ARCANA Chapter 1 by William James Johnson

Foreword

"Armageddon,” suggestive of doom and damnation in the mouths of modern evangelists, strikes terror into the hearts of their faithful. The mysterious word actually means "The Hill of Meggido.” This was the predicted location of the war to end all wars. It later came to be known as Palestine, and today is recognized as the Middle East. Strategically located at the crossing of two important travel routes, military and trade, it became the centre of origin of the three major religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In biblical times, King Solomon stabled 450 horses at Meggido, establishing it as a military centre.

To understand the present, one must study the past. Even before Solomon, there lived in this historical land the patriarch, Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah. Ironically his name means "laughter,” which referred to the levity of the parents when God told them they would have a child in their old age. It was this same Isaac whom God asked Abraham to sacrifice as proof of his obedience.

Later Isaac took Rebecca as his wife, and they were blessed with twin sons, Esau and Jacob. The conflict which arose in this ancient family formed the basis for the tragedy still ongoing in the region in our times. Rebecca, favouring Jacob over Esau, the first born, deceived her blind husband by covering Jacob's smooth limbs with animal skins, so that Isaac would think Jacob was Esau and give him his blessing instead of to his first born as was the custom. In this conflict, as with all family struggles, time had a way of concealing the true responsibility for its beginning. Deception was its basis. Its results, if biblical prophesy is fulfilled, will be the most horrendous battle in man's history.

The meaning of names is significant in this story. The name "Arcana" the title of this novel, is a coined word which means "an ancient holy secret". The name Jacob means "the supplanter". Tradition tells us that God changed his name to "Israel" which is "perseverer with God". This adventure takes place at the beginning of the new millennium, after the attack on the descendants of Esau by the family of Jacob and the plunging of civilization into the worst depression ever experienced.

It is through this exciting adventure into the "Abode of IAM" that man is given a chance to survive the devastation of the end time as prophesied in the Bible. The journey is a challenge for anyone who has ever doubted the value of his traditional beliefs. Arcana is out of this world. It is a voyage into the near future, a philosophical journey into the dark recesses of each person's greatest fear. It is an opportunity to discover the secret which restores man's belief in a higher destiny.

Chapter 1

Henry van Arnhem listened to his car radio as the announcer, trying hard to control the urgency in his voice, spoke:

"It is now confirmed. President David Koster disappeared mysteriously from his residence last night. He was to fly to Guam today to witness the test of the neutron bomb over the island of Rocas. Chief of Internal Security, Gerald Thorpe, reported a glistening sphere was observed emitting a blinding blue flash directed at the study of the President. Kate Ramsey, the Koster housekeeper, said the sphere had disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. After notifying security, she went to the President's study where all that remained was the imprint of his slippers burned into the carpet and the faint odour of an electrical short."

Arnhem turned into the curving driveway at the White House. On his left he saw a cordon of ropes surrounding a burnt patch on the lawn about fifty feet across. A young Marine waved him on to a parking area at the side of the president's residence and opened his door.

"Dr. van Arnhem?"

"That's right."

"Mr. Thorpe is expecting you, sir. Would you please follow me?"

Arnhem checked the windows in his car and grabbed the brief case from the back seat. He locked all the doors, slammed the driver's door and checked it again. The young Marine led the way into a side entrance where the two entered a short corridor. The soldier placed his right hand palm down on a luminescent screen. The mahogany panelling opened to an elevator compartment.

"This will take us down to the bomb proof war room."

Thorpe was reluctant to bring the old scientist out of retirement, but he had no choice. The scientist had a reputation for being obstinate with the establishment and had been forced into an early retirement because of his UFO theories. The Central Computer selected him as the most likely person to explain the disappearance of Koster.

As he entered the elevator with the young Marine, van Arnhem tried to make small talk.

"How far down is this war room?"

"That's secure information, sir. I don't wish to be rude, but I'm not allowed to answer any of your questions."

"You mean they even have this place bugged?"

The escort pointed to a small pendant attached to his tunic. Arnhem recognized it as one of the personal electronic surveillance buttons which had been developed for all civil servants under the Koster regime. You either played the game Koster's way or you didn't play at all.

