Ark (33 page)

As they maneuvered to land, Jim, Gene, John, his father and six Levites, all peering out the troop carrier’s window, could see the ark wrapped in its deep blue shroud awaiting the arrival of its carriers.

When the chopper set down, the General steeped out first and surveyed the horizon. He sniffed the air. “Clear blue sailin’. Good!”

Helping the Levites carry their robes from the chopper, Jim heard General Wilcox and looked around. The desert was indeed cool for such a bright summer morning.

One of the Levites took bundle and thanked Jim. From their weight and glittering mass, Jim had recognized them immediately as the robes, ephod and crown of the high priest, Rabbi Levi.

“Who will do the sacrifice?” asked Jim.

Seth, the rabbi’s assistant, seemed to be the only member of the group with answers. “I will do that,” he said.

“What will that take?” asked Gene, overhearing their conversation.

“Prepare the sacrifice. Then we’ll put the ark in the Tabernacle.”

“That should do it,” said Gene. “Short and sweet, eh?”

It took over an hour for the moment to arrive. Seth felt that they should do it exactly as before but had tried to talk the General into providing a dove, albeit a perfect one, for the sacrifice, but General Wilcox wanted no changes. Besides, he had gone to some trouble to get another calf on short notice and wasn’t going to let the effort go to waste.

Seth was sweating profusely but he didn’t seem to mind that the rising heat of the day was beginning to cook him in his robes. Still, he seemed eager to get on with it. He took the knife that Rabbi Levi had used and dispatched the poor animal before Marta could even get to her trailer.

In the middle of the ritual of the sacrifice the General used the PA system to order everyone not involved directly in the preliminary aspects of Phase Three to keep quiet and avoid any unnecessary noise. Jim wondered if the soldiers who’d whistled at Marta’s brief halter top considered it necessary noise. The General tolerated the whistles but the catcalls had him taking names.

Meanwhile, the Levites did their best to stoke up the fires of the altar and get the calf alight. The breeze chose that moment to come to life. They tried stoking the fire but that only produced clouds of sparks that singed the fur of the dead calf.

While Seth tried to spill the collected blood around the altar, the other Levites struggled with the fire. When they could get no more fuel under the beast they gave up and stood helplessly while the animal’s flesh sizzled and popped. It looked like a barbecue gone horribly wrong.

Jim had been watching from a distance. He turned away, revolted by the scene, and decided to take a walk. After all, he wasn’t under orders to watch every detail. He headed toward the outer camp. Beneath his feet the stony desert was lumpy and uneven, forcing him to watch his step. Remembering an impromptu lecture from Gene on the toxic Southwest he was especially careful to avoid anything that looked like a fire ant nest.

Soon he was passing through a small community of new tents that covered some recently bulldozed land. Not even plants remained. If scorpions and fire ants ever called this place home they were probably long gone.

A couple of men with weapons and desert fatigues approached him. “Looking for something?” asked a young Marine whose name patch said BERLIN.

“Just taking a walk ... Berlin.”

The soldier unstrapped his gun. It was a short nosed machine gun. “Who are you?”

“Wilson, here with General Wilcox,” said Jim. “Like I said, takin’ a walk. I sure hope the General’s giving you guys beers, or at least special duty pay. It’s going to be a hot one. At least I’ll bet you know why you’re here. More than I can say.”

The man looked at him and cocked his head. “So what’s going on over there?”

“The recreation of the Ark of the Covenant as described in Exodus: 25, or something like that,” said Jim, looking the Marine in the eye. “What are your duties relating to it, soldier?”

“We’re part of Operation Thunderbolt, Sir,” said the other Marine. “What’s this about an ark?”

“Need to know, I guess,” said Jim, walking away.

He wondered if he’d be shot in the back, but he didn’t look back. Finally he cleared the camp and began walking up a long rise. Noticing the view he had of the encampment, he chose a flat rock and sat down. The rock was already hot from the sun but it felt good on his butt. He missed Kas and Stephanie, and hoped that somehow his thoughts would float across the country and touch them.

The wind had died down and the fire in the altar seemed to be doing its job. A tall column of gray smoke lifted into the sky. Then he heard his name over the P.A. system. “Wilson to the Tabernacle!”

