"What kind of problem?" Rebecca asked fearfully.
Simon unrolled his dining utensils and placed the napkin on his lap. "Apparently you don't exist."
"What?"
"According to Jonas, you were never born, therefore you don't exist."
"Okay," Rebecca said slowly, "but we both know that isn't true."
Simon smiled. "Regardless of what we know, you do not have a birth registration. Jonas said he spoke to you about this."
Rebecca nodded, feeling slightly relieved. "Yes, we did, and I told him that something must have went wrong at the hospital."
"Indeed, but the problem still stands. Did Jonas explain to you what would be necessary in order to obtain one?"
"Yes, but I find it highly improper for our wedding to be postponed three months just so I can have a tiny document that states I do indeed exist. Don't you agree?"
"I do," Simon said, "and yet it's absolutely required for any marriage to exist that both parties involved have the proper credentials."
"So are you suggesting that we postpone for three months?" Rebecca asked.
"Absolutely not. I can have the process expedited inside a single conversation with Doyle in the Conception Department."
Rebecca felt her stomach drop out for a second time that night. "You can do that?"
Simon nodded his head. "I will do that."
"Great," she said, but deep inside was feeling anything but. If she were somehow able to get herself out of the current mess, there was no possible way she would be able to fake a DNA test conducted by the Conception Department. Within a matter of minutes they will realize that her mother had been living a lie and that Rebecca was conceived out of wedlock. "Isn't there some other way we can do this? As you know, my father has long past away and my mother still deeply misses him. Digging up a DNA sample and—"
Simon raised a hand to her. "I think you misunderstand," Simon assured. "I'll request that Doyle draft up a new birth record immediately without the need of a DNA test. There's no need for your family to suffer any further from the negligence of a member of the Conception Department. I will have the records pulled in order to see who was on staff the night you were born and have them demoted."
Rebecca tried to smile at what would have seemed like a sweet gesture but she didn't find people being demoted something to be happy about. "Maybe you could let the poor worker off the hook. It's not like they did it on purpose." In actuality, Rebecca knew that the person did do it on purpose.
"Let the poor worker off the hook?" Simon asked incredulously. "Is that how you would handle it?"
It seemed more like a challenge than an actual question. "Well, I . . . suppose not, but it happened so long—"
"Rebecca, if I may," Simon interrupted, "the reason why the Ministry is as strong and powerful today has to do with the level of dedication each member carries with them day in and day out. There is no room for mediocrity and there is no room for error. This is why we have the Cognitive Examination, so that we can properly place individuals into the areas best suited for them. It is then up to the individual to perform as expected or they will be removed from that position and issued a lesser role." Simon leaned forward a little and said: "As a Director, you should know this."
"I do know it," Rebecca defended, "I was only stating that in this instant I think it would be unnecessary to punish whoever for something they did almost thirty years ago."
Simon sat back and considered what she said. "Well you are a lot more soft than I had perceived, that's for sure. It's probably best that we do marry so that you're replaced at the Director's position."
"Excuse me?" she said instinctively. Rebecca had never been so insulted in her professional career. "I will have you know that I was the best person suited for that position and still will be long after we marry. Do not mistake my compassion for weakness, Mr. Wylde."
Simon arched his eyebrows in reaction to her sudden outburst. "Well then, maybe I stand corrected. You do have some bite in you after all."
Rebecca looked away in order to regain her composure but then felt a very heavy hand fall onto her own. She looked back in time to see something dark inside Simon's eyes. "But don't think those kinds of outbursts will be accepted after we're married. Wife or not, I stand higher than you, and I will not tolerate disobedience at any level." He then lifted his hand and adjusted his collar. "The Ministry requires respect and order at all times from its members—as will our marriage. Don't think just because we were paired that it means you are free to treat me like you do with your subordinates. I will always outrank you and I will always have the right to release you."
A long and uncomfortable pause fell between them before the service attendant arrived to take their dinner requests. Rebecca couldn't believe how boorish Simon was acting, especially for a man who had just claimed he was not at all interested in becoming the Director of the DSA. Maybe he plans on becoming the next Minister, thought Rebecca. Either way, she was filled with an overwhelming sense of forebode.
"Ah, what is this," Simon said as he took his last bite of prime cut steak. He pulled out his handheld notepad and saw that someone was contacting him.
"Who is it?" Rebecca asked, disinterested.
"It's Jonas again. I wonder why he's calling so late."
Jonas, Rebecca almost gasped aloud.
Simon ran his finger across the screen. "What can I do for you, Jonas?"
Rebecca could hear the Security Chief's voice through the speaker. "I'm terribly sorry to be bothering you this evening, but I have an urgent need to discuss some further business with you."
Simon wiped his mouth with his freehand. "Can't this wait until tomorrow? I'm just finishing up dinner with my future wife." Simon then turned the notepad toward Rebecca who in return smiled at the old face on the screen.
"Hello, Rebecca," Jonas said unenthusiastically.
