Then, after travelling along a flat area without seeing any sign of life, they suddenly saw an old man up ahead who obviously noticed them, and was waving his arm for a lift.
'Be careful,' said Les. 'Maybe dangerous.'
'A bit old to be dangerous,' said Gil, who was at the wheel.
'But he notices us through the zeta field. How can that be?'
Gil slowed down, but was poised to speed up again if necessary. The closer they came, the older he looked. He was leaning on a staff, wore a turban of the style that the Shan wear, with the baggy homespun trousers and shirt.
'Better keep going,' said Les.
Gil sped up.
As they passed, they saw the sudden look of disappointment and hopelessness on his face.
'Let's stop and help him,' said Rosa.
'Are you sure?'
'Yes, he needs help,' Ernie noted.
Gil stopped, and reversed.
The man's face lit up.
'Pai nai krap?' said Ernie in Thai, which is linguistically close to Shan (meaning, 'Where are you going?').
The man answered with what they assumed to be the name of a village farther down the road. Gil drove on again.
The face of the man didn't look Shan nor Burman, nor like any of the other local tribes. If anything, he looked Arab or Indian. Otherwise, there was nothing about him to suggest why he should have been able to see them despite the zeta field.
Joseph offered the man some of the food they had on hand, and he ate hungrily as though he had been days without food. Then he drank a great quantity of their water.
Joseph was afraid they'd run out, but Thomas said, 'Let him drink. He must have been dying.'
They drove on into the night. The man never asked to get off. Nor did he seem to think it strange that they were driving so fast down a jungle trail in pitch blackness.
On they drove: up hills, through valleys, over log bridges, winding up the sides of mountains overlooking what ought to have been breathtaking views if seen in daylight (it just wasn't the same with meefa vision), down into more valleys, through rice fields, up more hills, through poppy fields; until finally, the eastern sky began to show a hew of orange and a mist could be seen covering all the low lying areas.
They continued through a clearing in the valley surrounded by mountains and into another jungly area. Now, the sun should have been rising, but the mountains were in the way. The tops of the mountains to one side began to show a red glint.
Here, they came to a stop. Just ahead was where the convoy was waiting for help. Using the probe once again, they found that the party was camping near the middle car. Stanovitch was with them, and they were heavily armed.
Discreetly, they directed a dyni beam on each of the firearms with as light a force as possible that would still render them useless. No one seemed to notice anything, except Stanovitch, who suddenly spun his head around and stared at an M16. He saw nothing.
Increasing their zeta field, they moved forward until they reached the first Land-cruiser. There, they stopped and proceeded on foot, Ernie, Les, Joseph and Gil up front, while Thomas and Rosa stayed well behind. The old man remained in the jeep.
Soon they could see Stanovitch's party. It was time to act.
'Gil, the crystal,' whispered Ernie.
Gil gave him the crystal.
Instinctively, Phondesh took it in the palm of his hand and raised it up. This way, it still provided them with their Zondon senses, perhaps a little less visual capacity, but it was a better position from which to transmit what energy would disable the Glaat.
A dyni beam was what Phondesh knew would be needed. He looked to see where it would be most effective.
He saw what he had seen that day at the Dusit: a body -- that of the man himself, the Glaat who was in control of the body, and the energy field that made up the real Nicolai Stanovitch. But this time he could see, as he couldn't before, what held him as a prisoner.
There was a fixed field, a cloud of knosa-negative particles, probably held in place by some ambition or motivation on the part of the psyche, the real Nicolai Stanovitch.
Suddenly Phondesh knew, it was knosa-negative clouds that he saw everywhere but hadn't realise it because they were so common. They were what inhibited the low probability factors. Like zoetrons, knosa-negative particles also orbit in and out of the hyperspace hole at the atom's nucleus, though usually in non living molecules. Sometimes they coexist with the zoetrons in DNA. They are like parasites, or viruses, on a sub-atomic scale.
