Returning To Eden

By John Mazurkiewicz

For thousands of years, humankind questioned what happens when we die. Philosophers and religious leaders searched for an answer. Often, the answer was, after dying, one’s spirit goes to a paradise. What happens when we no longer die? Do we ever go to a paradise? Returning to Eden is a story of what humankind needs to do when it achieves i

• Language: English
• Publisher: URLink Print & Media, LLC
• Release date: Nov 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781643677194

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

IN THREE DAYS, THE DARK-HAIRED, very attractive Dr. Lillian Eve celebrates her 107th birthday. The president of Renaissance University knows that due to advancements in retarding the aging process, she still has, at least, another fifty years to live; and she wants to make the most of it. She also knows humanity is on the brink of being able to live forever, and she wants to ensure humanity is ready.

Dr. Eve is the daughter of a Christian missionary and his nurse wife. A landslide killed her parents when she was only two, and the Nepalese villagers where her father had ministered adopted her. Raised in a wealthy Hindu household, she grew up attending good schools while working in the village to help those less fortunate.

At sixteen, she left the village to attend college and earned her undergraduate degree in anthropology at Stanford University. She attended Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship before getting her PhD in social anthropology at the University of Edinburgh.

Dr. Eve met her tall, muscular, bearded Jordanian husband while both studied as Rhodes scholars at Oxford. Dr. Jonathan Tarik majored in physics at the Jordan University of Science and Technology and, following his time at Oxford, received his PhD in astrophysics at Cambridge University. Missing Dr. Eve, following graduation, Dr. Tarik conducted postdoctoral work at the University of Edinburgh where he worked on finding habitable planets in the universe.

Dr. Eve considers herself a humanitarian. She always works to improve human conditions. She joined the Peace Corps following college, working as a health profession anthropologist in Zambia.

When Dr. Eve entered the peace corps, Dr. Tarik remained in Edinburgh. He vacationed in Zambia where he worked with Dr. Eve on community projects in education, economic development, the environment, agriculture, and health. He especially liked teaching the children about space and educating them on the wonders they could explore in the universe.

Following her work with the peace corps, Dr. Eve travelled to several countries in Africa and the Middle East where she supported charities that helped women overcome years of subjugation under Sharia Law. Again, Dr. Tarik helped her in these efforts and, being a Muslim, provided her with insights into local tribal customs, mores, and folkways. Unfortunately, helping women in one country led to an incident with radical extremists, which would forever mark doctors Tarik and Eve as enemies of Allah.

During the time while doctors Tarik and Eve were helping to rebuild Al- Raqqa in Syria, Islamic extremists were kidnapping and enslaving young girls and boys. One night, extremists attacked a United Nations (UN) site that provided shelter for young girls. Dr. Tarik came to the rescue of Dr. Eve and two girls during their abduction. While fending off three radicals, Dr. Tarik sustained wounds and lost his left hand. CNN documented and aired his heroic act that evening.

During this time, the couple began interacting with United Nations personnel, who introduced them to UN leaders. Those introductions led them to move to New York, where they both began working for the UN. The many years of work for the UN resulted in Dr. Eve becoming the chief executive officer (CEO) of the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and Dr. Tarik became the Secretary-General. While serving as secretary- general, Dr. Tarik was present during the attack on the UN building in March 2075. He died in the attack along with over two thousand others, including many high-ranking officials and ambassadors. The ambassador son of the American president perished. Grieving lasted for weeks in Washington DC and other capitals throughout the world.

Many believed that the Islamic Republic of Iran or extremist groups supported by that government perpetrated the attack on the UN building. The attack occurred when two drones flying along the East River launched missiles at the building. The missiles struck the building halfway up on the north side, resulting in massive destruction from the building’s collapse. Intelligence agencies researched the type of drones and tried to determine from where they originated. After interviewing over fifteen hundred witnesses, the Department of Homeland Security identified the drones as variants of the X-47B unmanned aerial system (UAS). What puzzled the intelligence agencies was that the only known country to have X-47Bs in its inventory was the United States.

Northrup Grumman designed and built X-47Bs for U.S. Navy operations off aircraft carriers. On the day of the attack, the nearest U.S. aircraft carriers were in port in Norfolk, Virginia, 363 miles away, and the navy did not operate any drones that day. The United States denied any involvement in the attack, and curiously, no one took credit. The mystery remained—where did the drones come from, and how did they fly undetected in the skies over New York?

Three years later, the Israeli Intelligence Service, Mossad, released a secret report to the world, claiming Iran had the capability to build X-47Bs. The report stated that the Iranians hacked into Northrup Grumman’s computer system and stole the technology to build the X-47B. Some may have been skeptical of the assertions in the report, but one needed to remember that on December 4, 2011, Iranian forces captured an American Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) near the city of Kashmar in northeastern Iran. The Iranian government announced its cyberwarfare unit brought down the UAV, commandeering the aircraft and safely landing it. Iran had the capability to build drones, and with plans for the X-47B, they could. However, they lacked a launch platform. Iran did not have aircraft carriers, and even if it did, U.S. intelligence sources would have detected a ship that size off the East Coast.

