THE COMPLETE TRILOGY
Contents
Book One – The Beginnings
Part A – Troubles
1 Methuselah . . . 4
2 Top Secret . . . 10
3 Canceled . . . 20
4 The Trial . . . 32
5 Silence . . . 44
6 Into the Streets . . 54
7 The Garden . . . 67
8 Out of the Garden . . 74
9 The Pool . . . 79
10 Destroy It All . . 82
11 The Tree . . . 90
Part B – Noah’s Construction
12 Sawdust Trail . . 107
13 Planning . . . 116
14 Animals . . . 124
15 Breakfast Meeting . . 132
16 The Foundation . . 144
17 Gifts and Divorce . . 154
18 Government Plus . . 160
19 Final Preparations . . 169
Book Two – The Science
The Heavens – Conclusion
21 Heavenly Reports . . 175
22 The Messenger . . 183
Part C – The Rupture
23 The Left Wing . . . 195
24 Science . . . 200
25 The Theory . . 205
26 Arriving . . . 209
27 Another Theory . . . 219
28 Eclipse . . . 225
29 Cracks . . . 232
30 Locked out . . . 237
31 The Remote . . 242
Book Three – The Flood
Part D – The Mabbul and Flood
32 The Wages . . 251
33 On the Ark . . 255
34 Flash . . 262
35 The Shakes . . 267
36 Mammoth Trouble . . 276
37 Call me Tom . . 286
38 Muddy Water . . 289
39 Inside the Ark . . 300
40 Evacuation . . 308
Part E – Hydroplating and Recovery
40 Day Forty . . 315
41 Adjustments . . 321
42 Rain, Rain, Go Away . 325
43 Day One Hundred Fifty . 331
44 Moving Times . . 338
45 Fire and Smoke . . 345
46 The Waves . . 347
Appendix D . . 357
Appendix E . . 363
Musical scores . . 367
Cast of Characters . 371
Photos and Drawings
Photo 1: Hale-Bopp Prof. Dave Krieger 313
All other drawings and photos by Charles E Gutha
Floor Plan of HNN Science News Room . . 3
Conceptual Floor Plan of the Ark . . 100
Noah’s Compound: Early days . . 101
Noah’s Compound: Latter Days . . 131
Ark Cross-Section and Detail . . 137
Picture of Three Primary Colors . . 173
Professor Tur’s Observatory . . 193
Crack Forms . . 244
Photo of Skimmer Tank Pipe . . 249
Wind Currents at Two Hours . . 275
Wind Currents Day Five . . 309
Wind Currents Day Forty . . 323
Vault Currents Day Forty . . 324
Vault Currents Day One Hundred Fifty. . 333
Mountains Moving Continents . . 334
Continents Buckling . . . 340
Book One
– The Beginnings
Part A
Troubles
Floor plan of the Heavenly News Network – Scientific Division – Earth
(HNN Science, Milky Way Galaxy, Planet Earth)
– 1 –
Methuselah
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD
.— (Gen 6:8 NKJ)
“Hello, everyone! This is Tom (The name means Witness), reporting from Planet Earth for the Heavenly News Network. Twenty years ago, El announced He would cleans the planet of the filth and evil mankind continuously practiced. He decided to send a Mabbul to destroy all air breathing life.
Time passed. El, with the help of Our King and Chakam, devised a plan to rescue samples of Earth’s air-breathing creatures. To make it work, however, They needed to find a faithful man willing to implement Their plan. Messengers were sent to the far reaches of this world diligently searching for anyone who would be obedient. Finally, one man was found. We met with him, yesterday to enlist his help and give him the plans.
“After our encounter, Noah left the livestock with his employees and raced back to the ranch house.
“Halak (Follower) and I, having obtained permission to record the reaction of this human, followed.”
Tom turned towards the sound of a door latching. “That’s him, coming down the stairs…”
“Good morning, Grandpa.” Noah stumbled into the room with mussed hair and dark bags under his eyes.
