Secrets of Riah's Island: Part 3 - It

Chapter 9 - Destiny Re-positions

In the midst of the global recession, Riah and her handsome husband Kane sold their beautiful, ideally located home on the outskirts of town, and purchased some of the few parcels of deserted and heavily forested land on their island home of Barbados. It was near Bathsheba, far out on the rural side of the island. Utter madness her family and friends had all thought and many of them boldly made their opinions known. “It is so far away from your business, from school and the town. Why there Riah? In the middle of nowhere?” came the unrelenting flow of questions.

She had been having premonitions for months, the time had come, she felt it in her veins, and the shadows were tormenting her dreams. The safety of her family was paramount. There had to be a way to change the future, and she knew that she would find it. Her chosen portion of the “forest” was about three acres, and so she began creating her garden of sails. In her dreams, fishing nets connected the trees, and pulleys allowed them to be raised and lowered, just as sails on a boat. Fertilized heaps of mud lined the length of the heaven-stretched nets, and the vines were planted at the base to run up the nets to the sunlight. Half way between each pair of networked trees, a heavy pole was inserted with the same extra large pulleys to facilitate the easy movement of the nets to allow easy harvesting.

Too many articles had begun to surf on the internet about the genetic engineering, the insertion of terminator genes into traditionally fertile plants. “What wickedness”, she thought again, those poor farmers in rural India, committing suicide when the promised abundance never materialized from the expensive new seeds. “Not here she thought, “this beautiful island cannot afford to constantly buy seed from overseas suppliers. We need to create sustainable agriculture to feed the island’s population. Single crop seeds, which were deliberately engineered to be infertile will slowly kill our agriculture. Worse yet, was the new information, spreading over the internet, and yet recently suppressed. The current rumour that the new expensive seeds could also cross contaminate local agricultural crops, which would create a agricultural catastrophe. No wonder England and the UK were fuming silently, trying to devise a way to protect their populations from the threat of global food scarcity that loomed so close in the near future.

Truthfully, the educated understood, why they had little choice but to surrender their allegiance to the new power players backed by the unassailable strength of science, resources and technology. The old system reinvaded the apparently stable new world order under the careful direction of fresh, well educated scientists who had become central to the new cadre of elite power players. Riah earnestly prayed for a new future, that could realign the hopes of millions with a new destiny that all could enjoy and share. “For the sake of my children, and the legacy Kane and I want to leave, a way must be found”, she thought to herself, as she raised her eyes above the tree line to enjoy the sight of fluffy white clouds tickling happy blue skies. “How it would happen, only heaven knew.”

The workmen thundered a little too close to her, struggling to maneuver the heavy log, and Riah lost her balance, slipped over a rocky overhang, landing in a leafy but sturdy shrub. With a gasp, she rolled to the little rocky platau easily finding her balance. “I’m fine, I didn’t get hurt” she replied to the anxious flurry of questions by the worried workers. “I’ll be up in a second, she continued, “I didn’t even get a scratch”. Pride keeping her silent about her suddenly aching back, and the good few pokes she had received from the unusually angled shrub. Her fall had briefly parted a section of branches revealing a cunningly concealed large gaping hole that disappeared into the side of the hill. Aromatic cool sweet breeze had caressed her sweaty cheeks, and her skin prickled instantly in shivering goose bumps as recognition slowly dawned. The breeze had come from beneath the overhang! From deep within the gaping hole!

The intense urge to scream shook her body, while her mind fought for control. “Scare the workmen, and you can forget your precious dreams of sailing gardens, and the organic farm” she reminded herself quickly. Although the island was strongly Christian, quietly, many people strongly believed in the power of obeah – the local name for the island’s voodoo magic that still held sway in the minds of the older generations. To remind the workers of those long-lost rumours, already so strongly associated with this property, would bring nothing but trouble. Her thoughts came swiftly, “Kane will help me. We will simply investigate it tonight, after all the workmen have left,” she thought calmly, “besides, there is absolutely nothing to fear”. From nowhere, the scent of limes and ripe cherries filled her nostrils, and she looked around at the innocent coconut trees, reminding herself, that the sun was shining, and that everything would be just fine. Strangely, there was a buzzing near her ear, and several bees zipped past en route to a nearby hive that had been recently established on an old crooked mahogany tree. Really strange, she thought, because on this side of the island, with the strong salty sea-breezes, there were no flowers in sight for miles, only the greenery of casuarinas, coconut and mahogany trees, along with some strange prickly heldges and bushes.

The mystery of that gaping hole, was definitely one she intended to explore. Massive honey hives did not appear out of nowhere, when there were no flowers for miles around.

