The Zondon: Terrorists and Aliens (an International Suspense Thriller)

  'So, Ibrahim, what brings you to Egypt?' said Uncle Abdul, in English.

  Ibrahim was now as fluent in English as Arabic, so they spoke in whichever language provided the right syntax.

  'I think something bad happened to Ernie and the crystal.'

  'Allah help us! What happened?'

  Ibrahim related the events of the morning before, and the call to May Lin, now in Arabic.

  'So you think they were in a jeep in the jungle?'

  'Yes, and May Lin also said they took a jeep.'

  'So what do you think happened to them?' said Abdul.

  'I think they meet the Glaat. They try to help someone, I think, and then I feel like there's no crystal,' then he added in English, 'Broken.'

  'So, you came here.'

  'I think I should see the pyramid and the Sphinx,' said Ibrahim in English.

  'Why do you need to do that?'

  'I don't know. I dream about something very important, but I can't remember it. Only the part about the pyramid and the Sphinx.'

  'So,' said Abdul, thoughtfully, 'you think Allah is speaking to you about the Great Pyramid?'

  Ibrahim nodded.

  'Maybe I can drive you out there and see if that helps your memory. If you don't remember anything, then come with me to the tomb of Thakanamen. That's where the crystal first landed. Maybe that might help you remember.'

  Something told Ibrahim that Uncle Abdul could be right.

  Breakfast finished, they gathered everything they needed for the two day trip, and set off.

  The Great Pyramid and the Sphinx were impressive, to be sure, and there was even a strange familiarity about them, more than he would have even expected from Zizz's story. Yet, it was different. Maybe it was because there wasn't the glistening white surface on the pyramid.

  Ibrahim asked if there could have been a white surface once, and Abdul pointed to a row of white stone running along one side of the pyramid.

  'They removed the casing stone in the fourteenth century and used it to rebuild mosques and bridges that were destroyed by an earthquake ,' said Uncle Abdul.

  'It looks much better with the white stone on it,' retorted Ibrahim.

  'You saw it like that, did you?'

  'In my dream. And the Sphinx had gold all over it, and had fine features, and the nose wasn't broken. And this ground had green grass all over it, and there's a line of trees over there.'

  'I'm sure that if there was gold covering the Sphinx, that would have been the first to go. Maybe the capstone of the pyramid was gold too, and that's why it isn't there.' said Uncle Abdul.

  'I think it didn't have a cap,' Ibrahim remembered.

  No more memories were triggered. They started on the two day journey to Thakanamen's tomb.

  As Uncle Abdul drove, Ibrahim related the two parts of Zizz's story that he remembered. He also told him about the Zish of Zuz and other things he remembered of Zondon life. Abdul found it all festinating.

  They stopped at a few places to eat, and Ibrahim took several naps as they went. In the evening, Uncle Abdul stopped for a few hours of rest, and then drove on into the night as Ibrahim slept.

  Early the next morning as Ibrahim opened his eyes, they were still moving along, but more slowly, as the gravel road was full of large potholes.

  Now, the terrain had a strange familiarity to it.

  'Where are we?'

  'We're almost there.'

  'I saw this place before,' said Ibrahim.

  'The first time I drove Ernie here he said the same thing. Do you know what that mound is, in the distance?'

  Ibrahim didn't answer. All he could do was stare at it.

  'That's where you landed,' said Uncle Abdul.

  Finally they turned up the path that led directly to the site. Then, they arrived.

  Ed came out to meet them.

  'You took your time getting back, Abdul. I got here three days ago.'

  'I would have arrived shortly after you, except I got an urgent phone call on the way, asking me to pick up this gentleman,' returned Abdul.

  Ibrahim was presented to Ernie's look-alike.

  'Ah, the boy from the wedding. What brings you here?'

  Ibrahim shook his hand politely, but was too distracted to answer.

  'Ernie and May Lin thought it best for him to come to stay with me,' Abdul answered.

  'Can I go to look at that?' said Ibrahim, pointing at the mound.

  Abdul took him to up.

