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THE Edge of Nightfall

By Tony Stewart

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  PRESS HERE FOR EPISODE 16 CHAPTER 14 PT 4

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“I think it is about time I looked for a new career,”   Johann sighed,   “I look forward to a more simple lot in life.   Perhaps a jungle dentist, with real life wild animals like lions, crocodiles and hippos as patients, because I am certain that placing my arms into their mouths has to be a lot safer than the places that you keep taking my mind, and threatening to transport me, to.”

“You will always be safe, Johann.   We will see to that.”   Arkerious replied.

However, as reassuring as the words were, the soft, cold, tone used by Arkerious caused a shiver to vibrate down Johann’s spine as his mind raced against time to try to interpret Arkerious’s intentions.   Johann was by no means certain whether Arkerious was simply mocking him …or giving him a sublime warning as to the dangers the future held for him.   But time was not on Johann’s side as Arkerious immediately returned to the lessons leaving Johann with another confusing question to ponder when he returned to Downing Street.

“In the end it was decided to send several members of the assembly to Rangonia,” Arkerious began, “along with several hundred troops armed with a variety of weapons for defence purposes, and a dozen G.I.S.P.A. war craft to strengthen the impression of their superiority in the event of an attempted attack by the apparently hostile inhabitants.   It was hoped that the assembly members could safely negotiate with the Rangorians to prevent future incidents … perhaps even look at the possibility of trade sometime in the future as, at this stage, the G.I.S.P.A assembly assumed the Rangonians to be a civilised race, albeit, slightly over re-active to visitors, but civilised never-the-less.   They would have preferred to communicate with the Rangonians prior to their arrival to avoid a repetition of the unexpected visit by the Draxonians, however that was an already accepted impossibility as there was no known community lines between Rangonia and anywhere within the rest of the universe, so the large contingency of defence personnel were dispatched, along with the diplomats purely as a precautionary measure against misinterpretation of the reasons for G.I.S.P.A.’s unexpected arrival on the planet by the Rangonians.  ‘A few well chosen targets should prove their superiority to the local inhabitants’, the G.I.S.P.A. committee thought as they approved the trip.

Arkerious suddenly stopped talking, pausing for well over a minute as if in deep thought, and when he did speak the softness in his voice was tinged with sadness.   “Not only did they not return; not only did G.I.S.P.A. lose the diplomats and their staff, the entire military crew of over three hundred personnel and everybody else aboard the Starlighter Mark one– but communication was also lost with every single spacecraft that had accompanied the transport ship, all of which disappeared forever – and not one spacecraft had reported what was happening at any stage.   It was as if they were all attacked simultaneously, from behind … and without warning.   And what made it worse for the G.I.S.P.A. committee was yet to come as a series of scans of the planet over the following months failed to find evidence of any form of weaponry on Rangonia whatsoever – nor was any sign of wreckage ever located.   At least there was no evidence of the G.I.S.P.A. expedition.   The only sign of any spacecraft discovered on the entire planet was the Draxonian ship which stood peacefully in the spot where it had been abandoned of life all of that time ago.   No sign of the Starlighter was ever located during the scan which meant that they have no idea what had destroyed the various spacecraft, but whatever had destroyed the them had done its job well.   However, there was a massive dark soiled area located not too far from where the Draxonian spacecraft was parked, and the scientists aboard the search craft considered that the mass may have been the result of an explosion aboard the Starlighter, but landing to investigate was thought to be unsafe for those on board, so no further investigation of that possibility was pursued.   It was finally decided that negotiation with the Rangonians was a lost cause and the only thing they could do both morally and legally to ensure the safety of the other inhabitants of the universe was to ban all planets in the universe from attempting to land there, and request all planets to keep a lookout for unusual activity originating from or on Rangonia.  

“It seems a rather savage life out there … in open space,”   Johann noted with awe,   “It probably is just as well that my planet has virtually put space expedition on the back burner.   We have enough problems on Earth as it is without becoming involved in interplanetary skirmishes.”

“Even so, you are not quite out of the woods just yet, my friend.   You don’t need to go looking for trouble for it to find you.”   Arkerious pointed out in a rather sombre tone.”

“Rangor?”   Johann asked, rolling his eyes backwards as he quickly realised the futility of his question.

“Rangor is coming, Johann.   You must be ready.”

“I appreciate the trouble you are going to in order to teach me, Arkerious, but the more I hear, the more that I feel Earth’s defence capabilities are totally inadequate to stop Rangor.   I am beginning to doubt that Earth could do anything to stop an invasion should Joseph fail in his quest; it’s all Boom! Boom! and ‘Nuke‘em with rockets’ with our politicians and generals … and I  doubt that will stop Rangor – not even to flick a rocket aside from what you have told me about him.   And I am sorry, Arkerious, I still have little faith in Joseph achieving anything, never mind defeating Rangor.

Johann was ultimately, albeit reluctantly, coming to grips with the fact that he really would have to come to terms with what Arkerious was trying to get through to him.   What he was being told was an actuality and he was finally beginning to understand the enormity of the situation.   This was not a dream; not Star Wars or Alien in a video reality box appearing on a screen but inches from his face – that would be mind blowing enough in itself.   But this was reality … there really were alien life-forms.   Millions of them, trillions perhaps … and Rangor was a danger to every one of them.   What he and Arkerious were doing by following Joseph’s timeline was not the two of them doing something for the people of Britain, or even the planet itself for that matter.   They were doing it for every living soul that lived amongst the trillions of stars that lit up the night sky across six universes … lights that could go out forever if Rangor ever got overzealous in his feeding frenzy … or, perhaps simply because the  mood took him.   The thought of just how much damage this evil creature could cause began to frighten Johann the more he allowed Arkerious’s words to sink into his slowly decaying mind.

And the thought of so many lives that were in constant danger gave Johann cause for another thought.   “You were saying earlier that you had people working on finding a timeline somewhere in the universes that would reveal the source of Rangor’s ability to come back from the dead.   I know you have worked out which planet was responsible, but the search itself – well that would be an awful lot of planets, wouldn’t it?    How many of your fellow citizens are guardians?”   Johann asked, envisioning thousands, perhaps millions of guardians around Garocia all staring blankly ahead, as inside their individual heads their minds projected scene after scene of every minute in the life of Joe Egg, or whatever the life-form they were currently watching was called.

Again Arkerious’s face broke into an amused smile as he replied,   “To answer your second question first.   There are two thousand, and twenty five of our race that look after the needs of others, though the majority of them are involved in other positions across our land mass.   For the job that I do there are several hundred of us spread across the six universes, or at least our minds are.

As to your first question, only a few planets under our jurisdiction have inhabitants that are capable of time distortion, and they are spread evenly across the six universes, however, as far as we know these are the only planets in all six universes with this ability and they, all but two, will be entirely controlled by their upper management, for lack of a better word, because it is a bit hard to group them under a collective.  Unlike your planet these planets are inhabited by beings that can live in perfect harmony with each other under a singular controlling environment.   On these planets the upper echelon that make the final decisions on behalf of their individual planets will range in number from one to around a dozen.

Each planet’s stepping stones in their hierarchy chain are decreed by the planet’s inhabitant’s needs and beliefs, but the one thing that they all have in common is that any arrangements for sharing secrets of time with Rangor would only have taken place at the top level because they would be the only ones that could authorise such a massive and audacious operation.   And because every one of these planets are under our protection it was not too hard to verify if corruptions to timelines on those planets had taken place.   There would never be more than a dozen time custodians per planet whose timeline would need to be reviewed; less on others.

The other two planets with the ability to control time are a different matter however, inasmuch as they are inhabited by life-forces that are totally equal in their power and, to a degree, their position in the community.   They do have appointed leaders – that is must for a planet’s survival if nothing else.   Somebody must be in charge to ensure that crops are sown and grown for the planet’s needs and food is plentiful.   Somebody must be capable of taking the appropriate steps to safeguard their well-being and safety from attack.    Somebody needs to be in charge during a time of great disaster.   And, most importantly, they need someone to accept responsibility for the safety of their most valuable asset – time.   But, never-the-less, it was the equality of their power that made them the easiest timelines for the team to read, for it is doubtful that Rangor’s proxy would have found it possible to approach any single inhabitant of the planet secretly – as the rest of the community would have been made aware of the contact from the very second that the proxy had begun to talk.    You see the reason for the equality for every inhabitant of these worlds is due to the fact that every single entity on the planet is telepathic; there are no secrets.   Should an agreement have been made with Rangor and any one of them – then every single mind on the planet would have recorded the conversation.   It is not that everybody on the planet listens to everybody else’s conversations; in fact they do not even hear non-personal communications that are going on around them; they are programmed to automatically ignore anything that does not advise them that the other party wishes to speak to them personally.   They would go crazy listening to everything that their co-inhabitants broadcast on a minute by minute basis, but what they have to their advantage is an in-built warning system that alerts the entire planet to an event of great importance once someone on the planet becomes aware of its existence.   This automatic warning concept over-rides everything.   It is primarily used for various safety issues such as fire and flooding, severe storm warnings or other such major threats to communal safety and, should such a thing ever eventuate, warnings of an invasion of their planet … and it most certainly would be activated if Rangor was involved.”

“Why do planets have the ability to change time?   Do they change it whenever they feel like it?   What use is it to them?”   Johann asked as he fired out his questions like he was shooting bullets out of an automatic rifle.

