The Definitive Gray

By Talon Xavier Thomas

A boy was chosen in 1963 to be bonded to Anariun, an exiled angelic prince. He is not aware of what he carries within until 1978. There are forces that demand that this aberration be abolished. With help from Adams first wife, Lilith, and Bathea, a daughter of angel and human relations, a crusade to uncover the cause of a heavenly civil war is under way. This boy is forced to be more than a man by Jebix, a guardian cherub. He learns the meaning of the crystal skulls, the pyramids, aliens, mythological heroes, megalithic stones of Baalbek, and more. He discovers life after death is more than just plausible and perfection lost can once again be attainable. The keys to unlock the answers come at the cost of an angelic war.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496926746

Talon Xavier Thomas

Talon Xavier Thomas was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He is the youngest of three children. Talon has worked as a writer for The Opinion Magazine, local newspapers, and health and fitness centers. He has spoken on radio and appeared on television. He works rigorously in the fields of theology and religious history, teaching at seminars across the United States.

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© 2014 Talon Xavier Thomas. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 08/08/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-2672-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-2673-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-2674-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014914292

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Acknowledgement

The Definitive Gray

Glossary

Chapter 1 Lake Phenomenon

Chapter 2 Bathea

Chapter 3 Expressed

Chapter 4 Jebix Returns

Chapter 5 Revelations

Chapter 6 Death at My Hand

Chapter 7 Last Chosen Host

Chapter 8 Laws of Culnicultra

Chapter 9 Sins of Ranious

Chapter 10 President’s Request

Chapter 11 Confrontation

Chapter 12 Sacrifice

Chapter 13 The Mayivex

Chapter 14 Jingoistic Guards

Chapter 15 Condemnation

Chapter 16 Of Black Essentia

Chapter 17 The Price Paid

Chapter 18 Black-Churmethum

Chapter 19 Malijanikum Convention

Chapter 20 The Wives of Adam

Chapter 21 Offspring

Chapter 22 Treaty of Abenix

Chapter 23 With Abilities

Chapter 24 Boot-Sut-Ka

Chapter 25 Meeting Linda

Chapter 26 Dimensions

Chapter 27 Belial’s Revenge

Chapter 28 Linda’s Possession

Chapter 29 Dr. Green

Chapter 30 Sacrificial Presidium

Chapter 31 Limbinora

Chapter 32 The Reveal

Chapter 33 The Séance

Chapter 34 New Identity

Chapter 35 Analyzed

Chapter 36 Marked

Chapter 37 Suicide

Chapter 38 Lundgren

Chapter 39 Last Gathering

Chapter 40 Grejorian Guards

Chapter 41 Unsolicited justice

Chapter 42 Demonic punishment

Chapter 43 Abithi Judgment

Chapter 44 Regression

Chapter 45 Last Gift to Bathea

Chapter 46 Mortal wounds

Chapter 47 Xavihaj

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Special thanks to Alycen Miller for all her inspiration and tireless efforts in editing and little known facts of dubious value.

The following information may be disturbing to some readers. What you are about to read is a personal recounting of actual events and inspired. No matter how profound or unusual the content, the information found within is based on personal experience and eyewitness accounts from those who were actually involved. The names of family and friends have been altered in order to protect their anonymity.

The Definitive Gray

Freedom is not a certainty for no human is truly free. We exchange one oppressor for another.

Talon Xavier Thomas

No one has the right to choose to do what is wrong.

Abraham Lincoln

Humans can feel alone while living amongst a crowd of spirits. Spirits are well aware with whom they dwell.

Talon Xavier Thomas

All true learning is experience. Everything else is just information.

Albert Einstein

People often brand what they do not understand as peculiar. It is better to educate yourself than to reveal by your actions what has power over you.

Talon Xavier Thomas

Isaiah 45:7 (King James Version) I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.

God

What light that can be seen is but a fraction of the light that can’t be seen.

Talon Xavier Thomas

Gospel of Peter 1:5 My power, my power, thou hast forsaken me!

Jesus Christ

God has chosen to impose peace rather than be peaceful.

Talon Xavier Thomas

I push forward in the hope that good will overcome evil, and feel the need to tell the world that evil lives among us and we need to rid the world of it.

Dr. William Petit, Jr.

If you say you believe it’s because you really don’t know.

