‘Truce, lads,’ Maelgwn cut in between the two men to prevent an incident. ‘We’ve all got a load of drugs running rampant through our bodies at present, so let’s not lose our heads.’
‘Hah! Just kidding,’ resolved Cadwell. ‘Of course Cadfan was a great and righteous King. He took after his father.’ He smiled in conclusion, whereby Maelgwn and Cadwallon rolled their eyes and moved to catch Candace up.
The wide, arched corridor of the maintenance level of the Aten was moulded from charichalum. There were long, clear insets along the walls, ceiling and floor that allowed a subtle light to illuminate the infrastructure.
Candace came to a stop on a large, glowing section of floor off to one side of the walkway, and the men followed her onto it. ‘Main observation bridge level,’ she requested, and in a flash of light they were there.
Aten meant ‘imperishable star’, according to the data Maelgwn had stored in his head. And, as its mass would cover one-third of the earth’s moon, he considered this a fairly apt name for the vessel. From one of the observation walkways that connected the eight outer modules to the inner parent module of their transport, it was easy to get a good idea of what the exterior of the huge space-going city looked like.
The Aten was crafted from charichalum, which had such a gloss to it that, with the reflection of all the interior lights, the vessel appeared more a blue-grey colour than black.
Through the long transparent sections in the domed ceiling of the observation bridge, Maelgwn and company were awarded a magnificent view of the Aten’s huge central structure; it was the biggest and most complex construction Maelgwn had ever seen.
‘Great mother,’ uttered Cadwell as he eyeballed the massive dwelling. ‘It is bigger than the highest mountain in the Snowdon.’
‘Indeed,’ agreed Cadwallon. ‘Thank the Goddess we don’t have to climb it.’
All three men found this comment amusing, having all had cause to trek the Snowdon range at some time in their past lives.
On either side of the observation bridge they occupied were other separate observation thoroughfares that extended out to long, egg-shaped modules, all much the same as the one they’d just exited. All eight of the outer modules were spaced forty-five degrees apart from each other around the central structure.
Maelgwn imagined that from above, the Aten would appear like an enormous, perfectly-rounded metal spider. He noted how much busier the other walkways appeared. ‘Why is our module so deserted?’ He put the question to Candace.
‘This section of the Aten is reserved for the new recruits,’ she explained. ‘Once you are comfortable with everything here, then you shall be admitted into the mainstream society of the Aten.’
‘There appear to be some pretty extraordinary looking people over there.’ Cadwell sounded kind of concerned about it.
‘The other human breeds?’ Cadwallon strained his eyes to get a better look at some of them, but the thoroughfares were just a little too distant to get a good look at the exotic locals.
‘All in good time.’ Candace placed a hand on Cadwallon’s shoulder to reassure him. ‘That’s the other reason we keep the new recruits separate … quarantine. For although disease and bacteria cannot harm any of the Chosen, the other human tribes are not immortal and therefore susceptible.’
As they began their stroll back towards their module, Maelgwn got curious about Candace. ‘So, how long have you been here?’
‘I was part of the ninth wave of Chosen Ones, recruited from the last Taurean Age on Gaia, which encompassed the years four thousand to two thousand BC. Gaia time,’ she explained. ‘You have all arrived with the twelfth and final wave of Chosen Ones to be collected, being from the Piscean Age of sixty BC to two thousand AD.’
‘Holy moley.’ Cadwell was astounded by her words. ‘You’re ancient then? No offence.’
‘Oh, I am not the oldest in our team.’ Candace smiled. ‘Sibyl was recruited from the fifth wave of Chosen Ones collected from the Virgoean age, twelve thousand to ten thousand BC. Talynn is the second oldest. She arrived here from ancient Gaul as part of the eighth wave — the Geminian Age, six thousand to four thousand BC.’
‘So how long have you been in space?’ Maelgwn wondered how time was measured here, as no information on the subject presented itself from his memory banks. After all, there was no day and night in space, no seasons to define the year.
Candace only laughed at the question. ‘Wait until you’ve been immortal for awhile … time has no meaning for me any more. It has no purpose! Space is the perfect place for immortals, for we don’t need to sleep, so night is redundant. You are either on shift or not. Your work time and leisure time is of equal length. This band,’ she pointed to a band that ran around the left elbow of her suit, ‘lets you know when your shift is. At the beginning of each shift the band turns white. If you are to be on duty then a small strip of red will present itself and work its way around your arm. See how my red band has nearly joined up? That means my work shift is nearly over. When it is, the band will turn white and a small strip of blue will appear, marking the beginning of my leisure time. Our rotating roster is roughly the equivalent to eight hours back on Gaia, which you might better identify with the length of the daylight hours of a midwinter day in Gwynedd. You’ll get used to it,’ she assured.
