Another deep sigh and Calvin Thomas pushed his gold wine cup away. Regretfully, he would wait until he told his story before
further insulating himself against the chill of the evening. It was quiet, the banquet was over, and without further delay he turned
to Katrina who sat waiting. She had chosen not to eat or drink with him, but waited with grace, although with little patience
inwardly for him to finish his repast.
"My messengers brought me news this morning that nearly every part of the Earth is now covered with water. The good news
is that most of the fire that was raging on many of the bodies of water appears to have burned itself out. All of the oceans
continue to churn and boil, however, and the few scientists left alive, now believe that the giant whirlpools are driving the water
all the way down to the core of the planet," he said in a weary voice.
No one spoke and Katrina waited for him to continue as he looked up questioningly at her.
"I have come to you, Katrina, since I believe you are indeed my/our only way out of this catastrophe." Once again Thomas
Calvin Thomas, ex-priest, glanced expectantly at her without eliciting any response.
"Katrina, do you understand me? I am saying that I believe the Earth will not survive and I need your help. Will you help me --
save me?"
"I can’t answer that, Thomas, because honestly I don’t know if I can help you. I do believe the Earth will become totally
uninhabitable within days, and from all appearances it has already become unfit for living beings in large part. The small area
that now supports life has turned into a very hostile environment, but if you recall our conversation from last week you already
are aware of my opinion. My innermost feelings tell me that nothing has changed since our earlier conversation and that the
Earth will completely break up -- very soon. But, can I save you? I doubt it. I have formulated no plans and see no immediate
solution."
Angrily, Calvin Thomas jumped to his feet, his eyes blazing as he denounced her. "You hypocrite! Witch! What you’re really
saying is that you won’t help me! If you’re as helpless as you pretend, why are all the people in this camp waiting for a
miracle?" he screamed his question. "You might be interested to know, too, that on our way up here today we passed
hundreds of people making their way up this mountain, for salvation, no doubt!" Calvin Thomas’s harsh words stung every
listener, not least of which was Katrina.
"Oh! Oh, no!" gasped Katrina. Hardening her eyes, she calmed down and asked, "Did it occur to you that the people you saw
were merely looking for higher ground and had no idea that this mountain camp exists?"
"Humph! Oh sure! But we know better, don’t we? Now what do you propose to do about this new influx of people?" said
Thomas, glancing worriedly toward his own food supply that was stacked in the corner of his tent.
"First, Calvin Thomas, you have some explaining to do. If you’ll recall, you told me that your Hybrid friends advised you that
the Earth would not totally disintegrate, so why this sudden reversal? What made you change your mind? By the way, who are
the Hybrids?" she asked, exasperated at the trouble-making priest.
Calvin Thomas looked at her in disbelief. "You really don’t know who they are? You are sitting in front of me, no doubt a
beneficiary of their gifts, and declare to me that you do not know them?" Thomas loved to throw in a biblical allusion whenever
possible and now he saw Katrina in his mind representing Peter in the tavern denying Jesus three times on Good Friday.
"No. I really do not know who they are! Tell me!" Katrina answered sweetly, wondering how she could ever have found any
part of this priest attractive.
"Very well. Several years ago I was approached by a group of individuals who told me that I had been selected along with a
few others to be given secrets relating to the origin of man. Naturally I was interested, even though I was very doubtful that
such information existed. In the beginning I didn’t believe there was anyone who could know such a thing and was suspicious
when told that I had been chosen for this knowledge. Besides I was unable to check my source. One of my first contacts was
a Hybrid by the name of Joss. He taught me for a while before assigning Blitz, another Hybrid, to be my teacher for all time.
Let me backtrack here, start at the beginning and tell his story, then you will understand who and what defines a Hybrid.
"Blitz told me that three million years ago, the Authorians decided to seed some planets as an experiment. One of the planets
they chose for their life experiments was our own Earth. The abilities the Authorians possessed at that time we can only guess
about, but in Blitz’s communication with me, as well as the other Hybrids with whom I’ve since had contact, the Authorians
were portrayed as being god-like."
"Ah, Thomas, sorry to interrupt but who are the Authorians?" Katrina politely asked.
"‘Listen, my dear and you shall know everything,’" to quote Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Hercule Poirot," smiled the wily priest.
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |