Sentinels of the Cosmos Trilogy (3 page)

“A slip of the tongue, I guess, I think, I don't know,
but I didn't do it,” Chase replied and hung up the
phone. He set his alarm and started to close the
shades to guard against the rising morning light,
looked out into the yard and then like magic was
seeing himself in a jungle. It was hot and he was
alone lying on the ground looking through a sniperscope. As he finished closing the shades he felt a
sharp pain in his neck like a bee sting. His hand
moved instinctively to the area of the pain, but there
was nothing there, not even a small bump. His head
started to throb; he was having the worst headache of
his life. It felt like someone was trying to get into his
head, trying to pry it open with a can opener. He
heard it again 1428571, over and over again, and then
he heard a voice speaking, it was soothing, and he
began to listen closely.

Congressman Charles Dean, Speaker of the House of
Representatives from Texas is a large man. He had
the look of an ex-military man who had let himself go
to seed. His complexion showed years of indulgence,
he was red cheeked with heavy small slit eyes. He sat
by his wife's bedside at Inova Fairfax Hospital in
Fairfax, Virginia. She was dying and Charles was
sitting quietly, sobbing as she stroked his large head.
"Charles, don't mourn for me. I'm going to a better
place," Doris said, lovingly.
"Please let me help you, I can save you Doris. You
know I have the power to do that," Charles pleads.
"I know you do Charles, but that's not what I want.
It's my time, it’s what God intended. I know that's
not what you believe, but it's what I believe. Please
respect that Charles," Doris says.
Charles nods his head that he understands. He gets up
and goes out of the room and stands with Sam
Nichols and Beneizen looking through the large glass
window into Doris's room. Beneizen is a man with a
round, strangely childlike face. Sam also looks exmilitary, but in sharp contrast to Charles. He's thin,
tall, and clear complexioned with sharp black eyes.
Sam and Beneizen have been working with Charles
and Doris for years. They are all old friends with a
lifetime of experiences shared.
Charles is angry and looks at both Sam and Beneizen
saying, "I don't care what she says. I want you to save
her. I can't live without her, and if I can't live without
her I…" he trails off before finishing his sentence.
Beneizen places his hand under Charles’ chin, lifts it
up and speaks: "She does not wish our help Charles.
She has asked me personally
not
to interfere with her
passing."
"I don't care what she says. I'm ordering you to save
her," Charles says.
"We can't save her Charles, she's too sick," Sam says.
"Yes you can make her a Guard. Put her brain in one
of those androids of yours. You don't understand. She
is all that I have. Without her, I have nothing," pleads
Charles.
"I can't and I won't Charles. Doris was a close friend
and she had different beliefs from us. But I must
respect her beliefs, and besides the synthetic life form
program is new, it's not proven, it would take away
her sense of being,” Beneizen says.
"That's crap, you have those things wandering all
over the place, fix her, Beneizen, please do it, put her
in a synthetic body. I can't live without her. Do it
Beneizen, I'm ordering you to do it," Charles screams.
"No, that is not the technology of our Guards, what
you're asking for is something else entirely. Putting
someone’s personality into a digital environment has
never been tried here," Beneizen says calmly.
Something snaps in Charles's mind. He looks up
coldly and says, "But you could do it, couldn’t you?
Get out of my sight, both of you, you'll pay." Charles
goes back into Doris's room to be by her side.
She weakly takes Charles’ arm and asks him, “Please
Charles accept my wishes, Could I have a few
minutes alone with Beneizen?”
Charles nods, leaves the room and signals to
Beneizen to go in…
For the last 20 years Beneizen had been working
tirelessly to bring balance back to mankind, but
everything he had tried had failed. He keenly felt the
loss of his mate Tamalin who had been destroyed
accidently in traveling to another universe. In a
Kalactin's world working with others was a
fundamental law and disobeying this law had once
again proved that working alone had not produced
the result he had desired and now his most advanced
student had become very sick and was dying. He had
tried to create a mate from among humans, but they
were too imbalanced to assist in or carry on his work.
