The Mirage on the Brink of Oblivion (The Epic of Aravinda Book 3) (3 page)

“Don’t worry. He’s with me.” Asha took Zahn’s hand. “We’ve been through a lot.”

“It’s true. We’ve been on some pretty wild adventures.”

“You may vouch for him, but only if you take legal responsibility for his actions. Do you agree?”

“If that’s the only way for him to join me, then yes.”

“Very well. Follow me.” Jyana waved them over to the small elevator, and they all squeezed inside.

Jyana pushed a small round button beside the door, and Zahn watched as the door closed, sending them plunging downward into darkness.

CHAPTER
6

THE VISTA OF INTENTION

Inside the elevator shaft, the air smelled metallic, almost rusty.

The woman took out her scanner again, and Asha found herself wondering what Jyana had meant by ‘hospitality’ as she studied the woman’s long black hair and fine features. It had been a long time since Asha had seen anyone with the same olive skin tone as herself.

Jyana put the scanner away and smiled at Asha, nearly brushing up against her in the confined space of the elevator. “Torin and the others will be excited to meet you. As I said, you’re the first we’ve met who has actually returned.” She flashed Asha another quick smile, and the elevator stopped. “Follow me. Your introduction begins at the Vista of Intention, at the far end of this hall.”

The door opened, revealing a long hall inlaid with bronze. Two yellow strips of light ran along the upper half of the wall, and a pattern of small purple squares ran along the bottom edge. Jyana waved them ahead, and Asha noticed thick, impenetrable golden doors spaced unevenly along the corridor.

“Jyana, can you tell me more about the collapse?” Asha said. “How is anyone still here? Didn’t the Vakragha try to consume the planet whole, just like the others?”

“Yes.” Jyana said coldly. “Ultimately, they failed, but we did not fully escape their wrath. That was over twenty planetary years ago now, and I was only a child. I only have fragments of memories from that time, but my father was one of the few who stayed behind.”

“What happened?”

Jyana shot Asha a dark glance. “If you left on the life boats, surely you saw it. Cold beams of viridian plasma rained down from the sky, cutting deep into the surface of our planet and setting fire to our forests. Once the surface had burned completely, they left. I haven’t seen weapons like that before or since. That’s all I know.”

“Sounds like a nightmare,” Zahn whispered.

“But there must be more,” Asha said. “Jyana, does anyone know
why
they didn’t consume this world? After all, it’s all the Vakragha have ever done. What was different here? If we knew, we might be able to prevent more from being consumed.”

Jyana didn’t even look over to her. “All I can tell you is that it didn’t happen.”

“What do you mean?” Asha ran up to walk alongside her. “Please, Jyana. There must be theories.”

“We don’t know for certain.” Jyana inhaled deeply. “The planet could be somehow immune to their gravity weapons, but we aren’t sure. All we know is that the spacetime fissure they brought to our planet wilted away before it even got close.”

A chill washed over Asha. “So they burned our world down.”

Jyana nodded. “We can only surmise that it was their only remaining strategy. To wipe out as much life as possible was, perhaps, the only alternative in their mind to enslaving us. And as you can imagine, there was great suffering. Many who left on the scout ships, like yourself, contacted us and considered coming back to help, but the governors here decided it was unwise. There were complications due to plasma radiation, and most of those who stayed here were driven underground. Some of the smaller flora have since returned, but it will take much longer for the forests.” Jyana gestured ahead. “We’re here.”

Asha had grown so immersed in Jyana’s story that she scarcely realized that they had reached a balcony at the end of the hall which overlooked a huge inner chamber. She and Zahn followed Jyana over to the edge of the balcony and beheld an expansive view.

Carefully arranged in clean patterns were hundreds upon hundreds of colorful, transparent cubes, each as large as a house. There was so much to see at once that the sight consumed Asha’s attention for some time. Most of the cubes were white and arranged in long rows with walkways between them. Interspersed between these were yellow-green cubes, and Asha thought she could see faint outlines of broad leaves through their partially transparent walls. The remaining few were orange and pulsed in brightness in a small group toward the far end of the chamber.

“Behold, the Vista of Intention.” Jyana waved her hand over the space. “Our people worked for a long time on this complex, but as you’ll soon realize, what you see below is only a shadow of the true majesty of the Mirage.”

A rumbling sound in the distance startled Asha out of her reverie, and she turned to Jyana. “What is the Mirage?”

Jyana’s expression grew serious. “The Mirage is where all dreams become reality, Asha. It’s the only way you’ll meet anyone else on this planet and learn more about us.”

