Blood Web: Caitlin Diggs Series #1

by Gary Starta

  Suzie Cheng nearly cringed at her guest’s lecture-like introduction. She often skipped science class in high school. She wondered if her audience would either tune out or fall asleep during Tewksbury’s presentation. Making sure her hand was off camera, she motioned for her guest to speed along his history lesson. However, the geologist/physicist was way too focused on the camera lens to be interrupted. Invitations to publicly expound upon theories and mathematical equations were too few and far between. A chance to bask in the spotlight of a national audience (albeit basic cable) was a very attractive podium for Tewksbury to preach from.

  “In 1864, Maxwell said that light itself is an electromagnetic disturbance in the form of waves propagated through the electromagnetic field.”

  “Could you simplify this statement for our scholarly-challenged viewers?” Suzie asked without shame.

  “Basically, everything we know about light today stems from Maxwell’s discoveries, Suzie. By classifying light as a wave, it provided a way for many to believe in something that could not be seen with the naked eye. Put simply, it proved the existence of electromagnetic waves. I am here today to expunge upon the possibilities of tailoring electromagnetic waves to produce certain responses in our brain. Again, if you’ll indulge me Suzie (Cheng winced), we need to take a walk down history’s long and winding path to understand this phenomenon.

  I will be talking about some forces that influence our day-to-day lives, even though we cannot consciously perceive them through taste, smell, touch, or sight. You know, the Schumann Resonance is another important element of our discussion.” (Suzie’s face had now reddened to resemble a tomato.)

  “Schumann proposed the earth’s naturally existing low frequency waves are identical to the frequency spectrum of human brainwaves. What this means in layman’s terms is that the brain is compatible to extremely low frequency stimuli. So if someone were able to manipulate Earth brainwaves at a certain frequency, they could very well send signals or messages to our mind. It has been proposed, but not proved, that the government has created a technology that could target specific brain centers. Known as the High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program or HAARP, this system purposely heats up the ionosphere, which is an electromagnetic wave conductor in itself. Electromagnetic waves created by HAARP are consequently bounced back down to Earth by the ionosphere. It is believed these waves, when specifically targeted, can produce mood changes. It is well known that the military of every country utilize the electromagnetic spectrum for communications and surveillance. Given this fact, it is not too hard to imagine such an organization developing a technology to control independent thought. Some scientists in the 1960s believed the natural internal rhythms of the brain could be bombarded with external pulses to affect behavioral changes.”

  Cheng interrupted, “I’m guessing not everybody bought into these theories.”

  “That is absolutely right. Decades later, these theories were beginning to take on some validity thanks to the work of Neuro-Physiologist Jose Delgado. He proved the existence of a pleasure center in the brain. Using electrodes, he was able to produce specific emotional and behavioral responses in both human and animal test subjects. He eventually used a transmitter to stop a charging bull. Essentially, Delgado believed the mind was contained within the brain. If you could control the brain, you could control the mind. And if you were in possession of both of these entities, well, you could take away free will.”

  “So what Jake Campbell claimed is true? Someone can just switch off our free will? But what I don’t understand, Mr. Tewksbury, is how the crystal is involved in this conspiracy?”

  Tewsksbury smiled, despite Cheng’s scornful glare.

  “I will need some more time to explain.”

  Cheng whipped up a phony smile. “Please do, Arthur. And while you’re at it, why don’t you tell our audience how such a covert influence could possibly by detected?”

  “Alterations in brain activity can generally be measured via changes in the body’s melatonin and seratonin levels. In other words, a chemical record would be left behind.”

  “Are you only referring to the brain, or the mind as well, Mr. Tewksbury?”

  “Both. Some of my colleagues view the brain as part digital, part analog—or more directly, the center for all motor responses and conscious thinking. The more involved senses like sight and touch could be part of a digital nervous system, whereas the ability to heal may be classified as analog. If Extremely Low Frequency waves, known as ELFs, can indeed be used to alter consciousness and behavior, then both the analog and digital portions of our brain would be affected. In short, it proves the mind is contained within our brains, because the ELFs can make a connection to both our digital and analog systems.”

