“Excellent, Danielle; I'll pour,” he said picking up the bottle. “Tonight it is just the four of us, with no servers standing about trying to be inconspicuous, which was my request, so Yvette and I will help Danielle serve the meal this evening."
“Can't I help as well, Secretary General?” Johnston asked.
De Bono laughed. “Tonight, you are my guest of honor, and you will be served by us all and let's not be formal. Everyone, please just call me Antonio this evening,” he pointed in Johnston's direction, “especially you, Merl. And,” he quickly added, “Tonight, you can feel free to talk about anything, because we are all Illuminati and whatever we say in this room tonight will remain here, so relax and enjoy!"
“Pinch me, somebody,” Johnston replied, “I think I'm in heaven.” The remark filled the room with laughter that sounded like pure honey to his ears.
After five months of feeling a sense of loneliness creeping up on him, with his wife and family now living in Louisiana, he now felt a new sense of companionship and belonging. Finally, something had managed to soothe that persistent ache in his soul for close companionship.
De Bono rose and began filling the wineglasses, then set down the bottle. He picked up his glass, “Everyone, I propose a toast.” They all picked up their glasses. “Not only has Merl successfully completed his studies and rightfully earned the title of Temple Priest, he has also managed to earn the attention of the Grand Secret Master himself, who made a special mention of his appreciation for Merl's excellent work on the 3G project to myself and the other Secret Masters of the Inner Council. I might add that he completed his work on the 3G project while completing his indoctrination studies in record time. Here is to Merl for a job well done!"
They all shouted cheers, causing Johnston to blush gratefully with the feeling that he had finally become a member of a new and very powerful family of world leaders. “Antonio, this wine is something else,” he said with admiration.
De Bono smiled broadly. “I'm glad to hear you like it. It is wonderful American wine! I bought several cases of it while vacationing in the Northern California back in 2000. It has always been one of my favorites."
“Could you tell me about it, Antonio,” Johnston asked as they all sat to enjoy the first course.
“It is a 1999 Beaulieu Vineyard Signet Syrah,” De Bono replied after savoring another sip. “As I recall, 1999 was the coolest year of that decade which caused slow ripening conditions. However, in the last week in September there was a strong heat wave, which caused rapid sugar accumulation in the grapes. This accounts for the strong flavors and rich fruit of the wine. Yes, it is an excellent vintage."
After the first course, Danielle began preparing the steaks as the conversation began to flow like the wine. They enjoyed the rest of the meal with great gusto, talked and teased each other about movies, plays and other forms of entertainment. It was a magical time that pushed away all thought of a world where millions were now dying of starvation each day, the necessary fodder of mankind's survival.
Yvette cleared the plates as De Bono, insisting that Johnston remain seated, served dessert of Tiramisu and steaming cups of freshly roasted Sumatra Lintong coffee.
De Bono took his first bite of Tiramisu as the others followed suit. “Isn't this heaven in your mouth,” he sighed as he savored the fragile dessert. He pointed his fork at Johnston; “It is said that Tiramisu was the favorite of Venice's courtesans, who often needed a “pick me up” between their amorous encounters. It may not be true, but it sure makes a good story."
Sitting across from Johnston, Danielle kicked off her shoe and extended her leg to rub his manhood with her toes. “Tell us, Merl, do you think the story is true?"
His eyes widened slightly with pleasure, “I'm not an expert in such matters, but I will gladly defer to your professional judgment, Danielle.” He cleared his throat and winked at her to signal that she had his full attention now.
De Bono and Cochereau quietly watched the chemistry and lust forming between their two guests with vicarious pleasure, pretending not to notice.
“While I'm not well versed in the history of Venetian courtesans, I must say that it does sound colorful. What I can tell you is that Tiramisu first became popular in San Francisco and not New York, as some may think."
