Iapetus Saves Albuquerque

After reading the demands of the aliens in the newspaper, Dr. Maland and the Iapetian Storyteller continued their drive towards Roswell New Mexico. They hoped to regain control over Cyber-Iapetus before it could be used for destructive purposes against the United States.

"If we could gain control of Cyber-Iapetus, we could use it to stop that sand monster from doing any more damage," Dr. Maland said.

"That is my hope as well. Do your people have the alien ambassador in question?"

"I have heard stories -- rumors more like it -- about an alien taken to Area 51 in Nevada."

"If the alien ambassador is in Nevada, your people may not be able to deliver in a timely manner."

"If these rumors have any weight, the ambassador is dead and has been -- ah -- dissected."

"That would be a problem."

"Further, it has been said that his spacecraft has also been disassembled and studied. It could be in 1000 places."

"That would be a further problem."

"They say that the craft is the basis for much of our top-secret military aircraft. Stealth and all that."

"That is ridiculous! As our mechanical protector shows, the human mind is quite capable of creating incredible technologies on its own."

"True. Some of the stories are a bit far fetched. For instance, many of the same people believe that humans could not create any type of sophisticated engineering on their own. They believe that these aliens also built the pyramids in Egypt *and* South America."

"That *is* silly."

"Furthermore, they also link this to the goings-on in the Bermuda Triangle."

"What is the Bermuda Triangle?"

"It is an area between Miami, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda..."

"Where our island lies?"

"Exactly -- er -- um -- ah -- yes."

"Do they think we are aliens?"

"I suppose some do, but all of this resides upon the fringes. It is not taken seriously."

"What else do they say about our island?"

"Well -- I have heard that some -- on the fringes mind you -- think you are descendants from the lost continent of Atlantis."

"Interesting..."

"In any event, we are here!"

Dr. Maland pulled the rental car off the road on the north side of the Roswell Industrial Air Center. The security was tight, and they could not get into the airport itself. However, they could see the giant Cyber-Iapetus looming in the distance.

They were about to discuss how they might infiltrate the airport when the mechanical weapon began moving. It crashed through the fence of the airport. It headed for the control tower, and clumsily walked right through it. It kicked a few airplanes sitting on the ground, and continued on its way.

It headed north out of the airport past the rental car containing Dr. Maland and the Iapetian Storyteller. It continued north through town at a very slow and erratic pace. It was capable of much faster speeds, but it moved relatively slowly and deliberately.

"It is probably headed to where we just came from," Dr. Maland said.

"So," began the storyteller, "back to Albuquerque?"

"I suppose so. I think I could make a guess as to where the two alien controlled monsters will meet."

"Somewhere near the town they plan to destroy I would guess."

"Well, if I were a Sletfernian Sand Monster -- I would probably want access to sand before I go into Albuquerque."

"I suppose that is true."

"It could get that sand on any surrounding area, but Roswell is Southeast of the city."

"So, it does make sense that they would meet somewhere along our route back there."

"Further, these aliens probably have limited knowledge of our planet," explained Dr. Maland. "Thus, it seems reasonable to me, that they would not choose some place too far off the beaten path."

"I follow."

"There was some sort of excavation going on just east of the mountains pass into town. It may have even been a sand pit. If I remember correctly it was just west of the town of Moriarty."

"It appears that our alien foes are having some difficulty in the operation of our mechanical protector. If we leave now, we could easily be there before it arrives."

"I am way ahead of you," Dr. Maland replied as he turned the car around and headed away from the airport.

The two men raced northward on the highway with the mechanical monster slowly following behind them. Every time Dr. Maland looked into the rear-view mirrors he could see the enormous monster following. The flatness of the terrain masked how close or far the mechanical weapon actually loomed.

They thought Cyber-Iapetus would pass them during a stop for fuel, but the two men had enough of a lead to remain ahead of the mechanical monster. It seemed to the two men that the aliens still did not have a complete understanding of how to operate the mechanical weapon system. Perhaps this would allow the storyteller to regain control of it at an opportune time.

After a couple hours of travelling upon the US Highway, the men eventually pulled onto the interstate and began their westerly travel. It would not take long to get to their final destination.

As they approached the city, streams of cars were headed in the opposite direction on the interstate. While they still had difficulty with the radio, they assumed the evacuation order for Albuquerque had been given. However, they hoped the stream of vehicles would not run into the northern bound weapon system and would continue east.

During their journey, the two men were surprised that there were no roadblocks into the city. The lack of obstacles aided the two men as they disobeyed the posted speed laws in their rush towards the supposed meeting spot. While the rental car was no great race car, it did allow them to travel the 160 miles in about two hours even with the rest stops.

The two men arrived at the site Dr. Maland believed would be the meeting place. They were well ahead of Cyber-Iapetus. However, the sand monster was nowhere to be seen. They drove around the site a few times with the mechanical monster slowly making its way towards them.

If they could not locate the meeting place, Cyber-Iapetus would travel past. They needed it to stop before they could attempt to enter it. This was the only way they were going to gain control of the machine.

They were about to make another lap when a military Humvee crossed the cars path. Dr. Maland slammed on the breaks to prevent a collision and came sliding to a stop.

A military man stepped out of the vehicle and walked over to the car. Dr. Maland rolled down his window.

"What the -- er -- uh -- what are you doing here citizens?" asked the military captain attempting to contain himself.

"We are hoping that weapon system stops here so we can regain control of it," replied Dr. Maland pointing at the approaching cybernetic weapon system.

"Ooooooooh f...." muttered the military man running back to his vehicle.

He jumped in and pulled out his radio. "Captain Cheever to base we have a major problem. Over!"