When Gods Return. Part one.

WHEN GODS RETURN
(In the year of Our Lord, 2035)


Part One

Rachel walked onto the stage, her legs shaking, her mind in chaos. Reaching the podium she stepped up and stared rigidly out at the hundreds of faces quietly observing her. Someone coughed as though to politely remind her they were waiting. She blinked in response and managed a twitch of the lips but no sound issued forth.

From a point slightly above and off to the side she watched herself frozen in place on the stage. Murmurings began to arise from the assembly of academics.

The sound flowed around her and slowly she came to life as though animated by the vibration of the air. Her other, dispassionate self, slipped back inside its physical frame and Rachel began to speak.

“I realize you were expecting Dr. Samuel Ridley to be here tonight.” She paused unsure of how much to tell them. Perhaps, now her mind was clearing, she should muddle through Sam’s lecture notes that lay before her. “Unfortunately he has been unavoidably detained, so you will have to bear with me if I do not deliver the message in as flowing a manner as Sam would of done.”

“Ms. Ridley,” a man seated in the front row rose as he addressed her. “Ms. Ridley, I think I can speak for my peers when I say we realize Sam would have been here if at all possible. Also we have every confidence that you will inform us of the latest findings in as coherent manner as possible.” He sat as a smattering of polite and encouraging applause backed up his words.

Rachel nodded her thanks and took a sip of water to moisten her dry, aching throat. “Between 19- and 19- a researcher and author wrote a series of books called ‘The Earth Chronicles’. His name is Zecharia Sitchin and I am sure most of you are familiar with his work. His hypothesis that a twelfth planet sometimes inhabits our solar system had been both ridiculed and embraced by people from all walks of life. This all changed of course in nineteen eighty three, when a dark, lifeless planet that for some reason was not giving off any kind of signal that scientific equipment could pick up, was noticed already within our Solar system. Its close proximity in two thousand and twelve resulted catastrophed that beset our world, setting us back almost one hundred years.
The hypothesis that Sitchin puts forth is that Earth was visited originally some four hundred and fifty thousand years ago by beings from this planet, and that these beings, by genetic manipulation and in-vitro fertilization, managed to create a creature that was a hybrid of themselves and an erect humanoid form found on the Earth at that time. The interbreeding of these two diverse beings resulted in the human form as we know it today.”

Taking another sip of water, she let her gaze pass over the silent upturned faces in which she could read nothing. “Sitchin found his information on clay tablets originating from the area known to archeologists as Suma and whose culture flourished approximately five thousand years ago. Sitchin’s findings led him to study the bible in its ancient Hebrew form and in doing so came to certain conclusions concerning the beings from the planet Niburu and writings of the Old Testament. These conclusions, if found to be true, would shatter the evolutionists’ theories of our development and also destroy most religious belief systems, or at least radically alter the premises.”

She took another sip and a deep breath having come to a sudden decision. Her father’s lecture proceeded to go into more details concerning the latest in translated texts discovered on one of the Greek islands. These writings told of the departure of the Anunnaki to another Solar system after Nibiru became unstable due to its loss of atmosphere amongst other problems.
But matters had gone beyond that now as far as she was concerned. If they wanted more information after what she was about to tell them, they could read the book he had recently published. Her father, after attending one of Sitchins conferences in 2002, approached him and became a zealous student and later a great friend, even though there was a considerable age difference. After Zecharia passed away, Samuel Ridley took over the tedious, yet sometimes fascinating work of translating the clay tablets. Now all the theories and hypothesis were about to be put to the test.

Taking a deep breath, Rachel gazed out over the sea of faces that had no idea of the emotions raging within her. “I believe, ladies and gentlemen, that we are about to be visited those beings that gave us our start in life and that have helped us in our struggle to subdue our planet and advance technologically. In other words, ladies and gentlemen, if Zecharia Sitchin and Samuel Ridley are right, the Gods of Mythology are on their way to visit us.”

***

Unable to face the barrage of questions that had resulted from her rather enigmatic, though forceful statement, Rachel had left the building. Almost running, she reached her car and burst into tears as she fell clumsily into the front seat. Incapable of driving, she sat hunched over the steering wheel, shoulders heaving with each sob that wrenched itself from deep within her being. Too much had happened too fast and now she wasn’t even sure if what she remembered as happening, really had happened. It was too weird, too scary, but at the time it hadn’t been that way.

At the time she had felt nothing at all. Felt nothing when the man appeared in the living room; nothing when he gently ordered her father outside; nothing when she followed along behind even though the stranger did not address her or even glance in her direction. Outside, the sky was lit only by stars, the moon nowhere in sight. The night was eerily quiet Rachel remembered later. Their dogs did not come out to warn them there was a stranger in their midst. They walked out into the fallow field where a vehicle was waiting. A vehicle that Rachel knew to be, beyond a shadow of a doubt, extra-terrestrial. It was round and insubstantial. It glowed with a soft pink light that illuminated nothing. It sat serenely about eight foot off the ground. Sam said nothing as the man took his arm and guided him under the craft while Rachel stood rooted to the spot, watching as her father was miraculously levitated, disappearing from her view. She watched unemotionally while the pinkish ball rose into the sky becoming smaller and smaller until it disappeared from her sight. Only then did she return to her bed to fall into a deep and trouble free sleep and it was only on awakening and finding her father gone that the nightmare began.

