Children of the Source Read online

  I left. Tail not between my legs, but close. The Castaway was one angle I couldn’t work, and maybe the most important angle. Gawd Almighty, where do I go from here? But he had a point. Robbing people of their free will, their ability to make choices, creates what? I’d done what I could short of that. I needed to back off. And then the words remember, remember. I sat there with the words dominating my mind. Remember.

  I went back to the map room, to rethink what I could do. As I opened my eyes from the easy chair, Severin sat there patiently waiting. “Didn’t work?” he said.

  “Not like I wanted,” I said.

  “Meddlesome creature,” he said.

  I laughed. “You don’t miss much, my friend. Yeah. The Entity was right. How do I release this present and future in my mind?”

  He handed me some tea. A mug of my favorite tea - Haqesta. The citrus aroma filled the room. “You need to or else you won’t operate successfully in the moment. Would you want someone to take your free will away? Of course not. Emotional blocks cause a wound in your moment that causes an imbalance. Kind of like being forced to veer off the road. Leads to all sorts of unnecessary events. Let it go, my friend. We need you, of all people, to operate in a balanced way.”

  “I know,” I said, and sighed. Images of a long ago time exploded within. A car accident and a phone call that changed everything. My father dying in front of my eyes as he listened to the phone. The gut catching shrieking within - how can I go back in time to prevent what happened. And much later after all the begging, and pain, accepting that that Moment Point was sealed forever. Where are you! Where are you!

  “You’ve never found your older brother after all these years?.”

  I swallowed and shook my head. I lost a brother when I was young and it set me on the road I’m on today. Made me almost paranoid about losing Jesse. “No. Never have. That has been the biggest hole in my life. I’ve looked on the Other side, but nothing so far.”

  “May be you weren’t meant to find him. The catalyst to keep you on the road you are now on,” Severin said. “One day you’ll have your reunion. It just hasn’t been the right timing yet.”

  That had never occurred to me. “You’re saying somehow I’ve kept the meeting from taking place to keep me on the straight and narrow?”

  “On some level it was blocked. Your Entity or maybe you on a personality level.” Severin sipped his tea and devoured a oatmeal cookie. Something he’d become fond of since coming to us. He’d introduced us to a citrus flavored cookie which was a favorite of the aliens.

  “And Jesse?”

  “This doesn’t mean you’re going to lose him. A second brother. But you need to give him his due. His moment. You’ve done as much as you can. The rest is up to him and the others.”

  I nodded, letting out a great sigh. I went back and watched as Burt and his patrol made their way to within a quarter of a mile of the dry lake bed and made a fire less camp. The Castaway dozed on and off until morning, oblivious of Burt and his men. He had one focus.

  Mid morning found Jesse and his family with Judith, Laith and Greg trekking toward the dry lake bed. I struggled to stay focused and let things take their own course. Toward noon Jesse’s party arrived at the dry lake bed. They saw the Castaway’s sweat stained cowboy hat and understood the reckoning to come. Burt and his patrol were finishing shoeing their skittish mule. Rich turned at the sound of a rifle cartridge being loaded into the rifle chamber. He aimed his binoculars at the sound and grabbed Burt. Finger to his lips, he handed the binoculars to Burt. In a couple of heartbeats Burt had his sniper’s rifle aimed and ready. The two rifle shots echoed almost simultaneously.

  I watched incredulously as the older prisoner jumped in front of Jesse at the last second. Jesse said something, and then lowered the stricken man to the ground. Then Burt and his patrol were with Jesse’s family dragging the dying Castaway over. In one crazy moment the Castaway grabbed Jesse with a kitchen knife at his throat, but sagged when a girl kicked the knife away. A soldier stepped on the Castaway’s neck and snapped it. The girl child ran into Jesse’s arms and it was over.

  I touched Judith and Laith. They could sense my palatable relief. Then I remembered a funny little dream of years ago when we were children and I saw Jesse as an old man. Just that. Nothing more. I found myself back in the easy chair in the map room.

  “So you got your wish. Brother Jesse is safe and life goes on,” he said.

  “Yea verily, as my father would say. He will live to fight another day.”

  “’Live to fight another day’?” Severin arched an eyebrow.

  “An expression.” I explained in alien.

  “Ah. We do have our work cut out for us. It must be a vast change your son and his people will work considering the Earth is known as the war world.” Severin sipped his catnip tea and ate an oatmeal cookie.

  “I agree. Years ago I couldn’t imagine this happening until we finally had a separation of government and big business. Like when the United States began by keeping a separation of Church and State. Now with the global economy gone there is no support structure for big business and no clients for the war industry. That opens up a lot of possibilities.”

  I ran my hand over my wrist cuff and the living blue stones with their swirl of living energies. “You know how those living stone cuffs work?” Severin set down his tea mug and watched me.

  “Not really. The full memories aren’t here yet.”

  “They’re a type of communication device that is conscious and aware.”

  “A personality of sorts?”