He suffered deeply as he sat quietly by Doris's
hospital bed. He looked at her serene and kind face.
The hospital room was barren except for a bouquet of
Cymbidium orchids sitting on the table next to her
bed. She had always loved orchids. Charles was
looking through the window with tears in his eyes.
Beneizen had brought a technology to earth that was
eons ahead of their time. He had built androids that
were, simply put, genetically enhanced humans and
were called Guards. As extraordinary as this
technology was he could see it was regrettably in the
hands of very imbalanced creatures. Beneizen
suffered in the knowledge of what he had done and
now his closest student did not want his technology
and her husband who was a very powerful but
unstable man could prove to be a great danger to the
planet.
"I don't have much time my friend," Doris said with
great effort.
Beneizen smiled and took her hand gently. "I could
extend your life if you wanted me to, by many years
in fact, all you have to do is ask."
Doris smiles at Beneizen, saying "No thank you, it's
my time. You have prepared me well Beneizen, I
finally understand what you are and what you
represent, but I still wish to die at my time. You have
taken away my false beliefs, my illusions and shown
me the world as it is. I accept that. But I know there
is an energy in me that connects to everything in the
universe. I know I am part of everything - I ‘am
everything’ and because of you and the work we have
done together something very special has been
deposited in me. I suspect my passing is a kind of
selfishness considering that you have had to live for
over a 1,000,000 years. You're the objective angel,"
Doris says.
"It's not you that I worry about, it's your husband. The
force in him is very strong and destructive. I'm not
sure he can ever be balanced without you," Beneizen
comments.
"You must take care of him. Promise me you will not
kill him," Doris pleads.
"I don't make promises. I will agree to try, but we
must all pay for our behavior," Beneizen replies.
"Fair enough" Doris says as she coughs and wheezes,
"One day you're here and then one you're not, it’s
hard to get your mind around that."
"Not really, existence is only useful if it has a
purpose. Everything in the universe does serve its
purpose whether it wants to or not," Beneizen replies.
"Will mankind survive?" Doris asks.
"Irrelevant question, the question is, what does the
universe need and how can that be served? Mankind
of today does not remember its true purpose,"
Beneizen replies.
"You would say something like that. You're not
human Beneizen, the question is irrelevant to you, but
to me I must complete what I am,” Doris says quietly.
"I am human Doris, quite human with just a few
modifications. Millions of years ago because of
conditions on our own little planet we developed at an
alarming rate. We were truly one with the universe as
you would say. Our connection with the finer
energies enabled us to connect with many other
universes. We time traveled and began to understand
the hierarchy of creation and all universes and we
came to a new level of connection with forces so fine
that we no longer understood them. It was then we
learned and began to understand the true meaning of
service and sacrifice. This frightened us at first and
we searched, studied and concocted theory after
theory. None of them really worked - because we just
didn't understand. Then we accepted that there was
something higher than us, finer and we gave it the
name ORD. We wrote books about it, developed
religions, and even fought wars over it. It was not
understood and then we accepted that we could not
understand it with the level of perception we had
then.”
“We became obsessed with creating new life forms
that could perceive this finer energy; hoping by
creating them and through these experiments it would
help us understand ourselves. From these efforts and
many experiments you were born, among others. We
spawned millions of different life forms spread out
over planets throughout the cosmos, we performed
great experiments to ‘find God’ as you would put it,
and we still keep trying. But at some point something
changed in all of us; we felt and sensed the order in
everything.”
Doris interrupts him, "I sense and feel the order in
everything."
"Very good, and that's why I’m here with you,"
Beneizen says quietly, adding, "Doris I know it’s
close to your time. I'm going to take your hand now
and show you everything as I promised."
"Are you an angel?" Doris asks.
"I'm everything that is around and in you," Beneizen
takes Doris's hand. He looks at Charles who is
standing behind the window watching and signals to
him to come into the room.