A rapping on the car window jolted Rachel from her grief. Through her bleary vision she recognized Mitch, a longtime friend of the family who was a skeptical yet open-minded sounding board for her fathers ideas. She motioned for him to join her.

“You want to tell me what’s going on? Where’s Sam?”

Wiping her eyes and blowing her nose, Rachel took a deep breath before voicing what she barely believed herself. “They took him.”

“What? Who? What?”

“Whoever is still inhabiting the twelfth planet. Last night. The took him away in a space ship.”

“Don’t be ridiculous-“

“I’m telling you what happened. I watched him go. We had no choice. It was like we were hypnotized or…” Rachel’s voice trailed off and she sat staring straight ahead. Mitch reached over and gently dabbed the tears sliding silently from her large, brown and sad eyes.

“Okay child. You’re obviously upset about something, but I find it hard to believe that an alien abduction has taken place.”

“Well, it has,” she replied flatly, turning to look him straight in the eye. “Last night a man appeared from nowhere in our living room. He took my unresisting father by the arm and led him to the middle of the field. I followed and watched as they both disappeared inside the ship and took off. I went back to bed and fell asleep. In the morning I thought it was a strange dream until I couldn’t find dad.” She looked away for a moment deciding that more tears were not going to solve anything. “If you want I can show you our footprints in the field…three sets going out, one coming back.”

“He just appeared?” Mitch managed to ask, his voice sounding shaky.
Rachel nodded. “He was very solid looking.”

“Describe him.”

“Tall, over six foot by a couple of inches at least. Blonde hair, nicely cut over the ears, a little long in the back, blue eyes, very blue, almost indigo. Slim.”

“What was he wearing?”

“Some kind of silver overall. No markings. Black boots, black gloves.”

“Were you afraid?”

“No, not at all. I don’t know why not.”

Both sat silently, Mitch with his mind spinning, Rachel reaching out with all her might to her father, wherever he might be.

Mitch suggested they drive back to the farmhouse in case Sam was returned. Agreeing, Rachel dropped him off at his car and he followed her the twenty or so miles out of town.

On arriving they parked side by side and walked together into the house. The two dogs followed them and started sniffing around the area where the man had first stood. Then both sat down, raised their muzzles to the roof and howled. Mitch shooed them out the door and watched as they headed straight to the middle of the field where they once again sat and howled. With a sigh he closed the door and went to join Rachel in the kitchen where she was preparing coffee.

“Do you have a plan…think we should call the police?”

She regarded him quizzically. “Yeah, we call the police and they hop in their faster than light cars and give chase. And no, I don’t have a plan. Maybe I should pray.”

Mitch snorted, “I presume you’re being facetious?”

“A little,” she paused. “But it might not hurt. After all, what do we really know about prayer? Prayers get answered and who’s doing the answering?” She poured them both a cup of coffee and sat at the table. “Apparitions appear to people as angels or aliens, perhaps they are one and the same.”

Mitch was not sure how to respond to this. Being an agnostic he was open to suggestions, yet angels that were really aliens or vice versa? He was having trouble digesting that thought. “Wish I’d been here,” he said at last, wistfully. “How close is the planet now? Are there any plans to send a probe or message or something?”

“NASA launched a probe as soon as it was obvious that whatever it was wasn’t going to go away.”

“Has it arrived?

“Contact was lost as soon as it was due to go into orbit.”

“How come the whole world doesn’t know about this? And how come you do know?”

“Dad has a friend in a high place who believes. He said everyone including amateur astronomers have been sworn to secrecy. A couple of tabloids got hold of the story but it was squashed after one printing.”

“They can’t keep it a secret for much longer.”

“No.”

The phone rang then, startling both of them. Rachel paled and reached for the instrument with a none too steady hand. “Hello?”

“Samuel Ridley, please.”

“I’m sorry, he’s not here right now. Can I take a message?”

“My name is Brad Smith, I’m a friend of his. When do you expect him back?”

“Brad Smith from JPL?” Rachel almost whispered.

“Yes. It’s important I speak with Sam.”

“Mr. Smith, can you meet with me? This is Rachel, his daughter. We need to talk and soon.”

***

Mitch insisted on accompanying Rachel to meet Brad Smith. “You two are believers. You need someone to keep your feet on the ground…so to speak,” he added with a slight grin. Now over the shock of her father’s abduction, Rachel had convinced herself he was being groomed as an ambassador. Mitch had wanted to add ‘or held as a hostage,’ but thought better of it, not wanting to spoil her fantasy and subsequent good mood.

