GOD'S HAMMER: The Hidden Story of Comet Apocalypse, AKA Elenin

2012 was always a diversion. The real apocalypse would come a year early…

---- 1 ----

“Michael, there’s one more thing you should know. Carstens is dead.”

“What? How? My God. I’m guessing Messiah is really up the creek now…”

“That’s just it. Our last inside source tells us they’ve stalled. It’s not looking good. Yes, they are sending people now through Interactive Point technology, but they can only send a few at a time. Every effort to build something big enough to transfer any sizable population hasn’t worked.”

“God. It’s not like there’s much time left. So, humanity really might be doomed. Do you know how many have been sent on?”

“So far as we can tell, they’ve successfully sent no more than twenty…”

“What do you mean, ‘successfully’?”

“Uh yeah, good question. Well, apparently over two hundred Travelers have been launched, but the majority never make contact again. No one knows why.”

“Maybe the alternate world they ended up in wasn’t very hospitable?”

“No, that’s not it. They’re at the point where they can do some reconnaissance before committing to a particular universe. What they found is that the same universe, or else very close versions of the ones they locate, continue to remain in proximity to our universe for some time. This allows them to robotically explore a world, at least briefly, before sending anyone. The nice thing is, Apocalypse is close enough now for the probes to verify that specific region of space is clear, as long as there isn’t cloud-cover or something.”

“Incredible! But of course, it makes sense, that close versions of our universe must attract each other, based on my theory of IP Adhesion. After all, if two worlds can actually interact, something must bring them together, and even briefly keep them together. I’m not sure you know, but that was my work, it was the last thing I was doing before they dumped me in this place.”

“Yeah, sorry to break this to you bud, but good ‘ole Dr. Carstens managed to take full credit on that one.”

“That bastard! And I was going to try and feel sorry for him. So, how did he die?”

“Suicide.”

“Of course. Too important to even chance the nuthouse I suppose.”

“Well, I better be going now.”

“Sure Padre. Just don’t come back unless you’re ready to get me outta here. I’m not telling you anymore, and my guess is you really need me now. If you had any idea of the hell they put me through here…every day… I swear I really will lose my mind if I have to stay here much longer.”

“Don’t worry! Now, do your Sign of the Cross my son, they’re watching us.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, one, two, three, four. Thanks for all the updates ‘Father’, it was about time.”

---- 2 ----


Seems like a lifetime ago. I was a research scientist on Project Messiah, so named because we were tasked with being the savior of humanity. A couple years before, the comet we called Apocalypse back then, was found to be on a likely collision course with Earth.

I was fairly sure that we were only one of several groups working toward a solution. No doubt, the nuclear intercept options were on the table, and deep underground bunkers, and others, but our option was the most novel, I thought.

My mentor, the late Dr. Carstens, led Messiah. I was so proud to have been chosen. He was like a father to me, but little did I know at the time that I would come to regret trusting him.

Dr. Carstens’ agreed with the consensus that the comet was virtually unstoppable, but while others worked on their massive Project Noah (which I only learned about while locked away in that miserable hospital), we worked on our Messiah, sometimes sixteen hours a day.

Carstens’ core logic seemed indisputable: No one could divert the comet, and if it turned out to be a direct hit, no one would survive the impact either. As to whether anyone could somehow escape, that was another story. But privately he told me that even if we managed to get enough people safely to the moon, the chances of humanity surviving in that scenario were still very small, and everyone knew it.

Messiah was the classic Hail Mary pass from the beginning, and we all understood the odds, but we were dedicated nonetheless, if not to Messiah, then to the charismatic Roger Carstens.

The genius of Messiah was that we would not waste our efforts trying to stop the unstoppable, nor would we try and side-step Apocalypse, only to have to come back to a world virtually destroyed, with only slim hopes of ever rebuilding her.

None of the above!

Carstens’ plan was simple: We would stay here! BUT, we would find a way to slip into a parallel or more precisely an alternate universe, where Apocalypse wasn’t an issue. And he had been working on the science to do exactly that, his entire career.

I had first met Dr. Carstens at MIT. He was a professor there only briefly, it seemed he moved on, rumors of top-secret government projects, but that was nothing unusual. In his field, it was almost expected.

My surprise when I joined the project was how advanced they already were. In short, they had already confirmed the existence of parallel worlds, and had been using a massive super-computer to predict naturally occurring points where parallel universes briefly came into contact with each other. Interactive points (IPs) we called them, that were found to manifest at regular intervals, but also in conjunction with solar and electrical storm activity. Exactly “where” they might appear was the hard part.

Within the first year, our success rate had increased ten-fold, and we were beginning to learn more and more about the different characteristics these IPs had. One important finding was that some IPs remained manifest for several seconds or more. Another huge finding was how large they could be, so large in fact, that once, a very unusual bird flew “through” one IP, and was actually captured. We all joked about a “new species”, and how evolution might be more complicated than originally thought.

Before long, we had developed a probe, or probes rather, since we had to play the probabilities game, and began sending them into (or through) the IPs we found. We got a hit on the seventh one, and it was able to transmit info about a parallel world for the first time in history.

Unfortunately, the data indicated a world with extreme temperatures, and high carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But it was a triumph, and together with the bird we had caught, everyone was hopeful that we would eventually succeed.

My particular work involved collecting the many seemingly unimportant bits of data that surrounded each IP event, in the hopes that we could learn the exact combination of factors needed to perhaps one day produce an IP ourselves, instead of being forced to find those that naturally occurred. The theory we had been developing could only take us so far, and no one doubted that reality was full of surprises.

Temperature, humidity, hour and time of day, geographic location, altitude of IP (many were at surface level, but some were not). Seismic movement preceding the event. Intensity of the electrical storms. Solar activity, lunar position, and later, even planetary positions. Certainly HAARP played it’s part, at least in the beginning.

We wanted to leave nothing out. Perhaps some combination of “coincidences” would eventually repeat enough so we could discern a pattern. One example, as predicted by IP General Theory, was that IP’s could only appear in “pairs”. It took us a long time to find signs of anything more than the fleeting singular examples we encountered, but eventually, the data proved the Theory correct.

I was the first to notice something odd about two occurrences that happened at sea. In both cases, “coincidentally”, a large ship sounded their horn just before the IP manifested. Of course, the computer had sent us to the vicinity not because of any ships, but because of “symmetrical” storm activity, paired at opposite sides of the globe.

That’s when the intuition hit me. What if, these tiny windows between universes opened somehow to the tune of “music”?

The ship’s horns were loud, but nothing compared to the sound of thunder…Could it be that together, a momentary “harmony” occurs, that either causes, or allows a momentary interaction between universes?

As it turned out, this was indeed the key to unraveling the mystery, at least the half of that mystery on our side of the Earth. It was presumed that wherever the other twin IP manifested, it allowed for the perfect maintenance of equilibrium between the two universes. If matter or energy went in one side, than an exactly equal amount had to exit the other. Perhaps if we had more time, we could have realized the potential danger of sending matter into the unknown. After all, “something” was certain to “come back” through the other side, and it was anyone’s guess what that could mean.

The harmonics breakthrough was huge, and soon, an IP “ship” was being built that no longer required natural IPs, since they could now be created, virtually at will, as long as key conditions were met.

This was a glorious time for Project Messiah, but after having spent several years getting to this point, I began to notice too many personnel changes that didn’t seem to make sense. One critical person after another seemed to quit, or be transferred. I tried to contact a couple of them, but got nothing.

Then came my turn. I woke up in the hospital, with a huge headache that didn’t seem to go away for months. At one point, I simply remember not remembering why I was there, or what I had done before. I had a hard time forming thoughts, and could not speak, words would not come out.

It was a couple years before my regular electro-shock “therapy” finally ended.

Eventually, my memories began coming back, but something told me I could never let them know. I would lie in bed half the day, and all they saw was a blank stare on my face, but inside my mind, I concentrated, and remembered. Little, by little.

One day, I had a visitor. I almost didn’t recognize him, but that was good. I continued to play my part, biding my time. It was Lambert, one of the ones who had disappeared before me. Disguised as a priest, somehow he had made them believe that my family had requested his services for me.

Each week, he would come to visit, and we would talk of Messiah. His story was interesting. He was one of the few who didn’t wait to get “disappeared”, and in fact, if I could take him at his word, he was a sort of spy for a “secret society” that had placed him in Messiah to ensure info got back to his organization. It seemed hard to believe at first, but I was in no position to argue.

It wasn’t long before I realized that Lambert had been “mining” me for info that only I could provide. I was reading between the lines, and the only thing that made sense was that whatever this secret organization was, they too were attempting to build an IP ship, independently of Project Messiah.

The only thing that I wasn’t sure of was whether they really needed me, or not.


---- 3 ----

“Hey, Goofy, wake up! You hear me boy!?”

“What the…”

“Rise and shine Sleepy! Ah, sorry, you dwarfs all look the same to me after a while! They say you’re transferring out of here today, going to a place where they’re going to do more testing on your nutty brain or something. Maybe they’ll make you “Happy”? Get it? Happy?!”

“Uh, I…”

“Just get up you stupid goof! Wherever they’re taking you, what do you care? It’s all the same to you, isn’t it Dopey? Isn’t it?!”

“Please! Please don’t kick m-me, I’m moving…”

“Damn right you’re moving. You know what Goofy? I’m going to miss you. Not just the dumb look on your face, but I’m going to miss putting these - beautiful – blue - bruises, on your shins!”

