Tablet of Destinies (19 page)

‘Let it run, see where it goes,' Noah urged, having seen this behaviour from a hard drive only a couple of weeks before.

The young Devas had accessed the information on an old PC in just this fashion. Could it be that this stone had an intellect all its own, which also gave it the ability to control technology? Perhaps the stone was a fourth-dimension semi-artificial intelligence?

‘My system is going to get fried!' Floyd panicked, strapping his long, fine blonde hair back into a ponytail to get it away from his face. ‘I'll have to shut it down.' As Floyd reached under his console to cut the power, Noah, who was still staring at the screen, grabbed his hand to prevent him.

‘Wait! Look.' Noah referred him back to the screen, where a 3D map of the Eshmah star system was now displayed. Eshmah was the central sun around which Kila revolved. ‘It's communicating.'

‘What is?' Floyd was confused and then amused. ‘Surely you don't mean to imply the rock is our mysterious hacker?'

‘Stranger things have happened,' Noah commented, getting in close for a better look. Kila was highlighted on the screen. ‘See, it's saying, “you are here”.'

Floyd scoffed. ‘It could also be saying, “this planet will self-destruct in five seconds”.' The technologist
glanced over at the mysterious piece of rock to find it brightly illuminated; on each of its flat surfaces was reflected the same image now shown on the computer screen. His eyes widened in wonder as the visual zoomed out to a panoramic shot of their quadrant of the galaxy.

‘Well, bugger me,' Floyd said, conceding that the historian might be right about what was occurring.

‘See …' Noah nudged Floyd in excitement. ‘What did I tell you?' While Kila remained highlighted a line was drawn to a distant point in space. Then the image zoomed in to a close-up of the pinpointed area.

‘We didn't call you the answers man for no reason.' Floyd used the PKA plate to request more information and this time the computer obliged. ‘It's Ciamah,' Floyd informed Noah. ‘A small dead moon that orbits one of the Nefilim's prime mineral mining planets, Nugia.'

‘Who oversees the mines on Nugia these days?' Noah felt uneasy about being sent to a destination in such close proximity to a heavily-populated Pantheon-controlled planet.

Floyd winced. ‘Nabu and Tashmet.' The pair of Nefilim were renowned for being a couple of very tough slave drivers. ‘In the main, they exploit Leonines, and although they profess to adhere to the code of practice that Marduk pushed through the Senate regarding the treatment of mortals, reports have it that there are still terrible atrocities being committed on Nugia.'

The screen went black.

‘What gives?' Floyd looked over at the rock that had now resumed its faint dull glow.

Normal system functions returned to Floyd's computer,
and without rebooting or having to reload his programs, Floyd found himself staring at his normal desktop screen. In the corner of his monitor, an alert icon was flashing.

‘Floyd, this is Rhun,'
the Vice-Governor's voice came over the intercom.
‘The Governor requires your presence in the pit, asap.'
The pit was the main control centre that Floyd's workstation overlooked.

Noah and Floyd had been so caught up in their own little world that they hadn't ventured a glance below. They gazed down, and realised that all hell was breaking loose in the pit.

‘We have incoming Nefilim craft,'
Rhun explained.

Noah and Floyd looked at each other apprehensively.

‘Shit!' Floyd flipped down the communicator attached to his headgear. ‘I'm there,' he stated in answer to the Governor's request. ‘Gotta go, Noah,' Floyd said. ‘We'll talk more about your techo-rock soon, I hope.' He vanished from the workstation.

Noah retrieved his precious treasure from Floyd's scanner. ‘Ciamah, here I come,' he said, not thrilled about the unattractive and potentially treacherous destination.

Although Noah was concerned about the approach of the Nefilim fleet, his mission for the Governor, the Dragon, and ultimately, for the Logos, could not be delayed by such concerns. The Nefilim threat was not his responsibility in any case.

‘Time to find Rebecca,' he decided, conjuring her image and willing himself forth.

