“On the planet of Godschild, we have found and translated a great number of their texts. For example, one explains the basic nature of all there is. As we have come to understand it, they tell us that there are two absolutes: Matter and awareness. Matter is unaware of itself, and this is why comets blindly crash into planets, destroying promising young races. This is because the comet is matter and, therefore, simply unaware of itself. The other absolute is awareness, and if you wish to give it a familiar name, you can think of it as God, or as we call it, the Universal Mind."
JALA.TRAC then leaned over and drew a straight line in the dirt before him. At each end of the line, he drew a circle. Pointing to the circle at his left he said, this is matter. Matter is violent because it is unaware of itself. Pointing to the circle on the right he continued, “and this is God, which represents complete and total awareness."
He pointed to the circle at the left end of the line. “Your history of wars and violence happen because your race has been closer to matter than to God.” He then pointed to the circle at the right end of the line. “As you move closer to God, you become more aware, and through greater awareness, you move further and further away from the blind violence of matter."
Lucinda studied the simple finger drawing with careful attention. “I'd like to know where we are along this line between the violence of matter and the complete awareness of God and where you think your race is, as well."
“A most perceptive question, Lucinda.” JALA.TRAC drew two perpendicular lines to the first one. The first perpendicular line was in the center, and the other was just to the right of it. He pointed at the line in the center and explained, “The race that created the Godschild Covenant call this line in the center, the ‘cusp of evolution.’ This is where your race is hovering now, and crossing the cusp is a very dangerous moment in the evolution of any race. It is still possible for you to slip, and with your knowledge of weapons, this could be very dangerous. However, we feel that your race is moving steadily forward. As it crosses the cusp, you will begin to gain greater awareness as your race loses its tendency towards violence."
“Before your race began crossing the cusp, it had not achieved the technology necessary to defend itself against the violence of the cosmos, which is what we use as the key indicator. Likewise, it has also developed the technology to destroy itself. In essence, when a race is crossing the cusp, it becomes its own second worst enemy, next to the unpredictable violence of the universe."
“And what of your race?” Lucinda asked.
JALA.TRAC pointed to the second perpendicular line to the right of the center perpendicular line. “This is our race here, just past the cusp. As you can see, it is a long process, and both of our races still have a long way to go towards total awareness. For this reason, we tend to think of ourselves simply being slightly more advanced students."
Having remained quiet through the evening till this point, Kristen Burdette finally broke her self-imposed silence. “What does all this mean to us, JALA.TRAC, and most especially, to our children?"
It was obvious the question pleased him. “Kristen, each of you is very special. We cannot define your purpose in life, but what we can do is to find exceptional people such as you and your children and help without breaking our own commitment to the Godschild Covenant. This now brings each of you in the group to a very important moment of decision.” JALA.TRAC closed his eyes, and turned his back towards the massive bolder behind them and made a soft humming sound with his voice.
A soft, pinkish glow such as the one the group had seen earlier emanated from the entire surface of the massive boulder. With astonished faces, they watched as the boulder reshaped itself into the form of saucer shaped craft with a silvery skin.
“This is my spaceship, as you call them, and its name is SHEM.TAN. In a few moments, I am going to leave here with SHEM.TAN for the planet, Godschild. Each of you must decide whether to remain here and find your own purpose in your own way, or you may come with me to Godschild. The actual time it will take us to reach Godschild is relatively short, and you can return to Earth whenever you wish.” He picked up the young children and stood them on their feet as he continued his final thoughts. “I will be waiting for you in SHEM. TAN, but only for another hour."
As he rose up, Bob Cummings stood up as well and said, “JALA.TRAC, we made our choice long before we got here, so I can speak for the group. The only thing we need to know is what to do with our gear?"
“You will not need it on Godschild, and taking it would make things a little cramped in SHEM.TAN. You may each bring a small amount of your own personal possessions. As to the rest, someone will be here in the morning to retrieve it."
