The less attention you need to pay to the the surroundings, the more the psychic energy can be used to motivate and adapt to the new life after being born again. It was a strategy followed everywhere in the universe where soul administrations acted similarly. It adopted the residence conditions the individuals brought with them from their various incarnations, usually remaining within the same cultural groups.
During a period on Earth, however, they gave in to lucrative contracts with other galaxies, agreeing to take over low status souls for rebirth on that same planet. They should not have done so, because that surplus of intergalactic bad souls had been about to tip the balance in the composition of souls on Earth, so that The Planet had developed a crisis, and in fact, was on the verge of collapse.
Only recently, after a spectacular conference of leading universal gods had they managed to rectify this mismanagement. But The Earth had at least one more generation to live in the aftermath of this misguided policy, which increased the proportion of selfish and domineering souls beyond what was reasonable, and responsible. In order to not be tempted to accept more of these contracts, Earth had now received increased resources to implement a better distribution policy in rebirth routines.
Therefore, it would have been a very embarrassing situation if control of this process again came into view, because now they possessed the resource potential for better management. There was no longer any excuse for things not done properly and in the best possible way.
Choosing to use some of the increased allocations for the construction of prestigious new headquarters, was considered a superfluous ambition, according to Paragon. The increased funding ought to have been used to clean up in Limbo, but that was long in coming. Apparently, now reports showed that matters had been ignored too long concerning this area.
Paragon and Anders were just about to go to the Secretariat.
”Wipe your feet thoroughly on the mat.”
Anders could not understand what it meant.
”I think everything else is dingy here at the site anyway.”
”Yes, but the Secretary is quite particular regarding this. The first thing she looks for when people come in, is the newcomers' feet. It's a quirk you cannot get around.”
They both wiped their feet thoroughly on the mat and entered the Secretariat. However, the assistant was keeping watch.
”How can I help you?”
He leaned forward and put up a false smile.
”We are here to talk to the Major.”
”The Major?”
”Yes, Major Klamuffel.”
Paragon could not remember that there were other Majors among security staff, situated in this barrack.
”Oh, him, yes. Do you have an appointment?”
”No, we haven’t. But it's very important.”
The assistant was puzzled.
”Why is it important if you don’t have an appointment?”
He was extremely pedantic. If this continued, he would develop into a genuine bureaucrat.
”We have only just been made aware of this situation. And it concerns safety, which is the Major's responsibility.”
”I will ask if he can find the time for you. Who may I say is calling?”
”Paragon.”
”Just 'Paragon'?”
”Private 1789 Paragon. But we know each other.”
”Really?”
He sounded annoyingly condescending, but he was still a new employee, so that attitude perhaps just covers up his insecurity. Paragon tried to suppress his spontaneous aversion. He tried to call the Major.
”The Major doesn’t answer. But now I notice that he no longer posts nor abides by official office hours.”
”Where is he?”
”I don’t know if I have the right to give out that information.”
”Believe me, you do! Klamuffel will be stark raving mad when he hears about our errand, if he doesn’t get the opportunity to see us immediately.”
”Major Klamuffel doesn’t want everyone informed about his... schedule.”
”Let me tell you…. I'm not just anyone! I am closely linked to the department as a trusted employee, and I personally know Klamuffel quite well.”
”Well, then. I can see Major Klamuffel has taken a break and is over at... the golf course.”
”I see. Then we’ll go meet him there. Thank you.”
Paragon turned on his heel and left the Secretariat. Anders followed just behind.
”Is this Major always so difficult to meet?”
Anders was somewhat amazed by the incident.
”Usually not, but Klamuffel feels uncomfortable in the temporary office space with the loose cardboard walls so he’d rather stay elsewhere. And, now that his retirement is approaching, he has decided to learn to play golf. All the others his age in the service, perform that sport; so it’s also an opportunity to chat with colleagues in a relaxed atmosphere.”
It didn’t take long to reach the golf course, where they asked for the Major. After some haggling back and forth, they were allowed to seek him out on the field and even got to learn where he was supposed to be.
After a short walk, they found Klamuffel standing over a golfball, preparing to swing. Only when he had sent the ball away with a fairly well executed swing, did Paragon dare to interrupt him.
”Ehh... Klamuffel, have you got a moment?”
Major Klamuffel turned.
”Holy Cow! My trusty old employee, Paragon. About time you came out here to visit me. What brings you to these parts?”
”Actually I don’t like to interfere, but something has come up... something I’d rather not postpone.”
Klamuffel put his club down among his others in the small two-wheeled cart he dragged with him from hole to hole. He went towards the place the ball had landed, and the others followed along.
”It sounds as if you’re worried, Paragon. Is it something serious?”
