Red Serpent: The Falsifier

by Delson Armstrong

  “So what do you think?” said Ranjit Singh, a Sikh general standing by the panoramic window and looking out. He stood six feet five inches tall, towering over the others who stood in his shadow. He walked to the coffeemaker and pressed a button. He scratched his beard and sighed. “I don’t like the look of it.”

  “The look of what, Ranjit?” a Chinese man asked, sitting and rocking on the chair.

  “You know, Lao,” Ranjit said, taking his cup and walking towards the table, “This whole scheme.”

  “Oh?” Lao said, his thin frame overshadowed by the black leather back of the chair. He crossed his arms and looked at all of them.

  “What’s there to worry about?” General Romsky said, laughing and sitting back, relaxed. His carefree and arrogant demeanor irritated Ranjit. He had been an adviser to the King of Russia and maybe this had gone to his head. All that mattered very little to Ranjit. He smirked at Romsky. The Russian general went on. “We have the people right where we want them.”

  “How can you say that?” Ranjit asked.

  “Yeah,” Hopkinson said, supporting Ranjit. “We work for the people.” His thick skinned face seemed sickened and tired.

  “Really?” said Romsky. “You think so?” He glanced at the others and at the Japanese man sitting silently, his eyes closed and shoulders slack. “What about you?” He snapped his fingers. “Hey Nakashima.”

  Michio remained still, breathing in and out. George Hopkinson got up and walked to the window. He saw John’s limo parked across the street. “He’s here.” He turned around and went back to sit. “They’re on their way.”

  They straightened themselves up and Michio opened his eyes. Romsky sighed, looking at Ranjit and George across the table. Michio and Lao sat respectively left and right of Sergei. “Well,” Michio who had been listening all the while to their conversations said, “None of it matters.” His voice remained soft. “We’re here to discuss the coming war, so politics is of no concern to us.”

  “How can it not be?” Ranjit said, finishing his last sip of coffee. “We’re now following a fascist—”

  “Gentlemen,” said John, as the large double doors opened and he entered with Richard by his side. The Generals stood up and John smiled. “It’s good to see all of you, my friends. Please,” he sat down and Richard went to sit at the other end of the table, “sit down.” One of the guards outside went to the coffee machine and prepared seven cups. As he left the room and tightly shut the doors, John continued. “Now, I want to make this quick and simple. We have roughly eight hours to get things in order. I’m going split us into two groups. I have already told Kurt about my plans for the air strikes, and he should have already briefed his boys about it. The first priority will be to rescue Alex and get the Rebels. This mission will be led by Richard and me. Now, I also want you and you,” he pointed to Hopkinson and Romsky, “to lead a ground attack in England.” John pressed a button near the right corner of his side of the table. The wood opened up and revealed a large keyboard. He pressed a button and a thick white curtain closed the window in front of him, throwing the room into darkness. Behind him, above the entrance, a robotic levitating projector dispersed a large ray of light onto the curtain. The coordinates Daniel had sent John shone on it. It showed a map and the coordinates lay near the west coast of England. All eyes were on it. “As you can see, whatever is there isn’t on the mainland of Europe, but it’s close to the British coastline. So I want you two to go down there and hold off any reinforcements.”

  “How many will we have?” Romsky asked, studying the map.

  “About two thousand units each. Is that enough?”

  “More than enough for me,” said George.

  “Wait till I call for you, which won’t take more than five minutes after I am on the Earth. The transport tankers will keep you near the atmosphere and you’ll be taken down within minutes.”

  The two Generals nodded.

  “Now, like I said,” John said, “Richard will be with me commanding an aggregate of five hundred men, if needed.”

  “I doubt it,” Richard said, turning around in his chair to look at John. “Our main objective will be to get Alex and the Rebels out of there safely first.”

  “Right,” John said, “That’s why you’ll make sure they do. Once they’re secured, we will have to stop Daniel and whoever else will be after him from getting off the Earth. Now the second part of the mission: the Vatican, you know we failed the first time. But that won’t happen again, now will it?” The three remaining Generals shook their heads and John continued, “The main objective will be to get inside, collect all the information we can, and then sabotage the library.”

