Heisenberg's Shaman: The River (full story)

Heisenberg's Shaman: The River 1

Prologue 2

The eccentrically dressed and decorated students are from all manner of ethnicities and cultures. The youngest are adolescent, though some appear as old as their early twenties.3

The topic on the display screen is 'Quantum Physics I' and the subtitle 'UN-IGCS Novate Training' together with the lecturer's name, 'Katie Andersen'.4

Two of the students are whispering in a private conversation.5

"This is the lesson."6

"What do you mean?"7

"This is the one where she got her nickname."8

"How do you know?"9

"Look at the handout." Slide 3 is entitled 'Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle'.10

The lecturer notices the distracted pair. "Something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?" They shrink into their seats silently. "I thought not." She turns back to the screen, "Next slide please."11

Heisenberg, Werner Karl (1901-1976): German Quantum Physicist, winner of 1932 Nobel Prize for Physics for formulating the Uncertainty Principle which bears his name. A founder of the theory of Quantum Mechanics. 12

The pair of students start to giggle. Under the lecturer's glare they eventually manage to regain their composure.13

"If you prefer, you can just leave right now and I'll happily fail your Quantum Physics units."14

"But… why do Shamans need to learn about quantum physics anyway?"15

The lecturer thinks for a moment then looks at her watch. "How long before your next training begins?"16

The various murmurs indicate that the class has a few hours to spare. The lecturer turns off the display screen and sits on the edge of the front desk.17

"I think we might just have time. We all live in two worlds..."18

 19

Part 1 – Heisenberg’s Shaman20

Chapter 121

We all live in two worlds. In the world of common experience I live and work alone on a small farm beside a narrow river. The other world is a dark and despairing wasteland ravaged by conflict; and yet, both worlds are one.22

The river beside my home passes under a road through a culvert. If it ever becomes blocked there is a danger of flooding over my land so that, whenever there is a heavy downpour, I rake the grille in front of the culvert to keep it clear. Typically, I find dirty sticks and leaves accumulating, together with the cast off flotsam of the careless people living upstream: a plastic bag, a pair of old boots, a ripped shirt, some timber, a cardboard box with a small plastic display window; the detritus of modern civilisation. Washed up alongside the other junk I rake clear the refuse of a guilty society: pornographic videos, DVDs and magazines, empty bottles and cans of alcoholic drink, condoms, needles and syringes.23

One autumn day a middle-aged man floated face up against the grille, rubbish just starting to accumulate against his side. At first, I thought it was some kind of awful joke, either a mannequin or some prankster. On closer inspection I realized that this was no joke and that the man was in danger of drowning. Dismissing concerns for my own well-being I struggled to haul him clear of the water.24

The river-bank was steep and weed-covered alongside the grille, but only about half a metre high. With the heavy rainfall there was some danger of slipping into the fast-moving water myself. Using one hand to hold tightly onto the stems of some of the bigger weeds, I managed to haul him up onto the slippery bank. He was still breathing, though unmoving and he smelled of alcohol. He had several days' growth of stubble. Even dry, I do not think his clothes would have been very good quality, since they looked cheap, rough-worn and frayed.25

He was too heavy for me to carry or drag over the fifty or so metres of rough terrain back to my. I returned to the farmhouse to fetch a blanket and first aid kit, making the middle-aged man comfortable and secure. He seemed unhurt, so I turned my attention to the unusual spirit lying within him.26

I had dealt with all kinds of spirits: diseases, emotions, animal-totems, ghosts; but this spirit was unique. It had wrapped itself all about the man's head and body. It was not a common, mindless illness or passion. This was a spirit with a higher purpose. A spirit of gold and white, its intelligent-looking face filled with eager purpose and drive, beautiful, enchanting…captivating. I had never before seen such a spirit.27

As curiosity mingled with apprehension, my skin tingled and my heart was pounding the way it does when you reach the top of a roller-coaster ride, just before the frightening descent. Trembling with excitement, I hurried back to the house to fetch the tools of my craft.28

 29

Chapter 230

Almost twenty years earlier, when I was eight years old, I first learned that I was different. We lived on the outskirts of London. My father’s friend Jake, lay dangerously ill in the North Middlesex hospital in the city's northern suburbs. The whole family went to visit, my parents, my younger brother Dan and me.31

As soon as we arrived on the hushed ward, I saw that Jake was covered in dark, crawling creatures. These were altogether more numerous and more dangerous-looking than the smaller spirits I had seen previously on ill people. These creatures made poor Jake look terribly uncomfortable. I could not tear my gaze away from them. The creatures looked disgusting. They were fist-sized, small-legged things with large mouths. They nibbled hungrily at all his exposed body parts. Having no eyes, they appeared to smell their food or sense it by some other, mysterious means. They seemed like wingless, eyeless bats gnawing at his flesh. It was horrific.32

Jake was pale, thin and barely conscious. He looked much older than when I'd last seen him and had tubes and dressings attached to his arms. A nurse, going about her rounds, looked into Jake’s mouth, took his pulse seeming oblivious to the scuttling creatures and gave him some pills. This treatment, to my astonishment, seemed to drive the creatures into a frenzy of hunger.33

"What are those pills for?"34

The nurse seemed to be in a rush, and her answer was full of medical jargon. Noticing my confusion, she continued, "They're to make him feel more comfortable and to make him better."35

"But they're making him worse!" I blurted out.36

"Of course they're not."37

My mother pulled me tight against her side and placed a hand on my shoulder, comforting and patronising at the same time.38

"But Mum, look." Pointing at the creatures did nothing to help the others understand what I saw. I felt awful for Jake's sake. I had to find a way to help him.39

Later when the grown-ups were distracted in conversation, I found similar pills next to another patient. Taking a bunch of flowers (which I could see were still alive) in a vase I lay a trail of the pills from Jake to the flowers. Dan was the only one who noticed what I was doing, but I distracted him with a comic from Mum's bag.40

One by one, the beasts started to crawl hungrily towards and over the pills, eventually accumulating on the flowers. Afraid that I might catch the disease, I gingerly brushed the last of the creatures off Jake’s clothes and bed toward the pills. I winced as it tried to bite at my hands and arms. Eventually, they were all swarming over the flowers. I lifted up the vase together with its unwholesome passengers and threw the lot out of the window, which I quickly slammed shut behind them.41

The whole ward fell silent and my dismayed father half-led, half-dragged me out of the ward. In the nearby waiting room he bent down and thrust his face in front of mine.42

"Katie!" his tone conveyed both shock and anger, "What do you think you were doing?"43

"I was helping .."44

"You chucked a perfectly good vase and flowers out of that window. Have you no idea who it might have hit! I don't know what you were thinking."45

"I was.."46

"Shut up and listen. You won't be saying another word until we leave. Do you hear me?"47

I nodded.48

"Good. And no more mischief. The cost of that vase is coming out of your allowance."49

Unable to explain myself, I felt confused and upset; distraught, I broke down and cried.50

We waited a few minutes before returning to the ward. When we did, Jake was sitting up and smiling for the first time since our arrival. Within a few days, Jake returned to his former, jovial self. By the end of the week, he had made a full and unexpected recovery.51

At the time I was so confused, I did not know what to believe. The grown ups said that I could not have helped; that there were no such things as 'disease monsters'. I felt confused and afraid. This was when I learned that other people see, hear and experience only one world. It was also the first time that my interactions with the spirits of the other world had any visible effect on the physical world.52

 53

Chapter 354

The farm house was over one hundred years old. Built from red bricks with red-clay tiles cladding the upper storey it formed an L-shape together with the small barn I used to store my agricultural equipment. Taking the flag-stone path from the river, I entered the back-door on the inside corner of the L-shape. 55

Passing the plainly decorated guest bedroom and the pine-wood kitchen, I first went to the office and switched on the computer. Then I went to my meditation chamber. This was an airy and light-filled room, bare but for a few items. On the wall there hung a small, round, wood-framed mirror. Standing on the floor were a small pine table and chair and a pile of coloured cushions. A few metres of thick string or rope and a green cloth bag hung from a peg on the wall.56

Taking the bag, I went back to the man. I set the bag down on the wet ground beside the man and pulled out of it a thin bone, a book of dried-pressed flowers, and a rough yellow crystal. Still in the bag were some tiny black seeds in a small jar, a small black memory stick device, and a square patch of brown and white fur about the size of the palm of my hand. Opening the first page of the book of flowers I touched the sprig of lavender and brought forth my most faithful and useful spirit companion, Narisel (this is not his true name since revealing it would give you power over him).57

Narisel, a fragrant spirit, wafted out of the pages of the book. His purple form floated like a wisp of smoke above the book and then drifted over to the man. Narisel slowly floated down toward the man's still body, and wavered just out of contact with either the man or the beautiful, golden spirit. There, he paused for a few seconds, then floated back to my left shoulder. Narisel spoke directly to my mind, "It is very powerful." I could sense the awe in Narisel's mind-words, mingling with his pervasive scent. "I do not know this type of spirit, but I can sense its authority," Narisel seemed disappointed not to have been more helpful, so I reassured him with my warmest thoughts.58

Next, with Narisel remaining beside me, I turned to the spirits possessing the crystal and the bone. The crystal spirit appeared to me as an ever-shifting mix of various geometric patterns, predominantly yellow, constrained within the outline of a very short, stocky man, about the size of my fist – this spirit had great understanding of energy in all its forms. He stepped out of the crystal and stepped to the side of the man. Extending one arm which lengthened into a crystalline tendril, he made tentative contact with both the golden spirit and the still man. He then withdrew the limb and walked back to his crystal binding matrix.59

"What do you sense Cameliard?"60

"It is not a manifestation of energy," Cameliard's mind-tones were clipped, mechanical almost harsh. "It could be an obsession or zeal; but I'm really not sure."61

"Ok, never mind. Thank you. You can rest now." Cameliard re-entered his crystal home.62

The bone spirit manifested as a small, brown rabbit, ever alert and able to sense danger before I became aware. It rose up on its back legs, its wide eyes gazing all about, its ears swivelling and its nose twitching ceaselessly. After a few seconds it dropped down onto all four legs, hopped over to the prone form of the man, and sniffed at his side.63

"It's safe."64

"Thank you."65

Frustrated by my lack of progress, but also relieved that the situation posed no immediate threat, I decided to contact my old mentor A-Moto.66

Re-binding the spirits and taking up the bag, I went back to the farmhouse and returned the bag to its peg.67

I settled at the computer and watched the network port’s manifestation in the spiritual realm, waiting for one of the larger energy spiders to approach. A small spider might be lagged or, worse yet, have insufficient bandwidth for my journey and I was about to take an important journey. After about a minute a very large, yellow-blazing spider passed the nearby exchange, I seized it around the body feeling the electrical energy vibrating throughout and rode it through the highways of light. My body, garments and closely carried items ceased to exist in any material sense, but my spirit remained intact.68

For some reason, the internet was particularly congested. Many of the regular junctions and pathways were closed but I had no time to investigate the problems. Avoiding the worst affected network segments, I pressed on from one glowing energy node to the next. Only a fraction of a second elapsed in the material world, but the journey through the energy web seemed much longer to me. The speed of data is much faster than any airline, but the luggage allowance is somewhat less.69

 70

Chapter 471

My parents grew to appreciate my insight, but also to fear it, like anyone fears that which they cannot understand or control. I continued to live both a "normal" life and my new spiritual life with so-called guidance from a succession of quacks and charlatans until eventually, a well-connected Taoist philosopher introduced me to Mchawi A-Moto.72

I was fourteen when I first travelled to A-Moto’s home. I remember how, at the airport, my parents were so worried and guilt-ridden. I tried my best to reassure them that it was the best thing for me. Only my brother Dan seemed to understand, but even he cried.73

Mchawi A-Moto met me at Harare airport. Tall, slender and magnificent in his ceremonial dress, he impressed in many ways. Unlike Shamans of some traditions, he had neither ritual scarring nor tattoos, but he did have a bone piercing on his chest and a metal-pierced lip. Spirits attended him on every side, but none were so great as the spirit of the man himself – his spiritual stature and power being as great as the physical prowess of any body-builder.74

We first met briefly in London and, on his insistence, I would spend the summer at his home. His driving was particularly frightening, but I later learned that the powers of a traditional African shaman influence even mechanical things.75

During the long, bumpy drive to his village he began his tuition. His accent was thick, but his expressions and intonations so colourful and powerful that it was impossible not to understand him. "There are many, many spirits in this world," he reinforced his exposition with flamboyant gestures – frequently taking both hands off the steering wheel to my consternation. "Spirits bring us all the good things of life. They create all that you see and all that you feel. Nothing can exist without them.76