Behind her, Asha saw a tall man walking toward them, wearing a single piece jumpsuit not unlike the graphite one that her father used to wear. Flecks of dark hair poked out of the cap he was wearing, and his face was warm. Yet Asha could sense that he also had a sharpness to him, a drive.

“Good day, my dear!”

Jyana whipped around, her eyes widening in surprise. “Torin? You came
down
? You didn’t have to do that. I was going to test the visitors and then catch up with you afterward.” She smirked. “You missed me too much, didn’t you?”

“It’s not every day we receive long-lost family, and I’d been meaning to check the emergency supply vaults, anyway.” Torin embraced Jyana before turning back around to Asha and offering his open hand. “An honor to meet you. I’m Torin.”

Asha shook his hand. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Asha.” She gestured over to Zahn beside her, still admiring the living color below. “And this is Zahn.”

Torin took a step forward. “Pretty remarkable, isn’t it?” A sharp smirk spread across his face. “Too bad you may never get to see what it all does.”

“Torin!” Jyana said. “Please be polite to our guests. Just because he isn’t a Tavisian doesn’t mean you should be rude.”

“Asha and I have been through more than you know,” Zahn said, his expression hardening. “If you trust her, you trust me.”

Asha turned and took Zahn’s hand. “He’s right.”

Torin backed away. “Hey! I’m sorry. That came out wrong. It was only meant as a warning that our laws are complex, Zahn. Just don’t expect everyone to treat you the same way Asha will be treated. She is a
citizen
, after all.”

“Really?” Zahn raised his eyebrows. “After all this time?”

“Yes,” Jyana added and turned to Torin. “But it pays to be polite. And Asha has vouched for Zahn. If he passes the tests, he is allowed to join us in the Mirage, as long as Asha is with him.”

Torin shook his head and walked over to the edge of the vista, leaning on the low balcony wall.

“Good, because I want him by my side.” Asha’s gaze narrowed onto Jyana. “And what is this about a test?”

Jyana took a deep breath. “Well, we should probably start at the beginning. What do you think, Torin?”

Torin didn’t turn around, his gaze affixed toward the field of colorful cubic buildings below. “You know what, tell them whatever you want.” His voice was muffled now. “I’m not in the mood to debate our laws in front of the visitors.”

“We don’t want to break any of your rules,” Zahn said. “We just want to work together.”

“Good, because the Empress can be rather… harsh.”

“But why do you have to test us?” Asha asked.

Jyana sighed. “The destruction rendered by the scourge was global, and entire habitats vanished. Our food supply dwindled, and we struggle to survive. With every long range spacecraft having already been used to evacuate most citizens, we were stuck here.”

“That sounds terrible,” Zahn said.

“And then something extraordinary happened,” she continued. “Once the scourge had left, our people began to have dreams in which they would wake up in midair and see themselves sleeping on their bed below. We soon realized that these were
more
than mere dreams.”

“People were leaving their bodies, weren’t they?” Zahn said.

“Precisely,” Jyana said. “After hundreds of experiments involving long-distance reconnaissance and messages hidden in locked compartments, we realized the only logical conclusion: our people were having spontaneous out-of-body experiences, and some were able to have them at will. Since then, we’ve come to find that most people have out-of-body experiences at least once per night, even during controlled studies where we were trying to
avoid
contact with the Mirage.”

“So your consciousness was leaving your body,” Asha said, “and you say your people were able to go through walls?”

“Yes,” Jyana nodded, “and that was only the beginning. These out-of-body experiences were completely unprecedented. For the first time, we had observational proof that we were more than our physical bodies, and eventually we learned how to communicate in ways far beyond what words could afford us. Even more exciting was the possibility of traveling beyond our star system. In the beginning, we sent a few explorers off-world, until one went too far. We had to bury an empty shell. But then again, I suppose that’s always the case.”

“Where did this explorer go?” Asha asked.

“Her mission details were classified, but most of us believe she was trying to find a portal into another reality, or perhaps another universe entirely. Some believed she got trapped in a black hole, but other explorers reported that, curiously enough, stellar gravity didn’t effect them while out of the body. So we wonder if she perhaps went too far, finding a portal whose geometry curved back in on itself, severing her silver cord unintentionally. But these are only theories. Ever since then, travel beyond this world is expressly forbidden.”

“What is the silver cord?” Asha said.

“The natural tie between the physical body and the etheric,” Jyana said. “It’s at the base of the neck, but the cord is often unnoticed, phasing out to near invisibility unless touched.”

Zahn frowned. “So what happened to this explorer?”

