Earth Before Man Page 17

  Santo then asked a hopeful question,

  “So, with the map and the journal you could locate this cave?”

  “Well, yes, I suppose.”

  “Will you take me to it?”

  Razk snickered and said,

  “No my friend, I am not willing to venture into glacier territory of howling winds and freezing temperatures to reveal a Vatican secret.”

  “What if I could take you there sitting in warm comfort? You would never have to put on boots or even a warm jacket. Bring along a glass of wine if you prefer.”

  Razk chuckled.

  “Hah. Have you got a flying saucer with a heater?”

  It was only a slight nod but what caught Razk’s attention was Santo’s wink.

  Chapter 33

  After an assurance that he would not get frostbite or need a thick jacket to save the creation of man as intended by God, Razk agreed to help Santo retrieve the inter-dimensional communicator. In one hour, Razk was instructed to stand on a private patio high atop the Vatican radio station building overlooking the grounds. At that time, Santo would pick him up. Although he was filled with questions about how Santo would get there and why at such a high and isolated place, Santo told him to have faith.

  Exactly one hour later, as instructed, Razk was standing at the patio railing looking up at the radio station’s high broadcast aerial. When looking at the gardens far below, he was startled by a voice from behind.

  “Are you ready to go?”

  Snapping around, he saw Santo casually standing there. Confused, wondering how he got there, Razk looked around for any clue. He had never seen a D-wing or the wonders of camouflage. Because Santo had landed under an awning, he thought it was safe to turn the camouflage to half power and show him the D-wing. As it shimmered, looking more like a D-wing of clear glass, Razk pretended to be unimpressed but did say,

  “I see the Vatican is not the only place having wonders to behold.”

  As they lifted off and shot eight kilometers straight up, Razk lost his pretended lackadaisical composure and began showing signs of unbelievable astonishment. When he asked how the House of the Nazarene came to be in possession of such a wonder, Santo did not want to start talking about the Great Grays and their technology. Razk was already on the tipping edge of showing him the hiding place and feared he would change his mind at the slightest talk of things he considered destructive to their mandate of denying the existence of extra-terrestrials. Instead, Santo lied, telling him it was a project of their scientists. When asked how it worked all Santo could do was tell him what Waldorf had told him years ago. He was not sure Razk bought the ‘squeezing cherry pit’ explanation but it was the only explanation he understood.

  Only a few minutes later, half way to the Graian Alps, Razk had faded a bit from the astonishment of flying in the D-wing. Santo understood by the question he asked that his mind was on things not of this world. Razk asked,

  “How is it possible to have a conversation in real time between the planets over such a vast distance?”

  Although Santo did not understand half of that science, he did understand enough to say,

  “In the reality of this universe there is no such thing as distance. Everything is measured in dimensions. The separation between one dimension and another is only a matter of a few short steps. It is the same as phoning somebody living right next door.”

  In the hopes of ending that line of questioning, Santo added,

  “If you are looking for the scientific explanation, you are asking the wrong person.”

  Now over the Graian Alps and a peak called Gran Paradiso, the highest peak in Italy, Santo lowered the D-wing close to the mountaintops. Razk brought out a copy of the map drawn by the twelve Monks, pointed between two peaks and directed Santo between them. When lowing even more and maneuvering into the depth of the valley, suddenly hurricane winds struck the D-wing with a great force. Because it was gravity influenced, it was not like a boat suddenly hitting high seas. The craft remained rock steady at the onslaught.

  The deeper they flew into the gorge the more swirling snow joined the howling wind making visibility practically zero. They were in a horrific snowstorm. Although quiet and warm inside, just knowing what was happening outside sent icy chills through Razk. Santo checked the computer making sure the Impact Avoidance computer was working. He then looked to Razk and asked,

  “Are you sure about this? If it is like this all the time there is no way any human could survive at this altitude and such weather. The outside temperature is 15 below Celsius with a violent 90 kilometer wind.”

  Razk looked at the map and assured him they were right on track. To ease Santo’s doubt, Razk explained,

  “The Monk’s monastery is not far from here. They suffer this weather as penitence to God. Many have survived and adapted to this intolerant weather for most of their lives.”

  Santo shook his head and added,

  “They must be part superman to survive this.”

  “I suppose that is also why they are sometimes referred to as Snow Monks.”

  Because swirling snow made visibility zero, Santo depended on a radar program and the Impact Avoidance computer to prevent crashing into a mountainside. Finally Santo said,

  “Okay, we are in the gorge the Monks described. What does the journal say?”

  Razk again checked the journal and said,

  “We should be looking for a shear three thousand meter cliff practically straight ahead. According to their journal, it was only by the grace of God that they managed to scale and reach a cave half way up. It is there that they concealed what they considered abominations to our faith.”

  While looking at the computerized image on the screen it was easy to spot a three thousand meter sheer cliff in the distance. Santo pointed to the screen and announced,

  “There. That has to be the cave. It’s the only one showing up on the scan.”

