Ancient Origins: Books 4 - 6 (Ancient Origins Boxset Book 2)

by Robert Storey

  ‘This does not please me, Professor Steiner,’ Bic said. ‘But it was necessary. Mankind must be taught the error of its ways.’

  ‘And I suppose you’re the teacher?’

  Bic gave a solemn nod. ‘I am.’

  ‘And what is the grand lesson you’re bestowing upon us?’ Steiner said, his anger rising. ‘What does the mighty Bic know that the rest of us don’t?’

  ‘I know a great many things that you and the rest of the populace don’t, Professor Steiner, but I’m not the only one with such knowledge. The Committee also knows a great many things, many things that they covet like selfish children with a favourite toy. Except, like all infants, they do not see the bigger picture, nor will they wish to until it’s too late. History tells us civilisations built on a pyramidal hierarchy always end in failure and yet the Committee continues to try and perfect a broken system when only a trinity of shared power to all can endure. Like all things, balance must be maintained, but always they react, rather than respond. They believe they operate above the law. And they do – the laws of man. And yet they ignore the greatest laws of all, the laws of God. The five unbreakable laws, or truths, if you will. One of these laws many people have forgotten, or mock, as a superstitious scientific improbability.’

  ‘And what’s that?’ Steiner said, his fury channelled into a fixed glare.

  Bic frowned. ‘I thought you would have known, Professor Steiner, considering your superior intellect. Humans are immortal. You are immortals, all. Reincarnation is truth, but a reality denied in your Western culture. Let me explain. Your scientists observe, but they refuse to accept what they cannot replicate in a controlled environment, and yet what I’ve told you has been proven by science. However, it’s been covered up by one section of those who control you, unbeknownst to their fellow Committee members. An instance of one faction not talking to the other in a mind-bending act of stupidity. And science is no longer science if it’s controlled; it’s denial. When science becomes politics and power, there ends its truth and begins its falsehood. And from falsehood comes blindness, and from blindness a threat approaches unseen.’

  Steiner shook his head. ‘I don’t care what lies you speak.’ He pointed at the chaos behind Bic’s image. ‘You’ve unleashed Hell on Earth. Nothing you can say will make me listen to you.’ Steiner stood up and moved to the door. He’d had enough of the hacker’s riddles to last him a thousand lifetimes – a million!

  ‘Lies?!’ Bic said, raising his voice. ‘I spoke the truth, did I not?’

  Steiner left the room and entered the corridor, and Bic’s hologram reappeared alongside him.

  ‘The subterranean bases are real,’ Bic continued, ‘and those on the surface have been left to die. I spoke truth. It was you who would have continued to lie. Who is the wrongdoer? From your perspective, I am – from another, you are.’

  Steiner stopped at the elevator and pressed the button in agitation.

  ‘Why do humans deny their immortality?’ Bic said. ‘Because if they embraced it, they’d know they could no longer stand by and watch injustice. They would no longer have an excuse to say, “that’s just the way it is”, because if they could die without fear of death and the nothingness they believe exists beyond, then they could do anything without fear, they could live free and live true, they could live in peace, free of dis-ease, and embrace all the emotions they’ve been taught are wrong: grief, pain, sadness, envy, love, anger, all of it. And it would change everything. It would change the world.’

  The elevator doors opened and Steiner hesitated as Bic’s image appeared inside.

  ‘Do you think humans don’t allow themselves to be killed?’ Bic said, as Steiner reluctantly entered. ‘You are mistaken; everyone who has ever died and ever will die has allowed it. Their soul knows their death is part of a greater plan, a greater process designed for the greater good. You just can’t see the bigger picture. It is hidden from you.’

  The elevator car moved upwards.