“Why, Joseph, you sound just like a policeman … so many questions, but unfortunately I have so few answers for you.   Nobody knows the real reason for either how they received the knowledge and ability … or the reason why.   No records have ever been found that reveal whether they were given the technology or if their ancestors created it at the beginning of life on the planets.   All anybody can, will, ever admit to is that it happened a long, long time ago.   Instructions to enable use of the system have been handed down verbally from each currently appointed authorised time changer to their replacement at the end of their time in the job – usually when the authorised time changer was no longer conceded to be capable of continuing in the position, which was normally when they were at death’s door or they had become too ill to continue to lead the planet.   As far as we know time has been changed several times in three of the universes, but the reasons behind such an extreme event are a tale for another time**.   What Rangor has done is the only change in time that we need concern ourselves with at the moment.

And talking about such warnings, there is something else you need to be aware of, Johann – and that is to clearly understand that the proxy does not always expose its physical appearance to those that it occasionally makes contact with on protected planets, except when it wants to inject fear into their hearts to keep them in check … or attack a victim … and even then it is not always seen by the intended victim or those nearby.   This does not mean to say, of course, that it never makes its presence known to the inhabitants on a planet, for we know for certain that it makes physical contacts when it wants to.   Remember Lord Trentham** and the Grimshaws**.   But it is almost impossible to know when it has arrived on a planet – because it is so rarely seen.   This uncertainty makes it extremely difficult for our observers on these planets to see it, never mind knowing who the creature is dealing with – or where it will appear, in most cases, but somehow they manage to, which is fortunate for both their planet and us.   We rely on a small range of observers from the various planets that we protect to advise us when the proxy has been observed on their planet and is in the process of making new contacts for Rangor’s eventual arrival.

“Do you have such observers on Earth?”  

“We have observers spread around Earth, but based on our most recent information we have recruited extra helpers in England because we believe that is where Rangor himself will arrive.”

“Why, England?”

“We are not certain, but we think there might be a weak point in our coverage that he can take advantage of.   Or perhaps something we are not yet aware of.”

“Like a Trojan horse?”  Johann asked, surprising himself with his own question.

“What do you mean?” an equally surprised Arkerious replied.

“I have absolutely no idea why I just said that,” a still surprised Johann answered, “and to make matters worse – in my mind I heard it from Joseph.”

“I am sorry, Johann, but it my turn to ask the questions.   What exactly do you mean?”

Johann paused for a second before talking as he tried desperately to understand what he was about to say, and the more he thought about the image that had projected itself into his head, the more hesitant he became to speak.   Johann, an eloquent speaker as a rule, would usually, in normal circumstance, analyse what had happened in his mind before speaking should something  have momentarily thrown him off balance, returning to his oral position only at a stage where he had come up with a fairly accurate interpretation of what it all meant.   But these were not normal circumstances – he had no idea what to make of what had just happened.   Finally he knew he had to say something and blurted out what he had seen in the best way he could in the circumstances.

“I was listening to what you were saying when I suddenly had a vision where Joseph was in the room with us.   I will swear he was really here.  I could feel his presence.   I could see him as clearly as I can see you … and when he spoke I was certain that you heard him too.   He didn’t exactly scream his words out, but he said what he said loud enough for you and I both to have heard him … except, apparently, you didn’t?    It was eerie, I can assure you.”

“What exactly did he say, Johann?”

“You had just tried to explain my question about why Rangor was going to land in England and you mentioned the possibility of it being for a reason that you were unaware of … and that is when Joseph arrived … and he said ‘A Trojan horse.’  He was still standing there when I turned to look at you … and I repeated his words, though I think I was repeating it as a question … not as an answer.   Shock, I presume.   When I turned back he was gone.  You must have subjected me to one two many home videos I think.  I can’t seem to get him out of my mind.”

Arkerious went deep into thought and by now Johann was beginning to recognise the signals when he did this, and remained silent until Arkerious spoke again.

“And that is all that Joseph said?”   Arkerious finally asked – his voice soft and distant.”

“Yes.”

For just a fraction of a moment Arkerious regressed into deep thought, but seemed to come out of it just as quickly.   “Perhaps …,”  Arkerious began with shades of enthusiasm, but, his slowly spoken singular word, barely audible in the room, faded away to nothing – as again his mind appeared to be elsewhere.  

Silence reverberated throughout the room for several seconds – then, throwing Johan slightly off balance Arkerious’s face lit up into a broad smile, “Yes, you are probably right, Johann, probably just a bit of viewing overload as you say.   A strange thing indeed, but the mind is always full of tricks … now, where we?” 

Johann looked blankly at Arkerious, still coming to grips with the sudden appearance of Joseph in his mind – it had seemed so real.  When Arkerious had agreed that his brain was perhaps taking things in faster than it could process them Johann was more than willing to accept the supposition as fact.   His only problem, however, was his inner mind inexplicably continued to ask his outer mind why it had been somebody that he not only didn’t know, but someone he wasn’t even sure he liked, that would generate a telepathic link with him.   Johann finally decided to take his mind far, far, away from the strange event that was beginning to haunt him and move on.

“Does the Prime Minister know about them … the observers, that is?”

“Yes and no.   Over the past one hundred years both the incoming Prime Ministers and the Opposition leaders have been made aware of the existence of the observers once they have been elected, but neither leader has ever had any idea who the observers were.   It is far safer for all this way.”

“Are other major countries such as Russia and the Americans given the same information about things such as the observers and Rangor?”

“Not necessarily.   Occasionally a new chief lawmaker does not always see eye-to-eye with the rest of the global community, or us.   Initially, when they first take office, they are advised of things that they need to know – things that affect the safety of the Earth – things that must be corrected before they get completely out of hand.  Things like global warming, and how quickly it will begin to change your way of living forever.   Things such as the current arms propaganda and the effect that a pair of egotistical leaders can have on the world – and the universe in general, should they decide to flex their muscles to impress each other.   Things such as the existence of Rangor which definitely will have a huge impact on your survival if left unchecked.   But if the incumbent is deemed to be, or possibly be, a damaging or disadvantageous contributor to the greater safety of their own planet the information they have been given is extracted from their memory, as is their meeting with me … for we fear, with the knowledge they have been made privy to, they will eventually create problems for the world at large with loose lips that rant and rave, along with tweets and other forms of media, in an attempt to curry favour with the public by revealing our existence.   Perhaps they would even give away the locations of the teleports should they inadvertently be told about them too early in the piece … and even more worrying, advising the public at large of the anticipated arrival of Rangor which would create the greatest panic this planet has ever seen.    No, it is far less damaging to world safety to keep a country’s leader, man or woman as the case may be, out of the loop in some cases … and several such cases are in place at this very moment.

However, I must point out that countries whose leadership is mistrusted do still receive relevant advice on such matters via a special committee formed for the unified safeguarding of the planet.   A committee that includes political leaders from countries around your planet that we can trust, alongside several professional men and women, both civilian and military, who do not see the need to advise their individual commanders-in-chief of the comings and goings of every minute of their day if they are not truly interested in protecting their own people – nor do they see the need to expand on details concerning the complete work manifest for some reputedly low-key departments that they are in charge of.   This committee works independently of their own parliaments and departments to analyse and come up with plans to thwart an incoming problem in a manner similar to your department in London.   The things that your department has handled over the years are certainly of the standard of tasks undertaken by the Guardian Angels, as we like to call ourselves,”   Arkerious said with a slight embarrassment to his huge smile.   “I am afraid that I became slightly indulgent with my viewing of Earth’s television shows a few years ago when we decided to give the committee a name.   Fortunately reality television came along and weaned me of my gluttonous indulgence of science fiction and comedy shows, but the name has stuck.”

Johann gave Arkerious a quizzical look.   Arkerious, he felt, was becoming more human by the minute.  “You were saying something about my department?”

“Only that many of the things you and your department have done would have been carried out by the ‘Angels’ in most other countries, however your professionalism in these matters has an awesome record of success, and there was no need for us to interfere in something that you had the ability to complete.   All we did was observe and congratulate your Prime Minister on a job well done each time.   We would have liked to advise you personally, but we were not yet ready to make ourselves known to anybody outside of the group itself.   That time has now arrived and I would like to congratulate you on your very professional manner in handling many strange and delicate problems over the years without once making the public aware of your actions and preventing massive panic on the streets.”

Johann was both a bit shocked by Arkerious’s revelations and slightly embarrassed by the accolades.   “Thank you, Arkerious, your generous words are much appreciated, but would you mind clarifying something for me.   If the committee members are keeping their extracurricular activities from those working within their own department, how could they get the manpower to assist them without the workers purposefully or accidentally sharing the details of their activities with their friends or families, or even co-workers for that matter?”

“Because, my friend, their subordinates in these highly contentious duties are not human, they are highly skilled and perfectly designed androids that we have supplied the committee.”

“Androids!!!”  An open jawed Johann asked in complete surprise,   “Androids … and nobody knows they are working with something not quite human?   But that is impossible.   Surely somebody, sooner or later, becomes suspicious of their body language or something in their mannerisms such as unexpected reactions to some situations?”