”I don’t know, but it sounds disturbing. Anders here, has come to tell us about it.”
Major Klamuffel held out his paw.
”Klamuffel.”
”Anders.”
They greeted each other. Paragon helped move things along.
”Major Klamuffel manages The Security Service.”
”I do, indeed. Are you from one of the soul departments, Anders?”
”No, I come from Limbo.”
”So you are prepared to enroll here?”
”No, I would not have come if it wasn’t because I have something strange to tell you. Paragon met me upon my arrival.”
”I was about to dismantle the old Dimension Elevator. He took one last trip before I shut it down.”
”I see. Tell us what’s worrying you, Anders.”
”Souls are disappearing from Limbo. Brutish creatures capture them with huge nets and lead them away.”
”That sounds strange, I must say, indeed. Can it really be done?”
He looked at Paragon, who regretfully spread his arms.
”Apparently. They must possess some equipment that makes it possible. I don’t know who it could be.”
”Neither do I. You’re right, it’s highly irregular. Have you heard anything about this before, my good Paragon?”
”Not directly, but I must admit that other souls are missing here in the Seventh Sky as well.”
”Really? That seems incredible. How come?”
Klamuffel was definitely shocked. Paragon had to fill him in.
”Not long ago the Department of Elite Souls called me. The other night all souls had disappeared from one of the dorms and no one knew where they had gone.”
”No one has informed me of that. Indeed, a severe negligence. Utterly unacceptable! How can this occur? Is there something wrong with the internal communications?”
Klamuffel’s face flushed red. He was livid. Paragon jumped in to explain.
”I thought you had been informed about it from an official source already. It’s not for me to say. If it h
asn’t happened, I think it’s because they’ve not yet given up trying to solve the problem internally. There has been some discontent among alpha souls lately. If there’s a collective exodus, they wish to keep any scandal to themselves, to see if they can contain the situation without spreading to other departments.”
Klamuffel was speechless.
”But where would a whole soul faculty go? In secret, to boot! If it is a demonstration, surely they'd have as a motive, the raising of awareness of the action.”
”Precisely. But in the context of this new intelligence from Limbo, perhaps there’s a connection?”
”Yes, maybe. But right now, I have no sense of the direction in which the investigation might go.”
Anders joined the conversation.
”I might.”
”Really?”
”Before my older sister was caught by ghost hunters she had been told there were rumors that the trapped souls were taken to be incarcerated in a prison camp in Limbo.”
”Unbelievable.”
Paragon was perplexed.
”Should we sound the alarm across the Seventh Sky?”
”No, no, Paragon. That wouldn’t help. That might risk a panic, and then the situation could deteriorate quickly. It's best that we act discreetly, but expediently.”
Klamuffel was in his resolute mode.
”Paragon. Do you have any other pressing tasks at the moment?”
”No, actually the only thing I've been asked to do, is to move the old Dimension Elevator to the new building. But it can wait.”
”What about Dreamscape?”
”Pollux can manage that, if it has to start up again like before.”
”Is there a risk of that?”
”It’s impossible to say. During the action at the division of Elite Souls, there was a short inexplicable collapse in the digital system. And, since it’s not yet clear that it couldn’t happen again, we can’t rule out a long-term repair process being needed next time. Professor Balthazar Xlyt is deeply concerned at this moment.”
”I must say. It’s extremely unfortunate that I won’t be informed if it happens again, as many aspects of service safety fall under my bailiwick.”
Needless to say, Klamuffel was perturbed to the Nth degree.
”Paragon. You’d better go to Limbo, and try to figure out what's wrong.”
”If I need a hyper jump I must have Pollux with me.”
”We’d better avoid that. You should travel more discreetly.”
”Our vehicle (Dimension Elevator?) can be parked in invisible mode.”
”Yes, but we cannot exclude that there is someone at work who can see through that stuff.”
”Right now, I dare not rely on that Dimension Elevator working. I had some difficulty when Anders arrived.”
”It’s best if you just take the Heavenly Express. Then you’ll arrive anonymously. And take Anders along, since he is somewhat better informed.”
”Okay, we’ll do that.”
Outside, Pollux was waiting.
”Well, what you decide?”
”I am going to Limbo with Anders to investigate. We must take the Heavenly Express.”
”Some special task for me?”
”You must carry out everything in Dreamscape. If there is a prolonged digital collapse, you must be ready to switch back to the old analogue system. Fortunately, we only disconnected a few of the machines.”
”That I know well, champ.”
”Fine, Pollux.”
On the way to the station, Paragon had a thought.
”Just a minute, we’ll go past the place where I live, Anders.”
”Must you say goodbye to someone?”
”No, but I'd better bring my incident plotter along.”
