Intersection With Nibiru

"What do you call these cute little things?" asked Elisa intrigued.

"On our planet they’re called Shans," Azakis answered while he again made the ball disappear and gave her back the little dark rectangle.

"So this is a little Shan," said Elisa smiling, holding it between her fingers, as she looked at it very closely. "Can I try to build something?"

“Well, it's not quite so simple. I can do it because I use my N^COM implant for its real-time programming. So, either I implant one in you too or you can use ...” He broke off and began rummaging in a small drawer on the side of the console. After a few seconds he took out a sort of helmet, very similar to the one they had previously used for breathing and, handing it to her, ended the sentence saying "this".

"Do I have to put it on my head?" asked Elisa, hesitating.

“Certainly.”

"This thing’s not going to blow my brains out, is it?"

Azakis smiled. He gently took her hands and helped her to position it correctly.

“And now?”

"Hold the Shan between your fingers and think of any object. Don't worry about size. It’s programmed not to turn into anything bigger than a cubic metre.”

Elisa closed her eyes and concentrated. After a few seconds, a fantastic three-arm silver candle holder materialised in her hands.

"My God," she exclaimed astonished. “It’s ludicrous. It’s incredible." Elisa could not control her emotions. She continued to turn the object over and over in her hands, analysing its every detail. "It’s exactly how I imagined it. It’s not possible, I must be dreaming."

Nasiriyya – The ambush

Two large, open top Jeeps, coming from the direction of the Northern part of the city, each with three people on board, drew to a halt at the red light of a seemingly deserted crossing. They waited patiently for the green light and then carried on slowly for another twenty metres, until they reached the entrance of an old abandoned workshop.

A large, portly guy jumped down from the first of the two Jeeps and, armed with a pair of old shears, cautiously approached the entrance and cut the rusty wire holding the big door closed. Immediately behind him, another man jumped out of the second vehicle and joined him. He too was pretty big and heavyset. Together they tried to move the old panel that served as a front door. They struggled for quite a while and then, with a sinister metallic screech, the panel moved. They pushed it sideways with decision, completely flinging open the entrance.

The drivers of the two vehicles who had been waiting, one behind the other, with their engines idling, leaving a large cloud of black smoke behind them, drove into the old workshop and turned their vehicles off.

"Come on," said the one who seemed to be the boss, jumping down from the Jeep, followed by the other three. The two who had been at the entrance joined the little group and all six headed quietly towards the main entrance of the restaurant.

"You three, round the back,” ordered the boss.

All the members of the small assault team were equipped with AK-47 rifles and the typical curved sheaths of the Arab Janbiya knives were clearly visible, hanging from the belts of a couple of them. They weren't very long daggers but their sharp blades, on both sides, undoubtedly made them deadly weapons.

The restaurant owner, aware of the fact that at any moment his companions would appear, continually shuttled back and forth between the dining room and the back entrance, where he peered outside to check for any suspicious movements. His nervousness, however, did not go unnoticed by the General who, crafty old fox that he was, began to smell a rat and realise that something was not right. With the excuse of picking up the bottle of beer, he approached the big guy and whispered close to his ear, "Don't you think your friend is a little too nervous?"

“Actually, I’d noticed that as well,” answered the big guy, also whispering.

“How long have you known him? You don’t suppose he’s organising a nice little surprise for us, do you? "

"I wouldn't think so... he’s always been a dependable sort."

"Perhaps," said the General, rising quickly from his chair, "but I don't trust him at all. Let’s get out of here quick."

The other two looked at one another for a moment, perplexed, then they stood up too and quickly headed towards the owner.

"Thanks for everything," said the big guy, "but we really have to go now" and he shoved another hundred-dollar bill into his shirt pocket.

"But I haven't even brought your desserts,” answered the curly-haired man.

“Better that way, I'm on a diet,” said the fat guy and set off quickly towards the door. He peered out from behind the curtain and, not seeing anything unusual, motioned to the other two to follow him. He barely had time to cross the threshold when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the three bad guys approaching from his right.

“Bastard,” was all he managed to shout before the closest of the three, in very broken English, ordered him to stop. In response, he unhooked a stun grenade from his belt and turning to his companions yelled “Flashbang!”

The two immediately closed their eyes and covered their ears. A blinding flash of light, followed by a loud bang, shattered the quiet of the night. The three assailants, taken by surprise by the big guy’s move, were momentarily stunned by the explosion and the blinding flash from the grenade prevented them from seeing the three Americans as, with a burst worthy of a hundred-metre finish, they fled in the direction of their car.