"Very few people are blessed with the gift of second sight – the ability to see the spirits as they manifest around us. Even fewer are able to speak with them and interact with them. Such people are very rare indeed. With special medicines and rituals it is possible for some people to gain a limited insight. But, you are special.77

"I will teach you how the world is made; and unmade; every day, every hour, every second of every hour of every day. Religions speak of creation as though it is already done. I know it as it happens here and now!78

"But, these insights require balance. I bring you here to my home so that you can see how things can be. How spirit and man can live together. This will show you how you must live and how the world should be.79

"You will learn how to bargain with the spirits, to serve them and be served by them. When I join my ancestors you will become Spirit-Guide to my people," he talked with equal certainty about the past, the present and the future.80

I listened for so long that trip that I could hardly tell if what he said was sane or not or truth or right or wrong. But as I grew used to the resonance of his voice and his unique driving, I became filled with a sense of well-being. I had found something that had been missing; I felt safe and at home.81

I learned so much that summer – in the village I felt at ease and among friends, but my strongest memory is of my return to city life, first in Harare, then in London. I was dismayed by the sight of red, toxic worms belching forth from the dirty engines of civilisation. The spiritual air, which had been so pure in the village, was filled with disease and malignancy. My thoughts gagged and choked with the sickening mind-stench, which hardly stopped until I was with A-Moto again.82

The next summer, in England, I faced my first test - a spirit binding. My totem had already chosen me and I placed a fragment of it, a lavender plant, into a dried flower-pressing book. This binding left room for other flower spirits to be bound into later pages. We then travelled to a quiet heath and waited for the dawn. Wearing a plain, cotton dress, I sat cross-legged among the lavender plants, filled with their scent. I opened the book and swallowed a small flask of essence to aid my perception of the spirit realm.83

A-Moto was wrapped in several layers, sitting beside me in the dewy undergrowth. There were many spirits in that haven of natural beauty, interrupted only by the sound of the unceasing traffic of the motorway, several miles away and the occasional aircraft overhead.84

Calmly I waited, trying my best to cultivate an air of good will to attract the spirits to me.85

"Easy," A-Moto intoned softly, "no need to force. Patience."86

A binding was easier if the spirit was taken by force, but we aimed to promote harmony between the spiritual and physical realms. Others had no such scruples.87

Slowly, a spirit edged toward me and touched me on the nose, filling my nostrils and my mind. I could hear it in my head, together with A-Moto.88

"Welcome," I said, "my totem."89

The spirit frowned and recoiled a little then, slowly, it proceeded to explore me. With great intimacy and delicacy it entered my thoughts, filling me with perfumed contentment. For a few moments, we were a single entity and then it was over.90

We exchanged our true names and gave our binding promises. We would serve and protect each other to the end, being of one mind in all things. We would watch over and care for each other and be each other’s guides in the other’s realm.91

Night had long since fallen – perception of time differs between the spirit realms and the physical.92

Before binding my totem, I wondered why Shamans so rarely married. Since experiencing the intimate joy of totemic binding, I instead wonder how one could endure the disconnected loneliness of a relationship with a human partner.93

I spent my summers with A-Moto, alternating between my home in London and his village in Zimbabwe until I was twenty-five years old. Travel was much easier once I learned how to leave the physical plane of existence, entering the data paths that criss-cross our planet, and to ride the energy spiders that crawl along the telephone lines and cables throughout the peopled world.94

A-Moto encouraged me to fully engage in the world that had been my home, as there are spirits in every walk of life. So, when I was in England, I studied hard and became schooled in applied sciences since my gift gave me unusual insights.95

As part of my human-biology course I spent a week working in a hospital. I earned a reputation for prescribing more effective medication regimes and my tutor was so impressed with my bed-side manner that he wanted me to train as a Psychiatrist.96

I could diagnose and repair machinery with ease and was struck by how close the quantum physicists were coming to my own understanding of spiritual truth. In particular, the spirit realm we call The Deep is a place where many of the theoretically microscopic quantum effects are writ large for the spiritualist to see. My ability to predict the outcome of particle physics experiments gained me an offer of a scientific associateship at the European particle physics research centre, CERN.97

My greatest ability was in Information Technology. I negotiated directly with systems resources and drew upon a wide pool of existing expertise with a facility that confounded my fellow students and many of the teaching staff. If I had to invent something for myself, I was an average student, but there is little that has not already been tried by someone; or some thing; on the internet.98

As well as earning me a Doctorate in Applied Science Philosophy, my paper on "A Quantum Internet" brought me to the attention of the British government. Eventually, they transferred me to the United Nations secret service bureau where my spiritual connectedness was recognised and I met others like myself. A very secret sub-division of the bureau had been set up for those with spirit-powers. Founded soon after the United Nations itself, the Inter-Governmental Council on Spiritualism openly addressed issues of religion and culture. However, the council secretly protected governments, civilisation, humankind and the whole world, from the repercussions of spiritual and physical discord.99

In my final summer with A-Moto, after earning my Doctorate but before starting my work with the government, he told me about the war.100

As we strolled in the university gardens, he spoke in hushed, serious tones, as though afraid to be overheard. "I have told you how there are those that bind spirits against their will, enslaving them. I have told you that we should not do this so as to avoid damaging the relationship between our world and the spirit realms. I have told you how the creators are constantly weaving new materials of creation and of how the devourers restore the balance through clearing the world allowing for constant renewal. This is how it should be, but it is not."101

Though he had not said as much, I sensed this was my final lesson.102

He continued, "A war is raging between the devourers and creators. I am sure it has not escaped your notice that, apart from the occasional oasis of balance, the woven world of creation is far more powerful than the destruction wrought by the devourers. In turn, the devourers burst forth unexpectedly in new and unpredictable ways. Climate change, acid rain, radiation poisoning, toxic shock, epidemics of allergies, diabetes, obesity – the works of the devourer.103

"In the spirit realms there are also many paths. The spirits embody the essence of many features of the material world. With time, the influence of humans has re-drawn the balance of forces in the spiritual realms. The war has long been fought between order and chaos, creation and destruction. Now, the powers of the creators are at their greatest: industry, pollution, the internet – order run amok. Like a cancer, the creations of human-kind grow without cease and form tumours throughout the world. The devourers cannot be contained forever. So-called natural disasters are the work of their agents.104

"My work is to contain both the creator and the devourer and make sure that each keeps its place in the order of the world. Now, this is your work also. You are a foot-soldier in the war that no side can be allowed to win.105

"The devourers cannot be held back for ever. Their forces are building and will continue to be unleashed in ever more devastating disasters. We must reign in the creators, but we must beat back the devourers, or at least channel them to minimise their impact. For the time being, the devourers are our enemy."106

After my final lesson I moved to the countryside since I loathed the stresses of modern living. Valuing every possible moment of peace and tranquillity, I bought the small farm in Hampshire to be among wholesome, natural things. Of course, I still had my internet work, but my free time was spent in cultivating the land and growing natural, healthy foods.107

 108

Chapter 5109

Dismounting the spider, I dropped onto my feet beside the internet access point and immediately felt at ease in the familiar heat and dryness. Noting the out-of-date browser version, I started a patch download to prevent the enemy from breaching this access point. Then, I left the small, simply decorated building to look for a villager who could tell me where to find my mentor.110

Outside were only a handful of the more substantial white-washed concrete and wooden houses like the one I was exiting. The rest were small, round mud-brick hovels with straw-thatched roofs. Short, broad Umbhondo trees formed a line along the nearby edge of the village. At their roots and in their leaves I could see the sleeping spirits that fight off the infections in fresh wounds and their flower spirits were smiling with every visit of the bees in their branches. I could smell their oily perfume, like fresh-cut oranges.111

"Miss White Mchawi!" It was an orange robed old woman wearing a black hat and head scarf, sitting on a small wooden bench – the mother of A-Moto’s house-keeper.112

"Hello mama," I replied. Only a handful of people knew her real name, including me, but I was too discreet to use it. "How are you? You look so old now; you must be as strong as an ox."113

She beamed a huge, toothless grin and cackled her reply through a genial laugh, "My ancestors are waiting for me. I feel them all around me," she gave a broad gesture with her arm.114

Looking around I saw that four faint, spectre-like people attended her. There being nothing to say at such times, I gave her the hug that said more than any words.115

As our embrace ended, she pointed along the road, "He is washing."116

I thanked her and went to find my friend.117

The spirits of the enemy watched us. The clouds gathered quickly as I approached the pond. The trees swayed in a breeze even though it had been still at the village just a few minutes before. I felt my temples begin to throb from the heavy, oppressive air.118

Wearing only his shorts, Mchawi A-Moto was washing at the side of the pond. He was scrubbing his long hair as I approached. I noticed his clothes piled on a rock beside him, the grip of his pistol just exposed and his (to my eye, more powerful) spirit weapons arrayed on his necklaces, bracelets and head-dress alongside.119

I could hear his voice before I was even close enough to call out and greet him. Without turning to face me, he called out in an undulating lilt, "There will be blood in the fields. There will be blood in the cities and on the streets. These things will be."120

I was brought up short. He was in a trance state – possessed. There was no point trying to talk to him until it passed. He dipped his long locks into the water once more and scrubbed at them again, vigorously.121

"The sun will grow dim, the sky will darken. The darkness will consume the light. These things will be."122

He turned toward me with his face downcast then, flinging his head back with a spray of water, I saw his eyes were filled with red fire.123

"An army will muster. There will be blood in the rivers and in the seas. The innocent will die. The guilty will die. These things will be."124

He turned back to the water and continued to wash. This possession could last a long time, a luxury I lacked, as I still needed to attend to the man on the river bank at home. As I was about to turn and leave he gestured for me to stay.125

"Men of love and men of war will rise to power. They will be men of great beauty. They will be men of charisma," A-Moto placed unusual emphasis on this last word. "These things will be."126

Now I understood. I had heard of the spirits of charisma during my training in the spiritual arts. Such a spirit possessed the man back at the river bank beside my farm. I had to protect it. If it fell into the hands of the enemy, our cause would suffer a disaster. Even under our protection and guidance, a charisma would still be a thing of great danger.127

 128

Chapter 6129

The return journey was more difficult. Storms flashed across the internet, and many energy spiders flickered or died. The fabric of the web was breaking up in parts and many of the agents of the devourers; whose creators misguidedly call them ‘worms’ and ‘viruses’; were grinding up the carriers and the information spirits in their path. More than once I had to beat back a black devouring spirit to protect my energy spider as I guided it through the remaining open pathways back to my home network port. I arrived breathless and hot from the exertion and, after checking on the possessed man, prepared myself a cup of reviving tea.130

After a few minutes’ thought I remembered my ride-on lawn mower and thought I would be able to lift the man on to the back of it. After struggling for a while, I instead put him into a trailer, which I then towed along with the mower. Finally, I was able to transfer him to the bed in a guest room at the back of the house. I placed the rabbit-bone spirit on watch beside him to raise the alarm should anything happen.131

Returning to the meditation room I planned to make contact with a spirit of knowledge - specifically, a spirit of ancient knowledge. No charisma spirit had incarnated on earth for almost two hundred years. No one alive today had any experience of them. It was time for some astral research.132

Once again I took the green bag down from its peg, this time taking out the memory stick. I attached the stick to a long cable and plugged the other end into the computer in the office. Then, returning to the meditation chamber I lay down upon the floor in the centre of the room, placing my hands, still holding the memory stick, together upon my abdomen. Stilling my body, I awakened my mind to the spirit realm, mind-shouting to call up the spirits to my aid.133

I summoned spirit after spirit. At first only the nearby spirits of the farm, the house, a recently deceased fish and the nearby mill came forward, but as I rose higher into the astral realms, I was able to see further.134

Far below me, the internet was descending into crisis. A battle was in progress and bandwidth was being consumed by more and more of the devouring darkness. For the time being, my private line was untouched. At least there would be one safe exit if the internet descended into turmoil.135

Just above the internet I could see the spirits of the living things. The fish and rats of the river, the birds and the mice. And alongside them the spirits of the inanimate world, the earth, the air, the nearby road. The lady of the river was smiling with the recent rains, but she was also dirty with red pollution worms swimming to and fro, blindly ravaging her banks with their spiny teeth.136

Higher still I saw the spirits of raw emotion, feeling and lost memories. These spirits held sway over no one right now, but gained sustenance and power from possessing the unwary.137

As I rose a little further, I passed an orange angel and at last came upon a book. This celestial index or directory could refer me to other knowledge spirits. In exchange I allowed it access to the spirit of the memory stick in my bag. It satisfied its ever-present hunger for information on the latest URL updates from Google. Satisfied, the book told me the name of a spirit of ancient knowledge. Descending to the earth, I stood up and uttered the true name of the spirit and, when it was invoked, exchanged promises: it agreeing to remain in a binding for a few minutes, me agreeing to keep its name secret and never to summon it again. I bound it into the small mirror on the wall of the meditation chamber, touching the mirror to open the spirit binding matrix.138

