by James Harris
“Stay in the NOW.
“Your mind may attempt to distract you by playing some sort of film in your head. It can be a distant memory or a picture or a problem or some activity that you did yesterday. Maybe it wants to help you plan an upcoming activity. It will repetitively attempt to play some film in your mind. It cannot be idle. An idle mind is a dead mind. Your mind will not allow itself to be dead. It cannot be redundant. It isn’t. It is just idling for a moment.
“… Thoughtless.
“… Pictureless.
“… Soundless.
“Don’t let it play music because that will conjure up a visual film in your head. Think about a gray wall of nothing. Focus on nothing and the NOW.”
A fragrant breeze wafted through the open screens of the gazebo. Joe’s hair fluttered as the wind flew through. Hawks nostrils flexed as he smelled the fresh spring air.
“You are in control. You are not your mind. You have your own free will. You mind works for you. You don’t want some film or voices played in your head. They are not real. They are imagined. Only this place, where we are right now, is real. This here and now is all you need to think about. And it is peaceful, thoughtless. Ignore thoughts that jump into your head. Toss them out. They do not have your permission. Instruct your mind to think about nothing.
“You are thinking about not thinking. Repeat and relax. You are thinking about nothing at all, a white nothingness. Warn your mind that you are monitoring it to ensure that it doesn’t think without your permission and permission is declined.
“Ask your mind, ‘What is my next thought?’ and think about nothing except waiting for an answer. Observe the non-answer. Your next thought is NOTHING. Hold on to that.
“Your next thought is about nothing, no one, and nowhere. Each next thought is about the here and now, which is nothing. Allow not one thought to jump into your mind. Just feel. Stop thoughts from trickling into your mind. Listen only to me. Your mind is fighting harder now. It knows you are serious. It will try to convince you that one cannot think about nothing, which is true because it is your own brain telling your mind not to think.
“But that is also a trick. You can think about nothing simply by picturing absolutely nothingness. If nothing happens in the now, then you can think about nothing. Even if the thought is only to think about nothing, that in and of itself is not something. You can focus on a blank page, a white background, or a gray wall.”
Grayer’s words became softer and softer.
He watched the faces of the two young men. They appeared serene. For several minutes there was no sound except the muffled unhurried sounds of nature outside the gazebo. The sound of the stream seemed farther and farther away.
Suddenly Joe’s right hand and leg twitched violently. He sat up abruptly. His eyes flew open and he blinked to reorient himself. He looked at his father with an expression of wonderment painted all over his face. “I was there! I mean, I left here and went there.” His speech softened and he spoke as if waiting for the world to start again. “I traveled to a wondrously peaceful place.”
Hawk awoke seconds later and shook off the effects of the meditation. “I had an out-of-body experience.”
“It was so peaceful. And clear. Everything was bright and clear, not foggy,” Joe said.
“Exactly. It was only for a second, but I remember feeling so … good.”
“All over. So good all over my body. Into my body. Through my body. My inner me.”
“It was a tingling feeling. Like that rush of happiness you get when you remember something really, really good. It takes your breath away for an instant.”
“That’s it, Hawk,” Joe said. “Happiness. Joy. These are the feelings I felt. Did you feel the same things?”
“I did. That’s strange. How could we both feel the same thing? Did we go to the same place?”
Grayer looked from face to face. “Yes, I believe you did. You went to a place where you have existed for a very long time. A place you occupied before you were Joe or Harry.”
The twins exchanged quizzical glances.
“For a brief while, seeming like few seconds to you, you were able to shuck your earth-bound mind and experience your existence as you truly are, as a Being. I know it was only a glimpse, but it’s a start. Try to recall how you did it. You must practice this meditation technique and master it on your own. I have done it since I was a child. You must learn and I will guide you. It is important for you to visit this place in order for you to enhance your special Gifts.”
“How does this help?” Hawk asked.
“Your Gifts comes from another plane of existence, not only from your mind or body. They are not earthbound. Your mind did not create them. Physical science would not likely support their existence. But we are not talking earthbound limits any more. When you are in the pure state of Being, you expand your universe. It is like standing with your feet in two planes of existence at once.
“Your Gifts are not supported by known science. It is your genetic makeup. You have genetically inherited these Gifts.”
“Dad, what Gifts are you talking about exactly?” Joe asked.
“Before you entered the chamber on board the third craft, you had dormant psychic abilities. The on-board computer program sent charged ions into your bloodstream while you were in the stall. These acted like keys that opened gateways activating your genetic ‘highway’. This allowed you to ‘remember’ your powers, sort of like ‘connecting the dots.’ The chamber awakened your dormant powers and taught you how to use your Gifts. The Gifts that I refer to are the psychokinetic powers of the Aura and the Voice.”
“The aura is that green stuff that flies out of our hands when we are under attack,” Hawk said. “The shield is the aura but shaped mostly like a bubble.”
“That green egg we can hide inside of and not get shot to pieces,” Joe said.
Grayer smiled. “Yes, that ‘stuff.’ The aura is a real force. For your information and scientific education, it is a force found freely in nature. You have to learn how to magnify it and use it on demand.