The kitchen had a table in the center and all the recent, modern conveniences arranged strategically throughout the room. A new wood stove sat next to the wall with its metal pipe climbing out the back and bending into the chimney. Dried wood was neatly stacked in the corner next to a bucket of water. A cabinet for storing pots, pans and dishes, with a counter for preparing food and a storage bin for flour was opposite the stove. A washbasin sat on a bench in the adjacent corner.
“Good morning, Noah.” Methuselah’s high-pitched voice cracked as he scurried about the kitchen, “What brings you back so early?” He darted from the stove to the table and handed Noah a cup of coffee.
“I met some interesting travelers,” Noah downed the coffee as he slumped to the table.
“Oh? How’s that? Tell me while I fix you breakfast,” Methuselah returned to the stove, attending his pancakes.
“Grandpa, why were you named Methuselah?”
“What? They asked about me, did they? Not many of my old friends left.” He brought a fresh stack to the table, “El told my father to name me Methuselah, It’s a prophetic name meaning ‘When-he-is-dead-it-will-come.’ Why do you ask?”
“What will come?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Either the coming redemption, or the end of the world.”
Noah’s cup broke as it hit the floor.
Grandpa turned and studied him. After a long pause, he asked, “Do you want to talk about it, Noah?”
Noah spoke as best he could, but his voice was very thin, “Grandpa, what was Enoch like?” he finally managed.
“My father?” Methuselah asked as he handed Noah the broom and dustpan, “Hmmm. These must have been very old friends. Enoch was a fine and gentle man, honest and trustworthy. He was a prophet of The Most High God. A copy of his book is there on the shelf.”
“I know. I’ve been studying it.” Noah swept the pottery into the dustpan.
“Methuselah gazed off into a distance. “Everyone respected Enoch, I was born when he was only sixty-five—a child of his youth—but I knew him for three hundred years. That’s when he was taken.”
Noah dumped the sweepings into the garbage can.
Methuselah continued, “Three times a year, every year we would hitch the horses to the cart and visit Adam. Then we would gather, spending these three sacrifice weeks together.”
“Why three times?” Noah wondered placing the broom back in the closet.
Methuselah turned to the stove, and poured another batch of pancakes. “I remember both Adam and Enoch bouncing me on their knees while they reminisced about El. Daddy Enoch loved El very much. They often went for long walks together. Then one day, it was as if El said, ‘Enoch, you’ve invited me to your house many times. How would you like to come see my house?’ Well, I guess he liked it there, because no one ever saw Enoch again. We thought maybe he had had an accident somewhere, but we never found him. Not a trace. You remember how we looked over the entire world.
“That was before I was born,” Noah mentioned as he kept watch on his grandfather.
“Never found anything.” Methuselah turned the cakes.
Noah was quiet.
After emptying the stove of the new batch, Methuselah drew up a chair. Sitting across from Noah, he asked, “What’s the matter, Noah?”
“Huh? Why do you ask, Grandpa?” Noah squirmed.
“Part of you looks like my father used to look after he talked with El. The other part of you looks as if you’ve stared death square in the face. What did He say?”
Noah took a deep breath. “He said Great-Grandfather’s prediction of the end would soon come to pass. He has determined that humanity’s violence has gone on long enough. As a result, He’s going to destroy everything that breathes on this planet. He said I am to build a box to house and protect pairs of all the world’s animals. He told me how big to build it. I have the plans here. I’ve been studying them all night.”
Methuselah stared at the drawings as he stood up. “So the time has finally come! You have stared death square in the face!” Then, turning toward Noah, his eyes began to sparkle. “When is this supposed to happen, son? How will it happen? How much time do we have?”
Noah shook his head.
“You must do this, Noah! You are the deliverer, the key to Enoch’s prophecy. I’ll help every way I can. I’ll cash in my retirement plan! We’ll need laborers—all kinds of help! There’s so much to do! Have you thought about where you’re going to build this thing? A project like this, how do we even begin?”
“I guess the first thing to do is sell everything and buy a forest.”
