The Zul Enigma Read online

  ‘As you now understand, Carlos, evolution is not as you traditionally believed it to be. It involves much more than genetic evolution. It is far more complex than the majority of you humans realise.’

  ‘For Christ’s sake,’ Carlos said, ‘why’s he telling me all this?’

  The man’s rich voice continued. ‘Let us now explain how this relates to you humans on the planet Earth.

  ‘In the beginning your planet existed in the first density, represented by what you humans name the elements – earth, air, fire and water – where there is empty awareness and no central focus of space or time. Your Earth existed in this way for millions of your human years. Gradually awareness became more localised, causing the geometric patterns of the matter on your planet to become more complex and intelligent until they were able to form amino acids and eventually DNA molecules. This is what marked your planet’s quantum evolution from the first to second density.

  ‘During the second density and after the appearance of DNA, single-celled organisms developed into plants, fish, birds and animals. At the same time, the consciousness of the One evolved into collective consciousness typical of the second density. It was the appearance of human beings, Homo sapiens, that marked the second quantum shift, the evolution from second to third density, where you and your planet are now.

  ‘This occurred because the human animal progressed towards building societies in which, unlike other animals, it was not simply concerned with the pursuit of survival. This allowed the simultaneous development of the neo-mammalian part of its brain, the area devoted to reason and language, thus facilitating a layering of increasingly sophisticated abilities and emotions, such as creativity and compassion. Other animals may have developed communication systems, but mankind has the creative ability to invent spoken and written languages that he can teach to other humans fluent only in their own language.

  ‘Third density is a critical stage of evolution. Resulting from the range of expression available through language, something else developed in you humans, something that had never before on Earth been consciously employed. As third density entities broke free of collective consciousness, each developed its own individual consciousness, its own free will. To a greater or lesser degree, all animals on your planet use free will. The significant difference for you humans is the sophisticated ability you possess to consciously project the effects of your free will choices. The essence of third density experience, Carlos, is learning how to predict and manage the use of free will for the greater good of all.

  ‘You see the consciousness of the One develops into collective consciousness typical of the second density, breaks up into individual consciousness typical of the third density and evolves through the remaining densities back full circle to reunify as the united consciousness of the One. The goal of the Creator is to have each separate conscious entity develop its own free will to its full potential and use it to follow the path leading back to Oneness.’

  Drew shifted on the stool and crossed his arms, ‘It’s all this New Age bullshit I can’t hack.’

  ‘Our universe is at different stages within the evolutionary process. Right now your galaxy is preparing to shift, with your Earth and all those humans that are ready, to the fourth density, which is represented by the Platonic solid shape of a star tetrahedron, the vibration you humans perceive as the colour green and the note “fah” on the scale of the octave…’

  ‘Fucking “Sound of Music”…’

  ‘… you humans will experience a change in the basic characteristics of matter, energy and consciousness. Mankind will evolve from physical beings to spiritual ones.

  ‘Many humans on your planet already know the date this event is due to take place. As we are sure you are aware, your ancient Mayan calendar predicts that on the 21st of December 2012…’

  ‘And this is where I bow out completely,’ Drew said pushing back his chair.

  ‘… your sun will rise and conjunct the intersection of your Milky Way with the plane of the ecliptic. That date is the culmination of the latest cycle you name “precession”, when your Earth’s axis will be perfectly aligned with the centre of your galaxy. The cosmic cross thus formed is the embodiment of the Tree of Life and manifests the shift in energy that will occur on that auspicious date.

  ‘On the 21st of December 2012, all individuals reaching the required level of vibration will lose their physical bodies and evolve to fourth density.’

  ‘I mean that right there? That’s a load of crap.’

  ‘The sub-density shifts within the eight densities of evolution occur when we pass through a new revolution of the auric cycle. For your planet Earth, one cycle lasts just over 25,000 of your years. This roughly equates to one cycle of axial precession. At the end of your planet’s two last cycles, it sought to make an evolutionary shift but on both occasions was unsuccessful. Although at those times the vibration of your planet itself was barely at the fourth density level, had the aggregate level of fourth density vibration of the existing humans been sufficient, it would have “lifted” the overall vibration, enabling your planet to evolve.

  ‘It is because your planet is about to reach another evolutionary opportunity that we are contacting you. The Galactic Federation is concerned about the difference in the level of vibration generated by you humans and that generated by your Earth and your whole galaxy and which, unless lifted, will prohibit a successful evolution from third to fourth density. We are concerned that if the evolutionary leap is again unsuccessful, unlike previously, the consequences this time will be very grave.

  ‘This, Carlos, is why we are communicating with you now.’

  And with that the video ended.

  Carlos ran his hands through his hair. ‘Who is this? And why contact me?’

  ‘Clearly they believe you’re the man to sort it,’ Drew grinned. ‘But I like the idea of interconnectivity… that the evolutionary process doesn’t just apply to the species on our planet… that it’s a process the whole universe is going through. And I like the way he ties it in with vibration and an increase in the complexity of geometric patterns. Gaia with shapes.’

  ‘He didn’t give us any math to prove it,’ Carlos said.

