The Dark Rift: Ascension (The Dark Rift Book Series 1) (23 page)

"Okay, I'm not sure I understand where you’re going with this story. First of all, what do you mean, instructed?" Isaiah asked, thinking, here comes the really crazy part.

"You already know what I mean, but you don’t believe this concept. Let me continue and see if I can persuade you. Once energy from a planet is harnessed, it can be collected and focused using an emissions device of sorts to send it over a long distance. You’ve heard about the power of pyramids, no doubt?"

"Yes, Evan, and I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but this story already sounds completely implausible." I really should have said completely crazy, Isaiah thought.

"Like I said, let me continue. So far, we’ve established there is earth energy. You do buy that the moon has a gravitational pull on the ocean that controls tides, right?"

"Yes, that, I get."

"Then it shouldn’t be much of a reach to say all planets have energy and celestial bodies all exert forces on each other. The energy of the earth is powerful and, if it’s disrupted, a lot of unusual things start happening. I know you’ve probably read about the mass groundings of whales and dolphins. For no apparent reason, hundreds of them ground themselves and die. They’re wired to follow earth’s energy in a specific direction, across a pattern that has been in existence for thousands of years. When that pattern is disrupted, they end up in the wrong place at the wrong time, yet they keep following their pre-programmed map until there’s no going back."

"So, you’re saying that something is interrupting the natural flow of earth’s energy? The people in the tunnel? But, why?"

"They’re focusing earth energy to fuel their project. The three places I told you about are points below the earth’s surface that the people in the tunnel, as you call them, have been working on since the 1950s. The pyramid currently under seawater in the Bermuda Triangle was originally constructed by the inhabitants of an ancient city to tap into geothermal energy off the coast of Cuba. It became submerged as coastal areas were inundated by catastrophic flooding during the last ice age. Now, it's needed for the project."

"Okay, Evan. So, this pyramid has been buried under seawater for a really long time and the people in the tunnel have been messing around with it for over sixty years. Whatever they're doing also disrupts earth energy flow patterns. So, let me guess. Are you also saying the crashes and missing aircraft in the Bermuda Triangle are due to these disruptions?"

"Some of them, yes. Unanticipated consequences of screwing with Mother Nature. Since 1953, Gypsum has expended a tremendous amount of effort in preparing to raise the pyramid because it needs to be exposed to the surface. Once it's lifted up, it will function as one of the three pyramids that will emit harvested earth energy through a portal."

"A portal? You mean like a hole in the atmosphere or something like that?"

"Yes. But not so much a hole, as a defined area of gravitational pull that connects with the dark rift." Evan stopped talking for a moment and stared at Isaiah. "If you don’t mind me saying so, Isaiah, you look a bit bewildered."

"That’s a correct assumption. But, feel free to continue. You can't possibly confuse me anymore than you have already. We were just talking about the dark rift. That’s part of the dark energy in the Milky Way. That’s what you’re telling me?"

"Yes. The portal for ascension into the rift is already in place at the Egyptian pyramid I told you about. That portal would transport people and materials first, so Gypsum will move everyone there before the rest of the sequence begins. Then, the emissions from all three pyramids will be combined by triangulating and fusing them into a single source during which the portal will literally suck all the remaining energy from the earth. And that's where our more immediate problem starts. In order to maximize the amount of energy gleaned from the planet, Gypsum, under the guidance of our otherworldly neighbors, has planned a series of explosions to not only lift the pyramids to the surface, but to trigger as much tectonic activity as possible across the entire earth."

"These extraterrestrials you keep talking about. Why would they want to do a thing like that? Why destroy the earth? Why not just take the people they have and leave?"

"The simple answer is because, to them, the earth is one giant natural resource to harvest and tectonic activity provides a tremendous amount of instantaneous energy. Right now, the Bermuda Triangle pyramid lies under hundreds of feet of seawater. There’s some urgency to the situation since the site was exposed publicly as aerial photography became more refined over the past decade, revealing its existence. Now it's considered an archaeological site. Any amount of probing into it would uncover the plan, so efforts have been made by Gypsum to stop or slow archaeological investigations. The same actions were taken to thwart investigations around a buried pyramid in Egypt, and for the pyramid right under our feet."

Isaiah felt completely speechless. "Right under our feet, as in, there’s a pyramid under California? Evan, I just need to ask. Are you on any sort of medication?"

"Why, yes. I take Lipitor for my cholesterol. If you mean, am I mentally deranged, no. I think you need to be patient and see it for yourself."