“We don’t know her fate. It’s possible she found her way back to the Golden Realm…” Jyana trailed off for a moment. “Anyway, if you’ll follow me, we can get started.”

Jyana waved them over to a spiraling ramp that led them down to the chamber floor. Farther down, they reached a narrow corridor leading between a row of huge white cubes as large as houses, and she led them through the maze of corridors, turning left and right until they reached a cube with an open door.

“Inside, we will calm your mind and determine if you are prepared for the etheric state. Also, please do not touch anything unless I ask. The equipment inside is… finely tuned. And if you are prepared,
then
you shall see the wonders of the Mirage.”

CHAPTER
7

INTO THE MIRAGE

As they stepped into the expansive cubic room, Zahn felt stunned at the thousands of details flooding into his eyes.

Towering all around them were layers upon layers of metal latticework, forming hundreds of slots about two meters wide that reached all the way up to the ceiling, and another narrow hall led straight ahead, deeper into a kind of filing matrix.

A loud hiss from the end of the hall almost made Zahn jump, and he watched in wonderment as a long robotic arm zipped across an overhead track built into the side of the latticework. Its movements were efficient and fluid, and it paused only for a moment before extending a section of its arm deep into one of the slots. When it reemerged, it held a padded rectangular platform with a thin pillow at one end, brought it down beside them, and held it steady just a meter over the floor.

“You’ll go first, Asha,” Jyana said. “Please lie down on the bunk, and I’ll begin the test when you’re ready.”

“Should I remove my shoes?” Asha said, still processing her surroundings.

“That’s not necessary. If you’re concerned about cleanliness, we have automated systems for that.” Jyana’s voice softened. “Are you okay? You seem hesitant.”

Asha looked over to her. “Well, uh, no, I’m okay. It’s just huge. Is this whole room for people who are sleeping?”

Behind her, Torin laughed mischievously. “It’s like a huge slumber party, Asha, and you’re invited. Except we haven’t even gotten to the fun part yet; we’d better get there soon.”

“Let me get this straight,” Zahn said, craning his neck to see the uppermost slots near the ceiling. “For everyone who leaves their body, their real bodies are here?”

“Their physical bodies are stored in a stasis cube like this one, yes,” Jyana said. “However, I wouldn’t say
real
, as that is a matter of perspective.”

Asha walked up to the bunk and studied the clear border that ran along its perimeter like a thin, low wall. “What’s this? So I don’t fall out?”

Torin followed her. “These are some of the bio-monitors. They record your life signs while playing binaural frequencies, which helps you relax and leave your body more easily, especially if you haven’t done it before.”

“Actually, I have,” she said.

Torin squinted in disbelief. “Really?”

But before he could say more, she was already lying down on the bunk. The robotic arm held the combined weight of the bunk and Asha easily, scarcely moving. The grey padding had somehow formed itself around Asha’s body, and she looked supremely comfortable.

Zahn walked up to the side of the bunk and took her hand. “Are you sure about this, Asha? I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Asha squeezed his hand, her brown eyes gazing up to him reassuringly. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry so much, okay?”

“Okay,” he nodded.

“Well!” Torin interjected. “This has been super touching, but we should move along and do your test. We’re losing time—lots of it. You
did
tell them about the time dilation. Right, Jyana?”

Zahn looked over to Torin who seemed increasingly agitated.

“That’s right. I almost forgot.” Jyana sighed, as if she remembered a forgotten burden. “Before we proceed, there is something you both ought to know. Time flows much more rapidly when out-of-body. For one day of planetary time, roughly sixty-four days pass in the etheric state, what we call the Mirage. So this means that if you wake up out of the Mirage for even a few hours, as you most surely will, multiple days will pass within the Mirage. Is this clear to both of you?”

“Sure,” Zahn said, “but what if we go back to the wrong body? Could we lose our bodies doing this?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Jyana said, almost amused. “The etheric body is inexorably linked to the physical until its death. We’ve created exotic conditions to try and find the limits to this, but we’ve never been able to permanently sever the connection while still on this planet, the silver cord I mentioned earlier, between an etheric body and someone’s physical body. Beyond the planet, it has happened, but we have taken precautions to prevent this from happening to our citizens. I assure you that it’s quite safe. However, you will need to awaken to eat. While the body’s requirements for food are reduced, they are still present.” Jyana turned back to Asha. “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Then we shall begin.” Jyana pulled out her scanner and tapped a few buttons, causing a wavering tone to resound out of the right and left borders at the edge of the bunk. “These are binaural beats, merely two different sound frequencies. One frequency is sent to your left ear while a slightly different frequency is sent to your right. Both frequencies combine inside of your brain to create a difference pattern, a thumping sound that only
you
can hear. Please, close your eyes.”

