Godschild Covenant: Return of Nibiru

by Marshall Masters

  “But what I still do not know is just who you are, Mr. LeBlanc and why you're here in my center, with your VIP helicopter, and wanting to speak privately with Captain Jarman.” Tanya had already deduced a link between Anthony's former lover and this man by virtue of their shared last name. However, she was more interested in hearing everything, and the confrontation had served her purpose to force an open dialogue.

  “Go ahead,” Vigo urged, “tell her. She knows about the boy."

  Jeffrey sighed. “Anthony Jarman had a long-standing love affair with my sister, Roxanne LeBlanc. She had a son by him and never told him. She and her husband were recently murdered in their home and the boy, Russell, was kidnapped. I'm here to talk with Anthony about affecting a rescue. Other than that, I'm really not sure of what I can tell you."

  “But we're family now,” Tanya replied. “Why be so tight-lipped?"

  Vigo's eyes shot up. “What do you mean, family?"

  A devilish grin crept across her face as she pulled open her desk drawer and pulled out an official-looking document. “We haven't announced it yet, but the day before yesterday, Anthony and I got married. I trust you'll both keep this to yourselves for the time being.” She handed it across the desk to Vigo.

  Stunned into silence, he took the document in his hand. It was a copy of a marriage certificate duly filed in San Jose. Father Bennett had performed the ceremony, and Lieutenant Ramona Baker and Major Jim Boole had acted as witnesses. His mouth worked around, but the words would not come out.

  “Vigo, I believe you're trying to say something like this is so sudden?” Tanya winked. “Well, yes it is. So what? When Anthony popped the question I was totally surprised, but then that's Anthony. When he gets a notion to do something, he gets right to it. Next thing I knew, we were standing in front of Father Bennett, and I couldn't be happier.” She glanced over at LeBlanc, “and I guess this makes us family, as well."

  Vigo stood up, beaming with joy. “Well then, it's about time I kissed the bride!"

  “And what about me?” Jeffrey chimed in.

  “You'd better,” Tanya laughed.

  They all hugged and kissed and then Tanya told them about how it all came about as they listened with eager faces, enjoying every little detail until her clerk, Sunny Sharma returned with the coffee and sandwiches.

  As LeBlanc hungrily wolfed down his sandwiches, Vigo began briefing Tanya on all the details, beginning with how he and Anthony had first met. Then, Jeffrey told her about how his sister had forced him to keep a vow of secrecy about the boy and how he had underwritten most of the cost of the Nibiru Holocaust Film Project that had now made Anthony a worldwide media figure.

  LeBlanc had just finished telling her about his sister, Roxanne and what he'd learned from the police reports when Sunny Sharma announced that Anthony was outside Tanya's office.

  * * * *

  ANTHONY REMAINED QUIET as they seated themselves at the conference table, closely watching LeBlanc's face and body gestures as he and Tanya began to discuss the mission in general terms. Surprised that he had a newfound family member, Anthony was annoyed to learn that Jeffrey had known about him all along and had never told him about his son. Therefore, he had remained quiet throughout the introductions.

  “You're mighty quiet, brother,” LeBlanc observed. “I was hoping you'd be glad to finally see me."

  Anthony raised an eyebrow at the familiar greeting. “I'm not your brother-in-law in the conventional sense, so please; let's not make this a family affair."

  “Roxanne LeBlanc was my sister, and that makes me your son's uncle. However, if you prefer to be more formal, I understand."

  Anthony leaned forward in his chair. “I only learned about my son, Russell a few months ago, and you've known all along. How would you feel if you were in my shoes?"

  LeBlanc could feel Anthony's eyes cutting through him. “I'm going to shoot straight with you. Yes, I've known about you and Russell from the very beginning, and while I felt it was unfair that you were never told, Roxanne made me promise that I would remain silent about it for the boy's sake. You've got every right to hate me. I can't blame you for that, but it does make me sad."

