First Light: Book one of the Torus Saga

by Berg, Michael

  “Yes we did.”

  “Huh?”

  “Jenna and I came across something woven into an old carpet at the cultural museum and lo and behold, there was Ch… No wait, I think we should discuss this somewhere else.”

  Raynie said she would stay with Jake overnight during his recovery and the others agreed, deciding to work on the information they had learned at the museum, and then catch up the next morning.

  During the evening in Hotan, there was a traditional festival celebrating the history of the Silk Road. Hotan was a city influenced by different cultures during its’ history, settled by Buddhists in its’ earliest period, then by Muslims, and then Chinese in the later period. The festival combined the riches of all these cultures in a celebration of diversity and of resilience against the harsh desert surrounding the oasis. Traditional costumes, art works, and dancing filled the main streets casting a shimmering aura over the rivers meeting at the city center. Food vendors bestowed their wares for all to try as tourists and locals joined in the atmosphere of dancing, singing, and eating. Jenna and Lyle took this opportunity to lose themselves in the crowd, enjoying each other’s company as they joined in with the festival atmosphere. Despite their elated mood, they remained vigilant for anything suspicious, and of course thought of Jake’s recovery.

  By midnight they were tired and slightly intoxicated from the party, so they decided to return to the motel room they had arranged. With their minds of swirling images they had experienced adding to the happiness they felt, they embraced and spent some hours consummating their affections.

  Early next morning Jenna and Lyle returned to find Raynie and Jake eating breakfast - Jake’s condition vastly improved. “Looking much better today,” Jenna said as they entered the room.

  “Oh yes. Jake is getting back to his usual self,” Raynie replied.

  “Mmm,” Jake added through a mouthful of food.

  “Good to see. Lyle and I have some news concerning Chan to discuss. So as soon as you can, let’s leave this place and get moving.”

  “Good news?” Jake asked having finished his meal.

  “Very good news,” Lyle replied. “But I’ll do the driving. Even with the automatics, the nature of these roads means it is best we continue on driving manually.”

  “This place is really a step back in time,” Jenna said when they were on their way an hour and a half later. “Sure, they have some technology, but this place is far away from the big cities. It is as if people here still live as they have done for many centuries.”

  “Well at least some old world charm can still be found,” Raynie said, her love for the character of the past never ceasing. “Um, where are we going?”

  “Kashi or Kashgar depending on where you are from. And from there we fly!” Lyle announced. The trip ahead to their final destination in China was around four hundred miles, a distance they could easily cover during the day.

  “Kashgar is the most western city of any size in China,” Jake said as he studied a holographic image. West from there is Kyrgyzstan then onto the Middle East. Hmm…traveling west to get to the Middle East.”

  “Not so far,” Jenna replied keen to get the conversation going about what her and Lyle had discovered at the cultural museum the day before. “We will almost make it there but not quite.”

  “So tell us about yesterday, ours was awful.”

  “Well, after arriving at the museum we went in just to look around casually, like tourists do. Lyle was concerned about maintaining some type of cover, so we went in as a couple appearing as if they had recently fallen in love…”

  “But that is no cover,” Raynie said with a giggle. “Jake and I have noticed how you two feel. You look in love.”

  “Really. I thought with our journey and its’ events, we would have looked otherwise a bit pre-occupied.”

  “Your eyes and how you look at each other is the tell-all sign. So what was Chan doing there?”

  “Yeah, back on topic,” Lyle interjected feeling a little bashful at this discussion.

  “We went to the museum and came across an old hand woven carpet. The Hotan province aside from its’ jade, is also known for intricate woven carpets. Perhaps it is the Muslim influence from times past. Anyway, we saw an image in the carpet…not at first, but after a little while. Gradually it became apparent to us as if we were staring through the entire carpet or staying just out of focus. I wondered if it was just from staring at it for a while, but no, there was the image.”

  “Of?”

  “The same as the nephrite jade we saw in the ruins, except this time its’ meaning was much clearer as it also included a mudra with giving hands. We were right. These clues do indicate a cleansing or healing in a holistic sense where it is given in spirit. I say spirit meaning our intentions or feelings, except this time the image stood out with such reverence we were slightly taken aback. It was telling us how to activate this cleansing as a way of being able to be even more in touch with our intentions at a sub-conscious level. Like the mudras we have seen, it was a gesture, a nuance as if to light the way before us. As confusing as that may seem, we immediately related it back to trusting your gut feeling.”

  “Yeah,” Lyle added. “Trust it even more than we have mostly, if at times, casually gone with.”

  “Hmm…yes, trust your feelings. But after that we were still a little confused about how it could activate this sense or feeling. Then it became obvious. We were seeing this image because we were able to by being in touch with this sense. The image was itself, an activation.”

  “And Chan?”

