Scanned? She looked around for some kind of equipment such as you would expect at an airport terminal or a federal building. She saw nothing but sand, the rolling surf ahead of her and some trees, similar to palm trees, but with red-orange leaves. However, moving up the beach, something was flying towards them. There were two of them and they resembled nothing so much as dragonflies, but their wingspan was around 3 feet across.
She looked at Tarafau, but he didn't seem concerned. "Ah. Here they are."
"What are those things? Shouldn't we run or something?"
"Those are the scanners. We call them gem eyes. They won't harm you. Just stand still."
The huge bugs, she couldn't think of them as anything else, pulled up in front of them, hovered in front of them both, each vibrating slightly due to the rapid movement of their wings which were moving so fast as to be nearly invisible. They started at just above their heads and slowly descended to almost ground level. Then they whirled and sped off back the way they had come.
"All done. You pass. Now we can go meet The Gatekeeper."
"OK, Tarafau, or Tidbit, or whoever you are. What's going on here?"
Tarafau smiled his catlike smile. She could almost see his ears pointed forward…wait…. His ears were pointed, but not like Spock or any elves she had seen depicted. The points were on the lobes of his ears. This was definitely not from any dream she had ever had. She hadn't noticed this in the photograph of Tarafau and her aunt, more than likely because she just wasn't looking for it.
"Come, let us not keep The Gatekeeper waiting," was all he said, gesturing with a broad hand toward the red palm trees that lined the beach. "It isn't far, and it's a pleasant walk."
She shrugged. At least she was set up for a good walk. She realized she was still wearing her backpack and had her binoculars hung around her neck. She hadn't counted on a hike like this, however. The black sandy beach had a sparkling quality to it and stretched up and down the coastline as far as she could see in both directions. She stepped off of the porch into the light of the pale yellow sun. The sand was fine enough that as they walked their footprints filled back in quickly behind them.
As they grew closer to the trees, she noticed there was a soft musical sound floating toward them over the low murmur of the gentle surf that lapped the shore. It was not instrumental, but came from voices in the trees. She looked up and realized that there were small creatures of some kind perched on the wide stems of the red palm fronds. Bright blue eyes peered at her from pale green furry faces. They reminded her somewhat of a tamarin marmoset she had once seen in a documentary about exotic species. These had long dark green mustaches that extended onto their chests and white circles around their eyes, which made their blue eyes stand out in their dark green faces. They were crooning softly and harmonizing in a nearly hypnotic song that was both soft and yet seemed to fill her up from the inside.
"What are those?" she asked Tarafau.
"Those are Linklings. Their song changes when they sense danger, but mostly they sing to the sky and this song is one of welcome. They are not fierce or ferocious, but they are faithful and brave little creatures. They live along the shoreline and keep watch."
"Watch for what?" Jenny asked. "They're beautiful and this beach seems a peaceful place, so what am I missing?"
"You must meet The Gatekeeper. She has the answers you seek."
The path they had been following through the trees finally emerged into a place that reminded her of some of the scenes from tapestries of medieval Europe. Around a large market square, full of colorful booths with many goods she did not recognize, were brightly colored houses whose walls tended toward rounded archways and very few hard angles. Even the windows were mostly round or oval, framed in wood like large, elegant portholes.
People milled around the square, some peering into what must have been shop windows or stopping to peruse the goods at a particular booth. There was something strange about it, however. Behind her she could still hear the soft hooting song of the Linklings, and she realized despite the bustling foot traffic, there were no human voices at all. Nods and smiles and body language were the only level of communication she could discern. It was so extremely odd. If she had not been able to still hear the Linklings, and the soft breeze through the palm tree grove behind her, she would have thought she had lost her hearing.
Tarafau was scanning the crowd without the slightest indication he had noticed anything unusual.
"Is this some kind of religious thing? A vow of silence or something?" she whispered to Tarafau, fearing lest she violate some local custom by speaking aloud.
"Oh, no, not at all. It will all be made clear when we meet The Gatekeeper," he asserted in a normal tone of voice and, gesturing encouragingly for her to follow, led down the main thoroughfare, smiling and nodding to the people they passed. None of them seemed to notice anything unusual about him or her, for that matter, with her ball cap and backpack and hiking shoes, although she couldn't have been more differently dressed than the folks around her.
For one thing, she was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, not to mention her hiking gear. The people she passed, however, were dressed in brightly colored clothing, like something out of a Dr. Seuss picture book. The women wore breeches, like the men, but with touches of embroidery on the collars and cuffs of their loose-fitting smocked blouses. With few exceptions women's hair (mostly brunettes, she noticed) hung loose and long, often hanging to their knees behind them.
The men also wore their hair long but braided in a single plait, the braids hanging over one shoulder or the other. Like the Linklings, she noticed their eyes tended toward blue, and occasionally green. Their faces were long and most of them, including the men, were in the range of 5 to 5-1/2 feet tall. Most of them were carrying net bags, filled with what appeared to be their purchases of the day.
