It All Becomes Clear

"Hearsay is the destroyer of truths and a vessel for which myths are born." Rufus said. And talking in riddles. As if trekking through the sands of war torn Iraq wasn't bad enough. Now I have to listen to more of this junk. I'm hot, I'm sweating, I'm tired and I'm still very confused. Maybe he'll get to the point faster this time?

"Hearsay..?", I said, exasperated. "Where are you going with this Rufus. I'm not sure I'm of the mindset to decode your chatter."

Rufus laughs gently. "With today's technology, if you were to write something or record your voice saying something, then that's it. As if written in stone. But in the past, at the time of your forefathers, they hadn't yet mastered such skills. So truths get fabricated. Blanks become filled in with the story tellers imagination. Hearsay."

"Hearsay...sure I know what it is. So you're saying that the history lessons you've been cramming down my throat aren't true?" I said, with waning patience.

Rufus chuckles again. "No sir. Those are most certainly not myths generated by hearsay. So lets say you are going to the aaa, what do you call it in New York, aaa...supermarket?"

"Yeah, supermarket, whatever Ruf."

"OK so 6 people in a room are going to the supermarket. I verbally tell one of them to get 2 milks, 6 eggs, 3 bread loaves, 10 bottles of water and 1 apple. I then ask all the others to recite my list back to me. Do you know what you would find?"

"Ugh...get to the damn point Ruf, Christ! I don't know, ingredients to make a good breakfast?"

"HA! You'd find that the items may have been remembered but the quantity has changed drastically. The details. Because as information is passed down other information is forgotten so your brain fills in or guesses at the missing parts to satisfy the argument. Now, if you equivocate that to history you'd find many stories that are fantastic but all of which lack truth. Replaced with more eggs then breads."

"I know what you're saying but why bring this up now?" my confusion is full on maxed out at this point. Answering his own riddle with more riddles.

"The human Sumerians specifically believed that civilization was the result of the gods’ triumph of order over chaos. The fantastic part of such a belief comes in the form of the word 'gods'. They knew that order had triumphed over chaos in their past but had forgotten just how it was done. It appeared so outrageous to them to believe that mortals such as themselves could do such a thing. So they changed the story to satisfy the argument. Civilization was so magnificent that it had to be done by all power gods. But in truth, it was more sophisticated peoples my boy. Not mythological beings, just beings. And you sir, are one of them." Rufus said, starring at me with a grin.

"I don't know what to believe right now. I just hope this journey ends soon because I believe my feet are killing me." I said in a smarmy undertone. Rufus just chuckled again and we kept moving.

The sun as finally set and the heat subsiding. I'm looking forward to a good rest. I haven't felt this tired since we first started training. I wonder sometimes how Rufus has the energy for this trek. Is it willpower or is he just in that good of shape for a 60 plus year old?  I drop our bags to the sand for a moment. With my hands on my knees I crouch down to take a breather. As I peer off into the distance I can see something on the horizon. "Ruf....is that the welcoming party?" I said. It appears to be about a dozen people dressed in black clothing. If it were any darker we wouldn't see them at all. "Wait here sir. I must speak with them. If they become hostile and I fall use your GPS to get to these precise coordinates." Rufus muttered handing me a small piece of paper with hand written coordinates on it. I can hear slight fear and exhaustion in his voice.

"Ruf....what do you mean...fall? Let me come with you!" I said grabbing his cloak.

"No! You are the most important being on this planet. Your safety is of the utmost importance. If I fall, run. Do not come to my aide. Do you understand?!" He again said but this time in a much more forceful tone.

"OK, I will. But, ya know, don't get....fallen." I said jokingly serious.

Rufus walked towards the men and I sat in the sands on our bags. My knees are in my chest so I  can jump up if need be. I tighten my sandals firm. The tighter they are the easier it will be to run. This is insane. What am I doing here?