 

Chaliada had been evacuated, but the city left intact, in the hope that the greedy Nefilim Lords would make themselves at home. From their secret hideaway, the Chosen Ones could then follow every move their foe made. Surveillance devices had been planted in Government offices and every other key location in Chaliada. Lord Nergal would detect and destroy many of them, but knowing every inch of the city as they did, the Chosen could replace any damaged devices.

The Nefilim deep space vessels had parked themselves out beyond the atmosphere of the planet, and they launched thousands of smaller craft from this position. Many of these smaller craft descended towards the docking station on the fourth island ring. Nergal's personal craft landed in Central Park, right on the doorstep of the Government offices.

Planted in the Governor's office were several surveillance cameras, through which everyone in the underground base watched, and waited for the Lord Nergal's arrival.

Two Falcon guards burst into the office, bearing arms and scanners to seek out any sabotage devices that the Chosen may have left behind.

Nergal and his daughter, Aya, entered behind their soldiers — although they did not walk, they floated.

What do you think they're playing at by evacuating the city?
Aya queried her father, frustrated by the lack of citizens to bully.

Obviously, they realise that they've abused my hospitality and have fled, having anticipated my serving them their eviction notice.
Nergal sat in the Govenor's chair.

But I hardly thought they'd walk away without a fight.
Aya floated up to take a seat on the desk.
Not after Lahmu's performance in the arena.

Don't call him that!
Nergal's thought thundered out at such volume that it caused his guards to cower from their search.
Get out!
he ordered them, angry that they had overheard his daughter refer to the prophecy.

‘But my Lord —' One of the guards attempted to inform Nergal that the room was bugged.

When his outspoken comrade began contorting from the internal pain inflicted by Nergal, the second guard obliged his Lord without question and scurried from the God's presence.

I know the room is bugged,
Nergal explained to the hapless soldier as the man drew his final breath and fell to the floor.

I don't see what you're getting so upset about. That prophecy is older than I am,
Aya scoffed, not fazed by her father's irate state.
Unless, of course, you actually believe in the old hex that Enki dreamt up in order to threaten the Pantheon,
she teased, knowing Nergal still revered his father, although he would never openly admit it.

No, I do not believe it
, Negal growled.

Nergal stood up and began to speak for the benefit of whoever was listening in on their conversation.
However, the new Governor of Kila will pay for his insult to the Pantheon, that much I do know. Hide from me if you will, Alexander, and watch me destroy the paradise you have nurtured on this planet.

Nergal had tried willing himself into Brian Alexander's presence since landing on Kila, but his
attempts had proven unsuccessful. But why bother frustrating himself with the hunt, when a good lure would snare his prey just as nicely?

The Lord turned in circles as he voiced his threat of destruction, unsure where the cameras were located.
I will kill your wildlife, pollute your waters, lay waste to your forests and mine Kila barren! And if that is not enough to flush you out, Governor, then I shall begin murdering the children of the mortals you hold so dear — in this very office! One by one you can watch the innocent suffer unto their deaths from the safety and comfort of your cosy retreat.

And I have written a grimoire on human torture
, Aya announced.
It is a long and in-depth study,
she continued, in a nasty tone of voice.
So why fight it, Lahmu? Your arse is ours.

I told you not to call him that!
Nergal slapped his daughter's face so hard he split her lip.

Aya only smiled and licked the blood away from her wound with her tongue.

You've got an hour to think it over,
Nergal summed up.
Then I will set my army loose in your wilderness to kill every living thing that moves.

Nergal and Aya departed, teleporting themselves back to their deep space vessel.

