Jenny turned to Tidbit, wait…not Tidbit, Tarafau. "Wait a minute, I thought you said we were on Earth? How is Tarafau in this form? Isn't it a rule that he is always Tidbit on Earth?"
Lova smiled and Tarafau grinned. "As I said, we make special arrangements for Tarafau while training here. This area is shielded in a way that allows Tarafau to take on his humanoid form. Only in Sanglarka can he do this, not counting exceptional circumstances."
Jenny couldn't help but wonder what "exceptional circumstances" would entail as Lova led the way into the lodge. As they moved into the entryway, Jenny could see a large great room with a fireplace large enough to cook an ox and blonde wood furniture with brown cushions. Here and there she noticed landscape paintings and little conversation areas circling low round tables. Lova gesture towards the curved wooden stairs.
Over the balustrade she could see that the back wall of the lodge was all glass doors flanked by what looked to be shutters that could be closed if the weather got nasty. The view through those windows was breathtaking. From the valley they nestled in she could see the surrounding mountains, their snowy peaks reflecting the bright sunlight as if they were strewn with diamonds. Lova helped Jenny find her room on the second floor. It was as rustic as the lodge implied. The room was generous (for some reason she had been picturing a monk's cell) and the large picture window looked out over the grove.
From this vantage she could see a path that led to what appeared to be a large lake through the large picture windows. In front of one window was a plain wooden desk. On the desk was a large book that looked new with a lavender envelope on it.
Lova noticed her surprised start. "Yes, Lizzie wanted to welcome you here as well. You can read her message in privacy in a bit." She cocked her head. "You will find many of her influences in various places as you travel. This was her room while she was here."
The bed in the center of the room was spread with a colorful quilt and two rather comfy looking pillows. All in all, about what one would expect in an inexpensive bed and breakfast.
"The bath is through here," Lova said, indicating a door beside the bed. "By the way, all doors in this lodge are just doors," with a wink, "except the portal room, which I will show you tomorrow. Tarafau has the room next to yours."
She then led them downstairs to the great room. The large stone fireplace was laid with wood, but not lighted. She could easily picture herself with a cup of hot cocoa and a book, watching the snow fall through the windows on either side of the fireplace. A large, blonde, polished wood table with a dozen rustic matching wood chairs sat on one side of the room beside a door that led into a roomy, white-tiled, professional looking kitchen.
"We can stock any particular food you may prefer here, or you can sample some of our Swedish dishes. I recommend you get used to eating unusual food. It is considered impolite to turn your nose up at the delicacies offered to you in other dimensions, with the exception of those places in which their available food is not safe for human consumption."
She then led them to a corner room which turned out to be a large workout facility with a sauna, hot tub and an indoor pool. The pool was small, about 18 feet long and 10 feet wide, but deep enough to stand up in with water up to one's chest.
"I expect you to make daily use of these facilities. The pool is what is known as an 'endless pool'. It generates a steady current that you can swim against, basically like a treadmill for swimmers. It wouldn't be a Swedish facility without a sauna, of course. Since it is summer, we won't be able to do snow baths, regrettably, but this time of year allows us to do much longer training as the sun is up most of the time.
When you left, it was morning, but it is already bedtime here. It may take you awhile to adjust, but this is something else you must get used to. You will have to adjust your body clock quickly each time you port. You will be learning some techniques that will help you with that.
As a matter of fact, we will start your first lesson now."
Lova led her into the workout room and gestured to some mats on the floor. She sat on the mat, lowering herself to the ground in a graceful movement. She motioned for Jenny and Tarafau to sit on the mat in front of her.
Jenny had taken a few yoga classes in college, but she didn't give herself high marks for her grace this time. She settled to the floor beside Tarafau and waited.
Lova folded her hands, positioning them on her breastbone. "I will walk you through an exercise you will repeat first thing in the morning and last thing before bed every day from now on, wherever you are.
The purpose is to focus your energy in a way that will allow you to control your bodily responses to your environment. It will utilize a 'keyword' that will allow you to invoke this high level of focus at any time, once you become proficient at this exercise. The first several times you try it, you will not reach maximum effectiveness, but your ability will grow over time."
The exercise involved specialized types of breathing, timing the breaths at precisely staggered intervals while focusing on tightening some muscles while relaxing others at the same time. It seemed like it should have been simple, but isolating the different muscles and making them each do different things while concentrating on the staggered, precisely counted out breathing patterns was more challenging than she could have imagined.
At the end of the hour she had finally mastered the simplest combination, but she couldn't help but compare her progress to the effortless performance of the other two.
"We will do the basic exercise one more time. This time you must do the exercise and with every exhale you will use a keyword. The keyword must contain 2 syllables and must be significant enough to you to come easily to your mind in crisis."
Jenny had already decided to also use "Lizzie" as her keyword for the exercise. This was the passkey to open the LizzieAI on her tablet and when things heated up, as it seemed they were likely to do, Lizzie's name would be the first thing on her mind.
They ran through the exercise a final time. Jenny was surprised how adding even this one simple element increased the difficulty.