Then, releasing Narisel once more from the lavender of the pressed flower book, I asked the ancient knowledge spirit to tell us about charismas.139

Knowledge spirits are simultaneously all-knowing and ignorant. One must ask them direct questions very carefully or be misled. Narisel has the ability to sense underlying meaning invisible to me. This is why I admire him so much.140

"What is a charisma?" I asked slowly, thinking carefully, using mind speech.141

Flicking through its pages, its image in the mirror, the knowledge spirit spoke expressionlessly, "A spirit of charisma is a restless spirit of great influence brought forth in times of crisis. It has a strong sense of purpose and will gather followers and power until it achieves its aim at which time it will finally be able to rest."142

"Why has a charisma possessed the man over there?" I said pointing.143

"The charisma was very weak and needed to possess an easy host."144

Right then the small table and chair at the end of the meditation room bumped together with a crack. I could see their spirits were untroubled, but such things do not happen from just a simple gust of wind. There was no time to wonder, I had a promise to keep to the spirit in the mirror.145

"Why was the charisma weak?" I asked.146

"Which charisma?"147

Narisel wafted some of his purple scent at the knowledge spirit in the mirror. The knowledge spirit glanced upwards to see that Narisel was preparing to summon a spirit of awkwardness, then quickly turned a page and spoke rather than be taken possession of. Narisel had saved me the effort of playing mind-games with a knowledge spirit which could have wasted hours.148

"Assuming you mean the charisma in the man you mentioned previously, it was weakened during a recent battle."149

I frowned, "Battle?"150

The knowledge spirit replied, even though I did not think I had asked a question – Narisel’s influence at work again. "The battle between the devourers and the creators. It continues now."151

The charisma had come into being to fight in the war. It would have gathered a force of powerful spirits then gone into battle against whatever forces blocked its purpose. Presumably its force was defeated and it had sought a host to regain its strength. It had settled on a man. The man. But which side was it fighting on and what was its purpose? Its alignment could be decisive in the war.152

"What is the purpose that the charisma exists to fulfil?"153

"That is unknowable," the knowledge spirit’s pages turned blank.154

Of course, I might just as well have asked the knowledge spirit for the charisma’s true name. "Who was the spirit fighting against?"155

"Against whom?" knowledge spirits were frequently pedantic, even when using mind speech. "The devourers of The Deep."156

Aghast, I froze. Narisel also recoiled, almost to the sanctuary of his book.157

The Deep was as far from the spiritual realms as it was possible to reach. For the devourers to be waging war there, and for the effects to be noticeable within the inter-web, the very fabric of the material world must be at risk. Internet collapse was one thing, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and fire a different matter altogether. Now, the quiet bumping together of two pieces of furniture took on more ominous meaning.158

Incanting the knowledge spirit’s true name once more, I freed it from the binding. The troubles on the internet were but a pale reflection of the battle that must be raging in The Deep this very moment. Just as the bumping of furniture only hinted of the troubles in the network. The prospect of the devourers consuming all of creation was too terrible to bear. I had to speak with the charisma – in spite of the dangers that would pose.159

The lights flickered and all the electrical devices in the house blinked out. All, that is, except the computer with its protected power supply. I hurried to the guest room. As I arrived, I was struck dumb. There on the floor was the rabbit-bone, but the spirit was gone, the binding broken. There was no sign of the man, it looked as though he had simply risen and walked out.160

Losing no time to mourn the loss of my spiritual friend, I rushed out looking for the man. I was able to follow the trail of wet footprints to the back door out into the farm yard then around to the front of the house. From there I could see him waiting at the end of the gravel driveway. Despite his wet, scruffy and vagrant appearance, the first passing car pulled over to let him in. I raced toward the vehicle, but the young driver already had an air of fanatical certainty about her. The man turned to look at me blankly and in his eyes I saw a bright and penetrating light I will never forget.161

He had the first recruit in his new army. An army of humans.162

 163

Chapter 7164

After two days of fruitless pursuit and frustrating research, I decided that I could no longer manage this situation alone. The internet had become all-but unusable so, strapping my spirit bindings close to my body so that I could take them with me, I used my private line to travel directly to the headquarters of the United Nations secret service bureau, Special Division. From there I was able to travel directly to the Intergovernmental Council on Spiritualism - this underground (and under-ice) facility had grown into a powerful nexus of spiritual energy in our material world, rivalling the Sphinx, Angkor Wat, and Uluru. At such a spirit nexus, movement between the spiritual and physical realms is much easier. Built by the world’s unseen agencies, the place chosen to best preserve its secrecy was Antarctica, although I have never known the exact location.165

As I dismounted the energy spider and settled straight into my seat in the council chamber I noticed that more council members were in session than I had ever seen before. The peculiar blend of spiritual and technological had no parallels anywhere else on Earth. A circular chamber with gently sloping banks of seats, there was enough room for about three hundred people to sit, with further spacing between each for whatever spiritual aides attended them. At regular intervals around the perimeter of the chamber stood the Nexus Guardians whose purpose was to protect the council. These "normal" humans were trained to the height of spiritual perception but, like the government agents scattered throughout the council, had no innate art of their own. They wore light red body armour, with black boots and long black capes, each wearing an assault rifle slung over the shoulder and a sheathed sword by his side.166

Before most of the seats were computer terminals of a bewildering variety. My personally customised position sported a touch-screen interface with a hint of sepia to the otherwise full-colour monitor.167

"Heisenberg!" called one of the other shamans. I was one of the few spirit speakers to have completed a formal science education and had earned the nickname while trying to explain the Uncertainty Principle to a group of novates.168

"Fern Runner!" I called back to her. I had not seen the Guardian of the Wolf Totem for over a year, "Good to see you. How are you?"169

She was dressed simply in traditional indigenous American leathers and was attended by a spectral wolf-pack, the alpha-male by her side. "My spirit is strong and you?" she grinned. As she continued to look at me her grin faded. "So, you are the news-bringer."170

That afternoon I was asked to speak to the gathering assembly of shamans and spirits. It was very difficult since I had to use both mind and sound speech. I faltered a few times at first, but the message was so important that I soon forgot about my nervousness. After relating all that had happened I reached the end of my tale.171

"In just a few days he has established himself in several of the nearby towns. He travels to busy town squares and shopping malls, with that light in his eyes, weaving his spell on his unsuspecting victims. I’ve met no one else immune to his charm and magic. The charisma is immensely powerful.172

"Numbering in the thousands, he and his horde have moved toward London on a highly publicised ‘protest march’ against globalisation. Soon, if nothing is done, the Earth shall descend into a terrible conflict like none before."173

With that, I sat back down, glancing around the hall, anxious to learn why A-Moto was unable to attend.174

The first to speak was a UN representative dressed in a suit, "You say that the charisma was able to slay your bone-spirit without it being able to even raise the alarm? Not only is this a spirit of great influence, but a spirit of some gravity also."175

"At least a fourteenth order of power," replied a yogi, projecting himself from within a deep meditation in his distant retreat.176

"An army of thousands in just a few days!" spoke another and the council fell into a babble of separate conversations trying to find some meaning in the events.177

A troupe of druids rose and their elderly spokesman signalled for quiet. "Three days ago, there was a disturbance at Stonehenge. The earth trembled and one of the cap-stones was dislodged and fell. This was at the time of the battle in the Deep. A river not far away from the plain flows past Katie Andersen’s farm just a few miles down stream." The druids returned to their seats.178

An angel of pure silver spoke next, with a bell-like quality to his voice, "If we form an army on earth, the conflict will be more devastating than any before. Perhaps our best hopes lie in a strike into the Deep."179

Several councillors looked disturbed by the prospect, but none could bring themselves to deny the truth spoken by the angel.180

"Who can lead such a dangerous expedition?" boomed the mind-speech voice of a questioning spirit, filling the chamber with an air of doubt and uncertainty for a few moments.181

As the council members waited for the emotion to dissipate from the chamber, an exorcist rose to his feet. "I will follow Heisenberg’s Shaman to The Deep."182

I stared in astonishment. Me? A leader? Surely not. So, I understood The Deep better than most because of its macroscopic quantum nature. But, I did not have the stomach for it.183

The druids fell into private debate, when Fern Runner also stood to speak, "I too will follow her, if she will have me."184

"Of course I will, but…" Before I could complete and clarify my sentence, a barrage of volunteering ensued.185

The rest of the council was a blur. Before I could fully understand what was happening I found myself in private session with Fern Runner, the exorcist, a druid, a spirit of compassion, a green angel, a pacific island tribal medicine man, a faith healer and more than a dozen of the Nexus Guardians. The only government volunteer had to be refused as he would surely have been too disorientated to be of any use during the journey to the Deep.186

Together with their attendant spirit servants, these beings formed my expedition for our journey into the Deep.187

Our mission: to tear the foundation out from under the edifice being constructed by the charisma. At the same time preventing the charisma from falling into the hands of the devourers, and at every turn to thwart the devourer in its war on creation.188

Before departing, I sent a handful of the butterfly-like word-spirits with messages to Mchawi A-Moto in hopes that he was all right.189

Then we made our final preparations.190

End of Part 1191

 192

Part 2 – The Deep193

Chapter 8194

During our year’s apprenticeship as novates, before taking our seats on the council, Fern Runner and I undertook a survival training expedition. I was tasked with teaching her about city life, she with educating me in wilderness ways. We had journeyed deep into Canada’s Northwest Territories and, after several days of rain and unbroken cloud cover, we were enjoying our first clear weather.195

As we moved from place to place, Fern Runner marked our passing and called to our hosts whose territory we crossed. She would sometimes leave me as she went to greet the local wolves, as these were her Totem.196

Camping on the shores of a beautiful, mirror-still lake, surrounded by pine forests, the sky was free from clouds and the air still. I was captivated by the wild-life that surrounded us and Fern Runner had proven to be an excellent guide. I felt completely at ease in the wilderness and felt a deep serenity within.197

She had left me the night before, telling me that we were in the territory of a female grizzly bear and her adolescent son. I was about to climb the tree where we stored our food packs out of bear-reach, when I spotted the two bears a short way off along the shore line. Worried, I decided that breakfast would have to wait as I decided that climbing the tree remained my best option.198

I must have made a lot of noise in my frightened haste, as the bears walked over to investigate and soon found the camp. They started to nose and paw through our belongings. The young male was almost as big as his mother and looked old enough to leave her. Both had brown fur on their backs, fading through yellow to dirty white on their undersides, shoulders and across their noses.199

Closing my eyes to aid me, I summoned a word-spirit that owed me a favour. Uttering "help" to it, I sent the butterfly-like messenger to Fern. She could not have been far away as I soon heard the howling of wolves then, much nearer, their growls from the nearby trees. The bears looked around and sniffed the air, but seemed to catch the scent of both me and the food pack in the tree beside me. Unable to reach either, they hit and shook the tree making me feel very unsafe. I thought I could distract them by throwing some scrap of food down to them, so I reached for the pack, but lost my footing. As my leg swung down, the mother bear was able to swipe at my boot, taking hold of me. I could feel the power of her grip and her weight as she hauled at me, pain shooting through my foot. My fright had grown to such a pitch that I will always remember the next few seconds. At the time, the events unfolded with the unusual clarity of complete detachment, as though I was watching someone else on a TV show.200

I held on tightly to the pack which tore out of the tree tumbling down alongside me, its contents scattering about with a flare gun among them. Hitting the ground hard, I grabbed the flare-gun and pointed it straight at the mother bear and fired. The smoking flare shot straight into the side of her face causing her to quickly turn and run, roaring in shock and surprise. The flare stuck there burning intensely with smoke and flames jetting all about as she and her cub ran back along the shore. The young male, frightened by the pyrotechnic display dashed into the trees and disappeared. The mother bear splashed into the water, crying in agony, smoke, water and steam hissing all about her head.201

Three wolves broke from the cover of the trees and pursued the mother bear, snarling at her from the shore as Fern Runner ran to my side from the trees. Quickly assessing the situation, she left me on the ground and went to join the wolves, which now numbered five, on the shore near the mother bear, who thrashed frenziedly in the water.202

Fern Runner looked dismayed at the suffering of the mother bear and quickly decided on a course of action. Bearing her teeth she rumbled a deep growl causing the wolves to leap into the water together and attack the bear from the rear. The bear stumbled and rolled over into the water and Fern Runner was able to approach more or less safely. She drew her long hunting knife and, with some effort, cut the bear’s throat. After a few seconds, she lay still, the flare dying out, steam hissing from around her head.203

