Prophecy. An ARKANE thriller. (Book 2) (10 page)

“Welcome back,” he said. “I hope you’ll stay longer this time.”
 

His amber eyes flashed a smile and Morgan thought for a moment she saw a warmth born of their adventures together. Then he dampened it down again, returning to the professional standing they had to be on here. But the chemistry was still there. They walked down a plain white corridor towards another door at the end.
 

“This area has cameras and sensors tuned to biometrics so you can be recognized,” Jake said.

“And I’m already in the system?”

“Of course; Spooky sorted it out for you. He’s been eagerly awaiting your arrival.”

The elevator door opened as they approached and inside various buttons lit up to show Jake’s access. He pressed Labs and they headed down. Morgan had been shown the ARKANE vault when she had left the Pentecost stones for safekeeping but she hadn’t yet experienced a full tour of the London Headquarters. She was still amazed at how large the facility was, yet it lay under one of the most famous squares in the world and was a secret known only to a few.
 

The ARKANE Institute was publicly recognized as an academic research centre but most outsiders had no idea about the kick-ass arm of specialist operators solving mysteries and seeking artifacts for the vault. ARKANE specialized in the intersection between science and faith, the acknowledged real and the paranormal, that which fell outside the realm of rational truth. Now Morgan had made the decision to join the team, it felt like her first day at school. She had something to prove and something to give back, especially as they had just busted her out of an Israeli jail.
 

“This floor is where most of the grunt work is done,” Jake said. “There are labs and meeting rooms, as well as teleconference rooms to work with the other facilities.”

“Other facilities?” Morgan asked.
 

Jake turned at her question.
 

“Yes, you’ve seen the one at the Pitt Rivers in Oxford but we also have places all over the world in sites of particular religious or spiritual significance. Some are fully staffed like this and others are just agents working remotely. We also use the facilities of many foreign intelligence services. ARKANE holds leverage over many governments and religious organizations. That’s how we got you out of Jerusalem, by the way.”

“I wanted to say thank you,” Morgan replied quickly.

Jake smiled and then walked down the corridor away from her.
 

“Don’t worry, you’ll no doubt repay the favor, since we’ll be working so closely together now.”
 

She heard his words but he turned away, so she couldn’t quite see what he felt about that. Morgan hurried to catch him up.

“So, give me the grand tour,” she said. “Then I’m keen to get on with investigating the bombing at Ezra.”
 

Jake indicated glass paneled doors to the left and right that opened up into separate work areas.
 

“We’ve tried to modernize the layout but it was designed for another age so most of the rooms are separate. Each of these workspaces is available to the teams for study. On this level are the open labs.” He stopped to look into one and beckoned for Morgan to join him.
 

“What are they studying here?” she asked as she looked inside. There were several researchers handling documents with tweezers and white gloves.

“They’re digitizing those manuscripts for further analysis but currently this is the project room for the Mayan doomsday prophecy.”

“Seriously?” Morgan’s eyebrows raised in surprise.

“You don’t think we could stay out of that one do you?”

Morgan laughed softly. “But you don’t believe that it’s going to happen, surely? ARKANE doesn’t believe the world will end?”
 

“It doesn’t matter what we think, it’s what many believe. The power of belief makes people do crazy things. We have to prepare for what may happen and for how some people may react. ARKANE monitors where the craziness is likely to be so we can move to calm things down.”

“I see.” She paused, looking back through the window at a woman wearing a Muslim head covering. “That scientist is wearing the hijab. I thought ARKANE was primarily Christian?”
 

“It was originally started as a defense against those who sought to destroy Christianity, even the idea of God, with rational thought and science. But that soon evolved into an investigation of the wider paranormal. We deal with anything that has a remotely spiritual or religious connection now and so ARKANE employees come from all traditions and faiths or in fact, lack of faith. We find the different perspectives enrich the research as we investigate from different angles.”

They continued walking down the corridor.
 

“I should think what you research here must make lack of faith impossible.”
 

“Perhaps,” Jake said, as they reached another glass door. “This is one of the more open workrooms integrated into the research system.”
 

He showed her in and Morgan smiled in wonder. The room was wide, with a high ceiling, and a natural light suffused the walls with warm color. On the far wall, a waterfall could be seen and the sound of falling water permeated the room. There were ferns and foliage making alcove spaces for people to work in a natural and relaxing atmosphere.
 

“It’s gorgeous, but why a waterfall?” she asked.
 

“We needed to do something about people being down here in the dark with no windows, so all the rooms have a virtual reality atmosphere with infused light and natural features. It means people can stay down here working for hours and not go mad.” He smiled. “But of course, I have to get out of here as much as possible.”

“Yes, I don’t see you as much of a researcher,” Morgan teased. “But how do others work here?”
 

Jake indicated an alcove where a young man sat. He had pulled out a screen from the wall and sat working at it.
 

“There are workstations built into the suite, and then we have Martin’s special project over there.”
 

He pointed at what looked like a tanning booth hidden in one corner, landscaped behind some bushes.
 

“What is it?” asked Morgan.
 

“A walk-in interface with the ARKANE search engine. Once you’ve tried it, you’ll want to spend all your research time there. You can see Martin’s influences on the side.”
 

Morgan grinned as she saw the little blue police box.
 

“Bigger on the inside, I guess?”
 

“Exactly.” Jake explained further. “It’s a virtual reality library where you can interact with the data in three dimensional space. In fact, it’s modeled after the Bodleian Library in Oxford, so you’ll feel right at home.”
 

