“She looks like she’s in shock,” the cameraman said to the reporter, peering around his big, chunky recorder.
“I want to talk to her,” the reporter said. “See if she knows anything. I heard one of the firemen say it was arson.”
“Maybe we ought to get her to one of those ambulances out front. Don’t you think? How did she even get over here?”
“No. I don’t think so,” the reporter said. Now keep the camera rolling until I can see if I can get her to talk to me.”
The reporter put his arm around her, trying to comfort her. “Are you okay?” he asked again.
“I was supposed to be in there,” she said. She looked down at herself, and then stared at her hands that she held out in front of her. She vacantly looked over at the reporter. “I came out to catch the UPS guy because I forgot to give him one of the packages . . . I would have been killed,” she said, glancing over toward what was left of the publishing house. “If I hadn’t of followed him down the street, I would be dead right now, too. Just like everyone in there. All those people, gone. All the books, gone. Oh my God. I would have been dead.”
“You’re safe now,” the reporter said, pulling her closer to him. “What’s your name?”
“Kate Gianopoulos.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Baltimore, Maryland
Addie paced the room, Zeus at her feet, reading parts of The Dead Sea Fish by J.E. Dickerson out loud.
“Zeus. Listen to this. ‘Ancient drawings found at a temple in Turkey show the same symbols as on the ground in the plains in Nazca, Peru. They were a unifying symbol, one of direction for later travelers to find and lead them to their people on Earth. They were signals to alert those that had not been allowed to come to Earth. This temple,’ she writes called ‘Gobble – Gobell . . .Göbekli,’ I guess it’s pronounced, ‘Göbekli Tepe was built somewhere around 10,000 BC. . . .’”
Addie began to read silently, her lips moving as her eyes scrambled across the page. “‘And, this area,’ she writes,” Addie started reading out loud again. “’Was probably the Garden of Eden.’”
Zeus cocked his head and looked at her. “Yeah, I know. I don’t believe that either.”
“But, Zeus, she gives proof. Listen. ‘The four headwaters, the Euphrates River, the Gihon River, the Pishon River, and the Hiddekel, or Tigris River, two of which no longer exist, are those described in the Bible that flow from the Garden of Eden.’ And, she writes that ‘These are the same rivers that flowed from Göbekli Tepe.’”
Addie heard the doorbell ring, “Oh shoot, Zeus, who is that interrupting us?” Zeus hopped down the stairs after Addie, and they both found Rennie waiting at the front door.
“C’mon up. I was in my bedroom reading,” Addie said as she headed up the steps.
“What’cha reading?”
Addie looked over her shoulder at Rennie coming up behind her. “You have to ask?”
Rennie laughed. “I guess not.”
Entering Addie’s bedroom, Rennie sat on the bed. Addie picked up the book and started reading it again silently as she plopped down on a nearby chair.
“What are all those different colored things sticking out of the pages of the book?”
“Sticky notes,” Addie said, not looking up from her book.
“You sure do have a lot of them. Should I come up with some discussion questions?” She chuckled at her own joke.
“Haha,” Addie mocked. Maybe so. I need help figuring this thing out. I need to talk it over with someone.”
“What you got? Maybe I can help.”
Addie eyed her. “Why you care what I got?”
“Just tell me.”
“I gave you a book. You didn’t read it?”
“Maybe, maybe not,” she said, titling her head from side to side as she spoke the words. I’m just wondering what you think.”
“What I think? I think this stuff is really crazy. She talks about knowing where Atlantis is and the Garden of Eden.”
“Really. And how would she know that?”
“She figured it out from the manuscripts. She’s smart. I mean like the stuff she deduces. You know, she has the words of the manuscript and then she writes what it really means in today’s terms.”
“Oh, like what people do with Nostradamus’ quatrains?”
“How you mean?”
“You know. Like what he wrote, the prophecies. People now relate them to an event that happened later, saying his writings from the 1500s foretold of them.”
