“So, what is this – well, it looks like a safe – for exactly?”
“I have a document in my briefcase here which summarizes step by step the events of today. I’m going to place the document in the safe and lock it inside.”
“Is that all? This is a bit over dramatic isn’t it?”
Aaron was now starting to feel a more confident that he wasn’t about to be murdered. This wasn’t the villain Dr. No telling James Bond about his plot to take over the world. It seemed that whatever Jake was planning relied upon the scientist surviving today’s events. Aaron hoped so anyway.
“Can you untie me please? I’m not going to run away now.”
“Can I trust you?”
“Yes. You’ve got me. I’m hooked.”
“Well, I have to untie you sometime. But I do still have the gun, so don’t do anything stupid.”
Jake untied Aaron’s wrists but left his ankles tied.
“What about my ankles?”
“Insurance, Aaron. I’ll untie your ankles in due course. What’s your car number Aaron?”
“My what?”
“The registration number of your car. I need to make a note of it. Mentally too”
It seemed a strange request but this was a very strange day, and so Aaron gave Jake the details, which he duly noted on the document.
“Right Aaron. In a minute I’ll explain everything to you but first I want to show you something about this safe.”
Jake skillfully turned the combination dials this way and that, alternating between the four dials in a seemingly haphazard manner. He jumped backwards, dodging the door as it swung open.
“I nearly always forget that these doors spring open with such force. Take a look inside, please.”
The scientist shuffled forward and did as he was told.
“What you see in there is enough Semtex – plastic explosive…”
“I know what Semtex is, Jake,” Aaron interrupted.
“As I was saying, there’s enough Semtex in there to blow anybody who tampers with the safe to kingdom come. It’ll make a crater with a diameter of about two hundred feet. It won’t just kill anyone in the vicinity. It’ll rip them to shreds. We’re talking about a serious amount of explosive here. The good news is that if the combination is entered correctly, then the safe will open and everyone lives to see another day. However, if the combination is entered incorrectly… BOOM! If the safe is tampered with in any way …BOOM! More good news is that I’m the only one who knows the combination. And that’s good news for your research.
Aaron was fascinated by what he was hearing, but he didn’t see what it had to do with his research into reincarnation.
“Now, Aaron. On the document is written something about a past life of mine. A lot about a past life of mine, actually. It refers to something that happened in 1965, an unexplained murder of a mother by her son. I have detailed everything about the murder and there are things in this document that even the police aren’t aware of. I have detailed not just how I, as a ten year old boy named Simon, murdered my mother, Hannah… but also why.”
“You’re trying to tell me that as a ten year old boy you murdered your own mother?”
“Yes, but it’s not that simple. I killed my mother and then killed myself by walking straight in front of a truck.”
“So you’re telling me that you killed your own mother?”
“Please stop repeating yourself Aaron. I, Jake Griffiths, didn’t kill my own mother. Not technically anyway – and certainly not according to the law. I wasn’t even born then. I’m 25 years old. I’ve even brought my birth certificate to show you. Look.”
Aaron studied the certificate closely. It certainly looked genuine, and showed the stranger’s name as Jake Griffiths. Of course that didn’t necessarily mean that the person named on the certificate and the person facing him were the same person. He handed it back to Jake, who tossed it into the open safe.
“Simon died on 24th December 1965. I was born on 25th September 1966 although I took up occupation of this body a few months previously… in the womb. There’s often a bit of a scramble to enter your new body. The foetus has to develop to a certain level before its new soul can take over, and it can cause a bit of a backlog sometimes. The fact is that the majority of people don’t remember their past lives. Only 5% actually. We call them Recarns. I’m a Recarn. Some of the subjects that you interview are possibly Recarns too, and do remember past lives, but many are simply making it up, enjoying the attention.”
“Go on.”
´To be honest with you, it can do your head in, remembering what’s gone before. It really can. I was pretty messed up before I met up with Nathan.”
“Who’s Nathan?” Aaron interrupted.
“Nathan is the guy who organized all this.”
‘OK.’
“Anyway, some people take reincarnation all in their stride – like Nathan does – but I was on a kind of historically motivated vengeance trail. Don’t get me wrong - I didn’t go around killing people willy-nilly – but a couple of people who deserved to die. If you look at it from another angle I was just giving Hannah a nudge into her next life. She wouldn’t remember what happened anyway. She wasn’t a Recarn. Still, Nathan pointed out that it wasn’t really her fault and he calmed me down and showed me how to separate each life’s experiences and not blame people for things they did in a previous incarnation. At least, not if they have no memory of it. Hannah had no idea what she had done in her previous life and it was wrong of me to judge her for past actions of which she had no knowledge”
“How do I know that you’re not making all this up?”
“Because I’m going to provide you with proof. Not today, but later. What’s the date today?”
“26th June, 1990.”
“Time?”
“Five past three in the afternoon. “
“Make a mental note of that Aaron. It’ll be important.”
“OK. Done.”