  “That’s going to take a lot of time,” Lao said, “There must billions of files in there.”

  “Two of you have to watch over the other while he gets the files. Who wants to go in?”

  “I will,” Singh said.

  “Alright. Then, you two will be allotted seven hundred and fifty men each and you, General Singh, four hundred men. Is that fine?”

  “Definitely,” they confirmed.

  “Good. Get your men ready and meet me at the main Hangar at 1700 hrs. This meeting’s adjourned.”

  Another half hour to go. This wasn’t a good sign at all, as Alex was still struggling with his meditation. What was going on here? It was as if everything he had gained had been lost in a second. He felt so confident and so sure. Perhaps he became overconfident. “Alex!” He was in the lotus posture with his eyes closed and his face strained. He tried too hard, even now. What was he supposed to get from this meditation in any case? Nikolas hadn’t given him any instructions.

  “Alex!” The voice distracted him even more. “Alex, listen to me!” It was Nikolas. “Listen to what I have to say.”

  “Alright.”

  “I didn’t want to risk the trouble of people overhearing us, even if we were safe. You know what I mean.”

  “Right,” Alex thought. “So this was all just a ploy.”

  “Exactly. You can’t ever be too safe. Now listen. You have to do something for us. John’s coming in a few more hours. We are sending some energy to you.”

  “Is that really possible? At such a distance?”

  “Judging by all that has happened Alex, it shouldn’t be such a surprise to you. Now, once you get this surge, you’ll feel a sensation in your spine.”

  “I know; I’ve felt it before during meditation.”

  “No, this will be far worse. It’s not pleasant. In fact, it can be dangerous.”

  “That’s good to know,” Alex said sardonically.

  “The pain will make you want to move, but you must not. There will be a sensation like fire in your spine. If you bend at all, it will flow out and destroy you. You have to stay totally still and wait until it goes away. But, wait until I tell you to. In that time, your body will be as hot as glowing metal. Your spirit will see into the future and you will achieve immense power. After that you will learn many things, things that will be needed for the short-term future. You’ll be able to fight like a master swordsman; you’ll be able to use energy at your will, with just a flash of thought.”

  “But how long does it last?”

  “The calculation is a little complex. After you get the energy, you have to be still for at least an hour and you will gain about a hundred and twenty years worth of knowledge and skill.”

  “Okay, and how long does the process last?”

  “Six hours.”

  There was a pause, “So that meditation for three hours was completely useless?”

  “No! I have been trying to create a clear, undisturbed channel between you and me mentally, and you had to meditate to clear your mind. So should we begin?”

  “Yes, let’s.”

  Daniel and Erik stepped out onto the balcony of Daniel’s office. A light shower of rain started to fall. Daniel pushed a button near the threshold and a window swiped down and joined with the lock on the railing of the balcony.
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br />   “That really sounds like a good idea. But will it work?”

  “Of course it will. Howe knows us, thanks to the stupid actions and word of the Rebels in the previous war.”

  “So you really think this will be the catalyst for war?” Erik said, looking into Daniel’s gray eyes, which turned crimson at this remark.

  “If not this, what? If not now, when?”

  “Alright,” Erik sighed. He looked out at the violent sea as the waves collided with one another and the rain pitter-pattered on the window with an increased force. “What of the other cities? Shouldn’t we warn them about the attack? We have to protect them.”

  “If you must, go ahead and warn them,” said Daniel. “After they see our powerful ships in space, they won’t dare come here. They’re weak and pathetic. They don’t learn from their mistakes and they’re too stupid to suspect a plot.”

  “Don’t be so sure, Daniel. That’s exactly why I’m telling you about extra protection. They might not learn from their mistakes but you shouldn’t underestimate them like that.”

  “Look at them now!” Daniel said. “They’re nothing.”

