And obviously, I am. Mariah frowned but never took her eyes of the pyramid. Of course. So ... what? I just wait for the how-to-pick-the-lock manual to come flying out of the ozone? Presumably from the same place I get all my inspirations? Maybe I should just leave it alone, let it do its thing. No suggestions? Oh, by the way, since you plan on joining me, just do it. No telling what this freaking thing will do to my mind if I crack it open.
The aliens tried to sympathize with her frustration but, in their world, psychic phenomena were as common as the hot star warming the air and the land, and empathy was not part of their genetic makeup. Nevertheless, close association with the three human males on Izorach had provided valuable insight into human nature. They were, therefore, now capable of understanding the psychological trauma concerning her numerous mutations, all the mental and emotional changes and her helplessness. They surmised that sarcasm was a method employed by humans to distract them from pain.
#
Somewhat aware of the telepathic conversation between the two aliens (correction, he thought darkly, three aliens), Winters watched Mariah back up until her legs hit the table. Sitting on it, she crossed her right foot on her left thigh, left foot on right thigh, in a position he knew as the “lotus.” Apparently, without conscious thought and seemingly nonchalantly, she placed her left arm in her lap, palm turned upward while her right hand rested on her leg, fingers pointing toward the floor.
Startled, Gabriel Winters remembered when he’d burst in on a Buddhist monk meditating in this position. Ever curious, he had asked the significance of the pose. The priest referred to the draped-finger gesture as “Calling the Earth to Witness.”
Warmth spread through Mariah’s body as Aleris and Sateron Joined with her. Oooooh, this is nice, she thought dreamily, this Joining so different from those she had previously experienced. To hell with everybody, I’m going to sit here and enjoy this. I hope they don’t disconnect when they realize I have no intentions of...
The fingers that were pointing toward the floor began to tingle. She raised this hand to her face and spread her fingers, looking through them at the band of flashing lights on the pyramid. Her breathing slowed ... and more ... until it looked like she had stopped breathing.
Two flashing lights darkened simultaneously. Almost immediately, another pair extinguished, followed closely by two more. The band slightly faltered. The remaining lights filled in the spaces and rose imperceptibly toward the pyramid’s peak.
Sateron felt his mind captured, held by a force more powerful than he could have ever imagined. Instinctively he began to struggle to regain control, but ceased when he realized the uselessness. He breathed deeply and relaxed, allowing his innate scientific curiosity to banish his fear.
Aleris welcomed the seizure of her mind, positive that Mariah would do them no harm, not sure if their psychic energy was even needed to bolster hers. She, too, waited expectantly for the outcome of this mind-seizing experience.
#
When the seventh pair became lifeless, the band shuddered. More pairs extinguished rapidly, the remaining lights moving steadily upward until only one pair remained lit at the peak.
Winters had unconsciously moved as close to Mariah as possible, mesmerized by the dimming lights and the reaction of the two aliens. Their eyes were open but they were as lifeless as marble statues. He turned and looked into Mariah’s face.
Her pupils were so extravagantly dilated they obscured the irises. Her face was lit with a devilish grin as she turned her head and stared back at him. He unconsciously backed up several paces when she dropped her hand and jumped off the table.
I just had a marvelous idea, Super Sleuth. Gabriel heard her voice in his head. Since you seem to have this voyeuristic fetish, I’m going to give you the opportunity of a lifetime. Besides, somebody with some credibility has to authenticate and report back on what we’re about to see.
Never taking her eyes off him, she waved her hand … and the final pair of lights winked out. Grinning at him, she sent; Hang on, tough guy, you’re in for a bumpy ride!
Chapter 63
It wasn’t bumpy at all; in fact, it was fast and smooth. Winters felt like he was being compressed into a funnel that whizzed through space at the speed of light. His world collapsed in on him, then expanded in a burst of multicolored lights that sped by so quickly they blurred. His body tightened more and more, but surprisingly there was no pain, just pressure. Conversely, every fiber of his being felt infused with energy, like he could take on the world single-handedly.
He was almost sorry when it was over. Opening his eyes, he expected to be staring at Mariah’s cocky grin. Instead, what he saw made his eyes widen and his breath catch in his throat.
He stood on the crest of a hill, nearly ankle deep in white and yellow blossoms whose fragrance was intoxicating. No more than two hundred feet ahead, the covering of flowers gradually ended and a luxurious carpet of bottle green grass snaked down the hill.
At the bottom of the hill, the grass ended abruptly at the edge of a forest. The trees, their foliage in shades of green, gold, red, and orange, appeared to be marching toward the foot of a mountain whose peaks pierced the blue sky and gleamed brilliantly in the sun. Frothy white clouds pirouetted around the snowy peaks, their dance a tribute to this healthy and abundant world.
The spell was broken by the sound of Sateron’s chuckle behind him. “Through your mind, I experience anew the awe and magnitude of being psychically displaced, or as you may understand it, astrally projected, for the first time. Your body remains behind as your essence revels in this sight.” Winters grinned sheepishly, aware that he had been feasting on the view with his mouth open.
