Taliesin gave a delighted chuckle. ‘See, you remember the important things. My teachings are imbedded in your psyche and are second nature to you now.’
Tory smiled, of the mind to reply, when a beautiful body of mist having a constant undulating motion confronted her. Its texture had the appearance of mother of pearl and its colour varied from moment to moment.
‘It’s lovely, what is it?’ She reached out to make contact with the mist, whereupon a large dog’s head protruded from the mist to bark and snap at her. Tory quickly withdrew her hand.
‘It’s a thought form,’ Taliesin advised as the dog’s head disappeared back into the undulating mist. ‘It won’t harm you. It cannot.’
Given the all-clear, Tory approached the entity once more and as she touched the mist her hand penetrated it. Out of the thought form, directly alongside where her hand had entered, Tory’s fingers were seen to protrude back out at her. It looked as if her digits had been folded completely in half. Tory would have believed the illusion had the protrusion not been formed of the same colourful, pearly substance as the thought form. ‘Ha!’
‘Such is the chaotic nature of fourth-dimensional space,’ Taliesin summed up.
‘Did we have somewhere to go?’ Tory looked back to the Master to recall what he had said earlier. ‘The Heavensworld?’
Never misses a thing, this one, thought Taliesin on the quiet. ‘Even the most advanced soul must take this journey in stages. True, there is little to keep you here, as this is a realm of ephemeral delights and you seek spiritual repose or a more intellectually stimulating experience.’
‘So what is keeping me here, Taliesin?’ She wandered back towards him. On second thoughts, she decided she’d float.
‘During your physical life you did a lot of work in this particular astral sub-plane and have a build-up of its matter within your astral form. When your astral body has exhausted its attraction to this sub-plane, the gross matter previously built up will fall away to be left on this level of awareness. Your higher subtle bodies shall be free to move into the more blissful state of Devachan.’
Far off in the distance, Tory could hear the sounds of young children at play, but she did not comment on it. ‘Can I not simply will the gross matter from my being?’ The world around Tory had become slightly out of focus and the jovial children seemed to be getting nearer.
‘I think you have already dispensed with it,’ he commented, observing the view around them melt away into an entirely new one.
The huge children’s playground backed onto a kindergarten, situated in the middle of a large clearing which was surrounded by a thriving wilderness. The vegetation here was much more magnificent in appearance and colour than the forests of the astral realm and far more heavily populated by creatures from the fairy realm.
The amusement park was filled with young human children at play, who were of every different tribe and species.
‘The future of the Chosen Ones,’ Taliesin announced, as Tory gazed at the children with delight.
‘They are my project,’ Tory was pleased to state, as though nothing was ever surer.
‘And you are theirs,’ Taliesin concurred.
In amongst the children of the Delphinus, Falcon, Leonine and Centaur races, there were two children who were Homo sapiens. The twins, a boy and a girl, both had hair of snowy white and eyes of deep violet.
Tory’s heart welled with joy as the pair broke from their game and ran over to her. She had no conscious memory of why she should feel such an affinity with these twins; she felt it and it did not matter why.
‘Come and play with us.’ The little girl took hold of one of Tory’s hands, and her brother took hold of the other hand.
‘Please,’ pleaded the little boy.
‘Nothing would please me more,’ Tory replied wholeheartedly. She turned to Taliesin and smiled broadly. ‘Paradise.’ She allowed the children to lead her away.
‘As above, then so below,’ Taliesin commented to himself. ‘That is our plan.’
PART 2
THE HUMAN
TRIBES
CHARACTER LIST
THE CHOSEN
Head of Deep Space Exploration
Cadwell
Cadwell’s 2IC
Neraida
Munitions Development
Talynn
Brian’s father
Myrddin
DEVACHAN
Falcon child
Sparrowhawk
Leonine child
Bast
Delphinus child
Zabeel
Centaur child
Thais
Girl twin
Lirathea
Boy twin
Avery
Spirit guide
Taliesin
The Kamadeva
CREW OF THE BIL-ME
Captain
Hawk
Cook/Doctor
Seagull
Systems Eng/Tech
Chook
Munitions
Crow
Systems Analyst
Raven
LEONINES-NUGIA
Head of Resistance
Tyrus-Leon
Tyrus’ wife
Samara-Leon
Tyrus’ son
Adair
Aid to Tyrus
Kesla
Viceroy
Gallard
EDIN
Head of the Pantheon
Anu
Lord of Gaia
Enlil
Enlil’s spouse
Ninlil
Lord of Eridu
Enki
Enki’s spouse
Ninki
Head of Genetics
Ninharsag
Enlil’s son
Ninurta
Enki’s Nefilim son
Marduk
Enki’s first human son
Adama
Adama’s sister soul
Eve
The Sage of Eridu
Adapa
Adapa’s soul sister
Lilith
The Warrior
Samson
Samson’s soul sister
Delilah
The Technologist
Geebo
Geebo’s soul sister
Kya
The Farmer
Adin
The Fisherman
Kalisto
The Hunter/Gatherer
Incus
Mutant Monster
Gurlu
CHARACTER
INCARNATION GUIDE
10
PART OF A PROPHECY
In the dying days of Anu’s rein,
The Nefilim shall be judged again,
Some to shine and some to fade,
When all debts have been repaid.
