Black Jack

by Rani Manicka

  A cookery show came on. Food intrigued him. He watched the presenter bite into a peppermint profiterole, roll her eyes dramatically, and expel a long ‘mmmmmm’. When she could bring herself to speak, she described the experience enthusiastically: delightfully refreshing, elegant, light... In his dreams he was often sitting up and eating, all manner of things - cakes, spaghetti, sandwiches, pizzas, fruit - but he always awakened no wiser about their taste or the sensations of eating. He didn’t know the difference between juicy and chewy.

  The winter night descended leaving the room illuminated only by the flickering blue light of the TV. Black eyed the clock: 3.29 p.m. A strange stillness hung in the air, but he was overcome with a sensation of disquiet. He wished again for his mother’s return with the evening paper, for normality. An instinct warned him. Ever since the fluttering. Something was not right.

  And he was right.

  The TV flickered suddenly and became a silent, blue screen. A deadly quiet filled the room. He listened intently and heard only the blood drumming in his ears - where were the outside sounds? Fearfully his eyes skirted around the room. Inside his head a vibrant, beautiful voice said in perfect English, ‘Don’t be afraid. Friend.’ Then the clear deduction: It cares about me...

  He stared in disbelief as dry, black rain poured from the ceiling, and flashing, swirling vortexes and white orbs appeared in it. Within that whirlpool of pulsating energy a being began to materialize. At first he was only a transparent, shimmering wave of green, undulating like an interrupted two-dimensional broadcast on TV, but he very quickly gained density until it was no longer possible to see through him.

  When he was completely solid the rain and the swirling stopped. A glowing, pale green, humanoid boy stood in his room. Black gazed at him in stunned wonder. His mother was shorter than Heather, and the being was shorter than his mother. Hard to tell, but perhaps the entity was his height. He had a large forehead, no eyebrows, enormous eyes (at least three times the size of a normal human being’s), high cheekbones, a delicate nose, and a pointed chin. His neck was long and graceful and his straight, shoulder-length hair was the same color as his skin. He was dressed in a long, emerald green robe that was belted at the waist and smoldered like live embers. The edges were trimmed with some strange material that flowed and lapped around him like water.

  But the most spectacular thing about him was his skin. It looked like polished jade or some similar stone, but not only did it glow with a peculiar luminosity, it also reflected its surroundings. Extraordinary thing in itself, but made stupendous by the never-ending, fantastically complex and colorful fractals that appeared and disappeared on the surface of his skin. The self-repeating forms appeared to Black’s entranced eyes, marine-like - indescribably beautiful, jeweled seahorses. But on deeper reflection he had the impression of dancing dragons.

  Impossible to see his feet, but his hands were shaped exactly like that of a human being, perhaps more slender. He secreted a scent that Black could not identify, but found pleasant nonetheless. In his head, Black heard again the bright voice reiterate, ‘Friend.’

  The reassurance was unnecessary. The boy being emanated such nobility, kindness, purity, compassion, and warmth that Black felt no fear. His presence was all around the room, uplifting. In fact, compared to the shining perfection and radiance of his visitor, Black felt himself to be no more than a shadow. He seemed more real than everything else in the room.

  He came forward, the watery edge of his robe silent on the floor. When he was but a foot away he raised his left hand, probably some form of greeting, but in the reflective surfaces of his arm, Black saw, for the first time, his own reflection.

  Why, Black! You’re black.

  He had never imagined - but his mother was Indian, who… Must not then be his mother. That horrible moment also brought understanding of why she had never once thought to bring a mirror to him. Pitiful. Twisted skeletal limbs protruded uselessly out of his blue Thomas the Tank Engine pajama sleeves. That large head that could not be set straight, and the horrendously drooling, half-open mouth...

  ‘Hello, Black,’ he heard in his head.

