“What does that mean, ‘Link 1, 2, 3, 5 minutes, 20 years?” asked Erin.
“What that means is we will be in there for five minutes in our current reality, but, in the Virtual Universe, we’ll gain twenty years or more of experience, muscle memory, experiential reference, and wisdom. It is a great way to experience life, thoughts, to study, to do research, to learn new things in a short period of time, and to share memories. Together,” said Amber.
“You don’t have to do this if you would rather not,” said Eliza. “But, I do promise you, you will be glad you did. There is a lot more to learn there and you will learn more about yourself and everyone here than you ever thought you would know. I also assure you, you will be amazed at the beautiful flavors of thought that passes through the minds of others, and especially those thoughts that emanate from the minds of those you love.”
Yesha continued, as if she and Eliza had tapped into each other’s minds, “We’ll train you how to use your new abilities both here and there and take you on each of our own journeys.”
Eliza then continued, “The first day I met Amber, I knew she would be a kindred spirit, and I do get the same feeling from all three of you. So, are you ready? If so, let’s do this.”
“Okay,” said Erin, as she motioned to her Dad to help her up and into the biopod. Once he had, she continued, “thank you, Dad. I love you Mom and Dad, and I look forward to seeing you in the Virtual Universe. Dad, can you pull the lid down for me please?”
As soon as he had pulled the lid down, it seemed to Dan that he had heard his sweet daughter, Erin, say, “Link 1, 2, 3, 10 minutes, 40 years!” and then she was silent.
“Well, it looks like we’ll be in there for twice the time,” Eliza smiled, “That will give each of us plenty of opportunities to get a few more PhDs, what do you say? Beverly? Daniel?” Eliza looked toward Yesha and Amber, who had already climbed into their biopods, knowing that currently Erin was in the Virtual Universe sitting next to a pond, alone. Eliza used her link to reach Yesha and Amber, and they could hear her singing the lyrics to a song from Depeche Mode’s album, Playing the Angel, called “Precious,” shortly followed by the lyrics for Cause & Effect’s song, “Into the Light,” from their Sunrise EP.
Eliza’s grasp of her abilities and her neural link was more developed than those of anyone else throughout all of Pathway. She was advanced enough to see everything that was going on in the Virtual Universe while at the same time capable of transmitting messages, songs, or anything she wished to whomever she wished, who had also received neurological and physiological optimizations, and thus neural identifications. While she wasn’t selfish with her knowledge or the amazing fun of her inventions, she was simply careful, considerate, and truly and deeply cared about the well-being, the longevity, and the clarity of mind of humanity, and afforded them their own pace with which to mature their abilities and conceive of more. Yesha and James weren’t far behind in the mastery of their abundant and new abilities, and Amber was fairly close, even if she didn’t yet realize it. Eliza would enter the biopod last, awaiting Beverly and Daniel.
As soon as Amber and Yesha climbed into their biopods, they pulled down their lids, said “Link 1, 2, 3, 10 minutes, 40 years,” and then went silent.
~ Meeting Erin in the Virtual Universe ~
Immediately after Erin had said, “…40 years,” she felt every muscle twitch, every sensory gland, and neuron light up, and she pushed hard holding her breath, pushing against every muscle in her body, until she felt a state of euphoria, and then she opened her eyes and saw the pond. She also saw that she was in a large garden, before lifting her eyes and looking around. After taking everything within the horizon around her in, she noticed that standing before her was an angelic statue overlooking the pond teeming with coy fish and frogs. The pond was surrounded by lovely flowers with a magnificent scent. She felt a release of every bit of pain that she had ever felt and seen the warm glow of the atmosphere around her and above her in the sky.
She looked toward her hands and they were full and healthy, with an almost iridescent and brilliant array of colors. She jumped and found she could jump higher than the trees around her and then land safely without any harm. She felt something twitch on her shoulder blades behind her, and then she noticed that she had wings. Ferry wings! She was excited, ecstatic, so, she looked around in wonder as to when her parents would show up, so she could show them.