“Stop it, p-please, I’m going, let me just get…”

“What? Your teddy? That goddamn filthy pillow you carry all around? LEAVE IT!”

“But, p-please…Ouch!”

“Your shins just never seem to get better, do they Goofy? Or are you going to get ‘Grumpy’ on me? Ha, ha! I’m so friggin’ funny! Hey, I wonder if your new place can fix those ugly shins of yours? Must be something wrong with you, doncha think? You need…you guessed it! You need Doc! Ha, ha, ha! Your buddy Doc! Oh, I’m such a scream this morning!”

“O God!! Please! That really hurts… Please, no more!”

“Oh? Didn’t you get it? I said ‘Scream’?! Ha, ha, ha! SCREAM you stupid idiot, no one can hear you from in here anyway! Oh, I’m really gonna miss you Goofy!”

---- 4 ----

“My God Lambert! You did it! Am I really free?”

“Well, sort of. Technically, your records say that you are presently at the hospital we moved you to, but soon the records will show that you have been released. If anyone goes looking, it will probably look like someone made a mistake, but for the most part, yeah, you’re free…”

“Thank God! I wasn’t sure how much longer I was going to be able to keep up my act in that place.”

“Well, relax, have some lunch, but afterwards, we’ve got lots of work to do. Don’t forget, Apocalypse hasn’t gone anywhere, and we’ve got people to save!”

“Lambert, I’m very grateful, I really am, but I’m still not sure why I should trust you. If I had kept feeding you what you wanted, you would have left me to rot.”

“Not true! We were just trying to put a plan together. Things aren’t as easy as you think.”

“Let me ask you this: If we do figure this thing out, how are we going to decide who gets to go?”

“Michael buddy, you don’t waste time cutting to the chase, do you? Listen, I’ll be honest, I don’t even know if I’m getting a ticket. But what else can we do? We have to try.”

“I guess. What about your family? I recall you have a little boy?”

“Well, he’s not so little anymore, but yeah, I know what you’re saying. Hey, I want us all to make it, but the sad fact is, it’s not looking like there’s going to be a whole lot of seats on the escape ship.”

“I’ve got a girl, well, she’s a grown woman now. I want to save her Lambert. I don’t give a damn about myself, but if there was a way, if I had a ticket to give…”

“Hey, let’s forget it for now. The rate we’ve been going, Apocalypse is going to have the last laugh. Finish up there, and join me in the lab. We’ve got work to do.”


---- 5 ----

“How do you know this comet is going to hit us next week? Dad, no one believes this, no one is saying this will happen. You’re the only one!”

“Look, I came here to make amends, after everything, and I’m so happy you forgave me. After so many years, I can understand why this is all a bit too much.”

“Let me ask you this Dad? If you didn’t think we were all going to be dead next week, would you have come at all?”

“That’s a very good question kid. I – Well, I don’t know really, but maybe that’s part of it. When something like this happens, you start to think about the things that need getting done. If that’s why I’m here now, then I guess I’m guilty.”

“Dad, I don’t want to think about the world ending next week! I know you worked for the government, and you say you know things, but that was years ago! For the past seven years, since you left us, Mom would tell us one story after another about why you never came back. And then, I finally find out you were in a hospital, and had lost your mind!”

“Sweetheart, I never lost my mind! I told you, they put me in that place to shut me up. I never lost my mind, and I never did anything to that girl. But you believed them? Is that why you never came to see me?”

“I only found out last year, after Mom died, but it all made sense. And I did want to see you! I wanted to see you so very badly! But I wrote the hospital, and they told me why you were there…”

“And you believed them?”

“I believed my mother! She was only trying to protect us all those years, and even if she never said what really happened to you, when I found out why you were locked up, it all made sense. And besides, it didn’t matter anyway, since by the time I called again, they said you had been released.”

“Yes, I see. Actually, it was only eight months ago…”

“Who cares?! Oh – I don’t mean it that way. Dad, look, I’m happy you came. It was hard seeing you, and I’m glad you seem to be better, but Randy gets back tonight, and if he hears you talking about your comet, he’s going to want to call that hospital, and put you right back!”

“Andrea! You’re all I’ve got!”

“No! You have three beautiful grandchildren too, and they’re going to grow up, and it would be nice if one day they knew their grandfather.”

“Yes! I want to know them! I want them to grow up! What does Randy know about me?”

“Not a whole lot. See this picture? That’s what he knows. And the fact that you went crazy and ended up in a hospital.”

“That nonsense about the girl, it was never true! Does Randy know about that?”

“No! Are you kidding? Do you know how humiliating that would be, for people to find out that you are, I mean were, a pervert?”

“Andrea! My God! To hear you say that… I am not a pervert!”

“Dad! Listen to me! I’m sorry, I don’t know who you really are. I guess if they released you, you’re probably fine. But please! Forget this ‘end of the world’ nonsense. When Randy gets back, don’t say anything about it. Just be normal, please just be normal!”

“Well dear, I won’t say anything to Randy, I’ll promise you that…Fine. We’ll just forget it. For now.”


---- 6 ----

“Michael! Over here! This way!”

“Someone you need to meet…Your new boss…”

“Dr. Simons, I am Natalya Gonyarova.”

“Dr. Gonyarova, thee Dr. Natalya Gonyarova??”

“Lambert has told me that it was you who came up with Adhesion Theory.”

“Uh, yes Ma’m, uh, well, I never got a chance to fully develop it.”

“Yes, but neither did your Dr. Carstens either.”
”So I heard. Rest in peace. I guess.”

“Lambert, show Dr. Simons around, but don’t waste time. We need to get to work!”


---- 7 ----


“Randy! So good to finally meet you.”

“Uh, yeah. Dude, you do not even look like your picture!”

“Almost seven years in the nuthouse can take it’s toll I’m afraid.”

“Hey, I didn’t mean it like that. So, you’re not crazy, er, I mean, you’re OK now?”

“I’m perfectly OK! So, Andrea has caught me up a little. You’re a long-haul trucker?”

“Well, a lot of it isn’t exactly long-haul, but yeah, I’m the best there is! I guess I’m not home as much as I’d like to be, but you know what they say, absence just makes the heart grow fonder…”

“Dad, Randy, come on, dinner is waiting…”


---- 8 ----


“Doctor, the probe’s signal is fading! It has only seconds to go…”

“Wait!”

“Did you feel that? That rumble?”

“Yeah! There she is! She’s back!”

“Damn, that was close. A whole month, nine probes, 18 monkeys, and nothing to show for it. But now we’ve got her!”

“She sure looks good! Beautiful! Not a mark on her!”

“Dr. Simons, my congratulations to you. It certainly looks like your last adjustments worked.”

“Quite frankly Ma’m, I’m amazed. I mean, to actually see something that has been to another universe, and back, and to feel it with your hands…”

“Yes, now let’s see how our little friends are doing…”

Inside, two chimpanzees had just made a round-trip like no other. Not even the rumored successes of Project Messiah had accomplished this. With their loss of Dr. Carstens, they had been forced into a far less ambitious plan. And yet, even if they were able to save a few dozen people, perhaps somewhere, a new Adam and Eve might start again.

“Oh scheiss! Doktor! Our equipment says a Class 3 IP is forming right now…Directly above us!”

“What??”

“Oh my God…”

“The rumble…Dr. Gonyarova! I think I know what is happening. This may be the first time in history any physical object has made a round trip through an IP. While natural IPs can sometimes have creatures, or objects come through, one-way, the chances of them going back were always slim. As you know, we never were terribly worried about what happened on the other side of the planet.”

“Yes, I think I see where you’re headed with this!”

“This Class 3 must be the result of an Adhesion Echo. If my initial calculations were correct, this IP could easily be twice as large as the initial opening, but should only stay open half the length of time.”

“Or not!” The technician’s voice suddenly silenced all others. “On-board chronometer indicates there was a 30 % time-rate discrepancy. Mein Gott! Faster than home base.”

“Jesus! That’s the first time that’s happened. What does that mean?”

“Everyone calm down! And no, this is not the first time this has happened, we recorded slight anomalies even with radio transmissions through the IP, so I am not surprised.”

“Doctor, what should we do?”

“We need to leave the facility, NOW! Everyone out! Go! Leave everything. If there is anything left when we return, hopefully we will have learned something!”

---- 9 ----


“Andrea! Andrea! Where are you?”

“Shhh! I just got Cody down for his nap!”

“Sorry, I need to speak to you dear.”

“OK, but keep your voice down.”

“Well, I wanted to say that I had a very nice time with you and your Randy last night. He’s a nice fella, and I’m so happy he is so dedicated to you and the children.”

“Dad, you’re yelling for me - to say this?”

“No, no, of course not. Something he mentioned last night, I wanted to ask you about. He said something about being ‘done’ having kids…”

“Yeah, so what? We have three kids already. Randy’s first wife died, I told you that, his, I mean our two oldest, well…And Cody, he is ours. The birth experience, for me, once is more than enough! So yeah, we’re done.”

“Well sure, of course I understand, yes, but the way he said it…”

“Dad, he had a vasectomy, if you really need to know. Is that supposed to be dinner conversation in front of the kids?”

“Oh, I see. Too bad...”

“What do you mean, ‘Too bad’? What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing! I was just curious, that’s all, I’m sorry for asking, it’s none of my business of course.”


--- 10 ---


“Doctor, are you OK?”

“I am fine. Is anyone hurt?! Let’s do a head count, make sure we all made it.”

“Seems like we’re all here, but that was close! Damn, that was worse than I thought.”

