”It sounds interesting. But as for our region, the spiritual one, how can such a rescue package come to look like?”
”Every planet is willing to donate souls to a fund to provide emergency relief to Phironsamir.”
”Really? How will it work in practical terms?”
”It will be on a voluntary basis.”
”Can it be done?”
”They think so. And we can test it here in this particular case.”
”What do you mean?”
”We simply ask the souls themselves whether they will help you to recover.”
”Ask them? It sounds unlikely.”
”Don’t say that. We haven’t tried yet.”
”That opportunity seems to us quite impossible. Phironsamir is not an attractive place for rebirth. There have become too many low status souls who pull the level down.”
”Exactly, but then there is an obvious task there, waiting to be addressed and resolved. A challenged planet, as we would say today. You have heard about savior mentality?”
”Yes, I have, but...”
”No ‘but’, my good Major Frumkazyl. You must not underestimate the power of the required motivation here for the most part being a mental mechanism.”
”Do you believe so?”
The Major previously resigned and distanced now had a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
”I do indeed. Sacrifice. Presence. Social conscience. Humanity. It is fine traditional soul virtues, and they get an extra relevance in places where by helping individuals they may find that their existence means a clear difference.”
”A mission?”
”Right. That is the word. There are countless examples of this kind everywhere in the universe.”
”How should such an emergency plan be effected?”
”Well, you see... It was indeed some tasty liqueur you got there...”
The Major poured some more. All three of them emptied their cups simultaneously.
”Ahhh... Yes, well... Each soul administration will conduct a survey among the soul mass, which on every planet is facing reincarnation, if anyone would accept a rebirth at Phironsamir.
There will of course be promised extra bonus points on the ladder of reincarnation in relation to this. The UOJMIECCC has approved to that at a hastily called meeting. And I’ll be doggoned if there are not some souls with savior complexes tempted to be reborn in a place where they really feel there is a need for their selfless efforts.”
”I must say, you have managed to restore faith in life for me.”
”That was the intention. You see, the biggest single element to break a downward spiral is faith in the future and the hope that there can be an improvement. That conviction restored, the course is reversed and development on the road to improvement is under way.”
Chapter 30
COMPROMISE
There was really a need for Paragon' transmutator. The entire great hall of the prison block filled with souls and on the other floors more souls followed matters over the loudspeaker.
Major Frumkazyl came with a very poignant description of his home planet's fate. How the fight against totalitarianism had ended just to make room for an unbridled overconsumption, which took no account of the planet's limited resources and the subsequent realization that the good years had passed and that people had to share what was back, which was not very much.
As this decline in living standards was not accepted, it had led to new wars and the planet population was scattered and resigned to the new living conditions. Instead of coming to terms with fate and slowly build up the planet through a strategy for sustainability large groups had given up and was sunk in a collective comfort and oblivion manifested in an unrestrained consumption of drugs. The remaining few responsible individuals were not enough to keep the planet on track and it was now heading towards total destruction.
Frumkazyl also regretted the approach to abduct qualified souls from other planets and he realized now that the plan had failed. Then he mentioned Klamuffel’s idea to try a call for voluntary action instead, a choice that many soul administrations would back up assigning the participating souls bonus points in climbing the soul hierarchy of reincarnation.
He concluded that the souls would be free to determine their future destiny after having served on Phironsamir and hoped that many of those present would decide to follow him back to Cassiopeia. He assured that they would use a gentle technique, so no souls were lost during transport.
The souls listened attentively and they got a few hours to think about the plan.
Frumkazyl came over to Paragon.
”Thank you for lending us your translator machine. What do you think of my presentation? Did I sound too sentimental or desperate?”
”I think you sounded very well balanced. You expressed the gravity of the situation and the necessity of a grant of motivated souls. I don’t think anyone got the wrong impression of the seriousness of the situation. It worked.”
”I am glad to hear. Do you think a part of the souls will support the project?”
”I am convinced about that, especially from the part that comes from a waiting position in the intermediate layer Limbo. They have been burdened by not being able to let go of their troubled relation to a past life on Earth, but the journey has freed them and they will probably be interested in being useful in a new life somewhere else.”
”That's what I hope for. I will be sad to have to return home empty-handed.”
In that moment, an irritated creature came into the room. It was a burly tanned drumvor with flattened muzzle and slinky green eyes. He had a double row violet blue uniform with shiny buttons and epaulettes.
”Who runs this enterprise?”
Frumkazyl and Paragon turned to the newcomer.
”And who are you?”
”I'm Wolfymar, and I'm the leader of this condemned prison planet.”
Paragon presented Frumkazyl.
”It must be Major Frumkazyl here you need to talk to. He stands for soul handling within the block here.”
”I see. Is it you who have parked the sphere here right outside?”