The original plan was to have the expedition on Sunday, since they were all a little too frightened to try anything at night. Kane & Riah did not hesitate to invite Hal and Abe to join their modest investigation. Both were scoutmasters, only too happy to help with an after working hours “adventure”. After all it was supposed to be simple. Get some ropes, secure them to the great overhang, or even the nearby mahogany tree, hold some torches and shimmy down if necessary. In all honesty, how deep could it be?

All of us expected it to be little cave at best. Our highest dream, was that we might discover something might be similar to the Harrison’s Cave – which was a network of beautiful underground caves and with pools of waterfalls, and picturesque beds of dazzling stalagmites and stalactites. It was the 9th wonder of the world, and honestly we did not expect to discover anything like it. Yet, somehow the breeze from the mouth of the gaping hole, was so fresh and delicious, that both men startled themselves by instinctively looking around for the source of the fruit. The scent of ripe sweet guavas hung in the air, kindling an immediate interest in sampling the invisible fruit. Kane & I smiled in complete understanding. We all weren’t quite sure what to expect.

Confident, but wary, the men led the way forward.

Chapter 10 – The Discovery

The 6 ft gaping hole was actually the entrance to a curved rocky tunnel, full of cobwebs and what turned out to be, thick sections of smooth, shiny metal. The tunnel was about fifteen feet long, and it opened into a huge cavern below. The powerful torches lost their effect after about one hundred feet, but still the incredible view was unlike anything we could ever have imagined, and the simple light was not only inadequate, it was completely unnecessary.

The thick rocky hills held their powerful shape, arched towards the heavens, but the heavy mud within had avalanched downward to create underground islands covered in trees and vines happily fed by a river undulating around the islands of trees. Abe shifted position, and suddenly the entire cavern was lit as if by daylight. Our bodies had hidden the sunlight. It now struck the old smooth metal panels, which concentrated it into a powerful beam shunted within to strike what looked like a spinning globe with miniature-mirrored faces. The blinding result cascaded downward to the create daylight, while other beams continued their powerful trajectories, cavorting along the roof of the cavern, to meet other strategically positioned brilliant globes that also diffused some light, while transferring some further inland, through what was obviously a huge network of caverns. The light was blinding, but somehow it was diffused downward, similar to sunlight, allowing all life within the caverns to simply grow upward. In the distance, we could see beams coming from other directions; so obviously, ours was not the only source of sunlight.

We stood in silent awe, speechless in amazement, almost too scared to move, as our thirsty eyes drank in the beauty of the scene below us. “Rabbits!” Dear heavens, there were rabbits down there on the grassy slopes. Sugar cane happily erupted around the collage of living and fallen coconut trees. Quietly, we stood, looking down at the distant sight of small living creatures fearlessly moving about on the vibrant terrain far below us. We could see some type of small rooting pig, and even petite colorful birds that quietly flitted around a huge cherry tree full of ripe fruit. A sturdy lime tree reached upwards covered with delicate white blossoms that we could smell so strongly. The sweet smell of guavas came again, and in the distance we could see the shape of some huge guava trees.

Eden had been born again. Not one of us doubted anything less. That intelligent ancient people had been here was more than evident. From the awe-inspiring scale of what we had discovered, Barbados could become instantly famous. Within a few footsteps, our old comfortable lives of anonymity had just been lost, but were we ready to change our world? We were silenced by the majesty of what lay before us.

The dilemma was inevitable, how should our discovery be treated? What more was down there? Just how far did the cavern network go. Literally, we were flying with excitement. Our minds were spinning. There was no way we could reach the floor of the cave, we were merely on a look-out ledge to a huge distant world below. We would need to find someway to begin the perilous journey down. Undoubtedly, part of the terracing we saw was so deep that it had to be well below the sea line that encircled the island. What we had discovered could well change our understanding of the world we have always seen on the surface of our planet. Only rarely have underground cities been discovered, usually well covered with tons of earth and painstakingly uncovered by enthusiastic archeologists. To our knowledge, none of them were anywhere near the scale we saw stretching out before us.

Barbados is unlike anywhere else. It literally is on the very tip of a huge range of underwater cliffs and terraces that have always been very visible from the air. The whole world assumed that the island was completely solid, certainly every current technology ever used to map the island had never suggested otherwise. No one would ever have dreamed that hundreds of feet of solid rock merely formed an upper crust that hid a protected inner layer, capable of sustaining life. We were looking at a terraced inner world, that had obviously been a carefully guarded secret for centuries. The shiny metal looking panels were proof that long ago, the secret was known. From what we could see, ours was the only way in, but surely there were other secret entrances, just as carefully guarded. We sat on the floor of that little tunnel and whispered our oaths of silence to each other.