 

Brian stood, poised in horror, staring at the monitor on which Nergal had stated his terms — how could he help but feel responsible for their predicament? His own welfare seemed a small price to pay to save this beautiful planet from ruin and allow the Chosen to continue the idyllic lifestyle they had enjoyed for fifty years. Alas,
there was no going back. That lifestyle was gone and his people would only know such bliss again when the Nefilim had been removed from power. Now the Chosen were in the same boat as all the other human tribes. Stay subordinate, or be persecuted — those were the options — and, in reality, always had been. Brian figured the Pantheon had only favoured the Chosen in the first place so as to make them look bad in the eyes of the other human tribes, and to keep the Chosen on side and under the Pantheon's thumb. That's what this attack was really all about. He had openly defied the Pantheon and that would not be tolerated.

‘Any thoughts?' Brian queried his advisors, who all looked bewildered, except Rhun, who was looking decidedly annoyed.

‘He doesn't have any mortal children to torture,' the Vice-Governor stated reasonably, ‘and it will take him weeks to get any here. The threat to our wilderness is most unfortunate, but the threat to the human tribes must take precedence. Even if you were to give yourself up, Nergal's destruction of this planet would not cease and he would persist in his slaughter of the human tribes.'

‘I know all this, Rhun,' Brian stated flatly. ‘What I want to know is how we stop him.'

Rhun shrugged. ‘Give him something else to worry about?'

‘Exactly!' Candace agreed. ‘If Nergal is so spooked by this prophecy of Lahmu, then it's time we started building ourselves a legend.' She motioned to her husband, who was cringing at her implication. ‘Better to be a hero than a victim,' she reasoned with a smile.
There was no way she was going to allow her husband to give himself up to Nergal. ‘If Aya wants a fight then let us give her one.'

‘Then what was the point to all this?' Brian held his arms out and turned a circle. ‘We may as well just have stood our ground and defended the city.'

‘We're not going to pick a fight on our home ground,' Candace informed him.

It was Rhun who named the target. ‘The Planet of Lions, that's where it has to start.'

Brian was reluctant to agree. ‘It hosts one of Nergal's major mining operations,' he warned, ‘and is currently under the rulership of Nabu and Tashmet.'

Rhun, having met the pair in question, wasn't happy about it either.

‘Nugia?' Floyd guessed the planet in question, thinking the coincidence odd. ‘En Noah is planning an expedition to one of its moons, Ciamah.'

Rhun and Brian looked to each other, knowing the scholar's mission.

‘Perhaps we can kill several birds with one stone,' Brian became more disposed towards the idea.

‘We don't need an army, just a good team,' Rhun said encouragingly, eager to take action.

‘I'll stay and take care of the counter defensive here,' Candace informed Brian, ‘so that you and Rhun are free to go.' Her husband didn't look thrilled about this turn of events. ‘Floyd, Cadwallon and I can handle any situation that might arise and we have the best staff in the universe at our disposal. You, however, are of far greater good to us on Nugia.'

Brian took his wife aside. ‘Then come with me.'

Candace shook her head firmly. ‘Out of the question.'

‘Why?' Brian appealed to her. ‘Rhun could stay —'

‘I am with child,' she cut in and ended the argument.

Under normal circumstances this would have been a happy announcement, but the look on her face was one of apology. Brian's astonishment was momentary. He grabbed his wife and hugged her, both excited and worried by this development. ‘How long have you known?'

‘Since before you departed for the Pantheon,' she confessed, pulling away to look him in the face. His expression was one of bewilderment.

‘Why didn't you tell me?' he asked softly, picturing the peaceful future his child could have had.

‘I didn't want the knowledge affecting your judgement.' Candace had to force a smile now, for the decision had cost her dearly, although she knew in her heart it had been the right choice. ‘You never would have taken this stand had you known.'

Brian held Candace close to reassure her that he was thrilled by the event, but inside he cursed himself. There was only one way his child would have a promising future now and, for him, this fact would prove a prime motivation for the rebellion ahead.

I
n the playground of her mental body, Tory experienced the potential future of humankind.

There was no fighting for favour here, no discrimination, greed or jealousy. The children played peacefully together, because they had a deep respect, understanding and love for everyone and everything around them.

