Destroyer from the Lost Planet, page 13
As there seemed to be a hush over this part of the pyramidion, David whispered. “Is that a riddle, like the one over the entrance to Lord Enki’s throne room?”
Ninurta leaned down and whispered. “It’s not a riddle, but it’s referred to in your Bible. I’ll translate it for you sometime, but not now.” Before Ninurta could knock, someone inside the throne room opened the door a crack.
A very tall, blonde Anunnaki emerged with her finger over her lips, leaving the door behind her ajar. Through the small gap between the doors, David and Catharine could see that the room was dark. (Evidently, His Majesty was not best pleased by being blinded by bright lights shining up through his floor at all hours.)
A breeze wafted out into the hallway, gently tousling the lady’s long golden locks. It was unexpectedly strong, suggesting that the room from which she’d emerged was quite large. Its pleasant scent reminded David of well-curated parchment documents, as though he and Catharine were standing outside a museum’s great hall after hours, awaiting admission by special invitation.
Nergal and Ninurta both silently dropped to one knee before the lady, and David and Catharine followed suit.
The lady pulled the giant door nearly shut behind her and whispered to Nergal. “His Majesty sleeps,” she whispered.
Ninurta raised his face to avoid the need to raise his voice. “We would not disturb His Majesty, my mother Queen Ninlil, but that His Majesty ordered us to do so upon arrival of the two adams who now kneel before you.” David recognized adams to mean earthlings.
Queen Ninlil pursed her lips. “Who are they?”
Though tempted to introduce himself, David recognized that it was not his place to interrupt speech among foreign royals or to address them until spoken to.
Ninurta pointed his chin at David. “This man is ambassador from the adams to His Majesty’s Court. The woman is a famous warrior who has been victorious in a skirmish against Anzû, destroying one of his spacecraft and numerous subjects.”
As David anticipated, the Queen ignored him completely and placed her palm under Catharine’s chin, raising her face to view.
“So beautiful,” said the Queen, “and so delicately small. Yet, so deadly. We know many species with females of this kind. Is that not correct, Ninurta my son?”
“Truly, madam,” said Ninurta.
To David’s surprise, the Queen left the door open and took a further step forward. “Far be it from me to countermand the King’s command,” she said quietly. “Try not to disturb His Majesty’s slumber longer than necessary.” And with that, she walked off toward the maze, evidently confident in her knowledge of the way through.
David’s eye followed the Queen until she disappeared around a turn. When he turned back, all eyes were on him. Ninurta bowed to David and Catharine, and beckoned them with a wave of his hand to enter the throne room. Nergal followed them in.
Even in darkness, the room was most impressive. It appeared to be nearly square, roughly one hundred twenty feet on each side, lined with perhaps thirty fluted Doric columns. The ceiling was too high to see in such dim light. The floor was marble, or some Nibirune equivalent. A foot or two above eye-level (which was eye-level for the average Anunnaki) were wall hangings, presumably rugs and paintings, all too dark to make out, though many appeared to be framed in a shiny metal, presumably gold.
At the center of the room stood a massive pedestal on which sat a huge sculpture of a seated nobleman enrobed as an ancient Greek (perhaps a shrine to the late King Anu), calling to mind countless statues of Zeus and other ancient gods. The throne on which the figure rested was about the size and shape of the statuary chair at the Lincoln Memorial in America’s capital. David recalled hearing that, if the figure of Lincoln had been depicted in a standing position, his statue would have stood nearly thirty feet tall.
Ninurta and Nergal escorted David and Catharine to the far end of the dark room, turned them about to face the central statue, and stood sternly at attention with their partisans at their sides.
David turned and whispered to Ninurta, “Has someone been dispatched to rouse His Majesty?”
Ninurta regarded him skeptically and pointed his chin upward toward the head of the statue which had, until now, been too dark to see.
When David looked up this time, however, the statue’s eyes were open, emitting golden beams of light that quickly swung down to spotlight him and Catharine.
