2041 Sanctuary (Let There Be Light)

by Robert Storey

  Walker grumbled at the delay while Goodwin illuminated the pages with his torch.

  Rebecca stopped flicking through it and cleared her throat. ‘Revelation 11:9. Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.’ She glanced at Goodwin and then pointed at the silver statue before continuing. ‘Revelation 12:1. And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.’

  Lieutenant Manaus turned her torches on the statue’s head. A silver crown glinted in the light, a crown with twelve points and on top of each of these points was a five pointed star. At the base on the throne, worked into the gold, was the depiction of a crescent moon.

  Goodwin peered at the figure’s simple attire. ‘I don’t see any sun on her clothing.’

  ‘They’re stars,’ Rebecca said, and our sun is—’

  ‘A star.’ Goosebumps prickled the skin on Goodwin’s arms.

  ‘That’s not all.’ Rebecca turned back a couple of pages. ‘Revelation, Chapter 4. After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.’

  Rebecca looked up to see if she still had his attention. ‘And around the throne,’ she continued, ‘on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” And whenever the living creatures give glory and honour and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

  Rebecca closed the Bible and returned it to Priest.

  ‘Twenty-four thrones,’ Goodwin murmured, looking at the scene in a whole new light.

  Walker gave a snort of disdain. ‘It didn’t say anything about a woman being on the throne.’

  ‘But it did say twenty-four thrones,’ Rebecca said, ‘and they could also be the crystal mentioned, the sea of glass. They’re made of some kind of crystal, aren’t they?’

  Priest focused the beam on his torch and angled it up to the side of the sphinx’s interior wall. ‘And around the throne,’ he said, ‘on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion.’

  Goodwin looked up to see a massive sculpture of a sabre-toothed tiger fighting three winged Anakim warriors.

  ‘The second living creature like an ox,’ Priest continued, switching his torch to another statue of a wild horse, ‘the third living creature with the face of a man,’ he turned his light to the other side and a winged griffin with the face of an Anakim warrior, ‘and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within.’ Priest switched his torch to another statue, that of a magnificent griffin in flight.

  ‘What does it mean?’ Rebecca said, watching Joseph reach out and touch the silver figure with a gentle caress.

  Goodwin looked up into the statue’s serene face. ‘I think it’s a message, passed down through the ages of man.’

  Rebecca looked around them. ‘You think this is the land of the gods?’

  ‘Not just any gods,’ Goodwin said, ‘our gods.’

  Walker laughed. ‘The Anakim are not God.’

  ‘But they might be the foundation on which our religions are based, at least in part.’ Goodwin looked around and felt a shiver of awe, a stirring of antiquity, a feeling of how old this place really was, and who may have trod its great halls. Frustrated there was no one to answer his myriad of questions, his thoughts strayed to his friend, Professor Steiner. If only I could speak to him now, he would have something enlightening to say, or at least know someone who would.

  ‘We need to keep moving, Director,’ Lieutenant Manaus said.

  Goodwin nodded and tore his eyes away from the majestic statue to pursue their exploration deeper into the Anakim Sphinx – or, as some might come to call it, the Temple of the Gods.

  Chapter Sixty Nine

  ‘What did the book say about a crystal sea?’ Manaus said, stopping her advance.

  Goodwin drew alongside the Darklight officer. ‘Before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.’

  The lieutenant crouched down and rapped the floor with her knuckles. It sounded hollow. ‘This might not be right before the throne, but if this isn’t a sea of glass, I don’t what is.’

  Goodwin hunkered down next to her and wiped away a thin film that covered the floor’s surface. ‘It’s frost.’

  ‘There must be some sort of thermal exchange occurring,’ Manaus said.

  Goodwin wiped more away to reveal a crystalline floor and what looked like water flowing beneath. ‘Water cooling?’

  ‘Looks that way.’

  ‘But to cool what?’

  She shrugged her shoulders.

  Standing up, they followed the sea of glass left to where it dipped down before curving up to form a high wall interspersed with concave alcoves, which were also frosted over.

  Goodwin reached out to touch inside one the misty chambers, but the lieutenant grasped his hand. Goodwin looked at her.

  ‘I don’t think that would be wise, sir.’

  Goodwin nodded. After what had happened to the soldier in the tar – or whatever that black slime was – caution was advised.

  Further ahead, the icy wall of crystal ended and the ground sloped up to another level.

  Manaus hesitated before the darkness beyond.

  ‘Lead the way, Lieutenant,’ Priest said.

  ‘She’s unarmed,’ Goodwin said. ‘Send two of your men up first, or better yet, go yourself.’

  Priest waved Manaus forward. ‘Better her than us, Director.’

  Goodwin handed the lieutenant his knife.