"Fire," shouted the leader of the aggressors.

There was a burst of AK-47 in the fugitives’ direction but, as the effect of the flashbang had not yet vanished, it was lost high above their heads.

"Come on," cried the thin guy, taking his Beretta M9 out of the holster under his armpit and responding to the fire.

As he ran, the big guy had succeeded in removing the vehicle’s remote control from his jacket pocket and opening the rear tailgate. With an agile leap he threw himself inside it and grabbing one of the M-16 rifles that he always carried with him threw it to the General. He grabbed an FN P90 machine gun for himself and began firing in the direction of the assailants.

"Come on," he screamed at the thin guy who, keeping his head down, went straight towards the driver’s door. While his two friends covered him he climbed into the car. Another burst, from behind him, left a series of untidy holes in the sheet metal wall of the hut in front of him.

Meanwhile, the three aggressors who had gone around the back, emerged from the restaurant’s main door and joined their comrades in firing. Their aim was decidedly better. A bullet hit the left-hand rear-view mirror that splintered into a thousand pieces.

"Dammit," exclaimed the thin guy while, instinctively lowering his head, he tried to start the car.

“General, get in," cried the fat guy while firing off another burst in the direction of the assailants.

With the agility of a youngster, Campbell threw himself onto the back seat just as a bullet flew perilously close to his left leg and lodged itself in the open door. With a quick movement, he unhooked the back seat and managed to get into the luggage area. He immediately noticed a series of grenades arranged in a row inside a polystyrene container. Without stopping to think, he grabbed one and, after pulling out the fuse, hurled it in the direction of the assailants.

“Grenade!” he yelled and flattened himself on the seat.

While a new burst of AK-47 firing broke the rear window and destroyed the right-hand side rear light, the hand grenade rolled quietly into the middle of the little group of aggressors who, aware of the impending danger, flung themselves on the ground flattening themselves as much as possible. The grenade exploded with a deafening noise and a blinding glare ripped through the darkness of the night.

The big guy, taking advantage of the General’s surprise move, ran to the passenger side, jumped on board and, with one leg still poking out, shouted “Go, go.”

The thin man floored his foot on the accelerator and the car, with a huge squeal of tyres, leapt forward right in the direction of the old door of the abandoned hut. The mass of the vehicle launched at speed easily had the better of the rusty sheet metal of the panel, which fell heavily inwards. The car continued its mad race destroying everything in its path. Old earthenware pots, crates of rotten wood, chairs and even two old light fittings were swept up and thrown into the air, kicking up a huge cloud of sand and debris. The skinny guy driving tried to avoid as many things as possible, using the full weight of his body to turn the steering wheel left and right but, despite all his efforts, he wasn’t able to avoid the central column in half rotten wood which was holding up the roof, breaking it clean off. The hut shook, creaked, and then, as if an enormous weight had fallen on its roof, literally crumpled up on itself. This all happened exactly at the same time as the three, having also broken down the back wall, flew out of the old workshop, followed by a deafening roar and a huge dark cloud. The car, out of control by now, crashed into a pile of rubbish that had been left at the side of the road and finally came to a halt.

"Bloody hell," said the General, who had already repeatedly banged his head on the armrest of the car door. “Who taught you to drive like that?"

In response, the skinny guy pressed his foot flat on the accelerator again and tried to find a way through all the junk. Various coloured rags were caught up between the wheels and an old television was left hanging off the rear bumper. He had to navigate around all the litter for quite a while before finally reaching the side of the road. With a dull thud the car crossed over the low pavement and the three found themselves back on the main road heading East.

"Who the heck were they?" asked the big guy as he eased himself into the seat and tried to close the door.

“Ask your little friend the restaurant owner,” snapped the thin one.

"If I get hold of him again I’ll make him swallow all his cutlery, ladles included.”

“Well what can you expect my friend? You should know by now that you can't trust anyone here." And as he turned into a side road on the right he added, “At least we managed to eat something.”

The dark car set off, roaring into the darkness of the night, but leaving an unusual trail of unidentified liquid in its wake.

Theos spacecraft - The President

"But where do you get the energy to create such a powerful forcefield?" asked the Colonel intrigued, as he carefully observed the candle holder that had just been created.

"Energy is everywhere, in every place in the universe," answered Azakis. “Everything that composes it is made of matter and matter is nothing more than a form of energy and vice versa. Even living beings are nothing more than simple forms of energy and matter.”

