Black Jack, PART 3

 ‘No, she has actually recovered from her injuries.’ Mag turned to Tim. ‘We are talking about a classmate of ours. Patty, Bruce and I went to the same high school, we were classmates for years. At that time my family also lived in Anaheim.’

‘I see… And, how long have you been here?’ Tim asked Bruce.

‘Not too long,’ Bruce replied. ‘Much shorter than Mag, that’s for sure. I died when I was fifty-two. I was in a horrible car accident on the 405 in Inglewood. And don’t ask me if it was my fault.’

‘Was it?’ Tim asked.

‘I had a little more beer than I should have. It was late at night, I was very tired and I was driving way over the speed limit when I fell asleep... Well, so you are a new arrival and you need an account.’

‘That’s what Mag is telling me.’

‘Will you use it right away? I mean, do you want to gamble now?’

‘I’m in no hurry with that,’ answered Tim.

‘Wise decision,’ Bruce said. ‘In this case, the account number will be added to your memory by the time you finish with your first recharge.’

‘By the way,’ Tim turned to Mag, ‘how will I know when to exit that recharge whatever…’

‘The system will know when your recharge is complete, it’ll wake you up. When you’re awake again, you’re done, you can continue what you were doing,’ Mag explained. ‘Now I’ll take you to your private quarter. More about that when we get there. Take care, Bruce.’

‘Hey Tim, come back anytime. I’m just standing here most of the time, never really busy. We can chat when you feel like.’

‘You bet,’ Tim said, ‘I’ll be back.’

Mag told Tim to touch again so that they could speed to where she wanted to take him.

They arrived in a fairly small chamber that had only three walls.

‘A triangle shaped room without a view,’ Tim said after glancing around. ‘So this is where I’ll live?’

Mag frowned.

‘Hey, I saw that,’ Tim said. ‘I saw your eyebrow move. I guess my eyesight is improving.’

‘It’ll get much better,’ Mag replied. ‘As for your question… I’m not sure using the word live is most appropriate.’

‘How about exist?’

‘Much better, that’s what Islanders use, too.’

‘There is nothing in here,’ Tim said looking around again. ‘All I see is this elevated table… or whatever it is. Perhaps a counter? Is that all you can see, too?’

‘That’s it, Tim.’

‘Wow! Not even a bed? All right, all right, I remember, we don’t sit, we don’t sleep, so why would we need a bed. Anyway, it wouldn’t even fit in this tight place. Now, did you say this would be my private quarter?’

‘Don’t you like it?’

‘It’ll sure feel like being in solitary confinement. Especially if I have to be alone.’

‘I can spend time with you here or you can come to my quarter when you feel lonely. You may also go to what we call the laboratory.’

‘A chemical lab?!’

‘No, not a chemical lab. It’s a common area where you can perform your duties the same way as here in your private room. Occasionally, it gets crowded there and if you can’t find an open terminal, you’ll have to work here at home.’

‘Home?’ Tim shook his head. ‘You call this home?’

‘You’ll get used to it.’

‘Anyway, what can be accomplished on this counter?’

‘It’ll be up to you whether you want to do anything at all. Just remember, your score will go down if you are often inactive.’

‘I expected you’d say this. I think I begin to understand where I am.’

‘Don’t rush with having ideas.' Mag said. 'There’s much you don’t know yet… Back to this counter… It’s a terminal, a computer terminal. Of course, it’s much more powerful than anything you’d see on Earth. It turns on when it senses that you’re ready to use it. Your tasks will not always be the same but most of the time it’ll be monitoring someone on Earth. You’ll receive all instructions telepathically. Instructions are very easy to follow.’

Tim wanted to scratch his forehead but he realized in time that it was no longer an option so his hand stopped half way.

Mag smiled. ‘Your habits will be gone soon.’

‘If you ask me, they’re gone already… Memories only.’

‘Good… Now, I could leave you alone so that you can get acquainted with the terminal… which is going to be your real mate. What else could you be doing here other than be on the computer?’

‘That doesn’t sound very promising.’

‘You’ll get used to everything here.’

‘I have to be honest with you, Mag. If you were not here, I’d start thinking about suicide.’

‘Ha-ha!’ Mag laughed. ‘Suicide is not an option here.’

‘This could be considered the worst form of slavery.’

‘Jumping to conclusions again without really knowing where you are. You’ll like it here, you’ll see… Now, if you want, you can come over to my quarter for a while. It’s next door.’

‘At least we are neighbors.’

‘I was able to arrange that.’

‘Couldn’t you have arranged being together in the same quarter? You remember, that’s exactly what we were planning on Earth when you left me.’

‘Everyone on the Island must have a permanent private chamber, that’s the rule. Of course, as I said, we can spend time together. We just need to be careful about how much time. Overdoing it reduces our score. The chambers are also private because some work can be very confidential. Some info I will never be allowed to share with you, and this will be the same for you. It’ll get more obvious once you start receiving instructions through the terminal.’

Tim accepted Mag’s invitation and spent some time next door. When Mag opened her terminal, a fairly large screen appeared on one of the walls.