“Much worse. I cannot believe it. All our work…”

“So little time left too…”

“Why God? Why?! We are humanity’s only real hope!”

“So there’s no hope then Doctor? Is that what you’re saying”

“Nyet! I did not say that! We can never give up!”

“But the lab, our equipment…”

“Yes, somewhere, most of our lab has appeared out of nowhere! Can you imagine if intelligent life should find it?”

“Not our problem. But it doesn’t sound like it’s coming back…?”

“No. It is gone, but we have learned so much. Look at that gaping hole!”

“It’s as if a giant bulldozer just scooped up half-a-city-block.”

“How many cubic meters would you guess?”

“Uh, well…”

“How many people could have been transported, with this one event?”

“Ah yes doctor! I see what you’re saying! This could be the answer we’ve been waiting for! But how can we rebuild with so little time left?”


--- 11 ---


“Couldn’t you just stay a few more days? You haven’t been home even 72 hours?”

“Honey, this is a big-bucks haul baby. They pay me the big bucks because I can get it there before the next guy. And besides, if they call me, and I say no, they might stop calling me.”

“They’re not going to stop calling you, there will always be another haul.”

“Yeah, but these biggies only come along every few months or so, I can’t pass it up, you know that.”

“I get so tired of being alone…”

“Hey! You’ve got your Dad back! It didn’t sound like he was planning on leaving right away. Enjoy a nice visit with the old man!”

“Randy…Oh whatever! Fine! Yeah, I know you gotta go.”

“Honey, you’ll be fine. Don’t be mad…”

“I’m not mad! You’re right. Everything will be fine. And we do need the money, Karen’s braces aren’t going to be cheap.”

“I’ll be back before you know it. Now come ‘ere, give me some love! It’s gotta last me four days you know…”


--- 12 ---


“Dr Simons, we have another lab.”

“What? You have another IP lab?”

“Well, not exactly. More precisely, we have another IP ship, and only minimal support equipment. Without the CAL4000 supercomputer, we would have considerable difficulty. As for any meaningful reconnaissance phase, we might as well forget about it, considering the short amount of time left.”

“Doctor, without preliminary reconnaissance, we could be jumping from the frying pan, into the fire!”

“That is very interesting American expression, but I think I understand what you mean. Yes, quite true, we may be jumping to fire.”


--- 13 ---


“So Randy is off again…”

“Yeah Dad, it’s what he does. But he always comes back…”

“Andrea, I didn’t mean anything, he’s a great guy, I’m happy for you.”

“So let me ask you something Dad: When are you leaving?”

“Sweetheart! I hope that doesn’t mean you want me to leave? Haven’t I been good?”

“Oh come on Dad, what ever happened to the End of the World? I might as well say it, it’s the elephant in the living room.”

“We’ve got three days.”

“Oh God, you’re kidding? I don’t know why I was hoping you were going to tell me you had changed your mind, but I’m not surprised.”

“Three days. Hey now, did you mention how long Randy was going to be gone?”

“FOUR DAYS, DAD!”

“Oh dear. I was sort of under the impression he made shorter trips usually.”

“Well, usually they are shorter, but this was one of those times.”

“Uh, I don’t suppose we could get him to make other plans, you know, before he’s too far away?”

“No Dad! What the heck could I tell him to make him turn around? Maybe tell him the world is ending? Yeah, sure. Listen Dad, nothing is going to happen, and I’m going to ask you again, when are you leaving?”

“Well, I guess I won’t be here any longer than three more days…”

“Jesus! Dad, you’re upsetting me!”

“I’m sorry dear, I really am. Maybe I have to find another way to tell you about this. Have you heard about Comet Elenin?”

“Oh my God! Is this what this is about? Yeah I’ve heard about it, people are saying it is coming close to earth, and some nut on TV last night said it might crash into us, but that one Japanese scientist came on right away saying there was nothing to worry about.”

“He’s wrong.”

“And why are you more right than a famous guy on TV?”

“You know, I’m a scientist too…”

“You’re not an astronomer Dad! You can’t know everything, and I think you’re just caught up in this nutty conspiracy stuff about this comet that has been making the news lately. The one reporter said there were thousands of people making preparations, and that some cult thinks a UFO is coming too, blah, blah, blah!!”

“Sweetheart, I don’t know anything about any UFO, but have you noticed the past couple of weeks how many wealthy and famous people seem to be going on vacation?”

“Hmmm. Rich and famous people going on vacation? Yeah, you’re right, that does sound suspicious! NOT! You know what would be strange? If I ever got to go on a vacation! Of course, I wouldn’t have a husband to go on a vacation with, since I never see him for more than a few days at a time…”

“Dear, please don’t cry. I don’t want you to be upset. Please…”

“Stop it! Just stop it. I don’t care if you need to stay here for a while Dad, but don’t talk about any of this crazy stuff. I don’t want the kids worrying about anything, and frankly, I don’t need it either! And if you won’t listen to me, then you can leave. I mean it. I have enough to worry about without this crap.”


--- 14 ---

“Highness, there is news.”

“There damn well better be news! There is a bloody rock bigger than Mount Everest ready to destroy everything my family has spent millennia building, and I haven’t had any news, good or bad for over a week!”

“Our inside sources say that Elenin’s latest revised course is actually going to be maximum impact, not a glancing blow anymore, but it will hit us dead-on.”

“Damn. As if an extinction level event wasn’t already bad enough. I am not having a very good morning Cheswick!”

“I’m so sorry Your Highness…”

“So, what is the projected surviving global population now? With our former projection, several hundred thousand in underground bunkers were still somehow going to survive. What are they saying now?”

“Highness, uh…”

“Out with it Cheswick!”

“The Americans’ best simulations apparently do not show any positive figures.”

“’Positive figures’? As if there was anything terribly positive in all this! How many are likely to survive?”

“None sir.”

“None? What does ‘none’ mean? You mean with all their miserable ‘probabilities’ and scenarios, they are saying it’s all hopeless now?”

“Well…I’m afraid so Your Highness.”

“My God! The Royal Family has spent billions to ensure that we have our seats on their “Noah’s Ark”, and now it seems that even that isn’t enough…”

“I’m not sure I understand…”

“Cheswick! The entire point of Project Noah was to get us off this celestial target, only so we could come back after the mayhem. Tell me exactly what there will be to come back to?”

“Er, I mean, Your Highness, I can’t imagine it’s hopeless…”

“No Cheswick, it is never hopeless, of course. You have been my most faithful subject, and you, and your family, will certainly remain always close to us, no matter what comes of this. But you do see that things have changed, significantly.”

“Yes sir…”

“Send for Sir Henry.”


--- 15 ---

“Good morning everyone!”

“Good morning Grandpa”

“Where’s your mother?”

“Sleeping in. She always sleeps in when there’s no school.”

“Oh. Well that’s nice.”

“Granpa?”

“Yes Cody my boy!”

“Are you gonna live wiff us now?”

“Cody, Grandpa doesn’t live here, he’s only visiting!”

“Yeah, only visiting. He’ll be leaving pretty soon.”

“Karen, is that what your mother said?”

“Yep. Said you were gonna stay for a couple more days, and then were going back home.”

“To the hothpital…”

“Cody!”

“Oh it’s all right. No, I’m not going back to the hospital Cody, Grandpa’s all better now.”

“Grandpa, what was it like in the crazy house?”

“Carl Robertson! Do not speak to your grandfather that way!”

“Karen, Karen, it’s OK. Listen Carl, the crazy house isn’t a place you ever want to go. Let me ask you this? How would you feel if you weren’t crazy, at all, and they still put you in the crazy house?”

“You mean you weren’t crazy?”

“Do I look crazy?”

“Sort of…”

“Carl! That’s enough!”

“Oh, Andrea dear, you’re up? They said you liked to sleep in?”

“Usually I do.”

“Here’s your coffee Mom.”

“Thanks honey.”

“Andrea dear, you have such lovely children.”

“We like Granpa! He’s nice!”

“Oh, and this little Cody, he’s absolutely precious!”

“Dad. I should know better than trying to think before I’ve had my two cups of coffee, but I had a dream last night. I want to talk some more…”

“Andrea?”

“Yeah, I know what I said. I was up late last night, and more people were coming on the TV. I guess maybe you’re not the only one…Even that Japanese guy, he sort of was changing his story…”

“Mom? What’s going on?”

“Nothing Karen! No, I was just talking with your Grandpa a couple days ago about…something. Nothing really!”

---- 16 ---


“Sir Henry.”

“Your Highness.”

“I have had the most miserable couple of days, and I am very much hoping you can lift my spirits.”

“Yes Highness…”

“Please tell me something good about Project Messiah.”

“Ah, well Your Highness, I wish I did have something good to say. Since Carstens died, they seem to have made little progress.”

“Billions wasted. Billions. I am not happy with them. And Dr. Gonyarova? What is her progress?”

“Sadly Highness, there has been an accident. It isn’t exactly clear what happened, but there was some kind of explosion, or something. The main laboratory was apparently destroyed less than 24 hours ago.”

“Jesus Chrisss…! I can NOT be hearing you correctly! The laboratory is ‘destroyed’? How bad? What can be salvaged?”

“That’s just it Highness, one of our people inspected the area personally, there is literally nothing but a very large hole where the laboratory used to be!”

“ARGGHHAHH!! We only have six weeks now before the end of…EVERYTHING!”

“Highness, there is still the other ship.”

