Once Ivgos was convinced, even though he did not really understand much of what he was told, he placed Seuria against a lamp post and climbing up it she launched herself and glided back to the group, emoting her worry. Ahram warned the others that Ivgos has left with a Terran youngster, but they waited for her to arrive so as to get the full details.
“Don’t worry, we’ll keep track of them. It might be a good idea that Ivgos does meet some children who are not hurting. If we sense any problem we’ll get Ivgos back to you instantly.”
Just as with our family, their Dominique has the lightest mental touch, so she maintained a watch on Ivgos, remaining sensitive to his emoting without spying on his thoughts. She helped Seuria and Ahram sense him through her so everyone soon relaxed as his excited and inquisitive mind dominated what they felt from him. Unlike Seuria, Dominique did not need to remain physically close to him and she was able to monitor him just as clearly from across the city as Bryce drove to his suburb.
Being a nice summer afternoon, most of the kids of the neighbourhood were either walking around with friends or swimming in their pools. The word soon got around and everyone crowded by the home of Bryce to meet the furry alien kid. Bryce enjoyed the enhancement of his status amongst his peers, but the truth is, he was affected by Ivgos and desperately wanted to be his friend and protector. The sun had set and if the neighbourhood lights had not been switched on, the stars would have been shining. The parents of Bryce had sent the other youngsters home and feeling that Ivgos might be getting tired, they asked him whether he wants to return to his family. By now, Ivgos had realised that Bryce feels strongly about him and since he had enjoyed meeting the other children, he asked whether Bryce would like to spend a day with him. They agreed to meet the next day.
We returned with the Inguel and they immediately began working to heal the ecology of the planet. The Ivgos group returned to stay in Freddie and that was how we learnt about the growing friendship between Ivgos and Bryce. When we learnt that Bryce is seventeen years old, we hoped that the difference in age would be good for Ivgos, so we encouraged their visits and even brought Bryce to Freddie for a few days. Their emoting was being broadcast without them realising it so we could sense how Bryce loved Ivgos as if he was his younger brother. Amazed by the ability of Ivgos to touch the heart of a seventeen year old, we never thought of trying to sense deeper - not that we would have done so anyway.
It was time for us to leave so we gave notice to the governments and brought Bryce to stay in Freddie for those last days. His increasing desperation could be felt and on their last day together they walked alone, close to the Elipians. Not far away were a number of the Dream Dancers relaxing in a pool. Bryce led Ivgos away from everyone and when they reached the crest of a low hill he sat on the grass. Ivgos was not aware of how intense Bryce was being and felt restless, needing to move. As Ivgos started to move on, Bryce called to him, telling him he wanted to ask him something important. Ivgos sat by his side, his warm dark eyes watching his friend as he waited. The mind of Ivgos was open to his friend, he had no reason to be feeling defensive.
“If you tell Prime Robert that you want to visit me next time you have to leave your planet, will he bring you here?”
“If he does not have an important need to go elsewhere, he is kind, he would.”
“Will you ask him?”
Casually, Ivgos answered, “Yes, I’d like to come back.” He then wanted to move on and changed the subject.
Bryce was not satisfied. Because of the casual way Ivgos had replied, he worried that Ivgos might not remember him once he is gone, so he decided to use his powers to influence Ivgos. Not wanting to harm him, he made a very low key effort. We felt a buzzing in our minds and delayed in reacting but then Robbie shouted to us to teleport out of Freddie as he prepared to jump to Ivgos. Bryce could sense that he had not got through, so he strengthened his next effort slightly. The buzz was disorientating and made it difficult for us to concentrate, but we managed to jump when Robbie shouted at us again.
Bryce was shocked that he had not managed to get through and since he had read that it is often difficult for us to communicate telepathically with a species when we first meet them, he decided he’ll have to try very hard. He totally destroyed the minds of four thousand seven hundred people of various species and damaged more than a hundred thousand. Ivgos did not sense him at all.
The number of people Robbie would have to heal were far too large for him to do so on his own and there are not enough of us to be of real help. He called for Solomon. “For each damaged mind, we need to return in time to make a copy of the mind as it was before being damaged. I’m hoping that by superimposing it over the mind as it is now, we’ll strengthen the control of the conscious mind over the subconscious.”