Timmy raised his hand. “This may sound odd, but can I take my weapons with me?” Timmy asked. “At least my pistol?"
“In time, you will learn more powerful ways to defend yourself, but if you feel safer by bringing them, then you may do so. All I ask is that you dismantle them for the trip to prevent any accidents from happening during the journey.” He stood the children on their feet and rose. “If there are no other questions I will wait for you to break camp and join me on SHEM.TAN for the trip to Godschild."
Lucinda followed him as he walked back to his space ship, while Timmy motioned to the other members of the group to stay behind.
Once he was far enough away from the group for a private conversation, JALA.TRAC stopped and turned to face Lucinda.
She stood close to him and in a hushed tone asked, “How is my mother? I know she is very sick and is not answering my thoughts."
A sad expression painted itself upon JALA.TRAC's otherwise placid face. “She is growing closer to awareness, Lucinda. It is only a matter of days now, if that. I too, will miss her dearly."
“JALA.TRAC, she keeps asking me to go to Godschild with you, but she will not let me go to her side, and not knowing why is tearing my heart apart. Is she disappointed with me or angry about something?"
He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Any mother could not love or be as proud of her child as your mother is. She's just trying to protect you. I spoke with Vigo about her cancer this morning. He is very upset; he has just learned that your mother is dying because some very powerful people chose to infect her with a virus. Your mother also knows this, and she has discussed the matter with him at great length. They do not know the identities of these people, but they both feel you will be targeted by them for assassination as well, because of the information your mother has shared with you."
Lucinda leaned her head against his hand, feeling its soft warmth. “What do I do?"
“I sense the anguish within you. Should you go to her or with me to Godschild? This must be your own path, Lucinda. If you wish to go to her side, I can arrange for you to be with her by no later than this time tomorrow. All I would do is to remind you that your mother and Vigo feel that you will be safe on Godschild and that this is your mother's wish."
“Do you have a mother? I mean alive. You don't come from eggs or something?"
“Eggs?” JALA.TRAC chuckled with a twinkle in his eye. “No, I do have a mother and her name is JALA.DEE, and I love her every bit as much as you love your mother.” He paused for brief moment and then asked, “Do you know how old I am?"
Lucinda picked her head up and rubbed her chin, “I guess you look to be thirty something."
He smiled warmly. “In your measure of time, I'm over three hundred years old, and when my mother tells me to do something, which happens rarely now, I listen to her. Do you still listen to your mother?"
The answer drove straight through Lucinda's tumble of emotions about going to Godschild. “I see your point. I think I'll go and help the others break camp now, and then...” her lip quivered. “I'm going to honor my mother and do as she asks."
“That is very wise of you, Lucinda,” he replied. “Now, I can tell you I, too, believe that terrible people of great power wish to harm you. They are not mindless like the bear that almost kille
d you. They believe they represent the path your race must follow, and while they have done some good, they have also become very cunning. Worse yet, they have no mercy for innocent life. I will make sure that your mother knows that you will be safe on Godschild."
* * * *
ONE OF THE perks UNE Secretary General Antonio De Bono enjoyed most was the luxurious hot tub of his Luxury Swiss Chalet overlooking the Val Lumnezia. As Yvette Cochereau refilled his glass with Dom Perignon, the communicator next to the large, sunken hot tub chirped. It was Phillip Boretti, his Chief of Staff. “Secretary General, Governor Johnston just arrived,” his aide announced respectfully.
De Bono ran his hand softly down the shapely, naked back of his seductive mistress. “Sweetheart, why don't you go down downstairs to the kitchen and prepare some of those wicked, little canaps you do so very well."
With a knowing nod, she finished filling his glass and gently replaced the Dom Perignon bottle in the silver champagne bucket. “Do you want the kind of canaps I make for your wife and your guests, or the special kind I make for after we've made passionate love?"
Her teasing made him chuckle. “I believe the latter will be preferable, and I expect that I will be of good appetite."
