by P. G. Burns
“So, do I carry some Djinn DNA?” Leo asked bitterly. “Am I a descendant of one of you Djinn? Are we related?”
“The Jewish people come from Isaac so, yes, it is likely that you carry some of his Vril. Indeed, Jews tend to be of a very high pedigree.”
“Pedigree? You mean like a dog?”
“Not at all. We deeply value our descendants. The stronger our bloodline, the more powerful we become. Each child that we spawn will carry our genetic marker and will be connected to us through neurotransmitters within their pineal gland. The same will be true of their children and that child’s children and so on. Now, if the bloodline is corrupted by that of another Jinni, which is often the case, then it weakens our control so we thrive on what we call pedigree species.
“Remember, Djinn do not wield much power ourselves, we merely nurture and mentor others. As I said before, almost everyone throughout history who has ever been in a position of high authority was put there by one of us and would be as strong a blood relative as possible. For instance, the royal families of Europe are mostly direct descendants of either me or Reuben. They have kept it in the family, so to speak, so they will always predominantly carry our genes.
“And through the ignorance of religion you humans have kept mainly to yourselves: Isaac’s Jews as I said stick to their own, as do Benjamin’s Muslims, Hindus and all the other believers too, thus keeping the bloodline strong and enabling the controlling Jinni – or father if you like – to progress well in the contest. Daniel had controlled his bloodline through skin colour and instigated many issues of prejudice to keep it that way.”
“You invented racism?” Leo started to understand that the Djinn had not only controlled the direction of the world but even influenced people’s feelings to their own ends. “Why though?”
“Why what?”
“Why are you here, playing this game and fucking with our lives?”
For the first time since Leo met Simeon he saw a flicker of real emotion. It could be regret or perhaps embarrassment.
“I could say research or even experimentation… the Arc Hon claim it will help mankind’s progress and evolution but I believe the real reason was simple, we envy you, that’s all I can say. I am not trying to excuse what has happened but you have to keep in mind although we are vastly more advanced and evolved than you we craved the simple things you had. I know this comparison is likely to invoke confusion but even though humans are viewed by Djinn the same way you would the view animals in a zoo, deep down we desire the physical form we once had, even your mortality is coveted by us which lead us to resent you, even despise you.”
There was genuine feeling in his voice when he added, “However, some of us realised we were wrong and as people advanced and became capable of creating magnificent works of art, music and so much more, we grew to see you humans for what you are: a race not unlike ours who deserve to be treated with respect and not just as pawns in a giant game played for the amusement of the Djinn.
“As I told you before I was the first of the thirteen to attempt to halt the game. I believed we should fix the wrongs we had done and then leave you to your own fate. The Assembly of Djinn rejected this idea so I suggested a radical addition, to allow a human competitor to enter the game. The idea was apparently so abhorrent that Reuben and Levi petitioned to have me removed and the Council agreed. I was disqualified and sentenced to return to the non-physical plane.”
“So how come you are still here?”
“I renewed.”
“Renewed?”
“It is easy enough to hide from other Djinn, as you can imagine. What with us changing at least once every generation, tracking me down was not easy. But there are other entities involved, you may have heard me mention the Watchers?” Leo nodded. “Well, they are the adjudicators, they are not Djinn nor are they human. They are in fact Arc Hon and they are the ones responsible for upholding the rules. So when it was decided that I should be removed for ‘going native’ as they called it, and I simply refused to leave, going underground, it was the Watchers who were tasked in tracking me down.
“The Arc Hon can identify Djinn by using an aura defining device, which can give them our general location, and then they send the hounds in, so to speak. I was on the run for years but they would always find me and I would have to flee over and over again. Eventually I realised the only way to escape from them long term was through a process called assumption, which removed my aura and brought me to the base existence of a human.”
“And how does this assumption work exactly?” asked Leo warily.
“By assimilating with a developing foetus.”
Leo looked visually sick.
Simeon nodded. “It is totally against the rules but I was already disqualified.”
“That’s all right then,” mocked Leo, trying to work out if it was better to take over the body of someone who has lived for thirteen years or someone not even born yet. Simeon sighed.
“So I was reborn as a human and remembered nothing of who I was, I was what we call renewed.”
“Yet here you are,” said Leo, trying to hold in his feelings of disgust.
“The memories weren’t lost, just locked away,” said Simeon.
“And what mother would give up her unborn baby?” Leo asked.
“Susanne,” Simeon said with reverence. “She was an astonishing woman, an artist and my lover. I confided in her about everything and together we hatched the plan – she only had one condition, I could not father the child. So I had to involve another of my brethren, Pierre-Cecile Puvis de Chavannes, to get Susanne pregnant.” Simeon paused, looking at Leo as if he should recognise the name.
Leo was too busy reeling in shock: Jeremy Kyle would have a field day.
“So Susanne gave birth to me and brought me up as her normal human child. I left behind many writings to help remind myself of everything that I had previously known. Quite a complex situation, as you can imagine, but it did the trick and the Arc Hon lost my aura.”
