"arcmult" - читать интересную книгу автора (Townsend George)
The Multi Wanderer
THE MULTI-WANDERER
George Townsend
I - Inception.
For many years He had been imprisoned in His body. At last He had been freed. He realised that He
had just one purpose in life. He had to find something. He didn't have the faintest idea what it was, but He
knew He had to find it. It would have to be by the process of elimination.
II - The Soul Transplant.
He was walking down a street, following a girl with short cropped hair, wearing a yellow dress. She
walked quickly, swinging her arms as she dodged amongst the crowd that was bustling down the busy
road. It was late closing this evening and it seemed that the whole population of the city was making the
most of the good weather. It had lasted all day, but was now being threatened by black storm clouds that
were massing on the horizon.
The girl walked through a gateway into a courtyard. As she walked towards the entrance of a large
sprawling building, a group of people, being held back by the police, recognised her and surged forward.
They were asking questions.
"How is your husband, Mrs. White?" ·
"Have you anything to say regarding the controversy over the operation Mrs. White?"
"Have you spoken to him yet Mrs. White?"
"Who does he think he is Mrs. White?"
A tight lipped smile was on the girl's face as she forced her way through the opening made by the
police. When she reached the door, she turned and smiled at the crowd.
"I'm not Mrs. White," she said in answer to their questions. She pulled off a wig and looked down at
her watch. "Mr. White is now no longer in this hospital. He's been moved to somewhere more private. A
statement will be made by the medical authorities in due course. The hospital and the Government's
ethics committee have nothing further to say at this stage." She vanished inside the building as a hub-bub
rose from the crowd.
He remained outside the building for a moment surveying the ever increasing crowd in the hospital
grounds. A man holding a placard above the peoples heads was being jostled. He read the words on the
board:
"IT IS AGAINST THE WILL OF GOD - HE WILL BE AVENGED."
"What's going on?" He asked the man next to him.
"It's just been announced on the radio," he replied. "Came out with it in a matter of fact voice, like a
weather forecast. 'Early this morning at Greenemaid Hospital, surgeons reached the end of a ten hour
operation in which the first human soul in the world has been transplanted from one man to another.' I
was one of the first to get here, seeing how I only work in the next street. The press was already here.
Since I arrived people have been streaming in from everywhere. I can see it's going to turn into a riot
soon." He paused. "Bloody hell. Well I mean - a soul, where's it all going to end?"
He looked around. The man was right. The grounds were now full of people and the traffic was
blocked in the street outside. The crowd was swaying as the ones at the back tried to force their way
through to the front. People were shouting and swearing. He made his way through the crowd to where He
saw a television camera. A woman was being interviewed as to what she thought about the operation.
"Well I don't know," she said, "it makes you wonder doesn't it, ,.and then there's all those men gone to
Venus. I don't know what the world's coming to."
A student interrupted. "You can see what this is leading to," he said. "Statesmen will have the bodies
of the ordinary people when they grow old. Those of us whose brains aren't stolen will be conditioned
to obey them. They will live off our organs, and we'll be pulled in off the streets, they won't wait until
we're dead either. Ask yourself this question. If the man whose body was used was dead, what good was
he? He must have still been alive. It's time for the revolution!"
A group of fellow students began to chant 'Revolution! Revolution!' There followed a scuffle as a
man began to chant 'National Front', as a counter move. Police began to move in wielding their
truncheons. The crowd was now being squashed together in an almost insufferable squeeze.
A high ranking police officer stood up on a raised platform and spoke to the crowd through a
loudspeaker, which echoed across the courtyard.
"I'm going to ask you all to leave in a quiet orderly fashion," he. said. "There's no need to all rush out
in one go, but I must ask all of you who are not authorised to be here, to leave."
There was an angry rumble in the crowd and people began to shout swearwords and obscene curses.
Many people began to sit down in groups, and a new block of students began to force their way through a
police barrier at the gate of the courtyard, in a Jeep and a bus they'd commandeered.
"Anyone who refuses to go will be forcibly removed or sent to prison," the officer continued, above a
rising tide of anger in the crowd.
The temperature was still high and He was sweating like a pig and felt as if He was being crushed to
death as the crowd jostled Him from side to side. He could feel the anger boiling all around Him. The full
enormity of what had happened earlier in the hospital was just beginning to sink in."
"We want facts," chanted a new group of protesters.
"This is your last chance," the police officer warned. "If you don't start moving off, we shall have to
take action."
Stones, bottles, apples and other fruit suddenly began to be pelted at the man. The camera relaying
the pictures of the scenes back to the studio was overbalanced to a mighty roar from the crowd. They
suddenly surged forward carrying Him with them. The police, truncheons drawn, began to beat into the
front wave of the mass.
Screams were heard to the right as a burning newspaper which had been thrown into the air, fell back
on the crowd. The police were being driven up the steps to the hospital building's entrance. The doors
opened and a new wave of police, this time in riot battle dress poured out, firing CS gas bombs into the
crowd.
The loudspeaker was pulled out of the police officers hand by the figure He had seen earlier holding
the placard. He screamed into the microphone, his words deafening the crowd to a halt and making them
momentarily forget the gas.
"GOD WILL BE AVENGED FOR THIS, OUR FINAL AND MOST IRREVOCABLE SIN" the man
screamed. He pointed up to the sky. "THE CLOUDS ARE BUILDING, THE SECOND FLOOD IS
COMING."
It was indeed an awe inspiring sight that the man pointed to. The sky, which had been clear all day,
was rapidly vanishing under a huge bank of black cloud that was sweeping towards them from the
horizon.
"RUN," he screamed. "RUN. NOT THAT IT WILL DO YOU ANY GOOD. EVEN THOSE ON THE
HIGH GROUND WILL PERISH!"
To add emphasis to his words, the skies opened and a torrential downpour began to gush down.
Screams of fear and horror began to be heard in the crowd. It was indeed a frightening moment as the
warning still echoed across the P.A. system. The crowd began to break up in fright. Even the students
who were sitting on the ground began to look around with worried frowns as the rain beat down on their
heads.
"THE FLOODS ARE HERE," the man concluded. "GOD HAS BEGUN HIS PURGE!"
He was carried back into the streets by the fleeing crowd. The rain beat down on their heads now
mixed with huge hailstones. Such was their fury that they knocked people to the ground.
III - The Arrival Of The Flood.
He took refuge in an alcove under a bridge, and watched the people pouring past, screaming out the
warnings about the floods. The rain gave no sign of ceasing and the whole sky was now covered with
black clouds which cast an air of gloom across the whole area. The streets were rivers of rushing water.
He saw a drain cover shoot up from the road, carried up on a fountain of water from the sewers.
"It's going to be absolute hell if the river overflows," a quiet voice next to him said.
He turned to see a small girl with long hair that had been plastered to her head by the rain, which
dripped off onto her brown suede coat.
"Yes," He replied. "I suppose it will be."
"This is a bit scary," the girl continued. "I came along hoping for a bit of action. I never guessed
anything like this would happen." She looked out at the raging storm. The water was lapping around her
feet. "I'm beginning to wonder if what that man said was true."
"What, about the flood?" He asked.
"Yes," the girl replied. "The river is at a dangerous level at the best of times. It's at its highest level at
this time of year."