They met Brad in a non-descript coffee house near JPL headquarters, two days later. He had faxed over a photo of himself and was waiting when they walked into the brightly lit, yuppie establishment. First ordering drinks they then joined him at a secluded corner table.

Brad Smith was an imposing looking man, used to giving orders and being obeyed Mitch thought. Though not overly tall, he exuded confidence and Rachel liked him at once. He was much younger than she had supposed, perhaps only eight or nine years older than her twenty-five years. His dark gray eyes smiled into hers and she unexpectedly felt her heart beat increase. Quickly she launched into her rendition of the night Sam had been taken.

Brad listened without interruption, regarding her seriously now and once in a while glancing at Mitch as if to gauge his involvement. When finished, Rachel sat back and sipped at her cappuccino waiting for Brad to respond.

“What do you think?” he asked at last, surprisingly addressing the question to Mitch.

“Honestly? I don’t know what to think. If all the writings that Zecharia and Sam have translated are the truth, then we are in for a paradigm shift in our major belief systems such as Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Islamic, etc. Others perhaps not so much. Hindus have ancient writings concerning flying vehicles. Mormons believe in a very physical God. They might not be so surprised, more able to adapt.”

Brad suddenly grinned. “It would sure put the kibosh on some money making schemes wouldn’t it?”

“What do you think?” Rachel asked him directly.

“Me? I’m happy that what I believe to be true is about to be proved true. However,” his expression changed rapidly and he frowned. “What will they want with us? Once they realize the Old Testament stories are a much condensed version of their latter years here on Earth…and well, the rest, it all came from them didn’t it?”

At that moment his phone rang and after checking the number, he rose and answered as he walked away from them. Mitch looked at Rachel and raised his eyebrows as if to say, ‘Must be important.’ She gave a slight shrug and took the opportunity to visit the restroom. When she returned, both men were sitting in almost tangible anticipation of her return.

Once seated, Mitch took her hand. “We have some news.” He glanced at Brad who took over.

“NASA has received a message from your father.” Rachel gasped and Brad took her other hand. “He’s well and says for you not to worry. The rest of the message is under wraps. I need to go talk to some people.” He looked first at Mitch then back to Rachel. Squeezing he hand he asked, “Would you like to come?” Now Rachel looked to Mitch, her mouth slightly open, her breath coming in ragged gasps. He smiled and answered for her. “Of course, we would love to.”

***

Brad Smith had opened his home to them. Each had a bedroom with private washroom. The Jacuzzi and swimming pool was theirs to use any time they wished.

“Who is this guy?” Mitch whispered to Rachel as Brad left them to settle in.

“I’m really not sure what his official title is. Dad said he was some kind of go between for JPL and the President.”

“Well, whatever he does, he must earn a damn good wage.”

“Could be inherited money.”

“True.”

“Right now I don’t care. I just want to hear that message for myself.”

“Me too,” Mitch agreed with feeling. “By the way, who’s looking after the farm while you and Sam are…away?”

“There’s only one field planted this year and Kristen and Bob are taking turns looking after the animals.”

“Good. Let’s take Brad up on that offer of the Jacuzzi. We could both do with a little relaxation.” Rachel checked her watch; nearly four and supper wasn’t until six their host had informed them. “Okay. I’ll meet you in there.”

On the way down the hall she met Brad gong towards his room. For a moment his eyes took in her bikini clad, shapely body and a slight smile caused the corners of his mouth to raise just enough for Rachel to notice. Being used to the admiring glances of men, she refrained form pulling her towel around her, instead returning his gaze almost as a challenge. “Would you mind if I join you?” he asked, pushing open the door of his bedroom that allowed her to glimpse a huge four-poster bed with a gauze canopy.

Hesitating for only a second, she shook her head and giving what she hoped was an indifferent smile, she walked away. She could feel his eyes on her and felt a tiny bit guilty for enjoying the attention, when she should be worrying about her father. But then again, he had said he was fine and it had been a long time since…

Mitch was already sunk up to his chin in the bubbling waters. He grinned as she gingerly put a foot in. It was hot but bearable, and she slowly immersed the rest of her as Brad entered the room. He turned down the lights and went to a bar in the corner. He came back with three piña coladas and handed them out. “All you have to do now is imagine palm trees, a beach and pounding surf and that we are in a rustic cabaña open on three sides to the elements, which are of course, always clement.”

“I can do that,” Mitch laughed. Rachel only grinned and pushed aside the guilty feeling. The drink helped in this regard and soon the three of them were joking and chatting as old friends. The conversation however seemed to always center around Sam and Rachel. Mitch tried to find out more about their host, but with little success. Eventually though he did divulge how he came to have such a luxurious dwelling.

“My family are wealthy and I married a wealthy lady.” Rachel’s stomach gave a flip as she realized he might indeed be married. He continued, now looking at her, “However, my wife of ten years died five years ago, in a car accident. Obviously very sudden, very unexpected. It took me a long time to recover. I didn’t live here for three years.” He paused and looked away. Then draining his glass he caught Rachel’s eyes again. “My grief eventually dissipated and I returned here. I love this house and its memories, its ambience, though sometimes I feel…”
Watching him, Rachel recognized the pain of lost love. He was now gazing away from her again. “Sometimes I feel that it may be holding me back,” he finished.

