When Dr. Reilly eyes again fell on the approaching visitor he was stopped in his tracks. His face instantly brightened.
It is him!
“I apologize, please excuse me.” Dr. Reilly pushed away from the podium.
Natasha followed the scientist’s gaze to find Jake Marcel approaching the speaker. Instantly she was out of her seat, on the move toward him.
Dr. Charles Reilly was filled with an unexpected rush of relief as his spirits lifted. Frail, he stepped toward Jake. Natasha came to him with tearful eyes, losing herself in his embrace. She was crying, and then smiling, lost in a torrent of emotion.
Closing her eyes, she was weightless in the moment. “It’s really you!”
When she stepped aside, Jake’s eyes shone with a determination that the scientist had never before seen. Marcel uncovered the object that had been wrapped in his jacket.
The broad smile on the scientist’s face turned to one of gaping marvel. Instantly, Dr. Charles Reilly knew what he was gazing at. He only needed a second to process its implication.
Jake was holding the inscribed 12-inch gold-plated copper disk that had been attached to a Voyager spacecraft, one of only four ever made. It was actually a gold record containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life on earth. The images etched in its surface identified the time and place of its origin should it one day, in the distant future, cross the path of extraterrestrial life. The other three, the scientist knew, were now out past the orbit of Pluto. It seemed to imply one unfathomable conclusion.
Jake met the visitors!
Dr. Charles Reilly told himself it was impossible, but the fact that Jake was holding the inscribed disk in his hands was verifiable, undeniable, irrefutable proof that a human being had visited one of the Voyager probes and returned. And since mankind did not yet possess the technology to complete such a feat, it only left one other possible explanation: Jake had received help from a more advanced extraterrestrial civilization.
The beaming scientist tried to keep his senses, but the darkness was now closing in. Losing his footing, he felt his knees give way but was caught by Jake, who now gently lowered him to the ground. The anxious crowd gave a communal gasp, and a voice came over the speakers calling for calm.
Charles felt a rush of hands now lift him, carrying him away from the focus of the General Assembly. His eyes flickered; he returned for a moment as they set him down.
Charles’s gaze located Jake. “My boy would have been around your age now.”
A tightness rose in Jake’s throat. “Dr. Reilly?”
“Jake,” the scientist said, his voice fading, “you are in possession of a truth capable of altering history forever. An answer to a question that humanity has been asking since the birth of civilization.”
“Stay with me!” Jake’s heart was pounding.
“Listen to me, Jake.” Charles’s voice was frail. “It’s a truth that will be welcomed by many, but equally feared by many more.”
Jake and Natasha’s eyes locked in an exchange of pained dread as the scientist continued with, “Be sure the right people share it to the world it in the right way.”
A cold sweat gripped Jake as he held Dr. Reilly, trying to sound reassuring. “The paramedics are almost here.”
Reilly was too exhausted to open his eyes. “One day you’ll have a child of your own, and you’ll feel what it’s like to be as proud as I am.”
Jake felt his heart sink.
Dr. Charles Reilly smiled. “You did what I couldn’t. I can now finally join my wife and son.”
His eyes welling, Jake held the scientist’s hand until it went limp.
Natasha covered her mouth, feeling Jake’s loss.
CHAPTER 85
Jake Marcel and Natasha DeMorea sat in quiet reflection on a couch positioned in the corridor outside the Oval Office. Standing at attention either side of them were two special agents who kept watch on the door that led to the President of the United States. Inside the Oval Office the President and his aides were making final preparations to his speech before shooting a worldwide live announcement from his desk.
Jake thought of Dr. Reilly: The most brilliant scientist the world would never know.
It seemed a lifetime ago when the scientist first introduced himself outside Jake’s office building.
A week had passed since the late Dr. Charles Reilly gave his address to the General Assembly of the United Nations before succumbing to his illness. The days since had been a flurry of media sensationalism and speculation about an imminent announcement the world was going to hear deriving from the recent UN gathering. Delegates of member nations were ordered to be tight lipped until it had been decided how to disseminate the information presented. CNN had been running news stories around the clock on the nature of the announcement, going so far as to speculate on the stock market temporarily closing down when the announcement came.
Natasha placed a soft hand on Jake’s leg, noticing he seemed anxious. “What’s the matter? Why do you look so nervous?”
“It’s just that,” he hesitated, searching for the right words, “in 10 minutes the President is basically going to be addressing the entire world about ETs. And if you think about it, for the last 2000 years we were the only life in the universe. For the first time in human history everyone will learn that we have never been alone. Once people learn that there are other technologies, other sources of energy, oil is going to be worthless. The stock market might go into a freefall until we work out how to deal with it. It’s going to be chaos.”
She offered a soft smile, sensing the concern in his words.
“This is a turning point,” Jake said, his voice conclusive, “and history will always remember this President as the one who had to deliver the news. I guess I’m nervous because from now on, everything changes.”
CHAPTER 86
Televisions across the world tuned into a special live broadcast from the Oval Office.