"We’re made of the same substance as the stars,” whispered Elisa enraptured, remembering an old quote from someone, whose name she could not recall at that precise time.

"I agree with that, but from here to being able to harness it like this is a big jump forward," said the Colonel.

He was about to ask for further enlightenment when a blues tune, from his mobile, interrupted him.

"Now who the heck’s that?" he said aloud while reading the caller’s name "Camp Adder – prison."

“Colonel Hudson,” he answered curtly into the microphone.

"Colonel, finally."

Jack immediately recognised the loud voice of the coloured sergeant who had accompanied him on many missions. "Sergeant, what is it?”

"I've been looking for you for hours. "Where are you?"

"Um, let's say I'm ‘running around like a whirlwind’. Anyway, tell me Sergeant, what's the problem?"

"I just wanted to inform you that your request to transfer the General has been carried out without any problems."

“Request to transfer the General? "What the devil are you talking about?"

"I have before me a written order, signed by you, authorising General Richard Wright and Colonel Oliver Morris to collect General Campbell to be transferred to somewhere top secret. I checked and it’s your signature."

"But I’ve never authorised anything of the sort." The Colonel paused briefly then said, "So where is the General now?"

"I have no idea, Sir. The officers I was telling you about took him into custody."

"Damn, he’s managed to escape." Then he had an intuition and said, “Sergeant, would you be able to describe the two soldiers who came to collect him, to me?"

“Certainly. One was tall and thin and the other was shorter and rather overweight. They had.......”

“Okay Sergeant, that's enough. I understand. Thank you.”

"I hope I haven't messed up.”

"Don't worry, it wasn't your fault," and he ended the conversation.

"What’s happened?" asked Elisa worriedly.

"Those two who attacked us, who we caught, have got away and they’ve also managed to make that bastard General Campbell escape.”

"I'm sorry dear, I really am sorry but don't worry too much. We’ve got much bigger problems to worry about right now, haven’t we?"

"You're right." So saying he slipped the candle holder from her hands and, showing it to Azakis, asked "Now, where were we?"

“The source of energy.”

“Right. I mean, how the heck does this thing work?"

"Well it's not that simple to explain, but we can say that it absorbs the energy all around it and gives it the shape for which it has been programmed."

"Well," said Jack puzzled. “I can’t say I’ve understood very much really. But the fact is that it works and it does so really well. Do you think this technology could also be replicated on Earth?"

“Absolutely. I don't see any problem. When the time comes, I’ll tell Petri to transfer all the information you need, to you.”

"Fantastic. I’m just thinking of the looks on our scientists’ faces when they are faced with a revelation of this sort. At present, we still can't produce serious amounts of energy except from fossil fuels or nuclear energy. I think your visit is going to revolutionise a lot of things on our planet.”

"As they always have," added Azakis with a little smile.

"If I remember correctly," said Elisa entering the discussion, "was it not a scientist called Nikola Tesla, who lived between 1800 and 1900, who imagined a form of energy that permeated the whole cosmos?”

"Wow," answered Jack amazed. "I didn't know you were such an expert.”

"There are a lot of things you still have to find out about me, dear," and with a decidedly sassy gesture, she ran her hand through her long hair.

“Actually,” continued Jack, “Tesla did a lot more. Apart from the realisation of a whole series of inventions that we still use today, he theorised the possibility of using what he called ‘ether’ as an inexhaustible source of energy. This substance, which allegedly pervades the entire universe, if properly stimulated, could provide power anywhere, at any time." Pleased by the fact that his beloved was watching him with growing admiration, he proudly continued his explanation “However, after clashing with the hypocrisy and greed of those in power at the time, the scholar stated that humanity was still not ready for an upheaval of that sort and abandoned the project, making all trace of it disappear. Only now, after more than 100 years, our scientists have started to postulate the presence of a ‘substance’ they call ‘dark matter’ and also an energy form known as ‘dark energy’, which allegedly makes up more than 70% of the density of the universe."

"I'm impressed," said the doctor looking at him in astonishment. "I didn’t think you were so learned on this subject either."

"There are a lot of things you still have to find out about me, dear," replied Jack with the same quip and the same gesture, although his hair was definitely too short to achieve the desired effect.

"Perhaps we're talking about the same thing,” stated Azakis, pleased.

“Unlimited energy, available to everyone, everywhere in the universe and at no cost ... incredible.” Jack was engrossed in evaluating all the possible implications of this new earth-shattering revelation, when his mobile started playing the same little tune again.

