by Greg Krojac
“So, what is this – well, it looks like a safe – for exactly?”
“I have a document in my briefcase here which summarises step by step the events of today. I’m going to place the document in the safe and lock it inside.”
“Is that all? This is a bit over dramatic isn’t it?”
Aaron was now starting to feel more confident that he wasn’t about to be murdered. This wasn’t the villain Dr No telling James Bond about his plot to take over the world. It seemed that whatever Jake was planning relied upon the scientist surviving today’s events. Aaron hoped so anyway.
“Can you untie me, please? I’m not going to run away now.”
“Can I trust you?”
“Yes. You’ve got me. I’m hooked.”
“Well, I have to untie you sometime. But I do still have the gun, so don’t do anything stupid.”
Jake untied Aaron’s wrists but left his ankles tied.
“What about my ankles?”
“Insurance, Aaron. I’ll untie your ankles in due course. What’s your car number, Aaron?”
“My what?”
“The registration number of your car. I need to make a note of it.”
It seemed a strange request but this was a very strange day, so Aaron gave Jake the details. Jake took the previously mentioned document from his briefcase and scribbled the registration number at the top of the first page.
“Right Aaron. In a minute I’ll explain everything to you but first I want to show you something about this safe.”
Jake skilfully turned the combination dials this way and that, alternating between the four dials in a seemingly haphazard manner. He jumped backwards, dodging the door as it swung open.
“I always forget these doors spring open with such force. Take a look inside, please.”
The scientist shuffled forward and did as he was told.
“What you see in there is enough Semtex – plastic explosive…”
“I know what Semtex is, Jake,” Aaron interrupted.
“As I was saying, there’s enough Semtex in there to blow anybody who tampers with the safe to kingdom come. It’ll make a crater with a diameter of about two hundred feet. It won’t just kill anyone in the vicinity. It’ll rip them to shreds. We’re talking about a serious amount of explosive here.”
Aaron didn’t like the sound of that.
“What if there’s an innocent bystander nearby?”
“Can’t be helped. Collateral damage.”
Aaron definitely didn’t like how casually Jake used the term collateral damage.
“I don’t know if I can be a part of this.”
“Too late. You are a part of it now. The good news is that if the combination is entered correctly, then the safe will open and everyone lives to see another day. The bad news is, if the combination is entered incorrectly… BOOM! If the safe is tampered with in any way …BOOM! More good news is that I’m the only one who knows the combination. And that’s good news for your research.
Aaron didn’t see what it’d to do with his research into reincarnation.
“Now, my scientist friend. On the document is written something about a past life of mine, about an unexplained murder of a mother by her son, on Christmas Eve, 1965. I’ve detailed everything about the murder and there are things in this document that even the police aren’t aware of. I’ve written down not just how I, as a ten-year-old boy named Simon, murdered my mother, Hannah - but also why.”
“You’re trying to tell me that, as a ten-year-old, you murdered your own mother?”
“Yes, but it’s not that simple. I killed my mother and then killed myself by walking straight in front of a truck.”
“So you’re telling me that you killed your own mother?”
“You sound like a parrot, Aaron. I, Jake Griffiths, didn’t kill my own mother. Not technically anyway – and certainly not according to the law. I wasn’t even born then. I’m 25 years old. I’ve even brought my birth certificate to show you. Look. But, as Simon Jones, I did.”
Aaron studied the certificate closely. It certainly looked genuine and showed the stranger’s name as Jake Griffiths. Of course, that didn’t necessarily mean that the person named on the certificate and the person facing him were the same person. He handed it back to Jake, who tossed it into the open safe.
“Simon died on 24th December 1965. I was born on 25th September 1966 although I took up occupation of this body a few months previously, whilst it was still in the womb. There’s often a bit of a scramble to enter your new body. The foetus has to develop to a certain level before its new soul can take over, and it can cause a bit of a backlog sometimes. The fact is that the majority of people don’t remember their past lives. Only 5% actually. We call them Recarns. That’s me. I’m a Recarn. Some of the subjects that you interview are possibly Recarns too and do remember past lives, but most are simply making it up, attention-seekers.”
Aaron could see why this day had suddenly become relevant to his work, but it still sounded far-fetched. However, he’d humour Jake for the moment.
“Go on.”
Jake carried on with his story.
´To be honest with you, it can do your head in, remembering what’s gone before. It really can. I was pretty messed up before I met up with Nathan.”
“Who’s Nathan?” Aaron interrupted.
“Nathan is the guy who organized all this. Anyway, some people take reincarnation in their stride. Nathan does, but I was on a kind of historically motivated revenge kick. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t go around killing people willy-nilly, just a couple of people who deserved to die. If you look at it from another angle I was just giving Hannah a nudge into her next life. She wouldn’t remember what happened anyway. She wasn’t a Recarn. Still, Nathan pointed out that it wasn’t really her fault and he calmed me down and showed me how to separate each life’s experiences and not blame people for things they did in a previous incarnation. At least, not if they have no memory of it. Hannah had no idea what she’d done in her previous life and it was wrong of me to kill her for past actions of which she’d no knowledge”
Aaron was conflicted. On the one hand, Jake’s story was fascinating but on the other hand, it seemed too conveniently aligned to his own research. He’d have liked to talk with Jake in a more formal interview setting, rather than somewhere in the middle of Maidenhead Thicket. What did Jake really want with Aaron?
