Visitation - Exodus (book 2 of 2)

"It is definitely time for the preparations to be brought forward and as quickly as possible.”

Another of the Senior voices was making a serious statement and most calmly as the room lighting increased to its previous level.

“We are aware that the destruction of property with the associated killing of so many people can provide the necessary excuse, by those carrying out the destruction, for implementing draconian laws against those they wish to suppress in the name of and with the falsehood of protection. We have witnessed this several times about the world in recent years. It is nothing more than state gangsterism politely and often referred to as a ‘false flag’ operation.”

“Now it’s being used as an punitive illustration of the results of disobedience against this New World Order, keeping people in fear of transgressing, keeping them where they are required to be and in the status decreed,” spoke yet another Senior voice.

“Ian,” the first voice continued, “are you sufficiently well to continue with the project if we started it immediately?”

The lights now came back up to full brightness causing my eyes to tighten momentarily against the sudden glare as all of the Senior voices turned their attention in my direction. Considering the mood I was still in, there was no question that whatever was planned for me, if it meant foiling these barbarians claiming to be the world’s saviours and civilisers, then I was the man for the job, regardless of personal safety.

“I gather that’s a yes,” Caterin interjected, reading my mind and visibly glaring at me. “Please speak when addressed by a Senior person.”

I felt properly rebuked but this only heightened the emotion within. I started, trying hard but with little success, to keep the tremble out of my voice; a dry adrenalin fuelled mouth did not help.

“I am shocked by what I have witnessed and by the deception I have just listened to,” I started.

“I am angry inside to a degree I find hard to control.”

“I understand now, that part of the project which requires us to leave this planet as quickly as possible.”

“I am deeply saddened by the realisation that when we do proceed with the project, the greater part of humanity including my close friends who were unable to be included in the party to accompany me and those of my other relatives that have declined or were also unable to join me, will be left to survive under a regime that does not bode well for them.”

I was putting lengthy statements together and realised that while anger boiled deeply inside, I was managing to control my emotions while still thinking clearly and logically.

“This saddens me,” I continued, “but it is a reality I must now live with as upsetting as the one I experienced and saw being referred to only a few moments ago. I am part of an adoptive family now, a family who have done great things for me and in return I must accept the responsibilities placed upon me and move forward.”

“I found it difficult to speak, to even say a simple yes at the moment you put the question to me. I was so incensed I was unable to speak.”

“I ask you please to not take my lack of response, at that moment, as any disrespect that you may have thought was being directed towards you. I do offer my sincere apologies however, if I did in any manner at all, cause offence to any one of you.”

“You chose this man well Caterin,” first Senior voice spoke.

“I agree,” spoke second voice.

First Senior voice continued, “Ian, we understand your level of shock and the aggression resulting from what you witnessed, both in flight and just now. We do not have the full talent as yourself and Caterin but we can feel such emotions and empathise completely.”

“The question was, are you sufficiently well to continue with the project if we started it immediately? I would like to hear your response in person. Caterin, I know what you did previously but I do need to hear Ian’s own response verbally for all our benefit.”

The attention off all turned back to myself; I paused to gather some thoughts.

“What we have all just witnessed, sitting here,” I ventured once more, “and those events that I personally experienced at close quarters, with these good men, my companions alongside me, has made a fundamental change to the way I view my, or rather our, world and our very existence.”

“The actions of my companions, in saving my life, appear to have inadvertently provided the excuse for wanton murder and destruction. I don’t know how they feel, but I can tell you this, as far as I am concerned, whatever physical or mental state I may be in right now, tell me what it is you want me to do and I will take on the task.”

“I will do whatever is required of me, regardless of my personal safety.”

“I may be seething and very angry inside; tears cannot adequately reflect my feelings, nor be of any assistance. Whatever you require of me I will endeavour to carry out to the best of my abilities, despite the emotions I find that I am suppressing; I will not allow them to affect the task to hand, whatever it may be.”

“I am ready.”

“I am sufficiently well.”

“I am fired up and I am yours.”

“Tell me what I am to do and let me start immediately.”