Tarafau strode among them, appearing giant-like and yet, not even the children, silent like their parents, appeared to be threatened by his presence. In contrast, Jenny couldn't help but wonder how these people would have been treated in one of the cities from home.
The streets of the town were clean, and boxes of exotic bright flowers lined the avenue. The silence continued, which was eerie, but she didn't feel at all threatened, so she walked along beside Tarafau and kept her thoughts to herself until she could get him alone or until she met The Gatekeeper to get her dozens of questions answered.
The square was dominated by a green building, larger than the rest and styled in the same way, more curves than angles. She realized suddenly that this was probably the same building she had seen in the photo of Lizzie and Tarafau. The large elaborately carved double doors opened as they approached, like the automated doors from home. She realized as they went through, however, that there were actually two people holding them open and beaming at them. They were dressed alike in the same forest green as the building and Jenny assumed it was some kind of uniform.
Tarafau gestured to an alcove to the right of the door. There were shelves lining the wall by the door, with dozens of pairs of shoes. Tarafau removed his shoes and motioned for her to do the same. As she removed her hiking boots, something occurred to her.
"Tarafau, where did your clothes come from? As a cat you had no clothes."
"It is a part of the gift, Jenny. Whatever clothing we are wearing when we transform to another form is adapted, such as the fur on the cat. It is part of the energy exchange. In some way we do not fully understand, the molecules in the clothing are part of the matter that makes fur or scales or the like."
Scales? Then Jenny noticed that Tarafau also word a small pendant on a gold chain around his neck. It wasn't a key, but a stylized infinity symbol. She wanted to ask him about it, but she didn't want to wait another moment to talk to The Gatekeeper, who evidently had the answers she needed.
The man and woman in green uniforms looked at them with interest. Silently, they looked expectantly at them. Tarafau looked into their eyes. They nodded and gestur
ed toward a flight of stairs that led around the curved lobby. The floor was carpeted with a pattern of red and gold leaves on a dark green background. There were tables with vases of flowers and cushioned benches around the edges. The curving stairs led up to a kind of balcony that looked over the high ceilinged room. Round windows high up the front wall let in streams of light and in the ceiling was what appeared to be a type of chandelier with balloon-like globes.
They walked up the stairs, the soft padded carpet seeming to caress their stockinged feet. Jenny thought fleetingly that it was a good thing she didn't have any holes in her socks and then blushed slightly at the thought of walking in this elegant place with holes in her socks.
At the top of the stairs on the balcony was another carved door, but smaller than the huge doors at the entrance. As they approached the door she noticed there was no handle, but the door let out a soft chiming sound. After a short pause the door opened but there was no one holding the door open this time. Tarafau led the way into the room and Jenny followed with just a little trepidation. This "Gatekeeper" was the key to all her questions. Finally.
Chapter 5: The Gatekeeper
Jenny couldn't help it. She gaped. The large room was kind of like entering an egg. The curved walls flowed upward to a large globe in the ceiling which exuded a bright light that illuminated the colors in the room in a way that they popped out. It was furnished similar to the offices of executives in office buildings at home. There were no windows, but where windows might have been were ovals that appeared to be glass that glowed softly, occasionally shifting in the color spectrum independent of one another.
Shelves lined the walls with many interesting things that were mostly unidentifiable to her. However, all of this was taken in with one quick glance around the room, for in the center of the room, dressed similarly to all of the townspeople was a woman. The difference was that the colors she wore were subtler, not necessarily pastel, but muted colors of green, gold and brown. Her brown hair was long, as what appeared to be the common style, but it was held back with a headband of the same green as her loose, smocked blouse.
Her eyes were an intense green and her smile was welcoming. She said nothing, but held out both hands to Jenny as she almost glided across the room to stand before her. Jenny hesitantly held her hands out as well, as seemed to be expected. The woman grasped her hands firmly, still smiling warmly. Her eyes twinkled with some hidden mirth and, still not speaking, she reached one hand to Jenny's little necklace. She touched the key with one long manicured finger.
"Welcome, Jenny." Jenny heard this, but the woman's mouth had never moved. "Now you can converse with us. I am Miriha. I am The Gatekeeper. When you wish to speak to me, think my name and then what you want to say. Try it now."
Jenny marveled, but followed the instructions. "Miriha, how is this done?"
"It is mind-speak. It is how we communicate. We can, vocalize when we wish, mostly to sing, but we prefer this way for every day conversation. It is more accurate, and it is calming. We communicate concepts, not really words, exactly. Therefore, the meaning is always clear and truthful."
"Can you read my mind?" Jenny asked with some concern.
"Not at all. This is why you think my name first. It creates the connection between you and the person you are speaking to. You can do a general broadcast to a group if you don't think the name first. For instance, Tarafau cannot hear our conversation currently." Her green eyes twinkled mischievously. "As far as he is concerned, we are exchanging disgraceful secrets about him."
"Tarafau, can you hear me?" Jenny queried.
"I can now hear you, Jenny." Tarafau replied turning his amber eyes on her. "Miriha, we are here to align Jenny's key to the gateways and to explain to her the tasks that Lizzie left her."