Talon Xavier Thomas

Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness with which more than half The Bible is filled, it would be more consistent that we would call it the word of a Demon, than the word of God. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize humankind.

Thomas Paine

Anariunism: The belief in Anariun, the third born son of God, and his revaluation that states: God, the White Essentia Father, was originally polytheistic and His Unity with a Black Essentia female formed Equinanapei: the perfect unity of the Alpha/ Omega and Xavihaj. The male God expelled His female counterpart, forming the Universe itself and leaving God, Monotheistic.

Talon Xavier Thomas

Glossary

Abithi: Nephilim/Angel offspring.

Baobab Tree: The representation of the new Tree of Life.

Brendginot: Second in command to a Lin.

Cathmeral: An energy veil/shield to protect against damage from daylight undertakings.

Churmethum: A Liberator representing a particular Essentia deity.

Conscientia: The bonding of human and Angelic Cultras.

Corafax: An immense arena for spirit gatherings.

Cordinaltia: Four spirit creatures designated to re-embody animal Cultras.

Culnicultra Law: Angelic Law devised by God the Father and the Abithi.

Damperling: A ring of energy field-dampening properties.

Demons: A disunion of the De-Monarch faction led by Prince Qi-Belial.

De-Monarch Faction: A faction of angels that defected from Heaven.

Empathic Bloodlines: Humans having rare bloodlines that allow for Conscientia with Plebe Angels.

Equinanapei: A bonding which yields perfect perfection.

Equipoise: A cultured form of balance; precursor to Equinanapei

Essentia: The energy essence of a Deity.

Femora: The first and only female Angels, totaling 333.

Fiery Sircona: An energy cell used to restrain a captive.

Grejorian Guards: Seven multi-dimensional guards of time and space.

Helamin: Human Cultras confined to earth as fodder for Demons.

Intrinsic: Unlimited adoption of Essentia.

Intrinsic Empathic Bloodlines: Humans having rare bloodlines that allow for Conscientia with a no limits of energy adoption; also one who has the ability to adapt and heal the Cultra of another with little or no degradation

Jingoistic Guards: Ji-Legion supreme warriors of Heaven.

Lin: Second in command to a Presidium Prince.

Mayivex: Four spirit creatures designated to extricate and re embody human Cultras.

Monarchs: A disunion of the De-Monarch faction led by Prince Ni-Ben JA Min.

Nephilim: Offspring of angelic and human relations.

Praetorian Guards: Supreme warriors of the De-Monarch Faction.

Presidium: The immensely powerful first born twelve angelic creatures of God the Father.

Rafgalic: Angelic tongue used as communication; also, words as energy weapons.

Skrulyst: Spirit possession of the mind.

Uriaya: A Cultra infliction from confliction of Cultra unification without one having intrinsic bloodlines.

Vanequal: A veil devised by Yahweh to mask one’s identity.

Velum: A spirit’s skin.

Xavihaj: The female counterpart to God the Father; also the Yin.

Yahweh: The male counterpart to God the Mother; also the Yang.

Chapter 1

Lake Phenomenon

Which is more intolerable, to be blinded by what you’ve been taught or to acquire a truth that no one else comprehends?

Northeastern Ohio. September 2, 1974. My family had been invited by my cousin Mary Jane’s new boyfriend Danny to go boating on Lake Erie. His goal was to impress her extended family and win her love. Her affections for this redheaded, freckled-faced young man were not obvious. Summer was nearly over and the fall clouds were moving in rapidly. Everyone in my family was excited about spending some time on his yacht that we had all heard so much about.

It was Labor Day, a time to forget about what needed to be done just to earn a living. We were all grateful to finally be together as a family. My father was never able to spend much time with us because he always seemed to be working. Supporting a family of five was difficult and money was in short supply. This was a long-awaited break for him and a chance for us to bond. It was about a forty-minute ride from our house to the boat docks. My brother Teddy, who is five years older than I, was relentless as usual with his name calling and badgering.

We arrived at the docks at one o’clock in the afternoon. The weather for the Cleveland area was comfortable at sixty-eight degrees with overcast skies and periods of sunshine. Winds were out of the south at 6.8 miles per hour.

It was a perfect day to go out on Lake Erie. We parked the car and walked through the gravel parking lot towards one of the long piers where numerous boats were moored.

