Pa'an

Jag strode into the office with a brief case in one hand and his vicuna topcoat in the other. “Good morning, Elexi. I trust there were no emergencies in my absence?”

“Good morning, Ma.., er, Sir.” Elexi hurried to take Jag’s feather light topcoat, and carefully hung it on the coat tree.

Jag put down his brief case and turned to look more carefully at Elexi. “Have you been sleeping well?”

“No, sir, but I’ll be alright now. Do you want to see what came in this morning? I’ll get your coffee right away.”

“Elexi, what’s with the ‘sir’ and the coffee?”

She just handed him the article from the paper and went off to the coffee alcove.

Jag scanned the news clipping of the alien contact and raised an eyebrow at the mention of Aura. On second thought, he raised both eyebrows, sat on the edge of the desk and carefully scanned the report again. Elexi handed him the coffee and watched anxiously for his response.

“Is it the way you like it?”

“Hmmm. I don’t really give a damn about coffee. I give a lot of damn about this.” He waved the clipping.

Elexi took a step backward and twitched. “You are not pleased?”

Jag squinted at her. My God, she’s been conditioned. When did they do this? Is that why he was called out of town? “The master is pleased.” He watched Elexi visibly relax.

He closed and locked the door to the anteroom.

As gently as he could, he said, “Elexi, tell me about this report. You were a friend of Aura’s, and you know we are relying on the Exaplex modules for most of the company revenue. Tell me what you know.”

Elexi just stood there and said nothing.

“Elexi? Are you going to tell me?”

She backed against the wall. Her lips moved, but nothing came out.

“Elexi, I’m so sorry to have to do this to you, but I need to know. J’ouvrai la chambre des couleurs.”

Hearing the trigger phrase, Elexi went rigid. “Yes, master.”

“Who or what is Zovoarcnor?”

“He is an alien AI from the Pa’an. He is a good friend of Aura, or was.”

“Where is he?”

“He is in orbit around the Moon.”

This was beginning to sound like a science fantasy novel. But under the conditioning, Elexi would be telling what she believed, if not the absolute truth. He shook his head and plunged on.

“How do you know this?”

“I talked to him.”

“You what?’

“I talked to him through Aura. Then I talked to Virti, one of the Pa’an.” She even made the glottal clicking sound when she pronounced Pa’an.

“You talked to an ET.”

“Yes.”

“What if Aura faked all that?”

“Aura was my best friend. She would not do that.”

“I see.” Jag was not sure he saw at all, but he needed to release Elexi from this horrible conditioned bondage, at least as much as he could without drugs and therapy.

“Elexi, I am the master.”

“Yes, master.”

“The master is pleased. Please repeat that.”

“Yes, master, the master is pleased.”

“You may forget this exchange.”

“Yes, master, I will forget this exchange.”

“You have pleased the master. The master releases you now. Be yourself, Elexi”

Elexi slowly slid down the wall until she was sitting curled up on the hard marble floor.

Jag, however, was not at all pleased. He was as angry as he could be. It was all he could do to turn away and go to his office, muttering, “That inhuman manipulating bastard. My father, my mother, my dog, Aura, and now this. This is the last straw.”

Mentor was only the immediately visible head of the monster. Jag had a lot of thinking to do. He had to muster considerable forces. There was no easy way to get at this organization, and it was suicidal to even think about. Had he been conditioned as a child? He didn’t really know.

After a while he picked up the phone and put it down. He could not trust the phone. He certainly could not trust Elexi.

An hour later he was on his way to Washington D.C. on a commercial jet, first class.