But once again Arkerious, at least to Johann’s way of thinking, put on his oh-dear-you-still-have-a-lot-to-learn face, accompanied by the always present school teacher-come parent smile.  “Not with these androids.   They look, feel and sound like humans, including the odd face blemish and accents to match the area that they supposedly came from.   They can do virtually everything a human can do except, perhaps, have a baby … and our scientists are working on that.   The androids can, and do, anything and everything that a human appears to do … and that includes going to a male toilet, using the urinal and appearing to physically inject fluid into it, or giving a blood sample should it be required.   They know how to fight without being damaged if the need arises, how to avoid conflict when and where the occasion dictates it to be the better judgement, and how to run to or from a situation as is required at the time.   They all have the correct information held on their computer records, they all get paid regulation wages and their bank records all record normal expenditure.   All of the robots are married, albeit to another robot, and their marriage details are recorded in the appropriate government records.   No investigation would ever uncover any reason to suspect that they were not of human origin, other than an autopsy, which is most unlikely.   But if an ‘apparent’ death occurs we will know and we will immediately arrange for their transfer to a trusted hospital where the android will be housed until we can correct the situation.   Androids can’t die, however their return to work following their ‘death’ would raise a few eyebrows if it had been witnessed by civilians.   In this case the android will have some cosmetic changes to his or her face and body before being transferred to a new ‘identity’ for which they would be re-programmed, as, in due course, would the husband or wife, as the case may be, and a replacement android would be delivered to the vacant position to take the place of the ‘deceased’ android.  

Although androids can’t die, accidents and street killings do happen, and the androids can occasionally be damaged by accident, but there are always others on duty purely to cover these situations should they arise and the damaged androids are moved off the street as fast as possible.   And should you think that it would be hard to protect them twenty four seven, you have to remember that they are androids.   They don’t sleep and they do not need to socialise, so they are only accessible to harm for several hours per day as they travel to and from their place of employment.   So far the accidents have been extremely rare and we have no reason to believe there will be an increase in the near future.   And as far as the spoken word is concerned they have a response program installed that beggars belief.    Do you remember meeting Harry Johnston, the U.S. special investigator who visited your prime minister two years ago?” 

Johann needed no time to rack his brains to remember Harry Johnston – the man had left an indelible impression on him.   “Yes, I remember him well … a lovely man – for an American.” he responded with a smile,   “He helped me solve a problem I had been having with a strange case I had been working on … farm animals of all things.   Pigs, sheep, goats …they had been disappearing on a daily basis from several large farms at …”    Johann  paused for a moment as something clicked inside his mind … “Trenthamville, now that’s a name that keeps cropping up today.   If I remember correctly you mentioned it when you were telling me about the local portals … a rather strange coincidence, don’t you think?”

“Not really, “Arkerious replied without committal, “Life is always full of strange coincidences.   Please go on with your story.”

Johann was far from satisfied that it was a coincidence, but he saw no importance in pursuing the matter and continued his story as requested.  “Harry had suggested that it may have been a wolf and explained why.   As far as I knew the last wolf in the British Isles was killed hundreds of years ago, but I found Harry to be such a charming and informative person I listened to him never-the-less, and the following day found me out in the woods outside of the village of Trenthamville, much to my surprise, looking for wolf tracks … which we found.   That night we caught the wolf, again to my surprise … and surprises were the order for the night, for once the wolf was caught in the trap we had set for it, as we began lowering it to the ground to cage it, the air suddenly buzzed with lightning and thunder, and the wolf, its green eyes blazing, its long jaw partly open, saliva dripping out of its mouth and from behind the exposed sharp fangs there were short, but never-the-less fear-provoking, growls emitting … when, voila!   A crash of thunder and the wolf suddenly disappeared from sight in a ball of smoke.   And when the smoke evaporated all that was left in the rope trap was an owl … a huge, dark grey feathered, bird that stared menacingly at us with exactly the same blazing green eyes that the wolf had displayed.   But it was more than just an owl … it was an Eurasian eagle-owl; a large, extremely dangerous predator whose species had begun to migrate from Northern Europe over the past few years after a ten thousand year absence from Britain.   The massive bird with its two metre wing span unexpectedly placed its long talons on two different parts of the rope and at the same time its huge wings began to flap with an unbelievable speed and before we were able to understand what happening the netting was ripped apart and the bird was unexpectedly freed.   But instead of flying away the bird appeared to almost hover in the air as it rose slowly, ever so slowly upwards.   So slowly one did not realise that it had risen so high … until its claws suddenly snapped open to full span, its legs stretched to full length, and it began screaming down at a rate of knots, its talons … its sharp, lethal, weapons aiming straight for my face and neck.   These birds have the power and strength to kill young deer so I had no chance of surviving an attack to my face; perhaps not even my life was safe.   The bird was coming down at roughly the same speed my blood pressure was rising  … then everything became a blur.  From somewhere unseen I heard an all mighty thump , felt a sharp pain, then collapsed to the ground.  

When I came around Harry was kneeling at my side dabbing water from a bottle on my head with a handkerchief, cleaning away the blood that was still slowly seeping from a cut where a talon had made the faintest of impressions into my scalp.  

We had taken an official photographer with us to video record our findings for our records, so later, when I had recovered enough to see and think clearly, I watched the video, and seeing it in this format I found it to just as horrifying as it had seemed at the time it had happened.   But what made me be forever grateful for Harry’s presence at the time was what took place as I was passing out.   Something I was not aware of until I viewed the video.   As the bird flew down, talons stretched wide open, my face its target, I saw Harry, who was standing behind me, smoothly bend down and pick up a rather thick branch that lay at his feet, and seemingly in the one movement, return to an upright position behind me and swung the branch across the top of my head just as the talons were about to strike.   Harry hit the bird with so much force it actually split the bird wide open as its now deceased body flew sideways through the air before smashing into a nearby tree.  And as it hit the tree a minute flash of light and a barely audible sound of thunder was heard … and all that was left of the bird was a few smouldering feathers.   Yes, I most certainly remember Harry Johnston.   He saved my life.”

Arkerious nodded his head at the conclusion to Johann’s story, but looked at him in such a way that he knew that Arkerious wanted something more from him, but he had no idea what.

Arkerious cocked one eye which Johann assumed meant for him to get a move on with something, but he still had no comprehension of what was wanted from him.

Arkerious’s face was smiling, but his head was slowly shaking from one side to the other.   Johann was becoming tired of playing this game and was about to say so, when a tiny light came on somewhere in the dark of his confused mind.  Then a look of incredibility crossed over his face.   “Are you saying Harry was an android?” he asked disbelievingly,   “No way, I mean that, Arkerious, there is no way that Harry was anything but human.   He had scars on his face and arms as a result of …”   But the words wouldn’t come to him no matter how hard he pushed the buttons in his head.

“As a result of what, Johann?”

“I don’t remember … an accident?   Yes … no …oh, I don’t know.  Does it matter?”

“You don’t know because he never told you.   These androids can implant a thought into your head that does not actually exist.   You asked him about the scars and he replied ‘Oh, it was nothing.’ and your mind accepted that as a reasonable answer so you moved on with the conversation.  You accepted because he had placed a thought into your head that convinced you that he had told you more.”

“No, that can’t be right.   I know he told me what had happened.   It’s just slipped my mind for a second, it’ll come back.”

“Johann, the fact that there are androids working for a secret committee that attempts to keep the world safe is not the problem that I can see.   I know the capabilities of the androids.   My brother Guardians made them for the committee.   The problem that I can see is that you are still having difficulty in accepting the unacceptable as it exists in your mind.

We are very quickly running out of time for your lessons – and please remember what the lessons are all about – Dealing with Rangor.   You will have to learn to be fully accepting of what your mind currently thinks of as impossible – is, often as not, totally possible … if you wish to help in the fight… and survive.”

Johann’s face looked pitiful as his eyes avoided Arkerious’s gaze, and inside his heart and soul he felt as he looked.   He knew Arkerious was right, but it seemed like every few minute’s fate threw out another unbelievable challenge to absorb new, unrealistic, information at him.   He badly needed time to reflect on what he was learning, but he knew that time was not on his side – his lessons would continue for ages and it was going to push more and more mind-boggling information down his throat.  As far as Johann knew, the brain of mankind only used a relatively small area – today he felt his mind was so full any thing new would begin to trickle out of his nose and ears … it would be incapable of holding much more.   He could only hope that his brain would be capable of understanding all of what he was being told as he rested between the time that he returned home, and the battles he was to be involved with began.

“Perhaps you are right,” Arkerious replied to the unspoken thought, “Perhaps rest time will help the brain to believe.   In the meantime I am going to use a few seconds of our precious little time together to take you back in time to see that I am telling you the truth.   Perhaps when your brain is faced with the facts it may stop its continuous denials based on the fact that it does not want to believe what it knows to be the truth – simply because the real truth goes against the grain of knowledge gained by a lifetime of denials of the existence of things not understood.

***

Before Johann could reply the room began to spin in his head and he suddenly found himself in the prime minister’s office in Downing Street, and in the room was the Prime Minister, Harry Johnston … and standing beside Harry Johnston was another version of himself!

In his world inside Arkerious’s mind Johann knew he could move easily within the confines of the room, see and hear anything without anybody being aware of his presence, but his mind was uncertain about being in the same room as himself.   It felt unnatural and it made him feel uneasy, but when Arkerious advised him that he had only a second or two to move closer to his other self – or live forever in the uncertainty of the truth, he had no choice but to move forward. 

But standing so close to his other self in order to ensure that he heard every word spoken by both himself and Harry Johnston began affecting Johann in ways he never expected.   Both he and his other self both began to quiver slightly – as if they were being firmly poked and pushed in the chest and stomach and their arms by invisible fingers, their disposition immediately noted by both the Prime Minister and Harry Johnston, as it was by Arkerious who still stood at Johann’s side on another world, in a different time.

