Aetheran Child

by Antonin Januska

  “Thank you, Joan,” The little bald man started talking. The backdrop of the red and black Swift-Space swirled slowly, “The cause still unknown, the Swift-Space has almost completely degraded. The large tear that started here, by the galactic core.” He motioned to show the Milky Way galaxy, once again hued with red and black, “spread through at amazing speeds and has now entered the Andromeda Galaxy. The tear spread in length at first,” Jim motioned once again, and a white tear spread across a couple more galaxies, the timer showed two weeks, “Then the tear gained momentum and spread within the area.” The white line turned into a white blurry shape that spread over the known universe, “Currently, eighty percent of the swift-space is unusable. Beings native to the Universe, however, have not been affected in any way. All probes that have been sent out into the tear have been destroyed.

  “Most commercial traffic will be re-routed through Twist-Space. Twist-Space is a universe accessible through the sixth dimension where as it is popularly believed time and space 'twist' and skew so to speak. The results are often unpredictable but with enough time, research, and development, Twist-Space will be a major upgrade to the Swift-Space and it will be open to public in less than a year. Until then, the general public is advised to take the safer even if slower, hyperspatial dimensions long ago abandoned.”

  “Thank you Jim. We have just received a warning from the Chief of Transportation from the House of Lands. He reminds everyone that the Nether's set-aside traveling universe should not be trespassed into. Not only will it breach a thousand-year standing treaty, but it will also endanger the travelers foolish enough to venture there. The punishment for using the Nether treaty universes can number in thousands of credits as well as jail time, if the traveler survives the trip.”

  Lexan turned off the news channel and turned back to the task at hand, Meditation. Mt. Trance came into the classroom and spread his tentacles all over the chair to hoist himself up. He looked upon everyone and made sure that his students had Degree II vision turned on. Lexan turned off all communication, knowing all too well he needed to concentrate.

  Master Trance heaved on his eight tentacles and started transmitting the lesson. Lexan looked up and heard the master's simulated voice, “We have had class for several months now, and I think we need to try something new.” The professor shifted strangely, gazing out with his fractal eyes.

  “Up until now we have done calm meditations, easing the process of transformation. We have done meditations that affect your physical attributes, the speed of your heart, the amount of pain you feel. We have done a very good job with that, and will continue training this way.

  “But I believe that we should focus on another part of the body and spirit. The mind.” He raised a tentacle and motioned toward his octagonal body, and presumably, the part where the brain had its place, “We will travel into your minds. I will teach you to meditate in such a way as to explore your feelings, your past, everything about you. Some of you talented ones,” His look shifted toward a couple of students in the front and then to Lexan. His eyes lingered on Lexan for a few seconds and then he continued talking, “Some of you talented students may even see a possibility of your future.”

  Mt. Trance gave a mental order and the sound of music drifted into existence. It was different from the usual selection. The music seemed to resemble ocean waves yet behind them, hidden by the splashes of water, were deep, low murmurs of something else. Lexan noticed it immediately. He sat cross-legged and listened.

  “This kind of meditation involves a different procedure than most. First, you will need to switch the sound input real acoustic effects off. The music may sound strange but that's how it is supposed to be.”

  Lexan did as he was told, all of a sudden, he perceived the music right inside of his helmet, and then inside of his head, the Master continued, “Shield all outside noises except for the music and the sound of my voice,” he continued and everyone did as they were told.

  “I want everyone to lie down, comfortably, on your back. Put your hands by your body, or wherever they would feel natural. Close your eyes. When the sound of people and creatures vocalizing enters the music, join them, sing with them. You may mute yourself from others if you wish not to be heard.”

  The ocean waves continued licking the sandy beaches, Lexan imagined as he listened. The murmuring sounds grew louder, only to reveal another set of hidden sounds behind them. The sound of wind joined the waves in a perfect union.

  “Breathe deeply and relax. Let yourself go. You may feel as if you are falling asleep but you will not be. Some of you may experience lucid dreams and that is because the sounds and the meditation will bring you to a new state of awareness, where the subconscious and conscious become one.”