“Bravo,” De Bono said while clapping his hands. “You know, Merl, we may have an assignment for you soon if you're interested. Speaking of San Francisco, it seems that we may be looking for a new Southwestern America UNE Governor to replace Melissa Chadwick. She's been doing a great job and the Inner Council has decided to give her a promotion. The UNE district is rather large and covers the entire Southwest, west from Texas all the way to California. I took the liberty of confirming this with the Inner Council and they are for it, so just say the word and the position is all yours."
Johnston's eyes lit up with glee, “Of course I want it,” he replied eagerly.
“Then it is done. Next week, you will announce your full recovery to the world, and the week after, we will announce your new post in America."
Johnston sat back in his chair with a deep feeling of satisfaction. “Wow!’ was all he could say.
“Of course,” De Bono added, “this position also offers a nice perk. You get a personal assistant like my lovely and talented Yvette."
Johnston could see where this was going and glanced over at Danielle who was now looking back at him with bedroom eyes. Was Santa going to leave him an unforgettable gift under his tree this year? “I'll need someone with a strong background in media and public relations,” he hinted out loud.
Danielle stretched her leg out once again to caress his manhood with her bare toes. “If you're offering, I'd love to jump on your—offer—as soon as possible after we've had a chance to discuss the position at—further length."
“By all means,” he replied in a deep, soothing voice. “And the sooner the better."
“Well ladies, would you care to join us in a cigar and some brandy to celebrate Merl's new governorship?” It was Yvette's pre-arranged cue for the two men to be left alone for a private conversation.
“No, honey, I think I'll pass. Besides, it will give Danielle and me some time for girl talk, but after you're finished with your cigars how about a skinny dip in the pool before we retire for the evening.
“I'm up for that,” Danielle chimed in.
“Works for me, Antonio."
De Bono laughed and stood up. “Well then, we have our plan. So ladies, we will briefly bid adieu while enjoy our cigars and brandy out on the veranda.” He pointed a playful finger at Yvette. “Are you going to be mischievous tonight and start a water fight in the pool?"
“I'm not making any promises,” she answered coyly. “Now, go smoke your cigars."
“Come on, Merl,” De Bono said with a gesture of his hand, and the two men walked out on the wide, covered veranda overlooking Lake Geneva. They sat down at a table in the center of the veranda surrounded by electric heaters that took the chill out of the night air with a gentle, warm breeze.
Before the flyby of Nibiru, the night above them would have sparkled with stars in a cloudless sky. Now, the perpetual overcast of volcanic ash streams had turned the sky into a dark, gritty canopy where only a few of the brightest stars could be seen. Most sadly, the familiar, white glow of the moon had become tinged with a red wash that was clearly more pronounced during the day. Pictures taken from distant space probes made the Earth look as though it had become another red planet, as though it had become the larger brother of Mars. How long would it last? The experts debated the point endlessly, citing one conflicting study and theory after another. Consequently, their answers were as murky as the sky above, leaving a consensus that it would take at least another two years before Earth would once again shine like a cool, blue-green sphere in space.
As Johnston stared idly at the red-tinted half-moon, De Bono opened the lid of the large cigar humidor that sat upon center of the table. It had a large glass t
op with a handcrafted inlaid Spanish cedar interior and a featured a built-in humidification device. He removed two large, hand-rolled cigars, a super-precise double-blade butterfly cutter and a special cigar lighter. After clipping the cigars, he handed one to Johnston as he ran the second under his nose. “What a wonderful smell,” he exclaimed. “These are Montecristo Gran Corona cigars from Cuba.” He flicked the lighter and held it to the end of Johnston's cigar. “You know, before the flyby of Nibiru, they sold for thirty Euros apiece. Now you cannot buy them for love or money. Thankfully, I had the presence of mind and the convenience of time to acquire a substantial supply of them before the flyby, so please enjoy."
“I will,” Johnston replied as he gently puffed the cigar to life. “This is a cigar!” he said after taking a few mellow puffs.
“We can talk openly out here, Merl. These heaters also serve as a sound and microwave disrupters to prevent us from being overheard."
“Have you got something specific on your mind?"
“Yes and no. Tell me, Merl, how did you manage to do so well with that 3G project?"
