Evil Stars: Prologue
Violet flows from the wound in your chest
Black is the hole in which you rest
Your heart of gold was ripped in two
Soaked in the sickness that is you.
--Colour Me Green by Darkest of the Hillside Thickets
“So Fiona said this was something we should see, huh?” asked Archive as they made their way through Full Wilderness’ headquarters.
Hammer nodded. “She’s come a long way from not trusting us.”
“Memory loss will do that to you,” Archive said ruefully.
“Not everyone has memory loss, that’s why we had to leave Jim-Bean in the car,” muttered Hammer. They hadn’t anticipated on returning so soon, so it was best if Jim-Bean laid low for the moment. The staff of Full Wilderness would undoubtedly recognize him from his last “terrorist” incident.
Jatik welcomed them into his office and got right down to business.
“Full Wilderness has for several years sponsored a variety of natural science researches, especially investigations into insect ecologies, energy budgets, and symbiotic relationships. You see, a symbiotic relationship is merely one between two species in which each benefits from the association—for instance, in the bottle-tailed squid some species of internal bacteria generate the luminescence for the squid's photophores, and in turn are fed by the creature. Beneficent human intestinal bacteria are another example. The organization does this to contribute its share in the pool of scientific research needed to save the planet. I do not know how well-acquainted you are with the ongoing crisis, but I can assure you that recent efforts to downplay the significance of a degrading environment stem from scientific misinterpretations and the grossest of economic motives, Every day lost cannot be regained, and may in the end prove our undoing."
“What does this have to do with us?” asked Hammer.
Jatik continued: “This last week I received a personal call from a Dr. Harold Gall, who swore that some of Full Wilderness's money "was being misused for the foulest purposes." About just what he was alarmed was not made clear. Fearing exposure and loss of employment, Gall sent a communication by private courier in support of his charges.”
Jatik handed Archive a computer printout.
“Dear Mr. Jatik,” read Archive aloud. “This situation is so upsetting to me that I am unable to work effectively. I really don't know how to reply to your questions. There are so many things to explain, and so many places I could start. Now that I have raised the issue, I need a few days to compose a methodical presentation which you can use to create a plan of action. Per the enclosed exhibit, please follow the instructions carefully. It has to do with the work being done here. Enough of these things have died that I can fake the death of one more.”
Archive hesitated. “There’s a paragraph entitled ‘feeding instructions.’”
Jatik nodded sagely. Hammer encouraged Archive to keep reading.
He shrugged and continued. “The specimen currently eats a diet of 6 parts raw hamburger, 4 parts freshly-killed flies, and 1 part bone meal, in the total amount of 1 kg per 10 kg of body mass. It does not appear to ingest liquids directly, though a colleague believes that it does in higher humidity. Since acquisition, it has grown slowly—weight it weekly and increase feedings proportionately.”
“What eats freshly killed flies?” asked Hammer.
Jatik cleared his throat. “Dr. Gall disappeared approximately a week ago. His dented and damaged car was found abandoned al Seacliff Palisades Park, in a quiet residential neighborhood. Based on evidence found in the car, the police believe that Gall committed suicide. They make that guess mostly from the evidence of Tail's car. I can supply the name of the detective in charge of the case. Sgt. Jack Bolling."
“So someone killed him to shut him up? What did he give you, Jatik?” asked Hammer.
"The affair is even stranger than you may be guessing,” said Jatik. He uttered a brief command into a phone, and two aides pushed in a short dolly. It bore a crate covered by a tarpaulin.
Jatik dismissed the two men. As he swept back the covering. Jatik couldn’t refrain from a flourish, but his "Tah-dah" was flat and ominous, as it might be: inside wriggled an eighteen-inch-high tentacle THING.
As soon as the tarpaulin was lifted, the thing leaped across the container towards Hammer in a single lunge, squeaking fiercely, its tentacles gripping the sides of the cylinder in a fruitless effort to snag such toothsome food.
The creature was in a travel container, a Plexiglas cylinder about a yard wide and a yard high, walls an inch thick, closed at either end by stout hydraulic clamps and double-latched. A few breathing holes broke the seal.
“What the hell is that?” asked Hammer.
Jatik shook his head. '"This arrived by messenger the day that Gall disappeared. What is it? Where could it have come from? What could it be for?”
Archive pointed a shaking finger at the thing. “That…that is unnatural.”
"It put one of my employees in the hospital,” said Jatik. “Gall must have somehow drugged the thing. It arrived here limp, in this cylinder. We thought it had died. No heartbeat. Then it suddenly jumped our resident zoologist and bit off her left thumb. The teeth are razor sharp. Now she's suing us because we wouldn't kill it to get her thumb back."
It was indeterminable if the thing has a front or a back, just meaningless knobs and bumps and hollows. Drool and pus seeped from various mouths and orifices: a foul stench filled the air. Its multiple mouths opened and shut with voracious clicks and disturbing slurps. After a few minutes, the thing begins to squeal incessantly.
Putting the tarpaulin back over the container brought more piercing screams. Jatik sighed and called in the aides, who remove dolly and contents.
“The existence of the monstrosity is more than enough reason for Full Wilderness to be concerned. I shudder at such a thing turned loose in a favorable environment. I of course thought of the helpful government agents and was sure they would be interested.”
Hammer frowned. “We’ll take it from here.
As they left to go, Jatik said over their shoulders: “Full Wilderness has tens of thousands of local and national contacts. We are as much a philosophical organization as one devoted to practical ends, and consequently we have influence at every level of government. If you need the way smoothed, we can help."
Somehow, that bothered Hammer more than the creature did.
