The Prodigal Sun: A Novel

by S. E. Meyer

  “Not exactly, he is currently living in Iraq, near Baghdad,” answered Frank.

  “What?” exclaimed Jenny. “Iraq? Well that doesn’t do us any good.”

  “Actually it does, I’m flying out today for Baghdad,” Frank said.

  “That’s crazy,” said Jenny.

  “I know it sounds crazy, but I’ve been there a few times on archaeological business.”

  “Since the war started?” asked John

  “Well, no, but Hosea is coming with me and he has been there a lot. I have to figure this out. It’s the only chance I have at righting the wrong I feel I made. At the same time, I want to figure out more answers. There are more glyphs to decipher. I want to know what else was written on the stone and we need to see if we can find out more about who has been chasing us and why.”

  “Well, I’m going, I’m a part of this too, now that my brain is swelling or whatever” said John playfully.

  “It’s not swelling, you’re just using more of it. At least I thought you were until you said you wanted to go to Iraq! That's the most stupid idea ever! ” Jenny said as her cheeks began to flush. “In fact, I think everyone at this table is now dumber for having heard it.”

  “Thanks sweetie,” John replied sarcastically, yet lovingly.

  “I mean it,” said Jenny. “This is crazy, we have a life. We can’t just go running around the world with people we hardly know. No offense Frank.”

  “None taken,” Frank said with a smile.

  “I just think we should talk about this a bit before we go running off to who knows where to see who knows what.”

  “Okay, let’s talk about it then,” said John.

  “I’m going to leave you two alone to discuss this,” interrupted Frank. “I’m going to go up to our room and start packing my things. Meet me up there within the hour with your decision.”

  “Frank I need you here,” replied John. “I need you to back me up on this,” he pleaded.

  “Not this time John, I’m staying out of this one. Jenny is being the voice of reason here, you might want to listen to her. I’ll be in our room,” Frank said as he finished his last bite of breakfast then got up and headed for the main lobby.

  “Look honey, I just feel like this is something I have to do, okay?” John continued as soon as they both saw Frank walk through the double French doors separating the restaurant from the hotel lobby.

  “What if something happens to one, or both of us?” Jenny asked.

  “I have thought if that, that’s why I feel I have to go. What might happen to me if I don’t go? Frank only has a couple more injections left. He doesn’t have enough to keep the process going to completion. I‘ve had some serious side effects already. What might happen if we don’t figure this out by the time he runs out? Franks not sure, but I can tell by his worried expression that it might not be good. I don’t want to put even more worry on you, but I don’t know what’s going to happen to me. We have to figure this out soon or I might not be around much longer,” John explained.

  “I hadn’t thought of it that way” replied Jenny. “But don’t say you’re not going to be around much longer and I can’t let you go alone. I just can’t leave your side right now. It would drive myself crazy with worry and it’s not like I can go home to those…. things, whatever they are.”

  “You could go to your sisters,” John suggested.

  “There’s no way I can leave you now,” replied Jenny.

  There was a long pause. He knew he wasn’t going to win this battle. “Then I guess it’s settled, we’ll both have to go.”

  “I can’t believe we’re about to do this, it’s just so crazy,” Jenny said apprehensively.

  “It will be okay, Frank knows what he is doing, and has made trips like this before. I promise it’ll be fine. But just for the record, when I said I wanted to take you somewhere this week-end, Iraq was the furthest destination from my mind,” John said.

  “It’s not exactly what I had in mind either John,” replied Jenny with a smile.

  They finished their breakfast and headed back up to their room. When they got to the door John noticed it was slightly ajar. “Frank must have left the door open,” John thought as he pushed it open the rest of the way. The lights were off and it was still dark inside with the thick curtains drawn shut. John turned the light on to find Frank sitting in the armchair next to the bed, and there standing next to him, with a gun pointed at Frank’s head, was Adam Schultz.

  “Nice of you to join us,” Adam said with a sneer in his tone, and a wicked smile across his face.

  The road to Baghdad

  “What is going on?” John managed to blurt out as he felt his heart leap into his throat. He had never spoken to Adam before, but recognized him from NRC where they worked.

