“Well, well, well. So, Gifted 5, we meet once again. I look forward to seeing what you are capable of.” Janto was in full uniform. We all exchanged the greeting with him, while Papa gave me a sideways glance. We hadn't gotten a chance to tell him of our meeting with him.
“And we hope that you will give them a real opportunity to win your full support. We will be stronger if we work together, Janto.” Mother Jones spoke almost like an affectionate scolding mother to him.
“Ah, Mama Jones. What a blessing to see you again. It has been too long. Don't worry, I will give them a fair shot.” The way he responded, you knew that there was a history of respectful affection between them.
“Ah-hum. Yes, see that you do.” Mother Jones shot back. Janto smiled and nodded as if to say, “Yes, Mama.” It sure was different to see the softer side of this military man. I was hopeful that we would gain his help.
Daughter Violine's face became serious. “And now, The Venoms and The Scavengers.”
The two Gang leaders appeared on the screen. I had no idea what to expect with these two. The two gang leaders and their respective followers had been warring against each other for years. They fought about everything, to whose style of music was better, to what parts of the Sectors they 'controlled'.
The more people became sick, and the more families struggled to keep their finances afloat, the more they grew.
Spats of violence had started by erupting on the outskirts of town, but slowly, it seemed that reports of their activity seemed to be closer and closer to the main population. These two groups hated each other. How would we get them to sit at a table and agree to support us?
“So glad that you could join us today gentlemen,” Brother Vasyl greeted them. Groups like the Arms of Justice and members of the gangs rejected the prefix of “Brother”, “Sister” and the like before their names. Their breaking away from the general populations into their own groups was a show of their own mindset about how to go against the Houdakin. They thought the general populations too weak and not reactive enough.
The Venoms, lead by Justin Skives was a man known for being ruthless and extreme. His goal from the beginning was to establish a dynasty funded by drug sales. Tired of being taken advantage of by the Houdakin, he justified his doings by saying that at least his organization gave the tribes people a backbone and some financial stability.
A splinter group of the Venoms, The Scavengers was lead by Sua Malternz. Once Justin's right hand man, Sua was dissatisfied with how Justin ran the organization, and wanted a bigger piece of the drug profits for himself.
The two groups hated each other, but were really accomplishing the very same thing: the killing of their fellow tribes-people. The way that the pursuit of wealth had blinded them made them just as bad as the Houdakin.
To get everyone on the same page, we needed to blow everyone away.
Justin was impatient, “Let's just get this show on the road. Whatever you've got to say or show us, let's just go ahead and do it. I 'ain’t got all day.”
Sau jumped right in, “Your time isn't any more precious than anyone else here. So get off of your royal high horse, Ok?” he spat over his shoulder in a display of extra disrespect for Justin.
Justin began to immediately fume. His nostrils flared and his lip rose in a nasty snarl. “You had better just sit back and shine out right now, man. Me and my crew can be there in an instant to close that cocky little mouth of yours.”
My heart sunk. This meeting was not starting off very well at all. Brother Vasyl held up both hands, stepping in front of the hologram of both men.
“My dear Brothers, this is neither the time or place. We don't have time for more fighting. Our mission today is to see if we can all come together, on the same page. Sitting before you here are the Gifted 5.”
Brother Vasyl let the weight of his words sink in. Realization came over the two men's faces, and they managed a nod.
“Good.” Brother Vasyl continued. “We have brought you all here today because the time of the Prophecy has arrived. Our Creator has released some huge blessings amongst us. Every tribes person has access to an amazing gift. One that will help us stand before the Houdakin.”
Because the Arms of Justice and the two gang leaders had separated themselves from the main population, they had no idea about the defensive moves that the rest of the tribes had already learned.
“Brother Teo and Sister Hantaywee, will you both come up and demonstrate?”
One by one, Teo and Hantaywee went through the general maneuvers; Pulse, Deflect and Seeking. Then we all took turns showing our individual skills. Our Kulindas got up as well to show what they could do.
By the end of the presentation I could tell that there was a change. The looks on the faces of Janto, Justin and Sua had changed from antagonizing to neutral. These new powers had given them something to think about. Maybe it could be done. Maybe there was another way. But still, each group leader struggled with bringing that to terms with the agenda of their respective groups.
“You too can learn these skills. Bring your members into town, and we will teach you. But you must agree to using these gifts the way they are meant to be used. You must follow our leadership and goal of peace and defense if needed. Can you all agree to that? We need your answer today. The prisoners are running out of time. So, my Brothers, what is your answer?”
There was a brief pause. We knew that we already had the support of the High Council. But we needed to know if Janto, Justin and Sau would bring their communities in too.
“I need to speak with the rest of my team. We will let you know our answer through the system's response system. I will light the green button if we decide to join. And we will light the red one if we decide not to go with you.”
Justin and Sua nodded that they would handle submitting their vote the same way. Now all we had to do was wait.
At least twenty minutes passed, and my stomach looped itself in knots the entire time.
Everyone in the room had fallen silent, making their private prayers that we got full support.
Finally the conglomeration of laptops and wires let out some short bursts of static to let us know the light messages were coming through.
