The Cydonia Objective (Morpheus Initiative 03)
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Authors: David Sakmyster
THE CYDONIA OBJECTIVE
The Morpheus Initiative Book 3
By David Sakmyster
Table of Contents
Book 1 - Reunions
Book 2 - Seeing is Believing
Book 3 - Myth and Marvel
Copyright © David Sakmyster, 2012
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and should not be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For more information e-mail all inquiries to: [email protected]
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"Soon did the sons of Noah and their sons build a great tower in the city of Babel, which they would by magic raise unto Heaven, that they might see the throne of God. But God came down to see the tower they did build, and was displeased. He confounded their tongues, and scattered them across the earth. Even did he close the minds of men to magic, that they would not work as one any longer."
–
Hermetic Arcanum
"The Mars we had found was just a big moon with a thin atmosphere and no life. There were no Martians, no canals, no water, no plants, no surface characteristics that even faintly resembled Earth's."
–Bruce Murray, JPL Director 1976-1982
For Isabella.
May your imagination forever be as boundless as your thirst for wisdom
Nuremburg, Germany—April 30, 1945
The three American tanks rumbled through the devastation, drove around Panzer tanks decimated from the early morning Allied air strike, and crunched over the wreckage without slowing down. Buildings were still smoldering, entire housing blocks flattened. Locals moved about the wreckage, calling for loved ones and searching for valuables. Dogs barked, children ran fleeing from the invading tanks, and a pall of thick black smoke hung suspended between the jagged rooftops and the steel-gray sky.
The tanks continued along their determined course, following narrowed streets, heading for the southwestern corner of the city, speeding there, in fact. Despite the lack of any sort of resistance, they seemed to be on an urgent mission to get somewhere fast.
The objective soon became clear: a small church with one needle-like steeple. St. Katherine's was a prime example of gothic architecture with yawning archways and romantic columns. Badly burnt, but otherwise structurally undamaged in the attack, it stood resolute, but defenseless.
The tanks slowed, then diverged to cover three sides of the church. Hatches opened and green-clad soldiers rushed out, climbed down the sides and hurried to set up a perimeter. They took up positions, aiming at the doors, the windows, looking for snipers.
From the center tank, two more individuals emerged. The first: a large grey-haired soldier with a cigar trapped between his lips, one that he promptly lit as soon as he touched the ground. He was helped down by what looked to be his aide: a smaller, bookish man with spectacles and a thick crop of sweaty red hair.
One of the soldiers stood up from his kneeling position and shouted back, "Church secure, General Patton, Sir! Do we move in?"
Patton drew in a huge breath of cigar smoke, let it sit in his lungs, then expelled it slowly. He stared at the church without blinking. A long, slow stare. Then he spoke quietly to his aide: "You're sure it's here?"
The red-haired man thought for a moment before responding. At least, it seemed he was thinking. His eyes closed, his head lowered, and his put his fist to his forehead. Sweat broke out along his temples, and he started to tremble. Patton pulled his attention from the church to study the man with rapt admiration.
Finally, the red-haired man nodded and opened his eyes. "A specially constructed vault below the foundation. Reinforced walls and steel doors that you will need to blow up to get inside. It's inside the vault, in a crate, hidden among the church ornaments and other stolen relics."
Patton smiled. "Guards?"
"Two just outside the door to the vault room. One inside, guarding a golden box near the back. Inside is a false relic. Don't be fooled."
His smile widening, Patton strode forward; he waved to his soldiers and pointed to the front door. As the men raced ahead, Patton slowed, then turned back. The red-haired man still stood in place, hugging his arms, shaking slightly as the wind blew smoke trails around him. A plane roared overhead, and he winced with the sound. He met Patton's gaze and his dry lips parted.
"You'll keep it safe?"
Patton drew another breath from the cigar and thought before answering. "Better than Hitler did, the egomaniac. To think, he actually let it out of his grasp. And look what happened."
The red-haired man nodded. "So it's true? They're advancing on his bunker in Berlin?"
Patton shrugged. "I don't need your skills to see that the coward will probably take his own life before we get there. It's over. The Reich is finished, and—"
"And America? Will it take its place?"
Patton's expression formed a look of annoyance at the question. "America will be what it's meant to be." He pointed to the church. "When we reclaim what Hitler stole from that museum in Austria, we'll be unstoppable. But power is just a means to an end. Eisenhower no doubt will order that we return the relic to its rightful owner, like all the other stolen artifacts we reclaim from these Nazi bastards."