She leaned over and kissed him fully on the mouth, then stepped daintily out of the tub. With an alluring smile, she wrapped herself in a cool, clean terrycloth house robe and left the ornately tiled private spa.
Johnston's visit came unannounced. As De Bono reached out and pressed the communicator button, he knew the news would be bad. “Send him straight in.” Not wanting to appear alarmed by this unusual visit, he ran a hand through his hair, took a deep breath and picked up his glass of Dom Perignon.
Johnston entered De Bono's private spa, taking in the massive tub and fine appointments. “Antonio, I'm afraid I have disturbing news to report. I hope you don't mind, but I borrowed the use of your scramjet, because I wanted to get here as quickly as possible. You see, this kind of news is best delivered face-to-face. It is regarding Jarman's son."
De Bono drank deeply from his glass and set it down. “I didn't think you would come all the way from America to bring me love letters, so let's dispense with the niceties. Is the boy dead?"
“Thankfully no, but he is in a coma as a result of an escape attempt. It happened just after we moved him to the silo."
After weeks of preparation, the boy had been transferred from a safe house in Colorado to the old Titan missile silo at Fort Hood, outside of Killeen, Texas. The abandoned silo had been upgraded with new security systems and living quarters for the Syrian Peacekeepers who now guarded the boy.
Johnston continued, “The boy found a hammer left by one of the workmen and knocked one of the Syrians unconscious. He was close to escaping to the ground level when one of the other guards tried to grab him. The boy got around him, and the Syrian struck him on the head with the butt of his rifle."
“So what is his present status?"
“We got him emergency treatment, and everything that could be done has been done. Our doctors tell us that he if he comes out of the coma within the next two weeks, he should have a full recovery. If not, the odds only get worse with time, I'm afraid."
De Bono bit his lip as a great anger swelled through his body. “So the boy is lying in bed like warm pt© because some inept thug doesn't know how to follow orders. Crap! The Inner Council will skin my ass for this, not to mention the Grand Secret Master!"
Governor Johnston cleared his throat as he nervously rubbed his hands together. “Antonio, you should have listened to Yvette and waited until the European mercenaries arrived before moving the boy."
“I know. I know,” he spat. “That bastard, Jones was getting too close and we had to move quickly—too quickly, it now seems."
Johnston kept a passive face against De Bono's anger. “It may help you to know that the European mercenaries did arrive today, and they are now guarding the boy inside the silo. As for the Syrian Peacekeepers, I've restricted them to above ground guard duty. Under no circumstances are they to enter the silo. If they do, I've left order with the mercenaries to shoot them on sight."
“I'll have Yasin's ass for this!” De Bono screamed as he stood up. “Give me my robe,” he commanded.
De Bono wrapped himself in the robe and opened the sliding glass door of his spa that led to the outside deck. The crisp night air helped to cool the anger swelling inside him. “I need to think for a moment. Merl, just stay there. I need to be alone with my thoughts for a moment."
He began breathing slowly as he worked to clear the anger from his mind. This was a bad turn of events, with ominous consequences if he acted rashly again. With the boy now in a coma, his options were quickly becoming limited. At least Johnston had been able to contain the situation as best he could, but the damage had already been done. Before dwelling on how to expand his options once again, he needed to close this ungainly circle of misfortune.
Taking a few deep breaths, he cleared his mind and then walked back into the spa. The soundproof door automatically closed behind him as he rubbed his jaw. “Yes, Merl” he admitted with a reluctant but calmer voice. “You and Yvette warned me about the Syrians, so I only have myself to blame."
The relief on Johnston's face was immediate. “What would you like me to do, Antonio?"
“Tell me about this guard who butt-stroked the boy with his rifle. Did he know that he was not to harm the boy?"
“According to Colonel Yasin, his men all understood in very clear terms that they were not to harm the boy under any circumstances. Even if the boy did get out of the silo, he couldn't have gotten far. Apparently, the guard in question was a bit hot-blooded and lost his head in the excitement."
