Earth Before Man

by Allan E Petersen

  Thirty minutes later, Santo saw that the GPS was directing his D-wing to a small forested hilltop north of Athens. Although obviously Edward had sent him a secure location, just to make sure, Santo camouflaged the D-wing and shot straight down so fast that even looking directly at him, he would not be seen. After searching the area with infrared heat sensors, it was determined to be clear of human intrusion, apparently including Edward who was supposed to be here.

  There was a bench near the cliff for sitting and viewing the vista of the coastline and Gulf of Corinth far below. The air was thick with a sweet forest aroma from the trees that mixed pleasantly with salt air. It was so tranquil that even if Edward did not show up, he would not care. Another reason it felt comfortable was that not far from here, over at the Aegean Sea, was where Ile de Celeste used to be, the once home of the great House of the Nazarene. A voice from behind broke the serenity.

  “It is one of my favorite places to come and meditate. Feel free to come and unload burdens of leadership anytime you wish.”

  Maria had met Edward a few times in the past. She saw him as a tall handsome man. As Edward sat beside Santo, there was no attempt at shaking hands, just a very casual nod that both understood as a mutual respect for each other. After a moment of silence while Edward took in the pacifying air, he got right to business.

  “Do pardon the cloak and dagger ploy. We had some curious trouble over at our headquarters. Have you come to ask our advice on your own cyber hacking?”

  “No Edward, I have contacted you asking for help on a different matter. You once told Maria that your House has a Gene Bank of all living creatures including all known aliens to have occupied this planet. I’m depending on that being true.”

  Because Edward paused for another long look into the vista, Santo felt that something was wrong. Finally, Edward said,

  “Tell me why you are asking about that.”

  Santo told Edward about the Anannaki and their precarious position with a decaying DNA sequence no longer able to support that species. He continued,

  “It is believed they intend for this planet to be a continuation of their species by eradicating humans and colonizing it with their own kind. I was told by a reliable source that they have caught on to Maria’s efforts to neutralize the DNA takeover and are organizing to stop her. I have the program she needs to do that but apparently she needs the DNA sequence of the Anannaki to complete that effort. That is why I’m asking you for it.”

  Again there was a long pause and Santo thought maybe Edward was somehow communicating with others of his kind. When Edward finally came back, Santo heard,

  “Yes Captain, that would explain a lot.”

  Confused, Santo asked,

  “What would it explain Edward?”

  “I’m sorry Captain but we are no longer in a position to help with your request. As of yesterday, yes we had a comprehensive computer bank of all alien DNA.”

  Santo knew by his tone that bad news was on the horizon.

  “You see Captain, just twelve hours ago we were cyber attacked. Up until then, it was something we thought was impossible.”

  Santo bolted alert. A cyber-attack? Something was feeling terribly familiar. Santo said,

  “I suspect that you have lost all of your Anannaki DNA records.”

  “Yes. Tell me what made you suspect that.”

  He told Edward the story of Belle and Robert seeing a black ghostlike figure of a man drifting through the forest and over to Zak Zander’s computer office. Edward seemed very attentive to what Santo thought was just a ghost story from children. When he started telling Edward what he saw when reviewing the security tape in Zak’s office, Edward started nodding and said,

  “I’m glad you contacted me. We were attacked by something we did not understand until just now. Apparently, the Anannaki dimension skippers are determined to prevent Maria from interfering with their diabolical recolonization program. We have lost all relative computer data relating to them, including our stored samples of their DNA. We wondered why they were doing that. Thank you for telling me.”

  It was something Santo suspected all along, something told to him by Niko Waltz on that island. The only thing that held Santo’s attention was the term ‘dimension skippers’. When asking what it was, Edward explained,

  “We have known for many generations that the Anannaki are proficient at opening and closing dimension gates. Not just to this planet but to places throughout the uncountable universes as well. What makes them difficult to detect is their unique ability to co-exist in two dimensions at the same time. The border between the dimensions, the Event Horizon if you wish, is not a thin line or barrier at all. They can manipulate that border, widen it and exist between the two dimensions. We think that is what gives them that black or dark appearance. Because they are neither here nor there, they cannot be caught because they are in effect not fully here.”

  Santo understood and uttered,

  “Ghosts.”

  “Well I wouldn’t put it that way but sure, if that helps you understand it better, by all means call them ghosts.”

  Turning to face Santo, Edward suddenly sounded very serious.

  “I know that Professor Maria Espinoza will not give up on reversing what the Anannaki have done, but you have to understand that they are equally determined to stop her. Desperation to save your species makes whatever they are doing justified no matter the cost to others. They are a powerful race and will stop at nothing to save them.”

