Council of Light

By Illya

The planet Earth is in ruins after a devastating impact with an alien spacecraft. The human race is at the brink of extinction, but there is one lone survivor, Mark Knots. As the aliens from the mysterious crashed spacecraft make new lives for themselves, Mark is rescued and awakened by Tirza, the only daughter of the aliens chief healer Xylon. The intricate revival process is a resounding success, but not without a cost. Xylon becomes ill. Tirza, faced with the loss of her father, is forced to call upon her old lover, Oren, who reluctantly provides his help. Xylon is saved. However, in the confusion of caring for the ailing Xylon, the leaders of the aliens, known as the Council of Light, steal the revived Mark and frame the trio for being subversive. The three fugitives successfully flee to a hidden outpost and plan a retaliatory response, but yet again something goes amiss. Oren and Xylon decide to use an experimental transport device, paving the way for Tirza, and the rescue attempt. Tirza saves Mark from the clutches of death just in time, but she is too late to save her father and his friend.

Emotions run high and a relationship quickly blossoms between the unlikely pair. As their connection grows Mark learns the fate of his world. Tirza discovers her alien leaders are not what they appear. Together the two uncover the ancient secrets behind the Council of Lights powers and the clandestine plans they have for the repopulating of earth. The Council gets wind of their discoveries and springs into action to protect themselves, but fate intervenes and the two would be lovers escape with their secrets and an unknown future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 14, 2000
• ISBN: 9781469121451

Illya

David Liebowitz is currently a Registered Critical Care Nurse in the Dialysis Unit of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, NH. His formal training includes a Baccalaureate in Business Administration from Western New England College, in Springfield, Massachusetts, and an Associate degree in Nursing from Greenfield Community College, in Greenfield, Massachusetts. He currently lives the quite life with his seven-year-old daughter, Cathy, and enchanting wife, Susan in rural New Hampshire.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

The Earth trembled beneath Mark’s feet as he wondered how everyone’s calculations could have been so far off. The television announcer had said the meteor would miss the planet by some bazillion miles, but evidently he was wrong, dead wrong. Mark closed his eyes and thought back to the first day he had heard about the meteor. It must have been a good six months ago because winter was just about over. He was sitting in his little two-bedroom apartment playing the latest 3D action shoot-em-up game on his computer. He was right in the middle of blowing away a hoard of Octuspiders with his two-fisted double-barreled chain guns. The computer-generated blood spattered against the walls as the empty shell casings from the chain guns ricocheted off the cobblestone floor. He was halfway through the Octuspider infested room when he heard the television newscaster in the background. The announcer said, I repeat, there is no need to panic. Mark’s attention to the computer screen slipped for a split second and that was all it took. Four Octuspiders pounced on his tiny fictional three-dimensional character and stung him to death. The three-inch stereo speakers of the computer let out a horrific gut wrenching scream. Mark turned his attention back to the computer but it was too late. The little blue man on the computer screen convulsed in death. Mark let out a very emotional, Damn it, and turned his attention back to the television.

The television screen shined with a computer generated graphic of the planet Earth. In the upper right hand corner of the screen there was a small dim white dot. The white dot pulsed like a star on a cloudy night. The Newscaster was going on and on about distances and speeds, but Mark did not hear a word it. His only thought was of the computer graphic. He couldn’t get over the fact that his dinky little home computer had ten times the graphic power as the news image before him. Here he was, an entry level nurse with an income to match, and still his computer could out do a multi-million dollar company. He looked back at his own computer screen and saw the intricate detail in each blood spot and laughed. He was thoroughly enjoying himself until he heard the meteor’s initial trajectory, Earth. Hearing this caused him to half choke on the saliva in his mouth. He quickly swiveled around in his computer chair and stared, mouth wide open, at the television set. The television shined with the same crude graphic he had seen earlier, only this time it had a bone chilling addition. A thin red line. The red line bored into Mark’s vision like a message from hell. He blinked twice in an effort to shake off the reality of his sight, but he knew it was pointless. The path of the dull white dot was unmistakable, and the red line proved it. It not only proved it, it screamed it.

Mark’s eyes followed the trajectory of the white dot down the arched red line as his mind tried to fight the urge. He already knew where it led, but he looked just the same, like a passerby of an automobile accident. When his eyes fell upon the impact site he involuntary let out a gasp. He didn’t gasp from fear, and he didn’t gasp from surprise. He gasped from sheer awe. The ripple of destruction around the impact site sent a corresponding wave of nausea throughout his entire body. The magnitude of destruction was so great his mind couldn’t comprehend it. Instead, it chose to come to its own conclusion, and in this instance it chose a hoax. Mark shook his head and laughed as he told the television set, You got me. You really had me going.

After talking to the television set Mark glanced down at his watch. He nearly did a double take when he saw the time. It was six-thirty four and the show before him was the Nightly National News. He knew right then and there that it wasn’t a hoax. He knew this because no matter how bad television became he could always trust his nightly news show. This isn’t to say his nightly news show always got their stories right; in fact, they got them wrong about twenty percent of the time. Mark hoped this was one of those times, but his gut instinct told him it wasn’t.

