Nexus Point (Meridian Series) (39 page)

       Yet we should not jump to too many
conclusions about the surety of Western values and their eventual domination of
the earth. The great cultures and peoples of the world have been grinding
against one another for millennia, and the whole of U.S. history, for example,
would not even span the length of the T’ang Dynasty, one of ten or more ruling
dynasties that rose to supremacy in China over the centuries. While the West
holds out its values as “inalienable rights” granted by God to a sea of equal
men, it can be said that this claim bears as much weight, in history’s eyes, as
that of the Pharos of Egypt, who thought themselves divine.

       To be certain, there is gold in the ideas
that have come from the West: democracy, freedom of expression, rights of
privacy, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  They have been echoed in
documents and ideas since the time of the Greeks, through the Magna Carta and
shouted on the voices of the French and American revolutions. (Liberty,
Equality, Fraternity!)

       I finished the first draft of
Nexus Point
over the 2003 July 4
^th
weekend here in the United States, listening
to the pop and sizzle of fireworks exploding in the night sky. I smiled to
think that they were a symbol of rockets and bombs exploding during moments of
great crisis in our own brief history, with the hope that our flag, symbol of
our union and freedom, would still be there when the show ended.

       As I write this our nation has seen two
quick wars in recent years, ostensibly fought to deliver those freedoms to an
oppressed people—though I have my doubts about that. The invasion of
Afghanistan and then Iraq can be seen as just the latest chapters in an age old
conflict between the “West” and the Muslim world.

       It could be that we are seeing the values we
hold dearest slowly eroding with the weight of corruptions like commercialism,
profit motive, loss of privacy, and the erosion of our civil liberties at home,
with a foreign policy that borders on imperialism and forced hegemony
abroad—quite the opposite of what our founding fathers intended. History will
tell, at least in this Meridian.

       Parallels between the time of the Crusades
and our era come to mind easily.
Meridian
, written just after the 9-11
attack, begins with a devastating plot by radical Islamic terrorists, which is
eventually foiled, ironically enough, at a moment in the time of the Arab
uprising of 1917—the first modern expression of their desire for freedom from
Western Colonization by the British and Turks. In
Nexus Point
, the cult of Assassins
Paul stumbles on at Castle Massiaf is based on a real group that infested the
highlands of Syria, holding out in fortresses and secret redoubts. They were
led by a mysterious figure called the “Old Man of the Mountain” – Sinan.

       The characters in the story draw the obvious
parallels to modern figures like Osama bin Ladin. Even the English word
“Assassin” comes from this group, and one derivative touches on the Arab word
for “foundation.”  This immediately brought Al Qaeda (the base or the
foundation) to mind. In
this
book the machinations of Sinan and his lieutenants are all documented in the
history. Sinan did indeed have a kind of clairvoyance, answering unopened
letters in a Johnny Carson Karnak like fashion, and seeming to know the course
of events as if he was privy to secret information about the future. Was he?

       As for the Sami’s devious little plots, the
scene where he inducts initiates and then later uses the trick of the severed
head to convince them to do his bidding is all documented in the Ismaili
research from this time. (Note: today the Ismailis have nothing whatsoever to
do with their forefathers, and the Aga Khan Foundation is renowned for its
philanthropic contributions to education and other social causes in the
world—just as certain Christian groups like the Templars evolved into
contemporary church affiliated social and fraternal organizations.)

       Yet, the notion that future time warriors are
venturing back into history to set up operations at crucial nodes on the
Meridian is a fascinating one. One of the key elements required to prosecute
such a war would be a safe and certain record of the history. Otherwise, how
would you know if your changes were successful? In
Nexus Point
, the
computer chops and insight of Kelly Ramer create a kind of living memory bank
that is always on to store the existing record of history. Then, as soon as his
screensaver Golems detect any variation as they troll the amazing body of
knowledge on the Internet, they activate the Arch to protect the data in a
Nexus Point and alert the research team.

       As clever as it is, the system is fraught
with potential vulnerabilities. Keeping the RAM bank alive and running is a
chore of its own—especially in the earthquake prone Berkeley Hills region.
While it is said many times in the book that nothing is written, and history is
not chiseled in stone…in one sense a low tech solution to the RAM bank presents
itself. The scroll Nordhausen finds in Rasil’s pack is a clue that leads
directly to the next book in the series entitled
Touchstone.

      
It will begin with another of
the Professor’s secret little capers, a trip to old London about the time of
the Sherlock Holmes milieu to follow his hunch about Rasil’s scroll and check
on some old Egyptian carvings. When he visits the British Museum to see the now
famous “Rosetta Stone,” he discovers that the stone has been chipped and
damaged! The portion of the vast black basalt that once held the Egyptian
hieroglyphics is gone! As a consequence, no one ever made the connection this
touchstone is famous for, and the Egyptian hieroglyphs remain a mystery ...except
to Nordhausen. He returns to the present at Berkeley Labs and discovers that
he, and he alone, can read and understand the cryptic Egyptian hieroglyphics.