  It was as Santo feared. A desperate race will do desperate things. Out of desperation, any trapped animal will attack. Perhaps Edward was correct. The Anannaki are only doing what they think to be right to save their race. Professor Maria Espinoza will be equally determined to save this race.

  Santo, a man on the defensive asked a most logical question.

  “How can we stop them?”

  Edward turned and looked straight out into the landscape. As if talking to the view, he spoke softly.

  “I’m afraid that is not an easy task or an easy question to answer. First, as you already are aware, although your Professor Espinoza already will soon have the data the Great Grays were good enough to hand over, you still have to somehow come up with that elusive DNA code of theirs. That might be the easy part. The first thing you have to do is prevent them from opening multiple dimensional gates allowing them to come here at will.”

  Santo saw the impossibility of succeeding. He asked,

  “Will the House of the Second Creation be able to help us in that regard?”

  Edward then turned back to Santo and with sincerity said,

  “Indeed, we would like to help you. We of the Second Creation have no desire to live on a planet controlled by the Anannaki. It took us many generations just to control you of the First Creation. However Captain, please be aware that we too have been cyber attacked. Our computers are down. Exactly what you saw concerning a black spirit waving a hand through a book and erasing its contents is what we saw done with all of our central computer banks. Not only did they erase all of our Anannaki records along with their DNA depots but practically everything else as well. It will take us over a year to regain all that data. They knew what they were doing.”

  It was clear by Santo’s defeated expression that all was lost. Edward not only saw the gloom of defeat but felt it as well. All he could do was offer strategic intelligence. He offered,

  “This I do know and it might help you. In regards to them coming here through dimensional gates from their own planet, they have to be able to dial in on this planet’s geo-frequency. It’s no use sending out a radio signal without having a receiver for it. There has to be a master receiver somewhere on this planet receiving their transmission signals. All they need is one aerial. Find it and destroy it.”

  That did not make much sense to Santo. While talking to Niko Waltz, that island and the transmitting aerials were destroyed and yet the Anannaki were still able to transport here the next day. Santo told E
dward about his experience on the island and how Niko Waltz’s brain wave frequencies were amplified and used as a communication conduit.

  “No,” said Edward. “Those posts are simply ‘Jumpers’ or targeting aerials. That is not what you should be looking for.

  Once they have opened a dimensional gate and are here, because they are as you say ‘ghosts’, they can simply transfer or jump from post to post. Once you have destroyed the master aerial, those jumper posts will become inactive.”

  Santo’s head was suddenly exploding with the complexity of jumper posts, or as he saw them, obelisks. Edward saw the proverbial lightbulb flash in Santo’s head and contributed,

  “That’s right Captain, every major city in the world has at least one Egyptian style obelisk somewhere in it. London, Warsaw, Paris. In Washington DC it is called the Washington monument. Mexico City, Reo, they all have them. Once they are here, they can ‘jump’ to any major city having an obelisk.”

  Edward then added one obelisk that sent a jolt through Santo.

  “You might pay particular attention to the one in the middle of Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican, the one they call the Obelisk of Caligula.”

  Santo had a terrible personal experience with the purpose and power of that obelisk. There was no doubt in his mind that there was a hidden and mysterious reason for those receiver aerials placed all over the world. Edward added,

  “Pay special attention to the shape of each one. They are all the same. Inside each peak, in the Cap Stone is the transmitter.”

  Santo had to wonder how much the Anannaki had already prepared for their eventual occupation of this world. There was anger and malice in what Edward said next,

  “It is imperative that you locate and destroy the master transmitter as well as the transmitter aerials.”

  If it were not for the peaceful serenity in front of him, calming waters and the whispering wind bringing pleasant flower and forest aromas to his nostrils, Santo’s head would have exploded. Perhaps there was sound reasoning for Edward selecting this very spot and telling him how dangerous and desperate the situation really was. A defeated question slowly leaked from Santo’s mouth.

  “Regarding the Master Aerial, what should I be looking for?”

  “Look for anything that is not stable, cannot take solid form. Look for anything that clearly does not belong to our laws of physics. Do not touch it. If you do, your hand will sink into it and send distortion ripples through it. If you push your hand deeper, you will be pulled in and disappear to goodness knows what dimension. They are dangerous and should not be touched.”

  Santo stood and while looking out into the serene panorama, walked precariously close to the edge of the cliff. Edward knew it was a pacifying view helping him grasp what must surely seem like a nightmare and an impossible situation to a normal human. Santo’s saving grace was that he was not a normal human. He was a member of the House of the Nazarene and therefore had seen things beyond even fanciful imagination. Edward knew that Santo was standing there trying to put everything in order, trying to get a grasp of what was happening.

