The Visitor Read online

  Contents

  A Not So Quiet Start To The Day 3

  Responsibility. 20

  You are how old? 27

  My People? 36

  You are…what? 41

  Why me? 58

  What am I becoming? 73

  This is still evolving 77

  What to do first 88

  Meet the Israeli Cabinet 97

  The plan of action. 104

  A little taste of action. 114

  How to tell a story. 126

  Time to sort out the world. 128

  The neighbours 137

  Address the rest of the world 152

  Meet the world, one at a time 167

  I need a rest 174

  The calm before the storm 187

  Tying up some loose ends 195

  What to do with the Isolation Islands? 199

  What to do with Religion? 201

  The Church of the Visitor 207

  The start of a big adventure. 212

  No limits to what you can do. 216

  The Future Of Earth 222

  A Not So Quiet Start To The Day

  Gerry Davis went out of his house and into his back garden. He could faintly hear Radio 3 in the background, playing the introduction to one of his favourite pieces, Mahler’s 8th Symphony. As he walked around the garden he started to conduct the piece, and quietly singing the famous opening lyrics – “Veni! Veni, creator spiritus.” Since that was all he had ever remembered of the words he then started to hum along to the tune, which he knew pretty well. It had been many years since he had seen it for the first time at the Royal Albert Hall. That had been a very impressive performance, especially the second orchestra coming in for the finale, but after all this time he couldn’t recall who it was done by – the conductor, the orchestra, or the choir. He couldn’t even recall the exact year! There had been a coach-load from his home town, and they had all had a great time. That had been close to 40 years ago! He wondered, sometimes, where they all were now.

  The garden was a medium-sized one, around a hundred feet long, mainly laid over to grass, with a small number of flowers scattered around it. It suited him, as he was not a keen gardener, and he simply didn’t have the time or inclination to keep an ornate garden up to date. The double garage at the bottom had only ever seen his one car in it, during the five years that he had lived there. The other half of the garage still had loads of boxes and an assortment of containers from when he had moved in, after what was a messy separation and finally a divorce. He kept telling himself that he would get around to sorting through it, sometime.

  He was moderately tall, slightly over six feet, and leanly built. He’d had a thin figure for most of his life, and at 60 years old he fooled most of the people that he met, as they immediately took close to 10 years off his real age. He had inherited a decent set of genes from his father’s side of the family, who was still going strong, well into his 80s. Gerry was wearing only his shorts and Wellington boots, which he preferred, while walking around the garden area. The weather was glorious, and had been for most of the week. He had checked the forecast on the web and it showed that today was going to be fine weather. When he had found out what the weather was going to be, he had said “A good day to be outside” to no-one in particular. Since his house was set high in the area he could see a long way off, and he had worked it out when he moved in that the visibility was about ten miles away. When he had first ventured into the garden today he had looked around, and could see no clouds anywhere. He then went and got the mower from the shed, and set it up. He was about to start mowing the lawn when he noticed what looked to be some dark clouds, off in the distance.

  “Damn it” he thought. “Where did that come from?” He watched for the next few seconds and could see that the clouds were coming his way. “Damn, damn, damn. I’ll have to hurry.”

  With that he started to mow, up and down. Nothing fancy, just a quick cut so that the worst of the grass was taken off. When he was finished he threw the cuttings into the recycling bin, and put the mower away. By now he could see that the clouds were a lot closer, and looked to be moving at a steady pace. From where he was positioned, he could see that the line of the clouds went in both directions as far as the eye could see. He looked at it for another few seconds, and then worked out that it followed a line that was going from north to south. It was a dark wall, coming his way.

  “What the hell…? What is that thing?” he mused, when he was interrupted by the radio.

  “Good morning. This is the BBC. We interrupt this program to bring you news of an unusual weather event that is happening now. We are broadcasting this announcement on all BBC stations, and all other radio stations will have their own broadcasts. Those of you who can should switch on your televisions, as we are covering the radio announcements with live TV news as well.”

  “Again, what the hell is going on?” Gerry moved to the TV remote, and switched it on. There was a news reporter that Gerry had seen many times before, but couldn’t remember the name of, going through his speech.

  “For those of you that have just joined us, we are bringing you live news of an event that seems to be happening across the country, and from disjointed information that we are getting, from other countries, we believe it is happening across other parts of the world. We are getting a lot of conflicting stories at the moment, but there seems to be some form of weather front moving across the globe. We are keeping this channel open, and will report anything when we have details.” He must have heard something on his earpiece, as he then said “We are taking you now, live, to a visual feed from the International Space Station.”

  The picture changed, and Gerry could see a film of the Earth from a few hundred miles up. It was immediately obvious that something was wrong. The Terminator, that line between dark and light, was nowhere near the UK, but there was another line showing, and this was moving across the planet, in a clear-cut straight line from the North Pole going all the way to the South Pole! Gerry knew enough to spot when something was not right, and this screamed out to him. He could see that the line was crossing England, and was almost on top of where he was.

  “Damn it to hell and beyond. That doesn’t give me much time. What the hell is this? What the hell is going on here?”