A Muyzith, Inguel and Unation team of healers (doctors) conferred and then the Muyzith doctor spoke, “The subconscious is not the sole problem Robert, your solution will not work. The removal of the filter between conscious and subconscious is only part of the problem. Our brief exploration of the damaged minds suggests that the major damage is caused by the destruction of time sense. In other words, for these minds, all time is concurrent. All memories are being lived simultaneously - and no mind, of any known species, can handle it.”
A Unation doctor continued, hoping to make it easier for us to understand the true extent of damage caused, “On your old computers you used to have a mechanism that would play back data stored on DVD’s. It could do so by scanning a tiny section of the DVD at a time. If it scanned the entire DVD in one instant and presented all the information as one set of data, it would mean nothing to you. The ability of minds to scan the memories and incoming data in that fashion has been damaged - they are getting all the data as one amorphous mass of information.”
Dommi asked, “If we do as Robert suggested and superimpose a copy of the mind as it was, wouldn’t that include the ability of the mind to limit or control its scanning?”
“We are not certain how the mind scans reality in a manner that moves progressively through time - as it seems to us. What if the mechanism is partly physical and that has been damaged?”
“But then our healers should be able to identify the damage!” Empathia said.
Since all who had been damaged were by now in stasis, we could take our time, maybe even experiment with one mind. The idea suggested by Robbie was tried first, with one refinement added by the Sparklers. Instead of returning to the recent past, they returned to a moment when that mind was in the void. From there they were able to get a more detailed copy of the mind. The body of that person was taken out of stasis, the soul taken to the void and the older copy of the mind was superimposed. It was stripped instantly without lending the support Robbie had hoped for. Healers examined brains in the past and after the damage, but the only differences they found were caused by the mass of electrical impulses as the mind tried to process everything it contained as one set of data, instantly again and again. We quickly had to return them to stasis.
It would not have been fair to release Bryce and allow anyone to deal with him while there was so much pain and anger directed at him, so Robbie placed him in stasis, reassuring his parents that he is not harmed by being frozen in time. They soon understood it is to his advantage and did not lodge a protest. We allowed them to stay in Freddie so that they feel they will be present the instant we bring him out of stasis. They soon stopped attending our meetings that were held openly at the taverna because they could not bear listening to us struggle to find a way to heal the minds their son had damaged. What probably made it worse for them was that Ivgos made a point of always sitting by them, his eyes sad but filled with love.
None of us believe that Ivgos has truly understood what Bryce did. Because he had been the target and he had not felt anything, it was difficult for him to believe that something so nebulous that he could not feel it would cause such serious harm to so many. As I’ve said before, he knew what had happened, but he could not feel it was true. Each time one of his group family joined him, he had found it easy to believe they loved him because he loved them. With Bryce it was not so, all he had were feelings of casual friendship, therefore he did not sense how much Bryce needed him.
Time was passing and we felt we should return Ivgos for his next visit to a divide, but we could not do so in callous disregard of all the people waiting in stasis. They might not be aware, but each of them is loved and missed by family and friends.
*I am not one and neither am I a multitude so I can heal the minds. Is it required?*
I felt my mind being stretched, as if time and space had no meaning and nothing else mattered, but I managed to politely answer, *It is required, thank you.* Suddenly I was back in Freddie and I stopped my body from toppling over, as it had begun to do. Hands were already reaching for me and Robbie was rushing to my side when they sensed I am alright. Robbie wanted to grab at me, but he crouched by my chair and waited for me to explain.
“I was contacted. It asked whether we need it to heal the minds.”
“Who? What?”
“The entity from our reality - well, I think it is.” I gave them all the details they needed by sharing, encouraging them to do so as deeply as they can. Every mind that did so withdrew with the same feeling of puzzlement, some of them with a feeling of nausea caused by the strangeness of non-space and time. None sensed any detail I had not and they slowly began to argue as they evolved theories. They finally came to the conclusion that I’d been met within my own mind, perhaps a world or space or even possibly a dimension created by the entity. That possibility I find frightening.
The comments wound down until we sat staring at each other in silence. Cherine shook her head, “We won’t let it harm you Sam,” and turned to Robbie, “Let the first one out of stasis, how else can it help?”