  The more of the monument that began to appear to Ibrahim's eyes the more familiar it seemed. He ran the last few meters to the structure, and began running this way and that, looking at it from various angles.

  'You should dig there,' he told Abdul. 'There's a door there to get in the front -- and there, there's a ramp and a path to the door...'

  Abdul turned around and called to Eddie, waving frantically. He came running, thinking an accident had happened.

  Just as Eddie appeared, Ibrahim had climbed on to the base of the obelisk and was looking at the hieroglyphics.

  'Wa -- who write this here? There's no writing before!' He was speaking English.

  'How does he know the dating of the inscriptions?' said Ed.

  'I don't know. He also knows there's a front door over on that side.'

  'He hasn't been inside yet, has he?'

  'No, he just got here.'

  Abdul took Ibrahim to the square hole, and the three descended the ladder. Ed switched on the lighting system that had been strung up, and they followed Ibrahim as he instinctively went in the direction of the inner chamber.

  The sarcophagus was still sitting behind the pedestal where it had been since its discovery.

  'What's that?' said Ibrahim.

  'That's the burial place of the old priest,' answered Ed.

  'It wasn't there before either?' said Abdul.

  'Can it move?' Ibrahim tried to push it.

  The two adults began pushing and shoving until they inched it over to one side.

  The whole floor was made up of closely set square panels, the seams between them barely detectable. Ibrahim began blowing the dust off the panel that had just been uncovered, especially around the seams, and near two small holes at the centre.

  'When did you see all this before?' asked Ed.

  'I don't know. I just know what it look like when I see it,' said Ibrahim. 'Can you pick this up?'

  Ed went up the passage and came back a minute later with two large screwdrivers. Inserting one screwdriver diagonally into each hole, he and Abdul began trying to pull it upward. It wouldn't budge.

  They kept at it for a few minutes until Ed finally said, 'There's nothing there.'

  He began walking around as though it were time to go back up, but Ibrahim remained where he was, gazing at the panel.

  'I'll see you two at the dining tent then,' said Ed.

  'Wait,' said Abdul, and motioned towards Ibrahim.

  Ibrahim had taken the screwdrivers and was pressing them inward while pulling one towards himself and pushing the other away. Suddenly, he had Ed's undivided attention.

  A round section of the panel had begun to rotate in the direction Ibrahim was pulling. There was still no seam visible, only the movement of dust particles and irregularities in the rock surface that showed where it ought to have been.

  Ibrahim pulled the whole section one full circle counter clockwise, then half a turn in the opposite direction, and then a quarter turn back, as though remembering a combination.

  'Now try,' he said.

  The two adults again pulled at the screwdrivers, and gradually the whole panel came up.

  'I'm sure the old priest had no idea of this!' said Ed.

  Finally, they had the panel out of its place and moved aside, revealing another chamber below. Ed brought some more lights and dangled them into the opening by their chords, lighting up the room below. It was empty except for a square stone vessel that appeare
d to have something in it.

  Ed went and brought the ladder from the opening at the top, and carefully let it down. Then the three of them descended.

  Ed and Abdul went immediately to the stone vessel, and found that it contained a crystal pyramid, and what appeared to be a stone pipe closed at one end.

  Ed was soon busy taking pictures with his little digital camera.

  Ibrahim didn't get so far. What he saw all over the walls took his breath away. Where the other two saw only thin lines spaced horizontally several inches apart made up of a hodgepodge of colours and geometric shapes, Ibrahim recognised a readable account in the same language that the crystal used to speak. It was, in fact, the third part of the story told to him by Zizz.

  Chapter 54

  The following is a rough translation into English in the form that Zizz would have told it (with additions to it by Zizz, now remembered by Ibrahim, in parenthesis):

  In the age following the demise of the Giant Gleamon, but before the Supreme One birthed the new species to inhabit the same planet, designed after His own pattern, the Glaat had largely succumbed to their lower instincts. That is, all but a group who had maintained the original Wisdom in its pure form. They were known as the Gloreen and Zantrid was their leader. These had resisted every attempt to tarnish their consciousness with the seductive knowledge of Vantbrot and Zokdraheen, and were therefore the last of the pure Glaat.