There were rows of individual docks; most were occupied on this beautiful Labor Day. I could see other families like ours heading to their boats.

As we got closer, my cousin, with Danny in tow, rushed over to meet us.

Bonnie, Ted, hi, kids, Mary Jane yelled out. I’m so glad you could make it.

Danny walked over and said, Hi, Ted, Hi, Bonnie, and then said to us, Teddy, Jeanie, and Ronny, right? Welcome!

I thought to myself, If my cousin doesn’t marry this guy I’m going to force my sister Jeanie to marry him. This guy seems really nice and his boat is really cool!

Come on, Tomaso family. Follow me! Danny said. Be careful, everyone, the walkways are a bit mossy this time of year.

I noticed right away that there were slimy patches of moss on the outside edges of the walkways. We walked about thirty feet or so to the ladder of the boat, which sat high in the water.

One at a time, we all climbed up to take a look at what was going to give us our luxury cruise. Once aboard we headed out for about an hour joy ride on Lake Erie. It was fun and exciting. Upon our return, everyone was starving.

How about we all grab a bite to eat? Danny asked. Your mother’s going to use my seldom used galley below. Then we can all start chowing down on your mom’s fantastic cooking.

Kids, my mom said, let the adults set up. You guys stay on deck until we call you.

I thought it was a bit odd that we three kids would be left all alone on deck, but no way was I going to complain. Besides, what could go wrong? I mean, we were all well-mannered, well behaved, kids, right?

I’m so hungry, my sister said as her stomach growled.

I just want to walk around and explore the docks, I told Teddy.

Mom said we should stay on deck, Ronny. Don’t get crazy.

Teddy, you’re so goofy. I think she just wants us out of her hair.

Hey Ronny, where you going? asked Teddy as he followed me over the side of the boat. You’re going to get us in trouble. Mom is going to be really mad because we’re not staying on the boat.

Look how dark the water is. It’s creepy.

You just don’t like it because you can’t swim.

Maybe, but I just don’t like it.

Teddy, you and Ron stay close because we’re eating soon.

We’re just doing an inspection of the boat. We promise not to go very far.

Fine, just be careful. I hope Mom calls us sooner than later, I’m hungry, said Jeanie.

Just be careful, she says. I’m with Kid Chaos. There is no being careful.

Teddy, where’s your sense of adventure?

How about I throw you into the water and call that an adventure?

What’s wrong with you? That’s not funny! I would die.

Listen, you two, can’t you go where I can’t hear you fight? Ugh! Teddy, stop scaring him.

Gnawing on the side of a Styrofoam cup Jeanie yelled out, I can’t wait any longer. I’m going to eat this cup if we don’t get called in soon.

Jeanie was always a little more anxious about eating than Teddy and me.

Kids, it’s ready. Come on down below, my mother called out.

Man, that was quick, I said. You two go. I’ll be there in just a second.

"Oh no, you don’t! Ronny, come on! Get over here now!

Okay, okay I’m coming. Just go and replace all those brain cells that are obviously starving. I’ll be right behind ya, I swear.

Whatever, just hurry up.

I felt it really odd that after a few minutes had passed nobody noticed that I didn’t show up to eat. They should have been asking, where is the ten year old?

I had an idea! I could turn this time alone into a great opportunity to be funny.

I wanted to make everyone feel as though they were on rough water so I started rocking the boat back and forth. After a minute of rocking the boat I was getting tired. Nobody seemed to notice anything.

I looked down at my waterproof watch that my parents had just bought me and thought if I don’t hear anyone within another minute I am just going to give up and go eat.

At 2:14 p.m., I pushed really hard and the boat did in fact start to sway from side to side. I started to giggle then laugh to myself. I was thinking they have to notice now that they’re being rocked back and forth. But they must have been too busy eating because no one made a sound. I decided to give one last big shove.

Suddenly, I felt very strange; the sounds around me began to moderate in pitch and tone. Everything seemed as if it were slowing down. This can’t be good. I said to myself. Just then my feet slipped on the dock and my hands slid down the side of the boat. I started falling head first into the water. I plummeted deep into the water before I was able to right myself.

I started to panic. I can’t swim! I tried to think how to save myself. I quickly surveyed my surroundings and to my amazement I saw what I thought was a naked woman moving towards me but then she just vanished.

