And Beneizen answered, saying, "Look for the light." "Do I have a soul?" Doris asked.
"Human beings have a unique possibility. You were given everything you need to create a soul, if you're willing to pay the price," Beneizen answers.
"What price, how much does it cost?" Charles asked. Suddenly Charles is awakened from his reverie and notices a blip on one of his monitors. He immediately looks and sees the name Chase taped on the front of the monitor. The monitor had shown a GPS map with a blinking red dot at the National Airport’s Days Inn. Suddenly the red dot has disappeared. He reaches into the flat screen with his fat little finger trying to look directly into the room.
“What’s going on Chase?” Charles thinks to himself. The red dot reappears immediately.
“What are you doing Chase? First you won’t let me direct you, then you won’t let me watch and talk to you, and now you don’t want me to follow you or let me see where you are. Well, that’s just not going to happen,” Charles thinks.
As the limousine speeds closer and closer to the cliff, time stands still for Kathryn; there is a clarity of the moment that appears as though she was in slow motion. Kathryn swings open the limousine's back door, pushes Robert out and jumps herself just before the car lunges off the cliff. They both roll down an embankment and end up sprawled out against a hedge of rhododendrons. One could hear the roar of the exploding car far below. Kathryn thrown like a rag doll is pinned between branches. One branch has pierced her cheek and sits inside her mouth. Robert seems to be less injured. Slowly they get up from the ground shake themselves off and assess the damage. Katherine asks, “Robert, are you OK?”
It is obvious that Robert is in extreme pain. He grimaces and grabs his right arm.
"I think my arm is broken," Robert says shakily. He looks at Kathryn who has a large laceration across her face and continues, "Kathryn you have a terrible cut on your right cheek, that's going to need stitches" "I guess I won't win Miss America this year. My head is killing me and I think my ribs are broken," Kathryn moans.
"How did you know we had to jump out of the car?” Robert asks.
Kathryn replies, "You won’t believe this but I heard Beneizen in my head saying, “Get out of the car NOW!” He told me just when to jump. I don't know how he got into my head, but listening to him saved our lives!" We both need to get to a hospital. I may have a concussion or maybe worse."
"Why did you listen to him, I mean it was just a voice in your head?" Robert asks.
"He started warning me as soon as we left Charles's house. He shut out all my other thoughts - his voice was as clear as a bell in my head. There was no doubt it was him.” He also said, “Charles has ordered the driver to go over the cliff and that Charles was listening to our conversation in the car," she replied. "I should have known! Kathryn you're a strong girl you pushed me right out of that car!" Robert says. "I'm from Kentucky and I had four brothers," Kathryn says with pride.
The sound of sirens is heard coming closer and closer. Kathryn takes out her phone and calls Trip Wagner, saying, "Hi Trip," how would you like a full functioning guard complete with implant?"
"What are you doing?" Robert asks excitedly. "I'm doing what we should have done a long time ago. We can't go back to Charles now can we?" Kathryn asked.
"I suppose not, how do you suppose he got so nuts? You just never know what's going to drive someone over the edge," Robert says.
"No! To quote Lord Acton, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,’ "Kathryn says sadly.
An ambulance pulls up in front of them. Kathryn is placed on a gurney and Robert sits in the back of the ambulance with Kathryn on the way to the hospital. They both saw the black SUV's of the FBI pull up as they were taken away. The EMS works feverishly on Kathryn who despite all her pain struggles to talk to Robert and map out the explanation to the FBI. It was time to tell them everything.
Trip was sitting in his Washington FBI office when Juan entered with a large bandage around his head, and his arm in a sling.
“You’re going to have to look a lot worse than that for me to buy into your story,” Trip opened.
“Believe it or not, it’s the truth.” Juan said continuing, “Give me a break Trip, you know for the last two years I’ve been risking my life and my family’s life to gain information on these Guards.”