Because knosa-negative particles, like zoetrons, are defined, not by the speed of light, but the speed of thought; they are closely linked to ambition, hate, fear, and other feelings that are not conducive to a low probability factor. They had prevented the crystal from working a time or two -- until they had consciously dealt with the motives and ambitions that had caused them. They don't just go away by themselves. They have to be consciously dealt with.
Nicolai (the real one) couldn't do that right now, because he wasn't conscious.
Phondesh began to survey what needed to be done. If he directed a high level dyni beam at the Glaat, it would be forced to leave the body. However, because of the knosa-negative clouds, the Glaat would have a handle to pull the real Nicolai with him. The body would be left as nothing but a vegetable until the Glaat used Nicolai to get back inside. An even stronger beam would drive the Glaat away for good, but also destroy the real Nicolai.
Was there a choice?
'There is no choice, Phondesh. Best to act decisively,' came the soundless voice of Zikh.
'He deserves it, I'd say,' said Vrosh.
'There must be a better way to do this,' responded Phondesh.
There was another way, but it wasn't one hundred percent sure. He could bombard the real Nicolai with a shower of zoetrons, which would awaken him, and possibly strengthen him enough so he would take charge.
Emphesis on possibly. Would it be the right move?
Whatever he did, he would have to act quickly because the Glaat still had the power to blow them away, and he was beginning to sense their presence despite the zeta field.
So, what to do? He remembered his promise.
'There's a better way,' said Phondesh.
'Do what you think is wisest,' answered Draz. 'We'll trust your judgement.'
Decision made, Phondesh began to send a low level beam of zoetrons directly to the energy field of the real Nicolai Stanovitch.
Stray zoetrons throughout various parts of the universe were absorbed into nearby hyperspace holes, and orbited back out again into the crystal. In hyperspace, distance is not a factor, as it isn't defined by the three dimensions of physical space, nor that of time.
As the zoetrons filtered through the crystal, Phondesh spoke, forming the beam into a wave pattern that would be received as inaudible words:
'Wake up, Nicolai. Take charge of your body. You have authority over your own body. There's hope for you. Be strengthened and take charge. Choose to do good and become a bringer of life.'
Gradually, he could see the energy field beginning to stir. It was being strengthened as it absorbed some of the zoetrons, but it wasn't fully awake yet.
'I've done what I promised. I've brought help,' Phondesh continued.
The Glaat was now fully aware, and began to act.
Phondesh continued sending the zoetrons.
The Glaat reached into his pocket and drew out a small violet coloured crystal.
'I can play your game too,' said the Glaat.
Then, holding his crystal in the same way as Phondesh, he directed a dyni beam at the green one.
Phondesh knew he had no choice but to keep sending the zoetron beam. If he stopped now, it would be too little to do any good. He kept at it, hoping the real Nicolai would respond in time.
The dyni beam was barely visible to human eyes as it burned through a whiff of morning mist -- a sort of ultraviolet essence -- str
aight at the crystal. Now, some of the militiamen were up, watching in amazement.
Phondesh felt the green crystal shaking in his hand, and growing hot. But he remained where he was. There was no way to send both kinds of beams at once. He would have to keep at it for just a second or two longer.
'Come on Nicolai, wake up!'
He wasn't waking up. The crystal was almost too hot to hold.
'This isn't working,' said Phondesh through his Zondon consciousness.
'Bad choice, I'd say,' said Zikh.
'Is it too late to switch to dyni power?' said Draz.
There was an explosion. Zondon consciousness was suddenly lost.
Ernie's hand was on fire.
The crystal was no more, but had shattered into billions of microscopic pieces.
Stanovitch was shouting, 'What are you scum waiting for? Kill them!'
Ernie fell backwards. The last thing he saw before blacking out was Shan militia men attempting to use their guns.
Chapter 52
Nitaya was a wonderful big sister to Ibrahim, and took him shopping at The Mall Department Store, one that had an amusement park on the roof. Then, Ed joined them for dinner at an Indian restaurant where they were able to order what Ibrahim had been longing for. Then they saw a film at the cinema, the one about when Luke Skywalker's pappa was a little boy.