"So you think there will be a flood, even if it's only on a local scale?" He asked.
"Yes," the girl confirmed in a self assured voice. "It only needs to rain for another ten or fifteen
minutes at this rate and that will be it. Even if it was normal there'd be a danger, but with the amount of
rain we've had over the past few weeks, it's a certainty."
"That's what I told them," a third voice added. They saw a dim figure at the rear of the archway, who
must have been there all the time.
"Who are you?'' the girl asked.
"My friends call me Noah," the man replied. "I warned them that the floods would come and purge
the Earth clean of it's sins." It was the man who had taken charge of the loudspeaker earlier. "We can't
stay here," he warned. "We must escape . You can be my crew."
"Crew?" the girl asked.
"Yes," the man replied, "in my Ark. I've got it stored in my warehouse. Come on, there's no time to
waste. The water has already started rising."
He looked down at his feet. If what the girl had said about the river was true, it would be dangerous to
stay here where He could easily be trapped by the rising water. The other two were already leaving, He
followed them back out into the open. They battled down the street against the rising water that was
rushing in the opposite direction. The torrential rain and hail showed no sign of stopping.
They staggered on for about ten minutes, until they reached a disused warehouse. The man called
Noah unbolted the door and let them in. The water had seeped through the opening and was already three
inches deep on the floor. A light was switched on illuminating a large wooden sailing boat. '
"They laughed at me," Noah muttered. "They'll eat their words when the river overflows."
The girl looked at her watch. "That's going to be any minute," she said.
"Get on board," Noah ordered the girl. "This is no place for little girls like you." Her arguments were
dismissed with a wave of the man's hand. "Come on," he said, "let's get the door fully open. We want to
be able to steer the Ark out before the water level gets too high."
He helped the old man force the doors open. He looked out into the street and gasped.
"What's the matter?" Noah asked.
"A huge wave's sweeping down the street," He exclaimed.
"The river," cursed the old man. "I told them it would overflow." They began to splash back towards
the boat. Suddenly they were swept off their feet by a rush of water. There were a few moments confusion
as the water enveloped them. They surfaced amid the turbulent currents and swam towards the boat that
was beginning to float.
They clambered aboard up a rope ladder and pulled it up after them.
"Down below," the old man shouted above the roaring wind and crashing water. "The controls are
down below. If we stay on deck, we shall perish." As he spoke, a mighty wave crashed over the deck
swamping them.
IV - An Entry In The Log Of The Ark.
And we set sail on the mighty sea, and as we battled with the storm, that beat and rocked us, the Lord
God appeared before my eyes. He spoke to me, and He said, "Behold, I am the Lord God; creator of
the Heavens and the Earth. I have purged the Earth of its sins with my holy waters. Do not be afraid, for
you have been chosen for salvation, while all others will perish. You shall be my instrument to spread
the word of the Lord when the waters recede and the islands rise once more out of the seas.
And you shall journey through the twelve movements of the seasons, and you shall know them well.
At the end of the twelve increments, an island shall arise from the sea and this is where you shall land and
spread the word of the Lord God."
Captain Noah.
V - The End Of The Ice Age.
The rolling and tumbling finally seemed to have subdued, and He carefully made His way up onto
deck The ship rocked with the swell of the sea. He looked all around in disbelief. He turned to Noah, who
had also emerged from below decks.
"There is no sign of land anywhere," He exclaimed. "It has all vanished!!"
"I told them it would happen," the old man replied wistfully. "They paid no attention to me. They
have paid for their sins now."
"But it's impossible," He breathed, trying to convince Himself. "Continents can't just vanish like that."
"But they have not vanished," the old man corrected. "They are down there, under the water. A few
people have survived; the chosen few who will mould the new race."
They were joined by the girl, and the trio stood on the slippery deck and watched the empty rolling
sea in silence for several hours.
He saw something drifting towards them. It could be made out quite clearly even though it was still a
fair distance away.
"What is it?" the girl asked, as Noah peered through his binoculars at it.
"It appears to be some sort of building, floating on the sea," the old man observed. "By the looks of it, it is
intact. Very strange."
The three watched as it drifted nearer to them. What the old man said was indeed true. It was a three
story building, but it was not like a normal building. Not only did it float on the sea like a ship, but it had
no windows. It appeared to be made of some steel-plastic compound. Noah steered the Ark over to it so
that they could make a closer examination.
As they pulled alongside, the girl pointed. "Look a doorway," she said.
Her words were indeed true. The other two looked where the girl pointed. They could make out an
outline of a doorway. Before either of the others could protest, He had thrown the rope ladder over the
side of the Ark and begun to climb down towards the door of the strange building that floated low in the
water.
He jumped off the ladder and walked across the smooth briny surface towards the door that the girl
had spotted. He turned the handle and it opened easily.
He cautiously lowered Himself through the opening and was puzzled to find that although everything
should have been on its side, the corridor He found himself in was the right way up. He began to walk
down it, holding one hand against the wall to steady Himself as the building rocked with the waves
outside.
The corridor led only one way - to a door set into the wall. It opened at His touch, and He stepped
inside to find Himself in a mighty room which must have occupied what they had assumed to be the
three stories. The whole of the far wall was some sort of mighty filing cabinet. He cautiously approached
it, and read the label on one of the lower drawers. "John Bently." He examined several others which also
bore names.
He took a grip on the handle of one and pulled. It opened easily, on well oiled rollers. It was shaped
like a coffin, and for good reason. He looked down into it through the transparent lid. He could see a still,
silent body, encased in ice, looking up at Him through sightless iced eyes.
He became aware of the presence of someone else in the room. He could feel eyes boring into the
back of His head. He slowly turned and saw an old man quietly sitting in a corner looking at Him.
"Are you in charge here?" He asked. The old man nodded slowly in reply. He pointed at the rows of
cabinets. "Are they all full?" He asked. The old man nodded once again. He turned back and looked down
into the interior at the frozen face. He began to pull out other cabinets. What the old man had said
appeared to be correct. They all seemed to be occupied. He pulled out one which contained a girl of
about eight years old. He paused in horror as He looked down at her. "How did she die?" He whispered.
"She looks so young."
"Die?" the old man asked in a puzzled voice.
"This is a suspended animation cemetery isn't it?" He asked. "They have been frozen upon their death
in the hopes that at a later date someone will find a cure for the disease from which they died."
The old man sat there silently for a few minutes then slowly shook his head. "No," he replied, these
people were selected from the population to be frozen, so that in event of some sort of holocaust which
wiped out the rest of the race - a bacteriological war for instance, they could continue the breed."
"But who would allow themselves to be frozen like this?" He asked in bewilderment. "Surely no-one in
complete possession of their right mind would wish such a fate."
"In event of a war," the old man continued, "men do not wish to become soldiers and go and fight
and die. They have no choice."
He digested the old mans words for a few seconds before replying. "You mean they were not frozen
of their own free will?"
The old man shook his head. He looked up, anger flashed into his eyes. "Before you condemn me," he
said, "remember it wasn't me who introduced the idea of suspended animation. It wasn't me who paid vast
sums of money to have my body frozen after death. Money they were able to use to research further into
the idea."
