NINE
"A heavenly body, possibly as large as the planet Jupiter and possibly so close to Earth that it would be part of this solar system, has been found in the direction of the constellation of Orion by an orbiting telescope…. 'All I can tell you is that we don't know what it is,' said Gerry Neugebauer, chief IRAS Scientist"
– The Washington Post 1982
"This looks like a good spot"
The Doctor was standing perfectly still and holding his photo album to his chest whilst gazing out across the huge expanse in front of him. He looked casually around to see Martin staggering up behind him clutching tightly to the two folded deck chairs.
"Yeah, let's plonk them down here, Marty" The Doctor said stamping the ground with his left foot. "We've got a great view here… It's even better than the one we had when we first met!" He nodded out towards the beautiful scenery.
They were stood, yet again, on a huge hill. The terrain in front of them was a mixture of grass and sand and, most evidently, Martin could see what looked like some sort of primitive city. He could make out dwellings that were more like mud huts and he could see tiny dots in the distance that were obviously people going around their daily business. The area directly in front of where Martin and The Doctor were stood must have gone on for miles and a shimmering heat haze hid the distant horizon.
By now The Doctor had taken the chairs from Martin and had unfolded them with lightning speed. He was already sat down and was hunched forward with his precious photo album clamped between his knees.
Martin sat down slowly beside him. "Where…. And when … are we, Doctor?" He asked softly.
The Doctor looked around at him. "Oh, that doesn't matter right now, Marty" He said breezily, "We're safe and we've got a great view". He sniffed the air appreciatively "And, besides… I don't want to spoil the surprise"
Before Martin could respond with yet more questions The Doctor was opening the photo album and pointing at the first page. He handed the book to Martin who took it cautiously.
What was he going to see inside it? Was he sure he really wanted to know?
On the first page was a sharp, clear picture of a beautiful, blue planet. It was Earth.
"Touch the picture, Marty" The Doctor said smiling softly.
Martin put the tip of his finger on the picture and the image came to life like someone had just released the 'pause' button on a DVD. The perfect blue pearl of a planet rotated slowly and majestically, as thin, white clouds danced and swirled with shades of grey and black.
"Beautiful" Martin whispered to himself.
"So…" The Doctor began, "This is the Earth. In many ways, an unremarkable little planet that was formed around 4.5 billion years ago in this tiny part of the universe you've come to know as the Milky Way. One of ten planets that was formed around that sun…" He looked up from the album and pointed up at the bright orb in the sky, "Which is, of course, just one of billions and billions of stars that make up this tiny, little corner of the cosmos." He looked at Martin, "Hey, here's a little bit of universal perspective for you." He cleared his throat and carried on, "Do you know that if the history of your planet Earth was comparable to a year long calendar then mankind has only been around for the last thirty seconds of December the 31st?" He grinned happily at Martin as if that sentence had just summed up everything that needed to be said.
Martin didn't look impressed. His face was blank and expressionless as his mouth hung open slightly like a particularly bored goldfish.
The Doctor's face fell suddenly as if his best joke had just fallen on deaf ears. Undefeated, his smile returned suddenly, "And, of course, the Universe itself is 14 billion years old, so that makes the Earth a bit of a toddler of a planet when compared to other worlds out there." He looked at Martin expectedly. Again Martin was silent and was simply staring back down at the photo album.
Still undeterred The Doctor carried on, "So, in other words, Yahweh didn't create the universe and all the 'heavenly realms', as much as his followers would love to have you believe, and his dealings with Earth are just nano- seconds ago when compared to the vastness of the universe and time itself."
He grinned his best grin and nodded at Martin excitedly as if he'd just given him the final clue to a long forgotten puzzle.
Martin's silence was just too much for The Doctor. "Well?" He asked impatiently, "What do you think?"
"Errmmm…" Martin struggled to reply, "…ok" He responded softly, "I'm with you so far."
"Good" The Doctor frowned and then smiled as he took the album back off Martin and turned to the next page, "So… life evolved here, like it does… amoebas, amphibians, dinosaurs, mammals, apes…" He flicked through the pages and Martin glimpsed pictures of huge dinosaurs and beautiful, colourful animals. He saw images of ape like creatures, giant woolly mammoths and sabre tooth tigers that were surrounded by piercing white snow. "So everything was evolving fine and dandy on it's own when…." He turned another page to show an image of another planet. This one had reds and browns mixed in with blues and whites as The Doctor touched the picture to bring it too life. "This is Nibiru and, as all the ancient, ancient texts will tell you… this was the home of the Gods."
