Though The Ancient One tried desperately to let his temporary replacements handle his duties as a Lord Of Light so he could concentrate fully on other things, sometimes it was impossible not to respond to their summons. As he met them on the top of a high mountain overlooking a beautiful valley below he asked what the problem was. "Something I can't handle!" David began. "A representative of these Imperial people showed up with an immortal from another world. The Imperials happened on their world and found it barren and lifeless. Apparently it suffered the same fate you fear will befall Earth. The immortal souls there contacted the Imperials and asked them to evacuate them. The Imperials did so, taking them to a race that welcomed them, but they were found to be incompatible! For some reason they couldn't be reborn into that race. They tried another race with the same results! From what the people were telling them The Imperials believe they might carry your peoples' descendency. These people have a legend that long ago a ship of star travelers visited their world and used their females to produce their offspring and intermarried with some of their women as well, leaving their descendency. Their vessel was called "The Hasn't Been There Yet"."
"What?" The Ancient One Snapped.
"This is what I was told," David continued. "They feel if these people do carry your descendency that they might be able to bond with this race."
The Ancient One shook his head. "The last thing we need," he moaned, "is more extra-terrestrial immortal souls! I really don't know, I really don't. It's hard to refuse a plea for help, but I don't know."
"Please!" Esther put in, "I spoke with her. I received her thoughts. I saw the horror they witnessed as their children died. There's only 2,032 of them left. Surely that few would not make that much of a difference. There was once eighteen billion of them, and they're all that's left. They look very human. You can't say no. If they are descendants of your people you can't forsake them!"
The Ancient One sighed. "Looks like I'm out voted!" he remarked. "All right! Tell The Imperials they can bring them."
"That presents a problem!" David put in. "They won't respond to me. They say they will only negotiate with The Emperor Of This World, none other."
The Ancient One pointed his finger at David. "You go back and tell them that I have given you my authority! And if they don't negotiate with you they don't negotiate with anyone! And if they ever come here again and refuse to follow the instructions of any of my subordinates they will never be allowed to return again! They don't dictate to me, or, to any of my people! They follow their instructions!"
"There's another thing," David put in. "They want to give us a reward for helping. They want to take out The Hezbollah leader in Lebanon, make it look like he was killed by his own people. They say they can easily manage it. I'm awful tempted to tell them to go for it!" The Ancient One shook his head. "Agreed! A great temptation," he sighed, "but absolutely and positively not! We can never give The Imperials a foothold on this world! They are far too dangerous. They have inherited all the worst aspects of my race. They might come with the desire to help, but their need to subject, to conquer and control is almost uncontrollable. They would start demanding more and more authority, more and more control. The answer has to be no! Any offers they make of direct aid must be refused! They're just too dangerous!"
"I'm so glad that the best aspects of your people came here!" Esther put in.
"Unfortunately," The Ancient One answered, "Our negative aspect is here, also, and has to be constantly battled. Well, I've got to get back to what I was doing. Oh! There's one thing I should warn you about! Bringing these people here is going to mean that they're going to seek our strongest and most powerful bloodlines to be reborn into, and they're probably not going to wait too long. You know there's a very high probability of one of them ending up in your mortal family."
"If that should happen," Esther assured, "it would be welcomed and cared for, as any other soul of God. Ah, they are of God, aren't they?"
"Oh, yes!" David answered. "I understand they had a religion very much like Christianity, except their savior was female! It seems the women were dominant there."
Durga looked at The Ancient One and giggled. "What's so funny?" David asked.
"Truth paralleling fiction," The Ancient One answered, "reality becoming far too much like fiction. Really have to go!"

( Continued Next Page )