THE NEW BRADY BUNCH # 6

THE NEW BRADY BUNCH # 6 MARCIA'S DISAPPEARANCE The day Marcia Brady vanished should have been a special day, for the eldest, Brady, daughter. Between awards, achievements, and her grades, Marcia was placed in the top five percent, of her class. As a result of this, Marcia would be chosen to take an "advanced placement" test, in order to provide a better idea, of which college the young woman would attend. In the two weeks, leading up, to the test, Carol, and Mike, Brady had, never, seen Marcia study, for anything, as hard as she studied, for that test. This is why the Brady's expected good news, after Marcia completed the test. What surprised the Brady family was that, after two, gruelling, weeks, of study, and expecting Marcia to come home "bursting" with good news, the family was surprised when Marcia did NOT rush home, from school. In fact, after the other five, Brady, children returned home, and Carol expressed her concern, Alice suggested Carol call the school. When Carol phoned the school, hoping NOT to hear that Marcia had failed the placement exam, Carol found that all that school staff would suggest was "Mrs. Brady, Marcia departed school, along with the other students. Her teachers said that Marcia seemed happy with her placement test results." It was when Carol began checking, with the teen girls hang-outs, as well as calling other parents, that Carol Brady was astonished to hear that the last place anyone had seen Marcia was at school. By the time Mike Brady returned home, from work, Carol, and Alice, had called most of the neighborhood. While some of those called said they THOUGHT they saw Marcia at various places, it was when the elder Brady's arrived, at each location, and took a close look, at the women, in question, that it was obvious, even from a distance, that the women were not Marcia. That evening, dinner was sparse, and Alice packed most, of the food away, for the next days lunches. This, as the Brady's went from calling around the general area, and Mike Brady would connect the family's normally pre-paid cell-phones, to his contract phone, to aid in the search. That night, and, for the following week, Marcia was reportedly seen, all over town. At grocery stores, movies, liquor stores. Every place, in town, where a person could go. Mike, Greg, and Peter, also, had extra duty. The duty of replacing punctured inner tubes, in bicycle tires. This, since Marcia was, reportedly, seen in places cars should never go. It was only after thirty-six hours, of a private search, that the local police got involved. Marcia was twelve hours beyond the mandatory twenty-four hour, runaway, deadline. While three reports, of "sightings", that week, turned out to be homeless women. Women who simply appearred similar, when viewed, from a distance, other reports were no less "favorable". These included "sightings", at local, video, stores. Stores, whose staff THOUGHT that Marcia had been observed, from time to time. Staff were, simply, un-certain, due to the fact that, when Marcia's NAME was called out, the women did not respond. It was not until more than a full week, after her disappearance, that Marcia Brady arrived, at the Brady house, after school, to inform Carol and Alice "I just got the news. My grades were high enough for admittance, to advanced placement. Isn't that great?" When Marcia saw the looks, of concern, on Carol, and Alices, faces, Marcia would ask "Whats wrong? Did I do something?" When Carol, gently, asked "Where were you?" Marcia would say "I was at school, all day. Where should I be?" When Carol would ask "Did you come right home, from school?" Marcia would say "Okay, busted. I stopped off, for a soda, with Stephanie and Laurie. Whats the big deal? I didn't ruin my dinner." When Carol would say "Okay, honey, thats great news. Now, go wash up, for dinner." After Marcia went upstairs, Carol went into Mikes private den, and called her husband. When Mike would ask "Where has Marcia been, for over a week?" Carol would say "Mike, Marcia is talking like the past week did not exist." Mike would say "Im coming home, now." After calling Mike, Carol stepped from the den, to find Marcia asking "Mom, why do all the clocks, and calendars, show that it is next week?" Carol would inform Marcia "I will let your father explain. He is coming home, now." Shortly after this, the other five Brady kids would enter the house, looking amazed at seeing Marcia. It would be Greg who would ask "Where have you been? We've been looking all over town, for you. Where did you get to?" When Marcia would ask "Mom, what is