  “Don’t worry, I’m just here to talk.” Adam replied in a smooth icy tone.

  “Since when did talking require a forty-five caliber?” John asked. His voice was raised and he could feel the adrenaline now coursing through him.

  “Adam, they have nothing to do with this, I got them involved, let them go” Frank pleaded.

  “No, they’re interested in all of you, but they just want to talk.”

  “And who are they Adam?” asked Frank “What do they want?”

  “They just want to talk, that’s all. Like I was saying before Frank, they know what we’ve been up to and they’re very interested in meeting you. They’re not going to hurt anyone.”

  “It sure as hell didn’t seem that way when they were shooting at us,” Frank responded. “I think I’d rather take my chances being as far away as I can be from whoever they are,” he added.

  Adam spoke slowly, and as he did a small line of blood began to trickle from his nose. “Trust me Frank, they’re here to help.”

  “Trust you? Are you kidding?” Frank asked in disbelief. “As you are holding a gun to my head. After what you did to me, the things you said? I know what your intentions are.”

  “Do you? Frank, I realize I did some terrible things, and I’m sorry about locking you up in the lab. That was before, I’ve changed now. I’m a new man see? Since meeting…. Them, I have an entire new outlook. Frank you must know I’m telling you the truth. Can’t you feel it?”

  “Yes, you seem to be genuine, but it could be a trick, and you’re also still holding a gun to my head. Hard to build trust that way don’t you think?”

  Adam turned to face Frank, putting his back to John and Jenny. A genuine look of excitement projected from his face and his eyes were wide. ”You have no idea what I’ve learned Frank, the things I know. Frank you have to meet them and talk to them, you have no idea what’s coming,” Adam finished, then paused for a minute. His eyebrows narrowed as his expression turned serious. “Now, give me the pyramid.”

  John saw the opportunity to reach over behind Jenny and grab the hotel room clothes iron sitting on the side table. He slowly moved into position behind Adam. Seeing what John was doing Frank spoke to keep Adam distracted

  “Adam, you still haven’t answered me. Who are they?”

  As Frank said the last word, and before Adam could read John’s mind, John crashed the iron over the back of Adams head. Adams body went limp and the gun fell to the floor at his feet. A second later, Adam's body collapsed onto the floor in front of Frank.

  “Hurry, we have to get out of here”, Frank said as he jumped out of the chair and stepped over Adam’s bloody head. “I assume you both decided to go with me right? I mean, especially now, being followed all the way here?” Frank said as he kicked the gun under the bed and grabbed his bags.

  John and Jenny quickly grabbed their bags that they had packed before breakfast. “Yes, we planned on it, but not much choice now anyway,” John said.

  “I never really doubted you would be coming with me. Quickly now, let‘s go!”

  They left the room and headed down to the lobby. “I already purchased the tickets, that’s what I was doing when Adam caught me off gu
ard, we will be flying out at 11:00am, so we don’t have a lot of time. Hosea got a hold of Lucas to let him know we are coming. For now all we told him is that we are bringing an archaeological team out to study some of the ancient ruins, and that we have something interesting to show him. Once we get there we can tell him what’s really going on, and we hope he will know what to do,” Frank explained.

  “I just hope we actually have a chance of finding a way to fix this and make sure John‘s going to be okay,” said Jenny.

  “There’s always a chance Jenny dear, there’s always a chance,” Frank replied.

  The ride to the airport went by without incident and there were no problems checking in at the counter. Hosea was going to meet them at the boarding gate, but hadn’t arrived yet by the time the three sat down at the terminal. Frank looked at his watch. “Wonder what’s keeping Hosea,” he said with a worried look on his face. They waited for about thirty minutes before they were called to board. “Damn, where the hell is Hosea?” Frank said as he looked around the terminal.

  An announcement came over the PA system. Last call to board flight 397 to Baghdad, last call. The announcement repeated in Arabic as the trio stood up and grabbed their carry-on bags. They all looked at each other with a ‘What should we do now?’ expression.