”The vessel called Kolossos is an intergalactic spaceship from Cassiopeia. I am the captain.”
”Then it's you I must get hold of. Are you responsible for the lease?”
”If you refer to the agreement on accommodation of souls waiting to continue their journey, it's me.”
”Good. Our auxiliary troops from Myrgol said that they pursued a spacecraft on the way here. It fled from Taurus X and sought refuge in your spaceship.”
”That is correct.”
”Well. These fleeing terrorists must not get away. I demand that you hand them over to me immediately.”
”I cannot.”
”Oh? Why not? Are they dead?”
”No, but in the interplanetary registers they are not listed as terrorists but are recognized as supporters of opposition groups that have been oppressed in their home planets by totalitarian leadership.”
”We are entrusted the responsibility of keeping them here. That is all I know.”
”Then you must report back that the prisoners have disappeared.”
”I cannot do that, when the prisoners are here and released from your custody. It will be a loss of prestige for Taurus X if it comes out that they have been able to escape.”
”As far as I can make out it amounts to mere trifles compared to another and greater lack of prestige from a prisoner revolt.”
”I'll decide on that. The auxiliaries are to put matters straight, and in a short time, with the situation normalized, we can assure our principals before the rumors of the uprising spread, that Taurus X is still the safest place they can send their prisoners for storage.”
”I will not meddle, but the freedom fighters who have sought refuge on Kolossos will not be extradited.”
”If you don’t transfer the prisoners to me, I terminate your lease with immediate effect. You must then cl
ear the premises and I will not renew the license to use the place as an intermediary camp in the future!”
”That decision we have to live with. I don’t intend to renew the lease anyway.”
”No?”
”No, we have found an alternative solution.”
”So I am suddenly left with empty rooms, and a lack of rental income. There are a half years' notice.”
”Now don’t forget, that it is you who have chosen to denounce us with immediate effect. The deal is final. We clear the block tomorrow. If there are no additional matters, I regard the call to be completed. Have a nice day, Mr. Wolfymar.”
The head of the prison turned and left the room just as annoyed as he had come.
In the course of the following day, the result of the soul poll was official, then asked to partition into two groups depending on whether they would go to Cassiopeia or return to Earth.
More than one third of the souls decided to keep on going to the planet Phironsamir. It was about the number Paragon and Klamuffel had guessed. Frumkazyl came over to them.
”It went better than I had feared.”
”It comes as no surprise to us. And as you may expect the motivation to make a positive difference in their new identity is essential.”
”I'm aware of that, but unfortunately it doesn’t fulfill the urgent need for the supplementation of souls we have at the moment.”
”No, but this contribution is not the only one. I have spoken with other soul administrations, and they, too, are prepared to hold a vote among their souls for a new galactic affiliation. I am convinced that you through volunteering in this way will have the number of souls necessary to bring Phironsamir on to recover.”
”I fervently hope so. We thank you for your fine initiative, Mr. Klamuffel. And also you, Mr. Paragon.”
”It’s our pleasure to help to try to save a habitable planet. After all, there are not many of these kinds on a universal basis. It would also torment us if one of them went completely lost. Maybe you can help us in some way in the future.”
”I hope so too. But now I want to transfer my new volunteer souls to Kolossos.”
”And promise us that you will use a gentle soul transmission.”
“We will do that. Now that we are not bringing so many souls along this time we also have room enough on the spaceship.”
Klamuffel looked around.
”And then I want that the souls I take back to Earth and my second in command Paragon here, all get their old appearance back.”
”Of course. I'll see to that.”
Over in Kolossos Paragon and his soul companions said goodbye to the freedom fighters. They pressented hands, flippers and forepaws to one another.
”Is The Centennial Eagle ready to fly again?”
Lorkamel XXX was thrilled.
”Yes, and not only that, she is better than she ever has been before. A real beauty makeover!”
Maskyvir supplemented.
”Yes, the rust stains are gone.”
”Moreover, she has received two new highly calibrated fusion engines and an improved proton battery, so she can hyper jump and divert position without delay in the future.”
”It sounds excellent. For she must surely be able to move fast if you have to fight the dictatorial regimes of your home planets.”
”In that strategy The Centennial Eagle is only a small pawn. But she is important as a start in the fight against the evil empire.”
”Good luck with the rebellion.”
”Thank you, friends! And we also thank Major Frumkazyl to protect us against reversal as prisoners to Taurus X.”
”So now it’s perhaps just before you leave?”
”No, we’ll wait until we have hyper jumped once with Kolossos. Then we have shaken the strato fighters from Myrgol efficiently, and we have also come closer to our home planets.”
”Then goodbye and have a nice trip!”
”The same to you!”
In Klamuffel’s spaceship, they were getting ready with the accommodation of the souls of those who had chosen to come back to Earth. Klamuffel turned and Paragon looked around.