He trotted down the rise, avoiding the sagebrush. He heard the threatening rattle of a snake somewhere in the rocks not far away but never saw it. Finally, a bit out of breath, he arrived at the gate of the outer courtyard. Two three-man teams were stringing cable along the fence.

The General had been watching Jim arrive. “Nice walk, Mr. Wilson?”

“Can’t stand the sight of blood, Sir.”

The General pointed to the Levites. “They’re ready.”

A glint of dazzling gold caught his eye. The Levites were carefully taking the coverings off the ark. When the sealskin covering was heaved to the ground, everyone stood back to admire it. Jim studied its lines closely, savoring its elegant beauty. “Aaron really did a great job,” he remarked.

The General nodded. “Let’s go,” he shouted, looking at the column of smoke that rose from the altar.

On cue the Levites grabbed the gold covered poles attached to the ark and lifted it to their shoulders. In a slow march they took the ark into the sanctuary, chanting the prayers that Seth had taught them. Watching them, Jim almost envied the Levites the knowledge of what it felt like to lift the ark.

When he turned around Gene was standing next to him. “I’ve been in the communications trailer,” he said. “They have three AWAC planes in the air. Believe that? They’re taking a circular radar picture of the area. They say they’re going to be up for the duration of the test.”

Jim looked at Gene. “No matter how long it takes?”

“They’ll just rotate planes from the airfield. Take turns circling at a twenty mile radius.”

Gene was clearly excited. Scanning the horizon he leaned closer to whisper in Jim’s ear. “I get the feeling that there’s large scale backup out there.”

“Meaning?” said Jim.

“I mean I think the General is taking orders.”

“Sure, we all are,” said Jim. “What’s new?”

“What we see is the tip of the iceberg. The General is acting like he’s the man, the prime mover on Thunderbolt. I’m not so sure.”

Jim nodded but didn’t ask Gene to elaborate. He was more focused on the four men carrying the ark into the Tabernacle while two soldiers secured the huge tent flaps in a wide open position, presumably so cameras could see what was going on inside.

The soldiers had finished tying up the ropes when the Levites reached the sanctuary. The veil of the inner sanctum was drawn back as well, allowing the Levites to smoothly walk in, make a half turn, put the ark in its place and then leave as quickly as possible after closing the curtains, hiding the ark from view. It was almost comical to watch their hasty retreat from the Tabernacle. It reminded Jim of a walking race he’d once seen on television. The object was to walk as fast as possible without running. The Levites were, of course, trying to keep their decorum and solemnity while beating it out of the place. Some military onlookers even laughed out loud.

Outside, near the altar, the Levite group stopped and looked back at the Tabernacle. Jim thought it odd that they found that particular place safe and wondered how many of them had actually studied the Old Testament like he had. Were they aware that the ark roasted a whole courtyard full of people?

Gene was among those smiling at the frightened Levites.

“Do you blame them?” asked Jim.

“Not for a minute,” answered Gene. “Too bad they couldn’t fit them with ejection seats or bungee cords to yank them out of there. If it was me, I’d have a robot handle the ark.”

“A little redheaded robot in decorated golden robes?”

“Yeah, that’s it. A Levot,” said Gene. “Good idea, Jim. Maybe playing a recording of a Hebrew chant.”

Suddenly a gust of wind hit them hard enough to cause Gene to lose his balance and nearly fall over. “Sheesh,” he said.

“So it begins,” said Jim, wiping grit from his eye.

Gene fell silent. Jim didn’t bother to point out that in spite of the wind in their faces the smoke from the sacrifice still rose dead straight, like a column, into the sky as it had during the previous test. “If I were you, Gene, I’d work on suspending disbelief for a while and consider that maybe, just maybe, the three books of Moses are fact.”

Gene seemed surprised at Jim’s remark, but he took it seriously. “To be honest, Jim, I already have. It’s acknowledging that I’ve done it that hands me a problem.”

“Afraid to admit the truth?”

“Science requires empirical proof to assert something as fact,” Gene explained.

“I’m aware of that,” said Jim, “but suspending one’s disbelief is no threat to truth. It simply opens the door to possibilities. It’s another level of inquiry.”

Gene frowned. “Uh-huh,” he said. “I don’t know. I’ve never liked that argument. It’s too often used to support paranormal bullshit. Too much pseudo-science out there these days.”

