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Thursday, January 28, 2010

The &%$! Hits The Fan (Part 85)

"We have a real-time feed on the suspect vehicle. It is traveling on the 805 southbound, between La Jolla Village Drive and Clairemont Mesa Boulevard."

I get into the car with Yal-hune. I know San Diego well enough to catch up to him when he stops.

Yal-hune turns to me, "He's going to the press. There are two news channels in the area and his brother is friends with a newscaster."

"Did he tell his brother about the texts?"

"Yes. He's been talking very openly after Isis was captured."

"Encyclopedia...you idiot!"

Breaking a dozen national security laws is serious business. I used to think he was not the type to blab, after all his profile showed extreme strength of character and his PSYESP testing was a perfect score. Now I realize he was in love with Isis and love makes people do dumb things. I call Tech1 in Shamballa,

"We have a Code Argus level leak. Implement Full Sweep. Initiate HERMES. Oh and by the way, I will temporarily resume my position as Tech1, if you will permit it."

"Code Argus? My God...Encyclopedia?"

"Yes."

"Unbelievable. Of course you have your position back. Just in time too - I have hated being Tech1. I'll start the sweep and we'll fall back to Position Delta."

An organization like SDAI, which is so secret it doesn't exist on the books anywhere, has plans for leaks of huge magnitude such as would occur when a top Tech might defect or reveal information after being captured and tortured. Tech1, Tech2 and Tech3 are the only ones who know the details of HERMES. Argus was a creature with countless eyes who could see everything. He was defeated by Hermes who lulled all of his many eyes to sleep. When a leak of this magnitude occurs,identified as an Code ARGUS level leak, everything changes. Even the headquarters of Shamballa has several near duplicate facilities in back up which are activated and the old location is sweeped and destroyed. It no longer serves a useful purpose once its location is compromised. Naturally, this is a gargantuan effort and takes a certain amount of time. Fortunately, we have the manpower available to turn it around in about 16 hours.

I log-in to my blog from my Blackberry and shut it down. News reporters will be looking for any sort of corroborating evidence on the web and collecting details. It ticks me off. 6 years of blogging all buried because of Encyclopedia's loose mouth.

"He's pulling into a news studio."

The voice is the satellite team leader's.

"Do I have that team available yet?"

"Team J is en route via helicopter. They are about 4 minutes away from suspect's current location."

"Good. Have them meet me in the parking lot. We're going to need someone to contact the local authorities and get some cooperation. Last thing we need is to have interference from the local donut crews. Get on the horn with the Mayor's office, The San Diego County Sheriff's office and the San Diego Police Department."

"You got it."

Yal-hune just looks at me.

"What?"

"You know what."

"No, I don't. Clarify what for me, please."

"I'm not going to say anything. You need to use your mind. All this you are doing is unnecessary if you use your mind."

I look at her and I want to kiss her. Every time I look at her features and particularly her eyes - I feel this urge. It makes it hard to want to argue with her, because I know she is almost always right. If she says I should use my mind, I should use my mind.

Of course! Encyclopedia is a low-level telepath! I should talk to him in his mind and use my mind.

"Encyclopedia? This is Tech1...care to talk?"

"Get out! Get out of my head!"

Yal-hune looks at me as I drive. "There are other ways to use your mind besides telepathy."

"Such as?"

"Think. Feel. Figure out what this cycle you are in is all about. Once you find a source you can work on changing it and balancing it. A team full of armed soldiers is certainly anything but a balancing action."

"He's desperate and dangerous now. He knows he's crossed the line and there is no line he wont cross."

"This is Tech1. I want Team J to remain airborne on standby. Loop the target location in a 1 mile radius."

"Affirmative."

I try to think. I try to think about the past, my deja-vu's and all this stuff. It's overwhelming and I just don't have time - but I try.

Monday, January 25, 2010

The Running Man (Part 84)

My Confederation hostess leads me through a passage way and into an enormous chamber. At first it appears as though the roof has been ripped off and a billion stars shine down into this area, but it is an illusion. The ceiling is covered in crystalline orbs of various sizes and these orbs shine like a distant starfield.

"So how did you like the excitement?"

It's Yal-hune. She's standing by herself as cool and collected as if she had been lounging here for the past two hours.

"I missed most of it. What's the status on Encyclopedia and the texts?"

"Both are still safe and sound in his brother's dorm room. Did you want to return already?"

I turn and look at the other female from Htra-deg who stands beside me and there's something about her nearby presence that is altering my mood somewhat. I realize she is another one of those powerful personalities - whose mind is like 100 human minds in one. Experiencing new moods and new perspectives. I sense she is enjoying the mix too, merely because she does not often get to interface with human sentience.

"Sharing mind with you has been educational."

She smiles. I would be inclined to take it as an insult, somewhat the way one describes an ugly outfit as "interesting" or some other polite way of avoiding saying what one really thinks. However, I know their minds do not work that way.

"No, I wouldn't mind staying here for awhile. I'm still sort of vague on the whole Lal-atha/Confederation conflict and rules of engagement."

"Permit me."

My hostess, whose name is Voe-lree, extends her arms and gently presses her fingertips on my temples. Images of Lal-atha as a Planet leader emerge and his entire history unfolds in my mind. A conflict with a neighboring world that joined the Confederation and an obsession with destroying the Confederation and preventing young worlds and other sentience from joining. I see a savage desire to minimize the growth of the Confederation and set up an opposing Union of worlds. He would be considered a terrorist and a mass murderer on Earth.

Amazing. On Earth, he would have earned the death-penalty a hundred times over, yet here he is viewed with compassion. No hate exists in regards to his actions which have cost billions their lives. My mind finds it hard to imagine, however the interface with Voe-lree permits me access to see things from this less emotional perspective. The Confederation grows despite the efforts of Lal-atha and this is why he is targeting as many elemental worlds and sentient species as he can. The Confederations form of responding is containment and the constant teleportation back to his world of himself, his minions and all those who perpetrate violence on the Confederation. No counter-strikes. No retaliation of any real measure. Voe-lree's expansive mind shares a whole host of feelings she has on the matter and as she interfaces with my mind I agree with her reasoning completely.

"There. Does that make it easier to understand?"

"Yes. Thank you Voe-lree."

"Yal-hune, we probably better return. I know if I stay here too long, I will not want to leave."

"I understand."

"Let's pay Encyclopedia that overdue visit."

Another flash of white and I am back in the dormitory parking lot. Yal-hune is beside me and we are within a foot or two of where we were when we were attacked. I look around to see if there is any evidence of the assault and none can be found.

"All those disintegration rays must've hit something?"

"They were neutralized before they could hit anything."

"Amazing."

"Not really. After I teleported you to a Confederation ship I accelerated yet faster and had plenty of time to neutralize the beams with assistance from one of the Confederation's quarantine teams."

"Just how fast can you accelerate yourself?"

"Fast enough."

I follow Yal-hune's lead and she climbs up the stairs two steps at a time. Before I know it we are in front of a baby blue door. I knock.

Encyclopedia answers the door and just as quickly slams it closed again when he sees us.

"That's just great."

I'm here without a team and Encyclopedia is going to make this difficult. However, he doesn't know that.

"Encyclopedia...just open the door so we can talk. There's nowhere to go. Nowhere to run to."

I turn to Yal-hune for information.

"Your mind. Use your mind."

I try to do what Yal-hune does naturally. I try to open my sense up beyond just vision and hearing. I realize I can feel the signals from everything around me. The layout of this apartment - and the balcony. In my mind I can see Encyclopedia stuffing the Atlantean texts into a pillow case and dropping them out the balcony.

"No. No."

I run down the stairs two at a time. I make it down to the bottom level to see Encyclopedia sliding down a sheet rope. I grab one of the tied up pillow cases which seems to have two texts. Encyclopedia grabs the other and starts to run.

"Come back! Don't run!" I shout.

He's not listening. I start running after him. Encyclopedia was never a field agent, but he's younger by a good number of years. I kick it into high gear and feel the adrenaline feed my legs the needed chemicals to help my leg muscles do their stuff. I'm gaining on him. He's heading towards a small car in the parking lot. The door is open and he jumps in. I'm almost there when he gets the car started and floors the throttle. He hits somebody else's car as he darts through the lot. I have no desire for a car chase.

I open my cell phone and used the scrambled channel.

"I need a live satellite on this location now with a recorded feed. Target is a white import that leaves this parking lot at 2:37 PM."

"You got it."

I walk over to the damaged car and place a note on it with a phone number to call for settlement of damages. I only hope he calms down and doesn't get into an accident.

Yal-hune now has caught up with me.

"You know this would be so much easier if you actually helped me out here."

"I am helping you. I'm encouraging to use your mind."

She is suddenly pushing this point. She wants me to expand my development. I know she's right and that we all have these latent powers within us, but it's hard. Using the mind on that level is like doing mental push ups. It's a struggle and by default one relaxes.

We walk over to our car and I place the Atlantean texts in the trunk.

"You were doing so well. You saw the books and Encyclopedia. You were seeing with your mind. This is true seeing and will eventually supplement your other senses. Later still it will become your primary sense and the other senses will supplement it."

She kisses me.

Sudden and unexpected, it is a mind-bending kiss. All at once I forget all about Encyclopedia and the other two Atlantean texts. I close my eyes and white flickering light is all I can see. It is as if my brain is being jump-started and all the neurons are firing at an explosive rate. All I can think about is her and her mind as she joins a portion of her consciousness with me.

As we finally part, I feel a new awareness. I feel all the things around me. New senses have been activated! All sorts of data is streaming into my mind and I can select any portion of it to analyze. The tree is 30.2 metres away. It has 1,233 leaves on its branches. It was planted in September 1997. There are 43 cars in the parking lot. There's a girl whose apartment is on the bottom floor and she watched Yal-hune and I kiss. She envies us. I feel her pain and loneliness as though they are my own. I avert my mind.

