Chapter 2: The Moonlight Fugitive

Book: Moon Demon

Author: Huang Yi

Chapter 2: The Moonlight Fugitive

Next to the front door was a closed circuit television that displayed an automatic camera. A man and a woman were standing outside the garden gate. Behind them were two police vehicles.

Ling Duyu sighed heavily. He had just come back from the police station two hours ago. Police generally made a house call when they were suspicious and wanted to keep an eye on someone.

He furnished his house with multiple antiques for a unique style; large Persian rugs, Taiwanese rosewood, colorful Victorian Furniture, Chinese calligraphy and painting. Underneath this deceptive exterior was a very modern system made up of many electronic devices, because he was top notch at electronics. This computer and weapons expert designed and installed the entire system himself.

Ling Duyu moved his hand to his waist opening a leather bag hanging on his belt. Inside was a delicate remote control the size of a box of matches. He skillfully pushed a sequence of numbers and the loudspeaker close to the gate began to transmit a raspy noise.

Ling Duyu turned toward the intercom saying, "Officers, is there a matter so urgent that it cannot wait until tomorrow morning to be discussed?

The young officer, MaXiu Ming, loudly replied in the direction of the intercom saying, "Mr. Ling, we are sorry to disturb you tonight, but there have been significant developments in this matter that we find very strange. To my side is Director Zhuo Chu Yuan, who is in charge of Interpol's special operations group. She just flew in from Taiwan to lend a hand in the investigation, and was hoping that she could see you immediately."

Ling Duyu stretched his hand out with the remote pressing a button. Outside the iron garden gate opened slowly while Director MaXiu Ming and Interpol's Director Zhou walked towards the house. After they were in the yard the gate slowly closed behind them. Beyond the gate the light shifted the shadows of at least six to seven other police officers located at different points around the house. Ling Duyu muttered to himself, "Are the police afraid I am going to flee?"

Ling Duyu pressed the remote control again and the big wooden door of the house opened. MaXiu entered first taking the lead and walked over to Ling Duyu giving him a customary handshake.

Facing this young officer, Ling Duyu had a favorable impression of him. They exchanged a few pleasantries before MaXiu Ming moved aside to make the introduction, "This is the Director of Interpol's Special Operations Group, Zhuo Chu Yuan."

Ever since he entered the room MaXiu obstructed Ling Duyu's line of sight and he could not see the person following behind. When he stepped aside the female behind was revealed. When Ling Duyu finally saw her he almost whistled involuntarily.

Zhuo Chu Yuan was informally wearing blue colored civilian clothes. The mini-skirt displayed her wonderful waist, hips, and legs in such a perfect way that it would make any man feel that she is at the height of youthful arrogance and vigor.

Like a floating cloud, her hair was tied in a small bun. Her skin was bronze and glossy, with a delicate stiff nose, corners and edges forming a small distinct mouth, all serving to contrast a charming, moving evil little deity. What goddess descended like a meteor to stand here?

Once MaXiu finished introducing her, Zhuo Chu Yuan smiled, revealing a row of neat snow white teeth. Taking the initiative she hurried forward to shake Ling Duyu's hand.

Ling Duyu secretly pondered this beautiful woman with super model looks. Failing to become a celebrity would be almost impossible. Why did she join Interpol, and not only that, how could she climb up to such a high position.

However when he shook Zhuo Chu Yuan's hand he changed his impression immediately. Her delicate hands were slender and powerful. Ling Duyu himself was a highly trained first-class fighter. He knew that this beautiful woman had been strictly trained in martial arts.

Zhuo Chu Yuan said, "Mr. Ling, How are you?!". Her voice was somber and graceful, with a pleasant sex appeal.

Greeting them both Ling Duyu led them to a reception room with a row of sofas to sit down on.

Ling Duyu sat on one side. MaXiu Meng and Zhuo Chu Yuan sat on the other side.

Both people fixed their four eyes on Ling Duyu with an intense gaze. It gave him the feeling that two armies were about to square off in an epic battle.

Ling Duyu spoke first, "Miss Zhuo just arrived and immediately rushed over. Your hard working attitude is much appreciated."

Zhuo Chu Yuan did not appear to appreciate Ling Duyu's speech. She wrinkled her elegant eyebrows and coldly replied, "Mr. Ling, on the airplane I read through your international profile. I know that Mr. Ling possesses the unique skill set to handle matters such as this one, but the death of Professor Xie has wide implications. As a representative of Interpol I would like to ask you, Mr. Ling, for your full cooperation with us." Her concise and orderly speech was very persuasive.

Ling Duyu was impressed by Zhuo Chu Yuan coming so quickly to the point, but he would not be persuaded so easily. Although he was only 33 years old, he had more experiences than the sum of several people would have in their entire lives. There weren't many storms he hadn’t already weathered. With a slight shrug he replied, "Is there still something I haven't cooperated in?

Zhuo Chu Yuan's ice cold expression remained unchanged, "Mr. Ling, if you are so cooperative then please hand over the 'magic stone' immediately."

This time it was Ling Duyu's turn to frown as he mumbled, "Magic Stone? What exactly is that?"

Instead of getting angry Zhuo Chu Yuan smiled and leisurely said, "Ling Duyu, before 20 years of age your background is unclear. At 13 years of age you obtained a degree in Electrical Engineering from MIT. The following year you received a Master's degree from Harvard University with a thesis paper titled, 'The Relationship Between Egyptian Pyramids and Astronomy.' At 25 years of age you received a doctorate, the submitted paper was 'Black Holes and the Age of the Universe'. This established a reputation of being one of the finest young minds of our generation. After that you travelled the world working as a self-proclaimed computer programming expert."

While she spoke, MaXiu's eyes continued to open wider as if it is the first time he has heard about Ling Duyu's prestigious accomplishments.

Ling Duyu sat comfortably on the sofa, unruffled, but displayed a disrespectful attitude.

Zhuo Chu Yuan continued, "This is what the average person knows about Ling Duyu, but according to reliable intelligence Mr. Ling is involved in many national movements across the world. It highly likely that he is a top ranking member of the secret global organization known as 'Alliance to Resist Violence'. Although this organization is involved in arms smuggling, hiring mercenaries, assassination, and other illegal activities, its goal is to assist the soldiers of all democracies in avoiding confrontations of power. This is why the intelligence agencies of all the great democracies have only observed and have not interfered with Mr. Ling's activities. This is the current situation."

Zhuo Chu Yuan's expressions could change swiftly and fiercely. She used both persuasion and threats. Ling Duyu was getting in touch with the fiery side of this beautiful woman.