”I've never before flown with Optimus Ultra.”
”No, it’s also our largest unit, but it may take some effective diving through hyperspace. Otherwise we had not been able to make it.”
”No, you arrived in the very last minute. It must have taken some extra time to communicate with the UOJMIECCC.”
”We have not.”
”No? Well, I thought... You said otherwise that the UOJMIECCC had implemented some locking system so Major Frumkazyl could not carry out its planned transfer of souls to Cassiopeia and that you had to approve the transportation and ask them to disable the codes first?”
Klamuffel cleared his throat.
”I must admit that it was not quite true. I had to poke him a white lie. But it worked.”
”So it was a bluff?”
”It was, yes, and I'm not proud of it, but I needed it as the confrontation drove us up to a point of no return and besides Major Frumkazyl needed an excuse to present to his hinterland, so he could accept my amended agenda.”
”I really hadn’t thought that about you, Klamuffel.”
”Oh, you know, in love and war all is fair.”
Dorrit stood and fidgeted at the arrival terminal on the space station 'Limbo'. Being told the approximate time Optimus Ultra would arrive she had walked down to the arrival pier in good time. It could be coming in a little earlier, and she wouldn’t risk that they docked, and she was not there to meet them.
The waiting on the space station 'Limbo' had seemed lengthy to her, and then again not. There was so much to look at in this cosmopolitan place with the traveling to and from by life forms from all corners of the universe. Dorrit liked the many locations. She had been a mascot of a group of bulwark sailors because she so often frequented the spaceport and followed the traffic of ships that arrived and departed, bound for distant destinations.
She also went to visit Dimitrius Donovan and Fjodor on the bridge and watched anxiously the important work of getting the many vessels maneuvered in place so they in a comfortable rhythm was allowed to enter and depart at one of the many piers and docks in the extensive spaceport.
The excuse she always gave was that she just wanted to ask whether something had happened with the expedition, the Soul Service had sent to Taurus X to save the lost souls. Every time asking them they had not heard anything.
Immediately after the head of security Conan Statham had failed in his attempt to hold back the Bastytjak spaceship, he went along with Dorrit go to his office to try to make contact with the Soul Service on Earth.
The task was not easy, for naturally not everyone was allowed to contact an institution not situated in the physical material world. Still, the space station presiding as host for the great spiritual conference of deities from all parts of the universe, you had from that time a number of confidential contact addresses for the centers on spiritual levels, among other the Soul Center of the Earth in the Seventh Sky.
When he finally got into contact, it was just before the receiver was put down because they thought it was the wrong number. Yet, Conan Statham did manage to mention that he had an important message to Major Klamuffel from his service man, Paragon. Eventually put through, Klamuffel was luckily in the office, where he took the receiver.
”Hello, you talk with Conan Stratham from the space station 'Limbo'.”
”I didn’t know there was any space station in Limbo?”
“No, 'Limbo' is here the name of the space station I'm calling from. We hosted the COSCON conference some time ago.”
”Oh yes, now I understand. THAT 'Limbo'. How can I help you, Mr. Stratham, sir?”
”It's not so much me as your employee, Paragon.”
”I see? Has he strayed off right out to you?”
”No, he has been abducted along with a lot of souls from your quadrant. They are on their way to t
he prison planet Taurus X with a spaceship on a secret mission from somewhere in Cassiopeia. I have promised to inform you, if I could, and it seems that I have finally gotten through to the spiritual dimension.”
”That was indeed fortunate. I mean you being put through to me. I’m most happy about that message. Much obliged. I will immediately put a number of initiatives underway, so we can try to address the situation.”
”Excellent. It was an escaped earthly soul, Dorrit, from the spaceship, who came to me with Paragon’s request. She's right here with me now, and she's upset that her soul brother, Anders, had to follow as a prisoner towards Taurus X.”
”I see. Thank her from me and tell her that we will do everything we can to help her brother and the other abducted souls.”
”That I will.”
Then Dorrit felt that she had done what she could. Now it was only a matter of waiting and hoping that the rescue would arrive in time. If the trip continued from Taurus X to Cassiopeia it was be very doubtful whether the lost souls would ever come back again.
Now she stood down in the spaceport waiting for the spaceship Optimus Ultra from the Seventh Sky on its return journey to dock at pier number 09 before long. She had said goodbye to both Dimitrius Donovan, Conan Stratham, the bulwark sailors and all the others that she had come to know.
When she was about to give up and turn to leave, she heard that the bulwark sailors shouted to each other that they should prepare to handle Optimus Ultra, being on its way to the pier.
Now she could see the beautiful shiny double oval that slowly left the entrance corridor and approached the pier. Completely on schedule, the ship docked, and in a moment the vessel port opened and the gangway adjusted.
Paragon- Ghost Hunters Page 25