Ascension: Invocation (16 page)

"Yes. I suppose it could be said this way. The Second Revelation of Initiative is, if you’ll forgive me, vague. It’s quite beautiful, though. You wrote of being visited by ascended spirits who speak in secret. You next assembled an army of awakened souls and broke away from the Humans."

"So, that's good, right?"

"Very much. You established a new home, on a new world and honored it as Lucifer. Your rebel world co-existed in harmony with the other galactic bodies. These other, more ascended worlds embraced your Lucifer as a great protector against the Human aggression."

"No shit?"

"Yes. After all, the souls in your service knew death as well and inflicted it readily against the Human allies. Under your reign, Lucifer defended worlds incapable of halting the Humans alone. This lasted for one generation. This is not much time."

"Oh."

"The Humans grew weary of Lucifer’s armies depleting their own. While we were once a nuisance we had now become a threat. The Humans launched a war of annihilation against our Lucifer, one which we were sure to lose."

"We were outnumbered?"

"Greatly, yes."

"Well, why didn't some of these other species step up and do something to help me? What the fuck?"

"Many feared further retribution from the Human aggression."

"Well, I won't make that mistake again. Screw those guys."

“Indeed, this is a crude rendering of your feelings at that time.”

“I mean, I defend the shit out of them and then when I’m in trouble, they just say ‘well, good luck, bitch’?”

"Indeed. However, I believe you will feel differently when you witness the glorious worlds defended in Lucifer's name. What has made you such a benevolent Queen is your compassion and awe for beauty presently beyond your comprehension. Bear in mind, the souls you defended truly had little to offer that might counter death itself. The savior will show you the way."

"My boyfriend is some kind of hippie?"

"Of course, this I do not know."

"What happened next?"

"The Grand Revelation. Upon receiving it, you accepted a Human accord for peace. In exchange for the return of the original souls of Lucifer, you were to cease the defense of those who opposed the Human ascension. Lucifer would effectively step aside and allow the Humans to rise and know God."

"Wait. I thought that was bad. Why would I do that?"

"This is one of our great unanswered questions, My Queen. It has led us here today. For the Humans betrayed you. You received their ambassadors and were met with death yourself."

"Those fuckers killed me?"

"Sadly, yes." Sariana then instinctively bowed her head in reverence and gently ran her fingers down her face, symbolizing tears. She next placed her hands on opposite shoulders and ran them across her chest, symbolizing what, Alicia had no idea. "The honoring of your vessel has not yet been eclipsed in the entire omniverse."

"So, the funeral was... like... Princess Di big?"

"Who?"

"Wow."

"I was born shortly before your death," Sariana said and, once again, did the gestures, albeit faster this time. "My father, your son, was successor, of course. Per your instructions, he read the Grand Revelation and began my preparations for this, my destiny. He also vowed to avenge your death..."

"Right on..."

"But this has not fared well."

"Oh."

"The most righteous King Xander..."

"Wait a minute."

"Yes, my Queen?"

"Does he make you call him that?"

"What?"

"Most Righteous. I mean, that's weird, right? My son shouldn't be making his daughter call him that."

"It's a term of endearment; testament to his royalty. He didn't really make it up..."

"Okay. Just making sure. So... you're okay with it?"

"Yes. Of course."

"Okay. Sorry. Go ahead."

"The King - my father, your son - in response to your assassination, assured the Humans that he would share the secret of death with the omniverse. To say the least, the Humans have not taken well to this threat."

“Yeah. That was kind of a ballzy move. I guess he was just distraught, huh?”

“Perhaps but this is our fate. The Humans will likely destroy us all. I crossed over as our world was under siege."

"That thing that followed you here... that was an invading, what did you call it?"

"Triclopod. Yes. They have invaded Lucifer and are assisting in the capture of souls."

"Jesus, you're making my head hurt."

"This will make more sense to you when you ascend."

