“Marion, you better come here and see this. Something is really wrong.”
Brock was frustrated anyway and let the Echos float. He joined Rosse and they both stared out at something no one ever saw before. Something was blocking their view of the Earth, as the airlift spun.
Allenfar
It was Allenfar, floating no more than 100 meters from the Airlift.
“Christ,” Brock said, “Damn fish! I hate those things.”
“What; what the hell are you talking about; what is that?”
Brock shook his head; only now at the last, was he to understand.
“They wanted me to have the samples…”
Rosse’s head moved side to side, trying to follow the spinning the image.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Brock was enraged. His eyes bulged in panic. He could hear the Carrier in his mind; and, suddenly, the Tyree Master appeared in the airlift cabin, behind Brock and Rosse.
“You are where you should be, Marion Brock. You will be remembered, as you wished. Oh, it seems your ‘Compatibility’ has been released. It has enabled us to live quite well in sunlight. Thank you. I stopped the power in your little toys. They won’t work up here. We will be joining surface man, and hope to help him in many ways. It is time…Your people didn’t have a clue what the power source was, in the samples. They just used primitive batteries. As always, you assumed, rather than learned. Good luck; and enjoy the ride.”
The image before the men disappeared.
Rosse grabbed Brock by his lapels and shook him. “What the hell just happened?”
Brock pushed him off and slapped his palms against the Airlift window.
“You Sonofabitch! You Bastards! This isn’t the end of this! This isn’t the end!”
Chapter 34
Aftershock
On the surface, above Time Trust, in Giza, Egypt; on the ramp between the arms of the great Sphinx; three men walked and talked, in the sunset; GGM Mathew Bellos, his new recruit and relative, Andrew, and Jake Burns. Burns spoke to Andrew in a lighthearted tone.
“So, my friend, how do you like being the oldest living relative of our GGM? Come to think of it, you are the oldest living anything, hah.”
“Yeah, thanks for that. When I think about it that way, am I really alive?”
“Jake was quick to banter, “Dead or alive, I should take you to my old shrink, he would have a field day with this.”
“I’ll bet.”
They paused, from walking around the Sphinx’s great paw, to look at the Pyramids’, silhouetted against the sinking Sun.
Andrew said, “I was just thinking; my brother loved Egyptology. He would love it here. Mind you, he’d never believe any of this; but, if he were alive, he’d love seeing this.”
“Brother?”
“Yes, one of two; and a Sister, she was a great lady.”
“I remember; you had kids.”
“Oh yes, four; and grandchildren. One of my hopes is to find out what became of them. I expect to spend a lot of time with headsets.”
Bellos was quick to comment, “There is a lot that isn’t in the headset files. Wheeler should be able to give you vault information. You may be surprised at what you find.”
“I’ll remember that.”
The sky was turning beautiful red and peach colors, shining off the clouds. Bellos studied it all and whispered, “There is truly nothing more beautiful; and not one moment, the same as the last. I miss it.”
Jake pointed to the left, “Look, a strange rainbow. Sometimes, I don’t think people up here appreciate what they have…”
“That’s because you come from up here; and you haven’t seen this, for a while…I think they do; most of them anyway; when they slow down and take a breath.”
“…Matt, what was that device-that watch, Gordon gave me to throw into Semitri? I thought we didn’t make anything that killed.”
“We didn’t make that. The Carrier Council gave it to him, years ago. As GGMs, we have a few fail-safes.”
“I don’t get it?”
“The device didn’t kill the Carrier. His resisting it did. The device only works from within a Carrier. Semitri fought against its effects. It tore down the wall, he built up, against the hive mind. The device enabled the rest of the Carriers to share the ‘compatibility’ that had been denied. He could have let it all go, months ago. Anyway, by fighting the device’s effects, Semitri’s own power turned on him and killed him.”
“I feel like I’m the one who killed Gordon.”
“No; actually, we now know, he died from Brock’s particle displacement event, to kidnap him. And the ‘crippling gene’ has been weakening him for years. He needed the new C.P.T., desperately. The particle displacement was the last straw.”
“Gordon was a good soul.”
“Yes he was; he is. I believe he found his way. His shoes will be hard to fill. He has introduced us to the surface, more than any GGM in history. You two and I are the first of a new generation. We are from up here. We have to continue his work, to bring the colonies and the surface together.”
“How are we going to do that, when sunlight kills the Carriers?”
“Well, the truth is, Mr. Brock changed everything. His hubris, anger and arrogance ultimately ruined him; but, as it happens sometimes, many benefitted. As a direct result of the ‘collective sustenance’ from him, the clones and Nicolas; the Carriers no longer die in sunlight. Of course, it remains to be seen exactly what that means for the surface culture.”
“I wonder too,” said Andrew.
“Wonder what?” asked Jake.
“I wonder if I found my way. It has been over 900 years.”
