Chapter_22
Run Bhadra, run, Christine thought, watching the young, beautiful woman flee for her life.
Though Christine wanted to look away, she was engulfed in the entire scene. Unable to interfere, she watched helplessly. With the key in hand, Bhadra athletically sprinted out the open doorway. Her tan leather moccasin-like shoes flew off in the process.
Now out on an open grassy field, Bhadra headed straight towards a golden beehive-shaped ship. With four small propellers around the base and four circling the top, the ship was at least thirty feet in height and glimmered in the sunlight.
Two pillars stood adjacent to the vehicle. Each boasted a wing at its top and two snake-like coils wrap around its entire length. Between them was a golden carpet leading up to the ship. A symbol similar to that of the pillars was emblazed above the ship’s door, ten feet above ground.
Bhadra ran to the ladder at the base of the ship and began climbing, holding the key under one arm and pulling herself higher with the other. She refused to look back, fearing someone was just behind her. After her last step, she bent down and yanked the ladder up and into the ship.
“Close the door!” she ordered a crewman who was standing next to one of the four huge cylindrical shafts in the center of the room.
The man, who was wearing a long tan robe tied at the waist and similarly colored pants, complied without hesitation.
“Start the boilers,” Bhadra ordered. “Set the hydrargyrum engines into motion. We must take flight this instant! There is no time to spare.”
The two other crewmen present rushed down the steps onto the lower level. “Set the hydrargyrum engines into motion!” they shouted while descending. Pointing towards large boilers at the base of each of the four cylindrical, metal shafts, they signaled the other crewmen on this level to immediately get to work.
Bhadra then ran up the steps to the upper level. At the helm were two men sitting at opposite ends of the conical room. “Fly,” she ordered holding the key prominently out in front of her.
“Fly!” she repeated.
Both men were in disbelief as they stared at the legendary relic. The beauty and radiance of this shield-like artifact exceeded their expectations. Both were unsure whether to bow down and give grace or follow their consulate’s orders. Doing both would be inappropriate. However, doing one seemed just as unfitting.
“Take me to Dilmun at once,” Bhadra commanded as the men continued to sit motionless as if in a trance. “I need to return the key to the cradle.”
Hesitantly, the pilot to her right responded while bowing his head, “Consulate Bhadra, that area is forbidden by the council, and all flights there have been grounded due to geographic instability.”
“I am the council,” she demanded. “Now do as I say!”
The other pilot waved his hand over a red crystal on the dashboard. The cylinders in the center of the room began to hum as heat radiated from each, raising the room’s temperature in response.
“The mercury is almost at a boil,” he then stated. “One more minute, and we can set the engines into motion.”
“Very good,” she commented while nervously looking out the window. Because she was facing away from the council hall, she could only surmise how the brawl there had ended.
Christine watched as the magnificent ship began to glow and float up into the sky. It looked like a giant orb radiating a brilliant white light. What technology, she thought.
The ship then took flight like a dart shot out of a gun. Accompanied by a gentle hum, it zipped through the sky.
Though Christine knew nothing about engineering, she felt as if she understood everything about this ship. Her mind was inundated with the most amazing information explaining its technology, construction, and means of flight. It was almost like she had known the information all along but had forgotten it until just now.
Rhukma Vimana, Christine thought. It’s the name of this type of ship. And there are many more of these vehicles, many with different shapes, designs, and sizes.
She also came to realize that unlike combustion or the magnetic dipole engines of her day, these ships flew by the nascent energy within the element mercury. By heating this liquid metal to its boiling point and subjecting it to alternating electromagnetic currents, the mercury became ionized and released the zero-point energy stored within it. Because this energy has anti-gravitational, ultrasonic properties, flight became a possibility.
Christine watched as the Vimana touched down in the center of a large and open city complex surrounded by a thriving jungle. Beautiful gardens full of colorful flowers, trees laden with fruit, and green vines adorned the landscape.
A large, white dome stood prominently in the center of this lush city. Attached to it at the Northern, Eastern, and Western poles were three white, cylindrical shafts projecting out along the ground as far as the eye could see. They radiated in the sunlight and appeared to pulsate in sync with the dome to which they were attached.
