Area 51: The Grail-5 (20 page)

Mualama was at the computer, and he silently pointed to the screen where the opening of a new chapter was displayed.

BURTON MANUSCRIPT: CHAPTER 4

After so many years of inactivity by The Mission and The Ones Who Wait, the
destruction of the base at Ngorongoro triggered a burst of activity by both
sides.

First—Egypt. Probably fearing retribution, The Mission removed their Guides
from Egypt, ending the Second Age and ushering in the time of the Pharaohs,
humans who took over the reign.

The long reach of The Mission was still present, though, as the plans for
the Highland ofAker that Isis and Osiris had drawn up almost six thousand
years earlier were revived. The Pharaohs built the massive pyramids we still
see today on the Highland. The purpose of these was uncertain to Watchers at
the time, although the best guess was that they were to guard the entrances to
the underground passageways. When they were first built, they were covered
with a sheathing of white limestone that could be seen for many, many miles.

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"Nabinger told us the purpose of the pyramids," Tur-cotte said to Yakov, who was also reading his copy. "They were a beacon, sending a radar signature from their smooth, flat surfaces into space."

"But think what that means," Yakov said. "The Mission had no other way to communicate into space."

"Maybe they were trying to get ahold of Aspasia on Mars," Che Lu suggested.

"But if they had access to a guardian," Turcotte said, "they wouldn't need to do that."

"But maybe they didn't have access anymore," Yakov said.

"Remember the message Kelly Reynolds sent here?" Turcotte said. "The vision of the top of the Great Pyramid being removed—maybe that was the master guardian." He shook his head. "But that doesn't make any sense."

I learned from Kaji that there were six major chambers—Duats—cut underneath
the Highland of Aker. But even the Pharaohs and their priests were not aware
of this. It was no longer the priests of the Neteru or the Horus-Guides that
watched these chambers, but the line of Kaji. The rings they had from their
time as the wedjat still worked on the doors of the Airlia. It is obvious that
The Mission did not trust the pharaohs to guard their secrets, as much as they
trusted secrecy, and the Watchers stepped into the vacuum. The Mission was
aware that the Watchers did this. Why else would Al-Iblis have sent me after
Kaji? But they did not fear the Watchers, so they were not concerned.

With ggypt abandoned by The Mission and The

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Ones Who Wait base at Ngorongoro destroyed, where did the two groups go? This
was the issue that plagued the Watchers for hundreds of years.

The first hints came with the development of civilization in China, far
removed from the cradle of the Nile and the Middle East. It seemed too much of
a coincidence that such great strides were made in that far-off land so
suddenly.

I believe, based on what I have learned, that The Ones Who Wait set up
their new headquarters somewhere in that land. The Mission remained somewhere
in the vicinity of the Mediterranean, its influence felt throughout the
civilizations that began to arise in that area.

A new phase of the Airlia civil war was ushered in, with both sides
extending their tentacles into human civilization, trying to guide it in the
way each deemed best for their side.

However, through all this, the Grail, I believe, remained inside the Hall
of Records. To discover more, I had to travel to the Middle East.

After translating the information about the First Two Ages of Egypt, I once
more traveled to that country to see how much of the tale I could confirm.

After all, there was the slightest of possibilities that the scrolls could
lie, or perhaps even be fiction. If I had not seen the Black Sphinx with my
own eyes, I might have had more doubts.

I learned that during the time of the Third Age, the time of the Pharaohs,
between what Egyptologists call the Second Dynasty and the Third, that The
Mission once more tried to implement change in Egypt to fulfill the original
plans of the Guide-Shadows of the First Age. It was with the Third Dynasty of
the Third Age that the first pyramids were built. These
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were built by men, without the assistance of the Air-lia, but with the aid of
plans drawn up by Osiris and Isis during the First Age.

The first pyramids were practice in studying how to build such structures.

I have seen the pyramids of the Third Dynasty at Saqqara in Egypt—the step
pyramids of Djoser and Sekhemket. During the Fourth Dynasty, the size
increased as the art was being perfected. The bent pyramid ofSneferu at
Dahshur was the precursor to the implementation of the plan on Giza.

When the pyramids of Giza were constructed, the Watchers were uncertain why
they were built. Indeed, consulting the foremost experts alive today on the
subject, I have learned they still are unsure of the reason for such a massive
construction project. One of the great mysteries is that there is nothing
written about either the pyramids or the stone sphinx in all the writings that
have survived from that ancient kingdom. It is as if such a thing was
forbidden, which I believe to be the case.

But I learned through one report from a Watcher a most interesting thing.

When the Great Pyramid of Khufu was constructed, the capstone was of a
different material than the rest. It was red in color.

And that capstone was removed by a flying disk during the Fourth Dynasty of
the Third Age, shortly after the Great Pyramid was built as Egypt was reaching
the peak of its power and expanding its empire in all directions. These flying
disks were mentioned here and there in other Watcher documents. Obviously,
they must be a craft of the Airlia.

With the removal of that capstone, it seems as if The Mission faded from
influence not only in Egypt,

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but around the world for a long time. And the kingdom of Egypt slowly began to
decline in power also.

I believe this capstone was one of these alien machines. Where it was
taken, I do not know.

However, despite the removal of the capstone, the Ark and the Grail
remained in Egypt, hidden in the Hall of Records, forgotten by all but the
Watchers who guarded it.

I believe from what I have read and seen that The Mission moved its
influence to the northern side of the 'Mediterranean, to Greece and across the
Atlantic to the Americas, in Mexico. The rise of the Greek City states and the
Olmecs in Mexico foretold the growing influence of The Guides among humans.

