Ascension: Invocation (13 page)

“The trigger didn’t work. It was supposed to unlock your soul. I wasn’t expecting to give a history lesson.”

“Yeah, well, I’m sorry.”

“We have so little time and the Humans are obviously already here.”

“I thought we were going to them.”

“That’s how it worked the first time.”

“What first time and what does that mean: ‘The Humans are already here’? So what? They were coming anyway, right?”

“They’re here to stop you. To stop us. They need as many of your souls as possible. They know that some will be left behind. But, if we are successful, their army will be far too small to achieve further ascension.”

“What the hell do I have to do with anything? I put you on TV, isn’t that what you wanted?”

“You are to lead the rebellion. You are the Luciferian Queen.”

“Jesus Christ.”

“I don’t understand. What about him?”

Alicia shook her head and saw the highway up ahead. It would be clear and she could get a straight shot to the hotel. “Are you sure you’re not going to tell me where I should take you tonight?”

“I am supposed to be right here. With you. I have nowhere else to be.”

“Are you an orphan? Where are your parents?”

Sariana had thought about this. She realized that the entire preemptive may already have been thwarted by the Humans. “Not yet. I’m still here” she said solemnly. “If I were an orphan, I’d never have been born.” Alicia pulled the truck into a liquor store. “What is this? Why are we stopping here?”

"Stay here," she told Sariana and walked inside. It was practically empty. She found a bottle of Scotch and searched for a clerk. The store was abandoned. At the counter she saw a small stack of random bills so she dropped a ten in the mix and left. Civilization hadn't completely crumbled, she thought. She threw the bottle in the backseat and drove down the highway to the hotel.

"Where are we going?" Sariana asked, clearly nervous.

"To the hotel. You'll stay with me tonight."

“There’s no time to waste. The cloud has been released.”

“Look, you said I needed a history lesson, right? You’re going to have to explain this shit to me if I’m going to help you at all.” Alicia was more or less just buying time until she figured out what to do with the girl.

“The Humans could be anywhere. They might be at your next destination, waiting for us.”

“Sara, I need to eat at least. So do you. It’s a nice hotel. It’s safe.”

“Nowhere is safe.”



At the hotel, Alicia tossed her things on one of the beds and placed the bottle on the desk. Instinctively, she turned on the television and changed the station to her network. No one was replaying this afternoon's debacle. Thank God. Alicia handed Sariana one of the hotel's complimentary robes.

"Why don't you go get a shower? I'll order dinner. What are you hungry for?"

“I don’t need a shower and I’m not hungry. There is much to do.”

“I have news for you. You stink. And I can assure you that you need food. What do you want to eat?”

Sariana was frustrated. “I don’t know. Chocolate?"

"Maybe later," Alicia smiled. That was cute. "Do you eat meat?" Sariana shrugged. "How about a steak?" She agreed.

Alicia helped her turn on the shower and gave the girl her privacy. Later, the food arrived and Alicia and Sariana sat in their hotel robes eating dinner. For all of her protesting, Alicia smiled as the girl ravaged her steak. Those raisinettes at the Dollar Store were probably the first thing she’d eaten in days. Alicia tossed a few ice cubes in a glass and poured the Scotch. She took a sip and looked the girl over.

“See? You were hungry.”

“It seems so, yes,” Sariana said with her mouth full. “Can we now begin our work?”

Alicia grabbed another glass, filled it with ice and poured a Scotch for Sariana.

"Here. You've had a long day. It isn't gonna kill you to have a drink. I won't tell if you won't."

Sariana took a large gulp of the Scotch and immediately gagged. Alicia burst into laughter. "What is that?" Sariana managed.

"It's Scotch. Alcohol. I'm sorry, honey. I thought you knew."

"Oh," Sariana cleared her throat. "It's good." She too couldn’t stifle a laugh.

"You know, it wasn't that long ago that I was your age," Alicia told her. "I know what it's like to have an identity crisis."

"I know who I am. It's you who don't know me."

"That's nice. Poetic. Do you write?"

“With all due respect, your line of questioning isn’t relevant.”

"I’m just trying to get a frame of reference here. How old are you?"

"I appear to be about sixteen."

"So, Sara. Wait. Is it Sara or Sariana?"

"It's Sariana."

"Why did I think it was Sara?"

"I don't know. You just started calling me that."

"I'm sorry. Why didn't you correct me?"

“That would have been disrespectful."

"Disrespectful? Always make sure people get your name right. Get the credit you deserve."

Sariana smiled, put down her fork and took a drink, smaller this time. She turned to face Alicia.

"So, Sariana," Alicia emphasized. "Tell me, what's it like to be a princess?" Sariana hesitated. "I'm serious. I want to know," Alicia said genuinely. "All little girls dream of being a princess. I used to pretend to be a princess when I was little."

"You did?" Sariana laughed and began to let her guard down.

"Of course! I used to march around my house, commanding orders to squires and peasants, demanding that they all should kneel before me," Alicia recounted dramatically as Sariana giggled. "It's not often you get to meet an actual princess. Is that what it's like?"

"No. It's not like that at all, actually."

"Surely you must have people waiting on you hand and foot?"

"Well," Sariana said shyly. "Kind of."

"Is it great?"

"It's pretty great, yeah."

"Do you ever scream 'Off with your head' if one of them misbehaves?"

"Oh! No!" Sariana laughed.

"But you've wanted to, right?"

"No!"

"Not even just a little?"

"I guess maybe just a little."