‘You’ll see,’ she said, ‘that this computer is not only for work. Look at this… I saved some videos of you.’

‘The Mirage in Vegas?!’ Tim was surprised when the pictures started rolling.

‘And that’s you,’ Mag added, ‘walking on the sidewalk. Pretty crowded. Can you see yourself?’

‘Oh yeah! That’s me right there. Wow! And this is in full color, too.’

‘At least that’s how you perceive it,’ Mag rushed to say.

‘Perception or not, I prefer this to the Island gray… But how is this possible? I mean this technology. Who recorded this video? Do the Supremes have agents on Earth?’

‘I'm sure they do,' Mag replied. 'How many? I don’t know. You might ask whether the agents are ordinary folks. I don’t know that, either.’

‘Perhaps those agents are Supremes disguised as humans,' Tim said. 'I always suspected something like that.’

‘Anything is possible in this vast Universe,’ Mag replied.

‘Perhaps the heads of governments are also Supremes in disguise.’

‘As I said, anything is possible.’

‘Can I view these pictures on my terminal?’ Tim asked.

‘Sure, I’ll send them over to your channel. When you’re in your quarter, simply have the desire to see yourself on the screen and the pictures will start rolling. You can stop anywhere, go forward or roll back with a simple mental command. You can watch many other videos. Just think of what you’d like. You’ll have a list to choose from.’

‘Oh, so it works like a search engine on Earth?’

‘Where do you think Earth got this technology from?’

Tim nodded. ‘Yeah, I always wondered… You know what, Mag. Let me not take up more of your time. You have spent a good portion of your day with me already… and you probably have work to do.’

Mag smiled. ‘Tim, I’m always here when you need me. Pop in anytime.’

Tim rushed back to his triangular room and activated the terminal.

‘That, too?!’ he mumbled seeing the clock in the lower right corner of the screen. ‘And it’s only five in the morning?’

After viewing all sorts of videos for many hours, he felt like he heard some ringing in his transparent ears. More than that, he felt exhausted.

Of course, it’s time for a recharge, he realized.

‘I should have asked Mag about the locations of those recharge stations!’

The next moment, Mag’s face appeared on the screen, in color, the same face he last saw the day before her fatal accident.

‘You are so beautiful,’ he whispered.

Mag smiled, then told Tim to step into any of the three corners. ‘The screen will be deactivated automatically,’ she added.

Standing in the corner, Tim felt a strange sensation.

‘Like passing out,’ he thought.

When he woke up, he could tell the difference: he felt very energetic.

The first thing that occurred to him was that he should spend some time in the entertainment center. By the time the thought flashed through his mind, he was actually standing next to a gaming table.

‘Whatever this game is,’ he thought, ‘I’ll just call it Black Jack.’

There were only two players standing there, so he could have joined. Suddenly he was aware of his bank account number, and when he thought of doing an inquiry, he perceived a message arriving informing him of his balance of ten thousand points.

‘No!’ he said to himself then resolutely. ‘At least, not yet. I won’t let the game control me. I’ll play at another time. Now, I’ll go over to that window and see if Bruce is there.’

Bruce was there.

‘Working overtime?’ Tim asked. ‘Or you’re here again?’

‘I have recharged in the meantime and came back,’ Bruce said, then he waved toward the tables. ‘You don’t feel like playing?’

‘I know I probably should. That was my very first urge after waking up from the recharge. I’m probably not obeying some higher calling.’

Bruce laughed. ‘Yeah, if you repeatedly refuse to comply, your score will eventually reflect that, I mean in a negative way. Although some activities can do much more damage much faster… Anyhow… I understand you and Mag had a great relationship before her accident. She told me a lot about you.’

‘Really?’

‘Not everything, of course. There are always details that are confidential. I know your folks were from Europe. You were born on a farm in South Dakota, finished high school there, then moved to California where you attended college to obtain a degree in Chemistry. You never worked in that profession though, you made a living as a salesman... and you spent a lot of time in casinos... gambling and losing lots of money... This kind of information can be shared.’

‘What’s your background, if I may ask.’

‘When your eyesight improves, after a couple of more recharges I guess, you’ll see that I am definitely not of European descent. I was considered a black man on Earth. Many of my ancestors were slaves on my father’s side. My father married a Cherokee Indian girl, so at least half way I was a native American.’

‘What kind of work did you do?’

‘I wanted to be an astronomer. Do you know why? You won’t believe this. I was only six years old when I already kept watching the night sky wondering how far I could go straight up, and if eventually I bumped into a wall, what would be behind that. Anyway, so I studied astronomy in college. Later, I had to go back to get another degree because I was not able to get a job in my first profession. I had more luck as an economist. After a while I switched and became a stock broker. When I saw all the trickery involved in that business, I moved to Las Vegas to be a hotel manager. Finally, I was back in LA to teach high school students.’

‘Wondering about the Universe at the age of six. Yeah, I had that, too,’ Tim said. ‘I think there aren’t too many people who don’t ask this question. Where does it end, and then what. It’s just mind-boggling.’

‘Perhaps everyone who has this curiosity ends up here as an Islander.’

