Excerpt from Sylvans

Brookhaven National laboratory, Physics Building
Upton, Long Island, New York
September 2008
Doctor Pravin Prabinwah thought Duncan Wesley was like an overheated pressure cooker with undercurrents of violence leaking out the edges like wisps of steam. Dr. Prabinwah's colleague sat next to him with bulging eyes peering out under thick glasses like a frightened owl. Although the two scientists sitting across from Wesley represented the best minds in the world of physics, they seemed nothing more then timid mice before a lurking hungry tomcat.
Duncan Wesley rose from his seat. He placed his hands on the table and leaned forward from the waist until his face was less then two feet from the scientists. They both craned their heads back as Wesley swung his gaze from one to the other.
"I don't give a damn about your protocols and procedures or any other academic bullshit," Wesley said, "You may be on the Government tit, but right now I control the flow of milk. In other words gentlemen your ass is mine. I want that test run in forty-eight hours. Do you understand that? Am I clear enough?"
Dr. Prabinwah glanced at his colleague who blinked furiously as he licked his lips with little cat-like furtive movements of his tongue. Prabinwah realized he would have to be the one to make this volatile man understand, if that was at all possible.
"Uh, Mr. Wesley," he said, "these are not military exercises we can run on demand. Our protocols and procedures are not the problem. Even eliminating all safety concerns, we must still deal with laws of physics. Five days would be the absolute minimum."
"Why?"
Dr. Prabinwah sighed. This was not the first time he had explained this. He felt as if he was being interrogated, as if the man was trying to trip him up somehow. He also knew he had no choice but to play along and comply. In the last two weeks the Physics Science Department had been hostage to Duncan Wesley and his National Security Agency mandate. Since the arrival of the Artifact from Israel, all operating time of the Ion Collider and the new Phased Pulse Array Nuclear Aligner were locked in by the Agency. All other projects had been placed on hold.
"Well, uh," replied Prabinwah, "without Dr. Wu…"
Both scientists jumped as Wesley slammed his hand on the table, the noise violent and alien against the muted whisperings of the computers lining the opposing wall of the room.
"Screw Dr. Wu. He's already facing Federal charges for his disappearing stunt. You can bet his ass is in a major sling when we catch him, and that won't be very long."
"Yes, I understand," replied Prabinwah, "But that leaves only Dr. Hashimo and myself to interpret the data and set the Frequency Arrays. The Artifact's ionic pulses must be correctly interpreted and the alignment frequencies properly set before the Collider and the Phased Pulse Array Nuclear Aligner can be effective. Any error would not only negate the experiment but possibly ruin the Artifact for further tests."
"How about I get you a couple dozen NSA computer techs or a couple more physicists?" Wesley asked.
Dr. Prabinwah smiled for the first time as he replied.
"That would be like getting a clerk-typist to do a dissertation on surgery because she knows how to use a keyboard. Dr. Hashimo, Dr Wu and myself, invented the theory and the machinery that is the Phased Pulse Array Nuclear Aligner. This is a brand new science, even to us. Bringing in outsiders would mean at least a year of training."
Wesley leaned back, his eyes never leaving the scientists. He sat for what seemed endless moments before he replied.
"Five days, five fucking days maximum."
Dr. Prabinwah nodded. The undercurrent of threats and possible violence, the intensity of the man, even the profanity had shaken the academic's gentle soul. He wanted out, away from this man.
* * *
After the two scientists left, Wesley raised his face toward the ceiling and rotated his head like someone trying to get rid of a crick in his neck. It always began this way, that unpleasant buzzing in his head like a bee loose in his cranium. The noise settled to a sort of background hum as he felt the presence of the Sylvan.
It was late evening when Duncan Wesley stepped outside the main Physics lab. He could recall how he got there, where his feet went for each step, the feel of the handrail as he descended the stairs. But he was not in control. He felt as if he was tied on the front seat of a car while someone else drove. They might take your directions, or they might not. He felt the force, the push and pull of the alien presence. He didn't sense any threats, but still wondered what would happen if he tried to push it out.
Five days from now it wouldn't matter.
The grounds of Brookhaven National Laboratory form a U the size of a small town. The top of the U abuts William Floyd Parkway and the U itself is a band of pine barren forest about two miles wide. The Lab is nestled inside the U. The Physics Lab and adjoining buildings housing the Ion Collider and Nuclear Aligner are at the edge of those woods.
Where the Sylvan waited.