***

“Are you alright, Johann?” The prime minister asked worriedly.

***

“Are you alright, Johann?” Arkerious asked worriedly.

***

“Yes, I am fine.”   The two Johanns replied simultaneously to their respective parties, but the strange sparks that were beginning to emit from both of the Johanns was proving difficult to dismiss.

***

In real life in the past, both the prime minister and Harry Johnston looked at Johann’s predicament with great concern, but had no idea what to do.   Johann didn’t seem to be injured or inconvenienced in any way, but the continuous array of sparks that flew off his still twitching body did not appear to be natural in any way possible.

***

While on another planet, in another time, Arkerious began to asses the situation.   “Perhaps … perhaps it is a paradox?”   Arkerious concluded with uncertainty “I am unsure – this has never happened before.”

“Should we pull back?”   Johann asked in a slightly apprehensive voice as a flameless smoke began emitting around the bodies of him and his past self.

“No … I think I know what is happening.”   Arkerious replied as he began to close his eyes tightly,   “Do not be concerned.   I will fix the problem.”

***

In the office of the Prime Minister’s residence at ten Downing Street, Harry Johnston’s eyes unexpectedly froze, as if he was in deep, deep thought.    Seconds passed without any movement of his eyes or his body – then  suddenly his eyes sprung wide open and almost immediately  the smoke and sparks disappeared from the two Johann. P. Biggs … and Harry began to speak.

“Do they cause you dismay or simply intrigue you?”   Harry asked of Johann.

“I am sorry?”   Johann replied, his tone indicating his lack of understanding.

“My scars,” Harry replied quietly, “I thought you were staring at them.”

“Was I?    Oh my god, I am so sorry.   I had no idea that I was.   I never meant to appear to be.   Please forgive me.”

“No problem,” Harry smiled, “my mistake.”

However, as a result of Harry’s ‘mistake’, Johann found his attention immediately drawn to the strange welts that appeared on Harry’s body – instantly becoming intrigued by their almost artistic appearance.   On the neck the pinkish pattern of raised and stitched skin so resembled a monkey Johann was tempted to pat it, while the pattern on the back of Harry’s hand that held  the glass from which he was drinking from appeared as a scorpion.   Though most definitely scars created by an accident of some  kind, they never-the-less had a strange resemblance to tattoos – only without the darkness of the ink.  The scars mesmerised Johann as his mind became intrigued about the mystery of nature.   The scars were big enough, and exposed enough to make even the hardest of men to be self-loathing or, at the very least, constantly self-conscious about his appearance in public – yet the shape of the two creatures; the monkey and the scorpion, displayed nothing hideous, instead they created an illusion of well designed skin art.   They  were not horrendous to the eyes – they were, instead, appeasing.   But soon Johann found himself becoming increasingly embarrassed as he began to fully realise what he was doing.

“Sorry … didn’t mean to stare.   They look almost beautiful.   Did they hurt much … when they happened … I mean … oh god, what is the matter with me?   I am rambling and staring  and completely forgetting my manners.  Please forgive me.”

Without removing the smile from his face, Harry looked deep into Johann’s eyes … and blinked twice before speaking.   Johann felt, for some unknown reason, that the blinking had been forced rather than a natural event, but as he could think of no reason why anybody would force themselves to blink he decided that he must have been imaging hings and dismissed it from his mind.  “It is alright, Johann.   They were just an accident,” Harry said almost immediately after the second blink,  Almost as in verification of  Johann’s decision,   “Forget about them.   Drink?”

“Yes please.   Scotch would be fine.   So how do you like Britain so far, Harry?”

***

“Do you believe me now, Johann?”   Arkerious asked, seemingly rather impatiently.

“Yes … though I still find it hard to believe that Harry is an android.   He was so convincing as an ordinary person, with charisma beyond belief.   But you were right – he told me not to worry about the scars and it would appear that I did dismiss it from my mind almost immediately.   But come to think of it … why did he have the scars if he was an android?    And was it purely co-incidental that they looked like a monkey and a scorpion?”

“In answer to your first question Harry had an accident involving hot water and it was seen by outsiders so we took the risk and had him hospitalised while we did surgery on the skin –  and sent him back to work once sufficient time had elapsed to make it all appear plausible to the witnesses who had seen the accident as it happened.”

“And the shape of the scars?”   Johann  insisted. 

“Johann, I think that perhaps I have shown you too much.   Your imagination is getting the better of you.    Now … I am going to lock that last thought about Harry instructing you to forget about the scars into your memory banks so it will remain there and over-ride any later attempts by your mind to counteract it.”

“Why?”   Johann asked, failing to understand Arkerious’s reasoning.   After all, he had just witnessed the truth, hadn’t he?’ he wondered,   ‘So why go to all this trouble?’

“To prevent your mind from forgetting it once time catches up with you – and it won’t be very long in arriving.”  Arkerious replied.

“God, I really have to remember our minds are linked.   Sorry, you have lost me once again I am afraid.”

“What you just saw was fairly close to the events that had taken place the first time.   However there were a couple of new events that took place, which I will explain in detail in a minute, but first let us just deal with the time-zone and its impact on your future – which is right now.   You were told something similar to what was said the first time, albeit with a few different words bandied about.   This is effectively a change in a time-zone that is about to become a fixed point in time which means that the events that took place in the new time-zone are now reality, but it takes several minutes for the future to become fully reconstructed and catch up on the new past, and so it is with the changes to your memory.   Although you have just witnessed a statement for the second time and now realise that what your mind thought was a fact, was not a fact – when your new memory of the event arrives from the past it will automatically implant the new sequence of events into your mind, and you will still accept the thought that Harry told you something about the scars.   When, in point of fact, he didn’t.   What I have done is to record the scene as you saw it from here just now, in parallel with the new version of events that will arrive in your memory any second now.   You won’t feel anything different happening, but whenever something triggers off a memory about Harry Johnston you will automatically see what you saw from here today, as you saw it from here, not as you had thought it happened.   In other words, instead of your mind simply going back to the time when you met Harry for the first time, you will find your mind revisiting the last few minutes you spent here time-travelling back to your own past.   Now that will test your capabilities of absorbing new information, my friend.”

“You are dead right there, Arkerious.” Johann replied, shaking his head for the umpteenth time that day.   “Perhaps it may be easier to understand when you tell me about the other events?”

“Perhaps it may,”   Arkerious agreed,   “Several things happened just now that were not part of the original event, including our visit, but the past and the present are all inter-linked.   The conversation that took place between yourself and Harry were similar, but there were slightly different words used; delivered by alternative parties, and in a different sequence from the first time.   In other words you and Harry had the same conversation as the last time, but due to circumstances you each managed to say and do things that the other had done the first time.

This in itself would have only caused a minor change to the time-zone.   The memories of those present would now be updated with the new words and  sequence of the conversation that took place at the second meeting, but the words and actions would have caused no problem with the future because no physical action had taken place during that particular time-zone, nor were any in-the-future instructions given or deleted that could affect the future.   But there would, never-the-less, still have been a fixed point time-zone change because time itself had been compromised, unfortunately mainly by Harry and I.

“How?”

“Although you could not see me, I also was in the room.   The Prime Minister was aware that I was there, Harry was aware, but you were not.   I was there because I had brought Harry to Downing Street.   You were there at my request so I could observe your reaction to meeting Harry.   I had considered you to be more than a perfect choice to expose Harry’s humanity as a fraud should we have got something wrong … and Harry passed our test with flying colours, I am pleased to say.   However, I have told you that although we cannot be seen or heard by people in the room we can occasionally be sensed by someone or something … and Harry was such a something.

As our minds entered the room Harry’s senses kicked into gear, however this was a situation that he had not been programmed for and he automatically connected with my ‘on Earth’ version for guidance.  

Unfortunately, because my mind, the one stationed in this body here on this planet, was also in the room on Earth when Harry output his enquiry, the power he initiated in asking advice from my other self also digressed to me on both worlds.   Now, at this point, you need to try to understand that when using telepathy to do a link up with somebody it is pure power that allows the communication to travel backwards and forwards.   Something similar to speakers connected to an audio system which requires an electrical charge running through the wires from the audio device to receive the sound and amplify it.   When I am communicating with my own kind the power output is far greater than with an outsider.   Receiving it twice in the one surge increases the input and output by a fair amount and because the initial relay between my two minds was not a controlled attempt to connect, and Harry’s programming was in conflict because he had somehow connected to the two of us and had no programming for such an event, meant he had no way of calculating what to do.   The power that was charging its way through our combined minds was becoming too powerful to retain which is why both you and your past version appeared to emit smoke and sparks.   They weren’t coming from the two of you … they were being transmitted to you both from the two versions of myself and Harry.   Something akin to a fire breaking out in a room and the sparks being blown around by the incoming wind from an open window, only the fire itself, in this case, appeared to be invisible.   The sparks were being directed to you, and your past you, only because the combustion was coming from me; me and my other half along with Harry, that is.    As I worked out exactly what was occurring I made contact with both my other half and Harry and explained what had to be done in order to settle things down a bit.    That is why Harry led you into the conversation regarding the scars … to try and bring the situation back to normal.  All is well now.   History has changed slightly, but it was not a change of event that will have any affect on us, thankfully.”

“Clear as mud,”   Johann grumbled, however the extremely worried look on Arkerious’s face caused him retract the statement and confess he had been only joking.   “Understood everything you said.”   He said with a huge grin,   “Do I need to know anything more about the committee, or can we move on to something a little bit easier to understand and give my head a chance to clear?”