Greg talking about?" Peter would say "You, silly. We just spent the whole week..." and Carol would cut Peter off, saying "Peter, what matters is that Marcia is back." When Mike Brady arrived, home, the questions switched from "Where have you been?" to Mike asking "What is the last thing you remember?" When Marcia would say "Honest, dad. After studying, for over a week, I took the test, got one of the highest grades, in class, then came home, to find everyone asking where I have been." When Mike would ask "Just relax, and tell us everything that happened, after you left school." When Marcia would say "Honest, dad, all I did was meet my friends, and share some soda. I was going to go to the park, for a few miinutes, but I decided I couldn't wait to give mom, and Alice, the good news. When I came in, mom, and Alice, acted like I had been gone, for a full year." When Carol would say "It felt like a full year." When Marcia would say "Mom, it was just a regular school day. I dont know why everyone is so anxious." When Mike would ask "You are sure you did not stop off, any place?" Marcia would ask "Whats this all about, dad? Why are all the calendars a week ahead?" Mike would say "Honey, that test was a full week ago. We have been searching, for you, since last week." When Marcia would ask "A week ago? But, Stephanie, Patty, and Louise. They all looked fine." Mike would say "Thats because you saw them, last week." That night, sometime after midnight, Jan would be awakened, by a strange sound, and words, being whispered. Words Jan did not understand. When Jan chanced a peek, at the girls bedroom window, Jan saw Marcia, looking out the window. (Did Jan, really, hear "They dont suspect a thing. The project is proceeding. Final preparation in (some sort of time period)). Come morning, when Jan asked Marcia what Marcia was talking about, and with whom, Marcia would say "Dont be ridiculous. I went to bed, with you and Cindy. I never woke up, until morning." Wondering if it COULD have been a dream, Jan would ask Alice "How do you tell a dream from real life?" When Alice would say "If you pinch yourself, and it hurts, then you are awake." That night, after midnight, Jan found Marcia at the window, again. This time, Marcia was speaking of equations, and formulas, as well as coordinates, saying "No one will suspect. Closed down years ago." Come morning, Marcia would, again, tell Jan "You were dreaming. WHO would I be talking to, so late at night?" The third night, Jan bumped Cindys bed, as Jan watched Marcia, at the window. When Cindy went to scream, Jan put a hand over Cindy's mouth, then made the sign for "shhh". Jan, and Cindy, watched, as Marcia spoke, first to nothing, then was surrounded by a colored mist. When Jan whispered, to Cindy "If you see the same thing I do, nod." When Cindy nodded, Jan was tempted to touch Marcia's hand. But only until Jan remembered some advice, about sleep-walkers. "Never try to awaken, or startle, a sleep-walker. The consequences can be deadly." After finishing her "conversation", Marcia went to the girls bedroom mirror and, using Cindy's crayons, wrote something, on the mirror, before returning to bed. This is when Jan grabbed one, of the "emergency pen-lights", to be used in case of power failures, and tried to read what was written on the mirror. When Jan found she couldn't read what was written, Jan grabbed her digital camera, swithed to "night mode", then snapped photo's, of the symbols, before returning to bed. Come morning, Jan, and Cindy, were startled, awake, when Marcia let out a scream, which brought the family running. Mike, Carol, Alice, and the boys, all came running, only to find Marcia rubbing out the symbols, to the point where they were un-readable. This is while Marcia was asking Jan "How could you", to which Jan responded with "What did I do?" When Mike would ask "Alright, girls! I want an explanation, and I want it BEFORE breakfast gets cold." When Jan would say "Marcia got up, in the night, and used Cindy's crayons, to write on our mirror." Just as Cindy would say "Thats right, she sure did." Marcia would scream "Liars!" When the three girls began fighting, with Carol trying to bring peace, Mike would, finally, shout "Hold it!", then add "Just WHAT was on the mirror?" While Jan, and Cindy, would say "I dont know." Marcia would promise "Mom, dad, I swear. I went to bed, and got up to find THAT" pointing at the glass, of the mirror, saying "On the glass." When Carol would ask "WHAT was written, on the mirror?" Marcia would say "I would rather not say. Its not nice." When Carol would ask "Profanity?" Marcia would say "Something like that." When Mike would say "Its too bad you didn't save it. I would like to know what it said." It was when Marcia would say "Its gone, for GOOD." This is when Jan would say "I wouldn't say that." and produced her digital camera. Jan would tell her parents "I tried to read it, by flashlight, after Marcia returned to bed..." Marcia would insist "I NEVER got OUT of bed." Jan would say "When I could not read it, in the darkness, I snapped some pictures. I was hoping dad could figure out what it says." This is when Mike Brady would say "Everyone, follow me. It is time for some television." When Jans digital camera was plugged into the television, which was set to "computer" mode, Mike, and Carol, were surprised when Marcia asked "Do we HAVE to look at it. Its so dirty." Carol would promise "You wont be punished, for someone elses pranks." When Mike brought the images up, on the 60 inch t.v., Marcia would bury her head, in a pillow. It would be the boys who would be first to ask Mike "What is that?" When Carol would ask "Mike, is that even English?" Mike would look, at the symbols, which he would copy, first to a flash drive, then print them out, saying "I have no idea what they mean. I see some mathematics, but I cannot make out anything else." After this, Mike would ask Marcia "What do you think they say?" Marcia would write out the first, of two, notes. Both written in languages even Mike Brady knew nothing about. When Mike would ask Marcia "try again, honey. This time, in English." When Marcia wrote, in heiroglyths, Carol would ask "Marcia, I thought you weren't studying heiroglyths, until next semester." Marcia would say "I'm not." Taking the available information, Mike Brady made some phone calls, to his "contacts", at federal agencies, attaching the pictures, and asking "What do these say, in English?" By mid-afternoon, Mike Brady was surprised when a C.I.A. agent visited the firm, asking Mike Brady "WHERE did you find these?" When Mike smiled, saying "According to my younger daughters, their older sister got up, in the night, and wrote THAT, on a bed room mirror." When the C.I.A. asked "Does your daughter understand what this means?" Mike would ask "Whats this all about?" The C.I.A. would ask him "Does your daughter KNOW what this means?" Mike would say "All Marcia would say was that it was a terrible insult. Why? What DOES it say?" The C.I.A. would produce a "Non-Disclosure" document, which Mike would sign, then, becoming serious, Mike would ask the C.I.A. "WHAT is this all about?" When the agent would ask "Did your daughter, recently, go missing?" Mike would say "I'm sure you know she did. What about it?" When the C.I.A. would ask "When she returned, did she act like nothing had happened? Like all was normal?" When Mike would say "I think you KNOW she did." Getting serious, Mike would ask "Whats this all about?" The C.I.A. would ask "May we SEE your daughter?" Mike would stand his ground, saying "NOT until I get some answers." C.I.A. would say "In that case, Michael Brady, consider yourself served. You WILL produce your daughter, at this address..." handing Mike a business card, then adding "...failure to comply will result in felony evidence tampering." When the C.I.A. left the firms offices, and Mike's boss would ask "WHAT was all that about?" Mike would say "I have no idea." even as he removed all the documents, from his office comuter, just moments before an outside source overrode his codes, and searched his computer, for what was no-longer there. When Mikes boss would ask "Mike, WHAT is going on?" Mike would say "I WISH I knew." The next couple of nights, the whole family sat, in the dark, as Marcia got up, walked to the window and, as Greg, Mike, and Peter pressed record, on some digital recorders, then set the devices as close, to Marcia, as possible, they recorded Marcia, who was saying "All is according to plan." then "NO. Suggest South America. This unit seems tense." then "Doubtful that message was received." When a blue beam shined in the window, and surrounded Marcia, who began to speak in an unknown language, Alice tugged at Carol, who nudged Mike, repeatedly. Mike kept to the deal, though. As long as no harm came, to his daughter, Mike was determined to see this through. After finishing what Mike considered a "status/situation report", Marcia returned to bed, and fell fast asleep. With this information, and the fact that the feds had accessed his computer, without his consent, Mike Brady would drive, un-announced, to the local university, asking his friends, in person "Would