A frenzy suddenly crossed His mind as he looked at the old man sitting defiantly in his chair. "I must
release them," He breathed. "I must release them."
"Then they will die."
He turned and looked at the wizened figure again. "What do you mean?" He asked, taken, aback by
the note of certainty in the old mans voice.
"They never managed to perfect the method of resurrecting them," he replied. "They didn't think it
mattered when they started freezing people who were dead anyway. If they never came round, they
wouldn't be any the wiser. When they started using living beings they still didn't think it mattered because
they had as long as they needed to find the answer. Yes my friend, if you switch off that control that keeps
them frozen at absolute zero, what small hope they have of surviving will be destroyed."
"I don't believe you," He replied. He flicked the switch that froze an individual 'coffin'. The lid swung
open. He watched as the ice began to melt and clouds of frozen air began to billow up. Three minutes
passed. He stood still watching the ice melt away. He touched the skin of the man He had unfrozen. It was
as cold and hard as steel. He watched for another minute or so, as he saw heating elements light up.
"Where is the master switch?" He demanded.
"And if I don't tell you?'' the old man asked.
"Then I will find it myself. If you try to stop me, I shall make you regret it."
The old man shrugged. "Over there." He pointed to a large switch. "That is the main control," he
confirmed..
He rushed over and pulled it down. He turned back and looked at the old man who was shaking his
head silently. "You have killed them all," he mumbled.
"Killed them," He replied bitterly, "I have saved them from a living death."
"Go and examine you first revival," the old man suggested, an air of defiance on his wrinkled face.
He walked quickly back over to the first cabinet He had activated. He touched the man's skin, it was
still cold as ice - and the pulse had stopped.
"Well?" the old man asked.
"He's dead," He whispered.
"Yes," the old man replied, "as I told you."
"I must stop the revival process."
"It's too late," the old man answered. "Once the process has begun, it cannot be reversed."
"But then I've killed them all," He cried. "I've killed them all."
"Yes," the old man confirmed, "every one of them."
He covered His face with His hands. "What can I do?" He asked, desperation and fright creeping into
His voice.
"You had better leave," the old man suggested.
"And you?" He asked.
"I shall stay. My days are numbered. I think I only managed to live on in the hope that a solution for
my patients would be found. I suppose it has now."
"But don't you feel any anger?" He asked.
"No," the old man replied, "they were only people."
VI - Further entries in the log of the Ark.
When He returned from the floating building, He would not let us go and see what He had found, and
a strange silence had stolen His voice. He made us sail from the building as fast as the wind would carry
us, and then He took to the rowing boat and sits alone in it, being towed along behind us. For hours He
sits in the centre of the boat, immobile as a statue, gazing out across the vast sea. The girl is also very
quiet and she stays in her cabin most of the time. When I have visited her, I have found her cabin filled
with scented smoke and I have heard her screaming in her sleep at nights. I have sought guidance from
the Lord, but He has not shown Himself to me again. There is still no sign of land.
Captain Noah.
Today is like yesterday, and the countless other days we have drifted aimlessly with the wind on this
mighty ocean. Still He sits out in the lifeboat, staring out to sea. While on watch this morning, I thought I
spied something on the horizon. If it was anything; it appears to have vanished now.
Captain Noah
VII - On the good ship 'Zebra'
He looked again. He wasn't mistaken, there was a black dot on the horizon and it appeared to be
getting larger all the time. He uncrossed His legs and got stiffly to His feet. He began to pull the tow rope
into the boat so that He moved up against the side of the Ark. He clambered up the rope that hung over
the side.
"Captain, Captain," He called out. "There is something on the horizon. Steer to starboard!"
Noah came running across the deck. "Where?" he asked.
"Look," He pointed. "Can you see it? It's getting bigger and bigger all the time."
"Yes," the old mariner replied excitedly, "You're right. There is something there. We must steer
towards it with full speed."
Three hours later they were near the object that they had seen on the horizon. It was a large sailing
ship that was also drifting with the winds.
"I can see something moving," said Noah, pointing. "Someone is on the deck."
He strained His eyes. The old man was right, there was someone moving across the deck. As they
pulled alongside, a head looked down at them over the side.
"Can we come aboard?" Noah asked. In response to his request, a ladder was tossed over the side, and
the two climbed aboard, leaving the girl alone on the Ark, asleep in her cabin.
Once aboard they were quickly ushered below deck by two frightened looking men, who constantly
looked behind them. It was not until they were in a cabin, that they relaxed and they shook hands warmly.
"We were beginning to think we were the only ones left," the first of the men said. He introduced
himself as Mark.
His companion who was named John nodded in agreement, "Thank God you've come;" he said. "Will
you take us with you? There is great danger here. We are constantly risking our lives."
"Why?" Noah asked.
"Just before the great disaster," Mark replied, "we boarded this ship as stowaways. We had no money.
If we'd've known what sort of ship we were on, we'd've never dreamed of boarding it. This is a ship of the
Devil.,"
"What exactly do you mean," Noah said frowning.
"This ship is owned by 'white supremacists', they had an illegal cargo of black slaves. The slaves,
taking advantage of the disaster, broke free and have taken control of the hold. The whites were driven up
onto the deck and surface cabins. This state of affairs has remained ever since and we have drifted along
without any power."
"However," interrupted John, taking up the story, "despite our attempts to end the deadlock between
the two sides, they refused to compromise with each other. Each side wants complete control. What is
worse, in the last day or so, the supremacists, despite the fact that they have plenty of food, have run out
of water. The slaves have plenty of water, but are almost out of food. As you can imagine, this can't last
for very long, there's going to be bloodshed, We're going to be right in the middle of it. Just because we
tried to help, we are now hated by both sides."
"Yes," Noah agreed, "it does sound a dangerous situation. I think the wisest solution would be for you
to come with us. We have plenty of food and water on the ship, enough to last for several months."
Suddenly a look of horror crossed his face. "Hell's fires!" he exclaimed.
"What's the matter?" Mark asked.
"When we came aboard, we left the ladder hanging over the side. Whoever's on the deck can get
aboard the Ark!"
"Let's get back," He suggested, "and fast."
Even as He spoke, they heard movement on the deck. The four ran out of the cabin towards the deck,
heedless of the danger that might lay there. However as they emerged onto the deck, they skidded to a
dead halt. At one end of the deck the slaves stood in silence. At the other end stood the supremacists.
Suddenly both sides surged forward screaming with hate. Guns began to fire and missiles flew through
the air. The four stood and watched the terrible carnage that was raging. Neither side had noticed the four
men who stood silently in the shadows, or the rope ladder that was in clear sight and led to the Ark.
"Let us leave with all speed," whispered Noah. 'They will not notice us in the fury of their battle."
The four moved hastily towards the rope ladder hanging over the side of the ship, constantly casting
uneasy sideways glances at the battle that was entering a new stage of ferocity.
They made it safely back into the Ark, and cast away from the ship as quickly as their movements
would allow. When they were at a safe distance from the ship they saw it erupt into a mighty ball of fire
and then sink suddenly into the sea.
John suddenly burst into hysterical laughter. "They could have had all the food and water they'd
wanted, if they'd've stopped and thought about it," he said. "But they were blinded to anything but hate."
VIII - A further entry from the log of the Ark.