The television screen changed to a picture of the news anchor desk as the lead anchorman, John, introduced their guest speaker. John very confidently said, Doctor Blake, tell our audience a little bit about your background.

Doctor Blake nervously replied, OK John. Doctor Blake looked directly into the camera in front of him. The cameraman on the set zoomed in for a close up. A thin bead of sweat quickly formed on Blake’s forehead. I am a UCLA graduate, with a doctorate in Astronomy. I have been in the field of Astronomy for some twenty odd years, and that doesn’t include my graduate work. Maybe you’ve seen my paper entitled Rocks, Hail and Other Debris?

John looked at his co-anchor, Sara, and said, No, I’m afraid I missed that one, how about you Sara?

Sara was caught off guard by John’s question. She unconsciously pushed her hair away from her face and said, No, I’m afraid I missed that one too.

Doctor Blake dabbed the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve before saying, Well, it won me the Nobel Prize for Scientific Discovery.

John apologetically said, Oh, I’m sorry. I knew you won that award, I just wasn’t sure of the reason.

Sara sensed John’s need to be rescued so she jumped in, Richard, can I call you Richard?

Doctor Blake sat up straighter in his chair before replying, Sure, that would be nice Sara.

Alright then, Richard, tell us your take on this meteor.

Mark leaned closer to the television set as though he could somehow understand things better that way.

Well Sara, to start off with, who said anything about a meteor?

John looked at Richard with an expression of amazement. He then asked, What do you mean? What else could it be?

Richard turned his attention away from the television camera and matter-of-factly said, It could very well be a great many number of things.

Sara didn’t hide the surprise in her voice when she asked, Like what?

Mark could tell Richard’s response had been very unexpected by the looks on Sara and John’s faces.

Well, for an example, it could be a run-a-way moon.

A what? Sara asked.

A run-a-way moon.

Sara asked with a tone of irritation, And what exactly is a run-a-way moon?

It’s exactly what the word implies, a moon that has lost its gravitational orbit. Sara flashed Richard a puzzled look so he continued, "Think of it this way, although be it in rather simplistic terms. There are four major types of solid masses in space, meteors, asteroids, planets, and moons. A meteor is nothing more than a chunk of mass free floating through space. We in science call them meteors because they are usually jam packed with minerals. They are the smallest of the three masses and can vary greatly in size. They are usually no bigger then a few miles wide. The largest known crater here on Earth was discovered in 1950 in Quebec, Canada. The crater is approximately two and a half miles in diameter. It is widely believed that a meteor created this crater.

Asteroids on the other hand, are believed to be small or minor planets that move in an elliptical orbit around a primary planet. The largest known asteroid, Pallea, has a diameter of about six hundred and forty miles. The second largest known asteroid, Vesta, is about three hundred and thirty miles in diameter. The rest of the known asteroids run in the neighborhood of sixty miles or less. Asteroids are really just undeveloped planets. We in the scientific community believe asteroids were prevented from becoming planets because of some gravitational disruptions. The current theory is these disruptions are caused by the close proximity of one or more planets, but no one really knows for sure.

This just leaves us with planets and moons. We define a planet as a celestial body that orbits the sun and shines by reflecting its light."

Sara interrupted Richard’s dissertation by saying, Excuse me Doctor. I know you find all these facts interesting, but what does this have to do with a run-a-way moon?

Mark’s concentration had wandered at the start of the Doctor’s explanation, but it was quickly reeled in when he heard his next response.

Richard bowed his head for a minute to gather his thoughts before resuming his narration, Well, my point is this. The size of this particular mass is roughly three thousand miles wide and eighteen hundred miles across. A mass this large can’t be classified as a meteor or asteroid, and it’s too small to be a planet. That means it’s either a run-a-way moon or something not yet discovered.

John looked at Richard as though the man had just slugged him before saying a very heart felt, Oh my God.

Richard paused for a second and said, Oh my God indeed. If this thing were to actually hit the Earth you won’t have to worry about paying your next mortgage payment. In fact, if it even comes close to the Earth’s atmosphere you won’t have to worry about your mortgage payment.

Sara looked at the two men in stunned disbelief. Her mind raced with the thoughts of her children. She had pictured them grown with their own children, but not anymore. Now she pictured them standing in the rubble of what used to be their home. Their faces were cut and bruised. Their clothes were tattered and torn, but these weren’t the images that caused Sara’s eyes to swell with sorrow. No, her eyes swelled, her heart pounded and her throat went dry because she knew there was nothing she could do to save them. She would gladly give up her own life to save theirs, but the man in front of her was saying it didn’t matter. Her first impulse was to run to her children, but her professionalism stopped her. Instead, she attacked the person who just condemned her and her children to death.

Sara glared at Richard with a look reminiscent of a bear protecting her cubs. She then took a deep cleansing breath and said, Doctor Blake. I know you are supposed to be the end all of Astronomy, but on behalf of every mother on this planet I ask you this. What makes you so sure this thing is going to hit the Earth?

Mark stared at the television screen as if the image might somehow disappear if he allowed himself to blink.

