“They’re stars alright, but I’ve never seen them look like that…”
As the last word left his mouth he felt Candice grab his arm, only there was something strange in the way her hand moved. He broke his stargaze with a quick snap of his neck and suddenly found her floating just above his head. She couldn’t hold back the childish grin as the weightlessness fanned out her hair like soft red thistles on a warm spring day.
“You look like a mermaid!” Talitha giggled.
“And he looks like a walrus!” Candice laughed as Bobbie began to float up from Talitha’s lap with ears pulled back and paws attempting to swim.
John kept his belts tight but released Talitha’s, freeing her to join Candice and Bobbie in the strange dance by the light of the controls. He leaned back with a smile but felt it fade quickly, even as Bobbie bounced into his chin with a long purr. With two angels hovering above him the question couldn’t be ignored. Had they really broken through the clouds, or were their bones now ashes in the rain on a world ripped apart?
If this is death I’ll take it. He closed his eyes as Candice stole his lips for a slow kiss, the soft warmth of her skin a tonic for all that had come to be. When he opened them again he blinked several times, unsure if the purple shimmers bouncing along the windows were real or figments of his exhausted imagination. All things considered, it could have been both.
Chapter 40
A bone cold shiver wrestled him from the dreamless sleep that had stretched into forever. Opening his eyes took a surprising amount of effort and came with the temptation to simply close them again. It was a temptation that was quick to dissolve though, when he remembered where he was.
Still asleep, Talitha and Candice lay suspended between the seats and the pod roof. Their movements were as subtle as leaves on a still pond and their faces awash with the glow of the glittering control panel. The silence was absolute. Out here there was a tranquillity that John had only ever dreamed about, and as he looked out to the distant stars another purple shimmer rolled across the glass portals.
Bobbie had somehow burrowed back into the now ragged harness and was twitching in the midst of dreams with restless paws, while John felt another chill tickle his bones as something appeared in the near distance above the ship. Small at first, but with every breath it grew larger and larger, closer and closer.
“Hey,” John whispered as he tugged on Candice’s hand, “I think you need to see this.”
Candice fluttered awake with a sharp moment of confusion washing across her face. She rolled down to her seat and settled back in beneath the straps.
“I can’t even tell if I’m still asleep or not…” she muttered quietly.
“I’m guessing that’s not going to make things any easier then,” he replied with a vague point of his finger.
Together they looked out into the dark. Looming above them was a long, slightly egg shaped sphere that seemed to roll and wobble as though made of rubber and water, and while there was still a vast distance between them it was obvious the thing was massive. John guessed it was at least the size of two or three skyscrapers jammed together but even then he was probably under estimating. Grasping the dimensions was near on impossible, he quickly realized, especially considering the whole damned thing seemed as if it were alive.
The surface of the enormous cosmic egg appeared wet with what looked like mirrored silver mercury as it pulsed and bubbled, its ability to reflect the dark of space leaving whole sections to momentarily disappear when the fluid angles were just right. Rising behind it like a watchful mother, pale grey and silent the moon ensured her growing presence was known.
“Whatever that thing is sure as hell doesn’t look like any kind of space craft,” Candice observed, “and we’re heading straight for it.”
John pushed his face a little closer. “It looks like a blob of molten silver that’s broken away from somewhere, or something.”
“Is it… what we came here for?”
“I don’t know,” John replied with eyes glued to the shape, “but I don’t think this is exactly a popular parking spot. If it’s not what we came here for things are about to get creepier than they already are.” He reached out and gently nudged Talitha awake. “Hey princess, I think it’s time you strapped yourself back in.”
Talitha rubbed at the sleep in her eyes and floated until her face was against the glass. “I can see it,” she said quietly, her breath fogging the window. “I can see the thing from my dreams.”
“You’ve seen that before?” Candice asked.
“Yes.” Talitha pushed off and awkwardly manoeuvred back into her seat, allowing John to clip in the straps. “If my dream is right, the Star People are inside.”
John clasped her hand and felt a warm calm flow from her fingers. “If I’m going to believe in anything right now, I’m going to believe in your dream.”
The strange rippling shape was almost upon them now. Closer and closer it came until the shimmering reflective surface was all they could see, the windows of the pod filling with a mercury like silver that appeared wet and fluid. The transition, when it came, was almost seamless.
For a moment there was the tiniest of distance between them and the shimmer, and then in the blink of an eye they were inside the surface of the cosmic egg and enveloped in the strange silver field with a state that was neither solid, liquid nor gas. They had become virtually blind but for the metallic light shining into their eyes, and all around them grew a low pitched hum that warmed the ears.
There was no real sense of movement, no way of knowing what was up or down or forward or back, and yet John knew by the way he was pushed back into the seat their ship was far from sitting still. As the low pitched hum grew even louder he turned to find Candice trying to tell him something, but though her mouth moved there was no sound to fall from her lips. Trying to summon his own voice, he too found a muted silence.
The silver liquid mist began to break and swirl, and straight ahead a small golden light appeared. Distinctly round and glittering as though made of dust, it rushed towards them in a blinding flash to send them hurtling along a winding, circular tunnel with walls that grew brighter and brighter the deeper they went.