  Eventually he turned around and slowly walked back to the bench. A casual nod indicated that the conversation was over and he returned to his D-wing. Edward followed and watched as he got in. Before closing the canopy, he looked up at Edward and thanked him for all the information and advice about the transmitting dimensional aerials. Santo assured him,

  “If I find it, I will destroy it.”

  “Yes,” said Edward, “but it may not be that simple. Bombs and bullets will only pass right through them. Remember what I said about them being neither here nor there.”

  He then reached into his pocket and handed Santo a vial of pills.

  After taking them, he shook the vial and asked,

  “What? Do you think I have a headache?”

  It was a condescending reply,

  “No, these are from our Nano science labs. In each pill are millions of Nano computer programs, viruses if you wish that will break down the master transmitter’s tolerance to this dimension. If you see the aerial, or even think it might be one, simply toss one pill into it. The Nano virus will do the rest.”

  Smiling, seeing hope, Santo chuckled and said

  “Do they take them with water?”

  It was as Santo had long suspected, People of the First Creation have no sense of humor. Edward either ignored the attempt or did not see the point. He frowned and offered one final warning.

  “Keep one thing in mind. Once you destroy the master antenna, you might have trapped some Anannaki already on this planet. You will see them as frantic black ghosts with no place to go.”

  It was a frightening thing to hear. How can you capture or kill a ghost? Santo thought the answer was not to capture but rather to prevent them from coming.

  Again another meaningful nod between knowing men was exchanged and Santo was about to close the canopy when he noticed Edward paying particular attention to the D-wing’s controls. Also looking down at them, Santo said,

  “Are you impressed with the technology?”

  “Yes,” said Edward, “to me, it is reminiscent of seeing the simplicity of the Model T Ford. It truly is an antiquated piece of equipment you have there.”

  After casting Edward a discourteous chuckle, the canopy closed and Santo lifted straight up.

  Chapter 40

  The unexpected meeting with Edward had only delayed him by an hour. There was still time to get one more chore done before the birthday party. He zipped into the Nazarene estate but instead of bringing the D-wing into the hangar, he landed outside next to the Supply Shed. As he set down, a voice from Central Control came through the computer.

  “You are off protocol Captain. Please comply with proper procedure.”

  Santo was Second in Command of the House of the Nazarene and Head of Security. He had insisted that all security procedures be strictly adhered to no matter how trivial they might seem. The only person having trouble with those procedures and regulations, the one breaking them the most was him. He should be glad that his security team was keeping an eye on him, insisting that he too fall in line. The problem was that he was annoyed he could not move about freely and had to obey his own regulations. He often felt that like now, his security staff took great pleasure with keeping him in line.

  After a deep and very annoyed breath he reported,

  “Yes, sorry about that. Please enter in the records that I landed without proper codes. After a quick stop in the supply room I will be leaving right away.”

  The returning transmission dripped of pleasure and good-natured disregard to authority.

  “Affirmative Captain. I shall enter your omission to protocol into the records.”

  Santo was in the supply room looking for thermal clothing and disappointed that there was not much of a selection to choose from. It was easy to reminisce of things that once were. Before the destruction of the House of the Nazarene, their ‘mission storeroom’ was a massive building cluttered with anything needed for a mission. There was clothing symptomatic of any culture on any continent as well as armaments from small handguns to heavy weapons along with secret ordnances. There was not a retail store anywhere in the world better suppled and with more shelves than what once was. Five clerks catalogued and kept track of everything.

  Today it’s a shed attached to the main airport hangar and the note on the door reads, ‘put it back where you found it. Recognizing cold weather gear was not high on the priority replacement list, he begrudgingly accepted the diminished selection. A pair of heated boots, albeit a little bit too large will have to do. The toque looked a little too colorful for his liking but the saving grace was that nobody would see him wearing it. A thick jacket and gloves found in a box will have to suffice.

  While Santo was carrying his limited selection over to the D-wing, he saw Henrik approach and say,

  “Security reported an off procedure landing Captain. Should I proceed with a post-trip anal
yzes of the D-wing out here or will you be bringing it into the hangar?”

  Again, with a slight tinge of annoyance Santo explained his purpose was to land and quickly leave again. Henrik, a stickler for procedure, after all he was a new employee, reluctantly bowed to the irregularity.

  Henrik grew concerned when seeing the old thermal clothing in Santo’s arms. Since accepted into the secret world of the House of the Nazarene, he was given great responsibility. It took a while to acclimatize to oddities not seen or imagined in a normal world. Although not yet fully initiated, he was frequently surprised but had learned to take it all in stride. The most important thing he learned was not to be afraid to point out obvious errors or contradictions, no matter from high or low rank. Maria had often repeatedly driven one important fact into him, “Mistakes can cost lives.”

  What Santo was now tossing into the passenger seat of the D-wing qualified as problematic and needed clarification. As per training, he questioned it.