Zhuo Chu Yuan revealed a trace of a smile that was unexpectedly moving. She continued on in a careless tone, "Mr. Ling's skills don't end there. For example in the knowledge of weapons and unarmed combat he could probably be ranked as one of the world's top masters. Mr. Ling is also a master hypnotist. My goodness! I almost forgot that Mr. Ling enjoys picking and defeating locks." The color from his face drained as she spoke, "With a person like this, when he found the old man in the room, after a possible accident, would he be at a loss? Would he just helplessly wait for the police to arrive?"

Zhuo Chu Yuan's refined speech put things in perspective making it difficult to refute anything.

Ling Duyu shot a strong look refusing to yield any ground while Zhuo Chu Yuan stared directly back. MaXiu had become a temporary bystander.

After a long period of time Ling Duyu concisely said, "Earlier today I already told the local police every detail where it should already be on file. Only in court will I make another statement, otherwise you will have to forgive me I will not repeat myself again."

Zho Chu Yuan sighed angrily, she appeared to regret Ling Duyu's uncooperative attitude, "Mr. Ling, perhaps you do not understand the gravity of the situation. Including the professor more than ten people have already traded their lives for the 'magic stone'. Interpol formally accepted the Egyptian president's request last year to investigate. The first group identified seven people to investigate and track down, but they all died before they could be reached and the group was forced to disband. I am in charge of the second group that has taken over. Regarding Mr. Ling's earlier propensity for justice, this is already a precious Egyptian cultural relic. From Mr. Ling's earlier response this item should be returned to the original owner, it would only be the right thing to do."

Zhuo Chu Yuan's military strategy was not lacking either, with good communication and quick, flexible changes.

Ling Duyu wondered how he could find the correct words to persuade her, "Miss Zhuo you are wasting your time, I really do not know anything. This is the first time I have heard about the 'magic stone'."

Zhuo Chu Yuan lowered her beautiful face, "I hope that Mr. Ling will not regret this decision in the future. No one can escape our watchful eye."

In a soft voice Ling Duyu said, "Please feel free to search the house when you have a warrant."

Zhuo Chu Yuan looked at MaXiu expectantly who looked a little embarrassed. He awkwardly said, "The search warrant should arrive at any time."

Ling Duyu was disappointed that as soon as Zhuo Chu Yuan arrived she wanted to search his house. However to execute a quick search, a warrant must be obtained which requires certain legal procedures and time. As a result the rest of the officers cannot legally perform a search of the property. Outside the gate there was definitely a large group respectfully waiting for the warrant to arrive so they could begin an organized search.

Ling Duyu shrugged his shoulders, as he turned over many ideas in his mind that would allow him to reduce the journal in the desk cabinet into a pile of ashes. Among his equipment the remote on his waist was the single most important tool. All he had to do was push a sequence of passwords and the system would trigger a small fire. There would be no guarantee that the source of the fire could be determined afterwards.

The three people temporarily sat in silence.

The sound of cars floated into the house. Ling Duyu estimated it to be at least three approaching vehicles.

Why were there so many people?

MaXiu Meng seemed to have the same sense of doubt as he pulled a radio out of his pocket, "Police Head 0137, Who is approaching? Over."

A voice transmitted in response, "They have ministry credentials, and brought the search warrant. Over."

Scowling MaXiu Meng replied, "Only permit one of them to enter with the search warrant. Over."

He was also extremely cautious, as the other side gave an acknowledgement.

MaXiu Meng turned to Ling Duyu saying, "Mr. Ling, please open the gate."

Ling Duyu did not use the remote control hidden within the leather pouch on his belt. In front of the sofa was a small tea table. On top of the table was a control box with a row of switches. Ling Duyu pressed the right-most switch and the outside gate automatically began to open slowly.

Standing up MaXiu said, "Mr. Ling's accommodations are refreshing..."

He did not finish what he was saying as he left the room, moving towards the front door.

Ling Duyu suddenly felt alarmed. His keen hearing told him that a total of three people were entering into the house. MaXiu clearly ordered only one person to enter a moment ago, what happened?

Startled into awareness he jerked his head up. At the same time he began typing into the remote control on his waist.

At that exact moment a long needle entered MaXiu's left cheek. His body slugglishly dropped to the floor. It was an anaesthetic injection!

Three foreigners entered the room, each of them holding a small shiny black pistol.

Ling Duyu fought many battles and he had a %100 sensitive response. As soon as he pressed the remote control the entire house fell into darkness. He immediatly twisted his body and threw himself behind the sofa.

Several sounds rang out. Ling Duyu knew that the sofa shielding his body had already been hit by no less than four needles. This was an extremely formidable enemy.

The slightest noise couldn't be heard from outside. It appeared that the waiting police officers had already quietly fallen to the enemy. As he switched the lights off in the house, he thought he saw Zhou Chu Yuan spring into action at the same time. He wondered if she had enough time to avoid the needle attack.

Another button was pushed and a rumbling sound began to come from the glass wall. On the outside hatches began to close sealing the house even further, blocking out the glimmering moonlight. Now, even if you held your hand in front of your face you wouldn't be able to see your five fingers.

Complete Silence.

No one dared to make the slightest sound, for fear of becoming the target of many needles.

Outside the front door and the big garden, the giant gate closed

Ling Duyu was fully aware that the situation was most advantageous for him. Nobody was more familiar with the house than him.

The only distressing thing, was that all his weapons were stored in the wall of the study within this dark house.

Ling Duyu gradually began to crawl backward over a rug, which cancelled out any noise he made, allowing him to noiselessly escape. He must take advantage of the unsteady enemy position to escape to the second floor. Judging by the facial expressions and by what the three men were wearing it was higly likely they came from a government commando force. If his estimation was correct, Ling Duyu thought that if he used his boldness and skill to somehow escape and live another day, it would already be something to brag about. Fortunately coming from outside the house they did not know that the total number of people including Zhuo Chu Yuan was only two. In order to deal with the current situation of modernized equipment they would have also needed the strictest military training for raids. Their attack effectively became futile.

Halfway up the stairs to the second floor Ling Duyu stopped all movement.

A light delicate fragrance floated to his nose. It was Zhuo Chu Yuan's perfume. She must be nearby. Ling Duyu was willing to bet she had a pistol in her hand. It would be difficult to distinguish between the enemies and himself. If he allowed himself to get shot now everything would be in vain.

Immediately he had an idea. He pressed the remote control and a tremendously loud noise began to shake the room. Ling Duyu heard someone closeby gasp in alarm. First Ling Duyu used the remote control to angle the speakers and turn the volume all the way up on his stereo. He then pushed the "power on" switch which caused the stereo to start playing at full volume.