What happened? Was I hallucinating? I couldn’t kick my feet or move my arms. I was suddenly motionless, immobile in the middle of the river inlet between the boat’s underside and the river’s bottom. I was incapable of moving in any direction. My fear was gut-wrenching.

I was holding my breath trying to calm myself. Everything was murky green, although still clear enough so that I could see both the underside of the dock and the bottom of the yacht with its worn hull and propeller blade.

I could see the harbor floor, littered with bricks, cement blocks, a tire and a rusty metal pole. It seemed like the rest of the floor was sandy.

I was cognizant of my situation. I said to myself, Today, I am going to die.

I remember thinking, My parents are going to be very sad over my death and Jeanie will miss me.

It was getting difficult to hold my breath. I did not want to die slowly and painfully so I felt it would be best to just take as much water as I could into my lungs and hope for a quick death.

At that very moment, I heard a calming female voice say, Child, do not fret. I am with you.

I thought to myself, Am I going crazy? I couldn’t hold my breath any longer.

The voice gently encouraged, Child, just breathe as you would on land.

I thought to myself, What is that? Is this some sort of trick?

No tricks, young one. I am here to protect you. A friend needs to speak with you and this is a good place to do so.

This is not a good time for me to die, I thought to myself. I love you, Mom; I love you, Dad; this sucks so bad. I conceded to death and blew out all the air within my lungs and took in a deep breath of what I felt surely would be water. It was not. I actually took in a breath of air, but how?

You won’t die because I am here. You can also speak as if you were on the surface or we can keep passing thoughts to and fro; your choice. Today is not your day to die. There is much you need to learn.

I looked around quickly, shocked, stunned and confused. From what I could surmise, I was surrounded by some type of bubble. Time seemed as if it were moving very slowly. I was by nature a nervous kid but I now found myself strangely at peace.

At that moment, a female face abruptly appeared just inches from mine and exclaimed Boo!

I was startled and I twisted from side to side trying to get away but where was I to go? I thought, Is she an Angel?

There is no need for insults, young man; I’m more than an Angel. I am Lilith, leader of the Femora. You must bridle your thoughts, especially while I’m keeping you alive! Then she chuckled. It is I who have been secretly keeping you safe your entire life.

Is this what you call keeping me safe? I thought Angels are supposed to be helpful. I have never heard of the Femora.

You have much to learn about heavenly distinctions. You have much to learn about everything.

Just then, I heard another voice within my mind. It was a male voice. He said, Now, Lilith, you must not confuse the boy. Thank you for protecting Anariun’s surrogate host. Please release him to my care. I need to tell him what future lies ahead and the reason for this impromptu consultation.

As she was departing, Lilith said, This is Jebix; do not be frightened by his hideous features. In time you will learn to appreciate them as I have. Jebix is the finest of the Cherub warriors. You can trust in him as you would your own father. Listen to all he has to say; your life and those who listen to you depend upon it. Goodbye for now.

She shot to the surface and was gone. Even though I had never seen her before or this one she called Jebix, somehow I trusted them both.

The male voice continued. Child, since your birth, you have had much to do in saving a life. Without being consciously aware you have been protecting and healing someone who resides within you. You have a responsibility and an honor greater than you can imagine.

Where are you? I asked.

I am with you … here.

I looked into the water just below me and I could see the emergence of a shadowy figure over six feet tall in the semblance of a gargoyle. He had a dragon-like, scaly face with giant bat-like wings. He was dressed in battle armor, carrying a unique blade of fire that had on its hilt a symbol of a circle with a triangle in its center. His face had shades of black and gray with piercing red eyes, yellow pupils and crimson teeth.

I was startled by his bizarre appearance but said, Yes, I see you.

It is good that you are not afraid.

I wish I could say I’m not but I’m still not convinced I’m not dead, so that may be part of it.

As Lilith has told you, I am Jebix. I am your guardian. Lilith is a close friend of him whose Cultra you carry within. She is your protector whenever I am away.

I was confused and said, I thought you were God and she an Angel or mermaid or something. How is it that you can make time stand still? You must be very powerful.

I am not God and Lilith is most definitely not an Angel. I gave you a gift before you were born and as we speak it resides within you. He is one with you and you will become one with him. It is you who are now powerful. You have made time slow because of he who resides within you.

What is inside me?