The tamer of the Lahmuian will rule,
All who oppose shall be destiny’s fools.
Lahmu’s victory hails the Pantheon’s fall,
The dawn equality and liberty for all.
On a planet of Lions the fight will start,
A victory of vision and a caring heart.
Defying the most rigid law of the age,
Lahmu will —
‘Lahmu will what?’ Noah wanted to know, having translated the entire missive from the Nefilim dialect. ‘Where’s the rest of it?’
‘The Lord Micah vowed this was all he knew,’ Brian replied. ‘He has been carrying around this small fragment since he was a child on Gaia. He realises it is incomplete, but it was enough for him to connect me with the prophecy because of the events that took place on my last visit to Nibiru.’
‘But where did he procure this portion from?’ Noah pushed Brian for more information.
‘From a thought-recorder he stumbled across in his father’s chambers long ago, when Enki’s works were first under threat of being banned.’ Brian told Noah the little he knew. ‘Micah wanted to know about the controversial scriptures. He managed to sneak this brie
f glimpse before he was caught by Nergal and punished severely.’
Noah wondered what punishment might await him were he to be caught with the piece of rock given to him by Maelgwn, the key which was supposed to grant access to the banned chronicles.
‘As Micah was considered too young to be influenced by his grandfather’s teaching, he was allowed to get away with the memory … and eventually took up the human cause on Gaia, and now in the Pantheon. I am only at liberty and in one piece because he, and his like-minded Nefilim allies in the Senate, came to my defence. They believe that I am the Lahmu of the prophecy who is to assume the Pantheon’s leadership of the galaxy.’ Brian rolled his eyes.
‘You don’t believe it then?’ Noah surmised, seeing the Governor’s reaction.
‘It seems more like a convenient coincidence if you ask me,’ Brian scoffed. He cocked his head to one side. ‘Clearly, Micah believes it. But how can I say for sure that he hasn’t just been conned by some cruel Nefilim joke of his father’s devising?’
Noah nodded to concede the Governor his point and looked to Rhun, who’d been silent on the matter.
The Vice-Governor shrugged in a non-committal fashion. ‘Whether it is a valid prophecy or not, we could certainly use it to stir up the support of the other human tribes — starting with the Leonines — in accordance with what the text tells us.’
The historian raised his eyebrows, thinking Rhun’s viewpoint was a valid one.
‘I don’t want to be some bloody Messiah!’ Brian protested.
‘Too late,’ Rhun told him, flippantly. ‘Word of your contest with the Lahmuian would have spread like wildfire by now and if the humans in Micah’s charge are aware of the prophecy, as he said they were, then you are already being hailed as the destroyer of the Pantheon by every human who dares to believe the ancient prophecy.’
‘By the Nefilim too, most likely.’ Noah’s expression turned grave. ‘We know from what Micah has told us that Nergal certainly knows about Enki’s writings regarding the taming of the Lahmuian and what it would ultimately mean to the Pantheon.’
‘Nergal would know all of the prophecy,’ Rhun added, ‘which makes him one up on us.’ He sighed, then smiled at Brian. ‘During your quiet discussion with the Lahmuian, Nergal must have been cursing his oversight in sending one of the Chosen up against a Lahmuian, that’s for sure.’
Both Brian and Noah gave a satisfied grin to agree.
‘Perhaps that’s where the tradition of battling Lahmuians originally came from,’ Noah put to his companions. ‘It’s just like the Nefilim to make an open mockery of the prophecy in the hope of destroying the belief of all those who have faith in it.’
‘By encouraging the human tribes to hate, fear and destroy the Lahmuians,’ Brian expanded on the theme, ‘the Nefilim were hoping to destroy any chance of the moment being created that would hail the revolution of the human tribes and seal the Nefilim’s precarious fate.’
‘So, you do believe it!’ Rhun teased his uncle, pleased to have him committed to the cause.
‘No,’ Brian said and took a deep breath to summon his courage: ‘But I do believe we can make use of this preposterous propaganda to help further the cause of the human races.’
Rhun and Noah broke into a round of applause and Brian cracked a smile. ‘Well, if someone has to be this bloody Messiah, it might as well be me.’ He took a bow as Rhun and Noah broke into whistles of encouragement. ‘So,’ he motioned them to quiet down, ‘what course of action do you suggest I take … a small vehicle aimed at a black hole at ramming speed?’ He gripped his head and leant on the conference table to brood.
‘Come on, it’s not so bad,’ Rhun told him. ‘The very worst that could happen is that you could find yourself in a small vehicle aimed straight at a black hole —’
‘— at ramming speed,’ Brian and Rhun concluded in unison. Brian forced a smile, not very amused.
