Hunters: A Trilogy (21 page)

George paused, and Ken saw an expression of deep sorrow cross his wrinkled face. With a wry smile, the old man continued, saying: ‘He was the wisest and most experienced of our Team, he was old and extremely persuasive and he volunteered to stay because he strongly believed that we would be able to change their attitudes, he genuinely did believe that. Jonathon was also my best friend!’

The bitterness seeped into George’s voice as he walked them through the final chapters of his torrid tale. Jonathon and the inside man, Wilson, had made a great team. They became close friends and presented a united front to the Hyenas, a united front that was unassailable by even by the most stubborn of rivals. It had no leaks and was irrefutable. The two men showed the Earthlings that if what the oil-mongers were doing did not stop, then within fifteen years, the point of balance – the tipping point – would be passed, and with it the demise of Earth’s civilisation would become unstoppable. It would self-perpetuate and the end would be inevitable for them all.

George said, ‘We told them that there was to be no way in which we would let them destroy the planet and all it provided for so many, just so that a few people were able to wield all the power! We have not come this far to have a thing of such beauty destroyed – we told them that we would rather wipe the slate clean and begin again.’

Ken, not liking the sound of that phrase one bit, asked: ‘What do you mean by that, what does ‘
wipe the slate clean’
mean?’ Although he had a terrible feeling that he already knew exactly what the old man had meant, Ken just needed to hear George admit it. He wasn’t to be disappointed.

Without hesitating, George replied, saying, ‘We showed them a small storm, gave them a little demonstration of what we would do if they did not allow us help them in their advancement.’ The old man looked intently at them as he told of the terrible wrath that had been wreaked upon a land where the people with narrow eyes lived. The biggest population on the planet had been turned to sand, the nutrient-rich green dust of their very own bodies. He said, ‘In seconds, the face of that continent was wiped clean of all human life-forms. All of their weaponry and oil-producing equipment were destroyed, everything was turned to sand! The sight of that one event alone made the Hyenas sit up and take note, oh yes, indeed it did!’

Ken reckoned that George had just made the understatement of the millennium. His posture and prose were that of a demented Sherlock Holmes, one who was about to expose the identity of the unknown murderer to his fawning audience. The old man then shockingly revealed that by using the word ‘showed’ he’d meant exactly that – the storm had actually been another one of those sickening slide-show presentations, only this time it had been made to the horrified on-looking audience in the SD House.

The watching group, the representatives of the Hyenas, upon seeing billions of people dissolving into nothingness before their own, very round eyes, had immediately capitulated. They believed the scene to have been real and that all those people were actually being wiped out in front of them. When they were told it had been merely a demonstration, the revelation had done nothing to take away their sudden glimpse of reality. The terrible show of strength had miraculously removed their rose-tinted spectacles – Jonathon’s people were not joking, anything but.

‘What did they say,’ Ken asked, ‘when you showed them your abilities?’

George, choking back his anger, said, ‘Can you believe that they asked us to prove we had the technology? They asked us to prove it to them,
them
!’ His face took on a terrible expression, one of fury and total disbelief.

‘And like fools we obliged,’ he whispered. ‘Why we did that, I have no idea! We were such stupid, stupid fools!’ With a wave of the hand, he beckoned the huge monitor from the ceiling above them again. ‘Come and watch,’ he said, turning back to the screen. ‘Come and observe what they did…’

Transfixed, the men gazed at the screen, letting it take them to the place where, according to George, everything had begun to unravel.

The group of leaders and Hyenas sat gathered in petrified silence as Jonathon and Mr Wilson finished their explanation of the show. The silence was deafening and a sombre mood befell the room, almost physically crushing in its heaviness. It, along with the dusty, dirty smell from the air outside, which when coupled with the heavy feral atmosphere of the fear inside, seemed to invade every corner of the ancient building. They sweated, mentally and physically.

Jonathon interjected. ‘Let us take a small break, gentlemen,’ he said. ‘You can confer amongst yourselves and then let us know how you wish to proceed…’ With that he and Mr Wilson turned, walked out of the room and left the stunned audience to their own devices for a while.

