by Marie Harbon
Once Paul and Tahra found themselves alone, he raised the issue with her, as she pored over a text book, aware of her need to maintain good study habits.
“Despite the strange after-affects we’ve experienced recently, no one has confirmed anything unusual occurring in their everyday life. Some of The Institute’s residents have reported a sharpening of their abilities, although nothing to compare with the shop or chair incident.”
“I guess we’re just unlucky,” Tahra commented, bookmarking her page.
“Or lucky, depends how you see it. However, we’ve used the machine more frequently than the others, so perhaps prolonged exposure to the field is a factor.”
“If so, we can expect to hear reports from the others soon.”
Paul contemplated what she’d said, and returned to scribbling in the OOBE journal. What they’d experienced were simply aberrations, neither of them had anything to worry about.
***
The night preceding the next journey in the machine, the OOBE team relaxed in the sitting room, chatting with the television broadcasting in the background. A piece of news regarding the space race grabbed the headlines, so Paul reached over and turned up the volume.
“Three NASA astronauts died today in a fire that swept through the Command and Service Module of Apollo 1. Ed White, Gus Grissom, and Roger Chaffee boarded the capsule for a routine test, including a full launch rehearsal at 13:00 hours yesterday, but a series of problems with the oxygen supply and communications halted the countdown throughout the day. At 18:31 hours, a call warned of a fire in the cockpit, but despite attempts to escape the capsule and efforts by the ground crew to open the hatch, the astronauts perished in the fire.”
Paul watched as the news report concluded with a quote by Gus Grissom, interviewed three weeks previously.
“If we die, do not mourn for us. This is a risky business we’re in and we accept those risks. The space programme is too valuable to this country to be halted for too long if a disaster should ever happen.”
Everyone held a two minute silence as a mark of respect, not only for the dead but in recognition of the common mission they all shared: to break boundaries and explore the cosmos. Paul only hoped it wasn’t another omen for the OOBE project. Soon, the penultimate mission would involve Tahra leading an exploration into unchartered realms, guiding the six non-psychic recruits. It brought Paul one step closer to realising his ultimate vision, the maiden voyage of the whole crew.
***
On a chilly day at the end of January 1967, Sonya, Dominique, Nicholas, Curtis, Angelina, and Tyrone sat in the machine with me. I felt confident, having already towed six consciousnesses although I confess, I my nerves still jangled due to stepping into the unknown. Holding hands, we all gave each other a palm squeeze for good luck. We heard the opening bars of ‘Good Vibrations’, and I decided there and it would assault our eardrums for the last time today.
After the familiar feeling of being hurled from my body, I sought their consciousnesses and scooped them up in my protective net. We emerged in yet another new world, and I began to wonder how many different realms were out there. How many alternate dimensions of reality existed, a finite or infinite number?
The mind boggles, I thought. It boggles to the point of insanity.
Looking around, I saw a luminescent canvas of blue and red. The red glowed with a blood-like passion that seared with energy and conviction, whereas the blue dazzled the senses with its electric coolness. Red and blue corpuscles floated by, pulsing and rippling like liquid electricity, while a vast network of what appeared to be electrical cables glowed and pulsed, as if high voltage power ran through them.
Everyone began to materialise around me, the familiarity of their faces contrasting with the vibrant backdrop. They floated in this liquid medium of space, dazzled by the stunning environment.
“What is this place?” Sonya enquired, transfixed.
We appeared to be in some kind of tunnel, with a surface composed of tessellated hexagons, like the grid I’d seen before. In the centre of each hexagon I observed a small jewel, which glowed red or blue.
In the background, I heard a reassuring noise, like a whooshing sound with a steady rhythm, and both the cables and corpuscles danced to the beat of this tune. I noticed the fabric of space had a flow, and we allowed ourselves to drift on this current, it felt safe and warm.
“It’s so very beautiful,” Dominique said softly.
