Sun of the Sleepless

by Patrick Horne

  'It has literally just been phoned through; they have news on a charter flight delivery that was scheduled right at the last minute from Midden-Zeeland Airport in The Netherlands to Bristol Airport in England. It was supposed to be carrying computer server spares on behalf of Open-EZ. Ma'am, Faber and Akosua were almost certainly on that flight, they're in the UK.'

  Jolene glanced back at Jackson and then rushed forwards to stand at the table.

  'This all checks out?'

  Stanley nodded.

  '- and the pilot has been interviewed?'

  'Yes,' affirmed Stanley, 'he was picked up by the UK Border Agency almost as soon as he landed due to a major discrepancy in his flight path. The charter all pans out and the server equipment was on board but when he was pressed he admitted that he'd been carrying a couple of passengers who bailed out.'

  'He knew who they were?' Jolene asked eagerly.

  Stanley shook his head.

  'He says not, he says that they presented themselves as Open-EZ employees who wanted to hitch a ride along with the equipment. They flashed British passports so he didn't think much of it. When he was over England, they apparently grabbed a couple of parachutes that he keeps for sport and just jumped out. He says that he had no idea what their intentions were and couldn't do anything to stop them, but, he had to slow down and descend so that they wouldn't kill themselves. He put it down to them being a couple of thrill seekers. Apparently he didn't want to report it in case he became mixed up in something. To be honest, there is no way to prove it either way.'

  Frowning and with her eyes darting, Jolene tensed her jaw.

  'They must have gone to England for a good reason, otherwise, why risk it? Do we have anything else to go on?'

  Stanley expressed a grimace.

  'Not much, Langley picked up on it as part of our search but it was just chatter at first. We made a formal request for more information as part of the Deputy Director's approach but we've received no further updates as to where they went, however, we did managed to track some reports of flares seen in a field near to a town called Colchester. Assuming that it may have been a landing signal, I asked Langley to follow up with the British authorities on traffic cameras. We know when they passed over the area from flight records and it all fits. It is just a case of seeing where they went.'

  A grin appeared on Jolene's face.

  'This is great, this is exactly what we needed. Gentlemen, we may need to fly to England, we should be ready to move if necessary.'

  'The Sun of the Sleepless - a neo-chivalric order of obscure origins.'

  Jackson read the words aloud as Jolene and Dale made themselves comfortable at the kitchen table. Stanley and Oliver stood at the sink, washing and drying some crockery between them, idly listening to the oration.

  'Possibly originating as a schismatic splinter-group from late sixteenth to early seventeenth century Freemasonry, the Order alludes to eleventh century chivalric structures based on the military orders of the crusades and possibly to the pre-Christian Roman hierarchies although any direct links are unsubstantiated at this time.'

  Jackson looked up and adjusted his glasses.

  'Written in 1928 by our own intelligence services. What do you make of that?'

  'Not exactly incisive in its detail of history is it?' snorted Jolene. 'That could refer to the Shriners and the Daughters of the Nile.'

  A chortle wheezed from Jackson as he looked back at the laptop screen on which he was examining the documents provided by Stefan Kappel.

  'That was just the opening paragraph, there is a lot more, let's see -'

  He started paging through the documents as Dale sighed irritably.

  'Is this getting us anywhere? It doesn't exactly lead us to their door does it?'

  'So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss,' Jackson pronounced solemnly, quoting from the sixth century BC text of 'The Art of War' attributed to the Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu.

  'Besides,' interjected Jolene, 'we can't do anything until we hear from the British. We'll be moving quickly enough once we know where Faber and Akosua are.'

  '- and if we don't know where they are,' emphasised Jackson without looking up, 'we can at least know what they are!'

  He paused and leaned back in his chair.

  'Look at this, a summary of what is known of the ranks and titles of the Sun of the Sleepless.'

  He spun the laptop round for Jolene and Dale to get a better view. A typewritten list had been scanned into the document, which provided an overview of the structure of the organisation.

  3.2.1 - Powers

  King/Queen x1

  (x1 Sigulah)

  Senator x3

  (x1 Cipher of Aphrodite)

  (x1 Cipher of Minerva)

  (x1 Cipher of Artemis)

  Cardinal x9

  (x1 Consul)

  3.2.2 - Dominions

  Knight Elector x27

  (x3 Imperator)

  Knight Commander x81

  (x9 Tribune)

  Knight Errant x243

  (x27 Patrician)

  3.2.3 - Principalities

  Brother/Sister x729

  (i) Master/Mistress

  (ii) Adept

  (iii) Novice

  Apprentice x2187

  (i) Companion

  (ii) Attendant

  (iii) Initiate

  Candidate x6561

  (i) Applicant

  (ii) Postulant

  (iii) Supplicant

  3.2.4 - Retired veterans (Evocati) - Unknown distribution

  3.2.5 - Inactive associates? - Unknown distribution

  3.2.5 - External resources (Banyan) - Unknown distribution

  'Kings and Queens?' Dale snorted. 'Knights? What is wrong with these people? Do they think that they're still in the medieval ages? Why do grown men and women get into these fantasy games?'

