Intervention: A Science Fiction Adventure (3 page)

White Bird watched as
one of the creatures held up a long shiny object. The other creature
touched the small box-like object held in his hand, and it opened
like magic to reveal what White Bird thought was a grain of rice.
However, instead of being all white, it glowed with a blue light from
within. The blue glow suddenly grew bright and then dimmed. This
happened over and over, but not nearly as fast as her heart was
beating in her chest.

The creature held the
long shiny object over White Bird and toward the other creature. The
other creature then carefully removed the small pulsating grain of
rice from its container and placed it on the end of the long shiny
object. The creature moved the long shiny object down below her
stomach, and White Bird once again turned partially transparent. Now,
being able to see inside her body, the creature placed the grain of
rice into position in White Bird’s reproductive organs. Once at the
exact spot necessary for the implant, the grain of rice was released
and the long shiny object was removed.

White Bird was certain
now that she had been chosen because of her husband. She could not be
sure whether it was because he was the son of the chief or because of
his bravery in single-handedly killing the great wooly beast, or
maybe something she did not even know about. But she knew she had
been chosen by the gods in order to bear many strong and brave sons
for her husband, Running Horse.

An extremely bright and
vivid light, as blue as the water that flowed in the river, shone
upon her from somewhere above her. At first it seemed to shine on her
forehead, then a few moments later it moved slowly downward until it
beamed directly into her eyes with the intensity of the sun on a
cloudless day. Her thoughts grew dim; she was unable to focus as the
blue light continued to ambush her efforts to remain in control.
White Bird was very strong, but this blue light was stronger, and all
went dark as she fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

Sparks from the burning
embers rose into the darkness of the night sky as Running Horse once
again finished telling the story of how he was victorious over the
wooly beast he had hunted for White Bird. His fellow braves were in
admiration of his courage, and the children were mesmerized as they
listened from a respectful distance.

As Running Horse smiled
with pride, he looked back over his shoulder to fill his eyes with
the beauty of his new bride.

She
must be inside the teepee trying on her new garment,
he
thought. White Bird emerging from the teepee wearing the prize he had
hunted for her would make for the perfect ending to his story. But
just as he thought this, Running Horse noticed the garment lying on
the ground outside the teepee’s entrance where White Bird had laid
it before she went to the river to fetch some water. As he turned his
head toward the path leading to the river, the thought hit him like a
spear in the heart:
White Bird
has been gone too long. Is she in danger?

More than enough time
had passed to allow White Bird to go to the river and return.
Perhaps
the wolves found her alone once again.
Running Horse
feared the worst. Quickly he summoned all of the other braves and
explained White Bird’s absence. The braves joined Running Horse as
he ran like his namesake down the twisting path leading to the
river’s edge. All they found at the river’s edge was the crude
bowl White Bird had dropped as she stood frozen in the light of the
alien moon.

“Do you see any
tracks, Running Horse?” a fellow brave asked.

“Only White Bird’s
tracks leading here. No wolf tracks or signs of a struggle. It is as
if she vanished into thin air,” Running Horse answered.

The other braves looked
into the brush and the woods on both sides of the path and on the
other side of the river as well for any sign of White Bird. No matter
how hard they searched, however, they were unable to find even the
slightest hint of anything.

Undaunted by the lack
of any tracks or a trail to follow, Running Horse and his fellow
braves spread out and began to search the woods for White Bird or for
any clues to her whereabouts. The light of the now three-quarter moon
trickled through the trees, casting enough light into the forest for
them to see their way around to search.

After about twenty
minutes, Running Horse was far from the path when he heard something
in the brush in front of him. His breathing became shallow—he could
almost hear his own heartbeat. He moved like a cat, slowly advancing
on the sound he had heard ahead of him. Finally, he was close enough
to make out the sound of animals feeding. Fearing the worse, he
quickly rose and charged in a fit of rage only to find himself in the
middle of a pack of wolves that had been feeding on a small animal.
Revenge was a strong motivator, and as fast as the wolves could grab
hold of Running Horse, he threw them into the brush, only to have
them return again and again. All this commotion quickly brought many
other braves to aid Running Horse, and in no time, most of the wolves
lay dead, scattered around them, while the rest fled into the night.

After taking a moment
to catch their breath, the braves began to exchange information. Each
in turn told what he had, or rather hadn’t, found, and it soon
became obvious that there was no trace of White Bird. Running Horse
and the braves continued to search, spreading out even further into
the forest.

Two hours went by.
Running Horse heard a distant cry that told him someone had found
something. He flew through the trees, leaping over brush and the
occasional fallen tree trunk, following the repeated cry until he
found himself at the place where the path met the river. Lying on the
ground and being tended to by his fellow braves was his beloved White
Bird, alive and well. She was drinking water from the small clay
bowl. She tried to get up to greet her husband, but she was too weak.

One of the braves
explained how, being weary from all of the night’s activities, he
went to the river for a drink of water. When he arrived, he found
White Bird lying next to the river’s edge, unconscious, right where
she had dropped the small clay bowl hours earlier. She did not show
any signs of having been hurt, and when he put some water to her
lips, she came to.

Running Horse looked
her over for signs of injuries, but saw none. He asked her what had
happened and where she had been. All she could remember was coming to
the river to get some water; the next thing she remembered was the
brave giving her water to drink. White Bird said she must have fallen
and hit her head and lay there until they arrived looking for her.
But Running Horse explained how, when she didn’t return to camp,
they all came to the river’s edge, to this very spot, to look for
her but she wasn’t there. He went on to tell her how they looked
deep into the woods for her, and he told her about the battle with
the wolf pack.