The older man had been watching the two of them and had decided that this would be a good time to leave and made his way to the stairs. “That’s enough for me. My skin is saggy enough without making it pruny. Oh-oh, too late,” he joked as he regarded his hands. They all laughed as he headed towards the shower.

“Want another drink?” Brad asked.

“No, unless you have some water.”

“Of course. I’m sorry I should have thought.” He returned with two bottles and joined Rachel on the edge of the Jacuzzi. “I don’t drink enough water. Do you swim?”

The change in subject caught her off guard. “Er, yes, though it’s been awhile.”

“Okay, let’s go. I’ll race you.” He jumped up immediately without waiting for a reply and striding to the edge of the pool, he dove in. Rising more slowly, Rachel cooled off under the shower before heading to the near Olympic size pool. Brad was doing laps with a very smooth crawl stroke. She got the distinct impression that he spent a great deal of time here.
As he reached the far end she dove in and swam more than half the length under water. Coming up for air, she gently breast stroked to join him.

“Race?” he suggested, grinning.

“No thanks. I prefer being under water. I’m not a very strong swimmer and not at all competitive.”

“Oh. Okay. Well, let’s see who can swim the farthest under water then. But no pressure, just for fun.”

‘Perhaps he need to prove something,’ Rachel thought. "Whatever, I’m game," she answered and pulled herself out of the pool.

He stood a few feet away and then dove in cutting the water cleanly. She watched as he pulled easily through the almost still blue water and made it within ten feet or so of the other end. Taking one last deep breath, she pushed herself forward and felt the warm liquid fold around her. She loved the quiet and the lightness of her body in this environment. Breathing out the built up gasses, she sank lower continuing to pull strongly. She could see Brad’s legs kicking in place now and she passed them with no problem. Reaching the far end she kicked off again without surfacing and only came up for breath when she was beside him.

“Impressive. Practice much?”

“She shook her head. “No, just good lung capacity and lots of snorkeling experience.”

“Where?”

“Costa Rica. I have a friend who runs a resort on the coast.”

“Lucky you. I’m starving. Let’s go get dressed for supper. You can tell me more later.”

***

Supper was a relaxing affair and conversation revolved around diving, Costa Rica and other places they would like to visit. One of the places mentioned by Brad, was of course, Niburu. “I would go in an instant given the chance,” he told them. “They must live mostly underground. Perhaps they have an energy source that we could adapt to Earth. They seem to have used crystals for energy here. Perhaps they will teach us that type of technology so we can stop with the oil fiasco.”

“Supposedly the Atlanteans had crystal energy and look what happened to them.”

“What?” Mitch asked of Rachel.

“They blew up part of their continent causing a big earthquake. Eventually it sank leaving only legends.”

“More hypothesis, huh?” he replied with a grin.

“’Fraid so,” she answered. “When can we go to JPL Brad?” she asked now the subject matter had brought her father to mind.

“We have an appointment at ten, so we will leave at nine, if that’s okay. And by the way,” he looked form one to the other, a gleam in his eyes that Rachel could not quite put a word to. “The President will be there.”

“Of JPL?”

“Of the United States.”

***

“May I present Ms. Rachel Ridley and Mr. Mitchell Bowers.” Controlling a strange urge to curtsey, Rachel took the President’s proffered hand. She only nodded, but her eyes gave her away. Rachel knew she was a very worried woman.

They sat at a table on which a tape player was situated. Brad looked at President Lopez and received a barely perceptible movement of the head indicating readiness. Rachel tried to study the face of this first woman President of the United States that now included Mexico. Not only a woman, but an Hispanic woman at that and very attractive still; not showing the heaviness of many women in their early sixties.

Marisol Lopez had been born in Colombia, South America, but had been transplanted to the States by her father who had been the consulate, when she was ten years old. The mother had died and he felt his daughter’s education and safety would be best addressed living with relatives in Washington, D.C. Her father was shot during an uprising six years afterwards. Marisol studied psychology, sociology, anthropology and most of all, politics. She rose through political ranks with a vengeance, despite anti feminists, anti women, racists and freaks in general. She remained true to her cause; namely that she not allow her father’s death to be for nothing. Cocaine running was no longer a problem after a virus specific to Coca leaves was introduced. No one knew exactly who had manufactured the virus or how it had been introduced so thoroughly. Fortunately for those that lived high in the Andes of SouthAmerica, a few plants had remained unaffected and were now closely guarded and for personal high altitude use only, as Mother Nature intended. Many believed Marisol was either behind or closely involved with the coup on the drug lords. They had mostly killed one another off whilst arguing over who was to blame and trying to steal the rapidly diminishing stock of Cocaine. Marijuana was now legal and safer after a large cigarette company, seeing the vast potential, removed most of the tar. They added the healthier remains to varying amounts of pure tobacco, ‘light’ now meant less Marijuana and there was also a herbal variety. A ‘No Additive’ version, meaning no tobacco or herbs, could be purchased, but most aficionados and stoners preferred to grow their own and it wasn’t a big seller. Alcohol had taken a back seat to the weed after a hefty tax was implemented. Americans were now losing less time at work due to alcohol abuse and incidence of family violence had decreased dramatically. Police were giving out fewer tickets for speeding or reckless driving and insurance companies eventually lowered rates. The citizens of America were becoming a happier, quieter people. The only ones complaining still were drug companies who could no longer push anti-anxiety or depression meds in such great quantities and hardly any tranquillizers.