Abe and Hal with their connections to the construction and retail industries would have little difficulty in securing the type of professional exploratory supplies that we would need. They would start to do a couple of extra scout camps with the children at their different schools, to validate their need for extra supplies.

All of us had seen the advertisement a few weeks ago.

“The Barbados Government is seeking proposals for the development of agricultural initiatives, on a commercial scale with the objective of ensuring immediate implementation. All proposals are to be submitted by 2 October.

After which communiqué, the government was strangely silent. It took weeks before there was even one official word about the impending skyrocketing prices for food that were gradually creeping across the globe. In the beginning, there was total silence about the reality of the world-wide food shortages expected to be a serious to be a global fact of life in well less than 10yrs. Even longer for discussion to begin on our strategy as a small, island economy to sustainably feed our population. After independence, beautiful Barbados was developed to survive from an active offshore and financial services sector, with the helping hands of tourism and manufacturing sectors providing some additional support. The topography of the island offered limited agricultural resources, already challenged by the rampant scourge of larceny that weakened the efforts of the established plantations to provide local produce in gently spiraling recession.

Our dream of an organic farm was obviously already a living reality! Somehow, this gift was intended for the benefit of the whole island, but simply how could it all work? How could people be taught to respect this newly created resource within and beneath the island? The middle east was still under threat of war, and the radioactive fall-out from damaged atomic power plant was still contaminating hundred of thousands of tons of sea water by the day. If war broke out over oil and other mineral resources, and if food became as scarce as widely predicted, the Islands of the Caribbean would have to fend for themselves. We would be asked to provide soldiers towards those wars, but the benefit of the spoils would never touch our lands, though our people would pay with their blood and their lives. It would simply be our price for the right to international peace – not a word would be said by the politicians to offer a different view. The weak quickly learn to tread cautiously in the presence of the powerful.

It was Friday afternoon, and tired from a hectic week, we decided to take a quick sea-bath at Accra. As usual, the beach was lightly crowded, old friends greeting new friends, and tourists sipping fresh drinks and smiling in bliss at the beauty of the scene before them.

It happened first at the beach. For some unknown reason, instead of wading in the shallow waters of Accra, on the sweet, hot sunny day, Jay wandered near to the trunks of the towering casuarinas trees. Their huge, sturdy branches led into large gentle fronds covered with slim, soft wispy spine-like segments, ancient leaves that provided beautiful shade for those wary of skin damage, yet allowed every breath of cool air to circulate freely to those sheltering beneath its sky-stretching, lovely green branches. I stood watching him happily collecting the little brown, multi-chambered, casuarina seeds. In the near distance, were the men who rented beach chairs sitting together peacefully chatting, and intermittently providing, and politely setting up a chair, wherever the occasional tourist decided to establish their own little sun-tanning spot.

There was no one around him, certainly no one within speaking distance, and yet suddenly, he came running over the warm sands, his little legs stumbling in his haste, and a look of apprehension on his face, as he half way turned to look behind him. Suddenly, my shadows held me breathless. Before my eyes, the shadowy figure of a man appeared in the shade standing where my son had been collecting the seeds. “Mummy, mummy” he cried, almost breathless from his 15ft little run, “the man sent a message to you.” Almost from a distance, with strange clarity, never heard from the lips of a typical three year old child, the words spilled forth, and each phrase echoed distinctly in my mind. The little breathless voice continued with a strange fluency, “He said to hide what you found, to forget what you have seen, or you will bring trouble on everyone you love.”

As I picked up my young son, marveling at the words so clearly expressed, my peripheral vision never lost sight of the strange man. He solidified literally before my eyes. His skin was brown and he had the look of ageless health, with long white-gray rasta locks, and strange gentle yet piercing blue-purple eyes that looked directly into mine. His lips didn’t move, yet clearly I heard his voice whispering in my mind, “Sister, tell them all to forget. Hide what you have found. You will awaken those who should remain asleep. Let this island and this world continue to live in peace.”

And then, in the piercing daylight all around me, he began to fade, his piercing eyes still staring directly into mine. Impossibly his body faded away with his eyes fading last, and the sound of his voice still echoing powerfully through my mind. Jay clung to me, his eyes also watching the man vanish, strangely he was silent, struggling as I was, to understand what was happening right before us.

“Riah, Riah, what’s wrong? You are as white as a sheet.” A strong warm hand reached out and encircled my shoulders. “You are shivering, how could you be cold on a day like today?” Kane’s voice wrapped around me like a warm blanket, slowly bringing me back to reality. He gently turned me, to give me a hug. “What are you staring at Riah? What’s wrong?”