As Rufus approaches the men I see one of them move towards him. The seventh one from the left. Rufus has his arms held outward with his palms up as a gesture of peace and his pace is brisk but not too brisk not wanting to appear aggressive in anyway. They finally meet and I can see they are exchanging words. Rufus must be talking about me because he keeps referencing my position with his hand. The strange man looks to become agitated as he stands towering over Rufus by a least a foot, as if a father talking down to his insubordinate son. Rufus is keeping his cool, like always. He makes a gesture to his chest and moves his arm slowly to his robe to part it from his body. I think hes showing him that old tattoo. I squint my eyes as if that helps me to see further or something. Of course, it doesn't help. The two men part ways. Rufus turns his back to him and is walking directly towards me but the man doesn't move. Glaring at him as he walks off. I looks as if hes cradling something under his robes. A gun perhaps? Once Rufus gets about 50 yards from him the man turns back and returns to his group. I'm quite relieved but I'm not sure if its because Rufus is still alive or if its because my exhausted body doesn't have to flee. I'm not sure how far Id have actually gotten to be perfectly honest.

"'tis OK sir. We rest for the night here." he said, as if he just walked off to use the john or something.

"Yeah...so, what'd he say?!" I said, frustrated with his demeanor.

"The are a small group that represent the Order of the Fallen Temple. I knew we'd find them once we got close."

"Close to what?!" I said with anger in my voice.

"Close to the Fallen Temple of course. Our destination." he said.

"There's a temple out here in the middle of the desert? I thought you said we were coming out here to finish my training? What the hell Rufus, Jesus!"

"Listen to me! And sit down. I will explain. It is time I did so anyway!" He said. About time I get some answers here.

"Those men are the proudest, most ruthless protectors on earth. Their order has been here for over four thousand years. Their very lives are created for this single purpose. Each one of them must produce at least one male child that will eventually replace them in the order. If they do not, they are put to death. The Order's purpose is to protect the secret of the Fallen Temple. So that the power within never falls into the hands of those unworthy of it. Now, before you rest, put on the armor."

"Wait....what? Now? How the hell am I going to walk tomorrow, or even sleep in that stuff?! What now Ruf? When did honing my defense skills become fighting off two millennia old war tribes?!" Once again my frustration with Rufus' stories and riddles bears its ugly head.

"Tomorrow those men will escort us to the Fallen Temple. They must see you wearing that armor or they will kill us. I told them who you are. That you are the Last Sumerian. They've been waiting for you since your father died and they are skeptical. Not because this is something that is attempted often but rather because they are trained to be." Rufus plopped down on the sand, resting his head against one of our water bottles.

I stand and dress. I cant believe Ive got to sleep in this armor. "So what happens when we get to this temple? What am I supposed to do?"

"You will do nothing but all will become clear to you when you enter it. The Order has strict rules once we arrive. You will be given 1 minute inside the temple. A second longer and they will kill me and come in after you. So no site seeing, as you say." Rufus said with his eyes closed, preparing himself for a nights rest.

I lay down now and attempt to find comfort. "One minute huh? One wholeeee minute." I sigh and shut my eyes. I don't know how I'm going to fall asleep with this on my mind. What can I possibly do inside this place for just a minute? Maybe if I think about Ariel and the kiddo I'll relax enough to fall asleep.

"A minute sir, will be a lifetime for you. Trust me. Ive gotten you this far haven't I?" He said with a grin.

------------

Morning broke early. At least that's what it seemed like. I awoke to a swift kick to the ribs. Not to hard but enough to scare me awake. Standing above me as the morning son spilled over him from behind was one of the men from the Order. An old man in great physical shape for his age. He has to be pushing 80 or more. Also dressed in black robes like the others with a black cloth covering most of his face. One of his eyes appears to have bad cataracts but the other seems fine. Dry, blood shot, but fine none the less. Whats he even doing out here? He blabbers something in a foreign tongue that I'm not at all familiar with.

"He says you look like shit. But you also look like your father." Rufus said with smirk.

"I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be happy or upset with that statement." I said. The man bellows more loud, unintelligible blathering. This time reaching inside his robe and tugging on something to his side. It appears to be some sort of sword. I scan the area and look at the other men. I looks like they are all carrying them. A bit archaic if you ask me but at least its not guns. Not that a sword is any less lethal.

