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    Vanishing Trick
    Vanishing Trick
    Vanishing Trick
    Ebook152 pages2 hours

    Vanishing Trick

    By George W. Parker

    ()

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    About this ebook

    VANISHING TRICK
    A mind altering experiment. A government conspiracy. A coup d'etat. In the near future a device to make people smarter is stolen from its inventor and multiple levels of intrigue to take over the US Government are ignited.

    The military wants to use it to create a junta. Disaffected members of the government are after it as a tool to control the population. And corporate American wants a commercial a piece of its additive powers. With the help of his girlfriend, her US Senator father, and the power of the device B fights to undo the work of his invention in a multilayered suspense story from our future.

    How smart is too smart?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGeorge W. Parker
    Release dateJan 16, 2013
    ISBN9781301691258
    Vanishing Trick
    Author

    George W. Parker

    George W. Parker has published an intertextual cycle of American genre novels: Death; Juxtaposed, The Letters, The Krew, Conversations at Night, and Vanishing Trick. Additionally he has authored The Boy in the Box and The Law the second and third novels in the Marvin Davis PI series along with Choice Cut, a zombie/noir novel. He lives in Austin and is currently working on Chop Shop, a zombie/noir follow up novel to Choice Cut. You can purchase paperback editions at Amazon.

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      Book preview

      Vanishing Trick - George W. Parker

      Chapter 1

      B pressed his back up against the cold stone of the Washington Monument.

      His heart pounded.

      -Good! I've lost them.-

      Leaning against the monument he tried to slow his breathing, lower his pulse. The vein on his right temple looked as though it would burst.

      He ran his hand through his wet hair and looked across the mall for pursuers, for an escape route. Washington, D.C. seemed suddenly unpopulated

      He let his head slump down to his chest.

      A small lance flashed past B's left ear and smashed into the monument, shattering pieces of wood and rock over him.

      B dropped to the ground. His eyes searched for the assailant. He found him. The soldier was rising from the upper edge of the depression fronting the Sylvan. The soldier lifted his weapon and took careful aim.

      B stood up, facing the attacker.

      -Well smart guy, what can you do now?-

      Six Days Earlier

      Correct Miss Adler. That's exactly what I meant.

      Irene smiled at the acknowledgment and looked down at her notes on top of her desk.

      Her mathematics professor stood at the front of the room and looked over the class of grey uniformed students. They in turn avoided his eyes, looking down at their hands or at the floor, anywhere but at him. B was known to keep classes late if a discussion was merited.

      Wind chime tones sounded in the classroom. Students began shuffling papers, closing books, anxious to start their weekend.

      B reminded, There's a test on Doyle Monday. Have a good weekend.

      The students filed out of the room, adding their steps to the footfalls filling the corridors.

      B watched the last student exit the class room.

      -Good, now I can get on to more important things.-

      He picked up his briefcase and yellow uni-coat and followed out into the hall. He merged into the mass of gray clad students working their way out of the building. There was no jostling, no contact, very little conversation.

      B made his way through the students as best he could. The press of bodies eased when it reached the ground floor estuary, then he was outside.

      The early May evening air was cool, refreshing. The students headed to the underground. B veered away toward a low rise topped with a small copse of trees and a taxi pad.

      V.I. Kemidov in his yellow uni was standing beside the flashing beacon.

      B assumed a sociable air as he neared his colleague.

      Victor, how are you this evening? he asked as he reached the pad.

      Kemidov smiled. He had watched B's approach. His thick glasses reflected the light from the signal, Fine, fine. How are you?

      Good. Ready to get home. It's been a long week.

      Yes, aren't they all?

      B did not need to answer. He smiled and pressed his right palm against the call pad.

      Then they stood side by side, waiting. Kemidov was several centimeters shorter and a few years older than B. They both clutched their briefcases with one hand and had the other thrust deep in the pockets of their coats against the cool night.

      Any plans for the evening? asked Kemidov.

      No, nothing special. Just take it easy. Drink a little wine. Enjoy the quiet. How about you?

      Well, it's not as quiet here in the city as your place is, Kemidov smiled. There is a chess tournament tomorrow that I'm in. Hopefully that'll be interesting, if it's not the same old crowd.

      That sounds like fun. I haven't played chess in forever.

      You should pop in, Kemidov encouraged. We might play each other.

      B looked up into the sky searching for a cab. Maybe. I'll have to see how much I enjoy the quiet.

      Great, I hope to see you. Then Kemidov added as he looked skyward, "Where are those damn cabs.

      The sky above was filled with homeward bound auto lights. Both men searched for an incoming cab.

      With a loud whine a black and white hansom zoomed in low from over the trees behind them and set down on the pad. The front of the pod opened and the soft voice of the pod queried Where to?