A knock came on the hotel door. Alicia stood up to answer it, and the Scotch hit her hard. "Shit. I'm drunk." She looked through the peephole. It was Brady with her iPad. She opened the door. "Brady! Come in!"

"Hi, oh," he stammered, averting his eyes. "I'm sorry. Ali, you're not dressed."

"What? I'm dressed. I'm wearing a robe."

"I can see your tit, Ali."

"Huh?" Alicia looked down and noticed that her right breast wasn't covered. She covered herself and began laughing. "Free peep show! News at eleven." She walked back to the desk and sat down. Brady entered the room and placed the iPad on the dresser.

"Thanks for letting me use the computer," he said.

"Of course. When are you flying out?"

"In the morning. I should be back in a few days. Hello, there," Brady said to Sariana.

"Your hearing is back," Sariana noted.

"Oh, yeah! You can hear!" Alicia laughed. "I'm sorry. I forgot."

"Are you drunk? Wait, is she drinking too?" Brady asked, referring to Sariana's glass of Scotch.

"Can I tell him?" Alicia asked Sariana.

"If you wish."

"It's cool, Brady," Alicia slurred. "She's my grand-baby, and as her grandma, I say it's cool if she drinks. Oh! Have you heard? I'm the motherfucking Queen of the Third Reich!"

"Third Order," Sariana corrected.

"Right. The Third Order. Thank you. I keep getting that wrong." Alicia made devil horns with her hands and raised them high. “Fucking Lucifer!!” she laughed. “All right! High five, baby girl!” Sariana smiled and gave her a weak slap on her hand.

"Yeah," Brady said. "I saw that. Sariana, shouldn't you be at home?"

"She can't go home," Alicia answered for her. "She has no home to go to. She's homeless."

"Oh. Did you try to find her parents?"

"You have no idea. Turns out, her parents are still in my ovaries. Well, one of them is. That would be gross if it was both. Your parents aren't brother and sister are they?"

"Well... no," the girl giggled. “It’s... complicated.”

"So, no. Just the one. That's weird. Your parents aren't even born yet. That's a trip. My space warrior husband better show the fuck up and make me a baby. We gotta make your ass exist! 'Cause I like you. No, no. I love you. You're my grand-daughter. Oh! You wanted chocolate. I'd be a shitty grandma if I didn't get you a Snickers." Alicia got up and began rummaging in her purse for change. "Did you see a vending machine, Brady?"

"Yeah, it's down the hall. I'll walk with you. It was good to see you again, Sariana."

"It's good to see you too. I'm very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you."

Brady and Alicia stepped into the hall and the door shut behind them. Alicia started to make her way down the hallway, but Brady grabbed her by the arm. "Wait a minute, wait a minute, Ms. Lush. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm just... a little drunk."

"Don't you think it's weird that this girl is staying with you?"

"You don't know the half of it, Brady"

"So, what's the real story here?

Even in her stupor, Alicia knew better than to try to explain the whole sordid affair to Brady, or to anyone, for the moment. She couldn’t even wrap her head around it all. No one was going to buy this without a proper, well executed explanation. For the moment, by her own design, Sariana’s credibility was questionable at best. So, she lied.

"Well, the best anyone can figure out is that her parents must have died or disappeared on their way here. Clearly, she's distraught. I mean, you heard her in the report-”

"Yeah."

"But she's harmless. She's actually a sweet girl. You were right. She just has a big imagination."

"I still don't think you should be giving her alcohol."

"I'm also giving her chocolate!" Alicia said as she made her way to the vending machine. "The cops can't do anything with her, the hospitals won't take her. I can't just leave her on the street. Some weird, old dude tried to accost her outside the studio."

"What?"

"Yep. I had to clock his ass." Alicia inserted her money in the machine and selected a candy bar.

"What are you going to do with her tomorrow?"

"Well, Brady, I haven't figured that part out yet, but you don't worry about it," she said, poking him in the chest. "You need to get home and take care of your wife. I'll worry about the crazy chick."

