The Locust Event

Abbot Bo led them to a small room down the hallway from his office in the largest building of the monastery. For the most part, the majority of the temple complex could best be described as functional with few amenities. Monastic life after all was not one of comforts or pleasure but it became quickly evident that this area was different. The slate floors were covered in ancient silk and wool carpets hand stitched generations ago in the Middle Eastern and Asian steppes. Some of the wooden panelled walls contained intricately carved scenes and was the colour of dark chocolate. What fascinated Slinky more than anything was the more formal artwork that ran down the length of the hallway. Some very old and delicate three dimensional scenes, masterfully carved, hung from the walls. Small alcoves held magnificent jade statuettes that depicted warriors in battle. Slinky stopped to admire an old seemingly faded watercolour in a bamboo frame. It depicted a number of monks encircling an old and gnarled tree, fighting off a large number of men on horseback. Although the characters in the inscription were faint it indicated it was from the very beginning of the Ming Dynasty. Slinky was not a Chinese history buff but he knew enough to know that was around 650 years ago. “Abbot Bo, excuse me,” Slinky said, almost embarrassed to ask. “Is this painting really from the Ming Dynasty?” The Abbot returned down the hall and stood in silence, admiring not only the painting but the intricacies of the frame, which was a work of art all on its own. “Yes Dr. Shen, this depicts a somewhat famous battle between the Shao Lin and a number of Mongols from the northern steppes.” The Abbot leaned in closer to read the inscription and then stood back smiling slightly. “Based upon the modern calendar, in April 1370, thirteen monks were attacked by sixty men on horseback. All the Mongols were killed except for one which was sent away with the message to never again threaten the Shao Lin.” The Abbot looked up at Slinky, now smiling broadly. “Knowing that you are an educated man Dr. Shen you might be interested to know that it was this very battle that also introduced the Shao Lin to horses.” Abbot Bo went on to explain that previously, the Shao Lin never used beasts of burden but after this battle, they were the reluctant caretakers of over fifty horses. The Abbot vividly recounted the tales of how the monks had tried to turn the horses loose, only to have them return, day after day. Ultimately, they turned it into a very profitable enterprise and actually bred and trained horses for royalty and noblemen for the next four hundred years. “We have many works of ancient art here Dr. Shen. Not anywhere near the amount that our first temple at Mount Song has though.” The Abbot reached up and grabbed Slinky’s arm and led him down the hallway and into a small but well-appointed library. “Now doctor, I will leave you and my brother alone.” As the Abbot left the room and closed the magnificently carved door behind him, Slinky couldn’t help but notice the floor to ceiling bookcase. Without a close inspection he could see many of the books were very old if not ancient, many had what appeared to be faded and cracked leather bindings but most of those covers turned out to be wood. Dozens of scrolls, probably made of bamboo paper were rolled and stored in intricately decorated wooden tubes. He had never seen so many old and ancient writings in one place. Dr. Bo walked over and to Slinky’s surprise approached the wall besides the single small window. The panelling was carved with scenes of ducks and geese and he reached up and grabbed two of the ducks in flight and turned them vertically. Slinky heard a small click and a secret compartment opened just below the carved relief. Slinky was holding his breath, not knowing what to expect. The single biggest threat that the world has ever known, according to Dr. Bo, was about to be shared. Slinky knew he was about to view over twenty five years of Dr. Bo’s research but what frightened him was his warning. “If I have read you right, once you see the book there will be no going back. You will be like me, trapped forever.” “I will leave you alone until dinnertime.” Dr. Bo said as he placed the book on the table in front of Slinky, holding his hand over his mouth to stifle a cough. “You cannot read nor will you be able to absorb everything. Please just read the monthly reports from 2004 to the present.” Dr. Bo was again wracked by coughing and he quickly left the room. Slinky looked down, somewhat disappointedly at a large red vinyl three ring binder. Laughing at himself and his imagination, for his surroundings had led him to expect he would be reading some ancient text or fabulously detailed manuscript like the ones that graced the bookshelves behind him. The binder was tabbed into years, and then months. At the end of each monthly section was a short one to two page synopsis. The early years, which started in 1987, were all typed reports but since late in 2006, Dr. Bo had written everything in long hand. Slinky had always known that Dr. Bo was a very intelligent man, a brilliant geneticist and researcher. After a half hour of reading it was immediately apparent that he had made some amazing genetic breakthroughs. Things that Slinky had never even heard about were chronicled here, results and breakthroughs a decade old that had never been made public or published. Even more amazing was the fact that his research had been subverted and he had been forced to work on a government plan called LOCUST. Reading on he could feel the perspiration starting to soak into his clothing as the horror of what he was reading started to sink in. Never one to be accused of being a slow reader, Slinky was deliberate, ensuring he didn’t miss a character that may change the meaning of what he was reading. Nothing did. A sense of dread and foreboding came over him as he learned all there was to know about LOCUST. The only thing that was not surprising was that General Han was involved from the very beginning.