Fearlessfred (Javier Ramirez), Helbent4 (Lt. Angela Blanco), and Muff (Dr. Brigetta Hausmann) each had a character present for this conversation, so they may read this thread freely. If you are not a player in this game and do not intend to become one, you may read as well. If you are any other player, STOP READING NOW. Failure to comply will result in massive Sanity loss! You have been warned.
The following other characters are present: Stephanie Bridges and Bo Richards.
In the reception area-
"What I am to tell you has been in my family for many years," said Dr. Hausmann. "When I finish you will think I am crazy, perhaps. But you ask and I shall tell you."
"I'd never think that," said Stephanie. She sat on the edge of the desk and hung on every word, while still efficiently working on the computer.
"My great-grandfather was not German, but Belgian, and he once worked for Leopold in the Congo. It was there that he discovered something very unusual that, until this day, remains secret. The Congo is a very large place, and in places the geography is very difficult. The people there are often violent, and if you have heard that there are cannibals, ja, this is correct. It is a land as big as Europe and much more secret.
"My great-grandfather was involved in rubber for the Emperor. This was a ruthless business, and he was a violent man who died young. Once while on expedition to collect the rubber, he learned of a city lost in the jungle. He went to explore this place and discovered it. It was like the cities of the Egyptians, but it had fallen to ruin with time. The people there were savages, cannibals, and they attacked. He and his men killed many and finally were forced to leave the city. But he was also something of a scientist, an early anthropologist of sorts. He recorded their chants.
"It went as so:
Ce’haiie ep-ngh fl’hur G’harne fhtagn,
Ce’haiie fhtagn ngh Shdde-M’ell
Hai G’harne orr;e ep fl’hur
Shudde-Me’ll ican-icanicas fl’hur orre’ G’harne.
"Many of his men died escaping the city and only a handful escaped. Yet, because the place was remote and the company did not care to explore further, it was left alone and not included in the maps. The only recorded map of the place was lost and my great-grandfather never made another."
"What does this have to do with what's going on?" asked Angela Blanco.
"I'm getting to that. He also took a number of etchings of writing he saw on some of the pillars which were in Egyptian hieroglyphics. My grandfather was an anthropologist who studied the Hindus. He did not know about my great-grandfather's discovery until the man died. Then he found his diary from the days in the Congo. What he read horrified him. But then he translated the hieroglyphics that he found there. It told him that the world would end in the year 2012, but before this there would be great horrors. That a new species would come to rule the world and they would be aided by creatures from other stars. That the end of the world would begin on a night of falling fire, when stars would crash to earth."
Stephanie was fascinated. It sounded like it would make a great science fiction plot - but it seemed like it was really happening.
Lt. Blanco looked skeptical. "Don't tell me you believe in aliens too?" she said.
Dr. Hausmann did not respond, but continued her tale. "Of course my grandfather did not believe this story. His study was of the Hindus in India and their caste system. He was interested in early Hinduism and Buddhism. When the Second World War came he was in India and captured by the British. But he escaped with some others and with his language skills and knowledge of India was able to escape to Tibet. There he lived through and after the war until the Chinese came, and he fled back to India and then returned to Germany.
"But it was there in Tibet, in a monastery over a complicated cave system that he discovered something amazing. This legend that my great-grandfather had discovered in Congo was kept secret there in Tibet as well. The monks did not know this, of course, and did not sing this crazy chant. But they told a story of an enemy, a group of warlike people that would eat the dead. It was for this reason that the Tibetans left their dead outside to be consumed in nature, I think. But these people had left and gone south into the jungle when the Mongols came. But they remembered the word 'Shudde-Me’ll.' In a deep cave he discovered the hieroglyphics again, retelling this story that the end of the world would come in 2012."
"Egyptian hieroglyphics? In Tibet?"
"Of course when he returned to Germany and continued to study he explored this story. His second son followed this tradition and together they went to Central and South America to study the Mayan people. This people believed also that the world would end in 2012. They also spoke of a great snake god that would rule all. There is much such snake worship done all over the world. In Africa they believe that the creator of the world is also a giant snake. But also in Central America.