  Commanded by the Supreme One, seven of the Gloreen who were appointed to the task, travelled in seven ships to the planet of the vortex, wherein the Gleamon used to abide, on a special mission. With them, they took the remaining five pure Glatt (though one was a deceiver), to assist them.

  Part of their assignment was to plant a garden, and among the seeds they planted was the seed of a tree whose fruit would contain the essence of Wisdom, and with it, the life derived from Wisdom.

  They also built two structures, one to signify that this planet was forbidden to all, and the other to express the significance it has to the beginning of all things and the end of all things. The first was a four sided pyramid, the shape of a crystal communication probe, containing also similar properties. This would generate a powerful signal that would both warn any approaching ship, and disrupt their navigation system should they proceed -- unless they were given specific permission to do so. Beside the pyramid, they built the other structure, a combination of two images seen in the stars, as visible around about the planet of the vortex, one being the beginning and the other the end of a circle of constellations seen from that planet.

  Some distance North-east of these two monuments, is the vortex. North-east of that, again, they planted the garden in preparation for the new species that would be brought forth.

  Sine the demise of the Gleamon, the planet was no longer of interest to the Glaat. However, Zokdraheen, suspecting a strategic purpose, had sent an agent along, who convinced the Gloreen that he was one of them, as one of the five helpers. His name was Vok.

  The Gloreen soon recognised the true nature of Vok, but only after he had carried out his own plan and had gained an advantage over them. They knew that a battle would ensue which would leave no survivors. That would be the last of the pure Glaat.

  Among the things Vok had done in secret was to take a branch of the new Wisdom bearing tree, and alter the genetic structure so that it carried a perversion of Wisdom -- in fact, the essence of the dark knowledge of Vantbrot and Zokdraheen. This branch, Vok carefully nurtured, so that it became a vine like plant. When the original tree was fully grown, he laid the vine on it so that it clung to the tree, growing around it, drawing its life from it and finally setting down roots of its own. The result was a tree within a tree. Any other tree so affected would have been smothered to death, but the Wisdom bearing tree is resilient, and continues to flourish though inside the outer shell of the evil tree.

  (Thus, Zizz added, both trees exist on that planet to this day. The fruit of the outer tree, if eaten, opens the mind to knowledge of the dark sort. Because the new life-form brought forth on that planet is of a sensitive sort, and not intended for this kind of knowledge, the fruit of the outer tree brings early death. That of the inner tree, if found and eaten, has the opposite effect. It was intended that the new life-form, after a period of maturing, would eat of the Wisdom bearing tree and enter a greatly enhanced stage of existence, never to be terminated by death, and far surpassing that of any creature in the universe -- in fact, a recognisable offspring of the Supreme One.

  The new life form, while still in its infancy, was seduced into partaking of the outer tree by Vantbrot, in the body of Nakhash. Now that there was a clear signal being emitted preventing outsiders to enter, Vantbrot was only able to gain entry by deceitfully gaining the permission of the new species. However, that happened sometime after the events I am now recounting.)

  The seven interstellar ships that the pure Glaat arrived on are still on the planet, concealed in a secret location. They were thus hidden when Vok's treachery was discovered. In the pyramid shaped monument, at the exact centre, is the probe from which its signals originate, which are then amplified by the larger structure. This probe can also be used to command the seven ships to appear from their hiding place. At another location to the Southwest of this monument, is a much smaller edifice, wherein this history is recounted, and containing instructions of how to get to the crystal in the larger monument. These instructions can only be read at a specific time by the one chosen for the task, using the crystal contained in the vessel when they utter the words, 'Zan vranzok trid'.

  Abdul and Ed had left off examining the contents of the box, and were waiting for Ibrahim, whom they realised, was reading the lines of colour.

  Ibrahim finished, and looked at them.

  'There is a crystal in this room,' he said.

  'This must be it,' returned Abdul, holding it up.