  The statement elicited a deep sigh from Jackson.

  'These are a mixture of traditional roles that attract different kinds of authority. From this alone we can speculate on their process of initiation and promotion. We see exactly the same kind of titles in any number of perfectly legitimate fraternal societies. Anyway, the numbers of each rank are rather telling, see how each successive rank has three times as many members as the previous one; one King or Queen, three Senators, nine Cardinals, twenty-seven Knight Electors and so on. If all the ranks were filled this organisation would number almost ten thousand.'

  'Ten thousand?' Dale barked incredulously. 'No way! There is just no way that there can be that many of these fanatics running around, there can't be.'

  Jackson raised his hands to stop the outburst.

  'I don't think that this reflects actual numbers, rather, the maximum number of positions within each rank. This structure clearly demonstrates a ritual significance assigned to the power of three, see how there are three groups of three main ranks and a further subdivision of three within each - three sets of three on three levels. I would suggest that the Powers and Dominions are probably fully stocked, however, the Principalities are most likely a kind of feeder group, with new members rising through the ranks until they can prove that they are worthy of trust and responsibility. It is typical of this kind of organisation.'

  'It is the same for some terrorist groups and certainly was a system used for spy networks during the Cold War,' suggested Jolene, 'they often use a triadic system of cells of three individuals reporting to a single contact point. It may be that each group of three in any of these ranks reports to a single member of the rank immediately above them, all the way from the Candidates at the bottom right up to the Senators near the top.'

  She paused and then pointed a finger at the screen.

  'What is this?'

  Adjusting his glasses, Jackson loomed closer to the laptop, the bright light from the screen casting a glow onto his face.

  'Evocati and Banyan. That is interesting. The 'Evoc
ati' was a term used in the Roman army for men who had been discharged but who re-enlisted voluntarily. I suppose that it could be some kind of group of retired members of the Order, after all, they can't just wait to die at their posts if the numbers for each level are capped. The word 'Banyan' is also unusual in this context. I believe that it is associated with Gujarati and generally pertains to a merchant. Let me see -'

  He mumbled to himself as he paged down and read further.

  'Yes, they use the term 'Banyan' to refer to non-members who are used for specific tasks, providing information and skills in the outside world. These people know nothing of the organisation itself but are simply engaged to fulfil a specific requirement. I would guess that the companies contracted to create the components for the vortex cannon could be termed as 'Banyan'. They wouldn't know what they were doing or who they were really doing it for, their work being compartmented to hide its true purpose.'

  As Jolene nodded at the explanation, Dale sneered slightly, squinting as he reread the page on the screen.

  'What about the 'Cipher' stuff, what is that all about?'

  Jackson glanced up and then refocused on the text, humming quietly to himself.

  'Ahh, now that is interesting! Very interesting in fact. Aphrodite, Minerva and Artemis. Remember my earlier presentations when I mentioned Venus?'

  'Venus being the Roman equivalent of the Greek Aphrodite?' proffered Jolene.

  'Exactly so! Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty, Minerva stands for wisdom and knowledge and Artemis was the Hellenic goddess of the hunt.'

  'So?' Dale ejected with a petulant tone to his question.

  Jackson took a deep breath and relaxed back into his chair, assuming his familiar air of a tutor educating his charges.

  'There are traditionally three so-called pillars in any number of esoteric and religious belief systems,' he explained, 'and they can all basically be interpreted as relating to strategy, planning and deployment in modern parlance, although I admit that they are inexact analogies since they have an entirely spiritual objective and are not preoccupied solely with financial gain or power in a modern corporate sense. If you consider Freemasonry, these attributes are indicated as the three pillars named as beauty, wisdom and strength; beauty to adorn and aspire to, wisdom to contrive and conduct all undertakings and strength to support and assail in the face of all adversity.

  'In this particular case, I would surmise that they also refer to three very specific vertical divisions within the Order. Beauty refers to a kind of priestly role, defining the very raison d'être of the whole group. Wisdom refers to a kind of civil service, providing the planning and administrative support for their ongoing activities. As for strength, well, that should be obvious enough; the dynamic interaction with the real world in pursuance of their aims. These roles have a clear spiritual and secular aspect and I would guess that the three Senators each lead a specific division of the Order, employing the ranks in tasks associated with the respective roles, much like a modern corporation has specific departments for finance, or marketing, or -'

  'Terrorism?' interjected Dale.

  Jolene frowned.

  'Quite -'

  'Anyhow,' continued Jackson, glossing over the interruption, 'this structure gives us many clues.'

  Jolene was silent for a moment but her expression became thoughtful.

  'What about the King or Queen, what does 'Sigulah' stand for?'

  'The Sigulah,' said Jackson, becoming introspective for a moment, 'I would think that it is a corruption of the Hebrew word 'segulah', which can mean a treasure, or a force for change. It may be the root of the word 'sigil' which is a seal or a symbol created for a specific magical purpose. In this sense, I would think that it relates to the figurehead of the King or Queen who may act as a force for change during their perceived reign, also, perhaps the embodiment of the ultimate learning achieved through the ranks, the treasure of knowledge for instance.