Richard could hear the panic in Sara’s voice so he chose his next words carefully, Miss Wyman. He used her formal name since she had used his, I never said it was going to hit Earth. Richard paused, shifted his position in the chair, and continued, "I said, if it were to hit Earth, not that it was going to."

Sara relaxed her glare slightly as she said, What? I don’t understand. Wasn’t it your people who supplied us with the computer simulation we just showed? I’m no expert, but that flight path certainly looked like it was going to hit the Earth.

Richard knew the whole world would be hanging on his every word so he pinch hit, Yes, and no.

Sara rung her hands in frustration and let out a very dramatic sigh. John knew he had to do something before Sara got out of hand so he said, Richard, come on, give us the whole scoop, we can take it.

Richard turned toward John as he said, Well, John, it’s like this. If we let this thing continue on its present course either one of two things will occur. The first and best scenario is the Earth’s gravitational pull will draw this thing into an orbit not unlike the moon we already have. This inevitably will cause some damage to the Earth, although to what extent I do not know. There is just not enough data yet. Now, the second scenario is this thing impacts with the Earth in six months. Of course, we would never allow this to happen …

Mark snapped off the television set and closed his eyes as his mind imagined what a fireball of that magnitude would do to his beloved planet.

CHAPTER 2

Mark opened his eyes as the supplies from the cart in front of him crashed to the floor. Boxes of surgical gloves, masks and syringes tumbled all around him as he took a step backwards. He knew it would only be a matter of seconds before the heavy four tier metal supply carts fell over, so he headed for the door. His hand made it as far as the door’s handle just as the first of the three carts fell over. The top shelf of the metal cart clipped the edge of his heel sending his brain a powerful message. Pain. It felt as if someone had all of a sudden jabbed him with a searing hot poker. His first thought was to look down and survey the damage, but he knew there wasn’t time. He had made his escape plans months ago, just in case, like the other millions of Americans. He had hoped all the experts were right this time, but the Earth tremors beneath his feet were an obvious sign they weren’t.

Over the previous six months there had been numerous specials on television about the meteor’s progress. The nightly news shows even went as far as having nightly astroseconds, meteor minutes and cosmic countdowns. No matter which shows Mark watched they all ended with the same conclusions. The meteor would miss the planet by miles. Mark wanted to believe the nightly reports, but for some nagging reason he just couldn’t. He didn’t know why this was and he really didn’t care. His main focus was on how to stay alive if the thing did hit. This isn’t to say he didn’t listen to all the television experts. Every night after work he would race home and click on the tube to hear the latest updates and forecasts. Actually, watching the updates were becoming quite a national pastime. Whole blocks of people would get together for giant sky watching parties.

The leading scientific experts of the planet came up with all kinds of inventive ideas to change the course of the meteor. One expert wanted to shoot off a barrage of nuclear missiles to shatter the meteor into a million pieces. Another expert wanted to float a flotilla of nuclear mines into the meteor’s path and create a miniature black hole, while still another wanted to send out an expedition of space shuttles to attach rockets to the meteor’s underside. Every night these experts would go on television and spout theory after theory as to why their plan was better than the next. In the meantime, the whole planet was transformed into a race of two kinds of people, those who planned to party as much as possible before the end came and those who planned to ride out the impact. Mark fell into the latter group even though his resources were severely limited.

The age of safe sex and drug free partnerships went out as fast as you could say forsaken. People no longer thought towards the future. Overnight the world’s attitude turned into a ‘live for the moment’ mentality. Sex and drugs became so commonplace the authorities just gave up. They decided to concentrate all their efforts on containment rather than enforcement. The governments of the world figured that if they could just contain the masses until the crash date came and went things would eventually revert back to normal on their own. The question was could things return to normal? Banks collapsed because people withdrew all their savings. The stock market went bust because the banks collapsed. Companies closed because their employees didn’t show up for work and food stores posted armed guards to stop hoarding.

Mark watched all this play out on television and in the people around him. Luckily for him, he lived in a small rural town in upstate New Hampshire. Hoarding and social depravity wasn’t such an issue because the people around him were used to self sufficiency and good family values. Of course this wasn’t to say everyone around him was a saint. In fact, he walked by many a linen closet that had wild animalistic noises coming from beneath their doors. This coupled with an increased fervor on behalf of the local militia made for some very interesting gossip, gossip Mark would have normally been more than happy to hear if it weren’t for the urgency of making his own escape plans.

He thought about doing the standard fallout shelter and supply hoarding routine, but gave up on that idea after hearing some of the anticipated damage estimates to the Earth, not to mention the cost of setting up such a shelter. He knew he would need at least a hundred thousand dollars, and that didn’t include the bribe money to make the contractors walk away from their jobs already in progress. Plus, according to some of the so-called experts on TV, if the meteor actually did hit, most of the planet would be underwater in a matter of minutes. No, fallout shelters were definitely out of the question. Instead, Mark chose a more high tech approach to survival, cloning. He assumed his odds of physical survival to be very low, so he opted for the next best thing, the survival of his genetic map. At first he thought about placing his genetic map on a compact computer disk, but