  “Not exactly. It’s a facilitator which allows you access to other parts of yourself. Witness the ability to move other parts of yourself at will. Fragment yourself yet keep your full awareness in each part simultaneously. It’s tuned into your personal frequency. An ancient device designed and created by your Entity. It was passed from one personality to the next. It has been in our custody until this time.”

  “How long from the last personality to me?”

  “Four hundred of your Earth years. We knew of the larger plan, including this,” he gestured to the room, “and you. We have been in contact with your Entity all this time.”

  “I have the essence memories. Not the details.”

  “Yes, that’s why we have a natural affinity for each other. Our Entities have kept personalities incarnating at the same time. Our friendship is, you could say, of long-standing. We go back to Kodus,” Severin said.

  “I have his memories firmly planted. But you stayed with Motar.”

  “He was my brother in that life. I had the Sound Language then. Not a happy experience fighting the war with Akenton and his minions. I ... How can I say I when they were other personalities?”

  I sipped my tea. The hot citrus liquid tasted good to the taste bud and the fragrant aroma filled the air. “The histories of these other personalities are part of us. Or at least available to us. Not something I entirely understand.”

  “So, this Transition with Laith, the supernova, and the knowledge of their origins with their Entities coming forward. How does that evolve or shake out as you say?” Severin leaned forward.

  “Along with us,” I said. “It is all interwoven. Once people understand through essence memories that they have been every race and social level they might think twice about racial and social superiority.”

  “How do you change from a society that bases itself on acquisition and making money to what we have in the Four Planet Federation?” Severin shook his head. “This economic model has been in use for thousands of years in your system.”

  “Deliberately chosen by the Board of Regents for the human experiment from what I understand,” I said. “It provides the best tool, opportunity, for spiritual growth - learning how to give and care - love. I don’t know how you change that. It’s so ingrained. In some places because of the Earth changes and catastrophes there has been no choice but to allocate resources on basis of need. That is a beginning. But on a
worldwide level, I don’t know. We’ve used it successfully here in Cheshire. Maybe you don’t change it, but modify it.”

  “Yes, but you’ve had the Four Planet Federation model in your essence memories. This is for all intents and purposes our outpost in your system. Ninety percent of you have had lives on Adora and with the Four Planet Federation.” Severin cleared his throat, stood and walked around the room, excited at the prospect of the future.

  “The change has to be done in a gradual way ... ”

  “Arranged by the Board of Regents?” Severin said.

  “In collaboration with our friend the Earth,” I said. “The Entity/Soul experiment for the Earth is entering a new phase to with the culmination of maturity. We are part of that. The messes we’ve created we will clean up. All species will be honored, not proscribed for food or profit. Quality of life not quantity of things will be the cornerstone of living. The myths and authority of organized religion will give way to personal responsibility for spiritual development. The limbic system will be activated which will allow communication with the Entity/Soul.”

  “So many things we didn’t even get into while creating the Four Planet Federation,” Severin said.

  “True,” I agreed. “But we had an entirely different way of seeing things. Poverty and ignorance never entered into creating our society. Money and acquiring wealth is an idea foreign to us. All knowledge was seen as part of a larger whole. It wasn’t fragmented into religion, science and other areas. So, a host of social and spiritual problems were bypassed.”

  “It allowed us to focus on exploring the worlds we lived on. Finding ways to live in harmony with our environments using our technologies. Allowing us to understand the structure of the self. To express ourselves in all the arts.” Severin swallowed. “But we lived with the shades of Adora. Always the past whispering - urging us on. Never to repeat the disasters. And we didn’t. How do we do it here?” Severin asked. But I had no answer. We heard Carson’s chopper land.

  Victoria stuck her head in the door. “You are both needed.”

  17

  Derek Randolph met us at the chopper, face a mask of concern. “Jamie, we have a hostage situation at the fort. Carson requests you come and try to defuse the situation.”

  I touched Derek’s shoulder to get a feel for the situation. He would carry what he experienced with him. I followed the emotions and tried to sort out the facts. Derek waited knowing my peculiar way to getting information. “Harry Calling? Our Trading Post operator. He has it in for one of the new soldiers at the fort.”

  Derek eyed me, grimaced and shook his head. “You got it.”

  “Tell me more,” I said dropping my hand to my side.

  “Seems they fell in together, thick as thieves. Like they’d known each other forever. Then they got drunk which ended in a fight. Harry pulled a knife. When Lt. Shaffer went to break it up, Harry knocked him down, grabbed the soldier and barricaded himself in the trading post. Swears he’s going to butcher the guy. But they’ve only known each other for a few days. Doesn’t make any sense.” Derek gestured to the chopper.

  I looked at Victoria and kissed her goodbye. Derek and I flew to the fort. We met General Carson outside the Trading Post. Carson said, “Since when does a guy as stable as Harry go nuts?” He eyed me, face dark with concern, “A lot of weird stuff going on, Jamie. Could this be part of this transition you mentioned?”

