He continued, “To introduce myself, I am the President of the People’s Republic of China and it is a great honour to find myself in the company of such eminent individuals.”
He proceeded to greet each of the other Principals. His actions appeared to break the ice and the others began to move from their original positions and greet one another. Almost all of them had checked their mobile phones by then, and confirmed that they were also off and could not be switched on. This only added to the bizarre circumstances.
Edward Payton made a point of introducing himself to each of the other Principals, as it was obvious that he was the least recognisable of the 12. Even though he had never met any of them before, they all acknowledged their familiarity with his name and work. He was pleasantly surprised by this, as it spoke volumes about the reach of his environmental awareness campaigns, which he feared did not draw enough of the world’s attention.
It took no longer than a few minutes for everyone to formally greet one another. A low hum of conversation began to fill the room as the Principals unwound the razor sharp tension. They commented on the sea aroma and background music and discussed the beautiful images that were being shown around them. They all felt a profound bond with the collage of Earth’s natural wonders.
While the Principals conversed, silver strip lighting illuminated within the white flooring, leading towards a point in the wall. The female voice spoke again requesting them to follow the floor lighting.
9:04 a.m. Observatory: Instruction
The conversation around the room subsided and the tension returned. They all looked down at the floor lighting, uncertain as to whether they should follow the instruction.
Sensing the hesitation, the Chinese President spoke in a confident tone, “It is my view that although we are all confused by these extraordinary circumstances, it would be sensible for us to follow the instructions. I would like to believe that this is a dream, but I fear that it is not. As such, we must ensure that we are cooperative and diplomatic, maintain our composure and conduct ourselves as a united front in whatever might follow. Just because this situation cannot be logically explained, doesn’t mean that it’s not of the utmost importance. We also have little option.”
There was general agreement from everyone, and a sense of relief that there was someone thinking rationally, uniting them and prepared to take the lead.
The Chinese President took the first steps in the direction of the floor lighting and the other 11 Principals followed cautiously. He walked boldly towards the edge of the room and as he neared it, a door-like void appeared in the wall. His pace did not waver as he walked through it and on into a short, evenly lit passage. Moments later he entered what had been referred to as the conference chamber. It was a large circular room probably 20 metres in diameter, with an equally large dome shaped roof above. More beautiful images flowed down the dome’s surface and perimeter wall, in what could best be described as a waterfall gallery.
There were 12 comfortable chairs evenly spaced around a conference table. The table was round and made of three-inch thick opaque glass. It appeared to be levitating in mid-air, since there were no visible legs supporting it. In the centre of the table, was a hypnotising translucent sphere. It was floating a few inches above the table’s surface. Elegant glasses, filled with a clear liquid and perfect cubes, were positioned in front of each of the 12 chairs.
The Principals followed the Chinese President into the conference chamber. Once inside, the door-like void closed behind them and moulded itself invisibly into the continuous wall that enclosed the venue.
“The door … look … its disappeared,” said the Brazilian President, Veronica Carrera. She looked nervously at where the entrance had been.
They all looked back and frowned as they confirmed her observation. The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Lynne Zhuang, walked up to the wall and ran her fingers along its surface to feel for any grooves that may confirm the door’s position, but there were none. The lack of an exit made them all feel trapped and uneasy.
The President of the European Union, Emma Verlaine, gave everyone reassurance, “We shouldn’t let ourselves worry. I’m sure we’ll get a perfectly reasonable explanation for all this very soon, but until then we should keep our minds clear and sharp.”
Not everyone shared her optimistic sentiments, but they agreed with her and talked quietly amongst themselves while appreciating the gallery.
The television reporter, Michelle Dalir, pointed towards the sphere on the table and asked, “What do you think that is? I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
“No idea,” said the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Abdul Shara. “But I think that it would be unwise for us to disturb it.”
But before he had finished his sentence, Ms Dalir had leaned over the table, reached out and swept her hand below and then above the sphere. She was astonished that there was nothing physically supporting it. The object was literally suspended in mid-air, as if being held there by some kind of invisible force field.
She commented, “Incredible, it’s like a sorcerer’s mystical crystal ball. No need to worry, Mr Shara, I wouldn’t dare disturb it.”
They all slowly made their way to the table. The Chairperson of the African Union, Jamba Mabunda, gestured politely for the female Principals to take their seats. They obliged and the male Principals followed suit. The chairs were surprisingly snug, moulding themselves precisely to their occupants’ shapes to optimise posture and comfort.
9:00 a.m. Earth: White House – Oval Office
Agent Walker greeted the President’s secretary with a polite smile, “Good morning, Vivian. I have Congressman Greenfield here for the nine o’clock appointment with President Jameson.”