“Sir Henry, correct me if I’m wrong, but that ship has seats for five people, does it not?”

“Yes sir.”

“FIVE PEOPLE! I have forty-seven Royal seats on the Ark! I have several hundred of my people in the Colorado bunker! Five people? I would be lucky if they let me take even one of those precious five seats!”

“Most lucky, sir.”

“What!? You…!”

“Er, uh, no, so sorry Your Highness! That’s not what I meant at all. What I was going to say is that without the very powerful computer that they were using, the chances of anyone going that route seem to be rather diminished.”

“My God. This can not be.”

“I’m so sorry sir.”

“You make very sure to get back to me IMMEDIATELY if anything should change. I need to know what is happening. I need to know EVERYTHING that is happening!”


--- 17 ---

"A five-seater!”

“Yes, while the probes had only two simian Travelers, we included bio-mass in the payload equivalent to five humans.”

“Of course, with our latest discovery, it’s not so important anymore. Clearly, our new goal must be to reproduce a large Adhesion Echo that is capable of transferring significant population. Five people were never going to cut it anyway.”

“Dr. Gonyarova, may I ask you about this ‘population’? Who has been chosen, or rather, how would anyone have been selected, considering we never expected to be able to send so many before the accident?”

“A very good question Dr. Simons, and one I spent most of the night thinking about. We are not Project Noah after all, we never had long lists of candidates to sift through.”

“With only a little over a month left, how will we possibly assemble enough good people in time?”

“Take a look at this Dr. Simons. I did some extra work on your calculations after the accident, and I want you to see if you can find anything wrong with my findings. If I am correct, we were quite lucky that the Class 3 that swallowed our lab wasn’t ten-times larger…”

“My God! Doctor, I’ll give this my immediate attention, but if you are right, then it may not be a matter of finding a few hundred Travelers, but perhaps tens-of-thousands!”

“Exactly! And where will we find so many qualified people, unless we contact the Project Noah people?”

“Please Dr. Gonyarova, please…I will ask you to hold that thought until I review your figures. You know what these government sleaze-balls did to me. They stole years of my life, destroyed my reputation…”

“Dr. Simons, I understand fully, and I would never even consider the idea, but we will need good people in the new world. Engineers and scientists, teachers, farmers…families and children even. Project Noah has already selected the very best the world has to offer.”

“Yes, I understand! But Doctor, consider this as well: The minute they discover that we have the best way off of this rock, we will lose control, and if I was to guess, none of us will find ourselves in this coming New World. Instead, they will fill every spot with the rich and powerful, and those they feel can serve them best. Within only a few days of them learning of our discovery, everything will change.”

“You may be right Doctor. We will discuss this tomorrow. Now please give these figures your complete attention. Without the computer, we will have no way of verifying anything. We will have to make our best guess, and hope that there is a God that wishes our survival. We will do our part, and hope that He will do his.”


--- 18 ---


“So Andrea dear, you’ve had a change of mind?”

“No Dad, not exactly. I honestly don’t think the world is coming to an end. The only thing that’s going to happen the day after tomorrow is the big New Age deal downtown.”

“But didn’t you say…”

“Dad! Yeah, I see people talking about this comet on television. Yeah, it seems like maybe some people are worried…I just don’t know what anyone can do about it?”

“What if I told you that there was something we could do about it?”

“Like what? Let me guess: Your old government job means you get to go hide underground or something?”

“Actually, that wouldn’t even do any good…”

“Then what are you saying?!”

“Andrea my dear, there is a plan. I’m almost certain it’s our best chance, and I’m going to tell you, I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you and the kids…”

“Shut up! Don’t even say it!”

“Andrea, please! This is very serious, I need you to hear me out!”

“So what the hell are you saying? Do you have a spaceship or something?”

“Not exactly. It’s a bit hard to explain, but the good news is that we’re going to get through this. But I need your cooperation.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“First, I want you to trust me on this. I know, you have no reason to trust me, but I only ask, this one time. Afterward, if you never want to trust me again, I will understand, but this one time, please tell me you will trust me?”

“Dad, I don’t really know about trusting, but tell me what it is you want.”

“Dear, on Sunday, I want you and the kids to spend the day at the big New Age Harvest Festival downtown.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

“No, I’m serious, you need to promise me that you will be there, with the kids. Go grab a couple of beers! Buy a magic crystal! Let the kids play at that nice old park...”

“I’m so confused right now, I…I mean, what does this have to do with anything? And I’m supposed to go downtown drinking beer with the kids in tow, and no husband?”

“You have friends, girl friends that are probably going…”

“Uh yeah, I have friends, and they’re all married, and the ones going to friggin’ New Age Nutty Oktoberfest will have their husbands…”

“Harvest Festival dear…”

“Harvest, Oktoberfest…Who cares? Just an excuse for ten thousand people to converge on our little town and run around half-drunk! Damn, this is a desert, what the hell were these circus promoters thinking when they pushed this Harvest Festival on us?”

“Well, I see what you’re saying, but you need to be downtown. Listen, I told you there is a plan. I’ve moved heaven and earth to make sure that…”

“Dad, I want to trust you, but every time I let my guard down, you say something…something…”

“Crazy. Crazy, right?”

“Well, uh, well yes! What do you expect me to say?”

“Trust dear, remember, trust. And honestly, have I really acted crazy, in any way, since I got here last week?”

“Well, not really…”

“Thank you. My dear, the only thing I’m crazy about is my family! You. The kids.”

“You know Dad, I have no idea what this is about, but I’m actually a bit relieved. I’ll tell you what, we’ll go to the Festival! You get to carry Cody around when he gets sleepy!”

“Uh, actually, I won’t be with you. I’ll be leaving shortly, I’m due back…”

“Oh my God! I just do not get you Dad! You’re kidding, right?”

“No dear, dead serious. Please Andrea, you must do as I’ve said. But I do plan on meeting you there, of course. A bit after two o’clock, to be exact...”


--- 19 ---


“Good morning Dr. Gonyarova, I see you are an early riser as well?”

“Good morning Dr. Simons. Please tell me you are finished. Please give me some good news.”

“Good news? Well, I’m not sure it’s good, but your calculations concerning size and volume displacement are hard to argue with. Thank God the IP on the other side of the world was deep under water. That was the kind of volume that saved our butts.

One other thing that seems to suggest itself is an alarmingly short transitional duration. It would seem to explain the almost ‘explosive’ disappearance of the lab and it’s immediate surroundings.”

“Yes, I would agree with you, but we need to decide what this might mean. Could this reduce our chances of success somehow?”

“Well, if I was to guess, I would say yes, and no. What I mean is that I have little doubt we can create a highly targeted IP Adhesion Echo of considerable size. The question is whether anyone would survive such a virtually instantaneous transition.”

“Hmmm. It would have been nice to be able to examine our chimpanzees on the other side, no?”

“Yes, exactly. For all we know, our lab appeared elsewhere with two very dead Travelers.”


--- 20 ---


“Your Highness, we have good news!”

“For a change! Three weeks to go, and I’m not sure I can take anymore. You've heard about the Archbishop of Canterbury?”

“Yes Highness, singularly poor timing, and horrible judgment too, I might add.”

“Obviously, but he makes my point all too well. Those who know the end is coming are beginning to show their true colors. They’re so worried about facing their god that they are ready to throw everything away.”

“Yes Highness, but I would also point out that he has been suspected of being sympathetic to Rome for quite some time. I would hope that your average subjects would pay him no heed.”

“Who cares about my subjects and what they think!? Damn them all! Now please, give me the news we have been hoping for!”

“While we are unsure exactly what to make of it, Dr. Gonyarova’s team seems to have found a way to transport far more than a few people now.”

“How many? How MANY are we talking about? A dozen? More? Have they built a larger ship? How?”

“None of that Highness! Apparently, they discovered that the movement of the ship through these holes creates a kind of a wake behind it that can allow very large areas to be pulled along with it.”

“Come again? ‘Large areas’? Of what? Surely you have this confused.”

“Uh, well, yes Highness, I admit that we do not understand exactly what is happening, but if you recall the explosion of two weeks ago? That is an example of what we have been hearing. Apparently, the whole area of land, with the buildings where the old laboratory was, all of it was transported. This is the explanation I have.”

“Astounding!”

“Yes Highness, and one other peculiar thing to report. So far, it does not appear as if they have notified the American government with their discovery.”

“Ha! Of course they haven’t! And if I was to guess, they will be the last to know.”

“But Highness, this is precisely what makes so little sense. With so little time left, how will they decide who will be going?”

“Excellent question Sir Henry. On your way out, have Cheswick come in. I have a feeling a certain someone already knows precisely who is going.”


--- 21 ---

“Dr. Gonyarova! Take a look at this!”

“What is it Dr. Simons.”

“I have been up all night working on this new data from Messiah that Lambert and his Mason friends, or whatever they are, well, I’ve been going through it as you suggested, and I think I may have found some very interesting correlations.”

“Yes?”

“Well, Project Messiah actually logged some four-hundred IP events over the years, with over half of those being produced by the technology. However, if we concentrate our study on the naturally occurring IPs, we find that there was a pattern.”

“Yes?”

“I almost didn’t notice it, it’s been so long since I even thought about ley lines…”

“Please say again…Did you say ‘ley lines’ Doctor?”

“Yes! Something I once had an interest in…”

“Doctor! We have very little time left! I am, you are, a scientist. I hope we are not starting to see things…”

“Please Doctor, hear me out. I know, this isn’t exactly mainstream, but then again, inter-dimensional travel isn’t mainstream…”

“Please just tell me Doctor!”

