20th May
Bishop Julian Summerland turned to the driver of his Landrover. The driver clearly spoke no English, so the trip from Sanliurfa had been a quiet one.
The bishop asked the driver to wait, using his very limited Turkish, and handed to him part of the agreed fare for the journey.
The man smiled and gave the bishop a thumbs-up to indicate his understanding.
The bishop climbed from the Landrover and walked onwards, up a small incline, to the plateau where the remains of the ancient complex of Gobekli Tepe had been excavated.
The area appeared deserted except for a small group of people who were examining one of the tall, carved pillars.
Summerland sat down on a bench overlooking the dig and wiped his brow with his handkerchief. The sun shone down from a cloudless, blue sky, and he judged the temperature to be about seventy degrees Fahrenheit.
He watched the group move away from the pillar and amble their way towards him, observing other features of note as they went. One then spread a tarpaulin on the ground, and most of the group sat down upon it.
A woman in her mid-forties or early fifties walked to where Summerland was seated and sat down beside him. ‘It’s a fascinating site, isn’t it?’ she said. ‘It’s the oldest known religious structure of this magnitude.’
‘Some say it’s the site of the Garden of Eden, where God first walked upon the Earth,’ Summerland replied.
‘What do you think?’ she said.
‘I have faith that it is,’ said Summerland. ‘I think this place is more important that most people realise. My name is Julian Summerland, by the way,’ he added, feeling that it would be polite to make introductions.
‘My name’s Angela,’ said the woman, ‘Angela Rikard. I’m glad that at least one Master of ARK could join me here.’
Summerland looked at his companion in surprise. ‘Has Arkangel sent you?’ he said.
Angela Rikard rolled up her right sleeve to her elbow to reveal a tattoo of a four-legged, lizard-like creature. Summerland recognised this as being identical to one of the famous pillar carvings at Gobekli Tepe. He also knew it as the mark of identification for Arkangel.
Summerland was stunned. He had consistently voted against the ordination of women. It was clear from biblical teaching that men were the natural heirs to the ministry of Christ – men were only to be assisted by His lesser creation, women. How was he to reconcile that with the leader of ARK being a woman?
‘I know this is a bit of a shock for you,’ she said, as if reading his thoughts. ‘God moves in surprising ways. Just trust me.’
‘Why did you want the Masters of ARK to come here?’ Summerland asked.
‘As you know,’ Angela Rikard began, ‘the ancient texts from this site, and other locations, talk of a flaming god appearing in the sky.’
‘The asteroid,’ said Summerland.
‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘The texts from Gobekli Tepe also talk about a sign that will appear before the flaming god returns for the final time.’
‘What sort of sign?’ Summerland asked.
‘Sam Collins said that the texts were damaged and detailed information had been lost. Sam translated the sign with the word “harbinger”. He calculated that it would be due to appear on the twenty-second of May – the day after tomorrow. Sam’s translation reveals that some of the structures at this site were built specifically for that day, so if there is to be a sign, this seems to be the best place to witness it.’
‘Have you learned any more about the fate of the other Masters?’ asked Summerland.
‘Leadbetter and Morrison must be involved,’ Angela Rikard replied. ‘I don’t know much more than that. They appear to have abducted Hunter, Rycroft and Forrester. Rycroft and Holland are dead, and we don’t know if Hunter and Forrester are dead or alive. Leadbetter and Morrison clearly also have support from within MI5 and MI6.’
‘Did Morrison kill Holland?’
Angela Rikard paused. ‘Look, Julian,’ she said, ‘there may be only the two of us left now. In the past, ARK has worked on a need-to-know basis. I think that you need to know it all so we can try to prevent Morrison and WAR from bringing the world to an end.’
She glanced down the track in the direction from which Summerland had come. A man was slowly walking towards the ruins. ‘The only people on this site should be us and my bodyguards.’ She gestured towards the people sitting on the tarpaulin. She then looked back at the approaching man. ‘Who is that?’
‘Oh, that’s just my driver,’ said Summerland. ‘I paid him to wait. He must have got bored with sitting in the Landrover. He can’t speak a word of English. What were you saying about Holland?’