Simon turned the notepad back. "So can it wait?"
"I'm terribly sorry to say, it cannot. I need you to come down to the office immediately."
Simon's face grew concerned. "What's going on?"
"Nothing that I prefer to say in a public forum. It's high Ministry business. Just meet me at the office as soon as you can. I will be waiting."
Simon then disconnected but the look on his face remained. Rebecca had to tell herself to start breathing again before she passed out. After taking a drink of water, she asked: "What do you think is going on?"
"I don't know," Simon said with a concerned tone. "But I better get going. Jonas seemed rather distressed."
"You're leaving," Rebecca stammered. "Can I at least get a ride to my flat?"
"I'm sorry," Simon said as he stood, "but you heard the Security Chief. He needs to see me immediately. I'm going to need my driver to take me straight there."
Rebecca wanted to protest but knew it was no use; her time was up.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Simon contacted his driver and then quickly left Rebecca behind. The service attendant returned and asked who should be charged for the dinner. Rebecca told him to take it out of Simon's credit and then left too. She was in a full-blown panic. My time is up, she kept saying in her head. I have to get out of here, fast. The problem was that there was no fast way to get home. The railway platform was ten minutes away and there was no time to try and catch another shortcar, so Rebecca broke into a fast walk.
Rebecca recalled every word Jonas had said to Simon during the entire trip back to the platform. I have an urgent need to discuss some further business with you, he said. It's high Ministry business. Rebecca kept focusing on further business. They had discussed her earlier that night, further business could have been in reference to me, she thought.
Rebecca picked up the pace.
What do I do? she asked herself. There was no plan of action to take. Rebecca had figured she would know what to do when the time came, and now that it had come, she had no idea what to do. All she could think was that she needed to get home.
&nbs
p; When she finally arrived at the railway platform she found it less congested than before. It seemed the population had thinned out over the past hour and a half. There was no line to get onboard a railcar, which Rebecca was thankful. She hurried onto the closest one available and sat down. Her eyes were ever constantly watching the people around her—paranoid that the MSF agents were coming after her. She had roughly forty-five minutes until she reached her neighborhood platform. It would give her plenty of time to think about what to do next. Getting home was only the first step. Getting away was the harder, next step. But where do I go? she wondered. Rebecca considered her mother's flat, but that would only make matters worse. Mother, she thought suddenly. She needed to warn her. Rebecca decided to contact Francesca with her digital notepad, but quickly stopped. They'll be watching, she realized. The MSF were probably monitoring her contact line. But then why aren't they acting? she wondered. If the MSF knew about the translation and about her mother's secret, why haven't they pounced on her? Why hasn't she heard the horrible cry of the HOUNDS? Maybe they don't know, she thought. Maybe I'm overreacting.
Rebecca took in some deep breaths in order to calm her nerves. She looked down at her notepad and then to the railway map. Twenty minutes to go, she told herself. When I get home, I'll pack an emergency bag just in case. Rebecca didn't know where to go but she knew she needed to do something.
An alarm went off on her digital notepad, as well as everyone else's on the railcar, signifying that Third Duty was to be performed. Rebecca hated performing the duties on a railway. She found it difficult to concentrate. She looked around and saw that everyone else was preparing for his or her meditation session. Rebecca did the same. She closed her eyes and began concentrating on her meditation assignment, the completion of Space Station 1164.
*******
After the half hour meditation was over, Rebecca shook the images of the space station out of her head and opened up the translation again: to the last point she had left off.
Rebecca was a little confused about what William mentioned. She had never heard of the Ark of the Covenant. She didn't understand its significance. She hoped he would explain.
William wrote that Vermil had offered everyone a glass of wine before Morlan Haggins began explaining why the Ark of the Covenant could have originated in a place called Egypt:
*******
"If you look at the history of Ancient Egypt, then you will see that the Ark of the Covenant originating there isn't so far fetched. Take Pharaoh Tutankhamen (King Tut) for example. There are actual examples of this style of box at his exhibit in the Cairo Museum. Actual boxes that were plated with gold and carried on poles! Heavens, even his sarcophagus was housed in a stone version."
"But then what happened at Mount Sinai?" I asked. "According to the Bible, it was there that Moses ordered the construction of the Ark."
"William, let me ask you this," Professor Haggins said before continuing, "did it ever strike you odd that these starving and exhausted slaves were capable of building such a large box plated with gold? Where did they get the gold from? Where did they get the tools? They had just barely escaped from Egypt, do you really think they brought with them equipment to do some light mining and construction? Sometimes we have to look past the stories of our fathers and grandfathers and find the underlying truth. Moses was raised Egyptian. He was brought up in Egyptian royalty and was educated by their most esteemed intellects. Moses had surely learned about the Book of Thoth and would have very well known of its awesome power. We know that he went into the wilderness for 30 years and supposedly had a vision from God in the form of a burning bush. We know that it was this vision that told him to return to Egypt and free his people. We then know that there were 10 plagues and we know that the Pharaoh had suddenly changed his mind after Moses had led the Exodus. When you leave out the Book of Thoth, the entire story sounds like nothing more than a legend—a myth. But when you add it in, along with the Ark of the Covenant, then the story suddenly sounds more plausible, a bit more real."