"We do not have the time to discuss all that has happened since before water flowed upon your earth or what will affect mankind in your future. Nor can you consciously comprehend such vast amounts of information at this point in your life.

I will place in your subconscious mind all that is needed for now. I will also give you a way to slowly access this knowledge of he who resides within you.

Mr. Jebix, what is in me?

Child, his name is Prince Ni-Anariun which means The Uninhibited One. Your Cultra and his have been bonded together.

My name is Ron. I have never heard of Anariun before today. How is this all possible?

I will help you comprehend all the history and information as to who you are at your own pace, Jebix said. He took his long talons and placed them upon the top of my head. They began to glow and became as fire burning under water.

My mind became flooded with information spanning human and spirit history. Copious amounts of information were sent into my subconscious at a very high rate. I cried out because it felt as if his hands were burning right into my brain.

When the information stopped flowing I was exhausted and dizzy. Jebix said, You must go back to the surface now, for we have both grown weary. At this time of day I cannot sustain this form and hold your life force under water for much longer.

Jebix, if you know me, you know I can’t swim. How will I get to the surface?

Lift up your arms. I will place you at the dock’s edge. Until we meet again, Ron, learn from what I have placed inside your mind. It is imperative that you do not tell anyone what has happened to you this day. Humans are under the Alpha/Omega’s Veil that blinds them to the truth. They will be unable to understand until you create a written path to enlighten them. My hope is that you can.

I was lifted to the surface at the edge of the dock with just my upper body out of the water. I suddenly realized I was wet and I began to feel cold but I was not frightened.

I looked around and noticed that no one realized I had fallen into the water except for a man who looked as if he had been decelerated while running in my direction. Glancing at my watch, it had been fifteen minutes since I fell into the water. It was 2:29 p.m.

I yelled out, Dad! Dad! Help me! Instantly the man who seemed frozen re-animated. Calling out for help was a good way to trivialize my mischievous prank and the precarious position that my father was soon to find me in. I needed to act as if I was in fear for what would be perceived as me almost losing my life. I did not want to be punished for a prank that ruined everyone’s day.

The man who was coming to my aid and my father converged on my location at the same time. My father reached down and pulled me from the water.

What the hell happened? Are you okay? he asked.

The man began to speak quickly, breathlessly. Your son … fell into the water! I headed over to help him. In the blink of an eye he went from falling to holding onto the side of the dock. Something very strange happened.

What? my dad said. What the hell are you talking about? My father looked at him as though he were crazy. Are you drunk or something? I don’t care about any of your crazy talk. I’m just glad he’s alive. He could have died! Ronny, damn it, you could have died!

My father was shaking. He looked into my face with deep concern while wiping the excess water from it.

I loved my father very much but I was torn about not being able to tell him what truly happened to me. This situation was more convoluted than I dared to define at that point. Hell, I didn’t really understand what was happening to me anyway. I only knew this Jebix felt my life was extremely important.

I was appreciative of my father’s love for me and I always felt it for him as well. My fate was not written in stone; it had become liquid and must be drunk to see the consequences.

My father spoke to the family. We need to get Ronny home.

Nice going, Ronny, Teddy said. Way to ruin a good day. Danny’s day to impress Mary Jane didn’t turn out so well because of you.

Danny agreed with my brother and said, He’s fine. You’re fine, aren’t you, Ron? Let’s dry him off and go finish eating. His minimization of what happened upset my father very much.

Enough! Enough, everyone! We should all be grateful that Ronny is okay, my father rebuked all. We’re going home!

The man who saw me fall into the water looked at me as my father was taking me back to the car.

I felt he was under the impression that I knew exactly what had just happened to me and I wanted him to know that he was not imagining things. My father carried me away, with me holding onto his shoulder and him hugging me.

I looked back at the confused man and smiled. I gave him a nod of my head in an attempt to validate his suspicions.

He mouthed to me, I saw what happened. I mouthed back to him, I know.

I never saw that man again.

We went home and that night, Tony Lagazi, a friend of the family, asked if he could sleep over. He was allowed only because his mother was away and his father was with another woman so he had no other place to go. That night, he and my brother were awakened at three o’clock in the morning by me standing on top of our bed, speaking in a language I would later come to know as Rafgalic, the tongue of Angels.

