Something had to be done.

Carefully, and very discreetly, I began recruiting members of the scientific elite who I knew harbored similar misgivings toward Mabus and his mother. Over the months our flock grew to include several dozen engineers and astronomers, rocket scientists and mathematicians, all seeking freedom from a society we suspected would soon turn to ‘divine’ persecution.

Thus was born the brotherhood of the Guardian.

Ours was a secret sect, for to be caught opposing Devlin and Lilith meant dismemberment by their followers. Because our thoughts could be telepathically ‘tapped,’ each member of the brotherhood would only be addressed by his or her alias.

We decided upon historical names. As Guardian founder, I dubbed myself: Osiris.

Michael Gabriel’s identity surely must have screamed at me from the abyss of Bill Raby’s mind.

What our newfound Guardian brotherhood desired was a safe haven from Devlin and his growing flock. We had two choices; either relocate to another part of New Eden or inhabit one of the planet’s two moons.

Remaining on New Eden was only a temporary solution at best. Targeting the larger of the two moons, we made plans to steal a shuttle.

A former NASA rocket scientist, known to us only as Kukulcán, was convinced he could salvage enough fuel to get us to our destination. Another scientist devised headgear that would scramble our brain’s electromagnetic waves enough to prevent other colonists from eavesdropping. While this assured us at least some semblance of privacy while we prepared our escape, Devlin’s new religious decree meant we would have to work during our ‘sleeping’ shifts.

The three shuttles that had carried us into New Eden had remained abandoned atop one of the transhuman dome-scrapers for years. While the Guardian scientist, Kukulcán, worked on preparing one of the shuttles for spaceflight, the rest of us reconfigured the ships’ environmental suits for our elongated skulls. Agricultural pods were stocked, medical supplies secreted on board.

As the day of our departure crew near, we felt prepared for anything—

—never suspecting there was a Judas in our midst … .

27

NOVEMBER 22, 2033: KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, CAPE
CANAVERAL, FLORIDA

10:03 a.m.

The black limousine follows the NASA Parkway east, leaving Merritt Island and crossing the Banana River land bridge to Cape Canaveral.

Mitchell Kurtz instructs the vehicle to stop at a security checkpoint. A flashing sign orders everyone to step out of the car.

Immanuel Gabriel, a.k.a. Samuel Agler, his mother, and the two bodyguards climb out of the limo, allowing two heavily armed guards to check their credentials. A robot sensor sweeps the exterior of the motorcar.

Dominique places her palm against the portable DNA scanner, her false identity tag appearing on screen.

SUBJECT IDENTIFIED: YOLANDA RODRIGUEZ.

SUBJECT HAS GOLDEN FLEECE CLEARANCE.

HAVE A NICE DAY.

Kurtz submits to a weapons scan. An alarm sounds, piercing the humid night air, causing both NASA guards to aim their weapons. ‘Hands high and wide! Move!’