"I did not continue this research. My father, if he is still alive after today, is in Central America still where my grandfather now lies buried. They sought to make public their discovery but no one believed them. So, they kept it quiet."
"I'm having trouble believing it myself," said Lt. Blanco.
"Well, I can believe it," said Stephanie. "The same story is told in diverse cultures throughout the world, and it fits perfectly with what's happening. A strange new species that eats the dead and dominates the world, beings from other stars, and the meteor shower that started it all! Brigetta, there are living creatures inside those meteorites! Two of the people I spoke to in different parts of the world told me about them independently. They resemble giant mosquitos and their sting is deadly. That's when I deduced that this was an extraterrestrial threat. There's an alien intelligence directing all of this."
""I've heard about it too," said Ramirez, "just didn't think much of it until now."
Dr. Hausmann nodded, then continued: "You can imagine my surprise when I made a discovery here. My research is about the Leonids. NASA and Russian space exploration have discovered traces of particles left from the Leonids. You know perhaps that in Antarctica they think they will find that cellular life came from space on asteroids, ja? Well what we find with the Leonids is that the particles had been left all over the world and had mixed into the ecosystem through rain. But what is a amazing is that this had only been happening for the last ten years. If you go back further, you find no trace of these particles in the soil. Something or someone has placed this substance in the meteorites themselves. We did not know what this was, but only that in some animals it can cause genetic mutations that are not very perceptible. But it means that all organic life has consumed some of these particles."
"I've been involved in this research too," added Stephanie. "This compound in is all of us too, since we're organic. I believe it's what is enabling the dead to be reanimated, when combined with a bioelectrical power source that triggers it. The people I spoke to in Omaha over the comm system agree."
"But that is not what is so crazy, I think. We were studying animals near Yellowstone and Teton National Park for the past few years. This is an interesting place because the fires in the 1990s had caused much of the park to be regenerated and we can make easy comparison to areas not so. Very interesting results as to the mutations. But as you know, the parks are geologically interesting too because of the geysers and hot springs. Beneath Yellowstone is a very large volcano that could explode more fiercely than in any place in this continent, perhaps the entire world. Geologically it is unstable.
"One of our guides, Mr. Micmack, remember Stephanie, is a scientist, a chemist, with the EPA here."
"Yes, I remember. He was very knowledgeable about the local area, too."
"He is consulting the CDC in its research and also knew about what we were exploring. One night he speaks to me about a legend of the local Indians. They say that the world will end also, that it is sang in their songs. I ask him for more information. He leads me to his tribe and they speak to the elders. The elders tell me of a story told by another tribe that was killed before the white man came. Their legends are about the end, and the old men say it will happen soon, that the sky will open with fire that will seed the planet and make everything different. That the great snake spirit will rise from the ground and consume all. Then they tell me that there is a place, a cave, which was kept by this lost tribe.
"The next day I go with Mr. Micmack, and we go deep into the cave. A very spooky place and cold. But there in the light, I see the hieroglyphics. My grandfather and my father they teach me this. But this is like an alphabet, ja. The words and the sounds are translated. But there is something else. It is also mathematical- forms of early equations. I do not know why or what this means when I discover but inside the hieroglyphic I find the chemical formula for the Leonid particles! This is the seed, ja? It is a prophecy come true. For the entire weekend I spend taking notes of this, and the next weekend and the weekend after I go. Sean comes with me as does Mr. Micmack. At night I work on this and I try to decode it. It is a formula and a secret, but what I discover tells me much about the chemical formula of the Leonid particles and how it changes genetic structures. But there is more, this is a code that can be communicated.
"The last time I am there, I am with Mr. Micmack and we are doing our work, very excited about what we discover so far. This is the weekend before the Leonids come. And then I hear, from deep in the cave, the chant:
"Ce’haiie ep-ngh fl’hur G’harne fhtagn,
Ce’haiie fhtagn ngh Shdde-M’ell
Hai G’harne orr;e ep fl’hur
Shudde-Me’ll ican-icanicas fl’hur orre’ G’harne.