"You see truly now. The entire universe consists of streams of energy and there are no limitations. The entire universe can be an open book for you to enjoy. You will strengthen this sensory development by using it. You will learn to use it wisely and not for selfish desires or with negative intent."

It is amazing.

"You could do all that with a kiss?"

"The kiss just stimulated the part of your brain you used when you saw Encyclopedia leaving the apartment. The kiss was designed to activate more of this portion and get you to start using it."

"In that case let's see if we can jump start the rest of my brain."

"In your dreams, human...in your dreams."

Saturday, January 23, 2010

We're in Big Trouble (Part 83)

As we walk towards the dormitory building named after a former Supreme Court Justice, I get the sense we're being watched. We are. Even in this small parking lot, Yal-hune is getting more stares than a giraffe at the zoo. I tell myself the two of us together cut an imposing presence - something impossible to ignore. However, I know full well who the stares are for. But there's something else. Something about the deja-vu I had when I found out we were headed to San Diego instead of Sedona. Something happens here. I've found all my deja-vus seem to coincide with particularly meaningful events. I think they are moments when I have two paths and these events are known to me from an abstract level - a timeless, spaceless component of my own soul that is infinite and contains all this knowledge and history within it. I know it's hard to understand. It's even harder to explain. But there was something - a glimpse of an event - something important.

"You know where we're going?"

"Yes. Encyclopedia is staying with his younger brother in his dorm room."

"That's right. He has a younger brother out here. I forgot all about that. Are they there now?"

"Yes."

"If he resists..."

"I won't participate in his apprehension."

"I knew you were going to say that."

"I've got the latest stun gun technology here, but it's not that kind to the body. I'd prefer not to have to use it."

"Then you will have to subdue him with reason - use your mind."

"With Isis caught, he will be jumpy and desperate."

"Wait..."

Time travels into slow motion again. I have another deja-vu and it's not a good one. I turn around and it seems an eternity from the time my brain initiates the turn and my shoulder even gets twenty degrees and my head turns with it.

I see him. It's Lal-atha. He's appeared next to our car. He's not alone this time. There are at least a dozen heavily armed men with him and none of them are disguised in human clothing. I can feel Yal-hune slow down time even further, or actually I guess she's speeding us up. It's amazing I feel so much slower. My mind has a tough time keeping up with this level of acceleration. A dozen or more disintegration rays are already heading towards us in slow motion. I know what they are because Yal-hune knows what they are and her mind is linked with mine.

This is a blatant assault. A 'hit' and we're the targets. I start a leap to the ground and in the corner of my eye I see Yal-hune break in the other direction, her arm extended. We're moving two hundred percent faster than they are now - another fact gleaned from Yal-hune's consciousness. She's accelerated us to a speed even faster than normal speed for Htra-deg. I pull out my stun gun, instinctively, as I roll. I aim at the nearest hostile and fire from the ground. Yal-hune is firing at the troops with her arm. Something emerges similar to what she used back at the Home Depot. Only this one is not a disintegration beam, merely a stun blast like mine. I see her take out 3 soldiers before my electric charge blast even makes it half way across to its target. However a red field has gone up around Lal-atha and Yal-hune's bolts are now not penetrating the shield.

She turns to me, "You need to disappear from here."

Before i can even think a response I see a white flash all around me. As it dissipates I see glowing silver-blue walls and I am in the exact same position I was on the asphalt outside the dormitory.

"Let me give you a hand."

It is a Yal-hune lookalike extending her pink hued arm to me and smiling. I realize at once we are on board the Confederation vessel.

"Where's Yal-hune?"

"She is assisting the Confederation security forces in apprehending Lal-atha. Our vessel is presently under attack from negative forces."

I want to be afraid, but I can't. The shielding here prevents the lower emotions from emerging. All I muster is a sense of concern and attentive curiosity.

"Is this vessel returning the attack?"

"We do not attack. We respond."

"Are we responding?"

"Yes.

She lifts me up almost effortlessly. "Follow me, please."

"Certainly."

I hear a hum and feel vibrations. When Lal-atha threatened me that the Confederation did not possess the highest level of technology in the galaxy, I was concerned. While the Confederation databanks report that Lal-atha's world is comparable in technological development, I never gathered the impression they had superior technology.

I hear a louder hum. I can't help but think of all the movies and television shows that represented battles in space. Now I, finally, am experiencing a real one firsthand and it is hard to even discern it is occurring.

I remember Encyclopedia and the other four Atlantean texts. Is he safe frozen back in Earth slow-motion? Are the texts secured? And why on Earth doesn't Lal-atha just beam out the texts? Why the needless confrontations and battles? And why does he always do it when someone who will try to stop him is around? It makes no sense to me. I gently ask my question of my guide and she opens up an area in her consciousness to converse in.

"Lal-atha is limited by certain energy moments."

"Energy moments?"

"Yes, when a cycle of energy opens up and permits teleportation to Earth. He can't do it just at anytime. It is not a coincidence he arrives when you or Yal-hune, or both of you are nearby - your presence actually helps facilitate the teleportation process to Earth because of your own field structures."

We enter a room where a dozen aliens are working white consoles. I get the feeling this is one of the command centers of the ship - the 'bridge' if you will.

"Yes. This is a command center of sorts. These engineers are monitoring the ships many fields of energy. This craft and all aboard it exist as a set of fields. The attack upon it consists of other fields of energy. These fields many manifest as many types of weapons, but basically these things are all simply types of energy."

"And so it is all about balancing and countering the attackers energy fields?"

"Yes. We have an advantage because we are on equilibrium with our consciousness at all times. Our attackers are not. It is this same imbalance which makes them weaker and makes their attacks ineffective."

"Equilibrium...that's the key, right?"

"Yes. Energy that is in balance is stronger and more coherent. An imbalanced signal is easily defeated and cannot perpetuate. A balanced signal can perpetuate infinitely."

"Surely they must know this?"

"There is a large gap between what one knows and what one has the strength of mind to put into practice."

"And what of Lal-atha? He keeps breaking Confederation rules and now has tried to assassinate one of its emissaries and destroy Confederation ships. This must constitute a formal declaration of war on the Confederation, right?"

"Lal-atha, as you are aware, is a galactic criminal. These acts are merely the latest of many such negative acts he has committed. He grows more imbalanced with the passage of time. He was much more dangerous when he just began to degenerate. As someone descends and loses that all important equilibrium, they keep strengthening the imbalanced components of their field structures. These imbalances grow and corrupt the remaining fields. Soon, each action revolves around and contains these imbalances."

"The force teleport works on imbalances, doesn't it?"

"Yes. It can latch on to those imbalances and use them to lock the field for an incoming signal. Already four ships have been force teleported back to their homeworld. The final one has almost defeated itself."

"And what of Lal-atha himself?"

"He has just been successfully force-teleported back to his planet, as have his troops. There are other conflicts, but they are not occurring in your planet's orbit. Follow me again. I will take you now to Yal-hune."

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Ramifications (Part 82)

"Listen. You know that big guy that tried to take the Atlantean text? He's an alien from a world that wants to see humanity wiped off the galaxy. If you don't tell us where Encyclopedia is, he is in grave jeopardy. Lal-atha will kill him and take those texts. Heck, he may already be dead. Every hour you stall is like throwing him to the wolves."

"You're lying! I hate you! I freaking HATE you! You set me up and now you're lying to scare me into revealing where he is. You think I was born yesterday? Try again."

"I wish I was lying. I've updated the computers here with a partial list of planets that are actively hostile to Earth and humanity. Feel free to look through it. Feel free to ask Yal-hune whether or not the data is falsified."

"So who cares? Even if its true, that has nothing to do with the release of the lost Atlantean history."

"It has EVERYTHING to do with the Atlantean history. Those books could overnight bypass about five centuries or more of technological development in about a decade. EMF craft could be made and developed and before a decade was out humans would have access to the solar system - and in another decade - the galaxy. Then when humanity travels it picks up ever greater technology. Technological paths can be exponential. Nikola Tesla's alternating current motor was one such exponential path that led us out of the dark ages and into the humble technocracy we have today. Well those Atlantean texts make Tesla's AC motor appear small fry. The exponential result of those texts and their contents being reviewed would start an exponential chain of enormous proportions."

"So? That's GOOD! I want to see this world progress! Why is that a bad thing?"

"Imagine if you will a cliff. A man stands 30 feet from the edge. He wants to expand his roaming range and starts walking in circles around his original point. First 5 feet. Then 10 feet and then 25. Someone tops him and says 'hey, you can't go further because there is no ground there to support you - you will fall to your death!' and the man ignores it. That's the point we're at. If we become technologically advanced in space flight or any serious technology the ground underneath us vanishes. Why do you think the manned space program was dumped?"

"I don't know - why?"

"Because these hostile aliens threatened to blow the Earth out of existence if man traveled anywhere beyond our moon. That's why."

"What about Yal-hune and her brother? What about the Confederation? They will protect us."

"You of all people should know if somebody wants to destroy something badly enough, they can always succeed. Protecting the Earth is never going to be absolute. If Earth gets too far ahead, have no doubts, one of these other worlds will succeed in destroying Earth or humanity."

"I refuse to believe that! That would mean....my God...Earth forever stuck in a stagnant position."

"Yep. Why do you think they overshadowed the likes of Philo Farnsworth and shared with him the cathode ray tube? Television was a HUGE pacifier. The only progress they permit is pacification technologies - tv, films, music, video games, et cetera."