“Unfortunately, the committee is something that it is imperative that you fully understand.   There are several groups across the world that do exactly what you do, though perhaps not quite so efficiently, but they never-the-less do their bit to protect the planet.   The purpose of the committee is not to take over the responsibilities of these minor groups, but to support them.   However all individual groups have a limit on their resources for one reason or another.   The committee has access to a far greater limit of funds and manpower, but they use their resources frugally and fruitfully, only interfering when it is deemed absolutely necessary.   Remember, countries such as yours are already working on plans to restrict an attack by Rangor to the barest of damage to your world should Joseph fail, and here it is done with the backing of your political leaders.    You do not need to wait until America reincarnates John Wayne.  You and your allies, including those working under cover without the correct approval, will succeed … I am certain of it, my friend.   And now you know that there is an even greater resource backing you.”

“You speak with the heart and soul of a great motivator,” Arkerious, “You didn’t perchance meet up with Churchill during the dark days, did you?”

“I have met Winston.”   Arkerious replied, smiling softly.

“And?”

“And what, my friend?”

“Did you help him write his speeches?”

“What history tells you about the great man’s accomplishments should be the facts … and the facts should tell the truth.”

Johann smiled as he spoke, “That’s not what I asked,  Arkerious.   Can’t you give me a clue at least, just to satisfy my curiosity?”

Arkerious shook his head as if in dismay with his student, but replied never-the-less.   “We were friends, Winston and I, and he often asked my advice on certain things.   Perhaps I may have suggested a line or two, but I really can’t be certain that he used them.”

Johann also shook his head, but in his case it was more frustration than dismay.   Changing tact he swung his attention back to the observers.   “These observers of yours, do they meet at secret locations behind locked doors at midnight to discuss their findings?    All cloak and dagger stuff?”    Johann asked with a more than slightly facetious tone as his mind began to realise just how much he did not know about what Arkerious had been telling him for the past few hours.   As far as he had known, in all things dark and unexplained that threatened the world, or at the very least, Great Britain, he was the unofficial commander-in-chief of British alien intelligence, now Johann began to wonder how much more was withheld from him in these circumstances … and he wondered why?”

“Because, my friend, I did not want you to know.”  Arkerious replied and Johann, momentarily again forgetting the link they had to each other’s minds, almost fell backwards in surprise at the reply to the unspoken question.

“In answer to your first question the answer is no.   Observers, in most instances, work alone, occasionally in groups of two or three, but that usually only happens in family or closely related groups.  That makes it a lot safer and easier for them as there is no chance of them revealing the names of any other observer.   But in order for you to understand the answer to the question you thought that you had hidden in your mind you must really begin to take in what you are seeing and hearing for the first time about Rangor – and the other life forms I have been telling you about.   The battles that Joseph undertakes are not a simple matter to bring to a close which is why they continued for some time before the final battle took place.   In fact many of them will be physically carried out by Rangor’s cronies rather than the proxie itself, but as long as he continues to win each round we are safe.   However, the battles will go on for a longer period of time than I am willing to confide to you at the present moment, because it will affect your performance as much as Joseph’s if you know too much about what the future holds.   What I am telling and showing you now will help you in many ways in the future … as long as Joseph keeps doing his part.   Your job at the moment, though, is to learn how and why things exist in worlds that are not similar to yours.   You have to learn to believe that what you think to be unreal – can be real.   The more that you believe that the unbelievable is actually happening, the more you will learn to believe in and use your own abilities to defeat the unbelievable … or, at the very least, use the acceptance of those disbelieving  things you come across to your advantage – not let them take over your mind.   You will lose the game, perhaps your life, if you do let them take control.

Now, as to why secrets have been held from you by those you feel should have confided in you.   I really did not believe that you would have been able to do your job effectively had you been aware that some of the almost beyond belief information you were given as gospel by the various prime ministers you have dealt with over time, came from a cook or a caterer or a hotel manager in the country … and not a spy or a secret service agent.   I am quite certain you would have found their reports to be incredulously challenging to swallow … after all, you worked with highly trained professional investigators and experts did you not; agents with high intelligence and skill well beyond the norm.”

“Your observers are all cooks and caterers?”  Johann asked, blushing slightly, not so much at the revelation of the trades of some of the prime minister’s sources, but at the unsubtle reminder from Arkerious that his mind was still linked to his, as he remembered his own thoughts in regard to Joseph’s capabilities.

“No, Johann, that was just a flippant suggestion to help you understand that for all sake and purposes that they appear to be everyday people in everyday backgrounds, which they are – they’re not trained specialists.   What they have in common are two things that are absolutely necessary for them to play the roles that they do.   The first is that they are knowingly telepathic.   This is imperative to their being selected.   Everybody on Earth has the power of telepathy locked away within themselves, but very few have the common sense to accept it as a wonderful communicating device and the knowledge on how to utilize it.   Simply being telepathic, however, is of no use to us if the holders are not knowingly telepaths – or have a problem with using it.”

“What do you mean by “knowingly telepathic?”  Johann asked in a mixture of curiosity and confusion.

“On Earth, fifty thousand and more years ago, before man learnt to walk completely upright, before his throat grew longer, before his mouth grew smaller and his brain began to enlarge he could not talk with his tongue.   He used his mind to communicate with other developing humans.   Human beings are given many senses to keep them safe when they are born and are always aware of them, utilising them now as they have done since the first day that they were created.   All, that is, but one … the ability to communicate with each other using the mind.   It is unique in the scheme of things because it is still a sense inside every human being on your planet, yet because they have an alternative way of communicating the majority of your planet refuses to use it, partly because, as a race, they have forgotten they have it … and, ironically, when they do use it is, usually by accident, they rarely acknowledge the event even to themselves.   They normally either make a joke about being telepathic, or turn off any thought that contributes to the impossible; that they could have really been inside somebody else’s mind.    The term knowingly telepathic refers to somebody who has discovered their ability to communicate with, or to listen to, others – and have learnt how to use it with care, courtesy … and without fear.

“Well I don’t have telepathic ability”   Johann stated adamantly, “of that I am absolutely certain.   And I don’t know anybody that is – besides you that is.” 

“Are you certain, Johann?”    Arkerious asked.

“I most certainly am.”   Johann replied defiantly,   “I would certainly know it if I had that advantage.”

“Let me show you something, Johann.   I wish to prove you wrong.   Would you be willing to undertake a small test?

Johann smiled, but it was not a joyous smile,   “Yes, it would give me great pleasure to prove you wrong for a change.”

“Alright, the test we are about to do is simple.   At no stage are you to do anything but look towards my face and answer my questions.   I am not going to hypnotise you, or use some ancient spell to make you believe that I am correct.   It is simply to ensure me that you are fully concentrating on what I ask of you through each step.   Can you do that – keep your eyes locked on my face and answer my questions?”

A cynical smile still covered Johann’s face as he agreed to the request that Arkerious had made, but inwardly knowing that he was already regretting his decision.   Johann was beginning to feel the strain of the events of the day; feeling somewhat antagonised from the stress his mind was under as he tried desperately to force himself to relax, but the day was beginning to take its toll.

“Place your fingers on my lips and gently hold them tight.”   Arkerious requested.

Somewhat surprised by the request Arkerious had made, Johann winced, but never the less did what he had been requested to do and placed a finger and thumb on Arkerious’s lips and closed them as tight as he dared, and as his fingers made contact with the lips a cold shiver ran down his spine.

“Are you happy that they are closed, Johann?”

“Yes.”   Johann replied without thinking, his eyes focused on Arkerious as promised, but his mind was feeling uncomfortable as to what it was that he was doing and busy wondering why he had agreed to this strange test which did nothing for his current demur feelings.  “I hope that I am not squeezing them too tight.”

“No, it is just fine,”   Arkerious replied, a knowing smile appearing across his face which bemused Johann who immediately decided that his mentor was displaying a rather smug attitude towards him and he had no idea why, but in his current state of paranoia it did little to calm him.   “Now I am going to do the same to you, my friend,” Arkerious continued, his lips still firmly held together by Johann’s fingers,   “Please let me know should I hold them too tight.   Ready?”

Uncertain just what Arkerious was up to Johann stated that he was, but the tone in his voice expressed his trepidation as Arkerious’s fingers gripped his lips.   And the touching of fingers to lips again sent a cold shiver down his spine.

“Not too tight?”   Arkerious asked.

“No.”   Johann replied irritably.   He had begun to feel tired, cranky and brainwashed over the past hour or so, and now Arkerious was adding embarrassment to the list as well, or at least that was the reaction he was having with the touching of Arkerious’s lips – and frustration was ruling the actuality of the experiment itself. 

“Are you ready for the test?”

“I am as ready as I will ever be.”   Johann replied with a sigh as he still wondered what was going on – especially as the smile on Arkerious’s face seemed to grow larger by the moment.

“Alright … here we go.   They may sound like silly questions, but please simply answer them as if you were filling out a form at a hospital or something.   What is your name?”

“Johann. P. Biggs”

“And what planet are you from?”

“Earth.”

“Are you keeping your eyes focused on me as I speak?”

“Of course I am.   You can see that, can’t you?   Johann replied, barely restraining his exasperation with the inane questions Arkerious asked.  ‘How can any of these questions prove that I can communicate with my mind?’ he asked himself.

“And are your or my lips moving?”  Arkerious continued as if unaware of Johann’s thoughts.

“No!”   Johann thundered,   “Will this take much longer?   I am beginning to get a headache.”