So it became clear that this colossus was not an alabaster likeness of King Anu, as David expected, but rather his son King Enlil—in the flesh.
So shocked was David that he gasped aloud and would have fallen over backwards had each of Ninurta and Nergal not grabbed him by a shoulder and propped him up long enough to regain his footing. As he recovered, he glanced over at Catharine who seemed frozen in terror.
“Which of you is the warrior?” asked King Enlil in a voice that—though calm and measured—was a full octave deeper than that of his brother Enki, and twice as loud, bouncing off the surrounding architecture and resonating in David’s chest.
Catharine looked to David as though to ask whether she was free to speak. He nodded curtly.
Catharine took a cautious step forward. “I am the warrior, Your Majesty,” she said in as strong a voice as she could muster, though it still sounded small and flat.
“What is your name?” boomed the King.
“Your people call me Weldon, Majesty.”
“My people call you? Is that not your name?”
“It is my family name, Majesty. My given name is Catharine.”
“We would say Ketura,” mused the King.
“Close enough, Your Majesty. It would honor me to be called Ketura by King Enlil.”
“So shall you be, Ketura. What were the circumstances of your skirmish with Anzû’s acolytes?”
“Anzû’s acolytes,” said Catharine, adopting the King’s phrase, “had abducted several young scientists and planned to take them from Earth against their will.”
“How did you stop them?” asked the King.
“We found them on a great lake by means of a small underwater boat. We took the hostages back by force, and destroyed the small spacecraft that Anzû had sent to carry them away.”
“It is well that you stopped them, Ketura,” said the King, “and no loss that you killed some. Do you know what Anzû wants on Earth?”
She hesitated. “Any opinion on my part would be purely speculative, Your Majesty.”
“Would it surprise you,” asked the King, “if Anzû’s creed has its acolytes on Nibiru also?”
Catharine was clearly non-plussed by the question, and she thought for a moment before speaking. “Even with the little that I know of this matter, Your Majesty, I would be surprised.”
The King barked a deep, rhythmic sound that, despite its frightening overtones, David took to be an innocuous chuckle.
The King spoke again. “You shall see Nibiru while you are on this pyramidion. Keep an open mind, Ketura, and you will learn much. Now pardon me as I converse with your companion.”
Joseph!
David felt the name in the center of his brain, and the power behind it nearly knocked him over. It took a moment for him to realize that the King had not spoken it aloud.
David forced his face up to look at a point as close to the King’s luminous eyes as his own eyes could bear, and sent a return telepathic message. I hear you loudly, Your Majesty. There is no need to shout.
The King chuckled and tried again in a much more restrained tone. Pardon me, Joseph. There are few who can hear me communicate in this way, no matter how I shout. How about this? Is it more to your liking?
Yes, thank you, Majesty.
Joseph, you are unique among earthlings in your ability to hear without ears and speak without a mouth. Know you this?
David nodded. I know that the ability is rare, Your Majesty, but did not know it was as rare as you suggest. And my name is David, Majesty.
The King chuckled yet again. No, he said, you are not David, for I knew David and he was not you. I knew his son, as well.
King Solomon, Majesty?
The King silently nodded his giant head. Yes, he who built the Temple in Yerushalayim, bless his memory.
David bowed. I am honored to answer to any name by which Your Majesty chooses to call me.
I shall call you David, if you wish.
David bowed gratefully.
The King changed the subject. You heard me speak with Ketura about Anzû, did you not?
I did, Your Majesty.
Do you know why he wants to enlist you?
David nodded. I believe Anzû wishes me to help his army of drones conquer for him, because few others can hear him speak as Your Majesty and I are speaking now.
Enlil shook his head. There are no others, David. There is only you. And you appear to have been brought to us by the God of All Things to save us from this peril.
It simply cannot be that I am the only one, Majesty. That is too much responsibility for one man to bear.