Johnston took a puff while he considered his answer. “Well, when I went to China I spoke with their few remaining scientists and spotted one I felt might be helpful so, as you know, a young college intern, I took him back with me."
“And President Chop had kittens about that stunt, but we worked it out, although getting his family out of the country cost us a bundle."
“Well, it paid off. This kid had read through all the lab notes and lucky for us, he has a photographic memory and a good command of the English language. He stayed with me in Geneva and reconstructed the notes in about two weeks. He explained everything to me the best he could, and when we pulled together a research team to work on the problem, it didn't take long for me to see where I fit in."
He took another puff, while De Bono poured the brandy. “This is the best cigar I've ever had,” he commented. “Anyway, I only understand this virus stuff enough to be dangerous so most of what these hot shots were talking about went over my head like vapor trails and they were going nowhere fast. That was when I could see the problem clearly. They're all egotistical, just like us politicians. The only difference is that they really don't know when to shut up long enough to hear a good idea. So all I did was to make them stop arguing with each other long enough to hear what the others were saying."
“Well, it worked. Thankfully, there was enough of the original Chinese vaccine for us, our families and key government and military affiliates. Plus, enough for your research program which yielded a promising range of inhibitor drugs for use by our medical and emergency personnel."
“Promising, yes, but the fact is that they are only 70% effective, provided everyone follows the protocols. I only wish we could find a more cost-effective way to mass-produce these incredibly expensive drugs. Otherwise, all we can do is to hopefully slow the spread of 3G, which will soon become the number one killer in the world, closely followed by 3rd world famine."
“Let's just hope that breakthrough happens so that we may end these horrible quarantines and triage centers that are disrupting our already weakened economies. Dying workers are not terribly productive, nor do they generate tax receipts, which are needed now more than ever before. The question is, when can we hope to have this vaccine?"
“You may not care for the answer,” Johnston sighed heavily.
De Bono replied “Then, tell me straight,” as he began to light his cigar.
Johnston took a large sip of brandy. “As you know, the 3G flu is nearly always fatal. The one in one hundred who survives is usually left with permanent disabilities and a lifetime of suffering. Frankly, if you catch it, you're better off dead. However, if someone somewhere out there in the world will have the right kind of strong natural defense to 3G we have a chance. If that someone not only survives, but also has a full recovery, then his or her blood will hold the key to creating an inexpensive and effective vaccine. After that, everything else is a straightforward, downhill process."
De Bono took a few puffs and then noted dryly as his voice fell off; “then, let's keep our eyes peeled for that certain someone and hope for the best before this miserable plague reduces mankind's chances of survival to non-sustainable numbers.” His paralinguistic show of mild interest did not go unnoticed by Johnston and it sent the Temple Priest's mind in motion.
“Antonio, if I'm off base just let me know,” he ventured cautiously. “I sense that your thoughts are troubled or preoccupied by something more important than defeating the 3G flu?"
“You're right. There is something I find deeply troubling, and for a little while this evening I was able to completely forget it.” He held out his cigar and admired it; “Nobody rolls a better cigar than the Cubans. I hope they can put their island back together. I'd sure hate to run out of these."
“They are great cigars,” Johnston noted softly with the assumption that he had transgressed into a sensitive area.
De Bono took a large puff and blew a series of perfect smoke rings. “You were right. I wasn't trying to avoid you. It's just that talking about this is difficult for me, but talk we must."
He opened the humidor again and this time took out what looked like a large brown and rust colored rock the size of a small apple. “What does this look like to you?” he asked Johnston.
“A rock. As to what type I have no idea. I'm not a geologist."
De Bono extended his hand. “Take it,” he ordered softly.
Johnston did as he was asked. Hefting the rock in his hand, he struggled to keep from dropping it and noted with surprise, “This is a lot heavier than it looks. What is it?"