  I nodded. “I suspect it is. What did he say he wanted? Usually it’s money or means of escape.”

  “You. He wanted you.”

  “How serious is he about hurting this guy, Will?”

  “He said he’d be sending out body parts if I didn’t get you. Harry is not somebody you second guess. You know what he’s like.”

  “Pretty direct guy.” A cordon of soldiers around the Trading Post kept the fort population away. “I need ... may I use your office?”

  Carson stared at me. “Of course. Why?”

  “I look different. Harry and his soldier friend wouldn’t understand.”

  The small iron hard General gave a short laugh. “What are you going to do? Shape shift?”

  “Would you and Derek care to watch? It will be interesting ... ”

  Inside the office Carson closed the blinds to the windows facing the outside of the building and the inside corridor. Derek clicked the office door shut. They both stood back expectantly, exchanging glances. “It’s not that bad, guys. Watch my face closely. You will feel a sensation which is the Sound Language.” I sat in Carson’s desk chair closed my eyes and began the alterations. “Remember how I looked before ... ” I made the skin tone and color change. The aging wrinkles around my eyes and lips came to life. “Now, how about a slight fleshy wart like beastie to the right side of my nose.” It grew. Carson swallowed and Derek stared uncomfortable. “What do you think?”

  Carson cleared his throat. “Is this part of this scientist-priest business?”

  “Nothing to do with religion, I assure you, Will. We, the Thera, have learned how to manipulate time and matter on a molecular level to, among other things, shape shift.”

  “Why the fleshy wart?” Derek asked.

  “Our soldier had a favorite uncle who had a fleshy wart. Also the skin tone and aged wrinkles are the same.”

  “You’ve been doing some background work,” The General said.

  “Yes. I have to be careful of the presentation. Harry and the soldier, Conrad, have sort of dipped themselves in some volatile stuff. Each is convince the other is the boogeyman. They aren’t far from butchering each other.”

  “That skinny little soldier?” Derek said.

  “That skinny soldier is a tiger. Harry doesn’t t know it,” I said.

  “Are you ready?, Jamie,” Carson said. We headed for the Trading Post.

  We stood on the covered porch of the Trading Post . The General nodded. I knocked on the door. “Harry, it’s Jamie.”

  The door opened. “Get your ass in here, man. I need to know why I want to kill this guy bad. Real bad.”

  I entered the Trading Post. Harry Calling’s huge bulk dominated the large room. He gestured to a small soldier, self assured face impassive, in a chair behind his desk. The soldier’s smooth voice said, “I thought about cutting this bugger’s guts out and spreading them all over the floor.” A large Bowie knife, point stabbed into the desk top, meant business. Dried blood on the blade. “You this Jamie fella?

  “Yes.”

  He squinted. “You look like my Uncle Walter.” He began to relax.

  I shrugged. “You both have this urge to go after each other.” Harry nodded, folding his great arms across his vast chest. I looked to the soldier.

  The small soldier stood, cool and completely controlled. In one fluid movement he pulled the Bowie knife out of the desk and watching us both for a long moment, drove the blade a full four inches into the solid oak desk. “Yeah,” he said. “With pleasure.” Harry backed up, eyes uncertain.

  “What If I can prove this urge came from people different than you? Related but different.” Harry and Conrad eyed each other and then me. “Give me the time. We wouldn’t want either of you spread on the Trading Post floor.”

  Conrad waved a hand. “I’m game.”

  I looked to Harry. “Okay. What do we do?”

  “Each of you take a hand. Conrad, take my left hand. Harry take my right. Relax. You will feel a mental movement, a sensation that will connect you to another part of yourself. A larger self that each of you are part of. When you feel that connection. Tell me.” They sat in chairs facing me, holding my hands.

  A minute later Conrad started, looking surprised. Harry frowned, eyes uncertain, mouth pursed. “Okay,” he growled, suspicious.

  “What do you sense, Conrad?”

  “Like a living mosaic. Puzzle pieces.”

  “Ask your connection with Harry?”

  He cleared his throat. “It’s over there.” He gestured with his other hand.

  “Is it you?�
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  “I’m related to it, but there is a ... distance between us,” Conrad said.

  “Harry?” I asked.

  “A crowd of people that make up a larger whole. Like a family but not a family. Lots of different types of people.”

  “Ask who has the connection with Conrad. Ask them to come forward,” I said.

  Harry adjusted himself in his chair. Cleared his throat. “A woman who says a man from Conrad’s people deserted her after he made her pregnant.”

  “Conrad,” I said. “What do you get on this man and situation?”

  The young soldier took a deep breath. “He says his wealthy family deceived him into traveling without his knowledge of her being pregnant. When he found out, he returned but she had died in childbirth. He raised the child, but raged at his family for the deception. He blamed her for not telling him, and felt cheated, grieving for what they might have had together.”

  “Do you feel you are this man, Conrad?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Sad. Sad. No I don’t.”