Collision Course

by Doug Farren

  Aryth and Merlin were the center of everyone’s attention and very few questions were directed towards Heather and AJ. Despite having consumed copious amounts of coffee, AJ had a hard time staying awake. As soon as the press conference was over, Heather and AJ boarded a shuttle. Two hours later, the exhausted couple crawled into bed. They slept well past sundown. Faced with the fact that their internal clocks were now completely out of sync with the current time, they both decided to stay up the rest of the night, return to work in the morning, and work until they became too tired.

  AJ rubbed his eyes and yawned. Deciding he had had enough, he was about to call his wife’s office when he heard a knock on the door. “Come on in,” AJ yelled.

  An elderly man walked through the door. “I’m sorry to barge in on you like this,” the man said. “But, your admin assistant wasn’t at the desk.”

  AJ waved him in. “She’s on vacation and wasn’t expecting me to come in today. I didn’t see any appointments on my schedule. What can I do for you?”

  “I don’t have an appointment,” the man replied, closing the door. “My name is Victor Cashington and I’m hoping you can help me.”

  “Well, that all depends on what it is you need. Are you sure you’re in the right office? I’m in charge of keeping our fleet- - -”

  “I know who you are and what your job position is,” Victor interrupted. Lowering himself into a chair, he continued, “I also know that you have a way of getting in touch with Ambassador Aryth. It’s actually she whom I need to- - -”

  “Then I suggest you go through official channels to contact her,” AJ firmly said. “Just because I know the Ambassador doesn’t mean- - -”

  “Please,” Victor said in a pleading tone of voice. “Hear me out. If Aryth is who I think she is, she will see me. But nobody other than her and perhaps you would ever believe what I’m about to tell you.”

  AJ was about to put in a call to security but there was something in Victor’s tone of voice that caused him to change his mind. Leaning back in his chair, he tried to guess Victor’s age. With longevity drugs now in common use, doing so was becoming harder and harder. If Victor had not been taking any of the available life-extension drugs, AJ would have guessed he was in his nineties. But, if he’d started taking the drugs when he was young, he could easily be closer to 150 or more.

  Coming to a decision, AJ said, “Alright. You have two minutes to convince me that what you say is true otherwise I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

  “Fair enough. Perhaps if I ask a question it will help clarify matters. During the time you spent with Aryth and Merlin, did you ever get the feeling that they were able to communicate telepathically?”

  AJ abruptly sat up in his chair. The fact that Merlin and Aryth were telepathically linked had never been publicly revealed. “Who are you?” AJ asked.

  “I see by your reaction that the answer to my question must be yes.” Victor’s fingers began to rapidly tap on the arm of the chair and AJ had the distinct feeling that he was becoming very excited. Smiling as if he’d just uncovered a hidden pot of gold, Victor said, “That means I’m right! I never thought I’d see her again.” Victor looked up at AJ with tears in his eyes. “Please, you must find a way for me to talk to Aryth!”

  AJ was beginning to believe that Victor was suffering from some sort of mental disability. But how on Earth had he known about the telepathy? Standing up, he headed for the mini-bar. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re talking about. Maybe you should start at the beginning. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee, water, or perhaps something stronger?”

  Victor took a deep breath and seemed to compose himself. “Thank you. Coffee, black.”

  AJ dropped a cylinder of grounds into the coffeemaker, set a cup under the spigot, and pressed start. Turning slightly, he said, “Are you saying you’ve met Aryth before?”

  “No, not at all,” Victor replied, shaking his head. “I was talking about Ithnara, the dragon I’m bound to.”

  AJ couldn’t stop himself from turning around and giving Victor a look.

  “I know it sounds crazy,” Victor said. “Why don’t I just tell you everything while we sit and drink coffee.”

  AJ brought the first cup over and handed it to Victor. “Okay,” he said. “I’m listening.”

