Jenny walked slowly around the image in disbelief, reached her hand out to touch and sensed nothing. The image of JALA.TRAC kneeled down to eye level and said in reassuring tones to the troubled child, “You cannot touch me, Jenny, because what you see is an image of me, just like in your movies or on television. I'm not a ghost, and, in fact, I am very real. Some day very soon, I look forward to meeting you in person and giving you a big hug. But for now, this is all we can do, so please go and join your mother next to the fire so that you can stay warm."
“OK,” Jenny said with a resigned voice. JALA.TRAC followed her back to the campfire as all watched in amazement at his lifelike movement. The image was perfect in every manner.
Out of curiosity, Lucinda waved her hand between the fire and JALA. TRAC to see if she could form a shadow across his image. His image remained the same. There were, she reasoned, limits to even his technology.
As Jenny clung to her mother's leg, JALA.TRAC continued. “I am actually on Godschild at this moment, so I cannot maintain this image for long periods of time. That is why we must use our time wisely."
“Vigo told us to prepare five questions for you,” Lucinda said holding her notebook. JALA.TRAC nodded appreciatively at her. “And we have the questions ready. The first question is, who are the Friends, and are there other races like you on Earth?"
“A very good first question, Lucy” he graciously replied. She had not introduced herself, yet he knew her nickname. Obviously, he already knew a great deal about her, as well as everyone else.
“Lucy, mankind has never been, nor will ever be, alone in the galaxy. We are the Friends, and we are one of several races who have taken an interest in the survival of your species, although we work independently of each other. The other races are younger than us, but like us, they travel the galaxy searching for sentient races.” A look of sadness filled his eyes as he continued. “Sadly, we usually find the remains of races and civilizations that have ceased to be, and one of those races came here to your planet eons ago and infused their genes with those of your primitive ancestors."
“Where is this other race now,” Helen blurted out.
“A few races destroy themselves,” he replied “which, unfortunately, is what happened to them. However, we feel that mankind has gone beyond that danger, although you have come uncomfortably close to self-destruction several times. However, self-destruction is actually the exception and not the rule. Most races become extinct as the result of natural disasters, such as the one you are now experiencing, but only much worse."
“And you're not afraid we'll become like this extinct race that you say created us and then destroyed themselves?"
“We've watched you evolve for thousands of your planetary years, Helen, as have the other races. It is our opinion that mankind has been fortunate enough to evolve to a point where it can now attempt something we call ‘the crossing of the cusp.’ This is why we have chosen to make contact with a very limited number of your kind, to help you lead your race towards harmony."
Tim raised his hand as though he were still in school. JALA.TRAC turned to him, “Yes Timothy?"
“What is the crossing of the cusp?
“In very simple terms, Tim, when an evolving race has begun to cross the cusp, their transitory desire for harmony becomes a core need. It is a time of wondrous enlightenment, and, were I capable of envy, I think I would feel it now for the incredible learning adventures that await you.” JALA.TRAC smiled sadly at him. “Because we are pressed for time, I must regretfully leave it at that for now, but we will discuss this in much greater detail later on. Lucy, may I have your next question?"
“What do you want us to do?"
“We have gathered the ten of you and your parents together because you are specially gifted children, known to your own kind as Indigo children. We have found children such as yourselves all across the face of your planet, but each of you is special. Not because you are one in a hundred, or even one in a thousand, but because you represent a unique combination of spiritual and genetic evolution that only happens once in a million births. It is children such as yourselves who will eventually lead your species into a wondrous age of enlightenment. All we can hope to do is to help you, because we seek to help life flourish wherever we can and to learn from you as well. This is our purpose in life. Lucy, your next question please?"
A thousand follow-up questions swirled inside Lucinda's mind like a tornado of thought, but she knew she had to stick with the agreed slate. “Why is this happening, which,” she added, “I suppose, what we mean to say is, why didn't you prevent Nibiru from creating this terrible catastrophe?"
“We have learned that everything happens for a reason, and the catastrophes caused by Nibiru as it passed through your solar system have caused your race much suffering. Likewise, it has moved you just beyond the threat of self-destruction. We've always known of Nibiru, and the evolution of your race has always been in parallel to its coming and going. In the past, Nibiru has prevented your race from destroying itself by destroying your technology and casting your race into another Dark Age. This time, you've managed to break the cycle. This is another sign that your race is about to cross the cusp. In time, you will come to understand the reason for your suffering and why it was necessary. Now, may I have the fourth question? Please remember that I'm running out of time."
Lucinda bit her lip, fighting back the urge to pummel him with questions about why the Friends could still stand by and allow so much death and suffering to happen. The way he was pushing them from one question to the next made her wonder if he was using the time issue as a pretext to avoid a lengthy discussion. On the other hand, were his time constraints genuine? Either way, she knew he was in the driver's seat and that she needed to stick with the plan. “JALA.TRAC, when will we all go to Godschild?"
