decades, but enhanced only recently in the last upgrade to the antenna arrays. All thanks to Tesla’s vision. But still, it wasn’t enough. The Custodians are deep. Deeper than we could ever probe, deeper than we could reach, even with HAARP.”
Xavier motioned with his chin to the briefcase. “But this is the game-changer.”
“It is,” said Calderon. “And I think they’ve been after it for millennia. Two sides, forever at war. It started up there.” He looked up at the roof. “Among the planets. The myths, decoded, tell the story. The gods of the sky and their squabbles, their bloody and earth-shaking battles. Marduk and Tiamat. Thoth and Set, Odin and Loki… So often repeated, so often recalled, if only in fables by our small minds. But there were always those who knew the truth, those who sought for dominance—or if nothing else, at least detente.”
Xavier tried to put the pieces together. “The Emerald Tablet gave the possessor what… a way to tap into greater destructive powers?”
Calderon nodded.
“But the Tablet does more.” Xavier thought quickly. “And now you have the translation. So, what do you need me for?”
Calderon was silent for a moment. “The boys are untested and rash, while you… you have a strength they’ll never attain, at least not in time to be of use. And Nina… well you know her.”
Xavier shrugged. “Does anyone really know her? I thought I did.”
“Regardless, you have an affinity for the power in the Tablet. A power that needs to be wielded by someone who can already do what you can.”
“So it was designed by one of
“If you mean the Custodians, the early race, then yes. I believe so. We have certain evidence, scrolls and traditions that speak of a time when these artifacts were created by the greatest of the ‘gods’, used and coveted by their brethren. But like the hammer of Thor, only one of their own could access its true power.”
“So, fine. You need me. But you already know I’m sworn to stop you. All I’ve seen my whole life is you destroying the world. At first I thought it was to exact some sort of fiery revenge for Marduk’s ancient loss, but now…”
Calderon bent his neck. A moment of doubt crossed his expression. “I am not the destroyer,” he whispered. “They—these Custodians, forever aloof but forever jealous and stewing, dreaming only of their return, like some slumbering Lovecraftian deities—they are the true enemy. As long as they exist, mankind can never be free.” He spread out his arms. “I’m the world’s savior. And you, Xavier Montross, can help me.”
Xavier merely stared at him, dumbfounded. He’d known something was coming, but this?
“Join me,” Calderon said in a voice just above the rumble of the bulldozers, helicopters and rescue equipment. “Stop the Custodians. Together with your remote-viewing, with your ability to spirit-walk or whatever it is you do, and my resources, we can find them. Seek out their hiding places, penetrate their shields, and with this…” He gripped the case in both hands. “With this… we will wipe them out, bury them under a billion tons of earth like the cowardly moles they are. Wipe them out and reclaim this world for ourselves.”
Xavier felt dizzy. Tugged in two directions. “No,” he whispered.
“Xavier, don’t be a fool. They see what’s happening. They’re tracking evolution. We’re changing, transforming… into what they can’t abide.”
“What?”
“Changing into
“Fighting ourselves so we can’t see the real enemy?” Xavier had to smile. “Reagan made the same speech at the UN in 1985. Thought maybe if aliens threatened us, we’d find common ground and unite against them.”
“Yes, you have it! And yes, I’ve had predecessors who have sought to change the status quo. But none with the access to the knowledge or power that I possess. They fear people like you, like my twins. Like the Morpheus Initiative. And they’ve dreaded the rediscovery of The Emerald Tablet.”
“But if it could hurt them, surely they would have found it first. Being as powerful as you claim. They could have done what Caleb did and found it first.”
Calderon shook his head, his eyes twinkling. “For some reason, they couldn’t. Maybe they’ve forgotten how, or else they misjudged and believed it was destroyed or if not, that at least no one would be able to retrieve it.”
Xavier frowned. Something didn’t make sense there. “But…”
“Xavier, stop thinking with your head. Use your heart. Your gut. You know I’m right.”
“But HAARP… if it can do what you believe it can, then these Custodians would have infiltrated it. Sabotaged it, destroyed the potential tool of their own destruction. You can’t sneak something like that past them.” He glanced outside. “Especially after this.”
“We’re well defended,” Calderon insisted.
“I found you, RV’d it quite easily. I just couldn’t physically access the site, not without help.”
Calderon shrugged. “I admit I was worried, but we’re being protected. The legacy of Marduk perhaps. Either way, it’s our fate. Our mission is crucial, and it’s not going to be stopped. We will root them out, and with those keys…” He pointed out the window. “We’ll translate this Tablet fully, and then their worst fears will come true.”
“What do you think that’s going to tell you?”
“Only how to reactivate the genetic material the Custodians blocked in our developing species.” His eyes blazed. “We’re going to do it, wholesale, across the globe. All at once, transforming the world.”
Xavier trembled. He thought of Alexander, and the boy’s love for that Pixar movie,
Calderon got the connection immediately and laughed, then finished the line: “…
After a pause, Xavier shook his head. “But something’s not right. You’re going to make a mistake. Enhancing your technology with the power of the Emerald Tablet will create a level of power beyond your control. You’ll do something wrong. Maybe…” He had a flash of a vision:
Xavier’s eyes shot open. “You won’t be able to control the depth. It’ll go too far, causing chain reactions, magnifying the initial vibrations into something unstoppable. It’ll smash into the core, disrupt the earth’s axis…” He felt a rush of heat, heard nine billion souls cry out at once, and then…
Treading carefully over the massive fragments of the library’s shattered glass dome, Nina followed the boys toward the smoldering pit. At the precipitous edge, she looked down. Hundreds of feet, past the crumbling masonry, the twisted metal posts, the smoking husks of several taxis that had been unloading passengers, the fused layers of iron and drywall, the sparking wires, the jagged bookshelves thrust like spears into the sides. Huge chunks of the library’s outer wall—the rounded Aswan Granite carved with scripts from 120 different languages—littered the ledges and were scattered about the pond, the highway, and even lodged in the walls of nearby buildings. Several boats in the harbor had been crushed with exploding debris. In the pit, a host of pages fluttered about, still whirling, descending into the darkness.
In the wreckage, Isaac found a large leather-bound book, its cover sheared in half, spine dented. Smiling, he picked it up, dusted it off and then flung it, Frisbee-style, into the void.
Nina lowered her head.