  “My father was dragon-bound and it was through him that I learned I was also bound to a dragon. It tends to run in families. It starts off like a feeling that you’re never alone, especially when you are alone. It’s the source of some children’s invisible friends. If you continue to believe, the connection grows stronger as you get older until it is powerful enough for the dragon to find you in this universe. My father helped me strengthen my connection to Ithnara. When it was strong enough, she took me to the dragonverse. We met when- - -”

  “I’m sorry,” AJ said, sitting down at the desk with his own steaming cup of coffee. “The dragonverse?”

  “It’s really hard to explain this all at once,” Victor replied. “There’s a universe that exists alongside our own. It’s inhabited by dragons as well as other creatures that we’ve woven into our myths and fantasies. Dragons who are bound to humans can pull aside the veil between the two universes allowing limited travel between them. At least, that was how it was in the past. Now,” Victor stopped and bowed his head. “I haven’t felt Ithnara’s presence in my mind now for many decades.”

  “What happened?” AJ couldn’t help asking.

  “We knew the veil was becoming harder and harder to open. We decided it was time to leave this universe and never return. For many, it would mean leaving some family members and friends behind, but the thought of being forever separated from your dragon is not something any of us wanted to think about.”

  Victor took a sip of his coffee then continued. “My brother was terminally ill and had only a few more weeks to live. I decided to delay my permanent departure especially since I was his primary caregiver. More and more of my dragon-bound friends took up permanent residence in the dragonverse. My brother eventually passed away. On the way back from the funeral, a young kid manually driving a stolen car at far too high a speed, lost control, crossed over the centerline, and hit the car I was in, pushing it over an embankment. I was in a coma for over three years.

  “When I came out of it, I could no longer feel the presence of Ithnara in my mind. Recovery took months but my heart wasn’t in it because I had lost my beloved Ithnara. Then, almost six months after coming out of my coma, I felt her. The connection was very weak, but she was still there. We tried to open the veil, but it had become too difficult. Slowly, no matter how hard I tried, she slipped away from me until I was alone.”

  A tear slipped out of the corner of Victor’s left eye leaving a streak of wetness down to his nose. “She had been in my mind for 25 years and then she was gone.”

  “May I ask how old you are?” AJ asked.

  “One-hundred and sixty-three. When I saw the newscast from Ashnib I knew that Aryth and her people were from the dragonverse. That was confirmed when I saw Merlin sitting next to Aryth during the interview after they arrived in Earth orbit. Have you seen Merlin’s staff?”

  AJ drained the rest of his coffee and nodded his head.

  “The crystal at the top is not an ornament. It’s called an asovatorliim. What you might call a power crystal. And if Merlin and Aryth are who I hope they are, they should have access to one that is much larger or perhaps they’ve even developed a machine that can generate enough shivara to rip aside the veil so I can return to the dragonverse.”

  AJ knew he’d heard the word shivara somewhere and when the memory came flooding back he was suddenly very awake. “A machine to generate what?”

  “Shivara,” Victor replied. “It’s- - -”

  “I know exactly what it is,” AJ interrupted. Reaching for his phone, he punched in a number.

  “Communications. How can I help you Mr. Zak?”

  “I need an immediate secure link to
Ambassador Aryth’s ship.”

  “Stand by.”

  AJ looked up at Victor. He was staring into his half-empty coffee cup which he was holding tightly between both hands. His fingers were squirming as if he couldn’t keep them still. AJ was glad the cup was ceramic otherwise Victor would probably have crushed it.

  “Mr. Zak,” the voice caused AJ to return his attention to the screen. He found himself staring into the face of a Ba’Rutu. “How can I help you?”

  “I need to speak to Merlin or Aryth. It’s very important.”

  The Ba’Rutu turned his head to one side then replied, “They are both in their quarters. Standby and I will transfer you.”

  There was a short delay then Merlin’s face appeared. His hair was sticking up on one side as if he’d been sleeping. “Hello AJ. Is there something I can do for you?”

  “I’m very sorry to disturb you,” AJ began. “But I have a man in my office who claims he is bound to a dragon and has been to a place he calls the dragonverse. He also knows about shivara. He- - -”

  “Is he with you now?” Merlin interrupted, speaking in an excited voice.