“She’s an archaeologist. ‘The re-creator of history.’ That’s her profession.”
Rennie just looked at her. “Go on.”
“Anyway, she interpreted the manuscripts -”
“Where did the manuscripts come from, anyway?” Rennie interrupted. “Mars?”
“According to the book, this book, she’s not really sure if they were actually written on Mars or once they got here to Earth. She notes that the Essenes were considered ‘the keeper of secrets’ and that she reasons that they are the ones that rewrote them, putting in the different languages to encode them.
“She talks about this one world government they had. The Elect, who ran everything, but we know about them. How they had eliminated disease, and that’s why the Indians had been so susceptible to diseases when the Europeans first found them. And how they -”
“How did the Europeans have these diseases?” Rennie interrupted. “They came from Mars, too.”
“She’s got the answer to that. People on Mars were free from disease, too, at first. With their technology they had been able to eradicate diseases. From what she got from the manuscripts, they, meaning the Europeans, I guess we should call them the Saboteurs. So the Saboteurs, once they got here, kept up with experimentation and things like they had done before moving here. They were experimenting on people, in biology, on the land - the soil, I mean, and stuff like that. She writes that they created diseases. She even figured out where their “laboratory,” as she called it, was located.”
“Where?” Rennie asked.
“Madagascar.”
“Like the cartoon movie?”
“It’s a real place. I looked it up, and guess what else about it?” Rennie didn’t answer, she just raised her eyebrows. “At least ninety percent. You here me? Ninety percent.”
“Yeah, yeah. Ninety percent.”
“Ninety percent,” Addie said with a nod, “of all the plant and animal species found on that island are not found anywhere else in the world.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, I know. Because whenever any explorer or conqueror went to new lands and found things they’d never seen before, they’d always brought it back home when they left. That’s how coffee got to Columbia, potatoes got to Ireland, and pineapples to Hawaii. It’s called the Columbian Exchange. But for some reason, the animals and plants of Madagascar stayed put.”
“Wow.” Rennie’s eyes showed her amazement.
“Yeah, you keep saying that. Just keep quiet and listen.”
“So the saboteurs created these diseases, maybe found cures for some, certainly built up antibodies to others, all on Madagascar, but the Indians had never been exposed.”
“So smallpox was a disease created by the saboteurs?” Rennie asked.
“Yep. She also wrote that those Indians missed home, and they weren’t as completely regressed as the Elect had hoped. She said in the book that that’s the reason Indians in North America and Africa built mounds. You’ve seen pictures.” Rennie nodded. “Some scientists believed they were used for burial. She hypothesizes- ”
“Hypothesizes? Hmmm. Big word.”
“Shh! She hypothesizes that they actually missed living underground and that these mounds, as well as the underground tunnels in South America, were reminiscent of the underground living quarters they had on Mars after the nuclear accident. It reminded them of home. So they wanted to be still underground. And don’t say ‘wow’.” Addie pointed her finger at Rennie.
; “She also believes, get this, Rennie, that they left proof of their abilities, the advanced knowledge of science, medicine, astronomy, architecture, everything, here on Earth for us to find.”
“We’ve already found evidence of it,” Rennie said. “The pyramids, cave drawings . . . And South America is full of Pre-Columbian architecture that shouldn’t have been impossible for people of that time to build.”
“How do you know that stuff?” Addie narrowed her eyes and looked at Rennie. “Anyway, not evidence that they could do it. Evidence of how they did it. Evidence we could replicate today. Even the ability to travel through space.”
“Wow.”
Addie rolled her eyes at Rennie.
“And then she says that everybody . . . everyone but a few, now that’s key don’t forget that part, were later regressed again. Somehow, there was some kind of global destruction of knowledge, here on Earth. After they moved. That’s why man took years to figure stuff out again. And she thinks it happened twice. It happened the first time after the great knowledge possessed by like the Egyptians and Mayans, then it happened again and brought on the period we call the Dark Ages.