It was pitch black inside with a deafening noise

Everything was thrown into chaos

The enemies were stumbling into objects. They were in total disarray.

Ling Duyu shouted to clear the way, "Its me, Ling Duyu!"

He heard Zhuo Chu Yuan three feet to his left let out an "Oh!" of surprised recognition.

As soon as he heard her, Ling Duyu approached rapidly with his hand out searching. He bumped into Zhuo Chu Yuan's shoulder and took the opportunity to follow her arm down and grab on to her smooth white hands

Zhuo Chu Yuan was subconsciously relieved when he grabbed her hand. She didn't know until then, that only Ling Duyu could lead her out of that dark place. This was the first time she had encountered such a sudden change.

Ling Duyu led her to the steps of the staircase. She fell down several times, but with the deafening sound of the music, who would be able to hear such an insignificant bump compared to the singing?

The two of them continued to tiptoe up the stairs towards the second floor. The deafening music didn't seem to diminish at all as they moved up. Ling Duyu feeling troubled in his heart, pulled Zhuo Chu Yuan forward with all his strength. Strangely Zhuo Chu Yuan displayed extraordinary agility and was able to follow him closely. She quickly figured out the curve and angle of the winding staircase.

A brilliant explosion of white light came from the room below, flashing into their eyes. The sudden change from complete darkness to a brilliant light left them temporarily blind.

Flares!

* Note: For those of you who don't know a flare is basically a chemical burning torch. Generally the police use them during night accidents to help direct traffic.

If Ling Duyu had any suspicions before, they were gone now. The enemy were definitely a military commando unit.

Why?

There was no precious antique in existence that should make a group like this strike in such a manner.

Just as their eyes began to adjust to the bright light, they both reached the second floor.

Ling Duyu keyed in on the remote again. A solid iron portal slid shut at their feet closing off the stair entrance to the second floor. This equipment that took a thousand days to plan and install was used all in one day. The iron portal would repel the soldiers pursuing on the staircase below. There was finally calm on the second floor, but probably not for long.

Ling Duyu turned the lights on. The indistinct music playing downstairs suddenly stopped.

Shaking his head he said, "Those military types don't appreciate good music."

Under the light, Zhuo Chu Yuan's face was a little pale. The enemy's unexpected attack caught her completely off guard. When she heard Ling Duyu's joke she gave him a withering stare. That was before she realized she was still grasping his hand.

Forcibly she shook off his hand.

Ling Duyu said cheekily, "Miss! Don't burn your bridges so quickly, everything is just getting started." Planting his feet firmly on the ground he continued, "They can come up from here." He was not being sarcastic, since the house was not made of iron and steel so how could it defend against a well-prepared army?

The conversation had not ended before the noise of an explosion rang out, the entire second floor shook violently. A blast of wind rushed in as both of them lost their footing, they fell to the floor together.

Dust and the pungent odor of explosives filled the entire floor. The sound of windows shattering could be heard from every corner of the house. Ling Duyu's peaceful retreat turned into a battlefield.

His earlier speech turned into a fulfilled prophecy.

This time Zhuo Chu Yuan responded quickest, she shoved Ling Duyu who was lying on top of her firm but delicate chest. The scene looked like a scared cat shooting upwards.

There was a metal impact.

Ling Duyu jumped up, with a faltering voice said, "Grappling Hook!". It was an essential tool that is used in mountain climbing.

He could not take on the enemies now, because they could be anywhere after exploding a big hole. Dragging Zhuo Chu Yuan behind him they dashed wildly towards the roof. Everything they saw was littered with dust, and jumbled in confusion.

Ling Duyu keyed in a password on the remote control, activating the automatic destruction device in his desk.

After 100 seconds everything in the desk would be incinerated in a ball of flame.

There was no other choice.

Finally fresh air, as soon as they breathed it they felt as if their spirits were renewed.

The sky was bright with the moonlight of the crescent moon. It was ten days until the mid autumn festival.

It had been two years since the completion of the house, at that time he had a blue hang glider installed on the roof. As a professional weapons expert this hang glider quickly became part of his plan to escape from the mysterious soldiers. He never had to use it until this day.

Ling Duyu helped Zhuo Chu Yuan into the glider and strapped her securely in.

Zhuo Chu Yuan urgently said, "What are you going to do?" She was filled with concern. The glider was outfitted to carry one person, but both of them needed to escape.

With the moonlight strangely reflected in Ling Duyu's eyes he said, "So, you are actually very concerned for me."

Zhuo Chu Yuan angrily shut her mouth tightly, turning her head to the side. That son of a bitch was about to die, and he still treated her with disrespect.

Attached to the base, on the frame of the hang glider, were three wheels situated on top of three long rods. The rods hung down and extended from the roof at a 30 degree angle making a runway for the glider. It was an ingenious design.

That night the winds were blowing strong.

The distant city and harbor sparkled magnificently under the moonlight. It carried an alien beauty.

Unfortunately this wasn't the time to be admiring the moon.

Tight steel pins tightly held the glider to the steel rods. Previously Ling Duyu often worried that there wouldn't be enough steel rings for the glider to take off, but with the tremendous winds there might be too many steel rings, causing the glider to be ripped away from line before reaching the end.

The glider was straining to be free.

Soon the glider would start to roll down from its high perch and slowly accelerate until it would dive from the roof into the night sky.

A second explosion rang out. The iron door to the roof, which was tightly shut, flew out hitting the railing with a noise so loud that it would be enough to rob anyone of their courage.

Ling Duyu shouted wildly as he pushed with all his strength. The glider suddenly sped up, grinding loudly as it slid to the end of the rods. Right then Ling Duyu showed his uncanny skill, as soon as he reached the edge of the roof he jumped with both feet. He looked like a pouncing leopard. With both hands he reached out and tightly grabbed on to the base of the glider.

Two people glided off into the night sky.

Facing the roof, Ling Duyu saw figures moving.

Another explosion came from the office. The auto destruct device had completed its task. Now there was no trace of Professor Xie's journal.

In the blink of an eye the house changed from the size of a box to a small black dot.

Since the day he was born, he had never lived in a house for more than two years. He lived here for 18 months in relative peace, but in the end he couldn't maintain it.

Using his strong waist Ling Duyu moved his feet up into the hang glider's frame support, reducing the workload on his arms. He was now facing Zhuo Chu Yuan underneath, she was on top. There wasn't much room in the frame, so their bodies fit snugly together. They were so close they could feel each the other's breath on their face.

