The Chrysalid Conspiracy (61 page)

To his complete surprise, they had accepted his ideas and gave him a Carte Blanche authority to act – as long as it didn’t cost anything. He was intelligent enough to realise they had no other solutions, and it gave them a scapegoat. They could now continue their mundane existences with somebody to publicly blame if things went wrong.

Not deterred, he had adopted a ‘fire and brimstone’ attitude to his work, which seemed to please Francine, his wife.

She had told him she had been brought up by devoutly religious parents and lived with the fear of ‘Eternal Damnation’. She was also the reason for the sea of ambition that thundered through his life, and many of his dreams. She believed that God needed her to be at the centre of the Church’s activities. Dinner and cocktail parties for the elite, arranging conferences and administrating visits by distinguished guests. Being sought after for advice on women’s issues. These were the things that Andrew was desperate to give her, knowing that it wouldn’t do him any harm, either.

Using a ‘revised’ version of the information gleaned by pilfering and copying notes, letters, manuscripts and research papers, he had built up a considerable case. Fortunately the two scientists, Melkins and Metcalf, had no concept of security, only to protect themselves from other scientists. It hadn’t dawned on them that the Church may be more than a little interested.

He had persuaded a large pharmaceutical company to believe that it would be in their interests to suppress this revolutionary information on natural remedies and preventions and he was the man to do it, with the Church’s backing, of course. Carefully omitting any mention of climate change or global catastrophe, he convinced them that it was their entire industry that was at risk. It was on this basis that he came up with the ‘Galileo Project’.

The knock-on effect was stunning. The banks and financial institutions, terrified at the idea of these great empires of wealth collapsing, gave their support. Politicians were bought and sold as required. The Catholic Church gave tacit agreement and any organisation with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo was quick to climb aboard and great pressure was brought to bear on the scientific community. The real surprise, though, was the amount of money he had at his disposal. It opened the door to a world that he and Francine hadn’t known existed and gave him unheard of power and authority.

She thanked her God, personally, or so Andrew believed, for allowing her to use this newfound power and wealth to enhance His work. He, on the other hand, resurrected his dream of the Canterbury throne.

Awash with more funds than he had ever dreamed of, the first thing he did was to transfer a large amount to his superiors. Pleased with his ‘efforts’, they had granted him much wider authority.

None of the ‘donations’ being accountable, he also transferred a considerable sum to an account he had recently opened in Geneva. Just in case, he reasoned.

It was during this time that he became aware of his ability to read the fear in people. Just a few minutes of conversation was enough for him to discover a person’s secret terrors. A few careful innuendos and the power of suggestion soon had them eating out of his hand. He now knew which buttons to press and when to press them.

Once he understood that the overriding motive that drove the world was greed, his influence expanded and he allowed himself to embrace the delights of social engineering by the use of money and fear.

His first indication that all was not well surfaced when he tried to take control of Government spending on scientific research. His ‘Money Men’ or the ‘Profit Prophets’, as he liked to call them, had control of the private sector but the Government had its own advisors. A few generous donations encouraged a full review on Government scientific expenditure in order to curtail their activities. It had worked, and the humble vicar considered this one of his triumphs.

The shock came when he discovered that a large group of scientists; experts in their various fields, did not rely on state or commercial funding. None of them had any sort of private income, and yet they were extremely active. His new banking ‘friends’ had kindly followed the paper trail and unearthed a secret benefactor, a Charitable Trust which financed them individually.

He had painstakingly listed all the skills and expertise of this anomalous group and he discovered a direct correlation to, of all things, Dr Melkins’ book.

Could it have been a coincidence? Unlikely, he had reasoned. There were too many Botanists, Palaeobotanist, Naturalists, Geneticists, etc. The ‘ists’ went on and on including, significantly, Climate Change experts.

The mention of Climate Change had got him thinking. He could see a new angle that was to his advantage. The truth didn’t matter anymore. ‘Suppress the truth, exploit the fear’ was the taciturn philosophy of the Galileo Project. An idea had then formed in his head that would help enhance his personal reputation, his chances of promotion and, with any luck, improve his bank balance. He needed to introduce climate change into his mandate as a positive force. The Archbishop’s throne loomed large in his imagination, with Francine at the hub of his social circle.

While meeting his superiors to discuss his findings, he had mentioned climate change in a derogatory fashion. ‘A mere figment of the imagination’ was how he’d described it. The important thing was to introduce the concept and let the fear fester for a while. He had made his comments and had been told, not surprisingly, and as he had expected, that they needed time to discuss the theological implications and that he was to continue with his investigations.

In the intervening time, he had managed to isolate the funding charity, and came across, for the first time, a name he would come to loathe: Chimera. Worst of all, its funds appeared to be limitless.

He had gone to the next meeting well prepared. Using the signs he had read before, such as body language, nervousness, and hesitation, he knew that they were going to ask his opinions. He had composed and memorised his speech and, coached by Francine, delivered it with rehearsed spontaneity.

“I…er…my Lords.” He cleared his throat and took a sip of water. He came across equally as nervous and frightened, thanks to Francine’s supervision of his well-practised routine in front of a mirror.

“I would like to say something before I begin.” Picking up a little confidence now. “In this room we have, with the exception of myself, some of the greatest minds in our organisation. I say this without any vain attempt at flattery because nobody, especially me, would stand to gain anything from such futility.” Group flattery; works every time. They would all now congratulate each other on being included in this band of intellectuals.

“Suffice it to say that I, as a mere administrative tool, will pass information to you this evening of such importance that it must, as I’m sure it will, receive the highest and best consideration. And I am sure you will understand why this information must remain amongst yourselves.” He refrained from saying ‘ourselves’, reminding them he was but a humble servant amongst this illustrious company.