  Razk took his eyes off the screen and looked through the front of the canopy. All he saw was swirling windblown snow.

  Guided only by the visual on the screen, Santo maneuvered the D-wing closer to the cave. As the nose of the vehicle entered the opening, more visibility through the cockpit canopy became possible. By the time they were well inside, the wind and snow had subsided but darkness prevented seeing where they were. After turning on the bright exterior lights, it was clear that they were in a massive cave. However, there was no sign of hidden crates or anything else. Icicles clung to the walls and snow violently swirled on the floor. As the D-wing turned in all directions, the spotlight saw only nooks and crannies. Just as disappointment covered Razk, Santo remembered something from his time in the caves at the Grand Canyon.

  A careful hand on the controls slowly lifted the D-wing to the roof of the cave. When the Impact Avoidance program would not let him go any higher, he noticed that he could still inch forward. There, at the top of the cave and in the glow of the spotlight, just ahead was a ledge perhaps three meters wide. On it were five wooden crates lined up in a neat row. Razk had trouble containing his excitement. Santo heard a brash excited “Yes,” and saw him fist pump the air. Santo asked,

  “I gather you did not have a lot of faith in this adventure.”

  As if confessing a great sin, Razk admitted,

  “I will always have faith. It’s just that like all Vatican secrets, at times proof of legitimacy is needed. I particularly wanted the Snow Monk’s journal and map to be true. I now better understand and appreciate their sacrifice to the Vatican.”

  Santo realized that the journey was based on a hope and a prayer. Taking his eyes off the elated Razk, Santo let him revel in his faith. Looking straight ahead at the ledge and boxes, Santo slowly inched forward and landed next to their prize.

  What they saw just to the side of the crates was as eerie and scary as a Saturday night horror movie. The unnerving sight was accented by the brightness of the lights shinning on the spectacle. Suddenly scared, Razk pleaded,

  �
��Back away, back away.”

  Santo, convinced what they were looking at was very real, instinctively reached for his security blanket, the AK Basic firearm.

  There, sitting in a line, legs crossed, and hands in prayer fashion were four Snow Monks. Cowls covered their heads and under the cowls all eyes were wide open staring straight ahead at the intruders. However, that was all they were doing, staring straight ahead. After a careful scrutiny, waiting for the Monks to make the first move, Santo eventually realized that they were not going to move ever again. All four were frozen stiff and had been clearly sitting in that position for hundreds of years. As soon as Razk realized they were dead, frozen stiff, he quickly crossed himself.

  Through Santo’s careful observation, he could not help but notice that of the four, one was different. For starters, while three were sitting shoulder to shoulder, one was sitting about three feet away from the others. Three wore common brown robes. The different one was clad in red robe and had a strange looking black pendent dangling from his neck. His eyes were coal black and frozen open. Santo could not shake the feeling that they staring directly at him.

  Shaking it off as a condition of the severe cold, Santo turned his attention back to the boxes and asked,

  “Is there any mention in the journal what box the communicator is in?”

  After flipping through a few pages of the journal, Razk was forced to shake his head. As there were only five crates, it was not a great setback. Santo prepared to jump out into the freezing cold and rip them all open. Razk put out a halting hand and said,

  “No. This is a holy and consecrated ground. I will go. Besides, as much as I trust you, there are other great secrets in the containers that I do not want you to see. Santo understood and said,

  “Then be fast. It is still well below zero out there.”

  He then pointed to the smallest container and said,

  “Look in that one first. It’s about the right size for a communicator.”

  Because Razk hesitated, Santo saw it as fright and was quick to say,

  “If you are not sure about this, I will go.”

  “No,” said Razk, “that is not it at all.”

  He then looked straight into Santo’s eyes and said,

  “I need something from you first. Because I have trusted you with a great secret, I need to know that I can trust you to keep this location and what is in those containers a secret between us.”

  Santo was quick to give him what he wanted and said,

  “I fully understand. There is no need to ask. It is the same for you of course. I trust you to keep the secret of this D-wing. So, I think we have a mutual regard for secrets do we not?”

  When Razk nodded, Santo opened the canopy and said, “Hurry.”

  With the canopy open, neither was dressed nor prepared for the severe cold biting into them. Feeling the effects and not wanting to join the four Monks posed in forever prayer, Razk quickly jumped out and ran over to the containers. Hoping that Santo was correct about the smaller one, he grabbed it and ran back to the D-wing as fast as cold legs could carry him. After jumping back into the seat, the box in his lap, Santo quickly closed the canopy. Just for a second Razk had forgotten his faith and chattered the words,

  “Goddam that was cold.”

  Opening the box, Razk was disappointed to see only what appeared to be a laptop computer. When Santo saw it he said, “That’s it.”

  Seeing Razk’s confusion, he added,

  “What did you expect to see, some awkward looking radio with tubes and dials?”