White Bird was very
weak, so Running Horse picked her up in his arms and carried her back
up the path leading back to their camp. The rest of the braves
followed behind.

“Running Horse is
back with White Bird,” the children called as they saw the group
emerge from the woods, returning to camp.

Running Bird announced,
“White Bird is fine, she just needs some rest.” As he headed into
his teepee with White Bird, the other braves began to explain to the
tribe what had happened.

Running Horse gently
laid White Bird down onto their bed and covered her with a blanket.
He poured some water into a small cup and put it gently to her lips
for her to drink. White Bird looked up at Running Horse, once again
her hero. “I still don’t know what happened to me,” she said.

“Do not worry,
precious White Bird. You are home now and I will take care of you.”

As he got up and went
toward the teepee’s entrance, White Bird said, “Please don’t
leave just yet.”

“I am not going
anywhere, my love. I will just bring your garment inside so you can
keep it close to you.” White Bird smiled in response, thinking how
lucky she was to have such a loving and brave man for her husband.
The gods had truly smiled on her.

* * *

The Agosei traveled all
over the planet abducting and implanting females of the species. They
knew these were hostile times for the people of Earth, and many of
the bloodlines implanted would, unfortunately, not survive. The
future of mankind depended on at least one member of an implanted
bloodline surviving until the time of activation. If not, all of
their efforts would be in vain. These implant recipients were mostly
chosen from the families of local leaders, determined to have the
best chance of surviving in order to pass on the genetic material
implanted in them. The Agosei implanted females from almost every
race on every planet except one: the Egyptians.

Abducting these
primitive people in order to make the necessary DNA implants was
easy, if not routine, for the Agosei. This was something they had
done countless times before on hundreds of other worlds throughout
the universe. However, the next phase of their plan would prove to be
far more difficult and the criteria would be far more demanding.

The Agosei sat in a
circle to establish a set of parameters and guidelines to work
within. The objective was not going to be easy. They had to create a
structure that would be large enough for everyone on the planet to be
aware of its existence. It had to be constructed so that it would
stand the test of time, lasting long enough to remain long after the
time-release DNA’s activation. It also had to be constructed of a
naturally occurring material that could be found in the immediate
vicinity in sufficient quantities.

It must also appear to
have been designed and constructed by the Egyptian civilization with
their current level of technology. This all must be accomplished with
the willing cooperation of the local population without them having
any knowledge of, or leaving any trace of, the use of advanced
technology.

They quickly found the
area to be mostly limestone, more than enough to fill their needs.
The limestone was hard enough to withstand the weathering of time,
yet soft enough to be quarried by this civilization using their
existing technology. It would require the work of at least one or
possibly two generations, but could be accomplished within the time
constraints of their mission. This was deemed acceptable.

Next, they reviewed the
Egyptian’s religious practices as a possible means of influence. It
would be a simple task for the Agosei to convince the Egyptians of
the reality of an appearance from Ra, the god of the Egyptians. This
could be easily accomplished using a 3-D holographic image projected
from a craft in stealth mode. They would use Ra as the vehicle for
imparting the necessary information for the construction process, as
well as a source of the plans.

Taking into
consideration the level of technology possessed by the Egyptians at
this time, the materials to be used, and the period of time the
structure must stand, it was decided the design of the structure
would be that of a pyramid. This could be easily constructed out of
blocks cut from limestone and would be likely to remain for the
thousands of years necessary for their plan to succeed.

With a complete plan in
place, the Agosei proceeded to separate a portion of the liquid metal
forming a smaller version of their craft. They programmed it with all
of their knowledge and with the details of their plan. Once this was
completed, the Agosei continued on their journey of exploration. The
smaller craft was left behind to enact their plan, shifted into
stealth mode by shifting into the dimension void of everything, and
headed toward Egypt to begin its mission.

Nefree scooped water up
from the bowl with her hands and splashed it onto her face. It felt
so cool and refreshing as she wiped the water from her face with the
soft linen cloth.

Nefree turned to her
husband and said, “I don’t see why I must go to these silly
ceremonies everyday anyway. It’s just a way for Khufu to appear
important to everyone. ‘Look at me, Pharaoh of Upper and Lower
Egypt.’ That’s all he really cares about.”

“Don’t say that;
don’t even think that,” Sanar responded. “Ra may hear you.
Besides, how would it look for Khufu to see me there without you? It
wouldn’t help my appointment as chief architect to the Pharaoh, now
would it? If you want all the things my appointment would bring, then
the least you can do is attend the daily ceremonies with me without
making such a fuss.”

Setting down the linen
cloth, Nefree gently placed her hand on Sanar’s chest. “You’re
right as always, my husband,” she purred. “Let us go to the
temple so Khufu can see you with your loving and devoted wife at your
side.”

It was a long walk to
the temple, and as usual, the afternoon sun cooked the stone path
beneath their feet. As they grew nearer to the temple, the crowd grew
thicker and thicker. The daily afternoon ceremony was attended each
day by thousands who would come to pay homage to Khufu, Pharaoh of
Upper and Lower Egypt, and to Ra, their most powerful god.

Nefree was always proud
to see Sanar greeted with such respect by so many friends along the
way. Sanar’s upcoming appointment as chief architect to Khufu was a
position that brought with it much power and wealth, so now Sanar was
being befriended by those he did not even know. He was well aware of
the things that would come with his appointment and gave the polite
and friendly nods of acknowledgment, like any good politician would,
to those who greeted him along the way.

Sanar and Nefree
continued up the stone walkway, passing through the large crowd
already gathered in front of the temple on each side. They continued
up the steps into the temple where they would find at least some
relief from the hot afternoon sun. Servants greeted them, offering
liquid refreshment so they might soothe their parched throats after
their long walk.