Divine Deception: The Will Traveller Chronicals (12 page)

“Well there is now
Mr Potter” I told him bluntly, adding “Ten times more than there
was before”. The five shaken administrators looked silently at me.
It was Susan who broke the silence.

“Is there a way to
prevent this attack Lord Robert?” She asked me.

“Well, we could do
what the Supreme One did last time” I answered her
sarcastically.

“I think I can
guess what that was Sire” Zoran grinned at Susan.

“Oh please tell us
Lord Robert” Miss Lois asked passionately.

“They slaughtered
them” I replied coldly “Destroyed their homes and farms, then they
poisoned the land, so that nothing edible could grow within fifty
kilometres either side of the pipeline” I told her and three
shocked colleagues.

However, unlike
everyone else in that room, Mr Bligh, the production boss, seemed
unmoved by my shocking revelation.

“Lord Robert” He
stood up “With all the respect rightfully due to your Supreme Self,
you speak of those creatures as if they were human” There was some
anger in his voice, so I matched his tone

“Mr. Bligh have
you ever heard of animals farming?” I challenged.

“I know nothing of
these farms Lord Robert” Bligh muttered, aware that his colleagues
were now looking at him questioningly.

“You knew of
this?” Carpenter asked his production chief coldly.

“They were sealed
orders from the Supreme One” Bligh half admitted, half protested
“It was before Statehood Jim. I gave an oath of silence” He
appealed to the State leader.

“And now they are
back for revenge?” Jim Carpenter asked.

“I don’t know yet
Mr Carpenter” I replied frankly “They may just want their lands
back” I told him quietly.

“Lord Robert,
surely you’re not suggesting that we allow them back?” Bligh asked,
he was really aghast at that thought.

“And how exactly
would you prevent them from doing that, if that is what they want
to do Mr. Bligh?” I asked coldly.

“Well, we can call
for help from the Supreme One” Bligh’s voice trailed off as Zoran
coughed. Then, in a formal sounding voice, Zoran explained our
contrived story to them. He ended with

“So, Mr. Bligh, if
you want help from the Supreme One, why not ask him in person,
while you still can” He invited calmly. That shook all of them, Jim
Carpenter most of all.

“Is this is why
you have come your Excellency?” Carpenter’s voice had returned to
the dutiful servant,

Jim Carpenter was
daunted by the realization that he was now talking face to face
with the near-future Supreme One. They all waited anxiously for my
reply.

“It is a time of
change in this world” My voice lectured “For far too long, the rule
of might has held sway. My goal is to awaken the spirit of
humanity, in all who dwell in the New World” I told my fascinated
seven person audience “The fate that awaits your people, here in
Carabindy Province, is identical to the fate that will befall all
in the New World, unless there are major changes to ensure justice
for all” I warned them sternly.

“The people who
own these lands have no use for Aklodyte and you do not need their
jungle or its animals. So there is really no need for conflict
between your civilisations” I explained.

“You will have
difficulty explaining that to those savages Lord Robert” Bligh was
pushing me too hard. I smelled a rat and asked “And what did those
sealed orders say Mr Bligh?”

“Lord Robert, what
of my oath to the Supreme One of silence till death?”

Of course, I
thought to myself. The man is a spy. They would have to keep the
production of something so valuable as this stuff under their
watchful eye. Seems it was time for a little magic terrorism.

“Mr Bligh” I said
“Perhaps you didn’t hear what Zoran has just said” My loud voice
was ice cold.

Without thinking
about it, I flew, literally, out of my throne-like chair and over
to float above the now cowering production chief “You will speak as
I have ordered, or that death will be long, slow, agonizing and
begin right now Bligh” My voice threatened “Now speak!” The voice
that said those words scared me! Something to do with the tone, it
triggered fear. I wanted to put pressure on this tall, unfeeling
man. Suddenly he clutched his chest and began to gasp, I descended
and stood quietly watching him, as the other six sat silently.

“Must I squeeze
the truth from you Bligh?” I asked, as casually as if offering him
tea.