Tory had no favourites amongst her charges. They were each as dear to her heart as if they were a child she had borne in her own womb. A child from each of the human races had taken it upon themselves to keep her company during her stay in the Heavensworld.

The feistiest of these was a young male Centaur named Thais. He raced around on his four nimble legs and enjoyed nothing more than the games which allowed him to show off his skill.

The most thoughtful child was a Delphinus male, Zabeel. He was telepathic and therefore quieter than the others, for he was constantly assessing all that went unsaid.

Bast, a female Leonine, had the cunning mind of a cat and the same need to snooze and snuggle a lot. The girl took both her play time and her rest time very seriously.

The chivalrous one was a Falcon lad who called himself Sparrowhawk, and as Tory had no knowledge of having a name, Sparrowhawk had named her Swan.

‘Because you are beautiful, long and graceful,' he'd explained.

At present, the children in question were playing a game of psychokinetic marbles with the fair-haired twins, Avery and Lirathea.

In many ways, Lirathea had more in common with Sparrowhawk than she did with her twin brother and spent far more time in the young Falcon's company. For Lirathea and Sparrowhawk both enjoyed developing their psychic skills and imagination, whereas Avery was far more active and preferred running wild with nature spirits in the company of Thais and Bast.

‘Do you want to play, Swan?' Sparrowhawk had noticed Tory observing their game. Instead of propelling the ball of coloured water he was using as a marble towards those already suspended in mid-air further down the playing field, he waited for Tory to answer.

Their game board was three large rings spinning in random directions one inside the other. A spinning vortex of ultra-blue ethereal matter caught the coloured
marbles as they passed through the moving rings and held the balls of water in a firm orbit. A different child controlled different parts of the game. Tory had noticed that all the games the children devised for themselves were designed so that the children could work together. Any one of these souls could have controlled the entire game, but there was more challenge in working together and these children thrived on that.

‘If your marble hits the rings it will burst.' Thais came galloping forward to explain.

‘Closest marble to the centre of the sphere wins,' Bast added.

‘But you're not allowed to hit any of our marbles,' Lirathea chimed in.

‘Spectating is fun too.' Tory declined their invitation, not wanting to disrupt their game.

‘Come on, you get three goes.' Sparrowhawk conjured up two other balls to start a fresh game.

‘I'm afraid I need to sweep her off elsewhere,' Taliesin advised the boy as he manifested in their midst. He ruffled the soft, dark plumage on the lad's head.

‘You're taking her to see the lost children,' Zabeel stated, sadly.

‘She needs to be aware of their plight, don't you think?' The Lord sought the lad's opinion.

‘If they are to find themselves, yes,' the Delphinus nodded in reply.

‘Our place in the world cannot be assured until they do,' Bast added, coming to stand beside Zabeel and looking to Tory with a hopeful look on her face.

‘Well, then,' Tory prompted, eager to be made aware
of what everyone else here seemed to know. ‘Shall we go?'

Taliesin took her hand, saying: ‘We are there.'

The scenery blurred around them in an upward motion and Tory felt herself descending into a more forbidding environment.

A sterile-looking playground, which reminded Tory more of an institutional exercise yard, existed amid an abandoned futuristic city. The lively warmth of Devachanic life had vanished — there was a harsh reality about this place.

‘Where are we?' Tory wondered, viewing the children who frequented the area.

They were not human children, appearing to be more akin to the fairy folk, who were one of the lowest order of Deva. All were shrouded in a dark cloud, which seemed to make them oblivious to the other children around them. Some of the children sulked quietly. Others were absorbed in their own projects. A little girl sat combing her hair and adoring herself in a hand mirror, while the little girl next to her tortured a small dog.

‘We have transcended from the middle level of mental awareness to the lowest level of mental awareness,' Taliesin advised, eyeing the place over with compassion.

