Journal Entry #1 (Intro)
I suppose this may be an exercise in futility because I may be dead in a few hours. My life has been totally fucked up with the events of the past couple of days. Things started off innocently but now is spiralling out of control. I'm going to take a little time to focus on all of this.With all that has happened, I have no idea if my journal is still online and available or not. So I'm going to start this journal and have it in a secure portal. If something happens to me, someone will be able to use what I have found out, up to now. I have set an automatic ‘cast on this journal so at least Leech will get access to this when the time comes. Even if I die today, someone can use this. This goes with my two mottos: Information is key and Everyone has a secret.
For this entry, I think I should introduce myself. And a bit of background to set things up. My name is Gideon Matthew Joshua Roy Kingswell. And yes, my father is Jeremiah Kingswell. Something I am not proud of. He has been an albatross around my neck for all of my life.
I was born August 13, 2036. The year Japan took control of San Francisco and the UCAS introduced the 14th Amendment. Thing is, I don't remember much until I was around 4. But from what I have been told, from the onset, I was gifted. I was talking and reading when I was around 1. By three, I could read through stuff and see trends and behaviours. I could discover unknown or hidden patterns. I could create models from complex data. Something I now know is called data-mining. Obviously, at that young age, I couldn't do as much as I can do now.
My first real memories are of my mum. At first, she was a happy, cheerful person. But over a year or so, she started to change. She didn't smile as much. She started to become withdrawn. And then I can vaguely remember she was having trouble sleeping. Over time, she started to look haggard and was losing weight.
When my dad wasn't around (which was a lot), my mum would occasionally talk to me about my heritage. My father had made sure I had little contact with her parents. My mum told me that was because they were Native Americans and over the past few years they were getting more and more involved in Native American traditions. And now my mother was joining them.
At night, she would tell me different tales from the Navajo, my people she said. She especially liked to tell tales of Coyote. In a soft voice, she would tell me to look to Coyote, look to the trickster. There was much I could learn from him. I didn't understand her at the time but now I see the wisdom in her words.
Things between my mum and father grew more and more strained. But being young, I didn't understand what was going on. I knew something was seriously wrong the night of May 14, 2042.
Father had gone to some sort of company function as he often did. Mum came into my room and told me to quickly take what I considered precious. Fill up my travel-pack because we were leaving. Before I could ask why, she was gone. I rushed about my room, grabbing what I could.
Mum and I left the mansion through the back. A car was waiting for us. It took us to Logan where we got onto a small plane. It took off and mum told me we were heading to Denver. It was then she started to tell me what was going on.
She told me that over the past year, her spirit guide was teaching her the correct path to follow. People had forgotten their roots, they were being seduced by material things. They were losing their spiritual anchor. And it was time to go back to our roots. She was being called to go to a place called Canyon de Chelly. And I was to go with her. It was important for us to reach Spider Rock. When I asked for more details, she told me to wait. And she wouldn't let me to jack in so I could not get any details.
When we landed in Denver, we were met by four men. At that time, I did not know they were high level officials in NAN. We were quickly put into a car and brought to a house outside the city.
We spent a few days there waiting. I had no access to the trix or anything. All I had were well-thumbed books. And I saw little of my mum because she was always in meetings or discussions. Luckily I found a Larry Niven novel I hadn’t read in ages. So I spent most of my time outside reading about Louis Wu’s adventures.
After a few days, my mum joined me for breakfast. She told me that we would be living in a couple of hours. We were driving to Flagstaff. And from there, we would then head to the canyon and our goal. It would take us a few days to drive down to Flagstaff.
The minute we landed in Denver, I saw a marked change in mum. She looked relaxed, serene. She started to smile again. Yet I learnt nothing of what was going on during my stay in Denver. As we left Denver, it was then she started to talk about the journey. She said the fog was lifting. Soon I would be crossing the border. And find my tiergeist.
Of course, my young head was spinning. Leaving Boston to be in places I knew nothing about confused me. At times I wondered if mum had gone insane. I had no idea what was going on. My quiet life had been turned upside down. But mum reassured me things would all work out. We were safe. Her spirit guide would protect us. It was our first night in Flagstaff when I found out she was wrong.
It was late at night and I was awoken by a loud bang. I tried to turn on the light but it didn't work. Then I started hear a barrage of popping sounds which I now know was gunfire. My door opened and a man with a gruff voice told me to stay in the room. And not to open the door for anyone except him or my mother. Then he closed and locked the door.
The house was being rocked by explosions and the air was filled with gunfire. I was terrified. I ran into the closet to hide. I crouched down, covering my ears to keep out all of the noise but it didn't help. Suddenly there was a loud explosion in my room. I heard several voices. They were looking for me. I did my best to crouch in the corner, hide in the darkness of the closet but they found me. The last thing I remember is the door opening, a flash of light and the sickly smell of lavender.
When I woke up, I found myself in my bed in Boston. I was sick and had a major headache. There was a nurse in my room to help me out. I was so weak it took me three days before I could leave my bed. And during that time, not once did my father come to see me.
I'll have to stop here. The copter is landing for refuelling. I'll continue once we are back in the air.
