Red Serpent: The Falsifier (24 page)

“More importantly, are you all ready?” He looked at them, these men who had been loyal to him since before the death of Aidan. They stood in line as if waiting for their execution. They stared at Nikolas, unblinking and though they were ready to follow his command they were afraid.

This particular technique had not been used for a very long time, almost 163000 years. The last time it had it failed horrendously. The man who tried it flinched for a second and the fire in his spine moved into his solar plexus. His entire body had gone up in flames and he was reduced to ashes.

Nikolas repeated himself, “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” they droned in unison.

“Listen, even if there is a problem we can resurrect him.”

“It may not work this time,” said Noel.

“Why not?” Nikolas asked.

“We only have one chance at this, because of what’s going to happen in the next five hours.”

Nikolas was preoccupied with the technique that he had almost forgotten about the battle. “Right,” he said simply. “Well, just trust me. I know this will work; this is our only chance. You know after giving him the energy, we will be useless; we won’t be able to fight as hard as we were able to before. They need to know who he is and what he is and they have to fear him.”

They nodded and along with him concentrated their energies. All of them closed their eyes and concentrated on Alex’s soul, on his mind and on his energy. They visualized his spinal fluid being charged and magnetized by the energy at its base, and a few minutes later they could actually see it.

Waves of light and fire burst out of the windows and door of the suite into the hallway leading to Alex’s room, in a large cylindrical blaze of raw energy. Because it traveled through an astral dimension, only those tuned in would be able to perceive it. It was invisible to everyone else. A buzz surrounded the tube of light that moved throughout the hallway.

Alex felt the heat in the base of his spine. During his previous meditation sessions he had felt a slight tingling sensation there and he knew it was the rising of the energy, the force called the Kundalini. But every time he felt it, he became excited and it went away. After a few months, he learned to control his feelings and became unattached and the energy rose up again. The Rishis of Ancient India founded that primordial art of yogic meditation. The purpose was to activate this Kundalini in the brain, enabling a person’s ability to enter the super-consciousness. But this seemed different. This burst of energy would reach the brain and remain there for so long that Alex would attain new powers, skills and knowledge, just as Nikolas had said. At a certain state, when the person meditating kept his mind in control and his breath along with it for thirty seconds, that equaled a year of spiritual evolution. That meant that one hour equaled a hundred and twenty years! That was what the Migrites had come to teach, and now Alex realized it truly was possible for everyone, including humans, to use that knowledge.

He felt the middle of his back heat up and a certain pressure in between his eyebrows, just where the ridge of the nose began. He kept himself straight. He knew if he didn’t adhere to Nick’s words, there would be deadly consequences. A swirling energy revolved around him and a white light engulfed him. He felt lighter. His uncle’s voice echoed in his mind, “Alex, we have just begun. Now, like in the ship, your body is going to levitate. When that happens, don’t move an inch; don’t bend your spine. When the energy reaches your brain, you will feel pain. It will intensify, but only for some time. Then you will feel new, different.”

“Okay. I won’t move.” Alex’s body levitated and he felt the light in him radiate outwards, just like it had on the ship. A feeling of calm and a sense of oneness with the universe washed over him. He lost the ego, but not his individuality. He heard that low buzz in his ears and it became unbearable.
“Concentrate,”
he told himself,
“I have to concentrate!”
And then he felt it, the fluid of bliss and the cosmic power rushing into his brain and he knew nothing, felt nothing, and thought nothing. He was lost to his self, to his identity, individuality, and to his name. He felt nothing; there was no black, no white, no color, no sound, no senses, no feeling, no emotions, no reason, no duality, no singularity even. It just was.

John wanted to see her before he left. He sat in the room alone. His hope remained intact, even though thoughts of finality tried to seep in and diminish his spirit. In the end he knew she would live. He wouldn’t allow her to die!