  “In our time remaining, can you explain why Jake Campbell theorized towers might be used to send these signals?”

  “Some conspirators fear a Ground Wave Emergency Network, or GWEN, towers might be used in conjunction with HAARP. We see these towers being constructed all over God’s creation in the name of cellular technology. Perhaps, a more sinister motive is at work. Certain elements in the ground modulate the earth’s geomagnetic waves. These same minerals can be found in the human blood system. If you were to replace the natural geomagnetic waves with a low frequency ground wave from a GWEN tower, you could disrupt the body’s biorhythms via our circulatory systems. This control can be exerted below ground and above ground to effectively include all the human populace.”

  “But everything I’ve ever read about these disturbances predicts an adverse effect on the human body. How can you control someone who will eventually become deathly ill from exposure to these artificial waves?”

  “I believe that is why the crystal is so important, Suzie. It could be used in tandem with the HAARP and GWEN systems. It may provide a way for the conspirators to bridge the gap you spoke of. Maybe humans will no longer become sick from....”

  Jim Braxton wildly waved his hands. His gyrations were sufficient to distract Tewskbury in mid-sentence.

  A wave of relief washed over Suzie Cheng’s face. She now had a valid reason to cut away from Tewksbury’s boring drivel. Wearing an ear-to-ear grin, Cheng announced a suspect had been named in the Arrowhead murders.

  “FBI Assistant Director Andrew Dudek has just confirmed the bureau’s prime suspect in the Arrowhead murders is eighteen-year-old Texan, Lukas Schenker.

  As a photograph emerged behind Cheng’s shoulder, she boldly announced: “You heard it here first. Lukas Dietrich Schenker is the Arrowhead Killer.”

  Lukas didn’t need a judge or jury to convict him. Suzie Cheng had already cut to the chase.

  Chapter 23

  Tom Wolvington multitasked. Engaged in foreplay with Alyssa the call girl, the colonel kept an ear tuned to the television set roaring behind him. Mere minutes into Suzie Cheng’s broadcast, Wolvington sized up Dr. Tewksbury as a literate chucklehead. In colonel speak, that translated to an overqualified moron. Imagine being well read on the mechanics of science, only to regurgitate the knowledge back to the undereducated masses. How could a top scientist be satisfied with that kind of fate? The colonel pitied the man, but it did not stop him from enjoying Alyssa.

  What did stop Wolvington dead in his tracks was Cheng’s announcement: “The murder suspect is Lukas Dietrich Schenker.” The words rang like a fire alarm in Wolvington’s ears. The colonel had no choice but to respond with urgent attention, aborting his missionary position to the surprise and chagrin of his paid companion. All foreplay came to a full stop.

  Alyssa never really cared if the TV was on or not during sex. But now she did. The news elevated Wolvington to a new height of lunacy. He began spewing unintelligible syllables of the English language in stiff, staccato bursts the way a preschooler might recite his first reading of the alphabet. Alyssa Morgan did not need to decipher any secret codes here. If Wolvington were a wolf, he would have snarled and bared his fangs for her. The hooker easily deduced the name “Sc
henker” really toasted the colonel’s marshmallows. In defense, Alyssa wrapped the blankets tighter around her body, using them like a shield. All Alyssa ever wanted was to remain undercover. She was painfully unaware of Wolvington’s plans for her—to bring her out of the darkness—to make her one of the elite.

  Wolvington stewed in the delicious irony. The two top scientists, which he had lured away from Germany to work on Project Right Hand, had devoted much of their personal and professional lives in pursuit of a conduit. The link they pursued was equivalent to the search for the Holy Grail, because their discovery would have made brain manipulation a reality. Now, years after they died, their son had unwittingly scooped up this tool—the crystalline key to ascension—with no more fanfare than a bum scrounging for a scrap of food in a garbage bin.