Bellos heard him but ignored him, for the moment. He continued to study the sky. “I was just thinking what Gordon used to say, about Ever-Life; ‘Our job is to extend life,’ he’d say…Big challenge. He made great advances. Under his leadership, the average lifespan within our colonies extended three times that of those on the surface…
… Then, I think about Brock. In spite of all his faults, he will be remembered. He did make one hell of a contribution…Both of them did great things. One we liked. One we didn’t.”
He turned to face Andrew. “You ask a great question. The answer is much more complex, than my simply believing Gordon found his way. My advice; don’t think about it too much. It could drive you crazy. We are going to learn much more about the Sidron. Meantime, live your life, this life. Get up and do the best you can. Fill your day; learn and be happy. There is plenty to do. At least you know the planet has lasted another 900 years.”
Bellos smiled with an expression of peace.
Burns interrupted, “Yeah, some things get answered and some don’t. Come on, you two; lighten up. Look, over there; the way the Sun is hitting the sand as it spins; it looks like a shiny dust devil.”
A few hundred feet away, between the Great Pyramid of Cheops and the Sphinx, the wind blew the harmless 100 ft high tornado out of sight; and Allenfar appeared in the desert. The last of the Sun’s rays reflected off his skin, in a most remarkable way.
The three men fixed, startled at what happened next. A single silent lightening charge ignited from the Pyramid’s Zenith to Allenfar’s tongue, which extended up from his mouth like an antenna. Parts of his skin began to change, and flecks of gold appeared all over him, sparkling brightly. After only a few seconds, it was over. Bellos smiled, gestured to his companions and began walking toward the Carrier.
“Hah, they never cease to amaze me. What’s next? Come on you two; our day doesn’t end with the Sun going down.”
The End
Appendix for Time Trust:
A Compatibility: Is a particular symbiotic fusion, between a ‘genetically capable human’ and a Carrier. It is most rare; a potent acquisition of nourishment that motivates breeding Carrier offspring. After the experience, that Carrier shares it with the hive mentality of all other Carriers. There was a time when ‘two-way
Compatibilities’ took place, but they were rare, because the experience killed the human, thus eliminating future interaction. ‘Two-ways’ were outlawed by treaty, long ago.
The Void: Is the immeasurable-seemingly limitless, unimaginable, omniscient and omnipotent ‘everywhere’.
The Sidron: Is the subatomic, superconducting, magnetic highwaySomewhere, between now and then, between this and that, deep within the smallest places of ‘everywhere’; all thoughts, feelings and power exist as independent entities; and, they seek out life, like iron filings drawn to a magnet, riding the superconducting highway, called the Sidron. The Sidron exists within the void and, therefore, inhabits all Universes. It is known to some sentient life forms as the bloodstream of the Cosmos, to others it is known as the synaptic network of God; to the Carriers, it is the road for time travel.
Fluctuations/Abrasions: Are creative events caused by intent, or colidation, within the Sidron.
Colidation: Is the inter-activity or intra-activity, which takes place within the sub-atomic world.
An Inflation: Is a momentous, purposeful creativity, within the void, caused by ‘fluctuations/abrasions’, within the Sidron. One, which we believe took place; has also, commonly, been referred to as the Big Bang, or the birth of a Universe.
Universal Space-Time: Is constantly expanding faster than the speed of light, and is what contains it. Past, Present and Future are relative terms; and they all exist, within Space-Time. From one Inflation-Big Bang, Space-Time explodes 360 degrees, creating a Universe. Countless Inflations take place within the Void, as a result of the magnetic fluctuations caused by Sidron activity. Smaller fluctuations/abrasions result in either Black holes, or Wormholes; and either of those can, for a time, connect two points within a Universe or betweens Universes, acting as doorways or bridges.
Soul: Is a singular self awareness-a single conscious spirit, without substance It is a one of a kind organization of ideas-thoughts, feelings and power Together, in the right mix, and using choice and free will as catalysts, ideas-thoughts, emotions and power can become conscious.
Afterlife: Is the concept of finding peace, comfort, significance and harmony; where a sentient life’s soul realizes a sense of fulfillment in the conscience of God.
Standard Transport Bubble Carrier: When Carriers burrow, they choose both to swim and dredge the rock or lava, leaving tunnels as a result, or, alternatively, they shroud themselves within a bubble-like, transparent substance and melt away rock that cools behind them, leaving no evidence they were there.
Moon’s Bee Pod Program: After fuel cells are filled with fuel, from surface Moon Camps, they are shipped to the orbiting O.P.A.S. Space Ports, for distribution to ports, orbiting Earth.
Camberlane Contract: Bellos negotiated a common contract between Ever-Life’s financial conglomerates on the surface, and O.P.A.S.’s affiliates, to destroy the Bering Strait’s Quad-Bridge, in favor of repairing the D.U.T.E.S.-The Deep Underground Tunnel System.
Author contact info: [email protected]
Please feel free to contact me with your comments…
Thank you!
Ever-Life the Two Book Set: The C.P.T Incident and Time Trust Page 44
