Kia’s First Words
“Did she speak?”
“Yes—yes I think she did. My love, did you talk to me?” Jadan gazes at her cracked and swollen lips.
“Yes,” is a weak but a discernible response. Kia squeezes his hand and she says, “Go.”
“Okay, but I’ll be back soon.” He bends over, kisses her on the cheek, and stares trying to glimpse a hint of a blue eye through the puffy purple lids, but he does not.
They stop by the waiting area before they leave the hospital. Gramps is there, but her parents are not. “Where are Mom and Dad?”
“They’re running some errands, which are important,” He says with sarcasm.
“She spoke to him.”
“She did what?” he asks in disbelief.
“I told him to go to my place for a shower, a clean change of clothes, and a few hours of sleep. He didn’t want to leave, but she squeezed his hand and said—go. He asked her if she talked, and she uttered—”yes.”
“Is the doctor aware?”
“Not yet,” Jadan says. “Would you like to tell him?”
He smiles and says, “I’ll be glad to. Your appearance is like death warmed over—go with Riah, clean up and get some rest. You deserve a break—by the way, what happened to your face?”
“I’ll tell you later. Now, I’m in a daze.”
Kizzie locks her door and turns to walk down the hallway when someone startles her from behind. A voice asks, “Are you Dr. Kizziah Jayne?”
“Yes.”
“Are you expecting an invitation?”
“Yes.”
“From who?”
“Eath.”
“Correct—follow me.” The voice instructs.
She is startled when the man puts the hood over her head and takes her hand, but she doesn’t resist.
Several hours later, the entire ceremony is over, and he leads her to meet the other new members. She is introduced to Kahnn, Renny, and Commander Jasen.
“Let me give you a tour of OFGRAT Safe Haven 3,” Eath says. “This is where some of our political refugees live and work. He and Renny will stay here for the time being. Later, they may elect to move to another place of safety. For now, they’ll remain here.”
RELO’S APARTMENT
A knock at the door gets his attention, and he answers. “Come in, Mika.”
“Thanks.” He removes a small data chip from his pocket and says, “I think this is what you’re waiting for. I finished filling the mini drive with engineering and construction information. Please, don’t tell the rest about the additional intelligence just yet, but since they’re a different file format, you’ll need some of the files to make sure it works.”
“Thank you.”
“Listen, I owe you an apology. I don’t agree with Seth and the others about the ancient information. I recognize no way copying those records caused jeopardy to the mission. I didn’t muster the courage to stand up for you, but they’re wrong. You and Rue risked your lives and futures to get the engineering and construction documents out of The Dome. The Conversant and The Commission should be grateful to you.”
“Thanks, your apology is accepted. By the way, how did you guys manage to hide the files?”
“You asked about a long and complicated story, but I’ll go over the details with you another time—perhaps over Vino. Now, I think you need to do something more important.”
“You’re right—would you like to stay and help?”
“I would like to.”
Hours pass as he copies the info from the data chip to his computer. At last, the files are loaded and ready for the program. “The ancient dialect is in a language unlike any I studied in the past. Let’s start with the engineering and construction data. At least, we can read the lingo and tell if the decryption worked.”
“Sounds reasonable to me.”
Relo turns to him and says, “Wish us luck.” He clicks the Icon and up comes a screen with the command stating ‘ENTER NAME OF FILE TO BE DECRYPTED’. He enters the designation he assigned to the engineering and construction files. He presses the ENTER KEY. After a few seconds, a red exhibit pops up with instructions reading ‘TO USE THIS ENCRYPTION PROGRAM INPUT THE PASSWORD.’
Startled, he turns to Mika and says, “This is unexpected—I didn’t get the key. I can’t believe Rue sent the code and didn’t include the way in.”
“Neither can I. Rue’s brilliant—she wouldn’t do something so foolish. Let’s reevaluate everything you received. The access will be here somewhere. We must find the link.”
“You’re right—she wouldn’t send the program without the key.”
Sometime later, they finish reviewing everything, which came with the data chips, including the shipping envelopes. They find nothing. They sit and stare at the computer, bewildered.