Leo was tempted to ask if mother and son had reignited their love affair but decided against it. Instead he shook his head. “And you want me to relate all of this information to a complete stranger who I will know because of the beautiful woman on his arm? He’s going to think me a complete lunatic!”
“It doesn’t matter what he thinks of you, it only matters that he listens.”
Leo sighed. “What exactly are the rules of this game?”
Simeon took a breath and ploughed on. “There are many but I will explain the main ones and how we have bent them to suit our situations.
“Rule one is Djinn are not permitted to kill one another. However, they may cause the death of another by influencing events around the said Jinni’s physical incarnation. If his human form is killed, the Jinni will be removed from the game and return to their former state back in our dimension. This has sometimes led to millions being slaughtered in the pursuit of removing an opponent. Also, killing the people around each Jinni reduces the power of their bloodline. I am sorry to say that genocide is not against the rules.”
“Like Reuben did against my people during the Holocaust?” Leo said coldly.
“Technically against Isaac’s people.”
Leo pushed up his spectacles and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Enough was enough. How could he even think about helping this man who had been complicit in the sort of violations he had just described? Tomorrow he would go home to Regina and be dammed with Simeon and the fucking Djinn.
“I must retire, I am tired,” he said politely, rising to his feet.
He never did go home to Regina, of course. How could he when there really were these entities using mankind for their amusement? Simeon seemed to have had a change of heart, like a Djinn version of an animal rights activist, considering they see humans in the same light as animals. But what was the reason for Simeon’s change of heart and how could Leo trust a man who, by his own admission, was part of this cartel of non-humans, responsible
for mass murders, infanticide, genocide and who knows what other atrocities?
“Before I can continue I need to know why,” Leo told Simeon the next time they met.
Usually when they met, alcohol was prevalent. Simeon had a love for red wine, beer, whiskey – everything in fact. The more they talked, the more he seemed to sink into a depression and the more he drank. It was with a large glass of wine in his hand that Simeon answered him now.
“Why what?”
“Why did you change your mind and decide to help the humans?” They were in a trendy wine bar in the middle of Venice’s late-night quarter with hundreds of people enjoying the pleasant evening.
“Just so you understand,” said Simeon. “We originate from the exact same place. The Djinn are sapient just like you are, just thousands of years more evolved.”
Leo did not understand why he was receiving this explanation from Simeon. Was it because he was worried that he was about to be judged? His answer soon followed.
“The reason I am saying this is because I need you to understand that a Djinn falling in love with a human is not some sort of perverse a-bomb-in-a-tion.” The final word came out in five distinct syllables, with closed eyes, as practised by many a drunken man.
Is that what it came down to? Love? Leo felt he was about to be burdened with an awkward confession. He was not equipped for this type of heart-to-heart conversation, especially with a non-human. Still, it was he who had asked.
“Susanne,” he guessed.
“I fell in love with her after seeing her image in a painting by Renoir,” Simeon said, looking into his glass reminiscently. “Renoir was a good friend. He was part of my close-knit group who helped me hide out from the Arc Hon. Of course, they didn’t know exactly who or what I was but in those days Paris was very trendy and to be involved in the occult and have secrets was all part of the excitement amongst the bohemians.
“Susanne was a model at the time, but she was so much more than that. She was ambitious, rebellious, flirty and promiscuous, traits rarely found in women in those days. She was also very clever and talented. I fell in love! Properly in love.” Simeon became animated once more, his fingers pointing, then his arms flaying as he slurred out his words. “I’d been hiding from the Watchers for a hundred or so years during which time I drank a lot and had relationships with many females. I was spiralling in a human like descent of self-pity until I met her.” Simeon looked into his glass his mood becoming calm as he reflected. “Susanne was different. It was like a scene from one of my own plays.” He looks up at Leo. “Did I mention I was a playwright in a former life?” A hiccup punctuated his sentence and he stared off into the distance again before continuing. “When I realised that I had fallen in love and that this beautiful woman was the most important person I had ever met, I allowed my feelings of guilt towards the human race to grow and I became more than a conscientious objector. You see I realised that I must now side with her kind. I had to save them. So I told her everything about the quest, about the Djinn and the Arc Hon.”
The last drop of wine was consumed and Simeon looked around for the waiter. With a shake of his head he continued, only this time his voice carried a pang of guilt, or perhaps sorrow.
“As I have told you before, the two of us planned the renewal together. I was reborn as a human with no knowledge of my real identity and Susanne was now my mother. She was only 18, such responsibility, but she brought me up as best she could. She named me Maurice and I grew up surrounded by the most wonderful art and artists! Never before had I felt such a connection to the universe. Unsurprisingly though I had a troubled life and was in and out of mental institutions as my past memories began to re-emerge. We had agreed that I would not receive the notes I had written to myself until Susanne had passed away as my reaction could not be predicted.”
Picking up Leo’s glass, Simeon took a large swig. Leo feared that he was about to burst into tears, an action that would render Leo useless, as his wife could testify.
“Are you okay?” asked Leo once the silence became unbearable.