"He demands that you stand so that we can leave. Show him the armor sir. Do it slowly." Rufus said.

I stand up and find my balance. I'm still not used to all this sand beneath my feet. I open my robe to show him the armor I'm wearing. The man nods to me and sheaves his sword. The men all stand tall abruptly as the older tribesman walks past them. The leader of the group approaches me. This guy doesn't appear to know what a smile even is, let alone how to wear one. Hes not threatened by me, by the armor or by the quest were on. He gets right into my face, starring deep into my eyes like hes examining my soul for lice. I try to stay calm by thinking about what his sad, hairy frown would look like upside down. I imagine his white teeth shinning due to his dark skin. Probably brighter then they would appear on a white man. After a few moments of his intimidation he backs away and yells something to his man, then to Rufus, before walking off.

"What'd he say?" I asked.

"Lets just say he doesn't like you. We should get moving, come sir." said Rufus.

We all embark on this final trek. I find that I'm scared, anxious, annoyed, hot, uncomfortable and tired all at once. Not really an enjoyable experience. The men follow us but always stay about ten paces back.  They walk in a U formation around us. I think if either Rufus or I would attempt to run they'd have us down in seconds. Not that we have anywhere to run too out here anyway.





We've been walking for hours now. This armor is killing me. Its oversized in all the wrong places and undersized in the others. I started to think about how much more I can handle when one of the men behind us blurts out something and points off into the horizon. I can see what appears to be a bunch of stone blocks that have been tumbled together. Like an ancient home that's dilapidated. "Your destiny is only a few hundred yards away sir. Remember what I said last night." Rufus whispers to me. I pause to look again and to catch my breath. I'm trying to imagine what this place looked like thousands of years ago. All traces of humanity seem to be long gone. Not a ghost town per se but more like existence had been wiped off the planet. As it erased like an Etch-A-Sketch. Here one minute and gone the next. The desert sands are truly the sands of time out here. I keep hoping the winds will kick up some to reveal something. Anything. An old road or broken old pillar or carving or something. Anything to tell me people once lived here. But I'm sure if something like that did exist its buried beneath centuries of sand that's come long before my footsteps landed here. We continued on.

We arrive a few hours before sun down. I turn to my back and see the Order men still standing in their arch around us. I count a dozen now but back at the camp I thought it was thirteen. As I look at them I realize the old man didn't join us. I suppose his purpose was served. Rufus approaches me and shakes my hand. "This is where your life changes my friend. Remember who you are, always. And remember also, I wasn't kidding about that one minute." That ungodly unhappy man pulls out a gold watch on a chain from within his robe and flips it open. It looks really old and for a moment I get lost in thoughts of whether its been passed down to him over the years or if he took it off a man he killed. "Give me your robes before you enter." Rufus said. I disrobe and hand it to him. He points to my heart, then looks into my eyes and raises his finger. Insinuating the number one. Alluding to my whopping minute of time I have inside. I turned to my escort and nodded with my lips tucked into my dry mouth. No one moved. All I could hear was the wind whipping around the stones.  I turned back and entered between the cracks of the fallen rocks.