Then, I noticed that two more hungry-looking wolves, their teeth bared menacingly, were staring at me from just a few metres away. I stayed lying where I had fallen, completely still, despite the throbbing pain in my boot. Fern Runner walked over to me, her wolf companions returning to sit by the shore. She had tears in her eyes and was dirty and wet from the struggle with the bear. Without a word she took my hand and led me into the water. Despite the pain shooting through my foot with every step, I felt that Fern was suffering more deeply than I was.204

The water of the lake was stained red with blood and was steaming gently around the scorched remnant of the bear’s face. "Bind her," she spoke softly, her voice reverberating gently with undertones of the wolf-like sound she had growled shortly before.205

I felt confused and must have looked it. Fern Runner used her still-bloody knife to saw a patch of fur from the neck of the mother bear. Fern's determined expression quickly persuaded me. Holding the warm fur patch I spoke to the bear-spirit. She was deeply tormented from dying in such pain and distress. I asked her forgiveness and promised to protect her and, when she asked, I agreed to do what I could for her cub.206

Her name was Hurgo and she has been my faithful companion ever since. When I have the time, I visit that lake and her son. In time, I hope that he will sire cubs so that Hurgo will have the peace of knowing that her line continues.207

Both Fern Runner and I learned similar lessons that summer. In either the city or the wilderness even someone skilled in the environment may be taken by surprise, and spirits only influence the world, they do not completely control it.208

 209

Chapter 9210

A journey to The Deep begins as the last rays of sunlight slip below the horizon. Later twilight is too late and another twenty-four hours has to pass before another entry can be made, sometimes longer since we were within the Antarctic circle.211

Being disconnected from the spiritual realm a person's mind or spirit projects into a physical existence in The Deep. As a result, there is no physical risk to someone journeying into The Deep. If a person is injured, they may subsequently believe their injury to be real but it is not. I once saw a Novate break his leg in The Deep. He limped for a couple of days in the physical world because his mind could not adjust to the unreality of his experience in The Deep. It might be possible to die in The Deep and yet survive physically. Depending on the experience and expertise of the person, the belief that they were dead might well shock them sufficiently to stop their heart or other vital functions. As a result, we decided to prepare for the journey in a specially designed medical facility.212

As we prepared for the journey to The Deep, I met with each of my companions to exchange introductions.213

A stocky, swarthy-skinned Basque, Martxelin had been a devout Catholic priest before losing his faith. Trained as an exorcist, he had learned that there are many spirits, not just the Christian pantheon of demons, angels and their like. He was a successful exorcist though and was well respected among mediums and ghost hunters. Marty never bound spirits, but excelled in their expulsion. Marty had received some scientific training and knew of my reputation as a physicist and technologist. He was the one who nominated me to lead the expedition.214

Torven was Norwegian by birth, but had travelled to live in Anglesey to study with the Druidic masters there. A tall, powerfully-built man, he had assumed many of the characteristics of the trees he loved so much. Thoughtful and strong, he was a solid addition to our group.215

Xiao Ping Gao was a wiry, little Chinese traditional doctor. He had lived as a Buddhist monk for many years, until he came to understand that he had a different perspective than the other monks of his temple – since he believed in the unification of all religions. Already having a reputation as a healer he had taken up a study of medicine and had united much of the knowledge of the spiritual paths with that of the energy bodies of Chinese Traditional Medicine. He never bound spirits, but instead channelled them as needed using his special connectedness with other-worldly energies. He had earned a great reputation among the powerful and famous as a skilled healer. We all called him Gao, or Happy Gao, as he was always smiling.216

The water spirit by Gao’s side had chosen to travel with him to help with his healing work. Not being bound, it was under no obligation and could leave at any time. Clearly, Gao was respected and honoured among spirits.217

The compassion spirit was hosted in the body of a young lady from the council staff. I knew nothing about her except her (assumed) name, Jessica.218

The Nexus Guardians came from all manner of backgrounds and societies, though they appeared similar in their uniforms, their uncovered heads revealed their various origins and ethnicities. Each had been nominated for special duties by the military branches of the intelligence agencies of their home nations. Although there were a few female Nexus Guardians, the expedition volunteers all happened to be male (reflecting the composition of most modern military services). Each had passed a spiritual test of allegiance and was unswerving in his loyalties at the time and circumstances of the test.219

The Pacific-island medicine man seemed nervous so I left him to get on with his own preparations without getting to know him first.220

Everyone had a physical form, the disembodied spirits temporarily possessed volunteers from the staff at the council or the closest fitting living animal or plant host available. Each lay on a platform, half-table, half bed, and was connected to a series of physiological monitoring instruments. The chamber was specially dampened to contain minimal light, electro-magnetic fields, passions or other potentially sense-disturbing energies. We each then assumed a relaxed posture and sunk our thoughts deep within.221

The Deep is more physical even than the material world, yet more transient also. I could feel every sensation in my body, every atom jarring as the room around me transformed and became a celestial platform, descending away from the realm of spirits into purest physicality. I rose and stood on the platform together with the others that, moments previously, had been in the monitoring room. Already our numbers were reduced. Some of the Nexus Guardians had failed to manifest as well as the green angel and we had not even started to refine our wave functions.222

Everyone exists at all places and at all times simultaneously. This is true in the physical world as well as in The Deep, but the probabilities that a person or thing is anywhere other than where it last was are much, much lower in the physical world than in The Deep. The wave function describes the distribution of probabilities of where (and how) a thing exists. Narrowing the possibilities within the wave function by examining the subject and influencing the variables causes the thing to coalesce and become tied down to some fewer possible localities and energies. This means that with clever and precise manipulation of the wave function, it is possible to teleport both through space and time, although the risks (or, more accurately, equation complexities) are proportionate to the distances involved. Normal movement through time and space is also possible and entirely risk free.223

So it was that we found ourselves standing together on the silver, circular platform, the same size as the medical facility our physical forms were - so far as we knew - still attached to, as it descended through the celestial vista, like some super-accelerated disc rushing through stars and constellations in deep space.224

Mind speech had no use in The Deep and all the disembodied spirits now manifested in their physical forms. I turned to look at each of my companions in turn. Fern Runner had a very real pack of five adult wolves beside her, together with a large grizzly bear (which in the physical world was bound into a tooth she wore on a string round her neck). The druid was accompanied by several animated plants, looking like over-grown stick-insects, including one imposing ash tree.225

As we descended the Pacific-island medicine man suddenly snapped into non-existence together with all his bound spirits. Unnerved by the transition he must have narrowed his thoughts and applied some energy to slow the descent, his wave function collapsed and he was forced back to his native form. Probably, he would awaken unharmed back at the council medical chamber. Probably. Hopelessly, one of the Nexus Guardians lunged toward where the medicine man had been and, before I could shout "No" to stop him, disappeared as well.226

The exorcist was devoid of spirits and appeared to be concentrating hard to avoid the same fate as the medicine man and guardian. The compassion spirit had manifested as a beautiful, white-robed, woman, serene and radiant, sat in a lotus posture, index fingers touching thumbs in classic meditation pose. Finally, there was the faith healer with an animated body of water, about ten litres in volume, slowly morphing by his side.227

At my side was, Hurgo, she was smaller than Fern Runner’s bear companion, but still I used her only where raw strength and toughness were required. As was my practice whenever I undertook a hazardous task, I left Narisel in possession of my material body. The tub of small black seeds manifested here just as it was in the material world. These pre-nascent spirits could be sprouted whenever they were needed. Standing by my left side was the manifestation of Cameliard, my crystal-bound energy spirit. He took the form of a squat man, no taller than my knee, coloured all over in varying shades of yellow-brown, like the amorphous crystal into which he was bound.228

Six council members (myself, Fern Runner, Marty, Torven, Gao and Jessica) and their attendants formed the expedition group that eventually arrived in The Deep.229

 230

Chapter 10231

Another of the Nexus Guardians dematerialised as, slowly, the vista around us began to transform. Shimmering and brightening, the platform beneath us became less reflective, more tangible, until it became a tiled floor, and looking around we were inside what appeared to be a shopping mall. Eerily deserted except for our group, the shops appeared to be open, the escalators running, the lights on and classical music was playing.232

Quickly, I worked the parameters of the wave equation. I reached out with my hands to pull on the energy cords that I could feel in my mind, and stamped out a probability pattern with my feet, reminiscent of a rain dance or other mystic ritual. Unknown to me, two of the Nexus Guardians had strayed off the platform and were left in the mall to experience who knew what fate. First the music changed then, as I reached my hands directly upwards and slowly drew them down to my sides, the shops and building collapsed away to reveal open air and blue sky dotted with occasional white clouds. We felt the cool wind on our faces and the grass rose up around us as the music gave way to the sound of running water.233

I had successfully brought us to my home, or rather the manifestation of my home as it is in The Deep. Clearly disturbed by the continuing transitions only three of the Nexus Guardians remained with us now. Fern Runner, her wolves and her bear were all fine (we had undertaken similar journeys before) and the others were in various states of dismay, confusion or fear.234

We stood in the farmyard between the barn and the river. Every action impacted powerfully on the senses, each step more real, more tangible than normal. Every breath filling our bodies with tingling, airy feelings. The sounds, smells and coolness, more resonant and insistent upon our senses. I approached Xiao Ping Gao, the faith healer and suggested that his water spirit communicate with the river. So we took the path to the river. The amorphous, undulating, elemental water spirit slipped into the churning waters of the river and was gone.235

Soon the water spirit was able to make contact with one of the red pollution worms. It must have been particularly toxic to exist so far from the material world. This agent of the devourer could have information we required, so I instructed Hurgo, my bear-spirit, to fish it out of the water and hold onto it tightly. It was almost a full metre in length, with no features save the rings that made up its body and the gaping maw that formed its front, its jaws lined with fine, ultra-sharp teeth, as long as my fingers. The disgusting abomination writhed and gnashed ineffectually at Hurgo.236

Touching it on the side, I tried to adopt my most intimidating expression and made plain my threat to modify its wave function and banish it from The Deep. Chastened, it lessened its squirming and spoke, its voice rasping, its long, narrow tongue lashing out between its teeth, with curls of stinking brown breath emanating forth from its gullet. "What do you want agents of creation?" At the final word, the worm’s voice, and maw, dripped with venom in utter loathing.237

I spoke softly as my senses were becoming bruised with the ever-impinging forcefulness of The Deep, "How did you come to The Deep?"238

The worm twisted uncomfortably so that I could not tell whether it was right way up or upside down. Sufficiently afraid it growled back, "I was flushed through an effluent pipe from a chemical plant into the river. I met with others of my kind and we formed a slick and devoured many creatures and plants along the river. Impressed with our good work, the great swarm recruited us to its mass and I have been here since."239

"Where can we find the great swarm?"240

"In the darkness of the new moon, in the Pits of Devastation."241

I nodded at Hurgo, who rapidly crushed and twisted the worm into a mangled pulp, casting it on the bank of the river. I felt about as much compassion toward the worm as I did for the bacteria massacred when I take an antibiotic. Bargains are worth nothing with the agents of the devourer – restoring the balance is all important.242

Gathering the group together into a tight huddle, I manipulated the wave functions again. Starting immediately above our heads, the sky turned completely black and starless. The darkness descended until it met the horizon which, in turn, rose up as gravel mounds and rock walls to meet it. Once again sitting, the compassion spirit called forth a pool of light, forming a circle as bright as daylight upon us, and splashing reflected light onto the gravel and rock filled basin around us.243

We were inside the Pits of Devastation – the manifestation of the Rossing open-cast uranium mine in the desert hills of Namibia. As my eyes adjusted to the mixed lighting, I began to notice the great swarm.244

 245

Chapter 11246

The stench was exceedingly powerful. It was like some super-concentrated essence of the very worst parts of vomit, excrement and rotting flesh. It caused a painful sensation in the back of my nostrils which I could feel all the way down my throat, making me gag with discomfort.247

The swarm's nearest edge lay no further away than I could throw a stone. It consisted of all manner of vile creatures, each armed with its own specialised array of teeth, claws, horns or spikes with which to impale the works of creation before feeding them into its all-destroying gullet. Their body forms and sizes ranged from small-insect like scuttling creatures up to heaving masses of horrid flesh and bone the size of a house. They crawled, slithered and scurried about in one great seething mound, covering an area almost as big as a football field. At its back edge where it sprawled up across one of the dynamite-hewn rock faces it attained its full height, roughly the same as a three or four storey building.248

