EARTH'S LAST WAR (CHILDREN OF DESTINY Book 1)

by Glenn Van Dyke

  As he began gushing inside her, “Dad?” came Phillip’s plaintive call from beyond the locked door of the adjoining bedroom.

  For Ashlyn, the timing couldn’t have been worse, but Steven’s passions demanded that he make several, slow, deep, finishing thrusts—and she gave him the time to do so.

  When he was done, Ash exhaled an evident display of her own frustration, “I’d better go.” Adding with a smile, before Steven could argue, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back later. Save your energy because you owe me a double!”

  “He’ll probably be back to sleep in five minutes,” said Steven.

  “It’s okay, I have a couple of things I need to do anyway. And I don’t want you to rush, he needs you too.” With ease, Ash slipped into her clothes.

  Steven acquiesced. “Gena, end music.

  I never heard those songs before, Ash. They’re great.”

  “I knew you’d like them. They’re very—motivational.” Ash smiled and exited the cabin.

  At Phillip’s side, “It was horrible Dad! This big snake was chasing me. He was so big and his eyes were yellow. I ran and ran, but I couldn’t get away.”

  “I have dreams like that too. I think most everyone does, but they aren’t real.

  Tell you what though, I’ll stay here until you go back to sleep, okay?”

  “Ok. Dad—did the things in your dreams have names?”

  “Names?”

  “Yeah, the snake’s name was En-Enlil, or something like that.”

  Steven shivered as he recalled his conversation with President Tomlinson fifteen years earlier, where he too, had spoken the name. Steven couldn’t recall ever having discussed it in front of his son.

  “Well, I don’t remember that but they probably did. We can talk more about it tomorrow if you want. Go back to sleep,” said Steven, pulling the blankets up around Phillip’s shoulders.

  Within a minute, Phillip was asleep.

  The focus in Steven’s deep-set eyes was intense, the coincidence of the name, hard to accept.

  At his desk, “Gena, bring up all the information you have on the name, Enlil.”

  To Steven’s surprise, Gena responded with, “Password and voice match accepted.” A holo of the Presidential Seal appeared before him, stamped with, “For Steven Sherrah’s Eyes Only!”

  “I’ll be damned. It’s been here all this time.” Steven’s belief was affirmed by the date in the bottom right corner of the holo, the morning of the attack. Why would he send the file to my personal computer aboard Avenger? It took Steven only the briefest moment to realize the reason. Firewalls. Avenger is a sealed system. He wanted it off the grid. I should have known.

  President Tomlinson’s face appeared, “Hello, Steven. I’d like to start with, what a great pleasure it was to have finally met you. I’ve been observing your progress since you were knee-high to a grasshopper. I’m very proud of the man you have become. I’ve replayed your Sol maneuver a dozen times—it always manages to impress me. It was the most courageously bold stunt I’ve ever seen, let alone, by a first-year cadet.

  It was an honor to promote you to Admiral.

  Tynabo has also informed me that by the time you’ve been given this file, you will have reached your 24th birthday and begun the final phase in your genetic encoding sequence—which of course, includes having met Ashlyn. I’m sure you’ll agree she’s light-years beyond amazing. The promise that the two of you hold for humanity’s future is boundless. I readily admit that I’m jealous of you.

  As for this communique, the information contained herein, is just the beginning. There will be much more to come. The majority of it is information that I pray, you will never need.

  I look forward to seeing you again at the christening of your vessel, next month. Columbus is the crowning achievement of my administration. She’s a miracle of technology. More so, when you realize that we built her and Sea Base under a complete shroud of secrecy.

  What I need to tell you is the true reason behind the secrecy.”

  The President tensed, his body language stiffening notably.

  “For this next part, I ask you to gird yourself, for what you are about to see and hear will be very disturbing. Unfortunately, it was required. In the end, I think you will agree that we had little choice in the matter.

  As for the specific parts that pertain to you and Ashlyn—I beg your forgiveness.”

