2036 The Proof: A Thrilling Science Fiction Novel
Page 34
Chapter 41
Activation
Wednesday, December 31, 2036
Professor Andrew Goldon was perturbed, apparently significantly more so than most residents of Earth. The Guardians sect, which he headed, had been founded with the emergence of the monotheistic religions, more than three thousand years ago. Its one and only goal was to postpone, for as long as possible, the moment in which the human race would have to deal with the circumstances of its unusual past, which elevated it above the other animals on Earth.
The sect’s method of operation ever since those first days had been to portray the countless celestial events that people perceived as supernatural as the work of God or His emissaries. This seemed like a logical path to take and yielded good results. The supernatural phenomena that the sect attributed to the deity glorified and exalted the name and powers of Almighty God. Belief in a single deity began to spread widely.
In a world awash with ghosts and spirits, in which might was right, a monotheistic religion with a socialist orientation and a set of rules protecting the weak won over many converts. During countless events in which people watched with wonder as the heavenly chariots traveled over their heads, there was always someone there to whisper the obvious explanation, which then spread by word of mouth, an explanation that matched the beliefs of the crowd and left no unanswered questions.
The first issues emerged later. Animals in nature are content with the elements most essential to their lives: food, protection from predators, and the ability to reproduce. Humans have many additional needs and urges, with the most prominent among them being the ego, the need to control others and obtain more than they had. And so, new monotheistic religions cropped up, gradually developing and later, due to that same ego, splitting into sects and denominations, each of which felt a need to assert its superiority over the others.
The belief in a single deity was supposed to unite the myriad tribes, providing them with a vital common denominator that might have resulted in peace and coexistence among the various human groups. The differences between the various religions, branches, and sects were for the most part minor ones; however, the human ego exacerbated and heightened them. Charismatic, power-hungry leaders goaded and enflamed their ignorant believers until they were willing to fight to kill those who denied their religion, or even willing to be killed while fighting them.
Human life continued in this manner for thousands of years, with one unnecessary war replacing the previous one. And so, millions of people of every religion and sect soaked the soil with their blood. Only during the twentieth century did the religious wars abate, and then only briefly. Alliances and partnerships between the different sects in the divided ranks of Islam often shifted, with today’s allies turning into tomorrow’s enemies and vice versa. Differences of opinion contributed to accelerated radicalism. Brutal murder of infidels and indiscriminate acts of terror turned life in many areas of the world into an unrelenting nightmare in which the value of life gradually diminished, until the major war in the Middle East. Local and foreign armies that had been fortifying themselves with armaments for years threw themselves headfirst into unrestrained battle. The most destructive weapons were deployed, cities were erased from the map, and millions of lives were sacrificed. The luckier among them simply evaporated in a split second in nuclear explosions.
The war was brutal and horrifying, but brief. After nine days of fighting, a ceasefire was declared with the consent of all countries participating in the warfare. The world experienced about ten quiet years in which terrorism nearly disappeared. An immense fortune was invested in the still-ongoing rehabilitation. The economy bounced back, and human lives were nearly back on track until, unbelievably, the president’s speech. The amazing discoveries that had led to the speech were supposed to bring people together and unite them, but had an opposite, terrible effect. The tensions that had seemingly subsided reawakened once more, triggered yet again by the familiar combination of ego and religion. Once again, everyone was ready for an all-inclusive war.
The sect had never interfered in humanity’s wars and deeds, even when horrific atrocities were committed, many of them in the name of some god or other. The potential for fatal harm to humanity as a whole was negligible. But this was not currently the case.
Reports were streaming to Goldon in real time, directly from the most confidential debates in the primary governmental centers. Surveillance abilities developed over many years with massive investment of funds proved justified in these moments. Only the ongoing coordination between the major superpowers and their influence over the more radical countries had thus far prevented all hell from breaking loose. Reports from government centers in the extreme Muslim states conveyed harsh conflicts between the pragmatists and the radical elements, who were looking forward to the great religious war, the War of Armageddon or Gog and Magog described in many holy texts, in which the believers would battle the infidels and the powers of the demonic. The radical religious sages had been yearning for this war for many years, anticipating seeing the raised sword of their god smiting down the infidels and their emissaries.
The information streaming Goldon’s way left no room for doubt. The sages, who had accumulated power and status in the radical countries, had decided to proceed with no holds barred, once and for all. They were scheming to create provocations that would force the major superpowers to deploy military intervention in order to create global-wide warfare.
None of the previous leaders of the Guardians, over a hundred in number, had ever faced such dire circumstances. Never had such crucial decisions in regard to humanity been required. All previous events had been handled on a local level, and then forgotten. The weight of responsibility was unbearably heavy.
The activation instructions were whispered from leader to leader and had never been used. In every generation, they were familiar solely to the Leading Gentleman and one of his assistants. They had never been written down. The whisper of one Leading Gentleman to his replacement seared the instructions into the new leader’s consciousness, and so it had gone for thousands of years. He didn’t need to make an effort to remember these instructions; they were frequent visitors in his dreams, and floated readily into his mind at a moment’s notice. They were accompanied by unequivocal instructions permitting activation only when an event with extreme implications for the human race as a whole was imminent, an event that would retrieve the apple from humanity and return it to the Tree of Knowledge, or worse.
Somewhere, deep within the rock on which Jerusalem was built, in a nook illuminated with a soft, pale blue gleam, surrounded with human bones, a spark ignited.