The instrument sitting on the table was like no other Rachel had seen: a three-inch square, iridescent metallic cube with a ball shape on top. Brad held a very small device with colored symbols. He tapped one and the ball opened into a lotus shape. Inside swirling colors held the shape of the original sphere. Tapping another button caused the colors to swirl upwards and Sam appeared before Rachel and Mitch’s astonished eyes. A miniaturized Sam, a Sam that was only nine inches tall, but perfect in every detail. Marisol and Brad did not seem surprised Mitch noticed, but Rachel was oblivious to everything except the holographic projection.

When her father’s voice issued forth, the young woman flinched a little and risked a quick glance at Brad, who smiled re-assuringly back. Her father seemed to be looking straight at her so his words were not so much of a surprise.

“Rachel, I really hope you are watching and hearing this. I have so much to tell you but most must wait until I return home.” On hearing this his daughter visibly relaxed and a smile lit up her face. “I’m on Nibiru and talking with the leader of this…these emissaries. As we know from the ancient writings, when they first visited Earth four hundred and fifty thousand years ago, they were looking for a way to stop the erosion of their planet’s atmosphere. Gold seemed to be the answer and so it was, but unfortunately not a lasting one. Their world was becoming more and more unstable due to quakes and volcanic activity. On each pass close to one of our larger outer planets, gravitational pull made matters worse. They knew they were doomed if they stayed on Nibiru. Now for a little history. About eleven thousand B.C.E., Nibiru made a very close pass by Earth causing catastrophes that affected both planets and destroyed much of what they had accomplished here. This was recorded in the biblical stories. When the floodwaters receded and the weather settled, they started over, but more for the benefit of man than their own. They had, for all intents and purposes, given us our start in life and through this they were and still are, genetically linked to us. We, the people of Earth are a hybrid race. We have a genetic map memory from our Earth mother ancestor and from our alien father. We are confused souls, when it comes to our ancestry but now we are being given the opportunity to put the record straight. Nibiru is now coming close to the perihelion of its orbit. Unfortunately it is in a very unstable state and no longer inhabited, except that is, by this group of scientists I am now in contact with.”

Brad hit the stop button and in the blink of an eye, Sam dissolved into the lotus blossom ball that closed protectively around him. “I’m sorry, but the rest of the message is still classified.”

The President looked directly at Rachel. “I realize this must be frustrating for you. But it is best if you don’t hear the rest, at least for the moment. Politics can be ugly,” she added, rather enigmatically. She stood then and motioned Brad to follow her after a brief nod to Rachel and Mitch.

They sat silently both deep in their own thoughts and frustrated with unanswered questions. When Brad returned he was smiling. “Well, you two made a good impression. The President wants you to join her at the Round House.”

“When?”

“Immediately.”

***

A quick trip back to Brad’s house allowed for a change into something more formal. Mitch opted to continue on in the suit he was wearing. “If she wants me in a Tux, she better provide it,” he remarked, half seriously. Brad swapped his dark brown older suit for a newer dark blue that Rachel liked a lot more. It complimented his eye color and black hair, she thought.

As she had only packed one dress, it was not much of a decision for her. An emerald green, low cut, hip hugging style that ended just below the knees, was the one she had picked for its travel ability; never creasing and could be hand washed and dried overnight. A lacy black shawl and low-heeled black open toed shoes completed the set.

A car arrived to take them to the airport and from there they flew in a private Lear jet. At the other end they were picked up and escorted to the Round House in time for a late lunch.

There were two other guests whom Brad introduced as General Brian Visevic and Doctor Lisa Carriere who stood intimately close to Brad after the introductions. The General took Rachel’s arm and asked her to tell him the story of her father’s abduction.

Mitch gave their drink order to the waiter and hovered close by in case Rachel needed him. He also surreptitiously watched Lisa as she talked to Brad. The woman was probably thirty-five or thereabouts, very attractive but with unnatural violet eyes and thick black eyelashes that may be fake. Her hair was blonde and wavy, hanging to her bare shoulders where it bounced gently whenever she laughed or turned her head slightly. The black number was skin tight and showed that Lisa worked out frequently. There was no excess fat on this girl yet she was far from skinny. Mitch wished he were quite a few years younger and better dressed. Then smiled to himself for being so foolish.