Just then, Amber and Yesha appeared where she had stood when she first arrived, and they were as beautiful and glowing as ever. Neither of them had wings, but she could feel their presence and it was that of love, of kindness, of sorrow, of clarity, and of compassion.
Something was different. Erin immediately realized she was beginning to see, feel, and even comprehend the thoughts of Amber and Yesha. She was able to share in the feeling of each of their life’s experiences. She felt through Yesha’s mind the anguish that Eliza and Yesha had felt together as they lost some people they cared about deeply to one tragedy or another. She saw Amber’s sister, Sarah, their walks to the park and felt a sense of empathy for her, and because of their shared mental link she completely and entirely understood every aspect of the experiences in Amber’s life. She felt her sadness at losing Sarah, and then her vigor toward doing all she could to someday have her own biotech company, so she could overcome the brutality of disease and the toxicity of misery once and for all.
“That was before I became a Pathway delegate,’ Erin felt Amber whisper to her mind.
“When we speak here, it is mind-to-mind, and no matter how much we learn from and about each other we’ll still be able to tell the difference between our thoughts and experiences and the thoughts and experiences of someone else. I agree with you, Erin, and what you are feeling, sensing, and understanding right now,” said Amber. “When we first get here there is an intense sharing of every aspect of everything we are willing to share, and there are this beautiful bond and connection we’ll always have. Arriving here, we all become old souls and kindred spirits fast. Wow, Erin, you may not realize it from your perspective, but in so little time you have been through so much, yet you’ve done it all with a beautiful sense of grace. I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you, Amber. You’ve each had some very interesting journeys packed with stories that would fill libraries to the Moon and back.” Then picking up on Eliza’s neural link, although she was still in the real world, Erin spoke to her, “There’s so much you each know, and Eliza, your mind is the mightiest of every single one of the twenty-million people who had been here, as beautiful as they are. Because of you, the rest of us can learn so much more. You deserve to know how much you are appreciated.”
Yesha continued, “Eliza has been a source of unfettered joy for more than thirty years, see how she opened her eyes and smiled at me two minutes after she was born? After linking with her, I was able to see that moment from her vantage point and that is about the purest form of love that exists. That is when I learned that everyone is born with beauty inside them. Some people, through their environment or perhaps due to damaging choices, need healing, and in so many ways, showing them the beauty that exists within them is the healing agent that is more powerful than anything else. There is so much we can learn from each other, even as we go about our seemingly mundane tasks with their sundry details.
“When we leave the Virtual Universe, you will be able to channel a link between me, Eliza, Amber, your parents, and anyone you wish to. You’ll be able to link with all who have ever been here before whenever you’d like. When you come back you will receive updates from anyone else who comes through the Virtual Universe. We already know a lot of languages, have viscerally experienced so many cultures, yet there is still so much more to learn. Have I mentioned, you look amazing, Erin! You’re a beautiful fairy! Look at you, you are incredible!”
“Here, you can look through our minds to see what we’re seeing, you’ll learn how to do that soon without this,” and Amber made a tall mir
ror appear before Erin. “Even still, look through this, so you can see what we’re seeing as far as your physiological expression is concerned in relation to the artistic aspects of your neurology. This is the beauty that your right brain is expressing as a spiritual image of yourself,” As Amber said that, Erin peered into the mirror before her, and she was able to see herself, was amazed, and almost breath-taken. All the while, Erin and everyone there could hear the beauty of the arpeggios, the strings, the flowing rhythm of her favorite music, female vocal trance, playing magically in the air around them.
Erin was twice her normal height, her cheeks, her nose, and her lips were full again, her silver-blue eyes were brilliant, and the silver-blues and purples of her wings and fairy-like clothes were capitalized by the beauty of her eyes. She was amazed at the dazzling colors of purples, pinks, turquoises, blues, pastels, whites, and all in various shades in the different shocks throughout her long, predominantly blonde, and royally groomed hair, with braids and curls tucked and turning in an ornate yet angelic way. She was a full-grown adult! Erin was amazed.