As Robbie did so with an Anadir, I could guess that every method of recording by all the spaceships was being employed. As the dull shimmer of stasis dissolved another kind of shield seemed to enclose the body and mind, locking us out with a physical and mental dazzle of bright streaks. Almost immediately it faded away and the Anadir moaned and turned away from us, as if he needed to be on his own for a moment. We all sensed his mind and hardly breathed as awe silvered its way through us, leaving us stunned for a second or two. Cherine asked Robbie to release ten at the same time and they were healed simultaneously! He upped it to a hundred and then, hardly daring to believe it could be possible, he released ten thousand and they too were shielded in clouds of streaks and glitters and released fully healed. The rest were healed in lots of ten thousand as Robbie did not want to risk upping the numbers. I knew that he could have released them in one go and the entity would not have been outmatched, for had it not told me it is not one and not a multitude? For today, I’m frightened enough for me to hope it wants to stay anonymous and apart from all for a long time. Maybe tomorrow I’ll have recovered from my blue funk. The only one who does not seem to feel the way I do, is Cherine. All I sense from her is excitement and curiosity as she tries to limn it with her imagination and the little we know about it.
Unfortunately we have a large number of Normals from this reality visiting in Freddie, so we can’t keep it a secret, we’ll have to go public about there being an entity of unknown powers and we’ll have to stay to help them handle their panic.
The joke is on me. I’m told that the Normals have been exposed to so many wonders and fearful powers within a short space of time that they reacted with more questions than pleas for reassurance. If what I’m seeing on their internet is any indication, they are excited and wondering why it does not want to be known. Solomon had to issue a statement (to refute an article), assuring everyone that the entity is not of one of the species the Sparklers have released. As he pointed out, he doubts the Sparklers could have captured such a powerful non-centred entity.
Bryce was easy to handle. Cherine blocked off his talent after she let the scientists examine it. In this reality the United States has not discarded its humanity and children cannot be punished as adults. Haven ignored the rules and the anger of his parents and during a chat show she said that Bryce does not need treatment by specialists, that he should be adopted by a family who can teach him how to be a normal human being instead of a replica of a corporate employee. That started some of my loves on my favourite topic, discussing the lack of lessons in the fields of philosophy and in particular, ethics. The local Alki, Elias, Themi and influential friends of theirs saw to it that the Greek parliament announced philosophy is to be re-introduced as a subject in the curriculum of private and public schools. I liked that bit about them ‘re-introducing’ the subject, as if Ancient Athens was just around the corner from modern Athens. I guess, in a sense it is. Anyway, there are suddenly dozens of ‘philosophy’ chat shows starting up on television stations all over the world. I hope this inspires our reality to do the same.
A film star - she is famous for her acting, but also for her beliefs about preserving all life, even flies and cockroaches, made an implied statement that sounded like a question. She asked, which would be a better world to live in? A Cherinian world or the world of Ivgos once it has learnt to become like him. Most people thought her question was vacuous and just meant to get her some publicity as she piggybacks on the popularity of Ivgos, but I think it is a valid question and a good reason why we must not get tempted into linking anyone from his world at this time. If they can grow towards their own potential in their own way, we might learn from them. After all, when we speak of achieving our potential, what do we really mean? By learning from others, don’t we expand our potential?
The court surprised everyone when they agreed to allow his parents to remain his guardians and keep him if they agree to travel in Freddie so that he learns from the Cherinians and Ivgos. I was told that if anyone appeals the decision, it may be overruled. We immediately announced our departure and jumped to the Ribbon world. His parents did not look very happy when Robbie sheathed Bryce and took him on planet with the Ivgos group.
“So what if the percentage has dropped below the fifty percent again? I still think the Normals have changed dramatically and we should reward them by allowing healers to slightly rejuvenate them.”
Themi nodded. “I agree with Julia. The percentage of Cherinians will rise and fall many times so the figures should only serve to warn us when we are doing something that disillusions Cherinians. As for increasing the lifespan of Normals beyond the present average of one hundred and sixty, I do not see it as posing any problems as they have dramatically reduced their birth rate in most parts of the world.” He drummed his fingers on the table as he thought. “If it was just a matter of increasing their lifespan, I might not have taken a strong stance, after all, it is likely they will become Cherinians in their next life. What I like is the suggestion that we rejuvenate them. The effect on all persons who are rejuvenated is the same; the sudden flow of life energy affects the way we think, shattering some of the chains we imprisoned our minds with, and everything seems possible and beautiful once more. That is likely to have long term effects and we should see a dramatic increase in the number of linkings by Cherinians, maybe even some increase in Ipohin and Campbellites. All the linkings are to the advantage of our people as a species. Look at how the Anadir and Unation species have been affected by them achieving almost a one hundred percent linking.”
