by Martin Jones
They all moved to the table where the food and drink was, and Dodds became aware of breathing again. It was the first time he had tested Melville’s theory that they still had their old powers, and he was mightily relieved that he had been right. He also sensed that he had taken the right approach with them. He began to look forward to their negotiations.
∆∆∆
Mad Dog’s scream spoke for both of them as the beam which was holding them increased in pressure and became a pain amplifier. Susan was able just about to put it in a box, but keep it close to her inside her head. She had been working on counteracting the beam, and even though she had made some headway, she could not betray her progress by using her minimal powers to stop the pain. She didn’t mind about herself, but felt incredibly guilty for putting Mad Dog through this while she could stop it if she wished.
Her task was doubly difficult because as much as she sensed and gained more influence over her powers, she had to work twice as hard to mask this from Phi, whose awareness she sensed was all-encompassing.
She began to realise that she could reconnect to her power when she employed Reality Imaging, which she’d been secretly practicing for some time. It was easier for her as she had a strong sense of existing everywhere anyway, and therefore wherever her power was, be it in the next room, or the other side of reality, she would still sense it equally well. As powerful as Phi was, she intrinsically understood that this concept was still beyond him.
The intensity of the pain increased, and blessedly Mad Dog lost consciousness. She was tempted to risk healing him, but she knew Mad Dog wasn’t in serious danger. She just bided her time, diminished the pain to something small and inconsequential, and worked in gaining more connection and control over her powers. She knew she would need them, Melville would most definitely come to rescue her, and he would heed her help!
∆∆∆
Professor Mark Magnaus had gotten over the extreme embarrassment of being discovered with Tzi, and this now being a major historical issue in Giplukian and human relations which would be retold through the ages. He was now totally focussed on the resonance seat and chamber. To his astonishment, he slowly worked out that the resonance chamber was situated and positioned to pick up on spiritual resonance which was amplified not only by the resonance caves, which were so situated to achieve this extraordinary effect, but Gipluk’s position in the universe, and in fact within the reality construct as a whole, which incredibly allowed the entire planet to be a resonance chamber. This was extraordinary as the super-positioning super-consciousness of joint humanity, was linked through the many wavelengths and intensities of resonances, meaning Gipluk was connected to all realities and beyond. It was the listening post and focal point of reality.
Reality Imaging relied on post-synaptic thought which was out of space/time and existed not in the physical construct of the universe, untreated by the immersive and controlling influence of our brain. The reason we were having so much trouble was that the brain currently was the only interface we had with reality. The most important thought was though, that reality wasn’t the real reality, and to truly bypass the brain and achieve true Reality Imaging, we had to have some sense of what was beyond this construct. Gipluk, and particularly the resonance chair in the resonance caves was a link to what lied beyond. Melville’s unification then would reach way beyond this construct and reach back to his source. Mark realised that if they monitored the process, they could create a default address beyond the construct to use as a subroutine to establish Reality Imaging, i.e., be able to work beyond the bounds of the construct, and therefore not be bound by its rules such as space/time.
He sent his thoughts to Melville, and he replied by instructing him to monitor the entire ceremony, and then designing something which allowed all his fleet access to Reality Imaging. It was a huge project, but Mark was galvanised into a passionate commitment into this project. It felt like he had glimpsed god, and he wanted more.
Chapter Five - Melville’s Unification
The fleet and the Hand members had largely made it back to Gipluk, except for Dodds who was still meeting the ‘Father’ and my Emily, who would make it back about 5am Gipluk time, which was a huge relief for me as I didn’t want her to witness the unification ceremony. Just as it was painful to materialise to other areas, to physically leave the construct, as I would if I was to achieve unification l, I knew the experience would kill me, and I would have to physically reconstruct myself and return truly as one being, able to operate both in and out of the construct if we were going to really master Reality Imaging. I was fine with this, but did not want Emily present when this occurred. To be honest I didn’t even want the other Hand members present, but they were sort of insisting as I knew they would.
Eventually Oie arrived, and I undressed in front of her until I was naked. It didn’t bother either of us, we both knew it was necessary for the ceremony, and I certainly had shed any embarrassment I had had when I was younger, decades ago.
As we descended down the countless ancient stone steps, the temperature lowered and I was grateful that I was no longer susceptible to temperature changes. We eventually entered the caves, and they were absolutely full of Giplukians. I then noticed professor Magnaus and his small team hovering over a huge amount of equipment. I then saw Mr Chu and Yvonne close to the dripping green cave walls. Eventually, bizarrely some chimes started, and it was probably the purest sound I had ever heard. I sensed a momentous moment, and I forced myself to relax and descend into a meditative state as I sat down in the strange looking chair which seemed to be made out of a sort of fibrous rock. As soon as I sat down, I felt a connection. When I say a connection, I mean to say a connection with everything. I made a connection with every blade of grass and grain of sand in every world in every reality. It was humbling and tears ran down my face. I was expecting pain, and instead I was experiencing ecstasy.
