The Kaimi Proxy

By Brian Delaney

Mankind is not alone. An Alien race has made first contact, but there's a problem.
The Aliens will only speak through one person, a proxy of their choosing. And the person they choose to be their proxy?
A farmer from backcountry New Zealand, who has no idea what's going on, or why he was chosen.

Now Colin and his friends need to find out why he was chosen, and how to navigate the deadly intricacies of international power games.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brian Delaney
• Release date: May 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005577964

Brian Delaney

Born in New Zealand but have lived in Australia for over twenty years.After a successful career in the technology sector, my wife and I bought a farm in country Victoria where I am free to indulge my triple passions of Painting, Photography and Writing. Although I have written many short stories, only recently have I finished my first full-length novel, "Other Peoples Problem" which is the first book in an eventual trilogy.

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Brian Delaney

The Kaimi Proxy

Copyright © 2022 by Brian Delaney

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored

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This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and

incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any

resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is

entirely coincidental.

Brian Delaney asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of

this work.

Brian Delaney has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of

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Glossary of Abbreviations

NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

ISRO: Indian Space Research Organisation

SANSAD: Indian Parliament

Astrosat: Indian Astronomy Satellite, part of the global Near Earth orbit watch system.

Neowise NASA’s Near Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer.

USSF United States Space Force

Pakeha: Maori name for white people.

Kea’s New Zealand mountain parrot. They’re very intelligent, and highly destructive.

Raro A popular sachet drink in New Zealand'

Swandry Thick woollen jacket worn by New Zealand farmers and other trades people.

Onehunga Pronounced on-e-hunga

Whenuapai Pronounced fen-oo-a-pie

Whānau: Maori name for a family or extended family group. Pronounced Far Now

1

As far as the history books are concerned, ‘The Hampton Mclaughlin Event’ was named after NASA’s Professors Evelyn Hampton and Ronald Mclaughlin, who were credited with the discovery of the anomaly. The history books, however, were wrong.

The actual discoverer of the anomaly was Professor Harbhajan Deo of ISRO. But due to pressure from the US government, plus a large cash injection into the Indian economy and key members of the SANSAD. His name was omitted from the official history. Or perhaps they simply decided that calling it ‘The Deo Event’ lacked the proper gravitas.

Harbhajan stretched in his chair until the vertebrae in his back gave a satisfying crack. He’d been hunched over his screen for more than an hour, and even the specially ergonomically designed desk and chair combination, he’d ordered from a company in Norway, was no match for his poor posture.

Ah well it’s time for a tea anyway, he told the room. And as he was the only person in the office, or indeed the entire facility at this late hour. There was no one to contradict his assertion.

He shambled to the small recreation area, kneading the small of his back with his fingers as he walked. The data could wait. Most of the donkey work was handled by the computer anyway. His only function was to check the processed ‘Astrosat’ data for errors. Anything out of the ordinary would be flagged for his attention anyway. And there hadn’t been anything like that for months. He yawned and scratched at his crotch as the kettle heated, his gaze resting on the tightly sealed lunchbox his wife had pressed into his hands as they'd said their goodbyes. Despite the supposedly air-tight seal, he could smell the hot masala kheema within. His stomach rumbled ominously.

Could have an early dinner, he mumbled to himself no one would be the wiser. the kettle clicked off loudly, snapping him from his reverie. No, a cup of tea and a biscuit would do for now. It was two hours until his usual break time, and if he ate dinner too early, he’d be hungry on the long drive home.

Stirring in the milk and sugar, he tapped the teaspoon on the rim of the cup. Funny how something that had always irritated him as a child, when his mother had done the same, had become a habit that now annoyed his children and co-workers. He smiled at the thought and rummaged in the cupboard above the sink for the half packet of chocolate biscuits he’d seen Indrani hide just before she’d left for the day.

Mmmm chocolate thins. he helped himself to a couple of them, then one more for luck. While initially resistant to being rostered on the night shift, feeling it was a dead-end assignment, beneath a Professor of his standing. He’d begun to appreciate the benefits it brought, especially since Professor Ghose had retired, and was yet to be replaced.

Sinking gratefully into his chair and taking a man-sized bite from his stolen biscuit, Harbhajan was about to take a sip from his cup, when he noticed a highlighted entry on the screen. Probably nothing, but intrigued in spite of himself, he laid aside the hot tea and clicked on the entry.

An abnormally large object, an estimated 1.6 kilometres in length, had been tagged as it skirted past Jupiter. Obviously a false positive, he decided, any object that size should have been trapped by the gravity of the giant planet and plunged to its death. He checked the luminosity reading. Off the scale, way too bright to be an asteroid, wrong trajectory for a comet.

He checked the data again, cross-referencing it with later images. Still there.