‘You’ve been here long enough. What do you know about these… these Supremes. You know what I’m talking about, right?’

‘Let me tell you,' Bruce replied, 'that many of our kind here think that there should be no discussions about the Supremes at all. I’m not one of them. I’m not afraid to talk about anything. In fact, I believe the Supremes like brave thinkers.’

‘I agree with you on that,’ Tim said. ‘I was never afraid of God. I always thought that if I do or say something stupid that might offend God, I should be forgiven because it’s not my fault that I wasn’t born perfect.’

‘Exactly,' Bruce took over, 'and even up here, when I search for answers to my questions, you know, when I search on my computer terminal, in my private chamber of course, I always try to find information that could shed more light on the Supremes. I have no doubts they exist. In fact, I have some interesting theories about them.’

‘Such as?’ Tim asked curiously.

‘I don’t want to bore you.’

‘No, I’m really interested. Please, tell me.’

‘Okay… I’m sure you’ll be able to relate to my speculation… but let’s keep this confidential.’

‘No problem, Bruce. I’m listening.’

‘You know, my interest in astronomy remained strong throughout my whole life. I always paid close attention to what NASA was up to or what scientists did or say. Especially during my last few years on Earth. One thing really made me wonder was the CERN. You know what I’m talking about.’

‘Of course,' Tim said, 'the powerful particle accelerator under the Swiss and French Alps.’

‘Exactly. I read articles about why all that money was spent to build it. When one scientist began to brag how great success that accelerator was, I started paying real close attention. This scientist said, in an interview, that finally they were able to produce antimatter. Not much he said, only about 0.00005 gram, but that’s a great achievement. What do I read then? They were building a second accelerator somewhere under Chicago. Why, I was wondering. Just to be able to produce another 0.00005 gram of antimatter? Would that really be worth pouring billions of dollars into constructing a second of that behemoth? And then the realization struck me. You might think I was crazy… but this is what I came up with. It was more than 0.00005 gram of antimatter they were producing, far more. There was large scale antimatter production going on. You know why? Because this spaceship we are on needed it as fuel. That’s right my friend, I believe we are on a huge spaceship that has an anti-gravity engine fueled by antimatter. I suppose Earth can’t see us because we’re cloaked.’

‘Hey Bruce, stop right there!’ Tim shouted with excitement. ‘I know exactly what you’re talking about. In fact, I think this is that huge space vehicle that astronauts have seen on a number of occasions from the ISS, you know, from the International Space Station.’

Bruce nodded.

‘I also think it’s cloaked,’ Tim continued. ‘However, from time to time when the ship gets low on energy, their cloak stops working and then they must go down to the clouds to gather some new energy from the thunder storms.’

‘That’s right, brother,’ Bruce took over. ‘And the same thing happens to their tiny vessels, their shuttles that monitor activity and people on the surface. Normally, those are also cloaked as long as the energy supply is adequate. By the time the operators realize that the energy supply is running low and the shuttles are not cloaked anymore, many people on Earth have seen them as UFOs. Of course, then they quickly return here.’

‘Exactly!,’ Tim nodded fervently.

‘And you know what else?’ Bruce went on. ‘I think some of the leaders on Earth, you know, the governments that count, like the American and the Russian, and… perhaps the Vatican as well, are strictly controlled by the Supremes… Of course, I doubt they are the most supreme entity in the Universe. They must have their Gods, too, their Creators I mean. So let’s not even call them anything other than just Aliens... Anyway, taxpayers are helpless, their billions poured into projects that don’t benefit them. It benefits the few who carry out the plans of the Aliens. That’s right, large scale antimatter production is going on so the Aliens can survive. Earth is probably just one of their bases in the Galaxy. Who knows how many other species they have created. There was an other guy here who said he saw spaceships leaving this Island uncloaked more than once. You know, real ships, probably inter-galactic, taking off in the direction of deep space… Wait a second… How can I help you ladies?’ Bruce turned to the two figures that suddenly appeared near Tim. ‘Oh, I know, you need an account number.’ He turned back to Tim. ‘Go and play some, and then come back.’

Tim approached an empty table and started playing. Being the only player there, he had a hard time keeping pace with the dealer. He started cautiously, betting only hundreds, but when he was down by a thousand, he raised his bets. Incredible, he grumbled, just like in Vegas. He kept losing. When his inquiry indicated that he had already lost half of his ten thousand, he got mad. I’ll put up whatever I have left, he thought, and either get everything back… or go bust. Wait, the alarm went off in his mind. What did Mag say? Losing all ten thousand means perish. For a moment, he agonized over whether he should, indeed, just risk it all…

As the rays of the sun entered between the curtains, Tim had to blink a few times after he opened his eyes. He reached for his mobile phone that was still ringing.

"Who is it? Bruce?... Who?... Oh, Dave… Who?... Oh, my sales manager… yes, of course… The time?... What?! Missed the appointment?... The battery must have died in my alarm… And I had the weirdest dream… I died in my dream, and… Okay, I’ll get ready in a hurry and meet you at the customer’s office."

Tim jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

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