I see Isis is about to crack. The horror of the reality of Earth is now starting to sink in. She realizes that she's living on a controlled world. A world where someone has every human's number and where babies are condemned at birth to a life of endless toil and pacification. A world where each generation now grows up to be even less intelligent than the previous one. She realizes the ramifications and sees the world in an entirely new light. The imaginary cocoon she envisioned the Earth was in, is gone. She sees, if anything, that our world is snared in a galactic web and is far from isolated.

"Encyclopedia is up in Sedona. A motel - the Sedona Sage."

"Thanks Isis. I promise I will do everything I can to push ahead the technological level and more importantly - wake up the masses to the reality of the situation and push them to develop. Get to a non-secure computer terminal - go online and look up 'SDAI-Tech1' - I think you will see that I have been very busy. I couldn't tell you until now. Meanwhile, I'm going to retrieve Encyclopedia and those texts."

"Don't hurt him."

"You know I wont let him get hurt."

I realize that they have some sort of relationship beyond that of their agenda.

"Yal-hune?"

"Yes?"

"Can you teleport me to the Sedona Sage?"

"No."

"Why? It simply will save time and hassle."

"Encyclopedia is not there."

"What? Where is he?"

"He's in San Diego. Once Isis didn't return, he grabbed the remaining texts and took off by car for UCSD."

"Can you teleport me to San Diego?"

"I can do better. I'll teleport us both to UCSD."

Prepare yourself.

"Deja-vu."

"Yes, you were familiar with this time-stream already over 20 years ago."

I find myself in a car. Yal-hune is beside me and we are in the parking lot at UCSD. I haven't been here in years.

"A car too? Did you conjure this up or did it get relocated?"

"This was relocated. It is from the SDAI motor pool."

"Hmm. I never knew we had any Japanese imports."

"They arrived after you left. Your policy was quickly reversed."

"Well...whatever. Let's retrieve Encyclopedia."

"He's already talked to someone about the books."

"What?"

"Yes. But it doesn't matter. She threw him out of her office and called him a lunatic."

"Poor guy. Its his university years all over again. Are the texts with him?"

"Yes, he's trying to set up another appointment but can't get her to reply to his calls."

"That's what's wrong with the universities around the world. They're filled with idiots. Encyclopedia has learned a valuable lesson - namely, no one wants to be told the truth. No one wants to listen to someone else with an idea. They struggle so hard to blend in, conform and obey the system. Their souls are tiny."

"Is that you talking or you as influenced by an overshadower?"

"Sorry. It's just being here reminds me of the morons I myself have had to deal with over the years. Now I understand they were all targeted as soon as they came within ten feet of me. If their natural impulses already weren't the best or brightest, they were totally down the tubes when I was around."

"And so you should feel compassion for them."

'Yeah, I guess."

"Is it so hard to see it objectively?"

"Yes. Actually, it is."

"Here. Let me help you."

Yal-hune places her hand on my forehead and all of a sudden I see things the way she sees them. All the people I have dealt with and how they were targeted and their lives made much tougher just because I was around them. The little indignities they suffered and the larger twisted paths that emerged as a result, of which I never saw or realized.

"Thanks Yal-hune. Those ramifications were completely invisible to me."

For the first time I can let go of grudges and biases I have held for a long time. It feels refreshing. I didn't realize just how much that baggage was like wearing manacles.

"Yes. We always are invisible to others problems as we focus primarily on our own."

We get out of the car and walk towards the dormitory.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Tests (Part 81)

Tests. That's what my life is. Every day, hour, minute and second - all part of an elaborate endless test. I get no time-outs, no reprieve or finish. It's constant. And just when I finish one part, some entirely new part is ready to be taken.

I see the world and when I'm working back alongside the folks at SDAI, all the old feelings and desires come back. Save the world. Like someone given a chance to go back in time from the future and try and prevent the fall of Rome, the assassination of Lincoln or the burning of the Alexandrian library, I feel compelled to use my mind to avert it, to save faceless people from a fate they themselves chose. The billions of people alive right now lie on my shoulders like I'm wearing a yoke. I don't know them all, but I can feel them there nevertheless. With great power comes great responsibility. Sure. I know stuff. Stuff that could save people's lives, save them endless heartache and if they understood it, bring about large amounts of joy and happiness. Christ, I live with two female aliens and my life is so out of place here on Earth it feels like I might as well be an alien.

But I know I'm taking the test now. And part of this test is about holding back. Knowing what to share and what to hold tight to the chest. Knowing and understanding that all sorts of information is keyed to each individual. That each unique soul has their own unique way of processing data as well as a completely unique order.

That's what I tried to explain to Isis. She didn't get it. I'm not really surprised. I could pass it by the population of the entire planet and only a handful of voices would be in agreement - and partial agreement at that! Isis is in a holding area and I can't stand it. I've had to deal with all sorts of people, but dealing with someone you have worked alongside and trusted for several years becomes palpably onerous.

Lal-atha. Earth has a new super-villain. According to Yal-hune he is very determined to interfere directly with this planet's development. He's working towards an Armageddon scenario. It's not just Earth that he hates though. He's apparently got a whole hit-list of 'elemental' worlds and sentient species he feels are best directed towards the sentient junk bin. A bin that is filled with other sentient species now extinct. All the victim of some cataclysm, planetary wars and unimaginably horrible diseases.

It's almost funny. While human scientists debate about microbial life on asteroids or on Mars, other aliens are actively working to see humanity vanish from the petrie dish known as Earth. I suppose it was naive of me to think all extraterrestrials would be nice people. It was inane of me to think that sentience would automatically respect the right to exist of other sentience. In an infinite universe, sentience is equally diverse. I get a taste of this with Yal-hune and again with Skuuinja. Even my trip to 6370 with Tis-mi-ish exposed me to these subtle variations of sentient thought. Great minds don't necessarily think alike. And this is good. The universe would be boring if everyone looked and acted human.

It's raining out here in the desert and I think about my new friends in the cliffs. In a land where rains turn into flash floods and then equally quickly stop, their homes in the cliffs illustrate human ingenuity.

Well, I've got reports to make and I've got to figure out Encyclopedia's next move. Sometimes writing all this stuff down in the blog helps my train of thought. I guess I have to share all this stuff somewhere or I would go crazy. Secrets, classification levels and all the rest. My life has been overflowing with secrets. With things one can't share. Where every bit of intelligence is measured and then sorted. A place for everything and everything in its place.

Here, everything on the web is real and unreal - a shadow world. Like a Wikipedia entry, no one ever knows whether or not what one reads is accurate. That's why it's safe. And before you all think I'm a hypocrite for doing what Isis wants to do, there's a big difference. She wants to make it REAL. Undeniably real. Here everyone can walk away and they can hug the doubt that I generously leave in the room. Doubt is a savior. Doubt is the great stress-reliever. For all those that would go nuts knowing the truth, doubt is a godsend. Isis wants to steal that away and I can't let her. Because it would hurt too many people, starting with herself.

As if on cue, my cell-phone rings. Well...till later.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

The Meeting (Part 80)

Twenty agents are staking out ASU, all ones whom Isis has had no contact with. Some are posing as students, others faculty and still others just visitors. One familiar face could blow the whole deal. It's 1:32 PM and her meeting is at 2 PM. I'm watching the whole affair from a command vehicle, a highly modified and Atlan-98 armored GMC Suburban painted alpine white. Tech1 sits beside me and it is like old times again. The adrenaline is pumping and the divided big screen in front of us show the twenty different camera views from miniature cameras mounted on the undercover agents. Another screen gives a realtime satellite view of the entire area. We can see cars come and go and the entire campus and surrounding streets are covered. We don't know what vehicle she will arrive in and another crew back at Shamballa is busy trying to scan for Isis' fundamental brain frequency with another classified satellite that scans for signals, not images.

"This is Tech78. I've just picked up a match for the suspect description emerging from what appears to be a late model Cadillac Escalade. Request visual verification with base."

We zoom up the feed from Tech78 and see a young blond haired woman in skinny jeans and a sweater. It is definitely Isis. It's 1:40 and she is twenty minutes early. She pulls out a large backpack and puts it on. Odds are one of the Atlantean texts are in that backpack.

"Identity confirmed. Suspect acquired. Parking region near 49th Avenue and University Way North. Techs 57, 64 and 82 converge on parking lot and prepare to place tracking equipment on suspect vehicle. Do not move on suspect or vehicle until authorization is given. Repeat. Do not move on suspect or vehicle until authorization has been given."

"We need a thermal scan of that vehicle. Is Encyclopedia inside it? The tinting is too strong to get any idea. Satellite control please shift to live thermal signal."

The screen turns a series of colors from green on the cool end of the spectra to white hot on the other. The parking lot glows a bright orange. The mid-day sun has already heated everything up. The Escalade engine appears as white hot. There appears to be no passengers or people in the vehicle.

"Dang it all! She came here alone."

"C'mon. What did you expect? They're smart. They probably don't even share the same home and just keep in contact via cell phone or even citizens band transmissions if they are near enough."

"Tech82 you have authorization to install tracking equipment on vehicle."

Tech82 looks to be all of 23. She looks like just another student and in an instant she drops her knapsack near the tail bumper of the suburban and crouches down, apparently to pick it up. She places a powerful magnetized transmitter, that only broadcasts when activated, to the steel frame of the vehicle, grabs the knapsack and walks on nonchalantly. Very professional.

"This is Tech82. Tracking equipment in place."

"Affirmed. Good job."

"What's your plan now," the current Tech1 turns to me and asks.

"The professor she was scheduled to meet has already been delayed and diverted by our agents. One of our men is on the inside - in his offices - and the make up boys created a dead ringer for the professor. Her 'meeting' will continue as planned."

One part of me hates all this cloak and dagger stuff. Another is pleased to try and outwit Isis and Encyclopedia. Their betrayal of SDAI is somewhat annoying and while not the first time someone has gone rogue, it is the second and the first time was back in the late eighties when SDAI was still very young.

