IT WAS 20,000 YEARS AGO TODAY

Chapter Ten

"So where do we go, Paul?" Eleven asked.

"Well, in lieu of finding a hotel, I suggest there are two ways we can find out where the Beatles are staying," Paul said.

"And those are?" Eleven said.

Paul grinned.

"Ask the average bloke on the street or follow the sound of girls' screaming. Usually it wasn't a big secret where we were staying," Paul said. "Easier than me sussing out the location."

"Well, before we do, do you mind if we stop somewhere and get me some clothes?" Ten asked, pointing to his toga.

"Sorry, mate, keep forgetting you're wearing that," Eleven said.

They looked around and saw a clothing shop near the park. They headed towards it and went inside. The shopkeeper gave Ten odd looks but he was able to find him something resembling his old outfit, a brown suit, white shirt with tie and white plimsols. Paul paid for the clothes and after Ten thanked him, they went outside and looked around for someone to talk to. Eleven spied someone and walked up to a young policeman standing on the corner, waiting to cross the street.

"Excuse me, sir. Where are the Beatles staying?" he asked him.

The cop narrowed his eyes.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked warily.

"Because I'm a biiig fan and I just want an autograph," Eleven said.

He stopped talking when he noticed the policeman was staring at Paul with shock on his face.

"Hey, isn't that…" he said.

"Um…yeah, I am," Paul said sheepishly.

"What are you doing out here?" the policeman said. "And who are all these people?"

"I…um…was at a party with these people," Paul said, "I got a bit stoned and I can't remember where I'm staying at. Can you help me?"

"What about them?" the policeman said, gesturing to the others.

"They're with me. They're part of my entourage," Paul said. "Could you please direct me to the hotel?"

The officer nodded and beckoned for them to follow. As they were getting closer to the hotel, they suddenly heard women screaming and Paul looked back at everyone with an I told you so look on his face. When they were across the street from the hotel, the policeman looked at Paul.

"Do you need an escort inside?" he asked, gesturing to the ten girls who were grouped around the front entrance.

Paul gave an enquiring look to Eleven and he nodded.

"Yes, I do," he said.

"Follow me then, sir," the policeman said.

As they neared the entrance, the girls at the front stopped screaming and stared at the officer with wary looks on their faces. A little plump girl who had her brown hair in a beehive walked up to him.

"We're not obstructing traffic," she said hurriedly. "We just wanna see…"

Her mouth dropped open when she saw Paul and he waved at her. Everyone flinched and Jane grabbed hold of Tya when the woman let out an ear piercing scream that morphed into, "OH MY GOD, IT'S PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUL!" followed by another ear piercing scream. Bill calmed Nog who was trying to get away from the crazy woman and Jane sighed as she picked up a visibly shaken Tya who was clinging to her in fear. Paul gave everyone an apologetic look while he stepped forward and took a pen from one of the girls. He began to sign autographs and smiled at the girls while everyone else except for Nog and Tya watched the scene with amusement. One girl who was thin and bony stepped forward. Her red hair draped down past her shoulders and she wore a red shirt and mini skirt.

"Oh thank you," she gushed as Paul took her autograph book. "It's Stacy. I'm so glad you shaved off that stupid mustache. I'm sorry but you looked ugly with it."

"Really?" Paul said trying not to laugh.

"Yeah," the portly girl chimed in, "you looked really strange on the Sergeant Pepper album, like it wasn't really you."

Paul glanced up and met her eyes while he was signing Stacy's autograph book but Stacy didn't say anything more about his appearance and instead continued to scream about how they were meeting Paul McCartney. While he was doing that, both Doctors scanned the hotel. It was ten stories high and they were looking at the windows and balconies for any sign of Bill's double or the other Beatles but they didn't see anyone looking out so they wondered if their hotel room was on the other side of the building. Eleven commented to Ten with amusement that every single curtain on the front side of the hotel was drawn and Ten snickered at that. Paul finished signing the autographs and smiled at the girls while he politely asked if they could step aside so he could go in. The girls parted like the Red Sea and Paul and the others stepped through the female gauntlet to the front entrance. Once inside, the man behind the front desk, a smartly dressed man in his early forties with slicked back hair and a pencil thin mustache did a double take.