Morgan looked at the device. One of the reasons she had come to ARKANE was their mind-blowing access to knowledge. They gathered it from all corners of the earth and all faiths, hacked it from hidden archives and foreign intelligences and scanned it from ancient manuscripts. The data was bound together into a database that made Google look like an abacus. The possibilities were intoxicating to her. Jake seemed to regard knowledge as a tool for the blunt instrument of action but she saw it as a portal to understanding psychology and its link to the faith of the human race. Perhaps it was a key to finding her own path to God.
 

Jake walked back towards the door.
 

“Right, let’s drop in on Martin and then we’re off to see the Director. I know how much you’re looking forward to that.”
 

Morgan stuck her tongue out at him. It seemed their cheeky relationship was back on track.
 

Martin Klein’s office was at the end of the long lab corridor, a little space that few were allowed to enter without an appointment. Jake knocked on the closed door which bore the nameplate ‘Head Librarian.’
 

“He’s way more than that, of course. He’s the Brain of the Institute, but he likes the name.” Jake said as the door opened.
 

“Jake, come in, come in.” A tall man with roughly cut blond hair and thin wire-rimmed glasses beckoned them in. He bobbed up and down on the balls of his feet. “And welcome Dr Sierra.”
 

He reached out his hand but then snatched it back before Morgan could take it. He spun round to his desk, speaking quickly, his mind jumping ahead.
 

“I have something here for you, I’ve been saving it. It’s a paper on the meaning of the drawings in the Red Book and how they relate to the Jungian archetypes. I thought you would like it.”
 

Morgan smiled and took the paper he held out. She knew a number of men and a few women who came under the high functioning Asperger’s type and understood the avoidance of physical touch as well as the phenomenal mind that too many underestimated.
 

“Thank you Martin. That’s very kind.”
 

“And I have a new tablet for you, fully loaded with all the information you need to get started, an orientation of the pod system - that’s the virtual library - as well as all the material I have so far on the Thanatos group, and of course the latest bombings and the prophecies and … ”

Jake cut in.
 

“You’re marvelous, Spooky. You know how much we appreciate your help. Morgan has to settle in today and we need to see Marietti, but we wanted to pick your brain first.”

Jake’s voice was soft and although Morgan could see he needed to guide Martin’s enthusiasm sometimes, she could feel it was with real respect and friendship. Jake had told her that the ‘Spooky’ nickname came from Martin’s uncanny ability to find patterns and answers in a mass of data. He could perceive hidden truths in the chaotic material he scanned that others would never see. Martin rocked back and forth on his heels for a moment, then picked up a colored marker and went to the back wall.
 

“Of course Jake, what do you need?”
 

“We have some disparate pieces of information that we somehow need to knit together,” Jake replied. “Are they related, and if so, how? And are we dealing with Thanatos only or some other organization?”
 

Martin began to draw as Jake spoke, strange creatures with fantastical limbs surrounded by creepers and flowers. It was as if his creative brain needed to be occupied while he processed the incoming information with his logical side. Morgan was fascinated by how he could manipulate his mind in such a manner and she joined in the conversation.
 

“The suicides in Israel relate to the Revelation prophecy,” she said. “The pale horse also links it to Thanatos, as they used the image in the hunt for the Pentecost stones. The prophecy says a quarter of the world must die. I think that’s a threat we need to take seriously.”

“But how could they possibly do it?” Jake asked.
 

“If I wanted to kill a quarter of the world,” Martin mused, “then I would need something more than a few religious fanatics in Israel committing suicide. It’s not a very good plan, is it?”
 

Morgan laughed.
 

“Good point. There must be something bigger going on. Perhaps this is just the beginning, but where is it heading?”
 

Jake paced the small office as he thought. Morgan knew that he wanted to discover who was behind Thanatos as much as she did. Their clashes with members of the organization during the Pentecost operation had left scars on them both.
 

“Actually, that’s a good way to think about it,” Jake said. “If you were trying to destroy a quarter of the world, what would you do?”
 

“I’d release some kind of virus,” said Martin. “But I’d also want to make sure the right people would survive before I started the mass destruction.” He paused in his drawings. “Goodness, did I just say that? It sounds like eugenics, but I guess all the dictators in history have tried to do the same thing. You want to destroy the perceived ‘Other’ and protect the people you consider to be the right type of people to survive.”
 

“That is exactly what I’ve seen in Africa,” Jake replied, anger in his tawny eyes. “Look at Rwanda, the Congo. I know my own people in South Africa would have done that if they could. Apartheid was just one step from annihilation of the Other. I don’t want to see that situation happen again.”
 

“Eugenics isn’t all bad.” Martin adjusted his glasses. “I’m sorry Jake, but it seems that the perfectly reasonable science behind eugenics has been lost in all the bad press.”

“Seriously?” Jake said. “Go on then, convince me.”

Martin stood like a professor, bouncing with enthusiasm for his subject.
 

“Before Hitler, eugenics was considered a proper science, interested in researching how to make the overall population better. Of course, humanity has done this with animals and plants for generations, breeding for better stock or enhanced resistance to disease. Humans have had similar ideas, like marrying into a higher class and nowadays, women go to sperm banks and specifically choose a donor based on criteria that will make a better baby. There are designer genetics that screen for gender and disabilities, or the Tay Sachs register for Jews. All this is based on eugenics in the purest sense, which is about building better humans.”

Jake raised an eyebrow.
 

Noticing his response, Morgan said, “He’s right Jake. Tay Sachs is a genetic disease that manifests if both parents carry the gene so there is a screening program for Ashkenazi Jews. As a result it has been practically eliminated, as people are encouraged not to have children if they both have the gene.” She turned. “But Martin, that’s a positive example of education and personal choice to avoid future problems. We’re talking here about the negative connotation of eugenics which is about destroying those who aren’t considered worthy of life.”