The Communication

The blip was no longer apparent on the radar; it had been like that ever since that night three weeks ago. It stopped appearing the same night that Jim had been taken ill by fever. Nobody could understand how he had caught it, most putting it down to stress. Jim was well known for not stopping until a task was complete, some even thought of him as a bit of a work-acholic at times.

Dr Arundle, the only qualified medical personal on the base had been observing Jim’s condition. She was a career professional, dedicating her life to her work. At the age of 35 she had built up a worldwide reputation in to the study and cure of twentieth century ailments. She was a small, determined woman with short-cropped hair and emerald green eyes.

Jim’s illness had stumped her. She kept a private medical journal, documenting his condition. She did this, as it was rare that any one became ill, she was there mostly in case of emergencies, accidents and such. Jim had been the first person to catch a fever in the five years she had been at the complex. Her meticulous notes however mainly consisted of a documentation of the patients delirium whilst the fever reached it’s peak. He’d constantly been murmuring to himself, which in itself is not uncommon when a fever was breaking, but it was what he was saying that intrigued her. He’d repeated again and again ‘ Why me.’ This statement he’d repeated over and over until the fever finally had rendered him unconscious. She had done the best she could and now hoped he would be strong enough to pull through on his own.

The doctor sat at her desk in her private quarters, it wasn’t the largest room on the base, but it was her domain. A place where she could elope to when then fancy took her. She sat down in her favorite chair and was listening to the Beatles, a contemporary classic of the twentieth century with cuddles her pet cat curled up snugly on her lap. Twitching now and again as the cat dreamt of chasing mice through a barn in a far off place. Pet’s had been allowed on the base under strict quarantine as set out by the government legislation.

Dr Rundle didn’t have what one would call close friends and tended to prefer her own company. Whilst listening to Yesterday on her musical interface she began to daydream. When she joined up to come to the star base she hadn’t really known what to expect. Compared to her life on earth this place had seemed like early retirement. It took months for her to adjust, the pace of life just too slow. Now though she had time to herself, time to reflect. As her thoughts drifted she began to feel at peace, the music lulling her into a meditative state. A warmness enveloped her, feeling’s of love, emotions tugging at her heart strings. As she sat there she smiled to her self-thinking about lover lost and times gone by. In the back of her mind though she knew that all this was just a passing phase. Her career had always been the most important thing in her life, every thing else always seeming to take second place. She’d had relationships sure, in fact one of the main reasons she’d taken this job in the first place was due to a failing affair back on earth. No man had ever seemed to match her standards. Perhaps they were too high. A faint chuckle slipped out between her lips as cuddles fell off her lap as she leaped after an imaginary mouse. The music had stopped everywhere was quiet except for the scurrying of cuddles little paws as she tried to regain a hold on her owners lap. Dr Arundle laughed once to herself and then out loud as she realized just what she had just been thinking.

The ringing of her buzzer brought her back to her normal rational self. Who was it this time? She pondered as she got up to walk over to the intercom.

" Dr Arundle here, what’s the problem?", she said almost automatically as she looked at her intercom screen.

" Just thought I’d give you a call to tell you I’m all right." The voice said at the other end in a innocent tone.

Then it hit her. She was looking at Jim. He was sat on the edge of one of the bunk beds in the medic bay looking at her through the intercom VDU screen. He was Just sat there smiling to himself as if nothing had happened. Grabbing her lab jacket she set off to the medic bay to find out what was going on.

When she arrived Jim was still sat there smiling to himself. His cheeks glowed rosy red like a exited child who’d just come inside after playing in the snow. How was the thought that kept running through her mind. With out thinking she looked at Jim and spoke,

" How, How did you recover so quickly, last night you looked as if you where at deaths door."

She walked over to Jim and started to check his condition with her hand held scanner. The reading come out all clear. She tried again, but the results where the same. She went over to her desk and sat down as if trying to make sense of the readings. Then Jim spoke causing her to turn round in her chair as if mesmerized.