"The plan is to get her to bring as many of the texts as possible and find out where Encyclopedia is. We only grab one when we can grab the other."

"What about grabbing Isis and threatening her with prosecution if she doesn't turn over Encyclopedia?"

"She's too stubborn, and would not betray him. She would rather be prosecuted. At their age the martyr complex still has some appeal."

We watch on the screen as Isis makes her way to the faculty building. Our agents are all in position.

"Alright 'Professor' you're almost on. She's just a few steps outside your door. Remember, cool, snobbish detachment. Nothing excites you. You're emotionally constipated."

"Affirmative."

Isis walks through the door and seeing her on the 'professor's' camera brings back memories. She looks well, somewhat stressed, but apparently going rogue has not been too big a burden on her conscience. They shake hands and she introduces herself.

She talks and the 'professor' let's her talk. Meanwhile her Escalade's registration is being run through the computer. Surprisingly, it's not a rental and we want to see if we can find a useful residence connected with it.

"This is Tech50 we have a tall man in a beige trench coat and black hat approaching the offices."

"Hey, where did that guy come from? He wasn't there a moment ago."

"Cut the chatter. Distract him. Move!"

Tech50 moves in and asks for directions. The man reaches out with his arm grabs Tech50 by the neck and throws him 20 feet in the distance.

"What the hell! We have a situation! Powerful male en route to you Professor. Likely very dangerous. All B team members converge on the offices, now. Tech50 appears to need medical assistance and is unresponsive.

From the Professor's cam I see the tall man enter.

"I'll take this."

He grabs Isis' knapsack and Isis screams.

"No! You bastard give that back!"

Isis leaps toward the man and the man flings her aside as if she were a rag doll.

The professor pulls out a gun.

"Put down the knapsack."

"Go ahead. Shoot. Bullets don't harm me."

I turn to Tech1 "I recognize that voice! This is not good."

Tech1 turns to me, "Who is it?!"

"It's Lal-Atha. The bastard is back!"

"Stand down Professor. Don't shoot. Let the man leave with the knapsack."

"I have him clear in my sights."

"Don't shoot that is an order!"

Isis turns to the professor, "Who are you talking to?" and then turns to the man in the trench coat.

"Please don't take it! It's just a bunch of history documents!"

In a flash Yal-hune appears inside the office next to Isis and erects a bright blue field.

"Lal-atha you were warned about returning to Earth."

Tech1 turns to me, "Lal-atha?"

I answer his query, "A very powerful alien - and a galactic criminal."

"Yal-hune, you and your Confederation cannot stop me."

Lal-atha lunges at Yal-hune with some sort of orange hued energy blade which appears in his hand and Yal-hune teleports to the other side of the room behind Lal-atha. Lal-atha turns, lunges again and Yal-hune disappears again and returns with a long, white, glowing staff. She jabs Lal-atha in the back with the staff and he slumps to the floor as if he had been tasered, though he is in some sort of stasis field.

Yal-hune fires a force teleport signal, with her mind, at Lal-atha and in an instant he disappears.

"Yal-hune! What's going on?"

"You placed yourself in harms way when you took the Atlantean texts. There are those who will seek those books destruction. I'm not going to tell you what to do, but be aware those books are in the cross hairs."

Yal-hune vanishes before Isis can even respond.

Team B converges on the offices, weapons drawn and Isis realizes she has been set up.

"You bastards! Go ahead and take me and the book! Encyclopedia will carry on!"

"Take suspect into custody." I say into the comm-link mouthpiece.

"I thought you wanted to let her go?" Tech1 asks.

"The rules have changed. She's in too much danger - as are we all. With Lal-atha's appearance all bets are off."

"This is Tech43, Tech50 needs emergency medical attention. He has concussion, shock, an injured back, a broken collar bone and has suffered windpipe damage."

"An ambulance is on the way."

This operation has been a huge failure. Isis will be combative, Tech50 has suffered serious injuries and Encyclopedia is still out there with 4 other Atlantean texts. And all this because Lal-atha returned to seize the Atlantean book. Why? Why does he want it? Why pick this time to try and seize it? Lots of questions and no answers.

I watch as Isis is placed into the back of a white van. She looks very unhappy and is crying. Sometimes life seems miserable. I try and retain equilibrium. I try to recognize that even these circumstances hold equal good within them.

Tech1 turns to me, "Did you see Yal-hune whoop the ass of that other alien guy?!"


"Yeah..that's Yal-hune. Ass whooper extraordinaire."

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Of Avatar,Overshadowers & Ice Cream (Part 79)

I am heading out to a movie theatre with both Yal-hune and Skuuinja. Skuuinja balked at first, because she knows movie theatres are total overshadowing zones. It reminded her of less happy days. I thought it would be quite interesting to take two extraterrestrials to a film about an alien world. So we are going to see Avatar.

We've taken the Towncar and arrive at the Antelope Valley mall. Here, the film is being shown in both IMAX 3-D and in a normal presentation. We choose the normal. As soon as we left the house I felt the targeting begin, all sorts of emotions, insecurities and a general discomfiting consciousness. It's a challenge to meet the intruding thoughts, expel them without getting imbalanced and focus on one's true desires.

Yal-hune and Skuuinja are getting more than their fair share of stares. It's already rare these days simply not being overweight - much less in perfect physical condition. And although both are dressed to blend in with the current trends, their presence is electrifying the crowd in line waiting to purchase tickets. If they knew real aliens were already among us, I wonder if they would so easily part with their hard earned money to see imaginary ones?

A middle aged woman behind us in line speaks to us. "Are you famous?"

Skuuinja replies instantly, "No. Are you?"

"No, no...I'm sorry, I just thought you might be...you sort of look somewhat familiar..and...well...beautiful and exotic."

Yal-hune interjects, "Thanks so much...you made our day!"

I know Yal-hune doesn't really desire fame and if anything has an aversion to all that fame implies. I also know she always turns around a positive energy directed towards her and returns it with one of her own. Part of me realizes that this little exchange will be included on the "Earth Man and the Emissary" reality show being broadcast to trillions and it makes me queasy upon realizing it. The lack of privacy in the galaxy, really means everyone is observed by large numbers - constantly. Its only on Earth, and other worlds, where the populace is still unaware of these things that the illusion of privacy still exists. The sad truth of it is, we are "famous" despite no action or desire of our own involved. And with such fame comes the visit of beings like Osneegh who hold great hostility towards the races of other worlds and particularly the Confederation world of Htra-deg.

Finally, we have our tickets and make our way into the theatre. The crowd seems younger than I remember. Every other face seems to be a teenager. A group of them in the snack bar line up scope out my companions, and then myself, without even the pretense of casual stares. Yal-hune still seems to draw the most eyes. Her height at a fraction over 6'4" is an immediate eye-grabber. When the rest of her appearance is taken in she is, understandably, quite hard to ignore.

We find seats towards the front, near the center. When the previews begin I realize the volume is way too loud. Theatres are playing the volume as though their audience is already 50 percent deaf. Yal-hune realizes my discomfort and somehow sets up a field that diminishes the volume.

"Thanks." I reply to her actions with my mind.

"My pleasure."

The movie begins and in the first two minutes it reveals itself as an anti-corporate, anti-space exploration hit piece. Dark suits offering a job to a twin during a space funeral for his brother. The evil corporation is looting the resources of Pandora and the military is the hand-tool of choice for this corporate plunder.

I want to bias it horribly. As the movie progresses all the special effects are clearly a tool used to distract and make more palatable the overwhelming negative, anti-US, anti-capitalist message. The film seems like a Jihadist recruitment film. Every supposed victim of America is represented, Indians, Africans, Iraqis, Muslims, Mother Earth - you name it. It's a political correctness propaganda hit-piece designed to shift every viewer another mile to the left of center. To make each naive (na'vi?) child think bad about corporations. With phrases like "Shock and awe" and "Hearts and minds" we see they didn't want to leave any chance that one of the leftist viewers would not realize that this evil corporation was America and this film a leftist fantasy of reprisal against the evil, selfish Americans. Those two lines are probably worth a 100 million in foreign sales receipts and some guaranteed favorable media/leftist press.

I know Cameron's politics and realize this is just his way of trying to sculpt his own reality and indoctrinate others while accumulating money and plaudits from the leftist masses that will eagerly drink this swill without a second thought. My mind is an unpleasant place to be as the movie drags on and on. I watch as the audience cheers the death of the evil Americans in their 'robocop' corporate war machines. Each scene and line has been crafted to twist the minds of the viewers to sway them against the cartoon-depth imperialist corporation and the people that work for it.

Yal-hune and Skuuinja are silent. They absorb all this violence and visual retardation with the look of calm analysis. Skuuinja seems more agitated than Yal-hune, but far less agitated than me. I wonder what on Earth I was thinking of to have gone to see this film.

Skuuinja turns to me and speaks in my mind during the worst of the slaughter scenes towards the end of the movie.

"Relax! Don't let the overshadowers win. They own people like Cameron. You think its a coincidence these aliens are blue skinned? That's the trademark of Norchan overshadowers who work over the film industry - blue aliens. Their goal is to thwart technological progress on Earth. Every Cameron film has been anti-technology. The Norchan overshadowers have used him well to disseminate thought lowering violence and propaganda. Here technology, space travel and corporations are vilified while living in a tree, naked, while biologically connecting with animals is portrayed as more culturally advanced. If the overshadowers can stealthily incorporate symbolic bestialism into a film and simultaneously get the audience to value it - those overshadowers get a 'bonus' - overshadowing time with the celebrities or politicans who have more money, resources, fame or power.