I also had my first experience of seeing my bedroom wall turn liquid at its center, forming a whirlpool portal into another realm, which I later learned was called the Outer Circalus.

This realm was filled with what I have come to know as The De-Monarch Disunion along with spirits held against their will.

Upon seeing this other realm, I curled into a ball and began to pray. Behind my closed eyes I saw the vision of a beautiful woman with long flowing blonde hair. I somehow knew her as Bathea. Suddenly she was confronted by a mighty soldier with long white hair and a menacing warrior’s blade with the same markings as the blade of Jebix. He turned as if to walk away from this beautiful princess then spun and instantly bisected her from head to toe. I jumped up and stood on the bed. I started praying out loud to the only name for God I knew, Jehovah. My brother grabbed me and pulled me down. He began yelling at me while smacking my face, telling me to stop being so creepy.

Without thinking, I exclaimed, I just saw spirits in some other world through a hole in our wall.

Tony said, Ronny is out of his mind, or else we can’t see what he just saw.

I was coaxed into trying to go back to sleep, but all I could do was shake. I did not understand what this other world was or how I was able to view it. Nothing from that day forward would ever be the same.

That which way I had come to learn about life was no longer reliable. The information placed inside my mind was changing everything I had been taught. I was learning as I slept. Night after night for years my parents said I would cry out as if being tortured while asleep in my bed.

I needed to know all I could about the one Jebix referred to as Anariun.

Chapter 2

Bathea

It had been four years since I was pulled into the waters of Lake Erie. Nightly I was being downloaded information on human and spirit history. I became immersed in what took place outside of recorded biblical history. The amount of knowledge being stored within my mind was immense. I distinctly saw a line drawn between two different perspectives. I was seeing through the eyes of Jebix and Anariun as they traveled through time. Jebix gave me one view of history and Anariun the other; it was maddening at times.

I found that Anariun had a great deal of affection for a beautiful blonde woman named Bathea and the raven-haired man-hating Femora named Lilith. The more Anariun and I shared a common thought process, the more I missed those who I didn’t even know. Who was Bathea, and how did Lilith fit into a love affair between Bathea and Anariun?

I wanted to learn all I could about them both. I came to learn that Bathea is the offspring of the mighty Helio who was a Brendginot to Qi-Lin Sancrea of the De-Monarch battle division. Sancrea was his commander until his death in the Bahema wars against the Divikets of the seventh dimension. Qi-Romuldom, Anariun’s younger warmonger brother, promoted Helio to the rank of Lin. It was Helio who took up his sword against his angelic brothers without hesitation. He forsook his place in the heavens to walk about the earth. Helio fell madly in love with Bathea’s mother Delilah, a woman who lived in the Valley of Sorek, located by the coast of the Mediterranean Sea southwest of Jerusalem.

Helio was well-known as a rebel of the White Angels of the Triad Faction well before the war broke out. He was a celebrated warrior of the Qi-Legion and was directly responsible for the blinding and imprisonment of Samson, the famed human warrior of Yahweh and his Triad Faction faithful ones. Helio used his beautiful Philistine wife Delilah to win Samson’s affections in order to find his weakness.

For her great service to her husband and the newly formed De-Monarch Disunion she was given the gift of a child. Although she was thought to be barren she gave birth to a strong, healthy baby girl. The baby was unique in form and nature; she was born with yellow pupils and bright blonde hair even though both parents had dark black hair and dark eyes. They named her Bathea. She grew up with unrivaled magnificence and was pure of heart, unlike her parents. While being hosted within the body of a young Philistine named Tabor, Anariun, upon first sight, fell deeply in love with her.

When Helio discovered that Tabor was a Mediator and that he had been having relations with his only offspring, he became enraged and felt his daughter betrayed the De-Monarch Disunion and so sought to punish the lovers. Helio hated Mediators and anyone who sided with them. With every passing moment, Helio became more and more convinced to carry out his plot of killing Bathea and Tabor for their perceived crimes.

Helio sought an audience with his wife Delilah to convey his intention.

I have been fighting battles for many years and many have died to give us our freedom from Yahweh’s rule. Now my only daughter mocks my efforts by this act of betrayal. It is time to end this atrocity.

Please, my lord Helio, begged Delilah. Have mercy upon our only offspring. Have I not delivered Samson’s secret to you? Have we not delayed Yahweh’s efforts to destroy us?