No one in our little group had seen or heard anything. Little Jay never said another word about it, not at the time, nor later.


Chapter 11 - The Vision Grows

Carefull to disable the GPS functions of our smart phones, we armed ourselves with photos, and carefully planned our approach. Cautiously we approached the powerful families, with successful companies, who had proven their commitment to the island’s development. Company owners and leaders with resources, who shared our understanding of the economic reality and the overwhelming possibilities, we had discovered. We saw a new reality for the island, and a new destiny for ourselves.

In the lands overseas, we heard of the developing horror – of radiation sickness and death spreading across the lands, of food scarcity, hunger and rage. We stood quietly by, watching the world fight over massive energy resources that could save the world, being amassed, hoarded and controlled by the powerful, while the weak fought for subsistent survival. We watched, we read and we learned. Sometimes the future safety of many, depended on the discretion and guidance of leaders with the wisdom to remain quietly on the sidelines. As the Swiss and the Swedish remained quiet, so did the Caribbean.

Our discovery changed our future. Our failure to succumb to the diseases ravaging the continents was a ticking time bomb. Discovery of a new safe world beneath the island offered every Barbadian a safe future with the possibility of their own home and their own land. The government would structure the cost of their labour against the cost of the plot of land they would earn, with the understanding that only green, ecologically sound building practices, materials, and techniques would be used on their sites. Simple villages, primarily constructed of the materials found below, would be constructed in the interim, allowing teams of workers to explore, report and help build eco-friendly frameworks that would be required to enable the infra-structural development of the inner lands.

Advertisements were placed for physically fit persons seeking adventure, easily interpreted as recruitment adds for soldiers and the army. After extensive interviews, we created exploration and preliminary development teams from the many unemployed construction workers, previously affected by the recession. Preference was given to single adults and open-minded couples. The schools remained a necessary reality for the children, and so discreetly, the islanders were strategically reassigned to employment, based on the best needs of those dependants, if any.

We found the underground network was indeed far bigger than the island of Barbados, indeed it gradually descended as gently rolling landscapes, deeper into the very same range of underwater range of cliffs, the apex of which we knew as Barbados. With depth, came darkness, but chaotically beautiful fertile plant life continued. Vines and plants filled with fruit, reached towards the strange light that reflected from the extensive stretches of smooth rocky ceilings. We found other panels that needed to be cleaned. One was near the island’s central hospital. The property was owned by a doctor, and it would become the location of the island’s newest crematorium. As before, the rocky-tunneled entrance was strategically hidden, this time by the majestic banyan trees, silent guardians of magnificent old stone columns.

The Anglican Church owned the unused, tree-laden, hilly property where the third entrance was found. Around the world, the truth was, is and will be clearly self-evident. Organized religions answer to neither royal king nor democratic government. Their allegiance is solely towards their own international order, each possessing secrets that protect the many spheres of the world we see. The decision was easy, and unanimous. Nothing would be told to the local clergy of any religion – a choice that would later have consequences we could not have envisioned.

The Barbados Museum is in the middle of old St Anne’s Fort which was established by the British when they colonized the island. In the museum, a real dungeon still exists, yet unbeknown to many, a secret entrance also hides. As with each rocky pathway, its nearby twin entrance was hidden by the roots of the nearby ancient huge trees. The old dedicated historian was only too happy to keep the secret. We called him Mr Muze, and with his radio, we would summon him only when we had need of his help.

As we explored, doubtless other entrances would be found, but three substantial, functioning entrances were more than enough for us to feel comfortable. With the plates in these entrances well shined, on a sunny day, the inner world was almost as bright as the paradise the visitors saw on the outside of the island.

Comforted by my memories, I awoke refreshed and recharged.

Kane reached over with a gentle kiss, “Did you sleep well love? His hands reached out for me. I always loved the hungry early mornings that started a busy, fulfilling day. With open arms, I surrendered myself to bliss.

Chapter 12 – A New Understanding

As the world reported their deaths, we too had to die. As they came for whatever reason, to the hospital for help, slowly, people of the island were eventually transported out, and down into the inner islands that existed beneath the outer crust of Barbados. Every arrival was shocked, and truthfully, each had every right to be.

