The Cosega Sequence: A Techno Thriller
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“Do you believe him?”
“I believe the man . . . the politician, not so much.”
“He contacted the Vatican, after your first call.”
“How do you know that already?”
Booker gave Gale an are–you-kidding look. “They gave him a good rundown on Clastier’s Divinations.”
“So the Vatican does have them?”
“Yes. And of course, the St. Malachy prophecies have many similarities.”
“That’s why he agreed not to take the Eysen. He’s scared.”
“The cardinal tried to dismiss his fears, but Monroe is definitely worried more about his own mortality than the Vatican’s.”
“Doesn’t he realize they’re one and the same?”
Chapter 60
Jaeger had four locations where he thought Booker would be found. One was Washington, where there were plenty of operatives. However, the President had cancelled the summit and Booker undoubtedly knew he was going to be indicted in the morning. Montana – Booker owned half the state – was another possibility; Idaho and New Mexico were other remote states the billionaire favored. However, given the importance of the region surrounding Taos to the fugitives Gaines and Asher, he’d been betting heavily on New Mexico.
Jaeger had extra agents, soldiers, and personnel from multiple agencies in all the places where he thought Booker would turn up, but he’d amassed a small army around Taos; even the commandos who’d survived the siege in San Miguel had transferred. “Booker has declared war on America. Well, I plan on answering,” Jaeger told his superior.
“We’ve notified the President and key members of Congress as to the events in Mexico. It’s truly unprecedented that a private corporation, with its own military, would engage covert operatives. Twenty-eight dead, nineteen wounded.”
“He did that in a foreign nation; let’s see if he’s ready to do the same thing on U.S. soil.”
“The threat must be removed,” his superior said. “Do not let the Eysen slip away from us.”
“Without Gaines, we can’t get full access to the Eysen.”
“So you say. I believe we have people who can get inside that thing.”
“The Vatican has been trying for centuries,” Jaeger said.
His superior was about to say, “they’re just a church,” but knew better. “Mexico is a mess. The media has been whining all day about the church shooting, so just try to avoid anymore unnecessary body bags.”
“Getting Booker will not be without carnage. I assume you’ve got spin doctors working on the story already.”
“That’s under control.”
After the call, Jaeger again studied the monitors. High altitude drones were doing grids over northern New Mexico, Montana, Idaho, and Washington, D.C. “I’m going to find you, Booker, and then all your money won’t do you a damned bit of good.”
Barbeau didn’t speak Spanish. Unfortunately, his prize from the old man’s house was not written in English. He recognized a few words besides Clastier, but one of the DIRT agents was fluent. Barbeau made it clear that the book was not going to D.C. and he wanted the agent doing the translating to stay with him. They sat in adjoining rooms at a chain hotel, eating take-out, and waiting for the next break.
Barbeau already suspected that the book was valuable, but once he got the report of the shooting in San Cristobal, it became even more critical. With the senior U.S. Vatican agent dead, and the presence of two agents, probably belonging to Booker; and most importantly Gale Asher, meant the little book was something he could use as bait, or to trade, but what he really hoped to get out of the antique writings was understanding.
Barbeau had another call with the FBI Director. They were indicting Booker in the morning. The Director told Barbeau enough that the Special Agent was concerned not just about his own life anymore, but about the future of the United States.
“Booker is dangerous, but the NSA is worse,” Barbeau said to the DIRT agents, once he finished the call.
“The NSA has to do what is necessary,” one agent said. “The world is different now. There are threats all over the place, most are small unconventional, but lethal cells. Booker’s army is a frightening example of how effective these units can be if they’re well funded. Terrorism is the new World War III.”
“But don’t you see the possibility of corruption?” Barbeau asked, surprised a DIRT agent was defending the overreaching NSA.
“Of course I do, that’s why I’m DIRT instead of straight FBI. But it’s a fine line between safety and freedom. We have to be careful not to harm the very thing that protects us from harm.”
Barbeau didn’t know if he knew how to do that. “I believe if you keep cutting out corruption, and follow the rules, truth will prevail. That’s what justice is about and in the end, that’s what we work for . . . the truth.”
“Follow the rules?” the agent asked. “Is that why you let Gaines go?”
“I let him go because I didn’t have the truth yet and you know, as well as I do, that if I had arrested him, he would be dead now. Christ, we couldn’t even keep an old drug dealer in custody. Booker’s brigade busted Grinley out while we were moving him to another safe house. No one knew where he was and yet Booker found him,” Barbeau said, still angry he had never had a chance to question Grinley.
He looked over at the agent typing the translation of Clastier’s book into a laptop. “Anything?” he asked.
“Nothing too important yet, except it’s not written by your man Clastier,” the agent said.
“Oh no,” Barbeau said.
“But it’s about him.”
Chapter 61
An aide had given Rip some painkillers for his arm. It wasn’t broken; it had just been dislocated and bruised. An AX agent popped it back in, then escorted him to a small study on the top floor where Booker was waiting.
