The Children of Time (The Children of Time Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  “Would he be a Special Forces soldier, who coincidentally was in that place?”

  His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of reporter Andrew Thomas.

  “Sir, I got some information about the case. It’s not much more than what was published in the newspapers. It seems that they used a special kind of antigravity technology.”

  “Look for this kid and the woman who was with him. Come on, I need more information about this event. I see a great headline!” Dither said.

  “Chief, you must be joking. If we announce the presence of aliens, the credibility of our newspaper will drop to zero.”

  “But if we get the evidences, the effect can be better than expected. Have you ever thought of the possibility that we can prove the alien presence here on Earth?”

  “Yes, sir. Now I understand why you managed to become the chief. To go after unprecedented and fantastic news has always been your ideal. I’ll look for evidences with my team. Soon I’ll return with the results.”

  – X. The Sky and the Stars –

  When they discovered the location of the Science II, Merko and his team teleported themselves to their ship in Alaska and go directly to the deep of the oceans.

  During the trip the commander Merko sat in a chair on the ship and began to remember his last mission on Earth, exactly twenty-three years ago on the Earth calendar. He came to the planet with his friend Silion to test the space folds and the possibility of time travel.

  They were flying over Canada and the United States, before landing on the secret base in Alaska. During this flight, they were intercepted by the U.S. Air Force, which captured his friend in order to make experiments and study. That memory made him sad. He could still hear in his mind, repeatedly, a conversation with his friend shortly before the incident.

  “Merko, when we return to our planet I intend to live in peace with my wife and my two sons. This life keeps me away from the people I love most. It’s time to stop.”

  “I can’t believe you’re willing to retire, Silion.” Merko replied smiling.

  He felt his heart aching, and tears came to his eyes. The memories made him miss his friend from the bottom of his heart. There was a self-destruct mechanism created by the scientists of the planet Vida. All the time travelers were equipped with a heart and brain paralyzing substance, activated by electrical and hormonal waves of thought. In a situation of imminent threat they needed to focus their thoughts in death for three minutes and it would occur. Everyone who traveled to the past, especially to the planet Earth, received an implant with a chip that released this substance, so, when captured they weren’t used in experiments or delivered their military, technological or scientific knowledge. The discovery of such knowledge could provide harmful consequences for human beings, altering the story by changing the Earth’s past.

  ***

  Every night, Nicolas loved to walk with Zara around the streets of New York, such as the 5th and Madison Avenue. They walked arm in arm, like an ordinary couple. She hadn’t mentioned anything about with him on Earth again, and he preferred to let everything happen naturally, although, sometimes he felt anxious for her decision.

  On a Friday night, they stopped and sat on a bench to talk. Zara looked at the stars and said:

  “Nicolas, do you like to look at the stars?”

  “I like it, but when we went up with the ship, I could see the Earth from above and this was one of the most beautiful things I had seen. It’s all so magnificent and I thought how small we are.” He said, very close to her. He was so happy around her and talking about something he loved.

  “And to think that although the Milky Way has thousands of stars, planet Earth is placed in a solar system, located right in the “Arm of Orion”. The Sun is a star considered of fifth magnitude. The Alnilam star is six times greater than the Sun. The Antares star is three hundred and eight times larger than the Sun, and the Betelgeuse star is five hundred ninety-one times larger than the Earth’s Sun.” Zara said, with her face looking up. Her eyes were shining.

  “Do you have astronauts?”

  “The word ‘astronaut’ means traveler of the stars, but the moon is the farthest place to which man traveled in your time, so far. All of us, on our planet, are trained since youth in the astronomical sciences, because space and time travels are needed.”

  “And what about the black holes, do you have knowledge of them?” Nicolas asked, hugging her.

  “In the midst of our galaxies, and many others, there is probably a black hole, with approximately four million solar masses. That is what keeps the galaxy uniform. We aren’t sucked into them because of the rotation of the galaxy, as we are not sucked into the sun, because the translation of the Earth. The rotation of the solar system around the core of the Milky Way has a period of two hundred million years. It is believed that the black hole is a very dense body mass with large gravitational energy, and that not even light is able to escape it. That’s why he is black, because it has no light. It’s sucked to its gravity.”

  They remained silence for some time, watching the sky, feeling the sensation that the beautiful night was offering. The wind blew gently on their faces.

  “That’s how galaxies and planets work. Everyone needs to be on the move to keep their orbits and avoid being sucked by their suns, black holes and translational centers.” The doctor explained. “This galaxy, the Milky Way, performs rotational movements around itself, bringing the small galaxies into its orbit, while it rotates around its own core.”

  “This knowledge about outer space makes it so beautiful, that is easy to feel humble looking at it. A thousand years ago, the human being would find it impossible to use computers, cell phones, aircrafts, submarines and many other appliances and machines, which are routine in the present time. So when you get to planet Vida, you’ll see how we have are evolved. But for you, Nicolas, who studies physics, everything will be wonderful, especially our relationship with the environment and the new forms of energy.”