you give this a listen, and tell me what you think?" Seventeen linguists later, and Mike Brady would find himself presenting audio, and visual, evidence, to a physicist. After placing the photos on a chalk board, the physicist would begin writing, on the board, then give Mike his conclusion. "Michael Brady, is it true, that your daughter, Marcia, was missing, for a full week, recently, correct?" When Mike would ask "WHY does everyone keep asking that?" The physicist would say "Your daughter returned, un-aware of the passage of time?" Mike would say "Yeh. Tell ME what I DONT know." The physicist would say "For lack of a more proper term, your daughter is a "probe"." When Mike Brady would ask "A "probe"?" then laugh, as he said "Marcia does not have antenna, or anything else." The physicist would suggest "Yet, after your daughter goes to bed, at night, she rises, goes to her window, and speaks, presumably to nothing." When Mike would say "Its one-sided. Believe me, I was there. No other voices." When the physicist would ask "Are you sure?" When Mike followed the physicist to a radio-accoustic lab, which analyzed the digital recordings, Mike Brady was in for a surprise. When Mike returned to his employers firm, then to his house, to give Carol, and Alice, the news, Carol thought Mike was trying to be witty, as she suggested "Marcia doesn't look anything like the terminator, C-3PO, or other robots." Mike would say "Never-the-less", then "Listen to this. The university made it, from our digital recorders." When Carol said "This HAS to be a joke. It doesn't make sense. Why use a high schooler for reconnaissance?" Mike would ask "Who better? Who asks more questions? Who observes more careers? Who is more willing to break rules, than a teen?" When Alice would ask "Excuse me, Mr. Brady, but wouldnt a spy KNOW they are a spy?" Mike would ask "Have you any idea how many deep-cover agents the Soviets had planted, in America, during the Cold War? People, who spent their entire LIVES, thinking they were loyal Americans. Not knowing true identities, even upon death?" When Carol would ask "What do we do? Not about Marcia. About the C.I.A.?" Mike would say "Legally, since I am under contract, on several, federal, contracts, and these contracts ARE providing us with food, for six kids, I would say compliance is our best option." Problem was, when Mike, and Carol, delivered Marcia, to the C.I.A. address, no matter what techniques the agency tried, even interrogation failed. For the Brady's, the only, positive, outcome, of that day, was Marcia, remembering the clock showing 8:45 a.m., when she was placed under hypnosis, then, a moment later, seeing that the clock read 5:00 p.m. When Marcia asked her parents "How did it go?" Carol would say "We will discuss that later." For the next two months, the Brady's did nothing, except watch Marcia give her nightly reports. The only thing Jan was certain of was that she MUST have been sleeping, on the final night, of Marcia's "reports". This, because, after Marcia returned to bed, Jan awoke, later, to find the entire bedroom filled with the blue light. Cindy was laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, as though in a trance. This, while seven figures, all with short bodies, and over-sized heads, seemed to surround Marcia, like a team of doctors. While Jan pretended to be asleep, the figures seemed to be conversing, over Marcia's form. Two, maybe three, of the forms, wanted to terminate the "experiment". The others suggested "Unless she is exposed, we shall continue." While Jan prayed, to God, not to make a sound, she watched as the figures took (samples), of Marcia's body, then (levitated) out of the bedroom window. While Jan promised herself that she would not say a word, it seems she didn't have to. Maybe three weeks after the "encounter", Marcia took a fall, and had to be X-ray'd. When the x-rays turned up bits, of metal, which seemed to serve no purpose, doctors made tiny incisions, removed the metal, and sent Marcia home, to rest. Marcia had no idea what remained inside her body, until the day when Mike was advising Greg, on how to, properly, build a scanner. The process was going well, until Marcia got near the scanner. At first, Greg thought Marcia was tampering, with the device, but only until Mike asked Marcia to step just outside the room. When the machine returned to normal operation, and Mike called, to Marcia "Honey, come back in." Marcia did, and the scanner responded. When Greg asked Marcia "What did you do, to my scanner?" Mike would say "Hold on, Greg". then, with the scanner