  Just then, Hosea came into view at the end of the terminal, huffing and puffing as he ran. Although he was jogging, his short legs were not moving him very quickly. Hosea smiled and waved with a free hand as he headed toward them when Adam suddenly appeared from around the corner behind Hosea. He was holding a white hand-towel to the back of his bloody head, the sticky red liquid soaking though it under his left hand. He looked like a complete mess between the bloody towel on his head and the bloody nose that was running profusely down his face, staining the front of his shirt. He was at a full run and was quickly catching up to Hosea, who had no idea he was being followed.

  “Sorry I am running late everyone,” Hosea said as he stopped to catch his breath in front of the group. They all looked at him with terror on their faces. “Well, I know I’m late, but you don’t all have to look at me like that.”

  “Come on! Now!” Frank yelled, grabbing Hosea’s sport jacket and pulling him along as they all jogged to the gate.

  They handed over their boarding passes as soon as they got to the gate and quickly rushed through to the other side. Hosea glanced behind him and could now see for himself why they were in a hurry. Adam had almost caught up to them and Frank heard the attendant speaking in elevated tones.

  “I’m sorry sir, I need your boarding pass,” said the attendant.

  “They just want to talk Frank!” Adam yelled. “Give me the pyramid Frank!” he continued to yell in their direction. “They just want to talk Frank!” Adam screamed again from behind the counter. The group quickly raced down the jet-way out of sight just as four security guards ran up to the boarding gate and tackled Adam to the ground. The guards were out of breath and looked like they had been trying to catch up with him for some time.

  “Frank!” Adam screamed, even louder as they put handcuffs on him “Give me the pyramid! I need it!” Frank could barely hear him from the other end of the jet-way, but it must have been deafening at the boarding gate. The four of them quickly boarded the aircraft and took their seats.

  “Wow, first class?” Jenny asked no one in particular as they nervously settled into their seats. Everyone was quietly thinking the same thing. I hope no one realizes we had anything to do with the scene Adam created and decide to pull us off the plane.

  “I thought it would be more private so we could talk,” Frank replied. The rest of the first class cabin was deserted and the four companions had spun two of the seats around so they could sit facing each other.

  “What the hell was that all about back there at the gate?” asked Hosea

  Frank looked around the cabin to make sure they were alone. “The man chasing us was Adam, my business partner. He came to the hotel where we were staying and had a gun. He was trying to steal the pyramid,” he explained.

  “Who are they?” Hosea Asked. “Adam kept saying they just want to talk. Are you in some kind of trouble here Frank, I mean real trouble?”

  “I am assuming that by they, he means the same people that tried to attack us at John and Jenny’s house. I’m not interested in talking to them,” Frank answered. The group became more relaxed once they felt the plane taxi down the runway and they could feel the engines growing louder, readying for take-off.

  “Well whoever they are, they sure seem to be interested in what you have,” Hosea said, “and there was something bothering me after you left this morning. Our conversation brought to mind something I read a while ago, but I couldn’t remember exactly what it was. I was doing a little research before I came here. That’s why I was late,” he explained. Hosea pulled his laptop from the bag under his seat. He turned it on and spun it so that everyone could see the screen. “I have been studying ancient civilizations for many years, and in those years of studying, I have come across many intriguing stories and writings from ancient times. Many of these tales were written on clay tablets have only been just discovered in the last one hundred to two hundred years. Even more just over the last few decades. One of the stories is about the key to wisdom that was a gift from the gods. Very similar to what Frank found.” He paused a moment as he looked around at everyone. “I learned that the key was given to the half-god rulers of the earth, which they called Sura’s. The information was to be held in the utmost secrecy and not shared with the rest of the human race. It was to be kept guarded, and only the holy men, or high priests and rulers, were allowed to see it or be taught the knowledge it contained. Rulers passed the information on to their heirs, who also carried the Sura genes. For generations it was passed down through word of mouth and DNA. What I believe you have found Frank is the knowledge that only the highest of ancient priest would have learned. And I found something else, look,” he finished as he pointed at the screen. Hosea pulled up a copy of an old picture. It was a photograph of a display case that held several old artifacts. In the middle of the display was a small pyramid. “Is that the pyramid you found Frank? It sure looks like it to me.” Hosea asked. Frank continued to stare at the picture for several seconds.

