Your key is intentionally tuned to gateway entrances, but from time to time over the centuries, it appears that certain weather patterns and magnetic and gravitational combinations have also given random access to gates, which may be how they were discovered in the first place.
However, over the past couple of centuries, we have secured all the gates we are aware of on our planet. There are possibilities there may be some in the deepest depths of our oceans or within caves or glacial fissures we have not yet discovered, but each of the gates we know about have a Guardian assigned.
You have met The Gatekeeper. It is her job to help the Guardians find and secure gates as well as keeping tabs on the known dimensions who are either already part of the Dimensional Alliance Council or who are developing to a point that they may be considered for membership. A large part of her job is overseeing the effort to be sure the gate system is secure, as well as assisting in the choice for new Guardians and their training.
The Dimensional Alliance Council is the ruling body who deal with issues between and within different dimensions and try to keep a balance between the needs and rights of the dimensions we know about. You should understand that, as far as we know, there are an infinite number of dimensions.
Note that these are not 'alternative time-lines' where you might find yourself living a completely different life in a duplicate universe. I am not sure whether or not that exists. This is also not time travel. Some of our Earth scientists might refer to it as a 'multiverse'. Regardless what you call it, it is as real as anything we know.
As in any body of 'people', (Let us call them 'beings', as many of them are not humanoid.) there are disagreements about how to deal with inter-dimensional disagreements and what, if any responsibilities the other dimensions who are aware of the gateways have to dimensions which are in danger or which may be failing.
The beings on the Alliance Council are as varied as any large council, such as congress or the United Nations, and do not all agree on all things. One of the things that has been agreed upon is that the representatives of each dimension should have a say and they must learn to understand the issues before they are allowed to do so.
Mind speech is how we address the issue of interdimensional communication. Since there are many different kinds of "speech,” mind to mind communication is pretty much universally accurate and prevents misunderstanding, which, as you can imagine, is vital.
One of the things you will do a lot is to travel between several dimensions to learn their cultures and from time to time you will be assigned to aid the Council with issues that an Earthling may have a better chance to resolve. In this way you become an ambassador for our dimension.
It is true that Earth does not yet have space flight capability and it may seem ironic that one puny planet represents the entire universe as little as we know it. Nevertheless, because each dimension has only one gateway planet, ours is the only gate planet in our universe and we must make decisions based on our best knowledge.
Fortunately, you will not be alone in this. There are a dozen Guardians on the planet, and you will get to know each of them over the coming year. There are also many Guardians in each dimension. Over time, as you are assigned, you will get to know many, but never all of them."
Jenny munched contemplatively on an apple slice.
"So why have I been chosen? I'm just a 'twenty-something' with a college degree and nearly no life experience. How can they trust me not to blow up the multiverse or something?"
"This is one of the reasons you were chosen, Jenny. You are no 'flibbertigibbet'. You have a bright mind, you're a responsible person and you care about what happens. As a writer, you notice things other people might not. As a lover of nature, you are serious about preserving things that are important.
I promise you that you will be trained to prepare you for what is to come, but you must know that no amount of education and experience will qualify you for this work. This is something so new and different that we find it is better to start with someone without any fixed agenda or strong habits that make them inflexible and unteachable."
Jenny noticed the time and realized she needed to get to her limbering and balance training.
She closed the tablet, picked up her plate and took it to the kitchen where she cleaned it and put it in the drainer. It seemed strange doing such mundane tasks when something huge seemed to loom over the horizon of her life. The great heroes in the stories she was so fond of never seemed to do dishes or wash clothes.
Balance and limbering training had been a fun break in the routine, as it was a combination of stretching and yoga exercises along with things like walking a gymnast's balance beam and performing various tasks on it as well as using a balance board, a round board covered in a rubber-like substance that sat on a half ball. Each of these things was designed to give her grace and the ability to cope with difficult physical tasks. Jenny liked the challenges and looked forward to working out with Tarafau and even Miriha. Admittedly she had acquired a few bumps and bruises, but she knew she was just beginning. Tarafau teased her with a wicked grin about her clumsiness, but even he admitted she was improving.
However, Jenny did find herself wondering from time to time what she could possibly be assigned to that would require all of this physical training. She had assumed from Lizzie's gate office that most of her time was about welcoming people through the gates and doing paperwork. She was quickly being disabused of that notion.
The workout room reminded Jenny of a cross between a dance studio, a dojo and a gymnastic floor. Half of the floor was covered in a large padded mat and on the wall on one side was a floor to ceiling mirror with a barre at about hand height. The opposite wall featured tall windows that let in the bright sunlight that infused the house throughout most of every day in the Nordic summer.
As she entered the workout room, she noticed a basket of long sticks standing just off of the mat. Beside it stood Arvid. He bounced cheerfully on the balls of his feet. His wild, unkempt white hair was the only thing about him that was not neat and precise. He wore his usual leaf-patterned green tunic and breeches, but he was barefooted. His feet were wide and a bit larger than you would expect on such a short fellow. And, as usual, his face was plastered with that grin that said there was something very amusing about the world and he was in on the prank.
