“There!” Margaret said, showing Philip the three pads. “We have to get into one of these!”
Philip nodded and followed her. They took off their blue robes and amulets and placed them carefully on one of the consoles, near the pads. Margaret entered into one of the pads and Philip followed her, into the one at her left side. Once inside the pads, the two felt suddenly much more connected to each other. It was a rather strange feeling, and it was for the first time when they felt really intimate, feeling each other’s being and thoughts very strongly.
Margaret thought.
“It feels that we’re now connected somehow. Philip, do you hear me? We're going back now. You have to really want this, that's how it works. Remember, your desire is the most important thing. And the Machine activates only when it senses a strong and truthful desire … ”
“Maggie, I’ll do anything for you,” Philip thought back. “If that makes you happy, I will be with you wherever you go … ”
In a few moments, one of the consoles next to them lit up, and a series of irregular bleeps were being heard. The Machine detected the two life signs and started scanning their emotions. At first faint, but getting stronger and stronger, the desire to leave was detected in both of them, first in Margaret, and then, gradually, in Philip. In a matter of seconds, one of the Cubes that were in orbit was selected for the transfer. They were instantly transferred inside the Cube, and in a matter of seconds, the Cube departed for their last known location in the Universe. The Machine has been programmed by the Creators, and there was no one in the City that could stop it.
###
In the City Council’s meditation room, Prival opened slightly his eyes and looked at Talinn.
“What happened, Talinn? I feel a slight unbalance in the emerald field,” he asked, softly.
Talinn looked at him briefly and checked quickly the display to his left.
“It’s Margaret and Philip. They’re in one of the Cubes, Leader,” Talinn replied, with a little worry in his voice.
Prival’s eyes enlargened.
“So they sneaked into the Machine Room, should I understand? Was the door unattended?”
“There is a 15 minutes break when no one is around, Leader, every morning when we gather to meditate here.”
“I understand, so they happen to know that as well.”
On one of the holopads, a slight flicker appeared. In a matter of seconds, one of the Creators materialized in the form of a hologram.
Prival opened his eyes and promptly got up.
“Creator Lyan. I wasn’t expecting you so soon … “
The tall holoimage bowed to the people in the room and then said with a silent voice.
“Do not worry about the two, Prival. They need to do what they are called to do.”
Prival looked at him surprised.
“But the plan we are working on included them as well, and … “
“Forget about the plan. We have changed our minds. They got a little nudge from us, so you don’t have to be worried about their leave. All you need to do now is to stabilize the emerald stream; an Elder is not supposed to feel such intense worry, at any given time, no matter what the situation may be. We will take care of the rest. All you need to do is carry on with your regular duties, and I will be back with more information soon, maybe in a few days.” The holoimage flickered for a few moments and then it disappeared.
The Elders didn’t have time to greet the Creator, as everyone was clearly taken by surprise. There was a general rumor in the Meditation Room.
Prival waited for a few moments and then said with a loud voice.
“My dear ones, the emerald stream needs to be stabilized. Let us take our seats back and focus on our morning meditation session. There was such a long time since someone broke the amulet connection and left our city, and maybe there are even more details that we don’t know about. Please resume your regular meditation session.”
He looked at Talinn, nodded, and sat quietly. In almost a minute the emerald stream was restored to 98.8%.
“It was clear that the leave of the two meant a lot more than meets the eye”, Prival thought. “I had never seen such a variance in the emerald stream ever since we powered it.”
He was now realizing how important Margaret and Philip were now to the Creators, and all he could do is to resume his daily affairs and wait for further information from Lyan. Even though he tried to restore his natural state of mind, occasional thoughts went through his mind, and for the time being, he could do nothing about that. The situation was unexpected, and until he would get more information on what was going on, he had to do with what he knew.
###
Margaret had woken up. She rubbed her eyes, trying to figure out where she was. They were still behind one of the moons, where they had stopped a few days ago. The natural satellite was half-light by the sun, and the irregular craters, signs of impact with small meteorites, made her feel again, home.
“Philip?” she said in a soft voice.
After a few moments, she heard a voice behind her. Philip turned into his chair.
“Yes, Maggie. Did you wake up? I didn't want to take you out of that chair, I would have woken you up too soon. And you were so cute, nestled like that,“ he said chuckling.
“I had an almost supernatural dream,” she said, still rubbing her eyes.
“You too?” said Philip in astonishment. “I too dreamed that I was in a vast city with emerald statues everywhere, where people loved each other and … and so many other things that I can’t remember. It seems that last night we had both fallen asleep here, in these chairs,” he said, with a pensive look. “You tried to finish up your routes, but at some point, you have fallen asleep...”
Margaret made a really surprised face.
“Really? I had a similar dream! Did we dream the same thing? But how can ... “
Philip pointed out to the ship's screen.
“Maybe it’s because of this thing. It stayed here over the night, I guess..”
Margaret looked and saw the black-gray Cube, which stood quietly in front of the ship, half a mile from them, doing absolutely nothing.
“Do you think … ?” Margaret said with uncertainty.
“Well, who knows? Maybe it can influence our dreams. We still haven't figured what technology it uses and where it came from.“
Suddenly, a bright yellow flash of light appeared above the ship's control console, just in front of Margaret. Two necklaces materialized out of the thin air, right on the board of the ship. Margaret's eyes widened. Both necklaces had green, translucent, disc-shaped stones, polished to perfection, about 2.5 inches long. From the way they looked, she could swear it was pure emerald.
“What ... what is this?” Margaret asked as if Philip knew the answer.
Philip approached, with his cold cup of coffee in his hand.
“I don't know, Maggie. It’s too early in the morning and I actually haven’t got a clue. It looks like two necklaces with some semi-precious stones of some sort, maybe jade, at best. It is clear that this Artifact, probe, or whatever it is, likes to play games with us,” concluded Philip.
“There is a piece of paper under them, too,” Margaret said, trying to pull it lightly without touching the necklaces.
Philip looked over her chair, trying to read.
“It is written in the clearest English, in block letters,” exclaimed Margaret. “It says: For those blue and starry nights, in which dreams seem to surpass reality.“
Margaret turned the piece of paper on its back, but there was nothing written there. She turned and looked at Philip in astonishment.
“Does anything make sense to you, Phil?”
Philip shook his head and took another sip of his cup.
“I need to prepare some fresh coffee, this is from last night, and it doesn’t quite help me this morning … ”
Suddenly, the proximity alarm sounded short, twice. The cubic probe had disappeared into the mists of the da
rk sky as fast as it appeared.
Philip looked at Margaret and shrugged, amused. He was still in the grasp of his dream, and he was really joyful this morning.
“You know Maggie, in my dream,” Philip began, while he was waiting for the coffee dispenser to prepare his coffee, “we both wore the same kind of necklaces, that mostly looked like this one, only that they had some sort of red stones, and we were dressed in purple robes, selling colorful ice-cream in a city that was all painted in yellow shades. The sun was up most of the day and … ”
Margaret was not following Philip. She was still trying to wake up and was puzzled by the appearance of these necklaces, but especially by the message written on the paper. She looked at the paper, then back at the necklaces, studying them from a distance and trying not to touch them with her scanner, as if they were the most precious things that she had ever seen. They were indeed pure emeralds, one of the purest kind she had ever laid her hands upon.
She turned to Philip and said.
“For these stones, Phil, I would go to any corner of the galaxy,” Margaret said and put her scanner down on the ship’s console. “And make me one of those good black coffees, our main course is already plotted. I’ve changed my mind, we won’t go back to Earth: we’re going to Andaria.”
To be continued...
The Hidden City Page 21