“We were never to
allow them near the Aklodyte” Bligh gasped out “No matter how many
we had to kill to prevent it” He added, eyes bulging.

“Why?” I demanded
to know from the terrified production chief.

“I don’t know Lord
Robert, I swear I don’t” Bligh gasped, almost passing out. I could
sense that he was telling the truth, so I released the pressure.
After some discussion with Jim Carpenter and my two colleagues, I
decided to leave Susan and Zoran there, to begin the enlightenment
of the new Carabindy Nation’s government, while I went in search of
the wild people and some badly needed answers. There were quite a
few things that really didn’t make much sense at all.

Now aware that I
could fly, I walked to the open glass doorway that led from the
boardroom to a small balcony, then turned to face my
colleagues.

“I’ll go and get
the other side of the story, I’ll be back soon” I told Susan and
Zoran. Then I turned back to the five Carabindy leaders.

“You will never
hear from anyone who knows more about the Supreme Family and more
about what is real in this world than my two colleagues” I told
them “Listen well and learn to live with the truth” I advised,
before leaping off the balcony to soar off into the late morning
sky!

Beyond a light
breeze I felt nothing, nor did I actually do anything, I just
glided smoothly and effortlessly through the clear blue sky, not
going anywhere particularly fast for a while, just enjoying this
new found, wonderfully free sensation. The first time I looked
down, I could just make out our T.T.V. in front of the town’s main
building. From up there it was easy to see the pipelines, snaking
off towards the West, a blood red earthen ribbon through the dense
green jungle. That was my logical first destination, the processing
plant and port facility on the other end. I found that simply
focussing on a point and wanting a closer look, was all that was
needed to get just that. For a few minutes, I practiced my focus
and dive, focus and climb manoeuvres.

I was having a
ball! Now I really knew what it was like to be, quite literally,
free as a bird! Movement in the thick jungle below caught my eye,
focussing on an extra tall thickly vegetated tree, I glided
smoothly down. If the three elephants that I’d seen in the town
earlier that day were very big, then I don’t know what word to use
in describing the herd of elephants that peacefully grazed in the
cool damp shade below me. They were all much bigger, in fact, they
were quite a great deal bigger! There were eight in all. The three
young ones were the size of the females in town, the five adults
ranged from fifteen to twenty metres in height! They say elephants
have a fantastic memory, who knows what I might find out? I floated
down to right in front of the herd.

“Do not be
alarmed, I am Lord Robert of the human’s Supreme Family” I
telepathed to the startled pachyderms “Will you converse with me?”
I asked. The gigantic animals all stood stock still, looking down
at me with unreadable expressions, also, I heard nothing in my
head. Suddenly, the biggest of them, tusks at least five metres
long, started to lumber towards me, each foot fall shaking the
earth beneath my feet. But I was invincible, so I had no need to
fear. The four story tall behemoth stopped only a metre in front of
me, a telegraph pole sized trunk brought two dustpan lid sized, wet
and curious nostrils to within inches of my face. I looked up into
huge limpid brown eyes.

“You have no
fear?” The behemoth queried telepathically.

“We are not
enemies, we need not fear each other” I replied the same, silent
way.

“We fear no one,
least of all one such as you” The male scorned.

“With the wild
people gone, I can see why” I replied “But they are coming back,
tenfold!” I advised the giant creature. That news thoroughly upset
the whole herd.

“The white humans
will get rid of them, they always do” The big elephant shifted
uneasily.

“I am the Supreme
leader of these white people, this time it will not be so” I told
him.

“Why not?” He
asked “They serve no purpose” There was anger in the gigantic
elephant’s telepathed question.

“Because it is
time for humans of all kinds to live in harmony, with each other
and all that is in the world around them” I told the truly enormous
male elephant.

“And that means
back to the days when we were hunted by all humans” He snorted, and
then swung his massive trunk at me. I made no attempt to get out of
the way and, just before it actually touched me, the gigantic
elephant froze and cried out loud in pain.