“Well—let’s repeat the process again,” he says.
Another hour of work and still they find nothing. “Let’s review the detail on the two she sent. Perhaps we missed something.”
Several hours later, they finished analyzing the data chips with no positive results. A frustrated Relo reaches over and hits the reboot button. “Now why did I do that?” he mumbles. They sit in silence and wait for the computer to finish the rebooting process. At last, the desktop appears. He recognizes the Decryption Merge Icon, points, and clicks. Up comes the screen with the smiling cartoon face and the three words ‘THE ENCRYPTION PROGRAM’.
They stare at the image. “I wonder why she called this the encryption instead of decryption software.”
All of a sudden, he smiles and says with excitement, “This can’t be…”
“Can’t be what?”
“Wait a minute—” Relo activates the ‘DECRYPTION MERGE ICON’. A display appears on the screen with the prompt ‘ENTER NAME OF FILE TO BE DECRYPTED’. He enters the name. After a few seconds, a red display pops up with instructions reading ‘TO USE THIS ENCRYPTION PROGRAM INPUT THE PASSWORD’. He types ‘THE ENCRYPTION PROGRAM’ into the block and hits the ENTER KEY. An image appears showing the same smiling sketch with a message which reads ‘CONGRATULATIONS-YOU FOUND THE ANSWER—YOUR DATA IS BEING DECODED—ONE MOMENT PLEASE.’
He glances at him and smiles.
Mika grins and shakes his head in amazement.”
“I refused to believe Rue would send the program without the key—the thing stared us in the face the whole time.”
Soon, the screen flickers and up pops a list of names. “Each might be password protected. We’re in trouble if the initial one asks for a key until we can write code to bypass the requirement.” He clicks on the first file named MaterialProblem.dft. They wait with anxiety as the request is processed. Instantaneous, before their eyes is a text document with the title Translucent Material Defects. The paper, written by the ranking engineer at The Dome Project, spells out in detail the stoppage of the product and the types of losses.
“This is good stuff—nothing about a major component failure made The Broadcast News—more evidence of censorship. Let’s analyze one more file.” He proceeds to pull up a one named MaterialShortages.dft. The report outlines the severity of shortages since the MagnaTranz crash destroyed essential raw material and parts.
“They planned no safety stocks, so they must remanufacture all the damaged components,” Mika says. “The news made a big deal about the thirty-five deaths and the fifty injuries, but they said nothing about the destruction of critical supplies. I wonder what other surprises these documents hold.”
“I want to do some work on the ancient data this evening. Tell Kaamren we can decipher the files, but remind him I get a duplicate of them before I turn over the decryption program.”
“Should The Commission decide not to give you a copy, I’ll run duplicates myself and bring them to you.”
“Thanks, but I made a deal with him. I want the documentation through official channels—I want to keep you out of trouble.”
“I understand, but if they don’t live up to their agreement, I don’t blame you for not turning over the program. Remember, you’ll get a copy of the files—one way or the other. Are you for real considering leaving Opaque and The Conversant?
SUPREME CHANCELLOR JERKA’S OFFICE - SEVERAL DAYS LATER
“Sir, Keiver Belan is here. Do you want to talk to him?” the voice over the intercom asks.
“Yes—yes, send him in.”
He pushes back his chair, gets up, and walks across to meet him. “Hello, friend, what did you bring me?”
He glances back, and after the assistant closes the door, he says, “I did get hold of some information. You aren’t going to believe this, but the script being siphoned from your account is going into Director Joanz’s account—”
“You’re bantering, aren’t you?”
“No, sir, I’m not. I checked, and he made several inquiries of the balance. He is cognizant the funds are going in.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m positive…I did the work myself. No one is aware of the investigation except you. What do you want done?”
“I want my script transferred to the past balance with interest, and all transaction histories erased. I wouldn’t want anyone to track the actions back to me. Furthermore, erase the evidence, which moved the funds to his account. Make sure no electronic fingerprints are left in the CDC.”
“What you ask is impossible—”
“No—no—no, Keiver, you’re bright—you’ll find a way.”