“How do I know that you’re not making all this up?”
“Because I’m going to provide you with proof. Not today, but later. What’s the date today?”
“26th June 1990.”
“Time?”
“Five past three in the afternoon. “
“Make a mental note of that Aaron. It’ll be important.”
“OK.”
“Now, if you can just sign this other document for me. Don’t worry, it’s not a contract or even a blank cheque. It just says that this is your signature.”
Aaron confirmed the document’s contents and signed the paper.
Jake then collected all the documentation together and put them into a plastic document wallet, before tossing it into the safe.
“This next thing might seem a bit crazy.”
“As if all this doesn’t seem crazy.”
Jake took six dice from his pocket. One red, one green, one blue, one black, one white, and one yellow
“I’m going to throw these dice a couple of times, just to show you that they’re not loaded.”
He threw the dice and then repeated the exercise.
“Would you agree that the same colour die didn’t give the same number each time?”
“Agreed.”
“Right. I’m going to throw them again. How’s your memory?
“Pretty good I reckon.”
“Well, it needs to be perfect otherwise we’re both wasting our time here.”
“OK. I’ll do my best.”
“Your best isn’t good enough, Aaron. You need to remember p
erfectly which die falls with which number.”
Aaron didn’t see what possible relevance throwing a few dice could have to reincarnation but didn’t let it bother him.
“Understood. Throw the dice.”
Jake threw the dice, one by one.
“Red, five. Blue, three. Yellow, six. Green, five. Black, one. White, four. Study them and remember, Aaron. This is possibly the most important part. Take as long as you need.”
Once Aaron had memorised the colour and number combinations of the dice, Jake picked them up and tossed them into the safe. He then took a Polaroid Swinger camera out of his bag.
“This is going to be a bit awkward but I think I’ve mastered it. Stand next to me while I take a Polaroid of us.”
If Aaron had felt in any danger, then would have been an excellent opportunity to try and disarm his captor. However, the overriding feeling that Aaron was experiencing was one of curiosity. He had to know how this day would turn out. Also, his ankles were still tied together.
Jake waited the four minutes or so for the photo to develop, during which he untied Aaron’s ankles and expanded upon the events of December 24th, 1965. It was a horrible story but quite riveting at the same time.
He then checked that the bomb booby-trap was armed and, when satisfied, he closed the door gently (so as not to disturb the Semtex) and span all the forty-eight wheels of the combination clock so that they were completely shuffled.
“Let’s go then, Aaron.”
“Is that it?”
“Not quite, but we need to leave now. Please put your blindfold back on.”
Aaron did as he was told and they walked back in the direction of the main path, Jake again changing direction frequently in order to confuse the scientist.
After about five minutes they stopped, and Aaron was allowed to remove the blindfold. He opened his eyes to see Jake pointing the pistol at him. That couldn’t be good, surely?
“Am I going to die, after all?”
“Yes, of course you are. We’re all going to die. But not today, my friend. You have to keep living for at least 25 years more – hopefully many more than that.”
Aaron breathed an audible sigh of relief.
“This is the first stage of the proof that reincarnation is a scientific fact. That’s what you’ve been seeking isn’t it?”
Aaron nodded.
“Now, I don’t want you to react badly to what I’m about to tell you. You’re in no danger whatsoever. The only danger that you could possibly be in regarding today’s episode is if you try to open that safe. Then they’ll be scraping you off the trees. That’s why you were blindfolded and the route varied to prevent you from finding the safe again. I don’t recommend you try to either, because it’ll compromise the proof that I’m going to give you. So, I guess, I’m relying on your scientific integrity to do the right thing. If you don’t, you lose your proof.
“This is the really important bit, Aaron. When I tell you to face away from me, you must do so without question.”
“Are you sure you’re not going to kill me?”
“Yes, I promise. In fact, I’m going to kill myself.”
“What?”
“Yeah. It’s not such a big deal. The reason I want you to turn around is that I don’t think you really want to see my skull explode when I put a bullet through my head. But it is important that you check my body afterwards to confirm that I am indeed dead. Can you do that? It’s critical for the proof of reincarnation.”
Aaron didn’t like the idea of even looking at a dead body, let alone one that had just been shot in the head. He didn’t say anything.
“Aaron?”
“Um, yes. OK. I’ll check the body.”
Jake passed him a pair of surgical gloves.
“Put these latex gloves on. I don’t want your fingerprints to show up on the body. That’d cause no end of problems.”
Aaron slid his hands into the gloves.
“I’ll take them with me when I leave.”
“I’m going to be your proof of reincarnation, Aaron. Remember, I’m a Recarn. I’ll be back.”
