by F. Habib
The purpose of our matter-life, they are told, is to learn to love and evolve to ever-higher levels of consciousness in the face of challenges such as ignorance and fear. No pearly gates or God as such, though some think the light beings must be God or Jesus. Also there are reports of unpleasant experiences too, though this seems to be related to the psychological state of the person at the point of death. Some even say it started off hellish and then as soon as they accepted what was happening it became pleasant.
Then there are people who regularly practice Out of Body Experiences. They claim to be able to leave their healthy body voluntarily and travel within our realm: say, go to the room next door and read something on the wall. They also claim to travel to other dimensions, which are populated by spirits. Weirdly, they also report a kind of management structure in the dimension we go to after we die: again it seems peculiarly bureaucratic. And it’s not all sweetness and light either, like the majority of near-death experiences imply.
There are all sorts of places and characters out there and not everyone is friendly. To be honest it seems a bit chaotic, which may be why some administrative processes seem to be in place. Of course, it might just be because I’m thinking in my little human mind about something really big and complex. What?’ Mimi frowned and Beth stopped chewing on her fingernail.
‘Um. Well, the out of body death thing you mentioned…’ she tugged at her hair, twisting it round her finger. ‘It may have happened to me a little bit.’
‘What?’ Mimi coughed.
Beth turned to Galen. ‘The day we jumped from the bridge…well ok, I threw us off. In the water, I saw my body floating away from me, and my injuries. It was a bit like watching another person, except without the horror I might have felt. Was I dead when the fishermen pulled me out?’
Galen tilted his head, ‘You weren’t breathing and had no heartbeat, and it took me a while to find you. I remember that being a bit strange as I can always find you within a certain distance. Once I had you out though, I was able to fix everything quite quickly. Only your arm had a lot of damage. I was worried, but then I could sense everything coming back.’
‘Back?’
‘Like…on again.’
‘Like a machine?’
‘Sort of. A bit like electrical machines. When things are alive they use up electricity.’
Beth frowned, ‘Well certainly there is plenty of electrical activity in our system, but we generate it at a cellular level from fuels of food and water, creating electromagnetic activity at the molecular, atomic and subatomic level. Don’t we?’ She turned curious eyes to Perun.
He shrugged. ‘I’ve never thought about it, the source of living energy. But Galen is right. When I heal I draw power through the cells and into the body, directing it once it’s in, but its source is unclear. I always thought it was at the atomic level guided by the DNA but I don’t know that for sure. I work with imagery and willpower; I don’t get involved with how the healing energy is being generated. I did assume it was externally sourced though, from the spirit world.’
Beth stood, rubbed her belly and started pacing.
‘Well, the concept of bodies as electrical machines is antiquated. Of course we’re still talking from a large-scale real-world perspective. When we look at the universe from an atomic perspective, everyone can agree it’s an illusion.
Since I first learned the structure of an atom as a child, I was utterly convinced of the deceptive quality of our universe. No one could think otherwise. We all ignore it of course, because we have to get on with our lives, but it is a fact that every atom is empty. Google will tell you it’s 99.9999% empty. However, that tiny bit you might like to think of as solid is not really. The only thing stopping atoms passing though each other is the magnetic field that electrons create by whizzing around the nucleus. An atom is just a bunch of minuscule vibrations humming so fast that they act like something solid. However, they don’t really have the mass most people think. The world around us is not really there. Our bodies are not really there. Our brain is not really there. By the age of eight I was convinced our universe was a form of hologram, it’s what inspired me to study particle physics. For me the concept of non-matter entities - your spirit world - seems highly likely knowing what I do about the stuff we like to call matter.’ Dark Matter and Dark Energy, which make up most of the universe, are still a mystery.
‘So you’re suggesting this matter-universe is a kind of simulation where Avireri entered but couldn’t work the system due to its rules? He found the twins hiding in a DNA…program. He then used their program to access the system to indulge his creative desires, before being trapped in the hologram himself?’ Mimi swivelled her chair.