Alicia poured more Scotch into each glass, and both girls took a drink. "What about your mother and father? The King and Queen? What are they like?"

Sariana became quite serious. "They're both very kind and generous. My mother is a beautiful soul and my father is very strong and revered. They are both loved among the souls they have been chosen to protect and serve."

"Are they both human?"

"Luciferian."

"Right. Sorry. You know, on Earth, Luciferians are what we refer to as devil worshipers?"

"What?"

"Yeah. They're Satanists."

"Surely, you must know. We don't worship anything evil. How did Lucifer come to mean something evil?"

"He was the arch angel cast out of heaven."

"No. That’s ridiculous."

"Sweetie, haven't you read your Bible?"

Sariana sighed. "That book. Your Holy scriptures are incomprehensible. What does it say now?"

"The word of God is wrong?"

"The Bible is not the word of God. It is the word of Humans."

Alicia got up and walked to the hotel dresser and grabbed the Bible. She tossed it on the bed to Sariana. "Here you go...”

"I've read so many versions of this book. I know all of your scriptures."

"Around here Lucifer is Satan. The devil. Doesn't it say so in the Bible?"

The Scotch was making Sariana surly. "Maybe it does now. I don’t know.”

“I can assure you that it does.”

“Well, then it’s wrong.”

Alicia laughed. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah. Really. Lucifer was a planet. It's where all Luciferian life originated. When all were one, we lived in peace on Lucifer. Then the fraction occurred."

"The fraction?"

"A great civil war. As some Luciferians ascended into greater states of being, they aspired to control the solar system, even the universe and eventually the omniverse as well. The greedy ones were driven off the planet and forced to find a new home. Upon their return, they called themselves Humans. A great war began between our twin worlds. This resulted in our home being destroyed; flung into the far reaches of the solar system. The remains of our lost world are what you now know as the rings of Saturn in your solar system, in this dimension. With the death of Lucifer, all souls living upon it were captured by the dissenters. Some of these souls were admonished to planet Earth, but most were held captive by the Humans. We do not know their fate. We wish to reunite with them. We call ourselves Luciferians in honor of our lost, enlightened ancestors."

"Okay,” Maybe it was the Scotch but Alicia found the girl’s stories incredibly entertaining. "What happened on Earth?"

“The Humans ascended to even greater status in the tenth dimension. They were among the highest ascended souls in the omniverse. It was here that they did the unthinkable. They learned to create souls at will; a power not meant for any species to know. The Humans thought into being the First Order of New Souls in your world, the planet Earth...”

“That’s us?”

“No. The Humans were dissatisfied with these souls. We do not know why. We suspect that they were unable to control their creation and were forced to abandon the First Order. No one knows of their destiny but these souls were cunning. Their whereabouts is an enduring mystery.”

“All right. So, what? We were sloppy seconds?”

“No. Next, the Second Order of New Souls were born. Praises, these souls could not be corrupted for they grew wise and ascended far too quickly. We know not of their fate but we do know for certain that they did not perish. Likely, they have ascended to a dimension above the third and remain in hiding from the Humans. They were quite clever.”

“So, they tricked the Humans and ran away?”

“In simple terms, yes.”

“Okay. So we’re not these guys either? We’re different people?”

“Yes. The Humans finally realized that if a species were to successfully dream something so abhorrent as death, they must create a soul group so equally vile. The soul itself would be vicious and cruel; so full of rage and self hatred that it would not recognize its ability to ascend above its own imaginings. It must also be easily manipulated and slow witted so that it might not question its predisposition for hate for millennia...”

“Yeah, I see where we’re going here...”

“Thus, was born the Third Order of Souls...”

“Uh huh.”

“This,” Sariana said excitedly. “This is you!”

“Third time’s a charm I guess, right?” Alicia said and poured more Scotch.

“Oh no! Not at all.”

“Yeah. I get it. I was...”

“You are the aggressor species. You were made in the Human image but meant only as soldiers. Your world was kept hidden in this unpopulated corner of the omniverse, long thought desolate since the demise of Lucifer.”

"So, that explains why we've not been able to make contact with other life in the universe?"

“This dimension,” Sariana corrected. “There is no other life as you know it in your universe or your galaxy.”

“We are completely isolated?”

"Yes. The Humans somehow managed to erase our birth galaxy from the Akashic records so that your souls might develop at their will. No other soul groups learned that you were here until the exodus. This is what is happening now. I was sent here to stop it... or at least minimize it. The results were devastating."

"Why?"

"Humans wish to advance to the eleventh dimension, and this is forbidden. This is a realm meant only for God. Should they advance, they believe that they will hold dominion over all things. The omniverse is home to many great warriors but none as fierce as your souls in the hands of the Humans. This exodus will lead to your mastery of your anger and violence to such proportions that none can stop the Humans from their ascension to the eleventh dimension."

"Only we can stop our creators... and ourselves?"

"Yes," Sariana said. Was Alicia starting to come around? Perhaps she had more control over this time-line than she thought. "It is our only hope."

"Why don't these masters of wisdom just destroy all Humans and be done with it?"

"They cannot. Or will not. They have done little. Regardless, it is against the laws of ascension."

"If these Humans broke the law, don't they deserve to be killed?"

"This is your thinking, and this is what makes you so terrifying. The rest of existence does not believe this. Souls cannot be destroyed. This should not be knowable."

"But the Humans think that if they can get to the eleventh dimension, they will be able to destroy souls?"