  They continued to look at the stars in the sky and tears flowed from Zara’s eyes. She missed her family and her home, which was so distant in her galaxy. Nicolas promptly wiped her tears with a handkerchief and asked her:

  “What is it, dear? What makes you cry?”

  “I’m remembering of my loved ones, in my planet.” Answered her, willing to disguise how much she missed them.

  This made Nicolas thought how painful would it be for her to have to move away from her world to live her life beside him. Trying not to be sad by her memories, she continued to talk about the stars:

  “Here in the northern hemisphere sky, we can clearly see my galaxy, M31, in the Andromeda constellation. You can also see the Ursa Major constellation, with seven major stars, that one with a square and a tail to the left side. Watch it.” She said looking up with attention, snuggling in the arms of Nicolas. She could feel the heart of her beloved pounding and knew that, deep inside, one day they could be happy, if it wasn’t for the difference between their worlds.

  “How beautiful is the immensity of the sky, especially on a night like this.” Added the boy.

  “That’s the constellation Ursa Minor, with a square, a tail facing up, and the star Polaris in the top, indicating north. But, in the southern hemisphere, there are also very beautiful stars.”

  “We could synchronize our watches and go to some country of the South America and to enjoy the night.” He suggested.

  His young and wild spirit together with the curiosity of knowing his own world better, really appreciated everything together with Zara.

  She was thinking about the dangers of moving away from the rest of the group, but thought about the moment she was living and soon agreed.

  “And where will we go?” She asked.

  “Let’s go to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Corcovado, where the Christ the Redeemer is. The view from there is amazing. They say that the landscapes of mountains mingle with the beauty of the sea creating an ecological paradise.”


  They synchronized their watches to the correct latitude and longitude and, in an instant, they were in the desired location. They materialized at the top of the stairs of the Christ the Redeemer, contemplating the beautiful landscape of the city of Rio de Janeiro. It didn’t take too long and they were already fixing their eyes in the southern sky. A couple who was kissing and drinking something sitting at the restaurant table, on that place during the evening, saw them appear out of nowhere, and the woman said:

  “Did you see what I saw? That couple came out of nowhere.”

  “Are they spirits or real people? Is there something wrong with our drinks?” Asked the man throwing away the beer that was in his glass.

  “We’d better get out of here.” Said the woman.

  Zara ignored the couple because she heard them say they would leave. Besides, she didn’t intend to stay there for too long. Then she began to describe the constellations of the heavens of the South American continent:

  “That constellation of four star in the shape of a cross is the Crux. There’s a fifth star called Intrometida, which means Intrusive in Portuguese.”

  “The names of the stars are Acrux, Gacrux, Mimosa, Pálida and Intrometida, which is the smaller one. The biggest part of the cross points to south and was widely used by mariners in the past.”

  “That’s why the Crux is part of the flags of several countries in the southern hemisphere, such as Australia, Brazil, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.” Nick commented.

  “Up above, we see the Three Mary’s, which are those stars aligned. They are part of Orion’s belt. The names of the stars are Mintaka, Alnilam and Alnitaka. They have a very strong light. To the North of the Three Mary’s, you can see the Betelgeuse star, and to the south, the Sirius star.”

  “Yeah, you know the sky of our planet very well!” He said, surprised.

  “It couldn’t be different, because for a traveler, to know the ways is an obligation.” Zara replied. “Besides, astronomy is a required subject in our schools.”

  Nicolas, in fact, was really enjoying everything he heard, while he stood staring at Zara’s blue eyes... That was the heaven he most admired.

  Then, slowly he began to approach his lips and kissed her deeply, at that moment, he forgot everything. He again felt the scent of jasmine that pleased him so much, and he finally decided to ask:

  “Zara, why do you always smell like jasmine?”

  “In the future, I researched a lot about you and I knew that your favorite scent was jasmine. So, I decided to use it to please you, which has always my biggest purpose.”

  Nicolas returned his lips toward hers. Then she put her finger on Nicolas’ lips and said:

  “We have to get out of here and return to New York. Our friends will be worried if we lose the contact. Let’s go, please, Nick.”

  Although he was happy in the company of Zara and observing the celestial firmament he admired so much, he knew it was necessary to go back. Always thinking about his mother Loraine and his beloved sister Sophia, he imagined how would they be, but he was oriented by Sivoc not to get in touch with anyone. At least for now, he couldn’t leave clues for Merko’s team.

  Besides, they also promised to bring Nicolas back to nearest time of his encounter with Zara in the past, when they returned from the Planet Vida. In other words, when he returned his disappearance wouldn’t be noticed by anyone.

  So, they synchronized their watches to return to New York.

  They met their friends in the apartment, where they gathered, customarily, to talk about the latest events in safety.

