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Tyber immediately picked it up again, redialing the number. "Not just shuttle
components as we thought." Someone answered the phone on the other end,
presumably the same woman. Tyber asked to speak to an engineer.
When he got through to the engineer, Tyber told the man who he was, launching
into a hokey explanation of some information he needed for a VR project he was
working on.
Zanita knew VR stood for virtual reality. She wondered if Tyber really was
working on such a project. At any rate, the man on the other end didn't seem to
hesitate, giving him all the information he needed. She guessed Tyber's name had
been enough of an introduction, especially since nothing he asked in any way
connected to virtual reality.
He hung up the phone, a huge smile breaking across his face. "We got him, baby."
"Tell me! Tell me!" She clutched his hands, just as excited as he was.
"That little healing demonstration he put on for us in Vermont I know just how
he did it."
"How?" Her violet eyes got huge with anticipation. Tyber thought she looked
totally delectable. Without thinking, he lowered his head to give her a heated
kiss. She pushed against his shoulders.
"Not now, Doc! Tell me how he did it!"
"That's just it; he didn't. It was all a fake; he's a fake. Have you ever seen
those nylon filament lamps they look like multicolored hedgehogs or sea
anemones? They were very popular back in the early eighties."
"You mean the stuff that sprouted on people's coffee tables in black box bases
and lit up at the tips in different colors?"
"That's the stuff. Our friend LaLeche was wearing them or something like them.
You see, light travels through those clear filaments from an end source. In this
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case, LaLeche probably used a small circuit board with some light bulbs, like
the little ones they use in Christmas tree lights, connected to the filaments."
Her eyebrows rose. "That would explain the light-show we witnessed, but how
could he conceal the filament wires? You saw yourself his sleeves were rolled up
way past his elbows. There was nothing there but bare arms."
"Not quite; there was nothing there to see but bare arms. That's the beauty of
it he was wearing prosthetic skin."
"Prosthetic skin? Are you sure? It looked so real; his arms even had hair on
them."
"According to this engineer I spoke to, they use this stuff all the time in
motion pictures. It does look real human hairs are individually inserted into
the skin to augment the effect."
"You don't think we would have seen something odd about it?"
"No. Don't forget, it wasn't all that bright in the cabin; LaLeche only brought
those kerosene lanterns for lighting. And he made sure he did the trick at
night."
Zanita thought about it a minute. "You shook hands with him when we left.
Wouldn't you have felt anything strange?"
"Not necessarily. Remember, it was late; it was cold as hell; the handshake was
brief; and, most importantly, I wasn't expecting to feel anything unusual.
Besides, the engineer told me the stuff feels very close to human skin in
texture."
"If memory serves me," Zanita said, "LaLeche worked at Space Age Systems for two
years, the longest he had ever stayed in one place. We even remarked on it,
remember?"
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Tyber shook his head. "I bet he was learning all kinds of new tricks there. He
probably doctored up a fake resume to go along with his fake name. It also
explains why he only did the trick once. I imagine it's not a simple thing to
set up."
"So, the filaments were under the prosthetic skin?"
"Exactly. He must have had the on-off switch within easy reach. The circuit
board would have been concealed somewhere on him. My guess is inside his pants.
One flick and viola! You light up my life."
Zanita blew the curls off her forehead. "Tyber, how did you ever figure this
out? Where was the connection?"
"When I saw the veggie alien and I commented on nature abhorring a vacuum, it
reminded me that I was thinking the very same thought when I was talking to
LaLeche. I knew there had to be some intuitive connection between the two, which
my subconscious brain had already figured out. I got to thinking about the hokey
alien make-up in the movie, and that thought led to special effects, which led
to Hollywood, which is in L.A. I remembered Xavier spent two years in L.A. at
Space Age Systems. Alien Space Age LaLeche. It hit me; Space Age Systems might [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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