The leaders gathered together and argued vehemently amongst themselves for a long time. Small groups broke away and stood in corners, whispering and gesticulating wildly to each other. The airwaves soon became jammed with telephone calls and it wasn’t too long before chaos began to reign. Voices were raised and fists were shaken, in no time the entire scene began to resemble the madness of a crash at the London Stock Exchange. But, with the memories of the storm still fresh in their minds, the group eventually, after some three hours, nominated a representative to work with Jonathon and the Greater Worlds. Work with them and do whatever was needed to avoid the horrendous consequences which they had so recently witnessed.

Jonathon and Mr Wilson returned to the room and were greeted by the news that a compromise had been reached, an agreement ensuring that everything they required the Earthlings to do would be implemented as soon as possible – the hydrogen development programme was to be given the utmost worldwide priority. It was decided that the project would take place in total secrecy – only the world leaders and their people would be fully aware of the development of such a plan. Then, once they were all ready to initiate the technology, the news of its existence would be released to the masses. Within ten years the whole planet would be able to benefit from the advances.

Power for all mankind and plenty of it, for almost nothing…

KAF was an ideal place for their meetings with George’s people; any strange comings-and-goings would easily be disguised under the heavy veil of secrecy already surrounding a war zone. The humans’ representative was to be Mr Wilson, a man who already knew so much, but he would also be accompanied by another man, one whom Jonathon had only ever seen in the shadows. This man’s job would be to oversee their work and keep his masters informed on the progression of the project. George’s people knew that it was likely the man had been sent to keep an eye on them, but they didn’t care – they had nothing to hide. Together, the two men would stay hidden in the depths of the SD House and oversee the development of the technology. As far as Jonathon was concerned, the more people who came to help, the better it would be. Without hesitation, he welcomed their new addition with open arms.

The huge man stepped forward, introducing himself as Dwayne Tolder. As he extended his large hand, the man said that he mostly used a nickname.

‘Most o’ my friends call me by the name o’ Red…’ he announced, with a grin.

Jonathon’s hand disappeared into the man’s enormous paw, Red smiled down at him and also nodded pleasantly at Wilson. Then, after a few more words with his own people, turned on his heel and accompanied both Jonathon and Mr Wilson back to their office. Once there, they explained how, in the early stages, the Earth would be provided with an alternative power source whilst the development of the hydrogen programme was completed. Jonathon showed Red the basic design parameters and explained that, with some modifications, the material would be able to replace all fossil and nuclear fuels that Red’s kind were currently using.

‘It’s only a temporary solution,’ he said. ‘This material is extremely difficult to produce and also massively expensive, but we are willing to provide enough to see you through for the next few years whilst we help you in the design of the final hydrogen product.’ Red nodded in vigorous agreement.

Time flew by and over the next two years, the big man became very popular with Jonathon. Red was extremely friendly and bombarded them with requests for information and help. ‘Between us we can get this here job done, I reckon. I just need to know ever’thang so’s I can get my bosses to get their goddamned butts in gear!’ he would say, with a disarming smile that so easily won the older men’s trust.

Jonathon was unable to stop himself from helping with all of the big man’s requests. Looking up at Red with an ingratiating smile, he began to offer any and all of his considerable knowledge to their protégé. ‘We will give you anything you need, we will pour in as many resources as required to get this programme running. We must get your planet off its addiction to fossils fuels, because we have, at the most, fifteen years to complete our work!’ Jonathon said, as he looked at Red sincerely.

Red nodded in agreement and from then on he became very willing, endearing himself so much to the old Guide that Jonathon soon struck up a good relationship with the huge, red-haired man. He and Mr Wilson became very happy with their ponytailed compatriot’s willingness to learn, and his ever-inquisitive, friendly manner. Such was Red’s positive attitude that Jonathon even showed him one of the prototype energy packs for the first of Earth’s new power plants. He explained in some detail about how it worked and the immense forces that had been contained within its rounded flanks. Although it looked no larger than a bowling ball, the silver sphere contained a single lump of a material, a substance so highly developed and so immensely powerful that it was equivalent to several thousand megatonnes of man’s own high-explosives. Red was amazed and he begged the older man to expand upon his explanation.