As I push my way through these crevices I can see it widening further in. I stumble down what appeared to be steps eroded over time. Maybe a dozen or so. The passage opens into a small temple. From the outside it looks like nothing but in here its beautiful. I recognize the carvings on the wall from the Sumerian books Rufus has been showing me. Id love to study them more but time is ticking away. In the center of this small temple room is a round stone plate with a Sumerian carving on it. I stand in the center of it and look up. The sun shines through a narrow hole in the roof about 20 feet above me. It shines directly on me while standing on the stone. I scan the room in a circular motion. Now what am I supposed to do? I notice a small hole in one of the carvings of a hand. No wider then a coin. Looking inside it appears that the hole is lined with metal of some sort. A button perhaps? Looking at my hands I figure that with these gloves on my finger wont fit, so I remove the glove from my right hand and slip my index finger inside the hole. I push and push and even try pulling or turning it. Nothing happens. As I extract it back out something darts up and pricks it. A momentary pain quickly dissipated but the stroke was hard enough to draw blood. I suck on the finger for a moment, then reapply the glove. Light begins to shine from all the carvings around me and I can hear stones moving behind them. Outside I can hear the Order's leader yelling something. As if I could understand him now or something. I'm sure my minute isn't up yet. I cant be in here more then thirty seconds by now, maybe hes letting me know that. In front of me stones move and open up like a chest at eye level revealing a shinning hilt of a sword with the Sumerian symbol on the handles nob. Its the symbol for Nibiru. I reach up and take it with my right hand. It doesn't budge. I beginning pulling on it as if my life depended on it. Which in fact, it did. At that moment small spikes dart out of the handle, penetrating the glove and breaking into the skin of my hand but for some reason I cant let go. The sword begins to glow. Red, white then green light shines into my eyes from the crest at the hilt of the handle. Pulsating light beating faster and faster until suddenly a brilliant flash of white blasts out of it and I find myself standing in a different place. The room or building or whatever it is, is all white. Nothing in the distance but more white. Nothing above me or below me but white. I look down and realize I'm holding the sword. I begin examining the blade. A pristine silver shine with the occasional spark of energy. Something is inscribed on it in Sumerian. I glare at the inscription and study it carefully. It begins to blur and change languages. I can read it now. Looking around the room as if something is going to tell me what I should do next. I want to call to Rufus to tell him I can read this but what for, no ones here? I have the sudden urge to read the words aloud. So I cave to the temptation.

"Honor, loyalty, compassion, leadership. I am Sumerian!" The words fall from my lips as if rehearsed but Id never spoken them before in my life. Once spoken another flash of light embodies me and the all the white in my surroundings fades to black and stars appear. Its beautiful. I cant find earth anywhere but I don't seem to care. Its gorgeous out here. Comets whiz by me as I stand there impervious to them. Everything seems to be moving in slow motion. Out of nowhere comes a voice. Not echoing as if god like but like a normal man. "Preston. We've been waiting for you. You are of great importance." I feverishly search my surroundings for the point of origin that the voice is emanating from when a silhouette of man appears before me. It fills with light an takes shape. I stare at the face of the man until it comes into focus. "Who are you?" I ask.

"My name is Quintus, Preston. Quintus.....Payne. I am your father." the man says. Looking at his face I do see a resemblance. But Ive never met my father.

"Hh...how are you here? And what happened to you when I was a child?" I asked.

"I'm sorry about that son. I had to leave and return home. It was the only way to set your path to this moment. Ive been waiting for you your whole life. We all have. Though I wasn't around I checked in on you often. We can do that from here. Sumerian technology is far beyond anything you can imagine son. You are the last living decedent of our culture on Earth." he said.

"What happened to all of us?" I'm filled with nothing but questions and find it hard to think of the most relevant ones to ask.

"In a moment you will experience everything. You will know all that there is to know and you will have all your questions answered. First come with me as we transcend time and space to Nibiru, your home." The stars begin to move while the two of us appear to be just standing there. Suns, moons, asteroids...it all just zips by so elegantly. We approach a star cluster inside a purple haze cloud. A nebula. I look back to see how far Ive come from my original starting point but don't recognize anything from my position now. We enter the nebula and I decide to just take in all that I see. Its beautiful. The stars, the light, the colors. Its was as gorgeous as in my dreams. As we clear the nebula we approach a solar system. Smaller then Earth's, maybe six planets orbiting a star. As we close in on the 4th planet our speed begins to slow until we stop and begin hovering in the lower atmosphere of the planet. Its breathtaking. I can see city lights and movement and an abundance of life.