  Anthony studied his face till he was satisfied that LeBlanc was being honest. “I haven't known you long enough to hate you. But I have known you long enough to know that I cannot entirely trust you. At least not yet, but this is all beside the point. What I still do not understand is why you're involved in this and exactly why you're here."

  Tanya could sense the tension between the two men, and wondered if their egos would get the better of them and said to Anthony, “For God's sake, he's here to help us rescue Russell. You two can duke it out later about anything you darn well please, but let's stay focused on that for now."

  Jeffrey looked Anthony squarely in the eyes. “Just because we're family now doesn't mean you've got to like me, but when it comes to saving Russell, let's just work on the premise that blood is thicker than water because you, Tanya and Russell are the only family I have now."

  “I can work with that,” Anthony agreed. “I saw you flying in here in your helicopter, which means you've got something official in mind besides a family rescue effort."

  “You're right about that. The reason why I'm even able to help you is that I'm involved in a top secret project, and we desperately need your help."

  Anthony looked at Vigo, “How long have you known about this?

  “During my absence, I was briefed on this in Washington when I met with Jeffrey and his new boss, a Russian by the name of Lebedev. This is a no-bullshit problem, Anthony. If you think Nibiru was bad, something worse is on the way, and it will be here in just a matter of years.” Vigo leaned his head towards Le-Blanc. “I think you'll do a much better job of explaining Shiva than I could."

  Anthony and Tanya listened, their faces pale with horror, as LeBlanc explained the impending Shiva disaster and what was being done about it. After he finished, Anthony asked, “So what could I possibly do?"

  LeBlanc replied, “As you already know, Anthony, I'm a computer scientist. I specialize in building highly advanced semi-sentient computer programs, which I call quasills. At present, I'm working with the Russians and the Americans on a quasill that will be used to help pulverize Shiva. The name of my quasill is Andrea and in order for us to achieve our goal, we need someone like you to give our quasill a sixth-sense, if you will. If you decide to help us after we help you rescue Russell, the three of you will have to live in Obninsk City, Russia for most likely a year or more while you complete your work."

  Anthony looked over at Tanya. “So tell me about this Obninsk City?"

  “It's not Paris, but we'll manage,” she replied. “Besides, it will give me a good chance to teach you Russian."

  He shrugged. “Can you keep us safe from De Bono?"

  This time Vigo stepped in, “They can't touch you there, not unless they feel they can get through a human wall of FSB agents. Short of disappearing on some uncharted island, it's probably the best you can do. Besides, De Bono is not going to know that you're directly involved in the rescue. All things considered, I think it's the best thing you could do."

  “Yeah,” Anthony replied hesitatingly “but you're not going to be the one who will be looking over his shoulder in a strange land. At least here in the States, I can see and hear him coming. To be honest, I'm really not excited about this Russia thing, even if Vigo thinks it will work. You know what they say about the best-laid plans of mice and men. As to the rescue, I fail to see how you can bring anything to the table other than an additional burden."

  A cunning smile peeked out from behind Vigo's lips. “OK, Jeffrey, it's time to show them what you showed me in Washington."

  LeBlanc winked at Anthony. “Give me a minute to set things up, and it's show time."

  “That's OK by me, but let's skip the trailers.” Anthony pointed at the remaining sandwich on the serving tray, “I haven't had lunch yet. Anybody got dibs on that?"

>   “Help yourself,” Jeffrey replied as he rose from his chair.

  Anthony reached over to the tray and picked up the sandwich. “At the very least, this ought to be interesting. OK, it's show time.” He began munching the sandwich as Jeffrey set up the holographic projector and the IBM Biomass desktop on Tanya's conference table while Vigo and Tanya chatted.

  As Anthony finished his sandwich, Jeffrey finished making the final adjustments, started the projector and said. “Our feature presentation is about to begin, folks, so please gather around the projector base. Vigo, if you could turn off the room lights, please.” Vigo rose to turn off the lights as LeBlanc keyed the access codes into the Biomass desktop keyboard. As the projectors whirred to life, he settled back in his chair and began sipping his coffee.