  “Typical to his usual ways, he suddenly arrived on the scene out of nowhere. These coincidental meetings are determined by our intentions and our actions he said. You have done well to make these connections here in Hotan by seeing the image before you, as many others could not. He said it was important for use to feel the effects from the jade and to again see and sense feeling from the imagery woven into the carpet. We were right he told us – it did take a sense of detachment from our own selves in a feeling way where we were authentically in the moment. Then he asked where you two were, so we told him the full story. He was alarmed at this and again, took to us urgently of our need to travel and continue this journey. It was only those who could see what we saw, who could in turn help activate something. He was unclear other than to say it is important for us as we have the capacity to then go on to share this activation…whatever it is.”

  “Well, we did want to talk about how we felt at the ruins. Hmm. So I guess that sums it up.” The others exchanged looks as if to confirm Raynie’s thoughts. “So why are we going to Kashgar?” she asked.

  “He told us to go there and to then take flight out of China,” Jenna replied. “Again and much to my amusement, he gave us some paper with information. It has the image we saw in the carpet so you two can see it. Chan gave us this as he told us to keep viewing the image to retain it very much at the forefront of our minds and expectations as we travel to Europe. It will also help our feelings and how we align these through our intentions and then actions.”

  “He also said that even by our seeing this detail in Hotan, we have begun the process of activation where the energies involved are now expanding. Until now, he said, we were preparing for the event where we are to be instrumental influence.”

  “Are the directions ambiguous as per usual?” Jake asked.

  “See for yourself,” Jenna replied handing the paper to Jake.

  “Hmm, somewhat, but at least it indicates a city.”

  China’s western gateway had become a shining example of their nation to the world of the Middle-East. In contrast to the sparse environment the travelers had encountered since before journeying to Dunhuang, this city featured many of the latest technological advances. Its’ centerpiece was a spectacular high-rise of nine towers linked together and reaching one hundred stories. Adorned with features similar to those the travelers had seen in the capital, it sparkled with lights and orna
mental fixtures that at first bewildered them. Entranced with the sight, they stopped for a while just to stare at the sheer beauty of what appeared like a city from a fantasy story, with the old diverse historic buildings surrounding the city giving way to the jewel-like cluster at the center. They could see a few airborne vehicles hurriedly buzzed around taking passengers to and from the airport on the city’s northern flank, indicative of Kashgar being a far busier location than those they had been to recently. It was a city of many mixed peoples and at its’ centre, they all came together in a manner or even in a traditional sense, to those many who had populated the area throughout history. Then continuing on, they drove to the airport without delay and purchased tickets for the next available HyperJet flight. Two hours later they were comfortably seated cruising at mach four and an altitude of seventy thousand feet on their way to Vienna.

  Chapter 21

  The Agent of the authorities looked on in disgust. He was never one to think kindly of people in general and seeing John, Tobias, Asper, and Lorraine enjoying themselves drinking at the wharves, lead him to hate them. Was it jealousy? Did he have a bad moment in his history that made him feel this way? There was no reason for hatred aside from his own feelings he generally carried around. There was no history, no jealousy, nothing. He had always been in the service and the service had always been in him. Not a day went by where he would long for another life - he was committed, or so he thought.

  He considered hate as part of his job and he was an expert at forming strong dislikes towards people, objects, and places. San Francisco with its’ checkered history was far from the sterility found at authority central and he actively went about the streets looking for faces he could hate. He hated the smiling couples in love strolling along the foreshore. He hated China Town with its’ colorful adornments and exotic foods. He hated the way people went about their business blissfully unaware people like him were there to make their lives difficult should the need arise. He wanted people to fear him and for what he stood for, but times had not been right for his way of thinking, until now.

  He could feel, something rare for him, where soon his presence and those of his superiors would bear down upon the public and institute a new way of life. Soon those distasteful frivolous ways of this city would become sterile like it was at headquarters. Then they would taste it. Taste the bland formal way of life concerned only with order and compliance. Taste the brunt of being forced to submit which would make them all cry. Yes. He wanted them to cry.

  Cry for what they would lose and cry for their separation from what they revered as being individual. He even wanted most of the lights to change. Sick of the colour - the cold grey lights from the deepest passageways underground at headquarters made him feel in control. No distraction from obligation and duty. He had no sense other than to be a part of the great machine that would soon be planet Earth.

  Despite his hatred for most technology, used for pathetic services like providing entertainment and comfort, he wanted to roll out the technology machine the world would soon become. His place in the machine was yet to be decided but he knew he would reach a suitable controlling position where he would make others beg for his forgiveness, cry as they would at the brutality of his actions, and despair at the outlook and future in store for them. He would break them.

  His eyes never faltered as he looked for any sign that could provide him with information. He had become an expert at reading people’s faces. He could tell when they were lying and especially when they were frightened. Though not a naturally aggressive man due to his small physical stature, he knew how people would react at the wrong end of a weapon and this made him smirk. ‘Screw them,’ he thought seeing the two couples kiss. He was getting pissed. Angry at the ambivalence between his situation and their apparent happiness, he vowed he would make it especially hard for them if ever he were to get them into interrogation.