As he observed his mom’s face, he thought of old times, long gone. Times were rough during the war, but at least Miriam and Aidan were alive. During those days, they were fighting for something they believed in. He knew it would happen again but these soldiers were young and inexperienced. He sighed as he gathered his thoughts. He wasn’t afraid or unsure of his men’s competence and skill. He was unsure of himself.

Although he had kept up his sword fighting as a recreation it had been a long time since he had fought. He had no idea what the Earth would be like and he wondered whether the vampires were up to mischief. He just hoped that everything would go to plan and that Alex would be safe.

There was a knock on the door, disturbing his flow of thought. Richard came in. “You ready?” Richard’s face seemed grave and suddenly a little old.

“Yeah. You okay?”

Richard smiled, “Yeah, of course.”

“Sit down.” John’s attention shifted to Richard who was now seated. “So what do you think?” His face creased with lines of worry and fear.

“You mean about this war?”

“No, about this particular battle. The war will come in time; the real war will come soon. You know this is only the beginning.”

“Above all, it’s Alex’s safety. Everything else will fall into place.”

“I hope so,” John said, once again looking at his mother. Her face was tired and lethargic, as if all the life had been sucked from it. The life supply systems and heart monitor remained normal. At least physically she remained intact. John knew she struggled for her life, but he intuited that there was more to it.

“Trust me,” Richard put his hand on John’s shoulder. “Everything will be fine.”

“Yeah,” he said. “Let’s go.”

They exited the hospital, where the crowds began to disperse. They cheered as they saw John and he smiled at them. He and Richard went into the limousine and the vehicle sped off to the Main Hangar, where everyone would be assembling and getting their supplies, arms, ammunition, swords, and space fighters ready.

The Hangar remained a restricted section of Regnum where only those with access cards could enter. These access cards could be issued only to those in power, and all official military personnel. The Hangar was located on top of the Regnum, outside the glass containment. Alongside it were two more hangars, where civilian spaceships and tourist cruisers were located. These were used for those who wanted to take a fifteen day cruise of the Regnum, orbiting the man-made planet. The third hangar was used for scientists who would send satellites and unmanned ships to monitor the Regnum from afar. They did this for their own personal researches and for communicating to the military about its position.

The Main Hangar could hold two thousand fighters, four hundred space tanks (which held a thousand ships at a time and three hundred thousand men), and eight hundred transport tankers (which were used as larger fighters and transportation for soldiers who had to go from one area to another) at a time. There were many more fighters kept in storage in the lower levels of the Hangar. If needed, they could be quickly transported by large cargo elevators.

John and Richard left the limo and took a lone elevator located in the middle of the Regnum and thirty kilometers from Central Square. Here too access cards needed to be used in order to enter. The elevator looked like a large metal rod that extended upwards to the outside of the Regnum like a spinal cord. They arrived there at 4:55. A soldier saluted them and escorted them into a large skyscraper, towering four hundred feet in the air, above the glass like an antennae. Here all the administrative work of the army, navy, and air force was collected, distributed and dealt with. Two soldiers with guns slung over their backs led them to the elevator which took them all the way to the twenty seventh and top floor. From there, they were further escorted up the stairs, to the terrace. The terrace was contained within a glass oxygen bubble. There, a private space-jet waited for them and took them to the Main Hangar. This was one of two ways to get the hangar. The other, slower way was through the Fortress, a large base protected by heavily armed guards and surrounded by an electric barbed wire fence. The guards opened the gates to let in cargo and military trucks. These transports would pass through a tunnel, one and a half kilometers from the entrance that would lead them to the lower levels of the Hangar. This base and the skyscraper were part of a huge complex dealing only with the armed forces.

As soon as they stepped out of the jet they were saluted and greeted by the five generals and their respective soldiers, along with Commander Lord and his pilots.

“At ease!” John said firmly. “Gather around fellows. In a few minutes from now, we will embark on a course for Earth. Many of you haven’t ever been there before. Nevertheless, you must know and realize it to be your home. Take this as your first of many exoduses, back to the promised realm. You will fight those who took our rightful place from us, and I urge, nay, I command you to show no mercy!