The soldier replied, "As I have said, sir, I am not permitted to answer your questions."

When the door opened another soldier met the visitor with an electric cart. He touched his left shoulder with his right hand, palm down, in the salute which had been adopted by the Modifier Party. His leader, Koster, firmly believed the best way to return law and order to his troubled country was to monitor all behaviour no matter how insignificant and to develop instinctive reactions. This salute, which was even used by ordinary people when greeting friends, was an example of instinctive response.

Koster had wanted to develop a unified mass whose responses would be predictable. Once predictable behaviour was established, it would be no problem to organize the mass to carry out the will of the state. This conditioning was evident when the people did not reject their president's announced plan to destroy the primitive population of Rocas in testing the neutron bomb. Koster had convinced his advisors and they in turn sold the concept to the nation: primitive peoples hinder the progress of the more advanced states. Destroying the seven hundred natives of Rocas would serve a greater good than letting them continue. It would not only give the US much needed scientific data, but also it would demonstrate to the whole world that America had power over life and death. They could have tested the bomb on an isolated island inhabited only by animals but that had not been good enough for Koster. He had wanted to go all the way.

The leaders of the USSR and China threatened retaliation if the US carried out its testing. Koster assured his cabinet, "They've got more serious problems than to concern themselves with the fate of a few hundred illiterates on an island they've never heard of."

The scientist was taken into Thorpe's private office. As he entered, Thorpe rushed over to meet the professor and gave the Koster salute.

"Henry, thank you for coming."

Arnhem did not return the salute and there was an uncomfortable few seconds of silence. Realizing he had made a faux pas, he gave a half‑hearted gesture to put things right.

"Good old Henry. Still haven't taken on the new way. You will, though. Everyone will in time." Arnhem did not like Thorpe taking this liberty with him.

"God forbid we should all become alike."

"God. Henry did you say God? And you a scientist!"

No one mentioned God anymore. It had taken only a few short years of Koster rule to eliminate the need for a Deity. Arnhem, an avowed agnostic, did not take offence at Thorpe's chiding.

"You know what I meant, Gerald. I'm sure you haven't asked me here to have a theological debate."

"That's true, Henry. We are in serious trouble. Before you meet the others, there are several things I would like to review."

He was told about the increase in UFO manifestations on the eve of scheduled neutron bomb tests. In numerous locations throughout the world, the heavens were alive with the most concentrated UFO sightings ever recorded. It was reminiscent of 1946 when radars had glowed with apple green blips as a squadron of nine UFOs flying in formation circled Washington's Capitol and then vanished from the screens as suddenly as they had appeared. Years of investigation by the United States Air Force had led nowhere. Many believed that outer space activity of NASA and the Russians had triggered these extraterrestrial fantasies.

Now on the threshold of the 21st century, the world's technology had produced a self‑indulgent North American society seeking its next narcotic fix rather than addressing the serious problems of over‑population, starvation, and disease. The "might is right" adage from the mid‑thirties was the slogan of modern America. "Doing your own thing" was no longer a mere epigram. Now the masses were terrified of lawlessness. In these conditions David Koster became a new breed of American president.

World renowned as a behavioural psychologist, Koster knew what buttons to push to get support. Building on a fear of anarchy he convinced the masses that less personal liberty was not too much to pay to protect private property and restore order. His Modifier Party won the largest mandate in history. Koster took that as a sign he could do anything as long as he got crime under control. Electronic bugging became "Societal Monitoring". In the so called land of the free, every home had an audio video communicator which fed conversations directly into a central computer which was programmed to make social behavioural judgments.

Koster won out over the religious fundamentalists who had had their heyday during the eighties. The attempt to make people believe the world's problems were all caused by Satan lost its appeal when Americans saw friends and neighbours opting out of reality into drug induced euphoria. Koster convinced them that chemical dependence induced by the state was the only way to control the unpredictable behaviour of addicts and at the same time remove the incentive of enormous profits enjoyed in the past by private dealers. Americans exchanged their freedom for narcotics supplied by their leaders.