  ‘But all that harping on about the Mayan calendar – the evolutionary leap on the 21st of December – I’m already sick of hearing about it.’

  ‘But could there be something to it?’

  ‘The Mayan calendar?’

  ‘No! That there’s a discrepancy between the rate we’re vibrating at and the rate the galaxy’s vibrating at. Perhaps this is what’s making us so unbalanced – like I said last night.’

  ‘Don’t tell me you’re seriously thinking about this shit, Carlos.’

  ‘Hey, I’m not saying I believe it. But what I am saying is, look at the planet right now. There are too many volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes: too many natural disasters. It’s been bothering me a long time. And there are too many people, too many opinions, too many religions. We are too close to another world war for God’s sake. Everything is in discord. How can we go on unless we pull some harmony into our lives? With all this conflict, either the planet will destroy us or we’ll destroy ourselves. That I do believe and perhaps we should look into this vibration theory.’

  ‘Oh please!’ Drew grabbed a biscuit and took a bite. ‘So, what are you going to call this extraterrestrial of yours?’

  ‘Jesus, I don’t know,’ but then Carlos looked up. ‘Hey! Remember that movie “Ghostbusters”?’

  ‘Yeah…’

  ‘What was the name of that fat ghost, the one in the fridge?’

  ‘It’s years since I watched that film. How do you expect… hang on a minute! Wasn’t it Zul?’

  ‘¡Sí! Zul. I always liked that name. I’ll call him Zul.’

  ‘Zul it is. It does have an exotic ring to it.’ Drew lowered his voice. ‘Zoooool… and it’s got a good vibration. Zul the ghoul! Perfect. But now you’ve given your pet alien a name, do
n’t get too attached,’ he chuckled.

  ‘You can laugh.’

  ‘I know… I can’t get over it,’ and mimicking a Discovery Channel commentator he said, ‘Presenting Dr Carlos Maiz… the man aliens have singled out to save the world.’

  Carlos flung his arms in the air. ‘But I just don’t get it. Who’s behind it?’

  Drew shrugged. ‘Perhaps some security company’s trying to market a new product. You know, break into the UN system, expose a weakness, then when it’s made public, turn up like the cavalry with the technology that will prevent anyone else trying the same thing.’

  ‘But why pretend to be the Galactic Federation.’

  ‘To add some spice?’

  Carlos shook his head. ‘But why make it so detailed? Imagine how many hours it took to come up with all this? I mean… what’s the point?’

  ‘You’re not tempted to believe it are you? That Zul could be what he claims?’

  ‘No, of course not. But why me?’ and he scooped the biscuit crumbs off the counter top into his cupped hand and threw them in the sink.

  Drew walked out of the spare room. ‘I’m off. But let’s get together again before I leave.’

  ‘Tonight?’

  ‘Is your liver up to it?’ he grinned. ‘Actually I can’t make it tonight. I’m seeing Erika. And I’m seeing Sophie on Wednesday. How about drinks Thursday evening?’

  ‘Muy bien.’

  After saying goodbye, Carlos went back to his bedroom to finish getting ready. It was nearly nine thirty. He was going to be late for his ten o’clock meeting.

  CHAPTER 5

  ‘You’re late! I was worried.’

  Carlos dropped a laundry bag containing his crumpled suit beside Corrinne’s desk.

  She cocked her head, fingers poised over the virtual keyboard and one eyebrow raised. ‘Cleaners?’ she queried. He nodded.

  The tapping of her fingers continued as she muttered, ‘When you didn’t turn up earlier I postponed the meeting by an hour. I hope it doesn’t run on – you’ve got that interview with National Geographic at one.’

  ‘I meant to call you but something came up.’ He wondered why he felt obliged to explain himself and changed the subject. ‘Have you arranged the change of venue notices?’

  ‘They’ll go out today.’ She didn’t miss a beat in her typing. It was impressive. ‘Hans called. Said he wants to speak to you the moment you get in. What’s that all about?’

  ‘There’s no time to explain about it now, but there’s been a breach in security.’ The tapping stopped as Corrinne whipped up her head. ‘Hey, don’t say anything, okay? I’ll explain about it later when I find out more from Hans.’

  He walked into his office, hung his jacket over the back of the chair, poured himself a glass of water and logged in at his terminal. The first thing he did was contact Hans and when his face appeared on the screen Carlos could see he was worried.

  ‘Hi Carlos.’ Hans adjusted his spectacles.

  ‘Did you get the new Incident Report – the one I sent this morning?’

  ‘Yes. We ran a preliminary check.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘All the messages originate from the same spoofed e-mail address. Now, even in the case of a spoofed source domain, there should be some clue as to where the messages were routed from. You see it’s very unlikely any message would go from the source domain directly to the target domain. But when we checked the message headers that get updated with routing information each time a message passes through an e-mail relay server, we discovered that your messages hadn’t come through the Internet. The UN domain e-mail log supports these findings. It doesn’t have any record of messages with the spoofed e-mails’ details coming in from the Internet either.’

  ‘So they’ve been sent internally.’

  ‘Exactly. Any UN employee with authorised system access could have sent them. Or someone from outside could have used one of our people’s RFId tags and log-in code or even accessed a vacated terminal before its session was timed out.’