There is also the issue of these pyramid machines— it appears several were
located at various points on the planet and early civilizations grew up around
them.

The Ones Who Wait fought back in a different and disturbing manner. Instead
of trying to establish states and armies at this time period, The Ones Who
Wait worked at manipulating men across national and regional boundaries
through the power of faith.

That this was effective can be seen through the fact that they managed to
remove the Ark from Egypt. This event has been recorded, but little
significance has ever been placed to it in terms of historical reality.

In 1,200 B.C. a member of an obscure tribe called Israelites managed to
secure a place of power in Egypt. There are legends how this occurred, but the
fact remains it happened.

One man, Moses, then gained freedom for his people by scouring the land
with curses—events which The Ones Who Wait could certainly have
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helped orchestrate. Or, and this is what makes it so difficult, he could have
been a Guide. Or even just a man interfering in things beyond his conception.

I do not mean here to deny the existence of God or his power, but only to
tell what I have learned. The truth, which I have searched for all my life, is
the truth I have found, not the truth others have found. Perhaps there is a
divine power behind all things, even these alien creatures and their
followers, but I do not proclaim to know.

Moses gained his people's freedom, but just as important, he gained
possession of the Ark, in which was held the Grail. He took it out of Egypt
for the first time in over ten millennia and thus the tale becomes more
interesting.

The chapter came to an end.

"Do we have any idea where the master guardian was taken?" Che Lu asked.

"If we did, we'd be there," Turcotte said.

"The grid system I have from Nabinger might have that location," Che Lu noted.

"But you haven't been able to align, right?" Turcotte pointed out.

"Not yet."

"You might want to ask Larry Kincaid for help," Turcotte said. He checked his watch. It was time to be going. "If you get any more details on the chambers of the tunnels, forward it to me by secure satellite link," he told Yakov.

"Good luck," the Russian offered.

The acid drip of adrenaline was coursing through Turcotte's veins, and burning his stomach. He was ready to go.

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QIAN-LING, CHINA

Lexina stepped dangerously close to the dark wall. A rounded, black circle of metal had appeared from behind the veil about four feet off the ground. The circle grew larger as the wall slowly withdrew until it was four feet in diameter, then the metal began going straight back, revealing a tube.

"Do you think that is Artad?" Elek asked.

Lexina placed her hand on the end of the tube. "I don't know. But we will shortly."

Lexina paced along the black wall trying to control herself. Many lifetimes of waiting were slowly being fulfilled as the wall slid back centimeter by centimeter.

AREA 51

"The world is a very strange place," Che Lu said. "Who would have thought a year ago there would be a Russian agent and an old Chinese woman sitting inside the most secret place in America?"

She was in the conference room with Yakov. Her attempts to align the grid system with the planet had failed so far, but she felt sure she would eventually get it. When she'd been informed that the next chapter of the manuscript was ready for review, she had put that work on hold. She had not been able to find Larry Kincaid who was meeting with NASA officials over use 176

of the Hubble. She settled down into the chair next to the Russian.

She removed a small leather pouch that was tied to her belt and opened it.

Holding it a few inches above the tabletop, she let the contents spill out with a clatter.

"There have been stranger things happen," Yakov said. "What are those?"

"Oracle bones," Che Lu said. "They are what led me to Qian-Ling. They were sent to me by a dear friend who is now fighting in Western China." She picked one up, a piece about six inches long by three wide. "See the markings—a version of High Runes. They were found around Qian-Ling by peasant farmers digging in their fields."

"And their purpose?" Yakov asked.

"They tell the future," Che Lu said. She gathered the bones in her wrinkled hands and tossed them.

"What do they say?"

Che Lu gathered them, placed them in the bag and drew the string tight.

"They were just a tool used by the Emperor's soothsayers. I studied them with an old woman—older even than I—who could read them."

"What did they say?"

"Several things," Che Lu said sharply.

Yakov chuckled. "So it goes with soothsayers—give several answers and something is bound to come true."

"Let us hope not in this case," Che Lu said.

Yakov's smile vanished. "What did they say?"

"Betrayal. Fear. Death. Darkness."

"You are right. Nothing good can come of that. But you are also right in that it is just random chance that determines the fall of the bones."

Yakov checked the clock on the conference room wall. Fifteen more minutes and the team would be landing in Israel. Even if they did find anything useful, time

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was running out for them to be able to get it to Turcotte. Once the team went through the second gateway of Rostau, they would be out of communication until they reemerged.

The screen lit up with the beginning of the next chapter.

"Let us read," Yakov said to Che Lu, holding a chair out for her to sit.

BURTON MANUSCRIPT: CHAPTER 5

Around 1200 B.C. the tribes of Israel began their Exodus from Egypt led by
Moses. Here I must give the "accepted" version of what happened next.

According to the Old Testament account, they crossed the Red Sea when it was
parted by the power of their God. The pursuing Egyptian forces were drowned
when the waters fell back in place.

According to biblical sources, this group wandered in the desert—mostly in
the Sinai—for forty years. Such a journey seems strange. The desert there,
which I crossed going from Arabia to Egypt, is indeed large and desolate, but
not that expansive. It is written that they were led by a column of smoke or
cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night. It seems that such
guidance could have been more direct, except for the explanation that this was
a punishment for the worship of false idols while Moses was away from them on
Mount Sinai.

It was here that he received the Ten Commandments from the one God he
worshipped and was directed to make a container for the tablets on which the
commandments had been written. It was to be two and a half cubits in length, a
cubit and a half in width, and a cubit and a half in height. (A cubit is
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