“It’s like music,” Sonya added. “It has a beat and tone.”
“You know what?” Nicholas realised. “This isn’t a world, it’s a body. We’re inside some kind of entity.”
Looking around, Curtis laughed and answered, “I think you’re correct. It’s a vast body. The tunnel is an artery or vein, and the corpuscles are blood cells.”
“Let’s locate the rest of the organs then, or whatever body parts it has,” I suggested.
We all agreed and I focused my consciousness on a point further ahead, where the arterial vessels seemed to converge. Where they converged, they formed a larger vessel, which joined up with another set of vessels, creating a more complex network of arteries. I guided my six travellers towards this final point of convergence in the arterial network.
Once we reached it, a heavenly sight greeted our eyes: the heart of this entity. I saw a glowing red hothouse of energy, which filled my vision and my soul with its divine current. It had the texture of silken meat, muscle tissue draped with elegance like theatrical curtains and in places, I observed how it stretched taut, displaying a radiant sheen.
Intermeshed with the silken meat I noticed what appeared to be gargoyle-like creatures, their human-like bodies immersed within the tautness of the silken meat. They moved sinuously, engaged in some kind of euphoric rapture, making love at the heart of this being.
On closer inspection, I saw vessels wrapped around the outside of this vast heart, entangled within the outermost parts of the silken meat and these vessels carried flashes of light. Within and behind the silken meat folds, I also observed a tougher substance like the walls of the tunnel, composed of tessellated hexagons glowing red and, in between them, little jewels glistened.
“This would make a fantastic blueprint for a robot,” Curtis commented, gazing on the heart with wonder. “A being made of electricity, circuits, and a physical body, maybe that’s what this is.”
“Whatever it is,” Angelina added, “it sure is dynamite.”
“Can we find the brain?” Curtis asked.
“All living things have some kind of brain,” I pointed out.
I tried to picture a central thinking point in my mind, where the nervous system would terminate. Imagining a network of strings, I drifted towards another destination, not forgetting to scoop up my friends in my protective net.
We discovered a network of superfine threads, like angel hair, but pulsing with flashes of light. I noticed how the individual fibres were entwined, although some loose ends trailed like a wispy fray. Again, I sensed a rhythm or beat that the threads or nerves swayed to.
Following the threads, we discovered they converged in an immense cavern, like the inside of a great sphere. In here, we felt like insignificant specks. Great spinning discs flashed with white light and from each of these discs, tendrils stretched out like the branches of a tree, connecting each of these discs together into some kind of network. Further tendrils extended from the peripheral discs to the inner surface of the great cavern, the tips of which embedded themselves into the walls.
“This is amazing,” Curtis commented. “I don’t think humans could ever build something so vast and beautiful.”
“Did anyone build this, though?” Nicholas questioned. “Or did it create itself?”
“I think we need to take a look at this entity from the outside,” I decided.
I guided our consciousnesses out as far as possible, taking us through its vascular system and through subtle layers of energy like electrical skin. The entity came into view, and she was trul
y divine.
Her lilac, iridescent skin sparkled with tiny flashes of electricity. Gazing at her divine face, I admired her beauty, her lips of deepest blue and the merest hint of a nose. She looked humanoid in many ways, particularly in the overall shape of her body and she stretched out naked in this medium of space. She possessed breasts and something like sexual organs between her legs. Her dazzling white hair fanned out around her head, as if she were underwater but the individual fibres reached out to the fabric of space around her, which featured a vast array of hexagons. The ends of her hair embedded themselves into the hexagonal tiled grid, like roots. At the moment her eyes were closed, as if she slept.
She was the only entity here in this dimension and, perhaps, she was the entire dimension.
“That’s one hot electric chick,” Tyrone commented, in his inimitable style.
“Do you think she’s dreaming?” Angelina wondered aloud.
At this point, she opened her eyes. I don’t know if she saw us, but she stared straight ahead and looking into her eyes, I saw something even more beautiful. Galaxies rotated and stars twinkled, she had the whole cosmos in her eyes.