With a reassuring smile, the President of the United States drew a deep breath. “My fellow Americans, people of the world, today we take our first steps on a journey into a new era. One age, the adolescence of mankind, has ended and another age has now begun.”
“This journey I speak of,” the President continued, his expression one of sincerity, “will be full of uncertainty and challenges unlike our ancestors have known. But I firmly believe that our history, all the struggles we have overcome in the past, have prepared our current generation for what is to come.”
“I now address you as citizens of this planet we call earth, as we are not alone. In recent decades we have come to understand that the universe is populated with other beings, intelligent life such as ourselves of varying races.”
The President paused, letting his words soak in.
“In the 1940s our military forces recovered from the New Mexico desert the remains of an aircraft of unknown origin. Our scientists spent the proceeding decades studying the craft, determining that it was a vehicle that came from the vast reaches of outer space.”
“Since that time our government has made contact with the benevolent entities of that spacecraft.”
He paused again.
“Though this news may sound both fantastic and terrifying, I ask that you greet this news with calm and optimism. I assure you, as President, that these entities are not hostile, and most races we have discovered are benevolent. Rather, what we can learn from them has the potential to assist our nations overcome the common enemies of all humanity: poverty, disease and war.”
“I cannot tell you that there will be no stumbling blocks or missteps as we navigate this new era ahead, but together with our interstellar neighbors, we can work at creating a better world. I believe that we have found the true destiny of the people of this great planet of ours; for all mankind to come together in peace as we join our cosmic community.”
“In the coming days and weeks, you will learn more about these cosmic visitors, why they are here an
d why our leaders have kept their presence a secret from humanity for so long.”
“I ask you to look to the future not with apprehension but with hope and courage. Because it is within our reach, to achieve in our generation, the ancient vision of peace and prosperity on earth for all humanity.”
“What has always united us as human beings had always been far greater than what divided us, and for the first time people from every part of this planet can live together not as a multicultural civilization but as a single species. And if we come together not as separate nations but as human beings of planet earth to face what is to come; if we pass through this time of great trial in a calm and scientific manner; if we confront without fear the challenges that will test our beliefs and resolve, then someday years from now, our children can tell their children that this was the time when humanity entered into the cosmic community.”
“Let us not forget who we are: people of one planet, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
“Thank you.”
“God bless you.”
“And may God bless every nation on earth.”
EPILOGUE 1
8th July, 1947
2:56 am
At the Marcel residence Major Jesse Marcel had been showing his wife and young 11-year-old son Jesse Marcel Jr. pieces of the extraterrestrial craft that had met its demise on a ranch outside Roswell.
The family were crouched down on the kitchen floor examining crash fragments of different sizes and shapes spread out before them.
Major Jesse Marcel’s eyes twinkled at his son. “Jess, one day you’ll understand the importance all this. And one day, many years from now, when you grow up and have a family of your own, you will remember this night and tell your children about it.”
The boy was struck with a deep sense of wonder as his eyes moved from piece to piece. There were splintered struts in the shape of I-beams, various fragments of shiny thin metal plates that would not bend, crumpled sheets of what looked to the boy like aluminum foil and strands of cord that appeared to be made of glass but were as flexible as rubber.
“Okay, Jess,” Major Marcel said, “we’ve had a look. Help me pack all this up, I have to transport it back to base.”
Young Jess’s eyes rose to his father. Major Marcel could tell from the boy’s face that he was not yet ready to part with the spacecraft fragments.
Marcel gave his son a soft smile. “Come on now, help me pack up.”
With that, the family started to carefully repack the box that Major Marcel had brought to the house.
In a moment when young Jesse Marcel Jr.’s parents were gathering the fragments, the boy noticed they were not looking his way. The boy silently slid one of the fractured I-beams down the gap between the fridge and the kitchen bench while his father wasn’t looking.
When his parents had filled the box, his father stood and looked around the kitchen. “That’s all of it then.”
A handful of nervous heartbeats passed as Jesse Jr. nodded in agreement with his father.
*
The following morning, when hearing his mother talking on the phone, Young Jesse Marcel Jr. silently approached the fridge. Reaching his small arm down the gap between the kitchen bench and fringe, he retrieved the object he had hidden there the night before.
Young Jesse stood staring at the gleaming I-beam in awe. In the daylight its silver surface glistened a violet-purple. He ran his fingers over the raised markings that looked as if they were stamped along its length.
In his other hand the boy was holding a small cardboard tube that he had found in the garage. The size of the tube matched the width and length of the violet-colored silver component.
Holding his breath, Jesse Marcel Jr. slid the forbidden object into the cardboard tube and sealed its lid.
EPILOGUE 2
The Day of Major Jesse Marcel’s Funeral
After the ceremony had concluded, and the guests had left, Jesse Marcel Jr. returned to his father’s tombstone accompanied by the priest who had presided over the funeral, Father Jordan.