“And where is this fool now?"
“According to Colonel Yasin, he fled immediately after he realized what he had done. So far, our attempts to find him have been unsuccessful."
De Bono slipped out of his robe and slid back into the hot tub. “And why do I sense that there is another side to this tarnished coin?"
The moment had arrived for Johnston to play his trump card. Hopefully, it would minimize or perhaps even eliminate the damage to his political fortunes. “I sensed the same thing after speaking with Yasin."
De Bono nodded approvingly. “And..."
“I must say that Yasin is one of the deadliest and craftiest murderers I've ever had the displeasure to know. It is no wonder that the Israelis have been unable to kill him, although no doubt they'd tried to do so for several years. One of the reasons why they've failed is his second in command, Captain Darkazani. He kills anyone even remotely suspected of providing information to the Israelis, but now it seems he is tired of playing second banana, and this incident fell like a plum into his lap."
“Sensing the subtle tension between these two, I ordered Yasin to search for the runaway guard so I could focus my attention on his second in command, Captain Darkazani."
De Bono smiled approvingly, “Exactly what I would have done, Merl."
“Thank you, Antonio. Unlike Yasin, who is a man of few if any vices, other than cold-blooded murder, Darkazani is a self-interested pig with an irresistible taste for expensive liquor and cheap women. After I got him liquored up and laid, he decided to make his move and privately confided to me that the guard is one of Yasin's favorite cousins. Immediately after the incident, Yasin helped him steal a private car and gave him all his cash. At this point, there is no way to know where this guard is. Meanwhile, Yasin is playing possum and sending everyone off on a wild goose chase."
“As for the guard, screw him, we'll deal with him later. Tell me, does Yasin even suspect that Darkazani has breached his confidence?"
“If he had even the minutest suspicion, then Darkazani would already be dead. Therefore, I think it is safe to say that Yasin has no reason to believe that we know the actual facts."
“Let me think for a moment.” De Bono said as he plucked Dom Perignon from the champagne bucket and filled
his glass to the rim. Taking a few sips, he finally said, “We'll play Yasin's own story back against him. I want you to tell Yasin that UNE security has spotted a man fitting the description of this guard in Mexico City and that Yasin is to personally terminate him and bring back a suitable body part for DNA confirmation."
The plan puzzled Johnston. “I'm afraid I'm not following you."
De Bono smiled. “Then neither will Yasin.” I want you to arrange for Yasin to fly to Mexico City on one of our UNE relief flights, instead of a military transport, so he will not call attention to himself. Make sure he travels with a civilian identity. After he is airborne, I want you to send me a coded message detailing his personal data, how he is dressed and all other travel and destination arrangements using the RK-233Z code."
“But Antonio, Danielle just told me that the Mossad broke the RK-233Z code only two weeks ago. Using this code would be the same as sending the Israelis a foolproof death warrant for Yasin in the clear. He'll never leave Mexico alive."
“That is exactly what I want. You see, the only thing better than hating a Jew, is to let him do your dirty work for you. With Yasin out of the way, we can easily terminate his whole family, including this stupid cousin."
Johnston nodded appreciatively, “It will work. Out of curiosity, do you want Yasin terminated because of the boy's injury or because he lied."
“If he had been honest with me and personally terminated his own cousin on the spot, I would have still been angry with him. However, these things do happen and you do not throw away useful monsters like Yasin for the mistake of one fool. No, he lied to us. That, I never forgive."
Johnston exclaimed, “You are cold. But good!” The two men laughed. De Bono's plan was both ironic and sweet. After a few relished moments of self-satisfaction, De Bono said, “Now, let's talk about Captain Darkazani and the boy.” Johnston swallowed hard, knowing full well that he would soon be further drawn into this deceit.
Godschild Covenant: Return of Nibiru Page 39
