Nick found himself standing at the center of a large circle surrounded by several tiers of chairs, their occupants staring down at him wide eyed and intrigued. Their mouths weren’t moving but Nick could tell from the mountains of chatter echoing in his head that they were all talking about him. Whether it was good or bad, he could not tell.
Maknil detached himself from the crowd of dignitaries on one side and approached him flanked by his security detail. The voices in Nick’s head died down to a whisper. The entourage stopped in front of Nick and the crowd went suddenly quiet. So quiet Nick could hear them shifting in their seats to get a better view of the proceedings.
Maknil read loudly and clearly from the device in his hand “For attempting to facilitate the hostile takeover of our planet, we have decided that it be your fate to be destroyed in the manner of all those who do wrong on our planet”. The crowd erupted again, screaming and yelling to show their support, the noise deafening. Nick tried to beg, to plead his ignorance in the matter but was drowned out by the cries coming from the crowd. With a wave of his hand Maknil brought silence once again to the proceedings and turning to Nick and asked “Do you have anything to say to the assembled guests?”
His voice barely an audible squeak all Nick could say was “I am sorry” and hung his head. Almost on cue the security team stepped forward and obliterated him with that strange weapon they carried.
Nick gasped and sat bolt upright in his bed, covered in sweat and shaking from head to foot. Recognizing where he was he slumped back on the bed and closed his eyes. It was only a dream he thought, similar to the others he’d had; all ending with his death at the hands of the security officers on Maknil’s command. How long he had been left to stew in his thoughts was unclear. He was left alone for the most part. Sehkjol had pronounced him healthy shortly after he had returned to his room and only checked on him once a day. He was still brought food and drinks by a burly security person who didn’t even talk to him, let alone share information with him, and he would leave the room as fast as he could. Almost as though he was afraid he would be infected if he stuck around too long in Nick’s presence. He couldn’t even use his sleeping as a guide. It seemed every time he closed his eyes his execution would always be waiting for him, like some grim movie that would pause while he was awake and wait for him to close his eyes and then restart the torment. He shook his head to himself, not for the last time. How could he have gotten involved in all this? He sighed, resigned to accept whatever punishment was to be meted out against him. All he could hope for was that it wasn’t a painful way to die. Deciding sleep was working against him anyway he opted to stare out the window.
At the other end of the building there was no sleep for Maknil either. Shortly after Nick had left his office, Maknil had gathered the council to convene on the matter and the debate was nothing short of spectacular. He had told them everything as Nick had related it, word for word. He didn’t hide any details; he told everyone assembled exactly what he had been told. At first there was quiet. For many people the pain of reliving the civil war was too much and then the reactions ranged from somber tears to outright rage. Some called for Nick's termination in a large and public display to quell any more unknown insurgents who had similar plots against Nibiru. Others could see the reality that Nick was nothing more than a pawn in something bigger than he was and couldn’t really offer any ideas on what should be done with him. The debate was thorough and lengthy and every idea was gone over at least twice. Several times they had to break and come back. In the end a decision was reached and it was this decision that was keeping Maknil in his office missing his family, missing his friends. He had been over the idea many times. Had attacked it from every angle he could think of and it seemed sound. More importantly it seemed like the only logical choice that they had. On this night he was going over everything one last time, the papers and electronic media becoming one big blur when he decided that everything had been thought of and it was time to bring Nick back and give him the news. With those thoughts still whirling in his head he put everything away in his desk and locked it. Then he left his office, the lights out and the doors closed behind him. He wondered, not for the last time, what would happen when he told Nick of their plans.
It was with a certain amount of apprehension and concern that Nick found himself once again waiting outside Maknil’s office. Physically he was one hundred percent healed but could not say the same for his mental state. He pined to be back on Earth. To see his friends, maybe take a walk in the park. The effects of being on a different planet were far worse that he could have ever imagined. Although the Annunaki were very similar to humans it was readily apparent that he was different and it was starting to wear on him. It probably didn’t help that he was confined to his hospital room; the few people he interacted with were doctors and security. The hardest part was the time. He had no idea how long he had been on this planet. Didn’t know if he was sleeping at night or during the day, his circadian rhythms were all out of sync. He couldn’t complain about his treatment, he was kept well fed and allowed to rest as much as he liked. He had even tried to exercise a little bit but found it difficult in the different gravity. Since he hadn’t been sentenced to anything yet Nick theorized that the decision of what to do with him was proving to be a difficult one. Nick was hoping that this would work in his favor. All he wanted to do was go home. They could modify his memory if they liked, erase it altogether if they had to, he didn’t care, he just wanted to set foot back on Earth. With visions of Earth lingering in his mind the door to the office opened and Maknil was there gesturing for Nick to join him inside. They took seats on opposite sides of Maknil’s desk and for a moment sat silently observing one another, Nick’s heart pounding in his chest like a drum.
“Your attendant tells me you are well” Maknil started, using Nick’s health as an ice breaker.
“I am feeling OK. I really miss home though” Nick replied, flatly and to the point. Pressing on he asked “Will I be going home any time soon?”
This caught Maknil off guard as he was expecting to exchange more pleasantries before diving straight into Nick’s future. He wanted more time to formulate what he was going to say. “Join me in a drink won't you?” Maknil said producing a tray with two tall glasses filled with the same green drink Maknil had offered him before.
