by Steve Alten
Dominique enters the habitat where her son is sleeping. During her first ‘night’ in space, she had tried to sleep in a similar pod, but the coffinlike bed was too confining.
Hearing a muffled scream, she rushes over to one of the sleeping pods, where her son is in the throes of a terrible nightmare.
‘Jake?’ She bangs on the tinted plastic lid, then struggles to open it.
Inside, her son thrashes violently, as if being attacked by a swarm of bees.
Dominique yanks open the cover, grabbing him by his wrists. ‘Jake-wake up! Jacob!’
The azure-blue eyes flash open-absolutely terrified. He grips his mother’s biceps, bruising them within his powerful fingers.
‘Jake, it’s okay… Jacob, you’re hurting me… Jacob!’
‘Huh?’ He gazes up at her and stops thrashing.
Dominique helps him out of the pod. ‘Are you all right?’
He nods weakly, then collapses into a deck-mounted ‘nourishment’ chair. ‘Computer, 20 cc’s supplement 4-F.’ Placing the feeding tube into his mouth, he closes his eyes, sucking the clear liquid through the two-foot-long pressurized straw.
‘Another nightmare?’
‘It was a vision. A final warning from my father.’
She kneels in front of him. ‘Tell me.’
He shakes his head.
‘Jacob… please-’
The white-haired twin looks up at his mother through gallows’ eyes. ‘I was deep inside the nexus, enshrouded in heavy white fog. My physical body seemed to have left me, there was only my mind’s eye. Two violet specks appeared… two eyes, glowing at me from within the thick haze. It was Lilith. She whispered into my mind, “Jacob, we’ve been waiting.” And then I saw her.
‘She was so intoxicating, Mother, like exquisite poison. “Come to me, Jacob,” she said. My mind screamed no, but then I felt her touch, and it was beyond any ecstasy I’ve ever known. I could feel her warm breath in my ear. My nerve impulses tingled as she caressed the pleasure centers of my mind, and her nectar spread over me like a soothing balm.
‘I could have stayed there forever. I could have let her drain me, dying a happy man. But then these blue specks appeared-a pair of Hunahpu eyes observing me from beyond the fog.
‘It was my father. “You have allowed the serpent into your garden,” he said, “and once more you’ve been deceived.” Then the fog lifted, and I saw the Abomination for what she really was.
‘She was part-human, part-demonic creature. Her skin had bleached ghostly white, her long hair was black and knotty. The corneas of her eyes were violet-red, her pupils like a viper. But it was her mouth that made my soul retch-a vertical slit, like a fleshy trap-like a vagina, Mother, only it was filled with hundreds of these sickening stubbly black teeth.
‘Blood was smeared across the monster’s unholy slit… my blood! She stood before me, an obscenity of humanity. Her hideous lips spread apart, inhaling my consciousness inside her orifice, and I knew I was in Hell.
‘And though I had no body, I could still feel her heat melting the flesh from my bones, and though I had no nose, I could still smell the putrid scent of demon’s vomit, and though I had no mouth, my tortured mind screamed over and over as the Abomination entwined her naked limbs deeper around my mind, and ground her rancid groin into my being.’
‘My God…’
Jacob wipes tears from his glazed-over eyes. ‘I was drowning in her sulfuric maelstrom, ranting and raging and screaming as if caught in a swirling pool of lava, then suddenly I was in an oasis of calm. Somehow Mick had reached in and saved me, pulling me to safety. I could still feel the Abomination clawing at my back, tempting me to look at her. And even though I had just escaped her Hell, it was all I could do to keep myself from turning again.
‘My father pulled me into his arms and held me, whispering that I am the true Hunahpu, the Nephilim messiah, and that he would be there for me when I needed him.’
Dominique wipes a tear. ‘How did he look?’
‘Weary. And then he faded back into the white light.’
Warning bells sound, snapping Jacob to attention. ‘Computer, report.’
WARPED SPACE DETECTED, COURSE TWO-ZERO-THREE MARK SIX. TIME TO INTERCEPT: FOUR MINUTES, TWENTY SECONDS.
‘Origin of warped space?’