I was seething and the emotion within me just poured out as easily as I was finding my words. I now had a hatred for the perpetrators of this crime against humanity and the crimes that were almost certainly still to come.I worked hard at controlling my emotions to continue to speak clearly but still a sense of my over-riding passion managed to come through.

“The leadership, of a so-called civilised society and whoever was now assisting them, is being hidden behind a not so cleverly contrived mask. The real truth is being kept out of sight so that heinous plans of whomever, it matters not, can reach fruition, of this I feel I am certain.”

“I am not at all sure of who is behind whom; perhaps the cross-breed aliens are only making use of the United States, not assisting them at all, perhaps it’s the other way round, again I say, it matters not.”

I repeated myself.

“Tell me what I am to do and let me start immediately.”

I realised that I had just made an impassioned speech and wanted some sort of action to be involved in.

I had not intended at all to be deliberately passionate but it just poured out with both the intensity of the position I found myself in and with the rising adrenalin creating a focus of purpose. I had, most strangely, not experienced such as this since I last trod the boards of a theatre stage many years ago. I found it strange to find a comparison in the focussed nerves of stepping onto a theatrical stage to the way I was currently feeling. It was the effect of being in the lime light and the focus of attention while being required to think and act clearly. I just had to go along with the current situation and find a firm self-control from within.

I breathed out slowly and regained some composure.

“I think we can accept your emphatic ‘Yes’, Ian,” first Senior voice spoke again, “but I don’t want any rash actions. The first phase of our project only requires you to leave the Earth, moreover in complete safety, so you can play your part in the second phase. Try not to get too uptight or emotional, as your talent will likely be inadvertently broadcasting at high volume again. That is something we do not want to see repeated; we cannot risk more events of the same.”

I had been most definitely passionate with my expressed thoughts but realised equally, that the emotion in which they had been clad, had not caused me to transmit them with any excessive volume. I was surely coming to master my talent without conscious effort, or was it the seriousness of the situation that was having an effect on me; I couldn’t tell which. I was surprising myself.

“Or a repeat of what has followed as a result,” the second voice continued and brought my attention back to consider the present. “I’m not saying that you were the cause of this latest problem. None of us were to know precisely what might result from the changes we made to you.”

“Caterin,” the first voice spoke again, “take Ian to somewhere quiet, do a detailed de-brief, find him some food and have his Doctor give him a quick check over, then return here please as soon as arrangements are in place.”

“Ivan and John, please stay where you are as we need to talk to you and Caterin, when she returns, about the way forward.”

I got to my feet, bowed slightly as a mark of respect and had this returned by a series of polite nods. I left the room, as directed, still disturbed, with anger and a fire in my stomach but, none-the-less, in control of myself. Caterin followed me close behind.

Caterin led me to another impressive room but this one had easy chairs and small coffee tables in it. She made a phone call, I think it was a phone she had in her hand but no idea from where it came, requesting food and drink and then sat with me for a short while.

“I’m sorry that you had to experience what you did, Ian, but there may still be worse to come. I know that you are thinking of your wife and family at this time (she was reading my mind again) and those who will never join you now, but until you are back to your normal self, or can give an adequate appearance of that state, we do not want you meeting with anybody.”

I did not feel much in the mood for food and when it arrived, I only played with the sandwiches, sausage rolls and other tit-bits. I drank some juice, which now did not seem so special, as my mouth and throat were very dry, probably because of the adrenalin rush that was still coursing through my system.

Caterin got to her feet to leave and I jumped to mine also in simple respect. A young lady who had brought food for me sat in one of the easy chairs opposite. I remained standing, surprised that the new face had sat down immediately; who was she?

“I’m leaving you in the care of Silena until she determines you’re safe to be let out,” Caterin smiled as she spoke and walked out. “She’s a good nurse, treat her gently,” she chided. “Please sit down Ian.”

With that Caterin left, leaving me standing opposite the seated ‘nurse’. She smiled, nodded in the direction of the chair and so I sat down. I needed another drink and helped myself to more. I even managed to force one sandwich down but that was an effort. I found myself completely at ease and somehow comfortable in the presence of this ‘nurse’ called Silena.