“Now, if you can just sign this other document for me. Don’t worry, it’s not a contract or even a blank cheque. It just says that this is your signature.”
Aaron confirmed that that indeed was all that was written on the paper and signed it.
Jake collected all the documentation together, put them into a plastic document wallet, and tossed it into the safe.
“This next thing might seem a bit crazy.”
“As if all this doesn’t seem crazy.”
Jake took six dice from his pocket. One red. One green, one blue, one black, one white, and one yellow
“I’m going to throw these dice a couple of times, just to show you that they’re not loaded.”
He threw the dice and then repeated the exercise.
“Would you agree that the same colour die didn’t give the same number each time?”
“Agreed.”
“Right. I’m going to throw them again. How’s your memory?
“Good.”
“Well, it needs to be perfect otherwise we’re both wasting our time here.”
“OK. I’ll do my best.”
“Your best isn’t good enough, Aaron. You need to remember perfectly which die falls with which number.”
“Understood. Throw the dice.”
Jake threw the dice, one by one.
“Red, five. Blue, three. Yellow, six. Green, five. Black, one. White, four. Study them and remember, Aaron. This is possibly the most important part. Take as long as you need.”
Once Aaron had memorized the colour and number combinations of the dice, Jake picked them up and tossed them into the safe.
“One last thing. This is going to be a bit awkward but I think I’ve mastered it.” Jake took a Polaroid Swinger camera out of his bag.
“Stand next to me while I take a Polaroid of us.”
If Aaron had felt in any danger this would have been an excellent opportunity to try and disarm his captor but the overriding feeling that Aaron was experiencing was one of curiosity. H
e had to know how this day would turn out. Also his ankles were still tied together.
Jake waited the four minutes or so for the photo to develop, during which he untied Aaron’s ankles and expanded upon the events of December 24th, 1965. It was a horrible story but riveting at the same time.
He then checked that the booby-trap was armed and when satisfied he closed the door and spun all the forty-eight wheels of the combination clock so that they were completely shuffled.
“Let’s go then, Aaron.”
“Is that it?”
“Not quite, but we need to leave now. Please put your blindfold back on.”
Aaron did as he was told and they walked back in the direction of the main path again, Jake changing direction frequently in order to confuse the scientist.
After about five minutes they stopped, and Aaron was allowed to remove the blindfold. He opened his eyes to see Jake pointing the pistol at him.
“So…am I going to die?”
“Yes, of course you are. We’re all going to die. But not today, my friend. You have to keep living for at least 25 years more – hopefully many more than that.”
Aaron breathed an audible sigh of relief.
“This is the beginning of the proof that reincarnation is a scientific fact. That’s what you’ve been seeking isn’t it?”
Aaron nodded.
“Now, I don’t want you to react badly to what I’m about to tell you. You are in no danger whatsoever. The only danger that you could possibly be in regarding today’s episode is if you try to open that safe. Then they’ll be scraping you off the trees. You were blindfolded and the route varied to prevent you from finding the safe again. I don’t recommend you try to do so because it’ll compromise the proof that I’m going to provide you with. I’m relying on your scientific curiosity to do the right thing. If you don’t, you lose your proof.”
There was no real point in trying to open the safe anyway. Aaron already knew what was inside.
“This is the really important bit, Aaron. When I tell you to face away from me, you must do so without question.”
Aaron’s nervousness returned. It sounded like he was going to be shot, execution style in the back of the head.
“Are you sure you’re not going to kill me?”
“Yes, of course I’m sure. I’m going to kill myself.”
“What? Did I hear you right? You’re going to kill yourself?”
“Yes. It’s not such a big deal. The reason I want you to turn around when I tell you to, is that I don’t think you really want to see me put a bullet through my head. But it’s important that you check my body afterwards to confirm to you that I am indeed dead. Can you do that? It’s critical for the proof of reincarnation.”
Aaron didn’t like the idea of even looking at a dead body, let alone checking that it was indeed a corpse.
“Aaron?”
“Um yes. OK. I’ll check the body.”
Jake passed him a pair of surgical gloves.
“Put these latex gloves on then. I don’t want your fingerprints to show up on the body. That’d cause no end of problems.”
Aaron slid his hands into the gloves.
“I’ll take them with me when I leave.”
“I’m going to be your proof of reincarnation, Aaron. Remember, I’m a Recarn.”
“You really remember your past lives?”
“Yes. Each and every one. Now, what will happen next is that in twenty five years, specifically on 15th May 2015, I’m going to pay you a visit. You won’t recognise me. I have no idea what I’ll look like. White, black, man, woman, fat, thin, tall, short, bald, hairy. Hopefully not bald. I’ll only be in my mid-twenties after all. I have no idea. But because I’m a Recarn. I’ll remember the location of the safe and – more importantly – the combination of the safe. What was the combination of colours and numbers that the dice showed? I know. I just want to check that you remember.”
“Red, five. Blue, three. Yellow, six. Green, five. Black, one. White, four.”