I just had to pipe up, “I hope we don’t for a long time.”
Dommi rebuked me, sounding upset. “That sounds selfish!”
“It is.” I grinned at Campbell. “Do you think you’ve affected me?” He laughed and sent teasingly a mental *I wish!* I continued, “Does anyone recall when we Cherinians were under a hundred in numbers and how eagerly we anticipated our growth in gifts with each new Cherinian? Looking back, would anyone disagree with me if I stated that most new gifts came indirectly from the Normals? Born-Cherinians hardly ever bring new gifts and, recently, when we link Normals, they mostly have to be helped to access the same gifts we have without contributing much. Those we call Talents are our richest source of growth - in that sense. Whether they become Cherinians or not, we need them.”
No one could argue that I had misrepresented the truth, but nobody liked what I’d said. Robbie asked the Unation Admiral, “Is what Sam says true about your people? If so, how does it affect you?”
I love the old guy (the Admiral) but I giggled when everyone looked to me for an opinion, knowing I’d set them all buzzing like hornets again. “We are not the same as their species, we need to be inundated with new possibilities until we are close to being driven insane by our frenzy of excitement and fear and then we pull back to regurgitate our terrors like cud until we are comfortable with our new gifts. If we tried to do it the way you mentioned Admiral, we would ossify and then refuse to adapt to any new gifts. Somewhat like the saying at the time airplanes were first becoming popular, ‘If God meant us to fly, He would have given us wings’.”
Themi gave me an apologetic look. “Unfortunately Samantha has chosen to ignore the fact that when change comes at too rapid a rate we are not capable of handling the shock to our minds and society crumbles.”
“I did not forget, Themi; I accepted that the temporary insanity you speak of, every now and then, might be needed for us to remain flexible enough to keep growing. Perhaps the crumbling of society is frightening, but necessary for us to rebuild it to a higher plateau by avoiding mistakes of the past - if not taken to extremes? Historically speaking, how many Terran civilisations were wiped out because they could no longer adapt to a changing world?”
Robyn asked, “Are you likening the need for such collapses and rebuilding to the need our bodies have for exercise? Isn’t that what happens to our muscular systems?” I liked her analogy.
Robbie just had to try and be funny. “Themi, we all appreciate and salute you for making the effort to argue against Samantha - it takes a lot of courage to do so when you know from before that she’ll insist on having the last word.” Ch: Actually, Robert was a great hit and many pretended to admire Themi so as to needle our Sam. She did play unfairly and moved to the lap of Themi, lying against him as she stared at all those making the jokes, knowing that Themi would emote his love for her and that it would whittle away the joy of making fun of her from those who felt him.
The subject might have been serious, but we also needed to have a few laughs; all we’d experienced thanks to Bryce still dampened our mood. Robbie kept a tight lid on his thoughts when he let us know he wants to return home early. Somehow we were not surprised when Alki (on his own) came with us. As soon as we arrived, Aganthi poured him a coffee (she had switched on the kettle telekinetically) and we sat outside, in our garden. Only Freddie (and Cherise, Vincent and Kirsten) can share our verbal and mental discussions once we are in our home area.
“Sam, you asked a pertinent question some time ago and the more I think on it the more convinced I am that you were right. We have to bring back Faiiis and free his people, if they really are enslaved, but there is no reason why you should accept to fight them on their terms. I also am not willing to allow any fight involving any of us that is to be fought to a final death. As protector I will interfere Sam.”
Dommi asked, “What if they react by destroying the Reggheri? What if you cannot respond fast enough to prevent them meting out final death to the entire species? The guilt would destroy all of us, not just Sam.”