Those who could be trusted, were allowed to live dual lives, visiting the underworld with supplies and knowledge, and advice, while maintaining a presence on the island’s crust to ensure a safe, gradual, controlled dispersion of the population into the island’s apparently endless depths. Cinema screens somehow reported as “damaged” in the recent bad weather, were removed and re-installed below the crematorium and linked up to the internet, freely offering a wide range of movies for those who needed the relaxing entertainment customary in their prior lives. Via side rooms, other screens and monitors offered unlimited real-time access to wide ranging discussions, observations and clips available on the internet, rather than on the controlled news feeds offered by the super-power nations who ran the planet. Anything could be seen or accessed, but live access to chat feeds, video streaming or any interactive type media was strictly blocked. Adam and Johnathon, previously underground IT experts joined by many of the island’s top IT professionals to create tamper blocks that detected any phase of attempted interaction, and simply cut it off.

Before anyone could be entrusted with access to any equipment, they all had to undergo re-education on the reality that was taking place abroad, and that posed a serious threat to the future safety of the island, and all of its inhabitants. Many civilians had previously only been exposed to the newspapers that by diplomatic necessity could only offer local news and often, very limited, politically discreet & heavily edited, tit-bits on international information. Although highly literate, local programming, call-in chat shows and educational outreach efforts, had always traditionally focused primarily on local political and human-developmental issues, rather than delve within the controversial arena of policy choices and consequences of international decision-making, on critical issues that would and did have global implications & repercussions.

The consequences of choices that were currently impacting the world, were seen as too inflammatory to present to the masses of most countries. Gene manipulation by scientists to de-activate the reproductive capability and thus destroy the fertility of fundamental food crops like soy, corn & wheat had never been discussed. The implications of pesticides deliberately spliced into the DNA of seeds, supposedly to prevent pests, but also having the side-effect of slowly poisoning & destroying healthy human tissue and altering the human genetic code, with multi-generational implications was previously too a hot a topic for thorough public discussion in a small island. Slowly, the older generations along with the young were helped to understand the global repercussions of decisions made by the super powerful companies & governments, and with this understanding, they were motivated to change old careless habits, and keen to adopt positive, sustainable behaviours.

The upper crust of the island, was so far above the rolling landscapes below, that it created its own night. The local scientists and marine biologists were excited to discover large, edible types of slugs eating the mildew from the amazingly high vaulted rocky ceilings of the caverns. It was their industry in collaboration with minerals in the rocks themselves, which left a network of florescent slimy trails shimmering across the ceilings. It made the vaulted insides of the inner caverns seem to glisten and sparkle just as the Caribbean night sky would sparkle with flickering stars moving across heaven’s horizon. To many, it was an awe-inspiring, beautiful sight that eased the transition into this new place we all called our new home.

The smooth vaulted ceilings also caught and disbursed some the reflected sunlight during the daytime. The clear brightness and yet soul-scary depths of the caverns made one seriously question, whether we were really in deep underground caves. The fantasy could easily be entertained, that possibly, accidental travel to a new dimension had somehow occurred.

In some areas, due to the porous limestone of the island, stalactites and stalagmites struggled to meet, often creating massive powerful columns intermittently holding up the cavern walls and creating running networks of solid chambers, interspersed with beautiful waterfalls of crystal clear water, at times cascading into deep pools, which fed into deeper underground running streams and rivers. The children and teenagers happily led the way, often cavorting off the higher ledges to show off their developing diving and swimming skills. In some pools near to the muddy banks and sandy deposits, to our amazement, seaweed grew profusely, some of it like plants, growing upward in the deep ponds of salty waters, along with tons of plump living fish, of a species that we had never seen before.

Chapter 13 Re-Discovered Community

Halam and Abe led the way, the construction and do-it-yourself giants on the island only too happy to become involved, carefully providing tools, supplies and labour to investigate the new opportunities that existed below land. Locally owned banks and credit unions invested strategically. Our economy had become a closed oasis hidden in the world’s debris, with dreams and purpose, it flourished. One day, everyone knew that the whole, wide world would know of little Barbados, the famous island in the sun, until then, we would all benefit from the secret living lands beneath us.

Slowly, the system by which we all lived changed completely. Maybe it was the abundance of good food, a new appreciation for the value of hard work, a renewed appreciation for the skills of the budding musicians, drummers, guitars and flutes, who were all making an incredibly powerful music. Families got together and built their own homes. Architects and craftsmen, consulted and guided freely. The fertile earth eagerly awaiting our attention for so long, overwhelmed us with its fertility. The agriculturally minded were swift to harvest, to identify the best planting areas and begin to structure sustainable plots.

On the surface of Barbados, we, black, white and brown men and women had traditionally competed to own and manage the scarce resources of our tiny island. Decades before, when the island achieved independence from England, the prime minister decreed that all education should be free. Our population was able to boast of 99% literacy, a reality many developed nations would never achieve.