  His baffled eyes drifted upwards. The being’s irises, a deep green, were not round, but bled out into the whites of his eyes, which were not really white but a much paler shade of green. Caught in the being’s gaze Black understood that he was safe, but utterly naked. That the being had total access to all his memories: everything he had seen, heard, experienced, felt, and every thought he had ever entertained even if it was only for a few seconds. There was nothing that the being did not know about him.

  A thought formed in Black’s head. He’s not blue so he can’t be Lord Krishna. Could he be one of the forever youthful ‘boy gods’ his mother spoke about?

  The marvelous creature laughed, the dancing fractals in his beautiful face glowing brighter. ‘I’m not a god! I was created as you were.’

  Black formulated the question. Who are you?

  ‘I’m a hyper-dimensional being. Your scientists might categorize me as a virtual visitor from the zero sum point, or what they assume to be the vacuum of the universe.’

  An alien who speaks English.

  ‘In the strictest sense I am not an alien. An alien is a stranger or foreigner from one’s own dimension. I am not of your realm. I can only hold my physical embodiment for short periods in your world. And to be perfectly honest the only English words I know are the ones I found in your mind.’

  What’s your name?

  ‘There is no word that adequately translates my name into English. The language of hyperspace is nonverbal. It is made of tone, archetype, and color. Even if I put it into your mind, it would sound garbled to your ears, and you would not be able to replicate it. It might be more fun if you simply found a name for me.’

  For some seconds Black could only look at the being with what he now knew was a dull, open-mouthed stare. Then a truly lame idea - Green. He was instantly embarrassed, but all the fractals in the being lit up more brightly than when he had laughed.

  ‘Green and Black?’ he exclaimed. ‘I like that. It’s fitting… For now, anyway.’

  Black felt a surge of pride and joy that the beautiful being liked his choice. What are you doing here, Green?’

  ‘The alarm bells are ringing for mankind. Not from now, but from far in your future. I am on assignment to find the purest human on Earth, and should he agree to serve humanity by facing a great challenge, it is my duty to help him learn big things and hand him the sword he will require in his confrontation with the dark hierarchy that threatens the future of mankind.’

  Instantly, Black felt sadder than he had ever been in his short life. You’ve made a mistake. I’m not the one.

  Green shook his head, smiling gently. ‘Only the catalyst, and only during the year of the dragon in the rain, can attain the morphic field pure enough to enable me to step down into this reality. And only that soul will be able to perceive me. If you can see and hear me then you are the one.’

  But I’m totally paralyzed.

  ‘The body is a tool with which to experience a realm and express oneself in it. What if I told you that you are the product of a meticulous design? That your entire life has been a hidden initiation grooming you for this very moment. Do you think it is by accident that you have never met the real god of this dimension?’

  Who’s that?

  ‘The god of money. While you cried that you had not been invited to sup at the banquet of the damned, your solitary existence earned you the distinction of never having harmed a living thing by thought, word, or deed. Likewise the world has not been able to sully you with its baser instincts and preoccupations. Without your useless body you would not be the holder of the purest, highest vibration of your kind.’

  Black wondered if he should let Green know that he was dying.

  Green smiled. ‘That won’t be necessary; all humans are in the process of dying. You must believe me when I say you are most suitable for the j
ob at hand.’

  I still don’t understand what I can possibly do in my condition.

  ‘Something very important, but a task that ultimately requires great sacrifice and loss.’

  But I have nothing to lose.

  ‘You have more to lose that you can imagine now.’

  What do I have to lose?

  ‘Impossible to speculate. There are unpredictable functions to the information fractals. The future and even the past are fluid and mutable.’

  What happens if I fail?

  ‘Then it will not be the first time. Every human attempt to improve this world has failed and served only to make the evil ones stronger, giving them more reasons to crush and oppress mankind. You will have to be very pure and very strong in the face of the ultimate evil.’ He smiled suddenly. ‘However, the chances you will succeed are very favorable indeed.’

  What happens if I refuse?

  ‘I leave and you carry on as before.’

