“Before Enlightenment, chop wood carry water; after Enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” Zen Proverb PPenelope leaned back in her chair and let this new information soak in. “Me?” “Yes, pumpkin. You. And you can pretty much expect a rock star greeting, by the way.” “Why?’ “He has told everyone that when we get you to the complex we’ll all be able to see our family and friends again.” “What?” Penelope was stunned. “It’s been rough on some of the crew, especially the married ones that for one reason or another couldn’t have their spouses join us. Walker kept them informed as best he could, but it has been rough.” “I still can’t believe you all volunteered to leave your family and friends behind.” Paula pulled back and gave Penelope a quizzical look. “Of course we did. You know how important this is.” Penelope shook her head. Something between a snort and a laugh escaped from Paula. “You still don’t get it, do you?” “Get what?” 201 The Fourth Awakening “If you have to ask, then you have to ask.” “You’re starting to sound exactly like…” Penelope caught herself before saying Walker. “He who must not be named.” Paula sat back and was visibly fl ushed. “That is like the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” For the first time Penelope studied her traveling companion. Th ey were close to the same age, with Paula maybe three to five years younger. Incredibly buff, with next to no body fat on her five-six frame, her complexion was dark and windswept like someone who spent most of the daylight hours out of doors. That healthy glow that went deeper than just a good tan seemed to be a pattern with all of the Hermes Project people she had met. She had milk chocolate brown eyes that twinkled when she smiled, but could turn serious quickly. Her auburn hair was close cropped and sun streaked, and her nose looked as though it had been broken a time or two. Attractive, but not pretty by any standard, she carried herself with confi dence and a “take me the way I am or kiss my backside” attitude. She had not noticed before, but Paula was also wearing a different color “Zion National Park” shirt, similar to the one Penelope had on. The man thinks of everything. Anyone who saw them would assume they were old friends on vacation together. Paula flipped their trash in the garbage can and motioned toward the main entrance of the concourse. “We should be hittin’ the road; the shuttle will be leaving in a couple of minutes.” They walked in silence for a few moments as Penelope continued to digest all of this new information. Michael Walker was undoubtedly the most complex and multi-layered person she had ever met. He seemed to be completely sincere in his beliefs, plus he was handsome and rich. Why, she thought, was this man walking the streets unattached? They were nearly to the terminal door when Paula glanced over at Penelope and smiled. “What?” Penelope asked “When are you going to ask me?” “Ask you what?” “What you’re thinking right now.” “What?” “Does he have girlfriend? Is he gay?” “Who are you talking about?” Penelope walked a few more steps when it hit her. “Oh.” 202 Rod Pennington & Jeffery A. Martin “Oh,” Paula said with a mischievous smile. “Lord Voldemort.” “How did you know that was what I was thinking?” “Good Lord, you‘ve been shoutin’ it so loud and so often it is startin’ to get annoying.” “Really?” “Ya. Really. When you’re sending out thoughts to the universe that loudly people like us can’t help but hear ‘em. Soon you’ll be, too.” “So you’re saying soon I’ll be hearing voices in my head?” Silently Penelope wondered if Walker had been hearing her thoughts on this issue as well. “Yep, well sort of.” “Isn’t that an early sign of insanity?” “It’s on our list.” “What is?” “To see how many people are in mental facilities who don’t belong there.” “You’re kidding?” “No. Those who believe God is telling them to go out and kill someone are probably right where they belong. But the rest may have been awakening, but made the mistake of mentioning the wrong thing to a mental health professional. It’s much worse if this happens to you in a place like Western Europe or the United States which has its head buried so deep in science they wouldn’t recognize a non-symbolic state if it bit them in the ass.” “Non-symbolic. He tried to explain that to me without much luck.” “Enlightened was getting so over used around the compound we sorta came up with a new way to describe it better,” Paula said with a laugh. “That’s the first one to stick.” “Doesn’t help me understand it any better.” Paula sighed and scrunched her face as she tried to find the right words. “Okay. Try this. We use language to communicate, right?” “Right.” “Our language is based on symbols. “Words such as sky, tree, sun, clouds all help us form a visual image so we can make ourselves understood by other people.” “So far so good.” “When you move into a non-symbolic state—some will call it 203 The Fourth Awakening enlightenment but that barely scratches the surface—the symbolic world is replaced.” “Replaced with what?” “A non-symbolic consciousness.” “The logic here escapes me.” “Spoken like a true Westerner. It is much easier to grasp the concept if you live in an Eastern culture.” “Care to explain that?” “Sure. Take India for example. They’re