Here, in the inner world, that we were all discovering together, we understood that this discovery was greater than each and all of us. We had seen the scavenging and political power-play over access to resources in our own island. Over the years, endlessly recapped on cable television, we had seen generations of wars raged over land, oil, the threat to national security, the possession of long-lost treasures, and over the discovery of new knowledge. We all knew, that here in Barbados, knowledge of our discovery would change the peaceful, invisible lives we previously enjoyed. We would all become targeted, and everything we now enjoyed, could by force, so easily be taken from us.

This understanding and the reality of our new existence bonded us together as a newly created people, in a way, that no other ideology or espoused theory could achieve. We were renewed, sharing knowledge, re-discovering new techniques and sharing the opportunities, we all saw to develop these new lands of ours in the best way we could collectively determine.

Another side of the government was democratically selected and entrusted with the responsibility for the governing and managing the development of the inner lands. Here, all had a say, because these hidden lands stretched farther than the mere 166 square miles that officially encompassed the outer terrain of Barbados. Our new lands stretched deeply under the sea, in every direction, endlessly it seemed for no one had yet seen evidence to the contrary. Now everyone could own their own home, and would possess their own piece of land to develop as they wished, once the building guidelines were followed. As families arrived, they were shown the next plot being assigned for their development. Families got together to help each other, and with each hard day’s honest labor, each community found its balance of peace.

Carefully, we recycled everything, from waste to plastics and metal. Everything was seen as a resource. The mistakes and the careless cynicism of the past crept away, and with bright enthusiasm, the islanders began to recreate a new paradise, founded on the principles of green, ecologically friendly living. The small cozy campfires lit up the ground, but were still swamped by the heavy darkness of the immense network of caves. We saw no evidence of danger, but alert, we stood guard, gradually encroaching on the hidden lands yet to be discovered, and reporting the results to the central planners, intent on aligning the terrain with the best possible, sustainable use.

Thus we knew that across the world, millions of people were infected, millions more had died and without the precious medicine sold at exorbitant rates, countless millions would continue to die. We stood quietly, witnessing their decisions, previously unwilling to risk our lives by letting the truth of our discovery out into an aggressive world ruled by the mighty powerful few.

Gradually, as the inner caverns were developed, supplies on the surface ran out. The new communities still shared their resources, tools moved with ease from one family to the next, easily borrowed and returned. Careful track was kept on the items, most of them, once destroyed would not be easily replaced, and awareness of future scarcity, kept us all vigilant.

A communications unit had been carefully established beneath the crematorium. The facility not only covered for the disappearance of bodies, but also masked the extensive listening equipment, that allowed us to monitor overseas radio transmissions, cable channels and discreetly interface with the topside section of the government.

International freighters and their goods had stopped visiting the island long ago. Only the food boats from nearby islands visited our port, and then mostly out of a sense of obligation to sustain neighbors believed unable to sustain themselves. Whatever was offered was politely and gratefully accepted. Absolutely nothing was asked for. When the tools ran out however, we might have little choice but to tactfully ask for more substantial help. For the past year and a half, we had coped on our own. Rotating skeleton crews slept at the port to quickly offload any cargo, and encourage the visiting crews to continue on their journey. Subtle suggestions were always made, that maybe the sickness that affected the different islands, might be better contained if minimum contact were enforced, whenever island drop-offs occurred. The healthy sailors were typically only too happy to agree, and usually left our dock on the same evening of their early morning arrival.

With knowledge and access to resources, Tale’s Hatcheries were easily and quickly able to create new chickens farms within very stable structures. Some of the birds were allowed to happily roam large sections of the earth, and watched to see which grasses they selected, as the grains from those species would also be safe for us to use if later need arose. Later a heavier type of chicken with beautiful plumage would be discovered and caught. A few were taken and bred with the normal chickens, the resulting eggs were nutritionally richer, and the birds themselves stronger and more fertile.

