Society Rules (6 page)

Indie watched this exchange feeling strangely detached . . . as if this was taking place on a movie screen, where she was not a participant of any kind. It was probably the only way she could remain in place, listening to this bizaar tale.

She also noted the overly formal way of speaking that the other two had slipped into; the words sounding as though there was some sort of textbook being read. And the feeling that a chain of command had been established; the older woman a General, to Jackson’s Sergeant. Maggie definitely held the higher office, Indie was somehow sure.

Her attention was jerked back by Miss Maggie’s hoarse voice, wearily continuing her long and for some reason, frightening story, the dying woman picking up once more, exactly where she’d left off.

“As Cortez destroyed the Aztecs,” she wheezed, “all libraries were burned, gold melted, records lost forever, people forgot. Think of it, Indie. Archeologists have unearthed many great cities, their citizens seemingly vanished. Most of what they find are things made of very hard stone, metal and other impermeable materials. Things most likely to survive wars using advanced technology to destroy and kill. Things that can withstand even cosmic catastrophes, such as when the comet Marduk slammed into Mars sixty-five million years ago, causing large chunks of the planet to break off, and hit the Earth, instigating mass extinction.”

Indie drew in her breath as she considered this. Could this really have happened? There was a feeling of suddenly becoming privy to a deeply guarded secret about the history of the world, and it fed her anxiety as she continued to listen, while at the same time, thinking frantically.

“And so, the Society began its efforts once again,” Maggie spoke more sharply, as if to regain Indie’s focus. “At the direction of the Creator, they will never give up on making this grand experiment a success until mankind truly destroys the Earth or the end of time descends.”

Indie’s eyes shifted back to Jackson, who had been utterly silent, and seemed, impossible as it was, familiar with the history lesson. His eyes blazed back at her. She looked away and the lesson continued.

“The early Society Members, who were visitors to this place, began leaving behind some of their own, by direct order, instructing them to assimilate into humankind in every way. They were to embark on missions with several goals in mind. Most are here only to teach, to learn, and to monitor the energy flowing from this planet, and the sun’s response; this being key to the survival of the planet. There are those, however, who are employed in a more active role; a hands-on kind of guardianship, defending against elements either unnatural, or harmful to the destiny of the plan.

They were also to try to protect people from themselves, yet without true interference, to try to rebuild the great Society that was planned for them all along, but has been destroyed repeatedly by greed, apathy, the quest by the few for power, all marks of the Fallen. What the Population does not understand, is that this world has been restarted and reset hundreds of times over. Where negativity brings destruction, the Society brings resurrection.

Ms Maggie stopped suddenly, and looked up at Indie. “Is this difficult for you to comprehend? I realize that I am all over the map in time, and geographical locations, but I am trying to fit a very long history into my very limited time frame. I want you to see how many things Society Members have affected throughout the history of the world.”

“Not really”, Indie spoke slowly. “I don’t understand the reason behind this episode of Mysteries of the Ancient Worlds, and I have never heard of . . . 
society
members
, but I have heard similar stories before . . . myths, legends.”

Maggie eyed her determinedly. “Yes . . . I think you
do
know . . . you
do
understand
. Think, Indie!”

“What
are
you trying to tell me, Miss Maggie?” Indie felt a sudden rush of apprehension, as if she knew that what was taking place, right here, right now, in this room, was about to throw her tightly wound universe off its orbital track forever. She could sense that Maggie was leading up to something so incredible, so unbelievable . . . but trying to do it in such a way that Indie didn’t run screaming from the room before she had finished.

Indie took a deep shaky breath, and decided to meet her head on. “So, you want to tell me about . . . about a group of . . . others, (She flatly refused to use the first word that popped into her mind, which was
aliens
), that came down to Earth, eons before there were supposed to be even
people
here yet, and that they were trying to create some sort of advanced Society?”

“Yes, I am,” Maggie stated with an eerie calm, staring Indie straight in the eye. “Life as we know it did not begin here; it was brought here, and then perfected through a conscious purpose.”

Indie swallowed hard. “Um, okay, I guess that’s not totally inconceivable.”

Indie believed in UFOs and aliens the way others do; she may believe in the possibility of their existence, but if anyone told her that they’d seen one, she would think that they were probably a kook.

Just like with ghosts. These concepts seemed especially hard to hear about in the benign setting of her everyday work environment.

She noticed that Jackson was frowning at her now, and he once again shook his head slightly, nearly imperceptibly.

Maggie smiled at him, but weakly, nearly spent from the exertion of telling a tale of such length and detail. Indie could see that she was struggling to hang on, and she wanted to do something medical for her. Indie started to speak, but Maggie shook her head, as if she knew her thoughts.

“I know, you would like to think I’m crazy or senile. That’s the much more acceptable reality, right? It would be easier that way, but I’m sorry. I’m not.” She shook her head again. “And it’s about to get more difficult for you. Much more.” “Remember, I told you about the original members leaving some of their own behind, to assimilate into humankind . . .”

“Okay,” Indie whispered, now terrified to hear what was coming next.

“Well, they assimilated quite nicely; breeding with the native life forms and effectively upgrading, if you will, carrying forth the best possible genetics of both races. There are different ranks among our kind, hierarchies.

Two hundred of our Ancestors, all from the various ranks, came to mingle with the genetic make-up of the human beings. However, only one of our very highest order came, directed to spread the genes that he possessed. His rank is the only genetic sharing achieved through a sexless union. The highest of our kind are a pure and perfect species, and have no carnal needs or desires.”