Their colours were predominantly black, brown and red, with occasional ivory flashes of teeth and horns, and some yellow, orange and other colours. Most lacked eyes and many had no ears as well, but all of them had mouths and nostrils, some having them in strange numbers. A large, black spider-like thing with ten or more legs and a great mouth for a head scuttled over the mound, then disappeared into the mass of creatures. Then a lumbering, brown creature appeared, resembling a hippopotamus except for the array of horizontally-pointing, black spikes along its flanks, and the gaping circle of teeth where its neck ended.249

Surprised by the quietness of the creatures, I managed to overcome my disgust and foreboding. Apart from the distant sound of mining machinery grinding rocks, the only sounds were the scraping and thudding of the creatures’ bodies shifting about from place to place, and the occasional clatter of rocks and pebbles knocked loose by them across the rocky surface. Each movement kicked up small puffs of dust, which drifted away in the gentle breeze.250

Never before had I seen such a concentration of devourers, nor had I heard of any. Even though I had not been involved, when the council deflected the great earthquake into the sea, tragically leading to the Asian Tsunami of 2004, a much smaller quantity of devourers were involved. I do not think anyone in our group could imagine the devastation that such a force could unleash. Worse, they so rarely manifested here in The Deep, that their power was beyond comprehension.251

The fear was obvious. In spite of their military training, I think the Nexus Guardians were ill-prepared for such a foe. The council members and spirit companions looked horrified. All except Gao that is, whose smile had taken on a nervous, twitchy quality.252

Taking up defensive postures, the red and black clad Nexus Guardians moved between us and the swarm, assault rifles at the ready, swords still in their sheaths. The wolves bared their teeth and growled in a mixture of intimidation and fear. Hurgo and Fern Runner’s bear shifted about uneasily. I took out the jar of seeds and unscrewed the lid, taking out a pinch of the tiny black seeds. Then, remembering that none of the others understood how to ride the wave functions as well as me, I handed the jar of seeds to Torven the druid who managed an appreciative grin.253

Slowly, the largest of the monsters turned its maw towards us. Heaving itself above the mass of the creatures, the huge, bloated sack of teeth with a mouth large enough to swallow a car, leaned toward us above the mound, supported on the smooth, partly-black, partly-translucent skinned tube it had for a body. As wide as it was tall, it looked like some grotesque parody of an insect grub, swollen and gigantic. It opened the five eyes which formed a ring around its mouth. The grotesquely over-sized human-like eyes, fixed on our group. Clashing its teeth together as if in preparation for a meal it rumbled a deep, reverberating sound to its cohort. In response, a handful of the creatures smoothly transformed into some kind of fluid, forming a dark puddle on the floor, which then proceeded to slither and slide with increasing speed up the rocky slope behind the swarm.254

Clearly the devourers had some skill in manipulating their environment. I concentrated hard to try to recall the properties of a quantized super-fluid. I knew they could flow up a slope and recalled that they should be excellent conductors of heat and electricity in this form. I also recalled that they could be completely disrupted with a little ‘stirring’. They must have been confident to move about in such a vulnerable fashion.255

The fluid slipped over the edge of the rock-face top, returning seconds later with a large patch of yellow in its middle. As they arrived at the foot of the rock face, the pool morphed quickly back into the shape of the creatures, but now in their midst stood a very large, yellow rock grinding machine. Its four huge wheels, each as tall as a man, its out-feed flat-bed surface empty but for a few small rocks and dust, its in-feed boom stretched out in front waiting for something to grind. There at the end was that something, bound up and fixed in place, precariously attached to the boom. That something was Mchawi A-Moto.256

 257

Chapter 12258

My thoughts were awash with the possibilities. Why had A-Moto been taken? And when and how? Had he been harmed? Did we have a chance to rescue him? Could we survive a fight with the swarm of devourers?259

Instinctively, I wanted to rush in to save my mentor; but I struggled to suppress my feelings in order to focus on the grinding machine. If A-Moto moved even a short distance he would quickly be drawn along the rough looking metal chains of the machine's in-feed conveyor. Within a second or two these would deposit him into the central grinding chamber which, mercifully, was shielded from our view by the side-panelling of the machinery. A-Moto was granted no such relief, having a clear view along the conveyor from the support boom above it, to which he was strapped.260

Despite my rising sense of horror, I rushed through some mental calculations. It would be impossible to move backwards in time by any useful amount. With mental effort, I might move an atom or two back in time by a few minutes, but the calculations were extremely complex to move anything more substantial or to travel further back in time. Any mistake would have enormous consequences to the chaotic time streams. A forward jump would be much easier, but the future is unpredictable without the insight of a spirit of fore-knowledge to make the jump safe. It should be possible to teleport A-Moto out of immediate danger, but it would take time to pull all the right cords and stamp out the right rhythms, and I could not be interrupted or disturbed during the ritual.261

"If you can give me a minute or two, I should be able to teleport A-Moto over to us," I told my companions, "distract the swarm. Cameliard," I commanded my crystal companion, "form a protective cage and follow Marty’s instructions." Hurgo implicitly knew it would be her duty to protect me.262

Marty closed his eyes and took hold of the quantum cords immediately in front of our group. If any of the devourers managed to close on us, he would transport them into Cameliard’s trap. Here in The Deep, Cameliard’s abilities were especially useful. Back in the regular world of spiritual materiality, he could not contain a spirit within a living matrix. He could trap a free spirit, or a spirit bound into an inanimate object, but not one in possession of a body or other living host.263

Around me I heard the various sounds of battle commencing – gun shots, growls, shouts and crashing shocks. I calculated the first element of the wave function and reached out for the corresponding cord. To my astonishment, it came free in my hand – the other end was unbound where it should have been attached to A-Moto. Feeling toward the swarm in general, I discovered the cause – they were bound in a closed energy shell. Constrained by the shell, they were forced to remain within the outline of the mound. Incredible energy was needed to construct a shell of such size, normally they only have any effect at atomic scales.264

I could think of no other explanation than that this had been the work of the charisma’s army. The charisma had not been defeated in battle, it had lured this mass of devouring energy here, then sacrificed its own life force and energy to build the entrapping shell. But why? And why, after all of this effort, had it chosen to emerge from The Deep at the only spiritual nexus in England?265

Focusing on my physical surroundings, I quickly saw the consequences of my companions’ actions.266

An energy shell defines a space (and time) in which a wave function is constrained. Anything defined by the function can only exist within the shell, or completely outside it, but crossing the shell is not possible in any conventional sense. The swarm, together with Mchawi A-Moto, were completely trapped within the shell, which is why they had not immediately launched an attack against us. The only way for them to escape was to have some other energy or matter enter the shell in exchange. Bullets, wolves and animated plant spirits were perfectly suitable subjects for such an exchange.267

The first few bullets caused bits of devourer to be blasted out of the shell, but the devourers quickly adapted and managed to teleport complete individuals out, albeit with varying residual energies (and hence at various speeds). Some small devourer must have been fired out at incredible speed, as one of the wolves lay dead on the ground, a bloody and burned hole where the top of its head should be and a scorch line running into the ground behind the wolf where the creature had continued in its path.268

Two snake-like beasts had slipped free and were struggling with one of the Nexus Guardians who was now fighting them with his sword. The largest devourer to escape, about the size of a large elephant but with too many legs and a ring of forward pointing tusks around the mouth where the head would normally be, had been completely trapped in the yellow energy cage which Cameliard had transformed himself into. Martxelin had successfully forced it into the trap. Jessica sat meditating in order to generate a beam of glowing white energy forming a barrier between us and the oncoming devourers, as well as maintaining the light by which we were able to see.269

Two wolves and several of the animated plants, including the Ash tree, were in amongst the swarm but, lacking support from the rest of us, were being overwhelmed by the mass of devourers.270

Gao, with the assistance of his water-spirit companion, was tending to Torven’s wounds. He had been accidentally shot by one of the Nexus Guardians when a dog-sized, scorpion or lobster-like creature had pincered his shoulder leaving him unconscious or dead.271

I could see that A-Moto was struggling weakly against his bindings, but the swarm had made no attempt to harm him during the struggle so far. Presumably, he was still yet to be used as a bargaining chip, although the grinding machine’s motor was still running.272

My senses were overwhelmed with the stench, the clamour and the clouds of choking dust. As I struggled to take in the scene, my blood ran cold with the realization that our actions were endangering us all. I had to stop my friends from releasing more devourers, "Stop attacking the swarm!" I shouted.273

Before Fern Runner could stop them, a third wolf entered the swarm, disappearing just a few paces outside the edge of the mound, immediately rematerialising just within its boundary, in turn releasing a worm and a small cluster of flapping, horned, beetle-like creatures which raced toward our group. Fern managed to call off the two remaining wolves, which turned on the just-unleashed worm.274

Jessica shifted the energy shield to intercept the beetle-like creatures, but they were surprisingly agile and several of them swarmed onto and around Fern Runner, driving their horns into her flesh. She swatted at them ineffectually, crying out in pain. Gao ran over to help her, but his water spirit remained with (the now unconscious) Torven to seal his wounds. Fern Runner’s bear had the remnants of several of the devourers scattered around its paws, and was tearing the flesh out of another creature almost as big as itself. It, in turn, was striking at the bear with a pair of poisonous-looking tail stingers, its brown, scaly flesh twisting and turning above the many short bone spikes it had in place of legs.275

"Hurgo! Help her," I cried pointing towards Fern Runner. I ran to Torven’s side, taking the jar of seeds and scooping others from the floor around Torven’s hand. Whispering the names of the spirits I was sprouting, I threw seed after seed at Fern Runner. The seeds sprouted immediately wherever they landed. Landing on her, some of them managed to trap one of the beetle-creatures in their fronds, and seal several of her open wounds. All the same, she collapsed onto the ground in agony.276

Martxelin was manipulating quantum cords and stamping out patterns causing a cluster of approaching devourers to wink out of existence, presumably teleported out of sight. Of our team members in among the swarm, only the Ash tree remained alive, a swathe of fallen devourers scattered all about it, but it had lost several branches and was being gnawed at its base.277

Suddenly, both the wolves and Fern Runner’s bear turned and fled. This must mean that their bindings had been broken. Slowly, with horror, it dawned on me that there was only one possible explanation: Fern Runner was dead! My heart sank as I hoped for her safe return to the physical world.278

It also meant that several of the devourers were now unopposed. The monster with the stinging tails scuttled toward Jessica. I threw several of the seeds on to the ground in its path and called Hurgo to intercept it. The sprouting seedlings formed thorns and stingers to bind its bony feet in place, but were soon torn out of the ground. Hurgo arrived and grappled it by one of its tails, tearing at it with teeth and claws, leaving the tail limp and useless. The creature swung round lashing at Hurgo with its remaining tail. Hurgo batted it away with her paw then sunk her teeth into the scaly rump of the beast, dragging it to the ground. She rolled on top of the stinger to pin it in place.279

The beetle-like creatures, leaving the limp form of Fern Runner, swarmed towards Marty, who managed to banish two of them, but seeing that he was about to be overwhelmed, teleported himself away to safety.280

A group of the animated plants formed a thicket or hedge behind the energy barrier Jessica projected in front of our position. On the other side were: an injured worm, three of the horned, flying beetles, two yellow-coloured eye-covered dog-things and several scuttling spider-like creatures. One of the two remaining Nexus Guardians shot several rounds into the pincer-armed beast that had taken down his colleague. Then turning, he started to spray bullets at the creatures on the other side of the barrier. The beetles dodged back and forwards, but Jessica manoeuvred the edges of the barrier to prevent their approach.281

The other Nexus Guardian had killed one of the worms, but had lost his sword to the other, which was now tearing chunks of red armour from his chest. Unable to secure a grip on its writhing body, he screamed in pain as it bit into his chest. Gurgling and choking he fell still as his heart stopped. The blood-soaked worm then launched itself towards Jessica.282

Hurgo was now struggling with the spiked legs of the scaly beast, but seemed to be getting the better of her opponent, except for receiving a few scratches. Puffs of dust were billowing up around them, mingling with the other grime and dust filling the air.283

For the first time since I had known him, Gao was without his smile. He picked up the sword lying near the fallen Nexus Guardian and chased after the worm as it approached Jessica. I managed to halt it with another seedling, allowing him to chop at it with the sword. After clumsily striking the ground, he instead used the unfamiliar weapon to saw at the worm’s writhing body, until soon it began to split apart and died. Little did I know that, before very long, I would see Gao without his smile for a second time.284

Working the quantum energy cords I managed to fling the remaining beetle-creatures several minutes into the future. Unfortunately, one managed to strike at Jessica, causing the light and the barrier to wink out for a second, before she was able to re-establish them.285

The creatures from the other side of the barrier were able to break through during the brief opening and were locked in battle with the thicket of plant spirits where they fell easy prey to the remaining Nexus Guardian, until his rifle ran out of ammunition.286