  'If I'm the one chosen for the task, I should read it.'

  Abdul handed him the crystal, and Ibrahim uttered the words, 'Zan vranzok Trid.'

  Immediately, the it gave off a white glow, and Ibrahim looked into the bottom of it. These words appeared:

  The one able to read this is the one chosen for the following task: In the House of the Energy, that transmits the warning, there are three accessible chambers: the upper chamber, the middle chamber and the lower chamber, plus a narrow grotto. In the upper chamber there is a stone chest. The one chosen is to remove the cover and the contents, place this crystal inside, and with the stone pipe, using one full breath, sound a long shrill note, followed by seven short staccato notes with a second full breath. The crystal will transmit the message through the House of Energy and the crystal of warning to the seven ships of the Gloreen, which will emerge from their resting place and begin a continuous orbit of the planet until they are commanded. After that, the crystal will self-destruct.

  To command the ships, it is necessary for the one chosen to use the Crystal of the Warning, which is in the centre of the House of Energy in a hidden chamber above the upper chamber. If this message is being read, it is a sign that the Crystal of the Warning has ceased to transmit its warning, because the structure of the House of Energy has been tampered with. This was foreseen, just as many events on the planet were foreseen and marked in the Hall of Time that leads to the upper chamber. It is now time for the one chosen to use the crystal to call the seven ships of the Gloreen.

  To reach the Crystal of the Warning, the one chosen is to go to where the passage to the upper chamber and the passage to the middle chamber meet at the lower end of the Hall of Time. There is another passage leading straight down. The one chosen is to descend that passage as far as the grotto, which is dug into the foundation rock. Inside that grotto, there will be a new door opened by the action of the sounds of the stone pipe on the structure of the House of Energy. The new door will lead to a passage through which only the one chosen for the task may proceed until he reaches the chamber of the Crystal of Warni
ng. There are many turns in this passage and it will require determination, but the one chosen for the task was well chosen. Take courage and remember the dream.

  When the one chosen holds the Crystal of Warning in his hands, another passage to the roof will open. The one chosen is to ascend to the roof taking the Crystal of Warning, and by holding the crystal of warning over his head while standing at the top of the House of Energy, the one chosen shall command the first of the seven ships to land.

  'So that's why the Great Pyramid doesn't have a capstone,' said Ed after Ibrahim had explained it. 'A spaceship is supposed to land on it.'

  Abdul added, 'As for opening the chest and removing the contents, that was done for you ages ago. As long is it isn't necessary to replace the cover, we're okay.'

  Ibrahim said it wasn't necessary.

  They decided that after a good night's rest, the three would proceed to the pyramids.

  Now that Edward was a firm believer, he wouldn't have it otherwise. As far as he was concerned, the excavation had served its purpose. The National Geographic article was suddenly a minor job -- like the paperwork. It could be done later.

  After Ed had taken a few more shots, they ascended the ladder with the crystal and the stone flute, and carefully replaced the slab into its place. Ed asked Ibrahim to open it once more, so he could record it using the video function of his digital camera. After that, they returned the sarcophagus to its original spot.

  Outside, he gave final instructions to his workers to uncover the area in front, where he was given to believe there would be a front door with a ramp leading to it.

  Early the next day, the three of them left for Cairo. With Ed and Abdul taking turns at the wheel, it wasn't necessary to stop anywhere for a nap so they got there in less time.

  Several times along the way, Ibrahim practised blowing on the pipe, which seemed to work like a single pan flute. It took him a while to learn to blow over the mouth as one does, a coke bottle. By the end of the trip, he had mastered it.

  Abdul, of course, asked Ibrahim to tell Ed all his Mullah Nasruddin jokes.

  'One day, someone said to Mullah Nasruddin, "You may have lost your donkey, Nasruddin, but you don't have to grieve over it more than you did about the loss of your first wife!" Mullah Nasruddin answered, "Ah, but if you remember, when I lost my wife, all you villagers said, we'll find you someone else. So far, nobody has offered to replace my donkey!"'