“Don’t be afraid. Remember that your fight will never go in vain, for we are the righteous. Our fight is not a fight of force but a war for life itself. We struggle for our rights, and we shall have them! I swear to you we shall have them!

“Now, lift your swords with me,” a sword was given to John, “and swear an oath along with me.” They all lifted their swords. “I swear by this sacred weapon, and by the blood that it defends, that I will never let this fall from my hands, until I am dead, or until I have returned from promised victory. Never shall I go against my people in times of war or peace, and I shall respect the ancient traditions of war, battle ethics, and will not falter in the eyes of my enemy. So help me God!

“Now, get yourselves ready. In a few minutes, we attack!” A large resonant battle cry shook the walls of the Hangar as the men shouted in excitement, anxious to fight.

The soldiers were dressed in black and they wore shiny lightweight metallic armor. It fitted easily, and with help of the latest nanotechnology and quantum mechanics, adapted to their stature, muscle mass, and body weight. Their helmets covered their entire faces except for two eye holes. The eye holes could be fitted with night-vision lenses, infrared, thermal vision, or lenses for the desert and the tundra. The armor had its own heating system for fights in the tundra and cooling vents for hotter climates.

John pulled Richard aside so he could speak to him privately. “Listen. If anything happens to me, take care of Alex and my mother.”

“Nothing’s going to happen,” Richard said. “You’ll be back to protect them.”

“You really think so?”

“You can’t die so easily. You know that.”

John nodded and kept one hand on his sword, which was sheathed and latched onto his belt. “Be careful out there.” John put his right arm round Richard’s shoulder and they walked to the private space-transport jet. They sat down, while the others prepared themselves. John pushed the intercom button on his right armrest and said, “Captain.”

“Yes sir,” said the pilot of the jet.

“Connect me to all frequencies.”

“Right away.” There was a pause and then the pilot said, “You’re connected sir.”

“Thanks,” John said and gave the orders, “All units move out on my command.”

“Yes sir,” they responded.

“Let’s go, captain,” John said.

“Sure sir,” the pilot said, and the main thrusters heated up, their force vibrating throughout the jet. A few minutes later, it sped off at mach 5 and John closed his eyes, thankful that he would be back on the Earth.

Alex thought his spine was bound to break any moment as the heat rose to an unbearable level. It was as if a large gush of acid had been pumped into his vertebrae and was trying to break free. Whatever little space that must have been in between the vertebrae was filled up and whatever was filling it was growing larger, wider, and more painful by the minute. It was like something was crawling and eating away at his spine. He wanted to move, to be free, but he knew he couldn’t. His body wavered in the air as if some invisible giant shook him around. His neck straightened further, and his chest widened, but he wanted to bend and move to relieve the tension. His patience was tested to the limits and every moment only got worse. He concentrated on the space between his eyes. He concentrated so hard that he felt like his eyes were going to pop out of their sockets. He clenched his gums, tightened his cheeks and ground his teeth to break the monotony of pain. If he moved another muscle related to or connected to the neck and back areas he would be reduced to a pile of burning flesh and ashes.

A spirit or one who had perfect vision would have been able to see the play of light, shadow and rainbow colors as they all flowed from Nikolas’s room and down to Alex’s mind, heart and spine. Alex soon felt the calming effect and he realized the pain subsided when he concentrated on the lights he felt and saw through his meditative inner vision. The immaculate and holy colors comforted him and cleansed all his worries, taxing emotions, and burdening thoughts. The pain seeped out little by little.

Suddenly he felt a stabbing pain in his brain that came and went in an instant. But the overtly soothing sensation of joy and power overwhelmed all pain, dissolving it fully. He felt energized and electric. He wanted more of it. He calmed his mind and listened intently to the hum and the whirling sensation, as if the neurons in the pathways of his brain were fueled and accelerated by pure energy. Now came the second phase: patience and revival, rejuvenation and absorption of power, silence of mind, and the relaxation of what felt like a thousand years.