  'Although it is not mentioned here, I cannot help but think that there would be degrees of learning associated with each rank. You must have heard of the 'third degree', a euphemism for a particularly rough interrogation? It is possible that it derives from the traditional third degree of Freemasonry which is only achieved after passing a rigorous cross-examination of the knowledge of the Masonic rituals. I would suggest that the Sun of the Sleepless operates much the same kind of ritualised promotion where new esoteric knowledge is gained at each degree.'

  '- and the other titles, Consul, Imperator, Tribune?'

  'Almost certainly honorific titles for senior members of the ranks,' sniffed Jackson.

  'Alright, alright,' sighed Dale with an exasperated tone, 'this is all very well, but what does it tell us that helps us right now? Are there any meeting places that it mentions, safe-houses, that kind of thing? Does it name names? Who is in charge? What is the name of the King or Queen?'

  'Dale,' Jackson replied slowly, evincing his patience with a placatory tone, 'this list was typed up in 1928. I've only glanced at the intelligence summaries and appendices but even the most recent aspects of this information is outdated by around sixty years. There is a lot of intelligence on the war period, particularly 1940 to 1945, even some references that date back to alleged activities in the late eighteenth century in Europe and even in the US. This is the culmination of all of our historical intelligence, which isn't much considering current events. It does go into some detail of their activities in Germany during the Second World War but I'll leave Jolene to give you a précis of that information -'

  He let the words hang and looked up.

  Jolene shook her head irritably but did not look away from the screen as she spoke.

  'There is no point going into the detail right now, you just need to know that it has been confirmed by the Deputy Director that the Sun of the Sleepless has a major WMD, capable of taking out whole cities. It changes nothing from our perspective; we just need to concentrate on finding them.'

  Jackson shrugged, pursing his lips to indicate his acceptance of Jolene's dismissive assessment as he watched Dale roll his eyes.

  'So is this intelligence useful?' Jolene asked directly to Jackson.

  He grinned and sniggered.

  'This is perfect from a research point of view. It details everything that has ever been known by our intelligence services. I just wish that we'd had this right from the start, it would have made my life much easier, but in terms of our current investigation, Dale is right, it tells us nothing that is really useful.'

  'So no names?' Dale harrumphed.

  'It only confirms the names of the Vrilerin women that I uncovered before,' Jackson responded easily, 'those psychic maidens who infiltrated the Vril Society, but don't forget that anybody mentioned in these documents would almost certainly be dead now anyway.'

  Dale scowled and turned away, even as Jolene leaned into the laptop over Jackson's shoulder and started paging through the contents of the screen.

  As he looked back towards Stanley still resting against the edge of the drainer board next to the sink, a phone started to trill from the hallway. The chirruping was quickly silenced as Oliver scurried from another room to answer the call, his mumbled responses unintelligible from around the corner of the door.

  Moving closer to the entrance, Dale intended to listen in to the conversation that had ensued, however, Oliver's grunted mono-syllabic response gave away nothing and he felt a sudden surge of impatience, inspiring him to barge in and reach out to brusquely depress the loudspeaker button on the telephone. He could now hear every word that was being said and nonchalantly ignored Oliver's clear expression of umbrage caused by the intervention. Dale was growing very tired of being left out of the loop.

  Oliver crisply marched back into the kitchen with Dale close at his heels, Stanley smartly standing up straight at the suggestion of the latest update from CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

  'Ma'am -' Oliver pronounced before he was cut short.


  'They've found Gertrude Verker!' Dale urgently exclaimed, beaming matter of factly. 'Inspector van Riel of the Dutch police managed to track her down and she is now safe with the authorities.'

  Jolene slowly turned on her heel, a deadpan expression on her face.

  'That is good news; it saves us the trouble of finding her.'

  Dale nodded sullenly.

  '- not that we made much effort in the first place.'

  She ignored the remark and looked to Oliver.

  'Has she provided any information that might be useful?'

  It was Dale that spoke again, making an effort to keep his voice light but inevitably intoning a caustic implication.

  'She was being kept in a castle right here in Germany, Burg Linn near a town called Krefeld. It seems that the place is a museum and conference centre and opens to the public during the tourist season. The top floor had apartments which were usually rented out to delegates and conference organisers but it appears that Gertrude was being held in one of them. She was a hundred miles from here.'

  Jolene did not turn to face him.

  'Do we have anything on who rented it?'

  'Open-EZ,' Dale stated with a surly accusation.

  'What about evidence?'

  'The German police have secured the whole place,' Oliver managed to blabber before Dale could reply, 'after Inspector van Riel rescued the girl, the Dutch police in The Hague contacted the Germans and told them about our interest and so they've held off following up on the matter for the time being. Of course, they're very keen that somebody should go down there as soon as possible.'

  Jackson stood up from the kitchen table.