“Will there be anything else, sir?”
“No—I want the bastard dead. Make a catastrophe happen.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“What part did you not understand? Fix the accounts and kill Joanz—can I be more direct—oh yes. This conversation never took place.” An evil glow shines in Jerka’s eyes.
“Joanz is a NEX—”
“Yes—make sure he’s killed in an unavoidable accident and on an accelerated timetable. You’re dismissed.”
A bewildered Belan leaves the office. He walks down the corridor and pushes a preset number on his communicator and gets an answer. “We’re going to move faster than earlier planned. Set up a meeting of the principals for tomorrow morning in my conference room at the CDC.”
ABYDOS MEDICAL CENTER
Jadan returns to the hospital. He showered, shaved, and slept for several hours. Riah’s clothes are a bit tight, but he is much more energetic. At least, they are clean. He walks up the steps to the main entrance, his mobile buzzes. He stops, glances at the ID and answers, “Hello Relo, what’s happening?”
“How is Kia?”
“She spoke to me earlier. Riah wanted me to go to his place for a shower, fresh clothes, and some sleep. I resisted, but she said go. To be sure, I asked her if she wanted me to go with him, and she said ‘yes’ and squeezed my hand. I’m returning to the Medical Center now. The staff is allowing me to stay with her, as long as I want. The family must honor visitation times.”
“Excellent…Mika came by last evening and delivered my ancient data. He also, without the knowledge of the others, brought some of the engineering and construction info. The Decryption Program works—we read several of them. What they say and what The Broadcast News says are contradictory. The project’s in serious trouble, but the government is stalling. In addition, I decrypted the ancient files. They’re in a language no one has studied. I’m going to need help from an archaeological linguist. Are you familiar with one?”
“No, but I’ll ask around, now the program is working. What if The Commission won’t permit you to get copies of the rest of the engineering and construction data?”
“He came around. He assured me I will get a full set of the files with or without approval. Jadan, I’m through with the bickering and infighting. I decided to put out feelers to other resistance groups, and you need to consider doing the same.”
“Whatever you think—you’re more erudite in these matters than I. I’ll follow your lead. What about Rue? Shall we pursue our conclusion?”
“Yes, but you’re going to be tied up with Kia for some time. I will shuffle my schedule, and I’ll go. Do you think Ryner can get me on The Mail Express?”
“Yes, he told me anytime I needed to make the trip to notify him. An option exists if all the seats are booked. A second sleeper berth is in the lead car for an extra operator on the much longer runs. I’m sure he’ll do the same for you. Do you want me to contact him?”
“I need to take care of a few details, but I should be able to go tomorrow. Does he head back then?”
“He’s gone but I’ll call and find out when he’ll be back. I’ll keep you informed, but if I can’t reach him, I’ll leave him a message…talk to you soon.”
He continues up the steps to the Medical Center, and a reporter jumps from an AeroBus parked nearby, and runs toward him. The camera crew is close behind. “Mr. Kanzz—” he shouts, “Please, tell me about Kia Nuggen’s condition.”
“You’ll need to contact the Public Relations Department.” He does not slow as he walks inside and catches the elevator to the second floor. Riah and his parents are in the waiting area. “How is she?”
“Well, she won’t respond to any of us. The neurologist stopped by a while ago. He ruled out a blood clot. They think her brain swelled at the points of impact. They changed her treatment. For your information, she wouldn’t react to the doctor or nurses. I think it’s her way of keeping you close. Here he is now—Dr. Brison, can I get a minute? This is Jadan Kanzz. He is her friend and the one person who can get her to respond.”
He extends his hand in greeting and says, “Good to meet you young man. Why don’t you and I go to her and find out if you can help me extract some information? I need to understand how her brain function is working, in reality. I can read what the machines say, but nothing’s better than patient feedback.”
“I’ll be happy to assist.”
They enter the room, and the doctor signals him to be silent. They walk to the bed, and Dr. Brison takes her hand. He tells her to squeeze his hand if she is aware who he is. He receives no response. He says, “Kia, Jadan’s here with me. Do you want me to authorize him to stay with you?”