  ‘Christ!’

  ‘Since the day I started here, I’ve been emphasising how critical it is that everyone wears their tags – all the time. You saw my memo yesterday. It makes me furious. How can I do my job properly when security procedures are constantly being flouted?’

  Carlos shifted in his chair. He was sure Hans knew he was one of the culprits.

  ‘And five minutes time out period?’ Hans went on. ‘I’ve said all along, it’s too long. I don’t care how paranoid people think I am – reducing the time out is top of my list of priorities. Especially now…’

  ‘How long before you’ll know more?’

  ‘Not sure – a few hours? But first I need the Notice of Authority to Investigate Personal Space, authorising us to have a good look into the messages you received at your home.’

  ‘Send it over.’

  In less than twenty seconds a document appeared on the monitor. Carlos read it, signed it using the electronic signature code stored in his tag, and sent it back to Hans.

  ‘Give us till lunchtime. I’ll get back to you by then.’

  ‘Okay, but you’d better have an answer. And Hans – not a word of this gets out – not until I say so.’

  Carlos cut the connection. He felt uneasy. What was it all about? It was so frustrating but there was nothing he could do except go ahead with his day and hope that Hans and his team would come up with some news soon. Nevertheless, the uncertainty was overwhelming.

  He walked to the window and stared out over the snow-laden city. He had an urge to call Drew and tell him that, contrary to his assurance, Hans had still not “sussed” the messages, but when he pulled out his iTab and saw the time he threw it on the couch, put on his jacket and stalked out of the office to the conference room.

  His head was still throbbing.

  ***

  Just over two hours into the meeting the phone rang. Corrinne took the call. She interrupted Carlos mid-sentence.

  ‘I need to speak to you outside.’

  Carlos excused himself and walked into the corridor. ‘What is it?’

  ‘The National Geographic people are here.’

  Carlos flung his hands in the air. ‘Jesus! I’d forgotten about them. You’ll have to take over. We’re nearly done.’

  As he turned to walk off Corrinne put her hand on his arm. It surprised him. She never normally made physical contact. ‘Carlos,’ she looked up into his eyes, her face grave, ‘what about the breach in security?’

  He could see how concerned she was and his expression softened. Regardless how much she irritated him at times, she was loyal to OOSA, and to him, and cared about them both. He shrugged. ‘Nothing to say right now,’ he muttered. ‘Hans is still investigating,’ and with that he spun round and strode down the corridor.

  ***

  In Corrinne’s absence, one of the secretaries ushered a man and a woman, who both looked to be in their late twenties, into Carlos’s office.

  ‘Dr Maiz?’ The woman had an English accent. ‘I’m Rebecca Marshall from National Geographic. We’re running a feature on OOSA in our June issue that will link with our main piece on the Space Elevator project.’

  Carlos stood up and leaned across the desk to shake hands. ‘Hello,’ he said.

  Rebecca smiled. It was a pretty smile, he thought.

  She turned to the man. ‘This is our photographer, Brian Clark. He’ll take photos while we talk. Don’t let him distract you – in fact just ignore him.’

  ‘Yeah, just ignore me. Everyone else does,’ Brian said as he offered his hand to Carlos, who scarcely managed a grunt in reply.

  Aware he should make an effort to be more welcoming, Carlos extended his arm towards a leather sofa and two chairs surrounding a low table in front of the windowed wall of his office. ‘Please, over there. It’s more comfortable.’

  ‘Do you mind if I record our conversation?’ Rebecca asked as she sat down. Carlos dipped his head in acknowledgement. At
least she wasn’t wasting any time on small talk.

  ‘To start, I’d like to ask some questions about yourself.’

  ‘Me?’ he said, surprised.

  She gave a little laugh and threw him a sideways look from under her lashes. ‘With technical subject matter it’s good to include a human element. It balances the scientific side and makes a story more personal, more interesting for the readers.’

  Carlos had never been called a human element before although, he conceded to himself, that was pretty much what he’d become of late.

  He shrugged. ‘Okay.’

  ‘Date is Tuesday, the 13th of March 2012,’ she said, ‘and the interview is with Dr Carlos Maiz, Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs – OOSA – based at UNO City in Vienna, Austria. Good afternoon, Dr Maiz.’

  ‘Good afternoon. And please call me Carlos.’

  She smiled. ‘Very well, Carlos,’ and she tipped her head to one side on using his Christian name for the first time. ‘I know you’re busy, so I’ll try and be quick. Now I understand you were born and grew up in Spain and studied physics at La Universidad Politécnica de Madrid?’

  ‘Correct.’

  ‘Were you already interested in outer space – the universe – back then?’

  ‘Sí. It’s always been my passion. When I was a child I already knew I wanted to do something in cosmology.’

  ‘And after university in Madrid?’

  ‘I won a scholarship to the University of Southern California. I did a graduate programme there in Aerospace Engineering and got my Masters degree.’

  ‘What year did you move to the States?’

  ‘1984.’

  ‘And after you graduated?’

  ‘I joined NASA. In 1986. Goddard Space Flight Centre.’

  ‘Near Washington DC, right?’