I relaxed and sat back into the deep comfort of this easy chair.

Silena smiled at me with, “I’m not a nurse, Ian. Caterin has not got that quite right.”

She was a petite sized lady in a white trouser suit uniform. I found her quite attractive with her gingery hair tied back behind her ears and realising that I might be staring at her, averted my gaze to somewhere else.

The room started to take on a hazy, blurred glow that somehow did not disturb my senses, it was strangely pleasant and once more I found myself sinking, without resistance, into welcoming warmth.

My senses soon came rushing up to me like an express train and I woke up with a frightening start. I tried to stand up from the soft easy chair but found myself instead laid on a low bed. I tried to leap off it before fully regaining my senses and in something of a state of panic, overbalanced immediately. Silena was still there in front of me and grabbing my arms, steadied and stopped my otherwise headlong collision with the wall. She had a strength that belied her petite size.

“Easy Ian, easy, you’re safe, you’re with friends, try to relax. I would like you to come and sit over here, next to me, on one of these soft easy chairs.”

I had been sat on one of them only a short while previously, or so it seemed. Now I had just about fallen off a bed. This was disconcerting; I was being played with again. Silena was trying to calm me down with gentle words while holding me steady in firm strong hands. It was also obvious that I was not in the room I had been in previously, the one with the small coffee tables. Where was I? The momentary panic was over and I tried to gather myself. I sat down as suggested, almost fell down, but was still as confused as hell.

“Did I fall asleep; did I pass out, what happened?” The words shot out in an almost panic.

“Well, sort of, both of those things,” Silena dragged out her reply with another gentle smile and one hand resting on the one of mine nearest to her. “It was really the drink that did it.”

“Pardon me,” I responded. “Are you saying that the drink was drugged?”

“Sort of,” she replied, “but it wasn’t me, I promise. I only delivered it and was told to stay with you until you fell asleep, and then call your Doctor. He had you transferred to this room. Please sit back, take it easy and tell me how you feel.”

I had been tricked and was least pleased. I sat back to sink into the warmth of this chair instantly realising that this was how I fell asleep previously. I shot forward to sit on the edge of the chair with my nerves jangling again and threatening to get the better of me. I was not in a mood to discuss how I felt, I considered it fairly obvious.

I was confused, angry and concerned at what was being done to me.

My emotions had just taken a hammering and I was not in a mood to have them played with deliberately. Was I not a key figure in the project, someone who should be shown a modicum of respect?

I started to express my unhappiness forcefully and wanted, or rather demanded of her, an explanation and to know what was going on; the adrenalin was now rising again.

“Just what is going on?” I demanded to know.

Silena’s tone did not alter from her previous warm, soothing, smooth one and she continued in the same manner as previously, as though I had not interrupted her train of thought.

“Your experiences disturbed you greatly and the medical people here picked that up in what your subconscious was broadcasting, most liberally,” she explained. "You needed to be rested quickly but your mind was not going to allow that. You were rapidly becoming a danger both to yourself and to the base, so the medical people slipped you something that would help you relax, you might say.”

Her warm hard gently caressed the back of mine asking for it to be turned over. I turned my hand and she took it in hers in a gentle loving manner. That helped and did indeed have a calming effect; she was either being nicely personal or exercising her extensive training.

“How long have I been here,” I demanded to know but trying not to be so brusque and reining in my anger a little.

She looked at her watch on her other wrist and replied, “Nearly four hours now. Do you feel any better for your sleep?”

This was a genuine question but being annoyed at events, or picking on this young lady for any further explanations, was something that I knew would not help me move forward.

“Actually I do feel a lot better, apart from a sense of annoyance,” I said as it was true.

“I must have been a real case when I arrived back. I can remember being very agitated and upset at what I had witnessed and I guess my emotions must have got the better of me.”

“That was only to be expected, it’s quite normal,” she said gently increasing the pressure of her grip into a reassuring squeeze. “The shock of what played out before you, especially as you had interacted only a short while previously with several of the people killed, caused your body and mind to respond as it did; this was perfectly normal and to be expected.”