Your reactions are normal because you are sensitive to all the negative intent in this film masking as morality. Cameron is just one of many overshadowed human puppets. He is not a figure to get angry about - he is rather an object of pity. His mind is nowhere near strong enough to resist the overshadowing and has created an unhealthy parasitic relationship as they exploit him as a portal for their anti-human, anti-technology agenda and they reward him materially. Yet as he further travels the material path, the less happy he is. In his mind, this film will make him lots of money and has a good message. A win-win. He is completely blind to its evil."

"Thanks Skuuinja. I'm sorry. It's just getting to me."

"What's more, you needed to see this propaganda and its results firsthand, as did I, to realize just how horrible it is. These theatres seem so far away on my world. Unreal places - Earth was like a big video game and the people were all somehow unreal. I look around, see the very young and older targeted from this end now. I get to see that these theatres are all too real and the people in them are real flesh and blood, with real lives. You did not choose this movie by accident. You did similar propaganda efforts and swayed the masses with the power of your mind. When you watch this film, all the evil you see in it is a reflection of your own efforts to push agendas you believed in, in the past."

I know she's right and its horrifying. This film, by typical standards, has great production quality, special effects and more - but its message absolutely...well it simply sucks. And after all is said and done the CGI and effects are just window dressing for the message. Which means I did the same - use technology to disperse a bad message and make it easier to be swallowed, hook, line and sinker.

Yal-hune seems preoccupied. She is doing something else while she is watching this movie, I just don't know what.

"That's easy enough to answer. I've been following the overshadowing trails, here, in this theatre, and traveled back in time as the movie was being filmed, written and produced. It's quite an intricate set of paths and leads to a number of worlds - all of them quite opposed to humanity and Earth."

"Did you plan to do something or was it just curiosity?"

"Interfering with these things would be counterproductive. Each human must develop themselves enough, learn these basic energy principles and then defend their own consciousness. And for all the evil you see in the film, I see the good elements more inspired folks snuck in."

"Such as? I don't see anything good here."

"Just the realization that there are other inhabited worlds out there is already beneficial to humanity, who have been led to believe they are all alone. Add to that the general appreciation of the beauty and diversity of infinity."

"The good/evil ratio still seems quite imbalanced in my book."

"Yes, but that is for you. Others will have different needs. Those who still are exploitive and selfish will see this as a very moral film. It will appeal to them and help them to balance and identify their own selfishness, violent natures or what-have-you. You know that everything is equal parts good and evil, this film included. You need to take it, embrace it and make it into a positive for you. All things, regardless of their level of development or level of expression can be used as tools to further one's own development and help make one that much more infinite."

I know she's right, but I realize I am too close to these things to see them balanced. I've seen too many die because of stupidity, hate and propaganda. Watched as American children are spoon fed self-hatred, depression and idyllic portrayals of tribalism and communism. I've read, for decades now, the unfiltered reports about the abysmal state of the planet. A world where, even now, more people don't use toilets and crouch in the woods like neanderthals did to relieve themselves. A world where technology, glorified in the first half of the twentieth century and which promised to elevate the hungry, aboriginal masses and end the dark ages, now is portrayed only in a negative light. Now the capitalist system, which gave man a means of living unparalleled, now is being converted into the monster of society by those who would see man live in trees again, swinging like a monkey.

A film like this is the exact opposite of Atlas Shrugged. It's a tool for the overshadowers to turn Earth into an even greater dystopia and undo the work of many who have spent their lives to elevate man from jungle savagery. It's Pocahontas, any Michael Moore film and Robocop all rolled into one big immoral, lying rip off.

Yal-hune looks into my mind and sees the hate still there fermenting and threatening to spread as my consciousness watches the rest of movie and the credits roll up the screen.

I just sit in the chair and let the rest of the theatre empty itself. I fight to recapture equilibrium. I fight to expel the hate that the film engenders within me towards those that created it. The overshadowers are targeting me mercilessly and as they introduce thoughts of great hatred they make themselves more visible. One slip up - one over the top thought is all it takes for me to catch them and expel them. I sense their frustration at not having been more successful.

Yal-hune, aware that my battle is over, turns to me, "Shall we go?"

"Yes. Let's go."

A young girl, all of 7 or 8 years old , comes up to Yal-hune.

"Wow! Are you from planet Pandora?"

I look at her and see she is very intuitive and inspired. She can sense Yal-hune's differences and has no thoughts to yet dissuade her from her natural intuition and recognition.

Yal-hune crouches down and smiles. "No, little one, I am from the world of Htra-deg."

"Wow!"

"Danielle....get over here!"

"Bye!!!"

Danielle runs and catches up to her parents now passing through the lobby and turns around to take another quick peek at Yal-hune.

I turn to Yal-hune and realize she was very conscious of her honest revelation, "You did that on purpose!"

"Yes, I did. The truth will serve her well in her future."

Skuuinja turns to us, "C'mon let's go get an ice cream!"

Her joy at the simplest human activities is contagious. In her eyes I see her joy and excitement and before I know it, I see it with the same joy and wonder."

"Okay...lets!"

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Epic! Wicked! Sick! (Part 78)

Yal-hune never ceases to amaze me. In the face of any adversity, she remains on equilibrium and her mind shows its depth as it works to counter and compensate imbalances. As a living example she has provided me with an invaluable tool. It's one thing to know rationally the correct course of behavior, it is another thing entirely to follow such a course when emotions from one's pasts rise to the surface and demand an entirely different course of action.

In the short span of time since our unhappy visitor's departure, Yal-hune has taken the event and transformed it into a catalyst for all sorts of good. That is one of the things I love about her - her ability to take unexpected lemons and make the most delicious glass of lemonade one has ever had the pleasure to taste.

My cell phone rings as I walk outside to retrieve the mail. It's Tech1.

"Your hunches paid off, and we have a lead on Isis. BigBro turned up a group of emails sent from public libraries in Tucson to the Galactic Mapping Project at ASU. She's set up a meeting with the director of the Project in two days at the University at 2 PM."

"That's great! What did the emails say? How much did she already reveal?"

"Not much. She merely mentioned some 'ancient documents' recently uncovered in an 'archaeological dig' that might be of interest to the project. She was very discreet. It was only because you had us put extra emphasis on the nearby institutions that we caught it."

"We've already put some agents up in Tucson, which can be used, if needed, on short notice. I doubt if she will return to the libraries now that she has her meeting, but if she does, we'll grab her beforehand."

"Don't. Let her be. If you take her, there's still Encyclopedia who will very likely be free to do something more rash. We need to tail her and get them only when they are known to be together."

"Understood."

"I'm sorry, old habits die hard. I'm so used to giving orders..."

"That's okay. You'll always be Tech1 as far as I'm concerned, even if I do hold the designation."

"Keep me informed on any updates. I'll be there at the university when the meeting is held. I want to get a chance to talk to her. She's a good person and her heart is in the right place, she just doesn't have a read yet on the true state of the world."

"Say hi to Yal-hune for me, will you? I miss her. Everyone at SDAI misses her. She's not an easy person to know and then let slip out of one's life completely. Do you think you could persuade her to stop by Shamballa for a visit?"

"I'll pass on your greetings and message and see what I can do."

"Thanks. Damn."

"What?"

"Do you ever wake up and realize just how damned lucky you are? Do you even have a sense of measure to be able to really comprehend the difference?"

"Yeah. I know. But, I'll tell you something...one gets used to anything - and a lot faster than one would think. You remember when you first got to fly the Borealis? How you thought it was like the best Christmas morning you could remember and nothing could top it? Then after a few weeks the thrill and mystique has worn off and flying it is fine and all, but no longer 'Christmas morning' all over again?"

"Yes, I remember."

"Well living with an extraterrestrial - a gorgeous, divine extraterrestrial woman, who has more powers than a Marvel or DC comics super-heroine, becomes much the same way - absolutely, plain-Jane normal. And with normal comes a whole host of problems one glazed over when one was just starry-eyed."

"Sure, I believe you...but still...there are moments behind the Borealis when its still Christmas morning."

"And there are moments with Yal-hune, and now Skuuinja, where I realize just how lucky I am too."

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For making it easier not to hate you."

We both laugh aloud.

"I've got some information about our galaxy neighborhood to input into the SDAI computer system archive. The universe is a lot larger place then we thought and there are a lot of worlds that are potential security threats to Earth. Life was a LOT simpler just dealing with threats like Iran, North Korea, China and Russia. Even Al Qaeda seems positively insignificant next to the threats that have faced us all these years - centuries even - that we have not known about whatsoever.

"Sure. Anytime you want to stop by, your access codes are still working."

"Thanks. Maybe I can convince Yal-hune and Skuuinja to stop by for awhile as I update the central computer."

"That would be wicked."

"Wicked?"

"You know...Epic! Wicked! Sick!"

"Ah...you've been updating the slang files?"

"No...we got a new hire, a replacement for Isis in the linguistics department. She's 19 and is a veritable fountain of current slang."

"Ah, I see. 19? She must have had high sourcing credentials? Well remember the more things change, the more they stay the same."

"Yes. She's the daughter of someone high up out at Langely who knows about SDAI. she was put on the fast-track."

"Indeed. Keep an eye on her. Ease her into the information stream."

"Yeah...keep her out of the loop. No sweat. I already have her eating out of my hand. She's 'hella thrilled' about being here."

"I'll bet."

I laugh some more. It's always fun to see change as it manifests and juxtaposes itself alongside the old."

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Perrier or Peril? (Part 77)

Since Yal-hune completed our house I have a whole new set of perspectives that have been afforded by the vistas the mind views without overshadowing. My overwhelming desire when I am at home is no longer to apprehend Isis and retrieve the Atlantean texts, but merely to work out the largest imbalances stored in my energy anatomy. I know if I do this, everything else - becomes that much easier and is the path to ever more enjoyable/interesting and productive lifetimes.