"Son this is Nibiru, our home. Our people have lived and thrived here for thousands upon thousands of years. We are a peaceful people with wonders you cant even imagine. Long ago some of our astronomers found Earth. Humans were in their infancy then. They had potential and we wanted to see them progress. At the time they were just learning the concepts of peace, though there wasn't much of it at the time. They were in the one percentile, as we call it. Meaning they were only using one percent of their brains. We marked the planet as being under our protection. So to nurture them along and keep them safe from outside interferences. See finding humanoid life is quite rare. So when we do find it we make it our duty to see that it flourishes. Our sacred duty. Our honor. That's what the oath you spoke partially represents son."

"OK so what happened then?" I'm starting to get an understanding of the past but I'm driven by this insatiable desire to learn more.

"After studying the earth from afar we found inconsistencies that we couldn't account for. At the current age of the planet the humans shouldn't be that far evolved yet. After further investigation we discovered that the humans genetic code had been tampered with. Accelerated to have larger brains. While on the surface visiting one of the villages, one of our people found sophisticated writing in the tongue of the Akkadian's. This was a race much like ours but did not live their life modeled around peace as we do. They are a destructive race of humanoids."

"What happened, did you war with them over this?" I asked.

"In a manner of speaking. Sumerians don't believe in war. Its a part of our distant past but not something we practice anymore. So we attempted diplomacy with the Akkadians and found that they planned to mine the gold from Earth for their technology but, as it often does with them, war broke out amongst them. Earth became an outpost where they'd mine the gold to build more weapons and technology but they didn't want to commit their own people to the labor needed for the mining. Even with advanced technology it still required many hands to do the work. So they illegally advanced the human race with plans to enslave them to do the work for them."

"Wait, illegal? On who's terms? Is there some sort of interstellar law I'm missing here or something?" Wow, this was becoming a lot to take in.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. But more on that later. No agreement could be struck with them but the people of Earth would remain under Sumerian protection regardless. We began teaching them to be civilized instead of mindless drones. The Akkadians took notice and attacked. We fought many, many battles with them until..."

"Wait.." I interrupted. "You said Sumerians don't believe in war. But you battled the Akkadians anyway?"

"We don't. But we will defend ourselves and those we've deemed under our protection. Humans began understanding that we were fighting in their defense and they took up arms against the Akkadians themselves. Eventually a deal was struck. The Akkadians had enough wars on their plate that Earths gold didn't mean enough to fight over so they withdrew. Their General on Earth, Na'Gul, was stubborn and refused to accept defeat so he vowed to make certain that there'd never be peace on Earth. After they fled Earth we left a small outfit on the planet to lead the humans into prosperity. This lasted roughly a thousand years but before the last of us died he began noticing signs of the Akkadians amongst the humans. People fighting more often. Ignorant dislikes for one another on grounds of their races. This is not what we teach. It was a small group but that's how it begins. The Sumerian council here on Nibiru felt we should always have a presence amongst the humans because so long as at least 1 of our kind is around, we will be able to keep watch on them. So the last Sumerian on Earth was given the great honor as to mate with several human women to keep our DNA present always. You, son, are the last living decedent of that man and the honor to protect the human race now falls to you. In the 12th century we found evidence that the Akkadian General Na'Gul had returned to earth to keep his word and since then, we have been searching for the Akkadian decendents. There are many son and they are the ones that are causing all the unrest on the planet."

"Earth has so much of what you speak of now. Why haven't you come back to stop it before it got out of control? Racism, wars, greed, oppressive governments. How can you have let it get this far? And its my job to stop them. How am I supposed to do that?" Stunned, amazed, shocked, I didn't have enough adverbs in my vocabulary to adequately express my feelings.

"That is what this is for." He said, pointing to the sword I was still carrying. "This is the sword of generations. When you stuck your finger in that hole back in the Temple, it took a sample of your blood to test for DNA. Once it found your Sumerian code it unlocked the sword. And once you touched it, the sword tested your DNA again to see if you were worthy to weld it. Like you, the evil on the planet comes from Akkadian DNA that General Na'Gul began spreading thousands of years ago. We didn't step in at first because we felt the way the humans were progressing, even with wars and death, was the right course for a peoples growth over time. Occasionally though, one with the Sumerian DNA would help right some wrongs. You know them too, son. All humans do. You regard them as heroes over the course of human history. Or even myths. But we couldn't appear powerful in the past. To do so, we found, let to terrible consequences. The humans regarded those Sumerians are gods and fought wars over their beliefs. Come now son, all this will be understood once you return to the Temple."