Charles comes back into Doris's room and sits by her
side as Beneizen leaves and joins Sam who is looking
through the large window at them sitting together,
Charles holding her hand and sobbing and says to
Beneizen, "You had better leave for a while, Charles
is irrational. Could you move Doris's consciousness
to a Guard?"
"A Guard no, another synthetic form yes but Doris
would be miserable. I can't do that. Doris was my
student and friend. I must respect her wishes,"
Beneizen says.”
“Don’t die Doris, I can’t live without you,” Charles
moans as Doris squeezes her husband’s hand for the
last time.

“Yes you can Charles, you must finish our work; you
must complete our dream,” Doris says with great
difficulty. With those last words and Charles looking
into her large blue eyes Doris dies. The alarm from
her life support system begins to beep. A doctor
comes rushing into the room, Charles takes in a huge
breath, and a gasp of air. He falls to the floor and
starts to choke.
Beneizen and Sam rush into the room as the doctor
kneels next to Charles, feels his throat for a pulse and
then gives him a shot and says, "He's just in shock. I
gave him a sedative."
"Move him to a comfortable room,” Beneizen
responds then adds, "I want her taken to my lab,
immediately."

Juan and Esperanza sat at the kitchen table. Their
small row house in Brooklyn was plain but
comfortable. The children could be heard playing in
the other room, but the two of them just sat looking at
each other. He could see she was visibly upset and as
he reaches for her hand she pulls it away.
"What were you thinking, why did you invite him
here?" she opens.
"I’m sorry to involve you in my work," he returns.
"That doesn't bother me, but Juan there is no food.
We can't have parties. Do you know what the
supermarkets look like now? Every week I go there
are fewer choices. Do you have any idea what's going
on? When is the last time you saw a fat person who
was not involved with the government? We can't feed
our kids - not because we don't have the money, but
because there is nothing to buy. Then you invite the
very man who almost killed you. What is wrong with
you?" she begins to sob.
"It's my job, I'm part of that government and you
could have gone to the NYPD department store," he
replies.
"I hate that store, there’s little food there either.
You’re living in a bubble, read my lips there is no
food! Then let them not pay you, but give you the
actual food! Do you hear me, what must this be doing
to the economy? We, meaning the world, are in
trouble and what are you doing about it? She yells.
"I'm doing my part. I can't tell you more, you know
that!" he pleads.
"Don't give me that secret government crap! - You're
involved in top secret black ops, you're undercover,
you’re saving the world, and things will be different...
I know you're part of the government, you're part of
the problem," she yells again.
There is a pause and he hands her a tissue and they
look at each other then take each other's hands and
smile. "Feel better? I might remind you that you too
were part of the government before we decided to
have three kids," Juan smiles.
Maria their twelve year old comes into the kitchen her head is bald and she is obviously very sick. She
sees them holding hands and looking into each other’s
eyes and says, "Ah, you're making me sick. I thought
I heard mom yelling!"
"I'm angry at your father. He’s having a party and
there is no food - and the little food I do find is
processed food. Who knows what we're really
eating?" Esperanza says.
"She’s right, dad - you're wrong and I think Chase is
here. By the way I think he's gorgeous," Maria says.
"I don’t want you within then ten feet of that
monster," Juan screams.
"Mom!" Maria looks at Esperanza for alliance and
then leaves the room.
Esperanza looks back at Juan with tears coming down
her face. "We don't have the money for her cancer
treatments. Your insurance won't cover the procedure
which she can only get at NY Presbyterian Hospital -
I’m terrified that our beautiful daughter is going to
die!" Esperanza says sadly.
"I'm dealing with it. Our daughter is not going to die,"
says Juan.
Esperanza moves into Juan's arms. He hugs her
tenderly. “I’m doing what I have to do," he says
quietly.
Their home on Avenue U. in Brooklyn was on a
typical street with row after row of small homes.
Chase, overcoming great resistance, decided to come
to their Sunday picnic. He felt guilty and he also had
a secret crush on Juan's wife Esperanza. She was cute,
kind, and very bossy but she always treated him as if
he was part of their family. He got out of his car and
walked up the stairs. The door suddenly burst open
and of Juan's son, Jose came bursting out of the
house.
