Angel Evolution (11 page)

A
s soon as Gabriel was out of view of any humans, he launched himself into the air and flew off at full speed. He had a three hour trip to reach the location of the Council meeting scheduled for that night.

Reaching a nice cruising altitude, like an airplane, Gabriel let his body’s instincts kick in and carry him in the right direction. He turned his thoughts towards the meeting and how he would convince a majority to vote his way. He would need seven out of the twelve votes, because if it was deadlocked six-six, then Dionysus, as Head of the Council, would decide the outcome. Dionysus would likely vote in favor of a swift abduction of the girl, with no regard for her life.

Gabriel knew that he had to convince them that his plan would lead to a better chance of achieving their ultimate plan.
The Plan
, Gabriel thought. How strange it was to think that while he was growing up, he had never known what it was really all about.

As children, angels were taught the basics: demons are evil, angels fight demons, and angels have powers. Other than basic instruction on how to use their powers, there was very little else taught. Only the innermost circle of senior angels actually knew The Plan. And, of course, a highly exceptional junior angel, like himself, who was selected for a top-secret mission.

When he first heard The Plan, he wasn’t sure what to think. It made sense in sort of a twisted way, but it had made Gabriel a bit uneasy, too. However, his desire to gain the admiration of the Council eventually outweighed any
minor
moral concerns that he had.

The Plan was simple. Angels were clearly a superior race to humans. However, angels also agreed that demons were superior to humans as well. The first demon had been created from an evolved human and therefore, was naturally more advanced. The earth was theirs to inherit. But the demons didn’t want to accept what was rightfully theirs. They wanted to co-exist with humans, as equals. They were defying nature.

On the other hand, the first angel was then created from an evolved demon, thus making angels the most superior race, leaving the earth as their rightful inheritance. In all honesty, the angels would likely have been willing to share the earth with the demons, but there were two issues: One, the demons, for some strange reason, wanted to protect the humans and co-exist with them, and two, Dionysus had discovered the path to immortality.

The second reason was the most important one, because angels aged at the same rate as humans, as did demons. However, while performing his worldwide studies of the human aura, Dionysus had learned that he was able to extract the aura from any human and replace it with his own inner light. His old body would die, but he would be able to take over the human’s body, with no change to his angel abilities. The new body would continue to age, but could then be replaced again and again with younger bodies to prevent him from ever dying of old age. It was like replacing an old pair of shoes, or the tires on a car. The feet live on, as does the car. Just the parts are replaced.

Under The Plan, the angels would do the following: One, end the existence of demons by winning the Great War; two, enslave the human race; and three, build a modern day Utopia where angels ruled the earth, and humans were used to provide eternal life.

At this point, ending the existence of demons was fully dependent on using Taylor’s aura to wield a weapon so powerful it could obliterate the entire demon army. Once the demons were out of the picture, the angels could easily take control of the humans.

Once in control, the angels would set up camps where the most desirable humans would be harvested for future angel bodies. A human breeding program would be implemented to ensure there were always healthy and beautiful human bodies available to provide immortality for all worthy angels.

A lot about The Plan bothered Gabriel. Although he believed that the angels should not have to hide their true selves, he also believed that the humans had a right to live, too. While this was contrary to his mission and to The Plan, he figured it wasn’t his decision to make and he couldn’t do much except follow the orders given to him. But that was before he met Taylor. Now, he was confused. More confused than he had ever been.

Before Taylor, life had been simple: learn about his angel heritage, join the army, follow orders, nothing more and nothing less. He never expected to feel such a powerful connection to the object of his mission. His instincts told him to be her advocate and help to develop a new plan where immortality could be gained for angels while still allowing humans their freedom.

But Gabriel was smart enough to know that the Council would not agree with him and that he would be put to death if he promoted such traitorous ideas. Instead, he was going to try to buy some time to come up with a solution. He mustered up as much courage as he could before he began to descend towards the white fortress in the hills.

The compound, known as
Mount Olympus
, had been built by the angels twenty years ago under the guise of a research facility for emerging technology. A top Swedish architect was hired and no expense was spared in making it a marvel of modern architecture. The white sheen that coated the creatively angled roofs led some architects to describe it as “the Sydney Opera House on steroids”.

The institution was highly secretive and no one except its “employees” knew what type of work went on inside. The directors of the facility, who were conveniently the same as the members of the Archangel Council of the Twelve, turned down thousands of resumes each year from highly ranked engineers, doctors, and scientists. Only angels were “hired”.

The facilities were expansive, with six large buildings surrounding an even larger building, and dozens of smaller buildings on the outside rings of the circular complex.

Security was tight, with a high steel wall encircling its boundaries. There were cameras and sensors every twenty yards that were monitored 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by security angels. The infrared sensors could easily track all employees in the complex, based on the intensity of the inner light resonating from each angel, like a visual fingerprint.

If someone unexpected managed to enter the complex, they would be immediately detected. If a demon entered, they would set off the motion sensors without triggering the infrared sensors due to their low body temperature, which would instantly create an anomaly in the system. An alarm would sound and all available personnel would be dispatched to the area. The alarm had never sounded in its twenty-year history and there had never been a true security breach.

Gabriel knew his flight was being tracked as he landed gently in the designated angel landing area. Promptly, two security angels were at his side to escort him into the Dome of Light, the largest building in the facility, lying directly in the center. The first angel was big. The second was even bigger.

“Welcome back, Mr. Knight,” the bigger one said.