      Do you want to share it? Kemidov asked.

      No, I'm too much out of your way. As soon as you lift, I'll call again.

      Look, Kemidov explained laughing, "you live farther away. You take it. I can't hustle away in a cab leaving my boss here, can I?

      Okay, but only because I'm getting cold. He patted Kemidov on the shoulder in way of thanks and hurried to the waiting cab. He called over his shoulder, Thanks, see you.

      Have a good weekend, Kemidov called back as B scrambled into the car.

      Chapter 2

      Climbing into the left hand seat, B pressed his palm against the console reader and instructed, Home.

      The soft lights of the instrument cluster brightened as the bubble door closed, sealing out the night. As B leaned back in the seat the hansom jumped into the traffic above Washington pressing him back into the cushions.

      In the flight lanes the cab picked out its course and the acceleration eased. The traffic beacon atop the Washington Monument drew B's attention. In the Old Quadrant the glow from the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials cut through the surrounding darkness. Farther north, the New Quadrant sparkled with millions of lights.

      With a forced levity he said, See you Monday.

      As the hansom hurtled deep into the Shenandoah Valley, the face of sociability B still wore from his talk with Kemidov dropped away to an unemotional look of thought.

      - I wonder what it's like to close your eyes and then, when you open them, to be ten fold smarter than you were before?

      With my device it'll be easy to increase one's intellect. But how will that intellect interact with its old and new self? So many questions to be answered. -

      Deep in his thoughts B did not notice the light wink on ahead in the forest below and the cab begin its descent out of the flight lane. He was home.

      The cab actuated exterior lights of his house flooded the small clearing and LZ with a light as bright as day. The light popped the western Virginia forest into surrealistic detail and highlighted the house's three large ground floor cubes, arranged pinwheel-like with the fourth smaller cube centered on top. The second story presented the only windows in the building.

      The hansom's canopy opened, the cool Washington evening was now a cold country night. A gusting wind whipped inside the open cab. Judas, its freezing! B said as he hurried to the house. Behind him the cab lifted into the air and rushed back to Washington.

      B pressed his hand against the ID plate which in turn actuated the retinal scanner. The massive door began to move. It was barely opened and B squeezed through to the inside, out of the wind. He manually activated the closing switch, adding Exterior lights, out.

      Presence-actuated lights filled the small foyer with a soft, warm light. B palmed the door pad on the secondary door. It opened, recessing into the wall on his left. He entered the living room and the foyer door closed behind him.

      Pastel colors, dark carpet, lighter walls, and light ceiling invited relaxation. Plush cushions were cast about for furniture.

      Crossing the living room B took his jacket off and tossed it toward one of the cushions. It missed but he took no notice.

      At the joining corners of the first floor cubes, in the space where the living room, dining room and kitchen merged, a circular steel staircase rose to the second floor. B moved into the kitchen.

      It was smaller than the other lower level rooms with a commercial stainless steel look.

      For a moment B stood quietly.

      -I need to eat something before I get started. Something fast to get it out of the way. I might be busy for a while.-

      He moved to the counter and opened one of the cabinets and pulled out a glass. He stepped over to the sink and filled it with water.

      -What shall we do?-

      He looked above the sink at the dispensing machine inset in the wall.

      -It doesn't really make any difference, so let's try some protein and carbohydrates.-

      Steak and potatoes, he said to the machine. Two white tabs were fed out of it. B took and chewed the tabs. He contorted his face over their bitter taste and washed the meal down. The glass of water was not enough to remove the flavor.

      -They could make that stuff taste better if they wanted to.-

      He refilled the glass and drank it down then set the glass in the sink.

      -I guess the taste is a deterrent to overeating. No one could ever learn to like that. I'll eat something real tomorrow.-

      B returned to the center of the house and started up the stairs. The lights downstairs blinked off as the lights upstairs came on.

      The stairs rose in the center of the second story cube and provided a natural division between the study and the bedroom.

      During the day the bedroom windows commanded a view of the surrounding forest. Now they were black voids throwing B's reflection back at him as he stepped off the stairs.

      To his left was the bed, chest and clothes cupboard.

      To the right, the wall was covered with books. Out in the central space was a large hover table and chair. On top of the table was a small black box. Its face was comprised of a toggle switch, timer, and two strands of braided gold wire.

      B avoided the black device as he walked over to the bookcase. He pulled out a notebook and writing style and moved over to the table and set them down.

      He pulled the chair up close and sat down. He took up the style and opened the notebook. He entered the date and time. Then he entered the initial test current and time length adding a comment, This seems to be a nice, even figure to start with.

      Setting the style and notebook

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