“Well Nick, the decision was not easily reached. I can tell you that there were some among the council that wanted revenge for your act. Mete out your punishment swift and severe.” He paused here, letting the words settle slowly in the room. The widening of Nick’s eyes and following gulp of his drink told Maknil that they had the desired effect and he continued “Fortunately there are those among us that saw through the emotion to the bigger picture”
This relaxed Nick a little so he asked “and what is the bigger picture?”
“We know that we are fast approaching planet Earth. We don’t know how advanced mankind has become but we assume that we will be visible with man-made technology soon. We had hoped that man had seen through the draconian created lies and were united in building a better future for themselves. Our plan was to reveal ourselves to your leaders and offer to be your guides in realizing the next step in your evolution.”
Nick sat there puzzled and blinked stupidly as Maknil carried on.
“We assume that man has initiated space travel, but there is a whole universe out there to be explored and to do that you need to be able to travel vast distances and guidance is needed here.”
“Like how I got here, through a wormhole” Nick said
Smiling Maknil replied “That’s a start. There are races that are inferior to man as well as those that are highly advanced. Most species are peaceful, there are some however that would look at man with the same eyes as the Draconians and look to coerce or subjugate them. When human kind gets out in the universe you will find that there is more to it than that.”
“Like what?” he asked, taking a long drought of his d
rink. Its calming effects were starting to radiate throughout his body.
He smiled broadly before saying “Let’s just say, spiritually it’s a whole different universe out there. To go stomping out there without proper guidance can have dire consequences. Our goal was to assess mankind’s development and provide guidance where we can. As you now know, you are not alone in this universe.”
“I still don’t see what this has to do with me. I just want to go home.”
Maknil got up and came around the desk to sit in the chair beside Nick. “Don’t you see what our arrival at your planet would do? It would open up the eyes of all the people on your planet. That would be bad for mankind in that the Draconians and renegade Annunaki don’t want to give up what they have. Unfortunately that might mean the destruction of man. People who have that kind of power are reluctant to give it up, even if it means destroying the very source of their power.”
Nick flashed back to that moment in the atmospheric control plant, standing there with his arm cut open, his blood crawling slowly from the open wound. Looking around he could see Zhengil so vividly, it was like it was happening all over again, snarling rage clear upon his face and suddenly it was clear to Nick what Maknil meant. He could see that man wasn’t free and it was the Draconians and Annunaki that were holding them hostage in the most ingenious way, by creating the illusion of freedom. Making them feel as if they have choice in what happens. He couldn’t believe what he was thinking, his thoughts scrambling from one example to another; his whole belief system crashing down around him. It all seemed so obvious sitting here on another planet; the differing religions, the way they were divided into countries, even the languages. It was all designed to keep man at odds, battling one another over mere pittances instead of focusing all their united energies on furthering the development of mankind. He could see now how television and radio and computers were all part of the control mechanism, filling people with fear and hate. Everybody was so focused on being better than the Jones’ that they couldn’t or chose not to see the endless possibilities of man and behind it all, the Draconians, secretly running the show, fanning the flames of hate. Letting man fight wars and blindly work their lives away, never questioning their struggle, never attaining their true purpose, and all the while reaping the benefits. Just knowing that he was one of the sheep made him sick to his stomach and steeled him for what he knew must happen. If man is to become all that we are destined for, there needs to be one more war. One last fight to wipe the slate clean and re-focus mankind’s attention, and that meant one thing: open war with the same group that sent Nick here to cause the collapse of the Annunaki.
“You can see what I mean Nick” said Maknil, clearly excited with Nick’s epiphany.
“How could we have let this happen? Why don’t we clue in to what’s going on?” Nick asked
“This isn’t something that happened overnight Nick. No, this plan has been deviously thought out and slowly implemented over generations. If they moved to fast man would have caught on and revolted.”
“So how do we stop it? We need to make things right” Nick said, sounding way more courageous than he felt.
Maknil got up and went back around his desk to sit opposite Nick. “That is what the council has been pondering as well Nick. We had to develop a plan that takes advantage of the element of surprise.”
Nick racked his brain but couldn’t see where this was going and sat there, staring expectantly.
“I think if our ships were to appear in your space and engage in battle it would really undermine the trust of the people of Earth. For the same reason we can’t just send a bunch of bombs at the planet to destroy them. No, we need something that relies on stealth, so we can infiltrate and destroy from within and prove to the people of Earth that we are on your side and that freedom as they know it is not freedom at all.”
“This is starting to sound a lot like the same plan that landed me here” Nick said, his skepticism mounting.
“Similar, yes, but we are not going to get you to do our dirty work. We want to be there to bring about their downfall.”
“You still haven’t really said what this plan is” Nick observed.
Concern spread across Maknil’s face as he leaned forward “Please forgive me for this”.
Maknil’s face hardened, his eyes ablaze with energy so intense Nick half expected laser beams to come shooting out of them and burn holes right through his skull. Nick tried to talk and found he couldn’t make his mouth form words. It wasn’t just his head, his entire body wouldn’t respond as if he was bound by some invisible force. All he could do was stare deep into those eyes. Nick noticed now that his field of vision was narrowing and his head started to swim. A final gasp and Nick slumped in his chair, released from his bonds, the half empty glass in his hand smashing on the floor.
Chapter 15