Trip smiled “That’s true, what you’re telling me is that you decided to try and pretend to be on their side to gain information. You decided on your own to go undercover with these two rogue Guards. You smashed in the heads of two of your fellow FBI agents with a statue, and then fled with the prisoners and here is my favorite part of this stupid story, they tell you there is an EOJ plot to kill millions of people in New York City and then to protect you from knowing where they’re going Chase beats the hell out of you, that’s your story?” Trip asks.
“Yes,” Juan responds.
Trip bursts out laughing. Picks up his phone, pushes a button and speaks. “Come in here both of you,” Trip says.
A few moments later Tom and Harry come into the room. They have bandages around their heads and both glare at Juan who also has a similar bandage around his head.
“Sit down all of you hard-heads,” Trip snaps. “Juan that is the most unconvincing story I have ever heard in my twenty years at the bureau. I like it. It’s going to cost you your career but I like it. I thought you’d like to explain to these two clowns, why you almost killed them; all because you wanted to go undercover.”
“I’m sorry, but – “Tom cuts him off, yelling, “I’m going to tear the brains out of your head!” as he starts to get up and move threateningly towards Juan.
“Sit down all of you, you hear me, sit down, you three guys are truly the three stooges,” Trip shouts. There’s a short silence and finally Trip sits back in his chair.
“Trip, we don’t have much time - I’m telling the truth no matter how weird it sounds,” Juan says.
“Shut up!” Trip growls.
“My wife and kids are in Brooklyn, please, at least let me get them out,” Juan pleads.
Again there’s a silence while Trip thinks and says, “Why should we listen to those two Guards? They’re machines, hey could be saying anything, they're programmed to do and say whatever they’re told and believe it.” Trip says.
“These two are different,” Juan says.
“Different, really and you believe a machine, a toaster, a blender could be different? My smoothie blender told me this morning that the Chinese are going to blow up Detroit. Of course my blender is a great source, are you nuts?” Trip says.
“You have to trust me Trip, please!” Juan pleads. “Trust you, my trust in you went out the window when you smashed in these guys heads and ran off with a couple of robots. Your career is finished I’m just deciding if I should send you to prison - as a matter of fact I may be risking my career if I don’t,” Trip explodes.
“Listen to me. I know these Guards are different,” Juan says.
“How do you know they’re different?” Trip asks. “Because I just know!” exclaims Juan.
“Oh well that's impressive, that’s not good enough, proof, evidence, facts are what we need,” Trip says emphatically.
“OK, it’s because Sam Nichols was my father!” Juan says.
Trip is stunned. He sits back in his chair and as Tom and Harry look at him he says, “Well, well, well the plot thickens! How did that little detail get past the bureau?”
“Sam took care of it,” Juan says.
“Sam took care of it? This just gets better and better, prove it.” Trip says.
“Please Trip, I don’t care what you do to me, but let me get my family out of there!” Juan pleads. “This could kill tens of thousands of people. Look I didn’t have to come in here, I could have just gone right to Brooklyn, but I felt you needed to know that EOJ is going to kill a lot of people, and if you or anyone else gets in their way, they’re going to kill you too! Trip, the President is a Guard. You
have got to believe me. Those two Guards were reprogrammed by my father, Sam, before Charles had him killed.”
“Charles Dean, the Speaker of the House, from Texas?” Trip asks.
“Yes.”
“That’s rich; Congressman Charles Dean is part of this plot too! You know Charles is a friend of mine. I know he’s involved with EOJ, but Juan you’re asking me to stretch my imagination a long way, a very long way,” Trip says.
“Trip, I’m begging you, please give me a chance to stop this,” Juan replies.
“Tom, what do you think I should do?” Trip asks. “I don’t know,” Tom responds despondently. “Alright, here’s what I an going to do. Juan you’re suspended and probably finished with the bureau. Turn in your badge and your gun right now and I’m not going to send you to prison. You’re under house arrest until there is a larger investigation. You can get your family out of Brooklyn, and I’m going to have a long lunch with Charles Dean.”
