Every human eye is focused skyward as the image of a diminutive childlike figure appears, an elfish looking creature whose appendages are unmistakably human, but with a face, and head that is markedly different, with a small mouth and jaw bone, and disproportionately larger eyes. Most striking of all, the forehead of this creature is wider, and projects frontward noticeably, evidently to accommodate expanded brain development. A complete absence of facial hair makes it difficult to determine its gender. Standing four and a half feet high, and weighing no more than eighty pounds, the creature gives a general appearance of being physically frail. Looking stunted and elfish in an almost comical way, Neo homo is by no means visually appealing. Yet its most prominent feature is not physical at all. The face on view with its large eyes and ears unmistakably project the image of a being with considerably heightened powers of sensory and perceptual awareness. To look at this creature is to see a being that most would consider non-human. A certain level of curious ambiguity and even discomfort is felt by many in accepting the notion that this odd looking creature will someday supersede man.
The Linesian speaks again.
“This is your successor. His total numbers are no more than one hundred million, one percent of your current population. His world is devoid of hunger, disease, violence, and war. He lives in harmony with nature, and sees himself as an integral part of the complex web of life that surrounds him. This peaceful herbivore may look shy and retiring, but his depth, and mastery of technological science will enable him to travel through your solar system, and beyond.”
“You say this creature will replace us. He doesn’t look strong enough to survive in a difficult world.”
“Strength, and physical bulk are not synonymous, Mr. Conner. In a world without aggressive behavior, the thick, heavy frame, and musculature of your current human physique is an atavistic throwback to primitive beginnings. Neo homo is light, durable, and long-lived, with a life span of over three thousand years.”
As the image of this strange looking creature called Neo homo is seen simultaneously around the world, the spectators directly witnessing events in Olympic Stadium in Miami are caught up in a scene that is doubly bizarre. They are watching the Vice President of the United States conversing at length with an alien robotic machine who has just provided a stunningly panoramic visual tour of our planet’s future environmental collapse, with images of cities becoming inundated wastelands, deserts proliferating, and the emergence of enormous glacial ice sheets. All this, projected across the night sky with dramatic intensity, coupled with a profoundly disturbing narrative describing what is in essence, the fall of man. Finally to cap off this unbelievable visual odyssey, we are shown a creature that is barely recognizable as human, and told that he will inherit a future we once thought was ours. How can these things be believed, or even contemplated?
It has been more than two hours since the reappearance of the Linesian android. The perimeter of spectators directly observing this drama being played out are mostly silent. All are taken aback, as a puzzling mixture of bewilderment, disbelief, and general astonishment holds a powerful sway over the crowd. No one really knows what to believe. All are tacitly resigned, and indeed have no choice but to watch this curious drama play out as it will. Nearly every television station is streaming live coverage from camera crews directly from the scene. News vans equipped for satellite communication number over fifty, including one in particular that was allowed access to the restricted area only several hours ago. This van is different. It looks very much like the other vehicles used by TV crews covering this incredible event. It contains much of the same equipment, but this van has something else inside it. This van contains a black rectangular case, the same black, rectangular case that was carried off of the plane that landed at a secret air strip used by the CIA hours before. That case, and the piece of equipment it contains is now inside a van parked no more two hundred feet from where the President and Vice President are located. This van has been strategically placed so as to provide a completely unobstructed view of the dramatic proceedings that all are witnessing. The occupant of this van is not a journalist or a cameraman, but he is a professional with plenty of experience, and he is very committed to his line of work. His name is Todd Keniston.
Chapter Seventeen
For one woman in her elegant apartment in Washington, D.C. watching the incredible events on her television, a very personal connection is painfully apparent. The President’s mother, Kathryn Myers, has been watching television almost continuously since her son began what was to be his routine opening remarks ushering in the start of the Summer Olympics. Instead, she, and all the people of the world are seeing something very different. For Kathryn Myers the events playing out in Amelia Earhart Park in Miami have deep emotional and psychological resonance. She vividly remembers that night in her home so many years ago when she was pregnant, lying in bed, when a strange beam of illuminating light penetrated her womb revealing in rich detail the complex anatomy of her internal organs. The stunning detail, and visual clarity of that experience is powerfully similar to seeing Congressman Scott Kearns, a now former triple amputee, miraculously regenerate fully functional limbs. For Kathryn Myers the uncanny similarity of the two events leads her to this unsettling conclusion; what happened that night so many years ago is somehow connected to what’s happening now in Miami. She also remembers that peculiar blue light that seemed to probe and penetrate the infant brain of Ken Myers, and the sudden pulse of energy it imparted. For Kathryn Myers the connection is obvious. Seeing her son’s unusual behavior last night suggesting his foreknowledge of this unprecedented event confirms it. A profoundly disturbing realization comes over her. Her son, or the person she thought was her son, was, and is, someone and something very different. Her thoughts are uncomfortable. Who exactly is the man she labored to give life to, encouraged as a boy, watched as he matured into graceful manhood, and admired as leader of the nation? No son could be more loving, and considerate to his mother than Ken Myers was, and is, to his.