Vivian Lester, who had been the President’s secretary ever since she had taken office, picked up her phone and dialled through to the Oval Office. They stood patiently for a full 30 seconds while the secretary held the landline telephone to her ear, but there was no response from inside the office. She hung up and tried a second time. The two agents monitoring the door gave Agent Walker courteous nods of confirmation that the President was definitely inside her office. The secretary then informed Walker that the President could be on an important mobile phone call, hence the unexpected delay.
It was only on very rare occasions that the President did not answer her landline telephone within the first 30 seconds, but Agent Walker knew to give her some leeway. It was better to give the most powerful person in the world her space than to cramp her style. The secretary waited a full minute before trying again but the second attempted call was also not answered. The look of surprise on the secretary’s face said it all. She hung up the phone for the second time and that was Agent Walker’s cue.
He walked towards the door, knocked on it with three sturdy taps and then spoke in a polite tone, “Madam President, I have Congressman Greenfield here to meet with you.”
There was still no response. He leaned towards the door, listening at its edge. No sounds could be heard from within the office.
Agent Walker then repeated the triple knock, slightly louder this time and said again, in a stronger tone, “Madam President, Congressman Greenfield is here for your 9:00 a.m. meeting.”
He placed his ear on the door this time, listening closely for a response – still nothing. The situation was now becoming serious. The secretary tried calling through on the landline for a third time, again without success. Three full minutes had now passed.
Walker’s ear piece came to life. It was his security technical lead. “Carter to Walker. Come in.”
There was a computer alarm sounding in the background.
Walker held his hand to his ear and responded, “Proceed, Carter.”
“Sir, we appear to be having a problem with the President’s tracking device – a minor glitch it would seem. I’m sending a tech-team down right away to check it out. I just wanted to inform you.”
“T
hank you, Carter. Hold your tech-team for the moment,” said Walker as an uncomfortable chill ran down his spine.
Agent Walker whispered into the ear of a third agent, who then kindly requested the Congressman to follow him into a drawing room further down the passage and out of direct sight of the door. Greenfield followed without hesitation. He had a concerned look on his face as he entered the room.
The agent reassured him, “Everything is just fine Congressman. The President is a very busy woman. We’ll call you in a short while as soon as she’s available.”
The agent then closed the drawing room door and gave Agent Walker the all-clear signal.
Walker then knocked on the President’s door for a third time and said in a loud voice, “Madam President, please respond and confirm that you are alright.”
Still no response. He radioed the agents monitoring the Oval Office’s other three entrances, one of which was a cottage pane glass door. All confirmed that the President had not exited their respective doors since they came on duty two hours earlier. Walker asked for a visual confirmation of the office’s interior and the agent manning the pane glass door confirmed that he could not see the President behind her desk or anywhere in the office.
The secretary stood up from her seat. “Agent Walker, the President’s mobile phone appears to be off too, as the network has told me twice now that the subscriber is not available. I’ve never had this before.”
That was it, five attempted phone calls, three failed knocking attempts, a malfunctioning tracking device, and a failed visual confirmation … standard reaction measures and procedure called for immediate entry.
Agent Walker then raised his voice to its highest controllable notch just below shouting level, “Madam President, we’re coming in.”
He grasped the door handle, turned it and opened the door gently. He stepped cautiously into the President’s Office with his hand on his firearm. He looked around the room and could not believe his eyes …
9:05 a.m. Observatory: Council Chamber
Before any further conversation could take place, the chairs began moving in a slow and fluid motion, rearranging their occupants into some predetermined order around the table. The Principals cast surprised looks at one other, but didn’t attempt to leave their chairs as they were shifted around. Once in their final positions, the glasses drifted across the table’s surface to where their respective Principals were seated.
The conference table then began to increase its diameter in synchronisation with the floor. The 12 Principals found themselves spaced equally around ‘two-thirds’ of the table’s perimeter. Six chairs then emerged from the floor and positioned themselves around the table’s remaining, unoccupied ‘third’.
Moments later, six people walked through the imagery of the perimeter wall and approached the conference table. They varied in age, gender and ethnicity and all wore similarly themed clothes which looked fashionably modern.
The Principals didn’t know who these people were or quite what to make of them, but they all stood simultaneously in a show of respect. They remained silent as the new entrants proceeded quietly and calmly to the empty chairs. The six people then bowed in greeting and the Principals returned the gesture.
The expressions of the six were austere, almost unnerving. One of them gestured for the Principals to take their seats and they complied. They sat silently, wondering who these six people were and whether they were the ones responsible for summoning them to this mysterious gathering.
The Principals retained their composure while surveying the six people. There was something vaguely familiar about each one of them, although not immediately discernible.