  Lexan laid down and stared above. He turned off all visuals and closed his eyes. The music grew quieter. Voices of men singing slowly eased itself to the rhythm. Their singing grew louder, yet they did not sing anything in particular, they simply vocalized or hummed very loudly. Lexan joined the singing, inhaling as much air as he could and exhaling it slowly with the hum. His throat and whole body vibrated with the sound.

  The murmuring low frequency picked up in speed. The almost indiscernible sounds swayed Lexan into a peculiar mind-set. He felt as one with the vocalizing men. He felt unity, he felt strength. The loneliness of the world dissipated. One with everything.

  The men sang for a while longer and then started singing less prominently until they disappeared behind a curtain of rising and falling sound of the recurring ocean waves. The sound seemed to take on a shape. The homogeneous vibrations changed pitch and speed every few seconds. The now loud, strange sounds transformed into singular beats. Like the ticking of a clock, followed by a hammering sound. None of it sounded pleasant. Luckily, it did not last long.

  Once again, the sounds transformed, bringing Lexan into a deeper meditation. He left his body behind, and traveled with the sound, so to speak.

  “Let me take you on a journey,” Mt. Trance said, his voice somehow blended in with the music. Lexan felt as if his voice had penetrated deep into his mind, as if through telepathy, Master Trance spoke to him, “A journey through your mind, full sounds and full of peace. I will accompany you in this journey.”

  Lexan’s body floated in empty space, the one his mind left. He felt the sounds curving, stretching, and skewing as if to accommodate his thoughts. He could hear strange patterns in the sound, Fibonacci sequences, Pascal's Triangle, each new layer of sound brought a more complicated pattern. The near-silent tones in the background were sounding off the digits of pi in a thirteen-base system. Lexan marveled at how complicated the music had become.

  Yet, on the surface, the music was peaceful and transcendental. It resonated with tranquility.

  “You will become one with the world. One with nature in spirit, in body, and in your mind.” Master Trance said, his voice echoed on endlessly. Lexan tried to focus on it but could not. He was in complete darkness, devoid of any contact with the world, beside the music and Mt. Trance's voice. He heard a strange sound, one that had not occurred in the music before. He must have been meditating for at least thirty minutes, he realized . He tried to follow the sound, his body levitated in the darkness above a river, the river of sound. The tick, the indistinct noise jumped up above the river, like a fish. Lexan followed it downstream.

  It disrupted the general harmony, vibrating outward with a ripple. Lexan wanted to catch it in his hands, feel it and see why it has disturbed the peaceful flowing waters. He wanted to help the disturbance to become one with the whole.

  He took the role of a guardian of the river. Lexan laughed to himself, what river? He drifted in and out of consciousness, at one point staring into the darkness, wondering what he was doing. Yet at the next moment, he flew above the river.

  “Now go deeper. Throw yourself into the sound.” Mt. Trance spoke and with his voice, the river swerved. Lexan felt the need to jump into the river, the wi
nds picked up. The winds composed of light, beautiful, fluffy melody pushed him closer to the river, yet lifted him up at the same time. He wondered closely about this paradox.

  Then he saw it again, the irregularity jumping high above the water. Lexan plunged forward, trying to catch it but could not. It dropped down into the river. The disruption changed colors. It burned red against the blue-purple water. Lexan dove deep down into the waters. The water felt amazing against his body, comforting him, loving him. He grabbed at the red blob and everything disappeared.

  “And as you enter the new world, do not be afraid, but rather enjoy the experience.” Master Trance spoke as Lexan whirled in a spiral and into another world.

  His head hit against something, he fell on a metal floor. His hands and knees scraped over the ground. He looked up, completely dazed. He was in the Needle Mark II, Master Raki's ship. Mt. Raki stared at him, encouraging him, with a wide smile. He also looked a tiny bit surprised.

  Lexan looked down and saw his body vibrating and turning into other dimensions. The molecules finally synchronized and in unison twisted into higher planes, turning the boy into a Aether. He remembered this event, it happened not too long ago, a few months maybe. His first transformation. Except this time, he felt no pain, he was a mere observer.

