Visitation - Reality (book 1 of 2)

STORE WHAT IS LEFT FOR OTHERS TO FIND

THE SETTLERS WERE PROMPTED to consider creating a repository of their information and advanced technology especially following the loss of a developing base in the Middle Sea.

The base had been established for hundreds of years and had aided not only the local population there, but through their central position and maritime trading exploits, they were spreading, albeit indirectly, the advancement of knowledge and civilisation.

Things had been going well, the locals had been left to develop their own technology, especially in the art of shipbuilding and trading, and had been given just a gentle ‘push’ in a particular direction when required.

The Settlers no longer believed in too much direct intervention, just gentle pushes when required.

The base had been located central to the main plains of this wonderful island, easily hidden within the spread of simple housing as just another business place. Many records were kept here along with some technology and communications systems. All was hidden in a manner, especially within an excavated basement, that should a local happen to walk in he would see nothing nor suspect anything except that a trader was keeping his books and perhaps counting his coins.

News had been sent out by the central highlands base to all local centres, including this one, warning that the polar ice caps were about to undergo a dramatic disruption that may, in only a few years, raise sea levels by many metres.

Plans had been put in place and when it was clearly noticeable that the sea was creeping higher up the shore, day by day, equipment was quietly being moved out as a first precaution.

What had not been anticipated was the earthquake that shook the whole island while the sea level continued to rise. This was detected as the result of the eruption of a massive volcano to the south of the base and at the edge of the island, becoming active. It was subsequently found that the whole island and volcano was sat upon a large subterranean magma chamber that was facing eventual collapse.

And so it happened, with the rate at which seas were now rising the situation became increasingly alarming. This Middle Sea was fed by a broad channel at one end connected to the much bigger oceans but generally holding them back. They were now being fed by a massive melting of the polar caps causing the 'spill over' rate to increase.

A sudden breaking free of massive ice sheets from their rocky island bases at both poles caused a sea level rise at an increasingly rapid rate sufficient to cause the Middle Sea to spill over itself into a northerly low plain. The loss of the dividing earth barrier there resulted in the massive flooding of this plain and the creation of a new sea there.

Many myths of all the great floodings, occurring all over the world, were being formed and recorded by the surviving populations.

Then the impending catastrophe really struck. The island volcano came to life in an explosive manner, wiping out all the inhabitants living round what they had thought was simply a beautiful mountain. A massive earthquake shook the entire island. The release of the pressure in the great magma chamber caused its sudden collapse. This in turn was followed by the rapid sinking of the entire area below the waves into the emptying chamber.

The base was lost below the waves, along with its Settler field operatives, thousand of local people, all which had been accrued from their civilisation, and all that had been developed with the help of the local Settlers.

What the base contained was only a small part of the total Settler technology but a wealth of records and history that had been invaluable was lost for all time.

A decision was rapidly made by the Settlers, within their central base, to expand the concepts of satellite technology stores by making them repositories, also, of copies of all their accumulated knowledge and records.

This concept had been settled upon some time previously and now the detailed selections were hurriedly determined and acted upon.

These stores needed now to be replicas of each other with as much detailed information as possible such that the loss of one would not compromise any of the others.

The stores being carefully concealed and with a deliberately difficult access were, conversely, to be associated with highly visible markers in a manner that would not be understood immediately by the current humans.

These caches of information, once discovered at some future time, by those sufficiently capable of determining the significance of the markers or monuments, would provide the human descendants with all the information they would need to explain the Settlers presence and origins.

These information caches were to include the ancient stories and the fleeing to this place from the last home planet, the humans’ rapid development from the DNA manipulation and cross breeding, the Visitors, the Great War and the Great Floods. The means to read the wealth of information stored in miniaturised form was, of course, to be included.

The Settlers were becoming concerned that eventually their high mountain location would eventually be discovered by humankind that may be insufficiently developed to understand what they had stumbled upon.

The solution appeared to be either to dismantle all that was there, hide it amongst the planned stores and then abandon the place, or perhaps alternatively, make the base more secure and beyond discovery.

The Settler’s population had diminished, many seeking a life amongst the human population whom they closely resembled and were genetically compatible with.