“Thank you,” Gabriel replied, “although it will likely be a short visit.”

“You are just in time, the Council is gathering in the Master’s Room.” Gabriel followed them through the archway that led to the Dome. Entering the magnificent building for only the second time in his life, Gabriel couldn’t help but to marvel at the beautiful carvings on the outside of the shimmering white dome.

Once inside, the perfection continued although the décor was simple, even a bit scant at times. Everything, including the floors, walls, ceilings, and objects were lit from within by a mysterious power source. To an angel, it was pure beauty and pure power simultaneously, as art and utility were married in the flawless design. Various ornamental lights were attached to the walls and ceilings. These appeared in many forms, from something as small as a tiny glass orb, to lavish multi-tiered chandeliers that reflected millions of light particles from their crystal entrails.

As an angel, Gabriel was expected to like this kind of atmosphere, but although he was in awe of it, he was also turned off by the almost mental-hospital sterilization feeling that the place had.

They arrived at the Master’s Room, which was the only room Gabriel had ever seen within these walls. The security guard pressed a nearly invisible white intercom button on the wall and said, “Mr. Knight has arrived.”

Without a verbal response or even a creak, the large pale doors swung open from the middle, allowing Gabriel a full view down the length of a long, glowing table. Eleven heads were already turned and looking at him, while the twelfth, sitting at the head of the table, could see him by simply looking straight ahead.

Gabriel entered the room, trying to appear confident, but inside he was quaking with fear. During his first appearance in this grand hall he had not been scared, but that was a different situation. At that time, Gabriel had known that he would do exactly what they told him to. This time he would provide an opinion that would likely be in direct contradiction to many of the Council members’ views. Essentially, he would attempt to cause dissension within their ranks. He might make some very bad enemies today and that scared him.

Dionysus arose and extended a greeting: “Ahh, welcome, Gabriel. I have already filled the Council in on your remarkable achievements so early in your mission. We are quite impressed, but at the same time we didn’t expect anything less from such a talented angel.” Gabriel saw most of the heads nodding in agreement. There was no doubt in his mind that this was all part of their plan to make him feel important so he would continue to bend to their will.

“Thank you, my lord,” Gabriel replied. “It is such a great honor to be a useful warrior in this great cause.”

“Yes, I appreciate your choice of words—‘this great cause’—for that is truly what it is. And as part of this great cause, we are here to make an important decision for your mission. I have taken the liberty of explaining our differing views to the Council and you have a few early advocates.” Dionysus smiled reassuringly. Gabriel couldn’t tell if it was a smile of confidence that he had already won the vote or merely to make him feel at ease, like a child.

Gabriel didn’t expect the Council to already be aware of the two different views. This concerned him as he had planned to build up his reasoning slowly, in a logical manner. On the other hand, Dionysus had implied that some of the Twelve might already agree with Gabriel’s position, which would at least give him a fighting chance. Always the skeptic, Gabriel also thought that Dionysus may be trying to trick him into a sense of false hope by implying someone might agree with him, when in fact he was alone on his side.

Gabriel just nodded as he wasn’t sure how to respond.

“Let’s begin with a brief rationale for each of our opinions and then the Council can express their opinions and ask questions as needed. Once everyone is happy that we have considered all of the necessary facts, we will put it to a vote by the Council. Unfortunately, you are unable to vote, Gabriel.”

Gabriel certainly wasn’t expecting to get to vote, but he appreciated the summary of the proceedings, as he had never been involved in anything like this before. Dionysus continued: “So that means I only need to obtain five of the remaining eleven votes to obtain a deadlocked jury, which will fall in my favor as I have the right as Head of the Council to make a final decision. Good luck, Gabriel, you may begin.”

Gabriel had made another incorrect assumption, as he thought that Dionysus, being the Head of the Council, would start with his argument. In hindsight it made sense for Dionysus to go last as he could then counter any of Gabriel’s key points.

Gabriel cleared his throat to buy time as he desperately tried to translate into words one of the many thoughts that were chaotically swirling through his head. All eyes were on him now; if he stuttered or misspoke, the few advocates he might already have would quickly move back to Dionysus’s side.

“Thank you for agreeing to hear my reasoning,” Gabriel began, his voice firm and clear. He was surprised by how determined he sounded and he tried to draw confidence from it. “As you all now know, I have made contact with the girl and verified that she is
the one
. I have been able to gain her trust in mere days and she seems to be somewhat infatuated with me, which was a major goal of my mission.” He didn’t mention that he was also
somewhat infatuated
with her.

One of the angels sitting closest to where he was standing said, “Well done, lad.” He nodded to Gabriel to continue.

Gabriel proceeded. “Thank you. Despite Tay’s, I mean, the girl’s crush on me, I think it is unlikely that I could convince her to fully cooperate with our cause at this time given the short duration I have known her. If we wanted to use her immediately, we would need to force her cooperation, which could possibly lead to her death during combat.

“I know that our first instinct is to argue that one human death is of no concern if it leads to the success of The Plan, but she is not just another human. She is the one that Dionysus himself foretold would be the key to victory in the Great War. I have witnessed the absolute power we can wield with her on our side, and I think it would be foolish to allow that power to be lost forever just to destroy the demons.

“Given the titanic success I have had in just a matter of days, I believe that I can fully convert her to our cause. If I can convince her to forsake her human world for a new and better world, in which she will be treated as an equal, then we can continue to use the strength of her aura for years to come. We have been patient for so long and now that victory is within our grasp, we must not act irrationally in the eleventh hour.