Edge of Revelation

by David John West

  “It is time we demonstrated we cannot tolerate unacceptable behaviour from the leaders we have to deal with on Earth. It would be good if this were widely understood prior to our ceremonial arrival,” Chiara said. “On Earth we have encouraged rules of good behaviour enshrined in law across most nations but that is not global and there are many that have risen to power through criminality and corruption.”

  “We have provided very simple laws over thousands of years that have served well.” Ghazan referred to the Gayan visits as ‘Star People’ throughout Earth’s history, who evangelised laws for developing civilisations in tune with the galactic treaties adhered to throughout the Gayan planets, and nominally in the Spargar Empire. This had led to a foundation of common law remarkably similar in most developed races on planet Earth, which was generally held as the foundation of civilised societies. “But those have been selectively applied and complicated by leaders who viewed themselves above the laws of their subjects. Now we must show these principles apply especially to these same leaders before we ask the next generation to adhere completely to universal standards of good behaviour.”

  “Well we need some modern parables that show the hypocrisy of corrupt leaders will now be exposed. Best that we manage that in a supposed advanced Western culture as well as the Third World to show that all countries must clean up their act. After all the Western world has some of the most twisted and complicated legal systems to suit the ruling elite,” Lykke observed.

  “Beyond that we must strike against mass murder and genocide. There are still many countries where leaders treat their people like slaves to be slaughtered on the whim of a tyrant. We have several places we could choose as an example for our attention but there is another African crisis becoming totally intolerable right now,” Chiara stated. It was difficult to shock any Worder, being the wisest elders so many generations old. They had witnessed the best and the worst of humanity on Earth and right across the Galaxy. ‘Intolerable’ was just about as bad an indictment as it could get and inferred a call to action for their Travellers on Earth. Worders were famously patient and slow to move but would intervene in the face of gross inhumanity or if they foresaw circumstances that could deteriorate into calamity for Gayan plans. Chiara pointed her delicate right index finger into the globe over central sub-Saharan Africa and stirred the image. Pages of reports flew out of the hologram and paraded in front of the Worders. The President of Matlalaland, Zekiel Mblane, was succeeding in his ambitions to eradicate their historic rivals the Nkonki tribe that had embraced pacifist ways in recent years to their great cost. The Nkonkis were unfortunate enough to have had their tribal lands invaded by the hostile Matlala in a series of bloody expansions. It amounted to racial cleansing, one remote village at a time.

  “The humanitarian problem is that Africa is not quite important enough for the great powers of the East and West to care,” Ghazan observed sadly, his soft hazel brown eyes echoing sympathetic depth to his words. “Like many other African countries, Matlalaland has no oil, gold or diamonds to demand the attention of the great powers.”

  “They do have a good spectrum of other natural resources though that will soon become important when we introduce new technologies to Earth. Until that comes to pass then the local politics and economics are so complex that their interests will be overlooked by the international forums that could help control them,” Lykke added. “This is the crucible for the perfect storm of factors for a tyrant to emerge; in this kind of African country there will be no international pressure. The United Nations and major power blocks will at best turn a blind eye, filed under ‘too difficult to do anything’. At worst the dictator will be pumped up by foreign powers seeking to exploit the Matlala for their own purposes.”

  Chiara nodded, “In this case President Mblane, General Mblane as he was when he first came to our notice, rose as the leader of the freedom fighters against the British colonial administration. He led the bloodthirsty uprising in the name of freedom and the rival powers to the British looked on in amusement. The British were forced to cede authority to Mblane and the rest is history. All well and good as far as it goes but once a firebrand like Mblane has tasted success through bloodshed then where does he go from there?”

  “Two factors led us to the parlous state we see today. On the one hand President Mblane made friends with similar rulers of small states in Africa as well as doing mining deals with Asian powers that protected him at the United Nations where sadly inactivity continues to be the status quo. Secondly Spargar incursions of recent decades were supportive of such dictatorships as the ideal cheerleaders of a future Spargar invasion. President Mblane was surrounded by very strange and secretive advisors some of which were clearly Spargar agents. These succeeded in inflating the ego of the President to ever more aggression while posing absolutely no threat to his power.”

  “So now we have the prospect of the genocide of the Nkonki and who knows what ambitions Matlala has after that?” said Ghazan.

  Chiara continued, “If Mblane eliminates the Nkonki he is most unlikely to stop there. All the neighbouring countries will be destabilised and the plight of their people does not bear thinking about. Also there is the concern if he remains in power after the Enlightenment then he will become vastly wealthy once the mineral treasures of his land are recognised.”

  “It would seem we should act, “ Lykke concluded. “Not only do we know that Mblane has been rewarded for his aggression in the past, but the political forces that could do something are impotent, cancelling each other out with their opposing politics. We will pass this message to the Cavallos on the ground and leave it to their good offices to persuade Mblane to desist from further adventuring.”