When they finally arrived home, they almost had to carry Ibrahim up in the lift
All that night, he dreamed about sitting in a jeep dashing up and down hills and through jungles. He was in the back with an extremely old man who smiled warmly at him, and would hold him close and whisper things in his ear. The others, sitting in front, were oblivious to him.
In the morning he woke up. He was on the divan, and he could still hear snoring through the partly open door to the bedroom.
He still had an impression of being in a jeep. Then, he realised that the others had been using the crystal, and his consciousness was expanded. Had they been using it all night?
Now, it was as though he were being rallied for a fight. He sat up in the divan. He felt as though he were joining his inner Zondon strength with theirs. The feeling became stronger and stronger. It seemed to come from his belly, as though something were groaning to give life. Was this what women felt when they gave birth? he wondered.
It built up to such an intensity that it felt almost too heavy to bear. Then all at once it went away -- gone -- so sudden it felt like his Zondon consciousness were ripped from him.
He began crying.
Why was he crying? Something had happened to the crystal. He knew it.
He didn't know how he knew it. He just knew it. It was as though a close intimate friend had died suddenly. Someone he didn't realise he knew, but at the same time was very close.
Nitaya came out into the lounge.
'Oh Ibrahim! What's wrong?'
'I - I don't know.'
'Oh Ibrahim!' She sat down and put her arm around him as he continued to sob.
Ed was still asleep in the bedroom.
'I - I think the crystal broken,' sobbed Ibrahim.
'Broken? How?'
'I don't know. They go to the jungle with a jeep, just now they fight, doing something -- I don't know -- now the crystal broken.'
'Oh, Ibrahim!' Her presence and embrace made him feel somewhat better.
'Come, I make a cup of Milo for you.' She went to the kitchenette and turned on the hot water pot.
Ibrahim followed.
It was probably the talking that woke Ed up.
'Hey, what's going on?' he said, rubbing his eyes as he came in.
'Oh Edmond! Ibrahim say the crystal broken!'
'Say what? The crystal is -- what?'
'Crystal broken,' repeated Ibrahim.
'What crystal? Where did it fall from? Who knocked it off?'
'No! The green crystal! The one Ernie take!' Ibrahim said.
'Right, the crystal. Wait-wait. If they took it up North, how do you know it's broken? Did they call?'
'When they use crystal, I can feel. We know it together. I woke up, they use the crystal, and then -- not!'
'They go to jungle in jeep,' added Nitaya.
'I must go to Uncle Abdul,' said Ibrahim.
'Uncle who?' said Ed.
'Uncle Abdul, he come to the wedding.'
'Oh, that Uncle Abdul. Why do you need to go to your Uncle Abdul?'
Ibrahim wasn't sure himself what Uncle Abdul had to do with all this. The thought had just popped into his head and he immediately knew he had to go to Egypt.
'He help us. Something in Egypt, I must go,' Ibrahim tried to explain in his best English. When he was relaxed his English usually flowed much better.
'Something in Egypt you must go?'
'Zondon. Something Zondon, the Pyramid, the Sphinx, oh! I have to go!' he broke down crying.
Nitaya encircled him in her arms while Ed phoned Ernie's mobile.
May Lin answered.
'Where's Ernie and the others?'
'The last I knew, they called me from over the border, they had rented a jeep and were going inland,' said May Lin, mechanically, as though something were heavy on her mind.
'"To jungle in jeep,"' quoted Ed, almost in a whisper. Then he regrouped himself. 'Has anything happened to them that you know of?'
'I -- er -- I don't know.'
'Ibrahim is in hysterics,' said Ed. 'He's sure the crystal broke.'
'That might be the case. I'm a bit close to hysterics now myself.'
'Ibrahim is insisting that he must go to his Uncle Abdul in Egypt.'
There was a painfully long pause.
'That might be a good plan,' May Lin said, finally, with just a bit more resolve in her voice. 'Can you arrange it?'
'We'll try.'
May Lin gave them Abdul's phone number.
As soon as it was settled, Ibrahim felt better. They had breakfast and were off to the airport.