Brad brought the woman over to talk to him at that moment as though reading his mind. “Lisa is a Doctor of Psychiatry,” he explained. “She will be on the debriefing team when Sam gets back.”

“So you know he’s coming back?” Mitch asked quietly, glancing over at Rachel, but she was deep in conversation with Brian Vivesic.

“Well,” answered Lisa, “we are assuming he will be back. To keep him could be viewed as a hostile act. After all, it doesn’t seem he was given much choice about going.”

Mitch deigned not to comment, instead asking Brad, “Are there any more guests expected?”

“Not as far as I know. The President and her husband will be joining us shortly. You want another drink?”

As Brad left, Lisa followed him with her eyes with what Mitch took to be sadness and for a moment he wouldn’t have been surprised to see tears. ‘A broken relationship?’ he wondered, ‘or perhaps the attraction is one sided.’ Brad had not shown any overt interest in the woman, but perhaps he was just being professional.

The door opened and the President walked in accompanied by a man Rachel assumed to be the husband. His shock of white hair and the deep creases lining his forehead made him appear older than the sixty three years she knew him to be, yet he carried himself with great assurance.

Marisol, whose simple light blue, short sleeved, shift type dress that ended just above the knees, accentuated her light brown skin, nodded a greeting to everyone in general before introducing her partner. “I would like you all to meet Gabriel Marquez, my husband and…” she grinned impishly up at him, “the sometimes power behind the throne.” She then took him to meet Rachel and Mitch.

Gabriel shook Mitch’s hand perfunctorily, but Rachel’s he took between his and looking deep into her eyes said, “I am so sorry for what has happened. Please be assured we will do everything in our power to bring you father back safely.”
Rachel could only nod in way of reply being rather taken aback by the mans choice of words.

Marisol smiled slightly and slipping her arm through Rachel’s, started towards the dining room. Everyone else, including Gabriel, followed like sheep.

During the meal, only small talk was engaged in, centering mainly on the newly introduced bill that would allowed Tequila to be the only tax-free alcohol. Tax-free that is, only in Mexico itself. This rather novel development would supposedly encourage tourism and not alcoholism.

“So what’s to stop someone bringing in truckloads of the stuff across the State line for sale elsewhere to make a profit?” Mitch asked innocently.

Gabriel smiled a thin smile. “With the price of gasoline as it is, the amount of profit would be negligible. We also have put a limit on the amount an individual can purchase. Storeowners must provide proof of sales that do not exceed these limits at the end of every fiscal year. Of course, there will always be those that will try to…bend the rules to their gain. That is life.”

“We need to encourage tourism in our new State,” the President added. “The Agave growers are being encouraged to set up bed and breakfast type situations for tourists and state of the art Tequila factories are running tours and tasting sessions. There is still much poverty, but with many seniors from other States retiring to the area, all sorts of businesses are cropping up in small towns to cater to their needs. We have built colleges for the education of young Mexican people that are virtually free of charge. The only stipulation being that they work in Mexico for five years after graduating. After that they are free to travel and find work wherever they wish. However, we have noticed that most prefer their own country-- I mean State,” she quickly corrected herself.

Rachel glanced up from her plate at the President’s slip of the tongue and then wondered how much of a slip it really was. The inclusion of Mexico had only taken place after the long and bloody border wars that resulted in an internal coup followed by another coup, this time American. The only way to stop the influx of illegal aliens into Arizona, Texas and California, was to take away the borders and to apply incentives for Mexicans to stay where they were. The three States were quite surprised when many ‘legals’ and ‘illegals’ returned to their country of birth to take part in the development of their beloved homeland, thereby leaving a deficit of workers for the more menial jobs regular Americans did not want. Only by offering higher wages and better working conditions were some coerced back. Spanish was the official language of the State, but most referred to the spoken form as Spanglish, which was becoming a language in its own right and spreading northward at a rate that alarmed many linguistic perfectionists.

After the sumptuous meal, they retired to yet another room for coffee and liquor and at last Marisol brought up the main reason for this gathering.

Brad and Mitch sat either side of Rachel on a soft white leather couch. Marisol and Gabriel faced them across a coffee table seated in a matching love seat, while Lisa and Brian sat in black leather armchairs at either end of the table. Mitch noticed that although the General had his body angled towards the President, Lisa was angled towards Brad, her eyes almost never leaving his face. Brad, if he was aware of he gaze, chose to ignore it. Rachel was too caught up in her personal worries to notice the body language surrounding her.

Marisol rang a small bell that had been brought in on the refreshment trolley. Immediately a servant appeared with the hologram sphere, causing Rachel’s stomach to give a lurch. He placed it in the middle of the table and handed the remote to Brad. Only after the door had closed behind him did Marisol give the almost imperceptible nod and Brad pushed a button.
Sam’s image and voice filled the room and his daughter’s eyes filled with tears. For all she knew this was all that was left of her father, despite Vivesic’s and the President’s husband’s assurances.