“I’ll go back in time, as we’ve done so many times, until we have saved every single life.” He lit a cigarette and came to his feet, walking as he tried to control his sudden anger. “How dare they threaten our Samantha! We are her family and have a say in the matter, whether they like it or not.” Alki vigorously nodded in agreement, but I sensed most of my loves were more intent on sensing how I was reacting. I only allowed them to sense the emotions that were flooding me, the rest could wait for later, this moment was too precious for me to squander it on logical arguments or on demands that would upset everyone.
When the moment came and I was asked what I had to say, I first wrapped my memories carefully so that I can recall them easily and then considered my words carefully. “First of all, I admit that my greatest fear has faded. I kept on worrying about what would happen if I failed or if they object to the way I react to their challenge. At least I now have the comfort that dad will protect their lives. We will have to visit their planet so that I can ask my questions. I need to know, where will we fight and what powers are allowed. I suspect they will make a terrible mistake and arrogantly allow all powers - theirs and mine. However, if they agree to limitations and want to negotiate them, that could make the fight more interesting…maybe even fun.” I gave Alki a grin and he reacted as I knew he would. Robbie sort of growled at me and my loves echoed him in my mind. I couldn’t help laughing. When I spoke again, my voice and thoughts were gentle. “Dad, what do I do if they want to die? I think that is why they challenged me, not because they want to kill me.” As he pondered, I saw he was lost for words, not knowing what to tell me, so I tried to lighten the mood with a laugh and a sort of jest. “I guess I’ll have to work out what the ethics are and whether it would be a Cherinian thing if I pander to their wishes.”
“I know love, I was just being stupid.”
Both Robbie and Cherine wanted me to sleep in their arms but I needed to hold my Gina. As my thoughts drifted lazily I could feel her emoting and I was happy. Then one of those thoughts that were supposed to pass by without disturbing me, hit me as a revelation. I softly shared with Gina so as not to disturb the others who were mostly asleep. *It’s strange that we had the conversation about civilisations ossifying and then the discussion about the Reggheri. We’ll have to go far back into their past, but I suspect the keepers were some kind of dictatorship who regulated how their people think and behave. As the people lost the ability to adapt and change, so did the keepers. That is why they need our help.*
My thought of last night is one of those key thoughts that unlock a puzzle and seem obvious once they have been shared. I felt certain I was right at the moment I sensed the anger drain out of Robbie. He wanted to leave immediately, but Candy asked him to wait for the Ivgos group to finish with the species they are visiting.
We travelled within the void, arriving at the planet years before my fight there. Although they have no spaceships, we do have to be careful as they might be able to sense our minds. Freddie only stuck the spy-point out and the planet was studied as thoroughly as we could. Although the point was well beyond the edge of the atmosphere, what our minds cannot sense can be seen by technological means. A good thing about machines and electronics is that unsophisticated mental giants cannot sense them and do not even know they are a possibility. In this case we did not have that comfort as, though lacking all our technology, they have spied on us at our home system and know of all we can do. I must not forget that at least one of them spent many years within Freddie, hidden within Faiiis.
This must be one of the most fascinating planets we’ve seen. Faiiis had given me clues but I’d not had the experience to guess what he meant. The land where we fought I can now see is a semi-desert and though it stands high above the rest of the land, it is difficult to give a specific height as there is no sea level to measure from. To the eye it seems that the balance between land and water is about sixty five percent water but, it is divided into thousands of lakes. The lakes are from pond size to almost half the size of the Mediterranean Sea and what makes it fascinating is that they are at varying altitudes. The land is very uneven with slopes that spread for hundreds of miles. When the surface of land is measured, it exceeds that of the water. At cloud altitudes and lower, the land varies from pale green to forest green so dark it almost looks black. There are no cities and no roads, just well-worn tracks. A closer look is needed to find the villages and farmsteads, on the sides of the mountain, and their beauty is truly enchanting.
It did not take long for the arguments to be heard as some felt that the evidence weighed against my theory, claiming that a higher degree of civilisation is required for the kind of dictatorship I’d described, while others argued on my behalf. Cherine raised her arms and waved her hands, palm down, as if asking for silence. She stared at me as she did so and I became the center of their attention. I went to stand by Robbie, who only now sensed what I’d guessed. I stood close to him so as to prevent him taking action, as I called out, “Do you need the body of Faiiis to be released for communicating with us?”
The glow that appeared startled me, for it seemed to brush my nose before it pulled away. “You have no honour.”