He senses gentle pressure on his hand, and a delicate, “Yes,” finds its way across her lips.
“Dear, he’s going to sit here beside you and take your hand. I need for you to communicate to me through him.”
He sits and takes her hand. “Kia, I’m here. Let’s get the doctor the information he needs?” He detects a faint squeeze to his hand.
“I’m going to ask a series of yes and no questions. I want you to press his hand or say ‘yes’ for a positive answer, but if the response is ‘no’ you do nothing. Okay?”
She squeezes his hand with softness. He stares at the doctor and nods.
“Are you hurting?”
“Yes,” Jadan says.
“Does your head hurt?”
“Yes.”
“Are you in pain anywhere else?”
After a pause, he shakes his head.
“Can you open your eyes?
“Yes.”
“I know this will elevate the hurting, but I need to examine them.”
“Yes.”
Dr. Brison bends over and stares as she opens her eyes a bit. “Can you distinguish light?”
“Yes.”
“Can you move your feet?”
“Yes.”
“Will you show me?”
“She says yes.”
The doctor uncovers her feet and says, “Okay young lady, wiggle your digits.”
They gaze at and detect a slight movement of her toes.
“Excellent, my dear. I’ll let you rest now, and Jadan will be back in a few minutes.”
He and Dr. Brison go down the corridor. “She’s making progress, but her journey back will be long and painful. My young friend, she may need to relearn to walk as well as use of her hands and arms. We’re working in a panic to get her swelling under control. You can give her a few ice chips, but they’ll neither satisfy her thirst nor solve her dry mouth. She’ll need you to keep her lips and mouth moistened with oil I’ll order the nurses to bring. Should you need to be away for more than fifteen minutes, get one of her family members come in and cover for you. Soon as I can, I’ll remove the breathing tube and supplement her external respiration with a more comfortable mask until she can breathe on her own. Ask the nurse on duty to page me if you need me. Questions…?”
“Doctor, what’re her chances?”
“You aren’t going to like my answer, but you asked, and you deserve the truth. I give her about a twenty-five percent probability of surviving, but if she does, she has about a fifty-fifty likelihood of recovering. She’ll doubtless suffer some physical impairment. In any event, her days of athletic competition are over. I’m glad she can count on you. You’re giving her a reason to tolerate the pain and recover. Without you, I don’t think she would survive.”
“Will you convey the message to her parents and grandfather? They don’t approve of me. In particular, Gramps—he’s insistent she marries an Annunaki with the right bloodline. I’m a problem for them. I’m a Commonuer, and she’s not supposed to respond to me. I don’t think any of us realized how serious her injuries are or how long the road to recuperation is going to be.”
“I’ll give the same information to them now. This is the most difficult part of my job.” Dr. Brison turns and walks toward the waiting area.
OFGRAT SAFE HAVEN 3
Eath Marshon requested a meeting, which includes Betta, Renny, Kizzie, Bannon Eas, Commander Jasen, Colonel Baanar, and others. “We will discuss two orders of business. One—as some of you are aware, Masta Bhril disappeared without a trace. Some evidence leads us to conclude he’s a prisoner in The Inner Dome. A few of us believe if we get him out, he’ll be a valuable ally and source of knowledge. Renny is sure he can locate him, and Kahnn proposes a plan for helping him escape. Share your idea with the group.”
“Tell me again, why you want him out after what he did to you?” she asks.
“Information…my lady…invaluable intelligence He’s a brilliant and well-connected man. I will swallow my pride and help him break out if he’ll give up important details for us,” the doctor says.
“What if you get him out and he refuses to cooperate?” she asks.
“I’m willing to take the chance. By the way, this is not an OFGRAT sanctioned mission. I don’t want to take the time to get the required approvals. If captured, we’re on our own. The second part...we plan to leave instructions for a number of selected prisoners showing them the exit and explaining how to get out,” the doctor says. “Go ahead Betta.”