He nodded appreciatively, “You have a piercing mind, Lucy, and I truly look forward to our future conversations on Godschild, as I am with all of you. First, however, you must come together as family in your own right, so, in the coming weeks, you travel together and face the unknown here, before you do so on Godschild. In the morning, you need to leave here together and to go on foot to a place you call Lake Tahoe. On your way there, you will use your medallions to guide you. I will meet with those of you who complete the journey, and, at that point, you will be asked to decide your future. You can follow the path of the Godschild Covenant and go with me to Godschild, or remain here on Earth. If you choose to remain, we will help you in any way we can, as long as you remain committed to harmony and helping your fellow beings. And now the last question, Lucy?"
“How do we know we can trust you?"
JALA.TRAC clapped his hands together in celebration. “I've been waiting for you to ask because this is the wisest question and it must always be in your mind. This is because great knowledge and real trust share one common requirement—they must be earned. As I help you to earn knowledge for yourselves, we will build trust in one another. In this manner, we will take small steps together.” JALA.TRAC walked a few feet away from the group and turned.
“I must leave you in a moment, but before I do, I wish to share with you two lessons from my own life that have always served me well. The first is to always trust your instincts, and never assume anything. The second is that the greatest truths in the universe are, by and of the virtue of necessity—simple. It is why they endure."
With that last statement, his image disappeared into the night like a vapor of steam rising from a teakettle.
Speechless, they all looked at one another as they began to realize the incredible turn of events that had brought them together for a common and noble purpose that would forever change their lives.
* * *
Tanya's Package
YVETTE COCHEREAU SEALED her security dome, slipped on her VR gloves, turned on her HUD to see that Danielle Peters was already online, waiting for her. She initiated her logon, and moments later, Danielle appeared in the display.
>
“Hi, Yvette,” Danielle said with a smile. It has taken me a few weeks to run down those leads you gave me."
“Good. Before we get onto that, I talked with Antonio about your after-action report on the Chavez situation after he spoke with Master Lewis at the school. At this point, we feel you need to wait and see if something else happens. Like you, I was also against this personal vendetta nonsense. Plus, we've found a possible link between Vigo Jones and Senator Chavez. According to one of her neighbors, a man fitting the description of Jones has visited her house several times over the last four months. We're not absolutely solid on the ID, but if it is Jones, this could be a troubling sign."
“Tell me about it,” Danielle replied in a heavy voice. “I had half the drug distributors in California looking for him and he slipped by them all like water through a sieve. Yvette, this Jones is a real pro—good enough to get to anybody he wants, if you catch my meaning."
“Yes, I do. Watch your back,” Yvette replied seriously. “Until we have a better handle on this, there is no immediate need for Merl to know our concerns. However, the situation could turn quickly so Antonio thinks my suggestion is the best course for now: We'll leave it in your discretion to decide when the time comes for Merl to know. That being said, tell me what you've got."
“Well, after you got that Swiss banker to start talking, I was able to complete the transaction stream between The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, which is paying in part for the Holocaust Survivors Film Project production team, and leasing time on the TupouSat communications satellite. However, the bulk of the funds actually came from a wealthy, eccentric computer genius by the name of Jeffrey LeBlanc, who also happens to be the younger brother of Roxanne LeBlanc. This guy dropped out of M.I.T. and racked up several patents, one of which made these security domes we use completely reliable. Oh, by the way just how did you get that Swiss banker to talk?"
“I'd rather not say,” Yvette replied cautiously. After running a comprehensive on the man, they found his weakness—his thirteen-year-old daughter. After she was stripped and brutalized, he started talking to keep her from being gang raped. It was an ugly operation and one that Yvette had watched from behind a one-way mirror. She had hurt and maimed several people during her career with good cause, but was destroying an innocent, young girl's life in such a terrible way really worth the name of a bank customer in America? “Tell me more about this Jeffrey LeBlanc fellow."
“From what I can gather, he is the sole survivor of the LeBlanc family. His parents owned a successful restaurant in the New Orleans French Quarter, and they, along with the other members of his family, were killed during the Nibiru flyby, shortly after opposition. It took some doing, but I've located him in Washington, DC. He's working on some artificial intelligence program for the American government for their new BioMass computer project and running a very effective Progressive Libertarian web site. He's also trying to find his sister's young son and is giving the local authorities a lot of grief."
“Let him. They're well paid. In the meantime, I'll discuss this with Antonio. We may need to terminate him as well, since he is already giving us such a difficult time. I'll have to get back to you on that. Anything else?"
Danielle rolled her eyes; “It sure would be fun to spend a night alone with you. I never knew how good it could feel to be with another woman until I was with you. Do you miss me that way?"
Yvette shook her head. “You're one of my best friends, Danielle, and I adore you, but you were just an under-graduate mentoring assignment for me at the School of Assassins. Sure it was fun, that was the whole point of it, but for me it was what I do, not who I am."
“You were incredible. The things you did to me and showed me were mind-boggling. Sure, I experimented here and there in high school with other girls, but I guess I just liked the boys better—that was, till I met you. I haven't forgotten."
“Those days are behind us. Is this coming back to you now because you're not satisfied with Merl?"
Danielle frowned. “He's a Mr. Goodbar and always after me, but I sure wish he'd be a little more creative. Sometimes, it gets boring. Yeah, I guess that's why I started thinking about all the incredible things we did together."
