“I was so fearful, I just rushed inside without even considering that an intruder might be there. But when I got to Marie's room, I saw this young woman in a white robe, standing at the foot of Marie's bed, just staring at her. I knew immediately who it was. She turned to me and smiled a small, sweet smile-my Marie's smile-and she said, ‘Do not be afraid, for I come from the Father.’
“It was such a shock, I couldn't contain myself and fell to my knees before her, my arms around her waist, and I cried out all the tears and anguish and pain I'd kept inside me through all my tragedies. She held my head to her and stroked my hair and brought me such great comfort and inner peace.”
The elderly woman closed her eyes and tilted back her head, revisiting the moment with an aura of complete serenity. “After a while, she lifted me to my feet and I saw such wisdom and peace and grace in her eyes that I no longer felt the need to cry. My only thought at the time was to keep her there with me and just revel in the love of my newly found daughter.
“But she told me she had to go. I begged her to stay just one night. She simply said, Woman, I must be about my Father's business.’ Then she touched my face once more, smiled again that precious smile, and left. I delayed following her for the barest second or two, I'm certain. But by the time I rushed out of the house to find her, she was already gone. Vanished.”
“Anne,” Feldman asked, “do you have any idea how Jeza knew about you or where you lived?”
“I don't really know. Perhaps it was another of the many eclectic things Jozef implanted in her memory with the intelligence infusion. I have no idea all of the information Jozef provided her. Then again, it could have been some sort of instinctive or spiritual cognition that led her home. I just don't know. There's a far deeper wisdom inside her than I can account for.”
The widow Leveque closed her eyes once more and fell silent, the tremendous emotional expenditure of her story an obvious drain. After a time she looked up and smiled.
“When you called me last week, Anke,” she said, “of course I didn't know at first that you were involved with Jon. All of us who had connections with the Negev Institute had been warned by the IDF that the operations there were top secret, and that the consequences for divulging information would be severe. When you happened to mention Jon and WNN, I realized I'd said too much and panicked.”
“So, after you were visited by Jeza, you changed your mind?” Anke speculated.
“No, Anke. It was after I was visited by the IDF that I knew I had no choice but to talk with you.”
“The IDF came to see you?” Feldman questioned. “When?”
“Last Thursday morning. General Alleza Goene and some of his staff officers.”
“What did General Goene want with you, Anne?”
“I'd never met him before, although I'd heard his name from Jozef in connection with the work at the Negev. General Goene was in charge of security for the operation and would visit the facility on occasion. Jozef was mindful to have things in tight order. General Goene was one of Tamin's cronies, and a rather intolerant individual who took security issues very seriously.
“When he visited me, the general seemed kind at first. He gave his condolences over my losses and asked me a number of questions about Jozef and the operations at the Negev. First he asked about any records or notes Jozef might have kept at home. I told him that all such documents had been classified by the IDF and that Jozef was required to store all of them at the laboratory. I didn't tell him about the diary.
“But in particular, he was interested in my daughters. He wanted to know if they were viable enough to have survived outside the gestation chambers at the time of the accident; if they would've been able to see or walk at the time; what negative effects the explosion and short-circuiting of the infusion system might have had on them mentally and physically, and so forth.
“Naturally, I was on the alert, and I played ignorant. I knew that my daughter who survived-Jeza-had to have been the one chosen for the military infusions because of her advanced mental development. I knew Goene would want her back. And, of course, I'd move heaven and earth to prevent that.
“Next, Goene asked if I'd seen the ‘so-called Messiah’ on TV, and if I thought she bore any resemblance to the Negev test subjects. I told him I saw no similarities what-soever, but I could tell he didn't believe me.
“He started getting short with me, and asked for photographs of Marie, which I refused him. Then, he asked if he could enter Marie's room to view her, and if one of his men could take snapshots of her. When I refused, they went into her room anyway. I tried to stop them, but another officer restrained me.
“Then, as he left, Goene told me, under penalty of treason and loss of my pension and Marie's health care benefits, that I must say nothing about what happened and report immediately to him any information I had regarding the New Messiah.
“And that's when I decided to call you, Anke. Knowing the danger Jeza is in, I must protect her somehow. The best way I know is through Jon's strong, clear voice on the television.”
“Exactly what danger do you think Jeza is in, Anne?” Feldman asked.
Mrs. Leveque fixed her eyes intently on Feldman's. “I put nothing past Shaul Tamin, Jon. He is a very cold and ambitious man. Because Jeza represents the living proof of secret, illegal experiments, I feel she's in grave danger. Tamin doesn't want the truth to leak out. Worse still, she carries inside her a priceless technology Tamin badly wants.”
“And in breaking this story through us,” Feldman summarized, “you believe Tamin will be preempted from doing anything to her?”
“Yes. I believe once the world knows about the connection between Jeza and the IDF, neither Tamin nor Goene will have the audacity to take any further actions against her.”
“Then, if I understand you correctly, Anne,” Feldman double checked himself, “you have no problem with us telling your story as long as we keep you and your family's identities confidential.”
“Yes,” she replied. “Other than ourselves, I believe the only people alive who know the complete truth about what was going on at that institute are Shaul Tamin and the IDF high command. And while Tamin will certainly suspect me when your report breaks, if you protect my identity, there's no way he can prove anything.
“But there are other conditions I must also set:
“I must insist that you not mention the existence of the neurochips or the extraordinary science behind the intelligence infusion. Exposing these proprietary technologies could result in serious criminal charges.
“I must also insist that you conceal the military aspects and objectives of the experiment, which were, of course, classified. Simply identifying the IDF as sponsoring illegal research should be sufficient to protect Jeza. Nor do I think it would bode well for her were the public to learn she may carry inside her some secret military directives.
“But beyond that, I have a greater worry. You see, Jeza has no awareness about the source of her unique abilities-the network of neurochips implanted within her brain. I shudder to think what effects such a revelation might have on her. Confronting the harsh reality of her artificial intelligence and those foreign devices inside her, alone and unprepared, this could be very devastating and dangerous for her.”
“I understand,” Feldman acknowledged. “But Anne, I think it's important that we include
“I appreciate your thinking here,” the widow replied, ruminating, “but I need to be assured that this will indeed be handled in only the most general terms.”
He nodded his understanding. “You can depend on me.”
Feldman paused before his next question, being very careful in how he phrased it. “Anne, there's just one more thing I'd like to clarify with you, please… In your mind, having met her, is there anything you saw or felt that might lead you to believe that Jeza could actually be a true Messiah, the promised one of the Old Testament? Or, in your opinion, is this messianic belief of hers entirely-delusional?”
Anne Leveque looked questioningly at Feldman, and he feared he'd upset her. “Are you asking me whether I think Jeza is insane?” She put it bluntly, but her tone did not suggest she was offended. “That's a question, I admit, that I'm wrestling with myself. And I don't know that I have an answer quite yet. But I can tell you this: the young woman I met last Friday morning is not the Marie I bore and raised. Even with all the physical similarities.
“Apparently Jeza believes herself to be a prophetess. And there are many, I'm certain, who consider that