“Psychokinetic energy is the alignment of the charged ions that naturally surround our bodies as an aura, except on a larger, more magnificent, scale. The green shimmer, the trademark of the aura, is, in fact, the visual result of the refractive nature of the molecules that have been realigned … by you. The force charge or, in the alternative, the sudden focused discharge used when attacking, also appears as a transparent green color to the human eye.
“We three have the ability to summon at will a charged force, condense it, and then align it. Incidentally, this force is present throughout the cosmos. It existed on Sargon and it is present here. It is invisible and undetectable because it doesn’t require the presence of matter or antimatter to exist. It is a form of energy that is immeasurable by present scientific means.
“Earth’s scientists have not discovered it, as of yet, because of the proliferation of sub-atomic particles found in the multitude of molecules present in matter on and above this planet. It is a simple case of interference caused by the presence of too much matter everywhere around us. You can’t find this in a vacuum tube.
“Curiously, quantum physicists have postulated the existence of such a force, but the restrictions of conventional science, which date back to the sixteenth century, have bound them to a fixed plane of thinking. The forces I am referring to constitute the background, the very basis of the cosmos itself. Think of the ‘universe’ describing one dimensional thinking and a ‘multiverse’ as the more correct reality.”
The twins were totally engaged in the lecture. Why had no one discovered this force?
“This force is often referred to as cosmic flux, mainly because no one can determine what non-matter is composed of. There is no known human definition because it exists in the multiverse. The absence of nothing is what? If something is not nothing, but we don’t know what it is, we call it ‘flux.’ There are mathematical models that come close to ident
ifying this force hypothetically, but there is no tangible proof. There never will be proof because we are incapable of defining what constitutes this proof and how to measure it.
“One example of multiverse is the nature and speed of light. Consider the path of light traveling through space. Light has a dual nature; it can act as a particle or a wave. How could a light wave travel through space if there were no ‘wave medium’ to ride on or through? Waves do not form in absolute nothingness. There cannot be ‘nothing.’ Light ‘waves’ ride upon and disturb cosmic flux within the multiverse. That’s how light travels through space so efficiently. Very little energy is dissipated as it streaks across the cosmos because ‘flux’ cannot have friction because it is matterless. Light is scattered when it encounters matter.
“Flux, when existing in its default state, is motionless and has no energy to initiate inertia. But, not unlike a catalytic event, it will support motion if energy is introduced (disturbed), especially psychic energy, which is somehow attuned to this flux.”
“I’ve seen you use it as a weapon,” Joe said.
“That’s true. A curious attribute of the flux is that, given the right psychic ability, humans can align the charge of an energy field en masse.”
“The flux manifested as an aura can be a weapon if you so choose. You will be trained to throw the aligned aura flux at a physical object, causing that object’s molecular structure to alter, bend, or disintegrate – in other words, be sub-atomically redefined.”
“How?” Joe asked.
“Well, picture how heat rising above the desert floor appears to cause the air to waver. Your psychic power over certain molecular structures at the sub-atomic level allows you to do something like that. You must focus hard, from the gut, and envision what you wish the outcome to look like. Most times the flux will transform the molecular structure and cause sub-molecular redefinitions. Changes that alter the integrity of that structure.”
“We can do this?” Hawk asked.
“That’s what this training is all about,” Grayer said. “The chamber caused changes in your body and triggered a transformation. You are both ready to learn how to use your abilities. You must learn how to call up your inner power and direct it at will where and when you want. Right now it is hit or miss. Frankly, you’re both lucky to be alive, given the advantage Stell and the other crewmembers had over you.”
“Yeah, but Dad, we did bust them up pretty good, didn’t we?”
“You did. You two caught them unprepared. Without any training, you almost immobilized their forces. And you should take pride in that. But someday you will be on your own. There may be much stronger forces out there. We have to at least prepare you for this confrontation, should it ever happen.”
“Whoa, that’s heavy,” Joe said with a gloomy look.
After a picnic lunch in the gazebo, the brothers got down to work.
There was meditation and more meditation. “Clear the cobwebs,” Grayer said. “Connect with your Being.”
The first day of training was a triumph of understanding. It ended in a reassuring feeling of accomplishment. All three slept well that night.
The next day was similar and each day thereafter. Meditation and relaxation.
Lose your minds, Grayer urged the twins. Don’t think – react, feel. Your gut, your heart will never let you down. That’s because your instinct draws its power from the Being. The Being meaning you, who you really are, who you already were. The Being knows the right path to choose because it knows all things, all paths and all outcomes. Your Being exists in the multiverse.
The brothers learned that each human can predict the future with some degree of accuracy. Each human interconnects with all humanity. The buzzing sub-atomic cluster of particles that forms each individual is related to the greater cluster of molecules that forms humanity at large. Joe and Hawk were taught to respect each human as you would each brick of a colossal edifice, its structural integrity strengthened or weakened by the addition or removal of just one brick.
They were enlightened as to Man’s role in the universe as seen through the eyes of a human almost a million years further evolved. It gave a new face to humility.