  As he turned into an Aether, he lost control. Lexan stared in front of him, at the two cryo-chambers. In one stood Alary, the other stood empty. She gazed down upon him with soulless eyes. She did not say a thing. She simply lied there, sleeping. He reached out for her, but could not. The pain he felt was too much for him to bear. Yet, the Lexan-the observer did not feel pain. He kept on watching Alary. She looked just the same as she had before he left Earth. Over a year ago.

  The Lexan of the memory gave a last whimper and passed out. The scene disappeared.

  Lexan stood in a dark brown robe, He stood tall and a wide silver ribbon encompassed his waist. He looked to his right and saw Alary again. She smiled at him and then looked forward. They walked through..through the Grand Hall!, Lexan recognized the place from the first day of school. They walked and he saw Opiders, Shuns of all kinds, even humans. A few of them waved, he recognized Krall and Solan eager to get the party started with two other boys at their arms. Alary and Lexan came through and on either side of them stood all these people, watching them with interest.

  Bloo waved at Lexan and blew him a kiss. Charles, his Opider friend, waved a tentacle at him. He had a partner with him too. Lexan, the observer, looked down upon his clothing once more. He saw his sign, the half-ellipse with endings like horns, crossed by a thin line sharpened on both ends, smooth with only a thorn in the middle. It glowed with a silver mysticality. Alary's clothing, dark blue robe, had symbols over it too, but once more, Lexan could not recognize them.

  He spoke, “Why do I dream of you so much?”

  Alary laughed and blushed.

  With that the scene grew darker and darker until lightnings flashed left and right. The deathly white glow erased all the hall and its visitors. Alary stood no longer by his side, but rather she stood some length away from him. She smiled, with an evil smile.

  Her skin ruptured, showing glowing red veins. Blood splatters covered her naked body. Scars damaged her perfect skin. Yet despite all of that, she looked more beautiful than ever. Her dark red eyes glowed with anger. She bared her sharp teeth. Then she smiled and motioned Lexan to come closer.

  He obeyed without questioning. She reached up to him and kissed him. Her hands made her way to his back which in heat of short passion, scratched him till he bled. Alary pulled quickly away and tasted the blood. She smiled. Lexan brought her closer to him and bit her lip as much as he could, once again, till she bled. She smiled once more.

  They kissed wildly, grabbing at each other, pulling each other closer, wounding each other. It seemed to go on endlessly but then just as abruptly as before, Alary threw Lexan off her. He fell on his back. She stared at him incredulously.

  “What do you think you're doing?!” She asked, wiping away the blood from her mouth. She looked at her bloody hand in disbelief. It was a different Alary. Her skin glowed bronze, her eyes looked like two pools of deep water. Neither scars nor blood, except at her mouth, seemed to cover her body. Her hair, black before, grew into a more natural light brown color.

  Tears stung her eyes, Lexan felt horrified, scared, and sorry for what he has done. Before he could apologize, she disappeared. The lightning flashes resumed.

  Lexan thought he heard a river nearby, but he was not sure.

  Once again, a figure stood before him. It was Nangern, his long-lost friend from Earth. Yet he was different too. Darkness embodied his spirit. He turned into an Aether but instead of giving off a transparent white aura, he gave off darkness. The usual white outline of an Aether disappeared only to be replaced by a black, dark outline. Lexan could see him only when the flash of thought pierced the darkness.

  “You left me for dead!” He screamed at Lexan, “You bastard! First you left me, then Alary! What was I supposed to do?!”

  Lexan could not respond.

  “I tell you what I did. I killed them all. That's right, I killed them. The Aetheri came, I killed them. The Nethers came, I killed those too. The humans, well, they were already dead.” He smiled devilishly. Then he moved closer to Lexan. Nangern slapped him and barred his invisible teeth. He laughed and laughed until silence came once again.

  Lexan stood up, and looked around. He could not see anyone anymore. Just as he thought it was all over, a figure tapped his shoulder.

