Area 51: The Grail-5 (21 page)

the length from a normal-sized man's elbow to the end of the middle finger. A
little less than afoot and a half. But the cubit was different for many
societies, so we must allow flexibility.}

The Ark was to be made of wood, gold-plated on the inside and out. The lid
was also to be of gold, with two carved figures of cherubim facing each other.

There's some debate over what exactly a cherubim is. Some say it is a
sphinx-like creature. Others claim the two cherubim weren't separated but were
male and female and carved in an erotic embrace, although orthodox religious
scholars don't like that interpretation.

According to tradition, Moses got these basic instructions and he passed
them on to a man named Bezaleel who was the most skilled workman available.

The ark was built with four gold rings on each bottom corner, so that poles
could be placed through for transport. Once completed, the tablets were put
inside, and the Ark was covered whenever it was moved in public.

However, I believe that this is a description of an object that already
existed and was taken secretly by Moses out of Egypt. It is at Mount Sinai
that Moses chose to reveal this Ark to the people. The Ark that Moses had on
the Exodus was the Ark of Atlantis, containing the Grail. I feel the
transition from Atlantean Ark to Ark of the Covenant is an example of either
myth supplanting reality or a deliberate misrepresentation of facts to hide
the truth, something I have run across quite often in my study of the Airlia
effect on our history.

The first part of this story comes mainly from the Christian and Jewish
writing. However there is another body of study that I have perused regarding
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this journey—the Kabbalah, of which there are several interpretations, some
strictly orthodox, others leaning toward the fantastic. I have culled from all
these versions some interesting information that sheds light on the Grail.

Kabbalah is defined most commonly as "received knowledge." Over the
centuries it has been considered an occult theosophy of rabbinical origins. It
is similar in many ways to sufism, a desire for knowledge, to look beyond the
apparent and find the ultimate truth of our world. Unlike those religions that
promise revelation after death, those who follow the Kabbalah path seek that
truth in this life, and, some say, ultimate life before death, transcending
the limitations of time and space.

Delving deep into the various accounts, I have found that most branches
trace their roots to the same event—the Exodus at Mount Sinai.

For over a thousand years the Kabbalah was handed down verbally before
being written, leading to many interpretations. It is reported that while they
were stopped at Mount Sinai, four men were called upon to partake of something

"unworldly."

Three of these men were identified—a rabbi and two noted men of the tribes.

But the fourth is only labeled the "Other." They entered a chamber in the
mountain through pillars of marble and gazed upon what was inside. One of the
men was killed instantly, overwhelmed by what he saw. The Other directed the
two survivors to partake of a "libation " that would bring them to the fourth
level of the soul, the chayyah, which is the life force itself.

I believe this Other wanted them to partake of the Grail. He promised them
eternal life if they did so and knowledge beyond anything they could imagine.

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I believe this Other was a Guide, sent by Aspasia's Shadow, to determine if
the Grail was being carried in the Ark and if it was indeed the Grail of
Atlantis.

Fortunately, both men refused to partake. The Grail was returned to the Ark
and the Other disappeared. The Ark was brought to the Promised Land.

But this hint of such a "libation" led to different interpretations in both
the Torah and the Christian Old Testament throughout the ages.

Regardless of what happened at Mount Sinai, the Ark, Grail enclosed,
traveled to Israel. In 1040 B.C. during the reign of King Samuel, the Ark was
captured by the Philistines. It is said to have caused great troubles for the
Philistines and they were unable to open it. They returned it to the
Israelites, where it was kept for a while in the town ofBaala.

In the fourth year of his reign, King Solomon began building a temple fit
to house the Ark and the Grail. The head architect was a Phoenician named
Hiram Abiff. Seventy thousand men were employed to bring wood from Jaffa to
Jerusalem and even more, eighty thousand, to quarry the stone needed for the
construction. It took seven and a half years to build—why such a monument for
a people that worshipped one God who asked for no idols to be built to him?

Hiram Abiff is rumored to have sent a report about what he was doing and
what the Temple was designed to hold—the Ark and the Grail—to his king in
Phoenicia. Hiram Abiff was killed by Solomon upon completion of the Temple to
keep the secret, but it might have already been too late.

This report made its way through the Muslim World and when they conquered
Spain, it went to the

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center of knowledge they established at Toledo. There it was uncovered by a
man known only as Kyot, a sort of sorcerer, a master of a little-known runic
language which sounds very much like the High Rune language.

With the secret disclosed, action needed to be taken to preserve both
artifacts. On top of that, internal dissension among the tribes and external
forces constantly threatened the temple and its precious contents.

the successors to Solomon make it seem less like a kingdom devoted to God
than one committed to power. And what was the power they were fighting over?

After Solomon, due to the turmoil that overtook the state, one legend has
it that the Ark was taken by Solomon's son and the Queen ofSheba to Africa, to
the Kingdom ofAxum, where it has remained to this day. The Ark went south as a
ruse to hide the location of the more important piece—the Grail, which
remained in Jerusalem, being too valuable and powerful for the priests to part
with in their struggles.

I will not go through the various deceptions, assassinations, alliances,
and betrayals that boiled in Jerusalem for the next several hundred years.

In 587 B.C., the Babylonians seized Jerusalem and razed the temple, taking
the people into captivity. It is written that Jeremiah, a prophet, hid the
Grail on Mount Nebo in the Abaraim Mountains. That is the last time the Ark or
the Grail is mentioned in the Old Testament. A sect grew, the Essenes, who
kept knowledge of the Grail's location a secret. It is possible the Essenes
were a group of Watchers.

