Deity

by deity

The remaining guardians continue to discuss the recent cyber-realm attacks and whether their former colleague Psi may somehow be involved.

  Ana is currently promoting her opinion across the psychic link in the guardian's 'personal realm' while the remaining guardians listen, 'Let me remind you that Psi chose to leave us, possibly forever, at the last high- council meeting.. No-one requested her or Starlight or any of the others to do so but they did! Clearly they're hiding their involvement with some power in the cyber-realm probably one of those from the recent encounters that caused such harm to our fellow guardians?'

  'Surely not!' Yachi responds quickly. 'While I have rarely seen things as Starlight and Psi do, they have been part of the guardians for a long time and I can't believe they would wish harm onto any of us. It was the violence and danger of this new realm which was the main cause of their leaving the astral guardians'

  Ana does not counter Yachi's opinion though it clearly differs from hers. She knows that Yachi was Psi's mentor and he has always been proud of her progress from troubled but talented youngster to astral guardian. Ana recalls Yachi describing the many steps required to address her psychological scars and their impacts to both the physical and astral worlds as one of the most rewarding projects in all his years as a teacher. She also knew the reduction of the guardians to few more than a handful had taken its toll on her old friend so she was happy to let this go for now. Dean, however, was not,

  'How can you be sure, my friend? What if that was just a decoy and their true purpose is to gain power from this new world before anyone else does? Not only do they have a head-start on us but they've been involved in most of our discussions on this topic and our attempts to investigate it. They've seen us assemble this computer room, they know what little we've learnt from within the cyber-realm plus whatever knowledge they've gained of their own' Dean responds.

  'While Psi is clearly back in the cyber-realm and we weren't aware of this, it doesn't mean she is involved with the attacks on our colleagues, the disturbance or any of the other things we don't currently understand in the cyber-realm. She would have been incredibly embarrassed by her failed and very public attempt to enter the cyber-realm. This is a likely explanation for why she returned there in secret, she has always been very insecure and vulnerable.' Yachi defends his former student's unusual behaviour again.

  Yachi continues, 'Remember Peta spoke of the limitations of what the computers and the reports told her. There was little she could tell us of the creatures which attacked our colleagues despite one of the attacks occurring right outside our doorstep, we should be very careful of reading too much into what she was able to tell us. I believe we need to continue our explorations of the cyber-realm and we need to do so with an open mind.'

  Dean makes another point, 'Psi's astral powers mean she has the potential to be the equal of any of the guardians if not the type of force which had attacked them or the disturbance to the astra which first led us to the cyber-realm yet continued to confuse/elude us. It seems more than just a coincidence that she is secretively planing the cyber-realm during the attacks! While we can't be certain, as you have just said, we must acknowledge all possibilities. But rather than get too far ahead of ourselves, let's confirm what we do know. The creature that attacked Ana seems to be a web-robot like the many others that we have seen, it seems unlikely that this is the astral disturbance which Yachi initially detected that led him to the cyber-realm.'

  There is agreement across the room, including Ana, to Dean's statement as Yachi continues the conversation,

  'We still don't know if this disturbance is the new realm itself or a creature or group within, like what attacked Dean & Mruyadgi?'

  'No, but we have determined that these encounters involved two different creatures. And while both are clearly capable of endangering us, only one seems like it could be causing the astral disturbance ' adds Ana.

  'Which could also be due to the transformation of the internet into an astral realm?' Dean notes.

  ‘Among other possibilities.' Mruyadgi contributes to the conversation much to the delight of his fellow guardians who miss his typically jovial and involved manner.

  'I'm more concerned that we don't know what the creature Dean and I encountered is, the damage it’s capable of causing or how to stop it, let alone know its intentions!' I hope that we will find this disturbance soon and that it is not one of the recently departed astral guardians. For the combination of their powers in this new realm and knowledge of the high council would be disastrous to what remain of us.' Yachi muses.

  'What else lurked out there in the cyber-realm? There's clearly much we don't know from the disturbance to our recent attackers...Will we see those creatures again and will we fare any better if we do?' Ana continues

  'We need to increase our understanding in the cyber-realm and become more comfortable in there so that, like the rest of the astra we regard it as a second home. And we need to be able to defend ourselves. I have a few thoughts and ideas for this final item but they need further consideration. Yachi says, 'however, if my intuition - plus a few things I've noticed from Jason and Peta - are correct there may be more than just my ideas to help us. I will find out and let you know when next we meet'