The hum was almost deafening now, and just when it felt as if the tunnel would never end the hue of the gold began to fade. A solid dark ring arose from the gold, and before they could make sense of anything the pod hatch opened as though pulled from the outside, filling the interior with a tingling smoky scent that reminded John of burning pine needles.
Stunned and completely unsure of what to do, he could only watch as Talitha confidently reached out for them both. She flashed a calm, knowing grin as her tiny hands gripped tight. As though a giant unseen vacuum had been switched on they tumbled through the hatch, Talitha leading the way as they were pulled through the fading gold and into the centre of the dark black ring before pushing through into the realm of lost and forgotten dreams.
For a brief moment the world turned dark, and then with a soul pounding jolt it erupted into an endless array of colour. John’s breath was snatched away as he cast his eyes across the expanse that was an enormous ball shaped room, its long curved walls sparkling with the majesty of a million rainbows that instantly reminded him of stunningly polished opal that flashed a new play of colour with every change of viewing angle.
Countless large spheres, as big as cars and filled with a crystal clear liquid, floated amongst the expanse like planets void of an orbit. In the centre of the huge circular cavern was a glass structured pyramid, held in position with thin steel rods that ran from the five points out to the opal tinged wall.
A rush of vertigo turned John’s stomach upside down. He reached out and grabbed a hold of Candice as they continued to float behind Talitha, threading between the water like spheres and heading towards the glass pyramid. The deafening hum was no more. Now the only sound that could be heard was the soft trickling of water, as though a slow running creek was somewhere nearby. When C
andice turned to catch his eye, her face was alight with excitement and wonder.
This is incredible… she mouthed silently as they moved closer and closer to the centre. John figured her description would have to do, because he couldn’t imagine any combination of words that would come close to capturing the visions around them.
They were close enough to see inside the glass pyramid now, where hundreds of silver globules swirled and bounced within. John watched as a portion of the glass slid open and felt his heart race as they were pulled through the opaque doorway. It closed behind them, and a subtle gravity began to pull them to the glass surface until they were standing with mouths agape in wonderment, even Talitha.
The silver globules began to fly together at high speeds, forming bigger and bigger masses that began to take on familiar shapes. They tumbled to the glass and, like the melting of metal only in reverse, formed three high backed chairs.
“They look so cool!” Talitha said with excitement, lifting her small frame onto one of them and playfully kicking her now working legs. “And they’re comfy!” she giggled.
“This is really happening right?” John asked, suddenly aware his voice was working again.
“Not even in my wildest dreams,” Candice replied while taking in the view, “could I imagine something as beautiful as this.”
“Come on you guys,” Talitha sang, “the seats are for you.”
Candice jumped into the chair beside Talitha, the high back and long arms giving the impression that she too was no bigger than a child. “Don’t just stand there John,” she laughed, “you really need to experience this.”
John took a tentative few steps to the last chair as vertigo continued to twist at his stomach. Although his feet were anchored to the glass surface there was still no real way of telling what was up or down, although the triangular peak above him helped to garner some bearings. He eased onto the strange, silver structure as a warmth rippled along his skin. Although it appeared as polished steel it was as soft as feathers and seemed to mould around the contours of his body. As far as chairs went, it was hands down the best one he had ever had the pleasure to sit in.
He looked up through the glass of the pyramid at the myriad of water worlds bumping and floating in slow motion. Beyond them the glittering spherical walls embedded with an endless array of shifting colours left him sure they were sitting in the heart of a magnificent, cosmic jewel.
“Someone’s coming,” Talitha whispered.
“Oh my god…” Candice stammered.
John followed their gaze over his shoulder and watched dumbfounded as a small section of the opal like wall dissolved open to reveal a long and shiny figure that proceeded to float towards them. Surprisingly he felt no fear, only child like amazement at the unravelling of the rainbow soaked reality.
“It looks like us only… longer,” he observed as the figure grew closer. There was no hair or clothes to be seen, or anything that resembled skin, but it was definitely a human form with long exaggerated arms and legs and a smooth head that dictated the direction of travel.
“It’s a star person,” Talitha nodded as though it were common knowledge.
“You’ll get no argument from me,” Candice said.
A section of the glass opened once again and the star person, as Talitha had called it, slid into the pyramid with the grace of a slow swimming dolphin and hovered several inches above the floor. Its overly long arms appeared to be held out wide in a gesture of welcome.
John blinked several times to ensure he was seeing what he was seeing, and following each micro second of darkness the figure was still there. Its skin, or at least surface, looked like a bizarre cross between metal and glass that was semi opaque and almost wet, while just below the surface light purple gases shifted and swirled along the humanoid form.
For the moment the face was nothing more than a featureless mask, but as the strange gas in its arms began to glow brighter a face began to emerge from the mist. Shifting into a rainbow of colours that matched the opal walls, it took only seconds for the human like face to engineer into a beautiful woman with ultra violet lips whose smile dripped with pure tranquillity and voice as soft as warm honey.