Failing in their attempts to thwart the SM (Societal Monitoring) computer by developing their own spoken codes, thousands of citizens with any remaining sense of freedom were booked on suspicion of treason, and sent to work in the coal mines of the central states. By Koster's suspension of the Bill of Rights, van Arnhem saw that he had changed America from the last bastion of freedom to a nation controlled by a totalitarian megalomaniac.

His approach to the social problems which confronted his country was simple: man had caused the problems, man must find the solutions. He believed that all power resided in a well‑informed leadership and had to be exercised with discretion. This meant that decisions would be based on what was good for the majority, without regard for individual rights. In his inaugural address he stated, "Liberty is too precious to be wasted on individuals. As our society becomes more complex, the amount of individual freedom must be diminished proportionately to the will of the masses. If we are to be a powerful nation again, we must first restore power to the majority. Those who oppose the will of the masses shall become the servants of the strong. I promise you they will serve or they will not survive."

Thorpe also reviewed what had led to the world's greatest depression. Despite all the attempts by the West to provide alternative energy sources to replace Arab oil, the military‑industrial complex had increased its demand for high grade Middle Eastern crude. Russia too was in the energy conflict but the Arabs had refused to deal with either major power until the Palestinian problem had been resolved. Late in the nineties, after a summit in Geneva, both East and West gave Israel an ultimatum: secede the West Bank to the Palestinians or be forced out of the area altogether. Premier Itzak Wolman urged the major powers to rescind their ultimatum or promised that Israel would take drastic action against their threats. The great powers' hunger for oil clouded their ability to clearly see the Premier's intention. When the time to act upon the ultimatum arrived, Wolman sought a summit of all parties but was refused.

The night he received the signal of refusal, selected bombers of the Israeli Air Force struck at the key petroleum centres throughout the Middle East with nuclear weapons which had been in its arsenal since the sixties. The fireballs were seen as far away as central Italy and the world awoke to the news that Middle Eastern oil and millions of Arabs who lived in the refinery cities had been vaporised. Paralysed by the enormity of the Israeli attacks, no Arab nation retaliated. A stunned world was told that this small nation would never leave any portion of its homeland, even if it meant every person had to die. It was Massada all over again. The numbers of dead and dying rose daily as radioactive desert sand drifted steadily eastward with the prevailing winds killing untold millions. The grain crops of the southern Ukraine and central China were devastated. The world had never seen such total destruction.

In America, David Koster, with his brilliant background in behavioural modification was the right man at the right time. America needed a strong leader. With the charismatic quality of a Kennedy, Koster swept the country with his promise to restore the power once enjoyed by America in the forum of the world's nations. Although dismayed by the tragic action of Israel, he saw an opportunity in the current dilemma to regain America's power. As Commander‑in‑Chief, Koster ordered resumption of the development of the neutron bomb without delay. He even publicized the fact that the United States would soon have the ability to destroy people without damaging property. The technology for the neutron bomb had been neglected for the past twenty years and the time was right to reactivate it.

After months of intense scientific development the weapon to end all wars was ready. Despite intense pressure from all the ambassadors of the United Nations to cancel his plan to annihilate the 700 natives of Rocas with the neutron bomb, Koster gave the order to continue with the test. The United States Seventh Fleet blockaded the small island in the southern Pacific and had to eliminate several small craft which had gone to the area to prevent the testing. Even the Pope requested that everyone pray that God intercede and stop this criminal action. But Koster convinced his cabinet that to claim to have power and refuse to use it was worthless. He said that the world must see for itself that the United States was the leader among power brokers and that once this new weapon had been used, it would be the guarantor of peace forever.

The increase in UFO activity as the testing day drew near puzzled Koster and his experts but they withheld this information from the public. Some politicians believed it was a Russian ploy to delay the testing, others felt that the complexity of electronic activity was capable of producing unexplainable glitzes and that this increase was mere coincidence. Yet it was the night before the test that the real event occurred.

Working alone in his upstairs study in the early evening, David Koster was suddenly blinded by an intense blue light which filled the small room. Covering his eyes with his hands he stood up in the brilliant energy field which surrounded him smelling the scent of an electrical generator. Then it was all over. As suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished, and with it the Nation's leader.