  Some drinks and food couldn’t be found on the planet Vida, which had a restricted diet of pre-made food and lots of pills. There wasn’t the same flavor provided by our foods. So, Nicolas ordered a delicious pizza, which would be accompanied by a special wine. An explosion of flavor that all aliens began to love.

  With each passing day, the boy introduced to his new friends all the diverse cuisine that was in the city where they were hidden. The aliens were pleased with the food and dishes of all kinds, with the gastronomy from nearly every country in the world. Those were unparalleled flavors that their palates weren’t accustomed to feel. In addition, tours to cinemas, theaters, bowling alleys and other entertainments made their visit to our planet very pleasant. This pleasure was completely new. They only knew the history of their ancestors.

  ***

  On a Sunday, Nicolas invited his friends to go to a huge amusement park that was in the city. The rollercoaster was kilometric. The boy challenged them to the adventure and everyone looked at each other nervous. Tibor said:

  “This is easy for me. I’ll buy five tickets.” So he ran to the box office.

  Zara was afraid, but decided to let the adrenaline rush. They all went to the rollercoaster and returned disheveled and agitated.

  Nicolas invited Zara to ride a Ferris wheel and when they were up there, he showed the beauty of the city to her, what ended up creating a romantic mood. When they stopped, they kissed with passion. It was amazing to notice the adrenaline of his lover, and also introducing her the good things of his world. He felt complete beside her and wished immensely that such moment didn’t come to an end.

  ***

  On another occasion, Nicolas took Zara to watch a movie that she enjoyed a lot. It was a novel and the meeting was very nice, with popcorn and soda, while they played and talked about nothing important. When he discovered that she liked the cinema and that her favorite movies were the romances, the boy decided he would take her to enjoy that kind of entertainment whenever possible.

  He knew he was somehow part of her life and that the pleasure they shared was genuine and unconditional.

  ***

  Nicolas also wanted to introduce the other beauties of our planet to Zara.

  “Zara, the people from your planet seem a little tense. They’re always talking about environmental destruction and degradation of the hydro resources of the Earth. Here on my planet there are many wonderful things to be done and seen. From the past to the present, humans were born, genius or not, and fought hard to turn people into what we are today. Freedom of opinion, the end of prejudice in all its forms, the search for the cure of many diseases that killed thousands of people were some of the reasons for these humans to fight so much. Revolutions in thought with great men and women who had stood out in history resulted in the achievement of equality rights and freedom of their nations. Even today, there are still fights in countries because of democracy and the basic rights of the human society. We still have many problems to solve, but there are wonderful people willing to do their part to improve our systems.” He paused for a moment, kissing her lightly on the lips and continued. “I would like to enjoy these moments we have together and take you to see other places.

  Then, he held Zara’s hand. They both pressed their watches and their first was at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The night was falling and the lights began to be turned on. She was dazzled by the sight and said:

  “What a beautiful thing, Nicolas. I didn’t know you were so romantic.”

  “Here in Paris we are behind the time of New York. We’ll have dinner at a restaurant on top of the tower. The view is unbelievable.”

  After a tasty dinner, the boy decided to make another surprise for his lover.

  “Honey, close your eyes, I’ll take you to another wonderful place.”

  So they went to the Taj Mahal Palace, one of the most popular monuments of India. The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the modern world. With their walls full of with semi-precious stones, the dome has gold strands, which impress the visitors. They say it was built to house the body of the wife of a powerful sultan of the country in which it is located.

  “Nicolas, it looks a bit like the Palace of the King Zador II, on my planet. It’s beautiful and magnificent, and the clothing of the people are very different from those used in other countries.” Said the doctor.

&nbs
p; “Here on Earth there are different traditions. So many races and cultures are a great opportunity for the human being to live with differences and develop their spirituality. That’s what makes our world so special.”

  After that, they returned to U.S.A. to meet the other members of the team.

  Sivoc observed with attention that Nicolas and Zara wanted to be together all the time and there was nothing more to do to prevent the relationship of the two of them. He knew there were reports in his planet about other encounters between humans of different ages and the result was unpredictable. He imagined that it was actually possible to have hybrid terrestrial beings living among children of humans and extraterrestrial beings of the future. Although they transmuted themselves to accomplish their missions, their new bodies provided a loving approximation for the people from Earth. “When love dominates the mind and heart, anything is possible. Humans will always fall in love, because this is the formula for the perpetuation of the human race.” Reflected the commander.

  He remembered his wife Laiza and his kids. He thought about how hard it was to conquer her because, at the time, her family didn’t allow their marriage. Since he was a traveler scientist, her parents knew she would only be able to stay with her family while her husband was on a mission. That wasn’t what they wanted to Laiza. However, now she was his great love and everything he did was for the sake of his family.

  Therefore, he didn’t know if he had the right to interfere in the love that was born between Zara and Nicolas.

  – XI. The Other Mission of Merko –