“There is one thing I can do to try and help ensure participation, Tennessee,” said the doctor. “Henderson and his people are not well liked. Blue Heaven folk work for the company because it’s the only thing going for them now. Moreover, because of their foreign accents and other oddities, many here are suspicious of them, but being aliens is not the suspicion they have. Their biggest fear is that Henderson will fire them and bring workers from whatever they suppose is his native country.

“So Terry can’t simply tell them the people at Semptor are aliens from outer space and are responsible for the state of our world. Most folk will simply think he’s making up tales and send him away, or even notify Henderson. I’ll draft a letter implying I have information that Semptor is planning do exactly what they’ve feared. That should get them moving. I’ll make copies for Terry to give to each of them.”

I thought it was worth a try, but they wouldn’t be a lot of help unless they came prepared for a physical fight. “Better put something in that letter to indicate they should come armed, doctor.”

“Hmm… yes, of course. I’ll think of something.”

We went to the kitchen to tell Duncan, Lem, and Percy. I hoped they hadn’t wasted themselves on the doctor’s whiskey.

Chapter Thirty-eight

FORTUNATELY, THE GUYS HAD QUIT AFTER their second drink. I explained about the canceler and my tentative plan. I also explained Terry’s presence since they wondered why the boy wasn’t in bed.

“You think we can make it work?” asked Duncan.

I thought it over. Nothing was certain but… “We have to give it our best shot, Duncan. The alternative is to do nothing and hope the government can get troops here in time to stop them. You know how long that’s likely to take.”

“Yeah.” He turned to study Terry who was quiet. I could tell the kid was pleased to be sitting in with the adults. “Well, boy, you think you can get around to everybody before the day’s out?”

“Oh yes sir, Mr. Hamilton! I can run real fast. I promise I can git to all of ‘em in ‘bout an hour, hour and a half at th’ most.”

“Okay, but keep your eyes open and don’t let them bas— um, them people down at Semptor see you.”

He nodded. “I know how to hide from ‘em, sir. Only time I ever got stopped was th’ time Mr. Bedlow seen me when I was doin’ a errand for Mrs. Johnson an’ he thought I was stealin’.” He grinned. “The doc got ‘im to let me go. Don’t worry, I can dodge ‘em.”

“What about the guards in the community?” I asked. “Which way do you think they’ll go? After all, Slim and Talbert are the only ones who’ve seen what Henderson and his bunch are.”

The doctor looked thoughtful. “That’s a good point, Tennessee, and the ones at the guardhouse could cause problems, especially since your people will be coming in through the entrance. Perhaps someone needs to go and speak with them.”

Duncan said, “I’ll bet Henderson has notified them to not allow anyone in or out. I know those guys but they’re not likely to believe anything I have to say because they know I had a beef with Bedlow. They’ll just think I’m making it all up.”

“They won’t be able to keep my people out,” I said. “They’ll roll right over them, but I’d like to keep this thing quiet as long possible.” I stood. “I guess I’ll have to go up there and convince them.”

“Wait, Tennessee,” said the doctor as he got up. “Let’s take my car. They know me and may believe what I tell them.”

“Hey,” said Percy, “I got an idea.”

I eyed him. “What do you have in mind?”

“You gotta take a little side trip and I’ll go with you.”