"Mr. McCartney, I didn't realize you were out of your room, sir," he said.

"Um…yeah, went and had a walk in the park," Paul said.

"I would advise against that, sir, the females outside will tear you limb from limb if given half a chance."

"Yes, I'm well aware of that," Paul said while everyone except Nog and Tya snickered at that.

"Did you need something, sir?"

"No, I'm…going up to my room."

"Ah, well, there are some letters and a package for you, sir, would you like them now?"

"Letters and a package? Um…okay…" Paul said hesitantly as he walked over to the front desk.

The man ducked down and brought up two letters and a large brown package wrapped in brown paper. Paul accepted them and signed for them in a log book. He thanked the man and they headed off to the right to a small restaurant. Once they were inside the restaurant, Eleven pulled out a handful of perception filters and passed them out.

"Put these on after we order something, that way if the other Bill comes in here, he won't see his counterpart, Paul or Jane," he said to them.

Bill explained to Nog what the perception filter was while Jane slipped one around her daughter's neck. Tya held the key in one hand and stared at it, fascinated, while Jane took her hand and walked with everyone else to a couple of tables. They pushed two large wooden ones together so they could sit and study the letters and package. A waiter came over and they all ordered fish and chips and tea. After he went away, they sat down and Paul set the letters and box on the table in front of him. Eleven urged him and Bill and Jane to go ahead and put their perception filters on, just in case the other Bill walked in. After Paul slipped the key around his neck, he picked up the first letter and examined the front.

Mister Paul McCartney
c/o The Luxury Arms Hotel
Suite 1525

He read this aloud to everyone before he tore open the envelope. He did a double take when he pulled out a check and his eyes goggled when he read the amount.

"It's for 2 million pounds," he said to everyone, "from the AC Trust, whatever that is. I wonder what this is for?"

He looked in the envelope but there was nothing else in there. Shrugging, he sat the empty envelope aside and put the check in his pocket before he tore open the next one. He pulled out a letter and set the envelope down before he opened it up. He was about to read it when the waiter appeared with the tea. They waited till he set everything out on the table and left again before Paul unfolded the letter and read it to everyone while they fixed their tea.

My dear boy,

I have taken the liberty of sending you a stipend from your trust fund, I trust you will spend this money wisely and not tell the other Beatles about it. I have spoken to Carl about when it would be feasible to replace them and he assures me that their duplicates are nearly ready. Until then, be friendly towards them since we still need them for the moment. I realize in many ways they are trying to undermine you but rest assured, we are watching them and they will pay dearly for their interference when the time comes. There are some rumors that Lennon is putting clues to McCartney's murder in songs and on album covers, look into this matter and put a stop to it if you can. The man is a troublemaker and I believe he will be the next one to be sacrificed.

I do commend you for your work thus far. As far as we can tell, the brainless masses haven't detected the change and those who would speak out and tell the truth have been silenced. We have held a black mass and cast a spell upon the fans to blind them and prevent them from recognizing the differences between you and McCartney. The spell should hold until you have finished with the plastic surgery and then it shouldn't be a problem any longer. Know that your father would have been proud of you. Alistair has been dead twenty years now but he lives on in you, his favorite son. You are a credit to the Crowley name and may Satan bless you always and give you his strength and power. Because you have done such a good job, I have sent you a little reward for your efforts. Keep me up to date on what the others are doing and keep practicing the bass. I realize it's a bother having to learn to play it left handed when you use your right but unfortunately McCartney was left handed and you must conform to that. But I know you are learning every day how to be like him and it does my heart good to see you serving your intended purpose.