* * * * *
The Emerald Planet glistened against the backdrop of space with her unique color reglecting the abundent life supported within her atmosphere. Although she was deep in an obscure corner of the universe, and hidden among stars of reds and blues, only this one dim reflection had the soft glow of an emerald.
Planets reflect light from their nearest stars. These reflections reveal the personalities and qualities hidden within—like a gem in a jewelry store window. This planet proudly sparkles with various shades of greens—tinted with brown tones highlited with silver ribbons and patches of blue reveiling that she is unique in the universe, having a wealth of life dwelling on her.
That is the way she looked in the past, before that awful Mabbul—that engulfing event which ravaged her beauty—shreading her surface, gouging deep crevices across her face, tearing her with such wounds and scars that she appears now as the universe’s Blue Planet.
Today, we assume she has always been one third land and two thirds water with high jagged mountains. However, in the past, at the time of this story when she was still young, she was a land mass covered with plants, rolling hills, and spotted with small seas.
Green is the color of Life.
Blue, is the reminder of her cleansing: for at the time of this story, hers will be the site of that great battle. Not just a physical battle, but a battle of wills between right and wrong, good and evil: The ultimate battle for every human soul, for the living, the unborn, and the dead.
* * * * *
The soft muffle of wings taking flight interrupted the cricket’s chorus. The disturbance of this gentle breeze went unnoticed by the sentries of mammoths. It went unnoticed by the rhinos and dinosaurs. It went unnoticed by the nocturnal creatures which were wide awake.
Flying low, past the various berries and flowers—now closed for the night, past the grasses—rich with fruit, past the streams which watered these gardins: upward, climbing faster and higher. Now the great landscape could be viewed and the lush prairie detail blended into the various shades for which they were known from afar.
Out of the night darkness these two flew—east, into the morning mist. High above the prairies and savannas, over the forests and jungles, past arid hills, upward; gaining speed. The curvature of the horizon now noticeable. The shimmering haze of the atmosphere appeared. The morning sun turned to noon, then evening—not because time had passed, but due to the speed of the flyers.
Higher. Faster. Through the atmosphere, into the darkness of space. The moon now directly ahead. Full. Bright. It constantly watches the Emerald Planet, stairing without blinking. Never changing its gaze.
Her moon, rotating once every orbit, always facing her; never showing her its far side; marking the months with that same look. Watching. Always watching.
This constant gaze provides a unique opportunity for Professor Tur and his team. They built an observatory on the moon to monitor this emerald. A place where he and other angels couldd study her without being seen.
Indeed, from the days of her creation, Professor Tur’s task was to chronicle the secrets with which Creator had endowed her. Secrets of life, hidden throughout her beauty. His job: to report to the heavenly hosts the multifaceted wisdom Creator used when building this, the Emerald Planet:
– 2 –
Top Secret
Science is observable, repeatable and measurable.
— The Scientific Method
Two angels quickly flew toward Professor Tur’s moon-based observatory. Stopping just outside the artificial atmospheric barrier, they glanced around, nodded to each other, and stepped through the barrier. Again, they scanned their surroundings.
Removing equipment packs from their chest, (for unlike humans who carry packs on their backs, angels must carry packs in front to free their wings for flight), they began sparkling with a greenish blue tint. Their falcon-like wings retracted. The two now appeared as humans: dressed in short sleeves and jeans.
“I am wondering, Tom. We cannot be telling anyone about this, can we?” Halak, the taller angel, asked in his singsong voice. His light-brown skin and short black hair punctuated the broad smile of a twenty-year-old man enjoying life.
“You know our orders,” Tom referenced the instructions as he gathered his pack. “Top Secret.” Although Tom was in charge, his unmanageable hair and angular features made him appear only seventeen. “How long will it take to file this?”
“I am supposing that if I am allowed to have Lat’s help, we can complete the task in twenty minutes.”
Tom confirmed the suggestion with a nod.
Again, they surveyed the area.
Shouldering their packs, they embarked toward the observatory: a fifteen-minute hike.