The lights lit up the screen one at a time, and my heart sunk.
The lights flashed: RED....RED....and RED.
Chapter 4
“And there is none like unto Him.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Surah 112, Ayah 4
We were all stunned. All three groups...all three groups had denied us their support.
What were we going to do now?
Unwanted tears sprung to my eyes. The had rejected us, and left us to fend for ourselves. Their groups contained some of the most trained individuals, and yet, they, for whatever reason, had decided to sit back. I had wanted their support so bad....had wanted our showcase to be enough. But it hadn't been. And I felt awful.
“Well,” Mother Jones began. “My dears, don't you fear. If they did not want to give their support to such a divine task, then take their denial as a blessing in disguise. Sometimes, when you pray for a certain outcome, the situation that must exist to get there is not always how you might have wanted it.
But be sure, my dears, be very sure. Our Creator is with you. Remember the story of Gideon or the Battle of Badr.
It is not the number that matters. God has helped man accomplish great things with small numbers. The key...the thing you must have is faith. Do you have that my dears? Are you convinced that you have been called? That this is something that you must do? That you want to do? That you choose to do?”
I looked around at my companions. Our hearts had suffered a real blow. We had been wanting...waiting on a confirmation. We had wanted to be validated. It would have made us feel that much stronger and confident.
But that extra support had diminished into thin air.
O, my Creator, I thought, looks like you wanted to give me a pop quiz today.
I
took a long steady breath and steadied my emotions. This was real. It was time to step up.
I glanced around at the others. Learning to be brave was one of the scariest things I had ever experienced.
Aziz lifted his hands, “I don't know about you guys, but I'm in. I mean, I've already got my outfit.”
Everyone broke out into laughter. It was just what was needed to break the tension.
We all looked at each other, and what I saw reflected in their eyes...the same thing I felt in my heart, was one of the most beautiful things I ever had the honor of bearing witness to. It was so strong, the feeling was almost tangible. And I knew I would never forget this moment.
What I felt was our communal decision to take a leap of faith.
On the faces of everyone there, from the Gifted 5, to our Kulindas and Meulim, to the members of the High Council, I could see that we all felt it. The moment was so sweet. We sat for a few moments in silence, letting it all soak in.
Nonkululeko broke the quiet with an excited breath. “So now, on to what's next! Sister Akilah will be giving you an EnVirtuo Class today.”
“What exactly is a EnVirtuo Class?” Joelle asked. We were all wondering the same thing.
“Oh, you're in for a special treat. Sister Akilah is a very gifted Natural Scientist here on RoAam. She has developed a truly amazing technology. I am so excited for you all!” Nonkululeko could hardly contain her excitement.
We were all bewildered. But Instructor Nonkululeko's excitement was contagious. We couldn't wait to see what was in store.
~~~
“Well, I guess now you can officially call me a tree-hugger.” Aziz looked up the trunk on the tall Willow tree he was embracing. The trunk was so thick, his arms barely reached half way around.
“I distinctly remember Instructor Nonkululeko saying something about this being “exciting”....is anybody there yet? Anybody?” Teo said from his tree- hugging position a few feet away.
I giggled to myself. We sure were a sight. We were in one of the forests on the outskirts of camp. The Instructors had lead us to the forest and told us that Sister Akilah had wanted us to pick a tree and 'hug' it until she arrived.
And that is what we were doing. Totally confused. Actually, I rather enjoyed it. I was as confused as everyone else as to how this was supposed to help us on our mission, but I loved the feel of the cool, rough bark against my cheek. I was a nature girl at heart, and being out in the open air, close to a living growing plant that was both powerful and still...it was a wonderful feeling.
“Just relax, guys. Be one with the trees.” Hantaywee kidded the boys as she closed her eyes and bear hugged her tree.
Chord and our Kulindas were close by. They had been instructed to pick a tree as well.
“You know, it's not so bad,” Chord began. “I could fall asleep like this.”
“Please, please, don't fall asleep on me just yet.” It was Sister Akilah. We all tuned to face the direction we heard the voice coming from. Standing before us was a beautiful young African-American woman. She had beautiful milk chocolate skin and a thick, curly afro made of lovely corkscrew curls which floated gracefully around her face.
“Just kidding Sister!” Chord said quickly, laughing. “We're all loving the assignment...especially those two over there,” Chord said motioning to Aziz and Teo who were looking like they had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
Sister Akilah just chuckled. “Welcome to your EnVirtuo class. It is truly ah honor to meet all of you. Let me explain the purpose of this class. It is imperative that each one of you see the bigger picture...or rather that it is made known to you.
The mysteries of our Creator are more awesome than you could ever imagine. And more infinite. I don't know that we will ever come to understand it all. But I was inspired to make something that lets us see a little bit more of the puzzle. This,” she said holding up a clear glass sphere, “is the EnVirtuo. This sphere contains a special technology that can detect some of the hidden parts of nature.
Think of it like what the microscope did for humanity when it was invented and introduced in the 1600's on Earth. Louis Pasteur used a microscope and unveiled the link between germs and illness. The idea of 'germs'...something so small that we could not see with the human eye made Pasteur the object of ridicule by medical community of his time. But Pasteur had uncovered something very real. The EnVirtuo acts in very much the same way.”