“You are no better
than they” I told the now shaken giant, adding “You follow their
might is right philosophy”.

“You are bigger,
so you can sweep me aside, and yet, that’s not so easy after all,
is it?” I asked, glaring up into his massive eyes. Then I took off
and flew some meters, to hover over the enormous animals head, I
was now looking down at him, his confusion grew.

“What are you?” He
telepathed, his fear becoming noticeable.

“He’s already told
us fool” A female, nearly as big as the male came over and looked
at me. “Lord Robert you said?” She asked.

“That’s right” I
confirmed, adding “I am not here to harm anyone”.

“Please excuse Big
Bull Lord Robert” She asked, adding “He’s old and not one to change
easily”.

“I can speak for
myself” Big Bull cut in angrily.

“No doubt you can,
but it sounds like we are in trouble” The female shot back “I think
we are going to need friends, not enemies, powerful friends” She
looked straight into my eyes.

“There is no need
for anyone to be in trouble” I told her “Harmony is usually the
result of compromise” I telepathed to her.

“The wild people
are well named Lord Robert” The female told me silently “They
attack every living thing in the jungle, how does one harmonise
with that?” She had real doubts.

“Perhaps, like
your friend here, they may need some special convincing” I agreed
“But, as you can see, I am quite well equipped to provide such an
education” I told her grinning “Where are the nearest wild people
that you know of?” I asked the female elephant, then floated over
to a sturdy branch and sat waiting for the huge creature to
answer.

“We haven’t seen
any for twenty years or more” The male answered, his tone subdued,
but not quite respectful “Some friends say they have moved to the
mountains, we heard there were some still living west of the
pipeline’ The male continued “So, where is this horde of them
coming from, if you don’t know where they are right now?” He asked
belligerently.

“You had better
hope I find out before they get here” I told him.

“What if you don’t
find them?” The female asked me nervously.

“I’d have no
choice but to witness a lot of unnecessary bloodshed” I answered “I
can only do what is the will of those involved”.

“You wouldn’t
prevent it?” The female elephant was surprised.

“For there to be
harmony among the white and black humans, and the creatures of the
jungle, there must first be the will to find and to sustain that
harmony” I continued explaining.

“You’ll find
little will for peace among those savages” She said, clearly she
was convinced of the wild people’s inability to rationalise. All I
could do was hope and pray that she was wrong.

“Which way are
these mountains?” I asked the two elephants.

“Due East of here”
The female replied. I thanked her, said goodbye to all of them and
flew off into the Eastern sky. From several hundred metres in the
air, the view was spectacular. I could see the outline of the
mountain ranges to the East and, far beyond the garish ribbon that
snaked its way West, I could just make out what seemed to be the
coast line. But the one thing I was looking for I didn’t see. I saw
no smoke.

Although the vast
expanses of almost unbroken jungle vegetation below me had to be
teaming with all sorts of life, to the best of my knowledge, only
humans used fire. Those mountains seemed to be the best bet, but I
wanted a closer look, so, I dropped back to treetop level, gliding
swiftly and silently east. The patches of bare tundra I had noticed
turned out to be many decades old, man made clearings, easily big
enough to have been tribal villages, with a limited agriculture.
The trees were full of chattering monkeys, chirping birds and,
occasionally, small family sized groups of almost man sized
gorillas. I found it odd that they looked much more like their
smaller cousins, the chimpanzee, than any gorilla I’d ever seen.
Suddenly, I had company.

Two magnificent
golden eagles, their bodies the size of a pony’s, with wing spans
that had to top fifteen meters, where gliding along on either side
of me.

“How does he stay
up?” A graceful female voice queried.

“The white humans
have great technology now you know” A deeper male voice
replied.

“He doesn’t seem
to mind us, he’s not afraid” The female commented “Do you think he
could harm us?” She asked, a note of apprehension in her tone. Time
for me to butt in.

“I neither fear
nor desire to do you any harm” I transmitted silently “It is truly
a great joy to share these skies with you” I told them.