  “He is. Hold on a second.”

  AJ spun the vidphone around so the camera was facing Victor.

  “Name the inhabitants of the dragonverse,” Merlin said as soon as he saw Victor.

  “Shiavakara Merlin,” Victor said, bowing his head. “They are the Ilvinishem.”

  “AJ!”

  AJ spun the vidphone back toward him.

  “How soon can you get to the starport?”

  “Thirty, maybe forty minutes,” AJ replied, stunned at Merlin’s response.

  “We will meet you there!”

  AJ stared at the dark screen for a moment then touched an icon on the phone’s control screen.

  “Services,” a female voice answered.

  “This is AJ. I need immediate transport to the starport.”

  “I’ll have a cab downstairs in a few minutes,” she replied.

  AJ thanked her then touched another icon. Heather’s face appeared almost instantly.

  “Hi hon. I was just going to call you. I can’t keep my eyes open any- - -”

  “Something has come up,” AJ interrupted. “Merlin is on his way to the starport. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

  “Oh dear! I hope it doesn’t- - -”

  “I’ll explain later. See you in a bit.”

  AJ terminated the connection without waiting for a reply. “Come with me,” he told Victor.

  Victor shot up out of the chair, set his cup on the edge of the desk, and followed AJ out of the room. While they waited for the elevator, AJ turned and said, “I guess all that stuff you told me about the dragonverse was true.”

  “It is,” Victor replied.

  “How many of these dragon-bound people were there?”

  The doors opened and they stepped inside. “Roughly 400 or so.”

  “That’s a lot of people to keep a secret,” AJ remarked.

  “Wasn’t hard at all. If I had told you a few years ago that I routinely traveled to another universe, you probably would have thought I was suffering from delusions.”

  “I’m still having those same thoughts,” AJ admitted. “But after what I’ve seen recently, I’m almost ready to believe anything.”

  Even though the lobby wasn’t crowded, there were enough people around them to cause AJ and Victor to suspend their conversation. Heather joined them a minute later and gave AJ a quizzical look when she noted that Victor was joining them. As soon as they got into the cab, she asked, “And you are?”

  “Victor Cashington.”

  AJ brought Heather up to date as the car automatically made its way to the starport.

  “Which terminal please?” the car asked.

  “Query the starport computer,” AJ said. “There’s a shuttle arriving from Ambassador Aryth’s ship. We are to meet it.”

  “Government terminal three-alpha,” the car replied. “Ambassador Aryth’s shuttle is scheduled to arrive in six minutes. We will be there in seven. We have been given clearance to enter the restricted area.”

  The shuttle’s rear hatch was opening as their car pulled up behind. Merlin appeared and waited for them. Victor had his door open before the car had come to a stop. As soon as he was able, he jumped out of the car and began running towards Merlin. Aryth stepped into view causing Victor to come to a sliding halt.

  Victor stared at Aryth for a moment then started to collapse as his knees gave out. He didn’t, however, hit the ground, but remained suspended in mid-fall as AJ and Merlin both rushed toward him. AJ was sure he’d seen a dull glow coming from Aryth’s chest.

  “What happened?” AJ asked taking one of Victor’s arms.

  “Victor can mind-speak,” Merlin said, taking Victor’s other arm. “Aryth is just as surprised as I am.”

  Victor stood up on his own and looked at Merlin. He wiped the tears from his eyes, then said in a shaky voice, “I haven’t used mind-speak for almost a hundred years. I never thought I would hear the voice of a dragon again. Forgive me for asking, but are you the Shiavakara Merlin spoke of in the Ilvinishem legends?”

  “I’m not sure what their legends say, but I did spend a lot of time with the Ilvinishem,” Merlin replied.

  Victor reached out and grasped Merlin’s hand. “The legends say you are immortal. You are also known as the greatest Shiavakara to have ever lived. If the legends are true and you are who you claim to be, then you are the only one who can return me to my beloved Ithnara.”

  A rumbling from Aryth who was standing in the entrance to the shuttle caused everyone to turn and look at her.