“Security is geared to keep people from breaking out, and no one expects a group to break in. Prior to my kidnapping and trip to The Inner Dome, the structure failures were common knowledge to a few in the hierarchy. The translucent material used in the outer shell became brittle and unsafe. To chip through the defects with a knife will be easy. The bad sections possess a hazy appearance. The more haze a panel displays, the more dangerous. The plan is for a group of four to break into The Inner Dome. Renny and I are familiar with the interior. We’ll go. We need two volunteers.”
“How do we get to the outer part of The Dome?” Eath asks.
“Sounds like I need one more,” Betta says.
“You’re right…I am the third…we need one more. Now, back to my question…?”
“We’re going to hike in under the cover of darkness,” he says.
“Where’ll we get the special gear to cope with the lethal atmosphere in the Hell Zone?” the doctor asks.
“Bad air in the restricted zone’s a myth. All part of the charade to keep the general population in their neat little boxes and out of the way,” Kahnn says. “We’ll take the MagnaTranz to the last stop before entering The Dome security perimeter. The trek begins at the designated spot and will take us about seven hours to get in, cut a hole, and enter the secured area. We’ll breach the shell of the target the same way. Renny and I are aware of a supply room on the fourth level where we can get outfits, so we’ll blend in. Surveillance is lax since the one-way out is almost escape proof. Once inside and dressed right, we won’t arouse suspicion. We’ll get one for Bhril. We first locate him, but we won’t break him out of his cell until a little before dusk. We enter in the dark—we leave in the same way. Do you have questions?
Eas gazes at Kizzie. “I guess I’m the fourth.” He evaluates her reaction. The expression on her face says she can’t believe what she heard.
“The Quad Pack’s now complete. Okay,” Eath says. “Let’s move on to the next topic. Tell the group what you learned about the impending catastrophe, Renny. Soon as you finish, Bannon will tell us about his experiences.”
“Well—I worked as an electrician at The Dome Project. I’m also a computer junkie. One evening things came to a halt, and I got bored. No one occupied the terminal in the area where I happened to be—so I sat down and started messing around, since the last user forgot to sign off his or her security access. After a few attempts, I found my way into the CDC and a menu. I stumbled on a file named ImpendingCatastrophe.dft. My curiosity got the best of me, so I clicked on it and up popped a screen full of information and a star map. I started reading, and the narrative went something like this.”
In the years preceding the Great War, the Atlanteans placed a cosmological observatory on the backside of Goliath. They went all out in the study and mapping of the cosmos. They determined our galaxy and another are on an inevitable collision course—at the exact instant, the security detail arrived. The program I opened set off a series of alarms…The End… I woke up in The Inner Dome, and the rest is history.”
“Bannon—tell us of what you are aware,” Eath says.
Eas begins. “Knowledge of a select group is the fact we’re on a crash course with another object. The details rank among the most classified in the scientific community and government. Let me give you a short overview, and we can discuss the specifics later. Here’s what we are sure of. Pegasea is moving toward the underside of Milkia, at a 49.3-degree angle. We also recognize a slow but definite wobble of the other world of 16.25-degrees on either side of the ecliptic median. At the time, the galaxy is at the extreme bottom is the time any interface or influence on us happens. We believe the activity takes place every 2.25 million years, and lasts for about 1,000 years. They will begin to merge, and the speed will accelerate.”
“How soon will the event happen?” Marshon asks.
“We think the merger will be complete in about a millennium. The possibility is at some point, the interaction could cause a cataclysm, which might destroy both.”
“Why didn’t the amateur astronomers discover the new galaxy?” Eath asks with doubts.
“My question too,” Kizzie says.
“Some did—from the one spot atop Mt. Millen, which is the tallest mountain on the planet. No other place exists above the haze, where the cosmos is visible. A few climbers interested in astronomy scaled the peak with radio telescopes. They brought back some interesting data, but the government and scientific community debunked them. The changes they’re observing are so slow and minuscule the official stance is the routine stellar drift. By the way, the bureaucracy banned all mountaineers from Mt. Millen. Bureaucrats, fearing someone might be killed, declared a safety moratorium.
