Page 111 of The Protégé

I didn’t know why I was so fascinated that he had something in Antarctica.

“Why there? It’s freezing.”

“There’s an office that nobody knows about. Just because you don’t read about it in the news doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. For safety reasons, it’s kept from the media.” He tipped my chin up and brushed his lips against mine. “A lot of things are kept from the world, and some of them belong to people who have ill intentions.”

“Do you have those intentions?” I asked, trying to piece together this profound man who had captured my heart.

“My intention is to stop the people who are trying to harm us.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“There are things you don’t know, Elena.” He pointed to a black rock on a pedestal. “This is shungite crystal originally from Russia. I took it from a man who’s developing a system to manipulate the properties of water. When ingested, it changes the brainwaves—making it more susceptible to control. The changes are subtle, but over time, the brain gets used to it.”

I made a disbelieving face. “Is that even possible?”

“Of course it is. This crystal is pure, and the frequency it emits is potent. If used in the right way, this crystal can maintain the purity of water, heal the body in miraculous ways.” Helooked at me. “But if it’s being used in the wrong way, our society will become mindless, falling prey to those who want to control us. What we eat and drink. How we live our lives.”

“Wow.” I didn’t know what else to say.

He placed a hand on the crystal that was the size of my fist. “My mother told me about it because she read the man’s natal chart and saw his intentions. The man leads one of the largest energy companies in the world and had asked her to delineate a goodtime frame to announce the new project. She told him the wrong dates.”

When my grandmother was alive, she told me that astrologers and even psychics could predict a good day to get married or start a business.

“This man is also part of a dangerous organization called The Trogyn, with members all over the world.”

“You should take everything that belongs to them.”

“I try, but the elite members aren’t easily traceable. They have other members like Samuel Donatello to do the work and take the fall.”

The wheels in my brain turned and turned, making a connection. “So you’re in Antarctica because there’s water there and no one’s around. What exactly are you doing there?”

Orion smiled. “I admire your brain, Madame Sarcasm. You can connect things easily.” He went over to a refrigerator and pulled out two containers. One had a black crystal inside it, the other didn’t.

He offered me the container with the black crystal. “Try it. This water has been purified by the shungite crystal and energized by sunlight.” He pointed to a table with light beaming down into an indoor pool. “You’ll taste the difference.”

I sipped the crystal-infused water.“Wow. I can taste the freshness. My body also feels more energized.” Then I triedthe container without the crystal. “It’s tasteless. I didn’t feel anything.”

“I’m trying to preserve the true healing powers of water. Because if I don’t, there are people who will start charging a lot of money for water, which should be free. Before you know it, they’ll start charging you for grass, trees, and for the air that you breathe, which should always be free to everyone.”

“Can people do that?”

“Of course they can.”

“How?” I was trying my best to understand everything, but having a tough time.

“By creating a circumstance where youwillneed their products or services.”

I still didn’t understand.

“If you want to sell clean air, then you must first pollute it. If you want to sell clean water, then you must first contaminate it. And you need to do this slowly by creating catastrophic scenarios that seem natural. There’s equipment that can alter weather. And Mother Nature is a powerful force.”

I stood there, speechless.

“How can you alter weather?”

“Operation Popeye. You can read about it online, but most people dismiss it as irrelevant.” He looked at me. “Weather manipulation is real. Arrow was in the military. He knew about it and the other programs they had. Operation Popeye extended the monsoon season for Northern Vietnam during the Vietnam War. They created more rainfall, flooded rivers, disrupting supplies to soldiers, and so on. There are machines that can create extreme moisture in the sky. Militaries around the world have this equipment. It’s just not talked about.”

I couldn’t fathom what he was telling me. People had time for that shit? I should know better from all the inhuman storiesI’d encountered over the years. Despite that, I believed there was goodness in the world. I wanted to believe that.

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