Emily's House: Book 1 of the Akasha Chronicles

Chapter 53: Liam, Fanny and Jack Receive Hospitality, CERN Style

Chapter 53: Liam, Fanny and Jake ReceiveHospitality, CERN Style

Liam, Fanny and Jake arrived at CERN but made it no farther than the first security gate.

Fanny had suggested that they arrange for a tour to get inside. But Jake said that plan was too ‘Scooby Doo’ and Liam had agreed with him.

Instead, they went with Liam’s straightforward plan. Since Liam was a theoretical physicist, he suggested that he ask to speak to someone inside. He had thought that they would listen to him.

But Liam was wrong. Apparently CERN thinks anyone who shows up at their gate claiming there’s a terrorist inside their compound is either a loon or a terrorist themselves.

Why the guard gate went for option #2 when approached by a middle-aged guy and two teenagers from Chicago, one can never know. They weren’t sent away, but they weren’t allowed in either. Instead, they were escorted to a separate building by military-type security guards.

Liam felt like he was being hauled to Guantanamo Bay. Branded a potential terrorist meant CERN could throw them in a room without windows, no one phone call, and pretty much hold them there was long as they pleased.

“This is crazy!” Fanny yelled when they were finally alone in their ‘hospitality suite’.

“Shh! You want them to hear?” Jake scolded.

“I don’t care if they hear. They’ve got their heads up their butts so far they’re probably hearing bowel sounds. Oh, sorry Mr. Adams.”

“It’s okay Fanny. I have to say I agree with you.”

“I don’t care where their heads are, we gotta’ get out of here,” Jake whispered.

“Captain Obvious, as usual,” Fanny replied. “And why are you whispering?”

“’Cause, Einstein, this place is probably bugged like crazy.”

The three looked at each other silently.

“Jake’s probably right,” Liam whispered. “If you think you have terrorists in your custody, you’d want to spy on them while you’re giving them your ‘hospitality.’”

That’s what the guards called it. They said, “Please enjoy our hospitality while we check out your credentials,” then they locked the door of the small tin can of a building. It had only one room filled with four bunk beds and a small bathroom.

The situation seemed so improbable to Liam. What kind of credentials are two fourteen-year-old kids supposed to have anyway? Their reality hit Liam like a ton of bricks. He was harboring two runaways, one of who faked a passport (federal felony) and both of who recently robbed an ancient grave of a protected antiquity (an international crime).

“What was I thinking, bringing you two here with me? I was trying to keep you kids out of trouble. I may have just gotten you into even bigger trouble,” he said.

“It’s not your fault, Mr. Adams,” Jake offered.

“Yeah, we came ‘cause we wanted to,” said Fanny. “We’d have followed you here even if you said we couldn’t come.”

“But this isn’t your fight. It’s mine now.”

“Wrong. It’s our fight. We promised Em. We’re not going to abandon her now,” said Jake.

“Yeah, we’ve come too far to be dealt out,” said Fanny.

“Well, now I don’t think you could be ‘dealt out’ even if you wanted to be.”

“If only they believed us,” Jake said.

“Yeah, ‘cause if they don’t, then they’re going to get an unwelcome surprise.” Fanny made a slashing motion across her throat.

“Gee, Fan, no wonder we were thrown into this tin can. You’re going around making threatening statements and talking smack.”

“I’m not threatening. I’m just saying we told them the truth. If they’d bother to remove their head from the dark place it’s in, they might investigate and find out there’s a guy in their facility that wasn’t there a few weeks ago. And if they’d only check they’d see he doesn’t quite add up.” Fanny raised her voice to make sure any listening ears would be sure to hear her.

“You’re probably right Fanny,” Liam said.

“But what’s he going to do here, Mr. Adams? And if he’s here, how’d he get in. As we’ve seen, security is high.”

“My guess is he faked credentials to get inside.”

“Prolly killed someone,” Fanny offered.

“Now why would you say that? You’re so melodramatic.”

“You heard Hindergog’s story. This guy’s like evil incarnate. He killed plenty of people back then, in Saorla’s time. You think he wouldn’t kill some wimpy scientists dude and steal his cred to get in here?”

“You’ve got a point,” Jake conceded. “Okay, so maybe he could find a way in. But then what? I mean, how could he open a portal? For Em to cross over, she needed to be at the portal at the Sacred Grove and she had to have the torc and say a magick spell.”

Liam had pondered Jake’s question nonstop since they’d left Dublin. He felt close to an answer, but it was still hovered just outside his reach.

The three sat in the bunkhouse for several hours before Liam gave in to exhaustion and stretched out on one of the bunks and dozed off.

Liam slept fitfully on the hard cot and dreamed. He was jolted wide-awake by the words ‘pulsed resonant frequencies’ repeating in his mind. It was as if someone had shouted the words into his ear and woke him up.

Fanny and Jake were asleep. Liam bolted up and shook them both awake.

“I’ve got it. I know how he’s going to do it,” he nearly shouted.

“What? How?” Jake asked sleepily as he yawned.

“By pulsing resonant frequencies,” he stated matter-of-factly.

Fanny and Jake looked at Liam as if he had suddenly sprouted a second head.

“Huh?” asked Fanny.

“The giant magnets of the LHC. That’s why he’s here. If he pulses the frequencies of the magnets at an extremely high rate of speed ... It might just work.”

“I don’t get it,” said Jake. “What would that do?”

“Well, it has been largely theoretical you see. The Philadelphia experiment and other more fringe stuff is based on this principle. It’s theorized by some that if you rapidly pulse and focus really large electromagnetic frequencies, you could transport an object to other places instantaneously.”

“Or people?”

“Yes, or people. At least that’s what some have theorized. But it has been fringe science, not something that anyone with credentials has worked on.”

“Okay, you lost me at the word pulse,” said Fanny sleepily.

“Shut up Fan, this is serious.”

“Don’t get your tiny pants in a twist Jake. I don’t follow all you’re saying Mr. Adams, but if you think you’ve got it, I believe you.”

“Thanks Fanny. But I don’t know what good any of it does us when we’re stuck in the hospitality suite.”