“Of course. I fed the coordinates of all the IP windows known to have naturally occurred, those from Messiah, as well as those from our project, into my laptop. I screened out those connected with HAARP, since they really couldn’t be counted as naturally occurring, and there is no question, there is a discernible pattern, that seems to coincide with places on Earth that would be considered ley-line intersections.”

“Doctor Simons, I am now recalling that the first place you discovered the relationship between sound frequencies, and IP events, you were at sea, no?”

“Yes!”

“And I seem to remember that you were just off Florida…”

“Yes! The Bermuda Triangle!”

“My God! And there was our interesting experience over Stonehenge last year…And…”

“Yes! Doctor, I don’t think these were coincidences. Here’s the important thing: I believe that these locations can give our Adhesion Echo a considerable boost, but even more important, I think they may help ensure a transition that we might actually have a chance of surviving.”

“Doctor Simons, if this is true, this means that we must now find a location, we must not only plan when we depart, but where…”

“Yes! Exactly! And I already have the perfect place identified!”

“Yes? Really?”

“It’s a place out in the desert, not far from here.”

“Yes? The desert…I presume we would have the least interference? But we will want to have a place where there will be people. We need to bring as many people with us as possible. No?”

“Absolutely! I’ve found a place where there will be lots of people, out in the desert, and not too far away. Perfect, in my opinion.”

“Tell me.”

“Sedona. Arizona.”


--- 22 ---

“Cheswick, get Lord Rothschild on the phone. I think it’s time to get to the bottom of this nonsense.”

“Yes Majesty. You do realize he is on vacation at the moment?”

“Of course I do! Everyone who ‘knows’ is on ‘vacation’. Where did the old beast say he was going?”

“Lord Rothschild is presently in Los Angeles, California, where His Lordship’s art exhibit is taking place.”

“Of course he is in America! With all his precious artwork! Damn him! Get him on the phone instantly!!”


--- 23 ---


“Sedona? My dear Dr. Simons, I know about your daughter.”

“Uh, well…”

“Dr. Simons, we can not allow our personal concerns to jeopardize our mission. The very survival of humanity is at stake!”

“I am fully aware of our grave responsibility Doctor! I would never compromise my principles, let alone do anything to hurt our chances, in any way! I would gladly give up my life, if I could ensure that our mission was a success.”

“I believe you doctor, but would you give up the lives of your daughter, and her children?”

“I made my selection of Sedona, based on a number of factors completely independent of the fact that my daughter lives there, and I can show you my assumptions, and if you disagree…”

“I already disagree because there are hardly any people there! I have also been making calculations, and taking into account various considerations, and I have decided that Los Angeles, California is a far better candidate, then Sedona might be, ley lines, or not.”

“Doctor! There will be many people in Sedona! I did not ignore that fact. There is a very large festival planned that is going to bring in many thousands, from all over. I have thought about this issue!”

“And have you also considered racial and ethnic diversity Dr. Simons?”

“Er…What?!”

“You heard me Doctor. Surely you have considered this issue? If we are to be a new start for humanity, would you not want a complete representation? Of as many peoples as possible?”

“Uh, well, I…”

“Ah, you did not apparently think of this? And you wonder why I ask you about your daughter? Please understand that I feel my question is quite reasonable.”

“But the ley lines! They are critical! They make all the difference…”

“We will review your work Doctor, but I will remind you that I did as you suggested already once, against my better judgment, and we never contacted the government. As a result, we do not have access to the people who were long ago chosen to best represent the new humanity. This being the case, I have been forced to make my decision using another approach. I prefer to think now that it might be the right decision. But surely you can see why we must be as inclusive as possible?”

“Uh, well, yes, I do, but did you know that people are coming from around the world to go to this festival at Sedona? It may be even more ‘representative’ than some large city!”

“No disrespect Doctor, but nonsense. Sedona is full of, what you call them, ‘new age’ peoples? These are the peoples to begin the ‘new age’ I suppose?”

“Actually…”

“Please, no more. I will look at your work, but I can promise you nothing.”


--- 24 ---

“Lord Rothschild!”

“Your Majesty! To what do I owe this tremendous honor?”

“Silence, you snake!”

“Majesty?!”

“Silence! You seem to forget who exactly works for whom! You imagine that I don’t know what you are about? You beast! You dare to think that you will save your skin, leaving the Royal Family to burn?!”

“Majesty, please! Who has told you this?”

“You know very well that my ears are everywhere, but who cares? The real indication was always going to be where you, and your precious art ended up…”

“Not true Majesty!”

“Silence! Your Dr. Gonyarova has a way out, and you dare to exclude your Sovereign?”

“She is not ‘my’ Dr. Gonyarova Highness! She is Rockefeller’s loyal servant, no doubt through his servile Masonic minions, but it is he who has been treacherous from the very start! I have had my hands full trying to keep up with his long trail of deceit, but I have discovered his plan, and only in the nick of time! Of course, I was going to notify you!”

“Poppycock! You, and yours, always wanted to rule the Earth, while Me and Mine have in fact done so. Your despicable jealousy has always betrayed you Rothschild!”

“Majesty! I swear to you that I am innocent of these vile calumnies! Someone has told you these things, and again, I swear I am innocent!”

“Shut up Rothschild, and tell me now where Gonyarova is planning on saving humanity, as if I didn’t already have a very good idea…”

“Uh, well, Majesty, my people have only moments ago, informed me that she has chosen Los Angeles.”

“Ha! Oh, what an immense surprise! You disgust me Rothschild. Prepare to welcome your Sovereign, and His Family shortly. We all have been struck with a sudden desire to enjoy sunshine, and view your stupendous collection of course! So gracious of you to accommodate Us on such short notice!”


--- 25 ---

“This is Alycia Lane, KNBC Los Angeles reporting from downtown, where thousands of people have come out to see His Holiness Pope Peter II. While some have said that his choice of such a name did not bode well, considering old prophesies, you would never know it today looking at so many people!”

“Yes, Alycia, the faithful seem to have come from far and wide with this mostly unexpected visit from His Holiness. Is it true that the Dalai Lama will be meeting with him later tomorrow?”

“Yes Chuck, this is what I have heard as well. I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around this whole thing. Usually, such events are planned far in advance, and yet Governor Schwartzenegger and the Mayor are scrambling to roll out the red carpet, on seemingly short notice.”

“Alycia, this just in! If I’m hearing this right, His Royal Highness King Charles, along with Prince William, and others, are also going to be in town this weekend!”

“Chuck, I’m getting this now as well. Seems like something is really going on! I’m not sure if there has ever been so many VIPs in LA all at one time, ever before, or at least as long as I can remember!”

“Alycia! We’re now hearing that the President will be coming? It seems like every important person in the world is heading our way! I really don’t know what to make of this…”



--- 26 ---


“Dr. Simons, I have been going over your work. I must admit that your data is compelling. I do not buy into your ley lines, nyet, but I see the patterns, and it is possible that there is something here.”

“Doctor, you don’t need to call them ley lines, of course, we don’t understand exactly what is going on with this pattern, but considering the possibility that we will still fail, even with the very best odds going for us…”

“Fail? We can not fail!”

“Exactly Doctor! We simply cannot fail, too much is riding on this. Logic tells us that we need to have every possible advantage working for us. It is the prudent thing to do.”

“Sedona is not the only place that this phenomenon could work to our benefit, I see that several others are there, one in France, another in South America, and perhaps the one with the most concentrated population, is in Vietnam…”

“Listen to yourself Natalya! I know those places, and yes, Vietnam is the only one with significant population, but it would be far from diverse, you know that.”

“Natalya_?”

“I’m sorry, uh, doctor…”

“No, no doctor, er, Michael. We should be less formal, considering we may indeed be at the end of days. Why not simply be…people…?”

“Doc_, uh, Natalya, I’m going to admit something to you. Just hearing you say that gave me shivers! I mean, you never seem like you even accept the possibility of defeat, and well, I guess it’s the elephant in the living room, but, do you really feel we could fail?”

“Yes Michael, I am a scientist, of course we can fail…Of course, we, we can…fail…”

“Natalya! It will be OK! You’re really going to freak me out if you start going to pieces,. You are my Rock!”

“Ah Michael, my comrade! I am no rock. I am not strong. I am not good. I…”

“What? What are you talking about? Natalya, you’re as good as it gets my dear! I have never worked with anyone so dedicated, with so much integrity…”

“Integrity? Ah…I have no integrity! I have, how you say it? ‘Sold out’. Michael my dear comrade, we work for very powerful peoples. Of course, how could it be any other way? This is the way of the world, no different in Russia. We follow orders, like everyone else.”

“I don’t understand. Natalya, sure, this kind of science needs money, I know that. I thought that you, I mean we, worked for, well, the Masons or whatever, that they were trying to help humanity, you know?”

“Ah yes, Masons. Who keep secrets, and work for which peoples? Tell me how you think?”

“Well, I don’t know what to think, it’s just such a desperate situation, I guess I thought that maybe…Well, maybe this was better than the government, who just do the bidding of the rich!”

“Oh Michael, Michael! We all do their bidding. I have known for a while now who our employer is. Well, I suppose I don’t know who HIS employer is…? It doesn’t matter! We will succeed, or fail, and in the new world, things will be different, no?”