“We have not come to your planet to fight. We came in your past so as to find a way for us to become one family without having to fight first. Robbie, please release the body of Faiiis.”
As Robbie went to the void it answered me, “You speak of us as children and yet it is you who show the understanding of ignorant children.” Silence then greeted everything we said. Robbie returned and the body was released. The glow flowed into it and the body stirred. It sat up so that it was facing me. “You have lost the battle, for there is no way you can arrive for the fight without my sharing the information that you dishonoured us. We shall surrender ourselves to final death and only the memory of us will continue to exist within your minds.”
I’d been keeping tabs on Robbie, as I’d worried about him exploding as the blame was laid on me, so it was a big surprise when I felt the explosion come from our pappou. Before he could speak, Allan grabbed his arm, “Pappou, I mean, Alki, give Sam the time to understand what it is trying to tell us.”
He spread his arms, “I don’t know Sam, all I do know is that we cannot afford to allow ourselves to act out of frustration or anger. An entire species is the price Sam!”
“You know that I’ve kept that in mind since the challenge was issued.” I turned to the being. “How do we address you. Do you have a name?”
“There is no need to address me, so no name is required.”
I tried a grin, even though it was not a real one. “I think you will want to be addressed. We are returning by thousands of years to visit your past. Surely you will have questions and wish to guide us to the correct times?”
“Correct times for what?” Now, as it engaged in conversation without realising it, I really did feel like grinning, but I had to hide it.
“Since you were with us all this time, would you at least affirm my theory? Are you a Keeper?”
It turned to stare at Ivgos and then its emoting turned ice cold as it stared at Bryce. Staring at him, it spoke to me. “The witness entity saved me also. I was not as badly damaged because I was not in a body, so I clearly recall the pain of thoughts torn apart. How is it you were not damaged?”
“I have a protector - nothing can harm me.”
It swung around to stare at me, Bryce forgotten. It then turned to look at Robbie. “Your family and friends were not damaged. You allowed the others to be hurt?”
An Anadir female called Irreisfa spoke up, “None of us expect otherwise. At moments of danger, it is natural that family is prime, any family, especially when that includes a Cherine.”
Our isi added, “I’m not full family and of a different species, but I was also saved. If Robert had known about you and that you would have suffered more, I know he would have included you.”
The face of Faiiis showed it was pleased. “We planned well then. It is regrettable you have no honour.” It stood up, waited to see whether we intended preventing it from leaving and then walked away. It sat at a distance but close enough to see us. Since it could also see and hear from the screens, it would know when we need it.
Angel asked me, “They planned on Robert killing them?”
“I don’t know. I think it meant that they planned on Robbie protecting me so that I don’t lose.”
Freddie spoke up, “We’ve returned in time by ten thousand years. You are not going to believe what I see, take a look at the screens.” What is to be semi-desert highland in the future is in the process of being covered by cities! We watched for a few weeks while souls went to visit and examine their level of science. We can sense they are psychically gifted, but the most important difference is that people are filled with vigour and life is exciting for them. This is a time of great changes and growth and it breaks my heart to think what they must have done to themselves and their children to end up like Faiiis.
Even at this time, they consider the lands below as sacred and try to minimise the effect they have on it. The Sparklers told us that none of the Reggheri live in the green lands, apart from a few of the higher areas that are obviously farmed. Robbie double checked and then allowed us, a few at a time, to visit. As I have a preference for being on my own, Robbie exempted me from his controls. Unfortunately my healer does not know what a female Reggheri is like, internally, so I take on the form of Faiiis when I go walking. Seeing the world through the eyes of a Reggheri both enhances what I see in some ways, so that I see beauty where I could not truly appreciate it and, in other ways I see less, just as certain lifeforms represent danger, ill health and so on for our species, so is it for some of what my Reggheri mimicry sees.
There are rivers far wider and deeper than any on our world and they often etch their way into the land so that one river can have a dozen splendid waterfalls. There is one that tumbles for hundreds of feet to smash upon gray-green and gray-white rocks and then a hundred feet lower smash onto another ledge of rock. By the time it reaches the last deep pool and land, for it to wind on as a river again, it has tumbled down seven ledges and I find the sight beautiful and mesmerising, helping me lose myself so that my thoughts are like the pure white spray, without shape or form.