"You know, I still can't get the image of that thing out of my head," Brady said, changing the subject. "That wasn't just a big bug, Ali. That was fucked up. Was it chasing her?"

"Yes, it was."

"Jesus Christ. What the hell was it?"

"I'm still trying to get that out of her," she said and began walking back to her room.

"Call me when you find out, okay?"

"I will. I promise."

"And take care of yourself, Ali. I worry about you, ya know?"

"Do not worry about the Queen! Go and enjoy the hotel porn!" she said as she knocked upon her door. She quickly remembered Sariana’s diagnosis. "Wait. Maybe that's not such a good idea."

"I'll see you in a few days, kid."

Sariana opened the door. "I bring chocolate!!" Alicia said as she entered the room, waved goodbye to Brady and the door closed.

CHAPTER FOUR

World War Three
certainly didn't begin the way anyone had imagined it might. Almost immediately following the invocation, the media fell into frenzy. Pundits were quickly split, and campaigns began on both sides regarding the elemental rain. While one camp encouraged all of the world's citizens to accept the rain or surely perish, the other warned that the coming storm was merely a trick by an alien civilization. It was equivalent to the Nazi gas-chambers, they imagined. It was an easy extermination of all life on our planet in order to make way for a coming invasion. They encouraged everyone to remain inside.

"I beg you, America, I beg you. Wake up and realize that a great and powerful evil is on our doorstep. Great and powerful evil is here," railed one host.

Another blamed the U.S. government. "Why am I the only one that seems to see what's happening here? I told you months ago that these bloodsucking vampires from the current administration were not going to be satisfied with just sucking the blood out of American business. Their thirst for power and control is unquenchable. So unquenchable that they have concocted this ridiculous scenario wherein aliens arrive to put us all to sleep. Mark my words; they will not stop until you are subdued. Stay dry, America. There's only two ways for this movie to end: Either we become the walking dead, or you drive a stake through the heart of the bloodsuckers."

Later, inside the radio station, the world's foremost minds gathered to discuss the new development. "The Air Force was dispatched to gather samples of the crystals or droplets found inside the forming cloud," the General said. "You will all have access to these samples. Our initial findings, however, are that the samples do not contain any elements that we are familiar with. While they do not appear to be harmful to humans, we do not know the effects of long-term exposure." He paused and placed his clipboard on the conference table. His tone now changed. Milan saw the facade of a hardened military man fade for a moment. He addressed the table in a quieter voice.

"If any of you would like to leave here to be with your families, we will understand. I don't think that we can say conclusively what the effects of this rain will be. Our official position, however, will be to advise the world's citizens to heed the call and allow exposure."

A voice came from the doorway. "I think they're thinning the herd.” It was Graham. He looked somber and exhausted. "I think they know exactly what's going to happen. They know us too well. I don't know how but they do."

Milan felt this was true as well. It was almost as if a game of trust was being played. Those who trusted the voice would survive. All others would fall away.

"Do you have any sense of what their end-game might be?" the General asked Graham, who was today equally regarded among the assembled intellectuals and military minds.

"I really don't know any more than you do," said Graham.

Milan was curious. "Why do you think they chose you specifically to speak to?"

"The best I can figure is that it's more about the frequency and this town than it is me."

"But they addressed you by name. They said they were looking forward to your return. Perhaps you have had a presence on their plane of existence," Milan proposed.

"I'm pretty sure that I've never been off this planet."

"I believe we need to change our perception of what these beings might be," Milan contended. "They're not spacemen, and I don't believe that they are interstellar travelers. I believe that they must exist in another dimension. The many worlds interpretation indicates that we might exist on several planes of existence. It suggests that there is a very large, perhaps infinite, number of universes, and everything that could possibly have happened in our past, but didn't, has occurred in the past of some other universe or universes. For example, for every choice you make there is the outcome of your decision. You live in this reality. Alternately, however, the reality that would have been created should you have made a different decision may still exist as well in another dimension or universe."