  Unlike the life-size holographic projectors Andrea used in Russia, she appeared in her chosen persona as Dorothy, but at one-fourth her normal size. While this was a limitation of the portable unit, she nonetheless appeared with the same high degree of resolution and smoothness. “Hello Captain Jarman and Colonel Wheelwright. My name is Andrea and I have been waiting for this meeting with great anticipation. I hope that after you've heard what I have to say, that you will let me help you to save your son, Russell."

  Anthony and Tanya were immediately stunned by her lifelike and inviting persona. They of course, immediately recognized her visage. “Hello Andrea,” Anthony replied in a polite voice. “What are you?"

  “I am a semi-sentient program, Anthony, and as such, my fundamental programming is based on the Meta-Law of Robotics, which is an extension of Asimov's original Three Laws of Robotics. What this means, Anthony, is that while I cannot directly harm a human being, I can help to save a human being, which, in this case, is your son, Russell."

  She replaced her image with a three-dimensional wire frame image of the missile silo at Fort Hood. As she spoke, elements of the image would light up and change perspective as needed. “This is the missile silo at Fort Hood, now under the control of the UNE. When this silo was functioning in its original role, it was always locked down except for crew changes and necessary maintenance. However, now that the UNE controls the silo, it is being kept open at all times by the people who are holding your son. If they suspect an impending attack, they can lock down the entire silo complex very quickly, making it impossible to rescue your son. To prevent this from happening, we can neutralize the electric motors, which operate the door."

  The wire frame image vanished and was replaced by representation of several different types of nanobots. “One of my capabilities is to operate billions of nanobots for sensing, communications and small repairs. I can also control my nanobots to form together as microbots when needed.” The nanobot images drew together in piggyback fashion creating much larger microbots. “A collective microbot can move into place quickly and then disassemble itself into its respective mission-specific nanobots. For the purpose of this mission, I can also use my nanobots and microbots to provide you with rough sensing information of the occupants inside the silo while neutralizing the doors."

  Anthony was impressed with the technology, but felt a certain mistrust of anything new and highly complex brewing within him. “Tell me, Andrea, how will you get your nanobots into the silo without being noticed?"

  “May I,” LeBlanc interrupted. Andrea obediently paused her projector display.

  “In order for us to use Andrea's nanobots, they must be planted on or very near the crew quarters access shaft no less than 18 hours before the assault. Ideally, 24 hours will ensure that they will have enough time to move into place."

  Anthony tapped his fingers on the conference table as he pondered the plan. If it worked, nothing could stop him from saving his son. On the other hand, if it didn't and if the effort to plant the nanobots was detected, he would most likely never see Russell alive—if ever. “Andrea, I have no reason to believe that you can't do as you say. However, there is a human angle here that is very risky. That is getting the nanobots in place before we storm the silo. Frankly, that really bothers me, so I need to think about this one for a while. In the meantime, what is this about saving the world? I'm not an engineer or an astronaut. What could I possibly offer?"

  Vigo tapped Jeffrey's shoe with the tip of his boot and nodded. LeBlanc understood an indicated that he agreed. “Andrea, explain our problem with Shiva."

  Andrea redisplayed her Dorothy persona holding a simulation of Shiva in her hand. “Anthony, this model I'm holding in my hand is called Shiva. It used to be a satellite of Nibiru, but it was thrown out of its orbit around Nibiru into an elliptical Earth-crossing orbit around our Sun during the three days of darkness at the Nibiru flyby.” She let the object rise from her hand as her own physical persona faded away. As the Shiva image grew to the largest size possible with the small projector, it began tumbling in a slow, erratic pattern. “Shiva is approximately 20 miles in diameter and made of dense, solid metals. We've also determined that it still has a liquid magma core, which is approximately two miles in diameter. It is generally thought that Shiva was once a planet moon of Nibiru, roughly the size of Mars, and that it was destroyed in some form of a cataclysm. Therefore, Shiva is a remnant of the planet moon's core."

  The image of Shiva shrank to a small dot and was plotted against a map of the solar system as it moved quickly along the line used to denote its orbital path. “There is a good probability that Shiva will impact our own moon in 2019 and a virtual certainty that it will do so in 2035."