”What’s that?”
”It’s a small portable device telling you where you are or how to get to a certain place. It can also calculate other things and you can search for a lot of information. It’s like a dictionary and a map combined.”
”Aha, one of the new smart phones (intelligent communicators?), also being a kind of computer?”
”Others have called it that. Someone who came from the Earth.”
”So you've talked with souls from there before?”
”Yes, even with some not dead yet.”
”So you've spoken with live people from Earth?”
”I must admit to that.”
”Wasn’t it a strange experience?”
”It was, but it worked anyway, although there were problems.”
They had now reached Paragon's residence, and went inside. Anders was impressed.
”Do you really live like this?”
”Yes, is there anything wrong with that?”
”No, no, but it's just incredibly old-fashioned. I've only seen its like in museums.”
”It’s supposed to be Earth sometime in the 50s.”
”I bet it is, and probably quite accurate, too. Did you design it yourself?”
”No, there’s a division here that takes care of that. They are quite talented.”
”But if you have a choice, why depict just that particular period?”
”It was a period that was not so hectic as most. Things went quietly, with little hustle or bustle. There was no concern about pollution, environmental disasters or global warming. And mass communication was so slow and inadequate, so that one knew nothing about many of the things that could make a person uneasy.”
”At least, none other than the nuclear threat and the arms race.”
”Yes, but I can choose to ignore that now. Here is my incident plotter.”
”It looks just like one of the modern smart phones (intelligent communicators?).”
”Yes. And the best part is that I have gradually learned to use it.”
”Not important in the least.”
”Precisely. I’ll just check out the departure timetable for the Heavenly Express.”
Chapter 14
ASSAULT
Paragon and Anders headed towards The Central Train Station. If they hurried, they could just make it in time for a departure. Soon they could view the big train station building in the distance.
”It looks somewhat old-fashioned.”
”The system goes back to the beginning of railways and it has not changed much since then. Perhaps there will soon be funds made available for modernization. Unfortunately, I believe management will focus on transport elsewhere in the system first. This system still is at least functional.”
The two travelers reached the terminal, and walked through a large room containing an elaborate model railway, where a large group of children’s souls watched a train that ran around the track with passenger coaches and freight wagons. There were model bridges and tunnels, mountains and lakes, cities and farms, all concentrated within a small area, so as much as possible could be represented.
Paragon and Anders also stopped and admired the many details. One of those young souls pressed a button, and the big glass box darkened. Street lamps lit, and light started glowing from within both trains and houses. Anders was impressed.
”I would have liked a model train like that.”
Paragon was surprised.
”Really? Why? You belong to a much later generation of children, who normally worship speed. I’d have guessed you’d like model car racing tracks a lot better.”
”I've always preferred trains. But, in any case, we couldn’t have afforded any such toys, no matter what I would have wished for.”
”Perhaps you had a life as a railway worker in a previous existence?”
”Maybe, but it doesn’t matter now.”
The children’s adult guardian or guide clapped her hands.
”Now, little children, the train will soon be here, so let's move on to the platform.”
The obedient young souls came along willingly, albeit knowing that were probably moving on in their life's journey.
”What about tickets?”
”There are probably several conductors?”
”Yes, but I know them all. They’ve had that job for a long time.”
The Heavenly Express drove into the station and stopped at the end of the track. A buffer device there, prevented any train from running into the platform ending, if it didn’t brake to a halt in due time. The Seventh Sky was the last stop. One had to use other means to reach the upper spheres, but only a few had access there.
”Is this the right train?”
Anders hesitated. Paragon calmed him.
”This is the only train. The connection goes only one way, and ends up somewhere in the Court of Hell. But, don’t worry. We aren’t going to that miserable place.”
”There’s only a single track. What about oncoming trains?”
”There’s also only one train. A while back, someone proposed an expansion with several connections. But, then hyper hoppers were invented, and since then the need became less.”
”The cars look very old fashioned.”
”Yes, but the steam engines are very reliable, and almost impossible to wear out. I admit to having a weakness for old things, so I'm obviously biased.”
”If every soul who transfers to Earth must keep pace with population growth, there must be a heavy demand.”
”Not all births rely on the Heavenly Express. It’s used only if there’s a special occasion and certain considerations need to be made.”
A large group of children's souls entered the platform. They waved flags to celebrate their vital excursion. 'Hello Earth, here we come!', 'Next stop, Earth!’ and ‘We are the Earth's new hope!' were some of the text on banners and posters. The kids heartily bellowed, 'It’s a grand day'. Anders preferred to have peace and quiet so he could think things over.
”Let’s sit in another car, so we can rest our ears a little.”
Paragon- Ghost Hunters Page 11
