Free Connexion : The Atlantis Project, Book.1 by LEMPEREUR Page A

reverberated in his head. He was breathing faster and
faster, and soon a sensation of freezing cold overwhelmed him.
Large drops of sweat trickled slowly down his pallid face.
    Jacques noticed his distress and spoke
internally to him, “Now you’re beginning to understand my
doubts. It’s not a game anymore, where your waffling and your
literary capers can pull you through. The guys who tried this
before us certainly didn’t come out of it unscathed. It’s not too
late to say no, you know!”
    Clementine watched Charlie for a few moments.
She had noticed that something was wrong too, but she didn’t
move.
    “Is everything okay, Charlie?” asked
Giuseppe.
    Charlie tried to pull himself together. He
held his breath for a few seconds then cleared his throat rather
noticeably before answering in a slightly husky voice.
    “Yes, fine. Just a little hot flush. I get
them from time to time.”
    “Well, it’s midday, anyway. I suggest we take
a short lunch break. We’ll continue our conversation at one
o’clock, if that’s okay with you. Unfortunately, I have some things
to see to, but Mario will go to the canteen with you.”
    Giuseppe found himself alone with
Francisco.
    “Are you sure about this, Francisco? Charlie
seems mentally fragile. What will happen if he panics during the
connection?”
    Francisco’s eyes met Giuseppe’s, furtively
then he answered quite confidently, “That’s a risk which I have
just calculated, but it will not last indefinitely. He should gain
control of himself after a few minutes. If the worst comes to the
worst we could always tranquilize him. Anyway, we don’t have any
choice. An opportunity like this will never come up again.”
     

 
    10 INTERLUDE

     
    Clementine was having difficulty swallowing
the cold macédoine salad that the canteen cook had carefully coated
in a grayish mayonnaise with dubiously identifiable seasonings. A
second plate sitting on her tray contained a slab of freeze-dried
turkey, still steaming. It was served with mashed potatoes,
supposedly “home-made”, whose color and consistency made her think
of a tomato coulis that has lost the vibrant red that once
made it appetizing. The canteen held the promise of a new feast,
each day that the friends were to spend on the base. The
grotesqueness of such cuisine, especially after the repast they had
enjoyed the day before, at least helped to relax the
atmosphere.
    With a laugh, Jacques said to Mario, who had
only taken the salad, “Aren’t you hungry, Mario?”
    “Oh, well, it’s not that I’m fussy, but I
prefer to savor the gastronomic memories of yesterday. Besides, the
shock would be difficult for my digestion to cope with. It’s better
to make the transition gradually.”
    The wise words of Mario immediately set the
others laughing, which was a welcome relief from the ambient
tension.
    Even Charlie had his color back and laughed
as he happily quipped, “Thankfully, we’re on a base full of
scientists, so each dish is carefully labeled, or else we might
have trouble identifying them!”
    And Jacques added, with a grin that he could
not suppress, “What about the cook – do you think he’s from Naples
too?”
    Everyone laughed heartily, even Clementine,
who finally gave up on trying to finish her salad. But Jacques went
too far. Trying to unite everyone around a childhood memory bathed
in nostalgia, he made an unhappy allusion.
    “I bet they also serve stewed sheep’s brains,
just like Mama used to make, ‘because they make you smarter’!”
Charlie was no longer in a jovial mood. His face became grave again
as he questioned Mario, “Why did Francisco say that I would be the
only one to be connected to Victor? Do you know?”
    Mario, though rather ill-at-ease, decided to
answer anyway.
    “I should really let Giuseppe explain this to
you, but since you’ve asked me, I’ll do it.”
    Jacques was really starting to appreciate
Mario.
    “Giuseppe hasn’t told you yet that the main
reason for