A blast of wind scattered Zhuo Chu Yuan's hair, sending it into Ling Duyu's face. The contact made his face itch, unfortunately he didn't have a hand free to scratch it.

Zhuo Chu Yuan could not withstand the close intimacy, she shut her beautiful eyes tightly, nature had slowly taken its course.

The glider moved at an incredible speed as it swooped down towards the broad harbor.

Ling Duyu impulsively wanted to offend this arrogant and beautiful woman. He wanted to evoke such a response that she would open her apricot eyes, but he finally gave up this attractive idea muttering, "I guess we were lucky. Those madmen forgot to bring missiles."

Zhuo Chu Yuan seemed to be indifferent, her fate had been delivered into his hands.

The glider, the life saving bird, banked steeply. Ling Duyu was constantly correcting the angle of the wings in order to avoid flying into the surrounding skyscrapers. Most likely they would die on impact.

The glider was specifically designed for one person, overloaded with two people of course it wasn't as easy to control.

His goal was at the foot of mountain on the harbor. He was very grateful that at one time he had been fanatical about this sport.

They flew straight down the coast next to the buildings until the harbor slanted 30 degrees.

The glider welcomed the sea breeze as it filled both wings, a graceful arc was drawn through the empty sky before it slowly slid into the mighty, silver waves.

Zhuo Chu Yuan smelled the sea water, but couldn't bear to open her eyes. A faint smile played across Ling Duyu's face, he looked like he had just eaten a satisfying meal. At that moment Ling Duyu let out a miserable cry. His back made contact with the water, at such speed it was quite painful.

The glider's speed gradually reduced while sliding over the water. After it travelled about 100 yards it slowly came to a halt.

The water was ice cold, it was a mid-autumn night, and just a moment ago they were suffering by being blown about by the cold upper air currents. Neither of them were wearing clothes suitable for the water, they both groaned at the same time.

Ling Duyu got out of the frame and began to loosen the straps holding in Zhuo Chu Yuan. Were his hands so frozen by the cold seawater that he was unusually clumsy, or perhaps Zhuo Chu Yuan's exquisite floating body of health caused an extreme attraction, to always be bumping into places that few should touch.

Zhuo Chu Yuan felt rising panic, as she grabbed on to him trying to get free. Her lung capacity would soon be exhuasted.

Two people broke the surface of the water.

As soon as Ling Duyu looked at how far away the shore was he felt lucky, it was only about 200 yards away. A moment ago he climbed out from under the glider frame, he nearly exhausted the rest of his strength in the process. He felt like he didn't have much left to make the swim.

Zho Chu Yuan kicked off her shoes and jacket while treading water and gasping for air.

Ling Duyu also took off his shoes trying to stay afloat, "Young lady, please forgive little brother for not preparing a bathing suit for you."

Zhuo Chu Yuan stared at him with her beautiful eyes before giving a snort full of contempt "HMPH!" Then she turned around and swam for the shore.

Ling Duyu shook his head, the ice cold water caused him to smile bitterly, if he could be at home now reading a book that would really be nice. As he fantasized uselessly he forced himself to move through the water, he overexerted himself enormously already. If not for his life long strict training and discipline it would have given out on him long ago.

Under the moonlit night the sea water appeared to be a 10 million color glittering snake that was pulsating. Using the freestyle Zhuo Chu Yuan rapidly swam towards the shore, the graceful movement was pleasing to the eye.

Ling Duyu secretly admired the beautiful mermaid. A moment ago while they were both riding the glider he let an opportunity to kiss that vain woman go.

Ling Duyu sighed again, then forced himself to pursue the beautiful mermaid who was far away towards the shore.

Both of them successfully reached land, it was the dead of night and completely quiet. They were in a parking lot, but nobody was around.

Looking at Zhuo Chu Yuan, Ling Duyu praised her, "I originally didn't notice Miss Zhuo's beautiful figure!"

He then shrugged and said, "Good Night!" as he turned into the night and walked down a dark street.

Zhuo Chu Yuan hesitated for a moment, clenched her teeth, then hurriedly followed after him.

Chapter 1: Death of the Professor

Book: Moon Demon

Author: Huang Yi

Chapter 1: Death of the Professor

Ling Duyu returned to his home, as the hanging pendulum in the hallway clock struck 12:00, announcing the end to another day.

The buzzing of the mountain cicadas faintly penetrated through the windows and doors spreading throughout the house. It was a modernized replica of a foreign-style house. Ling Duyu's home was built near the top of a mountain. In the living room there was a wall made completely of glass giving a broad view of the surrounding landscape. It had a panoramic view of the harbor and the opposite shore, with the many lights of an enchanting city coloring both banks brightly. The sea reflected an inverted image of the beautiful city making it difficult to tell which was real and which was not. It was like a scene straight out of an imaginary dream.

Ling Duyu turned on some soft music, and sat down on his sofa. His back sank into the soft pillow sending a feeling of comfort throughout every nerve of his body.

That day a strange matter had occurred which was still puzzling him. Ling Duyu took out a blue leather-bound booklet from his bag. On the cover there was a clear title inscribed "DIARY" in bronze type-face. The letters were made of flying dragons, and little dancing phoenixes, showing how much thought the craftsman put into it.

He wasn't interested in the diary's elegant design, but the contents dwelling within. When he discovered Professor Xie's corpse, the diary was clasped tightly in his thin hand. It was held so tightly that if one looked close enough they still might be able to see the finger marks left on the cover. Whatever was inside this diary had to be an astonishing secret since even in death he could not put it down.

Ling Duyu did not dare to rashly force Professor Xie's fingers from the book. When he died he was already grasping the book tightly. In death his muscles began to stiffen and become even more rigid. At this point the only way to remove the book would be to break the fingers one by one.

Luckily this was Ling Duyu who used acupuncture. Taking one of the needles he carried with him, he pricked Professor Xie in the arm, then on the shoulder following several acupuncture points. While he pricked the professor he began to pull on the Professor's body at several different places. Only after going through all of this was he able to control the hand.

Soon the hand loosened and opened up allowing him to retrieve the book. He learned many methods for dealing with the dead from his teacher, during his childhood in Tibet's celestial burial place.

Since that event, earlier in the day, he never had the opportunity or the time to read the diary. At noon he received a long distance phone call from Chen Wupeng in the US. With a breathless and frightened voice Chen asked him to hurry immediately to his Uncle Professor Xie's place, but he would not tell him the reason why.

