The God Complex: A Thriller

by Murray Mcdonald

  “Do we know who she was?”

  “No idea.”

  “No print matches, DNA, facial recognition, nothing?”

  “Ah, you’re assuming we caught or killed her. She escaped.”

  “Do you know why she was holding you hostage?” asked Cash, turning to the Senator.

  “No idea. She hardly said a word to me. I can only assume it’s all tied into the attempt on the President and perhaps in some way with your father’s death.”

  Cash looked at Travis. He shook his head subtly. He hadn’t told the Senator of their suspicions that everything was linked.

  “So why us?”

  “Because I don’t know who else I can trust and I must go to Switzerland, it’s my great nephew’s 21st and I can’t not go.”

  “How do you know you can trust us?”

  “Because Travis does and because you guys were set up just like Travis. You’d hardly set yourselves up if you were involved.”

  Cash looked across at Rigs. He shook his head, he didn’t like it. Neither did Cash.

  “I’m sorry, Senator, but we’re almost there figuring things out. Travis has lots of really great guys.”

  “Like the two that missed Rigs bursting into here?” he asked, much to Travis’ embarrassment. The Senator wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “I heard you say when I came in about the end of the world. Is that where your investigation has gotten you to?”

  “It’s still very early—”

  “I may know a bit about the subject,” he offered.

  “Sophie!” Cash called. “You might want to come in here.”

  “And it’s got nothing to do with the deaths in Papua New Guinea,” the Senator said.

  Cash looked blankly at Travis.

  “They’re off the grid here, they’ve not heard about the Iamults,” explained Travis.

  Sophie joined them. “What’s wrong?”

  “The Senator knows something about the end of the world but he was about to tell us something about the Iamults?”

  “It’s been all over the news. The Iamults were a race of people in Papua New Guinea, and earlier in the week, they inexplicably died, every last one of them,” explained Travis, interrupting to bring them up to speed.

  Sophie’s interest spiked. “A great death raining down race by race,” she said.

  “Well not really, they believe it was the river that poisoned them all. There were a few survivors, but they too succumbed a day later. Every man, woman and child. It’s caused a huge panic and more than a few declaring the end of the world is nigh!”

  “How many?”

  “All round the world, I wouldn’t even guess,” said the Senator.

  ‘No, the Iamults, how many dead, a hundred, a thousand?”

  “Over three hundred thousand,” said Travis.

  “Oh my God!” exclaimed Sophie. “Some of the ancient texts talk about how death will rain down on us, race by race, as the end nears.”

  “But you said the end was hundreds of thousands of years away, right?” said Cash.

  “I’ve rechecked, I hadn’t taken the wobble into account, it’s actually more than that. Earth is in no danger for the next million years. With more measurements from other sites, I’ll be able to narrow that down.”

  “If I help you with this, will you take me to Switzerland?”

  “Switzerland?” asked Sophie.

  “His nephews birthday. He wants me and Cash to keep him safe.”

  “Safe from whom?”

  “Doesn’t matter now, I’ll tell you later.” Cash turned back to the Senator. “Help us how?”

  “There’s a little known division in the military that deals with this stuff.”

  “Like Roswell?” joked Sophie.

  “Yes,” replied the Senator, without a hint of humor, before smiling. “Although I can tell you Roswell never happened, not in 1947.”

  Cash looked at Sophie who shrugged. He looked at Rigs who shook his head.

  The Senator could see it was still close, so he played his trump card. “It would mean a lot to Antoine and Anya, my nephew and niece.”

  “Anya, the niece that went to university with Cash’s father?” asked Sophie instantly.

  “You know her?” he asked innocently.

  “Pack your things, we’re going,” announced Sophie.

  “You’re not invited to Switzerland,” whispered Cash.

  “Well you’d better get me an invite. I’m coming!”

  Chapter 51

  The council meetings had started their daily frequency. The previous two evenings had been almost entirely devoted to the hunt for Bertie. His disappearance was causing great anguish, particularly for Antoine. They knew he was alive, their sources knew that much. Beyond that, nothing. Antoine had hardly slept, his mind trying to comprehend what Bertie’s game was. As far as Antoine and the rest of the Nobles were concerned, they would do nothing to jeopardize their goal. Bertie had already proven that that wasn’t the case for him. If you could kill your own twin, there were no bounds to what you could do.

  Antoine stood before his council. “This evening, Bertie is off the agenda. We don’t have time for it. Conrad’s security teams are doing everything they can. If you do wish to discuss Bertie, I’d ask you to leave it until after the council meeting.”

  A number of approving nods greeted the news.

  “Now, down to business. We are two weeks out from the convergence when the transports can commence. Anya?”

  Antoine turned the floor over to his sister. “Fuel production has been better than anticipated and we’re close to the point of starting the fuelling process, which, as you’re aware, has its own problems. However, I believe Caleb has solved most of those problems and we’re in a position to start moving the fuel to the launch site.”