"Over and over again. I am terrified, but quickly I record this chanting, thinking that this might be a key. Mr. Micmack returns to the tribes and he tells them this, plays the recording. But they think he is cursed.
"I contact my father and I ask for traces of the languages of the Tibetans, the Bantu of Congo and the Mayans, and have tried to use the sounds to discover this code. I am close to this discovery, but I am not yet there.
"But this is why we must get to Omaha. Only there do we have the capacity to finish decoding the language and sending a message.
"I believe that the chanting is calling for the destruction from space. But I think that if this code can be interrupted or even changed, than we can stop this event from happening. If what we are experiencing is a prophecy found in language, it is possible we can use the language to reverse the events or stop it from happening."
"Were you there too?" Angela Blanco asked Stephanie. "Did you hear the chanting?"
"No," she said, flush with excitement. "I wish I had been there, though. Now it all makes sense! This mathematical language was somehow transmitted into space, and it was used to signal the aliens to begin their attack on Earth. If we can decipher this language, we can compose our own message and send it into space! We could tell the aliens that their attack was successful and they can go home, and the attack would stop!" She redoubled her efforts, now aware of her work's purpose.
"Ja, Stephanie," said Dr. Hausmann. "That is precisely what I had in mind."
"You really believe all this?" said Angela Blanco. "Aliens? Prophecies? It sounds very unscientific. How could it even be possible?"
"You just have to use your imagination," said Stephanie. "Maybe the aliens don't see time the way we do. If they can see the future as easily as we can remember the past, they could describe future events before they happen. They do seem to be coming true."
"If the future is already determined," said Bo, "how could we change it?"
"It's just a possible future. Because information about the future was known in advance, that gives us the opportunity to change it, to prevent it from happening! Quantum mechanical theory holds that there are an infinite number of possible universes, and each time a decision is made or an action is taken, we proceed down one of several possible tracks. Because we can see ahead of us, we can divert the course of events from the track they're on to one with a better outcome - like diverting a train from one branch in a railroad track to another by pulling the right switch!"
The following other characters are present: Stephanie Bridges and Bo Richards.
In the reception area-
"What I am to tell you has been in my family for many years," said Dr. Hausmann. "When I finish you will think I am crazy, perhaps. But you ask and I shall tell you."
"I'd never think that," said Stephanie. She sat on the edge of the desk and hung on every word, while still efficiently working on the computer.
"My great-grandfather was not German, but Belgian, and he once worked for Leopold in the Congo. It was there that he discovered something very unusual that, until this day, remains secret. The Congo is a very large place, and in places the geography is very difficult. The people there are often violent, and if you have heard that there are cannibals, ja, this is correct. It is a land as big as Europe and much more secret.
"My great-grandfather was involved in rubber for the Emperor. This was a ruthless business, and he was a violent man who died young. Once while on expedition to collect the rubber, he learned of a city lost in the jungle. He went to explore this place and discovered it. It was like the cities of the Egyptians, but it had fallen to ruin with time. The people there were savages, cannibals, and they attacked. He and his men killed many and finally were forced to leave the city. But he was also something of a scientist, an early anthropologist of sorts. He recorded their chants.
"It went as so:
Ce’haiie ep-ngh fl’hur G’harne fhtagn,
Ce’haiie fhtagn ngh Shdde-M’ell
Hai G’harne orr;e ep fl’hur
Shudde-Me’ll ican-icanicas fl’hur orre’ G’harne.
"Many of his men died escaping the city and only a handful escaped. Yet, because the place was remote and the company did not care to explore further, it was left alone and not included in the maps. The only recorded map of the place was lost and my great-grandfather never made another."
"What does this have to do with what's going on?" asked Angela Blanco.
