by Hep Aldridge
Reggie was the first to speak, “In my wildest dreams, I would never have thought I would experience what we just did; amazing doesn’t even begin to describe it.”
Dimitri chimed in, “How about earth-shattering?”
Doc said, “How about rewriting everything we have ever written about history?”
Dimitri was grinning and said, “Well, I think it was pretty damn cool.”
I laughed and said, “Dimitri, you are indeed the master of the understatement.”
“Maybe so,” he replied, “but don’t you agree?”
“Oh, hell yeah,” I said. “I agree with all of you, in spades.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
We walked back to the base of the stepped platform where we had set up camp. Taking seats on the lower steps, Doc passed out our MRE rations and said, “We’re getting low on provisions; we’ve got maybe three days’ worth left.
“Well, it’s two days’ hike back to the village and the rest of our supplies—if the mercs didn’t find them. If we ration what we have, we should be able to make it,” I said. “But that means we would have to leave here tomorrow, and I don’t see that happening.”
Dimitri said, “Maybe we could ask Jeannie if there is any food left in this place.”
“Sounds like a good idea, but I’m not sure anything left here would be edible. It would have been here for hundreds of years,” Doc replied.
Before anyone could respond, O’Reilly appeared at the top of the platform and started down to us.
“I got ahold of Fitz and gave him the warning. He was full of questions, so I gave him the Readers Digest version of things and told him we would fill him in later. He wasn’t too happy but told us to be careful and said that he would shut down all testing of the cubes immediately.”
“Good,” I said.
“Potential disaster averted,” Joe added.
As we ate our meal, we discussed our encounter and what we had learned from Jeannie. All agreed that if this information got out, it would turn the world upside down in every scientific field known to man.
Doc said, “Colt, we didn’t ask her about the longevity thing that the priests have been talking about.”
“You’re right; with all the other stuff we were hearing, I completely forgot about that. More questions for tomorrow. Joe, no camera alerts?”
Joe pulled out his tablet and said, “Nope, none so far. If they pick up movement, this baby will let us know,” he said, tapping the screen.
I got up and took my canteen to the fountain in the square and filled it. We had tested the water to make sure it was safe to drink when we first got here and found it to be exceptionally pure, cool, and refreshing. I sat down on the stones at the edge of the pool and took a swallow, quickly getting lost in my thoughts and not noticing Dimitri coming over to sit next to me.
He reached down and filled his canteen, and after a few moments of silence, said, “Colt, I remember us sitting at the bar in the marina, Nautical Spirits, that first day you approached me about starting Risky Business,” he chuckled. “I thought it was kind of a crazy idea, but what the hell, why not. A little adventure might be cool. But now… all this,” he spread his arms, taking in our surroundings, “the galleon, the sunken treasure, the mysteries, all the bad guys, and now aliens. Holy crap, this is the kind of stuff you see in movies. I still have to pinch myself to confirm it’s real and not a dream, and I’m in the middle of it.”
I laughed and, after a moment, said, “Listen, Dude, I still can’t believe half the stuff we have done or been involved in over these past few years. If we tried to tell someone this story, we would get laughed out of Dodge. No one would believe it.”
“Well, then, I guess we better keep it to ourselves.”
I paused and finally said, “Guess so. Kinda makes you wonder, though… what’s next?”
“Oh, no, I’m not even going there. I’m just taking one day at a time, and I’ll deal with whatever we get handed because I’m pretty sure there’s more to come.”
“Amen, brother, amen.”
We sat in silence for another half hour, our minds reeling, both lost in the swirling revelations we had been handed today. Eventually, we got up and went back to the group, talking quietly amongst themselves, going over the day’s events.
Joe looked up and said, “Well, did you two come up with any revelations?”
Dimitri laughed and said, “Don’t you think we’ve had enough of those today?”
“Guess you’re right,” Joe said and laughed too. “We’ve been talking about everything we learned today. How are we going to let people know about it? I mean, this is world-changing, re-writing history stuff.”
“That’s precisely why I don’t think we should,” I said.
“What do you mean, Colt?” Joe replied as Dimitri and I sat down on the lowest step.
“I don’t think we should tell anybody about this.”
“Really?” he replied.
“Stop and think about it. What good would it do if we did tell everyone? This place would turn into a zoo. You’d have governments fighting over ownership, militaries and crackpot opportunists all trying to get the tech for themselves to use for who knows what. In the current state of world affairs, it’s hard for me to see a peaceful outcome to that announcement. But that’s just me and my thinking,” I said.
There was silence as everyone considered my statement. O’Reilly finally spoke up.
“I think you’re right; a bombshell like this could cause world unrest and instability at a magnitude we have never seen before. Religion, military, a worldwide power struggle of epic proportions.”
“But think of the good it could do,” Doc said in an almost pleading voice.
“We’ll see. We don’t have to make a decision tonight; think about it. We’ve got some time,” I replied.
It had started turning dark, and we realized how late it was getting.