Jim noticed that John Wilcox and his father had joined the Levites near the altar and were watching the Tabernacle. The General seemed to be talking to someone on his headset. Suddenly he motioned to the group. In unison, they all started running toward the entrance to the courtyard. It was the first time Jim had seen the General run.

#

When he arrived next to Jim and Gene at the entrance to the outer courtyard the General was out of breath. “Too many cigars,” he said, panting.

“What’s up, General?” asked Gene.

“The techies are already reporting some kind of activity.”

“Anything specific?” asked Gene.

“Well, why don’t you haul your ass over there and find out, Henson?” said the General in a nasty voice. “They could use you since Bush is gone.”

Gene complied without argument.

The General looked at his son. “John, I’d like you in there too. We need as many informed eyes watching this thing as possible.”

“Jim, you wanna come along?” asked John as he turned to follow Gene.

The General held him back. “I’d like you to stay here with me for a bit, Jim.”

“Why don’t we all go see what’s happening?” said Jim.

“We’ll stay right here.”

John Wilcox shook his head and walked toward the trailer, and the General’s eyes returned to the Tabernacle. “Are your antennas up, Jim?”

“Antennas?”

“Heads up, Wilson.”

By now the General’s special attention was getting to Jim. He knew, of course, that the General wanted his intuition, but why the General was so convinced that he would be of any real use in all of this confused him. “Shouldn’t you be paying more attention to the ark than to me?” Jim said bravely.

It was as though the General hadn’t heard Jim. He stood stiffly with his hands clasped behind the small of his back. Jim didn’t press the issue. Whatever the General’s motives may have been, it was obvious that they were in his bag of secrets. Probably just his military ‘need to know’ training, Jim supposed.

“AWACs are checking in,” voiced the General, touching a forefinger to his headset. “The weather’s nominal. Clear skies. No activity in full spectral sweeps of the target area.”

The breeze had picked up again. Now it hit the plume from the altar fire and fanned the flames below the burning sacrifice. Sparks and ash swirled into the air as the fire crackled angrily.

“It started with the wind before, too,” noted Jim. “Interesting.”

“Just the wind,” said the General. “No action in the tent so far. Or are you telling me something?” He raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Jim.

“I’ve a gut feeling something’s about to happen.”

“Good,” said the General.

Jim smiled. He was beginning to realize that he could say “frog” and the man would start hopping around. He wondered if John’s assessment of his Dad as the loony might be off the mark. Maybe he just didn’t understand his father. The gut feeling he’d mentioned to the General was real, but he attributed it more to expectations based on the previous day’s events than on anything tangible. Still, there was that vertical column of smoke from the altar. Why wasn’t it bent in the wind?

“Any more reports?” Jim asked.

“Not at the moment. I’m picking up a fair amount of static,” replied Wilcox. “Getting louder.” He took off his headset. He checked the wires for loose connections.

Jim might have been the first to see the glow. His eyes were fixed squarely on the interior of the Tabernacle when it started. At first he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. But General saw it too. He put on his headphones again and tried to raise the instrument shack. “I’m getting static, Earl,” he said. “Can you fix the phones?”

“Earl? Mr. Megabyte?” asked Jim.

The General nodded. “I brought him in from the Los Alamos lab to replace Bush. I don’t like the hippie bastard, but he knows his shit.”

The glow in the Tabernacle was now apparent to everyone. The General stopped talking and gawked like a schoolboy. Shouts and machine sounds came from everywhere at once.

The way the ark came to life reminded Jim of a streetlight gradually coming on. He could only guess at its brilliance. The curtains were made of linen with colored designs stitched on them, so what he and everyone else saw as they gazed into the open Tabernacle was just a glow behind curtains.

Jim looked over at the tents where he’d walked. Soldiers were lined up, some with weapons, staring in rapture at the Tabernacle. Two of them fell to their knees holding their hats over their hearts. One had his head bowed and hands clasped in prayer. The other soldiers looked at them with puzzled expressions.

A few moments passed and nothing further happened, other than an odd ringing in Jim’s ears. He remembered the simulations at the university and wondered if this was what the computers predicted. “I’d really like to see what this looks like on the computer screens, General.”