“Yes ‘comrade’, you’re right! Absolutely, a new world awaits us. By the way Natalya, you DO have integrity, and this is how I know. You honestly considered my proposal, even though without the ley lines data, your proposal is clearly the more logical choice. And yet, I see that you understand my case, and have allowed it to persuade you…”

“Michael, I am not sure yet. I must think more about it.”

“But we have so little time! You know Natalya, sometimes I wonder how we ended up so close to the deadline, considering the many years that we have known about Apocalypse, or ‘Elenin’, as they have named it now. Tell me again about why they chose that name, you never finished the story?”

“Yes, of course. When I found out about the official ‘new’ name for Apocalypse, I suspected right away that the name had to have meaning. And then I saw this Leonid ‘Elenin’, and burst out laughing! His real name is Leonid Dobrynychev, I knew his family in Russia. His father and my father were both KGB, and worked together. So, one day, I casually mentioned this to our principle benefactor, and he explained that the word “Elenin” was chosen for various reasons, and that if I knew Hebrew, it would make more sense. I laughed, as if he was telling me a joke, and dropped it. But later, I looked it up, and it seems that it means something like ‘God’s hammer’.”

“God’s hammer? Sounds ‘apocalyptic’! I was out of the loop for so long, but when I first heard the name, I was sure it had something to do with 911.”

“Yes, that is also true.”

“Tell me why that would be? We didn’t even discover Apocalypse until after it already happened…”

Michael, it is like this. We knew of this comet, years before regular peoples, no? I have learned, that there are very powerful peoples above us, that have known about this comet, for a very long time.”

“How long, and how is that even possible? We learned of this comet because one of the fourteen Solar System Perimeter Guardians detected it. Of course, no one knows about our ‘real’ space program, but are you implying that there is technology even more advanced than what even we have been told?”

“Yes, and no. It is more complicated, and…I feel like we should not speak more about this. We have things to do, not much time.”

“Natalya! Don’t leave me hanging like this! What are you saying, ‘aliens’ or something?”

“Please Michael, enough for now, we have work to do. Good night.”


--- 27 ---


“Granpa’s leaving?”

“Yes Cody, Grandpa needs to go for a little while, but I’ll be back real soon.”

“You better be back! Don’t worry, we’ll be seeing Grandpa this weekend, in town.”

“Goodbye Andrea, bye kids. Be seeing you soon!”


--- 28 ---


“Dr. Gonyarova, Dr. Simons is missing.”

“Missing? What? He does not answer calls?”

“No ma’am. Security cameras malfunctioned, so we don’t seem to have a record of him leaving either. Should we notify the police?”

“No! There is very little time anyway. He will return, or he will not return. We do not need him, I think. I hope…”

“But doctor, we need everyone at this point!”

“Do not panic! What will be, will be. Please return to your duties, the IP ship needs to be ready, and we may not get a second chance.”


--- 29 ---

“I do not understand how this is possible! There is simply no time to make such an absurd change!”

“My Lord, our inside source has not confirmed the change yet, but there are other indications that a change has been ordered as well. For example, we know that Dr. Simons has gone to Sedona, Arizona, and met his family there. No doubt he would be there for other reasons as well, but Dr. Gonyarova seems to be feigning ignorance, since we know that she has been in touch with him there as well.”

“Of course she knows, she is literally the most powerful person on Earth right now, God help us, she probably knows everything!”

“’Most powerful..’?”

“Not in that sense Wilton, but she does indeed have the power to decide who lives, and who dies, and at this point, there is little time left to determine if her plans allow for us.”

“But sir, you paid for everything, how could anyone be so ungrateful?”

“Shut up you fool! She is Russian, I have no doubt she would love to see us all disappear, and find herself in a new world one day without...without people like me.”

“Yes sir. I should remind you that the King is arriving shortly.”

“Indeed.”


--- 30 ---


“Natalya!”

“Michael! You startled me!”

“Well, I’m back. So far, all is going to plan.”

“Yes, is going like plan. I am glad to see you back. Please, come with me, I need to smoke.”

“OK, what’s going on? You quite smoking months ago.”

“Well, I have, how you say it? Relapsed. There is so much pressure…”

“Let me guess, Lambert and his crowd. They’re getting nervous.”

“Michael, they are nervous, but they found out that we changed plans, and were not taking Los Angeles with us. Yes, Lambert. He made it very clear last night that we must not deviate from official plan. And they are listening to us. I hope they can not hear us out here.”

“Jesus! So, what can we do? There’s no time left!”

“We have a plan.”

“What do you mean, ‘we’, what are you talking about?”

“Ah, Michael dear. I have been dealing with these peoples all this time. I knew things might come to this. Schmidt. Yes, he is very able technician, but he is also engineer, and very good mechanic too, did you know that?”

“Not really, but what does Schmidt have to do with any of this?”

“After our lab accident, I knew that we would be watched even more than before. With only one IP ship, we had few advantages left. We needed another ship.”

“What?! Impossible! There is no way Schmidt could have built another ship, even if he had dozens helping him. Natalya, what are you saying?”

“Do you remember that Schmidt took some time off, we said he was injured in the accident?”

“He was injured, somewhat. I thought you told me he had family business to attend to, and you allowed it to look like medical leave?”

“Yes. But what he was doing was building a duplicate, or…this is not right word for it. Ah, yes. He was building a counterfeit ship.”

“Say again? Did you say counterfeit?”

“Precisely. Schmidt built a ship that looks like the real one, from the outside at least.”

“How on Earth are you going to get anyone to…Ah, forget it! Natalya, you wouldn’t have told me this if this fake was headed to Arizona, would you?”

“Michael my dear, do not worry! In my heart of hearts, I know it is humanity’s best chance, ley lines or not, we simply can’t take chances. Truthfully, sometime after our discussion of this issue, I was reviewing the Messiah info, and realized that the only time Traveler radio transmissions ever confirmed a successful arrival in the other universe, it was at your ley line locations. I knew this was no coincidence. Twenty travelers made it, and almost two hundred others, I presume, did not. Why this is, we can only guess, no doubt it involves a temporal delay mechanism, but how a particular geographic location could even begin to effect this…Well, we can not even consider Los Angeles anymore.”

“Brilliant! Of course, this makes sense. The low success rate had to correspond to some variable. Even a small temporal delay would eliminate the lethal effects of an instantaneous transition. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Michael my dear, you thought of things that no one else dared to consider.”

“Watch it! I’ve got an ego you know! Now wait a second… Natalya, why again did you need a counterfeit ship? Why not just tell the people funding our project to go to Sedona? What’s the harm? Lots of people can go now.”

“Yes, maybe true. Oh Michael! I feel terrible! Why, why do I have to decide such things?”

“Why do you feel terrible? You must have good reasons. Tell me.”

“Michael! If you only knew who these peoples were! These peoples…They are not human!”

“What are you saying?”

“No, I don’t mean like that. These very wealthy peoples, I have thought much about them. They are why humanity suffers so much. The way they think, the power they have, the many, many people they have killed, or allowed to be killed. Do these peoples have rights to live, only because they pay so much money?”

“Natalya, I don’t think anyone can say whether anyone should live, or not. Rich, or poor. We’re all people.”

“And yet, we must decide. Michael, let me ask you, ‘should’ we take these monsters with us, to the new world? If we did, how long would it be, before they recreated all the horrors that we hope to leave behind? Would we not be guilty of something just as bad, or worse, if we allowed them to go with us?”

“Uh, well…Natalya! I see what you’re saying, but if I understand the technology, having another few hundred, or even few thousand more people, won’t change our chances. All these…rich people…they know about this secret plan. Sure, they’re rich, and maybe they’re not exactly nice people, but maybe having another thousand people will prove useful. I mean, in the new world, why would anyone care who used to be wealthy? What real harm could they do?”

“I have thought these very things, I really have. I so want everyone to live! And yet, I see this as a real chance for people to have a new beginning. These peoples, I can tell you some of their names! I feel that if they came with us, it would not be long before things degenerated again. I feel so…responsible. Not merely for lives being saved, but Michael, are we not responsible for making sure this world to come, is the best we can make it?”

“I guess I’m not sure Natalya. Part of me feels like someone will always get back on top, and history will just repeat itself, you know? Listen, I’m with you, whatever you decide. You have more information that I do, you have thought about it. I won’t judge you, ultimately you must do what you think is best.”


--- 31 ---

“This is Chuck Henry, KNBC Los Angels reporting live from LAX, where in just minutes, King Charles arrives with his entourage. With Air Force One landing earlier today at LA Air Force Base, there are a lot of red carpets rolling out today in the City of Angels.”

“Thank you Chuck. And don’t forget the Dalai Lama, who is scheduled to meet with His Holiness Pope Peter II later today. That is a lot of red carpets!”

“Yes Alycia, more than I can remember, well, in my lifetime! You mention the big meeting later today between two of the world’s most important religious leaders, do we know yet if there is any truth to the rumor that President Obama will be meeting with King Charles?”

“Chuck, there is no confirmation yet on that, but a meeting is widely anticipated. What no one seems to be explaining is, why Los Angeles? Why now? Some of us are wondering what is going on, and so far, no real answers. Perhaps you can ask King Charles shortly what is happening. Stay tuned, we will be back after this break…”

--- 32 ---

“Your Majesty!”

“Rothschild! You beast!”

“Highness…?”

“Listen you crafty old usurper, I have just received a very interesting report…”

“Please Highness, allow me to explain…”

“Explain? Really? I will listen to you Rothschild, and would very much hope that whatever it is that you are about to tell me does not contradict, that which I already know…”

“Uh, er, well…”

“Out with it man!”