" You can feel it to, the warmth, the peace, I never knew it was possible to feel like this until.........", Jim trailed off, ending the conversation. He looked completely absorbed in his own thoughts, in his own world.

" Until what?" Dr Arundle said with an exasperated voice, she was beginning to become more and more confuse be this man who she hadn’t meet until just three weeks ago. Sure people can have delusions after a traumatic event she rationalized, but even so this had struck her as being more. It was as if he knew something, but was unsure whether or not he should tell her. Before she could quiz him any further the automatic doors to the medic bay slid open. John was stood in the opening, he too looked a little perky, and his cheeks flushed red in the same way Jim’s did. He looked like an enthusiastic child who had just done something very mischievous, but unwilling to admit it.

" I knew you were OK, I just knew. It’s the visitor isn’t it, I can tell. Ever since you became ill there has been no sign of it, but today it’s back!" John spoke fast, as if struggling to get all the words out, each word seemed to career into the next as excitement overwhelmed him.

Jim looked at him and just smiled.

" After I hadn’t seen the visitor for a couple of weeks, I began to check the records in the com center and it was only then that I realized that it stopped appearing at the same time you became ill!" John was still rushing his words, unable to get them out fast enough.

" Whose this VISITOR", Dr Arundle screamed out , trying to make some sense of what was being said. John was just about to answer her when Jim stopped him. He didn’t know how, but he just knew he wasn’t supposed to tell her any thing. Jim turned to look at her, once again he smiled. Then he spoke.

" You’ll find out when the time is right."

Just as Jim had finished his last words a strange feeling struck the doctor. The warmth she had felt when she was back at her private quarters began to seep into her being. She felt happier than she had for ages, she felt like giggling. Then it occurred to her. She had felt better than she had in years in the past few weeks, she’d just put it down to having no worries and having something to do. A normal reaction to a situation, nothing out of the ordinary, nothing strange or mysterious. A sudden apprehension began to take a hold. Fear, fear of not being in control. She’d always been in control. She felt alone, isolated, different, that some how she didn’t fit into the scheme of things. A cold shiver ran through her body, could it be the fever. No that was not possible, she was healthy. Repeating the thought over and over in her mind. It was as if that was the only defence she had to protect her sanity. The only thing that could protect her from what was happening, she felt as though even her colleagues were against her.

" It’s no use fighting it, you’ll only make yourself ill, enjoy it, mankind used to, he understood then that life was simple then, before......", Jim’s voice trailed off again. He looked as if he was dreaming, as if his mind was traveling through some distant dimension in time and space.

His words struck the doctor like a hammer blow, how had he known what she was thinking, had he read her mind. Was it him or something else, something just using Jim? The possibilities would have baffled even the most profound of minds. She tried to push her own thoughts to one side. She had to free herself. Getting up she tried to go for the door, but something seemed to stop her, paralyzing her.

" Jim, everything is glowing, the walls, the floor, the people." It was John who spoke this time, his words in awe and bafflement.

Both then turned to the doctor. She was sat down in her chair near her desk, all the colour from her cheeks drained. A cold sweat forming on her brow, her hands were shaking. Her face was set in sheer concentration. She was determined not to let herself be take, violated. She refused to let go of her free will, using it as if where a physical barrier between her and the unseen force. The harder she tried the stronger the opposing force. The force was too powerful, the harder and harder she tried to push it away, the stronger it became until she could feel all her defenses start to crumble. All her strength drained, sheer exhaustion overwhelming her senses.

Jim and John quickly move to catch her as she began to slip from her chair. The two of them moved in one fluid motion. Catching her they carried her limp body over to one of the nearby bunks, laying her down, neither of them saying a word. Jim them looked towards John and as if in some unspoken agreement John nodded. Turning round without a second glance John left, leaving Jim alone with the doctor.