switched off, Mike pointed the scanner, at Marcia. As Mike turned the scanner back on, ran the scanner, over Marcia's body, the reading remained odd, from Marcia's head, to her chest. It was below her chest, and in the general area, of the metal fragment, that the interference tuned into an actual signal. As Mike would say "Low power. Low frequency." When Greg would ask "Dad, what does that mean?" Mike would say "It means that, whoever put this inside your sister HAS to be close by." When Greg would ask "How close?" Mike would say "Within four blocks, maximum." When Marcia would ask "What would anyone want, with me?" Mike would say "I think we should find out." After searching the area, by daylight, eight times, Mike would ask Jan, and Cindy "What TIME does Marcia do her "window-talking"?" While Cindy would say "It was DARK. Like late dark." Jan would say "I would say between 12:15 and 1:45 a.m." With the aid of some borrowed equipment, the girls bedroom could be "staked out", from both inside, and outside. Mike would watch as, on various nights, a blue orb would hover, just outside the girls bedroom, while Marcia stood at the window. Mike would realize "That figures. Low power, low signal. Marcia must be the receiver, and that blue orb is a "flash drive". While Mike did not want to disclose it, anymore than anyone else did, the fact was that these "beings", these aliens, were collecting data, on the Earth. They were using children, like Marcia, as "remote drones". WAS the C.I.A. correct, to be concerned? WHY did these aliens want to know about Earth? The only answer, which Mike Brady could think of was that Marcia was so ambitious. She had scores, of ribbons, plaques, and was even editor, of her school newspaper. Mike thought about those "mind control" science fiction movies. Question: Could that metal, inside Marcia's body, eventually come to control her mind? The answer came the evening when Mike was working, late, on some drawings. Originally, the design firm had been given a full MONTH, to come up with some building designs. For some, un-known, reason, the deadline had, suddenly, changed. As a result, Carol Brady was by her husbands side, keeping him focused, as he worked, into the night, trying to finish the work, by the next days deadline. It was, probably, around 2, or 3, A.M., when the blue light appearred, inside the den. Mike would tell Carol "Relax, honey, I see it as well." When Mike would ask "If someone is there, would you identify yourself?" This is when a short form entered the room, and, using what Mike Brady presumed was telepathy, would instruct the Brady's "Your daughter has been returned to you. Our research is complete." When Mike Brady would think "Just WHAT research is that?" The being would "say" "We have been studying your form, for longer than you know. We were HOPING that your race had advanced beyond the need to kill, over politics, religion, and other matters." When Mike thought "I guess we are not that advanced, are we?" The creature would say "Not while your children kill one another, via remote devices. Not while your people attack one another, over religion." When Mike Brady would think "Not ALL of us are like that. Some of us are, in fact, peaceful." By the look, on the aliens face, Mike Brady could sense that the alien did not believe these words any more than Mike Brady, himself. Yes, humanity had a LOT of "growing up" left to do. The question was: Would we survive, long enough, to "grow up"? When Mike would "ask" "About Marcia." The alien would "say" "Our finest probe, yet. A true achiever. You will give her our thanks, for ALL of her assistance." When Mike would "ask" "Are you departing, permanently, or will you be returning?" The alien would "say" "Your daughter is in no further danger. We will (erase) all documentation. Her life is her own. We will, no-longer, be a cause for concern." When Mike would "ask" "Just WHAT is your purpose, on Earth?" The alien would place a "vision", into Mike Brady's mind. Mike was left to wonder if it was a vision, of the possible, even peaceful, future, OR was it a memory, of what HAD been, in the distant past. All Mike Brady knew was that the vision was beautiful, and peaceful. After giving Mike Brady the "vision", Mike, and Carol, watched as the aliens "left" the family home, as if the walls did not exist. When the light returned to normal, Carol would ask Mike "Do you think it is possible? Can mankind, ever, learn to live in peace?" Mike would say "If we can raise six kids, then ANY-thing IS possible. The REAL question is: Does mankind WANT to live in peace?"