“This won’t take much more time, Johann.   Please relax … only two questions to go.”

“Sorry.”   Johann mumbled softly as he immediately regretted his exposing his frustration.

“That is alright, Johann.    Now the second last question.    What are you doing at this very moment?”

“I am talking to you.”

“And are our lips moving as we talk?”

“Yes, of course they are … what are you …blind?”   Johann snapped as his voice began stating irrefutable facts as he saw them automatically, then suddenly changed his reply, “No, we can’t because we are holding each other lips.  Trick question was it?   Very funny.   Is that the last question because my lips are getting a bit sore, and I feel a little uncomfortable holding yours for so long.”

“Almost, Johann, but just before you do, and I certainly do realise that your mind has been consumed by the confusion I placed on it by this seemingly strange request, especially when I did so realising the strain that is on your mind at the moment.   Certainly not a good time for you to be able to give your full attention to the task at hand while your mind is so full of aggression.   But please confirm one last thing for me.   We are talking at the moment, are we not?”

“Yes.”  Johann roared.   The tone in Johann’s voice clearly indicated snapping point had arrived, but Arkerious continued to ignore it.

“How can we be talking if we are each holding the other’s mouths closed shut?”

“Well …” Johann began, his voice becoming more than a little aggressive, his waving free arm amplifying his emotions, “because we … we … we are, that’s how.”   But he was forced into silence when his mind began to analyse the question and his own attempt at answering it more fully – and was unable to conjure up a satisfactory response even to himself – then the truth hit home   “My god!” He exclaimed, but further words failed him, instead Johann stood dumbfounded, staring at Arkerious, still holding his lips, but now facing the truth.

“You see, Johann … you do have telepathy.    All earthlings are born with it as they are with their other senses.   They just don’t want to accept it.   They will simply joke about it on the odd occasion that it happens to them and then dismiss the incident from their mind.    How many times have you heard somebody say that they were just thinking about an old friend, or a long, lost relative, when suddenly the phone rang or a letter arrived out of the blue and it was the person that they were just thinking about that had rung, or had posted the letter.   That is not co-incidence; it is uncontrolled telepathy … a serendipitous memory opening by one party that has temporarily reconnected old acquaintances.    A sudden unknown burst of power without the user even realising they have used an inbuilt sense.   The people we seek as observers need to know they have telepathic powers – and they need to know how to use it.   We have a transmitter/receiver beacon here on Garocia which has a signal that spans the width and breadth of the universes.   We have implanted an image of the beacon inside the memory of our observers so they can hone in on the image whenever they wish to communicate with us, something like you use an app for internet connection on your tablet or phone.   Should we need to make contact with any one of them, we can either reverse the sequence by honing into the image in their mind, or visit them in person, which is much more preferable and personal way for us to do things of this nature.                 

“I am extremely apologetic for my manners, Arkerious, my behaviour was abominable – pathetic – below comprehension.” Johann said quietly once he had regained his composure enough to feel comfortable talking again.  “I am truly sorry.   I am afraid I am suffering from a bit of information overload at the moment and it is aggravating me just a little … actually it is aggravating me a whole lot to be honest.   I found the sudden realisation of the lack of knowledge I have of so many things belittles me slightly – and I felt my ego was becoming too bruised for my liking.   However, I also feel that I am beginning to fully understand the importance of the whole Rangor situation.   Things are beginning to fall into place in my mind, and it is slowly making things a lot easier for my brain, I can assure you, but your experiment threatened to send me over the edge.   I wasn’t expecting to find I am telepathic.   I didn’t want to be telepathic.   It would just have added one more notch to the things that I did not know.   And while you were proving me wrong, not for one moment, not until you finally made me realise that I was using my mind to talk to you, did I realise that I hadn’t being using my tongue.  I think that I was so angry I simply spat out the words without any thought that the restrictions on my mouth would have made my words extremely incomprehensible.

I understood what you said about humans denying the existence of telepathy, and I must admit that I am just as guilty as anybody else in refuting the possibility of such a seemingly unnatural thing to exist.   I have participated in scenarios such as you described, and I, like most humans, put it down to a strange co-incidence.   This revelation has really blown my mind and it will take me some time to come to grips with it, but I will – because some events from my past are suddenly making sense.   Again, please accept my sincerest apologies.”

“You have nothing to apologise for, Johann.   I knew the strain was almost destroying you and it was only your inner strength and determination that saved you from collapsing completely.   You still forget at times that our minds are linked and I can not only hear the things that you think – I can also feel the pain and frustration that you feel.   However it is imperative that you know that you have this asset – and know how and when to use it.   Your mind should accept it now, and we will guide you how to use it.   From this point on you should concentrate on accepting the new things that you learn about life and yourself.   Put your mind into a thought pattern that you are going to a new school and you are attending lessons that are teaching you the true facts in an attempt to clear your mind of the incorrect information that it holds.   And accept what you are told, don’t question it or dispute it.   Time will prove the truth of what I say now.

However, in the mean time, I mentioned earlier that there were two things we require from an observer.   The other mandatory requirement for an observer is something much more singular in nature, for it is not a gift available to everybody.

They must also have physic abilities; the power to see the future or to be able to sense danger early.   That is an essential requirement.   In fact it may very well be the only safeguard they have to survive in some situations.   The observers are brave people, people of both sexes who risk their lives to ensure the safety of their world.   However, you will find that the observers you will meet as we follow Joseph’s trail appear to be as normal as any member of the public that you will have ever met.   You would never point them out in a crowd as being potential saviours of the planet, yet that is what they are.   They are all aware of Rangor’s existence, and even though they have never seen him, all of them can sense him, or at least his proxy, not only when he arrives, but occasionally when he is on his way.   So you can see how important they are to us in our mission.”

“Could it be that you want me as an observer?”   Johann asked facetiously in an excited school-boy manner.   “Is that why you are training me?   Are you going to give me a pair of binoculars and a trench coat and send me out on the streets to use my physic powers to track down Rangor – then use my telepathic power to let you know when I have found him?   No, I doubt that I am physic.   I would have discovered that a long time ago should I have been, and put it to good use.”

“I am certain that you would have, Johann, but that is not the reason for our current meeting.   But do yourself a favour when you get back to Earth – look up the grey-line difference between instincts and psychic premonitions, Arkerious paused for a few seconds to allow his words to sink in, then continued.   “Now, with your permission, we will install the transmitter/receiver image in your mind and teach you how to use it, and use it we expect you will.   But the reason for having you on Garocia is much more complicated, Johann.  There is something that you really need to know about the reason for your being here, and why so much information is being given to you.   There is a reason why I hadn’t mentioned this to you when we first met at your Prime Minister’s residence, or even when we first arrived on Garocia, and that is because we think that the situation brought about by Rangor’s survival is placing the universe on the verge of creating a paradox … and we really don’t know how it will end.   We needed to see how you were coping with learning what we think is safe to tell you – before we proceeded with our plan.

“A paradox!  How?   Actually, no, don’t bother explaining.   I really don’t follow you in where you are heading.”

“No,”   Arkerious stated adamantly,  ignoring Johann’s comments.  “It may confuse you, or it may affront you – whichever, please hear me out fully before asking questions.   The majority of information that has been, and will be, given to you while you are on Garocia will be forgotten when you are returned to Earth.”   Johann looked at Arkerious both in disappointment and shock, and wondered why he had bothered telling him all that he had if he then was going to retract it from his mind, but Arkerious hushed him with a raised hand and continued.   “There will be the odd piece of information retained for use on a daily basis, if and when needed, but those memories will not alert you to today’s lessons; they will come when they are needed.  You will have no idea where you have been in the missing hours in your life, nor will you worry about the loss, but what you have seen and heard while you have been here will remain in your subconscious until it is time for you to use the information you have gathered.   I will join you in time; in the future, providing Joseph has not been defeated before that time, and as I re-enter your life – what has been stored away in your mind will slowly be released and this information will guide you in the action to take.”

“But what about the paradox?”    Johann asked feeling confused and frustrated simultaneously.   He wasn’t sure whether he should feel excited or frightened about his future, and Arkerious’s latest contribution had him feeling more perplexed than ever.  

“Ah!   The paradox!   A paradox is something that can really upset the apple cart – as your people would say … and this paradox is all about you, my friend.   And you must agree to what I am about to request of you before we go any further.   Your Prime Minister is aware of what I am telling you; of what I am about to ask of you, as are the members of the top secret committee I told you about earlier who have agreed to what I have proposed.  These members represent your entire world, and they do not make decisions lightly – they are making them without the permission and blessing of their own governments because, like in your own country’s parliamentary cabinet, there resides the opportunity for members of their own cabinets to reside with the devil, and in some case that opportunity has already been taken.   This committee has been involved in preventing events that have threatened world peace since the end of world war two, but it is so secret that the committee has to obtain a one hundred percent vote in the affirmative before an outsider is even told about the committee, never mind be allowed to join it.    Though it is a rare thing for one to be told and not invited, it has occurred in the past, and will probably happen again sometime in the future.   All potential committee members must be able to convince the current committee of their value to the committee and this is not done on a face to face interview, it is done by long and painstaking investigation by the members themselves.   So the potential member’s qualifications and their backgrounds must be impeccable.   Just to clarify things in your mind, potential new members do not apply for membership – they are sought out when necessary and are assumed to already have something necessary for the safety of the world.   Other than in times of extreme rarity the members are always the political leaders of their country, but that does not mean that every leader becomes a member, nor does it mean that an incoming leader is automatically nominated for membership.   If the potential leader of a country has not displayed the right credentials during their previous personal and political life, or their election campaign rhetoric leads the committee to consider the incoming leader to be a possible uncooperative or disruptive member at committee level – they will not be invited to join, nor will they be made aware of the existence of the committee.   But they will be told about the problems that the world is about to face and their response will be judged.   If they are found to be still adverse in nature to the committee’s current mindset on the problem at hand, as I said earlier, the information supplied to the incumbent is retracted almost as quickly as it had been given to them.