Once one understands this process. The action/reaction routine betrays its unintelligence. Like a dog chasing its own tail only to become exhausted and accomplish nothing, reacting emotionally to events in one's life is the exact same circle spin. It only adds to the imbalances that attracted and are carried by those events in the first place. Making them continually snowball into larger problems, more painful imbalanced emotional states and a constant state of imbalance.

"Yal-hune?"

"Yes?"

"I realize that our being together here at this time indicates we might have been together back then in Atlantis. Do you, too, have a past here that needs balancing? Is that part of the reason for your selection of Earth to act as Emissary?"

"Yes. This is not my first time on Earth. I have lived here in Lemuria and Atlantis, when the technocracy and culture were at greater levels of expression than now. And yes, we were together in Atlantis. I won't tell you more than that, for you still can gain great benefits by self-recognition of this past."

"Do you know how much I love you?"

"Yes, I do. What's more you know I know."

"I just can say it more freely now. No interference to make me doubt or hold back."

"I know. I love you too...infinitely...and I want you to know how much I appreciate these circumstances we find ourselves in. Working alongside you and helping you to recapture your true identity and consciousness has been as rewarding for me as it has been for you."

"I've been thinking. What if I beat Isis to the punch? What if I go public with the Atlantean texts and technologies first, but do so in such a way that diminishes the credibility of them? Include other materials that are artificial or contain false data. So when analyzed the valid will be deemed invalid? Would this work or would it be another negative replay?"

"Distortion, deception and lies are, generally, never a positive course of action. Even if one's intentions are noble to save a planet from ecological catastrophe. You woould be no better than those who produce global warming data out of wholecloth merely to justify their own belief system and acquire power over others. It is not absolutely certain theat the release of the Atlantean technologies will destroy the moon or result in disaster. There are a number of outcomes that actually turn out quite progressive and positive for the Earth after that scenario unfolds."

"There are?"

"Yes. And one has to hold in one's mind that everything will work out best - because it always does. Even the circumstances one perceives as 'horrible' become 'wonderful' when balanced and added to the ol' knowledge and experience banks."

"I agree. One then just wonders what is the best path to travel to these ever-greater perspectives and experiences. Like navigating a tightrope one doesn't wish to get too imbalanced for risk of not being able to recover and descending from a place where recovery is that much more difficult."

"Recover is always possible if one has the strength of mind to master the imbalances. It's the toughest lesson of life and ever new experiences come which try to force one into an imbalanced state. However, once this principle is so firmly entrenched into one's being, it acts as a guidepost to extraction from the deepest depths one may find oneself. It is the key that unlocks any door and the ladder that elevates you higher and higher on your endless passage through the infinite."

"That was very beautifully put, thank you."

"Yes, but as soon as you step out frm under these walls, the obsessions, overshadowers and discarnate entities will cling to you and try and influence your consciousness. They will exploit all your stored imbalances and siphon energy from you when you regenerate them and strengthen these imbalances. The downside of having a shielded structure is that it isolates you and you don't get the opportunity to fight these influences with your own mind. If one stayed here all the time, one's abilities would atrophy over time. One would become reliant on technology to do for one, what one's mind should be able to do for itself."

"I know this is true. What is perplexing is the knowledge that man's mind is like a walkie-talkie and that it is constantly receiving input that is not of it's own origin. And that this creates universal almost schizophrenic results as everyone's mind combats all these external signals."

Skuuinja walks in with several shopping bags in tow. A bag from Dillard's is over one shoulder and two grocery bags are held by her other arm.

"Allow me to assist you."

I walk over to where Skuuinja is standing looking at the two of us.

"Ah, the overshadowing shielding is up. Very nice. Do you realize this is the only place on Earth so equipped? Amazing. A planet of 6.7 billion and only one structure with shielding! I expect that some of my former comrades will be particularly targeting those who enter and leave this structure."

"That's a given. With the good comes the bad. When a child comes to school with clean new shoes, there will always be those who want nothing more than to stomp on those shoes and scuff them up."

"Mmmm. This is more protected than the Norchan shielding technology. Do you mind if I ask what is different? It seems to shield from certain other influences than just overshadowing."

Yal-hune answers Skuuinja without hesitation.

"This shielding incorporates a discarnate entity resistance as well as the overshadowing signal resistance found in Norchan technology. Unique fields are generated which act as barriers for wandering and lost souls. That is why on your former world the minds can still be influenced by those loitering souls."

"I wonder if my homeworld had incorporated these technologies, whether overshadowing would still continue? I suspect the strongest sustaining force for overshadowing comes from these past residents who still only know overshadowing and don't wish to see it end. This is a refreshing clarity."

I think about her words and it's true, this is very refreshing. I also sense that the slight hint of hostility that normally exists somewhat between Skuuinja and Yal-hune has vanished. Clearly, the tensions were the result of discarnate entity influence.

Yal-hune is aware of something.

"Prepare yourself. We are going to have a unfriendly visitor."

Skuuinja does something with her wrist device and I wonder just what sort of visitor Yal-hune means.

A being appears in our living room. He is very tall, thin and definitely not human. He is dressed in a light blue metallic two piece, that looks very sixties mod. He has bluish skin and straight white hair that looks more translucent than white.

"Hello. Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Osneegh. I come from the planet E,ddij. We have been watching you and your story as it unfolds and have decided we don't like it. We don't like humans, nor Norchans and especially not any being from Htra-deg. Your shielded zoo, affords you no real protection - as you can see - and this show and yourselves are all a farcical embarassment to the galaxy. We would destroy you all, or better yet - this entire world - so that the galaxy would not have to suffer more of it, but we realize such an act would come with repercussions. So instead we come here to officially declare our objection to this exploitive farce. The messages and beliefs you live by are proven meaningless by the weakness of your technocracy."

He says all this in a native tongue completely unfamiliar, but my neuro-transmitter and data absorption about the galaxy's various races and tongues permit me to understand his every word. I feel no fear, however I am curious as to the failure of the house security system, as well as the extra protection we are supposed to have received from the Confederation to prevent these aliens from appearing all over the place.

Skuuinja has her hand on her wrist device and clearly some sort of weapon is employed within. Yal-hune has surrounded all of us with a field of energy that is different from others I have seen her erect. This field is pink and has a particular distortion to it. I realize Yal-hune, as usual, is one step ahead of our visitor and knows his abilities, weaponry and what type of field to erect to counteract them.

"That is all. As a parting message, know this - all you who watch this show are sub-sentient cretin."

Osneegh of E'ddij disappears. A blue field instantly appears within the house, the moment he leaves and is all encompassing.

"What is that?"

"That is the decontamination ray that just removed all molecules that came into contact with Osneegh. His race is incompatible with most other life forms and breathing molecules that have E'ddij DNA structure within them, induce illness and eventually death in most other beings. A decontamination field was incorporated into the house just for events like this."

I smile and look over at Yal-hune, "Hmm. And who might have known it would come in so handy?"

I know if I were outside I would be fearful - or more correctly put, I would be influenced to be fearful. But for some reason I find the whole affair funny.

Skuuinja, if you will return to my brother's ship he has something to discuss with you.

"Sure, Yal-hune...I'm off!"

She depresses a button and she is gone.

Yal-hune is in my mind. "The device on Skuuinja's wrist has scanned and recorded the E'ddij garment and fields that were employed in his transport. The data will be used to update the data banks and produce effective shielding. E'ddij, as you now know, is not a Confederation world and is rather hostile to the Confederation. My brother's ship and all the Confederation quarantine enforcement craft were each simultaneously distracted with disruptions to their craft and systems."

I scan what I know of E'ddij. It is a large world, very old, very isolated in its part of the galaxy. No aliens are permitted on E'ddij. Like many worlds their Technology is a combination of biological, mental and mechanical apparatus.
There are many worlds the Confederation does not have much data on, and E'ddij is one of those worlds.

I turn to Yal-hune, "Well that was exciting."


"Indeed. And productive. All these events have concealed positive sides. Now the Confederation has the first close up scan of a being and the technology from E'ddij. Within minutes a repeat performance will be impossible as the home's computers - and those on the Confederation ships are updated with the new data.

"I grab the bottle of Perrier on the micro-thin table beside me."

Yal-hune turns to me. "If you mention or think about Perrier one more time this is going to look like a big advertisement for Perrier."

"Yes, I know. I already know the title of this episode."

I smile at Yal-hune and she has already gathered the information from my mind and smiles back."

Saturday, January 09, 2010

Signs (Part 76)

I am almost back at my SUV. After an amazingly fit sleep I have hiked back to my vehicle - hoping it is still there. I met more members of the Chieftain's tribe before I left and as I said my good byes. It was surreal. I was a hit with some of the maidens who wanted me to promise to return some day soon. Apparently, being popular with the Chieftain is the prerequisite to being a suitable suitor in their eyes. I promised the Chieftain (and the maidens) I would stop by when I discovered the full meaning of the Chieftain's dreams. Whether this happens in a week, a month or a year - I have no idea.

I pass the outcroppings where my car should now be visible. It is still there! I probably should thank the spirits for looking out for it during this sojourn. As I approach I see it is covered in heavy-duty dust. A towel retrieved from the back quickly clears the windshield and glass. I'm exhausted and the air conditioning does its best to revive me - along with a bottle of Perrier stored in the center console.

"Aaah."