“You said were not a nurse, didn’t you?” I queried rhetorically achieving more control of my person. “How come you know so much about stress and people’s reactions to it?”

“No, I’m not a medical nurse Ian,” she spoke easily with another squeeze of my hand. “I am, however, a psychiatric practitioner who will likely be helping to care for a lot more people than just you who may be similarly stressed in the very near future. A future that is a lot closer than you can imagine.”

“You haven’t attended any of the briefings, Ian,” she continued, “because you were away from here, being kept alive, but I gather, only just.”

“The move to transport as many people as possible off the planet had been brought forward greatly. This has been accelerated even more so following your close call; the loss of all those poor people in Jamaica and the announcement you have just viewed and listened to.”

She continued her explanation with calm, in a clear and experienced voice that seemed to be having an effect. I was calming down even more quickly and paying attention to the detail.

“The first Ark, I am told, will not be into earth orbit for another few days or so, but the powers-that-be have decreed that the chances of success of us all leaving will be better if we move now. This is because of some other recent events which our intelligence people got wind off a couple of days ago.”

“This broadcast by the President of the United States has been seen only by those few of us within in the base who also needed to made aware but was not otherwise present at your meeting with the Seniors. The announcement has brought forward significantly the time-scale of the planned move .”

“Our people do not take instructions from anybody external to our organisation, especially where our lives are placed in jeopardy, but we do recognise the risks if we do nothing.”

“The first craft is due to leave here in just under four hours, with the maximum load of twenty persons on board to fly towards and rendezvous with, the inbound Ark. Those twenty on board will include you.”

“The strength of the sedative administered to you was calculated to provide only for the amount of rest it was decided you needed to make you available and reasonably functional at short notice.”

“Also aboard this first craft will be Ivan and John who have been with you for a long time. Ivan will pilot the craft and I understand, will go on to pilot the Ark if all goes well and if this is needed after the rendezvous.”

“A little more information that you probably will find useful, Ian,” she continued now to extract her hand gently from mine. “Firstly, Caterin is to lead the party, but this you already know of course. Secondly, she is to be accompanied by a series of people including an ancient language expert, a few of our scientists and, of course, more pilots.”

“It is believed, and most certainly hoped, that the Arks have other crafts on board that can carry more than twenty people. The intention is to have our ten thousand or so on board before we head off to Mars or to find the Mother Ship and we only have five local craft here on Earth. If the Arks do not include for much larger craft to undertake the Exodus, as we are guessing, then it is going to be a long, protracted exercise, full of danger.”

“I don’t really know what the plans are after that. Those of us who are required to know have only been told that everything must remain fluid and subject to a moment’s notice, depending upon how events unfold.”

“Only four hours?” I queried the leaving of the first craft deadline. Oh hell, who else has been told this?” I asked becoming excited and somewhat jittery. “And how come you know all this information, it’s a lot for a nurse, or psychiatrist or whatever, isn’t it?”

“I am fully briefed because I will form part of the subsequent team carrying out the transfers from the base to the Ark with our local craft or what we may find when you arrive at it. Those being ferried will be mostly unaware of the real nature of what is going on and we anticipate a lot of stressed people at some time in the process.”

“I did ask who else knows all this, you haven’t told me yet.”

“Only those involved immediately, no one else,” she replied. “Not even your family or the families of the key people with whom you will travel.”

“Are you coming with the project team,” I queried.

“No,” she replied. “As I said, I am part of the medical support team for the full ten thousand, or thereabouts, who will be advised at the appropriate time only. The next time we meet, it should be aboard the Ark after lifting about half of those in the base off the planet successfully.”

“I haven’t seen any of the lists and I don’t know anything else, so please don’t ask me,” she stated in a matter of fact way. “And, something else before you ask; no, I’m not one of those who can read minds.”

“You do a pretty good impression,” I said laughingly, not believing her but continuing all communication with her in an verbal manner.

“Mmmm,” she muttered with a big smile. “I don’t think you need me now. You are clearly on the mend. Try to get some food inside you before the tech. crews come to collect you. You have a little more than two hours at best. Don’t leave the room, you will only become lost and cause consternation with those you should not wish to upset.”