“Would you mind showing it to me?” Booker asked.
Rip, still a little hesitant, knew Booker could force him to give up the Eysen. There was little reason to refuse. But he didn’t have to tell him about the Odeon Chip. It was dark now, but there should be enough power remaining even without using the Chip. He took the Eysen out of the black bag that the BLAX agent had given him at the truck depot. Unfortunately, it remained dark as he handed it to him.
“It’s beautiful,” Booker said, tracing his fingers over the smooth crystal. “Eleven million years old . . . incredible.”
“Wait until you see it light up,” Rip said. “Although, it appears we’ll have to wait for the morning. It’s solar-powered.”
Booker hid his disappointment well. “Tell me what you’ve learned about it.” He returned it to Rip, anxious to build trust.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Rip said.
“I think you might be surprised what I can believe.”
“It knows everything,” Rip whispered. “I mean it contains all the knowledge, information, and images of the entire history of the world. Not just Earth, but the entire universe, and not just up until that point eleven million years ago when they made it, but up until now and even the future.”
Booker knew Rip did not exaggerate. The Eysen was everything, and even more than he had hoped. “It sounds like you were right on the money when you dubbed it the Eysen. It really is like holding all the stars in your hand.”
“It’s so much more than that. It’s like being in any moment in history, or at least watching it in brilliant high-def. I can’t begin to know how they did it. It would take ten lifetimes just to explore a fraction of what this can do.”
“And the Clastier connection?”
“He had one,” Rip said, studying Booker and not receiving the shocked response he expected. “It’s how he was able to make his predictions, what he called the Divinations.”
“I’ve read them.”
“You have?” Rip was surprised, but went on. “Then you know how detailed they were and that there are five remaining that aren’t too nice.”
/> “Can we change them?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been trying to decode what I call the Cosega Sequence. It’s this wildly elaborate series of circles and dashes that overlays the spinning Earth, all kinds of cosmic explosions, and the positions of stars. It’s complex, but I’m making progress. I have gigs of notes and film on my laptop, which is now just a hard drive.”
“I heard about the tracking devices. We’ll get you a new laptop and transfer your data.”
“Where is Elpate?”
“We took him back to Mexico,” Booker said. “I know he helped you escape.”
“My dad’s oldest friend was killed.”
“I heard. Do you want us to notify your father?”
“No, I’d rather it come from me.”
Booker raised an eyebrow. “Rip, it’s going to be a long time, if ever, until you’re able to see any of your family and friends.”
“I know,” Rip said quietly.
After a few seconds of silence Booker spoke. “Tell me about what it shows of the future.”
“Amazing world. I saw a future beyond the imagination of our best science fiction writers; floating cars, round buildings, domes, solar-powered everything, peace . . . ”
“How do you reconcile that with Clastier’s final Divinations?”
“I don’t know. Something must happen in between.”
“Or we change them,” Booker said.
“I’ve figured out enough of the Sequence to understand their number system, and maybe even some of the Cosegans’ language. I’ve named them that. It’s all based on circles, orbits, planets . . . very universal.”
“Do you have the Chip?”
Rip should have known the BLAX agents would have reported an inventory of his possessions to Booker. There was no way Booker would know how the Chip was used. No one did. “Yes.”
“May I see it?”
“Sure.” Rip dug it out of his pocket and handed it to Booker.
He set it on an empty table in font of them. “Could I see the Eysen again, please?”
Impossible, Rip thought, how could he know? He handed it to Booker again.
Booker placed it on the Chip and smiled as the Eysen came to life.
Chapter 62
Booker stared into the sphere, hardly breathing. Rip watched Booker instead of the Eysen. What he saw reassured him. Rather than a diabolical madman, bent on world domination, that some might have imagined Booker to be, Rip sat mesmerized by the sight of one of the most powerful men in the world, silently crying. Booker made no attempt to wipe away the tears that slowly streamed down his cheeks. He was unable to divert a single molecule of his attention away from perhaps the only thing that could humble him.
After several minutes, Booker finally spoke. “The Sequence?”
“Yes,” Rip answered quietly.
“No wonder they want this.”
“Who?” Rip asked.
“Everyone who knows it exists.”
“There was another one. The Vatican destroyed it,” Rip said.
“They still have it, and another,” Booker said, never taking his eyes off the glowing orb.
“How do you know?”
“The Vatican is better at keeping secrets than any organization or government in the world,” Booker said. “But the NSA and I are better at finding them than anyone. You see, I discovered early in life that there were ways of getting anything I want. Information is power, but the real power is secret information.”
“If they have two Eysens, why do they need this one?”
“They don’t have the Chips for the others,” Booker said. “And while an Eysen without its Chip is still amazing, it is more like watching a trailer to a movie instead of the whole feature.”
“How do you know?” Rip repeated.
“I’ve spent years studying Eysens, although they are known as many things. There is more information available on them than you might think. The Vatican has worked hard to remove any mention or trace, but people like Clastier have tried to leave clues and secret messages about them.”