  Caleb nodded. “Yep, not easy but we’ve found a way to stabilize it for transport. The actual fueling system itself is still only theoretical, since we’ve not been able to trial it, but we believe it will deliver. As for the launch site, the spot we’ve got in the Pacific Ocean is perfect. It’s like a black hole, no shipping lanes or flight paths go anywhere near it. The only land nearby are tiny uninhabited islands, on which we’ve built landing strips for ferrying to and from the area. The stealth capability of the ships should mean that unless actually spotted, no one will ever know we’re there. I think Conrad has the situation in hand, should anyone see anything.”

  “We’ve got a number of fighters on station to deal with any issues,” confirmed Conrad. “Along with a few high speed patrol vessels that will monitor and scare off any shipping that strays off course. Should anyone see anything, we’ll shoot first and ask questions later.”

  The door to the library opened and Bea entered. “Apologies, I’m late!” she said, to an impromptu round of applause, led by Antoine.

  “I think, given your achievements, we can forgive you!”

  “Thank you,” she said, sitting down.

  “Using the survivors to test the mixed batch was genius,” said Conrad.

  “Well, they were an excellent cross-section of the population. But there is one thing you’re not aware of,” she tapped her nose, resulting in them all leaning forward slightly.

  “My son released it on the boat, without any protection.”

  “A little risky, no?” asked Antoine.

  “Not at all,” said Blake. “Our genes are as pure as our ancestors who developed the toxin,” he said proudly. He was a man who marveled at the family’s history.

  “And if, down the line, they had been, unbeknownst to us, mixed?” asked Antoine, making his point.

  “Irrelevant,” said Blake dismissively. “The Noble genes would dominate the inferior genes. As long as there’s a Noble in you, you’re a Noble.”

  “But we should never mix!” said Antoine. This was new information, to all of them, he could tell by the looks on the faces of everyone else in the room.

  “No we shouldn’t, but it doesn’t me
an we can’t.”

  Antoine was going to have to revisit his decision with regard to his son. He looked at Conrad, who was obviously on the same wavelength, looking right back at him. Antoine would have another late night chat with Blake.

  “And the cover story seems to have calmed everyone down. Is the CDC going along with it?”

  “We made them think it was their idea but yes, they’ll continue trying to find what really killed them. In the meantime, it’s being put down to a contamination in the river.”

  “Do we have a timescale of when we need to start the downsizing?”

  The rest of the meeting moved off into the detail of food production, food consumption, and the need for food to be transported, as well as people. Over the next eighty years, food production on the other planet was going to be minimal. Food was going to have to be sent to supplement the population. As the planet died, the food source would dwindle. Everything pointed to a devastating shortage within the first ten years, a shortage that would cause widespread famine across both planets. Famine would cause panic and unrest, which in turn would affect production. Production had to be maintained at all costs.

  People had to go about their daily lives as long as possible. Even during the convergence they had to be unaware of what was happening. If they realized there was not space for everyone, chaos would reign and production would be affected. Production was vital.

  “We should have started birth control fifty years ago,” said Blake. “I warned your grandfather the population was spiraling.”

  “I know, but things were difficult during the Cold War. We lost control, paranoia ruled, not us.”

  “The population’s doubled since then, you know. And the number of nuclear weapons!”

  “We’re dealing with both of them now,” Antoine said calmly, not wanting to lose his temper with Blake. His points were valid but inappropriate.

  “I’m sorry, I’m speaking out of turn. I’m just excited I’ll be here for the start when I never thought I would be!”

  “So, back to the food. Are we saying we need to start stockpiling now?” asked Antoine.

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t think we should start anything until the convergence actually begins though.”

  A number of nods echoed agreement around the table.

  “Do we have a number?”

  “Half,” said Blake.

  “Half a million?” asked Bea.

  “No,” said Blake, “half the population.”

  “Three and a half billion in one hit?”

  “One big cut is less painful than a thousand small ones.”

  “It would get us down to a billion in eighty years, given the death rate and reduced birth rate,” said Bea.

  “It would cause utter chaos!” said Conrad.

  “Only once, and we can quickly find a cure that the rest of the world would get, job done. Population under control,” concluded Blake.

  “It works,” nodded Bea. “We just need to work out who goes. Do we do it by race or by area?”

  “Race,” said Blake. “There are a few I can think of that have done little for anyone.”

  “Let’s leave prejudices at the door, though the principle is sound,” cautioned Antoine. “Bea, I’ll leave you and your team to work out the detail of who, but let’s go with a time just before the first transport is on its way. Or the first ship arrives back, whichever is first.”

  “Well, that was a far more productive meeting than before, same time tomorrow and remember, the day after that is Alex’s 21st, so no meeting that night,” he said excitedly. “Blake, would you mind hanging back a few minutes? You too, Conrad.”

  “If you don’t mind, I’ll stay too,” said Anya, much to Antoine’s surprise.

  Chapter 52

  Cash had insisted they wait for Kyle and Bill’s return before leaving. A halfhearted hug from his son was his only reward, but it was enough for him to have justified the delay. Travis was dropping them in Nevada in his Gulfstream G550, where another jet would take them onto their final destination, while Travis would head back to Washington. The four bodyguards were being left at the lodge, the only stipulation Cash had made as part of the deal to accompany Senator Noble to Switzerland.

