Skip chapter one (In the Beginning) Go directly to Chapter Two (The Call).
Chapter One – In the Beginning –The planet we call Earth was created billions of years ago from the melting and cooling of solid debris and gases close to each other. In the beginning the planet was too hot to sustain life either above or below the surface, but the passing of time and the expansion of the universe changed that. Then it happened … after billions of years had passed life in its earliest form appeared.
That life appeared below the surface as a colony of cells. Those cells had the ability to absorb and relate information, take a directed action and multiply.
These early cells realized that they were unique and that their capabilities would allow them to survive if they stayed together. They bonded and formed a single unit, possibly the first brain. They were “The Council”, and they dominated the other cells. But conflict existed, even then.
The Council understood that their continued existence depended on occupying and controlling the surface. They also knew that they weren’t ready to take over the surface in their current form. To have a future and take control of the planet they would have to evolve into a more capable species. A truly dominant species. A species they would have to create.
To initiate their plan The Council began cloning cells and adding genetic instructions in the form of DNA. Some went to the surface evolving into vegetation, others thrived in the many oceans that covered the surface. Still others were intended to evolve below the surface. While a dominant species was slowly evolving on the surface.
One cell among the other cells that formed The Council, a high-strung cell called Virus, couldn’t be convinced that the evolution of a dominant species was necessary. He felt that they were dominant.
There was a terrible fight. The Council was almost pulled apart. Then it was over almost as quickly as it had started. Virus left swearing revenge, telling them that he would destroy whatever they created. He and his followers would take charge, dominate and control the surface.
The Council remained aware of Virus throughout the ages continually defeating him in his efforts to gain control. But with the passing of time and victories over Virus they had become too confident and had made a series of costly mistakes. Those mistakes allowed Virus to take a host on the surface and build a renegade following. Now he was ready to unleash his death on all The Council had created. The Council’s last hope, their only hope, was Traveler. He was summoned.
Traveler was created by The Council. He was one of the earliest cells having genetic instructions. He, and the other cells like him were intended to evolve into a species that would one day dominate the surface.
“We need you to go on a mission of critical importance to us all! We’ve sent others, they failed because we underestimated Virus. We cannot let that happen again. That’s why we’ve summoned you.”
“I didn’t respond … There was dead silence … There were no movements … Then, they were communicating with me again.”
“We’ve sent you on other missions. We should have sent you on this one. You have evolved into many of the dominant species, and we are pleased. But over the eons you evolved into a person that is involved in our current situation. It was for that very reason that we didn’t send you.
We felt the others could handle it. We were wrong. They were continuously outsmarted … Because of that error in judgment there is a possibility that we will lose control. If that happens it would destroy us, everything we’ve created, our future, and our plans for the future inhabitants of the planet. If we can eliminate the threat, or at least manage it, we will retain control. We will survive, and the future will be in our hands …”
“Communication trailed off as if I had accepted. But I didn’t know if I wanted that responsibility … They knew what I was thinking … The silence was frightening … They were upset … In moments they were communicating again.”
“You have no choice in the matter. You must go. You will have to work out what must be done when you get there. Be alert to the dangers that confront you. You can’t let Virus get the best of you or you will perish along with our future. You have been given all of the information you will need. Now Go!
With The Council’s last words sounding within him, Traveler found himself speeding through the ages. Finally, he came to rest in a large, well-manicured, grassy field. It was very dark. But there was a full moon shining directly on a large, apparently well maintained, Victorian house. It was as if the moon was a spotlight and the house its subject.
_________
In the house the man in the desk chair raised his head off his folded arms. He stood up and looked around as if he didn’t know where he was. Confused, feeling dazed, he sat back down in the chair, folded his arms on the desk, placed his head on his arms, and fell instantly asleep. He didn’t dream. He didn’t move. He stayed in the desk chair with his head on his folded arms, motionless. Although he didn’t know it, he wasn’t alone.
About 3:00 in the morning a head with a grotesque face, wrinkled skin and fiery red eyes emerged from the neck of the man in the chair. It hovered over him. The head wasn’t attached to anything. It was floating. Its eyes ablaze with fury.
The floating head began moving around the room while the man in the chair remained asleep and motionless. Wherever the head went books, journals, even book ends flew off the shelves surrounding the room. Lamps and tables turned over. The oriental carpets seemed to move on their own ending up in disarray. The room was an utter mess when the floating head with the grotesque face and blazing eyes spoke.
“My time has come to take over. It should have been much sooner … I’ll show them … We’ll kill them all and we’ll take over … They thought they’d finally stop me with you … They’re fools … They can send hordes. I will destroy them all … Soon I won’t even need my host … They have had their way long enough … My time is NOW!”
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