       Beset with remorse,
Nordhausen confesses his caper to Paul. He is afraid that he’s done something to
change the Time Meridian, but cannot imagine what. When someone tampers with
the memorial site protecting Kelly’s place in this Meridian, however, Paul
becomes suspicious. Remembering the phone call Nordhausen makes to Kelly on
Rasil’ s phone, he believes that their adversaries are trying to foil the work
of the project team by striking at their one weak link—Kelly. Yet Time is a
steadfast ally. Kelly is in a strange coma, but sustained by some means in the
current Meridian, protected in something Nordhausen calls a
Schroedinger’s Box.
  In
the words of Nordhausen’s favorite literary sleuth Sherlock Holmes, “something
is afoot!” Now the professor, Paul and the other team members must labor to
discover who has tampered with the time line, and why.

Lots of fun ahead for Meridian
fans!

Please visit
www.dharma6.com
or
www.writingshop.ws
for information on the sequels to this novel, and
other work by the author.

John Schettler

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the poets, thinkers,
historical figures and writers for their pointed words of wisdom used in the
quotations that lead the major sections of this story. Their words are all
properly attributed in the references or in the narrative if spoken by any of
the characters in the novel for added emphasis.

(1) Text quoted by Maeve in
the narrative on page 292 is a reference from information on the Assassin cults
found at: http://www.outremer.co.uk/assassins.html

Thanks also to Richard
Gylgayton for his tireless editorial wisdom, and Mark (aka Nordhausen) Prost. Both
are always “first readers” for my novels, and friends of the highest order. And
to dear Candace, Richard’s wife, a hearty thank you  for  inspiring the
creation of my intrepid Maeve Lindford.

TIME
GLOSSARY

From
Dorland’s Theory

CLARITY
–
Clear or good understanding of a temporal locus, pattern, event,
Outcome
or
Consequence
.

CONSEQUENCE
– An
undesired result achieved by a temporal
Transformation
– Usually
referring to the negative (ie) Sometimes certain
Consequences
must be
accepted in order to achieve a desired
Outcome
.

CONVOLUTION
– The
relative difficulty or complexity of a given temporal event or condition.

DEEP NEXUS
–
Sometimes called a “Void” – A crucial, significant
Nexus Point
where
radical alteration of the time line is possible.

DENSITY
– A
relative term describing factor counts in temporal events.

FACTOR
– An
element contributing to convolution in temporal events.

FINALITY
– A
catastrophic
Grand Imperative
(like the Cuthulu asteroid strike that led
to the eradication of the dinosaurs and other life.)

FREE RADICAL
– A
dangerous, erratic variable in the course of temporal events – usually only
existing within a
Deep Nexus.

GREAT VOID
– An
interminable shadow or
Penumbra
cast by a
Grand Imperative
.

HAZE
–
Obscurity in the understanding of a temporal situation or event.

IMPERATIVE
– An
event in time which
must
happen – Usually a natural event. A
Grand
Imperative
is a natural event of special significance. Some Grand
Imperatives can become a
Finality
.

INEVITABILITY
– A
progression of events that is inexorable and unalterable.

INITIATOR
– A
person directly responsible for a new time
Meridian
(Like Mohammed, or
Christ). A
Prime Mover
of great significance.

LEVER
– A
secondary contributor to movement in a series of events.

MERIDIAN
– An
established line of temporal events on the continuum.

NEXUS POINT
– A
point of connection, intersection or branching of one or more
Meridians
in the time continuum.

NODE
– A
specific point on a time
Meridian.

OUTCOME
– A
desired result achieved by a temporal
Transformation
– Usually referring
to the positive.

PARADOX
–
Time’s way of correcting errors in the time continuum. Paradox is a real force,
and quite dangerous. It kills or erases people and objects from the time line
when unaccountable complications arise from their actions. A Paradox is NOT
simply a thorny problem, it is a real effect and force of annihilation. A kind
of “Anti-Time”

PENUMBRA
– The
shadow of influence on future events cast by an
Imperative
.

POINT OF ORIGIN
– The
temporal locus where a person or object becomes a
Prime Mover.

PRIME MOVER
– A
primary causative lever or agent for an event – usually a person but sometimes
an object.

PUSH POINT
– A
moment of insignificance that gives rise to a key event on a time
Meridian
.
Often associated with a
Prime Mover
.

QUANTUM KARMA
– The
influence of causality on a
Time Meridian
. Each moment on the Meridian
affects the next, and certain Prime Movers accumulate an aura of Quantum Karma
around them that also has profound effects on the configuration of future
moments in Time.

RADICAL TRANSFORMATION
– A
catastrophic alteration of the
Temporal Condition.

TEMPORAL CONDITION
– The
matrix, pattern or state of affairs in a given time period.

TRANSFORMATION
– Any
change in a time
Meridian
that alters a future
Temporal Condition
.

TRANSFORMER
– A
person who causes a
Transformation
.