Zahn watched as Asha closed her eyes and relaxed. He moved around a bit to study the sound, but didn’t hear any thumping.

“We are now going to test her etheric body for any fragmentation or discarnate attachments.”

“Discarnate
what
?” Zahn said.

“Shh!” Torin shot him an annoyed glance. “Don’t distract her. She’s nearing stage one. You wouldn’t want to throw her off, trust me.”

The sound radiating from the bunk rose in tone and volume.

“Terrific,” Jyana’s voice hushed to a whisper. “She resonates well. And her hemispheres have excellent crosstalk.” She walked up to Asha and ran her scanner along Asha’s body. “Yes, she’s transitioning into the Mirage now.”

Torin shot Zahn a smirk. “She did well. I will be surprised if you do the same.”

“I’m not concerned,” Zahn said. “We’re a team; we support each other; and if your Mirage has a problem with me, I’ll still find a way to help her do what we came here to do.”

“Which is what, Zahn?” Torin, who stood a bit taller than him, whispered into Zahn’s ear so that only he could hear. “To entice us to join the Confederation? Perhaps something more? Jyana might have bought your story, but I am not so trusting. If there’s something you’re up to,
anything
that would upset the balance of our world, then you’ll have to contend with me.” Torin’s whispers felt like little swords cutting into Zahn’s cheeks. “Do we have an understanding?”

Zahn turned to him, observing his high cheekbones and wide nose up close for the first time. Perhaps this attitude was the xenophobia he’d been warned about.

“Yes,” Zahn said evenly, suddenly feeling intimidated by the man’s presence. Still, he wasn’t going to tell Torin anything. “Look, we’re just following orders from the Confederation.”

Torin studied his face in silence, scanning Zahn’s every micro-expression.

“Okay,” Jyana said, “she’s away.”

Zahn glanced over just in time to see the robotic arm lift Asha’s bunk up into the air and slide into one of the hundreds of bunk slots above.

“Slick.”

“You’ll soon be joining her,” Jyana said, waving him over. “At least, if the system approves you. No promises.”

From around a far corner, another robotic arm swung into view, this one holding a freshly prepared bunk.

When it arrived in front of Jyana, Zahn walked over to the bunk and pressed his fingers into its padded surface. The feeling was bizarrely satisfying.

“What are you waiting for, kid?” Torin said, standing beside Jyana. “Only one way to find out, right?”

Zahn pursed his lips and unceremoniously flopped onto the bunk, stretching out onto it. “Okay, let’s do this.”

“The binaural frequencies are about to begin,” Jyana said. “You may drift off into sleep, and that is perfectly normal.”

The wavering tone began just as it had before, a low murmuration that reminded him of the long bird calls that so often filled the valley he grew up in.

Jyana smiled. “Close your eyes and relax, okay?”

Zahn closed his eyes. By now, he could tell that there was something more to what he was hearing. Inside of the wavering tone, he heard a soft, whumping sound inside of his head. He found it calming, and felt himself relax more and more, as if he were sinking deeper and deeper into the bunk’s grey padding. His breathing slowed and he pushed himself to stay awake, to hear what Jyana might say about his test results.

“Hmm. Yes.” He thought he heard her say.

His focus shifted, and Zahn thought he heard the voice of an old woman buried within the frequencies. Her voice felt warm and wise, and he strained to make out her words.

“…counting up from one to ten. When you reach ten, you shall enter a state of mind awake, body asleep. And when you wish to return, simply think of moving one of your fingers or toes. It is that simple. Now we begin. Counting up from one, two, three…”

Zahn felt too sleepy to move his lips, but he counted within his mind, and as he grew nearer to ten, a loud rushing sound filled his ears. It began in his head and moved down to his chest, his stomach, his legs, and his feet. When it reached his feet, it headed back up again. Faster and faster, the rushing sound filled his body and he felt a new energy, a tingling all over. Part of him wanted to panic, but he fought to keep himself calm, knowing full well that panic would wake him up again.

The rushing grew louder and louder, and he saw flickers of light above, even though he knew his eyes were closed. He saw a final flicker of light and the rushing stopped, finding himself staring at the metal latticework above.

He thought he felt someone grab his arm, and in a moment of confusion, Zahn turned around, just in time to see his sleeping body shrink into the distance as he drifted up, up, up, through the mesh. As he passed through the ceiling he felt a familiar ticklish feeling before finding himself standing on a white, perfectly flat surface. He blinked, feeling a familiar presence that he recognized instantly.