"If I'm to believe this story, there are humans who’ve been working underground for decades, harnessing the energy of the earth. They've taken steps, as you call them, to keep from being discovered. Why, may I ask? Is something going to happen to the earth soon that necessitates us leaving it with such urgency?" Isaiah felt this story was becoming more incredible by the moment.

"Because that’s the way it’s been done since the dawn of time. Conditions are ripe for them to collect the remaining energy of the planet. How many times have you heard about a distant planet that was found to contain ice or other resources that could have once supported biological life? It’s not too much of a stretch to allow you to accept the idea that organisms like us once lived on those planets. What I’m telling you is that they weren’t just like us, they
were
us."

"You’re saying they’re not aliens, as in, another sort of organism. They're an advanced - at least technologically - part of the human race? You're also saying we’re going to abandon the earth. So, human beings colonize a planet, use up the resources, and then just move on to another planet, right?" Isaiah tried to comprehend the enormous effort required to implement this plan and wondered if there was any way it could be true. What he did know was, since the 1950s, trillions of dollars were being funneled toward this project. Whatever was going on, it was big. Really big.

"Yes, in effect. It’s recolonization on a grand scale. The timing is right now because earth is on the verge of releasing massive amounts of energy. The amount of tectonic activity over the next fifty years will be unprecedented and the transfer of potential to kinetic energy will be lost if it's not harvested first."

While that made sense to Isaiah, he didn't want to accept what Evan would probably be telling him next. He wondered how anyone could possibly harvest kinetic energy of the magnitude generated by earthquakes. "Please keep going. I'm with you so far."

"Tectonic plates are shifting all the time. If it happens gradually, that kind of movement can be absorbed by the planet. Damage occurs -- you know, flooding from tsunamis, property damage, that sort of thing -- but once it's over, the tectonic action is stifled for some time. Then we rebuild, recover, and wait for the next big one to hit. What Gypsum has been working on is preparations to initiate a catastrophe. All that potential energy can be released in one well-orchestrated event, with the right kind of trigger. Besides speeding up the process, what’s different this time is that the contingent in charge has devalued the diversity of human life. Since 1950, they’ve been collecting. And, thanks to my ex-wife, they’ve been very selective."

Isaiah’s mind was a jumble of questions, with no answers apparent. "I’m not sure I follow you. What have they been collecting? Do you mean plants or animals, or what?"

"I mean the DNA of all species -- at least what we know of -- millions of them, including humans. Think of it more as assembling the passengers for Noah’s ark. The amassing of species has been done each time a planet is abandoned. But, this time, the human genome is being screwed around with. Imagine what traits you could select for and eliminate if you had the technology. You would have the power to exterminate entire races, or to deselect specific attributes, like height, weight, hair color ... probably even sexual preference. You might understand my ex-wife's poor relationship with her daughter if you ponder that statement for a moment."

Isaiah kept milling over the idea of Evan fabricating this story and couldn't come up with a rational reason why he would. He tried to narrow his choices to the man being completely off his rocker or possibly just delusional. There was no way his story could be true. Yet, Evan's sincerity and the details he provided were slowly winning over Isaiah's mind. He kept looking for a hole in the fabric of the story. "How will this all start, exactly?"

"The first of the three pyramids that need to be activated is in the Bermuda Triangle. The sequence must be initiated there because it will take the longest. The entire planet will be aware something is happening, but people will think that tectonic activity is causing it. A massive explosive device will be detonated, causing seawater to rush into the tunnel system under the submerged pyramid. Once the cavern fills with seawater, it will displace the air into connecting tunnels, which will force the slab the pyramid is constructed on to move upwards, kind of like an elaborate mud jacking operation. When the uplifting of that location is complete, the sequence underneath California will begin."

"Come on, now," Isaiah said, trying to stifle the laugh that wanted to escape from him. "Don't you think it's a bit crazy to think someone could mud jack a pyramid up from under the ocean? I'm sorry, but that part I can't buy. Let's say I accept the idea of explosives, though. If Gypsum is really going through with this plan, disruption of tectonic activity in California could have dire consequences."

"Will have dire consequences, I think you mean. By the time the operation is complete, portions of California will lie under about fifty feet of seawater, as will much of the coasts of the United States and Europe. You've heard of saltation, right?"

"Yes, I do recall mention of that from an introductory geology class. Sand vibrates so intensely that the particles are in constant motion. It takes on the properties of a fluid and anything sitting on top of it sinks. But, refresh my memory, if you would. How does that apply here?"

"The geologists working for my wife say the sand under coastal areas where the explosions are set to occur will do just that, pulling portions of land into an undersea vortex."

