EARTH PLAN

by David Sloma

  “That's fine,” a young woman said, the same one who made the phone call. She appeared to be in her mid-thirties, dressed causally, as was the other man in the room who sat at a desk making notes, with a couple of screens in front of him. A young staff, making me feel old, Ben thought. He was in his sixties, now.

  “Hello, sir,” the man said.

  Ben waved and stopped, staring.

  There was another man in the center of the room in a chair that was able to put him in a comfortable position on his back, sort of like an examination chair. He seemed in his early twenties and was also dressed casually, so it was obvious there was no work going on here that involved microbes or sterile conditions. Indeed, this was a test of the mind.

  The man on the chair had all sorts of wires attached to his head, which led to a bank of machines.

  The woman continued, “We've done the first round of screening tests, and our subject, Jacob here, is showing very good results. Of course, this is not his first round of psychic testing; he was carefully screened before coming to us.”

  “Hello Jacob!” Ben called out. “I'm the big cheese here, Benjamin Veer, but you can call me Ben.”

  “Thank you, Ben,” Jacob smiled. That seemed to put him more at ease.

  Ben thought about how those with the pure human DNA were being discovered at younger ages, now. That gave him hope, as it showed that some of their efforts to improve, or cure the human DNA were being successful—or at least he believed they were. The main thing was that there were more humans with repaired DNA being found by the Guild and being put to work in their efforts. For this, Ben was very thankful.

  He thought about the screening methods that were used. These ranged from DNA and blood screenings, but there was usually some other kind of indicator, first. In the case of a psychic there were obvious signs in that person's life that they had an ability above the norm; they could see events that were going to happen, they could read people with an uncanny accuracy, or they even might display some telekinesis abilities to move things with their minds.

  When these people identified as psychics were brought into the Guild and tested, almost always they exhibited the Eden Gene as it had been called, the mark of untainted human DNA, free of the evil alien influence of the Dark One's servants the Greys.

  Usually, even those identified with having the Eden Gene had it in various scales. It was very rare to find any human or life form on Earth that did not suffer to some degree with genetic tampering. But with the methods the Guild was developing, Ben had seen some remarkable process in transforming the DNA back to its natural state. There were now some humans, after having undergone therapy in the secret labs of the Guild, who had their DNA entirely restored.

  These people found that not only did their health and vitality improve, but so did their intelligence and their spiritual connection. They felt an overwhelming urge to assist the Guild in their work to free the rest of the life forms on Earth from the tyranny they had been subjected to in the distant past.

  It was these people who made up a growing portion of the work force of the Guild, and they were, some of them, even more advanced in terms of their spiritual and personal development than the leaders of the Guild who had not undergone the total DNA repair process.

  Some of the leaders were a bit skeptical of the process, even Ben himself, who had not yet had his DNA totally repaired. He'd had some more traditional therapies, such as plant medicine and energy healing, but was waiting to see some of the longer-term effects on those who willingly underwent such procedures before he would try them.

  Because, he thought, if the methods had some side effects we're not aware of, we wouldn't want the Guild to lose its leaders...and all of its members. Some called him paranoid, but he knew he had very good reasons for being cautious. Their Guild had been attacked many times throughout the centuries, and they were always fending off small attackers here and there; whether poisoning attempts or legal battles. There were many on Earth who wanted to see the Guild crushed.

  No, he knew he was not being paranoid for no reason, and that it was good to be careful. The whole planet and everyone on it was at stake, he would remind them. That usually made them grumble and leave him alone, as they sensed the truth in his words.

  “We're ready to run him through the next set of tests,” the woman said, knocking Ben out of his thoughts.

  “Oh, good. Great,” Ben said, having some of his Pad Thai.

  “Shall we begin?”

  “Yes, go ahead,” Ben said and nodded. He knew it was wise to go through all the tests, but that was for the benefit of the others, not him. If it were solely up to him, he'd just put the young man to work right away.

  But, there were those who'd want to see the results and study them, looking for patterns and clues on how to find more psychics. They'd need all they could get.

  CHAPTER 40

  In the holding cell, Charles felt the bars, hoping some of them might be rusty and loose, but they were all solid. He was feeling a mild case of claustrophobia, but took some deep breaths.

  “You alright?” the prof asked him, coming up to him.

  “Yeah, just want to be out of here.”

  “I know the feeling.”

  Charles wiped some sweat off his brow. “Think we'll ever get out?”

  “I have to think that we will. Come on, why don't you lie down for a while?” The prof took him by the arm and led him over to a spot on the floor that was clear. There were no beds, but there were some blankets.

  The prof bundled up one of the blankets into a pillow. “Right down here.” He guided Charles to it as he lay down.

  “Feels good to lay down,” Charles said.

  “Good. You just stay there for a while, until you feel better, alright?” the prof said. Charles nodded.

  The prof got up and went over to the others. “How is he?” Lang asked.

  “A little woozy. I think the stress is getting to him,” the prof said.

  “I don't blame him.”

  “So, where's the cavalry?” the prof asked, looking from Lang to the guards.