With her hands on her hips, Mariah stood about twenty feet ahead, her back to them. She was staring at the forest. Winters should have been alarmed to find himself in this strange place, but he wasn’t; obviously no one was hurt and the aliens were enjoying themselves, so he relaxed and let his natural curiosity take over.
“Where are we?” he asked Mariah. Several seconds passed before he realized she was not going to answer.
“I believe we are on your planet when in its infancy,” offered Sateron.
Before he could ask more questions, Mariah abruptly stiffened. Dropping her arms to her side and jamming her hands into her pockets, she looked over her shoulder, her eyes taking in the three who watched her closely. In a voice both wary and excited she said, “He’s coming.”
#
Galaxaril stood before the crystalline orb, his eyes glazed over, his hands clasped at his waist as the Min’yel’os probed his mind. Their discussion ceased seconds before. They dismissed his objections and sought the information They needed from within his brain.
He knew They were shocked at the psychic reading he had extracted from the satellite. They probed deeply and completely—or so They thought—to uncover the source of this data. And received no more than what he chose for Them to find ... a link from the orbiters the two geneticists had put in place to Their satellite communicators on Hakilam. The last time one was intercepted, her psychic reading had been 6.0. It was exorbitantly high for an alien, but well within Their control should the situation warrant action.
Nonetheless, this latest reading was appalling. From the mind of the Minister, They saw the blackened vid-screen with the green numbers pulsing. An optical illusion; the pulses appeared to mock Them.
6.9
Their state of agitation thrilled Galaxaril deep within the part of his brain They could not probe. Even he was stunned but elated that she was surpassing his assessment of her psychic abilities.
Outwardly he awaited Their instructions, as impassive as ever. When at last his mind filled with orders, he was not surprised at the tone or content.
Apparently We gave too little credence to this creature. Its powers are becoming extravagant. Unpredictable. Mayhap futured to uncontrollable.
Of a certainty, We are wholly superior and fear nothing from it. Nothing. We must needs be protect our citizenry from disruption.
Find it. Bring it to Us. We will dissect its mind and deduce how it came to be so highly functioning. But if this cannot be, annihilate it before it becomes necessary for Us to take action.
And bring before Us the two geneticists who attempt to foment rebellion. From them, we will discover their accomplices.
Harm them not. We will assuredly make public their due punishment.
Chapter 64
The three behind her followed Mariah’s line of vision. There was nothing but the flower-covered hillside, the grass and the forest. In the next second, a figure moved toward them.
At approximately two hundred feet away, the figure appeared to be human, roughly six feet tall with waist-length blonde hair. A loosely belted tunic of powder blue and buttoned to his neck ended at mid-thigh while his black cotton trousers disappeared into soft leather boots that snugged his calves nearly to his knees. Resting against his breastbone was an amulet that looked like silver but with threads of gold intertwined. A stamped design hung on a chain of the same metal.
When he was twenty feet away, it became obvious just how non-human he was.
Mariah gazed into deep amethyst-colored eyes. His eyeballs were more cream colored than yellow and his canted eye sockets were far less pronounced than even Aleris’.
But he was Anorasian, and from far in their past. They would come to learn that he was sixty-five million years in their past. Long before evolution had thickened the hair on their bodies, before their height had increased twelve or so inches, before their hands had genetically mutated from five fingers to four.
The stranger closed the distance and stopped. Even though Mariah knew he was a holographic image, she was astonished when his eyes slid down and locked with hers. She heard a sound behind her, unsure if it was pleasure or fear, or who uttered it.
“Good wishes I offer you, Man’asorai. Be you Anorasian or another species, your arrival has been foretold by the Great and Glorious Shen’dalah, He who unto us has promised Salvation through His Chosen One.”
Although his voice was soft and cultured, Mariah heard the strength of one who was used to leadership. In the periphery of her mind, she received muted waves of ecstasy from the two Anorasians who forced themselves to remain still.
“I am Hesad, High Priest, or also called Shel’Zib, last of the research colony named so Lortinias. We stand on the planet Touranim in the star system Sol.” His hands were folded before him while he continued to look down at her. The serenity in his eyes did not mask his authority or power. Mariah felt as excited as the two Anorasians behind her.
“I so name you ‘Man’asorai’, the appellation ascribed by the Great and Glorious when He appeared to me, his most humble of servants. It is the bestowed title upon the One-So-Selected who will rectify the perpetrated horror on my race. And mayhap the galaxy. An erroneous assumption based on data fractured and misinterpreted caused this abomination to our evolution by our governing body, They who are so named Min’yel’os. I created this representation to extol the glory of this world and to name the alien form of life innocently responsible for its impending annihilation.”
He stopped and said no more. After a minute of waiting, Mariah looked over her shoulder at the three behind her.
What now? she sent. I just tried psychic communication but nothing happened. There must be something I’m supposed to do to get him to continue, but I’ll be damned if I know what it is. Any suggestions?
We tried combined psychic communication as well, with no success, Aleris sent back, her eyes speculative as she stared at the frozen figure of the High Priest. There is some trigger, that be a certainty.