"The TEMPLE! My god. I was only allowed to be inside for a minute. Ive been gone HOURS! The Order.....they killed Rufus by now. I don't....I don't know..." I said with haste.

"Relax son. You're still in the temple. Only your mind is here with me. Everything you've seen and experienced here is being fast tracked directly to your brain. For you on Earth, time as frozen. Good to hear the Order of the Fallen Temple are still protecting us after all these years. Say hello for us OK? Now its time to go back."

Relieved mightily, I slouch to the invisible ground clutching the sword close to my heart. "What happens now?" I asked. We begin zooming through space again until we come upon a tiny blue orb in the middle of what seems to be no where. My home, as it were.

"In a moment time will unfreeze and in that moment all the knowledge of the universe and history as of Sumerians will be shot into your brain like nothing you can possibly imagine. Your brain capacity will increase to 60% usage. It will take only seconds. Once you are able to move again hold aloft the sword to the heavens and repeat the oath one last time. And hold on tight. You'll know what to do next. I will always be with you son, just speak and I will do my best to answer. Were all watching you now. You have the hopes of the Humans on your shoulders but the belief and support of the Sumerians behind you. I love you son."

"I'll make you proud.......father." Before tears could build up in my eyes he was gone. Faded away into nothingness. And like he said, in that moment a brilliant flash of light shot through my head like an arrow through a butte. I could feel my knowledge expanding. I understand everything. The ways of the world, how planets were formed, where the idea of mythological beings on Earth derived from, how the solar system was formed. Everything the Sumerians ever knew was thrust into my memory forever. And I now knew why I had to wear this suit. It controlled the power within the sword. The sword combined with the cloak and armor recreated the technology once used by the Sumerians on Earth all those years ago. Giving me abilities I couldn't imagine possible otherwise. And in that moment I saw my hand move. The light subsided. I was back and time had thawed. I raised the sword to the heavens and shouted the oath.

"Honor, loyalty, compassion, leadership. I am Sumerian!"

The armor around me tightened and became form fitting in an instant. A red flash of light shot down the sword through my body to my feet. It was exhilarating. Once the suit adjusted to my body and all was charged the power subsided and I fell to one knee. Sheathing the sword I could hear that loud Order leader outside shouting some more. "TEN SECONDS SUMERIAN!" I now understood him. I pressed my fists to the ground as if pushing the very planet itself down. I could feel energy surging within me that I used to burst upward, through the hole in the temple roof and into the sky like a rocket. A thunder clap of a sonic boom could be heard for miles. The wind whipping over my face causing the skin to ripple felt amazing. I cant help but to let out my feelings in a loud roar. I stop myself before leaving the atmosphere and pause for just a moment before darting back down to whence I came. As I approach Rufus and the Orders men I can see them starring up at me in amazement. I crash down to the sandy landscape with a boom that raises a binding cloud of sand dust up around me. I approach the leader of the Orders men and say simply "1 second left?" in his native tongue. He stares into my eyes as he did once before but this time I see no anger. No malice or pain. He cracks a smile revealing those big white teeth that I had envisioned him having and leans in and says only "'tis my honor to serve you." I smile back and reply "No. The honor is had by the Sumerian people and we thank you all for protecting us all these years." More smiles can be had as the man shouts "MEN OF THE ORDER, THE LAST....SUMERIAN!!" They erupt in cheers as I lean in and say to him " The man, Rufus here, needs help getting home. Might you show him the way?!" He just smiles. I look back at Rufus whom is also grinning. "I told you you'd know everything once you walked in. Now....don't you have some work to do?" I chuckle briefly but hes right. I have to get back to New York to get to Ariel. "Indeed." I said. "Gentleman..." I bow my head to exit and burst off into the fading Iraqi sun leaving a train of sand dust and sounds of a sonic boom in my wake.