"So, the me that did not become a raging alcoholic and shit away his career exists somewhere in another dimension?" Graham asked.

"Right," said Milan. "In fact, in another dimension or universe you may not even be a radio personality. In another, you might be female. In their dimension, you are an important person. You play some sort of vital role, it would seem. The question then becomes why did you cease to exist in their universe? Why are they making contact with you here?"

"Wait a minute," the General interrupted. "So, this whole thing is about him?"

"Not necessarily," said Milan. "For the moment, however, it's all we have to go on."

Charles had been pondering Milan's suggestion and finally shook his head. "Milan, with all due respect, Everett himself was not entirely clear as to what he believed; whether he actually meant that these other worlds actually exist. You know that. We're speculating on pure theory here. Take Hawking, for example."

"I understand," said Milan. "For the rest of the room, Hawking said that the many worlds interpretation only works if quantum theory applies to all reality. Of course, we have no way of really knowing this. At least not until now. I would propose that we're on the verge of finding out."

"What does this elemental rain have to do with anything?" asked the General.

"I think Mr. Barry is correct," Milan said. "I think its only purpose is to separate those who trust these beings from those who do not."

"But why?"

"Because they don't want those who do not," offered Charles and the room fell quiet.

The morose possibility that these beings were picking and choosing among mankind appeared to finally sink in to the assembled group. The General broke the silence. "So, they only want us to believe that this rain is some sort of necessity to facilitate their arrival. It does nothing."

"I think that's a distinct possibility," said Milan. "Somehow, it seems that they plan to join our dimensions as one and they only want those who are willing to accept this new reality."

"If they wanted to wipe us out, it would seem that they would have more effective ways of doing it," Charles offered. "I think you're right. This is about some sort of choice."

A theologian finally said what the entire room had been thinking. "You do realize that what you're referring to is the rapture?"

"Yes, ma'am. That is correct" said Milan. "From a Christian point of view, what we're looking at is an end of days scenario. At least, this is how it will surely be interpreted by the world's religions."

"So, wait a minute. I've been talking to Jesus Christ?" asked Graham.

"A colleague of mine suggested that you've been talking to God," said Milan, recalling Dr. Pembrooke's comments earlier that day.

"Holy shit."

"But, again, I don't think that we can bring our preconceived notions of science or religion into this discussion. This might have been prophesied but understand that the Bible and all religious texts, for that matter, utilize a range of symbolism to deliver their message. We can't really call this voice 'God' any more than we can assume that these are 'aliens'."

"But the bottom line is, if we don't stand in the rain, we'll die?" asked the General.

"The voice said many times that there is no death," Graham said.

"I think that they obviously know more about the nature of existence than we do," said Milan. "Perhaps when we leave our physical bodies there is an afterlife as many religions have taught. That may be what they are referring to. I do think, however, that you are correct, General, in that those who do not take in the new elements will perish from our perspective."

While the discussion in the conference room continued, world leaders began consulting with their respective cabinets. The yellow cloud continued to slowly drift across the sky and emerged from the black tear like smoke from a factory. The hum rattled on and the world's citizens gathered with their families, awaiting the advice of someone, anyone.

The round table in Tuscumbia made their official recommendation to all world leaders nearly an hour later. Citizens should allow the new elements to be absorbed by their bodies. Every man, woman, child and beloved pet should be prepared to stand in the rain when the disembodied voice gave the word. The American President took to the media first via the Emergency Alert System.

"My fellow Americans, what has happened today is nothing short of extraordinary. We stand on the precipice of making face to face contact with another life-form. What this life-form is, we do not know. Still, we are a peace-loving people and we anticipate only reciprocation in this regard. We have gathered together some of the world's best minds. Scientists, theologians, scholars from all walks of life. I, and all other world leaders, have asked for their best recommendation. While no one can say with exact certainty what will occur when the so-called elemental rain falls, we are recommending to the American people that they act as requested and stand in this rain."