“Now before the first loss of knowledge, somehow people knew things like where the pineal gland is located. Things that are hard to figure out. Where Venus is in the sky. And stuff like that, you know what I mean.” Rennie nodded. “How our ancient ancestors were able to do brain surgery. How they made steam engines, helicopters, and batteries.”
“Yeah, I know about it, but how did they cause this loss of knowledge?”
“I don’t know. But not everyone was affected by this loss of knowledge. That’s how she believes that some people came up with ideas that were way ahead of their time. People like Da Vinci. Galileo.”
“Because they remembered the knowledge from Mars that they were supposed to have forgotten?” Rennie asked.
“Yep. Or either was around someone that remembered and taught them what they knew. Maybe some of those kinds of people are still around.”
“Were there people still on Mars? Maybe they did it.”
“Don’t know. She said that was one of the things she would find proof about.”
“I wonder what they called it when they lived there.”
“That’s a good question.” Addie pulled out the colored sticky notes and wrote it down. “Hey, maybe we come up with a name.”
“Yeah, like Marcrutians!” Rennie said. Addie closed her eyes and shook her head.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“What are you ladies talking about?” Jack came walking up the stairs.
“Boy. You scared me,” Addie said. “Where is Zeus?” He picked up his head from where he was lying under the chair. “Zeus. People just walking in our house and you don’t make a sound. Didn’t you hear him come in?” Zeus scampered out from under the chair and started barking, lifting his two front paws off the floor with each yelp. “Too late now! He’s already in.”
“I’m not people. C’mere boy. Come to your Uncle Jack. What’s a Marcrutian?” Jack picked up the dog, and rubbed his head. “You two not talking about that book again are you?”
“Yep.” Addie said.
“The one that’s got aliens coming down from Mars and taking up residence here?”
They’re not aliens. They’re humans,” Rennie said.
“Just like you and me. Humans.” Addie emphasized the word. “As Justin puts it, same DNA. Did you read her book I gave you?”
“Sure did.” He leaned back against her dresser.
They both looked at him, surprised.
“You did?” Addie said, smiling.
“Yep. Isn’t that why you gave it to me?”
“What’cha think?” Rennie asked.
“What? Are we having the book discussion now?”
“I’m through discussing it,” Addie said, standing up. “I’ma call her.”
“Call who?” Rennie eyed Addie, her brow knitted in slight confusion.
“Justin.”
“Justin?” Rennie fell over on the bed and laughed. “What, you on a first name basis with her now?”
“I feel like I know her.”
Rennie looked at Addie and shook her head. “Jack, you hear your sister?” Rennie asked.
“Okay. Dr. Dickerson. Is that better?” Addie said. Rennie gave her a smirk. “Whatever her name is, I’m calling her.”
“You going to jail.”
“You can’t go to jail for calling people.”
“Uhm, yeah you can. It’s called stalking.”
“Stalking . . .” Addie’s voice veered off.
“Yeah. Stalking.” Rennie seemed to notice Addie’s far off gaze. “You listening to me?” Rennie planted both her hands on her hips.
“No. Yes. I’m listening to you. But I was thinking that’s what I could do.” She looked at Rennie, a small smile playing at the edge of his lips. “By stalking, I mean I could go to her. Go and see her.”
Rennie studied Addie’s face for a moment. “Jack,” she turned to him. “Please talk to your sister.”
“I think that might just be a good idea, Addie.” He didn’t look over at Rennie. “And, I’ll go with you.”
“You cannot go to wherever it is she lives,” Rennie said to Addie, disbelief unfolding on her face. “And you can’t either, Jack. She is a big time archaeologist and author. And if some of that story in the first book is true, well, any part of it, especially the part of her family, you’re in trouble. She’s got one brother that’s a lawyer and one that’s a police officer. They will put you under the jail.”
“My brother works at the Pentagon. He’s a Major in the Air Force.” Addie yanked her thumb in Jack’s direction. “So nobody’s worried about what her brothers will do. And, nobody read that book, so she is not a big time author.”