"My goodness you're growing like a weed," Chase
says, as he hugs him.
"Come and see my room it's all different," Jose says.
At that moment the door flies open and Maria runs
down the steps and into Chase's arms.
"I told dad that I think you're gorgeous," Maria smiles
up at Chase. Her slight frame was small against the
unearthly size of Chase. It was like a statue of a
Greek God against a Hobbit.
"Are you trying to get me killed?" Chase says.
Esperanza and Juan come out the front door and see
Maria hugging Chase.
"Get your hands off my daughter," Juan screams.
"Daddy, you're embarrassing me, I just hugged
him
,"
Maria smiles, as she jumps up giving Chase a kiss on
his cheek.
"Stop that," Esperanza yells and then turns to Chase
saying, "Welcome, it’s good to see you." Esperanza
and Juan take Chase into the house and the
pleasantries continue for a long time. Juan's children
love Chase. With his simple demeanor and hulking
size he appears almost as a ‘children's character.’ He
visits their rooms and plays with them. The other
guests arrive and after a short while the picnic is
going so well that Chase forgets his problems and
then Esperanza comes up to him in the back yard with
a beer and hands it to him.
"I don't drink," Chase says.
"Drink it, hear me, chug it down. Now listen to me
you enormous piece of garbage, if you ever threaten
my husband again and I hear about it this is what's
going to happen: there is going to be a sedative in
something you drink and then I'm going to hang you
by your feet and when you wake up I'm going to stab
you 100 times with the K-Bar I brought back with me
and watch you bleed out on the floor while I have a
beer and listen to music. Do we understand each
other?" Esperanza says with great malice.
"Esperanza I'm really sorry…" She puts her hands in
front of his mouth saying, "Shut up, now smile and
enjoy your beer," and then walks away.
Juan comes over to Chase as he stands there holding
his beer amazed. "I love your wife," Chase says.
"I love her too, she's very special" Juan agrees.
"You're a lucky man."
"I am, how’s your beer?" Juan asks.
"It tastes funny" Chase says with apprehension.
Giving a Russian the chance to live in America was
like giving candy to a baby. This was the land of
opportunity. Russians don't have the same fears as
Americans. They know what they can and can't get
away with. They’re used to endless bureaucracy.
They know how to use it to their benefit. American's
are afraid of bureaucracy. That makes them
vulnerable. General Ivan Kolinski had very few fears.
After years of fighting in the Ukraine, fighting a
useless war he was battle hardened and devoid of
conscience. Ivan’s grandfather had fought in the
Afghan war and the endless stories his grandfather
told him had prepared him to understand that all wars
made no sense. They were to be savored and enjoyed
for the pleasures they did offer; rape, killing and
plunder. He parked off the side of the road, stepped
out of his black jeep, reached into the back seat and
took out a black aluminum gun case. Ivan says to
himself, “Time have little sport now.”
Dressed in long pants a tan shirt and black sun
glasses, Ivan walked onto a small dirt path that
seemed to lead directly into the woods. After walking
a short distance he suddenly stops and crouches low
to the ground. In front of him was a small hill. It
looked man-made, maybe a retaining wall for a dam.
He crawled up the small rise and looked over the top.
A short distance away was a Little League baseball
game. It was Saturday afternoon and the kids were
playing. It was important that Ivan was close to his
prey because the pellets shot from the air gun could
only be effective from a few hundred feet. Keeping
very quiet, stealth was one of Ivan's many skill sets,
he was highly capable; intelligent and trained by
many of the world's best. Again Ivan says to himself,
“Stupid American kids playing stupid American
baseball. I have little sport, now,” as he opened his
gun case.
In Russia Ivan had developed many viruses, and he
thought to himself "They want me do that here, and
maybe I will help them, maybe not. These little
pellets diastastic pellets; inside each is nasty virus.
Diastastic dissolves, they first get flu they never get
better, and no one can get from them. It degenerates,
destroys itself. No trace! I love this virus; it takes
long time for them to die.”