  *

  Umberto received this message as one of the occasional instructions from the Worders responsible for Gayan campaigns on Earth. The Cavallos were part of the intelligence-gathering on Earth and would have been swamped by deserving cases if they were left to their own devices to protect the oppressed and endangered on Earth. Sadly the evil side of human nature was well understood and emerged across all worlds where significant human colonies emerged. It was always best when the local populations could police themselves, and that happened in many ways large and small, but if the natural resistance to bad behaviour failed completely then it was good to have the Gayan Cavallos as an external agency to curb excesses of evil.

  Umberto was aware of the degenerating situation in Matlalaland. There was occasional news on local television that matters there were running dangerously out of control. President Mblane’s rag tag army ran wild but was the largest and best armed in the region. Undisciplined on the whole and encouraged to the basest atrocities by their lack of supervision, what few reports emerged pointed to Matlala systematic destruction of Nkonki villages, their people brutally executed or enslaved.

  Despite the worsening situation in Matlala it transpired that was not to be the Gayans’ first priority on Earth. The first parable would be to demonstrate that the ruling elite of Western democratic countries could not be allowed to break their own laws with very little likelihood of retribution, since the law enforcement agencies were either part of the problem or turned their backs from prosecuting leaders in positions of power. This particular matter could be dealt with locally for the Travellers, right here in London.

  FOURTEEN

  David Harrier’s mobile phone rang just after breakfast the day after Dan Tucci returned to Lakenheath air base in Cambridgeshire. He was dressed for the office but not yet picked up his satchel to leave home.

  “Good morning, David, it’s Charlotte here.”

  “Oh hello, Charlotte,” David said carefully. Charlotte had not previously called him so early and he did not expect this one to be a social call.

  “Hello David. We have an action planned for later today in London and we want you to come along as our official contact, to be witness, take photos, that kind of thing.”
<
br />   “What kind of action, Charlotte?” David asked nervously.

  “Just one of our procedures to demonstrate the standards we need to see from leaders of a mature society ready to become part of the Gayan community. Your existing laws are enough already to keep society running as it should but even here then there are people who think they are above the laws. That can’t go on if you are to take the next big step. So we will be helping to show you what is unacceptable if you can’t police it for yourselves. In the past we would have handled such things undercover but now it’s the kind of thing that you need to understand and explain to the Prime Minister. In future, when everything is in the open, you will need to understand the basic laws of civilised societies and it really will be a big part of your job going forward.”

  David was starting to get nervous about this line of conversation. “It’s not anything illegal at all is it, Charlotte? The PM wouldn’t stand for that if we are supposed to be allies she can commend to the public.”

  “It’s more about stopping something that’s already illegal, something that contravenes decent society and also fundamental laws across the galaxy that you need to accept if you are to join with the rest of us very soon.”

  “We have police forces to prevent illegality, Charlotte. You could tell me what it is and I could sort it out through the proper channels.”

  “I’m afraid it’s well ahead of that, David. We would only get involved when you have proved you can’t sort things out yourselves. Think of it more as a demonstration so that you can learn to manage it yourselves.”

  “I am afraid you will have to give me a lot more detail than this if I am to help you out, Charlotte.”

  “No David, I am afraid that if you are to be the senior contact you claim to be you have to go along with us, or you aren’t the man we require in your position. We go ahead with or without you, but if you don’t come you don’t get a second call.”

  David recognised that he had no choice. He was being invited in with the key contacts and he needed to understand their values to make a reasoned judgement whether to trust them. That meant for now at least he had to go along for the ride.“There is no need to be like that, Charlotte, of course I want to come with you to help however I can. What do you want of me?”

  “We will meet you at Hammersmith tube station tonight at 10.30pm. You won’t be in any danger but you will have to trust me on that. All you need to do is wear casual clothing and bring your mobile phone charged up to take photos.”

  “OK then, Charlotte. I would prefer you trusted me with some details but I will meet you there.”

  “We do trust you, David, otherwise I wouldn’t be calling you now. It’s time for you to see the start of what needs to change in a short period of time. See you outside Hammersmith tube station 9.30 sharp.”

  It was a humid summer’s evening when David arrived by tube at Hammersmith, the old District Line train hot and sweaty after a day of bustling crowds hurrying through the baking concrete channels of the city. He emerged from the old red brick facade crowned by a large Victorian white rail clock with black hands and roman numerals for the hours that fronted the otherwise modern tube station. He found the heat of the train and underground station was not much diminished in the open air of Beadon Street. Muted light issued from the key and heel bars to either side of the entrance and merged with the golden glow of late evening in the west. What was really appealing after the heat of the journey was the welcoming glow of the Swan public house across the street. The thought of a cold cider on tap was most alluring but he pushed the thought aside as he kept his mind clear for whatever Charlotte had in mind for the evening.

  Charlotte appeared from behind a big red London bus on the other side of the street. She looked impossibly healthy, merely glowing as compared to his uncomfortable sheen of perspiration. She was wearing jeans, trainers and top as usual but he noticed they were all well fitting and of sturdy material, like athletic training gear. Charlotte waved in acknowledgement and crossed the street noting David’s cotton shirt and trousers were too hot for this evening’s work and rather too restrictive. Well at least he is only taking the pictures, she thought to herself.