  “Let’s go inside,” Merlin said. “We have much to talk about.

  Chapter 28

  “Please Shiavakara Merlin,” Victor pleaded as soon as they were inside the shuttle. “I need to know if Ithnara is alive. She needs to know I’m still alive. It is said that my great grandfather, Terry Cashington, the umshivataka, could open a portal large enough for a dragon to fly through. Even though the veil has thickened, surely, you can open at least a tiny one so I can talk to Ithnara.”

  “I don’t know what umshivataka means,” Merlin admitted. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he said, “Shivara is even rarer now than when I was last here and the veil is too thick for me to open a portal with the limited power I have available.”

  AJ took a step toward them and said, “What is a Shiavak- - -”

  Merlin shot AJ a look that instantly caused him to stop talking.

  Victor turned and sat down, the corners of his mouth were quivering. “Then, I will never see her again. I will never again hear her sweet voice. I had hoped that- - -”

  Merlin sat down next to Victor. “There is something we can try,” he said. Aryth handed him his staff without a single word having been spoken aloud. “Look at the crystal at the top of my staff.”

  Victor did as he was asked. His eyes suddenly went wide. “You have an asvheho!”

  “Close,” Merlin replied. “But it’s not a true asvheho.” Pulling the staff closer to him, Merlin added, “I forged this crystal myself in uma-ovrendi Nureom’s furnace. It took five tries before it was perfect. Have you ever heard of an object called the Bishnret, in the city of Marun?”

  “I have,” Victor replied, suddenly interested.

  “I heard about it as well,” Merlin continued. “I went to Marun to study it and ended up remaining there for over a year. It’s a large, naturally formed crystal embedded in the wall of a cave. According to legend, this crystal was found by some of the earliest Ilvinishem. There are those who believe it was this crystal that showed the Ilvinishem how to use shivara.”

  “I always thought it was some sort of religious site,” Victor said.

  “It’s more of a spiritual than a religious site,” Merlin said. “After a year of intense study, I figured out that it’s a naturally occurring fusion having the properties of a mahathovaro, an asvheho, and an asov
atorliim. I believe it was formed deep within the planet many millions of years ago and was actually part of a much larger crystal that has since been broken apart and spread across the planet. What’s left is far too small to be used as an asvheho. But it can be used to bind a crystal to the dragonverse.”

  “My great grandfather had a necklace he claimed did the same thing,” Victor said.

  “I can’t open a portal,” Merlin said, shaking his head. “But we might be able to find a way for you to speak to Ithnara.”

  Merlin tightened his link with Aryth until they were almost of one mind. He then directed a thought to Victor, “Open your mind and join us. Try as hard as you can to find Ithnara.”

  “You two are bound!” Victor said, staring at Merlin with wide eyes.

  “We are,” Merlin replied. “Now, concentrate.”

  AJ had backed up against the shuttle’s bulkhead and was leaning against it. Many of the words Merlin used were foreign to him and he doubted he would be able to find them in any dictionary in this universe. He held his breath and stared in amazement as the crystal on the end of Merlin’s staff began to glow. He had no idea what Merlin, Aryth, and Victor were doing, but he was afraid of making even a tiny noise for fear of breaking their concentration. Twenty seconds passed. AJ was startled when Victor suddenly inhaled through his nose. There was a huge smile on his face and tears flowed down his cheeks.

  “She’s alive!” Victor said.

  Merlin’s staff stopped glowing. “The veil has become very dense,” he said. “I’m afraid that’s the best I can do right now.”

  “I felt her,” Victor replied. “And I know she felt me. Thank you!”

  AJ slowly let his breath out. “Now, can you please tell me what’s been happening? I couldn’t understand half of the words you were using.”

  Merlin stood up and walked over to AJ. “Once again,” he said. “I must demand that you never talk to anyone about this.”

  “Deal!” Heather said, joining them. “I want to know the truth. All of it. I feel as if something extraordinary just happened and even though it happened right before my eyes I have no idea what the hell it was.”