They decided that having a Canadian passport should present no problem at immigrations. However the fact that Ibrahim was an under aged passenger, was a different story.
First they got the ticket. Then, they went to the cyber-cafe on the second floor where Ibrahim hacked the airline database and had the child passenger part okayed. He could do this from memory. Then he checked in and boarded.
Ed waited 'til it was morning, Egypt time, before he called Abdul.
* * *
Ibrahim had thought that once the seventh Zondon was awakened, that the third part of Zizz's story would fall into place. He did have some vague dreams about it, and on waking up, he had tried to force himself to memorise the last image he saw, thinking that would bring back the rest. It was a picture of the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx, but it brought back nothing else.
However, it wasn't the Great Pyramid and Sphinx of the travel posters. It was a shining white pyramid as opposed to one with rocky ridges running crossways all the way to the top, and a golden Sphinx, perfectly formed, as opposed to a rough rocky one that was missing its nose. Around the glistening white pyramid and the golden Sphinx were fields of green grass, and a straight line of trees separated the two.
That was all he remembered of the dream -- all the more reason to go to Egypt.
The only person he knew in Egypt was Uncle Abdul. Somehow, he had something to do with all this.
Throughout the flight, he didn't sleep, he ate only a little of the food brought to him, but he thought about the dreams.
What did they mean? What was their mission? How would it be accomplished without the crystal?
At one point, he opened the in-flight magazine.
There again, he found the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx, from just about the same angle he had dreamed it, only it was the Sphinx with the broken nose and the pyramid with the brown ridges, and an arid landscape in the background.
When the plane landed in Cairo, Ibrahim took his carry bag and hi
s passport and did all the things he remembered Ernie and May Lin doing whenever they entered a country.
Once through, he found a phone box and called Uncle Abdul.
Chapter 53
It was fortunate that Ed called when he did, because Abdul was resting at the half way point between Cairo and the archaeological dig. Otherwise, it would have taken two days to get back to Cairo again. As it was, he was still a couple of hours away when Ibrahim called. He told him to wait at the meeting point.
From six a.m. Bangkok time, to when it finally turns ten p.m. in Cairo, is a long time to be awake. When Abdul found Ibrahim, he was fast asleep, resting his upper body on his carry bag on the seat next to him. Like any boy awakened two hours after going to sleep at night, Ibrahim never really woke up, so Abdul had to lead him by the hand out to the car.
So it was that about four o'clock the following morning, Ibrahim found himself in a king sized bed, not remembering how he got there. There was a sign in Arabic taped to the back of a chair that said, 'Ibrahim, I'm in the lounge. Wake me up if you need anything. Uncle Abdul,'.
Ibrahim didn't need anything, so after walking quietly about the small flat and seeing Uncle Abdul sound asleep on the sofa, he went back to bed. Then he drifted in and out of sleep until he heard Abdul moving things about in the kitchen.
'Good morning Uncle Abdul,' Ibrahim said, as he stepped out.
'Well, hello! You must be surprised to find yourself in a strange house! You were fast asleep when I found you.'
'Is this your house?'
'Yes, I bought this flat after my wife died,' explained Abdul. 'All my children had grown up and moved out of our old house, so I didn't need as big a place as that. I rented it out and came to live here.'
Though it had more the look of a messy office than a home, stacks of paperwork and rolled up charts strewn about the place, it was cosy and comfortable.
'It has a very nice view.' Ibrahim remarked. He was looking out the French door to the terrace that overlooked a suburban area from about ten stories up. Ed and Nitaya's flat only overlooked the swimming pool.
'Yes, I enjoy it. It gets a good breeze to keep it cool.'
'I like that better than air-con,' retorted Ibrahim. 'Air-con makes me dizzy.'
Soon, Uncle Abdul had cleared off one end of the dining table and set out a breakfast of pita bread and falafel that he had bought the night before, a cup of hot Ovalteen for Ibrahim, and coffee for himself. Ibrahim had grown fond of falafel while in Jerusalem.