Martin gazed at the sphere as the Doctor's voice carried on…
"This is the legendary tenth planet of your solar system… the famous 'lost' planet… and the reason it is lost is it's orbit takes it away from this part of the solar system every 3,600 years and it's periodic returns have seeded life on Earth and accelerated it's evolution. The inhabitants of Nibiru came to earth around 200,000 years ago and genetically interfered with mankind's evolution and created you guys." He nodded at Martin. "Hence, the 'missing link' between ape and man. That's why scientists can't explain mankind's sudden evolutionary jump 200,000 years ago. But the truth is you just got a 'jump start'… a 'push up' the evolutionary scale."
He closed the book but kept his hand inside so as not to lose his page. "One of the first lines in the book of Genesis in your Bible originally said, 'In the beginning Elohim said 'Let us create mankind in our image… in our likeness'. Now 'Elohim'… the original word for 'god'… translates as 'those that came from the sky'. It was plural. God wasn't one mighty ruler but flesh and blood beings that created mankind in their own image. All your ancient religions and holy books have always said this but over time the message has been lost as monotheism … the belief in just 'one' god…. Has been slowly edited into the fabricated history of your world."
He opened the book again and showed Martin the image. It was a picture of a man who wore an impossibly long scarf. He was holding his hat tight to his head and pointing at two huge domes that filled the landscape behind him.
The Doctor touched the image and the screen sprang to life.
"I'm standing in front of the in-famous Gardens of Eden" The man in the picture shouted above the wind that tore at his scarf and hat. "The Elohim have been busy working on their 'slave race' and it all seems to be going smoothly."
The picture slowly panned to the left and Martin could see inside the huge domes more clearly. He could see massive green trees, water falls and beautifully coloured flowers scattered through out the domes. He could also see human beings laughing and playing happily together whilst others swam in the picturesque lakes and fountains.
The camera panned upwards and Martin could make out figures in the sky floating down on shining discs. The scarf wearing man had been smiling all the time into the camera and had yet to see the figures behind getting closer to him. His face fell suddenly as he looked beyond the camera at whoever was operating it. "Are you ok, Sarah? You look at little pale," he said worryingly.
The image froze again and Martin looked up at The Doctor.
"Slave race?" Martin asked hesitantly.
The Doctor sucked air threw his teeth. "Yeah, I'm afraid so. Mankind was originally created to work 'the toil of the gods', as the ancient Sumerian texts say. Which was mining, really. Where do you think the idea of the 'underworld'… 'Hell', if you like… came from?"
"Mining for what?" Martin's voice cracked and spluttered.
"Gold" The Doctor said simply. "As boring and as ordinary as that sounds, that's what the Gods wanted... Gold…. Along with other minerals common to the Earth but rare on other worlds… But gold has certain properties… very powerful properties… that mankind hasn't even tapped yet. The ancients knew this that's why…" He turned another page and the image was of three gleaming, majestic pyramids. "That's why the Pharaohs of Egypt were obsessed with the stuff. One of their many gods, Marduk, told them that 'Gold is the splendour of life'."
With a touch from The Doctor's finger the picture sprang into action. The pyramids were more beautiful than Martin had ever imagined. The sides were almost reflectively bright and perfectly smooth, the tip of each one shone like white gold and, as the camera moved around, Martin could see small flying vessels racing through the clear blue sky.
The Doctor turned yet another page and Martin gazed intently at the image. A small man with a Beatles-like haircut stood next to a strong, stern looking individual with a neat, trimmed beard and sharp, dark clothes.
"Now, this is… well, the Aztecs called him Nene whilst in the near east he was Atra-Hasis, Utnapishtim or Ziusudra…. As you're from the west you may know him as Noah… and he and his family are the only ones who survived the 'great flood' as it has been called. In reality, the great flood happened not because of 'God's judgement' but because the planet Nibiru, in one of its 'visits', got so close to the earth's own orbit that it was castrosophic for this planet and, of course, pretty bleak for mankind too… It ripped the planets land mass to shreds killing every one and everything apart from this guy, his family and their collection of genetic samples for every living creature"
He tapped the picture and the image became alive. "Hold the camera still please, Jamie." The little man said, "Have you got it on?… Yes?… Good… Now, this is… well, let's call him Noah and these…" He held up two tiny discs like objects, "These hold the genetic prints for every species of buffalo and warthog you can think of. And he's got the rest of the entire animal kingdom in there, on these little floppy discs" The little man nodded off camera and the image spun round to show a huge, wooden boat that was stood on dry land.
"Oh, it's starting to rain, Doctor" said a Scottish voice from behind the camera.
The image spun round once more to face the little, dark haired man "Yes, Jamie… I do maybe think it's time we were off". The image froze once more on the little man's impish face.
"Oh, I was so cute" The Doctor said happily. "And look," he added, "The animals did go in two by two". He tapped the side of his deck chair with his finger twice as if slotting a floppy disc into place.
"How did Noah get the technology for those discs?" Martin said shaking his head in bewilderment.