And as I slept the Lord God appeared before me once again and he spoke, and he said, 'Behold I am
the Lord God, and you shall see a star shine in the night sky which shall rival the brightness of the Moon
itself, and you shall guide yourself by this light, and it will shine as a mighty rainbow to the eternal sea
that I have created. You shall steer for the point where the rainbow touches the sea, for there you shall
meet with my presence, and I shall reveal myself to you."
Captain Noah.
IX - The Second Revelation.
"Man. Man'" the girl called as she stared across the night sea. "Why have you no name man?" she
asked in a hypnotic drone.
He walked over to her. There was a vague look in her eyes.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
She staggered, grabbing hold of His arm to maintain her upright position. "It's all a dream," she
continued. "None of this is real. None of this is real," she repeated. "It's all a dream. Why won't they let
me out." She looked around wildly. You're all sea dragons. Sea dragons!" She screamed. "In red and
yellow cloaks, riding your chariots of light across the heavens." She began to tremble violently. "I can see
it all now," she screamed, covering her eyes with her hands. "Turn off the light. I can't stand it."
Her words were so frightening, that He looked round to look where she had been staring. There were
no chariots, but there was a bright star shining. No, it wasn't a star. It was moving!
"Noah, Mark, John," He called out, as the girl broke away and ran screaming towards her cabin.
Noah was the first to arrive on the scene. He looked where the man was pointing. "Yes, yes," he
shouted excitedly, "the Day Of Judgement is here."
As the other two arrived, the bright light suddenly stopped moving across the sky and, billowing a red
tail, it began to plunge down towards the sea. It seemed to vanish from sight, and then a mighty rainbow
of colours erupted into the air. Noah rushed off towards the cabin to steer the Ark towards the point
where the light had come from. After a few minutes, they thought they had lost its position, but another
multi-coloured explosion erupted into the air. These were repeated at ten minute intervals, as the Ark
moved towards the place, fighting a wind that was blowing in the opposite direction.
An hour later, they could make out a charred mass of metal laying in the sea.
"What is it?" Noah whispered in awe, his voice trembling with excitement.
"I've got a good idea," He said. "Could you get me some rope. It will have to be strong and sturdy."
"I'll get some," the old man replied.
Armed with the rope, He climbed down the ladder, having secured one end on the deck, He tossed the
other out to the metal cylinder that floated in the sea. Again and again it seemed as if He would be swept
into the sea, as He tried to attach the rope onto the shape that rocked on the waves. Finally, His task was
completed. He had looped the rope through an opening. Soaked to the skin, He dragged the other end of
the rope back onto the deck. "All help me pull," He ordered, as the water ran off His body.
They wound the rope around a capstan on deck so that it would not run back, and finally, after what
seemed like hours of endless toil, they heard the thing knock against the side of the Ark.
He picked up a metal bar that was laying on the deck, and climbing back down the rope ladder began
to pound on the thing they had pulled out of the sea,. To the surprise of those on the deck, a hatch opened
on the top of the capsule and a bearded head looked uneasily out at them.
"Hey, what the hell's happened?" the man drawled. "The whole planet looked covered with water
from up there."
"Very true my friend," He replied, giving the man a helping hand out onto the rope ladder. "Who do I
have the pleasure of speaking to?"
"Colonel Matt Ross, Captain of the Venusian Expedition,'' the man replied. Another figure emerged
out of the capsule. "That's Luke Isaacs, second-in-command," he said. "The others are all dead. Jesus, has
the world ended?"
"We'll have to get our equipment out of here before the water gets in," Isaacs called out. "Especially
Charlie."
"Charlie?" He asked.
"Yeah," Isaacs replied. "Charlie. Hell man, have we got some things to tell the world!" He looked
around at the expanse of water. "Well, we did have!"
The next hour was taken up with moving equipment out of the capsule. Finally, they lifted out a
coffin shaped box. They handled it with extreme care. It was carried into Noah's Cabin, where they all
crowded round to hear what the two survivors had to say. The girl remained locked in her cabin.
"We'll cut out the technical data," Ross said, "there seems little point in it. When we landed, we
crashed out control, way off course. The instrument panel went haywire, as if something was pulling us
off course. Hell, we landed near to this outcrop of rock. But it wasn't. It was the Great Pyramids of Egypt.
Well, what I mean is that they might as well have been, they looked identical."
"We went in one of them," Isaacs interrupted. "It was empty, just a great big empty shell."
"Then we went in the other." Ross continued the story, his words running into each other with
excitement. "It wasn't quite empty, there was this statue thing placed right in the middle of it, up on a
pedestal. It's image is human, just like us; out there on Venus where man has never been, a human statue.
That's when we lost contact with Earth; when we brought this statue thing back to our ship, about four
months ago."
"The day of the flood," trembled Noah.
"Can we see it?" He asked, "this thing you call Charlie."
"Sure," Isaacs replied, "it looks so real, it might as well be.
He opened the box. They looked down at the statue that lay in the vacuum sealed box inside, it looked
real, but it was so still. Something suddenly made them all look away from the statue in the box and over
at Noah. None of them had ever seen a man with such a frightened look on his face.
"What's wrong?" they asked.
"That is not a statue," the old man replied, his voice little more than a whisper. "It's eyes. It's eyes are
alive, and look, it's moving. OH NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!"
They all looked at the box which held the statue. It was disappearing as the figure began to move. It
was just vanishing. The figure was expanding. HE seemed to fill the whole room. Noah was flung to the
window. The sea was receding below them. The boat was being lifted on a mighty fountain of water."
X - The final entry in the log of the Ark.
"And HE had revealed Himself to us and lifted us on a mighty fountain of water, and as HE lifted up
the water HE lifted the land that lay below and when HE dissolved into the air, we fell back into the sea
and were washed up onto an island. And we were much wiser then. And behold, on the second day of our
life on the island whilst walking along the side of the river, we found a baby laying naked and I took it in
my arms, and I was enveloped in a warm smile. But when I returned to the settlement we were building,
the nameless man had vanished. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John said they had seen Him walking out into
the water. They said He must have been standing on a piece of the wreckage of the Ark for He had not
sunk. And the girl saw the baby and the scales fell from her eyes. She said the dream was over and that
the child could only have one name.....
XII - Recollections.
"My career as a surgeon crashed the day I was involved in the first and last 'authorised' soul transplant
in the world. They called it a soul transplant, but really we were physically switching several tiny, but key
area of the brain that White thought contained his memory and soul. Gerald White, the famous scientist,
was dying of old age as he was embarking on perhaps his most brilliant project. We were to transplant his
soul into that of a man whose body was perfectly fit, but had died from poisoning; the body was being
kept going on a life support system. It looked as if it was going to work successfully. After the transplant,
we switched off the life support and the body opened his eyes, he was looking straight at me for a second.
It might have been a year he looked at me with those sightless eyes; then he was dead. I'll never forget
those eyes as they looked at me. I got feeling that he was trying to tell me something. The funny thing
was, medically, the operation was a success, there was no reason why he should have died. It's one of
those things you can't explain. You should have been there to see it, then you'd've understood."
I sometimes think we managed to extract his soul, but in the process it escaped and it's still floating
around somewhere in the air. Do you know what I mean?"