  “Not sure. They are probably having trouble getting a fix on us,” Lang said, watching through the bars.

  Beyond the bars was a hallway, but very few people passed their way. There was a camera watching them at all times, however, and probably a microphone listening, too, Lang knew. So, he was careful to talk in a low voice and not facing the camera.

  “That's for sure,” Tony said. “Else they'd be here already.”

  “Have a little faith,” Tom said.

  “I do. I just want to get out of here.” Tony put his hands on the bars and shook them.

  “I expect they've got the psychics looking for us. Shouldn't long, now,” Lang said.

  “What, they're gonna break through this fortress, wherever we are?” the prof said.

  “Have a little faith,” Lang said and smiled faintly.

  ***

  Ben watched as the second set of tests were run on the new psychic, Jacob. These were to see if he could affect things with his mind in the physical realm, such as blood samples.

  “Imagine the blood healing, becoming whole. It's been tampered with, its DNA degraded. Imagine the DNA strands repairing and blooming into health,” the woman in the lab said to Jacob, as he lay back with his eyes closed. She had her eyes closed too, visualizing the changes she wanted to see in the DNA of the blood cells.

  After a few minutes, she stopped the test and told Jacob he could relax. She checked the blood samples and saw that they were repaired. “He did it!” she said.

  “Let me see,” Ben said. He went over to the display that was hooked to the electron microscope.

  “See here?” She traced her finger over the DNA on the screen, showing a perfect helix. Gone were all traces of the Dark One's tampering, which had been there before; she displayed that in the 'before' picture.”

  “Yes, most impressive!” Ben smiled big. He went over to Jacob and shook
his hand. “Young man, I want to congratulate you! You've done something that few people can do.”

  “Thanks. I'm glad it worked.” Jacob smiled, the wires still trailing off his head.

  Ben turned back to the others. “Can we get this stuff off him now? I've seen all the proof I need. We need to get him to work, right away.”

  “Sure, sure!” the woman said. She and the man stopped what they were doing and hurried forward to take the wires off Jacob and let him loose.

  “Come on, I have a few things to tell you.” Ben put his arm around Jacob and led him out of the lab.

  Jacob looked around Ben's office, fidgeting in his seat in front of Ben's desk.

  “So, what are these tests all about? I take it they’re not just theoretical?” Jacob asked.

  “No, you catch on fast. Then, again, you are probably picking up some of our thoughts. You're a very gifted psychic,” Ben told him.

  “Thank. I realize that, but the tests...”

  “You're right. They do have a practical application. Actually, they are one way we have to solve a very deep problem we are facing.”

  “And what's that?”

  Ben got up from his desk and stared out the window. “You've probably never heard anything like this before. The real history of the early world has been suppressed.” Ben told Jacob of how the early humans were found and studied by both good and evil forces: the Watchers and the Greys; and how an energy barrier was put around the Earth to keep the damage contained to Earth. He told of how the life forms on Earth had their DNA altered by the Dark One's servants for his purposes, and how the Guild was working to reverse that damage.

  “You want to change the DNA of everything on Earth?” Jacob exclaimed, his eyes wide.

  “Most everything has been altered. We have to. If we don't, then all life on Earth is due for extinction very soon. The plans of the Dark One are going to get very much darker when he finds out he can't penetrate the barrier.”

  “What's he going to do? Kill everything?”

  Ben looked at him. “Yes, that's exactly what he's prepared to do. Then, he'll repopulate the Earth with his own bastard, mutant creatures. They will all be slaves to him, with no mind or will of their own.”

  “Alright, that sounds serious enough...”

  “Jacob, the tests we've given you prove that you have awakened the abilities of your mind to such an extent that you can have an effect on matter; you can reprogram DNA with your mind alone! Repair it back to its full state, like before the Greys tampered with it.”

  Jacob looked thoughtful. “Interesting. I had no idea.”

  “Well, now you do, and you also know what sort of trouble we're in. Will you help us?”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  Ben sat in front of him on the edge of his desk. “More of what you've been doing! We'll bring you DNA to work on, either in samples, or in live people, animals, and plants. You repair the DNA with your mind, we test it and verify that it has been cured.”

  “I'm happy to work with you if you think it will help.”

  “It's one of the tactics we are taking. There are others, but I won't go into them now. Suffice to say that we're attacking the problem on many fronts. This is a battle, make no mistake about it.”

  Jacob looked at him, studying him. “I don't pretend to know all the details of what you're facing, or exactly what this all means, but I can see you are taking me and my abilities seriously. There's very few who have done that. Usually, all I get is ridiculed.”

  “That won't happen here, as you have seen.” Ben smiled.

  “Yes, and I appreciate that. If you think I can be of help, I'd like to try.”

  “Wonderful! We'll prepare a room for you here, feed you, and give you a payment for your time. Is that to your liking?”

  “I would like that, yes. My situation at home has become...troublesome. I have been thinking about where I would go. What I would do. Seems like I've found a place.”