  The hard line of interrogation excited him. To-date it had only been practice, setting everything up for real life situations and he often salivated at the prospect of seeing people collapse into emotional disarray whenever he wanted. ‘Bloody do something,’ he thought. Impatience was not a virtue for him - it was part of life. His concerns were to get people and get them fast. He sought revenge for nothing specific, but he wanted revenge on everyone who was not like him. Revenge on everyone who could not see the hard line of authority to which he was committed.

  He continued to watch relentlessly never taking his eyes away for a second. They could not see him, nor would they ever know of his presence, and this he cherished for he had become diligent at concealment and maintaining a suitable cover for any operation. This was his second mission. The first had ended up at a dead end and this pissed him greatly. Now he sought to make up for that useless mission through doubling his efforts to ensure a convincing victory over these people.

  Little did he know with his warped sense of smugness, that he too was being watched. Little did he know that he had been tracked across the country. And little did he know that someone would try and take him out of the picture before he could even realize what was going on. Like others bent on so much hatred, their vision and their mind failed to account for one key possibility that people not distorted by such negativity held. They had a much clearer vision and could detect the likes of him.

  A few hours passed by as he watched the four of them become inebriated with the more they drank. ‘Stupid bloody alcohol!’ He hated that too. Anything to distract away from service and compliance was worthy of his hate, especially the inane rants and laugher of intoxicated people. His only distraction was to voice regular status update reports through to headquarters via secret communications in order to file a complete history of his movements, actions, and any information relevant to the case. He was filing the latest update when he noticed something on John’s face. It was a look that bellied the man’s appearance. As stout and well built he was, John suddenly appeared to become soft and emotional. The Agent especially hated that. Why should a strong man ever become weak enough to have and then show emotion? ‘Pathetic,’ he thought.

  “I will break you, you soft bastard,” he whispered to himself. “I will bring you to your knees and you will tell me all I need to know.” He smiled but only on one side of his mouth. He was incapable of a real smile - the only time he came close was when he thought of breaking people.

  He stayed on until the two couples left the bar and departed for the wooden house where they were staying - following them was easy. The many people about the streets on a night like this gave him plenty of cover and to complete the picture, he acted a little drunk himself. For all the world, others would only see him as a single person probably making their way home drunk. But the person who watched him knew otherwise.

  Trained to be an expert at covert operations he kept a good distance from the Agent, knowing where he was going. His mission was to see John and Tobias were not interfered with. Asper had informed him about their residence, their contacts, almost everything she knew outside personal information. He was part of the same group as the two women and he himself had prepared for the Agent.

  The Agent skulked around the garden outside the house for a minute or two after the couples had gone inside. He was getting tired of this. Nothing had really happened that would give him any more to work on than he already had, making him more and more pissed as the night went on. Barely able to contain his anger, he moved on from the house but hid not far away so he could be in surveillance should anyone appear outside. He would track them, to the ends of the Earth if necessary.

  As dawn approached he felt a little tired yet still determined to maintain surveillance, when the two women suddenly appeared at the front door. They were carrying something. ‘What do you have there?’ he thought. ‘I’ll bloody find out!’ He saw the two women depart and head to the AeroTram station just down the street. He decided to follow them and at least see the destination for the Tram they would catch, and then return to stake out t
he house. But this was his biggest error yet.

  Before he could take a dozen steps a man was upon him and punched him so hard he was knocked out. “Do you have no respect for ladies or people in general? Bloody peeping Tom,” the man said as he gazed at the Agent out cold on the edge of the pavement. “Well maybe someone needs to teach you some manners.” With that he left the scene and approached the wooden house, leaving the Agent lying askew on the ground. A few passersby glanced momentarily at him, but to them he appeared as if he was a drunk who just could not make it home from a big night before.

  “Who is it?” John said after he had heard knocking three times.

  “Someone you need to talk to,” came the reply.

  John came to the door and looked at the image on the monitor - he did not recognize the man. “What is it?”

  “I know Asper and Lorraine.”

  “Oh. Then come in.” John opened the door to meet the man. He was at least six feet eight inches tall, a few inches taller than John. “Gee mate, you’re a mountain, come in.”

  The man laughed at John’s remark, “Thank you, I have some news.” He went inside with John who introduced Tobias. “Nice to talk to you…after watching you for the past week, I’m Mike.”

  “What!” John immediately became highly suspicious.

  “Relax. I’ve been looking after you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Yeah. We are pretty good at that ourselves,” Tobias added.

  “As I said, I know Asper and Lorraine. We work for the same group.” This immediately eased the situation so he continued. “When Asper and Lorraine found you two, they immediately requested I get on the case, as backup you could say. So…after they knew enough about you, my situation changed from following you, to keeping an eye out for you. No doubt you are taking measures to be secure, considering what you are doing. Well despite your efforts there are Agents out there also watching what you are doing. Your visit the other day to see Raman. Well, there was one tracking you then.”