Their eyes dropped to the inscribed plaque that lay at the foot of the tombstone:
AND YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE.
Jesse Jr. crouched down to the inscribed plaque, producing from his pocket a small screwdriver. Under the watchful eye of Father Jordan, he unscrewed the plaque to reveal a hidden compartment. From another pocket Jesse Jr. retrieved a sealed cardboard tube, placed it in the compartment, and refixed the plaque back onto the tombstone concealing the forbidden object.
Standing, he gave a sad smile to the tombstone and said, “I thought it was about time I returned this to you, Dad.”
EPILOGUE 3
Jake Marcel Visits his Grandfather
“Can I be of assistance, my son?” said Father Jordon.
Startled, Jake Marcel instantly slipped into his jacket the cylinder-shaped container that was hidden in his grandfather’s tombstone, which he had retrieved moments earlier. He spun around to find the priest standing behind him, Bible in hand. Their eyes met for a few seconds before Jake responded.
At first Jake opened his mouth to speak, but his words failed him.
Instead, Jake managed to summon a semi-polite smile and took off for the cemetery gates in a sprint.
Father Jordon watched on beside the grave of Major Jesse Marcel then turned back to redirect his attention to the tomb.
Still holding his Bible firmly against his chest, his eyes immediately fell down onto the grave’s metal plaque. A wave of shock rolled over him as he realized that the commemorative plaque, commonly placed at the foot of most gravestones, had been disturbed. Now dislodged, the plaque was now being held in place by a single screw and hung askew.
Beneath the plaque had been a compartment hidden from view. The compartment, the priest realized, was now empty.
The priest hurried back to the rectory building that stood adjacent to a nearby church. Inside the priest’s living quarters, he rushed into his study and found a leatherbound diary hidden within a drawer. Inside, he looked up a telephone number that contained a Vatican prefix.
Dialling, he waited for the line to be answered.
“Pronto,” an Italian voice spoke.
“Good morning, is that Monsignor Carlo Botticelli?”
“Si,” the accented voice confirmed.
“I apologize to call at this odd hour, but the object I have been asked to watch over has been taken.”
Vatican theologian Monsignor Botticelli sounded confused. “I’m sorry?”
“The object that belonged to the star visitors. I was to watch over it and call this number if anything happened to it. Well,” Father Jordan hesitated, “it’s no longer in its hiding spot.”
For the Vatican theologian, the implications came almost too fast to process.
EPILOGUE 4
Vatican City
The world’s religious leaders secretly gathered to discuss the implications of disclosure. Seated at a round table hidden deep within the chambers of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, the Pope’s private residence, sat his holy father the Roman Pontiff, the head of the Catholic Church, accompanied by Monsignor Carlo Botticelli.
Sitting around the table meeting with the Pope was the Imam, the religious authority of the globe’s Islamic community, Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, regarded as the authority of the world’s Jewish religion, the Dalai Lama and a highly revered Swami, the Hindu spiritual leader.
All sat in silence waiting for the Pontiff to speak.
The Pope’s eyes rose slowly to meet all in attendance. “Thank you all for coming to this summit at short notice.”
The Pontiff’s heart turned grave, then resolute. “We are here to discuss a phenomenon that has been increasingly appearing over the last 200 years. They are as fascinating as they are controversial, and in every instance, continue to divide public opinion. For many centuries extraterrestrial spiritual beings have been a part of th
e faith of the world’s religions. They have appeared in our history in the form of angels, servants of God who visited the earth with messages of guidance and salvation. But now we must speak of extraterrestrial beings of a different kind.”
The room’s silence was laced with a tense anticipation.
“We have all known,” the Pontiff continued, “that there have been countless testimonies regarding unidentified flying objects, extraterrestrials and spaceships from unknown origin. And we have been following the countries that have organizations whom collect the evidence from these unknown spacecraft when they have fallen from the sky.”
“From our collaborations with these organizations that have studied the star visitors’ technology we have made the assertion that these beings are not the angels or spiritual beings from our collective scriptures. They are, instead, humanoid beings not unlike like us, comprising both the spiritual and physical body.”
The Pope sounded hopeful. “We can reconcile their existence with the redemption of Christ. As St Paul said, ‘Christ is the center of the creation of the universe.’ Therefore, there are no worlds without a reference of his teachings. From the Bible, it is thus possible to assure that Christ, considered as an incarnated verb, has influence upon all inhabited planets of God’s universe.”
The room felt the true reason for their gathering come crashing down on them.
It was the Imam who spoke first: “If we think God’s omnipotence and wisdom has no limits, then why should life be restricted to one of countless planets?”
The Chief Rabbi agreed. “Yes, it is absurd to claim that the countless worlds surrounding us are uninhabited deserts void of life, and that the meaning of the universe lies just in our small, inhabited planet.”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama could see what the table was thinking. “It is not only possible but credible, that in places inaccessible for mankind and his scientific instruments, there exist other beings able to know God as their Creator. And that their worlds represents the Creator’s plan.”
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