Ling Duyu's disposition was to take care of any request even if it was from someone passing on the street that he didn’t even know. His righteous attitude would never let him refuse Chen Wupeng who was part of the same secret organization as Ling. They had also shared several life and death trials and in the process became best friends.

Jumping into his pearl white vehicle he quickly accelerated to 80 miles per hour. When he noticed a policeman on a motorcycle chasing him, he tried to shake him. After running five red lights he was able to safely continue. He quickly rushed to Professor Xie's suburban residence, but was shocked to discover that the Professor was already dead. The corpse's chest was still a little warm. Ling estimated that he had been murdered about half an hour earlier.

As he observed the corpse he noticed that it was situated in a strange position. The professor had apparently suffocated to death. His breastbone also appeared to have been completely shattered. What was strange was that there was no obvious bruising or trauma visible on the skin. Even with a slight hit you would expect it to leave a small mark. How was this even possible? It would take a force of a thousand pounds or more to shatter a breastbone like that.

Very carefully he examined every inch of the room, but he could not find anything that a criminal could have used to cause these wounds. The room was actually in good order. There were no signs that a struggle took place. The front door and window were both intact. Ling Duyu used two steel wires he took from his suit to skillfully unlock the door and quietly enter. Even the unwitting ghost inside did not notice his entry.

Professor Xie's eyes were both wide open. Fear was reflected in his eyes, his facial expression registered a state of panic and dread. He looked like he didn't want to believe that his death was happening at all. Even for someone with a lot of courage like Ling Duyu, after looking at this scene, he couldn't help feeling afraid.

The corpse seemed to have tumbled from a chair looking up, the mouth was open wide where it unwillingly sucked in its last breath of air. The ash white face was raised to an impossible angle, eyeglasses hung suspended from the right ear swinging back and forth longing to fall to the floor. He seemed to have met with an invisible demon who tightened its powerful hand around his frail throat.

Throughout Ling's strange and wonderful life, he had never seen someone die like this before. He once saw someone whose skin was peeled off until they died, another man he saw completely dismembered leaving him with no arms or legs. Even though both of those methods were extremely cruel and merciless they weren't necessarily worse than the strange and inexplicable death Professor Xie endured. What could cause such a terrifying death?

Professor Xie's left hand hung limply to the side, while his right hand lay between his chest and belly with the grasping fingers that Ling retrieved the blue leather diary from. He quickly eliminated any evidence of his forced entry, and then calmly reported it to the police. The diary was concealed for himself. He has only ever trusted in his own ability. At the same time within the diary there was a great secret waiting to be discovered. He hoped he would be able to keep it safe until Chen Wupeng came back.

When the police arrived he appeared to be very calm as they repeatedly interrogated him in order to get to the bottom of their investigation. At Dusk, later that day, he also hid a phone call he made from the police. He was able to find Chen Wupeng in the United States and told him the bad news about Professor Xie's death. Chen had always been very irritable, but when he heard the sad news about the Professor his reaction was unusual. Instead of being distressed and agitated, he responded vaguely, "He is really dead, he really did die..."

Ling Duyu asked, "Wupeng, is there an explanation for what happened?

The conversation turned out to be one sided. Chen didn't hear a word and only muttered,  "This was really unexpected, I was the only person that knew..."

Abruptly, he madly screamed out, "What kind of hideous ... its too much!!"

Ling was secretly amazed. Chen had been through many great storms, any matter that could make him act so abnormally must be very frightening. After five minutes of gasping for breath Chen finally started to calm down. Ling listened until he forced himself to respond with a great surge of willpower saying, "Wait for me to come back, we'll speak again." With that single phrase the call ended as the line went dead.

Ling expected his conversation with Chen to clear the dense fog, but it only made the puzzle more complex. At least he would shortly be on his way back.

A new song brought Ling out of his reverie as he opened the diary to the first page. The date written on the page was March 15, 1984. It was written four years ago. The diary entry read:

This morning I returned to the University Research Institute. I had a chance encounter with Lao Xu. I found out his friend Dr. Zheng Yunlin died right in front of him. I couldn't bear the sound of his sobs. From the spring of birth to the autumn of death is like a cloudy dream. His fame and fortune are nothing to him now, all he has is the grief and sighs of old friends...

Ling turned several pages. The diary was not continual. Sometimes several months would pass between entries, it would be more appropriate to call it a registry.

Professor Xie Ning became an internationally known archaeologist at the age of 35 when he published "The Migration of the African Coast Populations". The world archaeological community praised his efforts, propelling him forward as a leader in the field. After that he spent dozens of years meticulously researching the culture and language of ancient Egypt, he became a recognized archaeological authority in the world of education.

His life was devoted to educate others, he was also a renowned traveler. The Professor was a modern Xu Xiake. The inexplicable death of such a prominent scholar was definitely a huge loss to the archaeology community that could never be reclaimed.

This year the Professor was 65 years old. He had retired from teaching five years ago. According to what Chen Wuping said, for the last 20 years the professor had been infatuated with finding ancient civilizations. He believed that before modern civilization emerged, there existed on Earth other highly civilized cultures possibly with "the Peking man" and "the Lantian man". This was around 400,000 to 500,000 years ago in prehistoric times. This particular theory belonged in an archaeological no-mans land. If a credible discovery could be found to prove it, it would be a landmark day and an astonishing feat.

With disquieting thoughts, he continued to browse through the archaeological giant's notes, the contents not recording his life's feelings but his studies, newly acquired knowledge, and penetrating analysis of archaeology. Ling galloped through the scholar's unbounded inner world of thought, his famous reputation was not undeserved. This great scholar had a high level of academic attainment, coupled with a daring and rich imagination. There was a huge difference between him and others who filled their brains with small facts just to become so-called scholars.

For example on July 7, 1985 he wrote:

Humanity has become used to a tiny knowledge of its present immersion in history spanning a narrow space of time. Like an ostrich hiding its head in the sand, it remains to be seen whether or not they have the courage and perseverance to search out history's numerous unsolved mysteries.

For example in each established culture's history, there has been recorded a flood that encompassed the entire earth. Our Chinese history speaks of Da Yu who was able to control the rivers. His father tried to block the waters, but his method failed. Da Yu later unblocked the rivers and led the water away. Only after this solution did the flood finally disappear. This great flood endured for 15 years before it was able to subside.

A skillfully written account also appears in the Jewish culture who speak of Noah's Ark. In the Holy Bible it is written that Noah was warned by God that a flood was coming and he was instructed to build a great boat. He was to sort all of the animals of the world into male and female pairs and put them on the boat. Noah ,and the animals he took on the boat, were the only life-forms that were fortunate enough to survive the great flood allowing humanity to continue. Currently there are people seeking traces of Noah's Ark.