"I will be your instructor today," he said in his deep soft voice.
Tarafau stood by the side of the mat, also barefooted. Jenny took the hint and removed the slippers she usually wore in the house. "What are the sticks for? Are we building something?"
Arvid gave a bark of a laugh. "You will encounter a number of situations in your travels. At some point you may need to defend yourself. The gates do not allow weapons to be transported through them, not even something as simple as pepper spray or a knife. Every gate has scanners of one type or another. Therefore, for your protection, all Guardians learn three types of defense; hand to hand, mental protection and this…"
He pulled a stick out of the basket, held it parallel with the floor and tossed it to her. She managed to catch it and held it as he had, in both hands, palms down in front of her. It was about as tall as she was, just thick enough for her to get her hands around it and surprisingly light.
"This is your 'staff'. All Guardians carry one. In some cultures you will encounter, they consider this part of your 'power'. Some consider it a staff of office. Actually, it is just a stick unless you know how to use it properly. In Earth cultures, it is called a quarterstaff, a Bo, a Marotte or a Gun, depending on which martial art they ascribe to.
I have no expectations that you will become a master of the staff in the short time we will have you here for training, but today we will get you started, and you will continue to work out with Tarafau daily until you can beat him. At that point, we will consider you have mastered it, although it is a lifetime pursuit."
"I'm sorry," Jenny broke in, "but what good is a stick, really, when it comes to defe
nding myself from someone bigger and stronger than I am?"
Arvid smiled. "Allow us to demonstrate."
Tarafau casually reached for a staff that had been leaning on the wall next to him. Arvid grabbed a staff from the basket. He and Arvid centered themselves on the mat facing one another about 10 feet apart. It was like David and Goliath. Arvid was no taller than Jenny and Tarafau was well over 6 feet tall, square built and muscular. Arvid was also solidly built, but seemed no match for someone of Tarafau's height and girth.
Suddenly, Tarafau charged with a roar like an angry lion, swinging his staff one-handed at Arvid's head. Jenny was sure they were going to have to rush Arvid to the hospital. At what appeared to be the last fraction of a second, Arvid, almost casually, swung his staff up to meet it with a loud, "CRACK!"
With no pause, Arvid swiveled, swinging his staff low at Tarafau's shins. Tarafau surprised Jenny with his agile leap above the staff's low arc and then blocked a follow up blow that swept up from below toward his chest.
"Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!" There seemed to be no space between blows. It appeared to be a choreographed dance between two expert dance partners. Neither seemed to have an advantage and neither was giving any quarter. They leapt and turned and swung around one another. The rhythm of it was like the beating of a heart, one blow following another only pausing as they circled facing one another, looking for an opening for the next flurry of blows.
Finally, in a rapid and furious exchange, Arvid swung his staff in an upward arc directly at Tarafau's throat. It stopped abruptly nearly touching the Adam's apple. Tarafau lowered his staff and bowed his head. Both were panting with exertion and sweating.
Both then bowed respectfully to one another. "You almost had me, my friend," Arvid grinned.
"Someday," Tarafau replied grimacing. "Maybe someday."
"Does that answer your question?" Arvid asked, smiling at Jenny. Jenny nodded numbly. "Then let us begin."
Chapter 9: Beginnings and Endings
Tarafau pulled the elastic bandage tight around her ribs and Jenny gritted her teeth. She would not complain. She was determined not to give in to the pain.
"I've crossed that log 50 times and there was never a turtle on it before. I wasn't looking at my feet. I was looking ahead, thinking about LizzieAI's last lesson and wondering what surprises Miriha has for me today."
Tarafau merely nodded. She expected him to chide her for not paying attention. His silence irritated her.
"Quit being so inscrutable, you…" she groped for words and they failed her. "You, CAT, you!"
She thought she saw one corner of his mouth almost twitch into a hidden smile.
"Do you think this is funny?"
"No, Jenny," he finally said. "Not funny at all. I'll get some ice for that."
As he left from the dining area into the kitchen, his hand over his mouth, she ground her teeth. She had stopped counting bruises over the last few weeks. Between her daily runs, her quarterstaff workouts with Tarafau, gleefully overseen by Arvid, and the increase in complexity of her balance and limbering exercises, she never felt anything but challenged and even though she was in better shape than she had ever been, she still felt clumsy and slow compared to Tarafau, Arvid and even Lova.
Lova often came into the workout area during her exercises and even joined in more often than not. She was lithe, quick and incredibly skilled at everything from tumbling to battling with the staff. From time to time the four of them would pair up two on two and the rhythmic "clack, clack, clack" was starting to invade Jenny's dreams at night.
On the one hand, she felt like she was making progress, albeit slower than she would have liked. On the other hand, she felt like she would never measure up to the tasks ahead of her. She had really skated through her years in school, never really feeling challenged, even in her physics and advance math courses. She just seemed to "get it" when a new concept was presented to her. She had watched her classmates struggle and she had a hard time understanding why.