‘So who wrote the program? The twins and we are just visiting it to learn from our life experiences? And if that’s so, where is this simulation situated? Where are we from, the spirits doing the learning? What’s the benefit of coming here to learn if, in our spirit form, we already have access to complete love and knowledge. How does it help to go backwards? Back to not knowing?’
‘How can you learn if you think you already know?’ Galen spoke softly.
Perun nodded. ‘The spirits say that to learn, the first step is to acknowledge your ignorance. You will not create fire if you already have heat and light. You need darkness to inspire you. When you relearn, you open up the possibility of learning something new. Perhaps you will create a new kind of fire that never existed before. The aim of life is to grow in new ways. Like Galen says - to evolve.’
‘That’s really deep, dude. But why? What are we all evolving into?’ Mimi popped open a can of Coke. Perun shrugged.
‘There is no we.’ Galen rolled a pen along the table with his finger. ‘There is only one thing, one us. It’s why transformation works. There may be different layers, folds, colours, textures but only one fabric. I don’t know what the cloth is or wants to become, but I know we’re all part of it. It is a mistake to think we are separate. Our sameness is what allows me to transform you into a tree or a cloud of bees.’ He smiled.
The adults stared. Mimi swallowed her gulp and inched her chair away from him. Beth rubbed her lower back, pulled up a chair and rested her head on the table.
‘So if everything is one thing then that one thing would seem to be vibration. Matter, non-matter, dark matter, spirits - all is energy. It’s just conscious energy. Sentient. Self-aware electricity of some sort. Everything else is just a derivative of it.’ Beth closed her eyes, clearing her mind for some answers. Nothing.
A dull pain blossomed behind her eyes.
How am I supposed to figure out the form and meaning of life, the theory of everything? Maybe that’s not my job. Maybe I’m over-reaching myself. Maybe I just need to figure out the smaller problem. Wish I knew what the hell it was!
She reached for Mimi’s can of Coke and paused before it touched her lips.
‘We were talking about healing energy possibly coming through from another dimension or source. If that’s so, is there evidence of energy output that is greater than input? Perun, those flowers you brought to the hospital when we met. They lived in perfect health for many months. What did you do to them?’
‘I asked them to stay alive. The cells regenerate by using up the energy I gave them in the beginning. It’s a combination of greater energy efficiency as well as drawing in energy through the DNA. For example, I need little sleep and can go many weeks with just small amounts of food.’
‘When you say the cells regenerate, you mean they age and then grow younger again?’ Mimi asked.
‘In that particular case, the ageing process was essentially slowed to a near stop.’ Perun shook his head as Mimi opened her mouth. ‘No, I will not stop you ageing.’
‘Oh, come on! Why not? Could you really do it? Why didn’t I think of this before?’ Mimi bounced around in her seat.
‘Quiet! Yeesh…how am I supposed to think?’ Beth gazed at Galen. He’d always seemed very normal in his food and sle
ep patterns. ‘Can you go without food and drink, do you think?’
Galen shrugged, ‘Never tried. I love food. I know I can hold my breath for a really long time. I scared Rian once - I went for a swim and didn’t come up for twenty minutes. Didn’t know people can’t do that.’
‘Good Lord. And I remember you can’t swim, so I guess you don’t know your limits, do you?’ She asked Perun.
His mouth twisted, ‘Unfortunately, I do. My teachers tested me. They placed me in a cage at the bottom of a pool and waited till I lost consciousness. They’d use the others to revive me. I maxed out at about forty-five minutes. Never could improve on that, no matter what. So I know there are limits. Certainly for me.’
He frowned at the horrified faces around him. ‘What? Oh, the treatment? Hah, it was worst when they maimed animals or people to force you to practice your skills. My only regret is not acting sooner to escape - to take some with me. I never thought they’d destroy them. Many were just babies.’