“I think I’ve had enough for one day. I’m hitting the rack and suggest you all do the same. If today was any indication, tomorrow promises to be another eventful day in Jeannie-land.” With that, I crawled into my sleeping bag as the others started doing the same. As the darkness grew deeper, I thought, at least Jeannie knows when to turn out the lights, and quickly fell asleep.
I awoke the next morning to an interesting aroma, not quite like freshly brewed coffee but close. As I sat up, I saw a low table set up in the middle of our little camp that hadn’t been there before. On it sat a black stone pitcher with steam coming out of it and an assortment of fresh fruits, some assorted loaves of bread, and what looked like an array of cheeses.
We all woke up about the same time and were staring at the table. Dimitri, who was closest to it, reached out, picked up a piece of cheese, and took a bite, followed by a chunk of bread and a piece of fruit we recognized as a banana.
After munching down on it, he said, “Man, I don’t know who called room service, but this is really good.”
We all made our way to the table and followed Dimitri’s example. I poured some of the dark liquid from the pitcher into one of the cups provided and took a sip. It wasn’t coffee, but it was close, and the rich flavor was a delight to the palate.
Between bites, Joe said, “This has to be Jeannie’s doing. I was thinking about how hungry I was when I went to sleep last night. Getting tired of the MREs.”
Dimitri lapsed into his Boris speak, something he hadn’t done since the big boom. “Da, is good, make you grow up strong, like bull,” he said, beating his chest with his fist.
Reggie said, “Well, I don’t know about the bull part, but it’s magically delicious compared to protein bars, powdered eggs, and Tang.”
I looked at Eduardo and said, “You haven’t said much lately, Eduardo; how are you holding up?”
He was enjoying the meal as much as any of us and looked at me, grinning. “Senor Colt, this is all amazing. I feel like I am in a dream, and I don’t want to wake up.”
“Well,
it’s no dream, so enjoy it while you can. You never know when things might change,” I said, continuing with my meal.
As we were sitting there, a thought came into my head, “I am glad you are enjoying your meal. This is somewhat typical of the food in the Citadel.”
It was Jeannie’s voice, and I looked up as everyone else did. They got the message too.
Dimitri held up his cup of liquid to the sky and said, “Thanks, Jeannie, this is great. Best room service I’ve ever had.”
There was no answer, but I swear I heard a soft laugh. But then, it could have been my imagination.
We finished our meal, wrapping what was left and tucking it into our packs, just in case.
We grabbed our day packs and headed toward the building that housed the chair and Jeannie. As we were walking, I realized mother nature was calling, and in a mild panic, started looking around for a bush that needed watering. When we were hiking through the jungle, these moments weren’t as critical. Trees and bushes were everywhere, but now we were in the middle of a city…” I wondered how the others were dealing with this little dilemma and blurted out, “Hey, anybody besides me gotta go?”
We were passing a low building on our left when the message came through loud and clear, “In here,” and the lettering over the doorway began to glow the all too familiar blue glow. As I looked at the others, I could tell they had gotten the same message, and we all entered. There was a medium-sized anteroom and two doorways on either side of the rear wall with the strange lettering we had been seeing in the Citadel above them.
Things were now getting urgent, and I bolted for the door on the right and immediately got a big “No,” and stopped in my tracks. “The other one,” came the thought, loud and clear, and I headed in with the other guys on my heels as the ladies made their way through the doorway of my first choice.
Inside, it was pretty easy to determine the functions of what we saw in the room. What was really impressive was the appearance of accessories, as if by magic, in the room. Tapestries and artwork on the walls, chairs and lounges appeared, and subdued lighting began illuminating the room. Water was flowing through a trough on one side; on another, there were individual cubicle spaces with an obvious toilet-type fixture and a series of larger cubicles on the opposite wall with a niche next to each. There were five spigots along the wall above the trough, spaced at regular intervals along its length, dispensing a continuous flow of water.
It was obviously a washing facility. Bowls of a creamy blue substance were placed at intervals along the trough’s edge next to a small stack of towels at each. It reminded me of drawings I had seen of Roman bath houses but with upgrades.
I stepped into one of the smaller cubicles, and an opaque wall appeared behind me, providing a level of privacy from the rest of the room. Calling them small cubicles is relative only to the size of the others in the room. They were probably five feet wide and, from the height of the fixture inside, were made for a taller person, and I’m six foot five. Thankfully, I managed without incident, as did my companions. As I turned to step out, the opaque wall disappeared. I stepped into the room and received another message from Jeannie. “If you wish to cleanse and refresh yourselves, the larger spaces will accommodate you. Place your clothing in the space provided, and it will be cleaned as well.”
While we had been doing a relatively good job of addressing personal hygiene on our trek, I was not about to miss the opportunity of a real cleansing. So, I stepped into one of the eight larger cubicles along the wall. Once again, an
opaque wall appeared behind me, offering all the privacy one could ask for.