  The colonel’s hate for the Schenkers was two-fold. On one hand, their departure from the program (and from life itself) symbolized the death of Right Hand. On the other hand (the hand that ceremoniously held up a middle finger to all of Wolvington’s well-laid plans), their names were synonymous with betrayal.

  The government unwittingly began paving the road to Wolvington’s kingdom long ago. Believing their tests were merely weapons oriented, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, known as DARPA, began work on Project Gray Matter (which later was renamed Project Right Hand) in the early 1980s. These same scientists were responsible for HAARP and GWEN just as much as they were responsible for the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Internet technologies.

  By forecasting ahead, DARPA was usually able to supply the military with tomorrow’s technology—today. DARPA was originally created by the Department of Defense in 1958. The military hoped DARPA scientists could match and exceed the Soviet’s success with Sputnik. But by the ’60s, DARPA’s civilian space programs were transferred to NASA, leaving the agency more time to pursue work on behavioral sciences and directed energy development.

  Energy transfer and manipulation of the human mind seemed to walk hand in hand down the well-guarded halls of DARPA facilities. Not even the president of the United States was fully briefed on the exact intentions of Project Gray Matter during its inception in the mid-eighties. For all he knew, the scientists were simply studying the effects of electromagnetic radiation. The cellular telephone and its accompanying transmission towers would soon infiltrate society; therefore, proponents of DARPA argued the need for continued research—they had to make sure the radiation from these phones would not harm the public. The military had no problem securing continuous funding for this secretive R&D project for nearly ten years running, all under the guise of “watching Americans’ backs.”

  Both senators and congressmen lived quite well on handouts from the military brass. All they had to do was approve a budget each year and appear somewhat concerned about the taxpayers’ welfare.

  As the dream of mind control danced in the heads of the army’s highest military rank, one young soldier held onto a much more unconventional belief: mind control wasn’t just about defeating the enemy. For young Thomas Wolvington, the control of electromagnetic waves was a ladder for selected men to climb. Whoever operated this technology would climb to a higher rung on the evolutionary chain—to climb up on the backs of the huddled masses and raise a triumphant fist toward the stars!

  Wolvington believed mind control was the key to unlocking this new gateway. In the opinion of young Tom Wolvington, America needed to win a war, but it wasn’t the Cold War or the War on Terror, it was a war of idealism, because ruling the world with guns and government was just not enough in today’s high tech world. A true superpower must break the free will of all the people it governs. Neither the Soviet Union, nor America for that matter, truly qualified as a superpower in Wolvington’s handbook. Why settle for such a low ambition when you could aspire to rule not only your own people but also all of mankind? In other words, why not boldly take the seat located next to God’s right hand?

  Tom’s intellectual hunger was fed early on by his college professors. Enrolling in as many history and philosophy courses as possible, Wolvington often read books outside the course syllabus. Most of Tom’s fellow history students claimed General Patton as their God. But for Tom Wolvington, the words of Friedrich Nietzsche rang more holy because he believed the borders of paradise were not confined to the afterlife. After all, why risk death and injury in war if the prize was nothing less than heaven?

  The young student realized his obsession with the German writer was not unique. The Nazis had also embraced Nietzsche’s ideology for their doctrines. But in Wolvington’s mind, the early twentieth century Germany was terribly misguided. Their interpretation of Nietzsche’s writings was flawed. Put simply, you couldn’t create a superior race through breeding alone. The Nazis were missing a huge step in the process.

  Wolvington believed one had to manipulate his own genealogy to become the first generation of super people. In order to do this, waves would have to be manipulated in such a way to turn on dormant genetic coding. The majority of Wolvington’s fellow students took great pleasure in this theory, ripping large holes in its logic. These feisty and unforgiving undergrads believed the wave manipulation would only result in the direct demise of any test subject stupid enough to volunteer for such a procedure. A freshman began a chant of “fascist, fascist—Tom Wolvington’s a fascist” to the delight of a crowded university cafeteria. One member of the student body did not participate in the heckling. His name was Connah Hainsworth. Wolvington sincerely appreciated Connah’s quiet support, vowing Hainsworth would one day walk among the elite. Although the two eventually walked down entirely different paths, Wolvington attempted to maintain their friendship during the ensuing years, hoping he would one day be able to make good on his promise.