GRAVITATIONAL RIPPLE.
‘The wormhole?’ Dominique asks.
Jacob nods. ‘Computer, plot and execute intercept course.’
She follows Jacob forward into the control room.
‘Computer, activate forward screen.’
A three-dimensional image of space appears on the wall before them. Located in the upper right hand corner of the screen, growing in size as it travels from east to west, is the frightening scarlet-ringed aperture of the wormhole.
Jacob stares at the object. ‘I think you’d better strap in.’
Dominique climbs into one of the pilot chairs, which instantly conforms to her physique. The mouth of the vortex appears before them, radiating like a swirling, orange-red alien moon.
ACTIVATING EXOTIC-MATTER BEACONS.
The image of the scarlet orifice blurs as the negative energy field of the starship’s exotic-matter force field carves an invisible path before them.
Jacob pulls himself into his command chair as the wormhole’s mouth grows to occupy the entire forward screen. ‘Hold on!’
The sleek starship crosses the wormhole’s threshold, the cosmic tunnel’s intense gravitational forces instantly sucking the vessel down its throat, propelling it through its conduit.
Dominique’s arms are suctioned to her chair, the intense gravitational turbulence shaking the vessel hard enough to loosen her back teeth. She bites down, her eyes barely able to focus on the forward screen.
They are rocketing through an iridescent sky-blue funnel, rimmed by a strange bloodred hue. At the very center of the image is a black dot… growing larger… larger And suddenly they are flung free, hurtling through space into an unrecognizable sector of the Galaxy.
Before them-an alien silvery-red planet.
Dominique whispers. ‘ Xibalba…’
Jacob nods. ‘Computer, reactivate main engines. Plot a course for the larger of the two moons.’
PROBES HAVE BEEN LAUNCHED FROM THE LUNAR SURFACE, APPROACHING GRAVITY RIPPLE.
‘Activate aft screen.’
The image of space changes. Appearing on-screen-the wormhole’s exit, bathed in emerald green. Moving into position along the perimeter of the orifice are hundreds of school-bus-sized probes, each emitting a luminescent blue beacon.
Dominique stares at the image on screen. ‘What’s happening?’
‘Someone’s stabilizing the wormhole, preventing its gravitational field from collapsing.’
‘The Guardian?’
‘Let’s hope. Computer, establish orbit around the planet’s larger moon. Prepare an escape pod to take us to the lunar surface.’
37
ABOARD THE BALAM’S ESCAPE POD
The twenty-seven-foot escape pod circles the lunar base, then descends to what appears to be a docking berth.
Jacob clutches his head, his eyes squeezed shut.
‘Jake, what’s wrong?’
‘Voices… so many voices… probing my mind telepathically-’
A written message appears across the pod’s main viewing screen.
WELCOME HOME.
The pod touches down with a hiss. Alien hydraulics rotate the vessel into position.
Without warning, the entire landing pad and escape pod plummet hundreds of feet below the surface.
Dominique grips her seat, her stomach jumping with the sudden descent, then they are slowing, braking on a cushion of air.
The pod’s outer hatch yawns open, revealing a massive subterranean facility.
Standing before them in absolute silence are hundreds of humanoids, seven feet tall, all possessing silky white hair, bright azure-blue eyes, and elongated skulls.
Jacob and
his mother are escorted down a long corridor to a private chamber. Waiting for them inside are three Guardian elders. Two are males, possessing white hair and matching silky beards. The female’s hair is also snow white, her luminescent eyes holding a maternal quality. All three are wearing skintight biopneumatic bodysuits, entwined with biochemical capillary-like vessels pulsating with energy.
The older of the two males, dressed in a black bodysuit, speaks aloud, solely for Dominique’s benefit.
‘I represent First Clan.’
The women, wearing gray, states, ‘I represent Second Clan.’
The younger male, in a white jumpsuit, steps forward. ‘I represent Third Clan. It is an honor to meet you, First-Mother, though your presence was not anticipated.’
‘Who are you?’
The younger male holds up two fingers. Balanced on each fingertip is a dime-sized, paper-thin device. ‘These are bionetic implants. All you wish to know will be downloaded.’