  “It’s an old picture and hard to say for sure, but yes, as far as I can tell it looks identical.”

  “This was stolen from a traveling Egyptian museum display back in the sixties,” explained Hosea.

  Next to the picture was a newspaper article, and just below the headline there was another photograph. This one was a picture of the front of a museum with a police car parked on the street in the foreground.

  “Oh wow,” John blurted suddenly. “Look at the two guys in the background in front of the building.” John pointed at the men in the picture. “Do they look just like the two guys that were at our house, or are my eyes playing tricks on me?”

  “The picture is a little grainy, but I think you’re right John” Jenny said. “But it can’t be can it?”

  The two men were facing the street with their backs to the museum and were wearing black suits. They were standing just outside of the doorway as though they were exiting the building. “Interesting,” Frank said, more to himself than anyone else.

  “What?” asked Hosea.

  “Well, look at the top of the doorway, it’s barely above their heads. So that’s either a really small door, which I doubt being the main entrance to a large museum, or they are very tall. I think you might be right John. There’s definitely something peculiar about them. We need to find more information about the pyramid, and we also need to find out everything we can about these tall, slim gentleman that seem to show up whenever the pyramid does,” Frank said.

  “Well, I hope we can find the answers soon, and what better place to start than the cradle of civilization? That’s why we have to go to Iraq. Maybe my friend Lucas can help us find our answers in one of the oldest cities on Earth,
the ancient ruins of Babylon.

  . We have now reached our cruising altitude and I will be turning off the seat-belt sign… came the Captains voice. He repeated the message in Arabic, and as he did, the first class flight attendant came over to take drink and meal orders. Once they were done ordering and the attendant left, Hosea began to speak again. “You know what I find amazing? Since the story about Frank’s pyramid seems to be true, what else did the Sumerians and Mesopotamians write about that is true today that we have discarded as fairy tales or myths? There is a wealth of information on the Sumerian Creation Tablets, as well as others.” Hosea said.

  “For example?” asked John

  “Well, one example that may have something to do with your situation is the double helix representing our DNA. I’m sure you all have seen a picture of a strand of DNA, maybe in textbooks? Well, there are Sumerian tablets that show the same symbol,” Hosea explained as he pulled out his laptop again and showed everyone a picture of one of the ancient Sumerian Tablets. There on the screen was a picture of what looked like a double helix strand of DNA cut into a square piece of clay. “If they knew about DNA then it could be linked to what has happened to Frank and what is going on with John right now. If a lot more of what was written seven thousand years ago is true today than our ancient history as the human race could be very different from what we have been led to believe,” Hosea added.

  “Yes” Frank chimed in. “It means we are just beginning to understand where we actually come from and who we really are.”

  Has anyone here ever read Sitchin’s work, or the writings of Erich Von Daniken?” Hosea asked the group.

  “I have read both.” Frank replied. “In a nutshell Sitchin’s work explains that we could not have become who we are today as the human race, merely through evolution and natural selection. Evolution is summarized as small changes taking place over hundreds of thousands, and even millions, of years, mostly through natural selection. It would seem that Earth has undergone the evolutionary process. All of the animals, the plants, birds and even insects have evolved. However in regards to the human race, we only followed the evolutionary rules for so long and then, bam!” He slapped his hand on his armrest for emphasis and everyone jumped before he continued. “We suddenly skip millions of years ahead. Human life, life as we know it, has only been around between fifty and one hundred thousand years or so. No remains have been found that show small changes over hundreds of thousands of years that link the two Homo-Sapien races. Just all of a sudden there is a new race of Humans. Even bone structures like the skull are drastically different. About seven to ten thousand years ago the ancient Sumerians suddenly appeared out of nowhere with knowledge of advanced language, arts, metallurgy, agriculture, politics, mathematics, astronomy and medicine, along with many others,” Frank explained.