“Welcome home.”
The words filled the pyramid and echoed ever so softly against the glass. From the corner of his eye John could see Candice was on the verge of tears, though they were pushed back with a smile when Bobbie leapt from the tattered harness to circle the mysterious host and rub his head against the soles of her mist swirling feet.
“I’m Talitha.”
“I know,” the host replied. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
Talitha giggled and kicked her legs against the chair. “They made me a pink space ship just to see you.” Her face scrunched with curiosity. “What’s your name?”
“In your language? Why, you can call me Tulay.”
Small silver droplets broke away from the backs of their chairs, swirling together into a tight ball that quickly expanded into a large tear drop before melting down to form another chair. Tulay took a seat before them with hands clasped in her lap.
“Of the three planets I’ve been assigned to,” she continued, “yours is the first to honour the rendezvous. I’m impressed.” The mist in the mask shifted and her face became gold. “It’s a beautiful thing when new minds reach out to the stars.”
John ran his fingers through his hair as the journey from his little house on the beach to an audience with a colour shifting being in outer space flashed across the edge of his thoughts. All that had been seemed so distant now, nothing more than a dream within a dream within a dream. Down below the world was on fire while up here there was a gorgeous sense of peace, and there was no way of knowing where he belonged anymore.
“I’m sorry but I’ve gotta know,” he said with a humbled respect. “What is this place and what the hell are we doing here?”
The mist in Tulay’s skin shifted to a dark blue and eyes creamy white. “This is an outpost sent from the star system your scientists refer to as Serpentis, a place I once referred to as home and some one and half thousand light years away. You’re here because we are one and the same. You are the harvest of Serpentis.”
Candice leaned forward with frantic attention. “What do you mean by harvest?”
“Why, the product of a seed of course. Our seed.” Tulay’s feet began to glow orange as Bobbie continued to rub his head along her soles. “When our species grew capable of deciphering the message it became our responsibility to send the blueprint into new realms, to find liquid planets ready to adapt the program. It is the way of the journey. We acquired our place at the table of the Awakening amongst planetary representatives, and now you too have a seat.”
“The message…” Candice whispered, “the code inside us… you created it? I mean, you’re species?”
“We embedded the code inside a set of instructions older than the universe itself and sent them to your planet once carbon life forms were confirmed.”
Candice pressed her cheeks with her hands and blew out a frustrated sigh. “I just can’t process something that doesn’t make any sense! I’m trying, believe me I am, but I don’t know if I’m missing something or everything I’ve ever learned is wrong…”
Tulay’s face turned stunning silver as her long body and arms dissolved into a warm pink. Her eyes began to dazzle like diamonds of infinite facets, and the glass walls of the pyramid began to fill with a smoky grey. John couldn’t tell if it was a good or bad thing, nor could he ignore the single tear that slid along Candice’s chin.
“Here’s the thing,” he said with palms held open, “I’m just a washed up cop that got caught up in something that’s way above my pay grade. I’ve got a half blind cat for a best friend and devils that dance in my sleep. Truth is I can’t even be sure if I’m asleep or awake, alive or dead or just losing my mind, and sitting here talking to some kind of alien in outer space isn’t exactly clarifying anything.” He lowered his head wi
th resignation. “Now more than ever I want to know.”
The pyramid walls rippled with electric blue waves and their world was changed in an instant. An exotic rainforest breathed around them, with glowing butterflies bouncing from giant leaf to giant leaf amongst beams of orange sunlight that flickered across the trunks. John lifted his head to find a soft blue sky filled with rolling planets and shooting stars that streaked red tails in their wake. Still sitting in the chair, he reached out to touch one of the leaves and found his hand wash through as though it wasn’t there.
“We can hear all your thoughts,” Tulay began, “all your worries and all your fears, and we understand. We understand because we experienced the same pain of transformation.” Her skin began to flow like a waterfall. “The universe is vast and life the rarest of sparks that ignites only when conditions are perfect. It is built upon the same rules that give birth to planets and stars, rules that allow infinite possibilities. Life, however, is a blood and bone veil between two very different realities.”
Droplets of red rain began to fall, dancing upon the plants and leaves and glistening beneath the orange sunbeams. Undeterred, the butterflies continued to flutter around them with blood brushed wings. Still encased with a dazzling waterfall, Tulay stood from the chair and extended her long arms to embrace the surrounding beauty.
“Cells multiply not because of a random mistake but because they are driven by a powerful force, a force that beckons an awakening. The forms change and vessels for souls grow with increasing beauty but the quest remains the same. Absolute consciousness.” The guest with endless colours brought her hands close together, summoning a radiating gold orb between them. “Animal souls are created along the acid and protein journey, but our souls lay waiting in another dimension until the perfect form has evolved. We are drawn into this universe to witness, to explore and to seek the answer in breaking down the veil so that we may return to the Gods. We are given a planet to help teach us the rules of the game and experience matter’s dance, and soon enough there comes a time when the stars call for further learning. But how to venture into the abyss?”
The Hallucigenia Project Page 78