  He ran outside, and could see that the dark clouds – he stopped, and looked again. They were much closer now, perhaps a mile away at most, but still moving towards him. He tilted his head to one side, as a realisation hit him. “Shit, whatever you are, you are NOT clouds!”

  Although he was paying attention to the dark line, he began to be aware that people around him, in neighbouring gardens were starting to scream. There was yelling, shouting, and a few people were already crying. They were clearly watching the same news item that he was. He wasn’t sure, with all the noise going on, but he thought he heard one of his neighbours loudly leading some form of prayer. Why am I not surprised? he thought. Yeah, right. Prayer will so NOT help the situation! Think, Gerry – what the Hell is going on here? He went back in to the lounge to watch the TV, which was still showing the view from the ISS, but it now had a studio audio over-dub.

  “Once again, the government is asking people not to panic, but to stay in your homes. We don’t seem to have anyone who can give us any real answers to what this is, at this time, but we are being asked to stay calm, and stay indoors. If you can, close and lock all your doors and windows, and stay downstairs. If you have a basement, then get some water and foods basics and move into the basement until this has passed. Take a radio with you and keep it on, so that you can hear the updates.” The tension in the voice was clear, so the newscaster was obviously extremely worried, and trying to put a brave face on.

  Gerry could only manage a snort. “Well,
thanks for nothing, pal. I don’t have a basement, and I don’t think I have time to nip out to the shops for emergency rations.” He could see the wall or whatever it was coming closer. “Come on, think!” he shouted to himself. “Think!” He ran through some ideas, hoping for an answer. “What is this thing coming towards me, and what do I do about it?” He didn’t like the questions and certainly dreaded the answers, mainly because nothing sounded at all positive. “Point one -what is it? I have no idea. Point two - What can I do about it? Dammit, I have no idea!”

  He took the mobile phone from his pocket, and rang one of his daughters. While it was ringing all he could muster was “Damn, damn, damn!” Although they were in their early thirties they must be seeing this and they would probably be afraid. Hell, Gerry was afraid – he was just too long in the tooth to get overly excited over it. He had noticed that his heart was pounding, and realised that meant he was still alive – for now. He estimated that his heart rate had gone up by fifty percent.

  The phone rang for a few seconds and was then answered. “Dad, what is this? Are you alright? Have you any idea what this is?”

  “Slow down, kiddo. No, I have no idea what this is, or what we can do about it. Where are you, right now?”

  “In the flat. We are both here, and Samantha has Frankie with her.”

  “Good. My advice, and it’s got to be quick, because this thing is almost on us, is to close up everything – doors, windows – and get some water close to you. Stay away from the windows, until we know more.”

  “But what are we to do? Where has this come from? We are all so scared.”

  Gerry could tell that she was almost in tears, but since he was 50 miles away he knew there was nothing he could do to help. “Pass me over to Frankie. Quick!”

  She did so, and Frankie came on the phone. “Hi, Mr Davis.”

  “Frankie, call me Gerry. I’ll keep it short. I am fine at the moment, and I am getting ready for whatever this thing is. Hopefully we can catch up after it has passed. I have no better suggestions than what’s on the television. Get the water sorted, close up the doors and windows, and hope it’s going to pass.”

  “We’ve just finished doing that. For what it’s worth, Mr. Davis, I’ll try to take care of them.”

  “Good lad, Frankie. Keep them safe for me, will you?”

  “I will. You take care too.”

  At that point the phones went dead. “Damn. Some kind of interference, maybe?”

  He went to his land line and called his father. It rang and then he answered. “Dad, it’s Gerry. I don’t think the phone lines will hold up for much longer, so let me just say that I’m fine, I’ve just spoken to my girls, and they are fine. Frankie is with them, and he says he’ll look after them, and right now I don’t any alternatives available. How are you?”

  “Well, OK so far, but this thing is nearly on top of us. I’ll catch you on the other side, Gerry.”

  Then that line went dead, too. “Damn.”

  Since he had no real idea of what to do next, he went back outside. He had picked up his Samsung tablet, and turned it to record the video, and just let it run. He gave a running commentary, hoping that the tablet wouldn’t get too disturbed by the electrical disturbances.

  “This is Gerry Davis. It’s Saturday 15th June, and we are about to see what this thing is.” He set it up to face the oncoming clouds, and let it record.

  “I don’t know what is about to happen, but there is a large front of what looks at first to be clouds coming across the countryside, straight towards me. When the ‘front’ gets up close, you can see quite easily that it is not normal clouds. I don’t think it’s even a real weather front, at all. I don’t think I have ever seen anything like it before, and from what is being shown on TV and the radio I don’t think anyone else has, either.”

  As the dark front moved closer to Gerry he could make out that it certainly was a not cloud. It was consistent in its look, both ways, left and right, and went up vertically, into the sky.

  “How high do you go, I wonder?” Gerry looked across the whole span and could see no change. He ran through the possibilities, even while wondering if he should go back inside.