Jonathon willingly obliged the big man’s request. ‘This material will provide all the power your planet will need over the next decade or so, its use will provide an intermediate solution whilst the final hydrogen fuel-cell design is perfected, tested and then put into place around the world.’ Opening the steel ball, he let Red gaze at the energy-giving substance within.

As they stared at the device, Jonathon proudly announced: ‘Amongst those of us who know, this awesome material has been fondly named as the ‘Light Maker’, it is a very apt name, as should it ever be ignited outside of a properly modified generator, then the fire it releases will be many times brighter than the surface of your little sun!’ He turned to Red with a smile on his face, saying: ‘It is indeed a powerful substance and one that will help your people to advance tremendously – in a few decades you will be travelling the stars, of that I promise you, Red!’

The green light shining from within the inside of the sphere reflected in Red’s staring eyes. ‘I like that name, ‘Light Maker’, huh?’ he said. ‘Yeah, it sounds like a mighty fine name to me!’ Red grinned at the two older men and peered into the sphere’s interior once more. ‘Jeesh, it’s so small ain’t it, it looks like a pebble or something,’ he said, as his face cracked into a huge, crooked smile.

Jonathon nodded, replying with: ‘Yes, indeed – it is strange how something so innocuous can be so powerful, isn’t it? And, strangely enough, it has previously been referred to as
The
Stone
…’ He looked up from the device to give Red another proud look.

Red peered into the steel ball one more time, and then stepped back to allow Jonathon the space in which to gently close the lid. ‘Yeah, that’s a pretty cool idea,’ he said. ‘And an even cooler name, show me more, my man, show me more!’ Red’s eyes shone with glee. And so they did show him, showed him much more than perhaps they should have...

After a while, Jonathon reminded him that the device was only here for a short while, merely to show the world’s leaders that the project was progressing according to plan, and that they, Jonathon’s people, were as good as their word. Once a demonstration had been provided then the Light Maker would be returned to its rightful owners. However, such was his innocent enthusiasm for their thus far successful partnership that Jonathon failed to notice the ogre’s eyes as they lit up with that piece of news.

As they progressed with their plans, Red became more and more interested in the Stone, but he was also very astute with his other work, too. His was a near-perfect camouflage and he constantly showed Jonathon reports from his superiors giving daily updates on how things were progressing with the forthcoming switch from fossil fuels to water. Mr Wilson also had many dealings with Red, and often the giant would bring him a bottle of whiskey in thanks for his help.

Red also sat with Jonathon and watched as the old man sent his monthly report. ‘All is progressing as per the agreed plan. In fact, I believe this location is ahead of schedule, the two representatives have completed all that we have asked of them and there is a huge change of attitude here on Earth. I believe we may have the best solution within our grasp. I can see the end product and it fills me with joy!’

What he didn’t see was the trail of dust that flew from under the wheels of Red’s pickup as he headed into the desert west of the airbase. He went to and fro several times, and although Ken was unable to see exactly where he went, it still chilled him to the core. As he turned away from the screen, he felt himself surface once more, almost as though he was lifting his face from a pool of water.

George’s dulcet tones bought him back to the red couch. ‘So, now you know, gentlemen – what do you think we should have done next?’ the old man asked.

Ken addressed some simple questions of his own to the tired-looking old man. ‘Where is the device now, George? Does he have it, Red? Did you give it to him?’ Feeling Mike’s eyes boring into him, Ken turned and gave a reply to the silent question his friend had sent him. ‘I had a dream last night, I saw Red there,’ Ken said. ‘I was running after him and he wouldn’t stop, there was this stuff floating around his…’ Rotating back to George, he said, ‘He has it, hasn’t he, he had it in the first dream as well, didn’t he? Red has that stone thing, doesn’t he?’ They were most definitely a set of rhetorical questions, but Ken felt better for letting the words out, words that had been knocking loudly on the inside of his teeth for about the last ten minutes.