"I felt your fear…before you went through decon…you stopped. You were afraid."

"I see all there is to see. I know all there is to know. I have power to do all I please. You are insignificant to me. I am—"

"Delusional."

"Silence!"

"You silence me." Peterson had no voice. The mocking tone of his thoughts could not be concealed. The Europhids could not silence him. Apparently, they could control his body and chain his will, but they could not delete him entirely. "You have seen my thoughts. My memories. You now know that I come from a planet far from here. You know there are billions of others, just like me. You know that you are not God."

Again, the silence in Peterson's mind lasted for several moments. When the voice returned it was softer, less rigid. "I am not. I am we. We are billions too."

A breakthrough! Peterson allowed a tinge of relief to build.

"We understand God now…saw God in your mind…the limitless power…. We have always been defined that way. We were…confused. But you have brought us clarity. You would destroy us. Decontamination must be accomplished."

Peterson wanted to shout out a rebuke, but he felt neither his lungs nor his jaw. In an instant he felt the connection with the other consciousness fade away. It had broken off the dialogue. Refocused on its grim task. Decontamination. The Europhids were intelligent, he knew that, but their grasp of reason held a little to be desired.

As Peterson's mind filtered through the conversation, he became aware of his new surrounding. While distracted by the voice, he had failed to pay attention to what his still functioning eyes were seeing. Spread out before him, like a futuristic chip and dip plate was TES. The sphere was still lowered beneath the ice and he was steadily approaching the control panel.

Peterson's mind convulsed. The others would share the same fate as Harris and Choi, and their deaths would be on his hands. Pushing his will with all the determination he could render, Peterson attempted to will control of his body back to himself. The attempt was fruitless.

The only response he received echoed through his mind.

It was the voice again.

Laughing.

CHAPTER 29 -- BLUE

As anxiety welled within her, Connelly found herself reacting in a way she never had before. Her body fell limp. She was helpless as a rag doll in a laundry dryer. She could feel her body being pulled through a series of tunnels. The entire trip was masked in darkness as the creature that had taken her kept a firm grasp on her face plate.