‘My mental awareness?' Tory sought clarification.

Taliesin nodded, but replied: ‘All mental awareness. You see, every plane of existence has many subtle levels, as all interpenetrate the others. Each plane of existence has seven distinct levels of awareness, corresponding to
each of the planes above and below it. The highest level of the mental plane is that of mental-nirvana, and from there mental awareness extends down through various levels of consciousness: mental-monadic, mental-spiritual, mental-causal, mental-mental, and mental-astral, to this place, the mental-physical level of the mental plane. That is, the part of the mental realm that extends into the physical world.'

‘There are human soul-minds residing here?' Tory decided that they would have an extremely cold, self-serving intelligence to reside in such a place.

Taliesin shook his head. ‘Not too many. There is, in the astral realm, a place like this one where lost human souls reside, trying to break free of their emotional entanglements. Desire is what usually holds human souls in a state of purgatory, preventing them from progressing along their spiritual path … it nearly held you back,' he commented. Tory raised her eyebrows questioningly, only half believing him.

‘The souls that reside here have no emotional problems, in that they have never utilised their astral forms and therefore have no connection with that plane of existence. Because of this lack of feeling, the physical world has proven a harsh place indeed for these beings. And now that the human race has shown them glimpses of how divine it is to love and be loved, these souls do not dare to open themselves to any emotion. This is an unconscious self-defence mechanism, as their own memory of past deeds would drive them insane with guilt, shame and remorse. This is the very best they feel they deserve … the very best they can draw from their
experience of physical life. They have become lost in their own nightmares and they avoid the realm of dreams, as deep down they fear they are not worthy of joy, peace or contentment anymore.'

A streak of rainbow fire swooped overhead and came to hover over the youngster who had been brushing her hair. The disturbance assumed the form of a spectral angel with large wings of flaming colour. The aura of love and wellbeing that accompanied the brilliant celestial entity brought a momentary relief from the frigidity of the place.

‘I've seen that entity somewhere,' Tory mumbled, trying to recall their meeting, but her mind was blank.

‘Have you now?' Taliesin smiled, seeing Maelgwn in the Deva before them. Her memory of her Chosen other was deeply embedded in her super-consciousness, so she was always bound to recognise any personification of his soul-mind.

‘What's happening?' Tory asked, as the Deva wrapped his large wings around his subject, enveloping the girl in a fiery cocoon.

‘She has dared to face her demons and feel,' Taliesin said aside to Tory, his eyes fixed on the miracle taking place before them. ‘Her astral atom has been activated. The Deva has come to aid her subtle body to free itself from its intellectual entanglements.'

After a moment the Deva withdrew and vanished. The dark mist had dispersed from the girl's being and she looked about her as if awakening from a deep sleep. Upon noticing the girl beside her torturing the dog, she put aside her brush and mirror.

‘Stop that, it's cruel.' When the obnoxious child didn't hear her, she turned slowly around taking in the selfish endeavours of the other children in her company. ‘What is wrong with all of you?' she cried. ‘You have to
wake up
, or you're going to be left behind!'

‘By the Goddess,' Taliesin gasped, excited by the event. ‘It's Inanna.'

Tory was none the wiser when informed of the child's identity, but she smiled as she noted a change in the girl. ‘She has begun to glow, like we do.'

‘Yes, and it's the true illumination of her Logos that radiates through her, and not some mimicked celestial radiance, as is the light that she exudes from her being in the physical world.'

‘How does one fake the glow of an enlightened being?' Tory queried curiously.

‘Many of Inanna's kind who are still trapped in the physical realm participate in the same charade. For they have seen what a truly enlightened being looks like and as they believe that they are truly enlightened beings, they project the illusion of divine enlightenment … not all of her kindred deceive in this fashion, just these few.'

At a quick count Tory counted seven, not including the girl who had come to her senses.

‘Nevertheless, this is a very promising sign,' he informed. ‘We must take her to the others.'