"I'm getting to that. He also took a number of etchings of writing he saw on some of the pillars which were in Egyptian hieroglyphics. My grandfather was an anthropologist who studied the Hindus. He did not know about my great-grandfather's discovery until the man died. Then he found his diary from the days in the Congo. What he read horrified him. But then he translated the hieroglyphics that he found there. It told him that the world would end in the year 2012, but before this there would be great horrors. That a new species would come to rule the world and they would be aided by creatures from other stars. That the end of the world would begin on a night of falling fire, when stars would crash to earth."
Stephanie was fascinated. It sounded like it would make a great science fiction plot - but it seemed like it was really happening.
Lt. Blanco looked skeptical. "Don't tell me you believe in aliens too?" she said.
Dr. Hausmann did not respond, but continued her tale. "Of course my grandfather did not believe this story. His study was of the Hindus in India and their caste system. He was interested in early Hinduism and Buddhism. When the Second World War came he was in India and captured by the British. But he escaped with some others and with his language skills and knowledge of India was able to escape to Tibet. There he lived through and after the war until the Chinese came, and he fled back to India and then returned to Germany.
"But it was there in Tibet, in a monastery over a complicated cave system that he discovered something amazing. This legend that my great-grandfather had discovered in Congo was kept secret there in Tibet as well. The monks did not know this, of course, and did not sing this crazy chant. But they told a story of an enemy, a group of warlike people that would eat the dead. It was for this reason that the Tibetans left their dead outside to be consumed in nature, I think. But these people had left and gone south into the jungle when the Mongols came. But they remembered the word 'Shudde-Me’ll.' In a deep cave he discovered the hieroglyphics again, retelling this story that the end of the world would come in 2012."
"Egyptian hieroglyphics? In Tibet?"
"Of course when he returned to Germany and continued to study he explored this story. His second son followed this tradition and together they went to Central and South America to study the Mayan people. This people believed also that the world would end in 2012. They also spoke of a great snake god that would rule all. There is much such snake worship done all over the world. In Africa they believe that the creator of the world is also a giant snake. But also in Central America.
"I did not continue this research. My father, if he is still alive after today, is in Central America still where my grandfather now lies buried. They sought to make public their discovery but no one believed them. So, they kept it quiet."
"I'm having trouble believing it myself," said Lt. Blanco.
"Well, I can believe it," said Stephanie. "The same story is told in diverse cultures throughout the world, and it fits perfectly with what's happening. A strange new species that eats the dead and dominates the world, beings from other stars, and the meteor shower that started it all! Brigetta, there are living creatures inside those meteorites! Two of the people I spoke to in different parts of the world told me about them independently. They resemble giant mosquitos and their sting is deadly. That's when I deduced that this was an extraterrestrial threat. There's an alien intelligence directing all of this."
""I've heard about it too," said Ramirez, "just didn't think much of it until now."
Dr. Hausmann nodded, then continued: "You can imagine my surprise when I made a discovery here. My research is about the Leonids. NASA and Russian space exploration have discovered traces of particles left from the Leonids. You know perhaps that in Antarctica they think they will find that cellular life came from space on asteroids, ja? Well what we find with the Leonids is that the particles had been left all over the world and had mixed into the ecosystem through rain. But what is a amazing is that this had only been happening for the last ten years. If you go back further, you find no trace of these particles in the soil. Something or someone has placed this substance in the meteorites themselves. We did not know what this was, but only that in some animals it can cause genetic mutations that are not very perceptible. But it means that all organic life has consumed some of these particles."
"I've been involved in this research too," added Stephanie. "This compound in is all of us too, since we're organic. I believe it's what is enabling the dead to be reanimated, when combined with a bioelectrical power source that triggers it. The people I spoke to in Omaha over the comm system agree."
"But that is not what is so crazy, I think. We were studying animals near Yellowstone and Teton National Park for the past few years. This is an interesting place because the fires in the 1990s had caused much of the park to be regenerated and we can make easy comparison to areas not so. Very interesting results as to the mutations. But as you know, the parks are geologically interesting too because of the geysers and hot springs. Beneath Yellowstone is a very large volcano that could explode more fiercely than in any place in this continent, perhaps the entire world. Geologically it is unstable.