"And now who is it?" he exclaimed a bit annoyed. Then he read the caller's name and his face lit up. "Admiral, I didn't expect to hear from you so soon."

"Son, I managed to get in touch with the President and I explained the situation to him. He’s here now right in front of me. I’ll hand you over to him if you like.”

"Of course, heaven forbid," he replied rather embarrassed, making sweeping gestures to Petri pointing at his mobile phone. A few seconds went by then a calm, deep voice came over the phone, "Colonel Jack Hudson?"

"Yes Mr. President, that’s me Sir. At your orders Sir.” In responding he couldn’t help but stand to attention, provoking a shy smile from Elisa.

"Colonel, only the respect and trust I have for Admiral Wilson have made this call possible. What I’ve been told is so absurd that it might even be true.”

“Mr President, I’d like you to have the nearest telescope available pointed at the coordinates that I am about to send you.”

Petri, who had already moved the Theos onto a parallel closer to the North Pole, in order to allow it to be viewed from an area still in darkness on the Earth, made a series of numbers appear on the giant screen. Jack, very quickly, input them into his mobile and sent them. "This is the current position of our spacecraft. I don't think your engineers will have any problems finding us.”

The President nodded briefly at a tall, strapping assistant who was there with him in the White House Oval Office. He showed him the numbers that had appeared on the phone and whispered something in his ear. The man, who was wearing a black suit, a snow-white shirt and a grey tie with light coloured stripes, put his wrist to his mouth and uttered a series of instructions.

“Mr President,” went on Jack. "The situation is very serious. Our planet is risking an enormous upheaval and, with the help of these people who have come from so far away, we could do something to avoid it. I fully understand all your doubts but I really am up here and I can prove it to you."

Petri activated the short-range sensors pointing them at the coordinates the Colonel had given him earlier and the view of the Oval Office from above appeared on the screen of the command bridge.

"Sir, at the moment you are leaning on your desk with your right hand, the Admiral is at your side and there are two other people in the room."

The President instinctively looked around him as if to find the intruder who was spying on them. He hesitated an instant then disconcerted he said, “but this is absurd. How do you know all this?"

“Simply because I’m looking at you.”

“But that is just not possible. Nothing can penetrate this room’s shielding."

"Nothing on earth, Mr President,” Jack corrected him. Then Petri approached him and whispered something in his ear. The Colonel opened his eyes wide, then in a decisive voice, said into the microphone, "I don't think this is possible with any of our technology either.”

He had hardly had time to finish the sentence when the historic 19th-century desk, known worldwide as the "Resolute Desk", slowly began to rise. The President jumped backwards and looked at the Admiral dumbfounded who reciprocated with an equally amazed look.

“The desk is floating in mid-air,” he exclaimed. "It's as if the force of gravity no longer has any effect on it.”

The other man in the room, not quite as tall as the previous one but equally heavy build, instinctively pulled his gun out of the holster hidden under his armpit in a gesture to protect his boss. He glanced quickly to the left and right as if he were trying to track down a ghost but couldn’t see anything suspicious.

"Put it away,” the President said quietly. "I don’t think there is any danger. This is the work of our friends up there."

Instinctively, they all found themselves looking up at the room’s white ceiling, except the tallest assistant who, after resting two fingers on the headset in his right ear, in a tone that revealed no emotion, said "We have the images, Sir.” He took a large tablet out of his bag, tapped some instructions onto the screen, looked at it for a few seconds and then politely held it out towards his President. The man, considered by many to be the most powerful man in the world, took the tablet in his left hand and began attentively looking at the screen. Admiral Wilson, decidedly intrigued, put on his reading glasses, then he approached him and also tried to make out what he could.

The device showed the images coming via satellite from a telescope, not a very powerful one, installed in a small secret observatory built in southern Finland. The sun had already set some time ago in that area and the darkness of the night would make it possible to easily view the indicated point.

"Give me a few more seconds, Colonel. I'm about to display the area corresponding to the coordinates you sent me a short while ago.”

The view was still not completely in focus when suddenly, silhouetted against the blackness of space dotted with millions of stars, a small silvery sphere, almost half lit up by the light of the sun, appeared on the monitor.

A few seconds went by and the picture changed. The zoom level had been increased. Now the sphere occupied almost all the monitor and it was possible to admire the many shades of colours, ranging from purple to dark blue, that seemed to blend together on its silvery surface.

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