"That's it, Henry. Now you know the whole story."

"He never should have gone ahead with his plan to kill all those people."

"You know what they say, hind sight is twenty twenty. Come, let's meet the others."

They walked down a narrow corridor to a metal door which opened into the vast war room. The enormous size of the war room awed the old scientist. Surrounding the large planning table was a map of the flattened sphere of the world. Electronic notations blinked on and off in many of the strategic locations where the US military were engaged. The status of nuclear subs and Strategic Air Command Bombers flashed intermittently. Banks of computers whirred incessantly as somewhere in this mass of data collecting other computers made demands on the system.

Thorpe resumed the dignity of his office and introduced Arnhem to the gathering. "Doctor Henry van Arnhem is the world's foremost expert on Ufology. You all know why I have invited him here and, Henry, I know that steel trap mind of yours has already surmised why you were asked to come on such short notice."

Arnhem studied their concerned expressions. He wondered what the so called "masses" would say if they could see the lack of confidence and even the look of sheer panic on some of the faces which the leaders of this great nation revealed at this moment. He recalled speaking to some of the older ones in previous cabinets about his theory of UFOs and being laughed out of the meetings. The over‑whelming sense of vindication made Arnhem savour this moment. Now in his late seventies, he remembered 1946, when as a young scientist he had propounded a theory about the UFO phenomena which had occurred over Washington. It was now time to recall again what had once cost him a prestigious appointment at MIT.

"Thank you for your kind words, Gerald. The administration was not always so generous in its praise."

There was an embarrassed smiling amongst the group, more from nervousness in this high strung gathering than from levity. Arnhem measured his words carefully.

"Has David Koster been annihilated by some unknown power?" He paused before continuing. "I think not. As yet I have not had a chance to look at the actual site where he disappeared, but I feel that what has happened is consistent with the UFO theory which I presented to my government over fifty years ago.

The record will show that, in September 1946, a battery of radar screens in the Washington DC area reported what appeared to be a squadron of nine aircraft flying in formation over the Capitol. The war department confirmed that no allied aircraft were airborne at that time. President Truman contacted Mr. Stalin and was assured that there had not been an invasion of our air space by the Soviets. Now understand, gentlemen, I was as prepared, as much as the rest of the technical advisors at that time, to accept the theory that what had occurred was random electronic interference, except for one thing. The films taken of the scope receptions showed a definite pattern which convinced me that what had taken place was not a sporadic happening, but a deliberate target flying in formation at speeds unheard of at our stage of technical development. Furthermore, several other radar sites made similar reports. How anyone could be convinced that this was just a technical disruption is beyond me."

He was beginning to feel the constriction in his chest which his doctor had told him was a danger sign. He had already experienced one serious heart attack and the excitement generated while telling of his problems of trying to convince the authorities of his theory in the past made it seem to be happening all over again.

Thorpe was becoming impatient with his visitor but did not wish to discourage him at a time when his knowledge was of such importance.

"Please, Henry, can we skip all that and get to the present?"

Arnhem's impatience flared. "No we can't skip that and get to the present. Not yet anyway. There is much more which must be said before we look at the problem facing us today. I have waited over fifty years for this moment. I cannot condense a lifetime of work into a fifteen minute capsule."

Thorpe's face coloured at the rebuke. He regretted now that he had asked the elderly scientist to address his group. He didn't like the aged. They were too difficult to manipulate. If David Koster were here things would be different.

"That's the problem with today's system," continued Arnhem. "You young fellows want the answer to every question, and you want it with the least amount of input."

The rest of the gathering were feeling the same embarrassment Thorpe had experienced. No one liked being put down, particularly in front of his or her peers. A young aide, in the ever present grey suit, stood to address the group first giving the governmental salute.

"Mr Thorpe, wouldn't we be further ahead to introduce Dr. van Arnhem to our MM Computer?"

