The Zul Enigma (44 page)

Carlos shrugged. ‘I
don’t know, but I don’t think so. I think they already told me all they wanted
to say.’

‘I see,’ he replied,
‘and from watching the recordings that’s the impression we have too – if
we assume “Zul” is an
alien
. But if not, then the perpetrators could
beam in their demands at any time and we’d be fools not to be prepared. Since
you’re their contact point, Dr Maiz, we want to set up a global positioning
system and an auto-tracking digital laser theodolite in your office and at your
home.’

‘A what?’ Greg said.

‘It will capture the
coordinates of the signal’s source should another message come in. With your permission,
we’ll make the arrangements direct with your Network Security Manager.’

‘How does it work?’ Greg
asked.

‘The GPS positions the
theodolite in global 3D space so that the 3D space coordinates of the device
containing the sending laser, or lasers, can be derived.’

Carlos shrugged again.
‘Okay, I don’t have a problem with that. I’ll tell our people to comply with
your requirements.’

Greg wriggled his large
bulk forward on the couch. ‘And if the communications are coming from beings of
higher consciousness, what then?’ All the heads in the room turned in his
direction, ‘or have you absolutely ruled out that possibility?’ he asked.

Well aware of the
President’s views and his opinion of Carlos, during their pre-meeting strategy
talk Carlos had suggested the up-coming discussion would be kept less
inflammatory if he and Greg switched roles. Therefore Greg was to bring up the
likelihood of Zul’s contact being genuine and to field any questions on that
subject, while Carlos was to keep well clear of the topic as long as he could
without appearing rude or obstructive, or unless Greg needed help on some
technical issue.

‘No, NASA hasn’t
absolutely ruled out that possibility yet,’ the General admitted.

‘Come on,’ Bob butted
in, ‘surely the fact we know how they did it proves it was humans?’

‘How do you reach that
conclusion?’ Greg asked.

Gripping the armrests
with his hands, Bob lifted himself a smidgeon off the seat of his chair.
‘Because if it’s aliens,’ he made the word sound like an obscenity, ‘they’d’ve
used some new invention to get the messages in? Huh? Some hitherto unknown
alien-type technology.’

‘I disagree.’ Greg said.
‘To communicate with us they need to use technology that’s compatible with our
own.’

‘So where’s it coming
from?’ Bob laughed. ‘You think they’re beaming this shit in from a spacecraft?
If that’s the case, we’d’ve had hundreds of reports of UFO sightings from NASA
by now, isn’t that correct Dr Maiz?’ and he glanced at Carlos.

‘Sir,’ Greg replied,
‘with due respect, Zul’s assurance that the Galactic Federation has a true
understanding of how our universe works doesn’t preclude the possibility that
extraterrestrial beings exist in the physical third density. However, Zul’s
description of the evolutionary process goes far beyond the physical. He’s
claiming the existence of an even broader concept… multi-universes… and the
seamless movement of consciousness between their boundaries when specific
conditions are met.

‘So I agree with you,
sir,’ Greg continued. ‘I don’t think they’re beaming lasers in from a
spacecraft either, because Zul never claimed to be from outer space. What he
does claim is the Galactic Federation comprises entities from a higher density,
one that is not of our material world. He says they don’t exist in a physical
form on our planet, or on any other planet, or even in outer space, but exist
as pure consciousness. What Zul
does
claim, however, is they can
manipulate the level of their vibrating energy to form matter and
that’s
how they’d create the laser beams to get the messages in.’

Everyone was still
staring at Greg when Carlos’s eyebrow made an involuntary twitch. He smiled to
himself. Greg was playing his part very well.

‘If that’s so,’ Bob said
leaning forward, ‘forget manifesting laser beams – why don’t they just
appear in front of us right here?’ and he pointed at the floor in front of his
feet.

‘Because it would
contravene the Law of One,’ Greg replied.

‘What the hell’s that?
Some alien handbook?’

