Her agitation mounted. “The Mark,” Terzin insisted. “We cannot wait. Things will only get worse.”
Marissa reached in her bag for a tranquilizer just in case she needed to administer one to Terzin for her own safety.
“What will happen again?” Alex asked. “Why is this Mark so important?”
“Nan Madol,” Terzin insisted. “Nan Madal. It’s our last hope. We must get to Nan Madol.”
William shrugged his shoulders. “What’s Nan Madol?” he mouthed.
“It’s an ancient city off the eastern shore of the Pacific Island Pohnpei, somewhere between Hawaii and the Philippines,” Marissa answered.
William furrowed his eyebrow as if to say, “How did you know that?”
“When I worked with the NIH,” she said, “my team was assigned to examine an outbreak of typhoid on a few of the Pacific Islands.”
As the ground began to rumble, Alex looked at the stratoskimmer with urgency, “Let me finish fixing the engines.”
Looking in Terzin’s eyes, Alex somehow trusted her and believed in the authenticity of her story. He sensed that he needed to trust her. Something was definitely awry with the electromagnetic grid, and he feared that what just happened in Bolivia could occur anywhere on the planet.
“Then it’s off to Nan Madol,” Alex commented.
Terzin smiled as a sense of relief fell across her face.
“I hope you do a better job flying this time,” William responded.
Chapter 14
Chapter_14
“Assessment,” Jules barked after exiting the ship.
“We have totally lost contact with three of the striker crafts, but the forth touched down successfully less than a mile from here,” responded a WOG with a red stripe across the shoulder.
“Any word on what happened to them?” asked Jules.
“Presumed destroyed,” the WOG answered. “An SOS signal was sent moments before contact was lost with each of them.”
“I saw one of the striker crafts consumed by the earth at Pumapunku while a second crashed moments after takeoff,” chimed in another WOG.
Jules understood. Because of the rapidly shifting electromagnetic field, it created an unstable situation whereby flying, let alone landing safely, was almost impossible; their faltering engines had fortuitously provided just enough antigravity to prevent them from crashing.
Under his breath, Jules wished the brave men and women lost at his command a peaceful journey as they became one with the Grand Architect of the Universe, GAOTU.
“Agreed. All three ships must have been destroyed,” Drew interjected, exiting the stratoskimmer, which had landed on top of the rocky landscape. “If the ships were at all intact, we would still be receiving a homing signal pinging from their engines.”
“Drew, any further word on what occurred back at Pumapunku?” Jules asked, presuming the answer.
A flickering holograph appeared above his wrist. “It looks as if the western coasts of Bolivia, Peru, and all of Chile sunk directly into the Pacific.” He looked up at Jules. “The entire west coast of South America is now under water!”
“Be not a cancer on earth,” Jules responded rather smugly.
“I know the Ten Commandments of the Georgian Guidestones,” Drew said, “but this massive loss of humanity is just so senseless.”
“Maintain humanity under 500,000,000,” Jules recited. “The commandments of the New World Order are rather specific in nature.”
Jules walked over to Drew and placed his arm around him while looking at the barren landscape. “Do you know how many people still inhabit this great Earth despite the recent plague and the destruction caused by The Disease and the nanosplicers?” He paused a brief second. “About 4.5 billion. And after the recent mishap here in South America, maybe we’re fortunate enough to have reached the four billion mark.”
Though Drew certainly respected Jules enormously, he could not embrace all The New World Order beliefs. To him, they were much too dogmatic and ideological—and most importantly, they dehumanized the Earth’s population.
“When you think truly about it,” Jules further postulated, “are we not but a cancer on this Earth, spreading indiscriminately and metastasizing all over the globe? Where has humanity not gone that we have not destroyed everything in our path?”
Drew dared not contradict him. Though he agreed with some of Jules’ beliefs, mass human extinction was certainly not a view he wished to entertain.
“Machines do most of the work now, my boy,” Jules commented in triumph. “They have rendered mankind mostly useless. What was once accomplished through sweat and muscle can be done in a fraction of the time and a pittance of the cost with the touch of a button. Machines have made most of humanity obsolete.”
He held his hands wide. “What machines cannot accomplish, the remaining 500,000,000 humans left on the planet will do. Plus, how exquisitely simple will it be to rule over a mere half-billion people inhabiting the globe as opposed to the blistering eight billion that once suffocated our planet?”
Jules patted Drew on the back. “Let us not dawdle any longer in such conversation. Off with you. We must destroy our stratoskimmer and rendezvous with our neighboring striker craft.”
“What?” Drew asked.
“Was I not clear? We must destroy the stratoskimmer. Lord only knows what surprises Alexander has left behind for us in that ship. I, for one, will not be waiting for an answer. You heard me,” he pointed towards the ship. “You have the codes.”
“Should I remove anything first?”
“Leave it as is,” Jules said. “Though I will miss the old girl, what must be done, must be done.”
“How about the shield?” Drew finally mustered up the courage to ask.
“And what about it?” Jules asked with a sly smirk on his face.
“The shield is undoubtedly in Alex’s possession.”