  “There you are, Lexan,” It said. Lexan turned around to stare, at himself. An older version of himself, ragged, unshaven, scarred with an expression of a tired soldier, ready to retire appeared. The man looked at him and smiled. Then he disappeared, as if wanting to say something, but not being able to.

  The boy fell down to his knees, not being able to understand the short, strange flashbacks.

  “Get up off your knees, you swine.” Someone said, he could recognize it as Nangern's voice again. Damn my past, he thought to himself.

  Lexan looked up to see he was on an enormous starship. In front of him stood Nangern. Yet, it was not Lexan's body that Lexan observed. What is this? He asked himself, staring at his hands, too unfamiliar to be his own.

  “You damn Aetheri.” He hit Lexan or rather the body he had taken over, “You think you're better than us Nethers? Go to hell.”

  “We will never become such horrible beings as you have become.” Lexan said, not knowing what he meant by that.

  “Let me show you the truth, boy.” Nangern said. He wore a black uniform with red lines over it, “You think we're different, don't you? Well we're not, not by a lot.”

  “Wha-?” Lexan tried to asked something but could not. A tall brute next to him punched him hard against his jaw, cracking it. Yet he felt no pain.

  “That will shut you up for a while.” Nangern paced slowly. He looked different, older, bigger, buffer. The uniform enveloped his neck, where Nangern unbuttoned it. He took off his uniform jacket to reveal a plain white shirt below. It fit closely against his large and bulky muscles, something Lexan has not seen before. He remembered Nangern as being a small feeble boy but then again, so was Lexan.

  “I want to tell you a story, boy. You remember the old story about the Toria and how they created this world. Well, let me give a little bit more detail on it, something you have not heard from your government.” He smiled.

  “Only I know this truth, well, maybe a few more people. You know that there are the Six Toria that created your galaxy, right?” Nangern did not wait for an answer. He slowly took off his shirt to reveal a large brand, burnt into his skin, of a simple design, “The Six, they created your galaxy. The Nether's world was created by the Seven. I'm sure you did not know that.”

  Nangern turned around, “You see, every galaxy was created by a particular number of Toria. Each Toria had a job assigned. One was assigned with
Speed.” He imitated running, and he ran down from his podium where a throne sat on what Lexan recognized the bridge of a starship. Behind the throne, a window showed the outside, a dimensional twist universe meant for transport between Nether worlds, “Another one is of Strength.” He punched the air and a concussion wave coursed through the room, creating a mild breeze, “Then there is Knowledge, Intelligence, Creativity, and Magic.” He laughed at the last one.

  “Yet there are Seven here. Those Six we share, the Seventh is Emotion.” He smiled.

  Nangern turned around to show the design again. A large circle with a thin line piercing it vertically where his spine lay, “The symbol of Intelligence, my friend.” He smiled.

  “So you see, we are the same, created by the same people. We even share DNA.”

  “You are animals!” Lexan screamed, the sound came out strangely through the broken jaw but Nangern nodded in understanding.

  “Your government is just as treacherous, maybe even more than ours is. We have had a peace treaty. And what do I see here?” Nangern said, “A spy. A spy in our Traveling Dimensions, the ones restricted only for our use.” Nangern slapped the man Lexan embodied and the man cried out with pain.

  “Enough of this.” Nangern said and put on his shirt. He put his uniform back on again, “I will beat you, and beat you badly. I will make you scream in pain and writhe in agony. Then when you'll wish I'd kill you, I'll let you go.” He smiled, “So you can run off to your superiors. Tell your precious Aetheri that I am coming. That we, Nethers, are coming.”

  The scene blacked out again. Lexan's head spun harshly. He did not know what was happening. The scene re-appeared, Lexan embodied the same man as before.

  “I think that's enough.” The man screamed, Nangern smiled above him, “I think we've taught him a lesson.” He turned around and looked at a doctor standing by the doorway, “Put him to sleep, we'll throw him into a ship and launch him into space. Hopefully, some other spies will find him too,” He turned back again, “Hopefully, we haven't killed all of them yet.”