"One of our guides, Mr. Micmack, remember Stephanie, is a scientist, a chemist, with the EPA here."
"Yes, I remember. He was very knowledgeable about the local area, too."
"He is consulting the CDC in its research and also knew about what we were exploring. One night he speaks to me about a legend of the local Indians. They say that the world will end also, that it is sang in their songs. I ask him for more information. He leads me to his tribe and they speak to the elders. The elders tell me of a story told by another tribe that was killed before the white man came. Their legends are about the end, and the old men say it will happen soon, that the sky will open with fire that will seed the planet and make everything different. That the great snake spirit will rise from the ground and consume all. Then they tell me that there is a place, a cave, which was kept by this lost tribe.
"The next day I go with Mr. Micmack, and we go deep into the cave. A very spooky place and cold. But there in the light, I see the hieroglyphics. My grandfather and my father they teach me this. But this is like an alphabet, ja. The words and the sounds are translated. But there is something else. It is also mathematical- forms of early equations. I do not know why or what this means when I discover but inside the hieroglyphic I find the chemical formula for the Leonid particles! This is the seed, ja? It is a prophecy come true. For the entire weekend I spend taking notes of this, and the next weekend and the weekend after I go. Sean comes with me as does Mr. Micmack. At night I work on this and I try to decode it. It is a formula and a secret, but what I discover tells me much about the chemical formula of the Leonid particles and how it changes genetic structures. But there is more, this is a code that can be communicated.
"The last time I am there, I am with Mr. Micmack and we are doing our work, very excited about what we discover so far. This is the weekend before the Leonids come. And then I hear, from deep in the cave, the chant:
"Ce’haiie ep-ngh fl’hur G’harne fhtagn,
Ce’haiie fhtagn ngh Shdde-M’ell
Hai G’harne orr;e ep fl’hur
Shudde-Me’ll ican-icanicas fl’hur orre’ G’harne.
"Over and over again. I am terrified, but quickly I record this chanting, thinking that this might be a key. Mr. Micmack returns to the tribes and he tells them this, plays the recording. But they think he is cursed.
"I contact my father and I ask for traces of the languages of the Tibetans, the Bantu of Congo and the Mayans, and have tried to use the sounds to discover this code. I am close to this discovery, but I am not yet there.
"But this is why we must get to Omaha. Only there do we have the capacity to finish decoding the language and sending a message.
"I believe that the chanting is calling for the destruction from space. But I think that if this code can be interrupted or even changed, than we can stop this event from happening. If what we are experiencing is a prophecy found in language, it is possible we can use the language to reverse the events or stop it from happening."
"Were you there too?" Angela Blanco asked Stephanie. "Did you hear the chanting?"
"No," she said, flush with excitement. "I wish I had been there, though. Now it all makes sense! This mathematical language was somehow transmitted into space, and it was used to signal the aliens to begin their attack on Earth. If we can decipher this language, we can compose our own message and send it into space! We could tell the aliens that their attack was successful and they can go home, and the attack would stop!" She redoubled her efforts, now aware of her work's purpose.
"Ja, Stephanie," said Dr. Hausmann. "That is precisely what I had in mind."
"You really believe all this?" said Angela Blanco. "Aliens? Prophecies? It sounds very unscientific. How could it even be possible?"
"You just have to use your imagination," said Stephanie. "Maybe the aliens don't see time the way we do. If they can see the future as easily as we can remember the past, they could describe future events before they happen. They do seem to be coming true."
"If the future is already determined," said Bo, "how could we change it?"
"It's just a possible future. Because information about the future was known in advance, that gives us the opportunity to change it, to prevent it from happening! Quantum mechanical theory holds that there are an infinite number of possible universes, and each time a decision is made or an action is taken, we proceed down one of several possible tracks. Because we can see ahead of us, we can divert the course of events from the track they're on to one with a better outcome - like diverting a train from one branch in a railroad track to another by pulling the right switch!"