With that, she promptly jumped to her feet and headed for the door without dropping her mischievous smile.

“Silena,” I called out. “Before you leave me, could we have a further little chat? My head’s clearing and there is something that is coming to bother me.”

“If you insist,” she replied, turning round to take her seat again. “If I can answer you I will, but it all depends upon what you ask. I only know what I’ve been told, like you.”

“Way back in your history,” I opened, “and I don’t know how much of it you know, there was a phase when the Settlers here in the base warred with other aliens who came to this planet. They were attempting to subjugate and alter genetically, the peoples of the Earth in something of a gross manner. I actually wrote this in a book and have found out subsequently, that it was true, it actually happened.”

“I know, Ian. I have read your book, as have a few other professionals here,” she replied.

“You really do your homework, don’t you?” I added rhetorically.

“Only those who have to come into contact with you, Ian. There are a few others, at a very Senior level, who have wished to read your book but not yet done so. They have been advised of its main themes, however and I believe, in various briefings.”

“Right,” I mused, “my question is this. If, many years ago, the Settlers took on an invading alien force and won, why are you not doing that again? I can understand the need to leave the planet because of the discovery that survivors of your ancestral home planet’s great tragedy are still alive, but to continue to leave this solar system seems to me like running away.”

She was not smiling now, but looked at me rather straight faced.

“I can tell you what I understand. I am privy to some of the top level information and have also picked up, overheard you might say, various matters and with the history I have studied in mind, will try to answer you.”

“At a time long after the battles, when it became clear that these aliens were not likely to return, as they had sworn to do, the understanding was reached that this eventuality was unlikely.”

“A decision was made by those at the time that the effects of any further war may be too great and risked losing too many of our kind to survive as a race. They did not find the experience of fighting and killing others, no matter whom specifically, to our liking and to be something that should be avoided in the future. The decision was reached that weapons should never be used again and they were collected and hidden away.”

“Whoever undertook the task, they did not record the location or any other details of the task most deliberately; all information relating to this must have died with them. Our historians have occasionally dug into the records from so long ago but not a trace has ever been found. They remain buried somewhere on this Earth.”

“Of paramount importance was the furtherance of our species. Further conflict, if either successful or unsuccessful, might have too great an effect on the chances of our survival. The Great War you referred to, resulted in a loss of over a third of our people. Not just amongst the men but the women who also took part.”

“We had to become a peace loving population that, in the event of a possible repeat of the previous conflict, would remain hidden and unnoticed for as long as possible. Human kind was almost fully established and was considered capable of surviving anything but the greatest of disasters. If human kind were to suffer annihilation, then we would either suffer the same fate or try to leave without loss. The latter position is where we are at, right now.”

“There is a saying,” Silena now spoke solemnly and quietly, “that we are peoples destined to be hunted for eternity . . .”

“. . . and that every many thousand years we will again be put to the test,” I finished her sentence.

Once again a broad smile returned to her face and emotionally, we were as one. I knew where my responsibilities laid, with my adoptive family.

“Do you think that this is the time?” I queried further. I had pushed a query of the situation further, more to reinforce my continued acceptance.

“It most certainly seems to be the case,” she continued, returning to her quiet tone, placating some of my uncertainty.

“What we know of this new alien presence has worried our leadership for some time, long before you arrived. Your book spoke of things that set you out as different and perhaps of great significance to our continued survival. It seems to have worked out this way. I have been advised, along with a collection of other professionals, just what it is we are trying to accomplish with your assistance.”

“This new alien presence on Earth we did not become aware of, this time, until a short while after your Second World War, so the history books tell. Certain events also told us that more than simple human endeavour was the reason for certain technological advances that appeared. When the events of Roswell and a few other incidents were properly investigated, often by human enquiry and assumption, it became clear exactly what was happening.”

“With the life risking exploits of some of our people, getting themselves on the inside as it were, information finally started to become available. To our shock, it was revealed that there was more than a single race of aliens on this planet. We do not consider ourselves as aliens, although you might think this to be true because we did come from elsewhere and settled here as visitors.”