Isaiah pictured himself sinking in the sand as Evan's voice faded away. He realized the discussion was pushing him toward exhaustion.

"Catastrophic enough for marine life, but the ocean will get a second trouncing upon as infrastructure is destroyed. You know, all those nuclear power plants, oilrigs, sewerage plants, and underground cables humans ignorantly placed along coastlines and underneath the ocean? Those will be lost, too. Imagine the consequences. Oil and nuclear waste leaving everything barren for a millennium. Yes, we're a selfish brood, aren't we? Sacrifice everything as the cost for a new residence, and then colonize our new home like some sort of prolific virus. Maybe it would be better if we humans didn't make it out of here, this time."

They sped along the highway, Isaiah’s foot now weighing heavily on the gas. While he wasn’t sure what parts of the story could be believed, he did fear the people Evan spoke of could create environmental catastrophes on a massive scale. Isaiah didn't feel like he needed to buy Evan's entire story to feel threatened by what Gypsum could do. "So, how many people are in this? I mean, it seems very unlikely that more than a handful could be involved without their operation being discovered."

"My estimation is about seventy-five thousand."

Isaiah couldn’t speak for a few seconds. He tried to wrap his brain around that number, but failed. "What? Seventy-five thousand people? All involved in one conspiracy? You must be joking. How could that be possible?"

"Delusion is part of our culture, you know. It's been practiced by the human race on a mass scale for all of eternity. Religions couldn’t exist without it. Wars couldn’t be started in its absence. Virtually every major event or conflict in human history contains a component of mass delusion. What I'm trying to say is, these people think they're part of the answer, not part of the problem."

"How could you possibly keep seventy-five thousand people on the same page? That many people spread – all over the world, as you said – it would be impossible." Isaiah felt torn in half. Either Evan was telling him a very tall tale or the entire planet was a ticking time bomb.

"Well, they haven't all been on the same page at the same time. Many of them don't even know what they're participants in. Some know only small parts of the plan and their role. Others know more, but think they've been selected for perpetuation of our species. And, to avoid dissent, they've taken precautions," Evan said.

"What do you mean, precautions? And, where exactly are these people?"

"They’re under us right now … and they can’t leave. I’ll tell you more when we get down there. We're almost at our first destination."

Isaiah pulled the car to a stop in front of an unmarked office building in a lonely-looking industrial park. He’d been driving for over four hours and was mentally exhausted from trying to take in what Jodie’s father was telling him. Believing Evan’s story was difficult. Not believing him could prove to be the last bad decision he ever made. In the end, he reluctantly agreed on a plan to infiltrate the underground facilities.

According to Evan, the lives of tens of thousands of people were in jeopardy, below the earth. If he and Evan weren’t successful, the lives of everything above the ground, human or not, would be lost. Isaiah didn’t like their odds and felt the gravity of their situation burdening his thoughts.

"What is this place, Evan?"

"It’s where some of the staging was done. Parts and supplies were shipped to buildings like this all along the tunnel routes. To most people, this looks like just another office building or warehouse. But if you examined the financial records closely, you would see that they’re all registered to the Gypsum Corporation, or one of its affiliates or subsidiaries. Let’s go inside, shall we?"

Isaiah thought of his records search, finding company after company all hidden under the Gypsum Corporation. All receiving payments from the federal government. All part of the plan.

Isaiah and Evan got out of the car and walked to the door. Evan took a key card from his wallet and swiped it over the keypad. The pad emitted an almost inaudible clicking noise and Evan pulled the door open. "This will only take a moment. There’s some security here we need to get through before we move on."

Isaiah stepped inside the foyer and watched as Evan entered a series of codes on a keypad inside the door. A camera panned back and forth over them and he looked down, trying to obscure his face.

"Too late for that," Evan said. "The cameras already had a good look at us as soon as we drove in the parking lot. No need to worry, though. I don’t think anybody’s manning them, anymore."

"You think they all moved further underground by now? If that’s what you’re saying, they’re getting ready to start their plan and we’re running out of time, aren’t we?"

"Yes, that’s what I’m saying, but some things have to happen before the signal can form. You remember me telling you about the sequence needing to start at the Bermuda Triangle?"

Isaiah nodded, unable to do anything other than try to comprehend the story he was being told.

"We'll all be aware of the commencement of that sequence because of the massive tsunami it will generate. Just wait until every religious faction on the planet starts coming out of the woodwork, screaming about the apocalypse and the end of days. Then, you’ll know we’re really running out of time. We’ll have about eight hours from the time it starts before anything is initiated in California."