GO TO THE STORY ARCHIVE
|
The Multi Wanderer
THE MULTI-WANDERER
George Townsend
I - Inception.
For many years He had been imprisoned in His body. At last He had been freed. He realised that He
had just one purpose in life. He had to find something. He didn't have the faintest idea what it was, but He
knew He had to find it. It would have to be by the process of elimination.
II - The Soul Transplant.
He was walking down a street, following a girl with short cropped hair, wearing a yellow dress. She
walked quickly, swinging her arms as she dodged amongst the crowd that was bustling down the busy
road. It was late closing this evening and it seemed that the whole population of the city was making the
most of the good weather. It had lasted all day, but was now being threatened by black storm clouds that
were massing on the horizon.
The girl walked through a gateway into a courtyard. As she walked towards the entrance of a large
sprawling building, a group of people, being held back by the police, recognised her and surged forward.
They were asking questions.
"How is your husband, Mrs. White?" ·
"Have you anything to say regarding the controversy over the operation Mrs. White?"
"Have you spoken to him yet Mrs. White?"
"Who does he think he is Mrs. White?"
A tight lipped smile was on the girl's face as she forced her way through the opening made by the
police. When she reached the door, she turned and smiled at the crowd.
"I'm not Mrs. White," she said in answer to their questions. She pulled off a wig and looked down at
her watch. "Mr. White is now no longer in this hospital. He's been moved to somewhere more private. A
statement will be made by the medical authorities in due course. The hospital and the Government's
ethics committee have nothing further to say at this stage." She vanished inside the building as a hub-bub
rose from the crowd.
He remained outside the building for a moment surveying the ever increasing crowd in the hospital
grounds. A man holding a placard above the peoples heads was being jostled. He read the words on the
board:
"IT IS AGAINST THE WILL OF GOD - HE WILL BE AVENGED."
"What's going on?" He asked the man next to him.
"It's just been announced on the radio," he replied. "Came out with it in a matter of fact voice, like a
weather forecast. 'Early this morning at Greenemaid Hospital, surgeons reached the end of a ten hour
operation in which the first human soul in the world has been transplanted from one man to another.' I
was one of the first to get here, seeing how I only work in the next street. The press was already here.
Since I arrived people have been streaming in from everywhere. I can see it's going to turn into a riot
soon." He paused. "Bloody hell. Well I mean - a soul, where's it all going to end?"
He looked around. The man was right. The grounds were now full of people and the traffic was
blocked in the street outside. The crowd was swaying as the ones at the back tried to force their way
through to the front. People were shouting and swearing. He made his way through the crowd to where He
saw a television camera. A woman was being interviewed as to what she thought about the operation.
"Well I don't know," she said, "it makes you wonder doesn't it, ,.and then there's all those men gone to
Venus. I don't know what the world's coming to."
A student interrupted. "You can see what this is leading to," he said. "Statesmen will have the bodies
of the ordinary people when they grow old. Those of us whose brains aren't stolen will be conditioned
to obey them. They will live off our organs, and we'll be pulled in off the streets, they won't wait until
we're dead either. Ask yourself this question. If the man whose body was used was dead, what good was
he? He must have still been alive. It's time for the revolution!"
A group of fellow students began to chant 'Revolution! Revolution!' There followed a scuffle as a
man began to chant 'National Front', as a counter move. Police began to move in wielding their
truncheons. The crowd was now being squashed together in an almost insufferable squeeze.
A high ranking police officer stood up on a raised platform and spoke to the crowd through a
loudspeaker, which echoed across the courtyard.
"I'm going to ask you all to leave in a quiet orderly fashion," he. said. "There's no need to all rush out
in one go, but I must ask all of you who are not authorised to be here, to leave."
There was an angry rumble in the crowd and people began to shout swearwords and obscene curses.
Many people began to sit down in groups, and a new block of students began to force their way through a
police barrier at the gate of the courtyard, in a Jeep and a bus they'd commandeered.
"Anyone who refuses to go will be forcibly removed or sent to prison," the officer continued, above a
rising tide of anger in the crowd.
The temperature was still high and He was sweating like a pig and felt as if He was being crushed to
death as the crowd jostled Him from side to side. He could feel the anger boiling all around Him. The full
enormity of what had happened earlier in the hospital was just beginning to sink in."
"We want facts," chanted a new group of protesters.
"This is your last chance," the police officer warned. "If you don't start moving off, we shall have to
take action."
Stones, bottles, apples and other fruit suddenly began to be pelted at the man. The camera relaying
the pictures of the scenes back to the studio was overbalanced to a mighty roar from the crowd. They
suddenly surged forward carrying Him with them. The police, truncheons drawn, began to beat into the
front wave of the mass.
Screams were heard to the right as a burning newspaper which had been thrown into the air, fell back
on the crowd. The police were being driven up the steps to the hospital building's entrance. The doors
opened and a new wave of police, this time in riot battle dress poured out, firing CS gas bombs into the
crowd.
The loudspeaker was pulled out of the police officers hand by the figure He had seen earlier holding
the placard. He screamed into the microphone, his words deafening the crowd to a halt and making them
momentarily forget the gas.
"GOD WILL BE AVENGED FOR THIS, OUR FINAL AND MOST IRREVOCABLE SIN" the man
screamed. He pointed up to the sky. "THE CLOUDS ARE BUILDING, THE SECOND FLOOD IS
COMING."
It was indeed an awe inspiring sight that the man pointed to. The sky, which had been clear all day,
was rapidly vanishing under a huge bank of black cloud that was sweeping towards them from the
horizon.
"RUN," he screamed. "RUN. NOT THAT IT WILL DO YOU ANY GOOD. EVEN THOSE ON THE
HIGH GROUND WILL PERISH!"
To add emphasis to his words, the skies opened and a torrential downpour began to gush down.
Screams of fear and horror began to be heard in the crowd. It was indeed a frightening moment as the
warning still echoed across the P.A. system. The crowd began to break up in fright. Even the students
who were sitting on the ground began to look around with worried frowns as the rain beat down on their
heads.
"THE FLOODS ARE HERE," the man concluded. "GOD HAS BEGUN HIS PURGE!"
He was carried back into the streets by the fleeing crowd. The rain beat down on their heads now
mixed with huge hailstones. Such was their fury that they knocked people to the ground.
III - The Arrival Of The Flood.
He took refuge in an alcove under a bridge, and watched the people pouring past, screaming out the
warnings about the floods. The rain gave no sign of ceasing and the whole sky was now covered with
black clouds which cast an air of gloom across the whole area. The streets were rivers of rushing water.
He saw a drain cover shoot up from the road, carried up on a fountain of water from the sewers.
"It's going to be absolute hell if the river overflows," a quiet voice next to him said.
He turned to see a small girl with long hair that had been plastered to her head by the rain, which
dripped off onto her brown suede coat.
"Yes," He replied. "I suppose it will be."
"This is a bit scary," the girl continued. "I came along hoping for a bit of action. I never guessed
anything like this would happen." She looked out at the raging storm. The water was lapping around her
feet. "I'm beginning to wonder if what that man said was true."
"What, about the flood?" He asked.
"Yes," the girl replied. "The river is at a dangerous level at the best of times. It's at its highest level at
this time of year."