“What else can you tell me?”
“Not much. As long as I have been looking, and with all my expectations, this is already beyond anything I dreamt.”
“So you used me to find this for you?”
“Don’t sound so offended. I facilitated your destiny. Tried to make it as easy for you as possible,” Booker said. “As foolishly as you’ve behaved the past two weeks, I’ve managed to keep you alive. I was never your enemy, Rip. I’m the only one you can trust completely.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve known all along that this Eysen was yours.”
“Mine?”
“As astonishing as it sounds, you’ve now seen with your own eyes that the people you call the Cosegans somehow found a way to see into the future. You, yourself, said the Eysen knows everything. The Cosegans knew you would find this Eysen. Don’t you see? They left it for you.”
Rip shook his head. He couldn’t believe it, but he knew it was true. He’d known ever since he first read Clastier. It had consumed him. He knew when he first saw it, when he decided to run. He had no idea how, but he’d always known.
“The Eysen, the Chip, they read your DNA,” Booker said. “It’s why the Vatican can’t get in, and the NSA has tried so hard to keep you alive. They want the power and only you can deliver it.”
“Why me?”
“That, I couldn’t tell you.”
“But the Vatican tried to kill me.”
“No. A rogue, deranged agent tried to kill you,” Booker said, watching the Eysen fly into the stars. “They would have killed you, but only if they couldn’t capture you. But they indended to kill everyone who has seen it, because it predicts their doom. The NSA wants the technology. The Vatican wants to save itself, and after hundreds of years of studying Eysens they couldn’t fully access, they know their only hope is you.”
“Can’t they just use my Chip, like you are right now?”
“Maybe, maybe not. It appears to be working, but are we seeing anything more than what you call the Cosega Sequence?”
Rip looked at the Eysen. “Not yet.”
“But our aims aren’t so different from those of the Church. They want to rewrite Clastier’s Divination on the demise of the Catholic Church. We want to stop the final four Divinations.”
“Do we?” Rip asked.
Chapter 63
“Do we what?” Gale asked, walking into the study. Rip turned and they found each other’s eyes, unspoken apologies exchanged, a longing, a lingering look, and then an embrace filled with the breaths they’d breathed so close to death; the lives they’d seen lost, and the desperate cause they shared. They were both surprised by the intensity of their feelings.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Gale said somewhat awkwardly.
Rip, still tasting the kiss that they did not risk, felt numb. “I have so much to tell you.”
“I’m glad we’re all friends again,” Booker said.
“With all due respect, Booker,” Gale said. “I think you are using the word ‘friend’ a little too loosely.”
Booker held back a laugh, because he knew she was serious.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Gale said softly to Rip.
“And you,” Rip said.
“Rip was just about to tell me why he thinks we might not want to change the Divinations,” Booker said.
Gale looked astounded. For her, Clastier’s prophesies had become the most urgent matter that they faced. “Stopping the remaining Divinations would save millions of lives,” she said.
“Including Senator Monroe,” Booker said.
“Monroe?” Rip spit the word.
“He’s the Empty Man,” Booker explained.
“Well, that’s good news,” Rip said. “See, not all the remaining prophesies are bad.”
“You may not like him,” Gale said.
“That’s putting it mildly,” Rip said.
“As I’ve been trying to say, that may not be the best idea,” Rip said. “For one, although I know you care for the man, he’s a bastard. Could there be a worse choice for our next President? He’s been anointed by a corrupt Pope, is owned by corporations, and his loyalty is to the NSA. Hey, where can I send my contribution check? I won’t even bring up his colossal ego. It’s no wonder his death was predestined. The Cosegans are trying to save us.”
“I won’t argue with you, but what about the other Divinations.”
“Fine, let’s discuss them.”
Gale, still wearing her pack, pulled out her journal, and read from a page:
1. Empty Man aka Senator Monroe is killed.
2. The Church aka Catholicism crumbles.
3. Global pandemics and super-viruses wipe out vast numbers of the world’s population.
4. Climate destabilization (man messing with nature) although he’s vague on the amount of destruction.
5. What sounds like World War III.
“Yeah, I can see why you might not want to avoid those things,” Gale said sarcastically.
“If you’d seen the future I’ve seen in the Eysen, you may not be in such a hurry to alter it.”
“Rip, look,” Booker said, pointing to the Eysen, now lit even brighter and showing the city he’d seen.
“There it is!” Rip said.
“Glorious,” Gale said
Booker, overwhelmed by the images, was equally amazed that the Eysen seemed to respond to Rip’s reference to the future city. They watched what seemed like a tour in silence for quite some time.
It was Gale who finally spoke. “Rip, I don’t think that is a future city.”
“What is it then?” he asked.
“I think it’s where the Cosegans lived.”
“You think that is eleven million years ago?” Rip asked.
“No harder to believe than this sphere being that old,” Gale said.
“I’d have an easier time thinking we’re looking at another planet,” Booker said. “That is possible.”