But that didn’t make sense, perhaps there was a fault with the actual satellite, a paint fleck, or some other debris stuck to the lens. It had happened before, caused a false positive then too.

He leaned back in his chair to run down the options. He could ask for a full system diagnostic to be run on the thing. But that would take days and cost a fortune, not to mention pissing off the board.

He could run a local server check, maybe authorise a complete reboot. But that could take hours. Or he could just ignore the alert completely.

Drink his tea, dunk his contraband biscuits and get on with his night. That last one seemed like the path of least resistance. Decision made, Harbhajan sucked noisily on his soggy snack.

There was another option though, which would be reasonably quick and decisive. But would entail contacting NASA, The Neowise satellite cluster.

Harbhajan grimaced. He disliked involving the Americans, finding them unbearably condescending at times. Or perhaps it was his imagination, no one else seemed to have a problem with them.

Sighing, he punched up a video call on his secondary monitor, waiting patiently as the connection icon spun lazily over the blue window.

Hello? A harassed and bespectacled woman filled the screen, what do you want?

Oh, hi. My name is Harbhajan Deo..

Hajaboon what?

No, Harbhajan Deo.

I can’t say that. How about if I call you Harb?

Well, I don’t..

How can I help you, Harb?

It’s about… sorry who are you?

Professor Evelyn Hampton, was it his imagination, or did she puff herself up a bit? senior Scientist in charge of the Neowise Cluster.

Co-senior. yelled a voice from off-camera.

Professor Hampton made a face Co-senior Scientist. she conceded.

OK. As I said, my name is Professor Harbhajan Deo, from ISRO Astrostat. Hampton made another face We’ve found an anomaly and wondered if you could cross-reference it for us?

Look Professor, she made his title sound like a lie, I’d like to, but we’re a bit busy here..

I’ve sent you the coordinates and observational data. he sipped at his tea to hide a smirk. They both knew she had to help, or ISRO would have grounds to refuse NASA’s next request. But that didn’t mean she had to make it easy.

Oh yes so you have. she clicked off-screen, her face in profile, This can’t be right, there’s obviously a fault with your equipment.

Yes. That’s why I’d like you to check it against your data, so I can confirm the fault.

Frowning, she yelled at someone in the office, Hey Ron, have you got today's feeds.

There was a muffled reply.

Yeah Jupiter, coordinates on your screen. there was a pause as she cocked her head in concentration, Yeah that’s what I said, check it anyway would you?

She turned back to Harbhajan, shrugging her shoulders contemptuously.

Thank you very much. He said without feeling.

You know it’s impossible right? she said after a considerable time I mean the speed estimate alone is ridiculous. At that speed, it would be here in…

Three weeks. Yes, I saw that. Hence the check, as I said.

Professor Hampton nodded absentmindedly. And the trajectory’s all wrong too, couldn’t have been knocked off the Asteroid belt at that angle.

Harbhajan sipped patiently at his tea, he was down to his last biscuit and didn’t dare sneak anymore. Still, there was the masala kheema to look forward to.

A flurry of activity suddenly erupted on his monitor. A thin pale-faced man, lent into view, whispering something in Hampton’s ear while brandishing a sheaf of papers at her.

It can’t be. she looked ashen-faced but that would mean… Oh my god, this is huge,

Harbhajan carefully placed his cup on his grey desktop.

What? What’s going on?

We have it too, it’s confirmed. she shook her head and ran a trembling hand through her dark hair. We’ve calculated its trajectory too.

And?

Professor Hampton stared directly into the monitor, all trace of her previous haughty attitude, scrubbed from her face.

It’s heading straight for us.

President Gerard S Knight was not a clever man and certainly not a sophisticated one. His life thus far had been spent constantly elevated far above the level his meager talents would otherwise have taken him. Backed and bailed out by old money, he’d never had to face the consequences of his stupendously bad decisions. His ego, and a competent marketing team, had swept him to power by the slimmest of margins, and in the three months since his inauguration had managed to make himself the most unpopular President in American history. Letting it be known that he liked to be called ‘The Silver Fox’ due to his carefully bleached and coiffured hair, most people referred to him as the ‘White Knight-mare.’

Why did every president in the last fifty years, just seem to be a bad photocopy of his predecessor? General Bremmer wondered as he watched the white houses latest occupant grapple with the information he’d just delivered. What happened to the Roosevelt’s, and the Lincoln’s Washington’s and the Kennedy’s that had once steered America to greatness? Gone I suppose. He lamented Washed away by mediocrity and social networking.

So it’s an object by Jupiter?

Yes, sir.

And it’s big?

Very big yes.

And it’s heading straight at us?

Essentially.

Does it have a name?

Yes sir. It’s been named Aya.

Aya. He rolled the name round in his mouth for a moment, Why is it named Aya?