Red Buttons
Wednesday, December 31, 2036
The missile appearing on screens in various control centers throughout the world left no room for doubt. The Iranians, either unintentionally or meaning to take advantage of the worldwide chaos, had launched a missile at Saudi Arabia, their longtime enemy. The Saudis’ sophisticated defense system reacted quickly with a barrage of anti-ballistic missiles.
The Iranian missile turned out to have been launched intentionally rather than in error, as immediately after the first one was shot down, the Iranians launched a barrage of four additional missiles at Saudi Arabia. And then, the worst eventuality: two ballistic nuclear missiles were launched from the territory of the radical Islamic entity ISIS, one aimed at an unknown destination in Europe, the other heading for Israel.
In military control centers all over the world, shaky fingers fumbled toward red buttons with no safety function.
God, protect all human beings.
List of Participants, Institutions, and Locations
A
Aaron Gorong: member of the Guardians sect
Abe Alperovich: a rabbi and professor, author of an article on the scientific discoveries
Aerobion: a BL product
Ahiav, son of Elisha: team
head within the Guardians sect
Alfredo Botteliani: an Italian TV reporter
Ali Abbas: the Shiite imam
Amy: an assistant in Tom Lester’s lab
Andrew Goldon: CEO of the BL Corporation
Avi Tsur: an expert on star development from the Weizmann Institute of Science
Aviram: a soldier in the Guardians sect
B
Ben Apexton: Gerry’s son
Benjamin Sheffy: an expert on exploding stars from Tel Aviv University
BL Corporation: the largest manufacturer of human genome-based products
Bob Hill: moderator of the first TV panel
Brad: Detective Rick Heller’s deputy
C
CardioBoost: a BL product
Chinatsu: a member of the Guardians sect
D
Dan Auster: a NASA employee who assisted Will
Ditka’s: a restaurant
E
Eddie: Oleg’s brother
Elaine Apexton: Gerry Apexton’s daughter
Eli: the High Priest
Emily White: the first female African–American president of the United States
Ethan Almog: the scientific supervisor in charge of the Space Telescope Array at NASA
Eugene Leitner: a leading astrophysicist
F
Francisco Salvietti the Third: an archbishop at the Vatican
G
Gaya/Erie: Andrew Goldon’s representative for the meeting with Tom
Gerald (Gerry) Apexton: an astronomer studying asteroids at NASA
Glenhill: a company developing lifespan-enhancement treatment
Guardians sect: established during the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt
H
Hannibal: the asteroid discovered by Gerry Apexton
Henry de Sully: the bishop representing the Protestants at the first panel
I
Ibn al Khattab: the Sunni imam at the first panel
J
James: a member of the Guardians sect
Jennifer Lester: Tom Lester’s younger daughter
Jim: a longtime maintenance engineer at NASA
Johns Hopkins: the hospital to which Gerry Apexton is admitted
K
Karen: Andrew Goldon’s secretary
Kazuki: a member of the Guardians sect
Kate Lester: Tom Lester’s wife
Koro: a member of the Guardians sect
Kyra: Mike Easter’s new girlfriend
L
Larry: a longtime maintenance engineer at NASA
Larry: a member of Johns Hopkins’ security team
Larry: Rick Heller’s cousin
Leanna: a police officer
Lia Rosen: an astronomer
Lily: Detective Rick Heller’s secretary
Lise Oliver: a PhD student at Tom Lester’s lab
Loyola University: place of employment of Eddie, the murdered Oleg’s brother
LungBoost: a BL product
Lynn: an assistant at Tom Lester’s lab
Lynn Lester: Tom Lester’s older daughter
M
Martin Patterson: head of the Chicago Chronicle’s investigative department
Meirav: Aaron Gorong’s younger sister
Melissa Colette: a biologist and expert in genetic engineering
Mike Easter: a PhD student at Tom Lester’s lab
Mike Robertson: commander of the police precinct
MMB: the TV network that aired the first panel discussing the president’s speech
Momo: Tom Lester’s nickname for his personal assistant device
N
Nachman Shposelovich: a rabbi who is the Jewish representative at the first panel
O
Oak Woods: the cemetery where Oleg was buried
Oleg: the murdered security guard
P
Paul Longstrom: dean of the University of Chicago
Pietro Modoliense: a cardinal and the Catholic representative at the first panel
PlaqueDissolve: a BL product
R
Ramona Apexton: Gerry’s wife
Reo: a member of the Guardians sect
Rick Heller: a homicide detective
Robert: a new maintenance engineer at NASA
Robert Collins: the Chicago Tribune’s science reporter
Robert Fulton: Administrator of NASA
Robert Shepard: head of NASA’s Extraterrestrial Life Study Division
Rokoro: a member of the Guardians sect
Ron Colin: director of the University of Chicago
Ronnie: the ancient humanoid
S
STA264987B: a planet in the Cygnus constellation whose atmosphere contains oxygen
STA331047B, STA333654B: white dwarf stars discovered by Lia Rosen that do not explode as expected
Steve: head of the University of Chicago’s security team
T
Takumi: a member of the Guardians sect
Thomas (Tom) Lester: a biologist
U
Uri: a member of the Guardians sect
W
Will Thorne: an investigative reporter for the Chicago Chronicle
Y
Yoni: a detective sent to protect Melissa