Stripping down, a small section of the wall opened with enough space for all my clothes and boots. As it closed, I was engulfed in a warm spray of water, followed by a spray of what I guessed was a cleansing wash from its faint spicy floral fragrance. Next was another warm water spray for rinsing, and then it stopped. The whole process took about ten minutes.
I stood there dripping, not sure what to do next when a warm breeze filled the cubicle. The water evaporated and was immediately followed by another slightly scented vapor. A blue glow filled the cubicle, and I felt tingling over my entire body. These aliens must love the color blue, I thought. The cubicle that held my clothes opened, and I started getting dressed. My clothes smelled clean and fresh—even my socks and boots.
Now, that was impressive.
As I finished dressing, the opaque wall disappeared. I stepped into the room, looked back at the cubicle, and thought, hmmm, my first alien cleaning. I felt rejuvenated and much more energized than I had earlier. The doors were still closed on the other cubicles, so I headed to one of the lounge chairs in the room. Next to it was a small table and on it was a pitcher and cups. One whiff of the pitcher and my senses were hit with a fresh, fruity aroma. The drink was indescribably fruity, and as I consumed It, I could feel my energy level increasing. The other doors began opening, and my comrades exited with varying levels of astonishment on their faces.
Dimitri was the first to speak, “Man, that was fantastic. That was better than the car wash down at the Mobil station back home.”
I was about to ask how he could compare this alien bathing experience to a car wash and immediately thought better of it—some things you just don’t need to know.
We finished off the beverage in the pitcher, grabbed our packs, and went outside, where the ladies were seated on a bench, waiting for us, smiling broadly and looking totally refreshed.
As we approached, I said, “So, it looks like you ladies got the same message we did?”
“That was better than the best spa day I’ve ever had,” O’Reilly said.
Reggie, smiling from ear to ear, nodded in agreement, “That was heavenly.”
“Well, we can compare notes on our way to Jeannie’s,” I answered as we headed out.
Chapter Twenty-Three
We arrived at Jeannie’s place, the building that held the Cathedra of Knowledge, and this time I took the seat in the big chair. I placed my hands in the impressions on the arms, and Jeannie appeared as before.
She looked the same, long robes with a hood, her face partially hidden by it, all blue. As everyone took their seats on the benches, I started asking questions that would help us better understand our surroundings.
“Jeannie, we have seen this blue glow and blue lights since we first found the road; what is it?”
She looked at me and said, “That is the color signature in your lighting spectrum of our energy source, Zero-Point Energy as you call it.”
“So, when we see that, we can deduce that what we are seeing is being powered by that energy?”
“Yes,” she replied.
“But what about in the shower, and by the way, thank you for helping out in that situation. Not only was it much needed, but it sure beat the late-night excursions outside the cloak.”
Her enigmatic smile broadened ever so slightly, “Our race has many of the same needs as yours, and they are all provided for in the Citadel.”
“And the food and drink, it was fantastic,” Dimitri added.
“You are welcome. Sustenance is a requirement in one form or another for all races. As for the blue glow in the cleansing facilities, that is a modified form of our energy that was created to replenish the body.”
“So, that’s why I feel so energized; no pun intended, much more refreshed and recharged.”
“Yes,” she replied, “its effects will stay with you for a few days. Then your normal levels will return.”
“That’s another question we had,” I said. “We have been told about the ability of your race to extend the life of humans, for tens if not hundreds of years. Is that true?”
“Again, that is a process we have developed using our energy source. We have found that your race’s short lifespan can be extended for four to five hundred of your years. Unfortunately, after that length of time, your mental facilities begin to deteriorate, ultimately resulting in the rest of the body
stopping functioning, shutting down, and dying. However, some are able to live longer and maintain their mental abilities. We have found some that live seven hundred to nine hundred of your years. Their longevity can create problems within the social constructs of your society. Therefore, we rarely initiate those longevity protocols.”
I hesitated, then said, “I must tell you; we were warned that there is a group of people within our society that are searching for the secret to this longevity for evil purposes.”
“I know,” Jeannie replied, “remember your thoughts, memory, and knowledge are now mine. I am aware of your pursuers and their intentions. This cannot be allowed to happen. For now, they have been otherwise distracted by one of our Watchers, but I fear they will not be dissuaded from their task and will soon become a threat to us.”
“Wait a minute,” Doc said, “Watchers?”
Jeannie turned to him and said, “Yes, there are individuals who have been carefully selected to monitor and assist with the development of your world’s civilizations for thousands of years. They have all been given a level of longevity beyond the normal and have the ability to contact me or other keepers, who then relay that information to me.”
“Hold on, Jeannie; you mean there are others like you… Where?” I asked.
Jeannie raised an arm over her head, and an image of Earth from space appeared. But the continents weren’t right—there were oceans and a large land mass. Small blue dots began to appear on it. The image started to change as the land mass began breaking apart. I realized I had been looking at a representation of Pangea, the super continent before it broke into the major continents we have today. Slowly, North and South America took shape, followed by the European continent. All of them had little blue dots scattered on them. Even the Northern polar region and Antarctica had blue dots.