"Mankind had evolved side by side with their gods, Marty. Have you not been listening? There was thousands of years between the creation of man and the 'Great Flood'…. In fact, about 187,000 years to be precise… A lot had happened… Wars had been fought…. In 'heaven' and on earth… Millions upon millions of human lives had been lost under the lordship of the gods and their many wars, which they seemed to just love creating." He turned another page. "Because the gods had themselves been genetically enhanced to live for many millennia they ruled and subjugated for centuries, appearing immortal to their worshippers. Even the first humans were gifted, at first, with amazingly long life. Even in the plain texts of the Bible some of the characters in there were said to have lived for hundreds and hundreds of years. It was more like thousands of years, if we're been honest!"
Martin looked down at the page. It showed, what looked like, a gleaming, golden air craft.
"Human achievement evolved too" The Doctor said calmly. He looked around at Martin "You remember the story of 'The Tower of Babel', don't you? Well, the 'Tower of Babel' was in fact a craft built by mankind that would have taken them to the stars. But the gods destroyed it as they started to believe their creations were getting too big for their boots, as it were. These humans needed holding down…. Put in line" The Doctor closed his book and looked off into the distance. "They initiated wars, armed kings with powerful weapons and often marched with them against places like Babylon and Egypt. They launched a long-term program of undercover operations, like the Immigration of the Jews into Egypt, the Exodus… and we saw that first hand, didn't we?" He nodded gently at Martin. "Look" He pointed down at the book and Martin saw Yahweh's huge mother ship that he had just seen himself hovering over Mount Sinai. On the facing page Martin saw a picture of himself stood next to the Doctor. The Doctor's arm was wrapped around him and the grin on The Doctor's face was completely at odds with the sad, tearful look that dominated Martin's own face. It was the picture the old gentleman, the 'other Doctor', had taken earlier. "Ah" The Doctor let out a squeal of recognition. "I'd always wondered when that as going to be taken" He let out a laugh and tapped Martin affectionately on the back.
"So, basically, the gods initiated development into paths of conflicts, neutralizing the development of civilizations based on science and learning. To keep control through 'blind faith' they made sure the replacement of science and philosophy was taken by the introduction of doctrines and dogma, along with the persecution of people outside of 'The Chosen Ones' and the burning of books. If you questioned any of this you were destroyed instantly and condemned as a 'devil worshipper'."
The Doctor stared down at the photo album and touched the image of Yahweh's Mother ship. It's menacing bulk rotated as dark clouds bellowed out surrounding the huge vessel.
Martin literally shivered at seeing the sight of it again.
"Now, Yahweh had his own agenda and wanted to be worshipped as the 'One True God'. His first commandment was to love him and only him and to put no other gods before him. The only way forward for Yahweh was to create a new covenant of trust and a loyalty to one god alone. This he tried to do through the Israelites. Only in that way could he bring forth a new generation that was untainted by the polytheism of the Egyptians. Yahweh believed that only through monotheism could mankind be truly subjugated."
The Doctor stopped for breath and, just as he was about to start speaking again, he turned to Martin, smiling weakly at him.
"How are you feeling now?" He asked softly.
"I feel like I'm having my head mangled into pulp, to be honest," Martin said dejectedly, letting out a small nervous laugh. He shook his head and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Can I just stop you there, Doctor, and ask: Where is love in all this?"
The Doctor seemed taken aback for a split second and then smiled warmly at Martin. "Good old Martin. That's what I like to see. You're not taking any one's word for anything."
He stood up and then stood in front of Martin, blocking the sun's rays from hitting the man's tired face. "I'm glad you asked me that because we really do need to get to 'love' at some point, don't we?"
"Yes… yes we do. It's just that, all this talk of aliens and gods and wars…" Martin began, "It's like… how did spirituality evolve from this? Is love just a chemical imbalance in the human brain or something? How could all this be true? I don't get it. I just don't get it!"
Martin's head sank down as he put his head between his knees and stared at the green grass beneath his feet.
"I'll tell you what you need" The Doctor said patting Martin gently on the top of his head, "You need to speak to someone who's knows what they are talking about with regards this whole 'love' thing." He smiled his best smile at Martin. "Now I did promise I'd bring you here and I'm not one to go back on a promise"
Martin looked up and around him. "Here?" He said softly. "Where is here?"
The Doctor looked at him and smiled. He moved out of the way of Martin's view and pointed at the primitive city in front of them. "That's Nazareth down there and it's 29AD. I've brought you to where you said you wanted to go"
He looked at Martin, as a look of realization dawned across the man's face.
"Jesus…" The Doctor nodded, "I've brought you to see Jesus"
"The past is dead
The Future is imaginary
Happiness can only be
In the Eternal Now Moment"
- Ken Keyes JR