“You really remember your past lives?”
“Yes. Each and every one. In twenty-five years, specifically on 15th May 2015, I’m going contact you. You won’t recognise me - even I have no idea what I’ll look like. I could be white, black, man, woman, fat, thin, tall, short, bald, hairy. Hopefully not bald. Though they do say that bald is sexy. I’ll only be in my mid-twenties after all. I have no idea. But, because I’m a Recarn, I’ll remember the location of the safe and – more importantly – the combination of the safe. What was the combination of colours and numbers that the dice showed? I know. I just want to check that you remember.”
“Red, five. Blue, three. Yellow, six. Green, five. Black, one. White, four. But I have another question, Jake. I mean, how will I know it’s you?”
“What’s my name?”
“Jake Griffiths.”
“That’s how you’ll know it’s me. I’ll identify myself by that name. Plus, think of a code word.”
“Rembrandt.”
“Why Rembrandt?”
“Why not?”
“Okay. Rembrandt it is. Now, pay particular attention to this part. You mustn’t tell anyone, anyone at all, not even your wife – if and when you have one - about what happened here today. We’re trusting that your scientific integrity and curiosity will keep you on the straight and narrow. I’d like to think that would be enough to convince you to wait the twenty-five years but a consensus was agreed upon that, if you disclose these plans to anyone else, drastic measures will need to be taken; we’ll take you and your closest family members – perhaps children that you haven’t even had yet – to the locations of the safes. There we will enter the incorrect combination and blow you and your families to smithereens. Of course, we’ll die too but that won’t bother us. I’ve actually been blown up several times before, and it doesn’t worry me.”
“I won’t tell a soul. I promise.”
“You’ll understand the irony of that one day.”
“Can I ask a final question, Jake?”
“Of course.”
“Will the police want to talk to me when they find your body and how do I get back to my car?”
“No, there isn’t anything that could connect you to my death. The only fingerprints on the gun will be mine. There will be no fingerprints on the car because I was wearing gloves all the time I was in it. Don’t forget to make sure that you wear the latex gloves when you check my body for signs of life. There will be absolutely no reason for them to think that you have some kind of connection to my death. I even ran up serious gambling debts so that they’ll have a motive for my suicide.”
“And the route back to my car?”
“Look above the tree line over there. What do you see?”
“Looks like a red balloon to me.”
“That’s because that’s exactly what it is. Just head towards that balloon and you’ll arrive at the car park. Old technology but efficient.”
“What about the gunshot?”
“Already thought that one out. There are farms near here. People will just think that it’s a farmer shooting at a fox. Again, what were the numbers and colours of the dice?”
“Red, five. Blue, three. Yellow, six. Green, five. Black, one. White, four.”
“Good. Now turn towards the balloon.”
Aaron did as he was bid.
“Goodbye, Jake. And thanks. I think.”
“Goodbye, Aaron. See you in twenty-five years. Oh, and don’t forget to release the balloon when you’re back at your car.”
The gunshot made Aaron flinch and, although he had no desire to see a freshly shot corpse, he duly checked the body for a pulse. There was no sign of life. Jake was definitely dead. The scientist set off in the direction of the tethered balloon, hardly believing that the afternoon’s events had really happened.
CHAPTER THREE
07:30 FRIDAY 1 MAY 20
15
Aaron couldn’t help but be excited. He checked the calendar on his smartphone one more time, just as he’d been checking it for the last three weeks. He was like a small child waiting for Christmas, he was so anxious for the return of Jake. It would be a true second coming, but not exactly the second coming that the Bible had predicted. There would be no rapture accompanying Jake’s reincarnation.
It was impossible not to want this proof to exist no matter how cynical and detached Aaron tried to remain – emotionally he was like an adolescent torn between overcoming a level in a video game by using a cheat, and succeeding by his own diligence and perseverance. He’d been forced to reluctantly admit to himself that despite his best efforts he’d been unable to come up with anything that could be considered as substantial proof of reincarnation. All his efforts had been founded on studying people from a retrospective point of view, from the past lives that his subjects had supposedly lived. There was no credible proof that the subjects were remembering things and not simply regurgitating things that they’d, consciously or subconsciously, heard or read about and thus the evidence was only anecdotal. Now he appeared to have been offered the opportunity – as crazy as it may seem – to be the sole physical witness to an experience from the past and to be part of its retelling twenty-five years later by a stranger who could only know detailed aspects of these same experiences if he or she’d also been there at the time.
He checked the calendar again. Nothing had changed. The date was still Friday 15th May 2015. It was half-past seven in the morning, and at eight o’clock Aaron would go through to his office and start his day’s work. But today would be different. Today, Aaron would be acutely aware of any phone calls, emails, or knocks at the door. He would answer each phone call, read each email, and answer each knock at the door hoping upon hope that it would be Jake or, at least, whoever Jake was now.
***
Aaron was interviewing his second subject of the day, a tedious task compared to what else that day might bring when his mobile phone chirruped loudly at him