“Of course Your Highness, yes! I only just now confirmed that Randy Robertson is indeed on his way to Los Angeles right now.”

“Yes, this I already knew…”

“But did you also know about what they call his “load”?”

“His load? You mean you have looked inside?”

“Yes! Highness, I am quite confident that a portion of Los Angeles will still be going to the New World. You see, when our man looked inside, what do you imagine he saw?”

“Tell me…”

“This man has the IP ship inside! Yes, it was covered in canvas, but our man had time to slit it open just enough to take these photos…”

“Give me that! Hmmm….”

“What we think has happened is that they somehow created a duplicate ship of some kind, perhaps only a façade…”

“Exactly! And how do we know that the ship inside this truck trailer, or whatever they call it, how do we know it is the real one then?”

“Uh, yes, I thought of this as well, and have concluded that it is most likely the real one. Our man positively identified that the driver was Randy Robertson. Logically, if it is him, he will not get back to Sedona in time. Logically, considering he is family, it stands to reason that he has the real ship, and the others will be along shortly.”

“But the other ship will be headed here as well?”

“It already is on it’s way!”

“So, no question, we run no risk at this point of these miserable animals trying to outsmart us in Arizona. However, if I was to guess, there will be two places somewhere in this Los Angeles area that we must be prepared for.”

“Nothing to worry about Your Highness. The truck is being watched, and even the slightest variation in route will be addressed immediately. We are fully prepared to force a stop, and we will take it from him. We will be in full control of both ships.”

“Ha, ha, ha!! Excellent! Well Rothschild, what would the New World be like without us?”

“Fortunately Your Highness, it appears that our New World will not suffer the burden of our absence, he, he…”


--- 33 ---


“Natalya!”

“Michael.”

“The IP ship is on it’s way to LA, along with the whole friggin’ crew!”

“Shhh! No, it is not. Relax, all is going to plans…”

“I don’t understand. You said you had a fake ship…was this the fake one then?”

“Michael, Michael dear…”

“What’s going on?”

“Listen to me. I have burden of whole world upon me! I have to decide things…There was actually two, how you call them? ‘fake’ ships? Yes, two were made.”

“So why the big secret…from me?”

“Michael, I couldn’t tell you. Do you remember telling me about your daughter’s husband?”

“Randy??”

“Yes, Randy. He drives truck, no?”

“Yes, so what?”

“Michael, your Randy is driving truck to LA, is not true?”

“Uh…Well, he wasn’t going directly there, but yeah… Oh wait a minute! You can’t mean…?”

“I am very sorry, so very sorry Michael! I have ‘hand tied’, like you Americans say…”

“My God. I can’t believe it! You sacrificed my daughter’s husband?!”

“Shh!! Keep voice down! I had no choice! Lambert, and who knows who else, all ready to betray us. I had to make them think we had ‘secret’ plan…”

“We did have secret plans! But frankly, I have no idea what the hell they are anymore! Let me guess, you’re actually double-screwing me, and Randy will actually be fine, but me and my daughter, and the kids…!”

“Shh! Michael! Nyet! Not true! You, daughter, kids…All will be fine! Only Randy, I’m so sorry, but he was the most logical choice…”

“Logical? And, ‘only’ Randy? What about the rest of the crew?”

“Yes, I am sorry, most of crew is sacrificed to…I could not trust them! They have watched you, and me, and listened, and knew about Sedona…I had to make it look like…”

“Stop! I understand. No, I really do. I suppose me mentioning Randy’s vasectomy didn’t help either. He wouldn’t make much of a ‘New Adam’ where we’re going…Jesus. What the hell do I tell my girl?”


--- 34 ---

“What the hell is that? I wasn’t speeding! Why the lights and the loudspeaker?”

“This is the California Highway Patrol, pull your vehicle to the side of the road and come to a halt! Stop your vehicle now!”

“Sheesh! I’m damn near there too. This is why I hate driving in California! OK, OK, you pricks, I’m pulling over…”


--- 35 ---


“There’s police everywhere! They have my daughter’s house surrounded, I couldn’t get near the place!”

“Do not worry Michael! They are safe!”

“What? I thought…”

“We are running out of time! I cannot explain everything. They are looking for me, we must separate. You must get downtown. Stay in your disguise. I will fly the ship by myself.”

“Natalya! What happened to my daughter and her family?”

“They stopped the truck with your Randy less than 30 minutes ago. I suspected they would do so, and when they found the fake ship, they would immediately inspect the ‘real’ ship, and will soon find out that it is also fake.”

“How can you know this?”

“The fake ship has monitoring equipment, and has sent be transmissions so I could monitor it’s status.”

“OK, whatever! What about my family?!”

“Michael, they are safe, I had them, how you say it? Kidnapped? Last night, as a precaution. They should be waking up shortly. And if you let me do my job, they will wake up in the New World!”

“You kidnapped them?”

“Michael! I must go! You must go! Trust me!”

“I DO trust you Natalya, my God, I can’t do anything else but trust you…”

“Thank you Michael! Now go!”


With so little time left to save humanity, the two embraced, and kissed for the first time. Both thought the same thing, that it might also be their last.


--- 36 ---


“My Lord, it is confirmed, the ship is just a shell.”

“Damn it all! Have they found that despicable Russian woman yet?”

“No My Lord, she, and Simons, and his family… All have disappeared.”

“When will they know about the other ship?”

“Soon My Lord. They should be opening it now.”

“Get my jet-copter prepared this instant! We are going to Sedona!”

“But we will know shortly about the other ship…”

“I am not stupid! Let our King sit around waiting for an answer that should be obvious by now…Hurry!!”

--- 37 ---


“This Dr. Simons guy, he’s a goddamn perverted pedophile rapist, and a real first class son-of-a-bitch...”

“How did that monster manage to get out of prison anyway? I thought he was in for life?”

“He was actually in a nuthouse, if you can believe it. Liberal idiots! Some paper shuffle screw-up or something. Who cares? The main thing is, he was last seen here in Sedona, and he is supposed to be armed and dangerous.”

“Let’s just shoot the friggin’ pervert, the minute we see him!”

“No! Our orders are to take him alive!”

“There’s a lot of people in town right now Captain. These photos…hell, could be a thousand guys look like this…”

“Yeah, except that we just received a nice message that gives us a big advantage.”

“OK, so what is it?”

“While Simons was at the crazy farm, they managed to stick a little RFID chip in his worthless skull. They say he has no idea it’s even there!”

“Captain, we just got that Homeland Security equipment in last month, haven’t even got trained on it yet…”

“It’s all about frequencies, or numbers, and they just sent us the numbers to set our tracker with! Piece of cake!”

“Awesome! Well, let’s find the pervo nut-ball quick so we can still get us some beer later on tonight! Maybe we’ll take him back, and stick him in with Bubba, and see what’s left of him in the morning! Ha, ha , ha!”

“Exactly what I was thinking! Ha, ha, ha!”


--- 38 ---


“King Charles is on the line My Lord.”

“Who cares? Soon, we’ll be in Sedona, and he will be…in Hell!!”

“Uh, oh my! What do I tell him?”

“Give me that you fool! Your Majesty?! I was hoping to hear your voice, uh, one last time…”

“What?! Rothschild, where are you?”

“Where am I? I am, oh, about twenty minutes from…Heaven, he he he…”

“Rothschild? You sound insane! What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Ha! ‘Wrong with moi?’ Ah, that is humorous! There is nothing at all wrong with me!”

“I am getting very, very..ANGRY!! Rothschild! You insolent…you…”

“Just SAY it Highness! Go ahead! I would just love to hear a final slur fall out of the royal mouth! I should tell you that it won’t hurt my feelings much. You see, it would seem that me, and mine, will soon be the undisputed masters of a whole new world!”

“You miserable ANIMAL! Listen Rothschild! I have your lovely young wife very close at hand! I have a bad feeling she is going to feel my wrath, amongst other things!”

“It is you sire, who are the animal! Go ahead, have your way with her! Of course, I was quite certain you enjoyed older women…”

“Rothschild!!”

CLICK

“Now THAT felt very, very good!”

“Uh, yes My Lord.”

“CORRECTION! You will henceforth refer to me as ‘Your Highness’!”


--- 39 ---

“He’s somewhere in this crowd.”

“Doesn’t that thing get anymore specific than that?”

“I’m not sure. He’s close, that’s for sure.”

“Adjust that dealio there…”

“Shut up! Like you know how this thing works, you retard!”

“Both of you shut up! These days, lots of people have these damn chips in them. We’re going to have to get a few more officers here, and then we’ll be able to surround him. As soon as he sees what we’re doing, he’ll probably bolt, and we’ll nab him then.”

“Yeah. Good plan. So, what about the rich dude coming in on the helicopter? What’s he got to do with this Simons guy?”

“He’ll be here shortly, and I want everyone on their best behavior! He’s from England, and the way I heard it, it was his little daughter that got raped by this slime-ball Simons!”

“Holy crap! He raped a rich dude’s kid? Hey, maybe he’ll like, give us a million bucks each or something, for catching him! Or maybe we can cut off his…”

“Just shut up, all of you! This rich guy is the mayor’s personal friend, and that’s what’s important to me. I’ve known the mayor a long time, he’s one of my closest friends, and his friend, is my friend. As far as I’m concerned, the entire department needs to have the same attitude. I don’t even know his name yet, but one thing I do know about him, he has to be very, very rich. They say that the jet-copter he is on, is the fastest in the world, faster even than military copters!”