Those who had decided that it was better to remain behind, would number only a few thousand at best and insufficient to undertake major improvements. A compromise was reached. All the Settlers now still within the base would help with the reinforcement of its security and some further internal expansion, and then those wishing to leave, could do so afterwards.

The improvement works were completed within several years, sufficient to fully conceal those who wished to remain, and allowed for further possible development although this would, of course, have to be at a much slower pace with reduced numbers.

Having seen the finished improvements, the numbers who finally decided upon the course of action to leave here, had second thoughts. This left those definitely leaving as only a few thousand, similar to the same number that had decided originally to remain.

It was now the greater majority who decided to remain within the new enclosed, hidden environment affording a new sense of real security.

Those who intended to leave now moved down the mountains during the warm months to establish themselves amongst the general population. In choosing where to integrate carefully, they selected locations where they could be assured that their fair complexions and blue eyes would not set them too much apart.

The extended skull growths seen in some of their predecessors, the result of a dormant ancient gene becoming activated had all but now disappeared. It was thought that the interbreeding between the Settlers and the humans was somehow causing a suppression of the responsible genetic code and it may never surface again, remaining forever dormant or recessive.

The Settlers were determined to continue the development and reinforcement of the human DNA strain by natural means, through marriage or otherwise mating with the human populations of which they were now genuine cousins. They swore to remain in contact with each other over the generations with secret communications to pass on as much information as possible of their local status and of the human development.

What little technology that may be required to maintain communications, and perhaps access one of the stores, would be retained and carefully concealed amongst the multiplicity of groups.

Of paramount importance was the creation of the planned stores, their selected locations and the securing of the records remotely from the base.

Those staying within the base, while enjoying a more stable and secure living, promised to always provide and without question, a haven for any of the returning leavers should they find living amongst the humans not to be to their liking.

A location for one great record store had been chosen, near one of the great stone monuments that some of their kind had constructed many generations previously.

This had been erected both as a piece of art, reflecting the styles of such constructions seen in the photographs of ‘home’ but also designed to contain an energy generator beaming out into space. This was now considered obsolete and the equipment within removed to leave empty interiors.

An underground location nearby in the natural bedrock for a store was considered a good location, being defended naturally from what was happening on the surface.

When humankind’s knowledge and understanding was sufficiently advanced to recognise the significance of the monument and what was associated with it, hopefully, they would have their own technology with which to search and discover.

The finding of such a record store by humans would set them upon a path of great discovery that may eventually lead them to whence the Settlers had come. It would certainly reinforce the innate sense of discovery built into the DNA of the new humans.

Similar edifice constructions about the world provided a common theme. At some future time, they may be recognised for what they were and record depositories were to be established local to them.

If a future generation of humankind became clever enough to discover one store with its wealth of information then others, located in similar configurations, might be recognised also.

Providing multiple copies of everything to be stored in duplicitous arrangements effected a security of storage against the possible ravages of time and, it was hoped, also prevent one group only of claiming the ownership of what they found. It was essential that the obtaining of such knowledge be disseminated amongst all peoples for their general understanding.

Because of the predicted new polar freeze and Earth’s tectonic movements, combined with the planet’s ancient axis wobble, the climate was changing yet again and the great savannahs of the big continent were disappearing rapidly to be replaced by desert.

The people in this continental area were migrating rapidly to a central river area where continued sustenance could be found from the very fertile soils. The Settlers correctly predicted that this would lead to a massive surge in the development of this gathering local civilisation.

This also happened to be one of the locations selected for the to-be created, technology and great records stores.

Someone amongst the Settlers decided that some of their older pieces of equipment, of several similar types and likely to be useful for this developing and growing group, could be quietly left with the higher orders of the emerging peoples.

The leaders of this agglomeration of peoples would have an impressive tool, or tools, left with them that would not only assist in many ways but also act as a symbol of authority and power to reinforce the leader position.

Strong leaders were known, particularly in this (yet again) developing civilisation phase, as the recognised means by which rapid advancement of peoples could take place.