Which brings me to you, Johann … and I must warn you that you face the prospect of confusion in what I am about to say so please ask questions as I speak if you feel them necessary.   This decision may be the biggest decision that you will ever make, and if we get it wrong then the consequences will be insurmountable.”

“We!!!!   You are right, Arkerious, I am becoming confused.   If it is to be my decision how can we get it wrong?”

“It is a shared decision, my friend, between you and me because I was the one that suggested that you were the one that we needed.”

“Needed for what?”

“To join the committee.”

“Me?   I am honoured to be offered a chance to mix with such illustrious company, Arkerious, but I thought the committee was mainly political leaders from unnamed countries.   I know you said that sometimes civilians were brought in,”   Johann said with a wry smile, “but why me?   I’m not going for parliament, nor am I somebody of importance.” 

“You underestimate yourself, Johann.  I mentioned earlier that special circumstances will sometimes prevent a newly elected political leader from being invited to join the committee.   It is not always the case that the seat is filled upon a country’s change of government; the seat is often left vacant until the political scene changes again in that country, however certain events warrant the inclusion of civilians to membership – and Rangor is such a special event.   Especially in view of the fact that we know that some senior members of the governments aligned to the committee members have been compromised – and the committee members that have this problem cannot obtain advice from anyone within their own government in regards to this problem – lest they too have been compromised.  It has come to a ‘who can be trusted’ situation for them.”

“Do you mean that proxy has made contact with the politicians?”

“It would seem so … which is where you fit into our plans, Johann.  Due to your current position; your record in similar situations; the respect that several prime ministers and their opposition leaders, both past and present, have for you, and the discreet work that you have done over the years, you were nominated as a special advisor to the committee and you were accepted unanimously.”

“I wouldn’t put anything that I have come up against in the past in the same category as Rangor,”   Johann objected, then something deep down jogged at his memory, “except … perhaps …once.   But even then I was more aware of what was happening, than actually being involved in it.   It was one of my men that discovered the imminent danger …,”   Johann paused for a minute as his mind once again today reflected on the loss of his friend,   “and it cost him his life.”

“Yes, I am aware of the proxies previous attempts.    I am sorry for your loss.   I know how much you respected your friend.  But there was nothing more that he could have done.   He was brave, the observers tried their best to help him, but he just wasn’t right for the job.   It will take somebody with special skills to defeat Rangor … somebody with skills that even he is unaware of at the moment; somebody very special.”

“Like Joseph, I suppose?”   Johann asked, the bitterness of his memories still burning in his head and spilling out onto his tongue.

Arkerious had a soft smile on his face as he spoke.   “I am sorry for the death of your friend.   His actions were courageous, but he had no chance to defeat the proxy.    Under the circumstances he did do a remarkable job, but in truth I also feel his life was wasted, because I very much doubt that Rangor was in a position to arrive on Earth.   As far as we were concerned the proxy was still attempting to recruit new helpers at that stage, and to be perfectly honest I don’t think that anybody on the planet could have done anything better at the time.   However, I am afraid that you will just have to learn that Joseph may be your only saviour.   Whatever Rangor’s idea to gain entry to your planet may be, history shows it is not far from fruition – that is how, when and why the battles between the proxy and Joseph began the first time.   And, as a result, we feel that Rangor may try and attack more frequently regardless of the cost it causes as a result of his failing to become involved in other activities that he should have dealt with in this time period and will now ignore.”

Johann allowed Arkerious’s words to sink in and do battle with his prejudices regarding Joseph, before conceding that he should reserve his thoughts about Joseph until he had seen him in action at least, if not in person … whenever that may be.

“Arkerious, if I can help in defeating Rangor by becoming a member of your select club I will do so willingly, but where does the paradox fit in to all this?”

“Thank you, Johann, but please hear me out first and then assure me that you do think that my plan, in your eyes, is safe enough before you commit yourself.    In the real past, which is currently the future, you, and a few other humans, will become deeply involved with Joseph and his battle with Rangor’s proxy.   Eventually the proxy is defeated and as a result Rangor dies and everybody lives happily ever after, as they say in the children’s books.   But Rangor has somehow managed to spoil the fairy tale ending and return to take up the battle once again, with the intention of defeating Joseph this time around – and in doing so he has changed the rules in order to change the future.  And it will not just be his future that will change as a result should he defeat Joseph – it might also be the end of civilisation on your planet because the proxy is so close to completing his task to allow Rangor access to Earth.   And should Rangor have found a back door that we don’t, or can’t, guard then we may not be able to stop him from attacking.    

Now we are of the opinion that Rangor has based his plan around their previous encounters because he thinks that Joseph will fight him exactly the same way as he did the first time that they met.   However we know for certain that Joseph defeated Rangor the first time by instinct rather than a set plan, and we expect that he will do so again and that will throw Rangor off balance initially.   But we also feel that Rangor may eventually wake up to this anomaly in his plans and rethink them … this means he may attack in a completely different way than on the previous encounter … in a manner not expected and defeat Joseph by selecting a time when Joseph is at his most vulnerable and his instincts are momentarily distracted.

Everything we have to offer, to plan for, to initiate, is purely speculative because, realistically, these events should not be taking place again.   Every little action, every death, every little piece of interference that happens from now on that did not happen the first time around may have an impact of the following battle – right up to the final battle.

However, regardless of what happens now, we cannot advise Joseph of any more detail in regards to what he must expect to face than what we gave the first time around, but we will not now know if the advice we gave back then is still pertinent, it could very well back-fire on all of us.

As I have told you many times over the past hours, as far as Joseph is concerned he knows nothing about what he is about to face.   Although he has already completed the task once, he has no idea that he is repeating everything.   For him this is his life as it moves forward.   It is us that have travelled back in time to monitor the events that are the footprints in his life.

However, one minor change to the events, including the receiving of information or advice not previously received, could create a ‘sliding door’ moment for Joseph as he travels forward.   Do you understand what a ‘sliding door’ moment is, Johann?”

“This time I think I do.”   Johann replied in a happier tone than had been the situation a few minutes earlier, “It is when a person makes a choice that affects their life, possibly forever.  A ‘Do I turn right or left choice.  Do I catch this train or the next one? moment in somebody’s life.   It presumes that our lives are foretold, but we have the opportunity to change our lives by changing our minds at the last moment and, therefore, put our life pattern, possibly irrevocably, out of sync.   Instead of meeting one’s soul-mate, the couple end up on the wrong trains and never meet, which of course changes things for a lot of people whose lives are also affected by the non-event.”

“That is right, Johann.  For us, an action that differs from the original past; an action that causes everything that did happen to no longer happen, or something to happen that didn’t happen – that could, no, let me rephrase that, would cause chaos for our cause.   Should something happen out of phase that affects Joseph’s continuation in the battles … something like saying no to something that he said yes to last time, or vice versa … suddenly deciding that he no longer wants to be involved in the battle.   The list of possibilities is endless.   It would not have been possible for this to happen in normal circumstances because Joseph saw it all out until the finish, it was all over, but now Rangor’s involvement in a change to time has made this scenario possible.   Everything is stating afresh.  Which means any change to actions, thoughts or movements this time around whilst in a key time zone, by any party directly involved in the battle, could change anything yet to eventuate – including the way Joseph acts and thinks.

   Joseph is not a DC comic type super power from another planet that has dedicated his life to battle crime and defend his country from anybody or anything that attempts to attack it.   He is an average thirty five year old who is about to make an impetuous decision; find himself in an impossible-to-believe situation; and adapt to it as if it had been a life time plan.   However any change that now occurs during a key time zone could change his thought pattern.    Everything that happened in the past, happened naturally, happened as it happened.  Now a change caused by Rangor, yourself or anybody else involved in a conflict could throw the whole game wide open because it would allow new elements into the mix – and that new mix could take things anywhere.

We need to prevent this type of situation from happening if we can.   The committee and I have agreed that the best plan is to do exactly what we are doing right now, have been doing for the past three hours, and that is taking you back to the past to witness the events as they happened, then put your new memories and knowledge to sleep until they are needed and use them to our advantage should the opportunity be there for the taking.   That may sound simple enough, but in doing so we risk a paradox happening.  

We need you to have the information that you have been made privy to today available to your mind as you witness the same scene unfold live in front of you in the future.   That way you will instantly recognise when some differences begin to infiltrate the scene allowing you to take whatever action may be necessary, including verbal warnings to Joseph.

But we can’t afford to have you openly knowing that you know such things in advance.   That would make you an instant liability to Rangor.   The first time that you met Joseph, you, and the other friends that helped him defeat Rangor, were reasonably safe from the creature, because he only considered all of you to simply be nuisances, as he did Joseph.   But this time, if you have the information that I am giving you at the moment lying loosely around inside your brain, and Rangor becomes aware of it, which is entirely possible, he will consider you to be a threat to his plans, or at least the information your mind retains will be.   There is every chance that all of your lives will be in danger as a result.   And should any one of you die before the battle ends, or even become badly injured, then there is every chance that Joseph will fail in his task … because he will worry more about the safety of his friends, than the world in general.