But Maelgwn was still frowning. ‘But how am I to know when the Gathering is nigh?’ The question served to dampen everybody’s spirits.
‘Here, in space, there is no past, there is no future, only now. Accept that, and you will be very happy here,’ Candace suggested rather adamantly, then softened her tone to try and appease the loss all three men quite obviously felt. ‘To torture yourselves pining after another outcome will only squander your energy. Know only that the Gathering will come, and save your willpower for creating a better present. Then our future will be as wonderful as we can possibly make it.’
‘I know wisdom when I hear it,’ Cadwell announced, resolving to follow her advice.
Cadwallon smiled at the woman who had been his adopted mother during Maelgwn’s rule of Gwynedd. ‘You always did have a lovely way of putting things.’
Candace brushed off their praise with a shake of her head. ‘That was Sibyl’s advice to me upon my arrival here, and it is a creed that I swear by.’
‘Then it shall be my creed,’ Maelgwn decided. ‘To hell with time.’
‘To hell with time!’ Cadwallon and Cadwell resounded in accord, when a great rumble was heard to pass underneath them.
‘Whoa. What was that?’ Cadwell looked to the floor beneath his feet, as did Cadwallon and Maelgwn.
‘Scouts returning, most likely,’ Candace replied casually, just knowing there was going to be a big reaction to the news.
The lads from Gwynedd all smiled broadly.
‘Spacecraft!’ Cadwell announced, rubbing his hands together delighted. ‘Can we go see? Can we? Please!’ He placed his head on Candace’s shoulder and raised his big, pale brown eyes to her to plead his cause.
‘I suppose that would be a nice high note to end today’s tour on,’ Candace conceded, having fully intended to take them to the spacecraft docking bay anyway. Her fully-grown male recruits all started bouncing around with excitement like a bunch of boys.
I knew we shouldn’t have mixed their medications.
10
Absent Friends
When Maelgwn considered how he had felt when he regained consciousness earlier this day, his situation turned out to be rather better than he would have expected.
Besides meeting Cadwell and Cadwallon, both of whom he treasured already, he’d met other old friends, toured part of a space station, seen a convertible space racer, and been for a test drive on a very realistic simulator.
At present he stood in his own private accommodation here on the Aten that, although it was not a castle, would certainly make for a very comfortable living arrangement for one person.
‘These will not be your permanent quarter
s, but they are very similar,’ Candace informed as she entered to make sure Maelgwn didn’t require any further assistance settling in.
‘They are beyond all expectation,’ Maelgwn assured, testing out the stability of a floating seat by pushing down on it with both his hands.
This amused Candace. ‘Everything here is suspended by a process known as magnetic threading.’
Maelgwn nodded as his brain expounded the data. An object was balanced in between several sets of magnets attracting and repelling it, which kept the article positioned at the desired height. This process allowed for the furniture to adjust to the subtle tilts of the Aten, but had only proven effective with the lightweight, heavy-duty metal, charichalum.
‘Have you ever had your own apartment?’ Candace queried, as she watched Maelgwn get comfortable in the seat.
‘No, not in this lifetime.’ He discovered the chair beneath him reclined and swiveled, so he swung around in circles a few times. ‘But I feel sure I shall greatly enjoy it.’
‘It’s the best!’ Candace voiced her view, retreating to the door to leave him to his thoughts for a bit. ‘Feel free to poke about, get comfortable, cleaned up and so on. Your recreation time starts now, and by the time your work shift starts, we should have a full team.’
Candace was gone before Maelgwn had a chance to raise himself to say goodbye; thus he remained reclined in his comfortable suspended chair attempting to comprehend his new reality.
He wondered about the undisclosed members of the team. The process of elimination told him that if Candace was here in space, then the Chosen incarnation of her male half, the soul he knew as Brockwell, must still be back on earth. Sir Tiernan, as Boadicea’s other half, must also be back there. The same went for Sir Angus, Talynn’s other half and Rhun, Sibyl’s other half. So who did that leave?
‘Rhys!’ Maelgwn was excited by the notion of seeing his life-long friend and advisor again, although he had to concede that it might be Rhys’ wife, Jenovefa, who had been chosen for the space side of the Chosen’s task. ‘Selwyn?’ he raised both brows to suppose. ‘Ah, just wait and see.’ Maelgwn decided that there was little point in wasting time and energy on wondering, when he’d know for certain before too long.
His focus turned to his new space quarters, and as he gazed about at the alien technology therein, he began processing information about the different functions of the contents. When the dark floor-to-ceiling tube across the room registered in his brain as a cleansing tube, Maelgwn knew he must investigate at once and began stripping off his bodysuit.