Every single atom, photon, neuron, quark etc. resonated with me and I was one with reality, but then I sensed I wasn’t at one with myself. I was the anomaly, and I realise that I could never be at one with reality, until I was at one with myself.
The pain began then. I knew where I was going, but it was like an abomination to travel there as I was. I had to do something. I couldn’t think because of the intense pain. I had to concentrate. Then I sensed my true master, and he told me what to do. It was such a relief! I then simply died. Every molecule in my body died and I was no more.
∆∆∆
The meeting had been predictable with the ‘Father’ and his entourage. They wanted Dodd’s power, and he didn’t disabuse them of the idea that they could achieve it. He excused this by arguing with himself that eventually all of our allies would achieve Reality Imaging eventually, and Dodds presumed that materialisation would be one of the skills gained.
The result of the meeting was quite promising because although they didn’t have faster than light speed capability, they did have a large fleet, and their armaments were impressive. Also, he was at liberty to share with them their FTLS drive, and this had already been achieved, and the parts were being replicated and equipped on their fleet now. The good thing was that they seemed very much up for a fight, and they were naturally aggressive in their manner, which suggested to Dodds that they would be brave and tenacious allies.
He was aware that the fleet was massing to attack Thrang, and he didn’t want to miss the action. He had more or less promised the ‘Father’ a ready-made battle, and he just hoped they were in time.
∆∆∆
Mad Dog was in a bad state, and Susan felt dreadful as the torture had been endless and exponential in its ferocity. Every nerve ending was on fire and felt like electricity was running through her. Thankfully Mad Dog had lost consciousness again, but he was weak from the onslaught, and she felt so guilty for not helping him. She just knew that she would give the game away to Phi if she helped him, and she knew she couldn’t betray the fact that she could access her power if she wanted. Ti
ming was everything, and she knew intrinsically that she had to wait to spring the trap. She hoped that if they managed to kill Phi, the Darknet would not survive, so the stakes were extraordinarily high. Mad Dog had to hold on! She had to hold on!!
∆∆∆
I sensed the smallest part of me, like a molecule, it was so small, but I had invested in that smallest part of me, all of me, and it helped me reconstruct myself. I didn’t know how I was doing it. The other startling thing was that I didn’t even recognise some parts of me. I was manufacturing an entity made of two parts. One part I recognised as Melville, and the other and much larger part was a me that I had hardly begun to identify as me. It was an epiphany. Suddenly the pain stopped and I was sat underneath a Yam Yam tree. I couldn’t remember how I knew it was a Yam Yam tree, but I knew. Sat next to me was my Father, my true master. He didn’t have form, but his presence was enormous.
“Welcome my son, you have done very well!” he said,
“Thank you master.”
“Your journey has fully begun now and once you return as your unified self, your relationship with the pathfinder will become more prominent and you will achieve more of a sense of your shared destiny. You must be patient! The snarg takes the equivalent of ten very long lifetimes before it fully knows who it is. You may be unified, but your knowledge is not complete. Remember the journey is just as important as the final outcome. All the cogs have to fit in place, and in your place, wisdom comes when you realise that moment. Go help your friends now. The rebirth must take place, but so many other things must occur first. Follow your heart and you won’t go far wrong.” he said, and then he disappeared. In fact everything disappeared and I became aware I existed both inside and outside of space/time. I looked at the construct as a whole, which was extraordinary because that would mean I was bigger than the construct! It then occurred to me that perception was lucid and merely a point of view; literally, and completely in my control. I was both the smallest organism in all the universes, and equally at the same time the largest. I had complete control. I felt dizzy with excitement and made myself fit into the extraordinary small space of the resonance caves. The first thing I registered was crying, as everyone was sobbing. I felt my physical presence was indeed a corpse, so easily changed that and gave the impression that I was a living corporal being again. I smiled and half the people screamed, and I realised I should have given them some warning.
Mr Chu and Yvonne ran towards me and stating the obvious, shouted;
“You’re alive!”
“Of course I am, why how long have I been dead?” I asked, wondering how long the whole thing had taken, and apparently the ceremony had started nearly an hour ago, and after five minutes I gasped my last breath and died. It was only Oie and bizarrely professor Magnaus that kept trying to tell people that I could well return.
I looked at professor Magnaus and asked him;
“Any luck?”
He looked at me and seemed speechless. Eventually he mumbled;
“Yeah... I’ve got something, but I can’t believe it. You existed everywhere at once, and you was everything at once - hugely enormous, incredibly tiny. You wouldn’t believe how chaotic it is outside reality, but, I did map a destination, and it seems that you provided it sir.” he finished, looking at me strangely.
“Excellent, is the fleet ready?”
General Jom walked up and said in three hours, all fleets would be at my disposal.
Oie came up to be and asked me very quietly;
“How was it?”