Martxelin reappeared where he had been before, having made the very dangerous jump forwards in time – luckily, nothing was in his way as he rematerialised safely. He and Gao then joined the struggle to finish off the last of the creatures trapped by the plants. Some of the spiders ripped through the main stem of one of the plants, but the rest of the devourers were finally beaten off, including the flying beetle-like things which Martxelin and I banished from existence.287

Having reloaded his weapon, the Nexus Guardian proceeded to fire round after round into the large devourer trapped within Cameliard’s energy cage, allowing Cameliard to transform back into his humanoid shape. Gao and Jessica set about binding Torven’s wounds, with the water spirit working to preserve his internal organs.288

The dust cloud struck up by the fighting began to settle on the scene of carnage revealing that the Ash tree had fallen with its trunk gnawed through at its base.289

The great worm looking on from the top of the mound with its five great eyes bellowed forth a deep, slow, resounding laugh. Fixing its many-eyed gaze on our group, it slowly spoke. "Fools! We are not your enemies. Help to free us from this trap or," it swung its mouth and eyes in the direction of A-Moto, "your companion’s life is forfeit."290

"Give us some time to discuss the situation," I called back to the swarm. Our little troupe gathered into a huddle together. After reassuring my friends that those who had fallen here in The Deep might yet be fit and well in the physical world, I told them about the energy shell trap surrounding the swarm.291

Smiling, Gao asked, "What could have made such a shell?"292

Martxelin took a few moments to sense the quantum fields. "There is definitely a sense of creator energy in the fabric of the shell. I think many creator-beings were used in its formation – perhaps they sacrificed their own life energy to make it. A single entity or mind defined the shell parameters."293

"So, how can we unmake or penetrate the shell?" asked Jessica.294

I was about to reply when I remembered the creatures that I had flung forward in time and estimated that they would be due to return at any moment. I cast my gaze upwards to scan the air for them, when I noticed a curious yellow pin-prick of light in the sky.295

Marty replied, "Knowing the pattern of its construction, only the original source of the shell can unbind it; whoever directed the creator energy to form the shell. Otherwise, we can only exchange energy and matter from outside with those that are inside."296

As I watched the point of light grew larger. "What’s that?" I asked as I pointed to the light. Then, sensing an incredibly powerful disturbance in the quantum cords throughout our immediate locality, I instinctively cocooned myself in a protective energy shell. I was just in time as, moments later, the yellow glow swelled quickly to fill the whole sky.297

 298

Chapter 13299

Terrifying beams of yellow devouring energy ripped through everything. The energy beams flew in straight lines in every direction from the original point of light in the sky. At the front of each beam was the ethereal head of a devouring spirit, consuming all in its path. The rays tore holes through flesh, bones, rock and machinery as though through thin air. For a few instants I witnessed the outpouring of terror and agony as my companions and the swarm of devourers were torn through by the terrible gaping mouths at the heads of the beams of light, everything in their path being swallowed up.300

Several of the beams smashed up against the protective shell I had placed around myself, placing it under enormous strain. This was no normal physical energy.301

For a few seconds I watched as the rest of my team were annihilated. I saw A-Moto vaporised along with the rock crusher. But, wherever the yellow beams struck the devourers, they grew in strength and energy, and were imbued with the yellow glowing stain, and were able to break free from their constraining shell.302

My own protective shell wavered as I looked on in horror to see the whole swarm break free, with greater strength than it possessed previously and this new yellow energy coursing throughout. Each creature looking delighted in its own terrible way, bursting forth to wreak who knew what havoc on the world. Then my protective shell collapsed. A blinding light, burning pains, unable to breathe. Stillness, silence, darkness.303

End of Part 2304

 305

Part 3 – Restoring The Balance306

Chapter 14307

Instinctively, I gasped for air. I felt my body tensing with the sudden release of adrenalin, my heart beginning to pound in my ears, my skin flushing hot. Then I smelled the fragrance of Narisel’s presence, as he slipped free from my body through my nostrils. Next, I heard the sound of a television news broadcast in progress. Opening my eyes, I was back in the council medical facility. Fern Runner was standing by my side and concerned medical staff watched as the rest of the expedition members awoke from our ordeal.308

I noticed that everyone was here except for the two Nexus Guardians we left in the shopping mall. The two wolves and bear that had become unbound in The Deep were safely returned and re-bound – presumably the yellow devouring beams had reached as far away as the animals had been able to run in the few minutes since Fern Runner had fallen.309

Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was mid-afternoon on the day after we had departed. Almost twenty-four hours had passed. Taking Fern Runner’s outstretched arm tightly to reassure myself that she was real, I sat up. She returned my grasp and we exchanged a hug, sensing one another’s relief. Then Fern Runner’s gaze dropped and her brief smile faded. She looked both worried and resigned at the same time.310

Their attention focused on the news bulletin, the others in the room exchanged an occasional concerned murmur. It was then that I noticed that for only the second time, Gao was without his smile.311

Like most of the others, Gao’s eyes were locked on the television screen which was showing satellite footage of an enormous weather system, but not a typical swirling storm. Instead it showed an expanding, slowly drifting dark cloud, filled with electrical activity. Its origin was centred in the Rossing open cast mine – the Pits of Devastation, and the cloud drifted over the shoreline. The reporter’s urgent commentary reinforced the pictures.312

"The cloud continues to spread westward and reaches well past the Atlantic coast. It’s travelling at over one thousand miles an hour, almost twice the speed of sound. It reaches at least three miles high and continues to rise rapidly. All communications have been lost with everything within a hundred miles of ground zero. Nobody knows whether there are any survivors, and hope is fading for much of south-west Africa."313

The picture shifted to show another reporter interviewing a member of academic staff standing outside a building at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The reporter asked, "How far do you think the fallout will spread?"314

"There’s no way of knowing for sure, but the initial explosion appears to have been at least five hundred Megatons in magnitude."315

"What exactly does that mean?"316

"Well, that’s the equivalent amount of TNT that would be needed generate this size of explosion. That’s more powerful than any previous man-made explosion. It’s more than twice as powerful as the eruption of Krakatoa, the largest explosion ever recorded. And the weather effects from Krakatoa were felt around the world. And there was no radiation involved then."317

The reporter put her hand to her ear looking distracted then, "Back to the studio for the latest update."318

The picture flickered and briefly showed static interference before returning to the newsroom. The newscaster was speaking, "…with the radioactivity levels indicating an initial nuclear strike , scientists are talking of a possible nuclear winter. Both Russia’s president and the United States’ president have denied any involvement in the explosion."319

The screen switched to a graphic display, showing first projected radiation spread, then climatic temperature fluctuations, then projected deaths from radiation, followed by projected deaths from climate change. A so-called expert statistician spoke about the contents of the graphs, ending with the flippant, yet menacing remark, "So, unless you’re a scorpion or a cockroach, I would stop worrying about my pension arrangements if I were you."320

Once again the transmission broke into static.321

Slowly I absorbed the news. This was utter madness. Our expedition had achieved nothing and now, some nuke wielding war-monger had initiated a nuclear holocaust. I remember my exact thought from that moment, I don't think there's anything we can do now. 322

Now. Now, was the key word. I realized that there was one way to save the situation. My thoughts racing, I acted quickly.323

"Everyone, gather round," I called. The others looked surprised; hope had already faded from many of their faces. Someone turned down the volume on the television as the picture broke into static more and more frequently. I addressed the nearby council members and staff. "We can prevent this, but we must act very quickly. I’ll need exclusive use of the council data centre. The news bulletin said this was a nuclear strike. If I’m right, it came from a nuclear submarine. Someone trace the launch authorisation frequencies and check the broadcast logs and put the information onto a micro-disk. I need the exact times of launch and of detonation. The rest of you, bring my interface terminal to this room and help me prepare for another journey to The Deep."324

With precise calculations, it should be possible to use The Deep to travel backwards to a time prior to the nuclear strike, but I had never before undertaken a journey backwards in time. With the assistance of technicians from the council staff, I was able to calculate a time jump for myself and the micro-disk. The council computers were powerful, but not as powerful as the super-computers used by other government agencies. However, with the world’s communication infrastructure in crisis since the explosion, I had no choice but to depend on the council computing facilities. We calculated that I could safely travel back up to three hours at the most. Already an hour had passed since the detonation and another hour or more since the launch.325

A technician from the data analysis department brought me the micro-disk. "We traced the launch authorisation codes. They originated in Whitehall in London using Royal Navy secure frequencies. We haven’t had time to de-crypt the codes, but I guess that won’t be a problem on this mission."326

I thanked the technician and taped the micro-disk securely against my body.327

For the next further thirty minutes I worked with the technical team to calculate and rehearse the journey. It should be possible to arrive back here up to twenty minutes before the missile launch.328

I returned to the monitoring platform and, with all the hopes and best wishes of my friends from the council, descended back into The Deep. This time, rather than take a journey to hunt down our foe, I remained in the same geographical location, quickly manifesting in the empty, but similar-looking, medical chamber. Once again, I rehearsed the necessary steps mentally, then, after checking the clock, began to adjust the cords and frequencies in the quantum fields surrounding me. Refolding the space of the medical chamber with my outstretched arms, I appeared back at the same spot and quickly glanced at the clock. It looked like I had been successful, but I would have to check again in the physical realm so, concentrating again I returned to the physical world.329

Time paradoxes would, in theory, be impossible. It would be as though the future had never happened and I, and anything else that travelled back in time with me, had always been at that point in time all along. The only difference would be that I would have aged a little bit more than normal and I would have seemingly impossible knowledge about the future. Perhaps it was not really time travel at all, but a way of seeing possible futures – prophecies or visions. One thing was certain, I would not be meeting another me from a different timeline.330

 331

Chapter 15332

As I came round, I noticed that the medical facility was much quieter than before. A few medical technicians were monitoring the sleeping forms of the expedition team. Those that had disappeared during the original descent into The Deep had already left the medical chamber.333

Quickly, I sat up and called for assistance. One of the medical staff hurried to my side as I told him to give the micro-disk to one of the council technicians immediately. It was just after midday.334

Minutes later council was in session with all the available members. I told them that there was no time to explain in detail, but that I needed their help now. The micro-disk contained information to convince them that I had indeed travelled from the future, as it had the instructions and launch codes for the British nuclear submarine to fire a nuclear-armed Trident missile at the Rossing mine. Authorisation codes cycled unpredictably based on atomic clocks synchronised in London and on board the British nuclear submarine fleet, so it was impossible to have fore-knowledge of an authorisation code.335

Within minutes the live authorisation code was detected and shown to match the data I had brought with me, the council gave me full authorisation to take whatever action was necessary. I addressed the council directly, standing next to my council seat, using both physical and mind speech. Despite feeling nervous and uncertain, I could think of no other way. Secretly I hoped that the council would find some better resolution to the situation.336

"My fellow councillors! In just over one hour, a nuclear strike will detonate at the Rossing uranium mine in Namibia. While a tactical nuclear weapon will be used in the strike, it will cause the nuclear ignition of an enormous quantity of devourer energy trapped at the mine in The Deep. This will result in a devastating nuclear winter from which human kind and all complex life forms are unlikely to survive." The councillors seemed to draw simultaneous breaths, the atmosphere charged with attentive energy. Pausing to breathe, I went on to lay out my plans.337

"With the use of council computing facilities and a visit to The Deep, I was able to travel back in time from after the strike. But I was only able to travel this far back and at great risk to the timelines. I propose to undertake another time jump, but further back in time. This time I will go back far enough to prevent the nuclear strike being launched in the first place. In order to complete the calculations, I will need access to most of the super-computing power available in the world."338

There were gasps of concern and murmurs of disapproval from the councillors, but within a few minutes a consensus formed to support my plan. Each backwards time jump brought with it the risk of some miscalculation. The best chance lay with one time jump back to as late a time as possible while still being able to prevent the authorisation of the nuclear strike. A series of small jumps would cause the risks to multiply until they would be much higher than a single time jump.339

The next hour and a half was spent gaining access to super computers all around the world, while a separate team was set up to find the root-cause of the UK government’s order to launch the strike.340

Electrical and knowledge spirits skilled in manipulating information systems gained the team of technicians super-user privileges and administrator rights to the various super-computing facilities, while the more mathematically minded set up the variables in the calculations of the probabilities and function parameters needed for the journey. Soon, we had enough computing power for a journey of several days, however, the risks increasing with every extra minute travelled.341

Meanwhile, the investigation team intercepted the audio-electrical energy spiders used in the transmission of a telephone call between the British Prime Minister and the US President. One of the technicians set up a replay and we listened to the call.342