  “You’re missing the point here. They’ve planned everything, I’m sure of that. Despite the clauses, you and I both know they’ve been preparing for another war since the creation of the Regnum. They’re pissed off after all we’ve done, and this is their opportunity to vent out their anger and their first strike will be their strongest. That’s why we have to take caution.”

  Daniel gazed at Erik with some intimidation. “Alright,” he said a little malevolently, “If you say so, but I still think it’ll be a waste of time and men.”

  Erik shrugged, and walked to the door, ready to leave. “Only time will tell.”

  Nikolas focused on the energy emanating from his body. A few minutes passed before he heard its hum. “Wait,” Efarius said. “Are you sure about this? Think about it, just once more.”

  “More importantly, are you all ready?” He looked at them, these men who had been loyal to him since before the death of Aidan. They stood in line as if waiting for their execution. They stared at Nikolas, unblinking and though they were ready to follow his command they were afraid.

  This particular technique had not been used for a very long time, almost 163000 years. The last time it had it failed horrendously. The man who tried it flinched for a second and the fire in his spine moved into his solar plexus. His entire body had gone up in flames and he was reduced to ashes.

  Nikolas repeated himself, “Are you ready?”

  “Yes,” they droned in unison.

  “Listen, even if there is a problem we can resurrect him.”

  “It may not work this time,” said Noel.

  “Why not?” Nikolas asked.

  “We only have one chance at this, because of what’s going to happen in the next five hours.”

  Nikolas was preoccupied with the technique that he had almost forgotten about the battle. “Right,” he said simply. “Well, just trust me. I know this will work; this is our only chance. You know after giving him the energy, we will be useless; we won’t be able to fight as hard as we were able to before. They need to know who he is and what he is and they have to fear him.”

  They nodded and along with him concentrated their energies. All of them closed their eyes and concentrated on Alex’s soul, on his mind and on his energy. They visualized his spinal fluid being charged and magnetized by the energy at its base, and a few minutes later they could actually see it.

  Waves of light and fire burst out of the windows and door of the suite into the hallway leading to Alex’s room, in a large cylindrical blaze of raw energy. Because it traveled through an astral dimension, only those tuned in would be able to perceive it. It was invisible to everyone else. A buzz surrounded the tube of light that moved throughout the hallway.

  Alex felt the heat in the base of his spine. During his previous meditation sessions he had felt a slight tingling sensation there and he knew it was the rising of the energy, the force called the Kundalini. But every time he felt it, he became excited and it went away. After a few months, he learned to control his feelings and became unattached and the energy rose up again. The Rishis of Ancient India founded that primordial art of yogic meditation. The purpose was to activate this Kundalini in the brain, enabling a person’s ability to enter the super-consciousness. But this seemed different. This burst of energy would reach the brain and remain there for so long that Alex would attain new powers, skills and knowledge, just as Nikolas had said. At a certain state, when the person meditating kept his mind in control and his breath along with it for thirty seconds, that equaled a year of spiritual evolution. That meant that one hour equaled a hundred and twenty years! That was what the Migrites had come to teach, and now Alex realized it truly was possible for everyone, including humans, to use that knowledge.

  He felt the middle of his back heat up and a certain pressure in between his eyebrows, just where the ridge of the nose began. He kept himself straight. He knew if he didn’t adhere to Nick’s words, there would be deadly consequences. A swirling energy revolved around him and a white light engulfed him. He felt lighter. His uncle’s voice echoed in his mind, “Alex, we have just begun. Now, like in the ship, your body is going to levitate. When that happens, don’t move an inch; don’t bend your spine. When the energy reaches your brain, you will feel pain. It will intensify, but only for some time. Then you will feel new, different.”

  “Okay. I won’t move.” Alex’s body levitated and he felt the light in him radiate outwards, just like it had on the ship. A feeling of calm and a sense of oneness with the universe washed over him. He lost the ego, but not his individuality. He heard that low buzz in his ears and it became unbearable. “Concentrate,” he told himself, “I have to concentrate!” And then he felt it, the fluid of bliss and the cosmic power rushing into his brain and he knew nothing, felt nothing, and thought nothing. He was lost to his self, to his identity, individuality, and to his name. He felt nothing; there was no black, no white, no color, no sound, no senses, no feeling, no emotions, no reason, no duality, no singularity even. It just was.

