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  Chapter Six

  1407 BC- Kadesh-Petra, in the land of Moab

  ‘הזקןשלכולםמנותק -Everyone's beard is cut off!’ A child’s voice came to my ears. I opened my eyes. Where was I? A young Arab boy with ruddy cheeks and bright eyes was staring inquisitively at me. He looked maybe four or five years old, dressed in a silky robe and a cloth band neatly wrapped around his little head.

  ‘Danny! My boy, Di! For a minute I thought you two were trapped in a time warp!’ Uncle Henry’s deep voice came to me as he rushed to where we had just reappeared.

  ‘Where are we?’ Doctor Lynn asked looking around perplexed. Me, only too relieved to still be alive.

  ’And who are these?’ I asked scanning both the little boy and a strange looking man standing few meters away, his narrow brown eyes fixed on me. He wore a white turban wrapped around his head and face leaving only his eyes visible. He also wore a long white robe down to his feet, in his hands a rope with a camel at its end. A herd of sheep and goats roamed about him.

  Amazingly, behind him, stood the same red sandstone cliff rock of Petra, only, it didn’t have any architecture engraved into it or an entrance. The narrow gorge opposite the rock looked the same although a fresh stream passed through it. The skies above seemed very bright and the sun, scorching.

  ‘Are you messengers of the god Kemosh and the goddess Astarte?’ the strangely dressed man spoke through his white woolen cloth.

  ‘No we are not sir. We are tourists from the United states.’ Doctor Lynn replied.

  ‘But you must,' the man said, ‘you seemed to drop out of nowhere.’

  ‘You speak English?’ a bewildered Uncle Henry turned facing the stranger.

  ‘I am Eel.’ replied the man in a flawless accent. ‘Had to be certain it was you. It’s my greatest pleasure to finally meet all three, more so you DS.’ The man said pointing his free hand at me.

  ‘I, I don’t know what to say,’ I replied stuttering. ‘You are really real? I find this hard to believe!’

  ‘Yeah, me too.’ interjected Uncle Henry staring down the man.

  ‘You must be wondering why am all dressed up like this and why am surrounded by animals. You, my friends, are in the biblical land of Moab, in the year fourteen oh seven BC.’

  ‘Goodness! How can this be?’ Uncle Henry bewildered.

  ‘Professor Bradford if I may call you that,' replied Eel, 'haven’t you heard of a quote, Impossible is nothing? This little lad over here is called Jantje, a Hebrew word for Gift from God, and he has strayed running after this herd unaware the assembly is preparing to move away from this place.’

  A very loud roar sounded startling me.

  ‘What was that?’ asked Uncle Henry. He too appeared shaken.

  The little boy bolted leaving the herd and us behind, heading for a narrow path adjacent to the stream before disappearing behind it and from view.

  ‘That noise my friends is,’ Interjected Eel. ‘coming from the Hebrews across the valley. Moses their leader, just this week made a request from both Moab and Edom for passage through their territories to take his people west across the Jordan but both kings have refused Israel’s request. So Israel is now set to travel south towards mount Seir near the Red sea. They will then head east towards the Dead Sea, before going north to join the King’s highway until they reach the Jordan River.’

  ‘Why?’ I asked puzzled.

  ‘Yahweh, Israel’s God,’ replied Eel ‘has revealed to Moses, that these two tribes are their relatives and Israel should not go to war with either but seek a different route through the desert to the Promised Land. Come, see the multitudes assembled. It’s an opportunity you don’t want to miss.’ He said before turning and climbing up the steep red rock.

  Overwhelmed, we followed after him, trekking slowly and painfully up the steep rock to the top of Petra and looking below in the distance, I was welcomed by a sea of people.

  ‘That is Israel.’ Eel pointed towards the vast multitudes in the distance below with all their livestock. ‘They have been camped here in Kadesh-Barnea thirty eight years.’

  I could see the masses arrayed in what seemed like battle formations, moving slowly heading in one direction, south. Further ahead, I saw what looked like a smaller group of men with turbans on their heads carrying on their shoulders a covered rectangular shaped box.

  ‘Is that the Ark of the covenant?’ Doctor Lynn asked hysterical.

  ‘Yes it is, Doctor Lynn.' Eel replied, 'and further still you might catch a glimpse of Moses and his personal aide Joshua. Aaron and his wife Miriam unfortunately, are already dead, buried somewhere among these rocks.’

  ‘So is this why you teleported us back here?’ Uncle Henry finally asked, ‘to witness the great migration?’

  ‘No professor,' Eel replied, 'you just happened to stumble here at the right moment.’

  ‘Follow me.’ He said.

  Back in the Siiq below, Eel took a few strides into the shallow crisp stream, bent down and lifted a small pale grey object out of the clear water. He then turned to face us.

  ‘This, my friends, is why you are here.'

  ‘What is that?’ Uncle Henry asked as we gathered to scrutinize what the man held in his palm.

  ‘This is a tiny piece of meteorite. Many of these ancient civilizations attribute these asteroid rocks to possess magical powers and in turn worship them. They also have used them to rule over others. Like you and I know, most of these rocks come from collapsed stars in our universe, but perhaps what you do not know is, some meteorites act like GPS sent by species from other galaxies, and this here,’ pointing at the grey rock in his hands, ‘is one of those that falls in the second category.’