The Milkia Galaxy isn’t visible to the surface of Nibiru. Its center is about three degrees offset to our north pole. The haze over the northern 28% of the planet limits the scope of astronomical study and mapping using ground-based telescopes. We’ve been aware for millennia Atlant placed an electron telescope on Goliath. About 30 years ago, Intelligence discovered some ancient documentation about the apparatus. 10 years passed during the translation and decoding of the data. We reactivated the device by remote control, and we’ve been receiving telemetry for about 20 years. Soon, after the reactivation, we confirmed the inevitable collision.”
“Bannon and I held several discussions on the subject, and I told him I wanted to examine the information from Goliath. The computer and a book of sky maps lay on the corner of his desk when he opened the folder and turned to an ancient black-and-white document of an unfamiliar part of…Oops, sorry—I should keep quiet and not interrupt,” Kizzie says.
“This is a visual aid of our section of the galaxy and our solar system 25,000 years ago.” Eas projects the image on the wall. “Can you distinguish this dot?” He points to a speck on the map. “Evaluate the connection to us.” He places special emphasis on the spot. He moves to the next example. “Here’s our target. Can you make out its relationship to our system?” He goes to a third chart. “This is the same section of space as the previous two, and each reflects 10,000 year snapshots in time. Can you identify our point of interest now?”
“Yes,” Dr. Marshon says. “Is the entity a meteorite or comet?”
“No, it’s a planet of almost equal size as Nibiru. What else do you comprehend?
“Our solar system and the object are getting closer. Are we on an impact course?” Kahnn asks.
“The mystery is yet to be answered. Each additional map shows the harbinger of death coming nearer to us—and the record ends with abruptness. We don’t understand if a near miss occurred or not. We can hope archeologists turn up some new data. Geologists tell us at about the same time, major geological upheavals happened on our world. The evidence also suggests the object passed close enough to affect our magnetic poles, the tilt of the planet, and made our orbit more elliptical. About the same time, our fourth and the most distant moon disappeared.”
Bannon returns to his computer and projects an earlier viewed black-and-white star chart. He moves the image to the left and adds a colored visual to the screen. “What do you recognize?”
“They’re of the same section of sky?” Baanar asks.
“You’re correct, and the one on the right is made about 25,000 years later and adjusted for stellar drift.” He analyzes their facial expressions as they begin to grasp the implications.
“Is this one on the left one of the ancient charts you displayed earlier?” Kizzie asks.
“Yes, the first one I showed you. Do you make out the speck? The dot to the right—the planet of ages past—the one, which caused havoc during the flyby of Nibiru. The spot is on both maps.” He points them out on the screen. The expression on his face becomes one of alarm, as the inference begins to come into focus. “Are we on a collision course?” the colonel asks.
“We must hope for another miss, and for the rogue plant to be much farther away than before. The same distance as before or closer and we can hypothesize the unbelievable devastation.” Eas is somber as he speaks. “The government is preparing to put a satellite into space to monitor the approach.”
“I didn’t realize we can launch spaceship,” Commander Jasen says.
“Few in the bureaucracy and academia are aware of the situation. I overheard, by accident, Dr. Zea discussing his hypothesis with a high-ranking official. He turned and gazed at me with a shocked stare on his face. He later told me this event was one of the most sensitive issues of all times. If some found out I learned of it, I would no doubt end up dead, he emphasized. In all honesty, I’m horrified. I debated for a long time, whether I should tell. My life is now in the hands of all in this room,” he says.
They sit in silence staring into each other’s faces. The impact of his statement is horrifying.
“Are you positive this is the same planet?” a leading scientist in the group asks. He is searching for an explanation contradicting the obvious.
“From what I understand, little doubt exists.” Bannon assures him. He shows them several more slide comparisons. All appear to support his conclusion.
“Well—this helps explain why they got so upset with me for poking around in the CDC,” Renny says. “I guess I am lucky to be alive.”
“Let’s assume you’re correct about The Inner Dome being a spacecraft under construction. A small group plans to leave the planet,” Colonel Baanar says. “I wonder who?”