“Well, don't fret, girl. Go get yourself a copy of the Kama Sutra. Antonio and I read it cover-to-cover together, and that was fun—especially the Position of The Wife of Indra. The position requires some gymnastics but the reward is well worth it. Trust me on this one."
“You got lucky with Antonio."
“Overall, I'd say yes. He's an excellent lover, although he can be a jerk at times."
“Merl is really different. Sometimes he gets uptight, but he usually acts like a refined Southern gentleman. Thankfully, he's well hung, even though he's about as creative in bed as a preacher.” The women laughed.
“Can I share a personal secret with you,” Yvette ventured.
“Oh yes,” Danielle cooed. “Tell me, tell me."
The experience of being in a security dome was so real that Yvette naturally placed a hand over her chest and leaned forward. “Years ago, when I was going through indoctrination, I met this wonderful guy, and we became lovers for a while. After indoctrination, we parted ways but we've always stayed in touch and built a really good friendship."
“Oh, this is getting good!"
“Well, kind of. He's in charge of a space ark engineering group in Las Vegas and he's got a guaranteed slot on the ark for himself and a wife. He just asked me to invoke my right of motherhood so I can marry him this year. After that, he could lose the slot because the Americans are only choosing married couples for the space arks."
Danielle bubbled with excitement for her. “So he wants you to go live with him in space, make lots of babies and grow bean sprouts or whatever it is you'll do in space. So, did you say yes?"
“I'm thinking about it,” she said with a sly smile, “and in positive terms you might say. The trick is; how do I deal with Antonio?"
“It's your right of motherhood. If you want to do it, there's nothing he can do to stop you."
“He knows that, but he wouldn't try anyway. We're close friends, Danielle, and he'd be happy for me. No, the problem is all this business with this LeBlanc boy and these other characters. The whole situation is beginning to make me feel as though we're the fly that's captured the flypaper, and I'm not comfortable with leaving Antonio while he's still in the middle of it."
“Yes, once you invoke your right of motherhood, Antonio will have to choose someone else, but she'll be one of the sisters from the School, so why worry?"
“I'm certain my replacement will be as good as I am or better. That's not the problem."
“It's the learning curve, isn't it?"
“You got that right."
“'Well then, let's start eliminating the potential threats. We still haven't turned up Chavez's daughter, but we will once her health begins to fail. As to this Jeffrey LeBlanc, I suggest that we terminate him as well. Frankly, I see him as more of threat to us than the Chavez girl. And of course, there are Jarman and Jones.
* * * *
FROM JEFFREY LEBLANC'S point of view on the opposite side of the backgammon playing board, Andrea, his near-life virtual biomass engram prototype was beginning to hold together without image tearing. This time, the immersion headset was tuned right on the money, and the virtual 3-D images were sparkling clear and undistorted. This was a necessary first step in building a more advanced version of Andrea for use with holographic projectors. However, that would require a larger biomass computer than the small desktop model currently on loan to him from IBM.
Represented by a computer-generated avatar resembling a fashion mannequin, his artificially intelligent entity, Andrea carefully analyzed the playing board. “I've calculated the odds that you will lose, Jeffrey. Would you like to play another game instead?"
He smiled, “No thanks, Andrea, my instincts tell me that I've got a good chance of beating you, so let's continue wi
th this game.” He picked up the image of a doubling cube with his VR glove and doubled the stakes. Andrea watched impassively, confident she would win. Then to her surprise, he rolled a double six, allowing him an advantageous blocking position. “I might have you on the run, now,” he beamed.
“The odds are against it,” Andrea replied rolling her dice. She rolled a one and a six and could only move one piece off the bar.
Jeffrey's next throw was a double five, an optimal turn of luck that put another of her checkers up on the bar. “Your instincts were correct Jeffrey,” she admitted. “You've evened the odds. Perhaps, there is something to be said for trusting one's instincts. However, we shall see if instincts are more reliable than statistical probabilities."
The remark gave him a deep sense of satisfaction. While his prototype of Andrea was still too early in the development stage to develop human-like instincts, he could see a competitive facet of her personality beginning to emerge. Watching his own creation develop on its own was a pure delight to him, as it vindicated his philosophy.
“No doubt, the folks at IBM would love to watch this game,” he mused out loud. The IBM approach was diametrically opposite of his. They followed the usual corporate approach of large budgets and tightly managed teams of software engineers. His approach was simple—one extremely gifted man, such as himself, working alone, with a single vision of his own making; pushing the code to evolve itself instead of forcing it to follow in a heuristic path that matched with the expectations of management.
He was a self-admitted loner, and one brave young project manager at IBM, an entrepreneur with a curious mind and a little leeway in his budget, had decided to take a risk on him. Besides, loaning him a small lab prototype of their new biomass computer was a bargain arrangement for both parties, as LeBlanc offered to work at his own expense. All IBM had to do was provide him with a prototype and a reasonable amount of technical support. In exchange, he would give them an exclusive license on whatever he would patent as a result.
Godschild Covenant: Return of Nibiru Page 30