  ‘As the Committee continually fight against and ignore these laws,’ Bic said, ‘they will lead those who follow them into oblivion. Did you know science is about to implant the first animal organ into a living human? Rather than let this person die, as nature intended, allowing them to transition into their next life, into their newest adventure, they’re going to introduce non-human DNA into the bloodline. Do you know what that means? After a number of generations have passed, almost your entire species will carry this non-human DNA – which is porcine, by the way – and these people will carry on oblivious, sleeping, drinking ... eating. Yes, eating pigs, to which they are now physically related. Can you see how this is going to end? A devastating disease of the brain brought on by cannibalism. And that’s if the human race has survived the diseases that will jump the species barrier. And so endeth the dis-eased human-pig hybrid, all because it couldn’t let its weakest die a natural death. All because the most arrogant part of humanity, which believes there is no life after death, is also the part of humanity with the greatest fear of death. If only they knew death is not the end, but the beginning. If only they knew the more they suppress their dis-ease with worthless material trinkets and endless pursuits of pleasure, rather than curing it by releasing past traumas, the more dis-ease they will experience. Your species is on the absolute brink of destroying itself, either by weapons of mass destruction, annihilation of its rainforests, corruption of its food chain and oceans, or by its own dis-ease about death. Your antibiotics are failing. The antibiotic resistance you are experiencing is in direct correlation to your resistance of the death and disease you have tried to control and suppress.’

  The elevator moved upwards and Steiner tried to ignore what Bic was saying, and yet he couldn’t help but feel there was a sense of truth to the words which reverberated around his head.

  ‘As you resist death and dis-ease,’ Bic said, ‘you resist God. Healthy humans have been abundantly produced throughout their evolution, in the most natural and most efficient way possible, and yet you believe the manipulation of genes and implantation of animal organs will cure you. NO. It will only end – and can only end – in your corruption on a cellular level and the human genome will be forever polluted. Your Committee and governments will not stop this insanity, as they are the cause of the insanity. Most of your politicians lie to themselves and lie to everyone around them. They are so concerned with power and control, they don’t realise they’re only controlling themselves on a path to ultimate destruction.

  ‘Your popular culture is rife with warnings about tampering with DNA, but your politicians and their overlords ignore them. Why? Because they’re too busy suppressing their own dis-ease; basically, they’re too busy with their own struggles and trying to control their citizens that they can’t see the wood for the trees. And why do so many politicians have massive egos, anyway? Why? Because politicians who are mentally ill, corrupt or sexually deviant are the easiest to control. They do as they’re told, and when they don’t, they can easily be discredited and replaced, and most of those politicians who remain whiter than white can be subverted into being sexually deviant or corrupt. The majority of politicians don’t realise this, of course, as they’re so busy lying to themselves and everyone around them that they’re blind to the truth. And so, the human-pig hybrid will be born, and with it a whole host of diseases destined to cause endless pain and suffering.’

  Steiner slammed the emergency button and the elevator came to an abrupt halt. He couldn’t take anymore of Bic’s endless chatterings. ‘What?! What do you want from me?!’

  ‘I do not want anything from you, Professor Steiner, except that you know my words are truth, as they explain why your world is the way it is. And when I told you, you need not fear death, when I told you, you will live on forever more, you felt a release, did you not? A freedom you’ve glimpsed, but never held on to. That freedom is truth, and truth leads to joy, and joy leads to love, and love to truth, and truth back to joy, and on and on for time immemorial. You
are immortal. Death is an illusion, as is everything around you. You create what you think, speak and act upon. The world is your mirror and you get exactly what you need, not what you want. Listen to those teachers who have gone before you, follow the light, and you will find the peace you crave.’

  ‘And why do you want me to be at peace? Why do you want the human race to survive, when your actions cause the exact opposite?’

  ‘Do they? You think my actions cause the opposite? I suppose, from your limited perspective, they do. Everything is connected, Professor Steiner. We are all one and, in answer to your question, why do I want the human race to survive? It’s because I know what you hide. I know the truth you hold. I know you tried to speak this truth, but were ignored. I tell you, you should have spoken louder, longer, stronger. And for that, you may have been killed, for the truth makes some people angry – very, very angry – for they fear what they will lose. They fear losing control of their illusion.’

  ‘What truth?’ Steiner said, suddenly wary. What is Bic up to now? he thought. He’s already done the worst. What more harm can he do? Steiner didn’t know, but where the hacker was concerned, anything was possible.

  ‘You just told me,’ Bic said. An image appeared next to his hologram and Steiner watched himself in the room they’d just been in, conversing with an artificial intelligence.

  Steiner closed his eyes and sighed. ‘Of course, that was you. Of course it was.’