"So you think there will be a flood, even if it's only on a local scale?" He asked.
"Yes," the girl confirmed in a self assured voice. "It only needs to rain for another ten or fifteen
minutes at this rate and that will be it. Even if it was normal there'd be a danger, but with the amount of
rain we've had over the past few weeks, it's a certainty."
"That's what I told them," a third voice added. They saw a dim figure at the rear of the archway, who
must have been there all the time.
"Who are you?'' the girl asked.
"My friends call me Noah," the man replied. "I warned them that the floods would come and purge
the Earth clean of it's sins." It was the man who had taken charge of the loudspeaker earlier. "We can't
stay here," he warned. "We must escape . You can be my crew."
"Crew?" the girl asked.
"Yes," the man replied, "in my Ark. I've got it stored in my warehouse. Come on, there's no time to
waste. The water has already started rising."
He looked down at his feet. If what the girl had said about the river was true, it would be dangerous to
stay here where He could easily be trapped by the rising water. The other two were already leaving, He
followed them back out into the open. They battled down the street against the rising water that was
rushing in the opposite direction. The torrential rain and hail showed no sign of stopping.
They staggered on for about ten minutes, until they reached a disused warehouse. The man called
Noah unbolted the door and let them in. The water had seeped through the opening and was already three
inches deep on the floor. A light was switched on illuminating a large wooden sailing boat. '
"They laughed at me," Noah muttered. "They'll eat their words when the river overflows."
The girl looked at her watch. "That's going to be any minute," she said.
"Get on board," Noah ordered the girl. "This is no place for little girls like you." Her arguments were
dismissed with a wave of the man's hand. "Come on," he said, "let's get the door fully open. We want to
be able to steer the Ark out before the water level gets too high."
He helped the old man force the doors open. He looked out into the street and gasped.
"What's the matter?" Noah asked.
"A huge wave's sweeping down the street," He exclaimed.
"The river," cursed the old man. "I told them it would overflow." They began to splash back towards
the boat. Suddenly they were swept off their feet by a rush of water. There were a few moments confusion
as the water enveloped them. They surfaced amid the turbulent currents and swam towards the boat that
was beginning to float.
They clambered aboard up a rope ladder and pulled it up after them.
"Down below," the old man shouted above the roaring wind and crashing water. "The controls are
down below. If we stay on deck, we shall perish." As he spoke, a mighty wave crashed over the deck
swamping them.
IV - An Entry In The Log Of The Ark.
And we set sail on the mighty sea, and as we battled with the storm, that beat and rocked us, the Lord
God appeared before my eyes. He spoke to me, and He said, "Behold, I am the Lord God; creator of
the Heavens and the Earth. I have purged the Earth of its sins with my holy waters. Do not be afraid, for
you have been chosen for salvation, while all others will perish. You shall be my instrument to spread
the word of the Lord when the waters recede and the islands rise once more out of the seas.
And you shall journey through the twelve movements of the seasons, and you shall know them well.
At the end of the twelve increments, an island shall arise from the sea and this is where you shall land and
spread the word of the Lord God."
Captain Noah.
V - The End Of The Ice Age.
The rolling and tumbling finally seemed to have subdued, and He carefully made His way up onto
deck The ship rocked with the swell of the sea. He looked all around in disbelief. He turned to Noah, who
had also emerged from below decks.
"There is no sign of land anywhere," He exclaimed. "It has all vanished!!"
"I told them it would happen," the old man replied wistfully. "They paid no attention to me. They
have paid for their sins now."
"But it's impossible," He breathed, trying to convince Himself. "Continents can't just vanish like that."
"But they have not vanished," the old man corrected. "They are down there, under the water. A few
people have survived; the chosen few who will mould the new race."
They were joined by the girl, and the trio stood on the slippery deck and watched the empty rolling
sea in silence for several hours.
He saw something drifting towards them. It could be made out quite clearly even though it was still a
fair distance away.
"What is it?" the girl asked, as Noah peered through his binoculars at it.
"It appears to be some sort of building, floating on the sea," the old man observed. "By the looks of it, it is
intact. Very strange."
The three watched as it drifted nearer to them. What the old man said was indeed true. It was a three
story building, but it was not like a normal building. Not only did it float on the sea like a ship, but it had
no windows. It appeared to be made of some steel-plastic compound. Noah steered the Ark over to it so
that they could make a closer examination.
As they pulled alongside, the girl pointed. "Look a doorway," she said.
Her words were indeed true. The other two looked where the girl pointed. They could make out an
outline of a doorway. Before either of the others could protest, He had thrown the rope ladder over the
side of the Ark and begun to climb down towards the door of the strange building that floated low in the
water.
He jumped off the ladder and walked across the smooth briny surface towards the door that the girl
had spotted. He turned the handle and it opened easily.
He cautiously lowered Himself through the opening and was puzzled to find that although everything
should have been on its side, the corridor He found himself in was the right way up. He began to walk
down it, holding one hand against the wall to steady Himself as the building rocked with the waves
outside.
The corridor led only one way - to a door set into the wall. It opened at His touch, and He stepped
inside to find Himself in a mighty room which must have occupied what they had assumed to be the
three stories. The whole of the far wall was some sort of mighty filing cabinet. He cautiously approached
it, and read the label on one of the lower drawers. "John Bently." He examined several others which also
bore names.
He took a grip on the handle of one and pulled. It opened easily, on well oiled rollers. It was shaped
like a coffin, and for good reason. He looked down into it through the transparent lid. He could see a still,
silent body, encased in ice, looking up at Him through sightless iced eyes.
He became aware of the presence of someone else in the room. He could feel eyes boring into the
back of His head. He slowly turned and saw an old man quietly sitting in a corner looking at Him.
"Are you in charge here?" He asked. The old man nodded slowly in reply. He pointed at the rows of
cabinets. "Are they all full?" He asked. The old man nodded once again. He turned back and looked down
into the interior at the frozen face. He began to pull out other cabinets. What the old man had said
appeared to be correct. They all seemed to be occupied. He pulled out one which contained a girl of
about eight years old. He paused in horror as He looked down at her. "How did she die?" He whispered.
"She looks so young."
"Die?" the old man asked in a puzzled voice.
"This is a suspended animation cemetery isn't it?" He asked. "They have been frozen upon their death
in the hopes that at a later date someone will find a cure for the disease from which they died."
The old man sat there silently for a few minutes then slowly shook his head. "No," he replied, these
people were selected from the population to be frozen, so that in event of some sort of holocaust which
wiped out the rest of the race - a bacteriological war for instance, they could continue the breed."
"But who would allow themselves to be frozen like this?" He asked in bewilderment. "Surely no-one in
complete possession of their right mind would wish such a fate."
"In event of a war," the old man continued, "men do not wish to become soldiers and go and fight
and die. They have no choice."
He digested the old mans words for a few seconds before replying. "You mean they were not frozen
of their own free will?"
The old man shook his head. He looked up, anger flashed into his eyes. "Before you condemn me," he
said, "remember it wasn't me who introduced the idea of suspended animation. It wasn't me who paid vast
sums of money to have my body frozen after death. Money they were able to use to research further into
the idea."