  She gave him a brief nod of thanks before lowering her visor and sealing the lower part of her helmet to fully secure herself inside her armour. Without a backward glance she crept up the slope, alert and ready for anything she might encounter. Unless that thing is the entity, Goodwin thought, then it won’t matter if she holds a knife or an assault rifle, we’ll all be as good as dead.

  The next area of the sphinx consisted of slick obsidian blocks. Built to last, the black material covered all surfaces, from wall to floor to ceiling, and their torchlight sent reflections bouncing around in all directions. The effect was almost strobe-like and it forced Goodwin to shield his eyes from the visual onslaught.

  With the immediate area deemed safe, everyone fanned out to explore.

  A minute later Joseph let out a startled cry and Rebecca grabbed Goodwin’s arm. ‘What’s that?!’

  ‘What’s what
?’ Heart pounding, Goodwin pointed his torch in the direction she looked.

  ‘There’s someone there!’ she said, terrified.

  Goodwin searched the area before the shock of her truth made him stumble backwards. A tall figure moved in the dark!

  Manaus rushed to their side. ‘Sir, what is it?!’

  Hand shaking, he aimed his light back in the direction where he’d seen the being.

  Rebecca let out another scream when the form emerged from the pitch-black.

  ‘What’s happening?!’ Priest said from behind.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Manaus said, ‘it’s just a statue, three statues, to be precise. Our lights gave them motion.’

  Goodwin felt his fear subside, although Rebecca and Joseph still clung to him for dear life.

  They edged closer to see the eerie figures were of Anakim women. Such was the detail and fluidity of style they appeared to be real, their final movements frozen in time for all eternity. Their naked forms shone like polished pewter and the floor around their feet looked like static waves from a petrified sea.

  ‘They look so lifelike,’ Goodwin said, ‘like they were turned to metal while still alive.’

  ‘Perhaps they were.’ Walker moved amongst the statues. ‘They’re tall enough to be real. What would you say, eight feet, nine feet tall?’ Walker stood back and whistled in appreciation. ‘Now that’s a woman.’

  Goodwin looked up into the face of one the statues. He couldn’t see any pain in her expression, just serenity.

  ‘Director,’ Manaus said, ‘over here.’

  Goodwin joined the lieutenant beyond the final statue where the pewter sea melded into a huge frieze that covered the entire back wall of the sphinx.

  ‘Are you recording all this?’ Goodwin asked her.

  Manaus nodded and tapped her helmet. ‘It’s all stored in here, sir.’

  ‘End of the road,’ Priest said, returning with his men. ‘There are no more levels; we’ll have to go back.’

  ‘Not so fast.’ Goodwin shone his torch over the high relief sculpture and then down to the floor, where a four foot high pentagonal altar had been positioned. A circular indent had been inset into the front of its metallic surface. Goodwin touched the circle with his hand and then noticed a familiar symbol in its centre, the constellation of Libra. What this meant he couldn’t fathom, but he knew it meant something.

  He looked back up at the frieze where winged Anakim acted out a great battle against a sea of larger creatures. These bestial humanoids resembled the beings he’d seen at the top of the frieze back in the city, the Nephilim, God’s fallen angels. They’re in the right place, Goodwin thought, if what we’ve seen so far is anything to go by.

  Rebecca pointed to a section higher up. ‘Are they meteorites?’

  ‘Either that or comets,’ Goodwin said. A memory of his vision beneath the lake reasserted itself. Have I been shown the past, he wondered, or the future? What was the lake trying to tell me, if anything? He noticed the skies above the meteorites were littered with constellations. Frustrated by the lack of answers, he was about to turn away before spying something else. A channel had been cast into the altar; it ran around the rim and then flowed down to the floor, where it met a silver band. This shiny metal cut a line through the pewter floor. On the way in he’d thought the flat surface was a path through the seascape, but it was more than that. Following it round, he moved past one of the lifelike statues and continued on.

  ‘What is it?’ Rebecca said, holding Joseph close.

  ‘Another pentagram.’ Goodwin traced the silver inlay with his torch.

  She peered at the symbol beneath their feet. ‘It’s like the one in the city.’

  Goodwin nodded.

  ‘You know what that means, don’t you?’ Priest said, shining his own light at the pentagram.

  ‘Christ the saviour.’ Goodwin looked to Rebecca for confirmation. ‘Although nowadays the church considers it to be pagan or satanic.’

  ‘You’re looking at it the wrong way up,’ Priest said. ‘If the central point is facing down, it’s not thought to be pagan or satanic, it is satanic. The sign of the Devil, worshipped in secret, behind closed doors.’

  ‘You seem to know a lot about it,’ Goodwin said.

  ‘I know what I know.’ Priest walked away without further comment and his men followed behind.

  ‘The Devil,’ Walker said, patting Goodwin on the back as he passed by, ‘great, well done, Director, that’s just what we need.’

  Rebecca put a consolatory hand on his shoulder.

  ‘What am I missing?’ Goodwin said.