  “Think it through Gerry. It’s new, never been seen before. That suggests not Terrestrial. This is no normal weather front. Aliens? Nah, don’t think so. They’d be in their space ships, coming down from orbit. Maybe. Or invading, somehow. What does that leave? Think!”

  He was running out of ideas, and the news on the TV was no help – lots of news, but no real information – he could hear that there were lots of screaming children and adults around, and this thing was getting very close.

  “What the hell are you? What has happened to allow you to be there? You are running across the planet…” He stopped and thought. To have a line going across the globe like this… “Damn.” He went back inside, and looked at the television. It was still showing the pictures from the ISS, which is what he wanted to see. The line did look as though it was crawling across the globe, and Gerry thought he could see another line just off the Eastern coast of the USA. He knew a little about the planet, and could see that the lines weren’t moving much at all. They were almost stationary – it was the planet that was moving under the lines! He thought it through. “The line is pretty well fixed – it’s us – we are moving anyway. All that the line has to do is wait until we are under it. After less than twenty four hours they will have covered the entire globe. If there’s more than one then it’ll be a lot less.” He knew the rough speed of the planet, and could see that the lines should be moving much faster if they were stationary, close to 1,000 per hour. They were too slow, which meant they were travelling in the same direction as the planet, only not quite as fast. That accounted for their relatively slow speed.

  He grabbed his mobile phone and rang a number, hoping that it would work at least one more time. It was one that he hadn’t called in over five years. He hoped that the signals would hold, and that the person would answer. There were three rings and then “Gerry? What the hell are you doing calling me now – it’s not a good time, pal.”

  They had met at a conference in the USA some 20 years ago. It had been boring for both of them, but they had struck up a friendship, and stayed in contact. Gerry had climbed the Academic circles in the UK and Simon had worked his way through NASA, rising to be CapCom on more than a few missions.

  “Simon, shut it, and listen for a moment – we’ll catch up later. Watch the ISS pictures. The lines, or whatever they are, aren’t moving much at all. It’s the planet that’s doing the moving, and all that the lines have to do is stay still. I think they’re moving slightly but that’s probably due to friction or something, maybe a form of inertia. In less than a day they will have covered the entire globe without having moved an inch. Have you seen this?”

  “Um…hang on.” He went quiet for 15 seconds then came back with “Good spot, Gerry. We have all been headless chickens here, and no-one saw that. Where are you, right now?”

  “It’s about a half-mile away, and approaching rapidly. Check out my post code, and plot the tracks. There’s another one off the USA Eastern seaboard, so you haven’t got long. Good luck Simon. I think we’ll all need it. Do you have anything further?”

  “Nothing. Our machinery isn’t good at identifying it, if that’s what you mean. We are getting the same scrambled world news reports that you are, I guess? Oh, and they’re a continuous loop. At least two that we know of and they go around the whole globe.”

  “OK. No-one knows anything. Simon, it’s nearly here. I spoke to my dad just a little while ago, and I’ll say to you what he said to me – see you on the other side. Bye for now.”

  He ended the call, and walked to the back door. The front of the cloud was at the bottom of the garden, moving slowly towards the house.

  Excitedly he wondered “What the hell are you, and how can you be doing this?” As Gerry watched, the line advanced up the garden, and he could see that it was a for
m of transparent wall, with a reflective face. He could see his reflection in it as it drew nearer. He voiced his concerns to the Samsung tablet. “It’s like I’m looking in a shop window.”

  He made a decision. “Well, shit for brains – let’s see what you are made of.” He picked up the tablet, and aimed it at the wall. With that he went down the garden, and moved towards the barrier. He could see that the front, whatever it was, simply passed over the plants and trees in the garden. It was as if it just moved by them, with no interference to them. Up close he could see into the wall, and the garden behind had not been touched. With people screaming all around him he walked deliberately forward, and into the wall. And noticed…a slight tingle as he walked through it, but mainly he noticed nothing. There was no high wind, no changes of temperature, no nothing, really. He was now standing behind the wall, looking towards the back of the garden, and hardly noticing the wall at all. He turned, to look at the house. It was as if he was in a slight cloud, but that aside he could not make out anything strange.

  “Oh great, I’m in this thing, and there’s nothing for me to see? No change, no aliens, no weird temperature shift? No nothing at all! Just what the hell is this thing?”

  He then noticed that he could hear nothing. All of the screaming and shouting had stopped. He slowly turned around 360 degrees, to try to listen for any sound, but could hear nothing.

  “This just gets weirder by the second.”

  He checked the tablet, and saw that it was still recording. He checked his mobile, which showed no signal. He spoke aloud, not really knowing what else he could do.

  “This is Gerry. I have walked into the cloud, or whatever the hell this thing is. Apart from a mildly odd sensation when I walked though it there is really nothing to see or feel. It’s as if I am just standing in my garden in the midst of a very mild fog. There is no temperature shift either way, no weather changes and no changes in the light, either. Apart from the fact that the wall is still moving slowly in the same direction then I can’t see anything that is a cause for concern. Since no-one on the planet seems to have seen the likes of this before then I think we should all be concerned, it’s just that at this time I don’t know what to be concerned about.”