“Thanks Trip” Juan says. He takes his badge and gun and places them on the table in front of Trip. “You two are going to stay with Juan for the next few days.”
“Sure,” Harry says, “be glad to.”
Juan goes through the door of his Washington apartment with Tom and Harry in tow. As he calls his home phone in Brooklyn, he turns to Tom and says, “I’ve always kept this little place here in DC.” Tom looks around the apartment saying, “It’s a dump Juan.”
As Juan is waiting for his wife to pick up the call, Harry goes over to Juan, grabs the phone, throws it to the floor and crushes it with his heel. Juan looks at Harry and says, “What are you doing?”
“I’m cutting your connection,” Harry says.
“Why?” Juan asks.
“Because I’ve been ordered to,” Harry says.
Tom grabs him from behind and starts to choke him and just before Juan passes out he stops and drops him to the floor.
“We’re not supposed to kill him yet,” Harry says. “You're right, I’m not but I will soon; why not make my job easier and more satisfying?” Tom says smiling.
“Good idea, now we don’t even have to tie him up,” Harry says.
“I’m hungry; let’s see if he has anything good to eat,” Tom says as he goes into the kitchen.
Charles returns to the room where Sam was being held still slumped over in the chair. He brings a glass of water over, offers it to Sam and looking down on him he says, "I know Juan is your son and has a pretty little wife and a bunch of kids. Somehow I never thought of you as either a father or grandfather, well stupid me. You know they’re right in one of the zip codes that we plan to expunge."
Sam looks up menacingly and growls, "What kind of monster are you Charles? Leave them all alone." Charles smiles "Now you were going to give me all this important information I’ve been seeking…" Sam restrains himself," I'll do you one better. I'll show you, but you’re going to have to let me go." Charles thinks for a moment, saying, "Does Juan know you're alive?"
Sam answers, "No."
Charles thinks "Guards," and two Guards come into the room and stand at attention. Charles says to Sam, "So let's go, take me to wherever you need to. Sam asks, "Do we have a deal?"
Charles says, "Yes,” lying of course and Sam perceived that he lied, but the cat and mouse game was afoot.
They walked to the elevator at the end of the hall, got in and Sam reached his hand through the panel and the elevator started to move down.
"I guess there were a few floors that I didn't know about," complained Charles.
"Just a few,” Sam says with a smile.
As the elevator doors open there appeared in front of them a vast room filled with equipment Charles had never seen before. Actuators, computers with very large holographic display areas, 3-D organ regeneration printers and equipment Charles couldn’t even name. A door at the far end of the room had a sign that read Klacknels.
Sam pointed towards the door and said, "That's the room where the magic happens for you."
Charles grumbles, "How come I didn't know anything about this?"
"Because we didn't want you to," Sam smiles. "Fair enough," Charles returns, "so what's the procedure?"
Sam replies, "Klacknels have a different kind of life technology. Every cell is a live construct with a unique programing ability. In theory we can build a Klacknel to have whatever appearance we wish and transfer an existing human consciousness, along with its personality as it is into it. Your transferred consciousness will feel fantastic, and have an almost unthinkable life-span; however its feelings will be limited by programming parameters. As a Klacknel your mind and body will work even better, but you will still be soulless! Are you sure this is what you want?" In fact we offered this option to Doris and she rejected it.
"When can we get started?" Charles asks.
"Soon, very soon," Sam exclaims with a sigh of sadness.
Chase and Ally are sitting comfortably in first class seats on American flight 466 to Los Angeles. “I don’t think we should cut our signals until we get to L.A.” Ally says.
Chase replies, "It is becoming clearer and clearer that we have a built-in ability to control our own life form. We are not yet ‘born’ to our full potential but once you decide that you no longer wish them to be able to track you or communicate with you the connection will be broken. We're growing up Ally."