“Wow, Amber! I never knew this was even possible! I’m a full-grown adult! I suppose I’ve never even considered seeing myself this way, where others could actually see me, but I’ve seen myself a time or two in my dreams, just like this, before. I love it!”
“You are so beautiful, Erin, both inside and out. But, of course, you already know both Yesha and I are thinking that, don’t you?”
“Yes, thank you, Amber, and thank you, Yesha. Wow! You both are brilliant! You two are probably a couple of the smartest people I have ever met! All of the research you’ve done, Amber, and Yesha, you both know so much more than you let on in the real world,” said Erin with glee and approval. “Will I look like this when I come out of the biopod?”
“Well, once you return to the real world, you will look like the six-year-old girl that you are, much as you see here, but not as a fairy. We have created limits for now, because there are people who would use these abilities to do things that aren’t nice to others, and we do not want that to happen or even want to be too obvious about what we can do,” said Amber.
Yesha continued, “It takes a lot of work to ensure that hackers, pirates, dictators, and other people with malevolent designs do not break into our system and wreak all kinds of havoc. That said, the way that Eliza set this up, it cannot be hacked with today’s technology, and she has even taken measures to preserve this information and these abilities for an infinite quantity of years, without ever being vulnerable to being hacked. It all lays in perspective and intent.”
After Yesha and Amber paused, the brilliant light of Eliza’s presence began to shine, augmenting the intriguing new imagery of her Mom and Dad. Her Mom was a beautiful young princess and her Dad was a handsome young prince, but with skin that glowed with a variety of colors that complemented the colors of their eyes, their hair, and their other features.
“Hello, Eliza, Mom, and Dad, you look amazing! It’s so wonderful to finally see you here! It’s so beautiful here, and it seems like time has flown, although it’s been a few hours already.”
“Hahaha, it’s been a few minutes for us. Hello, Erin, wow, you look so beautiful! I can tell it’s you, because of your expressions and your eyes. Wow, you are full grown! I love your wings, and young girl you are as beautiful as I’ve always seen you! You are lovely, my wonderful daughter,” said Daniel, and she could hear and see as her mother’s mind said the same things.
Erin felt the approval and unfeigned love of both of her parents, as the thoughts of their minds became increasingly clear to her. She felt their every passion, their every hope, their dreams, and their battles resonate within her own being. She felt shocked, then she felt herself shake internally, and then she felt her entire system rebound. Her parents had been through a lot and rarely did they complain about the details, yet they also shared one of the purest forms of love toward each other and even toward her in an experiential way that she had never witnessed before. As the moments of shared experience drew in to meld with her memories, she began to feel at peace; her cognitive framework had just been optimized or updated, and she could clearly see and witness the positive aspects to each person’s life experiences of all who had been there inside the Virtual Universe before. “What a smorgasbord of love, struggle, and perseverance!”
This was an intriguing reality for all who entered, and from Erin’s vantage point she thought it interesting that no longer did anyone need to speak out loud or while moving their lips, for they now could feel each other’s thoughts, see each other’s visions and ideas, and even experience some of the experiences of their past in a truly visceral way.
Nevertheless, she spoke as she would have if she were in the real world, rather than as she would within the Virtual Universe, anyway, because that is what she did, and in this place, freedom truly did abound, “I can’t help but feel all of the anguish you’ve felt through the years. I am so sorry, Mom and Dad. The pain you felt at the loss of Katherine and Julia. I am sure my two older sisters would have been amazing people, but we lost them too-soon; the pain is deep.”
With that, her parents embraced her in a group hug, which seemed even more soothing than ever felt before. This hug brought with it even more clarity to everything thing that both had ever endured. Erin transferred her speech from her mind to all who were there with her, “we are hugging mind-to-mind!” With tears at first and then joy they talked for what seemed hours.