She had undertaken to do some tutoring at the urging of some of her professors, but found she wasn't very good at it. Evidently there was an art to simplifying complex concepts at the level at which most of her fellow students navigated. She felt sympathy and she didn't judge them, not really, but relating to them was a struggle.
But this! For the first time in her life she began to empathize with her fellow students. Every day brought a new concept and there was so much to learn.
Lova strode into the dining room, a small leather satchel under her arm. "Working hard, I see," she commented, one eyebrow raised slightly. Well, it's about time for your break, anyway."
"Break? It's study time."
"Ah, yes, well, actually, after Tarafau gets you iced up, he'll be packing whatever you need to take back with you."
Jenny's face fell. Had she failed? Were they giving up on her? Had her clumsiness finally made them decide she wasn't up to the task?
Lova seemed to notice Jenny's confusion. "Oh dear, Jenny. I see I'm not communicating clearly. You need to go home and spend some time there, to keep up your cover story. Your training isn't finished, and you will be returning here from time to time, but you have made enough progress that we'll start sending you through some gateways now to start meeting your fellow Guardians.
While you're home, you can take some time to heal…" She looked pointedly at Jenny's bandaged ribs. "And it will also give you time to absorb what you've learned so far. Please continue your physical conditioning and your training with Lizzie. Tarafau will also continue to help you. You can stop in here at any point to use the facilities by going through the Lanatrix gateway. Or at any time, if you need help, you are always welcome here. After all, it isn't like it is a long commute…" She grinned, and Jenny grinned back with a sigh of relief.
Tarafau returned with the ice pack and headed up the stairs.
Lova handed Jenny the satchel. "This is your traveling kit. Of course, you could keep the individual items loose in your MDP, but for organizational purposes, this little kit will make it much easier to get out your emergency supplies. In here you will find first aid supplies, which Tarafau will teach you to use."
Jenny interrupted. "I am first aid certified," she said.
"Ah," Lova replied. "I think you will find that beyond standard first aid, we have added a few things you may not expect and that may come in handy. You will need to be instructed in their use and know they are available. I won't go into this now, but just know they are there.
In addition, we have included some special emergency rations we developed for the use of the Guardians. They aren't exactly lembas, but they work in a similar way. There is also a backup beacon that will let us know, under most circumstances, if you need emergency assistance and the MDP isn't connecting. There are some dimensions that have a vibration that blocks this beacon, but it works the majority of the time." The wry twist of her lips said volumes about what she thought of the beacons only working "the majority of the time,” but she moved on.
"There's a compartment for your tablet in here and your passport. I suggest when you go through the gateways that you carry the satchel outside your MDP, so it can be easily scanned. Strictly speaking, the other dimensional beings are aware of the MDP's, but they don't generally search them. The satchel is another sign you are a Guardian. Speaking of which, I'll be right back."
She left Jenny to contemplate her words. Why was it that it seemed like everything just kind of dragged on and then when things finally seemed to be happening it was uncomfortably quick?
Before Jenny could ruminate on this for long enough to come to any conclusions, Lova was back. In her hand were two quarterstaffs. One was plain and unadorned, like the practice staffs they normally used. The other one was shod on either end with engraved steel caps. On close examination she realized a stylized "J" was part of the design along with a small globe that appeared to be Earth on one end and a representation of the Sun on the other.
"Thi
s marks you as a Guardian," she indicated the shod staff. "The other is for practice. Keep them in your MDP when you are not using them. Always carry your staff outside the MDP when you go through a gateway."
Jenny took the staves with a little wince for her sore ribs and tapped the MDP to them. They shriveled, folding in on themselves and fading into the MDP.
"I've been wanting to ask. I know there were already some things in the MDP when it was given to me. I've put a few things in it myself, but how do I know what's in there?"
"The MDP is accessed by your mind and can only be accessed by mindspeak. Thus, someone could vocally try to use it with no results. This MDP is tuned to your mental signals only. You can designate one other mind to access it, but it must be someone who is able to access the gateways. In addition, as you know, your Guide has access to your MDP, a practice we have come to appreciate in difficult circumstances.
To give another access, you must be in touch with their mind. You give them your keyword, the same one you use to access your tablet. They will then be able to retrieve things from the MDP in an emergency.
But I digress. You can simply think the word "peek" and you will be shown a mental image of your inventory, as if it was stored in a warehouse. In this mental image, you can walk through your inventory and even virtually pick items up and examine them. Try it now."
Jenny obediently thought, "Peek."
Like some kind of transparent overlay of the scene before her, she saw a large warehouse-like room with shelves somewhat like some of the big "box stores" in her town. The majority of the shelves were bare and some of the items she didn't recognize. Her satchel was there, her tablet, what looked like a pantry, her staffs, a tent and camping supplies and a number of boxes, including the 3 boxes Lizzie had left her.
The House on Infinity Loop Page 8