"Don't be too hard on yourself, Jenny," Tarafau said, noticing her small frown as they rose from their mats. "I would be embarrassed to tell you how long it took me to learn this. It will require some effort on your part, but Lova is a good instructor. She will see to it that before you are certified, you will be able to do this without even thinking."
"Now, we must go to bed. I know you think you might not sleep, but you may be surprised. We will arise very early. You need not set an alarm. I promise you that you will awake on time."
The intonation of that final thought was one of amusement and Jenny suspected that she was in for a lot of potentially not-so-pleasant surprises, for her experience told her that what was amusing for the perpetrator of a joke seldom was as much fun for the person on the receiving end.
When she closed the door to her room her eyes were immediately drawn to the lavender envelope on the book on the desk. The now familiar hand was somehow comforting to her. This aunt was becoming a friend, or so it seemed.
"Dear Jenny:
Well, you've made it this far and by now you are probably of two minds. On the one hand all of this is strange and perhaps even a little frightening. And you would be unusual indeed if this was not so. This goes beyond simple unfamiliarity and it will be more so as time goes on. But, unless I seriously misjudged you, you will stand up to it and enjoy the adventure.
On the other hand, it's all very exciting and your natural curiosity is pulling you forward. You can be enthusiastic at times, and that will work for you as you progress. Please know that I did not choose you lightly and I have been watching you for a very long time. You have more in you than you imagine. Don't short change yourself.
This book is a small gift, but something I have found helpful. There are pens in the drawer. Take the time to document your journey. There will be times when things will be somewhat overwhelming, and this may allow you to organize your thoughts.
/>
Love, Lizzie"
Jenny opened the leatherbound journal. Blank pages. To her, as a writer, blank pages represented potential. As Lizzie had said, there were pens and pencils in the desk drawer. She pulled one out and began to write…
…In her dream an emergency fire drill bell was clanging over and over again. She sat up, startled to realize that she could still hear it. Was the lodge on fire? The moment she sat up and was conscious of it, however, it stopped, and she realized she had not heard it with her ears, but in her head. She sniffed the air cautiously just to be sure, and, realizing she didn't smell smoke, she jumped out of bed, put on her workout clothes and headed downstairs.
She had only written for a half hour the evening before and had been asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. She felt rested and ready, at least she hoped so, for whatever they would throw at her today.
Tarafau was already there. His bright colored robes had been replaced by what appeared to be a karate Gi, only instead of the traditional white, it was a soft forest green, belted with a dark green sash instead of the traditional "obi.” She felt a little shabby in her dark gray sweats.
Lova was dressed as the day before in what Jenny thought of as a pathfinder outfit. With the exception of the fringe, her clothes were very similar to those worn by the American frontiersmen and some of the native American tribes.
"Before we eat, we will do our draga breathing. This will be your routine every morning. Following breakfast, we will run. After our run, we will study. Then lunch. Then limbering and balance. Then study. Then supper. In the evenings you will pursue your choice of creative exercise and then you will journal. Just previous to bed time you will once more do your draga breathing. Some of the physical exercise will vary from day to day, but the first week we will use this routine."
She led the way into the workout room. Jenny noticed, as she focused this time, that she fell into the basic exercise fairly easily. "Remember your keyword," Lova reminded her. Adding the keyword, she then proceeded to the more complex forms. She was still struggling with them, but she persisted, determined to master every skill presented to her. She ended her session with the basic pattern which felt better.
Breakfast consisted of cracker-like "crisp bread" of dark rye, hard-boiled eggs and mild yellow cheese to lay on the bread and a large glass of milk. "I would offer you coffee," Lova said, "but the caffeine will give you an artificial burst of energy that will deflate fairly quickly with what we will be doing today."
"I don't drink coffee," Jenny agreed. "I could never foster a taste for it."
"Be sure to eat all of your meals. We won't overload you, but you will need the energy today. I have also prepared a small snack pack for you. Nuts and dried berries. I think you call it 'trail mix' in The States."
When breakfast was nearly done a short, wizened man with white wild spiky hair that stuck out in all directions and big violet eyes bounced into the room. He was dressed in a long tunic of soft green tones that reminded Jenny of a pattern of summer leaves. He seemed unable to stay still for more than a moment, not exactly fidgeting but rather standing on the balls of his feet as if ready to spring into a run at any moment.
"Lova, all is in readiness." His mental voice was soft and nearly a bass, which was surprising in such a small man. He glanced at Jenny then nodded to her, "Welcome to Sanglarka, Guardian. I am Arvid." He then returned his attention to Lova. "Will you be needing the packs today?"
"Not today, Arvid. We'll save that for tomorrow. We'll be running the course, though. The usual precautions."
Precautions? Jenny wasn't sure she liked the sound of that.
Chapter 8: Pushing the Limits
Jenny wiped sweat from her forehead with the small towel she kept tucked into her belt.