  ‘I was waiting for you to disclose your greatest secret,’ Bic said. ‘Posing as an A.I. was the perfect solution. The truth you told me, however, I already knew. I just needed you to disclose it.’

  Steiner frowned.

  ‘I have always known the asteroids were sent, Professor Steiner. It is not a secret to me. Nothing is secret to me: the identities of the Committee, the destiny of man ... the location of John Henry.’

  Steiner’s eyes narrowed. ‘Is that a threat?’

  ‘Do you want it to be?’ Bic stared into his eyes. ‘The president’s life hangs in the balance, it’s true.’

  Silence filled the elevator and Steiner held the hacker’s simulated gaze, until something Bic had said struck him like a bolt from the blue. ‘How could you have known the asteroids were sent? How can you have possibly known? I was the only one who believed it. I’m the only one still alive who knows it.’

  ‘I knew about the asteroids’ origins prior to your recent disclosure,’ Bic said, ‘long before your recent disclosure. And long before you even knew yourself. And do you know how I knew? I will tell you,’ – his hologram moved closer until his digital eyes filled Steiner’s vision – ‘I knew, because I was the one who sent them.’

  Chapter Two Hundred Ninety-One

  Flanked by two U.S. Marines, Professor Steiner strode out onto the rooftop of the GMRC’s D.C. headquarters. Sunlight glinted off glass and chrome surfaces and icy winds caught at his hair. The sounds of disorder washed over him and he looked around and saw Colonel Samson, who stood at the skyscraper’s edge, gazing out at the mayhem.

  ‘The transport’s been arranged, as you requested,’ Samson said, as Steiner approached. The colonel didn’t even look round, his piercing blue eyes continuing to soak up the collapse of civilisation laid out below them. He pointed to an ageing twin-rotored Chinook helicopter, which approached from the north. ‘I thought we were staying here?’

  ‘We need to get to McCormick’s fleet,’ Steiner said. ‘Or what’s left of it. The president’s life is in greater danger than I thought.’

  Samson looked at him. ‘Joiner?’

  ‘No. Yes. But there’s a more immediate threat. One I thought had passed.’

  ‘The hacker,’ Samson said.

  Steiner nodded and Samson left the scenes of chaos behind to accompany him to where the helicopter would be landing.

  Steiner remained immersed in his thoughts as the aircraft touched down moments later. The vortex howled around him, drowning out the screams and gunshots that continued to ring out across the city, and he couldn’t help but wonder what Bic had meant when he’d said he was the one who’d sent the asteroids.

  It’s another lie to cover the truth, Steiner told himself. Except he was unable to get the hacker’s words out of his head: ‘I spoke truth. It was you who would have continued to lie.’

  Is Bic right? he wondered, horrified at the notion. Am I the wrongdoer? Have I failed my species by continuing to lie and lie again? It was to protect the people, he told himself. It was to protect the new world. It was done with the right intentions.

  ‘Ah, yes,’ said the voice in his head, ‘but were they the right intentions on the wrong path?’

  Steiner couldn’t summon an answer and he continued to question his deepest motives until the Chinook had landed, and he found himself sitting down next to Samson, just behind the pilot’s seat.

  Samson grabbed a headset and said, ‘We’re good to go.’

  The pilot glanced round and nodded. He flicked a couple of switches on the cockpit’s ceiling. The twin rotor blades whirled faster and seconds later they were airborne.

  ‘We’ve got an incoming transmission,’ the co-pilot said, some minutes later, as the aircraft flew south away from the city. He motioned to the headsets and Steiner put one on.

  ‘Professor Steiner,’ Bic said. ‘You left so quickly, we didn’t have a chance to continue our conversation.’

  ‘I’d heard enough,’ Steiner said, swapping looks with the colonel.

  ‘But I’ve only told you four of God’s laws. And I’ve saved the best for last, as it will change your life. Don’t you want to hear it?’

  Steiner stayed tight-lipped and Bic said, ‘Now is the time. The future and past do not exist. The only moment that you can experience is now. It’s the only thing that matters. It’s where peace and heaven reside, and they can only be felt and perceived by you from within. Nothing external can bring you peace. Please remember that, Professor Steiner, and you as well, Colonel Samson, for what I am about to do may shock you.’

  ‘To do?’ Steiner said, unable to keep the fear from his voice. ‘What are you about to do?’