  “You have! You have, indeed!” Ben smiled bigger than he had in a while. “Would you mind if we take a look at your DNA and blood? I suspect you've got a good portion of your DNA activated, or re-activated, as it allows your psychic abilities to flourish. Also, we've noticed that certain blood types seem to have more psychic abilities and more of their DNA code turned on.”

  “Sure, I guess. You need a blood sample for all that, right?”

  “That's right, just a small vial.” Ben made a motion with his fingers. “We do these tests with everyone who joins the Guild, and we usually find the same kind of results: their DNA is more fully on that most members of the population.”

  “Why do you think that is?”

  Ben shrugged. “Could be many reasons. Maybe their family had a natural resistance to the tampering, way back. Or some members of their family, or the person themselves had certain therapies that allowed their DNA to be repaired. Some are psychic like yourself, and may have healed themselves, or had other psychics heal them. Then, there is also spiritual intervention, visitations by angelic beings, you could call them extraterrestrials, who heal, as not all who come from the stars are evil. Just some of them, unfortunately.”

  “I see...this is a lot to take in,” Jacob said.

  “Well, you don't have to take it all in at once.”

  “Good, 'cause I don't know if I can!” Jacob smiled.

  “That's fine.” Ben got up. “Let's draw a little blood from you, then we'll be done for the day. We'll get you all set up after that, then introduce you to those who are stationed here at dinner.”

  “Alright.” Jacob got up and followed him out of the office.

  Ben took him to one of the medical labs, this time taking the stairs. There was a wide, winding stone staircase going down from the tower, passing by all of the original levels to the first basement. From there they would have to take one of the modern stairways, or an elevator to the additional basement levels that were added, which housed the labs.

  As he walked, Ben ran his hand over the smooth, cool stones on the walls that were placed there centuries ago. He felt a surge of pride in himself as he watched Jacob descend the stairs in front of him; a feeling that he was building a real, strong team; a peaceful army to defeat the evil that had been put upon the world. He felt lighter on his feet, as hope came back into him, but he didn't let himself get too carried away; Lang and his group were still missing.

  They went into one of the labs and had a blood sample taken from Jacob.

  CHAPTER 41

  Charles slept for a while, and when he awoke he was feeling better, but all of the others were asleep, or at least lying down. He sat up and the bald guard, Tony, spoke, “Can't sleep anymore?”

  Charles jumped a bit and turned at his voice. Tony was looking at him, his eyes moving in the dark, sparkling in the light. “N-no. You scared me,” Charles said.

  “Sorry,” Tony whispered. “I sleep light. Keep one eye open.”

  “Anything happen?” Charles rubbed his eyes and came over to where Tony was so he wouldn't disturb the others as much.

  “Nothing yet, but I think something might be going on.” Tony looked out of the bars, down the hall.

  “What?”

  Tony shrugged. “Seems a lot more activity and rushing around. Dunno, but it's something.”

  “Ah,” Charles said and went back to his pile of blankets. The light was still on in the cell and it was hard to sleep with that, so he put his arm over his eyes and lay back down. Might as well rest, he thought; never know when I'm going to need my energy.

  With that thought he realized they'd not fed them, yet. There was a sink in the cell, so they could get water, but his stomach was starting to really growl. Hope they feed us soon, he thought, I'd hate to die on an empty stomach.

  ***

  Ben was waiting with Jacob in the lab for the results of the blood test when Ben's phone rang.

  “Ben here.”

  “Sir, Frank here,” came the voice through the speak
er. “We've had an interesting development. I think you should come hear about it from one of our remote viewers.”

  “On my way.” Ben shut off the phone and stood up. “Jacob, you stay here and get the results. Have them call me when they're ready.”

  “Alright,” Jacob said and nodded.

  Ben left the lab and went to one of the high-speed elevators. No time for a leisurely walk, he thought. He got into the elevator and shot up to one of the higher floors, his stomach flopping. He got out and strode through the hallways looking for the remote viewing office. He found it and pushed inside the door.

  There was Frank sitting with one of their psychics, Barbara Moore. “Hello,” Ben said. He looked at Frank. “You said it was urgent?”

  “Yes,” Frank said. “Barbara here was psychically attacked.”

  “Really?” Ben asked, taking a seat. She nodded, still looking a bit upset, like she'd been crying. “What happened?”

  She took a tissue from the desk and dabbed at her nose. “We were in here, going over some standard protocols, when I felt this...strong, dark presence come over the room. I increased my shields, well, I shield myself all the time, as I'm so sensitive. It poked at me, psychically, and I could feel it trying to get into my mind. It was all I could do to resist it, it was very strong. It was terrible!” She started crying again.

  “What was it? A man? A demon?” Ben asked.

  “It was an evil spirit. I'd say a direct demon of the Dark One, if not himself. It was evil like I've never felt before. It took all I had to push it away and save my life,” she cried.

  “Is it alright now?” Ben asked gently.

  She nodded. “Yes. I was able to chase it away with the help of my spirit guides.”

  Ben turned to Frank. “I thought we had some good spiritual protection in this place? All of the sigils, and symbols, and crystals?”

  “They are very good and usually keep out most of the unwanted visitors from the astral plane. Don't they?” Frank looked at Barbara.