A frenzy suddenly crossed His mind as he looked at the old man sitting defiantly in his chair. "I must
release them," He breathed. "I must release them."
"Then they will die."
He turned and looked at the wizened figure again. "What do you mean?" He asked, taken, aback by
the note of certainty in the old mans voice.
"They never managed to perfect the method of resurrecting them," he replied. "They didn't think it
mattered when they started freezing people who were dead anyway. If they never came round, they
wouldn't be any the wiser. When they started using living beings they still didn't think it mattered because
they had as long as they needed to find the answer. Yes my friend, if you switch off that control that keeps
them frozen at absolute zero, what small hope they have of surviving will be destroyed."
"I don't believe you," He replied. He flicked the switch that froze an individual 'coffin'. The lid swung
open. He watched as the ice began to melt and clouds of frozen air began to billow up. Three minutes
passed. He stood still watching the ice melt away. He touched the skin of the man He had unfrozen. It was
as cold and hard as steel. He watched for another minute or so, as he saw heating elements light up.
"Where is the master switch?" He demanded.
"And if I don't tell you?'' the old man asked.
"Then I will find it myself. If you try to stop me, I shall make you regret it."
The old man shrugged. "Over there." He pointed to a large switch. "That is the main control," he
confirmed..
He rushed over and pulled it down. He turned back and looked at the old man who was shaking his
head silently. "You have killed them all," he mumbled.
"Killed them," He replied bitterly, "I have saved them from a living death."
"Go and examine you first revival," the old man suggested, an air of defiance on his wrinkled face.
He walked quickly back over to the first cabinet He had activated. He touched the man's skin, it was
still cold as ice - and the pulse had stopped.
"Well?" the old man asked.
"He's dead," He whispered.
"Yes," the old man replied, "as I told you."
"I must stop the revival process."
"It's too late," the old man answered. "Once the process has begun, it cannot be reversed."
"But then I've killed them all," He cried. "I've killed them all."
"Yes," the old man confirmed, "every one of them."
He covered His face with His hands. "What can I do?" He asked, desperation and fright creeping into
His voice.
"You had better leave," the old man suggested.
"And you?" He asked.
"I shall stay. My days are numbered. I think I only managed to live on in the hope that a solution for
my patients would be found. I suppose it has now."
"But don't you feel any anger?" He asked.
"No," the old man replied, "they were only people."
VI - Further entries in the log of the Ark.
When He returned from the floating building, He would not let us go and see what He had found, and
a strange silence had stolen His voice. He made us sail from the building as fast as the wind would carry
us, and then He took to the rowing boat and sits alone in it, being towed along behind us. For hours He
sits in the centre of the boat, immobile as a statue, gazing out across the vast sea. The girl is also very
quiet and she stays in her cabin most of the time. When I have visited her, I have found her cabin filled
with scented smoke and I have heard her screaming in her sleep at nights. I have sought guidance from
the Lord, but He has not shown Himself to me again. There is still no sign of land.
Captain Noah.
Today is like yesterday, and the countless other days we have drifted aimlessly with the wind on this
mighty ocean. Still He sits out in the lifeboat, staring out to sea. While on watch this morning, I thought I
spied something on the horizon. If it was anything; it appears to have vanished now.
Captain Noah
VII - On the good ship 'Zebra'
He looked again. He wasn't mistaken, there was a black dot on the horizon and it appeared to be
getting larger all the time. He uncrossed His legs and got stiffly to His feet. He began to pull the tow rope
into the boat so that He moved up against the side of the Ark. He clambered up the rope that hung over
the side.
"Captain, Captain," He called out. "There is something on the horizon. Steer to starboard!"
Noah came running across the deck. "Where?" he asked.
"Look," He pointed. "Can you see it? It's getting bigger and bigger all the time."
"Yes," the old mariner replied excitedly, "You're right. There is something there. We must steer
towards it with full speed."
Three hours later they were near the object that they had seen on the horizon. It was a large sailing
ship that was also drifting with the winds.
"I can see something moving," said Noah, pointing. "Someone is on the deck."
He strained His eyes. The old man was right, there was someone moving across the deck. As they
pulled alongside, a head looked down at them over the side.
"Can we come aboard?" Noah asked. In response to his request, a ladder was tossed over the side, and
the two climbed aboard, leaving the girl alone on the Ark, asleep in her cabin.
Once aboard they were quickly ushered below deck by two frightened looking men, who constantly
looked behind them. It was not until they were in a cabin, that they relaxed and they shook hands warmly.
"We were beginning to think we were the only ones left," the first of the men said. He introduced
himself as Mark.
His companion who was named John nodded in agreement, "Thank God you've come;" he said. "Will
you take us with you? There is great danger here. We are constantly risking our lives."
"Why?" Noah asked.
"Just before the great disaster," Mark replied, "we boarded this ship as stowaways. We had no money.
If we'd've known what sort of ship we were on, we'd've never dreamed of boarding it. This is a ship of the
Devil.,"
"What exactly do you mean," Noah said frowning.
"This ship is owned by 'white supremacists', they had an illegal cargo of black slaves. The slaves,
taking advantage of the disaster, broke free and have taken control of the hold. The whites were driven up
onto the deck and surface cabins. This state of affairs has remained ever since and we have drifted along
without any power."
"However," interrupted John, taking up the story, "despite our attempts to end the deadlock between
the two sides, they refused to compromise with each other. Each side wants complete control. What is
worse, in the last day or so, the supremacists, despite the fact that they have plenty of food, have run out
of water. The slaves have plenty of water, but are almost out of food. As you can imagine, this can't last
for very long, there's going to be bloodshed, We're going to be right in the middle of it. Just because we
tried to help, we are now hated by both sides."
"Yes," Noah agreed, "it does sound a dangerous situation. I think the wisest solution would be for you
to come with us. We have plenty of food and water on the ship, enough to last for several months."
Suddenly a look of horror crossed his face. "Hell's fires!" he exclaimed.
"What's the matter?" Mark asked.
"When we came aboard, we left the ladder hanging over the side. Whoever's on the deck can get
aboard the Ark!"
"Let's get back," He suggested, "and fast."
Even as He spoke, they heard movement on the deck. The four ran out of the cabin towards the deck,
heedless of the danger that might lay there. However as they emerged onto the deck, they skidded to a
dead halt. At one end of the deck the slaves stood in silence. At the other end stood the supremacists.
Suddenly both sides surged forward screaming with hate. Guns began to fire and missiles flew through
the air. The four stood and watched the terrible carnage that was raging. Neither side had noticed the four
men who stood silently in the shadows, or the rope ladder that was in clear sight and led to the Ark.
"Let us leave with all speed," whispered Noah. 'They will not notice us in the fury of their battle."
The four moved hastily towards the rope ladder hanging over the side of the ship, constantly casting
uneasy sideways glances at the battle that was entering a new stage of ferocity.
They made it safely back into the Ark, and cast away from the ship as quickly as their movements
would allow. When they were at a safe distance from the ship they saw it erupt into a mighty ball of fire
and then sink suddenly into the sea.
John suddenly burst into hysterical laughter. "They could have had all the food and water they'd
wanted, if they'd've stopped and thought about it," he said. "But they were blinded to anything but hate."
VIII - A further entry from the log of the Ark.