#
Since Hesad’s holographic image appeared, Gabriel Winters had been deep in thought. With a frown, he sent, Mariah, why don’t you try speaking to him? He knows you have incredible psychic skills; you must have to get this far. Maybe he wants to know if whoever opened this thing has verbal skills as well. If he’s as security conscious as it seems, he might not want this group he calls ‘minyelos’ to psychically eavesdrop on this communication.
Mariah grinned in admiration. You just may have something there, Winters. I knew I brought you along for more than your pretty face.
She turned to face the immobile figure. “Okay, so here goes. Um, greetings to you, Hesad, High Priest of Lortinias. I read you loud and clear.”
The holographic image of Hesad came to life with a smile. “Well it be. I am prepared to proceed. Allow me to escort you on a journey through this pristine land, only existenced by our species three thousand years. If you are accompanied, may they be welcomed as well.
#
The travelers found themselves whisked from mountain aeries to vast oceans then to several settlements of Anorasian scientists. Hesad was an excellent guide, knowledgeable in all areas of Touranim. There was little doubt that this was Earth when fertile lands teemed with more varieties of plants and animals then were known to modern science.
Since Anorasians were so advanced technologically, they were adept at keeping the air and water free from pollutants. For Mariah Carpenter and Gabriel Winters, it was an extraordinary experience, seeing Earth before humans existed. They all knew when they arrived at their final destination because Hesad’s attitude changed to barely controlled excitement.
The moisture-laden air was fragrant from the abundance of tropical plants in this forest, far from the place where their tour had begun. In the distance was a valley with a sizeable lake in its center. Without the necessity of telescopic vision, the various species that drank along the water’s edge were recognizable: dinosaurs.
“Before you, the forest Efrikis. The creatures you see, Sar’ednos, are native beasts to this land ever before we arrived. Since the herbivilus need to feed from the height trees and drink from the waters, they remain close to the Efrikis. Then so must the carnivilus who feed on the herbivilus. We erected viscous barriers to safely keep them from entering our domain of plains and fertile valleys. We, the Anorasians and beasts, live in harmony with few some exceptions.”
Mariah was fascinated by the breathtaking sight. She sensed rather than saw Winters’ amazement as he tried to digest all the input he had been receiving from the moment of transportation.
“I must now elucidate of an Anorasian research colony simultaneously developed on a mirror planet eight thousand light years from Touranim. It be named Izorach, one of three planets in the Zubeln star system. I so call it ‘mirror’ due to climatics, topography, and species.”
Chapter 65
Aleris drew her breath in sharply. Had the scientists on Izorach transported certain of their species to Touranim? Or could it be the other way around? Sateron was equally confused.
#
“Izorachian culturists discovered that herbivilus and carnivilus in their Efrikis had spans of life that, in some cases, doubled those of their counterparts here. And more; in what should have been their declining years, their Sars enjoyed extraordinary health. The culturists determined the cause to be a moss-like growth that implanted on the quercus, a tree native only to the Efrikis. They so named the moss Eocene dicit’ledoni which we have shorted to dicit. It means ‘Giver of health, life, and longevity’.
“But the Sarsdo not diet on the dicit. If not ingested, then how comes it to be internalized? Analysis proved that the compound enters the host through the casual contact of microscopic barbs that painlessly pierce the host’s skin, entering thusly into the blood stream. Further, it seems to promote rapid healing properties, correcting not only external lesions, but their simple internal defects.
“Culturists handed their findings to geneticists who concluded that dicit is capable of extracting DNA from cells of the host. When in the blood system of the host for approximately two weeks, the host has several mild nostril
ejection episodes and expels Eocene dicit’ledoni spores, some of which find their way back to the quercus tree.”
He paused a moment and then continued his story more briskly. “Faithful to our Law of Discovery, a sample of the Eocene dicit’ledoni and these findings were sent to Hakilam, our home world in the Cheloran system star. Having more sophisticated equipment and virtually limitless resources, the Hakilam geneticists began experimentation with the DNA of the moss—until they produced a new strain able to regenerate cells.
“Yet this biologically-engineered compound has serious consequence. Once introduced into the Anorasian blood, periodic reintroduction becomes imperative. If withheld before natural termination, the Anorasian ages rapidly and succumbs painfully.”
His voice faltered and he closed his eyes. His pain was obvious, but he continued.
“The geneticists on Hakilam took this regenerative organism one step further. They extracted essence from the biologically-engineered clone then placed it into a central processing unit. Thus have they given to the Min’yel’os immortality.”
#
“Five hundred years formerly, the ten most powerful psychics in the Synadracus, the governing body of the star system Cheloran, had Their intelligence and persona transported into virtual matrices. And so became the Min’yel’os.
“‘For the betterment of the Anorasian race! For the expansion of the Empire!’” Bitterness clogged Hesad’s throat. “They convinced the populace that, free from the constraints of a corporeal existence, from debilitating emotions, from anxiety associated with a finite existence, and superior psychically to all, a governing body could rule analytically and impartially without the burden and complication of worrying about their demise.
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