This was certainly needed as the loss of the Middle Sea cradle of a civilisation, along with the loss of many thousands of peoples in surrounding areas, had set back the whole concept and program of assistance to the humans, and even the Settlers were now in difficulties as a result.

An energy generator and communication device, some basic electric lights, an anti-gravity machine and knowledge of fine measurement were all left with so-called Priests of this emerging grouping. They were initiated secretly in the knowledge of the ‘Gods’.

They, of course, saw most of this as some sort of divine magic and recognised their special status to be privy to such objects and information, even to secrecy from the ruling classes. The stories of the Settlers and what they had previously achieved were erroneously converted into mythical stories.

When these were combined with the verbal traditions of the more ancient stories, they quickly became great myths that described the founding of the new empire by visiting ‘Gods’ from the stars.

The Settlers let this stand, again in the principle that in the distant future much developed humans would be able to decipher the original intent.

Cross breeding by the Sons of the Settlers with the ruling classes of the humans, many generations previously, had caused some individuals to develop the elongated head shapes, slightly similar to their predecessors. While this feature was considered extinct it did, however, start to appear once again.

Now that inter-breeding was openly possible and actually encouraged, some more characteristics of the Settlers were starting to appear in the humans’ leader class. It had occurred also in other parts of the world where similar privileged rulers’ families had been encouraged to mate with the Settlers; maybe there was another type of time element to the DNA mix that had not been envisaged.

More than likely, it was the Settler males amongst their shrinking population who saw the women of these ‘developed’ people as comparatively beautiful and having lusted after them, taking wives or consorts, produced a genetic bias in some of the resulting offspring. The pursuit of human wives and lovers had become a semi-official policy, generally overlooked, in the periods before any departure from the base.

They had certainly been encouraged to inter-breed as this might not only reinforce the desired genetic changes for civilising but also provide a measurable marker for the speed and direction of change.

The emergence of occasional elongated skull shapes would simply have to be accommodated. The days of genetic experiment were generally over. Humankind appeared to be on the right course but would probably still need keeping a watchful eye on. This new emergence might just be result of the addition of further Settler DNA to an already well mixed strain particularly in the ruling classes.

Those others of the Settlers who had split up into the many planned smaller groups about the world had found locations that were generally safe and where strangers were readily accepted. With few exceptions, they were accommodated nicely and settled down to generations of domesticity mixed with a little clandestine activity as and when required.

It was decided that from time to time they might have to emerge, not openly revealing their true presence, but for the sole purpose of hidden assistance in times of crisis.

The Settlers were to disappear into the shadows for the time being. The central hidden base with their remaining occupants, settled to a lengthy generational scheme of internal improvement and security.

A satellite base would be created again in the Middle Sea on the remaining part of the disappeared island which had remained standing well above the new sea level, the quiet volcano. This was all that was left of the great island chain after the volcanic activity had finally ceased.

It became the eventual chosen location for reasons similar to the original choice. Once the local humans had themselves decided to return, it would not be difficult to establish a new base amongst their stone and timber houses.

This had been an active volcanic island, fed by the sub-ocean lava chamber, but it was considered that the eruption, earthquake and major loss of the greater part of the island had probably been a one-off event, unlikely to be repeated in the near or even distant future. Sea levels had stabilised, the climate disruption was settling down and people were coming back to the area.

It was ideally placed away from the major groupings of people on the lands surrounding the Middle Sea, although a great island with another culture coming along nicely was not too far away to the south.

The civilisation on the mainland even further south, where one of the stores was located, was also developing particularly well.

It took more than a century for all to settle down sufficiently for people to return to live amongst the greenery and growth that had flourished in providing a very verdant, fertile mountain island in the middle of a gentle sea.

This signalled the last grouping of Settlers to set up a base there, using their technology to create safe areas deep in the ground, surmounted by simple dwellings in the new local style.

The local people were completely unaware of who was in their midst and life returned to patterns more or less normal on the surrounding land masses.

The Settler group kept their silence, except for occasional radio communications with the other bases round the world, and kept a close eye on the new civilisations to their south where the ‘priests’ of both groupings with their new magic toys were moving things forward rapidly.