And as I slept the Lord God appeared before me once again and he spoke, and he said, 'Behold I am
the Lord God, and you shall see a star shine in the night sky which shall rival the brightness of the Moon
itself, and you shall guide yourself by this light, and it will shine as a mighty rainbow to the eternal sea
that I have created. You shall steer for the point where the rainbow touches the sea, for there you shall
meet with my presence, and I shall reveal myself to you."
Captain Noah.
IX - The Second Revelation.
"Man. Man'" the girl called as she stared across the night sea. "Why have you no name man?" she
asked in a hypnotic drone.
He walked over to her. There was a vague look in her eyes.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
She staggered, grabbing hold of His arm to maintain her upright position. "It's all a dream," she
continued. "None of this is real. None of this is real," she repeated. "It's all a dream. Why won't they let
me out." She looked around wildly. You're all sea dragons. Sea dragons!" She screamed. "In red and
yellow cloaks, riding your chariots of light across the heavens." She began to tremble violently. "I can see
it all now," she screamed, covering her eyes with her hands. "Turn off the light. I can't stand it."
Her words were so frightening, that He looked round to look where she had been staring. There were
no chariots, but there was a bright star shining. No, it wasn't a star. It was moving!
"Noah, Mark, John," He called out, as the girl broke away and ran screaming towards her cabin.
Noah was the first to arrive on the scene. He looked where the man was pointing. "Yes, yes," he
shouted excitedly, "the Day Of Judgement is here."
As the other two arrived, the bright light suddenly stopped moving across the sky and, billowing a red
tail, it began to plunge down towards the sea. It seemed to vanish from sight, and then a mighty rainbow
of colours erupted into the air. Noah rushed off towards the cabin to steer the Ark towards the point
where the light had come from. After a few minutes, they thought they had lost its position, but another
multi-coloured explosion erupted into the air. These were repeated at ten minute intervals, as the Ark
moved towards the place, fighting a wind that was blowing in the opposite direction.
An hour later, they could make out a charred mass of metal laying in the sea.
"What is it?" Noah whispered in awe, his voice trembling with excitement.
"I've got a good idea," He said. "Could you get me some rope. It will have to be strong and sturdy."
"I'll get some," the old man replied.
Armed with the rope, He climbed down the ladder, having secured one end on the deck, He tossed the
other out to the metal cylinder that floated in the sea. Again and again it seemed as if He would be swept
into the sea, as He tried to attach the rope onto the shape that rocked on the waves. Finally, His task was
completed. He had looped the rope through an opening. Soaked to the skin, He dragged the other end of
the rope back onto the deck. "All help me pull," He ordered, as the water ran off His body.
They wound the rope around a capstan on deck so that it would not run back, and finally, after what
seemed like hours of endless toil, they heard the thing knock against the side of the Ark.
He picked up a metal bar that was laying on the deck, and climbing back down the rope ladder began
to pound on the thing they had pulled out of the sea,. To the surprise of those on the deck, a hatch opened
on the top of the capsule and a bearded head looked uneasily out at them.
"Hey, what the hell's happened?" the man drawled. "The whole planet looked covered with water
from up there."
"Very true my friend," He replied, giving the man a helping hand out onto the rope ladder. "Who do I
have the pleasure of speaking to?"
"Colonel Matt Ross, Captain of the Venusian Expedition,'' the man replied. Another figure emerged
out of the capsule. "That's Luke Isaacs, second-in-command," he said. "The others are all dead. Jesus, has
the world ended?"
"We'll have to get our equipment out of here before the water gets in," Isaacs called out. "Especially
Charlie."
"Charlie?" He asked.
"Yeah," Isaacs replied. "Charlie. Hell man, have we got some things to tell the world!" He looked
around at the expanse of water. "Well, we did have!"
The next hour was taken up with moving equipment out of the capsule. Finally, they lifted out a
coffin shaped box. They handled it with extreme care. It was carried into Noah's Cabin, where they all
crowded round to hear what the two survivors had to say. The girl remained locked in her cabin.
"We'll cut out the technical data," Ross said, "there seems little point in it. When we landed, we
crashed out control, way off course. The instrument panel went haywire, as if something was pulling us
off course. Hell, we landed near to this outcrop of rock. But it wasn't. It was the Great Pyramids of Egypt.
Well, what I mean is that they might as well have been, they looked identical."
"We went in one of them," Isaacs interrupted. "It was empty, just a great big empty shell."
"Then we went in the other." Ross continued the story, his words running into each other with
excitement. "It wasn't quite empty, there was this statue thing placed right in the middle of it, up on a
pedestal. It's image is human, just like us; out there on Venus where man has never been, a human statue.
That's when we lost contact with Earth; when we brought this statue thing back to our ship, about four
months ago."
"The day of the flood," trembled Noah.
"Can we see it?" He asked, "this thing you call Charlie."
"Sure," Isaacs replied, "it looks so real, it might as well be.
He opened the box. They looked down at the statue that lay in the vacuum sealed box inside, it looked
real, but it was so still. Something suddenly made them all look away from the statue in the box and over
at Noah. None of them had ever seen a man with such a frightened look on his face.
"What's wrong?" they asked.
"That is not a statue," the old man replied, his voice little more than a whisper. "It's eyes. It's eyes are
alive, and look, it's moving. OH NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!"
They all looked at the box which held the statue. It was disappearing as the figure began to move. It
was just vanishing. The figure was expanding. HE seemed to fill the whole room. Noah was flung to the
window. The sea was receding below them. The boat was being lifted on a mighty fountain of water."
X - The final entry in the log of the Ark.
"And HE had revealed Himself to us and lifted us on a mighty fountain of water, and as HE lifted up
the water HE lifted the land that lay below and when HE dissolved into the air, we fell back into the sea
and were washed up onto an island. And we were much wiser then. And behold, on the second day of our
life on the island whilst walking along the side of the river, we found a baby laying naked and I took it in
my arms, and I was enveloped in a warm smile. But when I returned to the settlement we were building,
the nameless man had vanished. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John said they had seen Him walking out into
the water. They said He must have been standing on a piece of the wreckage of the Ark for He had not
sunk. And the girl saw the baby and the scales fell from her eyes. She said the dream was over and that
the child could only have one name.....
XII - Recollections.
"My career as a surgeon crashed the day I was involved in the first and last 'authorised' soul transplant
in the world. They called it a soul transplant, but really we were physically switching several tiny, but key
area of the brain that White thought contained his memory and soul. Gerald White, the famous scientist,
was dying of old age as he was embarking on perhaps his most brilliant project. We were to transplant his
soul into that of a man whose body was perfectly fit, but had died from poisoning; the body was being
kept going on a life support system. It looked as if it was going to work successfully. After the transplant,
we switched off the life support and the body opened his eyes, he was looking straight at me for a second.
It might have been a year he looked at me with those sightless eyes; then he was dead. I'll never forget
those eyes as they looked at me. I got feeling that he was trying to tell me something. The funny thing
was, medically, the operation was a success, there was no reason why he should have died. It's one of
those things you can't explain. You should have been there to see it, then you'd've understood."
I sometimes think we managed to extract his soul, but in the process it escaped and it's still floating
around somewhere in the air. Do you know what I mean?"
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