Man was meant to discover. Discovery embraces learning and growth and awakening. That was Grayer’s message to his sons that summer of 1983.
By summer’s end, there was a profound change in their confidence and maturity. The time spent with their father had proved invaluable.
The learning that summer ended with a bang.
“Dad, it’s time we had target practice,” Joe said.
“Target practice. By target practice, I assume you mean the force of the aura on a material object.”
“Yeah, whatever. I want to aim my fingers at a target and have that target blow up!”
“So much for Zen meditation,” Hawk mumbled.
“OK, go ahead, Joe,” Grayer said, catching the twins off guard.
Hawk, however, was not entirely convinced. “Uh, Joe. Maybe we should think about this before we shoot.”
“Ya know, Hawk, that’s all we’ve been doing all summer. Talking. Thinking. Meditating. I can’t stand it. We know how to ‘zap.’ Let’s do it!”
With that, Joe held up his palm and directed the pulse at a stone by the side of the stream. A convoluted string of snaking energy squirted from his palm and rocketed at the stone. Steam began to rise from it, but it failed to explode.
“What went wrong?” Joe demanded.
“First the good news, Joe. You could command your Gift at will. Now the hook. There was no purpose to your onslaught. There was no good reason to blow up a harmless rock. So it didn’t happen.”
“Does it work on bad guys?” Hawk asked.
“Indeed it does! Except they won’t blow up. At least I don’t think they will.” Grayer seemed a little grossed out by the image of humans exploding. “Let’s move away from rocks, shall we? Here’s an exercise we can try. You both attack me and I will defend myself.”
“I’m not sure …”
“It’s OK, Joe. You won’t hurt me. I’ll shield myself. But I have to warn you: I’ll be counterattacking, forcing you to shield yourselves. I want you to defend yourselves and go on the attack again. Part of the exercise is to get the right timing of when to drop your shield to counterattack. Ready?”
The twins looked at each other hesitantly. “Both of us together?”
“Come on fellows,” Grayer said. His green aura was faintly visible to the outside world, but to the three of them, with their enhanced vision, it was a bright, shimmering, egg-like shield.
“All right, let’s do it,” Hawk said, but his heart wasn’t really in it. He held up his right hand with the fingers splayed. A burst of energy squirted out and exploded against his father’s green shell.
“I’m warning both of you. Get into this thing. Attack!”
Both brothers took random pot shots at Grayer.
“All right, I warned you,” Grayer said. “This is how you attack.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a green bolt of energy struck out from each hand, each one splitting into two.
Hawk and Joe flew apart and rolled on the ground to avoid being struck. Their shields burst to life. Grayer aimed his forces at them again. The bright green tongues of lightning went straight at both of them simultaneously. There was a crackling puff of energy and smoke as the bursts exploded on their shields. The force pushed them backward.
“Don’t just stand there. Counterattack.”
As if awakening from a sleep, the twins dropped their shields and threw a bolt of energy at Grayer. Then another, then another. The explosions peppered his shield with bursts of light and smoke.
The twins continued the onslaught for a minute or so, then let up, forgetting to re-engage their shields.
Grayer responded with blinding speed, sending twin bursts at both the boys. It was too late for them to fully activate their shields. They cried out in pain as they were singed by t
he energy.
Then they turned to each other and nodded.
“So you want to play rough, do you?” Joe said.
They moved close together and dropped to their knees and thrust out both sets of palms simultaneously. A dual rush of lightning, much stronger than before, exploded at Grayer’s head. The force and audacity of the thrust knocked him off balance. He had to recover with one hand on the ground.
“That’s better!” He shook his head to clear the jarring ringing in his ears. Then he returned fire with a volley of his own. Just to keep up appearances.
This game of war continued for the next little while until their energy resources gave out. Training was over for today. Grayer went inside the house and took three aspirins.
CHAPTER53
It was December 1988. The situation in the Middle East had commanded much of Grayer’s time. His special skills were used to try and help the CIA defuse the hotbed of hotheads. Stell worked closely with H to develop surveillance equipment and satellite tracking technology. A government-imposed truce between Stell and Kor was in effect with both sides warily honoring it. The twins had graduated from university and were finishing up their postgraduate studies. The struggle for control of the planet seemed to be pushed from everyone’s mind. The complacency came to an abrupt end one day.
The phone rang. Hawk picked it up and put it on speakerphone.
Frank Grayer was calling from Washington. “Hawk? Joe?”
“What’s up, Dad?” Hawk said. “We’re both here.”
“Morning, boys. I’ll get right to the point.” There was a slight echo on the line. “Remember the NASA probe Voyager 2?”
“Sure. Launched in 1977,” Joe said.
“That’s the one. Its mission was to take lots of pictures and relay them back to Earth.”
“Yeah, the mission has been on TV several times,” Hawk said. “It’s scheduled to pass near Venus late this summer.”
“Correct.”
“Is there a problem with it?”
“My mission on Earth just got compromised. Voyager inadvertently took pictures of my orbiting crypt.”