Your affectionate uncle,

Andrew.

Paul looked at everyone who by now was completely silent.

"Alistair Crowley," he said to them. "That chap in the Sergeant Pepper photo who does black magic, Bill's his son?"

As one, everyone looked at their Bill who gave them a shocked look.

"He's not my father, my father is Nathan Campbell," he said. "I didn't even know who Alistair Crowley was until they kidnapped me the first time. How could I be his son?"

"Perhaps in this universe, their Bill is Crowley's son," Jane said gently.

"Maybe…maybe not," Ten murmured.

They looked at him and he leaned towards Bill.

"I've seen photos of Crowley as a young man and you bear a striking resemblance to him," Ten said while Eleven nodded in agreement.

"But he's not my father, it must be a coincidence. I grew up near Inverness, Scotland, I never knew who Crowley was until the Diablons took me."

"I didn't want to mention this, I didn't think it important at the time," Eleven said, "but when I went into your mind to fix the brainwashing and block your mind, I did notice that you had repressed some childhood memories. Very early childhood memories. Are you sure you've lived with the Campbells your entire life, Bill?"

Bill opened his mouth and it hung open when he couldn't think of how to answer that. Everyone stared at him quietly while he closed his mouth and shrugged.

"All I can say is if I'm adopted, I must have been adopted when I was a baby because I don't remember any other family except the one I grew up with."

"When I was looking at the Illuminati's files, I saw a bit on how they operate," Eleven said. "They often bred specific individuals to get desired traits in their offspring or for a specific function they wanted their children to do. These individuals are ritually tortured and brainwashed at a young age. Sexually and physically abused until their minds split from the trauma and anguish and they develop split personalities that the Illuminati can use to create different personas that they can control. In effect they turn little children into mind slaves."

Bill stared at him in horror.

"And…you think this happened to me?" he said fearfully while Jane put her arm around him.

"I don't know, Bill. But if you don't mind, I'd like to take another look into your mind when we get the chance," Eleven said. "I want to see for myself…"

He shut up when the waiter came around with a trolley and served them their fish and chips. Once he was gone, Eleven continued while they ate.

"I want to see if these repressed memories have anything to do with ritual abuse. Sometimes an individual will block horrifying memories so they can cope with life or perhaps the Illuminati blocked them when you went to live with the Campbells so you would grow up and be unaware of your true purpose until it was time."

"Wait, you mean I was supposed to replace Paul all along and that's why I was born?" Bill said. "The Beatles didn't even become famous until I was 25. How would they have known about Paul back then?"

"Maybe it wasn't them but you were destined to replace someone," Ten said. "That's our theory anyway. He's right. Some people are bred to fulfill positions, some are made into slaves and some were used as sacrifices and nothing more."

Everyone stared at him in horror. Bill turned ashen and Jane squeezed his shoulder and rubbed his back when he looked like he was about to vomit.

"I can't believe this," Bill said, shaking his head. "It just seems so outrageous to me but after everything I've been through…oh God, those sick bastards…"

"I have a thought," Paul said while Jane gave her brother in law a sideways hug, "do you think that they were able to predict the Beatles becoming successful and someone allowed us to be as successful as we have been because they knew that Bill would someday replace me?"

"Well…it's possible, I s'pose," Eleven said. "Why? Do you think someone helped your band become as successful as it is?"

"Yes, definitely," Paul said. "Brian, our manager, went to all these recording studios trying to get our big break and finally we got an audition with EMI and George Martin listened to us and I have to admit we weren't very good. I was very nervous and I stammered through my songs but George decided to take a chance on us anyway. And we always used to think it was almost supernatural how much the fans went crazy for us, like they were under a spell. And we've had nothing but lucky breaks since."

"So…" Ten said, "you think that these people might have singled the Beatles out due to your resemblance to Bill and then helped you become superstars so he would eventually take your place?"