Today, when I arrived at my favourite waterfall, I saw the Faiiis-entity waiting for me. It spoke directly into my mind, You are without honour.
“You still want something from me, stay to explain.”
It turned to look at me and then spoke verbally. “I listened to all your speculations about our challenge, so you have no excuse for failing my people.”
I saw no point in directly contradicting it, but I did not see at that time that its statement held a double meaning. “The cities above, what of their technology? Will they pursue that avenue or rely only on what they have now?” It did not reply so I shrugged. “We’ll jump forward a thousand years at a time so I’ll soon find out.”
“You have named us the Keepers. The title is not descriptive, we are the protectors of our people.”
I bit my lip. “If you have watched me, you know that I do not like depending on being protected while also treasuring the feeling. What I’m trying to say is that I rebel, again and again, between the times of enjoying the feel of Robert protecting me. Did your people rebel?”
“We are not what you said, how could we be dictators when it is not of our nature and they become us and we become them?”
I grinned. “Damn! Now you’ve really given me a huge puzzle. Since we will be travelling for some time there is no rush, may I have a few days to consider what you told me?” It did not stay to answer me, so I presumed it agreed.
As much as we loved being at that time, we collected the data we needed and now we had to move forward. Cherine asked that we visit the void for dancing and it was only then that we noticed a discrepancy. The souls of the Reggheri visit the void, without being aware, whereas they don’t at our time. That really puzzled us.
I’ll just have to name the entity since it refuses to give us a name. I think/sense Riivjii suits it. Because of the male body of Faiiis we think of it as male, but I would not be surprised to learn it is sexless in its own body - if it has one.
We feel constrained in our wild speculations now that we are aware of Riivjii hearing every word; sometimes to spare it those that might be insulting and some because it may provide it with reason to laugh at us - not even broadminded Cherinians enjoy being laughed at.
We were lying in bed in a tangled heap, the room sweetly redolent of satiated passions, and I was drifting without thought, on the edge of entering a dream, when Empathia entered my mind to share a thought. It was odd enough to shock me awake and then I giggled. Since all my loves are just as curious about everything as I am, they all woke up.
“Sorry, it wasn’t funny ‘ha-ha’ but, if Athia is right, I’m feeling a bit stupid. She was wondering why such a powerful spirit is such a nag, telling me again and again at every opportunity, that I have no honour. She then wondered whether it is not telling me I have no honour - that maybe it is telling me not to have honour. It wants me to get sneaky and save their people.”
Of course, Cherine loved the idea and demands I allow her to be part of my sneakiness. If she is going to be part of it, I’ll have to think up something really sneaky. lol
Freddie jumped forward a thousand years and we all stared at the big screens that showed the cities - which had now fused and grown even further into one supercity. Like any city I’ve seen, it has its sore points where old buildings lie derelict, but the major part of it is full of life and beautiful. I see no trees or lawns and wonder why a people who revere nature have built their city without making provision for parks. We spent most of that day zooming into various parts of the city while the scientists gathered data. We checked that the green lands are still relatively free of people so that we can visit as we did a thousand years ago. I’ll be spending some time at my favourite waterfall, although I see it only has four ledges now - I guess the constant erosion of falling water destroyed those that are missing.
This time we paid more attention to the visitors in the void so that when they stop coming we can understand why. I tend to support the theory that they developed a sentient artificial intelligence that was stunted and could not learn that certain human weaknesses are necessary to our survival as humans. If I’m right, the AI must be responsible for the souls no longer coming to the void.
There is enough of wonder, beauty and magic to the world of Freddie for anyone to spend years happily exploring and experiencing what is available. I don’t think the Ivgos team were bored, just that they are in the middle of a future existing for their world once more and the sense that they should be there dealing with it and being a part of the wonderful changes made it difficult for them to relax and enjoy themselves. Since I do not believe in predestination, I’ll settle for the above as reason for Ivgos choosing Riivjii as his companion this afternoon.
Ivgos was afraid of Riivjii, but he was curious, so he forced himself to intrude. Because of his fear, Seuria went with. Because Seuria was sharing the mind-emoting of Ivgos, Riivjii was able to sense what lay behind the words.
“Have your people stopped giving birth?”
