“Right,” John said, “That’s why you’ll make sure they do. Once they’re secured, we will have to stop Daniel and whoever else will be after him from getting off the Earth. Now the second part of the mission: the Vatican, you know we failed the first time. But that won’t happen again, now will it?” The three remaining Generals shook their heads and John continued, “The main objective will be to get inside, collect all the information we can, and then sabotage the library.”
“That’s going to take a lot of time,” Lao said, “There must billions of files in there.”
“Two of you have to watch over the other while he gets the files. Who wants to go in?”
“I will,” Singh said.
“Alright. Then, you two will be allotted seven hundred and fifty men each and you, General Singh, four hundred men. Is that fine?”
“Definitely,” they confirmed.
“Good. Get your men ready and meet me at the main Hangar at 1700 hrs. This meeting’s adjourned.”
Another half hour to go. This wasn’t a good sign at all, as Alex was still struggling with his meditation. What was going on here? It was as if everything he had gained had been lost in a second. He felt so confident and so sure. Perhaps he became overconfident. “Alex!” He was in the lotus posture with his eyes closed and his face strained. He tried too hard, even now. What was he supposed to get from this meditation in any case? Nikolas hadn’t given him any instructions.
“Alex!” The voice distracted him even more. “Alex, listen to me!” It was Nikolas. “Listen to what I have to say.”
“Alright.”
“I didn’t want to risk the trouble of people overhearing us, even if we were safe. You know what I mean.”
“Right,” Alex thought. “So this was all just a ploy.”
“Exactly. You can’t ever be too safe. Now listen. You have to do something for us. John’s coming in a few more hours. We are sending some energy to you.”
“Is that really possible? At such a distance?”
“Judging by all that has happened Alex, it shouldn’t be such a surprise to you. Now, once you get this surge, you’ll feel a sensation in your spine.”
“I know; I’ve felt it before during meditation.”
“No, this will be far worse. It’s not pleasant. In fact, it can be dangerous.”
“That’s good to know,” Alex said sardonically.
“The pain will make you want to move, but you must not. There will be a sensation like fire in your spine. If you bend at all, it will flow out and destroy you. You have to stay totally still and wait until it goes away. But, wait until I tell you to. In that time, your body will be as hot as glowing metal. Your spirit will see into the future and you will achieve immense power. After that you will learn many things, things that will be needed for the short-term future. You’ll be able to fight like a master swordsman; you’ll be able to use energy at your will, with just a flash of thought.”
“But how long does it last?”
“The calculation is a little complex. After you get the energy, you have to be still for at least an hour and you will gain about a hundred and twenty years worth of knowledge and skill.”
“Okay, and how long does the process last?”
“Six hours.”
There was a pause, “So that meditation for three hours was completely useless?”
“No! I have been trying to create a clear, undisturbed channel between you and me mentally, and you had to meditate to clear your mind. So should we begin?”
“Yes, let’s.”
Daniel and Erik stepped out onto the balcony of Daniel’s office. A light shower of rain started to fall. Daniel pushed a button near the threshold and a window swiped down and joined with the lock on the railing of the balcony.
“That really sounds like a good idea. But will it work?”
“Of course it will. Howe knows us, thanks to the stupid actions and word of the Rebels in the previous war.”
“So you really think this will be the catalyst for war?” Erik said, looking into Daniel’s gray eyes, which turned crimson at this remark.
“If not this, what? If not now, when?”
“Alright,” Erik sighed. He looked out at the violent sea as the waves collided with one another and the rain pitter-pattered on the window with an increased force. “What of the other cities? Shouldn’t we warn them about the attack? We have to protect them.”
“If you must, go ahead and warn them,” said Daniel. “After they see our powerful ships in space, they won’t dare come here. They’re weak and pathetic. They don’t learn from their mistakes and they’re too stupid to suspect a plot.”
“Don’t be so sure, Daniel. That’s exactly why I’m telling you about extra protection. They might not learn from their mistakes but you shouldn’t underestimate them like that.”
“Look at them now!” Daniel said. “They’re nothing.”
“You’re missing the point here. They’ve planned everything, I’m sure of that. Despite the clauses, you and I both know they’ve been preparing for another war since the creation of the Regnum. They’re pissed off after all we’ve done, and this is their opportunity to vent out their anger and their first strike will be their strongest. That’s why we have to take caution.”
Daniel gazed at Erik with some intimidation. “Alright,” he said a little malevolently, “If you say so, but I still think it’ll be a waste of time and men.”
Erik shrugged, and walked to the door, ready to leave. “Only time will tell.”
Nikolas focused on the energy emanating from his body. A few minutes passed before he heard its hum. “Wait,” Efarius said. “Are you sure about this? Think about it, just once more.”
“More importantly, are you all ready?” He looked at them, these men who had been loyal to him since before the death of Aidan. They stood in line as if waiting for their execution. They stared at Nikolas, unblinking and though they were ready to follow his command they were afraid.
This particular technique had not been used for a very long time, almost 163000 years. The last time it had it failed horrendously. The man who tried it flinched for a second and the fire in his spine moved into his solar plexus. His entire body had gone up in flames and he was reduced to ashes.
Nikolas repeated himself, “Are you ready?”
“Yes,” they droned in unison.
“Listen, even if there is a problem we can resurrect him.”
“It may not work this time,” said Noel.
“Why not?” Nikolas asked.
“We only have one chance at this, because of what’s going to happen in the next five hours.”
Nikolas was preoccupied with the technique that he had almost forgotten about the battle. “Right,” he said simply. “Well, just trust me. I know this will work; this is our only chance. You know after giving him the energy, we will be useless; we won’t be able to fight as hard as we were able to before. They need to know who he is and what he is and they have to fear him.”
They nodded and along with him concentrated their energies. All of them closed their eyes and concentrated on Alex’s soul, on his mind and on his energy. They visualized his spinal fluid being charged and magnetized by the energy at its base, and a few minutes later they could actually see it.
Waves of light and fire burst out of the windows and door of the suite into the hallway leading to Alex’s room, in a large cylindrical blaze of raw energy. Because it traveled through an astral dimension, only those tuned in would be able to perceive it. It was invisible to everyone else. A buzz surrounded the tube of light that moved throughout the hallway.
Alex felt the heat in the base of his spine. During his previous meditation sessions he had felt a slight tingling sensation there and he knew it was the rising of the energy, the force called the Kundalini. But every time he felt it, he became excited and it went away. After a few months, he learned to control his feelings and became unattached and the energy rose up again. The Rishis of Ancient India founded that primordial art of yogic meditation. The purpose was to activate this Kundalini in the brain, enabling a person’s ability to enter the super-consciousness. But this seemed different. This burst of energy would reach the brain and remain there for so long that Alex would attain new powers, skills and knowledge, just as Nikolas had said. At a certain state, when the person meditating kept his mind in control and his breath along with it for thirty seconds, that equaled a year of spiritual evolution. That meant that one hour equaled a hundred and twenty years! That was what the Migrites had come to teach, and now Alex realized it truly was possible for everyone, including humans, to use that knowledge.