Other histories, like Greece and India, don't fail to mention shocking accounts of a catastrophic flood. This should be irrefutable proof, that every modern civilization's history has recorded some version of a global catastrophic flood that did not subside for a long time. Over the entire earth through different nationalities there are abundant examples in their ancient histories of this great and terrible disaster.

Such a great disaster could have possibly destroyed the remnants of any former civilization. The current modern society is actually a recently developed civilization. The question therefore is can such a great flood repeat? This is most certainly an extremely urgent question.

Ling Duyu was not a scholar, but the professor presented his argument concisely making it easy to understand how such a great disaster could plague humanity again at a later date.

The journal continued on:

In 1976 on the ice-fields of Siberia a herd of mammoths was discovered. The mammoths were a species that could only survive in a tropical environment. These mammoths had three interesting characteristics.First their bodies were completely intact, and the meat taken from the bodies was still edible. Secondly, inside of their mouths and stomachs undigested green grass was found. Finally their stomachs were inflated, indicating that they died of suffocation. The only reasonable explanation for this phenomenon is that when the tropical mammoths were grazing, the weather suddenly changed to an extreme cold that instantly froze them.

Could this be the most significant evidence of a shift in the earth's axis? There is a prevalent theory in scientific circles.  According to the principle of centrifugal force, an object revolves around a single point with the greatest mass.  This is how the earth also rotates around it's own axis.  It rotates around the point having the greatest mass, therefore the earth's rotation must be about the equator, which also has the greatest diameter and mass.

According to an investigation it was demonstrated that the ice at the North and South poles is continually growing more layers. When the ice at both poles becomes heavier than the equator, the rotational balance can be broken. At that moment the entire Earth would reverse. The poles would become the new equator and the equator would establish new North and South poles.

This model adequately explains the mammoths instant death. The tropical mammoth would have most likely been grazing in a prairie located at or close to the equator. The earth suddenly made this reversal transporting them from the tropical prairie to a new world of ice and snow as Siberia froze in an instant. At the new equator the sudden increase in temperature melted the ice causing an astonishing global flood. Scientists estimate that if the ice at both poles melted all at once, the Earth's water level could surge upwards by 50 meters or more.

This would certainly cause Noah to escape in a boat, it would also explain how Da Yu became a flood conquering leader. When the earth shifted its axis there were earthquakes, and tsunamis everywhere. In the face of such a sudden occurrence any civilization could instantly disintegrate and disappear like a puff of smoke. This type of calamity could be a cyclical event. With each occurrence of the cycle one civilization is destroyed with a new one taking its place.

Ling sucked in his breath heavily. A sudden worldwide transformation could happen at any time. He looked farther down the page, written a week later,

Many people who are relentlessly searching for the answers to Earth's myriad mysteries aspire to the thought that the answer lies in outer space. They believe that visitors from other worlds could be responsible. I prefer to believe that the answers are right in front of us. The explanation for these riddles comes from previous civilizations who were highly advanced, and it is even possible that they were not all of the human species.

Prehistoric history has always puzzled me. The earliest memories of the primitive African cultures all testify to the worship of the same god named Sirius. Given to this god was the position referred to as 'the Dark Partner'. It was said that 'the dark partner' was the possessor of the 'most important materials of creation'.

This ancient belief results in an amazing revelation. Modern astronomy was recently developed within the last century. Accordingly, astronomers have discovered that the star known as Sirius travels along an unusual path. Based on these findings, it has been shown that Sirius is a double star system. The second star is a neutron star which does not emit light. Could this neutron star be the 'dark partner'?

A cubic meter of a neutron star is an extremely dense body of matter. The nature of it is an extremely dense form of matter sometimes referred to as neutronium. It is quite possible that such a small amount of matter from a neutron star would be heavier than the entire Earth. Could the neutronium be 'the most important materials of creation'?

Science is currently trying to develop more advanced telescopes to prove these theories. Why did these primitive cultures have such a creative knowledge of the universe? Did a previous highly advanced civilization leave them with pieces of their memory??? 

The Professor put three questions marks at the end of the entry, illustrating his confusion. Ling read with interest 10 more pages all written between 1985-1986. Every single entry focused on the repeated discussion of prehistoric civilizations, and this continual question.

Turning to the page marked August 8, 1986 another strange account was written,

The day before yesterday I finally contacted M. He has seen the material that I transcribed for him personally. He asked why I didn't take any pictures. He doesn't know how hard this was for me. Only after offering a bribe was I allowed, one evening, to enter into the temple library. Only then was I able to copy the flagstone's inscriptions. It is an extremely rare find to have an an artifact, such as the flagstone, that has seen the horrors of war survive intact and in such good condition.

M bluntly stated that he doesn't believe the inscriptions left on the flagstone. He said that it is just a myth and a fictional account that has been grossly exaggerated.

Yes! It caused me to linger in Egypt for three full months! I must make the significance of the flagstone known. They are really stupid. They don't even dare to touch it. Even others who have requested to study it have been strictly prohibited and sent away.

Ling thought to himself, "Who is M? What kind of incredible artifact could it be? What could possibly make the experienced Professor Xie marvel so much? Why didn't the people even dare to touch it?"

The next page was written on March 2 1987. It was written half a year after the previous page,

Last night I received a phone call from M in Paris. He called to let me know he was taking a trip to Cairo. He said that he had witnessed a strange event that he still can't believe really happened. He admitted that he saw a strange "world" and at the time he began to weep.

The stone is really fantastic. Even separated in a display case behind a thick sheet of glass it still possesses a magical power. If we simply followed the method described on the flagstone, then during the autumn lunar cycle we could ascertain whether or not it really works. If it works would it be possible to examine unknown worlds, and other dimensions?

I certainly did not believe in existence of spiritual realms and other dimensions before. That thing could quite possibly be part of an earlier civilizations higher technology left behind, that is way beyond our comprehension. Maybe it is like our video cameras, recording the civilization as it was then. If this were the case then its value would be impossible to estimate.

But why does it correspond to the lunar cycle? Does it draw some kind of energy during this time? Although science has never established a reasonable explanation for the "full moon phenomenon", statistics have firmly demonstrated that during the full moon phase, traffic accidents increase greatly. Psychologists have also observed that during the full moon phase, the human mood is generally more unstable. In fairy tales and myths the werewolf would change form only during the full moon. Poets from our country would see the moon and burst forth with many sad verses, their minds in a deep place feeling a strength that others didn't understand. Maybe 'that thing' can use this different power emanating during a full moon.