  Razk nodded. In truth, he was hoping to see Tokens of the Covenant. Santo gently maneuvered the D-wing off the ledge, out of the cave and back to the hostility of the outside. This time Santo lifted straight up to the stratosphere and away from wind and snow. A few minutes later, Razk turned to Santo and said,

  “I will ask two more things of you. When it is all over, whatever this thing really is, you will honor the sacrifice of the Snow Monks and return it to this cave. Also, when coming back, you will recover those Monks and return them to their Monastery for Last Rights.”

  Santo assured him that it would happen.

  Chapter 34

  After setting the D-wing down in the hangar, Santo grabbed the ancient Sky People’s computer and jumped out of the vehicle. Although excited to have Maria look at it and getting Jessika to figure out how to work it, he first had to suffer Henrik Anderson’s annoying insistence that procedure be strictly adhered to. Irritated, Santo jumped back into the cockpit and by his voice command the computer downloaded the journey log. After handing the chip to Henrik, he had another irritating task to fulfil. He was handed a clipboard and forced to fill out a trip record of the vehicle’s performance and weaknesses requiring maintenance. Finally set free, Santo wondered what the advantage to being Head of Security was when a maintenance man could stop him from running off.

  A few minutes later, Santo arrived at the manor and approached Maria’s laboratory. At the door, he only knocked once and boldly entered. She was at her desk and looked up to see who it was. Upon seeing Santo carrying a package, she pointed to it, pretended surprise and coyly said,

  “Aww you didn’t have to. I’m not upset at you any more for running off on your own. ”

  He placed it on her desk and replied,

  “Yes, well I gathered that from this morning.”

  He then opened the cover and added,

  “If you can figure out how this thing works we will be able to communicate in real time with the Great Grays. You can then ask them what they wrote in that book the Anannaki doesn’t want you to see.”

  She was looking at a laptop computer clearly hundreds of years old. There were only five functioning keys on it but not in the sense of standard command keys on a modern computer. The symbols were far removed from any written language she had ever seen.

  After indiscriminately hitting a few keys, she was not surprised that the screen remained blank. She asked,

  “Does this thing even have power? How old is it?”

  Santo was not sure but felt confident at guessing,

  “Easily seven hundred to a thousand years old would be a good guess.”

  “What do you want me to do with it?”

  It was a flippant reply.

  “Make it work of course.”

  There was cynicism in her reply,

  “Yeah right. The batteries probably died hundreds of years ago.”

  Not giving up, Santo asked,

  “If not you, then who do we have that can make it work?”

  Getting up and walking out of the lab, she said,

  “Grab that dusty old thing and come with me.”

  Obeying, he followed her out of the manor and down the garden path.

  A few minutes later they were in Zak Zander’s office. With Santo right behind, she stopped at the door and scanned his workplace looking for him. He was sitting at his second desk, the one scattered with clay tablets from his favorite ancient culture, Mesopotamia. True to his character, he was bent over the cuneiform tablets feverishly jotting down what he was gleaning from them. Understanding his propensity to snap at anybody disturbing him, Maria hit on a great idea. Turning to Santo, who was still behind her and holding the ancient computer, she whispered,

  “Show him the computer and ask him what he can tell us about it.”

  Santo was no fool. He had suffered Zak’s wrath before when disturbing him. Not falling for the ploy, he handed her the computer and said,

  “You are the one who needs to get it working. You go and disturb him.”

  It was then Zak slowly pried his eyes off the tablet, cranked his stiff neck around, and bellowed over his shoulder,

  “You are already disturbing me. What is so earth shattering important that cannot wait till I’m finished?”

  Snapping the computer from Santo, Maria approached and bravely said,

  “Well, for one thing, you are never finished.”

  Pushing so
me clay tiles aside, she placed the computer on his desk and added,

  “Is it such a bad day when I ask the House of the Nazarene’s expert on alien culture a few questions only he has answers to?”

  As proven once again, only Maria knew how to handle the cantankerous old man. She opened the computer, pointed to the keys and said,

  “How do we fire this baby up?”

  Zak put on a different pair of glass, albeit as thick as the other pair he already had on. He only needed a moment to understand what he saw and announced,

  “The symbols on the keys are that of the Sky People. My guess would be it’s their ancient computer.”

  Pushing it aside, he added,

  “Now leave me alone.”

  She pushed it back in front of him and said,

  “No. Tell me how to turn it on.”

  Exasperated, he pointed to a key on the top left and said,

  “The Sky People usually insert an important function tab or key on the top left. My guess would be that one.”

  To Santo, that made perfect sense. It was bigger and slightly away from the rest. However, nothing happened when Maria pressed it. She tried again, this time keeping her finger pressed down on it but still to no avail. Santo thought he knew why and voiced the obvious,

  “Clearly the batteries are dead.”

  The look he got from Zak could have scared a million army ants to scamper off in another direction. Making no effort to sound polite Zak said,