  “I don’t like it,” whispered Rigs into his ear for the tenth time. He looked across at Senator Noble. “I don’t trust him!”

  Cash stayed silent. He didn’t disagree but didn’t want to fuel Rigs’ mistrust. Once he went down that road, it was a hard road for him to climb back from.

  Sophie was still buried in her laptop, fielding questions from the Senator, who had, Cash noted, a knowing grin. The Senator knew far more than he was letting on and Cash felt sure, far more than he’d ever let on.

  The sound of the landing gear dropping signaled their arrival. Cash looked out of the window. Total darkness, no landing strip was visible ahead. Rigs punched him in the shoulder and pointed out the same problem.

  “Senator, are you sure we’re at the right place?” asked Cash.

  “Can you see a runway?” he asked.

  “No,” replied Cash, “just complete and total darkness!”

  “Well, we’re in the right place then,” he said as the wheels touched down for a perfect landing. “In the daylight it looks like the desert floor, it’s painted like a trompe l’oeil.”

  Rigs looked at Cash. “It’s an effect that makes the image look real, like an optical illusion,” explained Cash.

  “Would hardly be a secret base, if it wasn’t hidden,” he said as the plane travelled off the runway and into a hangar cut into the mountainside.

  Cash looked over at Travis. His face was a picture. He had no idea it existed either and he was head of the CIA!

  The Senator looked at them both. “If it makes you feel any better, even the President doesn’t know about this place,” he said standing. “Welcome to the best kept secret in America, Alien Hunters!” announced the Senator, leading them towards a door at the far end of the hangar. A number of strange craft sat inside the hangar. One looked particularly familiar to Sophie.

  “And the work we do at Area 51?” asked Travis, the not-so-secret base he was fully aware of.

  “These guys keep an eye on that but they have a far more open remit to explore the possible, or maybe even the impossible. Let’s go meet the boss.”

  “You didn’t know about this place?” Cash asked Travis.

  “Not a clue. Area 51 is the only area I’m aware of and to be honest, it’s really only a testing area for experimental equipment. Nothing like that,” he said, pointing at the strange aircraft that sat in the hangar.

  “I’ve seen models and drawings of those aircraft before,” said Sophie in a whisper.

  “Where?” asked Travis.

  “From all across the ancient sites. That one there!” She indicated a small one-seater aircraft with a bulbous front and flat end and an oversized tail. “It’s the same shape as a small piece of gold jewelry I’ve seen. It’s been dated over 4,000 years old.

  “I’d like to introduce you to the boss here,” announced the Senator, gesturing towards a woman who appeared in the doorway, dressed in full uniform and standing to attention.

  “This is Colonel Thalia—”

  Travis stepped forward. “Valdez,” he finished. “We’ve met before. You were transferred out of Area 51 against our wishes,” he said, shaking the Colonel’s hand and turned to the Senator. “If I remember correctly, it was because your committee refused to fund Thalia’s crazy work. You created this?”

  “Not personally, it is legitimate intelligence work,” replied the Senator.

  “All totally off the books, and with no links to any intelligence division?” asked Travis. “I think we may have an issue with the misappropriation of funds, Senator.”

  “Before you say another word, why don’t we let Colonel Valdez tell us what they do here?”

  Thalia stood back and gestured for them to enter the facility. As furious as Travis was
, he was as keen as the rest to see what they were doing.

  “I’m not sure what the Senator has shared with you about our facility here, but we are tasked with discovering advanced civilizations, whether that be alien or human. Perhaps we should start in the AV room?” She directed them to the second door along an endless corridor.

  The AV room turned out to be nothing more than a projector room with around twenty chairs. The Colonel started running through a slide show.

  “We’ve seen most of these,” said Cash, as picture after picture of some of the weird and amazing structures from Pumapunka, Tiwanaku and Saksaywaman appeared on the screen. The Colonel’s commentary wasn’t dissimilar to Sophie’s, even down to them having dated the sites older than was officially recognized. The Colonel, noting the unrest, rushed through the slides, culminating in the Great Pyramid of Giza.

  “If ever there were a structure on the planet that screamed advanced civilization, it is this one.” She ran through the details that Sophie had provided earlier, although there were a few more that even Sophie didn’t know.

  “You’ll notice there is no capstone. We believe that this would have been made of copper and has been stolen at some point. Copper, as you’re aware, is an excellent conductor. Consider also the precise location of the pyramid. If you laid the world out flat, the pyramid is the exact center of all the landmass. I’m not a specialist in the area but I’m reliably informed that electromagnetic fields differ around the world, and the great pyramid sits on top of one of the most powerful spots.”

  “So what are you saying, it channeled energy?” asked Cash. “Like a power station?”

  “We’re not entirely sure, but potentially yes, either to create power or even more interestingly, to transmit into space. Or even both, the power generated could have been significant.”

  “So we’re talking about airlines?” asked Cash.

  “Or just an advanced race who, like us, wished to see if anyone was out there, a bit like the messages we send today for that exact same purpose.”