Galen touched his father’s hand. Perun shook his head like a wet dog flinging away memories. ‘It’s not a mistake I’ll repeat. We will get out of here as soon as we’re ready.’
Beth shivered at the thought of Galen in an underwater cage. ‘I’m ready when you are. You’re the ones telling me we have to wait for the baby. I really don’t see why. You two are the best medical team the world has ever known.’
‘It’s not just about the baby. When we leave, every agency on the planet will be looking for us. We will have to hide, change how we look. We need to decide on what our new life will be, where, how we will manage the baby. Then there’s Khoen to consider. I hate to think what he’s up to.’
Beth’s heart clanged in her chest. She hadn’t heard his name in weeks. Had refused to discuss him, think about him.
‘We don’t even know if he’s alive. He might have suffered the separation as I did. He had no one to help him,’ she said.
‘Oh, he’s alive. We couldn’t get that lucky.’ Perun said.
‘Okay, cool it you two.’ Mimi sighed, ‘I propose we starting planning an exit strategy. There are only a few weeks left to the big arrival and we’ll need all the lead-time we can get. I’ll start taking note of the rosters and spot some of the weak links we might benefit from. In the interim we carry on as before, leading the researchers slowly down a harmless path. You still working with Doc Gravy on the Raising The Dead experiments?’
Galen nodded, ‘I’d like to stop soon. Dr. Graeves has moved from dead worms to mice and I have a feeling it’s going to get worse quite quickly now. I’ve stopped saving them as much. One little guy already died seven different ways.’
Beth frowned, ‘I’ll have a word tomorrow. Perhaps I can pull you off the project temporarily. Claim I need you for some of the physics research.’ She paused. ‘Can you guys make the pregnancy go any faster? You know, speed it up?’
Perun frowned. ‘I wouldn’t. It might be possible, but they track her development very closely. It’d just raise alarm bells.’
‘Stop talking.’ Galen stood, head cocked as though listening. ‘People are coming. Commander Decker and…others – strangers. One is dying. We’d better go quickly.’
The group sprang into action, shoving papers and computers away. Perun opened the door, just as the soldier pushed in.
‘Ah, so this is your hiding place.’ Decker’s gaze flicked briefly around the small meeting room before resting on Galen. ‘We’ve been looking for you for twenty minutes; we need your help. A man is critical and he must survive. His death is not an option. He’s just outside.’
‘Who is he?’ Beth stepped forward to buy time, her heart tripping. They wouldn’t be able to have another meeting anytime soon.
‘That’s classified. He’s suffering from stage IV pancreatic cancer that is now metastatic. Galen needs to fix it. We only have a few hours to get him back on his feet.’
They stepped into the corridor; a small group of men stood around a figure on a stretcher. The sick man didn’t move as they approached. Neither did his guards.
‘I need some space, please,’ Galen said. Decker shared a hard look with the man’s security and the way was cleared. As Galen knelt to touch the man’s face, a loud gasp made Beth jump. Mimi was staring with wide eyes at the grey features.
‘No way. Don’t help him!’ She yelled at Galen. Galen pulled back and looked at Beth.
Decker grabbed Mimi by the arm, ‘Shut up. We have no option.’
Mimi yanked her arm back. ‘Are you kidding me? He’s a mass murderer. He’s been butchering his people for decades. He deserves to die.’ She spun fierce eyes to Galen. ‘You mustn’t save him. He’s a tyrannical dictator. If he lives…oh my God if he lives for a long time, you’d be sentencing millions of innocent people to continued persecution and oppression.’
The chief guard spoke rapidly. Sounds Asian, Beth thought. Another guard drew a gun and pointed it at Mimi’s face. She responded with a violent outburst, clearly cursing the men. They recoiled, mouths open.
‘You sound like my grandmother,’ croaked the man in the cot. The attention spun to him. He was watching the scene through rheumy eyes, his smile a twisted grimace.
His gaze moved to Galen, ‘You are the healer?’