“We have considered, for a substantial period of time now that we settled to become the genuine inhabitants of Earth. But we also included in our understanding, yourselves, whom we helped to take a evolutionary leap genetically, to eventually become like ourselves, in our image you might say. You became our cousins in a very real way. We are together, your people and ourselves, the natural inhabitants of this world.”

“These others, genuine aliens for the want of any other expression, include those described as ‘Nordics’, something similar to the person who goes by the name of Paul and was sat alongside the US President, but that would be an incorrect assumption. The real ones are much more elegant in appearance than the alien you saw and do not interfere, as far as we know, in human affairs; we are still unsure as to what the Nordics’ purpose is here on the Earth.”

“We are not at all too sure of this Presidents right hand man, Paul, this is the first time we have seen his sort openly.”

“Those you have called the ‘greys’ also exist, several different unrelated versions, and, apparently some tall thin reptilian types also. I understand that there may even be others but no definitive information is available. There are enough hidden away and with particular consideration of today’s announcement, to cause the Seniors and their analysts to have the Project initiated and under way as quickly as possible.”

“We are not sure of all the different types or of the total numbers, we do not have that kind of detail, but we are aware that there are many who have been embedded into the human existence for many years. They have been added to continuously, and that to contemplate conflict with them would, most probably, be the signing of our own death warrant.”

“Phew,” I interjected, “I asked a simple question and have received a history lesson.”

“I have been well briefed and have studied our history; it is a required part of my professional training. Let me tell you a little more, this won’t take long,” she finished but with her delicate smile still not returning.

“Decisions were taken and plans drawn up before you came to our attention. When you stumbled upon something, expressed in your book and of which we had not been aware. Those plans were altered to accommodate for your inclusion, depending upon the outcome of an experiment. That experiment was you and it has proved most successful but has now also brought matters to a head. You will come to realise the extent of your potential, resulting from that experiment, as matters progress I am sure.”

“We could leave this planet and disappear to find a new home on our own, but the discovery of survivors on Mars, prompted by your writing and confirmed on that single television broadcast, has changed our perspective and plans completely. We are a much reduced population on this planet than we might otherwise be. Once we started to mix openly with the human population, in ancient times and since, many found this preferable to living in the base for the rest of their lives. Then our known numbers seemed to dwindle even more rapidly, especially with a lack of attention to familial heritage.”

“We cannot ignore those of our own kind, our cousins, and leave them behind when there is a good chance we can leave and live together. We cannot, of course, take the entire world’s population with us but only as many as those we know are directly related to us and also those in whom we have identified that our genetic modifications are now becoming dominant, again such as yourself. The total numbers are not great.”

“That may seem a bit harsh, but these are the realities.”

“Whatever weapons we had, were so well hidden by our ancestors that not even, as I have said, our historians or archivists, could shed any light on what may have happened to them. This only served to make our plans all the clearer.”

“Does that answer your question sufficiently, Ian?” she asked finally.

I just nodded and said a quiet, “Yes, thank you,” as she once again arose to leave the room.

As she was leaving the room, she paused for a moment, turned in my direction and once again a smile, a sort of knowing smile, crept on to her face.

“When all has gone well,” she spoke slowly, “we may meet again. Good luck. I just hope that you don’t need it.”

I was now left alone with my thoughts and there were many of them. The memory of recent events was not at all pleasant but I did not find myself becoming agitated or close to tears again by it. Whatever had been in the juice had worked. I could hardly believe that a few hours sleep, albeit drug induced, had been that effective.

I had found a focus and the context of my presence within the plans, of which I was but a part, was so clear now. I was starving and I attacked the remaining food with relish. Having satiated my hunger I stretched out and slumped pleasantly into the softness of the easy chair. With a full stomach, a sense of relaxation from the previous stresses, I let myself drift off.

Warmth came over me and I succumbed to its temptation to fall gently into the embrace of a slumber, a most pleasant, natural slumber.

The room did not go out of focus, there was no entrapping warmth to draw me down and I just closed my eyes, pondered upon events and what I had now been told before letting myself slip away.