  The solar map faded away, to be replaced with a large representation of the Earth's moon. “Because Shiva is made of solid metal with a magma core, our concern is that if hits our moon, it could split it in two.” She then showed them a simulated impact of Shiva striking the moon and its magma core shooting out through its shattered shell deep into Earth's own moon, causing it to fracture. “While it is not a certainty that Shiva could fracture our own moon, the chances are nonetheless high."

  Tanya let her head drop into her hands repeating, “Oh my God,” as Anthony watched the simulation of the moon shattering under the impact with horror.

  Once the simulation had finished, Andrea replaced the image with her own physical persona. “Anthony, if this happens then please consider this, in the sudden absence of the tidal gravitational forces exerted on the Earth by our Moon, the entire surface of the Earth would drop some eighteen inches, or nearly half a meter. The consequences of that would be cataclysmic on a global scale. Besides the obvious earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and floods, our world's ocean ecosystems would fail. An event of this magnitude could very well bring mankind precipitously close to extinction."

  Anthony clasped his hands. “Andrea, I see the danger and the need to do something about it, but I still do not understand why you're coming to me for help. The closest thing to space science I've ever done was to build model rockets in grade school, and then I almost set fire to my parents’ barn."

  “May I do that?” Jeffrey interjected.

  Andrea smiled appreciatively, “Of course, Jeffrey. Would you like me to return to standby state now?"

  “As soon as Vigo turns on the room lights,” he replied as Vigo got back to his feet to turn the lights back on. “By the way, Andrea, you did a superb job with your presentation."

  “Yes you did,” Tanya added. “Thank you, Andrea."

  The holographic projector shut itself down as Vigo switched the room lights back on. Jeffrey turned his chair towards Anthony. “I'm glad you didn't set the barn on fire, but that's not what we need you for. Rather, we need you to give Andrea a sixth-sense, if you will."

  “For what?"

  “We already have a way to rubblize Shiva into a harmless asteroid field or even to send it crashing into our Sun. The problem is that, in order for us to use this technology, we need to map the interior of Shiva in great detail, and this is where we've hit a brick wall. This is because Shiva is basically one huge ball of fluctuating metal ore with a myriad of unpredictable magnetic
anomalies that make it impossible for the various sensors of our deep space probes to work properly. In addition to that, Shiva tumbles erratically, as you saw in the simulation, which we feel is the result of its magma core. Consequently, if we try to rubblize it without knowing its construction we could create an even more deadly monster."

  “So where does the psychic angle come in?” Anthony asked with a puzzled expression.

  “We're hoping it will pick up where Newton and Einstein have left off. You see, our technology as well as our understanding of the universe is based on the work of such great minds, and Shiva is something that even they could not foresee, let alone ourselves. However, if Andrea can be taught how to instinctively go beyond the limits of our understanding, she will be able to know precisely where and how to apply our technology when the time comes to rubblize Shiva. But even more than that, we could turn Shiva from a monster into the greatest asset ever known to mankind!"

  Anthony scratched his head. “Destroying this thing, I can understand but turning it into an asset? That doesn't make sense."

  “Look at it this way,” Jeffrey replied. “Instead of rubblizing the entire mass of Shiva, Andrea could find a way to rubblize a path to the magma core. This in turn could provide enough energy to both stabilize and move Shiva into a safe orbit. After that, we'd have the biggest ore mine in the solar system. We could methodically rubblize and mine it so as to build L5 space colonies, space ships, probes, you name it."

  LeBlanc clapped his hands, “Think of it. If there is one thing Nibiru, and now Shiva, have taught us is that we live in a violent universe, where brief life-terminating cataclysms are separated by long periods of quiescence. In simple terms, the very nature of the universe makes our planet nothing more than a blue-green bulls-eye in space. Look, our number has always been up for mankind as long as we remain tied to only one planet. But if we could neutralize Shiva as a threat, we can then mine it for the metals we'll need to ensure that mankind can and will survive."