16

And then, down came crashing the capsule in which huddled John Franklin, emaciated, grimy, but definitely alive and completely untouched by Alien products.

When the Aliens told Barrow that they had found the Investigator’s command capsule and redirected it to Earth, Barrow thanked them and advised that they not tell any other Martian of their role in the matter. When the Aliens informed him that there was only one person alive on board the capsule, Barrow insisted that they hide their role in the capsule’s return to Earth.

As soon as he was done teeping with the Aliens, Barrow dispatched a ship under the control of several Association operatives to the location where the Aliens said the capsule would splash down. Once he had secured Franklin, and confirmed that there were no other survivors, Barrow contacted Welles.

‘I have great news,’ said Barrow.

‘Sounds terrible,’ said Welles. ‘What vile thing have you done now?’

‘The Investigator’s command capsule crashed into the Pacific Ocean last night.’

‘Survivors?’ asked Welles.

‘Only Franklin,’ said Barrow.

‘Where is he?’

‘The Association is caring for him. His condition is satisfactory.’

Welles had come to a point of familiarity with Barrow that she no longer asked questions such as why he was only now telling her this information. She found it easier in her dealings with him to assume that he was always [swindling] her.

‘What do we do now?’ She said.

‘Celebrate, of course. The expedition was a success!’

‘We already said it was a success because everyone died.’ said Welles. ‘Remember?’

‘Yes, but now we have a survivor.’

‘What’s he going to say?’ asked Welles.

‘Franklin will say it was just like we said it was.’

‘How did he get back here?’ asked Welles. ‘I thought they were lost forever or something like that.’

‘A lucky miscalculation on our part,’ said Barrow. ‘If you can call it that. It seems that everyone but Franklin starved to death on the way back.’

‘How did Franklin survive?’

‘I don’t know, but I’m sure it will make for an inspiring story.’

‘It better,’ said Welles, leaving the problem in Barrow’s delicate hands.

This was undoubtedly a misstep on Welles' part, which she later realized, and was only able to rectify through the use of military force.