Free Politics of Blood (Gray Spear Society Book 8) by Alex Siegel Page B

disturbing. Their metal skulls and crystalline eyes were only part of the reason. They cooperated perfectly without verbal communication as if they shared a common brain. Their divine intelligence was the most unsettling aspect of all. Kamal was a brilliant scientist, but he was an ignorant fool compared to the twins. They understood the mysteries of the universe in a way that no normal mortal ever could.
    It was a pleasant day for working outdoors. The sun was bright and the air was clear, but a cool breeze had kept him comfortable. He could see the tall buildings of downtown Chicago from the top of the hotel. Airplanes coming from and going to O'Hare Airport were always in the sky.
    "Will you tell me the purpose of this experiment?" Kamal said.
    "We're going to create a spatial boundary condition," Bethany replied in her synthetic voice.
    "What do you mean?"
    "Effectively, a black hole with no mass."
    Kamal contemplated this preposterous statement. "Is it dangerous?"
    "There is a certain amount of risk," she said. "Time could stop, or we could be vaporized."
    "Oh."
    He turned to a laptop computer sitting on the roof. The specifications for the device were shown on the display. According to all the physics he knew, the thing was nothing more than an expensive piece of junk. Obviously, he didn't know enough.
    "I think we're ready." Bethany looked up at the sky.
    "Are you going to turn it on?" Kamal said.
    "We have to wait for the airplanes to land. I just sent a message to air traffic control to clear the skies."
    That was another disturbing aspect of the twins. They had wireless communication built into their brains. They could control their computers from anywhere. Physical interaction was unnecessary.
    "You're worried about taking out an airplane?" he said.
    She nodded. "The phenomenon could interfere with navigation systems."
    "Should we get behind cover?"
    "Probably."
    Kamal, Bethany, and Leanna went behind a white, metal shed on the roof. Missile launchers were hidden inside the shed.
    "Goodbye," Bethany said in soft pure tones.
    "Why goodbye?" Kamal said.
    "In case we die, I wanted to say goodbye." She hugged her sister briefly.
    "Oh. It was nice knowing you."
    "I'm turning it on now."
    She didn't do anything. Obviously, she was communicating with the device using the radio in her head.
    He heard a loud pop followed by a whistling noise. He cautiously looked around the corner of the shed.
    A black sphere the size of a basketball was floating above the device. The surface was so perfectly featureless, it looked like a hole in space. Kamal could hardly believe his eyes. This technology was from the distant future.
    "I think it's working," he said. "At least, we're not dead. What's that sound? It's like static."
    The twins walked around to observe their experiment. If they were proud of their extraordinary accomplishment, it was impossible to tell. Their metallic faces rarely expressed emotion.
    "I think it's the air interacting with the surface," Bethany said. "We forgot to account for the presence of an atmosphere."
    "Is that a problem?"
    She looked at him with her solid, black eyes. "Yes."
    There was a loud bang, and a blast of hot air swept Kamal off his feet. He lay on the roof for a moment, stunned.
    After he got his bearings, he looked over at the twins. They were getting up slowly but didn't appear injured. He checked himself and only found a few scrapes.
    "We'll make some adjustments before we try that experiment again," Bethany said.
    He sat up and looked at the device. It had been crushed to a fine powder.
    "Good idea," he said. "The first 'adjustment' will be building a new device."
    * * *
    A tap on the shoulder woke Perry. He looked up into the stern face of his commander.
    "I finished going through your threat list," Aaron said. "Great work. It was exactly what I wanted."
    "Thank you, sir."
    Perry sat up. He was on the couch in the living room in headquarters. A huge television was hung on the wall. Several