The Israeli report provided evidence of a covert shipbuilding facility in Bandar ‘Abbas, Iran. The report included photos of a large submersible under construction with two deck launch platforms. Such a platform would have been capable of covertly launching the drones. The question remained—what became of the submersible and the drones? To this day, no hard evidence showed the submersible ever existed. As for the drones, an extensive search along the East Coast found nothing. Additionally, Iran claimed Israel fabricated the report by using information Mossad stole from U.S. sources.

Dr. Eve was never convinced Iran attacked the UN building, but she did fear a radical element of Islam had even as they had attacked her and her husband earlier.

Her husband’s death galvanized Dr. Eve’s desire to help humankind overcome the barriers of ignorance so pervasive around the world. She wanted humankind to rid its dysfunction and have all people working together to conquer the challenges they were facing regarding resource shortages, cultural divides, economic inequities, religious differences, and the like. She knew that to achieve humankind’s destiny of immortality in this universe would require cooperation like there had never been before in human history. She believed the Creator provided humankind with a perfect realm of existence based on the laws of physics. The concept of right and wrong originated in the minds of humans. It would take extensive interactions among people to break down the barriers of ignorance.

A year after the attack on the UN building, Dr. Eve resigned from the United Nations to take a position as president of Renaissance University, the largest multiregional universe in the world. It was her firm belief that the university was the right place to begin irradiating social ignorance and replace it with the understanding of Homo sapiens being a biologic element of the universal ecosystem. A Renaissance University-sponsored symposium on preparing for eternal life would be a beginning.

CHAPTER 2

Mount Ares, Virginia/2 April 2120/0800

(All times are listed in Eastern Standard Time)

LET’S GET STARTED. WITH THESE words, the Citizens for a Real Democracy (CRD) began planning their next attacks. Since 2075, CRD had been conducting clandestine attacks around the world to replace what they considered illegal corrupt governments. For the last five years, they had been concentrating on the Norte American Regional Government, the union of the former countries of the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

We need something really big. How about a direct attack on Washington? asked Bill Discrell, the deputy director of CRD and a former Army colonel, who suffered from a very bad back problem after decades of lugging around very heavy explosives. Everyone agreed. I have an idea about an attack which I’ve been thinking about for quite a while. We fill several railcars with explosives and detonate them near L’Enfant Plaza or Union Station. The explosion will wreak havoc throughout the mall, damage the capitol building, in addition to destroying other government buildings.

Walter Franks, a white-bearded retired USMC lieutenant colonel with extensive experience in weapons development, replied in his raspy voice, I agree. I have an idea of the type of explosives we can use. If we load enough cars with an ammonium nitrate, liquid nitromethane, and Tovex mix, we could have enough explosives to be the equivalent of at least a ten megaton nuclear device.

Bill asked, Where are we going to get that much fertilizer?

I know of a Southern States facility in Virginia right on the mainline into Washington, replied Walter. I’m sure they will have everything we need as they provide the fertilizer to all the farms in Fauquier County. As far as ignitors, we have plenty right here. We will need to do the loading covertly. Anybody got any suggestions?

We could do it at night when there’s no one there, suggested Warren Lopez, a former Army staff sergeant, who served six overseas deployments during the last Middle East War. Lopez lost his left leg when wounded by an improvised explosive device during the war.

We could do it at night, but I bet they have a surveillance system at the facility that we will need to hack into to provide false images, suggested John Bruno, a very talented software engineer who suffered from very bad breath. I’ll suggest we recon it first. We’ll also need false DNA samples to throw off investigators.

I’ll go with you to work out details for loading the stuff onto the cars and determining where we can plant the DNA samples and other evidence, added Walter.

They departed while the rest of the team stayed to work on plans for diverting attention away from the attack. If there was one thing the team had learned in its nearly fifty years of insurgent activity, it was that governments throughout the world were constantly monitoring everyone through various surveillance systems.

Within the CDR were numerous former intelligence service personnel from regional governments around the world. Most were field agents with limited knowledge of the workings of the various surveillance systems. However, there were five former agents who worked directly on the surveillance systems. Using their knowledge of how, where, and when the systems were active had allowed the team in the past to create diversions that tied up surveillance and operations personnel on false targets while the actual ones were hit successfully.

We need a really elaborate deception effort to pull off this attack, began Usain Williams, a former signals intelligence specialist from Nigeria, who sometimes liked red wine to excess. This might be the time that we cyberattack the electrical grid with an emphasis on the nuclear plants. I am sure we will see the authorities respond to any hints of an attack, and the more we generate the better. We will need other diversions than just cyber. Harry, go get your brother. We need his expertise in demonstration operations. Harry left to get his brother.