The first of the six was a tall, elegant and dazzlingly beautiful Caucasian woman with long flowing blond hair which emerged from a braided crown. She appeared to be in her early thirties, had a perfect complexion and soft features that radiated grace and compassion. The Principals were taken aback by her distinct regal presence and contrasting tranquil demeanour. She reminded some of the Principals of the world famous philanthropist Taylor Swift in her younger years as a singer.
The second person was a man of African origin, most likely in his mid-fifties with greyish tinges in his hair. He had faintly recognisable facial features, beset with compassionate eyes. Serena Harpon was struck by how much the man reminded her of Nelson Mandela, on whom she had written her final college thesis.
The third person was an Asian woman in her early forties, also attractive, yet with harsher features which gave her an air of assertive confidence. The Chinese President speculated her to be of Manchurian Han Chinese descent, as many of her features mirrored those of his renowned humanitarian wife, Sen Chien-Shiung, who had originated from that region. She was an inspiration to him and reinforced the moral foundation by which he strived, not only to live every day of his life, but also to lead his nation.
The fourth person was a man of Indian origin, possibly in his sixties. He was relatively small in stature and had a kind face, which seemed to bear the weight of an inexplicable sadness. In many respects he reminded the Principals of Mahatma Ghandi.
The fifth person was a woman with striking eyes and long dark hair, unmistakably Arabian. She looked young, in her late twenties at most. It was uncomfortable for the Principals to maintain eye contact with her, as they all felt the strange sensation that she was examining and prejudging their thoughts through some kind of telepathy. One of the most famous National Geographic cover photographs from the last century came to mind when looking at her eyes.
The sixth person was a huge Caucasian man in his late forties. He stood close to seven feet tall and was at least three feet wide at the shoulders. His immense frame was matched by bulldog-like, hard-edged looks, which automatically commanded reverence and respect. His demeanour exuded an air of self-assurance, discipline and authority, similar to a tall version of Winston Churchill. This was the kind of leader that people would willingly follow through a time of war.
The Principals felt an unexplained sense of connection with these six people even though they had never met them before.
9:05 a.m. Observatory: Introduction
Empress Aeryssia and her five Chancellors took a few moments to familiarise themselves with the 12 Principals who would be instrumental in determining the fate of the human species and planet Earth.
The Empress gestured for her Chancellors to take their seats, leaving only herself standing.
She then spoke in fluent English, with a slight French accent, “It is with great honour that we welcome you to our sanctuary. The 12 of you collectively hold the most significant and far reaching influence across your human civilisation and it is for this reason that you have been selected to represent it throughout the encounter that is to follow.
“I will start by stating that we must be given passage to speak without any interruption throughout the duration of this encounter. I realise that there are many questions that you would like answered, but I can assure you that most will be addressed as we proceed. Please feel free to make notes on the table’s glide surface, if at any time you feel the need to do so. Your delegation will be given an opportunity at a later stage, to raise three questions.”
As she spoke, virtual notepads and keyboards appeared in front of the Principals on the conference table’s tablet-like surface.
She continued, “To introduce myself, I am Empress Hadrianna Aeryssia. With me are my honoured Chancellors, Valantor Warion, Raylene Kestryn, Fortex Raker, Laview Yusoara and Rifton Trennor.”
The Chancellors raised their hands in turn as their names were mentioned. “They will introduce themselves to you shortly.
“Before we proceed any further, the very first thing I must emphasise is that for the time you are with us, you will be safer than you have ever been throughout your lives.
“Right now, you are neither dreaming nor dead. This encounter is real and I urge you to remain calm in the knowledge that our intentions are virtuous and in your bes
t long-term interests. I understand that the circumstances in which you find yourselves now are unexpected and extraordinary, but do not be anxious. I can assure you that this is the only suitable way for us to meet with one another.”
She paused for a moment and then went on, “You must know that the content of this encounter will be challenging, not necessarily in terms of comprehension, but rather in terms of how you will interpret it and then deal with it. Some of the things you are about to hear may initially seem implausible, but you must exercise patience and open mindedness while we explain the context of the situation and our intentions.”
The Principals looked at one another even more confused than before, but acknowledged her request nonetheless.
9:05 a.m. Earth: White House
Agent Walker stood in the open doorway of the Oval Office. His eyes were not deceiving him; the President was not at her desk or anywhere else that he could see.
“Madam President, are you here?” asked Walker.
There was no response. He moved swiftly around the lounge suite and then over to the Resolution Desk to see whether she had fallen behind it, but there was no sign of her.
The two other agents entered and split to either side of the room.
“Search every crevice in this office,” Walker barked.
He knocked on the door that led to the adjacent meeting room, opened it and searched the room. Nothing. He opened the meeting room’s entrance door that led into the outside passageway, and the agent outside confirmed that no one had used the door since the shift change two hours earlier. Walker closed the door and walked back to the Oval Office.
Wake-up Call: 2035 Page 10
