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."