It is important to find the answer. In order to find the solution it must be tested thoroughly. I am confident that M will be able to research it extensively, but he said he requires the help of a good friend from Japan, who is from the Bunya Okono family. He is going to have to bring him over secretly. Luckily he has many connections in high places that can help."

Ling was stunned and paused for a minute. It was difficult for him to make his brain associate the Bunya Okono family with an actual person. He was simply unable to accept that written within a master archaeologist's diary the name of an internationally active yakuza family could appear. How could he be associated with the Bunya Okono?

The Bunya Okono family was a yakuza society that began in Japan after World War II. They had a spectacular rise to power in the underworld. Reportedly these people cannot be compared to common yakuza but operate according to righteous principles and rules. They did not use wanton slaughter and violence to intimidate, and they did not engage in the drug trade or any other crimes against humanity.

Because of their cunning and ability to be successful in all aspects of social interaction, like helping the needy and giving to charities, they were able to operate on two fronts. They have a legitimate face that is legal and accepted, but they also have the underworld side.

Ling received very reliable information about Bunya Okono. They secretly control one of Japan's major political parties. If Professor Xie's friend "M" is truly part of the Bunya Okono family, then his true identity would not be the same as what Professor Xie thought. This whole affair had become extremely complicated.

“The diary still needs an expert to examine it more completely” he  thought to himself as he got up. Taking the diary through the hallway and up a revolving staircase he moved South through his house into a studio. His study was about 600 square feet with Chinese calligraphy and paintings hung on the walls. There were also bookshelves loaded with books.

He always loved to surround himself with a vast selection of books. He was proud of his collection ranging from literary history to the most state of the art scientific and technical books. Interested in every possible subject, through books he was able to contact the great minds of the world which allowed him to unceasingly increase his knowledge.

A large majority of the books on his bookshelf were devoted to linguistics. He always believed that the only true way to study other cultures was to study the language that the culture spoke. Language is the mark of that culture's experiences, for example the Eskimo people have more than a dozen adjectives for the word snow. This reflects on the life experiences of the Eskimo people who live in a world of ice and snow. Only through understanding their language could someone comprehend their culture and their way of life. This is why Ling devoted so much time to studying each language. It also gave him a convenient reason to extensively travel the world.

In the center of the studio was a large desk. Near the desk a computer sat as his most effective research assistant. On the wall opposite of the desk hung a vividly colored portrait of a person. The eyes flashed within the painting as the appearance of a dignified Lama was depicted. Below the portrait there was a verse written in Tibetan.

Ling Duyu stared at the portrait respectfully. Slowly he muttered a ritualistic chant, "Father! I am good." He then sat down in the chair facing the computer and turned it on. The computer screen blinked to life and began to run through its self-checking procedures. Soon he started typing on the keyboard. This equipment allowed him to record his thoughts in a file. He would then transfer it via the Internet to a secret data warehouse located in America. Using a password known only to him and a small group of people, he was able to access his information from any location in the world as long as he had the basic equipment. This was by far the most secure method of archiving his information.

The computer stopped at a login screen. Ling Duyu quickly typed several passwords and the screen turned black with the following display,

"[instruction]# "

Opening the diary to the first page he set it on the scanner. The scanner copied the physical page temporarily into the machine's memory, and then sent the information on to the secret data archive. He continuously worked until two o'clock in the morning. The work was almost complete when Ling suddenly began to curse vehemently. Unexpectedly the final two pages of the diary were torn by the scanner. These two pages had the most crucial information written on them.

Closing his eyes he began to exhale slowly through his nostrils. He began to take slow and steady breaths following a strange rhythm. He followed this routine every day before going to sleep. Ever since he was taught this ritual he never deviated from its daily practice. Within several minutes his spirit reached a calm state, he had entered a void full of empty calmness. His breath continued in a powerful yet slender rhythm slowly diminishing until it appeared to be one single continuous breath. Suddenly he stopped breathing completely from his nose and switched to "foetal breathing" proceeding from the mouth as he entered into the spiritual level of his meditation.

In some secret Tibetan monastic scriptures there is a so-called breath type mentioned, "There exists a breath from the heart, not from the rest". The character 'xi' ,meaning rest, is composed of 'zi', which means self, is the top component, and underneath 'xin', which is heart. This is because one must abandon the worldly desires of the heart in order to enter into the spiritual meditation. As a result the "foetal breath" is an important step in the process of freeing one's heart from earthly desires. Ling had already achieved a very high level in this practice. Soon his body was loose with the sensation of tingling everywhere. Some popping noises could be heard as his qi began to flow freely. He experienced a heightened clarity in his awareness.

After twenty five minutes, a feeling of danger approaching suddenly rushed forth into his spiritual sense. This ability has been labelled by Psychologists as "Forest Awareness". A common example of this phenomenon is the behavior of wild animals right before an earthquake. They tend to behave unusually. This is because they are attuned to the rhythm of nature and when there is a small variation in the natural rhythm it does not escape their senses, resulting in their restlessness.

Ling possessed this awareness, not only on a physical level, but also on a spiritual level. The great Lama's called this spiritual sense "Universal Consciousness" which can be achieved when the common consciousness that people experience every day has been surpassed. The average person can only reach this state if they are dreaming. In this spiritual state many people experience strange and wonderful dreams that can be interpreted as omens. In Ling's world of rigorously training his heart and mind awareness, being without this sense would be like a normal person missing the sense of touch.

Although in the material world there does not appear to be any apparent differences or changes he felt a dangerous presence.

Opening his eyes, he continued to breathe through his nostrils before stopping mid-breath. His breathing suddenly changed from the full body foetal breath to his regular respiration through the nose.

Ling looked at the portrait on the opposite wall and thought, "Father, has something terrible happened?" He had never met Lama Ling Da portrayed in the painting. He was the leader of Tibet's most mysterious secret religion "Shang Mi Sect", the 36th generation incarnation of the Living Buddha. Because he was born in the ninth month of Lama Ling Da's journey to the joyful boundaries of death, he was miraculously born without a father. In Lama Ling Da's 98th year of life, the venerable, holy living Buddha made something marvelous happen to Ling Duyu's mother. Ling Yahuai was a Chinese woman from America who came to pay her respects to him. Within her he placed his child and three days later Lama Ling Da died in a sitting posture. After he entered nirvana Ling Yahuai gave birth and named her child with her own family name - Ling Duyu. She also obeyed the instructions that Lama Ling Da had given her. He ordered her to leave her son in Tibet to receive their strict teachings and lead a pious life until he was 15. He would then be able to return to see her for the first time in America and receive a Western education.