The Prime Minister spoke with conviction, "Mr President, my government has received proof that Iranian backed terrorists are stockpiling weapons-grade uranium and plutonium in an underground refining facility at the Rossing mine in Namibia. As a result, we plan to launch a pre-emptive strike to destroy the facility. A low yield tactical nuclear weapon will completely obliterate the facility and prevent any future use of the stockpile."343

"I see. Send over the intelligence reports."344

"We’ve already done so."345

"And why do you think a conventional strike or commando operation would not be suitable?"346

"We don’t have time to set up such an operation and don’t have the capability to destroy the underground facility anywhere nearby. Also, such operations wouldn’t put the weapons completely beyond terrorist use as the materials could be retrieved, refined again and deployed as weapons. And finally, we have reason to believe that several of the terrorist leaders are at the mine right now, and will only be there for the next few hours."347

"Still, I’d like you to wait until we’ve had a chance to ratify your intelligence reports."348

"Mr President. We dispatched HMS Vigilant to the vicinity earlier today," the Prime Minister paused, "the order to launch was issued just a few minutes ago."349

The technician cut off the replay at that point then told us, "We tracked movements around Whitehall and found that the original order came from Number 10 Downing Street, bearing the personal authorisation codes of the Prime Minister.350

"Council members," he spoke to gain the full attention of the councillors in session, "the leader of this morning’s anti-globalisation protest march, the one possessed by the charisma spirit, was invited into Number 10 Downing Street yesterday evening. The charisma has taken control of the British Government."351

The plans were set. With the internet in meltdown, I needed to get to my physical destination as soon as possible in order to simplify the equations for the temporal shift.352

The private line to my home was still accessible, so I rode the energy highways once more and arrived back at my computer terminal on the farm. Opening up a calendar and clock function on the computer, I made my way to the meditation chamber. I lay down to focus my thoughts. The sun was shining through the windows and all seemed peaceful.353

If I failed, no one would ever be at peace again.354

With the function parameters ingrained in my thoughts, I began the ritual to project myself back in time. Concentrating, I ascended through the material planes back to the physical world.355

 356

Chapter 16357

The room was gloomy, although it was still day time. Rain was pouring against the window. I got up and made my way to the computer. I needed to start it up, but checked a clock while I did so. The time was right, but was the day? While it booted up, I went back to the meditation chamber to collect my spirit bag. I held back tears as I saw that my rabbit-bone spirit friend was still there and well. It was early enough. Returning to the PC, I confirmed that it was the day I first found the charisma spirit.358

Without waiting to dress in water proofs, I went outside to the river bank. I placed the rabbit-bone spirit on guard near the culvert and instructed it to let me know when it saw the man floating this way. Then, I returned to the equipment store and picked up the long rake I used to clear the culvert grille, put it on the trailer which I then attached to the ride-on mower, and drove along the path to the river.359

Right on cue, the rabbit-spirit thumped its mind-speech alarm call and the man floated into view. Quickly, I moved to intercept him with the rake, wading into the waters at the edge of the shallow side of the river bank a short distance before the steep slope alongside the culvert grille. I hauled him straight out of the water and dragged him up onto the trailer.360

Re-binding the rabbit spirit into the bone, I then drove back to the house and dragged the unconscious man into the meditation chamber and made him comfortable on some of the cushions there. This time I took the yellow crystal out of the spirit bag, together with the book of flower pressings. There was no time to explain everything to my spirit attendants, instead I commanded Cameliard to form a spirit-energy cage and prepare to hold a powerful opponent.361

Next I went to the kitchen and filled two drinking glasses with tap-water and picked up a small bottle with a dropper-teat and some clear liquid within from the window-sill. Opening the flower-pressing book, I turned to the first page and summoned Narisel, my loyal lavender spirit friend. Quickly, I turned the page once more and unleashed the turbulent, black plant spirit.362

Speaking its true name, I commanded it to poison the two glasses of water then returned it to its binding in the book. Next I returned to the meditation chamber and took down my personal spirit binding mirror from the wall, holding it close to my chest. Then, without hesitating, I administered the first glass of poisoned water to the man, who swallowed it reflexively. As soon as the poison reached the man’s stomach, it began to enter his blood-stream. Since he was already weak, the charisma soon abandoned him to seek another host. The second glass I poured into my own mouth, but did not yet swallow. I then lay down on the ground beside the man, and departed from my body, my spirit taking up position beside Narisel.363

The charisma could hardly resist the temptation of the vacant form of a healthy woman lying so close by and immediately possessed my body. Instinctively, it swallowed, taking the poison into my now-possessed body.364

Immediately, I ordered Narisel to possess the man in order to prevent re-possession by the charisma spirit. Then, on my command, Cameliard formed a spirit cage surrounding the mirror still clutched in my arms. The charisma opened my eyes in alarm and realisation. There was no escape for it now, so it sought out the only remaining host available to it, the binding matrix of the mirror, which was opened through contact with my body. Cameliard opened his cage to allow the charisma to enter then snapped shut, trapping him.365

I quickly repossessed my body and found my senses swimming crazily from the poison. Holding back the waves of nausea, I grabbed the small bottle with the dropper top. Fumbling with it, I managed to get a few drops of the antidote onto my tongue then did the same for the man beside me.366

At last, I lay down in relief and panted from the exertion. I had trapped the charisma spirit and prevented the nuclear devastation of mankind. Of course, no one else would ever know about this, because it would never actually happen. Overwhelmed, I burst into fits of laughter.367

With Narisel returned to his binding, we needed to find and return the true spirit of the man to his rightful body. Recalling all that I had learned about him in the alternate timeline I sought out his spirit. With the help of a knowledge spirit, I was able to track down the dishevelled spirit of the man and bring him back with me, but we were too late. He had been possessed by a grey coloured, wide-eyed passion spirit – a spirit of fear. Luckily, the man’s body was still unconscious, so I only needed to defeat the possessing spirit in spirit combat without worrying about a physical battle.368

Narisel filled the area with calming perfume, which drew much of the strength out of the passion spirit. With my opponent weakened, I was able to grab hold of its shifting grey form and pull it out of the body. I could sense terror around me as I clutched the writhing entity. From my body I could feel my heart pounding, my skin feeling cold and clammy; I hurled the spirit away as far and as hard as my ethereal fingers were able.369

Then I grasped the spiritual form of the dishevelled man, and laid him back into his own body, still at rest on the meditation chamber floor. I took him into the guest bedroom and removed his soaking outermost garments, then lay him down in the bed. He would awaken with the memory of a very strange dream indeed.370

"What is your true name?" I demanded.371

The charisma spirit laughed at me. I could feel its charm. Even trapped, it was lustrous and magnificent. Part of me wanted to find a way to please it and do its bidding but, being all too aware of the danger, I persisted.372

"I know of your plans. I know about the swarm of devourers trapped in the Pits of Devastation. If you try to nuke them, you will be using devourer energy to destroy devourer energy. The end result will be a greater unleashing of the devourer than has ever been seen before. Tell me your true name!" I insisted.373

It looked surprised by my revelation, but withheld the name which would grant me complete power over it.374

I raised the mirror above my head, threatening to throw it down and smash it. More softly and slowly I repeated my question, "What is your true name?"375

The charisma’s eyes widened in fear. Trapped in the binding, it would be destroyed if the mirror was shattered. Then, resignedly, "My true name is Yvasdu Lakadanzak." It must have still believed that it could charm me to give me complete power over it in this way.376

"Yvasdu Lakadanzak – tell me your purpose!"377

It screamed in frustration then, under duress, spoke, "I serve the creators. My purpose is to defeat the devourer and bring about a golden age of creation. I will defeat all who stand in my way."378

It passed the test – it had indeed told me its true name.379

I returned to the computer to prepare to save my old mentor, Mchawi A-Moto. I strapped my spirit bindings close to my body then, clutching the mirror containing the trapped charisma spirit and encased in Cameliard’s energy trap, I logged on to the highways of light.380

 381

Chapter 17382

The journey was much quicker this time as I had already experienced the trouble spots and the available paths to reach A-Moto’s home.383

As before, I patched the browser on A-Moto’s computer, then exited his house. While I still noticed the heat, the Umbhondo tree spirits and Mama’s ancestors – I now noticed more keenly the presence of the devourers. I exchanged greetings with Mama then, without waiting for directions, excused myself and hastened toward the pond where my old master was washing.384

The gathering clouds and winds heralded the approach of the devourers. There beside the pond sat Mchawi A-Moto. Unlike before he just sat despondently at the water’s edge. As I approached he looked up, first curious, then beaming with delight. He called to me, "Now I understand at last. So, it is true."385

We came together and embraced. His eyes widened as he looked at me, something had changed. "What’s wrong?" I asked him386

"Nothing, nothing." He frowned and turned away. "You’ve grown stronger! What have you been up to?" He turned back to look at me, his gaze fixing on mine, penetrating.387

"Oh, just saving the world, a bit of time travel. Oh! And I’ve captured a charisma spirit," I said taking out the mirror.388

A-Moto’s eyes widened further and he looked awed. "It really is true then," he repeated with resignation.389

"What is?"390

"Katie, my time is coming to an end. Soon I shall depart."391

I was shocked by his words, "No, that can’t be true."392

His look showed that he believed what he said.393

"But you are at the height of your powers. Your spirit is so strong," my words felt futile.394

"That may be true, but it is time for my successor to take my place," he looked directly at me. I shook my head in denial, I was not ready. But his unwavering gaze could not be refused. He nodded, "Yes, you are stronger than me now. You have bound a charisma spirit. I could never have done this," he gestured at the mirror, still clutched in my grasp.395

"But how...?" I did not even know what question I needed to ask.396

A-Moto sensed my confusion. "Look around," he swept his arm before him. "The devourer is all about us. He is filled with strange purpose, like never before. To understand the truth, I gave temporary refuge to a spirit of fore-knowledge. I was expecting a long possession with many great revelations, but instead, it simply told me that I would soon pass into the shadow world and that you would take my place. It departed from me just a few minutes before you arrived."397

"I didn’t come here to take your place."398

"Then why did you come?"399

"You’re in great danger. The devourers have come here to take possession of you. They want to use you to bargain with the Council, but they don’t know the truth."400

"What truth?"401

"This charisma spirit," I held up the mirror, "has bound a great swarm of devourers into the Pits of Devastation in the Deep. It intended to blow them all up with a nuclear weapon, little knowing the disaster that would be unleashed."402

Just then, the wind lashed around us stronger than before, dust and sand blowing into the air. A-Moto picked up his spirit bindings and we started to walk back to the village. We could see devourers howling in the sky, circling us hungrily.403

"I have prevented the charisma from charming the British Prime Minister into firing a nuclear weapon, but the swarm still exists with enough destructive force to cause a major disaster."404

The first, and largest of the devourers swooped down out of the sky. It looked like some awful, ethereal bird of prey, with talons for feet, scales in place of feathers, and the huge gaping maw with which all devourers consume creation. A-Moto’s spirit companions hurled themselves into its path, and I unleashed Hurgo, my bear spirit, from her fur-patch binding. More devourers swooped out of the sky, each a winged creature with unnatural-looking features.405

Had A-Moto still been possessed, he would have been unable to deploy his spiritual companions. With my assistance and that of his spirit companions, we were able to beat back our assailants. The largest of the devourers was being held off by Hurgo, as A-Moto fired a tongue of lashing spirit-flame at it from his binding stick. Somehow, A-Moto’s heart did not seem to be fully in the fight, but his spirit companions held their own effectively. His spirit-leopard and his two spear-armed ancestors skilfully fought off several of the other attackers. Within a couple of minutes the remaining devourers were in retreat, with the remnants of two of their number scorched upon the ground. The stench of rot and infection was the only physical sign that the spirit fight had just taken place.406

Rebinding our spirits, we returned to A-Moto’s house. I told him about all that had happened to me and how I had bound the charisma spirit and learned its true name in order to prevent unimaginable devastation in one possible future.407

A-Moto agreed with my judgement that the great swarm of devourers still needed to be ‘neutralized.408

"You have always been most skilled in your understanding of The Deep, but I do not understand this ‘energy shell’ of which you speak."409

"According to quantum theory, all things exist in all places and at all times. The probability that they will interact or influence a particular time or place is constrained by their wave function. An energy shell is a way of constraining a wave function so that the probabilities of acting outside the shell are much, much lower than they are within." I glanced at A-Moto, but he looked perplexed. "It’s a special kind of trap. It’s almost like a separate universe from which there is no means of travelling to the outside universe." A-Moto nodded, despite his apparent confusion.410

I continued, "Ok, so you know how it’s possible for me to teleport around The Deep. It’s also possible to constrain the movements of others in a similar way."411