  “Hello David,” Charlotte greeted David warmly but not overly so, quite business-like.

  “Hello Charlotte, why all the mystery?” David replied.

  “It’s more about a mystery being ended, David,” Charlotte replied. “Before we made contact with you, this is the kind of thing we have been doing for ever really, just to keep society on the straight and narrow. Kind of helped you to set standards, without you ever realising we were setting the examples,” she smiled winningly.

  “So what do you need me to do?” David asked, mildly annoyed.

  “Not much, you will be observing but this time we want a record, so take photos of everything as it happens. It might look dangerous at times but you should know enough about us by now that you can trust us to keep you safe.”

  David had enough of this patronising kid-glove treatment, from such a young woman as well. “I am a senior officer in Her Majesty’s armed forces, you know. I have seen my fair share of action in places a lot more dangerous than Hammersmith.”

  “I know David, once again that’s why we chose you. I just wanted you to be prepared, that’s all. Oh, and I want you to wear this watch.”

  “I have a watch,” David replied, looking at the cheap timepiece on offer with some distaste.

  “It’s a lot more than just a watch, David, and it guarantees your safety if any weapons are used. Just put it on your other wrist for me?” David took the wristwatch that concealed the Ripallo protection and tracking device and wrapped it round his right wrist. “Shall we go then?” Charlotte asked brightly and led him north into the streets of terraced houses, largely converted into flats, that crowded away from the Hammersmith flyover.

  They walked through streets between Hammersmith and Olympia that had once been genteel. Now shabby, rundown remnants of what had once been fine houses, they had now been converted to apartments. They sported banks of ill-matched perspex door bells with scrawled, easily swappable name slips. A couple of housing blocks north and east Charlotte approached a three-storey townhouse that stood back slightly behind a low ochre brick wall and narrow garden containing a couple of straggly shrubs: Lavatera and something with small bluish flowers like bunches of tiny grapes. The front ground floor windows were large and well draped with yellow light showing from around the edges. A pair of large blue-suited bouncers loitered either side of a red-painted doorway atop three white-painted steps.

  “Here we are,” Charlotte breathed to David as they stopped in the gap between the low walls guarding the small front garden and the pavement. The bouncers looked indolently at the odd couple regarding them from the street.

  “Oh hello!” Charlotte called to the guards by the door.

  They appeared disinterested. “Nothing here luv, move along,” the one with the moustache and sideburns called out. The large bullet-headed one with tattooed ears and fat lips just regarded them thinly through veiled eyelids like a fish.

  “No, we have an invite from Lord Hepplewhaite of Froglorten, he is here isn’t he?” Charlotte referred to one of the serving peers in the upper house of the Palace of Westminster.

  The two goons by the door looked at each other, expressions confirming to Charlotte the esteemed Lord was indeed ensconced inside. The evening light was fading slowly but a local street light cast their features into stark relief. By comparison they could see little of the young woman and older man on the street facing them. The mutton chops guard was clearly the spokesman. “Look luv, I don’t care what your game is but just take your dad here and piss off, there’s nothing for you here.”

  “Oh but I think there is,” Charlotte replied then continued in a fell voice that commanded respect. “You are Sargeant Boyes and Trooper Wilder of Mountain Troop, unfortuna
tely drummed out of the service after a nasty incident where a terrorist was shot dead in Afghanistan and the newspapers and their lawyers hounded you out of your jobs.” They looked at each other as Charlotte continued.“So now you find yourselves here, one bad choice has led to another. I am giving you one last opportunity to walk away, make better choices than you managed before because tonight everything changes and you don’t owe the people inside anything.”

  The fish-face doorman said in a very low voice, “So who are you then? We can see you off in a jiffy and none the wiser.”

  Charlotte regarded them levelly and continued in the fell voice, “I come from many generations ago and see no reason for you to take another fall. Best you be on your way before you get the blame for what’s coming.” Charlotte raised a slender arm toward the heavens and there issued a fireball sweeping over the house and heading south, low and slow, shot through and smoky with orange and red flame. The guards stared briefly at the portent before looking silently at each other and back to the young woman, the older man behind her doing nothing, not saying anything, just watching.

  As Charlotte pointed at the burning drone sent flaming from the Gayan ship Maria across the London sky a red cloth bracelet from a prior music festival she had left there dislodged and comically slipped down towards her elbow. She followed it with her eyes, forefinger still pointing at the heavens but inwardly accepting her control of the moment was lost. The goons had been falling under her spell and may have been persuaded to leave like lambs but now the falling bracelet broke the spell and her apparent command of the situation. Ah well, the fighting was going to start sometime soon.

  “Don’t say I di’n’t warn you,” mutton chop bouncer levered himself upright. “If you don’t take off this second I’ll throw you down the street – or worse.”