At last, Jenny thought, I'm going to get some answers.
Miriha gestured to some comfortable chairs. "Let us sit," she said. "And we will talk."
They seated themselves and the lights on the wall shifted to forest colors, as if they sat in a grove of trees. The bright light at the top of the egg-shaped room dimmed slightly.
Jenny's head swam. What questions to ask first? Miriha looked at her expectantly.
"I know almost nothing about what Aunt Lizzie was involved in or what she expects me to do." She started, trying to organize her thoughts. "I guess maybe the first question is, where am I and how did I get here?"
"Your home is a portal or 'gate' to many places. Each door in your hallway leads to a different dimension. You will notice that they are represented by different colors and symbols on each door representing the place they will take you. These physical representations are, of course, an illusion generated by the gateway to communicate with you. The doors do not exist as a solid form nor do they have any reality. A person without the key cannot see them. The door in your hallway was never "built" into the physicality of your house. It exists only as a concept in your mind to allow you to locate the gateway."
Jenny considered this. It sounded very much like the magic in her favorite fantasy books and she said so.
"Ah, magic. Well, you could consider it that way, if you prefer, but there is nothing magical about it. Matter is more flexible than you may think. The science of your world is evolving rapidly, but there are many misunderstandings of the order of things and you tend to think of matter in terms of relative solidity. Matter, time and space all have many more dimensions than we suspect, I think.
In any case, the portals are ancient in origin. You have several on your Earth. Once we fully activate your key, you will have access to all of them. The passport you carry will identify you as a "Guardian" and, regardless of local politics, you have what your people might call "diplomatic immunity.”
Anyone but you will see the passport as whatever document they are used to seeing. Your papers will always be in order. You cannot access the gates on your own planet directly. You must come through our gateways here to do that. Therefore, from time to time you will be travelling by conventional means. Lizzie has VIP accounts with most of the major airlines and hotels on your planet, so this should be no inconvenience."
"You said dimension, not planet. What does that mean?" asked Jenny. "I thought I had been transported to another planet."
"Oh, you are definitely on another planet, Jenny. This is Lanatrix, but we are not in your galaxy or even your universe. The portal is not a 'transporter' as portrayed in the legends of earth, but it is a doorway to alternate dimensions. It is not a time travel device either. Rather it simply allows you access to places that would otherwise be impossible for you with your current level of science."
"But why? I'm not sure why they even exist and why they would be connected to Earth at all."
"Your aunt was right about you, Jenny. You are a thinker with a curious turn of mind. The gateways aren't of our construction and their origins are lost to us, but they have been discovered over time, mostly by accident. As time progressed and people started realizing the implications of the potential havoc that could be caused and the potential advantages of the gates, eventually, over thousands of centuries, a coalition formed of a 'Gatekeeper', 'Guides' and 'Guardians' whose mission is to allow the dimensions to live safely together and to prevent potential invasions or harmful interactions by those with ill intent.
Gatekeepers, Guides such as Tarafau, and Guardians are carefully chosen as beings with integrity, the ability to handle difficult things and make decisions that impact billions of worlds in dimensions we have as yet been unable to count."
Jenny sat back in her chair, realizing that she had been perched on the edge of it. "And how am I involved in all of this? And what do you expect me to do?"
"If you accept, you will become a Guardian. This will require you to travel occasionally to other dimensions as you are called to help with issues that may arise. You will associate with your fellow Guardians on a great council on a regular basis to learn of developments and issues in the council and you will further your ed
ucation about the science involved.
You will be given technology that will allow you to interact with other planets in your universe, at a certain point in your training, as you will become the representative of all beings therein. It will be your job to keep track of anything that would threaten the Dimensional Alliance."
Jenny's eyes widened, and she realized her hands were shaking. "Me? Why me?"
Miriha's eyes crinkled in amusement. "I am not laughing at you, Jenny, but you must know that this is the exact question your aunt asked me so many years ago. She was about your age when she came to us. I imagine she left you her journals?"
Jenny's mind went to the yet unopened boxes on her dining room table so very far away and nodded. Had that been only yesterday?
And she looked more carefully at Miriha. She looked to be about the same age as her mom. How could she have known her aunt when she was her age?
Miriha continued. "You will find great instruction in reading her journals. I encourage you to focus on them when you can. I understand this is a lot to take in at the moment and for now, most of what I can tell you are generalities. If you choose to accept this position, you will receive instructions and guidance from the tech I will give you."
"And what happens if I refuse?" she asked.
"If that were to happen, your memories would be altered, and arrangements would be made to deactivate the portal. Your key would disappear, and you would no longer be able to see it or access it. Your house would just be a house and the cat would just be a cat, replaced by a common feline of Earth. You would live your life out in your house, doing what you have always done. The funds in your bank account would remain for you to use as you choose, and the inheritance would continue as if nothing had happened. Your aunt's boxes of journals and photos would be removed as well as all traces of communication from her that mentioned anything about the portal. You would have no idea about any of this and you would live your life as before.
The House on Infinity Loop Page 4