"Right," said A-Moto blankly.412

"It’s the same with the time travel. While anything is possible, it’s vanishingly improbable to do anything that would normally be considered ‘impossible’."413

A-Moto’s eyes were becoming glass-like, so I changed the subject, "Let us send word to the Council about our plans." We summoned several of the butterfly-like word spirits and sent messages about the charisma spirit, the great swarm at the Pits of Devastation and of our plans to go there to make it safe.414

"My journey here was hampered by difficulties on the world wide web. The net devourers have been crawling across the internet with increasing destructiveness for some hours now. Since they are deriving their impetus from the Pits of Devastation, I don’t think we’ll be able to get there safely via the internet."415

A-Moto tried to remember, "Doesn’t the Rossing Mine have its own web site?"416

Of course, he was right. We quickly browsed to the right page and found it fully available. So, we would be able to ride the highways of light directly there.417

Once again, I took my spirit-things, including the mirror-bound charisma spirit, and held them close to me. Mchawi A-Moto did likewise with his bindings, putting on his necklace, bracelets and head-dress. He also strapped his holstered pistol to his side. Together we sat at the computer terminal and waited for a suitable energy spider to ride to the Rossing Uranium Mine in Namibia.418

 419

Chapter 18420

Time passes slowly in the internet. When we arrived at the Rossing Web Server, we had to wait for what seemed a long time; but in reality was probably only a few seconds; before the operator turned away from the computer terminal. While we waited, I downloaded the memory files of the server and connected storage devices onto the memory stick spirit. There was no evidence of any terrorist activity, a refining facility or any weapons grade stockpile.421

A-Moto and I materialised together at the computer terminal out of the display screen. The computer operator turned back and looked first confused and then astonished by our unexpected appearance. "What? Where? How did you..?" he managed to splutter, before spotting A-Moto’s gun, which by now was pointing at his chest. He raised his hands, palms forwards to shoulder height and smiled anxiously.422

We were in a completely enclosed, well-lit room, with several racks of computer equipment. It was cool and clean.423

"We do not wish to harm you," A-Moto told the young man, "but you must answer our questions. Do you understand?"424

The man nodded. I asked him the first question, "Are these all of the computers here at this facility?"425

With a frightened and confused look the man replied, "These are all the servers, there are a few PCs around the site, but all are connected to this computer room."426

I turned to A-Moto, "There is no evidence of a refining facility or stockpile anywhere in the computer archives. I’ll ask the charisma," I took out the mirror and gazed at the charisma spirit bound within it, interrogating it through mind-speech. The man must have been confused to see me become so engrossed with the mirror.427

"You intend to convince the Prime Minister that there is some terrorist threat here at the mine. Where is it?"428

The charisma just stared back blankly. "Yvasdu Lakadanzak, tell me, where is the terrorist threat?"429

Snarling, the charisma spirit replied, "There is no threat you fool. No terrorists and no weapons. I just need to destroy the devourer swarm. Any story will do to get the swarm destroyed." Clearly, the charisma was not above lying.430

A-Moto spoke aloud, "That settles that then. We must enter The Deep and tackle the swarm directly."431

He had not seen the swarm, and I was reluctant to tackle it again after the last attempt. Besides, we would have no friends overlooking our physical bodies this time. A-Moto turned to the computer operator, "We need somewhere quiet and safe where we will not be disturbed. Help us and you will be freed unharmed."432

The man looked doubtful and replied shiftily, "There’s a store room just outside here. Nobody goes in there, but…"433

I cut him off, turning to A-Moto, "I’ll use the charisma."434

Once more in mind-speech, "Yvasdu Lakadanzak, command this man," I pointed at the computer operator, "to protect us."435

Turning the mirror to show the spirit to the man, I saw his face fill with an awed smile, his eyes wide, and the muscles in his face softening. Then the man spoke to us, "It will be safest back here," he led us toward the back of the computer room. "I can watch over you from the terminal where I normally work. No one will suspect a thing." A-Moto and I exchanged a look, impressed by the usefulness of the charisma, and followed the man. Behind the computer racks, we lay on the ground and folded the spirit realms around us, entering The Deep.436

We quickly descended through the celestial planes to the Pits of Devastation. The computer room was much the same, but devoid of all life, both electronic and organic. The charisma spirit manifested as a very tall, golden haired man with pale skin. He looked proud and upright, with a golden beard and white robes, his hands clasped behind his back. He was very attractive. Cameliard still entrapped the charisma, since I was concerned that, even knowing its true name, it might attempt to seduce me to its cause. Hurgo and the rabbit spirit also were present, but I left the memory stick spirit in the physical world interfaced with the Rossing servers. I was holding the jar of seeds. As ever, Narisel possessed my physical body. At least if I was harmed in The Deep, no medical facility would be needed to recover me. Besides, Narisel could keep an eye on the technician in case he had a change of heart during our absence.437

Attending A-Moto were his leopard, his two spear-bearing warrior ancestors, his fire-spirit burning like a flaming brand at A-Moto’s feet and, on A-Moto’s shoulder, a small gecko. The fire spirit lit our path as we moved out of the computer room and found an exit from the prefabricated offices. Outside I recognised the situation and, after gaining my bearings from the familiar landmarks, led the group down a broad track. This time there was no mining machinery at work so that we could soon hear the scraping and crunching sounds of the shifting bodies that made up the great swarm. As we approached we soon became aware of the awful stench. Like before, my senses could not tune out the impact of the harsh, physicality of The Deep.438

The charisma spoke softly to us, "There aren’t enough of you to tackle this many devourers. When I was last here I had a mighty army of creators with me. It was only with great effort, and sacrifice, that we were able to trap the swarm of devourers."439

I instructed Cameliard to tighten the bindings on the charisma’s mouth, ending the conversation. Then, rather than trust the charisma to walk, Cameliard bound up his legs and Hurgo carried the two of them on her back.440

We soon made our way down to the quarry face and found the swarm just as it had been before, although it was gloomier with just the light of the fire spirit instead of Jessica’s daylight illumination. In the darkness it was just possible to make out the edges of the energy shell, shimmering faintly. I pointed it out to A-Moto. His eyes were wide, staring at the enormous, stinking swarm.441

"Release them, I will channel them safely," he said.442

"Are you mad?" I challenged. "There are far too many. How could you possibly…"443

"I have a way. Believe me," he fixed his eyes on me and I could see that he had made up his mind. For the first time since I had found him sitting by the pond, A-Moto had recovered his full strength and authority. Actually, he had gained greater power than I had ever known him to have before.444

I acquiesced, "Ok, but take care."445

He smiled in reply. Then, with a glance back at me, he stepped forward and raised both arms above his head in a gesture of protective defiance. In one hand he held his pistol, in the other his binding stick (now without its fire elemental spirit within).446

The swarm shifted and moved, revealing once again the great worm thing with the five eyes and huge, tooth-ringed mouth. It raised itself to the top of the mound and spoke, its voice deep, rumbling, slow, "This is an unexpected pleasure." Its tongue rasped out the ‘s’ from pleasure with a hideous, long drawn out hiss. "We have been waiting for you Mchawi A-Moto, but did not expect you to walk here voluntarily."447

A-Moto’s warrior ancestors assumed positions on either side of him, the fire spirit swelled its flame alongside one warrior, the leopard beside the other. "Begone foul devourers!" cried A-Moto. "The balance will be restored. Begone!"448

He glanced back over his shoulder to me once more, smiled, winked, then nodded.449

I turned to Cameliard and nodded to him. He loosened the bindings on the charisma, still carried by Hurgo. "Yvasdu Lakadanzak!" I commanded the charisma spirit, "release the energy shell binding the great swarm."450

The charisma squirmed in horror and outrage then, unable to resist the command, closed its eyes and manipulated the energy cords and wave functions of the energy shell. Tears rolled down its cheeks as its life’s work was undone.451

The swarm began to break free and A-Moto and his allies prepared to do battle. Before the clash began, I re-folded the wave functions of space around myself and my little troupe. The last thing I saw was a rolling wave of dust rising from the mound, engulfing A-Moto and his spirit-friends. With a flourish of my arms, we were transported back to the computer room. The room was very dark, but it did not matter. It was time to return to the earthly realm.452

Concentrating, I invoked a celestial platform to take us on the ascent to the material world. As we arrived, Narisel slipped free from my body and my spirit bindings were all restored. I heard a klaxon sounding and asked the computer operator, who had remained to watch over us, how long we had been gone.453

"It is almost one hour since you went to sleep," he replied.454

"What’s that alarm sounding for?"455

"It means that there is some radioactivity leaking out of our containment facility. It’s not a problem though, it happens all the time."456

"Ok, thanks for looking after us. Please continue to watch over him," I gestured to A-Moto. Then I went to the computer terminal, checked that my spirit bindings were all suitably close to my body, then, telling the computer operator to turn his back and count to one hundred, I re-entered the internet via the Rossing web site.457

The light highways of the internet were still accessible and I was quickly able to find a route through to the Intergovernmental Council on Spiritualism. I saw and greeted Torven the druid and Martxelin the exorcist like old friends, to their mild confusion. Then I found Fern Runner and we greeted each other warmly. The council was already assembling in the great chamber, as they had received the word spirits that A-Moto and I had sent from his home.458

I briefed the council on the charisma and the great swarm. I showed them the bound charisma spirit and told of its intentions to tip the balance in favour of the creators, but that its misguided attempts would unleash great devourer devastation. Shortly before I could conclude my briefing, six word spirits arrived and spoke to me, in the voice of Mchawi A-Moto.459

"Swarm….neutralized.…you….succeed….me…..now."460

As the message sunk in, I realized that my old friend was now dead. Overcome, I sat back down in my council seat and wept. To spare my pain, Narisel spoke to the neighbouring council members and informed them that A-Moto had entered the shadow realms. Word of this news soon spread around the council chamber. Then a technician, skilled in electronic spiritualism, stood to announce that news had just been received from the Rossing mine.461

"There has been a major leak of low-grade, radioactive contaminated materials from the mine’s containment facility. There have been some fatalities at the site, but the mine has been closed and the area sealed off to outsiders. Intelligence reports also confirm that there are no high-grade radioactive materials present at the facility."462

The faces of the council members were full of mixed emotions, sadness at the loss of Mchawi A-Moto, and yet relief at the dispersing of the great swarm. But on some of the faces I saw a new look. When Fern Runner and others looked at me, it was with something more than respect. I would almost go so far as to say it was awe. I was especially pleased to see Gao, the little Chinese faith healer, his face positively glowing with a broad and genuine smile.463

The council wanted to keep the charisma, but it was unfair on Cameliard to ask him to guard him indefinitely. No permanent binding matrix could be set up for the powerful spirit and already I, and some others, knew its true name. Its power and charm were waning as the prospect of fulfilling its purpose faded, so the council agreed to give it a humane end. I shattered the mirror and mourned the passing of the most powerful spirit I had ever known.464

My prestige within the council has grown until now, they always consult me before taking an important decision. The responsibility weighs heavily with me, but I have found new strength through the events of the last few weeks.465

 466

Chapter 19467

I emerged from my computer terminal at home, ready for a good sleep. But before I could do that, I went to the guest bedroom. There, sitting on the edge of the bed, looking bemused, was the man, his spirit restored.468

"Hello, I’m Katie," I said in the friendliest tone I can muster.469

"Hello," he paused uncertainly, "Where am I? How did I get here?"470

"I found you in the river. You were lucky I did, much longer and I’m sure you would have drowned. Would you like a cup of tea? Something to eat?"471

"Yes please, that sounds lovely."472

I made two cups of tea and fetched some home made cookies from a tin. Then, taking the drinks and a plate loaded with cookies, I sat down on the bed next to the man. Wordlessly we both ate and drank hungrily. I sensed the absence of love in his life, the despair and the sense of futility in living.473

When we finished the tea and cookies, I took his hand and led him to the back door. The rain had stopped and the sun was shining. I led him down the path to the river bank. The lady of the river was smiling from the recent rains; although there were one or two polluting worm spirits along her banks, there were not as many usual. The waters instead teemed with natural life, healthier than I had seen before.474

We sat at the water’s edge and I put my arm around the man and pulled his head on to my shoulder. "Everything’s going to be all right," I told him…and myself.475

We all live in two worlds. In the world of common experience I live and work alone on a small farm beside a narrow river. The other world is a dark and despairing wasteland ravaged by conflict; and yet, both worlds are one.476

The End477

 478

Epilogue479

Katie turned away from the class and turned the display screen back on. Turning back to the class, she prepared to resume the lecture, "Who would like to learn about Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle?"480

The class of Novates all nodded in silent assent.481

"Good, then let's begin."482