This is Ling Duyu's strange family background.

Outside the house the sound of a car could be heard.  The house was located at the end of a private drive. Ninety nine percent of cars that could be heard this close ended up at his house.

Switching off the computer, he grabbed Professor Xie's journal and placed it in the desk drawer. As he walked back downstairs the doorbell rang.

Setting Some Goals

rom my previous experience in athletics I have a pretty good idea of what I am capable of. I think that with some good training I can reach a peak performance once again. There are several things I am not sure of, being that triathlons are three distance events piled together.

For one thing, I remember that interval training was a key aspect to achieving the desired results. I also remember training very hard, but yet on this site I see reference after reference to maintaining a specific heart rate. To me that does not make much sense, but then I do not have any degrees in sport science either.

Let me explain my confusion so that you are tracking with me. I always thought training intervals was a way to prepare your body to be able to swim long distances at the particular pace you wanted to keep. In cross-country we ran quarters, in swimming it was generally a series of 100 yard laps. Let us say that my target pace for swimming a 500 yard freestyle in a race was 5:30. That means I would have to keep a pace of 1:06 for every 100 to reach that goal. So during my practices I would start doing intervals at 1:10. Do twenty 100's at 1:10. I swim as fast as I can, comfortably as possibly but also trying to swim faster than 1:10. If I swim the first few 100's at 56 seconds, then that means i get 14 seconds to rest before I have to go again. That is my rest period. I don't ever remember worrying about my heart rate during those intervals...I just remember trying to get back to the wall as fast as possible so I could rest longer.

So then if I train as I did before it would be "all out", which is really the only method I know. Of course I must get through the "initiation phase" where my body has to be reminded that it is in fact actually training and that no matter how much it hurts, it will just have to buck up and do it.

My best times from way back were a 5:30 for 500 yards, and 17:59 for a 5k. I am convinced that those times do not represent my peak. I think I could have gone faster in both sports so my goal will be to train up to those times again. Unfortunately I have no biking experience, so the sky is the limit on that one. Luckily I have very strong legs from all the martial arts training which I think will help with the cycling. The aerobic aspect won't be a problem.

On the down side I have a touring bike, which is a steel tube (can you say heavy?) bike. It is a Surly Longhaul Trucker which I am quite proud of. That is my "racing" bike and I think it is going to be my only detriment unless I can convince a friend to lend me their hot-rod for race day. That would be kind of cool, like when you take your drag pants off and swim in your speedos all shaved and tapered (Oh I feeeel so fast!!). I also have to consider my left knee, which has gone through 2 surgeries. The first was in high school, so I didn't run long distance my senior year (and I think I could have gone 17:00 that year). The second being 3 years ago after tearing the ACL playing baseball. I don't know if I should wear a brace, but I have rehabilitated it quite well. The muscles are all very strong and I only feel minor aches every now and again...

So let me recap my goals.

Mile pace - 6:30 minutes (A fast mile for me is 5:05)
100 yard pace - 1:20 minutes (this may be too conservative. A fast 100 for me is 52:00)
Bike Pace - You tell me!

Here is a disclaimer for these figures. I may not reach those metrics this year, but those are conservative estimates of what I think I could do if I were at my peak. I recognize I need time to acclimate myself to training, lose weight, build muscle, re-establish aerobic capacity, to learn about how to do a triathlon, to adjust my schedule, etc. etc.

Injured Obese and Motivationally Challenged

In High School I could have been an "Iron Man". At the time I was cross training long distance running with competitive swimming. I cannot count the times I would lose my calves in the swimming pool to cramps after having just finished an aggressive cross country workout.

Now 15 years later working in a corporation behind a desk, post ACL surgery, and 60 pounds heavier I sit here thinking I should do something for my health, my daily outlook, and of course my appearance to my wife. I remember forsaking running after my knee surgery thinking that it was "too stressful" for my joints. Soon the swimming was dropped because I over trained and hurt my shoulder, then justified it further saying "Finding an indoor pool is just too difficult".

I still maintained fitness with some heavy martial arts, but the lack of goals and the training without ever using the "skills" I was practicing became boring and disillusioning. Finally I even quit that, became sedentary, but still ate like an athlete (Lord have mercy!). I recognize I have a responsibility to myself and my family to stay healthy and fit, but it seems as time marches by my motivation for these things has begun to wane.

Over the weekend I went to borders and glanced down to see a book about triathlons that someone else had been perusing. As I read through it I thought to myself -- "These people must be crazy" For one, many of them get up early in the morning just to train. Getting up early just for work is challenge enough for me already. I have to admit, that I have never been a morning person. Another thing I noticed the workouts they were doing. I remember them vividly from my best years of training. I remember puking after some of them, I distinctly remember pain accompanying them as well.

Something stood out, however, as I read through. There was a consensus that training and working towards a goal was fulfilling. Completing a challenged that may have seemed impossible was euphoric and to many it became addictive. As I thought back on the euphoria that winning races and competing used to bring me I sort of understood what these people were saying....but an Ironman? They are nuts, every single one of them!

How is it, that insanity kept brewing within my noggin until today I thought to myself -- I should try training for one, "just to see what it's like". Do I now qualify for an award in masochism? I know that currently I can't swim 500 yards before my muscles will seize up and I will be reduced to floating worthlessly in the water. I have always dreaded the first week back in the pool, because those have always been the most painful moments of my life. Swimming is my love and hate. I just hate getting back in shape, but I do love to swim.

In all seriousness, I will probably never do a Triathlon. The thought scares me, but I admit to myself that I need goals, I need a schedule to follow, and I need something to look forward to. I hate the gym, because lifting weights is boring, running and swimming are similarly repetitive and can be boring...but if you have a race you are moving towards training doesn't seem like a bad idea (if you don't want to embarrass yourself that is.) The side effects from the training are what I am really looking for -- I need to lose weight, I need the extra energy, I need to do something beside watching (and participating in) Man vs. Food for 2 - 5 hours after work.

So then, I hereby inaugurate a new training schedule. I call it "Project Get in Shape and Maybe Possibly Perchance do a Triathlon in the Process.." (It's complicated I know). I will be following the SuperCoach Ultra Distance Training Plan. I know I seem pessimistic in my post, but distance doesn't really scare me, in fact I think I am a decent distance/endurance athlete. The scary part for me is the muscle pain I will endure at the outset and of course being consistent!!!!

Would that I had a few friends to keep my accountable. One or two crazies, who have walked the fiery path of coals before me...