“Damn! I want to see that thing!”

“You will! In about 15 minutes or so…”


--- 40 ---


“Natalya, can you hear me. Natalya, this is Simons, can you hear me?”

“There is static. Wait, yes, that’s better. Michael, can you hear me?”

“Yes! I hear you! Hey, I’ve got a problem. There are a lot of cops showing up, and they seem to be encircling the crowd that I’m in…”

“Michael, I will be there soon! Very soon, maybe 15 minutes at most! You holds a hanger there!”

“The saying is ‘hang in there’! Sheesh, so, how can they know I’m here? Maybe they’re looking for someone else? So, can you tell me where my daughter and the kids are? Can you tell me now, I’d like to be near them in the transition?”

“Michael, they are here, with me, on the ship!”

“What!? Are you friggin’ kidding me? Goddammit Natalya, I thought you were alone!”

“Michael, they can maybe hear us! I told you to trust!”

“Natalya, you do know that those on the ship are probably going to run a higher risk than those of us on the ground, don’t you?”

“Michael? What are you saying?”

“Well, I guess it’s my turn to surprise you, finally! I would have told you, but what was the point, you had made your decision. And you told me you were alone!”

“Michael? Why more risk? What you mean?”

“When you snap back through the IP, triggering the Adhesion Echo that is going to pull half of Sedona along with it, the explosive force, even if it is mitigated by the ley lines in this area, is still going to accelerate us all, violently.”

“I know this Michael! I am in the air, I should be fine!”

“No, don’t assume you are going to be fine! I’ll be on the ground, and probably live through the equivalent of a seven-point earthquake, but will any of us be conscious on the other side? We may eventually wake up, but at least I’ll be on the ground!”

“Oh Michael, I see what you say now! If I lose consciousness, I can lose control of ship!”

“Exactly! This isn’t a ‘small’ risk Natalya, it’s a big one!”

“Our kiss? Was goodbye kiss then?”

“Jesus Natalya! What could I say? You know I love you!”

“Michael! I’m so sorry about your family!”

“Natalya, are they awake?”

“Not yet.”

“Tell them I love them when, er, if they wake up…I mean, in time.”

“Michael! I love you! I will tell them!”

“Just do your job now, save the world, and if you can, save you and my family too.”

“I will see you again Michael! I will!”

“Gotta go, cops headed this way. Love you, see you soon!”


--- 41 ---


“We are almost there My Lord, uh, I mean, Your Highness!”

“Excellent! The town is still there…”

“What the…”

“That flash! What…”

“Pilot!! Stop this instant, turn arou…”


--- 42 ---


“How much time before Elenin arrives?”

“Less than one hour Your Highness. It will impact at precisely 11:11 PM, uh, London time that is.”

“How soon will we be in Sedona?”

“We’re almost there…”

“This is the pilot! Your Highness, I’m banking slightly right now, please look out your window.”

“Oh my God! They’re gone! William! They’ve left without us!! ARGH-AHHH!!!!”

“What do we do now Father?”

“Thanks to that Russian whore, we can’t even get back to Colorado in time! And the Noah ships have all departed!”

“We’re doomed! Elenin...God’s Hammer...will be upon us…”

--- 43 ---


“Anyone hear me? I can’t see anything, my eyes, dust…”

“Yeah Mulvany, we hear you, we’re right here. You’ve been unconscious.”

“Sheesh, that was friggin’ scary! I’ve never lived through an earthquake before…”

“Well Sarge, we’ve been talking about it, and we’re not sure this was just an earthquake.”

“What? What the hell was it then?”

“You’ll have to see it to believe it. Here, clean out your eyes…”

“Holy Mother of…What the hell is that?”

“It ain’t the red rocks of Sedona, that’s for sure!”

“It looks like?, Jesus! It’s a damn pyramid! I huge friggin’ pyramid!”

“Yeah Sherlock, that’s exactly what it is.”

“Well, we better start helping these people guys. Looks like a lot of confused people waking up all around us.”

“Hey Mason, why are you so calm? Do you know where the hell we are?”

“Let’s just say we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

--- 44 ---


“Over here! See us? We’re over here!!”

“Thank God! I’m coming! Oh my God, you’re all OK! Tell me everyone is OK!”

“Yes, we’re all OK! Slow down, you’re going to have a heart-attack!”

“You made it! You all made it!”

“Granpa!”

“Come here, all of you!”

A small group of people embraced. Behind them, an immense pyramid rose up from a strange landscape.

“Michael, this is the New World. It is not what I expected!”

“Yeah Dad, this is such a beautiful place, but it’s sort of spooky, or something.”

“I think it’s perfect! I can almost imagine unicorns running through the grass!”

“There’s no such thing as unicorns!”

“Wait a second Carl, we don’t actually know that. In this world, unicorns might be very real.”

“So Dad, who do you think lives here?”

“Natalya, do you remember seeing anything from above, before you landed?”

“I don’t remember too much. I tied my blouse to controls, to hold them. I wake up, almost going to crash! I pull up last minute! Ship is over there, maybe 500 meters. It probably will not fly again.”

“Well, that explains that. I thought maybe it was the heat. Real cute bra by the way.”

“Dad! There’s kids here!”

“Sorry. Hey, first thing, we best head back to where the town was. Lots of people there. I woke up before most of them, and went to find you. I’m glad the cracks in the earth were so large, it helped me figure out your most likely direction.”

“There’s other people, like real regular ones, from Earth?”

“Carl! We’re all from Earth, we aren’t on another planet!”

“Hey, the kid may not be too far off the mark. For all we know, whoever built these things aren’t even human.”

“Dad! You better not be trying to scare us! You did enough of that already!”

“Honey, I’m being dead serious. Heck, as quiet as everything is, maybe there aren’t even people, or whatever they are, here anymore. We pretty much know nothing about this new world.”

“I wish there weren’t any buildings here. I wish we were only peoples.”

“Yeah Natalya, I guess I’m sort of with you there, but we knew this was going to be a crap shoot, and all things being equal, I think we could have ended up in a much worse place.”

“Shhh! Duck down everyone, get low.”

“What the hell…”

“Shhh! Andrea, be quiet, and for God’s sake, keep the kids quiet…”

“Everyone just stay calm and quiet. Let’s wait for them to pass.”


--- 45 ---


Several hundred yards away, two long columns of Sedona townspeople were being escorted by rather tall and strange looking beings, carrying what looked like long poles. Some of the people were crying. The tall ones kept them in line, occasionally shoving them roughly as they walked toward what appeared to be a long bridge, across beautiful blue water. On the other side of the bridge, a giant pyramid waited patiently for the new arrivals.

“OK. Stay down. I think they’re gone, but it looks like Plan B now.”

“Dad, what was that? Who were they? Were they aliens?”

“It would have been nice to get a closer look, but I’m glad we weren’t any closer. Actually, they looked human, at least they walked like humans. But they were what? Eight or nine feet tall? Damn.”

“What the heck are we going to do now?”

“They will be all over the town at this point. If I was to guess, they probably found the ship too, or will find it, pretty quick.”

“Michael! We might be only peoples they don’t know about.”

“Yeah, and I’d like to keep it that way, at least until we figure out what these people are up to.”

“Dad, which way to do we go?”

“Well, the old town is that way, the pyramid is over there, and just beyond on the other side is the ship that crashed. I’m going to say we try to go this way, since it’s the only thing left.”

“Natalya? Are you OK? Come here my dear. Don’t cry, it will be fine.”

“Michael, why? Why do we escape, only to find chains again?”

“We don’t know that! We don’t know anything yet, let’s not assume too much.”

“It is a pyramid Michael. A pyramid.”

“I know, it’s got me a little freaked out too, I admit it. But let’s not jump to any conclusions yet.”

“We run from pyramid! In our old world, it was symbol of peoples who were so bad, and I make so sure they could not come with us! For what? Michael, they are here. That is their symbol. Can we ever be free of them?”

“Shhh. We’ll be OK! Maybe, maybe we’ll just have to keep running, I don’t know. Maybe, this is just the way it is, everywhere. Maybe they won’t be so bad!”

“Maybe…”

“Looks like a big expanse opens up just beyond those trees. We should be able to see more.”

“I’m going to beat you all!! Try to catch me!”

“Carl! Don’t get too far ahead!”

“Whoa. That looks weird! What is that? It looks like…”

“You always have to be first, don’t you! Whoa! It’s like a forest of...columns?”

“What are you kids looking at?”

“Those aren’t columns my dears.”

“Michael? Let me see. Oh my God!”

“Jesus Dad! It reminds me of like, Arlington Cemetery or something…”

“Obelisks! Michael, they are obelisks!”

“Very bizarre. Must be tens-of-thousands of them…”

“Pyramids. And now obelisks. Do you remember Michael what we said before? We said we might be jumping to fire!”

“Yes, I remember. I can’t imagine what a sea of obelisks might mean, but it could be we’ve landed in quite the frying pan…”

"Hey! Look at that one!"

"Yeah. It almost looks like someone crashed a...a helicopter into one, maybe?"

"It sort of looks like a bit of smoke or steam or something...maybe it crashed not too long ago..."

"Well, it could have been worse. People could have survived that, I'm pretty sure."

"Should we go down, see if we can help?"

"No way! All it tells me is we need to go in another direction. We can't take chances! Not until we figure out what the hell kind of world this is."

"Chances? What kind of world? Ah, whatever. Let's head that-a-way. We're going to need some water pretty soon..."

END