“It is an iron meteorite with a weathered exterior,” De Bono replied. “While most meteorites are made of stone and weight about three times as much as a terrestrial rock, iron meteorites like the one you are presently holding in your hand is four times as heavy as the others. Now, I want you to hold that meteorite with both hands and close your eyes."
Johnston laid his cigar down in the large cut crystal ashtray on the table and did as he was instructed.
“As everyone knows, Nibiru had three small moons, or to be more precise, satellites. The smallest of the three was a small almond shaped moon approximately 40 miles in diameter and entirely comprised of highly dense iron. The moon was discovered in 2010 and aptly named Shiva by the Indian Astronomer who discovered it. Our scientists believe that Nibiru once had a planet-sized moon, slightly larger than Mars and that Shiva is what remains of the of the larger moon's molten core. Think of the iron meteorite you're holding in your hand as an excellent scale model example of Shiva."
“I'm getting a very bad feeling about this,” Johnston said, his voice filling with trepidation and dread.
“As well you should. Seven days after opposition, an unusual celestial event happened involving Nibiru and Mars during the three days of darkness here on Earth. From what I saw in the NASA deep space probe imagery, it seems as though a huge bolt of lighting leapt from Mars towards Nibiru, only to strike Shiva first. The resulting impact fractured Shiva into two pieces. The first piece was approximately 5 kilometers in diameter and plummeted harmlessly into Nibiru. The other, is approximately 40 kilometers in diameter and was thrown into an elliptical Earth-crossing orbit around our sun."
“My God! Is it going to hit us?"
“If you mean us in terms of our planet—no. However, there is a strong possibility that it could impact our moon in 2019 and a virtual certainty that it will do so in 2035. Due to its mass and density, it could alter the Earth's moon's orbit with catastrophic consequences for the Earth. The mantle of our planet could shift suddenly and tear the surface of the planet apart, flipping the poles. The end result is that after Shiva hits the moon, the Earth could become a hellish place to live for hundreds of years.” He extended his hand across the table to receive the meteorite. “You can open your eyes now."
As Johnston handed it to him, he noted sadly, “It is a quee
r twist of fate that Nibiru's infant moon could be the one to destroy mankind and not Nibiru itself, as we had feared."
“Yes, Merl. It is a queer fate, at that. For over 150 years, the Illuminati have been working toward ensuring that our species and our technology would survive the Nibiru flyby. In this, we were successful. Now, Shiva and 3G to a certain extent, threaten our very existence in ways that Nibiru never could. Now, we are faced by an even darker threat and we do not have a century or so of time to deal with it."
Johnston felt his chest tighten. This was dark news indeed. “Since I haven't learned about it till now, no doubt there is a pretty tight clampdown on the news about Shiva. Is it because we're afraid of starting a panic?"
“Preventing a panic is obviously business of the first hand. However, we are rising to the challenge. A month ago, we finished negotiating a plan with the Americans and the Russians. The Inner Council has chosen Melissa Chadwick to take the lead on this and she'll run things from Las Vegas, which, by the way, is why you'll be replacing her as the Southwestern UNE Governor in America. Once she tells us that we're ready to launch the plan into action, which we estimate will be in another six to twelve months, we will tell the world. We'll have to; the resources needed for this plan will simply be too great to go unnoticed."
“Finally an upbeat note,” Johnston sighed. “So what's the plan?"
“In terms of an upbeat note, keep in mind that due to the metallic density of Shiva, all of the nuclear weapons of Earth can neither stop nor destroy it, so don't get giddy. Nonetheless, the Russians have accepted the task of trying to divert or destroy Shiva before it causes us any harm. However, we cannot afford to hold out much hope for their effort, despite their eagerness. Rather, our primary emphasis is on the American effort. America is tasked with building four nuclear powered space arks to carry handpicked populations of able-bodied astronauts, scientists and engineers into space. Two of the arks will go to Mars, after which, we will begin the process of terraforming the planet. The other two arks will be used to build permanent L5 Colonies in space. Of course, all members of the Illuminati and their immediate families have been selected."
Godschild Covenant: Return of Nibiru Page 11