  ‘Look out of your window,’ Bic said, ‘and you will see.’

  Steiner did so and at first he could see nothing – then a rocket trail resolved itself against blue skies.

  Samson saw it, too, and he surged to his feet. ‘Increase your speed!’ he said to the pilot. ‘NOW!’

  The pilot looked at him in confusion. ‘What?’

  Samson stepped forward, grasped the pilot’s hand and forced the throttle open. The helicopter sped up and Steiner watched the missile arc in towards them. He tensed for impact, but with a roar of sound, the oversized projectile shot past.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Steiner said. ‘It missed!’

  ‘Brace, brace, brace!’ said the co-pilot.

  Bic spoke again, ‘Did you really believe you thwarted the GMRC’s efforts on your own, Professor Steiner?’

  Steiner looked at Samson in confusion, as the colonel and the other marines strapped themselves in.

  ‘What’s going on?!’ Steiner said. ‘It flew right past!’

  ‘Buckle up!’ Samson told him.

  Steiner attempted to secure his harness, but his hands shook with adrenaline, making it impossible.

  ‘Did you think I’d just give up control of the GMRC’s weapons systems on your say so?’ Bic said. ‘You’re very naive.’

  ‘He wasn’t aiming at us,’ Samson said. ‘He didn’t have to.’

  Steiner stared at him. ‘What?!’

  ‘And quite arrogant,’ Bic said.

  ‘He’s hitting the city.’

  ‘What?!’

  ‘He’s hitting the damn city!’ Samson cinched his harness tight. ‘It’s a nuke!’

  A flash of light lit up the aircraft and Steiner heard Bic say, ‘There’s one last thing you should know, Professor Steiner—’

  Alarms rang in the cockpit.

  ‘—I never miss.’

  Stei
ner’s face hardened, his hands stopped shaking, his harness locked and an instant later a massive shockwave smashed into them.

  Lights failed, engines stuttered and died, and the helicopter plummeted towards the ground.

  Professor Steiner closed his eyes in terror and said, ‘God save us.’

  Chapter Two Hundred Ninety-Two

  The Chinook helicopter fell from the sky like a stone, the sound of its rotors slowing to a whump-whump-whump before the aircraft ploughed into the ground.

  In the distance, the mushroom cloud from the nuclear blast bulged up into the sky like a demonic force unleashed from hell. Washington D.C. vanished within the blast and as the fallout blocked out the heavens, the sun dimmed and darkness fell.

  ♦

  Silence descended on the helicopter crash site. The Chinook’s fuselage had broken in two and bodies lay strewn across the ground. Ash drifted down from above and settled upon the form of a man strapped into a passenger seat. Blood coated Professor Steiner’s face and a gaping wound in his chest pumped out more of his life blood. The radio headset hung down by his side and its little red light continued to flash on and off. The radio crackled and fuzzed before a voice said, ‘I’m sorry it had to end this way.’ The tiny speakers crackled again and Bic spoke once more. ‘We had a good run, you and I. We were quite brilliant together, and resourceful, but all good things must come to an end some time, and for you, that time is now.’ The red light on the headset dimmed. ‘Goodbye, Professor Steiner, or perhaps that should be ... bon voyage.’

  The light blinked out and a final message displayed on a broken screen, which lay at Steiner’s feet, a message which read:

  GAME OVER

  Chapter Two Hundred Ninety-Three

  Jessica Klein sat on a bunk bed aboard the flagship of the U.S. Navy’s Atlantic fleets, the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, which had recently been dubbed by many of its crew the new Marine One. It was a great relief to Jessica to find herself in relative safety, surrounded as she was by enough firepower to destroy a small country, except part of her knew that safety was as illusory as the calm that now pervaded her immediate surroundings. Her life had become so enmeshed with death, secrecy and mayhem that she’d forgotten what it was like to have a moment of quiet, and not just in the sense of the external, but within her mind. All the plans and plotting had been completed, at least in part. Phase one was over. The first asteroid had been stopped and now they had to re-forge the GMRC’s Intercept Missions to deflect the final asteroids away from their collision course with Earth. The only problem was, the United States was crippled and the GMRC had declared war on the surface. How could they resurrect anything? The professor will find a way, she thought. He always does.