“Because of Nibiru’s instability, about three thousand years ago the decision had to be made by the Anunnaki to find a new world. This they eventually did on a planet with an orbit around its sun that takes one thousand years to complete. Anyway, for millennia most of the Anunnaki has little time to worry about what was happening on Earth as they transformed the new planet into a viable home and transferred the population to it. For the last one thousand years, the Anunnaki scientists that man the Nibiru station have been watching our progress with great interest. We are now a much gentler people than we were only a few decades ago. The calamities that affected much of the planet a mere twenty three years ago, brought humanity closer together and caused a paradigm shift in consciousness. We realized the futility of war as a way to peace and the slogan ‘There is no Way to Peace, Peace is the Way,’ found on a small plaque in a park in the city of Winnipeg in Canada, became a battle cry if you will. But this battle would result in no blood shed or injuries of any kind. Humanity survived the tumultuous times and came out stronger for it. Yet now we are under an even bigger threat that no one, not even our best scientists, are aware of. And it is the passing of the twelfth member of our solar system that will bring about our ultimate demise…for we are now on a collision course. A direct hit by a huge asteroid has caused Nibiru’s orbit to changed fractionally. When it passed by the outer planets it was drawn even more off its original course putting it in line for an almost direct hit on Earth. This affected us in 1649, though at the time we weren’t aware of what caused the natural catastrophes on Earth. And as we remember most vividly, the close proximity of Nibiru in 2012 caused so much destruction that we lost at least one hundred years of technological evolution and over half of Earth’s population. The collision of this twelfth planet and Earth will leave only debris to form a new asteroid belt.”

Brad stopped the recording to give everyone a chance to take in what had been said. It was obvious from the looks on the faces, that only the President, her husband and Brad had been privy to this information beforehand.

The General stared slack mouthed at the leader of the country. Lisa stared at Brad as though he were an alien while Rachel and Mitch turned to each other and clasped hands as though to anchor themselves.

“I realize this is quite shocking,” Marisol said gently. “But we have a little time left yet. Our planet has at least another fifty years.”

General Visevic stood abruptly. “Why can’t we just blow the damned thing up? Prevent it reaching us.”

Marisol opened her mouth to speak, but Gabriel laid a restraining hand on her arm and spoke for her. “General, we no longer have the technology to launch anything of significance into space. And I doubt that even in the past we had anything large enough to knock a planetary body into a different orbit. Even if we did, the chances of that causing another problem that would eventually inflict itself upon us would be highly possible. The change in Nibiru’s direction occurred, unfortunately, just before it was to enter our solar system. The Anunnaki were not aware of the asteroid hit for some time and even if they had been, they do not have any way to now change the orbit of the planet.”

“What they are offering us,” Marisol said, taking her husband’s hand in hers, “is salvation.”

The voice of Sam filled the incredulous silence and continued on, oblivious to the effect his words were having. “Fifty years may seem a long time at the moment. But to transport all of humanity to another planet and then to start over, almost from scratch, would be an undertaking that is almost inconceivable. So you see, it is imperative that we start now. To put it bluntly, the political ramifications alone could lead to old and supposedly dead, ideas for supremacy over the new home planet. At the moment our World system of government is fairly stable, but who knows what fantasies of a new world order may pass through some folks minds when they realize the potential of this move. That is why the Anunnaki have suggested an alternative plan.”

“I think we need to take a break,” Gabriel said, “before we hear what comes next.” He rose to his feet, stretching and looking around the room at the stunned faces. A slight smile crossed his face. “Now I know how I looked when I first heard this.”

“Where is the washroom?” Rachel blurted out, suddenly feeling light headed and nauseous as she too rose to her feet abruptly.

“I’ll show you,” Lisa offered, taking her arm.
The psychiatrist led the young woman a short way down a corridor before opening an unmarked door that led into an opulently decorated restroom. The effect however was lost on Rachel and she hurriedly stumbled into a stall and closed the door.

She heard Lisa go about her business and then leave after asking her if she was okay. Rachel managed to answer in the affirmative and only came out when she was sure she was alone. After splashing cold water over her face she stared at herself in the mirror and saw only a stranger staring back. Her whole world had been turned upside down within a week and she no longer knew where she stood in this new order of reality.
On the one hand, she was fascinated by the whole idea of at last being able to understand humanities beginning. On the other, her mind reeled in horror from the awful truth of what was to happen to the planet and possibly to all that inhabited it if no suitable replacement could be found.

A knock on the door interrupted her imaginings and Mitch looked in. “They are about to start up the recording again. Coming?” he said simply. She nodded in reply and followed him back to the room where the others were already gathered.