Riivjii did not answer, its eyes following me whenever I moved from one group of my loves to another. I don’t know why, but it turned and looked into the eyes of Ivgos. After a long moment it spoke abruptly, “Our story is not the same as yours.”
“I have been taught by Morbo that each of us has our own story and that all stories are part of each other - even when we cannot see it.” He gave a Terran style shrug. “I keep wondering whether I’ll understand what I’m taught once I’m an adult.”
There was silence for another long moment before it replied in a dismissive manner, “You and I are at opposite ends of our stories. Yours at the beginning, mine at the end.”
Cleverly, Ivgos responded, “I started at the end of our story, but now I think I’m at the start. Maybe Samantha can help you be the same as me?”
Riivjii seemed to lose himself within the eyes of Ivgos. By the time he was ready to reply, Ivgos had turned his back and was walking away, all his attention on Seuria. Riivjii let him go, but his eyes did not return to following me for a while.
The city endures, beyond all expectations. Since it first merged into one, we have travelled another seven thousand years. I am puzzled. For instance, the ruins of the Parthenon have existed well over two thousand years. If the city still exists at this time, why does nothing, not one brick, not the mark of one road, exist at our time? The population is greatly reduced and the signs of chunks of the city decaying in abandonment can be clearly seen from up high. I don’t doubt my favourite waterfall still sings its mighty roar as it tumbles, trying to forcefully convert the water to moisture that can dance in rainbows at the edges of the sky, but I am too depressed by what I see of the city and its people for me to meditate.
Freddie showed on the screens the city with the occupied parts of it coloured. The shade varied according to the concentration of people and it became obvious that the concentric rings were not created randomly; some rule or other is attracting and holding the people at specific areas. Freddie then told us Solomon is taking over the screens and part of the colours seemed to drift and soon we saw a sharp green shadow circle superimposed over the turquoise of the people. It seemed to confirm my AI theory. Then the words spoken returned to me and I saw I’d allowed myself to ignore the truth: ‘How could we be dictators when it is not of our nature and they become us and we become them’. I cried out, “Oh God, how could they?” and the pain of grief drove me to my knees.
It is sad, but I must acknowledge we’ll never mature into true Cherinians. Every time we are supposed to first consider the good of all species, we fail, our first concern for anyone of our direct family or close friends who is suffering. When I collapsed to my knees, I expected everyone would be paralysed by the terrible truth they shared from me, but instead, they rushed to my side, with Robbie there first to hold me tightly in his arms, as if only I mattered to them! R: Sometimes our little duckling can be very hard to understand.
I asked Freddie to reduce his jumps to one hundred years and the Sparklers (some from each reality currently present in Freddie) remain behind to watch and report. The scientists are keen to learn how they have accommodated the freed souls so as to hold them to their world, while I am more interested in learning how I can help change the way they think.
A few days have passed and we’ve done little but argue our thoughts at home. Irene, Noelle and Elpida came up with the theory that answers some important questions. They decided that because the Reggheri never became aware of the void, they must have considered death as being final…with only a few odd souls succeeding in returning. The odd case of reincarnation must have given them the idea of searching for a way to keep the souls of the departed loved ones by them so that they can all be born again. Since the dead mostly are of those who are older, it was then a natural progression that their advice would be sought, leading to the imprisonment and stunting of the spirit of the new generations, for evolution and growth would be anathema to the old ones. ‘Protectors’ indeed! How ironic that it still thinks of itself that way, despite having learnt of the void from us and seeing how we fight to keep each new generation free of the inhibitions of the older ones. No, I just might be wrong, why else would the so-called ‘protectors’ send (influence) Faiiis to fight me and then issue their challenge? They must have wanted to be certain I am ethical before issuing the challenge. After all, if I were to ask someone to set aside some of the rules of ethics so as to save me, I’d like to know that the person I ask truly does adhere to his-her ethics. Am I now meant to feel flattered by their choosing me!?
There is little point in letting Riivjii know we are aware of the true situation. Now I have to think of a way to trick it into coming to the void with me when we arrive at our normal time. The next step will be in finding a way to do the same to the rest of the ‘protectors’. I’m fresh out of ideas and nobody else has a workable plan, so I’m going to ask that we return to the Ribbon Planet for a while. Seeing a species discover hope again might help motivate us.