Before Dominique can object, the younger male touches the device to her left temple – inhaling her consciousness into darkness.
Where is Immanuel?
He refused to join me.
Illogical. He was programmed to be here.
The Hunahpu gene remained dormant for too long. He possessed free will.
You cannot succeed without him.
My father will assist me.
Your father is lost.
Dominique forces open a heavy eye.
She is lying on a free-floating couch, the room spinning in her head. The three bizarre-looking humanoids are standing before Jacob, their eyes closed as they communicate with him telepathically.
‘Speak out loud!’
They turn slowly to face her, their glowing eyes now open.
‘Who are-’ As her lips purse to form the words of her first question, a wave of information instantaneously washes over her mind.
The Guardian… survivors of an Earth holocaust… destined for Mars Colony… twelve spaceships diverted through wormhole… arrived on Xibalba as Homo sapiens… evolved into transhumans through retrotransposon manipulation…
Dominique grips the sides of her head where the neural implants have been embedded.
‘Stop,’ Jacob protests, ‘you’re overwhelming her.’
The female transhuman blinks, causing the neural transmission to cease.
Jacob kneels by his mother’s side. ‘Are you all right?’
Dominique nods.
‘We will communicate aloud,’ the female commands.
‘I want to see Mick. Take me to him.’
‘One Hunahpu is long gone,’ the elder male coldly states. ‘Our concern now is for the Nephilim. ’
Dominique stands. ‘I don’t believe you.’
‘Michael Gabriel failed,’ voices the younger male.
‘You don’t know even where he is, do you?’
‘We know,’ the elder male retorts.
‘No… you’re lying, in fact, your whole brotherhood is one big lie! This lunar outpost, the Balam… none of it’s yours, you only inherited the technology, you don’t really understand it. You’re like a bunch of children operating a television. You can program it and adjust the volume, but you don’t know the first thing about how it really works, do you?’
Jacob looks at the Guardian elders and smiles. ‘My mother may not be Hunahpu, but don’t underestimate her, or her bond to my father. Tell her everything.’
‘What you say is true,’ the female Guardian admits. ‘The Balam was here when we arrived, we still don’t know its origins.’
The younger male steps forward. ‘Like you, we once lived on Earth as Homo sapiens. But our species was threatened by a great cataclysm-a super volcano, whose imminent eruption would cast Earth into a species-ending ice age. Some of us were chosen to begin our lives anew on Mars. Ours was the last group that managed to escape Earth before the caldera erupted. On our journey to the Red Planet, our twelve ships were seized by the wormhole, which deposited our ships in this time and place.’
Dominique covers her mouth. ‘Wait a minute… are you saying everyone on Earth will die? When will this happen? How soon?’
‘Less than a decade after the Hero Twins’ twentieth year.’
‘Oh my God.’
‘The planet we now orbit was once inhabited by an advanced race of humans. Before we arrived, this transhuman culture made a breakthrough in human evolution. By linking their minds into a collective consciousness, they were able to create a resonant “supermind,” one that would allow them to transcend the physical world into the spiritual. This discovery ultimately divided the culture in two. Those who sought to abandon their physical bodies in order to walk in God’s shadow eventually evolved into a posthumanoid species. Those who opposed this evolutionary blasphemy abandoned the planet.’
The female takes over. ‘The physical and spiritual realms are connected by a nexus-a transspatial existence that bridges the gap between our physical dimension and the spiritual worlds. By creating a collective mind, the transhumans could bypass physical death and enter the spiritual realm using high-frequency psychotronic harmonics. That gave them access to the nexus, but still prevented them from entering the higher spiritual realms they sought. In order to gain access, they needed another life-form-a host species-one capable of reproducing these psychotronic harmonics within the nexus itself. From genetic catalogues, the transhumans selected a species once indigenous to the planet. Using advances in gene splicing and cybernetics, they began cloning and genetically manipulating generations of these biological creatures to serve their own selfish needs.’
A volumetric image appears before them. It depicts a crater-shaped sea of silvery, almost metallic liquid. Moving just below the surface are immense serpentine creatures, their broad backs churning the undulating broth.