Isaiah followed Evan to a bank of elevators and watched as he used a key to open one of the doors. After entering the elevator car, Evan reached inside his pocket and pulled out a zip lock bag. He took out a piece of thin, folded plastic film and carefully spread it on an illuminated panel on the wall. "This is where things might start to get a bit sketchy."

"You mean, sketchier than they already are, don’t you?" Isaiah couldn’t think of being in a stranger situation.

"I’m applying my ex-wife’s palm print to the reader. If she’s done that at another remote location recently, this one won’t work. But, if I remember correctly, she was so arrogant that she ignored her own safety rules, always expecting someone else to open even the mechanical doors for her." The door to the elevator car made a swooshing sound as it closed. A metal panel in the wall slid upwards, revealing a hidden panel with a keypad and blackened screen. "Ah. Some things never change."

Evan punched in a code. The screen responded by emitting a green light and Isaiah could feel his body lift slightly as the car started dropping.

"Here we go. When we get to the bottom, the door will open automatically. I’m hoping we’ll enter unnoticed, but if anyone comes up to us or questions us, let me do the talking. If things don’t go well, we’ll probably end up right where we need to be anyway, in the clutches of my wonderful ex-wife. I don’t have to tell you that chances of us getting out of there alive are pretty slim, do I?"

"No, I guess that’s part of the territory, but it would be my preference not to die today. You said she’s running the show, right?"

"Yes, her show and everyone else’s, too."

"And they can’t proceed without her, right?"

"Not unless they bring in a substitute who knows how to activate the sequence. And they will. They want to move their plan forward."

"Well, then, we’ll need to take her into custody so that she can tell us how to disable this project. I know we risk bringing down their forces on us, but it’s the only way we’ll stay alive. It might be the only way we can find Jodie, too."

"I have no doubt Helen’s already found her. She was probably aware of Jodie’s appearance the moment she went into the tunnel. It’s likely she knows about everyone with her, too. As soon as Jodie got into the vent shaft, it’s my bet that Helen started the inward retreat toward the evacuation station. If there’s anyone who wouldn’t underestimate Jodie, it would be her mother. The only thing I’m worried about is whether or not Helen wants to remember she’s Jodie’s mother."

"What do you mean? Do you think she’ll harm Jodie?"

"I think they’ll both do whatever needs to be done to stop each other. Whatever it takes. To answer your question, yes. I don’t think Helen would bat an eye at the loss of her daughter. She gave her up … as a daughter and as a human being … so she could pursue this project. But, I know she regretted her decision at some points over the past two decades. At first, right after we were divorced, she'd call and ask me about Jodie. After a few years, the calls came less frequently and, recently, stopped altogether. I think, in Helen's mind, Jodie’s already dead. I had to retreat from Jodie, too. That's something I'll always regret, but I didn't want her to get in her mother's way. Helen's done terrible things. I was afraid she would eliminate any threat, even if the threat was her daughter. I want Jodie to know why I cut myself off from her, Isaiah. Will you tell her if, I can’t?"

"Yes, I’ll tell her, but we’re all getting out of here, including the people with Jodie. They’re just civilians. They don’t know anything about what they’ve gotten themselves into."

"Unfortunately, Isaiah, the majority of the human race is now in the same sinking boat."

Isaiah felt the pressure in the soles of his feet as the elevator slowed to a stop and the doors opened, revealing an empty hallway. No one stood directly in front of them, but he could hear voices that sounded like they were coming from the left of the elevator. He reached for his gun, but Evan put his hand over it and shook his head.

"Follow me and do as I do," Evan said.

Isaiah trailed Evan out of the elevator, turning to the right, away from the voices. They approached a door and Evan pulled out a key card, swiped it in front of the reader, and turned the knob when a green light appeared. Isaiah followed him into what appeared to be a medical clinic. The room they entered was dark, but illuminated by lights in adjoining rooms. It contained large banks of cabinets with small drawers, each with a radioactive material symbol on the outside.

"What is this place?" Isaiah instinctively looked for another exit, seeing a door on the opposite side of the room.

"It’s an operating room for the inhabitants. They use this room for insertion of tracking devices. The devices are small disc-shaped pieces of metal with coding for cataloguing people. They’re inserted at the base of the skull. They’re quite effective at security, too. Without being properly deactivated first, they can’t be removed or they start to go into a decay state. Everyone down here is essentially a captive to his or her own body. They get more than a half mile from the activation signal emitted from this installation and the disc dissolves in the back of their neck, emitting enough radiation to kill them, well, first disable them … kind of difficult to think when your brain is being fried. Once the discs start to decay, the radiation they emit burns anyone who comes into contact with them."