‘The others?'

‘Her kindred who have progressed to the astral level of this realm on their way back to their soul-source.'

In the glowing gardens of the astral level of the mental realm, Taliesin took Inanna to join a group of
older children and adults of her own species, who were picnicking happily with soul-minds of the human race.

Tory did not approach the gathering with Taliesin, feeling that they would not be staying. The delightful indulgences of the people in this realm were not really of interest to her. She had been there and done that and was eager for more intellectually stimulating experiences.

The child, Inanna, was welcomed with open arms by her kindred, and she appeared most appeased by her new surroundings.

‘Micah will take care of her now,' Taliesin explained as he floated back to Tory. ‘When her Logos, Anu, withdraws to the next level of consciousness and thus ceases to exist in the physical world, Inanna's place at his side is assured. However, she and her people have much to achieve before then if their remaining lost kindred are to be freed from their private hells and progress in the great evolutionary scheme of life with the rest of their soul group.'

‘And where is the rest of my soul group?' Tory asked, gathering that she too had to belong to a greater body of consciousness.

Taliesin refrained from answering her for a moment. ‘You are not yet ready to join them. That's why you are here instead of in their company.'

Tory noted that there was another change in atmosphere, whereby she found herself back in the perfect playground of Devachan. ‘Am I unworthy?'

‘You are,' Taliesin smiled, leading her where he must, ‘incomplete.'

Tory was concerned by his words, seeing the paradise around her in a new light.

Lirathea, who was playing close by, turned to look at Tory. Her features had become more fairylike and yet, the child appeared familiar all the same. ‘You got your wish, Mother, but it is time for you to head back to us and finish what we started.'

‘I am just like Inanna was,' she gasped. ‘I am caught up in my own little world.' Tory gazed at the child in wonder. ‘I am not lost in a nightmare, but a beautiful dream.'

‘You can make your dream a reality,' Taliesin assured her.

There were no goodbyes in the Heavensworld. In the course of a cosmic lifetime no soul ever really left any plane of existence; it was only their conscious awareness that shifted from one perception to another.

‘On the threshold of Devachan, karma and its skandhas await to aid your re-emergence into consciousness,' Psyche advised, as her spirit separated from that of the girl, Lirathea, who had served as a guide to locate Tory's soul-mind.

‘Skandhas?' Tory frowned in question.

‘Material qualities,' Sparrowhawk explained. ‘They are the mental, emotional and moral peculiarities that give your ego its own individual personality, Swan.'

‘You could say they're little bundles of attributes,' Lirathea expanded on her friend's explanation. ‘Like abstract ideas, tendencies of mind, and mental and psychic ability.'

‘Skandhas are the seeds of causes previously sown in
your life that have not yet come to fruition,' Taliesin concluded. ‘Psychological impulse seeds.'

‘So what must I do in order to commence the outward spiral?' Tory asked, wishing to end this detour in her life and get back on track.

‘Just submit.' Taliesin looked up to witness the fiery rainbow entity that approached.

As Tory spotted the entity a statement came to mind that helped to solve the question that had been bothering her since the same being had appeared to Inanna; had they met before?
I merely act upon a human's desires in order to bring them into being, in accordance with their karma.
She saw the beautiful being hovering over a pool of water. ‘Devaglen,' Tory uttered, overwhelmed to be having a memory from beyond Devachan, but it was short-lived and sparked no other earthly memories in her. She figured it was just the Deva's way of saying ‘hello, we meet again'.

‘This is your ride,' Taliesin commented as the celestial being came to hover over them, and the Lord awarded his charge an endearing smile in parting. ‘And so my vow to you has been kept, Tory Alexander.'

‘Tory Alexander?' she queried, and yet she possessed a recognition of the name. The sonic vibration of the words sent the very essence of her being into a frenzy of activity. ‘Oh heavens.' She gripped her gut and forehead. ‘I feel ill.'