They are both silent for a moment and then Chase continues, “You know I think I can also control other Guards. I think we can pretty much control anything or anyone. It’s in the manual, and it’s a different language. Look in the ‘Kalactin file.’ The way I read it, we can actually reprogram another Guard if we’re close enough or perhaps even modify human behavior for that matter.”
“I found the file and I think I see what you mean,” Ally says.
“I wonder if we could control the directives of all the Guards.” Chase says, inquisitively.
“I would think so,” Ally says.
“Well it’s more interesting than doing crosswords on the plane,” Chase says.
“If we’re going to see Beneizen then I think we should know as much about ourselves as is available to us. I’m going to read the whole manual,” Ally proposes.
“I agree, I will also,” Chase says.
“Who programmed our original personalities? They don’t make any sense as they are; can we change them at will?” Ally asks.
“I don’t think our personalities are real, they appear to be made up. Humans are not free to choose who they are, but I think we can choose. I think we can treat our personalities like pieces of music and change the piece any time we wish. I’m sure Beneizen can help us with the right way to deal with these questions,” Chase says.
“I don’t think we should have left Juan, I don’t think we should have left knowing those EOJ objectives like we do,” Ally says.
“You mean the Manhattan project?” Chase asks. “Yes!” Ally says.
“Juan will blow the whistle on the whole project,” Chase says.
“I guess so, in fact I hope so,” Ally says, “but my intuition tells me something is wrong, and I believe his phone is off line”
“Your woman’s intuition?” Chase asks.
“That’s right,” Ally says.
“I don’t know anything about it,” Chase says. “You’re a jerk, you know that,” and she swings her fist to sock him in the arm but it disappears before the blow can take place.
Chase sits back in his seat and brings all of his attention to the whole of himself. It’s was as though he lit a lamp inside a dark room. He saw his mind, his emotions and his body as three separate and distinctly different parts each with its own ‘brain,’ each performing tasks from moment to moment but with very little communication between them. He just sits watching, waiting and curious, fascinated. As he waits quietly a new order begins to appear. All three of his parts begin to communicate with each other in another code, a unique language. What could only be described as his awareness became a tool for searchi
ng in room after room of these different parts of his inner self. As he deepens his search that very fine energy again begins to appear; a unique inner light that unites everything, as he becomes quieter and quieter he discovers more and more. He opens like a flower responding to the sun and begins to understand this unique language, a language not of this earth, a way of understanding everything at once. In that moment Chase knew who he was and it wasn’t a robot, a human or a Guard. He took in this new impression of ‘himself’ to new dimensions, new universes. He took Ally’s hand and the love poured through his body into hers. They were paired forever. He looked at her and her eyes blazed with understanding.
Chapter 48 Ed was fat, really fat all 450 lbs. of him and Hank was thin. As a matter of fact Ed was so fat he couldn’t get out of the truck once he was stuffed into the cab without a great deal of help. Ed had those Scandinavian genes. He should have failed the physical exam from Big East Trucking but he didn’t and still was able to keep driving despite his obesity. Hank did all the negotiations and work while Ed just sat in the cab with his enormous belly pressing against the steering wheel. Ed drove the large truck into the parking lot where Ivan and two Guards stood waiting. To them it was just another pickup and delivery.
“You’re late!” Ivan says.
“Sorry! Traffic! In what bay do you want us?” Hank asks.
“Bay one,” Ivan says.
Ivan is dressed in a gray lab coat and today is sporting a drooping mustache and holding a clipboard with a bill of lading attached. The manufacturer of the envelopes was a small company in the Midwest, and the virus had been applied in Virginia at EOJ. Ivan had the envelopes delivered from there to a storage facility in the Hunt’s Point area of the South Bronx, a sprawling complex with thousands of warehouses, large and small companies - a great place to get lost. Ivan didn’t want any connection with Virginia or EOJ, so he rented this facility and had the envelopes delivered there. Another small obscure trucking company would pick up the envelopes and deliver them to the Electric Company. Ed and Hank’s small service would fit the bill.
Sentinels of the Cosmos Trilogy Page 18