"You’re telling me the thousands of people involved in this plan are all captives? They can’t leave without dying? I would think some of them might have taken a chance and left anyway." As the words came out of his mouth, the pieces started tumbling together like building blocks, stacking on top of each other, forming a nightmare scenario in Isaiah’s mind. The woman Jodie came into contact with, the corpse in the river --they were burned by radiation from one of these decaying devices. Their bodies were stolen because they had evidence in them. The discs.

Evan nodded. He pulled open a drawer and gently picked up a small glass case containing a piece of metal slightly smaller than a dime. "The first thing you need to remember is that the vast majority of these people have been conditioned to think they're chosen. In their minds, this is their destiny. They're brainwashed and they're fanatics." He held the glass container up where Isaiah could see it. "Technology given to us by our neighbors, so to speak."

"Neighbors? Oh, you mean otherworldly neighbors, right?" Isaiah watched Evan nod, but didn’t know if he would ever be able to accept this elaborate story as the truth. Yet, with each step they took, he realized everything Evan was describing was right in front of him. It was impossible to deny at this point.

"Let’s keep it down while we move into the next room. If I’m not mistaken, we’re about two hallways from our destination."

Isaiah followed Evan into the darkness. They entered another room, much like the first they'd seen. From their vantage point, Isaiah could see into a well-lit area with four beds, one of which was occupied by what looked like a child. An attractive woman in her late thirties sat in a chair next to the occupied bed. She glanced over into the dark room where Isaiah crouched and he held his breath, remaining motionless. He watched as she looked down and went back to reading her book. "Who are those people?" he whispered.

"I don’t know. This is the intake area. You know, for people just arriving. It was my understanding that they stopped collecting some time ago."

Isaiah and Evan held still as a man walked into the adjacent room and approached the woman. They appeared to be arguing, but stopped when the figure in the bed stirred and tried to sit up. Isaiah could see the person in the bed was a boy, probably in his early teens. His arms and hands were wrapped in gauze, his face placid as he laid his head down and drifted back to sleep. The woman stroked his forehead. As she leaned back in her chair, she glanced up at the man and glared with a look Isaiah could only describe as pure hatred.

"We’ll have to go around that room," Evan said. "Doesn’t seem like they’re going anywhere. I know a way. Follow me."

Isaiah stayed low, with Evan leading him back through the operating room and through another door. They exited into a hallway outside of the room they were just looking into. Evan crouched underneath the windows and moved swiftly to the end of the hall. Isaiah mimicked his movements, passing the room with the boy, and stopped in his tracks as he heard a door open behind him. A man’s voice echoed into the hallway.

"You’re not being reasonable. This is for your own good. You know what the alternative is."

"We never asked for this. Who would want this? You’re nothing but a liar," the woman said.

"You’ll come around. You’ll see. It was the only way," the man said.

Isaiah kept his body curled up in a crouch, hoping the darkness of the hallway would obscure him. He let a breath out as he heard footsteps retreating down the hall. He motioned toward Evan to come back from the end of the hallway. "We have to find out what’s going on here and those people are likely to be the only friendlies we’ll see."

"I think I already know what’s going on, but we should probably see if we can do anything for them. Don’t assume they’re friendlies, though."

Isaiah pulled out his revolver and approached the room. He stood up, opening the door, watching an expression of shock spread over the woman's face. He gestured to the woman to remain silent. She edged toward the bed and stood in a protective stance in front of the boy lying there. Isaiah held up a hand to her. "We’re not here to hurt you. I’m Agent Isaiah Thomas from the FBI." Pointing to Evan, Isaiah said, "This is Dr. Watts. Who are you?"

The woman remained silent for a moment, her eyes wide, shifting back and forth between Isaiah and the phone on the wall. Isaiah watched her, and motioned her to sit down.

As she sat, she said, "I’m Bonnie Martin. This is my son, Tim," pointing to the boy in the bed.

* * *

Jodie’s head pounded. She could feel her heartbeat striking her temples repeatedly, like a hammer on an anvil. The light in the room was brilliant, seeping into the tiny crevice between her eyelids, barely dimmed as she laid her arm across her face. She wondered how she ended up on the floor. She shifted, her shoulder numb from laying on the hard surface. Beneath her, she could feel a gentle hum, a vibration that kept threatening to lull her back into unconsciousness.

She lay in the same place for what felt like an hour, fits of alternating consciousness and sleep overtaking her. She woke again, trying to slowly open her eyes, remembering a little more with each passing moment. The pain in her head throbbed each time she allowed a little more light in, followed by a dizzy spinning sensation.