“And have you shown it to any?”
“Those who had the correct symbol. Yes.”
Yakov reached into a pocket and pulled out a Watcher ring. “This symbol?” Kakel pulled a chain from around his neck. On it was attached a Watcher medallion. “Yes.”
“Who were these who came? Was Sir Richard Burton one of them?” Kakel nodded. “Yes.”
“Who else?” “Tesla.”
“‘Tesla’?” The name sounded familiar to Yakov, but he couldn’t place it. “A man named Nikola Tesla came here many years ago.”
“Why?”
“To go into the ark.” “For what?”
“I do not know that. But he had the proper symbol, so he was allowed in.” “Anyone else?”
“As I said, there have been those who had a different sight.” Yakov returned to his mission. “I seek something inside the ark.”
Kakel considered that. “You have the proper symbol. Tomorrow I will show you what you seek. But only after you help me.” “Help you do what?” Yakov asked.
“Does it matter? You want to see the ark, do you not?”
“Aspasia’s Shadow lies.” The sound of Artad’s voice echoed through the General Assembly.
“First let me tell you the truths among his lies. Aspasia was indeed the first Airlia to come to your planet. And he did establish a base at Atlantis. And his mission was to protect your planet from the Swarm.
“That is the extent of his truths. Long after he had been sent here, communication ceased with our home world. I was sent to investigate when we didn’t hear from him. It was feared that this planet might have been overrun by the Swarm.
“I arrived to find that Aspasia had become corrupt. He had begun acting like a God and treating your people as slaves who should worship him. He had become fearful he would be recalled and have to rejoin the fight against the Swarm.
“We battled. There was much death and destruction, which I regret. When neither side could completely gain the upper hand and we feared an escalation of the combat would send out signatures into space that would be picked up by the Swarm we came to terms on a truce.
“His base at Atlantis was to be destroyed and he was banished to our base on Mars. Before I destroyed Atlantis, I rescued as many of your people as I could. I came here to Qian-Ling and went into a long sleep.
“The atrocities committed against humanity by both sides throughout that long sleep cannot be laid at my feet. They were reactions by my guardian computer and my Shadow against actions by Aspasia’s Shadow.
“But I am awake now. You have killed Aspasia for which I give you great credit. But you will not be able to destroy his Shadow without my help, which I offer freely. And after we have destroyed him, I will assist you in moving forward in technology in order to join the rest of the peace-loving sentient species in the universe. You have seen the mothership and know we are far more advanced than you. There is much I can give you that will make life on your planet many times better.
“The Chinese government has already joined me. Do not let old enmities stand in your way. You must come together as a species if you wish to join the other sentient beings of the universe.
“And there are greater dangers beyond this planet. You will need my help to face those threats. The Swarm is still out there destroying planets like yours. You cannot face them alone.
“Aspasia’s Shadow threatens all of you. He has corrupted many humans with his nanovirus. He wants all of you back under his thrall. To worship him. I want you to join me as equals.
“The choice is yours, but make it quickly. Events are moving and there is not time for you to waver.”
The transmission ended. An explosion of debate roared in the Assembly Hall. Given what was already happening in Taiwan and South Korea, Artad’s words weren’t exactly greeted with applause. Still, though, there were those countries that saw Artad’s offer as a chance to ally with the enemy of Aspasia’s Shadow. Perhaps it would be the lesser of two evils?
The debate went on.
General Carmody slipped the gas mask over his head as the helicopter slowly descended. The nerve agent that had been spread over Seoul would most likely have already dispersed, but he was taking no chances. The Blackhawk landed on the Tongjak Bridge over the Han River. There were bodies everywhere and no sign of life. Carmody slid open the cargo bay door and, with the aid of the crew chief, off-loaded the nuclear weapon.
There were sixteen bridges over the Han. Four within view of this one. Carmody opened the plastic case and punched in the arming code for the bomb. He set the delay at fifteen minutes. The other Blackhawks were doing the same thing in a pattern designed to destroy all sixteen bridges. It was a desperate act, but one that Carmody felt had been forced on him by the use of nerve agents.
He got back on board the helicopter and the pilot began to take off. It was then that he noticed the squad of men moving through a street a quarter mile to the north. The men wore protective suits and gas masks — North Korean versions. They carried AK-47s and were headed toward the bridge, drawn by the sound of the helicopter.
“Land again,” Carmody ordered.
The Blackhawk touched down. Carmody opened the door and went over to the bomb.
He heard shots, then the door gunner on the Blackhawk returning fire. He entered his code on the keypad. Then he accessed the timer code. 14:21 and going down. Carmody hit the scroll key and the number rapidly went down until he reached:10.
Then he waited as the last seconds ticked off.
CHAPTER 15: THE PRESENT
It was most definitely not dawn. That was Turcotte’s first thought as Morris nudged his shoulder again. He felt like he’d tied one on the previous evening and then spent the night in a snowbank while being suffocated. His head was pounding and his body was stiff and chilled to the bone. Turcotte opened his eyes. Ice-covered rock was less than six inches in front of him. The sound of his breathing echoed loudly inside the oxygen mask. He couldn’t remember ever feeling so bad, but then again his brain wasn’t working very well so he couldn’t really trust his memories. He did know from his various training and combat experiences that misery tended to fade in the memory and never seemed as bad looking back as it really had been.
A shaft of light penetrated the dark as Morris put a headlamp over his forehead and turned it on. The medic was doing something and his action stirred Turcotte to move. He unzipped his sleeping bag, careful not to drop it, shoving it into the pack dangling next to him. He pulled out his own headlamp and put it on. He was amazed as Morris handed him a hot cup of coffee. The medic has chipped out a small ice ledge in the side of the ridge and set up his stove. Turcotte knew how difficult it was to operate under these conditions and he was deeply grateful for Morris’s extra efforts. He took a sip, then twisted, handing the cup to Mualama.
He noted that Morris was looking up in the darkness, trying to see the route he would lead them on, the headlamp penetrating about forty feet up. There was no wind, for which Turcotte was grateful. The cold was so extreme it was sheer pain on any exposed skin and he knew a minute of exposure would cause instant frostbite.
Mualama passed the cup back and began packing his gear. Turcotte had spent a good portion of his life in the field in all sorts of conditions, but he’d never spent a few hours sleeping at twenty-five thousand feet clipped to the side of a mountain.
“Grab hold of the mountain,” Morris advised as he reached down for the safety lines he’d attached.
Turcotte looked down. His legs were dangling and he was supported only by the lines. He kicked and dug the toe of his crampons into the ice. Morris had put his pack on him while he slept and Turcotte felt a moment’s embarrassment to be taken care of like that. The medic had done the same with Mualama. Looking at the African in the darkness, the older man’s face, what little Turcotte could see, was haggard.