much better at recognizing enlightened souls since they aren’t so committed to rational thought as the end all to reality. In Western cultures they want everything proven scientifically. Over here we might look at someone as a crazy homeless guy muttering to himself. Over there he is a holy man and the folks look aft er him.” “Hmm,” Penelope said. “I did a paper on the Sadhus Holy Men when I was in college.” “Really? Why?” “Far Eastern religions were very hip back then.” “I had kinda dropped that one down the memory hole,” Paula said. “Come to think of it I still have my Ravi Shankar albums somewhere.” “So what you’re saying is there could be people who are Awakening and don’t know what’s happening to them?” “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Haven’t you felt like you were goin’ nuts for the past few months?” “I’ve wondered a bit off and on.” “And what if you had shared those feelings with your shrink?” “I probably would be taking Th ioridazine.” “There you go.” Penelope tucked her arm under Paula’s and pulled her closer. “Let’s get back to what matters, so does he have a girlfriend? Is he gay?” “Definitely single and available. His first wife died about ten years ago, and before the Project he apparently was quite the ladies’ man. Since then, not so much.” “Hmm,” Penelope said. “Interesting.” Finally a straight answer. “Interesting. That’s a good word for it. About every woman above the age of consent that stumbles across his path gets the hots for him.” Paula let her get on the shuttle first and checked behind them before boarding. 204 Rod Pennington & Jeffery A. Martin “I’ve almost been tempted.” Penelope thought that was a bit of an odd thing to say. “You don’t fi nd him attractive?” “He’s not exactly my type.” “Really? What is your type?” “You, actually.” Paula had a huge smile as she watched the blood drain from Penelope’s face. She patted Penelope’s arm. “Don’t worry, pumpkin, I’m not hitting on you. At my age I don’t have the time or energy anymore to try and convert a straight chick like you. Too big of a project, and it never works out for more than a few months anyway.” Penelope Drayton Spence, suburban housewife and mother of three, was speechless. There had been a moment in college with a friend named Melissa when she had briefly considered the possibility, but her Southern sensibilities and upbringing had ensured she let the opportunity pass. When she finally recovered the ability to speak she said, “I’m fl attered. I guess.” Penelope thought for a few moments and then her reporter’s instincts kicked in again. “What makes me your type?” “You’re pretty and feminine but tough enough that you don’t fold up like an accordion when things get rough. You were great in the airport, by the way. Those two guards walked right up to and all you did was smile and keep walkin’. Very cool. The articles you’ve written so far have been absolutely kickin’. You’re smart as hell and, most important,” Paula waited until Penelope made eye contact. “You wouldn’t be surprised that Paul McCartney was in another group before Wings.” They both laughed. “My son is gay.” “Really?” Paula patted her on the leg. “Some say it’s genetic. Maybe there’s hope for you.” . TThe mood on the Homeland Security Gulfstream was gloomy. The Director had ordered Marcus Wolfe and his team to return to Washington immediately for a personal debriefing on how a restrained suspect, surrounded by law enforcement officers, had been allowed to escape. In the past hour, there had been nearly a dozen reported sightings of Penelope Drayton Spence from Portland, Maine to San Diego, California and pretty much every place in between. 205 The Fourth Awakening . AAssistant Director Robert Smith had elected to stay in Salt Lake City on the remote possibility that one of the tips from the Mountain or Pacific Time zones panned out. Smith was sitting on one of the four barstools in the Club Room of the Radisson Hotel, located about halfway between the airport and downtown Salt Lake City, nursing a second scotch and water, and waiting. He had been there for about forty-five minutes and was just about to give up when he felt someone slide onto the stool next to him. He didn’t have to look up. “I’ve been expecting you.” “Hope I didn’t get you into too much trouble,” Michael Walker said. “Actually this last one worked out great.” Smith took a sip of scotch. “You escaped about five minutes after Marcus took full responsibility for your safe delivery to Washington.” The Walker chuckled softly. “He’s never lacked for self-confi dence.” Smith took another pull from his scotch. “Shepherd knows you have a mole in the agency, and he’s sure it’s me.” “You’re the perfect candidate. I would suspect you, too.” “Thanks, that makes me feel much better.” The two men sat in silence for a moment before Walker said, “Th ey have to know the lid is about to blow off all of this one way or the other.” Smith leaned one elbow on the bar and turned toward Walker. “You wouldn’t throw the Spence woman to the wolves by letting her release classifi ed information…” “I don’t think it will come to that.” Walker said interrupting. Smith turned back and faced forward toward the bar. “I wouldn’t be so sure. For starters, there’s a group at the Pentagon that&rsqu............