The train arrived at Kerrisdale station about an hour before dawn. The passengers all appeared to be sleeping peacefully and were left in their bunks as FIDO shunted the train into a siding. A row of derelict mail vans stood on one side and obscured the steam train from view. FIDO turned off the control of the nuclear fire bar, allowing the locomotive to cool.
The sky began to lighten.
The station appeared in detail as the daylight strengthened. The booking office was boarded up. Doors leading to the goods office and a waiting room were also sealed. A number of birds were neShivver under the platform canopy. White streaks down the horizontal boards provided confirmation. Toilets marked Ladies and Gentlemen were barred behind metal grilles. As the sun rose to fully illuminate the old yellow brick buildings, the station seemed to be slumbering.
Patiently waiting for some miraculous railway revival.
What had been a small garden in the centre of the down main platform, lovingly tended by generations of past station masters, was now a mass of rampant, tangled creeper. The overgrown area was spilling over the cracked bitumen. In time it might overpower the entire station, which would vanish into legend.
CLEO was busy checking transmissions from UFO Command. Although the conversations were scrambled to stop unauthorized spying, CLEO had no difficulty in breaking the code. The computer recorded a scrambled conversation at 7.22 am.
“This is General Maloney at UFO Command in Darwin! Have all your people gone crazy?”
Colonel Viljoen: “No, sir, we have not gone crazy, sir! Three events are causing concern. First, we intercepted an alien at Chirnside Park and a squad of soldiers were shot by an alien gun. It put them inside some sort of transparent slab and they are still there. Next, we tracked the aliens. Using ground penetrating radar, we found a 50 km tunnel from the underground lair to Yea station to Yea Railway Station. Amn armoured car was dispatchedsent to Yea station. The crew reported contact and intention to fire! Communication ceased abruptly. A back relief party was send and they reported that the original car had its laser gun melted. The crew were and its crew incoherent. A fully crewed armed road rail vehicle was then sent up from Melbourne. It travelled to the Mansfield line. . That vehicle reported contact and then came back down the main line totally out of control! It proceeded down the railway, and finally crashed into buffers at Flinders Street. The two Both vehicles are still glowing with a purple aura! All the paint has been stripped and both crews havel gone mad! We have been unable to enter the alien hide out at Chirnside Park or the 50 km tunnel to Yea as both are protected by some kind of unknown force field!They have become pacifists! There was a simutaneous event re what turned out to be inflated dummies placed on a train at Lilydale station inside a locked carriage. The Police smashed in at Ringwood and discovered the dummies were inflatable. This whole business began when a garage door was stolen some months ago in Chirnside Park. That matter was put down to local vandals. But last night we were alerted by a signal from an orbiting spacecraft showing a subsoil image of the gardem mext door to the house which lost its garage door. The image showed what is believed to be an underground alien hideout. The entrance is inside an oak tree, cunningly camouflaged. The tree is hollow and there are horizontal barriers preventing entry. Using ground penetrating radar, we have found a 50 km tunnel from the underground lair toYea station.”
General Maloney “Fifty klicks! How did they make it?”
Colonel Viljoen “No idea sir!It’s an amazing construct and it shows what we are up against!Extremely high tech! Several boreholes have reached down to the tunnel but we cannot penetrate the tunnel material.”
General Maloney: “Well, continue looking into the tree and this tunnel and find out what you can. They are obviously alien spies! It may be the start of an invasion!”
Colonel Viljoen: “General, with respect, I feel we must also investigate the Yea railway. It runs from Tallarook to Mansfield. Two vehicles and crews have now been totalled on that railway. It must be a prepared escape route. They have some kind of alien device which causes their vehicle to become invisible and inaudible as required. These aliensy are extremely dangerous and well armed! We are going to scan the whole line using Sat Com. Once we locate them I am going in! Air and ground, choppers, artillery! The works!”
There was a long pause.
General Maloney: “Don’t let the media hear a word of this.” We must avoid a panic!”
The message was duly recorded by CLEO.
As Jake and Alaric were asleep it was not passed on.
Outside the train, the old railway station remained deserted. The passengers elves and dwarves slept on. Finally, daylight began to fade. FIDO Started preparing hot drinks and a meal for the travelers.
The robot checked the carriage blinds and switched on the interior lights. But there was no response from the sleepers. FIDO informed CLEO that a meal was ready but that the travelers were still asleep. CLEO responded by telling FIDO to generate a variety of loud sound effects along with a light show. The robot duly lit up with a remarkable display of multi colored lights. Then he generated the sound of a massive foghorn which blew at intervals of 15 seconds for 10 minutes. The entire carriage vibrated from the massive sound but there was no response from the sleeping figures. Next, the robot generated the sound of coins falling into a metal pan. This effect was selected in the hope that it would at least rouse the dwarves.