Young women with silken dresses and flowers in their hair tended the gardens. Upon the site of Bhadra exiting the ship, they all bowed with respect.
Bhadra looked towards the brilliant dome in the center of the city. Because it was surrounded by gardens and flowering trees, this portion of the city was the closest open area her Vimana could set down without destroying anything sacred in its descent.
With great urgency, she sprinted down a grassy path leading directly towards the dome. Adorned on both sides by abundant peach and pear trees, they provided shade from the midday sun. As she approached the dome, Bhadra noted a beautiful depiction of a pregnant woman holding her expectant belly engraved at the entrance. In her womb was an upside-down triangle punctuated by five large, red dots.
The cradle. Bhadra thought.
As she ran, Bhadra stumbled onto the ground, landing on her chest and abdomen. A sudden quiver along the earth knocked her off balance. The key thrusted out of her arms upon impact. As she lay face down on the grassy path, she could hear a distant roar. Her palms also felt the earth rumble.
A white glow caused her to squint, obscuring the dome. As the light faded, an unmistakable sight came into view. A cigar-shaped ship known as a valix now blocked her path to the cradle and destroyed the flower garden on which it landed. Piloted by the Phrees, she knew they were here for only one thing.
The key.
The rumbling in the distance grew louder as she scuttled on her hands and knees over to the key. Grasping it in both hands, she jumped to her feet and attempted to run. However, two strong men wearing white tunics tied at the waste and long kilts made of strips of brown leather grabbed her. Pulling her by the elbows, they turned her to face their leader, Zorian.
“Why such haste?” he asked. “Were you planning to carry out an unsanctioned action?”
“The council of thirteen already decided, Zorian,” she indignantly responded.
Bhadra’s arms were forced behind her, causing her to drop the key.
“The council is no more,” Zorian stated as he sauntered over to grab the key. “The Phrees are now in charge. That means you and the rest of your pitiful Kathole clan must submit to our will.”
Taking the key, he placed it under his arm and said, “There will be more outposts, and the cradle will continue to function at full capacity.”
“Stop it now—before it’s too late,” Bhadra insisted. “No matter how many outposts you create, as long as the cradle remains functional, you can’t stop the inevitable. Do the right thing!”
Before he could answer, Zorian became distracted by the distant rumble. Pausing for just a second, he turned and walked into his ship.
“You will kill us all!” Bhadra yelled feverishly. “The death of our planet and all her inhabitants will be on your shoulders!”
His soldiers boarded the ship after throwing Bhadra to her knees. Pleading outside the vehicle, she said as the door closed, “You are to blame! It is your fault!”
“Take us out of here,” Zorian ordered. “And let us never return.”
He then walked to the back of the ship and laid down on a hammock stretched between two glass poles. Other hammocks also bordered the periphery of the room. Each were accompanied by a large circular window to their side.
Nonsense, he thought, resting the shield on top of his stomach. Utter nonsense. If it were up to the Katholes, we would be left fending for ourselves using stone tools and our bare hands. Turning off the cradle would be like turning back time.
With his body sore from the recent scuffle, he wanted to rest before returning home. Once there, he planned to finish the remaining outposts and put forth a global initiative to create hundreds more.
Zorian could feel the ship slowly levitate into the air until the cradle’s dome descended out of view.
His eyes began to close as he let the urge to sleep overtake him. Zorian’s worries dwindled as quickly as his consciousness. In what seemed like a mere second, one of his countrymen ran frantically into the room and startled him out of his slumber.
“Consulate Zorian!” the man said. Wide-eyed and completely white with fear, he pointed out the window. “Sorry to disturb you sir, but—”
The man was left speechless, unable to finish his thought.
Zorian jumped out of the hammock and peered through an enormous, adjacent window. His arrogance quickly dissipated at the sight. A massive tidal wave at least 100 feet tall was overtaking all the land as far as he could see and heading directly towards Dilmun.
“This can’t be,” he said as his voice cracked. “This isn’t happening. The outposts. They were supposed to hold.”
He muttered the same words over and over as he watched the colossal wave submerge Dilmun in the far distance as it continued its path of destruction. Bhadra’s last words echoed throughout his head and stung like a thousand bees.
You will kill us all…