And then the Romans came.

At first, the Romans came not as conquerors, but

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as allies. They were invited into Jerusalem, the lesser of the many enemies
that had to be dealt with.

As expected, the Romans assumed more and more power, making the state a
Roman vassal. And as expected, the Jewish people eventually rebelled.

And here you must bear with me. For I think there was a rebellion of
another sort. That the inner priesthood, those who watched the Grail in secret
chambers and kept it safe for hundreds and hundreds of years finally reached a
state of desperation. I believe some of these priests were renegade Watchers,
for as you will see later in my account, this was not to be the last time the
Grail was sought as a solution to a current problem by those men who knew
where the Grail was, hoping it could be used in their struggle, and perhaps
the ultimate solution to stop both The Mission and The Ones Who Wait by
renegade Watchers.

A figure arose in the land who became a leader, not by force of arms, but
by preaching love and peace. He had knowledge beyond anything ever seen
before.

And the Romans helped their lackeys kill him. But it was said he could not
die.

Whether it was God or access to the Grail that brought this about I do not
know and do not pretend to tell you.

It did not achieve the immediate desired result but it did change the
course of man from then forward. History will give the final answer to this.

Che Lu pushed her chair back. She pressed her hands against her eyes and held them there. Yakov was silent. There was no longer the clack of Mualama's key-183

board—he too was sitting still, looking at the words he had translated.

"Well." Yakov's voice shattered the silence, but no one went further than that. No one could. What they had just read was so overwhelming in its implications that there was another long silence.

They were all surprised when Che Lu spoke. "Nothing is as it seemed.

Nothing." She looked at the others, dismay all over her face. "Who are we?

Where did we come from?"

"More importantly," Yakov said, "who should we trust?"

"I think we should trust Artad," Che Lu said. "From this journal, it appears he tried to do good."

Yakov shook his head. "Not entirely. It looks to me as if both sides were manipulative and deceitful."

"A war is coming," Che Lu said. "Do you think we should align with Aspasia's Shadow? Everywhere he has been, his influence was negative. Artad was only trying to stop him."

"Why think a side has to be chosen?" Mualama asked. "Perhaps we have to fight both sides and be true to our species."

"Artad unified China and led the building of the Great Wall," Che Lu argued.

"That is a far more positive thing than Aspasia's Shadow is credited for."

"We shall have to see what the rest of the manuscript has to say," Mualama said.

HAZERIM AIR BASE, ISRAEL

The runway was blacked out, allowing the bouncer to arrive unseen except by the commando guards wearing night-vision devices. They had the airfield sur-184

rounded, guarding against attack out of the surrounding desert.

Turcotte watched through his own night-vision goggles the floor of the bouncer as the pilot gently set down the large containers holding the team's equipment, released the lines, then floated the craft to the side and set it down. He was the first one out of the hatch, the rest of Graves's team following.

A small group of men waited for them on the tarmac next to a dim light, just in front of the Combat Talon. Turcotte recognized the flight suits of the talon crew, but there was another man dressed in unmarked khakis also in the group.

The tallest of the men in the flight suits stepped forward as Turcotte approached. "Colonel Maher, pilot in command."

Turcotte took the offered hand. "Mike Turcotte, mission commander."

The colonel didn't bother to introduce the rest of his crew, instead ordering them to get the aircraft ready to take off. Graves's team was already carrying the cases containing the TASC-suits and other gear over to the open back ramp of the aircraft.

That left the unidentified man in khaki, who finally spoke. "My name is Sherev."

"We appreciate being allowed to use the airfield," Turcotte said.

"That is not why I am here. I am from Dimona."

Turcotte recognized the name and what was thought to be stored there—nuclear weapons. "What can I do for you?"

"There is a problem we have, that appears also to be your problem." Sherev paused, as if considering what to say. "Someone in my government has given up two items that I think have something to do with your target."

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Turcotte waited, hoping Sherev would get to the point.

"I would not have allowed this to happen if I had known who was involved on the other end," Sherev continued, "but I was cut out of the loop. It was only after the items were given up that I discovered who we were dealing with. Have you ever heard of a man named Al-Iblis?"

Turcotte felt a chill come over his body. "What did you give him?"

'Two artifacts from our archives at Dimona. They are known as thummin and urim. They are two stones, the exact nature of which we never ascertained."

Turcotte remembered Che Lu mentioning those names. "When did he get them?"

"They were delivered to an intermediary in Jordan four hours ago. We were not able to track them further."

"Why?" Turcotte asked. "Why did you do this?"

"Al-Iblis had Saddam Hussein assassinated as his part of this bargain. There were those in my country—powerful people—who felt the loss of two stones that were apparently not worth anything was an excellent trade."

"They were wrong," Turcotte said.

"I feared so. That is why I am here."

A whine split the air as one of the Talon's four turboprop engines came alive. Turcotte's nostrils flared wide as die familiar smell of burning fuel wafted over him.

"What can you do for me?"

"I got you this airfield and you'll get counter-electronic-warfare support from our experts all the way into your drop zone and we'll cover the plane coming out," Sherev said. "We have a bit more experience than your Air Force in infiltrating Egyptian airspace."

"That will help. We'll have an AWACS flying support so your people can coordinate through it."

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Sherev handed a small slip of paper to Turcotte. "That's how you can get ahold of me via secure SATCOM."

A second engine started.

"How did you know the deal was bad?" Turcotte asked.