“What the…” I heard a few of us say.
Vast space within a vast entity.
An immense goddess.
You have such magnetic allure.
I want to enter your eyes, embrace the cosmos within you.
Where will you take me?
Is this heaven?
However, the goddess, her cosmos, and the fabric of space around us began to dissolve. My heart sank as the interior of the machine came into view again.
I didn’t want to leave.
We needed to return.
Her eyes…the cosmos…
This would be the destination for the OOBE project’s maiden voyage.
We’d discover what lay within her eyes.
***
Paul listened to Tahra’s suggestion regarding the Goddess Realm as the destination for the maiden voyage. He’d already highlighted a world for everyone to visit, although out of fairness, he considered her input.
“I’m going to put it to a vote,” he said, “between the Goddess Realm and the Therianthrope Realm.”
Tahra nodded, but she’d still fight to persuade the others on the merits of the Goddess Realm.
Paul assembled all the recruits together in the kitchen, and they squeezed around the table like sardines in a can. He stood at the foot of the table and introduced the proceedings.
“As you’re well aware, we stand on the threshold of a series of major expeditions involving all twelve of you as a team.”
A few murmurs of excitement issued from the team, and Paul waited for them to subside before continuing.
“There are two possible destinations for the first of these expeditions,” he continued. “The Therianthrope Realm and the Goddess Realm.”
Tahra picked up the thread.
“You’re all familiar with the therianthrope world. With its expansive scenery and friendly inhabitants, it’s got great potential for long term exploration. However, our last trip revealed a truly divine world populated by one single entity…a vast goddess. She’s so beautiful and awe inspiring, and she touches my soul. When you look into her eyes, you see the cosmos, a potential doorway to a heavenly realm, or even another universe. I believe we should visit this world first and foremost.”
Paul interjected.
“Bear in mind that the therianthrope world has proven itself to be a vast storehouse of knowledge, which allows our findings to be put to some practical use. So, those of you who want to explore the Therianthrope Realm raise your hand.”
Oscar and George raised their hands, but no one else did. It appeared to be a foregone conclusion.
“I assume the rest of you would like to visit the goddess, then,” Paul said.
Ten heads nodded in unison. The Goddess Realm became the destination of the maiden voyage, and Tahra suppressed a little squeal of excitement, respectful of Paul’s defeat.
***
The next day, Paul received a telephone call from Max, no surprise as the climax of his project approached. After the initial pleasantries and enquiries, they got down to business.
“If the upcoming voyage is successful,” Max began, “there are a number of funding bodies very interested in taking this forward.”
Paul sat up straight in his chair.
“What funding bodies?”
“You don’t need to know who these funding bodies are, just that they’ll ensure your project runs for another three years,” Max pointed out.
Paul was torn. His project could be hijacked by a major corporation, but would that be worth it to continue OOBE for another three years? He felt the pressure and a myriad of thoughts ran through his mind. Maybe the investors would be philanthropic, people with a vision that equalled his own.
“That would be excellent,” Paul responded, wishing to appear interested. “My deepest desire is to revive the knowledge and understanding of these other realities, bring them to the awareness of humanity again.”
A pregnant pause followed, before Max responded.
“I strongly advise against progressing down that route.”
“What?”
“The funding bodies in question don’t wish to share this knowledge and understanding. Their money buys exclusivity.”
Paul felt crestfallen, he sought to reveal the deeper truths of the cosmos, not line the pockets of the elite few. However, maybe he could enter negotiations as to attain his profound objectives, he required funding.
“You need to give this some serious thought,” Max continued. “These are the people I answer to, even if I don’t deal with every one of them personally. They’ve followed this project every step of the way and will be looking at the results with anticipation.”