‘What we really need is the rest of that prophecy, and if it does truly exist, I think I know where to find it.’ Noah saw the opportunity to gain permission to pursue the Dragon’s request that he seek Enki’s Station.
Both the Governor and his Vice were stunned into silence by Noah’s statement, and listened intently as Noah told them all he knew about the Lord Master Enki’s Creation Stations.
‘And in my travels, I could also try to identify the Planet of Lions mentioned in the prophecy,’ Noah concluded, feeling pleased with himself, knowing that his leave of absence was assured.
‘I am already familiar with the planet,’ Brian admitted a little hesitantly. ‘But if you could learn the full text of this prophecy concerning Lahmu, before I visit the planet, I would be greatly obliged to you, Noah.’
‘No promises,’ Noah said quickly, as he thought about the rock he had to work with. ‘But I shall give it my best shot.’ He rose to leave the Governor’s conference room. ‘If ah … I manage to pinpoint a destination,’ he paused to ask, ‘I shall need to take my wife, Rebecca, with me.’
Brian was perturbed. ‘I have spoken with your wife already. She seemed very determined to remain in the wilderness to protect Kila’s wildlife.’
‘I see.’ Noah frowned, and after a moment’s thought, he ventured to say: ‘I believe she might change her mind about that. Would it be a problem if she did?’
‘Well, she is very good at what she does, Noah, and would be sorely missed,’ Brian explained. ‘Why is it so important that she go?’
Noah grinned, knowing how corny his reason was going to sound. ‘It was foreseen, by Rebecca herself.’
Brian did not find the statement corny, however. ‘Then I shall not argue about it should Rebecca decide to accompany you.’ Brian was not one of the most spiritually accomplished souls amidst the Chosen, but he greatly revered anyone who was.
‘Many thanks.’ Noah bowed his head and left with Durak’s case to pursue his quest.
There were numerous meditation chambers inside the underground base, for although the Chosen had no need of sleep and so required no sleeping quarters, they did have need of rest, alone or otherwise. Noah withdrew to one of these chambers to have a closer look at the contents of the case that had once belonged to the Delphinus archaeologist, Durak.
A chill of recognition came over Noah as he examined the bag more carefully. He felt his past-life incarnation, Uriah, was close at hand. Uriah would have been well acquainted with his brother’s well-travelled case and Noah felt this was a good indication that the container was at least legitimate. The big question was, were the contents?
He lifted the great dirty chunk of rock out of the bag and placed it carefully aside.
Underneath was a pile of notebooks that appeared to have fallen victim to a mudslide; they were completely caked with muck and, needless to say, the written text was no longer readable.
‘Well, thanks for nothing, Dragon.’ Noah tossed the useless weights back into their container.
It was not like Maelgwn to play such a cruel joke. Why would he suggest the text might be helpful, when he’d obviously seen the state the diaries were in?
‘Hold on.’ Noah lifted the rock and began rubbing the dirty surface, whereupon the mud fell away to reveal a crystal underneath. ‘My kingdom for a basin.’ Noah raised himself to find one, enthusiastic about the hunt once more.
The rock cleaned up to reveal a jewel that was about the same size as Noah’s hand, but this gem was unlike any other crystal Noah had come across. For inside the clear, but solid, quartz-like outer structure, were thousands of tiny precious stones of every colour imaginable. These stones were conductors arranged within an intricate circuitry.
‘Whoa,’ he gasped, as he noted little waves of electrical energy begin to rush through the tiny conductors. ‘I think Floyd should take a look at this thing.’
Noah hoped Floyd, the Head Technologist, might be able to figure out how to utilise the unique tool.
Floyd liked to work alone, and Maelgwn had allowed for this in his grand plan by having
Floyd design his own operations base within the complex. Floyd remembered nothing of his involvement, but as everything was as he would have it, right down to the hydroponics setup in the back corner of his station, the technologist knew he’d had a hand in the layout. His chamber was one of several that overlooked the main control centre of the underground complex.
Visiting Floyd in his new quarters under Chaliada was very reminiscent of Noah’s first meeting with him, which had occurred in another underground hideout in Central Australia back on Gaia. Noah entered to find the room thick with dope smoke and the music of Floyd’s youth blasting out from the system speakers at maximum volume.
Since landing on Kila, Floyd had steered more towards the engineering side of information technology work, which perfectly complemented his extensive programming and code-breaking capabilities.
The technologist’s eyes were glued to one of the huge upright screens of his database console; these were more commonly known as soft-light screens. With his right hand resting on the PKA control plate, Floyd controlled the on-screen functions. In his left hand he held a small tool he was using to fine tune a complex-looking circuit board, which was currently magnified on the screen Floyd was so intent upon. ‘Well, if it isn’t the answers man himself.’ As Floyd set everything aside and swivelled his free-floating control chair around to greet Noah, the volume of the music decreased to a tolerable level.