“The relationship between science and spirit has long been questioned. People of faith have received divine word and believed it based on faith, even though they might not have been able to 'see' things with their naked eye. People of science have investigated things and have made discoveries based on observation. EnVirtuo is a beautiful bridge between these two worlds.”
Sister Akilah placed the sphere on the snow covered ground. “Why don't you all join me and I'll show you what I mean.”
We all let go of our trees and gathered in the large open clearing in front of the trees. Sister Akilah waved her hand over the sphere and an enormous force field mushroomed from it, enveloping us in an enclosed domed area that extended out in a 200 foot radius. A towering plasma-like plane originated at one side of the perimeter, and began passing over every inch of the contained space.
The wall moved closer, silently sweeping over everything in its path. “Just stay still until it gets a reading of everything.” Sister Akilah said, a warm smile on her lips.
The opalescent panel passed over us silently and made its way to the other side of the dome. Moments later, the EnVirtuo became a pearly rotating orb and floated up until it hovered right in front of Sister Akilah.
“There is a relationship between us all. We are all connected. God's creation is the most amazing and intricate thing that you will ever bear witness to. Let's start with the relationship between nature to itself for instance.” Sister Akilah addressed the orb,
“Read: Plants and Animal Life”. Instantly, every tree, plant, and crawling thing began to emanate a soft pulsating glow.
“Take for instance these trees. You look at the forest and perhaps you notice their beauty. You may further contemplate on how useful they are...that they provide shelter and food for animals, and oxygen for us. But did you ever know that these gentle giants can talk to each other?”
Non of us could help it. Several eyebrows went up. The thought came to my mind immediately, If one of these trees opens up a mouth, I'm gonna run.
Sister Akilah saw the looks on our faces and chuckled. “Come, follow me.” She then spoke into the air, “Find: Caterpillar.”
On the tree right behind us, a small caterpillar was inching its way up the bark. “These are Willow trees. Caterpillars are particularly fond of eating its leaves.” She lifted the caterpillar up to a branch and we watched as it began to happily munch on the leaves.
“What do you see? A caterpillar having a nice meal, yes? But let's see what is really happening.” She turned towards the orb again, “Read: Plant and Animal Vitals.” Transparent screens popped up all around the forest. There was one beside many of the trees. Some followed birds, ants and squirrels. A list of statistics began to populate the screens, recording the age, general health and other data.
“This caterpillar is one of many on this Willow tree. They are now in effect 'attacking' it. This Willow will now emit a chemical vapor that will alert the neighboring Willows. They will respond by pumping more tannin into their leaves. This tannin will make it harder for these insects to digest the leaves. This tree has warned his 'brothers' of the impending danger, and they have responded.
But...you can't see any of that, can you? So let's 'turn on the light' so to speak.”
Sister Akilah commanded the EnVirtuo again, “Show: Micro Layer.” Within moments, the chemical process that she described became alive. We could actually see the fine mist of chemicals that the Willow was releasing from its leaves. The mist was like a sparkly current, shooting off in all directions. The mist traveled fr
om one tree to the next, triggering another colored shimmering haze that came up the veins of the tree and accumulated in the leaves. It was like watching some magical display- but this wasn't magic. It was all real, and had always been happening right under our noses.
“Whoa!” Hantaywee breathed, echoing all of our thoughts. I was so awestruck that goosebumps were popping up on my arms.
“And that is just the beginning. Let's go a little deeper and take a look at the relationship we have with each other. Sister Josephine, if you don't mind my asking, do you have any children?”
Sister Josephine's eyes widened a bit. “I do, but there was also one that I lost during childbirth. It would have been lovely to know that child.”
Sister Akilah touched her heart. “My Sister, I am so sorry to hear that. But our Creator, is so very Merciful. When a Mother becomes impregnated with a child, they become 'linked' on a very deep level. On Earth, it was documented that cells from the fetus of a developing child actually cross the placenta and go into the Mother's body...becoming a part of her body.
These cells stay living inside the Mother well into her later years...” Sister Akilah smiled gently at Sister Josephine and continued, “...they stay with the Mother even if that child does not live. Tests performed found fetal cells located in the blood, liver, kidney, skin and even in the bone marrow. Now, here comes the amazing part.” Sister Akilah spoke into the air, “Show Mother's body, with fetal cells.”
A holographic image of the outline of a woman appeared. Small glowing orange fetal cells were clustered in different parts of the body. Sister Akilah continued, “Whenever the mother becomes sick or injured, these fetal cells actually go to the site of the sickness or complication, and treat it.”
We watched in awe as a few of the organs began to glow and vibrate with a red light, signaling that there was something wrong in that area. The orange fetal cells left their original positions and traveled to the hurt areas.
Sister Akilah began again, “There was one instance where a heart patient decided to stop treatment for heart disease. When she was examined later, they found that fetal cells had actually traveled to her heart and healed it. She had only been pregnant once, and had lost the child over nineteen years earlier!”
The Azurean Trilogy (All Three Books: 1, 2 & 3): Essentia, Burgeor & Manifest Page 19