A Simple Truth (40 page)

So there's the rub thought Lincoln.  "What will you do next then?  Try some abnormal method?"

"I am afraid so, yes."

There was so sincere an apology in the voice that Lincoln felt a sudden chill of fear.

"And if I refuse?"

"We need to solve this mystery Doctor Lincoln, it is necessary for the future of your race.  Please try to understand that."

"So you will use force if necessary?"

"You will not suffer any pain, I promise you."

"But then why ask permission?  Was that just for show?"

"There is little point in deceiving you now.  If you had not given permission then we would have gone ahead
anyway, without your knowledge.  Indeed we will pursue our work in whatever way we need to regardless of any permissions or otherwise from yourselves,
though we would very much prefer not to do anything against your wishes."

Lincoln felt as a frightened child.  He wanted to scream, to run away, to close his eyes and wish himself out of this nightmare.  But in the midst of his silent agony a calm and reassuring voice spoke within his mind.

"Hold on Arthur.  I'm right here with you, you aren't alone.
"

Dent! It was George Dent's voice, and not imagined either, it was real
;
he could feel his strong presence within his mind.  Suddenly the effect seemed so comical that he wanted to laugh.  It must surely be a psychological phenomenon, but as soon as he had h
ad that thought he dismissed it.  N
o, it was real, as real as anything he had ever experienced in his life.  The panic that had been rising within him subsided and left him rational once more.

"What does the next stage entail
?"
he asked.

"You will be taken to the central sphere, where you will be
analysed by
the central consciousness.  Your mind will be
probed
by the Creator."

Lincoln's imagination was racing now, who was this Creator?  And what central sphere?  There was no central sphere.

"I can see you are puzzled, and I know what you are wondering.  You were told only a part of the truth earlier.  The central sphere exists but at a finer material level than the rest of the vessel.  That is why you were unaware of its presence.  But it is the seat of our communication with the Creator, the mind that guides us and countless billions
of others throughout the galaxy
."

"So that is what development is all about
,"
said Lincoln bitterly, "coming under the control of this Creator."

"Yes indeed, but it is not to be feared or avoided as you might think, it is to be welcomed.  And don't think of it as control.  Rather it represents benevolent guidance."

"And that is your intention for the human race
?"
he added with mounting horror.

"I can tell you now that the human race is unique in the Creator's experience.  No other living being including ourselves bears any comparison
to you
. 
Your combination of
growth
potential
, drive and determination,
ability to turn to advantage all that you encounter,
and immense
resourcefulness
are unmatched anywhere
.  The Creator has devoted more thought to the human race since its discovery than to any other.  We will never
leave
you, we will do anything
and
everything to understand your nature and bring
it and its unique power into the hands of the Creator.
" 

Lincoln heard these words with despair.  How could such a force be resisted?  His dream was coming
true;
it had been a symbolic prophesy.  The aliens were not bringing anything
as
crude as war, b
ut the effect would be the same;
humanity
, as we knew
it
,
would be destroyed.  The subtlety, the cleverness of the alien strategy gave him a sense of complete impotence.  Humanity had been outsmarted at every turn.  There had never been any way to resist them, but there had been a way to delay them, and that way had been Raminski's.  That poor maligned man had been right, and he himself had been wrong.

"What about your own humans
?"
he asked.

"They will be the Creator's vehicle on earth.  They will multiply and interbreed, and we
shall
remain to direct their progress and prevent any hostile action
against them.  Eventually future generations will become directly compatible with the mind of the Creator, and by then all of your most dangerous characteristics will have been neutralised.
"

Lincoln's hatred for the aliens and all they stood for became a raging passion.  His role as an instrument of their evil tyranny consumed his mind.  He clung to just one remaining shred of hope, and that hope was George Dent.  Somehow Dent knew of the alien threat, he knew and had a plan to deal with it.  At what level Dent was
working Lincoln could not guess;
he evidently had access to telepathic abilities.  His knowledge was clearly greater than Lincoln had ever dreamt.  He knew that his own death was inevitable, but that would be a small price to pay for the safety of the human race.

"Let's get it over
with
,"
he said with resolution.

He was taken not to the tunnel system as he expected but to a small adjoining room where a Scout was waiting inside one of the translucent bubbles that he recognised from his earlier encounters.

"Please enter the bubble and stand on the platform beside the Scout
,"
said his guide.

Lincoln did not resist, there would have been little point anyway, but that was not the reason.  He hated the aliens now, despised them for their deceit, for their calculated friendliness and efficient ruthlessness.  No, he would be glad to upset their plans, to cause them temporary inconvenience even in a small way.  He complied for only one reason, and that was because George Dent had asked him to do so.

As soon as he was standing
beside the Scout his surroundings began to fade.  The room, the walls, the floor, everything became hazy and soon there was nothing but blackness.  He could not even see the Scout at his side or the platform on which he was standing.  He was in a finer material state and his normal senses were useless to him, except for touch, oddly he retained that sense.

