The Dark Rift: The Supernatural Grail Quest Zombie Apocalypse (The Last Artifact Trilogy Book 1) (25 page)
Authors: Gilliam Ness
“Come on,” he said to Natasha, shouldering his pack. “We’re leaving right now.”
Somewhere over the Mediterranean Sea.
Christian opened his eyes
to find the doctor looking down at him. He was lying on the sofa, the luxurious interior of the jet’s passenger compartment reminding him of where he was.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I had you in a hypnotic trance, Christian,” said Dr. Bennington, his gentle smile doing nothing to mask the concern in his eyes.
Christian’s memory came flooding back to him. He rubbed his face and sat up.
“What did you learn about the Cube?”
Bennington sat down opposite Christian and scribbled some notes onto a pad of paper. Before the induction, Christian had told him everything that had transpired up to that point; beginning with the death of his father, and culminating with the murder of the Nautonnier. Bennington had asked many questions, and Christian had answered them all, insisting finally that he be put under a hypnotic trance. He wanted to uncover the meaning behind his father’s incessant whispers, and to clarify his own role in the events that were transpiring. He had warned Bennington to conceal nothing, reminding him that the entire induction would be recorded on the jet’s security system.
“Well?” asked Christian.
Bennington looked up from his notepad.
“It is important that we deal with this calmly and methodically,” he said. “You are a very troubled individual.”
Christian rose to his feet, snatching the notebook from the doctor’s hands.
“I’d say that’s pretty bloody obvious, Doctor. Why don’t you tell me something I don’t know?”
Christian flipped through the pages, trying to decipher Bennington’s illegible script.
“What did you learn about the Cube?” he asked, flinging the book back at the doctor.
“You told me a lot, Christian. But we must be careful. You are not ready to know many of these things yet.”
Christian’s face grew dark and menacing.
“What did you learn?”
Bennington sat back in his chair, thinking of his wife. There was nothing he could do but comply. He would have to tell Christian everything. He could not afford to take any risks.
“You repeatedly referred to an ongoing battle between good and evil. You spoke of Jesus Christ and Lucifer as being the personifications of the two opposing sides.”
“And I’m on Lucifer’s side.”
“Yes,” said Bennington. “Your task, as you described it to me, is to lay waste to the world. When this is done, you are to rebuild it in a way that removes all civil liberties and spiritual pursuits. In essence, you believe that your purpose here is to make the earth as much like hell as possible.”
“And why am I supposed to do this?”
Bennington paused before answering.
“You believe that Lucifer demands it of you, Christian. That you are to do whatever is needed to prevent humanity from rising to its next level of societal evolution.”
“Why?”
“You claim that it is the only way that our souls can be stopped from escaping into the higher realms.”
Christian frowned in confusion.
“And why doesn’t Lucifer just let the souls go? What does he care?”
“Because if he lets them go, he loses power,” said Bennington. “An overlord is only as powerful as those he holds beneath him. Take away his subjects, and a tyrant becomes nothing. This, you said, is why kings and emperors live in constant fear. Lucifer is no exception.”
Christian’s eyes seemed to light up with understanding.
“I see,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Please, continue.”
“You told me that many souls had already ascended since Jesus Christ opened the way two-thousand years ago,” said Bennington, raising an eyebrow. “Despite Lucifer’s continuous attempts to stop them from doing so. You said that these ascended souls no longer require to be incarnated again and again; that they have used Earth for the purpose it was created, and have purified themselves enough that they can now live in the higher realms. From there, you said, they will assist other souls incarnating on earth, and help them to ascend as well.”
“Is that so?” said Christian quietly.
A deep understanding was slowly penetrating him now, and it seemed to him that it came from those same churning mists that the Zurvanites had shown to him the previous day.
Bennington studied his patient’s face with concern. It was as though a hollow darkness had come over it. Something in Christian was transforming before his eyes.
“You claimed that humanity is still very much bound to Lucifer,” he continued, “but that there is something that threatens to change this relationship.”
Christian looked intently at the doctor.
“Yes,” he said. “What is it?”
“A mysterious, cube-shaped artifact,” said Bennington, holding Christian’s gaze.
“Finally!” he exclaimed, beginning to pace excitedly. “The Cube! What is it? Who made it?”