"Okay," I said, "let's suppose you are correct, and Moses took the Ark of the Covenant from Egypt and it contained the Book of Thoth, why wasn't the book mentioned in the Bible?"
"It was," Professor Haggins declared, "in Revelations. The book was described as having seven seals—each containing the power of God."
"The Bible says that?" I asked.
Professor Haggins nodded and then started quoting Revelations. "Then I saw in the right hand of who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice: 'Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?' But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it . . . Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm. Then a great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head."
Puzzled by what he just said, I asked: "What does all of that mean?"
Professor Haggins looked to the others in the room, as if he was looking for approval. He then said: "I'm not certain. But what I can say is that the book described in Revelations shares the same description as the Book of Thoth. According to the Egyptian legend, the Book of Thoth was not meant for man, but for God."
*******
Rebecca felt she had finally hit on something significant. A book (or scroll for that matter) with seven seals, which William was clearly indicating that was the Book of Thoth and a woman wearing a crown of twelve stars. Is that supposed to be me? she wondered. But the Book of Thoth was supposed to be for God only—whoever that is. According to everything Rebecca read, the book unleashed a great power to its reader, a power only God could handle. For the first time Rebecca felt she might finally know what her role was supposed to be. I'm supposed to find the Book of Thoth and take it to God. But the glaring problem facing this conclusion was that the chronicle was far from over. There were still hundreds upon hundreds of pages left. Plus, she didn't know who God was. It can't be that simple, she warned herself and continued reading.
William asked the group how the Book of Thoth ended up in Bosnia, inside the pyramid Theoman was excavating. Morlan Haggins was the one who answered:
*******
"I was able to trace the Ark, through Biblical references, to King Solomon. And when I showed Iah the translation for the Testament of Solomon, he declared that the ring attributed to King Solomon is actually from Egypt and represented Thoth."
"Yes, I understand that, but how did it end up in Bosnia?"
Professor Haggins held out a hand and gestured for me to be patient. He then said: "We first needed to find out if the Book of Thoth was actually inside the Ark before we could figure out where it might have went."
"How in the hell were you supposed to do that?"
Professor Haggins said: "The Ark, you may or may not know, was once captured by the Philistines. They took it back to their capitol in Ashdod. While there, the contents of the Ark were studied by the high priests so they could understand the mysteries of this magnificent power. It was reported that they documented their investigations before returning the Ark to the Israelites."
"They gave it back?" I asked.
"Sounds absurd, I know, but they did indeed. The Bible states that after the Ark fell into their hands the Philistines were bombarded with disasters and plagues. After seven months of hell, essentially, they came to the conclusion that the only way to rid themselves of this curse was to give it back. Other legends say that once the Philistine priests copied down whatever secrets the Ark held, they no longer had need for it and traded it back for hostages or some kind of provisions."
"Have these documents been found?"
"It was believed that these documents were kept safe and carried to the city of Nimrud where they were stored in
the sacred temple of Nabu, which by the way—"
"—was the Sumerian God of writing and the arts."
I had learned that from you, Rebecca, during one of our many late night discussions.
Professor Haggins straightened up a bit. "I'm impressed. Very good, William. And so yes, these documents were taken to the temple of Nabu. Over time the city was abandoned for whatever reasons and buried in the desert for thousands of years. The texts documenting the contents of the Ark were believed to be buried as well. Then in the late nineteenth century, archeologists discovered the lost city of Nimrud and excavated its remains. All of the pieces retrieved from the site were transported to Baghdad and stored at the National Museum where they were documented and cataloged, including these texts. However, the archeologists doing the work hadn't a clue as to their importance because they were written in a yet to be deciphered language—what we know as Linear A."
I could suddenly see where this was going. "Then the war happened."
"Yes, William, you're right about that." Professor Haggins looked to Simon, who seemed to be in deep thought, before continuing: "Dr. Theoman was granted permission to join a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) task force that was assembled to—"
"Aid in the restoration of the museum," I said. "Yeah, I know all about it."
Simon suddenly broke from his deep thought and began to stare at me. What they didn't know was that I had written a story on the recovery work done by UNESCO. During my research, I had met a woman working with UNESCO and fell in love with her. No one really knew about it and I never talked about it. Our relationship only lasted several months before it ended tragically with her death.
Professor Haggins said: "Well, Dr. Theoman opted not to go on the mission but sent a volunteer in his place. She located the Philistine documents in a bank vault Saddam was using in order to store his most prized possessions during the bombing campaign and had them sent back to us via her hired security force. They were then given to me and I began the task of translating the language."
The Sinner King: Book of Fire Page 13