As I get back onto the highway, it all starts to seem far away. The two worlds don't peacefully coexist in my mind. The modern world is much more stressful and hectic. Even driving and listening to modern music seems stressful. I switch off the CD player and listen to my own thoughts. Images of the shifting stars and sun refusing to set from the Chief's dreams enter my consciousness and are reviewed. Both seem almost like catastrophic portents. Those two features of all the elements of his dreams disturb me the most. And more disturbing is that I am supposed to be able to avert or understand these things. Unfortunately, even a Doctorate in astrophysics is not anywhere near the necessary preparation for understanding something that could cause the stars to dance around in the sky like fireflies or cause the sun to reverse its course in the sky. Both are completely impossible events by all accepted scientific understanding and theories.

And what about Isis? What does she have to do with this? Her presence in the dream, carrying a book - clearly one of the purloined Atlantean texts - which she believes will somehow cause the stars to behave themselves?

"Oh my God!"

It suddenly occurs to me that Isis' book reveals star patterns from the days of ancient Atlantis. She is planning to show the star patterns to some place where the stars jump around like fireflies. The only place I have seen stars move quickly is at a planetarium when they show time passing. Could she already be in communication with one of the observatories? Is this how she plans to reveal to the scientific community that Atlantis did exist and was far more technocratic than we are currently?

I get on the horn with the current Tech1 on a scrambled SDAI channel.

"...check out the observatories. All of them. Monitor their communications and get Techs out to every major observatory within a day's driving distance. Once they left, I bet they didn't take any planes, for fear of the closer scrutiny."

I listen to Tech1 brief me on what they've done so far and, not too surprisingly, they have no leads or clues yet. They are smart and are not going to leave clues or tracks. They know how to play the game as well as anyone.

After a long drive I arrive back at my home, now shielded from overshadowing signals.

I pull into the garage and Yal-hune is already in my mind.

"I'm out back in the pool doing my laps."

I must confess I have derived great enjoyment from watching Yal-hune do her daily exercise regimen and I make my way towards the backyard, stopping only to retrieve some cold Perrier. As soon as I see Yal-hune, I feel at home.

"You have a fun time?"

"Scan my mind. I'll review it for you."

"Fine."

I feel her mind enter mine and I quickly review the events of the past day. I review each dream as the Chieftain described them and I wrap up with my arrival back home.

"Did you get all that?"

"And more."

"So...what do you think?"

"I think you made some new friends."

"Yes, well that's not what I was focused on...what do you think about the dreams? Have you been hovering in front of the Chief telling him about the Sun Spirit and the Moon Spirit? And what about their legends? Do you know anything about whether or not their people were descendants of an extraterrestrial?"

All the while, Yal-hune hasn't missed a stride. She races back and forth across the pool and any observer would never know the conversation we are having while she swims laps and I recline and watch her.

"The dreams show signs of significance. He is seeing one of Earth's possible futures."

"What future is that?"

"One in which the planet loses its moon, starts orbiting faster and the sun returns faster and faster to the sky creating day and night in faster intervals."

"Are we on a collision course with this future?"

"Yes, actually."

"How?"

"It's Isis. Once she went rogue, Earth's futures have been rapidly oscillating and changing. Those texts in her possession are a fundamental element for drastic change. Each day she is generating up new outcomes and futures."

"Something she does causes the moon to be destroyed?"

"All the futures where she successfully reveals Atlantis and the information contained in those books have drastically altered futures."

"Will you tell me where she is, so we can retrieve the books?"

"No. And I'm surprised you waited this long to ask me outright."

"I knew you were going to say no, so why bother?"

"Why indeed? It's not Isis alone here acting in an imaginary vacuum, you, too, have a large responsibility to carry. Your pasts with her are not the most positive and this lifetime now, where you chase her - is certainly not a positive replay. You need to look closer at your pasts with her and then you can change the magnetics between you. You drove her to this action by your refusal to go public. That was the catalyst. These futures are largely determined by both yours and her actions."

"Where's Skuuinja?"

I change the subject. For some reason I don't want to think about my negative pasts with Isis.

"She went to the market. I think she enjoys doing all these very human activities and experiencing them herself."

I watch Yal-hune get out of the pool and dry herself with a large, blue, heated towel. I'm not sure if Yal-hune is a bit distant or whether it's me. I'm sure once I get back inside the house, I'll know the answer.

As I enter the house my thoughts become very clear. And Yal-hune smiles in my mind. It's hard to explain how one can "feel" a smile, but trust me - one can.

"Yes, you have been carrying some pretty potent baggage there. You really need to work on analyzing your thoughts and rejecting those you know are intended to create dissension, insecurity or frustration. It's actually quite easy to find one's own thoughts after one filters out the harmful background noise."

"I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. You've been through quite a bit and lots of 'spirits' are hanging on to you when you leave from under this roof."

The fears about the future have vanished, leaving me with intellect and reason.

"What is the best course of action to avoid the Chief's dreams from becoming this world's reality?"

"There are too many variables to say for certain at this time. The first course of action is you need to address your past."

"You say Isis and I have a negative past here, what was it? When was it?"

"That's for you to figure out. Being told these things will not give you the same benefit as when you piece these things together yourself."

I know she's right. In this environment I can think clearly and all the little nagging voices are completely gone. I feel better too. It's clear that overshadowing has a physical element that is destructive to one's health.

Atlantis! That's it. The past was in Atlantis. I was in a position of power and refused her access to certain technologies, because I felt she was not ready for them. She stole the technologies and...something really bad happened - I can't quite put my finger on it.

"Yes, you are on the right track."

"This business with the moon and the stars...it's tied in somehow to something that happened back in Atlantis."

"Yes...many technologies were employed in Atlantis that were far in advance of today. Your world has no real understanding or history of your moon and what it thinks it knows - is all wrong."

"And now with Isis running around with Atlantean secrets - whatever happened bad then gets a chance to regenerate and happen again in a new manner."

"Something like that. At least it opens the door to another infinite set of potential outcomes tied into that particular past."

"What if we can't find Isis and Encyclopedia in time? What if they release technology that alters Earth's current trajectory?"

"Remember, in the infinite sense, there are no good or bad outcomes - those biases only exist from unique perspectives."

"And what about the Norchans and the likes of Ketta-nu-ma or worse - Lal-atha? If they have bad dreams about Earth achieving technological gains and have been working to keep the planet overshadowed, overweight and addicted to television, games and mind pacifiers of similar caliber - how will they react if Isis is successful?"

"That's what makes life so exciting. One never quite knows exactly how it will turn out. The relative good and relative evil one learns to deal with and master keep one constantly striving to better oneself and assist others in doing the same."

She's right. Fear doesn't exist in this house and I realize that all that truly matters is how I deal with all these things and use them to build a better, more experienced me."

Yal-hune walks over and plants a big kiss on my lips.

"What was that for?"

"I enjoy kissing the real you."

Friday, January 08, 2010

Spirits of the Stars (Part 75)

The hospitality of my hosts is exceptional. I am treated as though I am family, when, in reality, I am a perfect stranger. I eat a small bit of baked hare and it tastes better than I expect. I speak with the Chieftain and his family until about 10 at night. The windstorm comes and goes in intensity, but out here, away from the cities, the winds traverse the desert, canyons and cliffs with a ferociousness not normally encountered. While many would call these people modern day savages, It's easy to see that they have much the same insights as any city-dweller, merely couched in a different framework. They are also more spiritually intuitive and curious than the average modern day man. The power of a few dreams has brought me here and as I lie down with a beautifully woven blanket, listening to to the "wind spirits sing" outside, I try to analyze the Chieftain's dreams and what they mean. Is it possible Norchan overshadowers targeted him and gave him these dreams? They have the power and technology to do that - but it seems highly unlikely. For what purpose?

The artifacts here are fascinating. Some of the beliefs of the Chieftain and his people coincide with extraterrestrial visitation of the Earth. The Chieftain believes the founder of his people was, himself, a being from the stars who joined in spirit with a human woman, creating the many spirits of his people. That is why he is completely normal about me walking with women from the stars. All my preconceptions about this meeting have been completely shattered.

I start to doze off. The smells, wind and the flickering oil lamp hanging from a rope, rocking gently from side to side as the wind spirits brush past, create a strange mood. There is more at work here than I realize. There is a peace here in this cliff, a remnant of previous civilizations. A peace modern man has been denied.

I can almost believe in all the spirits of my guests. Nature here takes on a more vivid reality. I think of Yal-hune and Skuuinja before I drift off and they know I am okay, even though I didn't plan to spend the night in an Indian cliff village. My eyes close and I fall into a serene sleep.

I awaken and the storm has broken. I look at my Yacht-master and the time reads 3 am, precisely. The Chieftain is not there and I hear his voice outside the cave, "Spirits of the stars, I ask for guidance."

I get up, toss my blanket aside and walk towards the cave entrance. The stars are out in force - what appear like trillions of them in the perfect darkness. I see the Chieftain and he has his arms raised.

"What's up Chief?"

"Oh..it is you. I was appealing to the Star Spirits for guidance."

"Guidance in regards to what?"

"I had another dream. It left me confused."

"Would you care to share it with me?"

"Certainly. I was traveling with my people. We were going on a hunt. Game was scarce and we came to a enormous river. Some of my people wanted to cross the river and others did not, believing the journey too risky. I awoke before I knew which path to travel. I asked for the Stars to guide me and suddenly here you are."

"I used to have all sorts of wild dreams with many hidden messages. Each dream was like a lesson or many lessons which I needed to learn in order to confront certain things. I was certain someone was choreographing those dreams."

"What do you think the dream means?"

"I think it is about destiny and responsibility. You are responsible for your people and do not want to see them starve, you also do not want to see them sacrificed for an unknown. The river represents change and you are filled with apprehension as to whether change will be beneficial or result in tragedy."

"Yes."

"And I think you realize that there will be a bit of both. The voices opposed to crossing are those who are not yet ready for the changes. Those in favor, are. You are placed in a position to make the decision and this burden lies heavy on your spirit."