‘According to Zul, it’s
the Law that governs the universe.’

‘Crap,’ Bob said. ‘I
don’t believe a word of it.’

‘If humans are
responsible,’ Carlos said, ‘they’d need access to the facilities and equipment
to pull it off.’

 
‘Not only that,’ the General added, ‘to
take over the holovideo calls the way they did, they’d need to know exactly
what was going on in the original sessions. NASA discusses this at length in
their report. They’d either have to be observing directly through a window from
an external location; or have a microphone planted in the room or on the other
side of a wall in the room where the receiving end of the conference call was
being conducted; or be sniffing the data packets on the local internal network
to time the intercept. It would be no mean feat, sir.’

‘Who has access to this
kinda technology?’ Bob asked.

‘Oh my,’ Barbara said,
‘any technologically advanced power you care to name: the Europeans, the
Chinese, the Japanese, the Indians, the Pakistanis, the Russians – the
list goes on.’

‘Exactly!’ Bob tapped
the arms of his chair with the flats of his hands. ‘There are hundreds of
people out there who could’ve done it.’

‘Sir,’ James said, ‘it’s
not that the technology required is uncommon or needs specialist training to
operate, it’s about the planning and effort needed to set it up. Not to mention
the expense. Who’d bother? Or perhaps a better question is, why bother?’

‘That is
absolutely
the million dollar question,’ Greg cut in, ‘and until we know the answer,
there’s not a hope in hell of solving this mystery.’

 
‘Sir,’ Carlos looked directly at Bob,
‘Greg and I have talked round and round for hours trying to grasp a better
understanding of what’s going on. But we can’t find a single clue anywhere to
help us…’

‘… so,’ Greg continued,
‘we have a plan that we – and when I say “we” I mean the UN – wants
to action. I’m raising this with you now, because I’d like you to give it your
public commitment and support.’

‘And what’s this plan,
Greg?’

‘To carry out Zul’s
recommendation…’ Greg held up his hands. ‘Wait a moment Bob, let me finish…
recommendation to promote to everyone on this planet the benefits of following
a regular meditation practice and to facilitate as many people as possible in
learning how to do so.’

‘Goddamit, man,’ Bob
exploded, ‘you think I’d support that?’

‘What’s your objection?’

‘I… it’s… well… it’s
blasphemy for a start.’

‘With due respect, I
disagree. When couched in the correct terms it will appeal to all religions,
races and nations.’

‘You’ve gotta be kidding
me. Meditation? It’s something that’s not tolerated in
my
church.’

‘We can equally well
call it prayer if you prefer. I assume your church tolerates that?’

‘It’s not the same thing
at all.’

‘Again, with respect, I
disagree. The pattern of brainwaves manifested by an individual who has entered
a meditational state, the alpha state as it’s commonly called, is identical to
that manifested by an individual in deep prayer. The difference is only in the
nomenclature of the activity, not in the physiological state achieved.’

‘Sir,’ Anita said to
Bob, ‘I think the Secretary-General has hit on something.’ Everybody turned to
stare at the tiny woman who, up to that point, hadn’t uttered a word.

‘What d’ya mean?’ Bob
asked.

‘The situation with
Russia and Europe? Who wants that to deteriorate? Imagine a third world war?
And if the swine flu hits us again this year? What we need right now is
something to soothe us, to unite us. And a prayer or meditation campaign may be
just the thing.’

Bob shook his head.
‘Anita, what
are
you talking about?’

‘Why not support it?’
Greg said. ‘Zul’s message is about individual self-improvement. Isn’t that
something we should encourage throughout the world?’

‘Self-improvement or
self-empowerment?’ Bob spat back, ‘because the latter’s downright dangerous.’

‘You think it’s
dangerous for people to take responsibility for their own actions?’ Greg
retorted.

Bob looked around.
‘Someone tell me… what’s the point of this discussion?’