After talking to each other and sharing experiences, they began the next part of their journey with Eliza’s guidance to train on and practice their new and different abilities. She taught them what would apply in the real world, how to link with others mentally, and how to take advantage of research, learning, and exploration through the various matrices while in the Virtual Universe. Eliza then showed the Carters the interior of her Virtual Universe home and then handed over the remainder of the forty-year experience to Yesha and Amber, while she followed close behind. Yesha would eventually be taking Eliza’s place and Erin had a big future ahead of her as well, so given this very important and pinnacle moment; she recognized a need to share.
Together they visited the different places throughout the solar system, the twenty-thousand tech cities, all of the planets and moons of our Earth’s star. They visited the space elevator, the planetary shields, and the twelve giant database moons, the solar shields protecting Earth and each planet and spheroid of the solar system, and much more. Erin, Beverly, and Daniel were enthralled with every single aspect of Eliza’s designs and inventions. They also understood why they had to keep this reality confidential. While via Eliza, Yesha, and James, much of what they witnessed proved humanity had the capacity for greatness and then to travel the stars, they wanted humanity to be prepared, coached, and even convinced to lead lives that would render the home planet a safe haven for life, for the long-haul. They did not want humanity to be known throughout the Cosmos as bringers of destruction and death. Instead, they wanted humanity to be worthy of traveling the Cosmos, bringing life and longevity, beauty and abundance. This would happen, once humanity had committed to living and establishing the laws of Universal Ethics.
More time was spent exploring all of the places humanity had ever gone, and once the Carter family was fully read-in to vivid clarity, they knew how to use each of their newfound abilities. They then used what extra time they had in the Virtual Universe to complete bachelors and master’s degrees, PhDs, to experience history, to gain a full scope of understanding of each of the sciences, and they visited many civilizations throughout the ages and much more. When they realized forty years had gone by, they reminisced around a campfire on Enceladus for hours. Once their sharing of experiences reached a good pausing point, they looked toward Eliza and she told them, “We can return. Can you believe it? Forty years have passed by here and we are each truly old souls. It seems like such a long time ago that we left the real world, doesn’t it?”
“It
does, Eliza,” said Erin, who looked very much like a twenty-two-year-old and a beautiful fairy. “Thank you, everyone, for being so amazing, so wonderful, and for accompanying me through the many journeys. Thank you for teaching us so much Eliza, Yesha, and Amber. Is it possible to go on like this longer? Will I be able to retain this information when we return to the real world?”
“Yes, you will be able to retain all of these memories as if they are as clear as day,” said Amber. “However, for now, we have real world missions, journeys, and quests to attend to.”
Erin, Beverly, and Daniel then felt an intense and vivid rush of complete clarity as to what it was that they wanted to do to contribute to the advancement of civilization, ensuring that the home-world was beautiful, full of life, and could be around in trillions of years following long journeys throughout the Universe and their return.
Erin sensed she wanted to become a historian, a leader, and even help other children she grew up with. She also had an idea, wherein she shared that she wished to go to the edge of the observable Universe when humanity on Earth was ready. She wanted to set up a series of jump gates that would allow her to, in short order, return to Earth from many different angles from far enough away, with powerful telescopic video recorders, to record Earth’s evolution and the history of civilization, to uncover even more secrets, and then to expand humanity’s knowledge from there to encompass so much more.
Beverly and Daniel both shared that they wanted to provide support and be there with Erin. They would use their talents to compound upon their understanding of the different complexities of the various creatures and civilizations they might meet throughout their journeys and throughout the Cosmos.
Once they were ready to return to the real world, Eliza smiled toward each of them, as did Yesha and Amber, and like that, they awoke.
Erin felt every neuron in her brain, every pore in her skin, and every sensory aspect of her physiology become awash in the most amazing feeling she had ever felt before. She actually had the strength to open her biopod and hop out, and at once, everything they had done over the last 40 years in the Virtual Universe came to her mind with clarity, but she was able to sense the various compartments in her mind. She found she could differentiate between her own thoughts from the different experiences of the different minds, she could see with clarity the current time frame versus the time spent going through the experiences in the ten minutes they had actually spent in the real world while traversing through the Virtual Universe for forty years.
Further than Before- Pathway to the Stars Page 47