I don’t know sir. Why is anything named anything? Bremmer could feel his frustration rising, but ground it mercilessly down. Letting nothing show on his face.

Can we change it? I mean shouldn’t I have been consulted?

I think we’re getting a bit of track Mr. President. The thing is…

I’m the one that needs to announce it. So it should be a name I like. Don’t you think so Darnell?

Darnell Tate glanced up from his papers. Supposedly the President's National Security Adviser was working for a man, who like most rich entitled morons, didn’t ask or take advice.

Sure Gerald, we’ll look into getting it changed. which was code for, ‘Nothings going to happen, cause you’ll forget about it anyway.’

Anyway, The President continued Jupiter’s Light years away, we’ve got plenty of time.

No sir I’m afraid it isn’t. Bremmer shuffled uncomfortably and looked to Tate for support.

OK well, a light-year at least.

I’m afraid it’s rather closer than that Sir.

How close?

It’ll be here in three weeks.

Knight paled visibly, clutching at his golf bag for support. So It’s traveling faster than the speed of light?

No. Bremmer snapped irritably, before modulating his tone. No, but it’s traveling very fast.

So what happens when it gets here?

Well, sir that depends. If it’s an asteroid, the worst-case scenario would be a significant crater of about ten miles wide, nuclear winter for three to five years...

Oh well, that’s not too bad, Knight interjected.

If it hit a major city everyone would be no survivors. Bremmer continued, Knight shrugged nonchalantly, Global financial markets would be decimated, stocks would tank.

Jesus. Knight looked like he was going to throw up We have to do something. Do we know where it will hit?

Current estimates are somewhere in Europe.

That’s OK then.

Not really sir, no matter where it hits it’ll wipe out the markets. Bremmer allowed himself a little smile as he watched the Knight-mare squirm.

You said ‘If’ It’s an asteroid, Noted Tate, from the couch, Is there some doubt?

Actually yes, Bremmer admitted, with some reluctance. He’d enjoyed skewering the President, but recognized it as unprofessional. The object has made several course changes in the last couple of hours.

Course changes?

Yes. The NASA scientists have come up with several outlandish theories, involving exotic materials and the like. But the likely answer is that it’s an extraterrestrial vehicle under intelligent control.

The Security Adviser sat bolt upright in his seat. His eyes shone with excitement. So what are you saying?

We think it may be looking at a First Contact event.

A pregnant silence blanketed the room.

Will they crash the markets do you think? Asked Knight, into the hushed atmosphere.

I don’t know, said Bremmer, exasperated again, I can’t see why they would.

We can always nuke them if they do. Muttered the President as he caressed his golf bag.

2

The Presidential Address to the nation was the usual unmitigated disaster. Made worse by the fact that almost every other country on earth had made a statement hours before Knight could be pried away from his daily round of golf.

Bremmer concentrated on keeping his face blank as he stared at the President back.

My fellow Americans, he boomed from the lectern some of you may have heard about this object hurtling towards us. It’s traveling faster than the speed of light, not many people know that. They called it Aya. Aya, He repeated the name several more times, like a drunk uncle at a Christmas party. Bremmer fought a nearly overwhelming urge to slap the man. But we’re looking into changing that name to something better. Some people suggested Deathrock or fast rock. But we haven’t really settled on anything. he turned and smiled at the adults assembled behind him. Most of whom bore the same painfully blank faces as Bremmer’s.

But what nobody knew, was that it’s not an asteroid. It’s a spaceship. He paused for the startled gasp that never came, other world leaders had already beaten him to that particular punch. But it’s OK they won’t crash the stock market, in fact, it could be good for the markets. I mean think of the merchandising for a start.

He rambled on for another twenty minutes, touching on such weighty topics as his speculation on alien toiletry habits and whether they’d be cute chicks in silver mini skirts. But eventually, the excruciating word salad stuttered to an end, and Bremmer was released to his other duties.

What’s the latest on Aya? he barked at his subordinates as he burst into the operations room.

Not much to report, sir. Major Dixon fell into step beside him, it hasn’t changed trajectory or velocity and the NASA scientists have reported that it’s not rotating either.

Is that good?

Asteroids tend to spin.

So it’s not an asteroid?

They didn’t say that. Apparently, it could be an exotic and as yet unseen asteroid which has a non-rotational…

So anything but a spaceship then?

Essentially.

He shouldered open the glass doors to the conference room, his opposite numbers from the other services swiveled in their chairs to acknowledge his presence.

Finally got away then Bill? Admiral Townsend grinned, as Bremmer pulled out his chair at the table's head.

Yeah. How’d you avoid the clown show Irv? they’d been friends for decades. In fact Admiral Irving Townsend, apart from being head of Naval Intelligence, was also godfather to Bremmer’s Son and Daughter.

Said I was looking into corruption in the Democratic party.

And were you?

"Hell no, it’s not even in