Harry Simone, a short psoriatic-plagued guy who walked with a limp, worked at the National Security Agency for twenty years before becoming totally disenchanted with all the illegal operations he witnessed. He has been with CDR for five years during which time he has been involved in more than one hundred successful disinformation efforts. He realized that what they were planning now would be the biggest challenge he ever faced. He also knew that his twin brother, Dick, would be able to put together a brilliant deception effort.

Dick, Usain wants you to help with a master deception plan for the attack on Washington. He will be conducting cyberattacks on various power plants, reported Harry.

Harry and Dick spent the next couple of weeks putting together an elaborate deception plan for implementation at over thirty electrical power plants in the Norte American Region. The most extensive was for the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant.

New Hill, North Carolina/15 June 2120/1330

"Good afternoon. This is Veronica Savage of Norte American Media, coming to you from outside the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant in New Hill, North Carolina. We have just received word from multiple sources that the Armed Forces Special Operations Command discovered an extensive tunnel complex under this power plant. Although an investigation is still ongoing, a spokesperson for Spec Ops indicated this was probably the work of a radical terrorist group. They believe the terrorists were planning to blow up the power plant. If that had happened, the explosion would have resulted in significantly more destruction than occurred when Chernobyl exploded in 1986. Although unconfirmed, it is believed this plant was chosen because of its proximity to Fort Bragg, home of Special Operations Command and the 82nd Airborne Division.

Coincidentally, the plant is also twenty miles southwest of Raleigh, where Renaissance University has a campus. Dr. Lillian Eve is the president of the university, and her university’s symposium on planning for eternal life starts in just three days. The fear is that radical Islamic terrorists may attack the symposium as they have said it is against their basic beliefs. It is also widely known that liberal groups around the world are upset at the symposium because they contend it is going to recommend the end of government as we have known it for centuries.

Liberals contend only government can ensure that the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics will be supported and furthered in the best interest of humanity. Liberal groups have threatened protests at all 106 campuses of Renaissance University.

If you look over my shoulder, you can see soldiers patrolling the area where the entrance to the tunnel was discovered. A source told me the entrance is in a farmhouse, which allowed the group digging the tunnel to spread the dirt in the farm’s fields to avoid suspicion. The same source said he could not tell me now what tipped Special Operations intelligence to this effort. He could only say it is alarming how extensive the tunnel complex is and that there were explosives found inside a barn on the farm property. Hold on, here he is. Sir, can you tell us what’s going on now?

Just a little as it’s still an ongoing investigation. In addition, I am not public relations. All I can tell you is that Special Ops intelligence believes they ‘connected the dots’ in a timely manner.

Special Operations Intelligence Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina/15 June 2120/1400

Sergeant Terrence Jones, an infantry airborne commando assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, was not the only one concerned about the discovery of the tunnel and explosives.

While he was speaking with the media, Army captains Larry Wright and Bill Collier in the Special Operations Intelligence Center monitored the telecast while interacting with teams at the power plant. Captain Wright, a tall, thin, green-eyed blond-haired person, began his career as an intelligence officer for a Ranger Battalion where he had worked joint operations with a Marine Expeditionary Brigade. Captain Collier, a well-built man with a battle scar on his right cheek, had previously served as an intelligence officer in a Green Beret unit in the Middle East. They were now part of a joint task force assigned to conduct counterterrorism operations with the Department of Homeland Security or DHS.

You bet it was great we were able to connect the dots, commented Captain Wright. But I’m curious as to why there were so many dots, and why were they so overt? There must have been a hundred cyberattacks against power plants everywhere.

Do you think it’s some kind of conspiracy? questioned Captain Collier, ironically, because he too thought there were too many easy-to-discern dots. Something feels off to me. Just look at what each intelligence discipline team was able do. For instance, the imagery intelligence team was using a new high-resolution drone to teach advanced imagery intelligence interpretation techniques to some recent graduates of the basic intelligence school when one of the students noticed the nonfarm equipment at the tunneling site. Fortunately, his curiosity was enough to get the instructors involved. But was it really just a coincidence?

Yeah, and then there were the communication intelligence reports. COMINT could intercept calls from overseas that were calling directly to the cell towers near the farm. It was fortunate we have the instant translators’ system, so the team understood immediately what was being said between the callers in the Persian Republic and someone here, interjected Captain Wright.

Of course, if it wasn’t for the HUMINT team, we might not have known the specific target. Remember, Corporal Khan reported on a conversation he overheard at the mosque he attends. I am sure those people knew who Khan was, and I will bet they raised their voices as he was passing. We will never know for sure. In addition, based on what COMINT heard, it appears there are going to be several attacks, and we have only identified this one. I do not usually believe in coincidences. Regardless, we’ve got a lot of work to do.

As the intelligence group at Special Operations Command continued the process to determine the who, what, where, how, and why of the potential attacks, so too the Renaissance University security forces met to discuss what they would need to do to ensure the safety of all the symposium presenters. While both teams worked, breaking news flashed on the television monitors, and captains Wright