  Walker laughed as he walked away from them and held his arms aloft. ‘This place is a tomb!’ His voice echoed out through the halls, the words tomb … tomb … tomb, ebbing away to nothing.

  The Darklight lieutenant stalked towards him. ‘Shhh! Are you crazy? You know what could be out there.’

  ‘I don’t care,’ Walker said. ‘Do you hear me?’ he shouted, ‘I DON’T CARE!’

  His voice boomed out again, echoing into the immense structure.

  ‘He wants something to happen,’ Goodwin said, jogging after Manaus and ushering Rebecca and Joseph along in front of him. ‘He wants to create a diversion so he can escape. Where will you go, Corporal, back to Offiah to plead your innocence?’

  Walker turned to face him. ‘I can try. It’s preferable to chasing shadows. There’s nothing here. You were wrong, there’s no way to the surface, just old tombs and creepy statues. You might as well ask the sphinx how to get to the surface, the good it will do you.’

  Walker turned round to see Priest standing before him. ‘What do you want?’

  Priest sent a right hook slamming into Walker’s jaw, felling him to the floor.

  ‘If you don’t keep your big mouth shut,’ Priest said, ‘we’ll tie you up and leave you down here. Understand?’

  Walker cleared his dazed mind with a shake of the head and looked up with murderous intent.

  Priest cocked his rifle. ‘Keep looking at me like that and you’ll wish I had tied you up.’

  Walker looked away and Priest continued to glare at him, before turning back to rejoin his fellows.

  Goodwin, Rebecca and Joseph followed Manaus past the forlorn form of the corporal, who remained sitting on the floor in a pool of his own torchlight.

  Returning the way they’d come, Goodwin slowed as they crossed the frost-laden crystal.

  ‘Richard.’ Rebecca put a hand on his arm. ‘Is something wrong?’

  ‘You might as well ask the sphinx,’ he murmured.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Walker said, you might as well ask the sphinx.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘There was no riddle of the lake. The riddle is here.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘The riddle of the sphinx.’

  Rebecca looked confused.

  ‘The riddle of the sphinx,’ Goodwin said again. ‘What goes on four feet in the morning, two feet at noon, and three feet in the evening?’

  ‘Man,’ Manaus said.

  ‘Yes, but what most people don’t know is there’s a second riddle. There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. Who are the two sisters?’

  Walker wandered past massaging his jaw, disinterested, and Goodwin watched him go.

  ‘Richard, what’s the answer?’ Rebecca said.

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘I said, what’s the answer?’

  He looked back at her. ‘Night and day’

  ‘And that’s relevant, how?’ Manaus said.

  ‘Night and day,’ he said, wondering how they couldn’t see it.

  He trotted forward towards the silver God and her golden throne. Once they’d caught him up, Goodwin stood before the giant figure. ‘Night and day,’ he said again, ‘what two things make them what they are?’

  Manaus gave him an odd look. ‘The sun?’

  ‘And the moon!’ Rebecca said i
n realisation.

  ‘Exactly!’

  ‘I don’t understand.’ The lieutenant looked from Goodwin to Rebecca and back to Goodwin again.

  Goodwin pointed at the stars on the silver statue’s clothing. ‘The sun,’ he said, and then pointed down below her feet at the throne and the image they’d seen before, ‘and the moon.’

  ‘Revelation 12:1,’ Rebecca said in excitement. ‘And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.’

  Goodwin bent down and ran his fingers over the image of the moon. Glancing up at those gathered nearby, he looked back at the throne, positioned both hands over the crescent moon, and pushed.

  Nothing happened.

  ‘Wow,’ Walker said, ‘impressive.’

  Goodwin bit back an angry retort. After trying a variety of different techniques to get the image to move he stood up, heavy with disappointment. I was sure that was going to work, he thought. You’re grabbing at straws, Richard, he answered himself, Walker’s right you’re chasing shadows, give it up, you’re wrong. He continued to berate himself before something else caught his eye. A series of constellations adorned the throne on either side of the moon, each centred in a circular indent with five small semi-circles cut out of their circumference at equidistant intervals. He hadn’t taken much notice of them before. He reached out and touched the representation of Libra and stroked its golden surface. He held up his hand to the five holes. Could they be finger holes? On impulse Goodwin spread his fingers wide, but the tips of each digit fell short of the cut-outs by a couple of inches. ‘They had bigger hands,’ he mumbled.

  Priest having rejoined them, moved closer. ‘What’s he going on about?’

  Someone else replied, but Goodwin was too intent on the throne to pay them any heed. Using both hands, he placed his thumbs together and bunched his fingers into pairs and inserted these into the five holes. Having recreated an Anakim appendage, he tried twisting the circle clockwise. It gave a little, and with some effort he managed to twist it round another quarter turn until it matched the position of the image he’d just seen on the altar at the frieze.