Dominique’s eyes widen. ‘It’s the creature-the one that rose from the Gulf of Mexico, the one Mick destroyed in Chichen Itza.’
‘Tezcatilpoca,’ Jacob whispers. ‘The Mayan name for “smoking mirror.”’
‘The mirror into the soul,’ the female adds. ‘These docile, intelligent beasts were genetically altered and enhanced to exist on both sides of the “mirror of existence.” It is their harmonics that summoned the wormhole. Their posthuman masters used the Tezcatilpoca to pass through the nexus into the spiritual world. Our fellow castaways-our own fallen brothers and sisters-followed them down this same dark path. Now the vanquished cry out to us for salvation. They must be saved.’
Jacob circles the female elder. ‘The Nephilim, the Fallen Ones. These are your fellow castaways?’
‘Yes. All evolved into transhumans within years after being exposed to the planet’s water supply.’
Dominique fights to remain in control. ‘What does any of this have to do with Mick, or my sons?’
‘Michael and your sons carry the Hunahpu gene.’
‘I know that! What I don’t know is what a damn Hunahpu is.’
The female answers, her motherly demeanor intended to soothe. ‘Before they escaped from Xibalba, our Guardian founders took samples of posthuman DNA. The samples were taken onboard the Balam when it journeyed through the wormhole, chasing after the Xibalban transport vessel carrying the creature. The Hunaphu are a Homo sapiens bloodline genetically enhanced with posthuman DNA.’
The older male takes over. ‘The Abomination’s plan was to send one of the Tezcatilpoca on a transport ship back through the wormhole to Earth, where the creature’s presence would create a cosmic bridge between both worlds and time periods. Fearing the Abomination would attempt to lead her people to old Earth, the Guardian downed the vessel, only they failed to kill the creature.’
‘Fortunately,’ Jacob says, ‘my father, possessing Hunahpu blood, was able to circumvent their plan.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Dominique says, looking to the elder Guardian male. ‘How can Lilith be Hunahpu? I thought Mick was your chosen one?’
‘Michael Gabriel was
only one of several hundred possible genetic anomalies the Guardian hoped would evolve in time to activate the Balam ’s weapon system. Lilith’s great-uncle found a way to manipulate the Hunaphu bloodline. This mutation causes a deeply rooted schizophrenia that was passed on to Lilith.’
‘And where is Mick? What happened to him?’
‘Michael and our fellow colonists are trapped in a netherworld, a bubble of existence created by Devlin Mabus.’
‘Devlin?’
‘Lilith’s son, a pure posthuman, very powerful, conceived from two Hunahpu parents.’
Jacob sits, suddenly light-headed.
‘Who’s the father?’ Dominique asks. ‘Jake?’
‘I don’t know, Mother. Yes, it’s possible. For that matter, it could be Manny or another Hunahpu in our time.’
The three Guardian elders go silent, their minds exchanging thoughts at light speed.
Dominique loses patience. ‘I don’t care about this Devlin or Lilith, I came here to find Mick. Tell me what happened to him and how I can reach him.’
The younger male is first to speak. ‘Michael Gabriel journeyed into Devlin’s realm to save the Nephilim, but Lilith and her son had been forewarned. He remains trapped in the netherworld. Lilith uses his light to control her followers and keep them in line. Michael’s light attracts them like a moth to flame. It gives them hope, but Michael cannot escape. Now, only the combined strength of the Hero Twins can free One Hunahpu and the Fallen Ones.’
The elder Guardian male looks hard at Jacob. ‘Which means our mission has failed. Your brother should have made the journey, not First-Mother.’
Dominique ignores the remark. ‘How many years have passed since Mick’s arrival?’
‘Just over a Xibalban century,’ the female answers. ‘Approximately 114 Earth years.’
‘Oh… God, how’s that possible?’
The female takes her hand. ‘Dominique, Michael hasn’t aged in a physical sense. His body remains in suspended animation. It’s his mind that is being tortured.’
‘Tortured?’
‘By the Abomination. She is a leech to his soul.’
Jacob stands. ‘I came here to save my father and rescue the Nephilim. Tell me what I have to do?’