‘The point,’ Greg
answered, ‘is that regardless of whether Zul’s a man or an entity of higher
consciousness, it can do no harm and in fact will do much good. Service to
others? What a magnificent concept. Carlos and I have done extensive research.
We’ve corroborated Zul’s claims regarding meditation. It
does
make a
difference. In fact, it’s well documented. So why not make a global push to get
this message out to the world?’

‘We don’t have to…’
Carlos added, ‘no… wait… we don’t
want
to make public any information
about the evolutionary shift. We don’t want to tell anyone anything about Zul’s
contact: about the e-mails or the holovideos.’ He leaned towards Bob, his arms
outstretched. ‘What we want is to introduce the concept of service to others
through meditation to all the different cultures and religions in the world.’

‘What exactly
is
your objection?’ Greg asked.

Bob glowered at him.

Barbara leaned forward.
‘It really isn’t such a bad idea, sir.’

‘It’s something we
should have done years ago,’ Greg said.

‘What’s wrong with
everyone on the planet striving towards becoming better individuals? It will
create clearer understanding and it’ll reduce conflict,’ Carlos added.

‘Why are you all getting
so carried away?’ Bob looked to the side. ‘James, back me up here.’

‘Carlos is right,’ Greg
cut in. ‘Just look at the mess Europe’s in. Look at the sources of conflict all
round the world. Don’t you see? This will help.’

‘I think you’re all
being very naïve,’ Bob said raising his voice. ‘There’s no proof…’

‘Oh yes there is,’ Greg
boomed back, nodding his big head up and down. ‘An exponential effect is
created by a group of meditators that is greater than the sum of individuals
meditating. Such a powerful coherence is broadcast that it percolates
throughout society, producing measurable positive results like reduced violence
and better health. It creates a peaceful, healthy environment that can
transform society practically overnight. Believe me. There is proof.’

‘Even if there is, why
should I back this initiative?’

‘Because,’ Greg said,
‘when we take a look back through history, we see that mankind’s typical tactic
of employing force and shock and awe to try and resolve conflicts categorically
does not work.’

‘I wouldn’t go that
far…’ the General muttered.

‘So what do we have to
lose?’ Greg continued. ‘The United Nations is going ahead with this campaign,
regardless of whether you give your support or not.’ Bob opened his mouth but
Greg raised his shaggy brows and lifted a finger to silence him, ‘and your
population of three hundred million people may be more than a little upset if
they’re not given the opportunity to be part of it.’

‘Sir,’ Carlos said,
‘whether you personally believe in it or not, it can’t harm you or your nation.
It can only benefit all.’

‘Mr President,’ Anita
said. ‘I agree this is a worthwhile initiative that can have positive results
all over the planet. My recommendation is that we support it.’

‘Who’s gonna finance it?
Huh? Rolling this out isn’t gonna be cheap,’ Bob said, latching onto another
objection.

But Greg was prepared
for that question. ‘Authorise settlement of just one fortieth of your nation’s
debt to the UN, the amount you already had budget approval to pay in December
last year, and we’ll pledge it to fund the initiative.’

CHAPTER 6

‘Wine, Carlos?’

‘
Sí
. We must
celebrate.’

‘You’re damn right we
must,’ Greg nodded. ‘That meeting couldn’t have gone any better,’ and he
extracted half-moon reading spectacles from his jacket pocket to peruse the
wine list. ‘I especially got a kick out of being in charge on the alien front,’
and he peered over them at Carlos. It was like looking into the face of a
mischievous schoolboy rather than the elder statesman and leader of the UN,
Carlos thought.

‘You did a fantastic
job,’ he said leaning forward, ‘and did you see how Bob was just waiting for me
to jump in and take over talking about Zul?’

After the meeting,
Carlos and Greg had decided to celebrate at Busboys and Poets on Fifth and K,
after which they both had to head to the airport: Greg for a flight to New York
and Carlos to return to Vienna. When Carlos mentioned he’d promised to meet
Joseph for lunch, Greg suggested they invite him along too.