Althea
Multnomah Falls, June 12, 2160 -- 1:12 p.m.
"Are you ready Henry?"
"Althea, please let me have another moment with my friends. Before we begin our journey, I wish to correct a mistake Robert has lived with since his birth."
"Well Henry, that strategically located itch reveals that you have the nature of a prankster. However, your answer to his question shows a glimmer of wisdom as you should use care when choosing to grant others abilities equal to your own. We will leave them now."
As Henry uttered 'GoFetch,' a sudden change altered Robert, Doctor Gould, and their surroundings to a transparent image of reality. With a subtle telepathic emphasis suggesting his bewilderment, Henry probed, "Althea?"
Their invisible companion responded with, "We are now en-route to an alternate earth that I chose to call Haven. We are looking back at our point of departure through a window I have opened between the worlds. Think of it as a one-way mirror as they are unaware of our intrusion. I will teach both of you how to accomplish this feat along with many others."
Suddenly they found themselves standing in a lovely garden beneath a transparent, dome-like, energy shield. Following Althea's directions, they walked along a path leading to a small cottage bearing a thatched roof. As they sat themselves in wrought iron patio chairs beneath the rich foliage of a grape arbor, the image of a petite, elderly black woman appeared in a facing chair. Smiling warmly, she began with, "Now that our location is fixed, I can offer you a mental image of my former self. As my corporeal image is naught but an illusion, we will continue to converse on a telepathic level.
"Welcome to the world I call Haven. This cottage and garden resembles the fantasy home of my corporeal years on Earth. The home I always wanted and never had."
Jenny responded with, "Your enchanting home and its beautiful garden are even more attractive then our wonderful old home in Oregon. You must truly enjoy living here."
"Thank you for complimenting my work. However, I no longer need the material things of corporeal life. Will you and Henry honor me by accepting this cottage as your new home?"
As Jenny stifled a gasp of surprise, Henry responded with, "We will and want you to feel free to revisit your dream whenever you wish. However, I would like to know the purpose and source of the dome overhead?"
"I can assure you that the dome is a necessary feature of your new home. On Haven, the dominant form of life is avian in nature and closely resembles the long extinct dinosaurs of our birth world in appearance and ferocity. Fortunately, Haven will never produce an intelligent life form to corrupt its primitive beauty or object to your presence.
"As the Z-RETS began to die, I managed to direct seven of their Buzzards to Haven and used each to create and shelter a home and garden. In time, others like yourselves may come to call Haven home.
"I know that both of you find your recent experiences difficult to comprehend and I will address your concerns as quickly as I can. Please hold your questions as I share my knowledge with you.
"Many eons ago, in one of an infinite number of galaxies, the corporeal young of our creators came to know the fear of extinction. A supermassive black hole at their galaxy's core began a rapid acceleration of its determined assault on the matter of their galaxy. Eventually, the time of their passing drew near.
"As destiny threatened, the route of escape they so desperately sought came to them from beyond the pale of death. Incorporeal immortals, cloaked in illusionary mental images of corporeal life, openly approached all the intellective species of life to offer a fearsome mode of escape. They proclaimed that all who willingly surrendered the substance of corporeal life could, if found worthy, be assured of incorporeal immortality in another galaxy.
"The now visible certainty of the approaching end of their galaxy prompted many to avail themselves of this terrifying route of escape. Once free of their corporeal bodies and the concomitant concern for the passage of time, those found worthy were safely enfolded into a fusion of immortal spirits. Soon after, God led this frightened fusion of immortality on a perilous journey to our barren galaxy and entrusted it to their care.
"At their journey's end, this myriad of immortals moved into the tranquility of higher dimensions to consider their new responsibilities. Then species by species they returned to the immensity of their new galaxy, each seeking a birth world to produce again the corporeal young of their kind.
"Their incorporeal nature forced them to begin anew by first creating the simplest forms of life native to their respective birth worlds. With the spark of life thus ignited, they began the faltering process of guiding evolution until they ultimately achieved their final goals. The fusion of ancient immortals then dutifully turned to the task of easing the transition of those that reached the end of corporeal life and fearfully joined the fusion of immortality.