  Steven paused for a moment, looking at the sofa where Ashlyn had been minutes before. He contemplated contacting her, knowing that her presence would comfort him, but if what he suspected was true, then he wasn’t sure he wanted Ashlyn to know of it, at least, not now.

  “We are and have been working with an alien species. The world knows them as the Grays—but they are only messengers, workers, following the orders of their masters, the Anunnaki. Even more specific, the Grays with which we have been in contact refer to their masters as the Nephilim. And, yes, it is the same name from biblical fame. Admittedly, our historical references to them have always given me the heebie-jeebies, but the candidness of the Grays and their willingness to explain their side of the story was fairly convincing.

  I have never met one of the Anunnaki in person, but we have been told that their leader, then and now, is Enlil. You may recognize his name from your studies of the ancient Sumerian text. It speaks of him as being one of our creators, one of those who were involved in our uplift.

  I know how incredulous it sounds that Enlil could still be alive today, after thousands of millennia but—it is true. From what we’ve determined, and told, is that Enlil is immortal.

  As for the details—we have been working cooperatively with him since President Truman back in the 1940’s—it became more official under a treaty that was negotiated by Eisenhower in 1954 at Muroc Airfield, now known as Edwards.

  As time went on, a very secretive plan was developed and put into motion. Each successive presidential administration built upon the work of its predecessor. In 2009, President George W. Bush declared your location in the Mariana Trench to be a Marine National Monument and a U.S. protected zone—accessible by special permit only.

  From that time forward, we began prepping for the creation of the Challenger Deep Sea Base. So as you can see—this has been a work in progress for centuries.

  We cooperated under a guise, letting Enlil believe he had made us an offer that we couldn’t refuse.

  Apparently, the Grays, and even the Anunnaki themselves have been visiting Earth since long before the dawn of humankind. There are recorded interactions between the Anunnaki, the gods of old and humanity in virtually every culture that has ever existed.

  The name Anunnaki denotes those early visitations, meaning, those who from Heaven to Earth came. They are the ones that began visiting us, long ago. The condensed story, our side of it, as told by the Sumerians long ago, is that the Anunnaki went to war over us. They wanted to save us, while Enlil, one of their own, wanted to destroy us. It records say that Enlil thought us an abomination, not worthy of the Anunnaki genetic encoding which his race used to uplift us.

  The Anunnaki won and banished Enlil and his forces to a desert planet called Hadaesia, in the Sirius B star system. I’m sure you can see all the familiarities in the story to the biblical record.

  As regards his banishment, Enlil himself has confirmed this.

  However, as could be expected, Enlil’s version as to the reason why the war took place differs greatly from our historical records. Therefore, from here on, our information is sketchy, and at best, one-sided—which makes it highly suspect.

  According to Enlil, he says that they are here now because they were able to escape their prison world. They claim to have always been a friend to humanity and that they had fought to save us, long ago. They backed up their claim by showing us technologies, vaccines and abilities that were near magical, offering to share them with us in exchange for our cooperation.

  As an example, Enlil gave us the K9 serum, some one hundred and ninety ye
ars ago, giving us our greatly extended lifespans. We accepted it with open arms as a token of his sincerity. Even that tiny bit of technology lends credence to the possibility that Enlil might be immortal.

  I should mention, that even in the early days of my presidency, I was advised that Enlil was maneuvering us, using us—his intent to get genetic materials from us. Therefore, like the other presidents before me, I kept the programs in force—always pushing forward with our own agenda.

  Their original offer centuries ago also had a caveat, an undertone that if we refused to cooperate, the consequence for us would be disastrous. Enlil made it easy for us to accept his offer. We’d let ourselves be corrupted, blackmailed—wanting him as an ally rather than an enemy.

  There is no doubt but that Enlil sees us as vastly inferior. We probably aren’t much more than a bug to him. An important bug, but no less, a bug.

  He’s never told us why he needs our DNA, not that we had any way of compelling him to answer our questions.”

  The President wrung his hands nervously.