Arnhem knew the aide was referring to the Memory Modifier which had been used to provide resource material for the Central Computer. It had been developed to brain scan scientists and other professionals within an hour after death to remove whatever bits of data might assist the new system. The MM Computer selected only pertinent information and eliminated all unnecessary data . It had been rumoured the government had secretly used the device on recalcitrant citizens to reprogram them while they were still living. It was a form of electronic lobotomy.

Arnhem's tone became threatening. "Do that, my friends, and you will lose your only chance of ever seeing David Koster again. I came to help. I would rather die by my own hand than let you mutilate my brain like you have done to thousands who have gone before me".

Charging forward, two of Koster's men seized the old scientist who managed to pull away from them. Gerald Thorpe interposed himself.

"Let him go. That's what David Koster always admired in you, Henry."

At the mention of Koster's name, they relented and gave Thorpe a chance to speak.

"You're a fighter. And so is President Koster, and we want him back. Help us Henry... Please help us."

The sincerity of Thorpe's tone placated the tired old man. "You see gentlemen, the reason I have had difficulty these many years getting my theories accepted is that I don't look to outer space as the source of flying objects, but rather I look to inner space.

"For many years I have been experimenting with the concept that spherical masses which have been formed out of congealed gases are actually hollow, doughnut shaped bodies. To put it into the simplest terms, our earth is hollow, and somewhere in the bowels of this mass, there is a civilization which is more advanced than we can ever hope to become."

As his assertion sunk in, some of his listeners began to smile. Arnhem had seen this happen before and he was ready for their criticism.

"But Doctor! Everyone knows the centre of the earth is a ball of molten rock!"

"Is it? Have you any idea, my learned young friend, how far into the earth man has actually gone?" He waited for a reply, but no one offered an answer.

"In 1959, man made an attempt during the International Geophysical Year to burrow into the earth's mantel in Operation Mohole, and managed to get down a total of seven miles...seven miles. Under forty thousand feet. We know the diameter of the earth is eight thousand miles, more or less. Calculate the ratio of man's efforts to unlock the secrets of his globe and you will realize that what I am saying is as important to man's knowledge, as Columbus discovering America. There is a world inside and the beings who propel the so called flying saucers reside in this world."

Gerald Thorpe had been take aback by this statement as much as the others. He interjected, "But we don't even know for sure that there are such things as flying saucers or whatever."

At last Arnhem had the kind of attention he deserved. As a professor he demanded it of his students, and now these desperate men were prepared to hear him out.

"The error most Ufologists make is to assume that these craft are extra‑terrestrial. I personally believe these creatures want us to believe they come from outer space because they don't want us messing around with their inner environment like we have done with ours. At the risk of being ridiculed, I am prepared to theorize that this race may have lived on the earth at one time. I contend that this super race continues to this day to monitor man's activities. This is the reason that in 1946 they came back to earth in such large numbers. They returned to earth to determine why the earth's atmosphere suddenly showed an increase in radioactivity. Remember, the nuclear bombs dropped on Japan had been released about a year before the strange radar sighting over Washington. Any race who can create such advanced craft surely must be capable of monitoring the increase in the radioactivity of the atmosphere. I calculate that it took almost a year for the increase in radioactivity after Hiroshima and Nagasaki to be detected in the upper atmosphere by the saucer people. When the increase was discovered, I feel they sent craft out to investigate what had caused the increase."

The old scientist paused, letting his theories penetrate the minds of his audience. He knew he had them. It wasn't like it had been under Truman when UFO activities were just beginning. Many countries were now seriously looking into ways to confirm or deny the existence of such sightings.

Arnhem continued. "You must understand, we are dealing with an advanced civilization. I suggest that these people, if I can refer to them as people, have probably mastered the atom and are capable of materializing or dematerializing using sophisticated ray theory. I've been told a blue ray was observed when our leader vanished. I believe, gentlemen, that what occurred was a controlled dematerialization of substance, and I believe our leader is probably at this very moment facing his captors somewhere in a kingdom in the bowels of the earth."

Gerald Thorpe was perspiring noticeably as he listened to Arnhem's theory. "But what about President Koster. What can we do?"

"We must go to him," said Arnhem.