"Woman, do not underestimate the power of Yahweh. Even now, he plots our demise. He may have been using our daughter’s lover to find a weakness within the De-Monarch Disunion.

"Yahweh may feel that my loyalty to you and my daughter is greater than my quest to defeat His son Michael and his Sancts. They hunt us continually while we devise ways to defeat them day and night. Delilah, my loyalties should never to be scrutinized. Those under my command depend on me. I must remain a soldier in opposition to the remaining Presidium council until death. I will fight and shed my veil with my brothers who wish to serve our soon to be master Prince Qi-Belial. He will one day overthrow the Ni-legions of Prince Ni- Ben JA Min.

"You have served me well, Delilah. But like a harlot, you have betrayed the great Samson for a price. Even though he was my enemy, Samson was still a respected and honorable warrior. He was a man who loved you wholeheartedly yet you felt nothing as you gave the order in my name to gouge out his eyes. Delilah, you are proof that humans are innately evil.

I gave no order nor had that desire to dishonor him. He longed for your beauty and you took that beautiful image away from him in so many ways. I now feel that you are capable of anything and I cannot allow you to take away my vision of a new universal order. Even though I still have affection for you, my loyalties to the De-Monarch Disunion are secure.

Before he departed that night to seek out Tabor and kill his daughter in front of her lover, Helio falsely promised Delilah that he would only seek out the Mediator spy but wouldn’t harm Bathea. He passionately kissed her to temporarily deceive her into thinking Bathea’s life was not in peril.

How could Bathea ever show affection to those who turn a blind eye to the sanctions put on her brethren by the Mediators? They only serve to maintain Equipoise no matter the De-Monarch lives lost. He felt Delilah must have given birth to an inferior child.

"I am more than a tyrant, more than a wicked rebel spirit that only wishes to quench the thirst I have for war and domination over the powers of White Essentia.

"I am devoted to a cause, Delilah, one that makes all other emotions, ideas, loyalties, and yes, even love, pale beside my desire for freedom from a Self-righteous King and His hoards of self-proclaimed holy warriors.

"I seek with all my strength to destroy those who have deceived the weak-minded into a faith of false teachings. I have lost so much, Delilah, for a cause that is worth far more than gold or silver.

"Yahweh has given us free will with the threat of death if we actually use it. It is His way or everlasting destruction. We objectors will not stand for it.

We will fill the rivers on earth with blood again and again with the lives of those foolish enough to spread His lies. We will seek and destroy all of His loyal Angels. If it is a war they want, I will bring it to their doorstep. I would rather die having true free will than live an eternity under an intolerable God.

Helio grasped Delilah by her long black hair and dragged her outside of their home. He raised her up into the tree branches where her hair became entangled. He tied her hair around the branches so tightly that she was left hanging with her feet six feet off the ground. She screamed out in pain and frantically begged that she would do anything to show her loyalty.

Helio asked her if she would kill Bathea for sleeping with a Mediator and she said, Yes, my lord. Yes. I would kill our only child just to be with you.

Helio became greatly enraged as he looked upon her face; the tears ran black from her painted eyes. "You sicken me, evil bitch that you are. I would end my daughter’s life bringing great pain and anguish to me just to save her honor and to spit in the face of those that dishonored her.

"I would do all that and more, but not for self-preservation as you would permit her death. I want to hurt Tabor by taking away what he loves most.

Because of the laws of Culnicultra I am forbidden to kill this Mediator. Today, I will inflict unimaginable pain upon him and I will bring this foul Mediator as close to death as possible, with the death of his true love. You, you wretched woman, you would kill your only daughter just to save your cursed existence.

Helio pulled out his knife and slit his wife’s throat. As she was bleeding out, he chastised her, saying, "By the loss of the mighty Samson’s hair, he was able to be restrained and you sealed his death.

"By your hair, I have restrained you within a tree so that all who pass by this house of treachery will see that you were truly wicked. From your first breath onward, you have been dishonorable and selfish. With love for your beauty but disdain for your evil heart, I have smote thee.

Look, Delilah, your blood pools upon the earth beneath you. Even it does not wish to accept your foul life force into its bowels.

Helio pulled out a goatskin bag, filled it with the blood of Delilah and said, You have served me and the De-Monarch Disunion, but you always have served yourself best. Because of your foul tendencies, I spit upon thee as I leave your corpse to spoil.