“Listen to you. You always raving about the book. Calling her, ‘Justin’. Now what?” Rennie asked.
“No. Don’t get me wrong.” Addie plopped down on her bed. “I love that book. You know I do. But you can’t find hardly anything on it. Try and Google it. Nada. She acted as if she didn’t want people to know about it. “
Addie and Rennie both looked at each other.
“Because it’s true” they both said.
“Yep. But, if I got a say in it,” Addie looked at Rennie, “Everyone’s gonna know about it.”
“Well, I guess I’m going too. I’m not going to be the only one to miss out on all the drama. Plus, you two will need somebody to bail you out of jail.”
Addie told them she’d get all the plans together, contact Dr. Dickerson and then let them know when they’d leave.
“It’ll be real soon,” she said. “You might have to take some personal days from work.”
She walked Jack and Rennie downstairs, and fidgeted the entire time they were making small talk. She couldn’t wait until they’d left. After they finally did, Addie grabbed a cup of coffee, and took the steps two at a time up to her bedroom, Zeus running up behind her. Her heart beating rapidly, a grin materializing, and a gleam of delight coming from her eyes, Addie sat on her bedroom floor, legs crossed with her back against her bed. Zeus settled in lifting his neck and nuzzling his head on Addie’s knee. Addie pulled out her laptop and opened up Internet Explorer. She googled “Justin Dickerson” and came back with pages of hits. She rubbed Zeus’ head and said, “Let’s see what we have here, boy.” Clicking on the first link, it read that Dr. Dickerson was an archaeologist for the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
That couldn’t be right, she thought, looking at her dog. Justin Dickerson worked at the Museum of Ancient History. She remembered that distinctly from the book. But maybe she did live in Cleveland. So she googled “ancient history museum + cleveland ohio.” The curator at that museum was named Franklin Duderhoff. She typed in another search. “Argh.” She’s not at any ancient history museum in all of the United States.
Going back to the search results for ‘Justin Dickerson’, she found one
that read that she was a professor at Case Western Reserve University, an archaeologist for the Museum of Natural History in Cleveland, and a lecturer for the Lecture Series on Biblical Archaeology at Ohio State University.
She sat back in her chair, deep in thought.
Could this Justin Dickerson really be the Justin Dickerson in the book? This had to be it. Why else would she put her name in there?
“Oh. I know.” Her thoughts excited her. “Let me check one more thing,” she said out loud.
She typed in the Google search box, ‘Justin Dickerson + Dead Sea Scrolls Jubilee.’
Her eyes lit up as she read the results.
She clicked on the link from Cleveland.com archives that read, ‘Two CWRU Professors Attend 50th Anniversary of Dead Sea Scrolls.’ She searched CWRU’s website and found Justin E. Dickerson’s picture and bio in the faculty search.
“That has to be her,” Addie said, staring at the picture. “How many women are there named ‘Justin’?”
And right under her picture, Addie saw an email address for Dr. Justin E. Dickerson. She clicked on the link.
•≈•≈•≈•≈•≈•≈•≈•
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Same Day
“Mase.” I ran into the family room and found him asleep on the couch. “Mase.” I shook him. “They know Mase. They know.”
“Who knows? Knows what?” He rubbed his hand over his eyes, trying to wake up. “What are you talking about, Justin?” He tugged his sweater down and readjusted himself on the couch. “What’s wrong?”
“They know I wrote In the Beginning.”
“Who knows?”
“People. Some people in a book club. They emailed me.”
“What book club?”
“I don’t know.”
“What’s the big deal, Justin?”
“Oh my, God.” I fell back on the floor. He peered over at me.
“What is wrong with you? Get up off that floor and tell me what’s going on.”
“A book club read my book.” I sat up.
“And try to say something different than ‘book club’ in your explanation.”
Irrefutable Proof: Mars Origin I Series Book II Page 11