  Black didn’t have to think. His entire life had been spent in joyless isolation. There was nothing he wanted less than to be left to carry on as before. Yes. I will help.

  ‘In the next few days you will learn many important things. Some of them will cause you great grief if you do not keep foremost in your mind the most important knowledge of all - that physical incarnation is only the chrysalis in which one may transform. Will you do that?’

  I will.

  ‘Be ready for a most extraordinary adventure.’

  An adventure? Black looked at the incandescent entity standing over him, at the mathematical formulas that repossessed themselves deep within his being and appeared as constantly moving, never-ending geometric patterns on his splendid skin, and experienced his first burst of unfretted excitement. It was a great feeling.

  ‘Much more to say, but time to go. Same time tomorrow, Black,’ Green said, and turned into something similar to a heat distortion in the desert, one that disappeared the moment his mother turned the door handle. He had not heard her key in the downstairs door or her tread on the stairs.

  ‘What is it, my son?’ she cried fearfully from the doorway. Her son’s large catlike eyes were shining in a way she had never seen before.

  Not knowing a thing could not be done,

  they went ahead and did it.

  - Karate DoJo

  Black watched the next day drag with agonizing slowness on his clock face: 2 p.m. Where are you, Green? At exactly 3.29 the dry rain came and Green’s luminous figure appeared inside it. He stepped up to the bed, held out his long, narrow arm with its ever flowering geometric fractals, and said, ‘Take my hand.’

  I can’t. I told you, I haven’t any control over my limbs.

  ‘And I told you, you are not your body. Now come out of that body,’ he ordered firmly.

  Thinking about it afterwards, Black could never quite make out how he did, but without any warning, just as if uncorked from a champagne bottle, he slipped out of the relentlessly oppressive weight of his body. Oh, but the sensation! The lightness. The freedom. The sheer delight of it. In disbelief he looked down at the twisted body lying so still in the bed, the eyes frozen open. He could have been dead. Only he wasn’t. So what was he now? He looked down upon his new self. Barefoot and dressed in the same childish Pooh Bear pajamas, everything intact. He moved a finger. It moved!

  He was so exhilarated by what was happening to him that it was some seconds before he realized that he was moving away from his inert body at considerable speed and would soon hit the ceiling. He put his hand out to stop himself, but his hand simply went through it.

  ‘Quit messing about and come back down,’ called Green.

  How?

  ‘Use the power of your mind. Think you want to come down.’

  ‘Instantly Black found himself floating inches over his inert body.

  ‘Upright on the floor as if you are standing upon it.’

  Bubbling with excitement Black righted himself.

  ‘Try to keep your feet from going through the floor. It looks better that way.

  Black bounced upwards

  ‘Now take my hand.’

  Black reached out and found that, though his hand had gone through the ceiling he could not only touch, but grip Green’s hand. It was solid and warm.

  ‘Your spirit body has substance,’ Green explained, ‘but because it is too subtle to be felt in the material realm your hand went through the ceiling. In your present state you will be able to grasp things from other dimensions but not of the third, which is too coarse.’

  Black opened his mouth and tried to use his vocal cords. ‘Hello,’ he said and found he could. He had a voice - not the thick, strangulated sounds of someone who has never spoken in his life but a clear, finely modulated voice. ‘Wow, this is brilliant,’ he shouted, and began to laugh with the sheer joy that speech brought.

  ‘We have much to do and less time than I originally expected. Nevertheless, first...’

  Once again it happened so fast, Black did not even feel the transition from his room into the blackness of outer space. Green released his hand and he began falling, freewheeling through the vastness.

  ‘Heyyy!’ he cried out, alarmed.

  ‘Let go. Have fun. You can’t hurt yourself here,’ Green said, and after completing a few cartwheels, spun like a Catherine wheel firework until Black was certain he must be utterly dizzy, but he wasn’t. His bright, radiant form laughed and shot off in the opposite direction. Black began tumbling then soaring after him. He had never felt so happy or alive in all his life. He couldn’t even blink; who would’ve thought he could fly? With an indescribable euphoria he projected himself forward at great speed. It was amazing.