  “I wish this file were all this pleasantly informative, but unfortunately, that isn’t the case. I need to prepare you for what you are about to see—and read. Much of the file is quite disturbing. Nevertheless, it is critically important that you understand Enlil and I am sorry to say, our complicit role in his experiments.

  Again, I beg your forgiveness for what you are about to learn. I will now conclude my introduction to this file, letting Gena guide you through the rest. When I see you for the christening—please don’t punch me in the nose. There are reasons for our madness.” He grinned caringly and bowed his head.

  On the screen a file appeared. Its title, “Children of Destiny Foundation - Case Study: D’na.”

  Steven’s eyes went wide. “Dammit.”

  He didn’t want to see the file and yet, he knew he must. Taking a deep breath, he swiped the air, starting the holo. Gena’s presentation began with a synopsis of what was in the file. It dazed him.

  With the very first picture, Steven’s gut twisted nauseously. He noted the date, which was sixty-three years ago, more than twenty years before Ashlyn and himself were born. Each picture was a grisly, semi-human creation that was either born dead or at best, couldn’t have survived more than a few minutes. Many were the very horrors from which nightmares were born. Each picture lingered for a couple of seconds before moving on to the next. Slowly, the pictures became less alien, less offensive, and more human.

  Most pictures included a caption, a brief explanation for the reason why the baby was a failure or success with the designated coding of the gene responsible for the variation. Steven paused on some of the more intriguing ones, reading the notes.

  As the file got deeper, as the President had stated, the notes confirmed that Enlil was the mastermind behind the experiments. He gave the order and the UN complied, giving him whatever he asked for, no questions asked. I don’t understand why Enlil is studying us? What good are we to him?

  The files went on to explain how the UN was having each of its sovereign member nations abduct thousands of its own citizens each year, agreeing to do horrifying, invasive surgeries to them. Genetic experiments that Tynabo himself had agreed to conduct.

  As Steven was giving consideration to turning the file off, not wanting to see it alone, the picture of a very beautiful baby girl, light olive complexion, large silver-blue eyes, appeared. “Fuck you. Fuck you all to hell.” He knew without a doubt, it was Ashlyn. With each successive photo she grew in age, in size—until finally, it was a picture of Ashlyn the way she is now. It was exactly what he had been hoping not to find.

  He now understood the depth of Tynabo’s calling Ashlyn by his pet name, D’na. It was a cruel joke. She was a DNA experiment—as ordered and overseen by Enlil.

  His thoughts drifted. If she was—then—I was too.

  The door alarm chimed.

  Steven stared at Ashlyn’s picture, his mind locked in confusion. It doesn’t make sense—why would Enlil want to see humanity perfected? There’s something missing.

  The door alarm chimed again. “Gena, bookmark and save file. End program.” Steven stood, gathering his shaken composure.

  With his sanction, the door opened to reveal Ashlyn.

  Chapter 10

  “Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Out of concern for him, she tried a quick scan of his mind and was more than a little surprised to see that he was blocking her.

  “I’m all right; I just have a lot on my mind. Ash, that outfit is, incredible.”

  Ashlyn was wearing knee-high white boots, her locket on a silver choker with black stones and matching bracelets. For clothing, she was wearing a two-piece white cotton outfit. The top was nothing more than two narrow bands of material that came forwards over each shoulder that widened just enough to cover her nipples—the two rounded half-crescents of each areola were left to their own aspirations, teasingly staring out, above and below. Her rounded, heavy cleavage was jiggling, swaying, spilling out everywhere.

  Her white stretch pants, hypnotically tight.

  It was spellbinding.

  “Wow, you cut your hair? It’s stunning!” Her hair was parted down the middle, a notch longer than chin length on the right, and curled under, coming to a point near her chin. The left side was longer and was brushing against her collarbone. On her forehead hung an inlaid, pearl, silver pendant that was attached to a silver chain that disappeared beneath her hair to each side. She looked even more lethal than she had before. She looked exquisitely perfect. “You look beautiful, Ash.”