It was while little Jay was following one of the loose chickens into the nearby undergrowth that the accident happened. We heard a crash and he screamed. My heart literally plummeted, I could feel my stomach quivering uncontrollably, and my breath caught. Without thought, I made the short run over to the little bushes, and sobs threatened to overwhelm what little vestige of self-control I still possessed. Over the light entwined branches, I could clearly see a large, partially covered hole, with his frail body lying prostrate on the rocky floor, about 10 feet below. I felt the shiver begin at the back of my head, and a violent ripping of my insides gripped me, tears from deep within my body, wrenched themselves into creation, and then miraculously, before my flooding eyes, he moved. As my almost disbelieving eyes, greedily grasped at the vision of his fumbling arm, struggling to sit up, I felt the miracle of his well-being soar through me. I spoke almost too softly “Don’t move Jay, don’t move love. Mummy is coming to get you right now. Don’t move love, just lie right there and stay still.” Even from this distance, I could see his growing alarm as recognition dawned in every line of his crooked body. “Mum, my hand! It’s hurting, Mum. Mum, it is not working. I can’t move it, . . . Mummy!” The tears streamed down his face, as he struggled to pick up his broken arm and cuddle it in towards his little chest. “Jay, don’t move your arm. I am coming love. It is all right, we are going to fix it. Please love, just stay still.” With a quick glance down to the young child, Kane ran back to get rope from the hatchery. I cleared away the light branches, conscious of my every step and yet careful to keep a light comforting flow of words, as I maintained eye-contact and visibility with Jay.

A nearby tree trunk provided the anchor for the rope, and Kane made his way down through the hole before me, as Trevor, one of the hatchery workers, went running for help. Both bones of his b arm were broken right above his wrist. With my flat clip-board beneath his broken wrist, we managed to hoist him up, just in time to hear the apologies of arriving Mr Tale. “I knew there was a hole there, but it didn’t seem worth checking out. There was such lovely flat land here, with trees for the chickens to roost on, I didn’t see the point in clearing all the bush, there was just too much. Honestly sorry about that Riah. Is he okay? How bad is it?” The stream of guilty questions faded away from my hearing, I could only see and focus on Jay. Kane brushed aside the chatter, and accepted his help. “The child will be fine. We will need to be carefull though. We wouldn’t want another child to be hurt. Put a couple logs across that hole for now, that should make it safe enough.” “Of course, I will have that done right away” came the instant reply, as Mr Tayle acted upon his happy excuse to depart our company and secure the area.

Kane looked nonchalantly back at me, his silence speaking volumes as his large strides carried little Jay to the campsite where visiting Dr Benjamin would be found. We had both seen the drawings on the cave walls below. For the first time, we had found real proof, that other beings had known about these lands. The cave walls had been covered with drawings, the deep red clay chalk showing clearly on the light smooth cave walls. Yet, tacitly, we both recognized the danger in what we saw. For the drawings were clearly warnings.

Chapter 14 The New World Beckons

Dr Benjamin was already internationally published for his research on AIDS. His research on the local inhabitants of the island had not only proven the possible existence of genetic protection from the spread of AIDS, but further that it was a functional genetic reality, deeply entrenched within the local population. The exact gene was identified, but its presence and how it was activated, was still the subject of ongoing research. However, in light of the discovery of inner crust of Barbados, his previously devoted research was interrupted, by his ecstatic appreciation of the scientific opportunities that surrounded him. His lovely wife and their two sons, were often seen collecting samples and recording information as inspired, they sought to uncover the many mysteries around them.

“Kane, look at this,” Dr Benjamin approached us, holding a report in his hand. “This proves it, Kane, they are hundreds of years old. It is incredible! I just can’t believe it!” His blue eyes shone from behind his glasses, his face creased in a beaming smile. Kane looked at the slightly crumpled report, understanding the doctor’s fascination with his endless array of discoveries. “What is it, what did you find?” he asked gently, as he lay the boy down on the campsite military cot. “The snails!” came the instant reply, “the snails are hundreds of years old! Either they have found or they, themselves are the fountain of youth! They are not dying Kane. They are simply not dying.” Kane backed away, with his arm slightly raised, unwilling to hear and understand the words being spoken. Here indeed was another complication, they had not expected, and this definitely was another issue that needed to remain hidden.

I hugged Jay gently, soothing him as I stroked his forehead, murmuring my love softly, as Dr Benjamin gently touched the twisted arm. Inside I was reciting my prayers of protection and healing, while Jay bravely looked around him. We had to return to the surface, so the arm could be properly set. “Green bones of youth” they said, so the arm would heal perfectly. My peace of mind as a mother returned, but my faith in the shadows worried me. I had felt nothing when Jay fell, so his accident was meant to happen, because the shadows screamed into my mind when I saw the cave drawings, and again, when the eternity of the snails had been mentioned. A new drama was on its way into our lives again.

Could the snails really offer a link to ageless living? The question was too scary to even begin to contemplate.