  In the years leading up to Project Right Hand, Wolvington fed his appetite for superiority by studying science. In 1963, an association between psychiatric admissions and solar magnetic storms was proved. Exposing volunteers to magnetic fields, similar to magnetic storms, scientists confirmed ELF waves vibrate at the same frequency as the human mind. If one could control behavioral responses, could manipulation of DNA be far behind? Wolvington posed these questions to girlfriend after girlfriend. Each woman consequently found a unique and effective way to run far from Wolvington’s sights.

  These social failures did not daunt Wolvington. Fed up with civilian social circles, Wolvington decided to enlist in the army. Here he would find an organization devoted to his line of thinking. And if they weren’t, he would find a way to steer them there. The young private engaged in many after-duty conversations with Sergeant Sylvester Drake, who became very fascinated with Tom’s belief in genetic manipulation. Drake indulged the young enlistee, believing the gleam in Wolvington’s eye would eventually fade once he saw a tour of duty. But Drake’s unit was never called into action. The 1990 Gulf War was over in a mere five months.

  The quick victory assured Wolvington would remain on base, safe from the line of fire. Wolvington dedicated his heart, soul and mind to the army, earning promotion after promotion. In a few years, he made captain. Assigned to Fort Belvoir in Virginia, Wolvington spent his days preparing troops for combat. Clearly, this was not the career he had dreamed about. He wasn’t about to let his all of his hard work go to waste. He believed now was the time to cash in on Drake’s favoritism. He spent night after night on the telephone, begging his former sergeant for reassignment. Tom knew Drake was now in a position to deliver. Drake had recently joined the army’s Joint Chiefs of Staff—the same command organization that just happens to run DARPA.

  Wolvington could not have been in better position. His good favor with Drake quickly led to his advancement as colonel. This ranking would soon result in his subsequent placement as security officer for a Texas-based DARPA project. These chain of events confirmed Tom’s belief in destiny. His relationship with a future Joint Chiefs of Staff member was simply no mere coincidence.

  Wolvington’s job at DAR
PA was clear and to the point: debunk the army’s association with any and all deployment of Ground Wave Emergency Network towers. Additionally, he would make sure all scientists assigned to Project Gray Matter made good on their confidentiality agreements. This non-disclosure contract would unfortunately result in the demise of two Project Right Hand scientists—Angelika and Karsten Schenker.

  Bringing this German couple aboard Right Hand had been a crucial step, because the Schenkers knew how to manipulate waves to reprogram cells. The process would later become known as Wave Genetics. The Schenkers were duped into believing their work would be used for the betterment of society. Later on, they would learn the true intentions of Thomas Wolvington—that much of the populace would fall victim to mind control, and that only a select few would undergo these wave procedures to turn on their dormant genes.

  A mysterious region commonly referred to as “junk DNA” would be tapped to its full extent with Wave Genetics. Some of these “junk” genes might allow one person to temporarily split into two, thus proving the existence of astral projection. Another might allow the power to psychically see the past, present, and future by simply accessing their third eye.

  Once these genes were mapped, specific gifts could be biologically manufactured. In minutes, one could create a virtuoso, a master painter, or perhaps, on a much grander scale, a being who is no longer susceptible to injury or illness.

  Wolvington wanted the DARPA scientists to believe he was creating the first real Utopian society. But Wolvington’s society would provide invitations to only a select few to bask in this grandeur of greatness. The rest would serve as drones, much like a colony of ants serving their queen.

  Using hyper-communication, messages would be then broadcast to the drones, instructing them of their duties. These messages would explain why each was an important cog in the machine. Because all of their free will would be eradicated, they would only be too happy to serve their kings and queens. Logically, the same undergrads that scoffed at Tom’s ideas would be the first ones elected to serve Wolvington’s kingdom.