Galen nodded, and the man cursed under his breath. His focus sharpened as he peered at Galen’s face.
‘Do you think you can do it?’
Galen didn’t respond. Instead he turned questioning eyes to his mother. The man with the gun raised it, this time at Beth.
‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you,’ Perun commented.
Mimi and Decker spoke over each other.
‘Put the gun down or it’s over,’ Decker warned. The old man grunted and the guard lowered the pistol.
Decker turned to Beth. ‘President Guan is a key stabilising force in South East Asia. There is trouble and tension in the region that needs to be managed in the best interest of the USA as well as countries in that region. We can’t allow his main opponent to succeed him as he is a radical who has threatened to befriend North Korea and actively promotes anti-US and anti-western sentiment. President Guan has agreed to talks for initialising changes in his current regime in exchange for his treatment. We’re going to send in UN monitors.’
‘My ass! I’d sooner trust a rattlesnake. What’s your leverage once he’s healed and gone home? Nothing will change.’
‘Look, I’m not a politician, I’m a soldier and I have my orders. There is no ambiguity here. He must be healed.’
‘Or else?’ Perun raised an eyebrow.
Decker’s face hardened.
‘There would be serious consequences for this project.’
‘I’ll do it.’ Galen whispered. Beth looked at his serious expression.
I can no more tell him to refuse treatment than I could order him to kill. This has to be his call.
Galen placed his hand on the man’s forehead and abdomen. Only the president’s sharp breaths broke the silence. Nobody moved as the minutes ticked on. Gradually the twisted lips slackened in surprise. Galen removed his hands and the president slowly propped himself up on his elbow. His men helped him to his feet. He leaned heavily on one man, but colour had returned to his face. He stared at Galen with wonder, clear eyes gleaming.
‘What a powerful weapon you have here.’
Beth assumed he was talking to Decker. It was hard to tell, as he couldn’t pull his eyes from Galen.
‘Time to leave, Mister President. The helicopter is waiting.’ Decker’s tone brooked no argument as he gestured down the corridor. The president smiled warmly at the group around him. ‘Thank you my friends. I’m hopeful we might meet again someday.’ There was no response as he turned to hobble away.
As the lift doors shut Mimi spun to Galen, ‘Tell me you didn’t really heal him.’
‘I did.’ Galen raised his palms to ward off Mimi’s tirade. ‘He has a few months before it returns. If he’s true about changing I’ll heal him proper
ly. If he isn’t, then I won’t. It also gives us time to leave this place. More will come.’
‘He’s right,’ Perun said. ‘I was regularly told to heal people who had paid my teachers. People in power get sick or have sick families they want to help. I think we need to make an escape plan.’ He paused, lost in thought for a moment. ‘I will test the plan first. If I succeed, which I’m certain I will, I’ll prepare everything on the outside for your escape.’
‘No,’ Mimi said. ‘Bad idea. It has to be all of you together, not one and then the rest. If you get out they will lock down the facility tighter than a gnat’s ass. They’ll never get out without a big fight.’
‘I think I can walk out of here without them knowing how. I can put people to sleep at a distance of over three meters. I’m certain Galen could learn to do it. Once the baby comes, and you have a handle on what powers she’s got, you can leave. Tell them I was angry about the president’s healing and just left. With the birth nearing they may bump up security, but I think you can convince them you have no interest in escaping. Just act as though my departure was an immature hissy fit.’ He smiled, ‘Beth should have no problem pulling that off.’
‘But…’ Galen chewed on a fingernail, ‘I don’t want you to go.’
Beth’s heart clenched. Perun slowly wrapped him in his arms, squeezing and lifting him up. He buried his face in Galen’s hair, heads pressed together. They stayed unmoving for long seconds. Tears flowed silently down Beth’s face. When will my baby get a break?
Perun slowly lowered his son. Galen’s face was serene.
She wiped her face and swallowed before risking her voice.