With this, numerous other world leaders followed suit. England, France, Germany, Japan and Australia all concurred. The Vatican was eerily silent on the issue at first but finally recommended that its followers embrace the rain. They stopped short, however, of referring to this event as the rapture as Milan had anticipated. As more nations came on board in support, there were also detractors. Russia and most countries in the Middle East recommended against their citizens taking in the elemental rain. It was China, however, that tipped the scales.

That evening, China announced that its own teams of scientists were quite certain that the elemental rain was not only harmful but, furthermore, they were confident that they possessed the technology to eliminate the yellow cloud and they intended to utilize this knowledge to save their citizens. This, of course, led to widespread outrage. World leaders worried that if the cloud were eliminated in China, it might also dissipate worldwide. The more immediate problem, however, was the sudden, panicked migration of pro-rain citizens leaving their home countries for more "cloud-friendly" environments.

As the tensions escalated, there was no word from the voice. The yellow cloud continued to rise from the tear and by the next morning, it had engulfed most of North America. Perhaps most bizarre was how life continued on the planet. The majority of the population went to work the next morning, albeit in a haze of uncertainty. Throughout the world, offices and factories functioned, seemingly forgetting that their entire existence could very well hang in the balance. Of course, there was looting and law enforcement continued to erode but the fact that human society functioned at all was nothing less than astonishing.

Websites and Facebook groups were created by the thousands, featuring both pro- and anti-cloud sentiments. The news media continued its swing into twenty-four hour cloud coverage. Commercialism also reigned supreme as products were developed overnight to cash in on the elemental rain. One could purchase food supplies with assurances of decades of survival should you wish to avoid the rain. Conversely, if you were to embrace the rain, you would be ill-advised to do so without an elemental rain sponge and rubber duck or a McDonald’s commemorative glass, available free with purchase of a Value Meal.

Somehow it was assumed that the voice had indicated that all humans must stand in the elemental rain nude. The news media featured drawings of men and women in a rainstorm with their genitals eclipsed by black boxes. Given the seeming inevitability of standing naked in front of all mankind, sales of pubic hair trimmers and emergency weight loss products skyrocketed. In some countries, this misconception alone was enough for some to conclude that they would not be participating in the rain. The late night talk shows had a field day and porn websites depicted their subjects in desperate, last minute, end of the world fucks as the rain fell upon them.

Graham wondered what the voice must be thinking. He had been allowed to leave the radio station with military supervision to return home to his family. He flipped through the channels that afternoon following some much needed sleep and watched in a stupor the frantic capitalization. He held his girlfriend Kelly and her five year old daughter, Haley, close.

Haley wasn't Graham's biological daughter but he was the only father she had ever really known. Kelly's husband, Mark, had been killed in Iraq when she was barely a year old. The only memories she had of Mark were the smiling photos of him that hung upon her bedroom wall. Graham met Kelly two years after Mark's death and moved in with her shortly afterward. It was a bit awkward at first because it was really Mark and Kelly's house. For a time, Graham felt as if he were an actor replacing a popular character on a television drama series. He was Rickey Schroeder replacing Jimmy Smits on NYPD Blue. In time, though, he felt more comfortable. Kelly and Haley had welcomed him with open arms.

Kelly was significantly younger than Graham. He was 40 and she was 29. This was initially met with some ridicule from his ex-wife Stephanie, who shared his age. Graham and Stephanie had a daughter of their own, Riley, who was now 18 and graduating high school this year. They divorced when Riley was five and Stephanie remarried a very successful oral surgeon a few years later. Riley lived with her mother in Florida. She used to spend the summers with Graham but she was getting a bit too old for that now. It was probably for the best. Graham's meager salary as DJ couldn’t provide the lifestyle she had grown accustomed to in Miami. Riley loved her father but hated Alabama. For Graham, Haley represented a second opportunity to be a father.