Once more Sam’s miniature image sprung up from the lotus blossom shape and his voice filled the taught silence. “Now, this is where it becomes complicated, from a religious point of view anyway. Not that long ago, in Anunnaki terms at least, a faction on their new home world, named Eridu by the way, decided that Earthlings should be alerted to the fact that their ‘God’ is alive and well. This was not a move condoned by the World Council of the Anunnaki and the faction that went against the majority view that well enough should be left alone, are a branch of Marduk’s family that want to reinforce the view of themselves as Superior Beings. Part of the Old Testament of the Bible is a much shortened version of happenings after ‘Kingship’ was passed to humans from the Anunnaki. At this time, the exodus to the new home world or Eridu was getting underway. Marduk it seems had delusions of grandeur and chose to stay, changing a lot of history to make it appear he was the be all and end all of happenings on Earth and indeed of the creator of our solar system itself. Marduk convinced enough followers that he was the Supreme Being and this belief system spread west from Babylon, whereas the old stories of multiple gods kept a grip that spread across the eastern lands with the names of the players changing from country to country and adding to the confusion. The compaction of the creation stories in Genesis alone has complicated and confused our understanding of these long ago events. Despite the World Councils objection, a member of this faction contacted a young man on Earth in secret. The young man’s name was Joseph Smith and the angel that appeared to him was an Anunnaki by the name of Moroni.”

A collective intake of breath accompanied this latest revelation and Lisa turned white. Brad stood and quickly brought her a fresh glass of water. General Brian Vivesic was also looking rather stunned and kept opening and closing his mouth, yet no sound escaped. Mitch looked at Rachel and mouthed, “You think?” and she nodded slightly in agreement.

It was only lately that she had studied the religion of the Latter Day Saints also known as Mormons. Their ranks had grown considerably during the rebuilding times when rumors abounded that the planet was receiving outside help of an angelic sort. No one really knew how the rumors got started or why so many chose to believe in them. However, those of the Mormon faith took to the idea and nothing was done by the church fathers to dissuade these ideas as conversions to the faith were on the increase.’

“I think this would be the perfect time for another break and then we should perhaps have a discussion as to what we have heard and understood so far,” Marisol announced. “I will be back shortly. Drinks will be served in the adjoining room and Charlotte will be pleased to supply anything you need.” With that the President took her husbands arm and left the room.

Lisa had her head on Brad’s shoulder and he was patting her back in a consolatory way, but his eyes were fixed on Rachel who was once again in conversation with Brian Visevic who had regained his composure and was talking animatedly.

“I knew it! I knew it! We are the only true religion! You know what this will do to all other religions when the truth gets out? It’ll—”

Rachel cut in before he could finish his thought. “But it’s all based on a lie you know. Marduk made himself out to be something he wasn’t. I know; I’ve studied the Sumerian texts practically all my life.”

“You’re missing the point.”

“What point?” Mitch asked, having returned from the restroom.

“The point being that the LDS believe in a physical God. No other religion has that belief,” the General explained excitedly. “The Anunnaki are literally our ancestors, at least on the paternal side. They were and still are practically immortal, at least when compared to us.”

“They lived a long time because of the planets extreme elliptical orbit, not because they were supreme beings. It was just a fact of life.” Rachel turned away looking for a pick-me-up. She felt tired and grumpy and not in the mood to get into a religious debate with a zealot.

Brad disentangled himself from Lisa and she left the room wiping at her eyes. He met Rachel by the coffee where she was helping herself to a steaming cup she had liberally dosed with a good measure of her favorite liqueur.

“So, how many more bombshells are there?” she asked, a little aggressively.

“I’m sorry. I wish I could have prepared you, but honestly there just wasn’t time.” He took her arm and guided her back to the other room and on to the couch. “I have a feeling something else is going on. I don’t think I’m being told everything by the President.”

“You think it might have anything to do with the Marduk faction?”

“That’s a possibility. But I think it’s something more serious.”

“Like what then?”

“Like we may not be the only ones to have a recording.” He paused and took her free hand. “I may be out of line telling you this, but you’re here and I need an ally or at least an intelligent head to share ideas with.”

“Wouldn’t Lisa be better for that?”

“There’s nothing between me and Lisa.”
Rachel looked a little confused. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t implying there was anything. I only meant that she is a psychiatrist so obviously intelligent and obviously trusted by the President.”

Brad blushed slightly and squeezed her hand. “Sorry. I thought you thought that…well, you know. I mean she never takes her eyes off me and then she was crying on my shoulder, though I don’t know why, why she was crying I mean.”

“Obviously she likes you,” Rachel answered with a smile, “and wants you to know it.”

“Oh, I know it alright. We knew each other even before my wife died. She was after me then and she took my having a wife as an excuse for my turning down her advances I suppose. Anyway she was in Europe somewhere for the last six years or so and when she came back and got this job she started to pursue me all over again. She’s just not my type.”

They were interrupted at that moment by the reappearance of Gabriel. “I’m sorry,” he began when he had everyone’s attention, “the President has been called away on some urgent business. You will all stay here tonight and we will resume, hopefully tomorrow. Supper will be served at seven and you will be shown to your quarters momentarily. Brad I need to talk to you now.”

Rachel looked quickly at Mitch and saw the same emotion being expressed in his eyes. Their guest status now seemed to have changed to one of prisoner. She reached for his hand and held on tight.