Chapter 15 Communication from the Past

A week later, while Jay and I were recovering from our mishap, Kane and Mr Tale held a camp-out near the collapsed cave. The screens of carefully positioned logs were removed, and Kane’s pictures hand-delivered to Mr Muze. At his request, late one night, a meeting was discreetly held in the museum. Unusual guests made their first appearance. His voice resembled his face, craggy and gray with age, and yet unusually serious, rather than excited. He stood firmly before us, carriage erect, eyes twinkling, and his voice swept the facts clearly into the light of our gazes. Clear large blow-ups were displayed accompanied by his thorough analysis. “These photos reveal indisputable evidence of several important facts, and I have no doubt, what-so-ever, that my understanding is still far from complete. Here, however, are the most important conclusions.” On his power-point display, each item slowly surfaced and then added itself to the numerical list. Mr Muze had them carefully summarized.

1. People clearly lived on the inner crust of this island before.
2. The inner crust of Barbados was not unique, clearly the illustrations showed that hidden inner crusts existed below countries all around the globe.
3. That these inner crusts at varying levels were once, and could still be, connected to one another.
4. That at least one, possibly several portals seemed to exist, that did/might allow beings to move to another planet or place in time – very probably both ways.
5. That long ago visitors through the portal brought life and death to this planet
6. That our discovery of the inner crust could well accidentally re-activate a transfer of our people through the portal, and re-awaken the interest or ability of creatures on the other side, to re-visit our planet.

He stood, with his feet slightly parted in his distinguished gray suit, with his hands expressively open, waiting for the murmurings to quieten, before he continued,

“Ladies and Gentlemen, the reality is that our discovery has serious consequences not only for this island, but for this entire planet. There are several questions that we need to carefully address:

a) Unlike the rest of the world, our population is not at all affected by the cancers, the creeping deaths of all types that are occurring around the globe. Somehow, on this little island, we are genetically protected, not just from the spread of AIDS as was documented before the isolation from the larger countries, but also from the crawling impact of radiation, regardless of its sources; whether aerial, sea-life, from the soil, or from contaminated seed that we bought before the isolation.
b) Therefore, it is my honest and firm belief rooted in all the studies and testing that I have done, that there is something about this island that fights and heals sickness.
c) Indiscriminately releasing this information will create this island and our people into a target investigation or even invasion by the super-countries.
d) Further, the opportunities that our discovery provides will undeniably create an additional world-wind of attention, that we, as an independent country, will in all reality, be completely unable to control or manage in any way.
e) Like it or not, once this information becomes public, we will immediately become a sustainable source of news for the world, for the next century if not beyond.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” . . . he paused to look the Prime Minister and her key politicians straight in the eyes, as he continued. “This is the scientific discovery of this century, and what we uncover will change our perception of this world, and everything about it. Everything, from our understanding of history of this planet and the existence of humanity, the development of religion and government, to our appreciation of science and the development of our greatest civilizations. We stand on the brink of truly re-discovering the lost past of humanity.

The room was silent, as the Prime Minister and her core team considered not only his words, but the many benefits that of the enormous array of options that fate had placed before them.. The others began to murmur, and questions started flying. Solomon began to consider the strategic consequences of inter-connected inner lands. It meant that parameters of our discovered inner islands had to be identified, mapped and a preliminary border security more vigilantly established. Our cavernous terrain was no longer a unique feature of the island, it was simply a small part of a far more majestic design.

Dr Benjamin and Anglique Bradshaw alternated between day-dreams, impatient to unravel the scientific discoveries awaiting them from the medical fields of an intelligent ancient culture, and yet fascinated by the idea of a portal that offered travel between worlds or dimensions. In the 21st century, aliens and UFOs still continued to be socially taboo subjects, deemed acceptable conversation only for the fanatics on the fringe of reality.

The ten political representatives representing both the upper and inner world, stood in close conversation. No longer was this discovery merely an exciting new dimension to the island paradise on which we lived. It had within a few short moments, been transformed and upgraded into a new type of potentially, a world threatening event. The possibility of secrecy now had international implications. With the island’s limited resources, there was no possibility that we could cope with the repercussions that might develop if the portal or portals were accidentally breached by one of our enthusiastic explorers.

What we had uncovered might help save our planet from the unraveling science-based madness that was slowly poisoning humanity, but it could also leap-frog the destiny of humanity into an existence that might be substantially worse than slow death in a free world, where dreams of hope still ran free.

Professor Muze looked directly at one of his favourite young couples. Kane held Riah in his arms, as she whispered in his ear. “Our discovery was supposed to save our island, not threaten all of our lives.” A tremor of fear wafted along her spine, almost as though, the shadows were listening to her thoughts, and warning her of the danger to come. Kane absently stroked her soft tendrils, as she leant gently against his chest, silently they listened to the excited chatter of the room’s occupants. Their discovery had developed into a living entity of its own, and it was slowly changing every aspect of the world they knew.