"Yes, I think you have revealed to me the meaning. This is the first night in which I have not dreamed of you or the women from the stars. I think now that you have arrived they will stop. I thank you for coming out here. You are a good Spirit."

The Chieftain looks tired and returns inside the cave. I linger awhile and watch the stars. So many stars, so many more worlds orbiting each. It is hard to conceive it and give it a real sense of scale. The flickering light from the oil lamp barely makes its way outside the cave entrance, but where it does, brief flickers of light illumine the total darkness. Then when the flicker grows dark only the starlight keeps the world from complete and utter darkness.

Sunday, January 03, 2010

Smoke Dreams (Part 74)

The Chieftain looks much as one would expect an old Indian to look. He wears pants that look like they are made of real deer skin and a handmade long sleeve shirt and decorative headband with intricate geometric patterns.

"You are the one who walks with beings from the stars."

For the first time in my life I am tempted to use my mind to read his thoughts before I answer him. This whole affair with Isis, Encyclopedia and the Agency has me skittish. I reprimand myself for even debating it.

"Yes. I walk with women from the stars. You are the Chieftain who has had an interesting dream to tell me. And you knew where I fuel up to send someone to contact me - did that too come to you in a dream?"

"Yes. You have been in my dreams now for over two weeks."

"That's rather strange, don't you think?"

"Yes. However, my people rely on me to communicate with the spirits via dreams. The spirits wanted me to contact you and tell you my dreams. Here, sit and make yourself comfortable. The dust storm outside sent you to me."

"It did?"

"Yes, the spirit of the wind knew you would never find my home without assistance. So it drove you here at just the right moment as you were passing my home without seeing it."

I sit down, Indian style, on a blanket and several pillows which have vivid and colorful native designs upon them. I spot a small stove further into the cave and its smoke pipe reaches up to the roof of the cave where a natural crack vents the smoke out.

I realize this man is very insightful. His gray hair is tied into a ponytail and the sun has weathered his face beyond his years. He speaks English in a way I have never quite heard. His accent, the way he pauses at certain words, all very unusual. He's probably in his early sixties but looks 20 years older due to the many wrinkles the sun and time have placed on his face.

"The wind was very punctual. I was just passing this cliff face and would never have seen this cave. I thought I was still another ten minutes walk away."

"The Spirits never fail us."

"Tell me about these dreams you have had."

"The dreams have come to me, as I mentioned for two weeks. I have had several different dreams, 5 dreams in all, so far. Normally, my dreams are for those in my tribe - my people. People I can help. This was a strange and special occurrence and I realized the spirits wanted me to contact you."

"That is very interesting."

The sense of being out of time and place is strong. As the winds whistle through the cave's crevice vent, with this man before me, it feels like a century or more earlier, when the Indians were the only ones who roamed these parts.

"In the first dream I was walking on another world. The skies were red as if flames filled them and giant plants soared to reach them. I saw you there and you were trying to talk to a man who was very angry. He was very tall - even taller than you by another few feet. He wasn't human. A woman with pink skin appeared beside you suddenly - as if by magic. I awoke and didn't know what the dream meant. I still don't, but I know I am supposed to tell you and you will know."

"Thanks, I do appreciate all the effort you went to bring me here. I will listen to all the dreams and perhaps then I will be able to give the dreams some meaning."

"Okay. The second dream I was with my people and we were celebrating a marriage. However, the couple who were to be married were not there - but you were there with two women from the stars. You were smiling - much as you are now - and you seemed to know me. You told my people that the couple had been delayed, but that they would return soon. I awoke and again I did not know the meaning."

"Fascinating. Where are your people anyway? Where is your village?"

"These cliffs all around here are home to my village. We are an ancient race of cliff dwellers. The white man does not know we still exist. Our homes are here in these caves. Our people do not travel outside our village much. About 130 years ago a man visited us, much as you are visiting us now, and he married one of our people. He learned to speak our language and we learned to speak English. Since then all our people speak with two tongues. This allows us to travel and barter for those things we need that we can't make for ourselves."

I realize their homes here would be completely unrecognizable under even the closest satellite scrutiny or even a flyover by helicopter or small plane. It seems impossible that a whole tribe could exist without anyone aware of it, but stranger things have happened and I know their village here is, for all intents, invisible.

"Tell me the 3rd dream."

"The 3rd dream showed me you and your 2 women from the stars. Two spirits were beside me. One was a yellow spirit and the other was a green spirit. The yellow spirit told me you and the women from the stars were great evil spirits and would destroy my people. The green spirit told me that you three were good spirits and would bring great blessings upon my people. I was forced to make a decision. I did not know which spirit to believe. Then I saw Nimsupa come up to me. She is my brother's son's daughter and only a few years old. She told me that the yellow spirit had tried to trip her and make her fall off the path and off the cliff. Then I knew that you three were good spirits and that the green spirit spoke truth and the yellow spirit was bad. I awoke."

"Amazing. And the 4th dream?"

"The 4th dream was the longest and most confusing. I was standing atop a cliff near her and looking at the spirit of the sun as it set in the west. As I watch the sun stops and reverses its course. The sun is rising back up into the sky. The spirit of the moon is angry because it will not come out from its home unless the spirit of the sun returns to its home. It was growing hotter and the animals were restless. The crops and the spirits of the plants were also very unhappy. The sun spirit fell and rose again and again, very quickly. I asked for some spirit to give me a sign and the pink woman from the stars appeared floating in the air - with no wings - and she told me that the moon spirit was old and was fighting with the sun spirit. She said the moon spirit would leave completely and the sun spirit would return faster into the sky each day. She told me to tell you and that you would speak with the sun spirit and ask him to befriend the moon spirit again. She took me to where you buy fuel for your motorcar and how far away it was and to get to it. I awoke and wrote down the names and instructions she gave me."

"And the last dream?"

"It was night time and I was looking up at the stars. Without warning, all the stars began moving around the sky, as though they were fireflies. It was all so wrong, but I did not know what to do to make them return to where they should be. I could shout and they wouldn't hear me. I turn around when I hear a voice. You were there with a woman who was called Isis. You told me to tell you about the dancing stars and that when I did, you would know what to do. You were very polite, just as you are now and you were wearing the same clothes. The woman Isis held a book under her arm. She believed the book knew how to appease the spirits. That dream was two nights ago and I sent one of the people from our village, who is protected by strong spirits and who visits the city once every few months for certain supplies, to give you the message."


"Thank you Chieftain. I will write down all those dreams and see if I can find the meaning."

"Here, have some hare and we will continue our talk with food in our bellies and while you await the wind spirit to decide when it is best for you to leave. I think the spirits want you to spend the night here with me and my people."

He opens his stove and I see he has been cooking a rabbit all this time. For the first time I notice two older women emerge from deeper in the cave along with a small girl. They were incredibly silent or the cave is much deeper than I realize.

I do not want to offend him by not accepting and my mind is busy trying to memorize the details of the Chieftain's dreams. The wind spirit seems intent on not giving me any choice. This dust storm keeps howling and I am amazed at the natural protection this cliff cave provides.

"This is my wife and her sister. This young girl is my daughter."

"Family, this is 'He who Walks on Two Worlds' and he is going to stay here with us until the spirits decide it is time for him to leave."

"Pleased to make acquaintance." The old Indian woman says with an old-world accent that sounds vaguely Texan. While she does the child stares at me unabashedly and I realize how unusual my clothes and appearance must seem. I smile at her and she smiles back with a marvelous smile.

Saturday, January 02, 2010

Trails (Part 73)

The skies are crimson and magenta. A cold wind pushes on my back as I make my way through the arid wastes. I hear the wind brush past my ears, whispering, and I feel it push the hairs on the back of my neck with unseen hands. I adjust my leather jacket's collar, lifting it up to protect myself from this chilly violation of my being.

The trail is hard to find. Two centuries of floods, sunshine and the winds scratchy fingers have sculpted new paths and erased the old ones. As my legs complain about their task, I trek through a canyon at the foot of a jagged cliff face. The dust is going to be a major problem very soon if the winds keep picking up. The sky in the distance is brown - a bad sign. I have about two minutes before a dust storm will make progress impossible.

It all began this morning, when I met a strange Indian where I fuel my vehicles. He was rather tense and distraught and mentioned that he knew I shared bread with women from the stars. He said I needed to meet a chieftain of his tribe who had an important dream to share with me and even told him to wait for me at this gas station where I would appear at a certain time. I was cynical at this point, naturally, until he mentioned Isis' name. He told me to meet the chieftain an hour before sunset at his village. The directions he gave were to no known village I am aware of, and I know the locations and land of most of the Indian reservations in the state. The trail I am supposed to recognize is easily centuries old, and I suspect once was followed by Conquistadors as they sought, in vain, for the seven cities of gold. My SUV, a half-hour's march back behind me, seems like it might as well be hundreds of miles away. This Chieftain better be on the level, or I am in heap big trouble.

I take my water bottle and pour some of its contents on a handkerchief. I tie the wet handkerchief tightly around my nose and mouth. It should afford me some small protection. As the dust storm approaches I look for some spot that can provide a measure of cover in the cliff face, until it subsides. I see a small crevice sculpted out of the rust colored rocks, about fifty yards up near a plateau, and make my way towards it.

As I get closer, I see it is more than just a crevice. It is a small cave entrance. I quicken my pace and already it is hard to see. The dust buffets my skin, my eyes squint and I am relieved I bothered to look for shelter not even twenty seconds later, when it would have been impossible to spot.

I enter into the cave. It is twisted and well protected from the dust storm after I get just five feet into it. The walls are smooth and the cave is not dark. I wonder if it is some form of phosphorus mineral or some other explanation. Then I realize I smell smoke.

"Welcome to my home."