"I can sense your fear Arthur Lincoln
,"
said a
kindly
voice close to his ear.  "There is no need to be afraid."  He tried to respond, to speak back, to ask why he could hear but not see
, and why
he could not utter a word.

"Your eyes sense only visible light, you will not be able to see anything while you are in this state
,"
answered the voice to his unspoken thought.

'He can read my mind
,'
thought Lincoln uncomfortably.

"And you mine
,"
came the reply, "the only communication here is from mind to mind, there is no speech or hearing."

Lincoln struggled to understand.  He felt sure he was hearing the voice of the
Guardian
but realised that it must be his aural centre being stimulated directly.  It made sense that he would not notice the difference, yet to experience it was a different matter and harder to come to terms with than the logic.

Further questions were interrupted by a deep resonant vibration, not heard, but felt within his being, and growing more intense by the second.  Lincoln could sense the presence of an immense source of power.  He did not need to be told that here was the great Creator.  He felt himself undeniably in the presence of a god.

An involuntary feeling of humility filled his soul
.  T
o be so close to so awesome a mind was a
uniquely privileged
experience.  The sheer power was overwhelming, numbing in its intensity.  No wonder the
Guardian
had spoken with reverence about his god.

All resentment and hostility evaporated. 
It was impossible to retain any ill-feeling
in such a presence.  Nothing could b
e denied this all-
powerful being.  There was no possible way Lincoln could even try to hold anything back, either consciously or unconsciously.

There were no words or even discrete thoughts here. 
The
Creator communicated by feeling alone.  Lincoln sensed the warmth and deep compassion that was radiated towards him, and responded in spite of his earlier enmity.  He became aware of an expanded power of insight, and found to his astonishment that he only need formulate a query in his mind for the answer to be there, not by communication, but by direct knowledge, as if a veil had been lifted from his mind.  He had wondered earlier how the mind of the Creator could communicate across a galaxy, apparently with total disregard for the restrictions of relativity.  Now he need only remember the problem for the answer to be clear.  The restriction of light speed only applied to things that physically crossed the gap between sender and receiver; things that passed through each and every point on the path.  Such a restriction did not apply to the communications between the Creator and
the beings on
this vessel since they passed directly from source to recipient without
crossing
the space between.  In fact the sender and receiver were as one
.
Lincoln could now see and understand the unity of all minds that formed a part of the Creator's universal family.  There was never any distance between
them;
they were connected at a level beyond the physical.  His wife had been right.  Her lack of
knowledge
had allowed her an insight that to him had been denied.

He realised now that in dealing with the aliens he had only ever spoken to the Creator.  Although various Guardians had communicated through the Scouts, even they were no more than further relay points in the communication chain with the Creator.  But working through them the Creator could not reach
deeply enough
into Lincoln's mind.  There had to be no
barrier to accomplish that task;
the two minds had to be linked directly.

Nothing was hidden now.  Lincoln could see his fate clearly.  The probing that was about to take place could not be accomplished and leave his mind intact.  His total destruction was inevitable.  The process would uncover the most intricat
e and hidden depths of his mind.  I
t would be an unfolding, a laying bare of his very soul.  But it
was a one-way process.  There c
ould be no way of repairing the damage, of restoring his mind to working order.  Dissection was irreversible.

Although he could see all this Lincoln was not afraid or even concerned.  The Creator was a m
erciful god and did not relish
his task.  There was no other way to gain the knowledge that was essential.  But the process would be painless, even pleasant.  A calmn
ess settled over Lincoln's mind.  H
e was filled with the inevitability of his fate, but he was grateful that he would not be allowed to suffer.

The end would come very soon now.  The preliminary survey was almost complete and the dissection would then commence without further delay.  A direct link between Lincoln's mind and the mind of the Creator would be established.  It was the only way, the two, the great and the small had to become as one.  Then
,
gradually, with great care and patience, the layers of Lincoln's mind would be removed, and absorbed into the Creator's great mind.  Then and only then would the workings of his mind be understood, and one more obstruction to the unity of the
universe
would have been overcome.

Lincoln's mind was quiet now.  It was too laborious even to think.  He let the wonderful peace and serenity wash over him, envelop him in waves of pure tranquillity.  All cares were gone, all passions stilled, his mind lay defenceless and submissive.  The survey was complete, and the
door
into that great mind and soul was opening.

Lincoln had one brief mental glimpse into the limitless depths of that immense being, and then
felt the terror, horror
,
and agony of his
consciousness
being forcibly ripped from his brain and body.

24
   
B
lind to a Simple Truth

This was the moment, the very instant in time for which Chattaka had been preparing for more than a hundred thousand years.  It was the inevitable and predestined result of her innocent intrusion into the material world.

Countless thousands of years of work, her hopes, her future, and the destiny of her beloved children were now focused on her dearest son, Arthur Raymond Lincoln, for he was hers as no other.