Trent explained that the lamps were fueled with butter which was produced locally. Oil was very expensive and had to be carried across long distances. We were shown to a moderate sized room where we placed all of our equipment and back packs. We rested for a while and were invited to join the guardian for dinner.
The meal consisted of rice and lentils mixed with a spiced goat milk sauce. Tea was served after the meal. Trent then spoke to the guardian about our need to visit the cave. The guardian looked us over again and got up and left the room.
“He is going to pray over our request,” Trent said.
“So when will we know?” I asked.
Trent shrugged his shoulders. “We can stay here until he decides.”
“So all of this could be for nothing?” I asked.
“Patience, my boy! Have a little faith,” Trent replied.
After dinner the Sherpas, Trent and Ed went into the room where our packs were. I looked around. This was the only room. I paced around trying to think of what I could do. Trent came back out of the room. “Ed has agreed to stay awake and guard you during the night. I know it’s not ideal, but you will be safe.”
“Look, I…”
“No,” Trent said, “John’s orders. Ed is here to protect you with his life. Let him do his job, alright?”
My mind was spinning. I felt panicked. I rapidly glanced around the monastery but there was nowhere to go. I felt the walls closing in around me.
“We have to stay together,” Trent said. “There are wild animals outside; Snow Tigers and other beasts. I’ll stay up with you. We can talk.”
I reluctantly agreed. We went into the room and Ed had a place selected for me in a corner. Ed placed his hand on his knife. “I can protect you here,” Ed said. “No one will get anywhere near you. I promise.”
I settled down in the corner and leaned against my back pack. Trent and I talked well into the night before I gradually fell asleep.
I awoke early in the morning and quietly logged our GPS position on my iPhone, identifying it with the title Monastery, then stowed it in my back pack. The Sherpas were starting to stir and rise for the day. We all migrated into the main room and waited for the guardian to enter.
He appeared and spoke briefly with Trent and then invited us to join him for breakfast.
“He’s agreed to take us to the cave,” Trent whispered. “The Sherpas will have to stay at the base of the mountain while we go up to the cave. We leave right after breakfast.”
“How far is it from here?” I asked.
“About two and a half days walk, if I remember correctly,” he said. “It’s been twenty eight years since I’ve been.”
After breakfast we headed out from the monastery. The air was cold and crisp with a fresh feeling you get only at higher elevations in the mountains.
That evening we made camp near a small pool at the base of a waterfall. After dinner Trent came over to me.
“The guardian wishes to speak with you,” he said.
I followed him over to the guardian who sat on a rock next to the pool of water. Trent bowed and spoke with the guardian who looked at me as he listened to Trent. I sat down on the ground. The guardian spoke and Trent translated.
“He wants to know why you have come here to see the cave,” Trent said. “Speak honestly and openly with him. He is completely trustworthy.”
“I have come into possession of a piece of the old knowledge hardware,” I replied. Trent looked surprised as he translated. “I have learned of a meteor storm that happened 63,000 years ago and is about to happen again, either this summer or next. If I am to properly warn people and help them survive, I need to know exactly when the meteor storm will happen.” Trent looked alarmed.
“I should have known something like this was afoot when I heard from John,” Trent said.
The guardian spoke again and Trent translated. “He said the fire from the sky that destroyed the old civilization, is that what is coming again?”
“Yes,” I replied.
The guardian spoke again with a worried look on his face.
“He wants to know how you will use this information.”
I lowered my head momentarily and then looked up at him. “I believe the people who govern our society either already know the meteor storm is coming, or they will shortly know. In any event, I do not believe they will act to protect the common people from the destruction that is coming. They will act to protect only themselves. I must warn the common people and show them how to survive the meteor storm.”
“And if those who govern come against you?”
“True knowledge is power,” I replied. “Force is the only way they know, but that is not an answer. I must use my knowledge to help others, not to destroy them.”
“And if the people will not listen?”
“I can only offer them the truth. If they will not listen there is little else I can do,” I replied.
“We will speak again at the base of the mountain,” he said.
I got up, bowed, and left.
The following night we arrived at the base of the mountain with the cave somewhere above us. Trent again summoned me after dinner to speak with the guardian.
Trent translated. “He wants to know how long you will need to be in the cave.”
“About two and a half hours. Why, does it matter?” I asked.
“He says that if you are in there for more than ten minutes, the old spirits will awaken and you may be in danger.”
“I may need the old spirits to awaken to learn the information they have,” I replied.
“You understand you may not survive if they are angered by you?” he asked.
I looked over at Trent. “The cave has its own guardian,” Trent said. “An invincible warrior.”
“I don’t have a choice,” I replied. “I need the information.”
The guardian studied me for a while.
“I also have some requests regarding tomorrow,” I said, remembering the content of the dream and the identification of the shadow. “I must safeguard the location of the cave. There are satellites that can track every footstep we make. There will be a four hour window where there will be no satellite coverage. We need to reach the cave within that four hour timeframe. Once inside, we will have satellites overhead for the next two and a half hours, and then there will be another four hour window where we can come back down the mountain. If we can follow that schedule, we can keep the exact location of the cave secret from the NSA.”
“You think they are watching us?” Trent asked.
“They already know about John and the Survivalist Network. My guess is he’s on a watch list. Everything from the satellites is recorded. It’s only a matter of time before they track everyone associated with John.”
Trent looked very concerned as he translated for the guardian.
“He says he will pray about your request.”
My sense was that Trent’s concern was not lost on the guardian.
Trent and I returned to the campfire. Ed was waiting for us.
“So, you going to tell us more about life on Mars?” he asked.
“Indeed,” Trent added in. “I’m really curious now.”