  ‘Could there be a doorway to another dimension?’ Doctor Lynn quizzed.

  ‘Yes,' Eel replied. 'There are multiple dimensions but all are encompassed in this one universe, and to get from one to another, one has to travel through voids or portals littered across different parts of the universe, some as wide as a billion light years across. From down here, it looks like dark matter covering over it, a black hole, or a dark cold spot on your computer screen readings devoid of any planets stars or galaxies, even matter.’

  ‘I knew it, I knew it,’ she announced triumphantly, ‘and those jerks at SETI never once believed me. Wait till I get back to Washington.’

  ‘Mister Eel, if I may call you that,’ interjected Uncle Henry.

  ‘Yes you may professor.’ the man replied, he had climbed out of the stream and was coming towards us. I noticed rather worryingly that neither his white robe nor sandals were wet. It was as though the water just couldn’t penetrate or cling to him.

  ‘What secret then does this piece of meteor in your hand hold, who wants it and what does it have to do with us?’ Uncle Henry pressed.

  ‘The universe,' Eel replied stopping in front of us, 'contrary to what you scientists believe or measure, is not expanding. It is instead being swallowed up and at an alarming rate. Civilizations on other galaxies realizing that their planets and suns will soon lose energy and disappear, have decided to invade other galaxies like our own milky way to colonize them. These beings will not hesitate to confiscate a star like our own sun and take it to their own galaxy leaving us in utter darkness. The earth and everything on it will freeze in a matter of seconds and spiral into the abyss.’

  ‘Impossible!’ Uncle Henry exclaimed, 'this is preposterous!'

  ‘Professor, it already is happening.' Eel shot back staring fixedly at Uncle Henry. 'Interstellar wars and intergalactic wars are being fought as we speak and for centuries to come, until when these wars finally come home in your life time.’

  ‘How can this be?’ Doctor Lynn's asked, a puzzled look plastered on her face.

  Turning in her direction, Eel said ‘Doctor, in your observatories, you only see through your telescopes the remnants of these wars and are what you refer to as Nebulae. Plums of gas masses littered across the universe. I want you to know that the Un
iverse is at already at War.’

  ‘Oh God!’ Doctor Lynn muttered loudly.

  ‘What you view simply as a black hole,' Eel continued, 'is actually a pathway into which and through which confiscated stars get shipped and sold to the highest bidder on another galaxy. Stars like our sun are big business in the universe especially when it comes to the survival of an entire species. There are those willing to pay any price to have light, so galactic pirates are out looking for stars to trade.’

  ‘So, where does the meteor in your hands come from?’ Uncle Henry still looking startled asked.

  ‘It is a tiny piece of an age old message sent hundreds of thousands of years ago here from our worst nightmare, a race of galactic pirates whose ferocious leader goes by the name Xuryae, and he is on his way here as we speak.’

  'What?'

  'Yes, that message you were called to decipher professor, that's him alright.'

  ‘If what you’re saying is all true,' Doctor Lynn interjected, 'and I mean hypothetically speaking, then whoever he is, this being, when will he reach earth?’

  ‘He's already been here before countless times.' Eel replied. 'In Roman mythology, he is known as the god Apollo, Helios in ancient Greek. The Inca of South America called him Inti, and the ancient Egyptians, Ra. All these peoples worshipped him in their own tongues as the sun god.’

  ‘Have you met him,' I asked 'I mean seen him?'

  This conversation was getting really creepy.

  ‘Yes I have.’ Eel replied calmly.

  ‘What is he like?’

  He took a moment before answering.

  ‘Hell personified.’

  ‘How then can we possibly stop such an adversary, resist such a force?’ Uncle Henry asked. He looked even more nervous. Me, I was terrified.

  ‘You have three options.' Eel answered in reply.

  'First, you can choose to negotiate like the Babylonians did and become his slaves or you can stand and fight like the people of Pompeii in Seventy nine AD.’

  ‘But we are told the citizens of Pompeii were killed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius.’ Doctor Lynn interjected, her hazel eyes wide with astonishment.

  ‘History, Doctor, has a way of recreating facts.’ Eel answered.

  ‘And what is the third option?’ I asked pondering nervously.

  ‘Flee or die.’

  ‘Unbelievable,’ Uncle Henry muttered under his breath, ‘Simply unbelievable!’

  ‘Where can we possibly flee to?’ I asked.

  ‘Take this rock,' Eel said ignoring my question, 'keep with you always. It is one of three other rocks which will save help mankind from Xuryae.'

  Turning to all three, he said,

  'The King of Babylon has the second rock. He wears it around his neck.’

  ‘Which king?’ Uncle Henry interrupted looking a bit puzzled.

  ‘Nebuchadnezzar.’ came the answer.

  ‘How in the world are we to find this Nebuchadnezzar?' I asked puzzled too. 'Isn’t he supposed to be dead or something?’

  ‘He is king of Babylon,' Eel answered in reply, 'and it's our next stop.’