The King sighed. Here I sit every day for near-eternity to interpret sights, messages, and thoughts from everywhere in the galaxy so that I may help my people. That is my responsibility, David, and my plight.
Yes, Majesty.
Contending with Anzû … that is yours. You know by what means he tries to ensnare you, David?
David nodded. He tries to persuade me that I need to live as long as the Anunnaki and hints that he will grant me long life. He knows I feel the need to protect my woman from peril. Can he indeed grant me long life?
I will leave this for you to learn from Ninurta. But do you need such long life to protect Ketura?
No, Majesty. I need to outlive her by only a moment to assure that she is protected for her whole life.
If you love only Ketura, you have no need of immortality. And Anzû knows this. So, he tries to persuade you that you love and need to protect a different woman … one of long life. Is this not so?
David hadn’t given much thought to the origins of his romantic crush on Inanna. He’d simply chalked it up to a man’s natural penchant for falling in love with any beautiful woman who falls in love with him. Yet, King Enlil’s suggestion had the ring of truth to it.
David needed to know more, and seated before him was probably the only living being who could tell him.
I’m not sure that my feelings for Inanna could be characterized as love, Your Majesty, but they are undeniably strong.
The King chortled deeply. David, any man who does not fall in love with Inanna has no heart. Be on guard against your feelings for her. They’re more durable than you might expect. Tell me, do you know the country of which she is queen?
I confess I do not.
The King explained. Inanna was granted control of several areas on Earth: in Babylon, the Indus Valley and a few others. But she is not the queen of any country. She is rather the Queen of Men’s Hearts, a joy to us all. No man is immune to her charms, nor free of the desire to please her, to keep and preserve her. So pure of heart is she that she follows her affections blindly, lacking the guile to suspect that her feelings can be manipulated by those wishing her ill. Do you know who reported your existence to Inanna?
Well, Zia told me—
Pah! Zia is a good man, but he was merely repeating something he’d heard. It was one of Anzû’s agents at your university who informed Inanna of your existence, one who knew all too well that Inanna had loved your ancestor Joseph beyond reason—as much as she did the long-lost Dumuzi—and still longed to have Joseph by her side.
David marveled at the plot described by the King. Does Your Majesty suggest that it was Anzû who brought me to Inanna’s attention, so that she would fall in love with me? And I, being a mortal man, would have no choice but to fall in love with her, and eventually realize that I’d have need of the eternal life that Anzû could grant, so that I might care for her?
David looked up at the King’s face. He was nodding.
David felt doubly … trebly betrayed. Anzû is a filthy deceiver.
The King wholeheartedly agreed. Anzû is indeed a filthy deceiver, a common and a grand thief, a usurper, and a murderer. He has tried to use what’s best in you to harm you. But you must bear in mind that Inanna has never betrayed you. Nor do I think she is truly capable of betraying anyone. He chuckled again. Perhaps Enki feels otherwise, I don’t know. But Enki was even more of a fool for Inanna than I was. The King sighed long. And I was a great fool indeed.
David just stood there, still overwhelmed by the farsighted audacity of Anzû’s plot.
The King began again. Can you not see that Ketura was placed at your side to be your savior? She appeared at precisely the right moment to protect you—not from Inanna—but from Anzû.
David looked up at the King. Is it possible—? Unable to hold in the question, he posed it foursquare: Was it Your Majesty who sent Catharine to me? Were you playing the other side of Anzû’s gambit?
No, David, the King assured him. You give me both too much—and too little—credit. I know many things, but not everything. And I do not deceive the innocent. Ketura was sent to your side—if by anyone—by the God of All Things. Praise His Name.
Praise His Name, David echoed.
I will say to you as I have said to Ketura. You will see the likeness of Nibiru while you are on this pyramidion. Keep your mind and your heart open, and you will learn much. The King hesitated before moving on to another thought. I know, David, that, like my half-brother Enki, you expect there is a traitor among the Anunnaki.