“Absolutely,” Jules responded. “Remember what William Thomas wrote, ‘The situation that men define as true will become true to them.’”
“The truth is Alex has found the shield,” Drew reiterated, not understanding Jules’ point.
“No, my boy,” Jules answered. “What Alexander has found is far from the truth.”
Jules smiled in confidence.
A glow began to shine through his white button-down shirt. Its heat bathed Jules’ chest in warmth, and sent tingles throughout his entire body.
Jules took a deep breath, marveling at its power. He unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt, revealing a shining Achilles Shield replica medallion hanging from his neck.
“Before we say good bye to the old girl, I have one last thing to do,” Jules commented as he tightly embraced the medallion.
The key, Drew thought, impressed at the site.
Though rumored to exist, he never knew for sure its authenticity or whereabouts until now. It was regarded as almost a mythical device the former leader of their company, Albert Rosenberg, had utilized to unlock the entire New Reality computer system, providing him with full and instant control over anything and everything owned, run, or manufactured by the company.
Heat rushed through Jules’ body as his mind connected to The New Reality’s computer systems around the globe. It was as if he were mentally connected with each and every single one of them simultaneously. The boundaries of his mind melted away as his consciousness spread effortlessly between New York, Paris, and Hong Kong. Everywhere The New Reality’s computer tentacles reached, so did his mind. He now had complete control over the global grid.
Jules’ body shuddered as his breathing grew shallow.
“Mr. Windsor?” Drew asked. “Are you alright?”
It almost appeared as if his boss were possessed. Watching his eyes roll back and body stiffen, Drew all but wondered if his head were about to spin.
Before he could ask again, Jules popped out of the trance. A trickle of sweat ran down his brow as he released the Achilles Shield replica. Its glow slowl
y faded.
As if nothing occurred, Jules touched his ear. “Let’s assemble our team and be off to our sister striker craft.”
“Yes, Mr. Windsor,” a voice echoed in his ear. “Right away.”
He turned to Drew while buttoning his shirt. “Can one of these elite striker crafts float?”
“I’m not sure,” Drew answered. “But I assume these ships were designed only for flight.”
“We may have to find out for ourselves then,” Jules said, almost excited about the prospect.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Drew cautioned. “But the world grid is still too unstable. Let’s wait a little longer for it to stabilize.”
“If it stabilizes,” Jules countered. “The entire grid may in fact do the opposite and become more unstable, nullifying any chance we have of getting out of here. No, we must take flight now and not lose our opportunity.”
“Back to Georgia then?” Drew hoped.
The smile he received in response only let him know that this little expedition had just begun.
Chapter 15
Chapter_15
“Nan Madol,” Marissa explained as the island came into view, “is on the eastern shore of the Island of Pohnpei and was once part of the former States of Micronesia before their autonomy was usurped by The New Reality.”
As their stratoskimmer descended upon the area, the ancient megalithic structure came into view. It looked like a large lagoon with multiple man-made islands separated by canals. However, these islands were constructed from massive stone pillars crisscrossing as they rose out of the water and towered into the sky.
“Its original name was Soun Nan-leng, or as translated into English, Reef of Heaven,” Marissa went on to describe while pointing to the site. “Because of the man-made canals you see there, it is also referred to as the Venice of the Pacific. Island legend says that the whole area is haunted and taboo to enter. Local inhabitants believe ghosts and evil spirits inhabit the area. Therefore, virtually no one has explored Nan Madol for centuries, leaving it essentially untouched.”
The jet engines cut in and out during their decent, creating a bumpy landing.
“Can you make those engines any louder?” William said, shaking his head. “I really enjoy not hearing myself think.”
Alex smirked. The jet engines were vital for their safety during the flight. With each fluctuation of the grid, they would kick in whenever the native depolarizing electromagnetic engines faltered. Without this noisy addition to the ship, they would have assuredly crashed by now.
“We must get the Mark to the other Keepers,” Terzin explained once again. Holding the crystal out in front of her, she reiterated the precariousness of the world’s situation.
Alex could only surmise that this crystal, or Mark, was involved in the stabilization of the world grid and tectonic plates. Somehow the two were intricately connected by a sophisticated lost technology, foreign to modern science.
“And who are these Keepers?” Marissa asked.
“The world will once again be engulfed by the ocean unless the Marks are in proper alignment.” Terzin said, ignoring the question.
She bit her lip, contemplating if she should reveal any further information. Secrecy had been the cornerstone of her and her ancestors’ beliefs. It was the main reason they could oversee the Marks for so long, unhindered by war, governments, or other global conflicts.
Terzin realized the gravity of their situation. There was no other option but to win the trust of her fellow travelers, and to do that she must tell them the truth. “I come from a long line of Keepers believed to span millennia, all with one designated task—to ensure the safety of the Mark.”
“Millennia?” Alex questioned.
She nodded her head. “Humanity has thrived much longer and is far older than you believe. Much has been lost.”
“What has been lost?” Alex asked quickly.
She shook her head. “I can say no more.” She embraced the crystal and placed her chin on it. “We must return this to the other Keepers before it is too late.”