“Sorry, I was just thinking,” slurred Simeon. “Anyway, before I read the notes I was a somewhat accomplished artist myself, but still the truth came as a bit of a shock. I spent the next twenty-odd years as a recluse trying to deal with the truth and then I began planning my next move and how to honour my lover and my mother’s memory. That’s why I became a traitor to my own kind. Love: what a cunt it is.”
Again Simeon stared aimlessly into the table in front of him. A waiter passed, asking politely in broken English, “Any more drink?” Simeon replied, “Yes, a large bottle of J-fucking-D, pronto!” Leo was concerned that this was the most drunk he had ever seen Simeon and worried they would draw attention to themselves. He was right to be concerned, Simeon was very drunk. The drunken Jinni looked around the bar observing the vapid groups of revellers, disdain etched across his face as he listened to their pathetic babble. He pondered on what he had given up for these pieces of meat. He took a slow deep breath to calm himself, then he remembered Susanne and with a sip of wine he focused. He held both hands up to signal he was calm and ready for Leo to continue with any further questions.
Leo was nervous now but he still wanted answers. “Why fight for a human competitor? Why don’t you try and win the game yourself and then put things right?”
“Didn’t you listen? I am disqualified, remember! I only suggested a human competitor before to rebalance the scales. Then after I met Susanne it all became more vital.”
Leo pondered this and came to his own conclusion.
“Redemption,” he nodded. “You’re seeking redemption for yourself and the abominations that came with you, the demons who have brought evil to this earth.” Simeon’s face changed from a man struggling with guilt to a man feeling anger: gritted teeth and an intense stare left Leo in no doubt that he had hit a nerve.
Simeon slammed his fist down on the table, startling Leo and attracting even more attention from their fellow patrons.
“Do not for one minute think that mankind is not responsible for its own problems! We use the tools that are free to us, such as man’s greed and indifference to each other. Mankind has an ability to do things to each other that we couldn’t even dream of, things so bad it never ceases to amaze me. I told you the Djinn have a rules that even Reuben has never broken and one is we can only influence, not command. ‘Only by free will’. Everything that has happened on this plane was done of your own free will. No threats, no mind control, no torture, just persuasion or at worst coercion!”
Leo looked sheepish; maybe he had been a bit quick to judge. There must be thousands of incidents where humans have committed horrid acts without any Djinn interfering.
“I will give you an example,” said Simeon, “of how stupid you humans can be. Over the years we have invented many untruths to control and manipulate the masses. One of the most successful of these is the virgin birth. A myth we didn’t use just the once, but at least ten times: Krishna, Christ, Dionysus, all concocted from a story Solfrid and Baal came up with during the First Visit many, many years before we arrived, where they propagated a myth about a child born after his mother fornicated with a phallic instrument. Horus was the first incarnation of the virgin birth and we used him again when Egypt rose to a great empire and we didn’t even change his name that time.
“When Reuben came up with Christianity he didn’t even bother coming up with an original line. There was no need, humans were so desperate to have a messiah that he could come up with any old story so long as there was a virgin birth. He was clever though, he used some old myths as well that he’d heard from Solomon when we first arrived. Then with the help of a few scholars he elaborated on the story of a local radical from Nazareth. He put both books together over a thousand years and, hey presto! The first world were all following the book called the bible. This gave him the lead in the quest and one he has held on to for a long time, until Isaac discovered there was a religion even
more conducive to controlling man: wealth.”
Simeon slumped in his chair. Leo was aware that this was one drunk, angry Jinni getting loose-lipped around religion. He decided to take advantage of his new buddy’s inebriation and ask the question any devout Jew would ask. “What about God? Did Reuben or one of the others invent him?”
Simeon laughed as he sipped his drink, choking in the process. “Leo, the Djinn are a highly developed race, we know things you don’t but we don’t know everything. God is man’s name for the creator and yes, there was a creator, but he doesn’t sit in the clouds watching over us all and judging us. He left. He was probably a little embarrassed with how his creations turned out. Anyway, I believe he has other things to do, other worlds, other races, countless living beings that he has created.” Simeon fixed Leo with a pitiful look and addressed him in a sincere tone. “It’s only you humans that are so self-absorbed to believe that God belongs to you.” He poured one more drink and Leo joined him as his last ounce of faith disappeared
“We believe it because you trick us into believing it. You say that you don’t use mind control but surely that is mind control.”
“Cognitive bias. Do you know what that is?”
Leo did not know but was sure he was about to learn.
“It is the weakness in your thought patterns that has allowed us to convince humans to believe certain things are important when really they are not. We thrive on your inability to reach bounded rationality. Your fear of loss is the strongest of these irrational patterns and loss of existence is the ultimate motivation. By creating religion we reinforced all of these biases daily. There are people throughout history who have chosen to die to prove to themselves that they will live eternally and no matter how irrational these religions are, you just keep on following them. All religions thrive not because of man’s love for each other but because of their greed. One life is not enough for you. You believe you are so significant that some God who created everything is just waiting for you to snuggle up to him at his place.”