  Ahead Green came to a sudden standstill. Black found that he too was easily able to accomplish the abrupt stop. He parked himself right next to Green and grinned. Green tucked his arms to his body and raced head first toward a twinkling star. ‘Look at me,’ he shouted. ‘I’m a shooting star.’

  Black plunged down to join him, marveling at and reveling in the closeness he felt toward Green. Amazing how quickly he had lost his awe for Green. Replaced by an intense but old love. He was his only friend.

  Green executed an elegant half-roll. ‘Are you ready to begin your initiation?’

  Black copied him and nodded.

  Green made a circling motion with his hand and suddenly, a few hundred miles away, an incredible celestial orb came into view. It was full of gigantic structures, monoliths, pyramids, towers, crystalline domes, and steps leading to buildings with massive entrances.

  ‘Wow! How did you do that?’

  ‘It was always there. You simply needed to be dimensionally shifted to perceive it.’

  ‘What planet is that?’

  ‘That’s your moon.’

  Black was astonished. He knew the moon as a gray and deserted entity. This was a full color, and obviously inhabited piece of real estate.

  ‘There are many things that are hidden from humankind. But, for now, focus your attention on planet Earth and the area surrounding her.’

  Black looked behind him. Many thousands of miles away Earth sparkled with breathtaking beauty; a blue and green jewel in the velvet blackness, all the details very clear. But as his focus sharpened he observed something very strange. The planet was glowing brightly and pulsating. In many places it appeared almost liquid. Every once in a while flares of dazzling light shot out. Sometimes they died down; sometimes they became even brighter and began to spread. It reminded him of a great forge where things were being shaped.

  ‘What is happening to it?’

  ‘Earth is not an ‘it’, but a sentient being who is in the process of evolving into the highest, most magnificent aspect of her being. She is being blasted with cosmic beams of intense energy and information so that light will be reinserted into her. Pay attention to her surrounding.’

  When Black did, he noticed that for many miles around Earth countless millions of beings were suspended. Some were ve
ry large, miles long, and had shape. Others were simply formless wisps of grayish smoke, but every one of them was glowing in various degrees of intensity with the same light that was coming from Earth. He had the distinct impression that they were all waiting for something to happen. That sense of anticipation was so great that he perceived their collective expectation as the crackle in the air of an audience waiting for the start of a rock concert.

  ‘Why have they collected around the Earth?’

  ‘They have manifested from nearby energy systems, although not necessarily from your time reference, to witness, as you rightly perceived it, a very rare and exciting performance. Such an event will also signal their own upliftment. All your ancient civilizations foretold of this end-time.’

  ‘Oh! The Mayan prophesy. Is the world really going to end on the twenty-first of December?’

  ‘The world is not going to end - there are too many interested parties to allow such a thing to happen. It is not a date, but a season. In earth time, an eight-year process. An alchemical kingdom is about to be born where both Earth and human consciousness will drastically change. This change is an event that happens once in many tens of millions of Earth years. The best way I can describe it to you is as a convergence of a great deal of odds, which will then emerge as several probabilities and some possibilities. One likelihood may alter human consciousness to rapidly emerge from its limited time-space illusion into a unified energy system. But, as always, with extreme opportunity comes danger.’

  ‘Danger?’

  ‘Mass extinction is one, but the key danger is that Earth will become what you see in the futuristic, dystopian, police state music videos that your elite love to produce, and you occasionally watch. Where humanity has been turned into a micro-chipped, half-human, half-robot slave population. Watched by telescreens and controlled by faceless police in riot gear they no longer think for themselves, but have been assimilated into the hive and act in the ‘greater good’.

  Black had watched and enjoyed music videos styled on just such themes, but it had never occurred to him to think of them as the propaganda arm of a harmful agenda deliberately propagated by ‘the elite’. He still didn’t. It was just entertainment. And it looked good.