Marissa placed her hand on Alex’s shoulder as if to say, She’s had enough.
The door to the stratoskimmer descended after the ship landed without incident. Before they exited, Alex turned to Tom. “Place the ship in a geostationary orbit around this island. Try to maintain it in stealth the best you can and be ready for a rapid pick-up.”
“This isn’t my first rodeo,” Tom responded. Wearing his vintage black leather bomber’s jacket and brown flight pants with multiple pockets, he sat back confidently in his seat, awaiting, if not hoping for, any excitement. After being cooped up with Alex and the rest of their colleagues for over a year hiding from Jules and The New Reality, Tom reveled in the thought of some action.
Alex and the rest of his colleagues marveled at the ancient megalithic site as they exited the ship.
“Impressive,” William commented, staring at the massive basalt towers of crisscrossing stonework. “These walls must be at least forty to fifty feet tall. It’s one thing to actually transport one of those massive pillars, yet another to raise it another few stories. I wonder how they accomplished such a task?”
Not having ventured to this part of the island during the previous stay, Marissa, too, was amazed at the architecture. “The natives also state that twin magicians from a lost place known as Katau built this place using an ancient form of sorcery.”
“Or a little lost ancient technology,” William rebutted.
With shield in hand, Alex asked, “Terzin, where to now?”
Though Alex trusted her superficially, he definitely harbored some healthy skepticism towards their new guest. He had been double-crossed before. As a result, his friend Guri Bergmann’s death still stung.
“Follow me,” she responded, leading them deeper into the maze of buildings.
Alex attempted to focus on the entirety of the island using his left contact lens known as a vedere lens. However, the satellite feed directly linked to it became fuzzy the moment they landed. Something in or about the island was obscuring the aerial reconnaissance feed. However, a clearer infrared image revealed what appeared to be a person or possibly even an animal approaching their position.
Alex turned and saw that it was not one but two men heading towards them. Taking the shield and placing it under his arm to hide its identity, he greeted them both with a friendly nod and smile. With his free hand, he moved it slowly towards the pulse gun in his back pocket, just in case he had to defend himself and the group.
The scowl-faced men continued to approach. Both wore red wetsuits covering their entire body and had fish hanging from a rope over their shoulder.
With a stern look on his face, the taller of the two Polynesian-appearing men pointed accusingly to the group and said, “Be out of here by nightfall. The darkness only brings death.”
The other nodded while pointing them back towards the direction of their ship.
Before Alex could answer, Terzin approached the men.
Both islanders were taken aback by the site. Still wearing her silken, yet wrinkled and dirty, dress, she held the Mark in front of her for them both to view.
“Planeta da nive serreran zain,” Terzin then uttered.
“Zara eta jokaldi bat,” one responded.
Terzin held the crystal above her and stated, “Planetako nive atezainada.”
Upon her words, both men knelt on one knee and bowed in unison with respect. After the gesture, they humbly stood and asked her and the rest of them to follow.
Now leading the way, the two men took them down a long path heading towards one of the largest stone structures in the complex. Both its massive height and width suggested that it must have once been the centerpiece of this manmade island.
Ever cautious, Alex continued to reconnoiter the area via his vedere lens, making sure there were no other unexpected guests. Bergmann, Alex perseverated.
Both men placed their hands on either side of the sa
me long basaltic pillar lying horizontal to them at eye level. Where their hands touched, the rock appeared artificial and not part of the natural pillar.
The two men then pressed forward in unison. In response, a hum began to echo throughout the complex. At first low and barely audible, it began to intensify, sending the island’s native red parrots known as lorikeets flying above them in a chaotic frenzy.
A large rectangular area of the wall encompassing the pillar the men were pressing began to vibrate. As the hum reached a maximum intensity, the rectangular area spontaneously swiveled along a vertical axis at one end and opened as if the door were weightless.
One of the Polynesian-appearing men turned to them. “Come,” he invited. “Our leader Orisihpa will be honored to meet you.”
William looked over to Alex and raised a suspicious eyebrow.
His friend need not say a word to know what he was thinking. William was also present when they were taken hostage by a supposed monk at the monastery on the Island of Patmos.
William, too, remembered how their blind faith nearly cost them both their lives—and claimed that of Guri Bergmann.
Alex nodded as if to say, Be ready.
Chapter 16
Chapter_16
Alex sat on the floor next to Marissa. The warmth of the rock surprised him. Though far below ground, the stone radiated a soothing, ambient heat.
He was amazed at the complexity of the underground basaltic tunnels hidden under Nan Madol. The further and deeper he descended, the more he was astounded by what an enormous undertaking it must have been to erect such a complex. He felt what they saw above ground was just the tip of a proverbial iceberg concealing the true mysteries of the island underneath.
“I hope they didn’t bring us down here to kill us,” William whispered in Alex’s ear as he leaned over to his friend.
“Drink,” offered a wise looking, older woman with long white, braided hair and a flowered tiara on her brow. She was sitting in the center of their half circle arrangement. Wearing no more than a grass skirt and brown top strapped around her bosom, she held up a half coconut with both hands and offered it to Terzin.
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