Helio mounted his steed and rode off to the Philistine warrior campgrounds. He found Tabor and Bathea together in his daughter’s home on the outskirts of the valley of Elah.

He dismounted, drew his sword, and kicked in the front door. It was time to unleash his wrath upon the startled lovers.

At that moment, Helio was quickly thrown to the ground by a hooded stranger who stood just inside the door. The stranger drew a blade of fire and put it to the throat of Helio. This weapon alerted Helio that he was in the presence of another spirit warrior.

Who is it that dares challenge me? Helio cried out as his sword changed from metal to fire. Is it you, Gabriel? Have you been sent by Yahweh to hunt me down?

At the back of the home, Tabor, believing Bathea’s father was there to hurt him alone, grasped Bathea’s face concernedly so that she would not look away from him as he spoke. Bathea, your father must know I am a Mediator.

Then run, Tabor. Get far away from this place. Come back only when you feel it is prudent to do so. I love you, but I love my father also. I do not wish any harm to befall either of you this night. Then under her breath, she whispered, My heart is yours, my beloved Anariun.

Tabor did not know that Helio was actually there to kill Bathea, nor did he know the stranger who appear out of thin air to protect this house. Tabor escaped out a rear window, feeling it was prudent to leave Bathea with her father.

While Helio lay on the floor with the hooded stranger’s blade of fire at his throat, Bathea, having the power of full possession, blocked her father’s thoughts from probing the mind of this protective stranger until she unveiled his intent.

She quickly read his thoughts and became aware that the anonymous man was none other than the famed warrior Jebix, but why was he here?

Within their minds she asked, Warrior, why are you attacking my father? And father, what is the meaning of this invasion? Why have you come to my home in this way? Does Mother know of your actions?

Bathea received her answer without a word being spoken; using her unique abilities she

Reviews for The Definitive Gray

[johnfair_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although it does occasionally show some signs of age, this book is set so far in the future that hardly matters. Apart from that, it is so lyrical in its tone that you hardly care about the fairly limited plot, if you look at it from a completely objective point of view. Cordwainer Smith is another 'forgotten' writer from the early sixties, though this mainly because he was not primarily a writer but, as Paul Linebarger, spent much of his time in the far east in various posts interacting with the Korean and Chinese governments. Norstrilia is his only novel but the Instrumentality of Man provides the background to quite a few short stories (some of which are collected in 'The Rediscovery of Man) and it's Linebarger's Far Eastern experience that informed that background.

[baswood · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Cordwainer Smith (not his real name is an interesting author writing in the sci-fi genre. He wrote a series of short stories and Norstrilia his only novel. When he was not writing sci-fi he was a member of the Foreign Policy association and professor of Asiatic Politics at John Hopkins University. he is well thought of in the sci- fi fraternity with his short stories and Nostrilia both considered as classics in the field.He had a fantastic imagination and his stories mostly written in the late 1950's and early 1960's are a delight. No hard science here just pure 50's sci-fi, mostly well written and featuring a cast of brilliant characters. For those that are familiar with the short stories then this novel which is set in the distant future will provide another good read. The Lords of the Instrumentality, C'mell the girlygirl catwoman. the go-captains, Mother Hittons Littul Kittons (a defence system) and the underpeople all feature. What more do you want?

[tadad_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The first half of this book, originally published as The Planet Buyer, was very good. The second half, originally published as The Underpeople, just didn't work as well for me. I was pretty bored through most of it.

[clong_818048 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the only full length novel published by Smith, and after reading this you can understand why. As a full length novel Norstrilia is only marginally successful. It's more a series of related short vignettes, that move along in jumps and starts (indeed two were previously published as short stories). There is little sense of structure (although the very ending brings us back to where we started, providing a rather effective as a denoument). The dialogue tends to be stilted, and the descriptive prose is nothing to write home about. So why read it? Smith is an amazingly inventive author, who describes myth-making galaxy changing events that no other author could have conceived. Norstrilia, like virtually all of Smith's fiction, is part of the "Instrumentality of Mankind" storyline, recounting important actions by characters who play key roles in the evolution of that fascinating tale of our future.

[recon77-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What an absolutely delightful science fiction novel. Smith is one of the best. Like Lewis only much more interesting as far as the science part.