“How sad for them,” Indie couldn’t resist, trying desperately to convince herself that this was total nonsense. Maggie ignored this and continued; however, Indie was sure that she caught the man called Jackson’s mouth twitching in an attempt to hold back a laugh. Yes, there was a definite sparkle of humor behind those blue eyes.

Indie looked away as the soliloquy continued.

“Hybrids were created by this blending of the species, but the genes themselves remain separate . . . intact. They combined well with other genes to make new products, but at times it happens that people with the right combination of these hybrid genes mate, and a complete set of genetic markers come together, making a full-blooded descendent of the original Society.

“One Society Member can always see the markers of another, if they are taught, and know what they are looking for. Forgive the cliché’ but it’s as plain as the nose on your face!” Maggie waited while this sunk slowly into Indie’s thought process.

It hit its mark.

“What are you saying? You can’t mean . . .” Indie gasped, yet the sound went nowhere. “What do you mean, as plain as the nose on
my
face?” The room began to tilt precariously and her hands clawed the footboard ferociously now. Was her suspicion that she was truly some sort of unnatural creature about to be confirmed, her status irrefutable?

“Mathematically speaking, my dear, the measurements of the spaces between your eyes, nose and mouth have a perfect symmetry that belongs only to Society Members. It is a mark of the Sacred Geometry, usually too subtle for human cousins to notice.”

Indie’s thoughts raced in a desperate attempt at denial. She had heard psychotic ranting like this before, but only from the truly deranged and sick. It was impossible to think of Maggie in this way, but it was a whole lot easier than accepting her shocking words as truth.

“Indie,” she sighed, “I’m neither deranged nor sick, and neither are you!” Indie once again experienced the unsettling feeling that Maggie had plucked the thought right out of her brain.

“I DID, Indie!” Maggie gasped, “There is no time for pretending anymore. My
Equal
is dying, and I have only minutes left.” She closed her eyes and rasped out a deep breath. “Jackson is yours. Listen to him,
please
!”

“Jackson is my
what
?” Indie felt an urge to scream at her, to tell her to stop whatever it was that she was trying to do to her. She didn’t want to hear anymore of this . . . insanity.

“He is your
Equal
, Indie . . . your rightful partner. Hear what he tells you. It will be the truth, and you will know it, as soon as you let your mind accept it, as soon as you feel his touch.
Equals
can never deceive one another.” She raised slightly upward, her frail shoulders leaving her pillow.

“Listen to me! I knew your real name, did I not? I know your thoughts. You can’t just dismiss me as some crazy old lady and go on about your life as if today never happened, because I’ve said too much to you that
makes
you believe, even as I tell you things that you cannot! You have the markers. You have not been found until now, because you are an
orphaned
member
 . . . you have the gift of
invisibility
, but now you have been identified and your
Equal
has come for you! Jackson, you
must
make her hear you. You will teach her . . . protect her. And there is more . . . she is in possession of something so
precious
 . . . !”

Maggie’s voice was disappearing. “ . . . Must be protected
at
all
cost
 . . .”

It trailed away to a gasp. Indie watched, both hands covering her mouth, horrified by not only Maggie’s words, but also what she was seeing. Miss Maggie drew one last agonized breath and was still. She then seemed to deflate as her life force flowed out of the empty shell of her body.

Indie, rooted to the spot, moved the only things that she could—her eyes—to the young man at Maggie’s side. He gently stroked Maggie’s snowy curls and whispered, “Go into your true form . . . be reunited!” in his soft lilting voice. He stared for a long moment at the lifeless form that had been Maggie, and then rose to stand in front of Indie. She backed away until the wall became a solid barrier behind her, noticing that at exactly this moment, the hallway had come back to life.

The buzzing, the chatter.

Inescapable.

“Indie . . .” he spoke her name with a familiarity that made her throat ache with the need to cry, and he started to reach out his hand to her. Indie flattened herself against the wall, whimpering in terror.

With a stricken look, he dropped his hand quickly.

“Of course,” his voice sounded distraught. “You are afraid. I am so sorry, but . . . .” he hesitated, as if making a decision.

“No,” he finally spoke sadly, shaking his head, “it won’t begin this way!”

He swiftly breezed past her, his hands shoved deeply into his pockets, and was gone. As he passed by her, Indie caught his warm masculine scent, which unleashed a surge of vertigo. She remained against the wall for balance, and felt a peculiar sensation in her lungs. They were beginning to ache, and she realized that aside from the whiff of deliciousness that she’d caught as the stranger had rushed past, she had been neglecting to breathe for God knows how long.

She dragged down deep gasps of welcome oxygen, and turned to race down the hall. Of course, he was nowhere in sight. She hadn’t really expected to see him . . . after all, he was only a dream . . . wasn’t he?

Indie staggered into the nurses’ station.

“Miss Maggie is dead,” Indie intoned, in a weak, flat voice.

“What? She is not! I was in there with her like, five minutes ago!” exclaimed the aide who had met Indie with the news that Maggie was unwell. Ashley turned and sprinted down the hall.

Indie stared after her, and looked at the clock in the nurses’ station. It read 7:05 AM. Not five minutes had passed since she had walked in to work this morning. “Impossible,” she mumbled, completely numbed out by the events of the morning. She found herself suddenly jarred back to life by a braying voice.