"It sounds daft but like Bill said, after everything I've seen…"

"I have to admit you also resembled Crowley," Ten said. "However you have a passing resemblance whereas Bill here is a dead ringer. You may be right that someone at EMI was keeping watch for any music groups that came along that had a member that looked close enough to Bill that they could replace at some point. Bill's not an exact match and I admit during the early years when he replaced you, you could see the difference but as he grew older and the years went by and he had more plastic surgery, the two of you looked more alike. I doubt if they had a psychic who saw you specifically when Bill was born and said Bill will replace Paul someday, I think they just kept their eyes open and when you came along, then helped the Beatles to become as great as they were through whatever means necessary."

"Including black magic?" Amy said. "Paul said the fan's reaction to them was almost supernatural. Could these people have cast a spell to make them as famous as they are?"

"I don't know about that. I really don't believe in magic but I do believe in science and mind control techniques and possibly even group hypnosis," Eleven said. "You told us Jane was hired at the beginning to be a screamer and get other people enthusiastic about the band. Perhaps that was a part of their plan. They are the ones who created Beatlemania and it spread all over the world."

"Ugh, I owe my success to a band of deluded Satan worshipers," Paul said in disgust.

"Perhaps, but you are a musical genius and I'm sure you would have been successful even without their help," Eleven replied.

Paul toasted him with his tea cup before he took a sip of tea.

"Thing is…" Ten said, "according to the data when they created multiple personalities, they then built a persona and they could switch between personas with a prearranged hypnotic suggestion like a key word or gesture. Bill's mind was like that, each personality is like a compartment and someone had forced Bill into a compartment where he thought he was Paul and that's why he was absolutely convinced he was."

"But when I went into Bill's mind, I shut down all these other compartments except for Bill's original personality," Eleven added, "now perhaps this Bill is the same way. His mind switches from Paul to Bill and back since these letters are obviously addressed to Bill. Perhaps there is someone near Bill who gives him a hypnotic suggestion and he switches personalities and becomes Paul. The technique is called psychic driving; basically the victim is forced to assume different personalities at will when someone feeds them a cue that triggers a hypnotic suggestion."

"God…" Jane said, shaking her head. "And when Bill is in this Paul compartment in his mind, he absolutely believes he is Paul."

"I think so, yes," Eleven said. "That's according to the data we got from the Hades."

"And some people are conceived just for sacrifices?" Rory said.

"Yes," Eleven said. "As repulsive as that is, they are bred to be sacrifices at some point in their lives and nothing more. Now I believe that is mainly for the brainwashed humans, not for the Diablons. The sacrifice at any rate, the Diablons may consume the flesh afterwards. They do like to eat a wide variety of creatures and I have reason to think humans might be on their menu. But as far as sacrificing for Satan, that's the humans' doing."

Everyone fell silent while they took that all in. Then Paul suddenly snapped out of his reverie and remembered the package. Everyone watched and ate while he opened it. When he peeled off the brown paper, he saw a black box. He opened the lid and his eyes bulged before he slammed the lid shut.

"What is it?" Rory said.

Paul looked around to make sure no one was listening to him.

"LSD. Lots of it, liquid and pills."

"Give it here, I'll hide it," Eleven said.

He managed to shove the box in his trouser pocket before the waiter came back to ask if everything was satisfactory. They told him it was and they were fine before he went away again.

"I think even if Pepa gets the ship working, we should stay long enough to sort this out," Eleven said. "At least make sure that they no longer have a hold on Bill's mind and the other Beatles aren't in danger. I think maybe we should spend the night here and try to get as close to Suite 1525 as we can and…"

Everyone frowned when he trailed off. He pointed over Paul's shoulder and everyone turned and saw the other Bill entering the restaurant. Everyone sat perfectly still and Jane fed Tya quietly while they watched the other Bill sit down at a table next to theirs and wait for the waiter.

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