“By some it is called the
Cube of Knowledge
,” said the doctor, “by others, the
Cube of Compostela
. You said that it is an artifact that is ancient beyond reckoning. You asserted that humanity only requires a consolidated push in order to move up to the next level of societal evolution, and that the Cube is capable of giving us this push.”
“I don’t understand,” said Christian, looking intently at the doctor. “How will the Cube do that?”
Bennington held his gaze.
“You were not sure, Christian,” he said. “You claimed that it is not so much a question of what the Cube does, but what humanity does with
it. You explained that the Cube is a tool of sorts; a key, or a map, if you will. You admitted that you know very little about this artifact.”
Bennington stood up and put a hand on Christian’s shoulder.
“Do not lose sight of the metaphorical meanings behind your delusions, Christian. The Cube would appear to be a container of knowledge, and knowledge is always symbolic of freedom.”
“I see,” said Christian, nodding. “And this is why the Cube must be destroyed.”
“The Cube does not exist, Christian,” said Bennington. “It is a creation of your subconscious mind. What is important to note is that you have endowed your creation with the capacity to dissolve all fear, and to liberate humanity. This is a very positive construct.”
“First of all, Doctor,” said Christian, turning away, “the Cube does exist. It’s very real, and so are the stories I’ve told you. Secondly, I have no interest in dissolving fear. Fear is what we use to control people; to make them do what we want them to do. I have no interest in liberating the masses. That would be pointless and stupid. How could any wealth be generated without the masses to do the work?”
A blank expression filled Christian’s face.
“All power is based in fear,” he uttered by rote. “If fear in the masses were ever lost, everything we have worked so hard to build would be destroyed. Fear must be maintained at all costs.”
“But can you not see that those are not your own words, Christian?” pleaded the doctor. “Can you not see that you were programmed to say them? I know that this all seems very real to you, but you must believe me when I tell you that it is all in your mind. It is myth. If you make the effort to understand the stories, you will be able to make sense of them, and find peace.”
“What else did you learn, Doctor,” said Christian, turning to face Bennington. “You will tell me everything.”
Bennington let himself fall into his armchair, defeated.
“You told me that your brother and sister conceived a hermaphrodite child so that an ancient prophecy might be fulfilled. You said that this child was born so that a portal to hell might be opened, and a great host of demons be unleashed onto the world. You told me that your brother would accomplish this by returning the corpse of his son to the place of its conception, where he would divide it into fourteen pieces, just as the Egyptian god Set had done to his brother Horus.”
“I see,” said Christian, squinting ever so slightly. “I remember now. There is a tremendous symbolic meaning behind this division, Doctor.”
He looked down at Bennington, his arms hanging limply at his sides.
“Fragmentation is Lucifer’s way.”
As Christian spoke these words, a dark roll of thunder sounded ominously outside the plane. With this last piece of information, it was as if a curtain had been drawn aside for Christian, and all the knowledge of which he had only previously glimpsed, was at last made fully available to him. The jet banked and began its descent into Jerusalem.
“What are you going to do, Christian?” asked Bennington, his voice fearful and unsteady. “Surly you will not act on these mythical constructs.”
“I will do what I was born to do, Doctor,” said Christian, already becoming lost in his thoughts. “I feel I am finally ready to begin.”
Here ends
Book I - The Dark Rift.
The Last Artifact Trilogy continues with:
Book II - The Lost Labyrinth
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First and foremost I would like to thank my dear friend and fellow visionary, Paul Gillespie, for listening to countless hours of my preposterous ruminations (over loads of cheap scotch) and consistently encouraging me to bring this, my very first novel, through to its conclusion. And to my equally dear friends, Lou Martinez and Christopher McEnroe, who poured diligently through duct-taped manuscripts to offer up indispensable criticisms when I needed them the most. Immeasurable thanks to Raika Sheppard, who helped me edit the first drafts.
My thanks once again to Christopher McEnroe, and Paul Gillespie, for helping me to create the awesome video sequences used in this book’s trailer, as well as to the talented David Osborne, for his outstanding narration. To my dear friends, Ellen Bateman, and Andrea Corlett, I extend my eternal gratitude for their constant support, as well as to Jim Latimer, for a brilliantly insightful commentary that led to the book’s final polishing. I thank them all a million times over.