“Good.”
“I have a question, Jake. How will I know it’s you?”
“What’s my name?”
“Jake Griffiths.”
“That’s how you’ll know it’s me. I’ll identify myself by that name. Plus… think of a code word.” “Rembrandt.”
“Why Rembrandt?”
“Why not?”
“Okay. Rembrandt it is. Now pay particular attention to this part. You must not tell anyone, anyone at all, not even your wife – if and when you get one - about what happened here today. We are trusting that your scientific integrity and curiosity will keep you on the straight and narrow. I’d like to think that that would be enough to convince you to wait the twenty-five years but a consensus was agreed upon that if you disclose these plans to anyone else drastic measures will need to be taken; we will take you and your closest family members – perhaps children that you haven’t even had yet – to the locations of the safes. There we will enter the incorrect combination and blow you and your families into smithereens. Of course we’ll die too but that won’t bother us… we’re Recarns. I’ve actually been blown up several times before, so it doesn’t worry me.”
“I won’t tell a soul. I promise.”
“You’ll understand the irony of that one day.”
“Can I ask a question Jake?”
“Of course.”
“Will the police want to talk to me when they find your body and how do I get back to my car?”
“As you like to count so much, can I just point out that that’s two questions. No, there isn’t anything that could connect you to my death. The only fingerprints on the gun will be mine. There will be no fingerprints on the car because I was wearing gloves all the time I was in it. Don’t forget to make sure that you wear the latex gloves when you check my body for signs of life. There will be absolutely no reason for them to even think that you have some kind of connection to my death. I even ran up serious gambling debts so that they’ll have a motive for my suicide.”
“And the route back to my car?”
“Look above the tree line over there. What do you see?”
“Looks like a helium filled red balloon to me.”
“That’s exactly what it is. Just head towards that balloon and you’ll arrive at the car park. Old technology but efficient.”
“One final question, please.”
“Go on.”
“What about the gunshot?”
“Already thought that one out. There are farms near here. People will just think that it’s a farmer shooting at a fox. Finally, what were the numbers and colours of the dice?”
“Red, five. Blue, three. Yellow, six. Green, five. Black, one. White, four.”
“Good. Now turn towards the balloon.”
Aaron did as he was bid.
“Goodbye Jake …and thanks, I think.”
“Goodbye Aaron. See you in twenty-five years. Oh, and don’t forget to release the balloon when you’re back at your car.”
The gunshot made Aaron flinch. Although he had no desire to see a freshly shot corpse, he duly checked the body for a pulse but there was no sign of life. Jake was definitely dead. Aaron set off in the direction of the tethered balloon, hardly believing that the afternoon’s events had really happened.
Chapter 3
7:30 a.m. Friday, 15th May, 2015
Aaron couldn’t help but be excited. He checked the calendar on his smartphone one more time, just as he had been checking it for the last three weeks. He was like a child waiting for Christmas, he was so anxious for the return of Jake. It would be a true second coming, but not the second coming that various religions had predicted.
It was impossible not to want this proof to exist no matter how cynical and detached Aaron tried to remain – emotionally he was like a child torn between overcoming a level in a video game by using a cheat, and succeeding by his own diligence and perseverance. He had been forced to reluctantly admit to himself that despite
his best efforts he had been unable to come up with anything that could be considered as substantial proof of reincarnation. All his efforts had been founded on studying people from a retrospective point of view, from the past lives that his subjects had supposedly lived. There was no credible proof that the subjects were remembering things and not simply regurgitating things that they had, consciously or subconsciously, heard or read about and the evidence was thus anecdotal. But now he appeared to have the opportunity – as crazy as it may seem – to be the sole physical witness to an experience from the past and to be part of its retelling twenty-five years later by a stranger who could only know certain aspects of these same experiences if he or she had also been there at the time.
He checked the calendar again. Nothing had changed. The date was still Friday 15th May, 2015. It was half-past seven in the morning, and at eight o’clock Aaron would go to through to his office and start his day’s work. But today would be different. Today, Aaron would be acutely aware of any phone calls, emails, or knocks at the door. He would answer each phone call, read each email, and answer each knock at the door hoping upon hope that it would be Jake or, at least, the new incarnation of Jake.
Aaron was interviewing his second subject of the day, a tedious task compared to what else that day might bring, when his mobile phone chirruped loudly at him
. He lunged at it as if it were a live hand grenade threatening to blow him up and hurriedly pressed the attend call button without even looking to see who the call was from.
The phone spoke to him.
“Send a text to this number with the reply YES to participate in a competition to win a brand new 4x4 off-road vehicle.”
He pressed the disconnect button and gripped the phone hard. Forgetting that he wasn’t alone he growled at it.
“Why the fuck do these bloody phone companies keep calling me with this crap!”
The middle-aged housewife who had been telling him about how she had been a chief housekeeper at a stately home in the early nineteen hundreds looked sympathetically at him.
REVELATION: Book One of THE RECARN CHRONICLES Page 3