Ivan finishes putting the gun together and pours
several pellets into the chamber from a small
container.
Ivan adds a scope to the gun and ruminates to
himself, “Too many people in world.” Ivan loved
Stalin, maybe even worshiped him; “He knew that too
and everyone misunderstood him. Millions died in
World War II as result of his firm guiding hand. He
cleansed gene pool. They thought he was paranoid,
but that’s not why he killed so many. I think, maybe
he just liked to kill people, it made him feel better and
I like to kill people too, I feel I’m doing the world a
service, nothing that feels this good could be all bad.”
Ivan adjusted the scope and began randomly to shoot
children playing stupid baseball. After his sport was
over he crawled carefully back down the hill, put the
gun back in its case, climbed into his Jeep, adjusted
the rear view mirror to look at himself and said to
himself, "You are fine looking man Ivan, and you
look more relaxed! Good Saturday morning sport!"
Sam Nichols was a tall wiry man with a skin like
leather. His smoky eyes were almost too large for his
thin face, capped off with a drooping grey moustache
it gave the impression he was a hound that had been
starved. Sam was a very complicated man, a doctor, a
geneticist, and a war hero. He had won the
Congressional Medal of Honor in the Middle East
War. After the war he went to college and then
medical school, where he and Beneizen Brewster met
and together they became obsessed with genetics and
their potential to fight disease. While fighting in the
Middle East war Sam became a Buddhist and vowed
after the war that he would never kill again. When he
met Beneizen Sam was looking for redemption. His
memories of the war were intolerable to his
conscience. Beneizen helped him find inner peace
and the way to pay for his sins and helped him to let
go of his misery as Sam struggled day after day
looking for inner peace. At some point in their
relationship Beneizen revealed himself to Sam,
showed him what he was and where he was from and
revealed his purpose on earth. Having lived the life
he had lived and having done what he had done he
welcomed this new relationship. As the years went by
Beneizen helped Sam's escape his pain and slowly the
relationship began to change. The teacher and the
student became a team, a unit and shared a common
purpose - to restore balance to earth again, but there
was one terrible problem. Sam was a human being
and Beneizen was a Kalactin from a planet far from
earth, two creatures each looking for redemption.
Sam needed inner forgiveness from his war ‘sins’ and
Beneizen for feeling responsible for the death of his
life partner Tamalin who had died when Beneizen let
her take a small hovercraft alone too near a misjudged
gravitational field around a star. Something in him
had known not to let her go but that something in him
was asleep, content, and passive for just that moment
and this inattention had caused her death. Two men
looking for forgiveness left them blind to their own
imbalance. The situation was fast getting out of their
control and it was Beneizen who finally understood
what needed to be done.
He sat behind the wheel of his SUV looking through
the windshield into the pouring rain as his car sat in
traffic on the way to the airport. Next to him sat
Beneizen whose face was almost that of a child
without a line on it and yet over a million years old.
His face was in great contrast to Sam’s.
“I don’t think you should go,” Sam opened.
“You don’t know what’s at stake,” Beneizen
answered.
“Yes I do,” Sam said.
There is a pause while Beneizen thinks. Sam looks
over at his warm and familiar face.
“They’re just going to try to kill me Sam even though
they don't have the means to do that, but they could
kill my work here and that could kill you. If I fail,
mankind might not get another chance,” Beneizen
answers.
“Where are you going?” Sam asks.
“Far, far away,” Beneizen answers.
“How can I contact you?” Sam asks.
“I will contact you when the time is right,” Beneizen
says.
“We’ve been working together for almost twenty
years Beneizen, and I find it distressing to think that
all we have worked for could be ruined,” Sam says.
“Charles is going to become more and more unstable.
With the death of his wife I'm almost sure of it. Chase
and Ally bothare my children. We have to activate the
transformation in both of them now. I will contact
them and do it. Make sure they don’t kill them before
I can do that Sam. It’s your job to keep them alive,”
Beneizen says.