“I have to admit,” said Fuller, “Fermi had me watch this after we discovered what H-Drake was up to and it’s a fascinating episode.”

“If I ever get my life back,” said Erin dryly. “I’ll be sure to buy it.”

“So to continue,” said Fermi, “McCoy and Spock dissect the situation. McCoy tells the compassionate Kirk the following, and I quote: ‘The intelligence, the logic. It appears your half has most of that. And perhaps that’s where man’s essential courage comes from.’ But later, Spock, a student of humanity, tells McCoy the following, which is the most relevant for our discussion: ‘And what is it that makes one man an exceptional leader? We see here indications that it’s his negative side which makes him strong. That his evil side, if you will, properly controlled and disciplined, is vital to his strength.’”

Erin almost whistled. It was uncanny how this line exactly mirrored current events, and surreal to have an actual alien quoting lines from Star Trek like a fanboy. “Very interesting,” she admitted.

And it was. Fermi’s computer had confirmed her own certainty that any positives that might come from the perfect storm of genes that resulted in full-on psychopathy paled when compared to the negatives. But she could see the truth of his argument as well. A smattering of these same genes in the population was critical for human leadership, human vitality.

There was a long silence in the room. Finally, Fuller nodded at Erin and said, “So that’s basically it. We’ve laid out the entire situation as well as we possibly can. I know we’ve given you a lot to think about. Do you believe us?”

Erin realized she did, and told him so.

“We need your help,” said Fuller.

“Don’t worry. I won’t be giving Drake the dose information he needs. He won’t be able to carry out his plan.”

“For now,” said Fuller. “But this won’t stop him from blending back into the woodwork and trying it later. Or something else. We have no idea of the Hive’s full capabilities, strategic or otherwise. We need to end this now.”

Erin considered. “What do you want me to do?” she asked. “And why hasn’t Kyle been part of this conversation? Why are you keeping him unconscious?”

“We’re all but certain humans are one of the species not susceptible to infiltration by the hive-mind,” said Fermi. “But until a few days ago, we didn’t think Drake was susceptible either. So it is possible that a concerted effort by a greater than normal fraction of the hive-mind for a period of years might succeed. And Kyle has now been working with H-Drake for many years.”

“You can’t possibly think that Kyle is being controlled.”

“No,” said Fuller. “We think this is still very unlikely. But, unfortunately, the stakes are too high to assume anything else.”

“It’s impossible,” insisted Erin. “Believe me. The two of us have…” She stopped in midsentence. “Well, let’s just say that I’ve been, ah … involved with him. Intimately,” she added, and something about their expressions made her think this wasn’t a surprise to them, although she had no idea how this could be. “There are certain reactions that can’t be faked,” she continued. “He’s as human as they come.”

“Wrap families had no idea fourteen hundred years ago when one of their members was infiltrated by the Hive,” explained Fermi. “Even though it’s in control, it can default to the being it’s controlling for physical and social reactions. It’s an emulator function. While in control the Hive can run a stimulus response routine that the being it’s controlling can’t stop. Whatever the real Kyle Hansen would have said, however he would have responded, the Hive can fire up these pathways and read the result. And choose to respond in exactly the same way. So in effect, it can be Kyle Hansen, down to his last personality quirk or physical reaction. Until it chooses to be otherwise. If any being the hive-mind infiltrated acted like the Hive for even a few minutes, the infiltration would be exposed.”

This was troubling, but Erin was still all but certain Kyle was still Kyle, on the basis of logic alone. But she did understand why this group wanted to err on the side of caution. “Are you sure none of the other Wraps have been infiltrated?” she asked.

“Positive,” said Fuller. “The Wraps know the telltale signs. They’re as subtle as a quantum signature, but their computer knows how to find them. The Wraps are clean, unless all three are being controlled. And since they alerted us to the Hive and the current situation in the first place, we know that’s not the case.”

“If you know the telltale signature,” said Erin, “why can’t you clear Kyle?”

“We haven’t yet zeroed in on the precise telltales for humans,” replied Fermi. “Again, we’re not even sure if infiltration is possible in your species.”

“Okay,” said Erin. “But I’ve been working with Drake for years also. How do you know I haven’t been infiltrated?”

“We heard your conversation with Drake,” replied Fuller. “He desperately wanted the cure and you didn’t give it to him.”

Erin nodded. “So what do you propose?”

“While we’ve been talking,” said Fuller, “with the assumption that we’d be able to convince you to help us, we’ve had a team brainstorm a credible cover story to enable us to put you and Kyle back on the field of play.”

“To do what?”

“We’ll give you a thorough briefing on that in a few minutes,” said Fuller. “But for now, I’d like to run a cover-story scenario by you and see if you think it will work.”

Erin nodded.

Steve Fuller pulled a cell phone from his pocket and less than three minutes later a man joined them, his right arm in a sling. The same man who had entered her motel room.

“I gave Captain Brock here and his men a difficult challenge,” said Fuller. “They needed to capture you both without harming either of you, but with a catch. They had to put Kyle to sleep before you, so that we could later convince him that you had prevailed and saved his bacon. So we couldn’t use overwhelming force or he wouldn’t buy it. The captain performed brilliantly, at great risk to himself, since the strategy severely tied his hands.”

Brock nodded at Fuller, acknowledging the praise. He then turned to Erin. “I really want to thank you for not killing me when you could have,” he said gratefully. He gestured toward his injured arm. “It was a brilliant shot. Taking me out of play without doing any permanent damage. I’m in your debt.”

“Yeah, well … you’re welcome,” said Erin. A broad grin spread slowly across her face. “I have to admit, I’m not used to being thanked by someone after shooting them.”

“Do you shoot a lot of people, ma’am?” said Brock.

Erin laughed. “No. You’re the first.”

“Good to know,” said Brock with just the hint of a smile. “In any event, my team has come up with a cover story we think is workable.” He went on to describe the fictional tale of Erin’s heroic rescue of Kyle Hansen from the Saguaro Inn. “And we found a great location you can credibly say you were hiding at while waiting for Kyle to recover. We were really proud of this one. Did you know there’s a dried-out river in Tucson?”

“Yes,” said Erin. “My roommate told me all about its history. The Santa Cruz.”

“Very good. Anyway, once we fly you back and set the stage, we were thinking of placing you there. Under a bridge. And leaving a Lexus for you at the airport.”

“A Lexus? How will I explain that?”

“You ever fly to any conferences with your advisor?”

Erin shook her head no.

Brock smiled. “Well, Kyle Hansen won’t know that, will he?” Then, with a shrug, he added, “And I’ve decided your advisor is the kind of man who would own a Lexus.”

48

WHEN ERIN PALMER finally finished her account of what had transpired after Hansen had lost consciousness, he was speechless. For years he had believed Steve Fuller had turned on the Wraps, killing them all. All but Drake. And he had believed that Drake was dedicated to helping mankind.