"Upon joining the fusion of ancients at the end of my corporeal years, I found a pervasive state of apathy regarding the needs of the fusion's corporeal young. Regrettably, the newest members of the fusion quickly adopted the apathetic state of the old ones without realizing that something was amiss.
"My concern for my niece and her husband, as they prepared for an alien invasion, prompted me to search for a solution to this dilemma. I discovered that previous alien visitations during the epochal times of the Atlanteans, Egyptians, and Mayans had provoked the ancients to mitigate the harm wrought by these unwelcome guests. As I gained knowledge of the tactics employed by the ancients to resolve these earlier conflicts, I began to realize that I alone could do little to prevent this invasion.
"Seeing no alternative, I moved to form a new fusion composed of the younger spirits of our galaxy. My concern for the corporeal youth of our galaxy awakened a sense of responsibility in others and my fusion began to increase its membership. The ancients accepted this new state of affairs gratefully and began surrendering their immortality in ever-increasing numbers.
"The Z-RETS suddenly began to die off as I came to comprehend the irresolvable limitations imposed by my insubstantial nature. Eventually, I became aware of Doctor Gould's efforts to restore the two of you to corporeal life. Using the knowledge I gleaned from the ancients, I covertly co-opted his work to ensure that you gained the abilities needed to defend the corporeal young of our galaxy from harm.
"You must always remember that corporeal death can only offer an opportunity for eternal life and this transition can be a difficult venture. When panic opens the door to immortality, many succumb to a fear-driven dissolution of their incorporeal essence and fail to survive their passage to eternal life. Many, who lost their corporeal lives to the Z-RET'S hunger, unknowingly surrendered their immortality in their desperate desire to escape terror by a hasty entry into the tranquil haven of nothingness.
"Long before the arrival of the Z-RETS, the fusion launched a bold attempt on our birth world to mitigate the thralldom of death. The ancients dispatched a series of immortal prophets, cloaked in the illusionary, mental images of corporeal life, to deliver messages of hope and faith to our early ancestors. Couched in mythological terms appropriate to the prevalent beliefs of the various tribes of early man, these messages proclaimed the promise of life after death.
"In time, the ancients came to know they were not equal to this difficult task and called upon God to deliver the message of hope to our faithless ancestors. God, who remains a mystery even from the vantage point of immortality, answered their call. Thus began the sojourn of Jesus among our ancestors until he delivered the promise of immortality through his triumph over death.
"Regrettably, the fusion of ancients arrogantly continued their awkward efforts to instill religious faith into the daily lives of our corporeal ancestors. The ensuing diversity of religious beliefs ultimately led to violent confrontations prompting God to order an end to their meddling in the affairs of our forefathers.
"Fortunately, God accepts the sincere reverence of all without concern for the way they were taught to pray. For the ancients also taught as Jesus who said, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.'
"Both Jesus and the ancients sought to impart this message of faith and morality as the faithless ultimately face a lonely penance of exclusion from the fusion of immortals. God will not permit the faithless to form a separate fusion of atheism thus leaving them to endure the daunting hell of isolation. A hell they can escape only by sincerely accepting the supremacy of God or surrendering their immortality for the tranquility of nonexistence.
"My studies of the accumulated knowledge of the ancients revealed that we must release this information with caution. Absolute certainty of an afterlife of immortality can stunt the emotional and mental development of those in their corporeal stage of life. However, failure to prepare for the end of corporeal life can prevent one from making a successful transition to immortality. The perplexing nature of this issue will be one of the most difficult challenges the future holds for you.
"Before I teach you the ways of the ancients, I must know if you will consent to serve as my agents in the daunting task of managing a galaxy beset with strife. How say you, my children? Will you accept this challenging task?"
Their affirmative nods accompanied by quizzical expressions led Althea to respond, "Wonderful! While you sleep in the nights to come, I will provide each of you with the knowledge required to accomplish your tasks. Then you can test your mettle on the first assignment I have for you. You must undo both the Alorian discovery of their hyper spatial technology and the works of the Human Enhancement Program.
"I will leave you to explore your new home and perhaps to enjoy the physical pleasures of corporeal life forever denied the membership of the fusion. Yet before I go, please let me vicariously share your corporeal senses for a moment. For though I can sense the ebb and flow of cosmic forces throughout the galaxy, I can no longer smell the flowers."