“I will begin, confident that whatever conclusions you may come to will be the right ones. The way I see it, my Lords, is that if the Lord God wants to destroy his creation, then he must have good reason. Our teachings tell us that before Armageddon He will deliver the true believers into His arms to enjoy His love forever in paradise. The unbelievers will, however, be left to rot in a Hell of their own making, as they justly deserve. These are undeniable truths, direct from the bible. The word of God.” Another sip, a little cough. He really had their attention now.

“Now, if this climate change is the beginning of the end, then it is His will and should be embraced with passion. The very idea that a small group of people would have the audacity to attempt to thwart the will of God, and wish to save themselves would in fact, be trying to usurp His authority. I can’t see how He would allow this, but we also know His mysterious ways.

We must see this as a test. A test for those of us who believe in Him and His love for us. A test of our faith. To reaffirm our willingness to embrace His afterlife, and put our trust in Him.”

Good pause there. Makes it look like I’m thinking on my feet. Now, slow it down. Humble servant time again.

“My personal opinion then, my Lords, which I humbly submit for your consideration is this; we should pursue this Chimera organisation with ruthless diligence. We must isolate the people involved, take up the sword of truth, and destroy them completely. In so doing, we would be defending His will and proving our loyalty, our love for, and our belief in Him. With the Lord on our side, how can we lose?” he concluded with a flourish.

He hadn’t expected a round of applause from the members of this particular synod, but he was overwhelmed by the standing ovation he was given. His proposal had received unanimous support and he’d revelled in the adulation. In those few minutes he felt a new confidence in his power and control.

Later, he was pulled to one side by the senior bishop present and told he must win, at all costs, the last three words being heavily emphasised. He took it to mean that, if anything went wrong, it was he who would be on the wrong end of the gangplank. He had remained obsequious but consoled himself with the thought,
when I’m on top, you’re the first one I’m going to jump all over.

His superiors were cornered, having had to deny the existence of the ‘Galileo Project’ in order to protect their newfound income, their lies and deceit had played right into his hands. His authority, as well as his bank balance, had profited immensely.

Setting up a network of informers and spies had not been difficult. There were so many devout members of the ‘Order’ out there who would follow God’s will quite blindly. Gullibility became one of his primary tools, all they had needed was leadership and guidance; and at no expense.

It hadn’t taken long for him to identify Tetherington Hall as Chimera’s headquarters, and to identify the main players. He had come to admire the organisation’s structure and abilities, not to mention its sustained secrecy. The acquisition of an informant from inside Chimera had increased his intelligence gathering immensely. He had no idea who it was, but the information had been reliable and detailed, with no misinformation that he could detect. Some years ago, with the aid of this insider information, he discovered that a young, but brilliant, palaeographist was working on a translation of ancient hieroglyphics uncovered by Doctors Metcalf and Melkins. The fact that he was married to an equally brilliant geneticist did not go unnoticed, but it was the fact that he was sponsored by one of Chimera’s trust funds that added a whole new dimension to his understanding of the project he had undertaken.

He had been discussing the problems with Francine one evening, and explained to her about the Melkins/Metcalf claim of having found an anomaly in recent evolution. Apparently it was a race of heathens who had no religion, but who were supposed to have discovered ‘natural remedy’ organic medicines that advanced them rapidly, both physically and mentally. It was alleged that modern medicine was only just beginning to catch up with them, and according to rumours there was real science behind the ancient myths.

Francine, knowing what her husband wanted to hear, had agreed with the sceptics on this issue and remarked that it was ridiculous to believe that a race of Godless people could not only discover, but also utilise, the secrets created by God Himself. He had agreed with her and they decided it must be a hoax.

It was some weeks later that they spoke on the subject again. He told his wife about his latest snippet of information. The people at Tetherington Hall had built a large modern greenhouse and were recreating plants that had been extinct for thousands of years.

“You see,” he had explained to Francine. “All this time I’ve been looking to find who would do this. What do they do? How do they think? How do we stop them? Why they’re doing it is obvious. But I have never given a thought as to
how
they’re doing it. Do you think there may be even the hint of a possibility that there may be something in this?”

Francine had laughed at first, then realised her husband was serious, and became very interested. She reappraised her attitude and wanted to know more, much more. Appearing to share his enthusiasm and by applying cold but hypothetical logic, she proceeded to explore his interest.

“In order to survive God’s Armageddon you’d need some pretty potent magic,” she said. “Who is the only one who would gain from providing this magic and thus create survivors?”

“Why, that could only be…” he paused for effect. “The Devil himself.” He almost choked on the answer.

“Exactly,” she agreed. “And when it comes to the cohorts of the Devil, we take up the sword and smite them down. So, find all these people and eliminate them. That makes the How academic. There’ll be no one left to do it.”

“That means a pretty ruthless regime. Would it be justified?” he was asking both of them, unsure of himself.

“Of course, my darling,” she said. “Anything you do will have God’s blessing. After all, the ends justify the means. There is one tiny little thing that has occurred to me,” she teased him. “If the world is going to end, and there’s as much chance of that happening as the universe turning into a giant marshmallow, and if there is any truth in this natural remedies theory, then whoever has this secret would be become rather important, don’t you think? In the general scheme of things.”

He’d sat and looked at her. Amazed and so, so, proud of the way she could see into the heart of any problem and expose its innermost secrets.

The first thing he’d done was to restructure Galileo to accommodate Francine’s suggestions. To eliminate Chimera, as was the original intention, but in such a way that he could get his hands on the Jaxson Codex without anybody knowing.

He had opened his attack on two fronts. One, to take the heart out of Chimera, which would involve some unsavoury behaviour he wasn’t sure he was ready for yet. And two, acquire the ‘Jaxson Codex’.