The possibility troubles me deeply, Your Majesty.
As well it should. Although I doubt that the traitor is on this pyramidion or within this fleet as it is presently constituted, I share your unease. I wish you to know only that you can trust Ninurta and Nergal completely. There is not a jot of guile in either of them.
David wished to turn about and look at Ninurta, but realized that would be a mistake, for what he wished to know concerned Ninurta. Can Lord Ninurta hear this conversation?
He cannot, replied the King, although he can hear me when I speak in this way … to him. I know what you wish to ask and shall answer you before hearing your question. You may give Inanna’s letter to Ninurta without hesitation.
At first, David couldn’t fathom how King Enlil knew of the brief correspondence that had sprung up between Ninurta and Inanna. But then, he realized, this is the King’s ship. If an encrypted message is sent or received by his communications room, surely he would know of the message and its contents.
But how would the King know that Inanna had replied by means of a written note entrusted to David?
The King’s thoughts intruded on David’s. I knew how she would respond to Ninurta’s message, David, simply because I know her. As you truly wish to see her well cared for, resolve yourself to protect and help Ninurta. Grapple him to your soul with hoops of steel. Pay no mind to his jests or his affected arrogance. He is probably the best friend you will ever have, having learned humility through the catastrophic failure of his own actions long, long ago. When the time is right, you may choose to ask him about immortality.
David understood the King’s reference to Ninurta and Nergal’s use of the Forbidden Weapons in the Sinai that resulted in the end of Sumeria and the death of Ninurta’s wife.
Go in peace, said the King.
And then David felt a forcible decoupling from the King’s mind, which left him feeling deflated—somehow lesser—than when he was locked in an exchange of telepathic thoughts with the King of Nibiru. But who wouldn’t feel that way?
The King then spoke aloud to Ninurta, directing him to escort David and Catharine to the Virtual Reality chamber. This David overheard through his ears, which now somehow seemed a dull and vulgar way of hearing.
Chapter 9
On an Andean mountainside, Buck had no idea there were enemy spacecraft on their way to the spot where the downed bogey lost contact with the enemy.
Buck was dripping with sweat by the time he located the clips holding the bogey’s radio in place. There was a beep in his headset, followed by a young woman’s voice.
“How we comin’ there, boss?” asked Lieutenant Muñoz.
Buck snorted. “You’re only a few feet away from me, Sofia, and you’ve got the scopes. Why don’t you tell me how I’m doin’?”
“Can’t see your progress from the cockpit, boss.”
“Actually,” said Buck, “I’ve been stalled here for a while, but I finally figured out that the bogey’s radio is a rackmount job.”
“What does that mean?”
Buck guessed that his co-pilot hadn’t been as nerdy growing up as she was now. Anybody who’s ever crawled around on a floor setting up (or fixing) electronic components knows what rackmount means.
“It means the radio sits on a pair of rails. I’ve been feeling for the clips or set-screws that keep it from slidin’ out, and I think I just found ’em. Cross your fingers. I’m gonna give ’em a tug.” He placed a thumb and forefinger on the clip to the left of the radio and did the same with the clip on the right. When he pulled the clips away from the radio, it came loose.
“Lemme know how that works,” said Muñoz with the slightest hint of urgency.
“It’s worked already. I can feel the whole assembly slide,” said Buck with a grunt, “but I’m still encountering some resistance. Something’s holding onto the back end. Probably just a cable conducting signal in and out of the radio.”
“Is the plug secured with screws or anything? Or can you just pull it off?”
“Don’t know yet,” said Buck, his patience with the conversation waning. “Um, is there some reason you’re pestering me, or you just gotta pee? ’Cause, you know, you got a whole mountainside to yourself and I promise not to peek. Couldn’t see with all this sweat in my eyes anyhow.”
“Pee’s already taken care of boss,” said Muñoz humorously. “I’m only pesterin’ ya ’cause we got a call from base.”