  John wanted to see her before he left. He sat in the room alone. His hope remained intact, even though thoughts of finality tried to seep in and diminish his spirit. In the end he knew she would live. He wouldn’t allow her to die!

  As he observed his mom’s face, he thought of old times, long gone. Times were rough during the war, but at least Miriam and Aidan were alive. During those days, they were fighting for something they believed in. He knew it would happen again but these soldiers were young and inexperienced. He sighed as he gathered his thoughts. He wasn’t afraid or unsure of his men’s competence and skill. He was unsure of himself.

  Although he had kept up his sword fighting as a recreation it had been a long time since he had fought. He had no idea what the Earth would be like and he wondered whether the vampires were up to mischief. He just hoped that everything would go to plan and that Alex would be safe.

  There was a knock on the door, disturbing his flow of thought. Richard came in. “You ready?” Richard’s face seemed grave and suddenly a little old.

  “Yeah. You okay?”

  Richard smiled, “Yeah, of course.”

  “Sit down.” John’s attention shifted to Richard who was now seated. “So what do you think?” His face creased with lines of worry and fear.

  “You mean about this war?”

  “No, about this particular battle. The war will come in time; the real war will come soon. You know this is only the beginning.”

  “Above all, it’s Alex’s safety. Everything else will fall into place.”

  “I hope so,” John said, once again looking at his mother. Her face was tired and lethargic, as if all the life had been sucked from it. The life supply systems and heart monitor remained normal. At least physically she remained intact. John knew she struggled for her life, but he intuited that there was more to it.
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br />   “Trust me,” Richard put his hand on John’s shoulder. “Everything will be fine.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Let’s go.”

  They exited the hospital, where the crowds began to disperse. They cheered as they saw John and he smiled at them. He and Richard went into the limousine and the vehicle sped off to the Main Hangar, where everyone would be assembling and getting their supplies, arms, ammunition, swords, and space fighters ready.

  The Hangar remained a restricted section of Regnum where only those with access cards could enter. These access cards could be issued only to those in power, and all official military personnel. The Hangar was located on top of the Regnum, outside the glass containment. Alongside it were two more hangars, where civilian spaceships and tourist cruisers were located. These were used for those who wanted to take a fifteen day cruise of the Regnum, orbiting the man-made planet. The third hangar was used for scientists who would send satellites and unmanned ships to monitor the Regnum from afar. They did this for their own personal researches and for communicating to the military about its position.

  The Main Hangar could hold two thousand fighters, four hundred space tanks (which held a thousand ships at a time and three hundred thousand men), and eight hundred transport tankers (which were used as larger fighters and transportation for soldiers who had to go from one area to another) at a time. There were many more fighters kept in storage in the lower levels of the Hangar. If needed, they could be quickly transported by large cargo elevators.

  John and Richard left the limo and took a lone elevator located in the middle of the Regnum and thirty kilometers from Central Square. Here too access cards needed to be used in order to enter. The elevator looked like a large metal rod that extended upwards to the outside of the Regnum like a spinal cord. They arrived there at 4:55. A soldier saluted them and escorted them into a large skyscraper, towering four hundred feet in the air, above the glass like an antennae. Here all the administrative work of the army, navy, and air force was collected, distributed and dealt with. Two soldiers with guns slung over their backs led them to the elevator which took them all the way to the twenty seventh and top floor. From there, they were further escorted up the stairs, to the terrace. The terrace was contained within a glass oxygen bubble. There, a private space-jet waited for them and took them to the Main Hangar. This was one of two ways to get the hangar. The other, slower way was through the Fortress, a large base protected by heavily armed guards and surrounded by an electric barbed wire fence. The guards opened the gates to let in cargo and military trucks. These transports would pass through a tunnel, one and a half kilometers from the entrance that would lead them to the lower levels of the Hangar. This base and the skyscraper were part of a huge complex dealing only with the armed forces.