Paul agreed to give it some thought and put the phone down, after Max had confirmed his arrival time to oversee the maiden voyage of the whole team. The outcome of this next voyage became even more crucial, and running his hands through his hair, he realised he needed to pull out all the stops to impress Max.
***
During the build up to the maiden voyage, Paul ran a series of maintenance tests on the machine, including the calibration for the oscillator and the rotating electromagnetic field. He operated the field at sixty-five percent, checked the monitors, laboured over the EEGs and ECGs, and scrutinised every dial, slider or button on the bank of instrumentation in the control booth.
Casting his gaze over the machine, this polished metal pyramid housed within its dedicated barn, he felt quite emotional at the sight of his own creation. He couldn’t envision life without it, couldn’t embrace life without his vision, nor could he envision failure. Months ago, it had simply been an idea, however, he’d breathed life into this seed, fostering and nurturing it until it germinated, believing in it until it blossomed into full bloom.
An inordinate amount of pressure besieged him though, to make this fruitful both for the continued funding of the project and also to fulfil Max’s expectations. He contemplated how to create an unforgettable maiden voyage. Would a field strength of sixty-five percent be powerful enough to release the binding of thirteen consciousnesses from their bodies? The current intensity had proved to be medically and psychologically safe, now he gave serious consideration to increasing the percentage to seventy-five. Surely it could do no harm and bolster the experience for the participants? What difference could an extra ten percent make?
On the morning of the day before this crucial expedition, Paul awoke earlier than normal, gave Tahra a kiss on the cheek as she slept, and drove to the village shop to pick up a newspaper and milk. He ate breakfast while reading and it took his mind off the pressure, as his nerves jangled even though he’d tested every single piece of equipment.
He needed to impress Max.
Putting a smile on his face would encourage a glowing report, which potential investors would read.
Fundin
g bodies would read the report and embrace his vision, see the potential for the human race, and they’d sign on the dotted line, ensuring another three years of funding.
Paul made a decision as he gulped the dregs of tea from the bottom of his cup. He’d run the field at seventy-five percent of its full intensity. This expedition would be truly unforgettable.
Meanwhile upstairs, Tahra opened her eyes when the first rays of the hazy sunrise breached the horizon, at five minutes past seven. However, she opened her eyes to a strange and disturbing sight. One of the capuchin monkeys from the Therianthrope Realm sat on the end of her bed, its startling human face staring at her. Its green eyes watched her and froze in bed, afraid to respond. Because it persisted in staring at her, she picked up her pillow and threw it at the monkey. It reacted by jumping off the bed, screeching and disappearing through the doorway to the small ensuite bathroom.
Tahra lay still for a while, trying to comprehend the sudden reappearance of these other-worldly beings in her life. There’d been a lull for a while, now they’d returned despite a latent period of three weeks where she hadn’t stepped into the machine. After a few minutes of gripping the bedclothes, she wondered if the monkey had disappeared back to its own realm, or whether it lay in wait, sitting in the bath, or on the toilet…
What a bizarre thought.
How could she explain to Paul they had a monkey in the bathroom?
She slid out of bed with caution and tiptoed into the bathroom, although why she trod so delicately, she didn’t know. Peering around the door, she wanted to squeeze her eyes shut, afraid to accept the monkey’s presence in the house. She held her breath and pushed the door open, sensing the presence of something not of this world. Tahra noticed the shower curtain drawn along the side of the bath and wondered if the monkey hid behind it, so she pulled it across, expecting to find the hybrid creature. An empty cast iron bath stared back at her, with a lone rubber duck sitting near the plug. She breathed a sigh of relief…the monkey had only made a transient appearance, just to annoy her.
Deciding to take a shower, Tahra twisted the faucets and a gush of water shot out. She drew the curtain and began to get undressed, hanging her silky nightdress on the brass hook by the door. Needing to check for signs of fatigue, she looked in the mirror, rubbing away the condensation. The reflection that confronted her made her jump. The ibis headed therianthrope looked at her kindly via her reflection, and spoke.