  “Thank you,” she said with small curtsey. “I didn’t want to keep my hair long when we are going into battle. If you recall the vision on the podium, you saw this haircut then, when I was sitting on the rock—but of course, then, like now, it wasn’t my face you were looking at,” said Ash. “By the way, is Phillip all right?”

  “Bad dream.”

  “Well, if I can steal you away for a bit?” In Draculean, “Then come with me, cause I vant to suck your-”

  “Shhh-” Steven turned to make sure Phillip hadn’t entered.

  “Neck,” Ash finished with a giggle. “What did you think I was going to say?” With a flirtatious smile, Ashlyn extended her hand, inviting him to follow. “Come on. We have some unfinished business.”

  “Where to?” enquired Steven.

  “My quarters. I can’t risk being interrupted again. If I was, I’d have to kill the crew! By the way, I hope you don’t mind if I’m on top, I’m a bit anxious,” said Ashlyn with a flashy twinkle in her eye.

  Steven left Phillip a play-on-waking voice message that Gena would page him should he awaken. He then followed Ashlyn to her quarters like an excited puppy.

  “Have a seat on the bed. I’ll be right out,” said Ash. After ordering the dimming of the lights in the room to Level 9, a low romantic lighting equal to that of a few candles, Ash headed toward her dressing room.

  As Ashlyn neared the door, Steven blurted out, “Ash, I’ve been meaning to tell you how much I like that perfume you wear. It’s so delicate and yet it holds a power, a sweetness that I don’t know how to put into words.”

  “I don’t wear perfume,” she said with a smile. “It’s not like Sea Base has a 5th Avenue boutique. What you’re reacting to is my pheromones. It’s a natural part of our genetic attraction. I get the same reaction from yours. The closer we are, the stronger it is. In fact, this is as good a time as any to ask you a question, if you don’t mind me getting a bit personal?”

  Walking toward him, “Since the fugue melded us, have you had even the smallest abstract thought, however unintentional, about another woman?”

  Her question struck him like a bolt of lightning. Steven shook his head. “No,” as he came to the realization, “I’ve barely even thought about Renee.” He stared at the ground, silent and a bit ashamed.

  “It’s not you, Steven. It’s the way Tynabo designed us. Humanity has never possesse
d rational control over thoughts and emotions, much less, hormonally driven ones. So I decided to search Tynabo’s files about it, to see why I was suddenly feeling so uniquely focused. The answer is simple, though disturbing. Because of your relationship with Renee, it also doesn’t carry the same implications for me as it does you.

  With our hugely heightened sex drives, the Foundation decided that the best way to maintain family fidelity and unity was by eliminating the possibility of unfaithfulness. They found a way to eradicate the emotional attachment and desire for anyone besides your genetically matched partner.”

  “Are you saying that my memories of Renee are being altered, erased?”

  Sitting down on the bed next to him, Ash continued, her voice softening, “Not the memories. Just the emotional attachment. Your genetics are dictating that you want me and only me. Our pheromones are like a lightning rod, drawing the two of us together—whereas the pheromones from any other person creates a sour, unpleasant reaction. It’s mild, subtle—but it’s been nudging us, training us to not think of other people.”

  Steven, contemplatively, “I can’t say that I fault the logic, but, it’s sad. It trivializes what Ren and I had.”

  “Yes, it does. Once again, Renee is the one paying the highest price in all of this.

  Steven, I was thinking about what you told me, about the vision Renee experienced. I think she knows something important that we don’t.

  Before I jumped onboard the transport to head to Avenger, I went to say goodbye to her and the kids. There was a sadness in her, but there was also something more. She seemed—content.”

  Steven’s eyes narrowed reflectively, “I saw that look in her eyes too. She was in obvious pain, but she was resolute. Settled.”

  Patting the back of Steven’s hand, Ash added, “I have a feeling that someday—we’re going to find out why.” Bounding off the bed, “Are we still go for launch, Admiral?”

  Steven nodded.

  Ashlyn disappeared into the dressing room, “I’ll be right out.”