I looked at her and thought what to say;
“At first ecstasy, then the realisation hits you that although you are at one with the universe and way beyond, what you are not at one with is yourself. Then the pain begins. Then you die, and the loss is unbearable, but you have to save a little bit of yourself, just a fragment and keep all of yourself within that fragment, except it’s impossible, so what you do is you make a map of yourself, and just at the point where you don’t exist, except for the tiniest part of you, you then have to build yourself again. The surprising thing is, the person you thought you were didn’t even exist, and if you’re really lucky, you build the person you actually were again, until reality gives in, and then you exist inside and outside reality at the same time. I met my master then, and he gave me some advice which I will treasure. That’s how it was.” I finished, and looked at her face which was frozen in complete shock and awe.
∆∆∆
Dodds sat in the command chair of his command ship without his fleet, which had left two days ago to join Melville. He was looking at the 38 battle ships and 78 cruisers and over fifteen thousand fighters that had rallied to the ‘Father’s’ call. I was also aware that a further seven thousand fighters were ready inside the larger ships, and each ship had been fitted out with FTLS drives. He sat there in disbelief at how quickly it had been done.
The ‘Father’ opened hailing sequence on his massive command ship and said;
“My fleet is at your command Dodds. Take us to where the heat of the battle is worst and use us relentlessly. We will kill your Darknet monsters for you, then you can share with us your magic. Long live the alliance!”
Dodds just sat there, and eventually. said;
“I’m sending the coordinates now. Today is a good day to die!” and there was a huge cheer through the comslink, and Dodds had the strong feeling he was holding a tiger by the tail.
He sent the thought, and the entire fleet vanished and headed off to Thrang.
∆∆∆
Grovolk conceptually prostrated himself along with Phi.
His plan had worked well, and Phi had understood the small failure of not capturing the Pathfinder’s fleet was not his fault, which he was eternally grateful for. He felt though that Phi was feeding off the pain of the captors. In the heart of his programming, he had the vaguest sense that things were going too well. He had discussed it with Phi, but he dismissed his concerns. He was now worried though, because he had been informed by Phi that the essence of the motherboard herself was coming to witness the encounter with the Melville. The fact that this entity existed at all wasn’t even known by most Darknet beings, and he was shocked to hear that Phi was not the only entity that ruled the Darknet. The fact that Phi feared the ‘Mother’ as it was known was shocking to him. They were now both laid prostrate waiting for a communication from the Mother, and the change in Phi sent shivers amongst Grovolk’s programming.
Phi had told him that as the darkness had spread across galaxies and multiverse realities, the purest of the evil had coalesced into a spiritual resonance which was so powerful, it became like a hive mind which directed the Darknet. The more realities which succumbed to the great change, the bigger and more powerful she came, meaning that her actual size was the size of the Darknet itself, and it was the focal point of all the evil in existence. Grovolk could sense Phi’s fear, which literally petrified him.
They waited inside the main hub for a manifestation of the Mother, and he could already feel a great power forming in the middle of the dark cathedral which was so huge, he couldn’t bear the sheer anticipation of it. It felt like every molecule in the hub of the programme was shaking with the power of it. He then looked up and darkness stood there in female form and he felt sick. It was like he had physical form again. Phi spoke;
“Great Mother, we are honoured by your presence.”
That was it! We then waited, and Grovolk felt himself shaking with fear. Evil emanated from this form. It was vile. It was sickening, yet he could sense the immense power it had. When the voice spoke, it slithered inside you like hot, liquid metal running through your veins. It was a vile torrent, and Grovolk held on to his sanity as much as he could.
“The Melville comes, I can feel its presence already. You have underestimated the girl, she has connected to her puny power and is waiting to surprise you Phi. You have been blind!”
Grovolk waited for the end. He knew something felt wrong, and now could n
ot begin to imagine what the consequences were.
“Mother, please forgive my blindness. If the Melville is coming, should I now dispose of the girl?” Phi asked, and it felt like an adoring whisper. It felt like Phi was in a state of ecstasy, which astonished Grovolk. It was almost sexual.
“Yes my friend, and in future encourage your minion to speak more. He is clever, and his plan was a stroke of genius. He already suspected there was a potential danger. Invest more trust in him. We need to use this opportunity and allow me to grow and develop with this new and unexpected phenomena. I sense a rebirth is potentially happening, and instead of stopping it, I want to influence it. The Melville must join with me, and not the girl. Then we will be within the true reality and I can achieve dominance. I sense a unique destiny for us. Kill the girl and bring the Melville to me. The rebirth must take place, but I shall be reborn instead, and we shall take our rightful place. Do this well Phi, and you shall be rewarded.” the Mother said, and Grovolk felt exhausted. The presence left the hub, and there was silence as Grovolk felt them both recover from the experience. This was beyond his programming. She had felt him, and praised him. It was like being touched by god.
Chapter Six - The Battle for Thrang