She had always been active, and she loved being outdoors. Sanglarka was as beautiful as its name and her run took her on a path around one end of the lake and through the woods. There were stations along the path at which she was to pause and do the exercises indicated on a raised wooden plaque; squats, jumping jacks, pushups and sit-ups as well as different stretching exercises.
After a week of this routine she found she was making better time and feeling less tired, but it was still quite a workout. The five mile course included varied terrain, sometimes sloping up and sometimes down. There were logs in the path she was supposed to jump over and even a small creek she was to cross over on a twelve foot long log.
Looking back, she was beginning to realize this was a lot more like military basic training, without all the shouting. Her physical training was intense. In addition to the daily obstacle course, she swam for an hour every day in the evening before heading gratefully up to her room to bathe, journal, do her draga breathing and sleep. She arose at 5 a.m. every morning and started the routine all over again.
Her instructors varied. Arvid was so full of energy that sometimes Jenny felt he would burn himself up. He only ever stood still when they were tracking. He had taken her deep into the woods and taught her not only how to follow the tracks she saw of various animals in the area, but how to use the draga breathing to become so still that even a rabbit or deer wouldn't notice them.
Lova taught her to memorize her surroundings as well as passages of text quickly and often tested her memory about exercises they had done days ago. Jenny's training as a writer came in handy here, as she had been taught to notice small details.
She had continued her lessons with LizzieAI on that part of her schedule and she was beginning to understand the tiniest fraction of how big this all was and that her training could take years to complete. Lova had explained to her that this was only the first section of her training. That she would have the opportunity to meet each of the Guardians at their own gates and each of them would have something to teach her. After this stage, Tarafau, as her Guide, would teach her more about the capabilities of her tech and her gateroom.
Today, after lunch they would be learning something new, she was told. She couldn't help but wonder what it was. As she headed into the lodge she saw Arvid whistling happily as he toted a bundle of what looked like long sticks into the workout room.
Tarafau was waiting for her at the dining table. He handed her a large glass of water. He quirked a dark eyebrow at her, "You're making better and better time. I've got a snack for you." He indicated a plate of cheese and apple slices. "Lova says you can take it into the study with you. You'll need the extra fuel."
That sounded a bit ominous, Jenny thought. She grabbed the plate and headed for the study. This was a room with large windows with many shelves and books, a few large desks and a smaller fireplace than the great room. Before the fireplace on a large braided rug were three overstuffed chairs with a small table by each. On the table by the chair she thought of as hers was her tablet.
This was her study time with the tablet. LizzieAI was her instructor for this part of the schedule.
"Lizzie, it's study time," she intoned to the tablet. It responded with a glowing screen featuring Lizzie's smiling face.
"Good morning, Jenny. How was your run?" Jenny never ceased to be surprised at how realistic this representation was. She knew, of course, that the Lizzie on the tablet was just a very cleverly programmed artificial intelligence, but it often felt so real that she had to remind herself that this wasn't a voice chat with a real person. However, it gave her a very connected feeling to her aunt.
"I cut nearly 30 seconds off of my time." She found that even though she knew LizzieAI wasn't real, she couldn’t help responding as if she were. "I'm not sore in the morning anymore and I haven't fallen into the creek for a couple days now. What are we discussing today?"
"Today we will learn about the gateways. So far you have learned the basics about your tech and how it works. Now we will talk about why the gateways are important and you will start to learn about your mission and what it entails."
"Finally," Jenny thought with a grin.
"The gateways have always been. And yo
u may have already guessed that those doorways aren't really the gates. They are a visual representation of a very complex branch of physics that is still beyond me. The simple explanation is that these dimensional pathways allow us to move between dimensions without a spacecraft or other technology. It is only in the past couple hundred years or so that the Dimensional Alliance Council has seen fit to allow Earthlings to take part in dimensional missions. Up until that time we weren't ready, and we are still considered not much more than trainees by most beings in the Alliance.
Over time you will continue to learn more about the 'politics' of it all, but for now, let's just say that our status is small, along with a few other newly accredited dimensional representatives from dimensions other than our own.
It is both simpler and more complex than you might think. The gates allow us to move between dimensions. Each dimension has its own universe and its own physical laws and political systems. The gates do not allow us to travel between planetary systems, only between dimensional way stations. Once in a dimension, you would visit other planets in their systems only if they have adequate space travel. Which is why we don't currently represent any planet but our own in this universe. We will eventually begin adding others, but unless we are approached by a much more technically advanced culture than our own, it's just us Earthlings.
We don't know why any particular planet is chosen, or seems to be chosen, as a dimensional portal for their particular universe. Some cultures at a gateway are very advanced and some aren't. The Earth portals have been active, seemingly, from the earliest beginnings of the planet. Many of our myths and legends stem from accidental incursions into other dimensions or by beings from other dimensions stumbling onto an Earth gate.
As you continue to learn, you will begin to notice strong hints in fairy tales and believe-it-or-not phenomenon on our planet that strongly indicate gate usage from someone unwittingly triggering a gate or beings from other dimensions discovering our gates through accident or intentional exploration.
The House on Infinity Loop Page 7