What I am proposing for the long term plan is to continue on with our lessons – then later I will interface with your mind to help your mind store today’s lessons appropriately, an action that may have a side effect that will cause some of your other memories to disappear for a while.   The effect is only temporary and those missing memories will return over time, however I cannot tell you exactly how long it will take for them to return.   The main memories that come from today’s lessons, however, will remain dormant for some time, for it will be some time before you meet Joseph in real life.

The reason that I need access to your mind is to program the information that you have obtained today so it will be ready and in sequence when it is required.  However many of the things you have, and will be, shown today do not include you, nor do you really need to have knowledge of the events themselves in order to help Joseph … in fact many of the events you witness today will already have eventuated by the time that you finally meet Joseph, and to make matters a little worse for you, you will not see the final battle take place today.   In fact it is extremely important that you have no memory of some events at all – and that definitely includes the final battle.  

You will, of course, albeit bit by bit, have your memory restored from the point when you first meet Joseph … from that point on you will need to know what took place in the battles the first time, in order to judge whether or not discrepancies are taking place when they recur.   But when your journey begins to take you screaming towards the final battle, the battle plans will most likely be made up on the journey, and even then you may not become privy to Joseph’s tactics.   Remember, the less memories that carry a plan – the less chance they have of divulging it.   Do not worry when this eventuates, every thing will be going to a plan – and plans often require secrets to fulfill their destiny.   It is imperative that your team have the advantage of surprise on your side as often as possible … even if that means that you also share in the surprise as it unfolds. 

And this is the main reason for everything you have seen today; and are yet to see.   For every piece of new information that has aggravated your senses as I force you to believe and accept things at face value, and not allow your automatic inner-need to understand what is happening interfere with your reaction, is helping you to react calmly to an event – not to fear what confronts you just because it appears to come from the realms of the twilight zone.  The more you can deal with the unexpected arrival of the unknown – the faster you can evaluate the situation and decide on the action required when it confronts you; the more you can ignore the sudden surprise and disbelief that enters your mind when something that your mind did truly not believe existed appears before your eyes – the easier you can evaluate the situation and take the appropriate action.  

You are not being taught to be prepared to face a giant scorpion with six of seven tails, or two headed vampires from Mars – you are being trained to accept to see things that could cause a more untrained man to have a heart attack on the spot and treat the situation as if it was simply some drunk wandering into your life who was trying to solicit money or cigarettes form you.   You are being trained to turn off your prejudices of the unknown and accept what you encounter as it truly is – ‘real … or nothing but a hallucination’.   For you will encounter both in your journey and you will have to determine which it is in an incredibly short space of time so you can deal with it the right way.   You will not have time to think of what you are seeing – other than as a force that will kill you if you show signs of indecision.   And kill you it will regardless if it appears as a beautiful young woman with a becoming smile and teeth that will rip your neck to pieces in a heartbeat, or a huge, ten foot long, saliva dripping centipede with releasable, poison tipped, spikes as sharp as razor blades covering its entire body.  

Appearances can be deceptive and what I have been … am … aiming to do is let you see the wide variety of things that Joseph faces, and how he handles the situation.   It is not to give a lesson on how to do battle in the Joseph Jacobson style – it is to teach you how to handle your mind when you are facing the mind-boggling.   Joseph was never taught how to confront a nightmare, but fortunately he soon became adapt at handling such an intrusion to his life by letting his instincts control the moment.   I am hoping that by your watching Joseph as he handles these situations you will recognise a way of overcoming whatever it is that is blocking your true ability to see danger for danger’s sake – not because it looks frightening or aggressive, but because its sole attention is to kill you regardless of its appearance.

For some reason that I cannot establish you are blocking something in your mind in this matter and I can only hope that whatever it is, it is obliterated by the time you meet up with Joseph.    But enough said.   Now you know why I am putting you through such a rigorous program.

I will also include the telepathic communication image in your brain while I am programming your mind for the future – and while I am in your mind I will explain to you how to use it – and that information will be stored under the same conditions as the lessons from today.   When it becomes necessary for me to communicate with you, should circumstances prevent me from visiting you in person, I will activate the beacon image in your mind.   The programming that I am placing inside your head is multi-fold; it is not only recorded in a brain that is similar to a fifty terabyte hard drive memory bank, it is programmed in such a manner that it will allow your brain to release just enough of today’s events to accept my presence in your mind without question when I contact you, and allow you to remember how to use your telepathy when required to communicate with me – again without question.   Now, speaking of questions, do you have any before you tell me your final decision?”

Despite finding his head still swimming in response to Arkerious’s proposal to turn his mind into some kind of human motherboard and become a member of what surely was Earth’s most secret and powerful committee, Johann,never-the-less, managed to ask a question.   “I may be programmed to accept voices in my head without question, but won’t I also be a bit concerned when you suddenly start screaming out information which I pass on to Joseph on how to deal with an alien, or one of his troops – as it is attacking, or something equally implausible to an average humans way of thinking?   And won’t that increase the chances of Rangor or the proxy becoming aware of the secrets in my head.”

“No, the way you will be programmed only your mind will, in a manner of speaking, automatically begin playing and viewing the original events that took place in each time zone you enter with Joseph as you will see them today.   Now, by that I mean only the mind will view the original scene, while you will only see what you see through your eyes.   You will have no idea what your mind is viewing, but your mind is also seeing what your eyes are seeing, and the minute that something is out of kilter your mind will advise you by making you see a flashback moment in conjunction with what you are currently seeing which you will have to interpret and act upon almost instantly.   Should this happen we expect your actions to be viewed by any interested third party, or perhaps the antagonists themselves, as purely an instinctive action, not a pre-warned moment.   This is another reason why it is imperative for your own safety that you are not sidetracked by what is attacking, in deferment to the fact that you are under attack.   There is no time for prejudices or fear.   You will need to take immediate action … and the correct action  simultaneously.

I will explain how it will work in a bit more depth.   Firstly, it will be some time before you actually trust Joseph, but it will be before you take arms with him in a manner of speaking.   What you see of the events that happen in Joseph’s life before you actually do work with him is to help you along the way.   I have already implanted a thought in your mind to help you begin this process.  This is why you asked Mary to do what she is currently doing.”

“I have been wondering about why I did that,”   Johann stated, visibly shaken by Arkerious’s revelation that he had been tampering with his mind … again,   “But mind you, at the time that his name unexpectedly popped up inside my head, I had no idea who he was, and I was more than surprised to find out that it had been me that had hired him in the first place, albeit through a third party many years ago.   To tell you the truth, I don’t remember hiring him, nor did I feel that I knew why he worked for me, which surprised me because I pride myself of knowing the name, status and social standing of every one of my employees in the various businesses that I control … and as you know I control a quite a few companies on behalf of the government.   I imagined that I must have decided to have him followed when I had realised that I had an employee of which I appeared to know absolutely nothing about, but why his name suddenly cropped up in my thoughts I had no idea about … until now that is.”

“You will see the benefits of your action in time, my friend, but at the moment I cannot reveal the reason for it … I am afraid that you will have to let time and nature take its course, but I can assure you that what you have initiated at my request is the beginning of the possibility of a paradox creating an impossible situation for all of us should it happen.   Just a further point on this information, you have set the wheels in action for future events, but you will forget this conversation completely once you return home.   However you will continue to accept the information that Mary provides you without question and absorb it, and actually request more of her in this matter, but you will still be uncertain about why you are going to all this trouble – assuming the reports would finally supply the answer to the unknown question that weighed on your mind.   Mind you, that too will eventually be forgotten, though the positives regarding Joseph from the report will leave an indelible image in your mind for forever and a day … and that positivity will be fully utilised in your eventual meeting with Joseph – although you won’t be aware of it at the time.”

So, in retrospect, Johann, I am going to implant instructions in your mind which will help you deal with things in the future.   I will make contact with you sometime in the future.   You will be returned to Earth in around twelve hours and when you arrive back on Earth you will have forgotten everything you have seen and nearly everything that we have discussed, but you will still remember some fragments of conversation which you will have no idea from whence they come from.   However you will not question yourself about your missing time, you will simply shrug it off as a result of too much work and too little sleep.  

And finally, you will travel towards your face-to-face meeting with Joseph in exactly the same time frame and manner as you did the first time – and when you meet Joseph for the first time you will have no idea about what the future will hold for either one of you.    Do you agree to this?   I will give you a few minutes to think about it, if you wish.  I am sorry about rushing you so early, but the committee is awaiting a reply as there are things that are needed to be done prior to swearing you in.”

“Such as?”   Joahnn asked out of interest.

“Purely bureaucracy gone mad.”  Arkeriouis replied with a laugh, “There is always paperwork to be done … you, of all people, should know that.”

Johann was uncertain if his teacher was being serious or simply in a playful mood, but whichever, he knew that it was a mute point.   Deep inside, Johann knew he would require months, perhaps years, to really consider his decision in this matter, and even then he knew that he may not be certain.   But he was aware that time was of the essence and nodded his head in agreement at Arkerious’s offer of a few moments thought time, closed his eyes and let his mind and memory roll back on the many strange and wild things he had witnessed over the past few hours, some fascinating …  and others were quite frightening.

*The Night of the Damned (VOL 2)      **THE LEGENDS OF ZARGON: The Final Chapter – 2018 (T.B.A.)

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