This tube was not just designed to cater for the cleansing of the physical body, but for the mental and spiritual bodies as well. Once sealed inside the tube, which was over ten feet in diameter, Maelgwn was gently sprayed with warm to hot scented water and dried by gentle streams of warm air. The lighting inside the tube dimmed as his body was liberated from all its weight and he found himself floating. Maelgwn’s nerves were soothed by aromatic air, his mind and spirit liberated by melodious ambient music.
The inside metal wall of the tube retracted into the floor to reveal a wall composed of thousands of tiny crystals. The healing stones glowed brightly behind a clear shield that encompassed the inner-side of the tube, and were inset in bands that ran round the tube from top to bottom according to the parts of the subtle body they corresponded with. Clear quartz crystals monopolised the area closest to the ceiling — this stone related to the crown chakra, the seat of divine force and strength. Below the band of gleaming white, the deep violet stone of amethyst began to intermingle with the quartz, until a solid band of purple predominated. Amethyst related to the third eye area. Its cleansing powers helped aid spiritual evolution by promoting oneness and inspirational thought. Lapis lazuli was the stone that featured below this, its deep blue colour relating to the throat chakra and one’s power of communication. The middle band of stones was rose quartz, which healed the heart centre, the seat of the soul-mind’s compassion and intelligent love. The pink stone faded into a band of yellow topaz, for the cleansing of the solar plexus, the source of gut instinct, located behind the stomach of the physical body. A band of red jasper cleansed the spleen chakra, the centre of sexuality, creativity and passion. Black onyx then became the dominate stone towards the floor. This was to cleanse the root chakra located at the base of the spine, the centre of fear in the subtle body, of grounding and one’s will to take action.
By the time Maelgwn staggered out of the tube, he could do little more than lay on his bed in a near comatose state. He noted a large inset in the wall behind his bed that curved over into the domed roof.
‘Open shields,’ he thought, and the shields parted to expose a panoramic view of the astounding cosmos outside.
His new surroundings were as magnificent as they were luxurious, and yet Maelgwn had to wonder if he would ever really feel contented here. For twenty years Tory had been his home, and his homesickness consumed him. Remorse over his treatment of his wife just prior to his retrieval from sixth-century Gwynedd was also a nagging emotion at present. He regretted mistrusting her and allowing his accursed jealous streak to get the upper hand.
‘It’s just an after-effect of the cleaning tube, it always brings stored ill will to the surface. You must forgive yourself, Maelgwn. After all, you were only human.’
Maelgwn looked to find the free-floating form of a young man by his bed, which it took him a moment to recognise. ‘Taliesin?’ He managed to raise his lazy carcass to a seated position.
Taliesin appeared puzzled by Maelgwn’s failure to recognise him readily. ‘Ah, that’s right.’ He realised his error and immediately aged into an old and twisted man. ‘Better?’
Maelgwn smiled, well pleased to see him. ‘You have no need to keep up that disguise any more, High Merlin. Please feel free to appear as you truly are.’
‘That could be a little embarrassing in your present state.’ Taliesin referred to Maelgwn’s nakedness.
Maelgwn found the answer curious, and pulled the bedclothes around himself. ‘Why … thou hast seen me naked before?’
‘That is true … to a point.’
Taliesin’s behaviour was very odd indeed and Maelgwn cocked an eye as he detected a deception. ‘You’re not Taliesin, are you?’
‘In so far as his higher self is linked with mine, I am Taliesin,’ he explained, warily.
‘You must be the High Merlin’s chosen female other!’ Maelgwn exclaimed, having worked out the conundrum.
‘I am,’ Taliesin granted with a smile. ‘But I thought you might feel more comfortable dealing with a male persona.’
Maelgwn declined her kind thought with a shake of his head. ‘I’d feel more comfortable dealing with the true persona of the individual I am dealing with. Taliesin deceived me my whole life thus, and rightly so. I was impossible. But I’m a big boy now, so I would rather not be shielded from the whole truth any more, if it’s all the same to you?’
‘As you wish.’ Taliesin transformed into a beautiful dark-skinned maiden, with hair darker than Maelgwn’s own and eyes of lilac that shone with the glow of an enlightened being. ‘I am Seshut, scribe and advisor to the Lord Marduk.’ She bowed her head in greeting. ‘My Lord has sent me to make myself known to you as a spiritual advisor here on the Aten. Please feel free to call on me, as you would have called on Taliesin back on Gaia.’
Maelgwn suddenly felt very foolish, for so many reasons he couldn’t count them. Primarily, the thought that he’d accused Taliesin of having designs on Tory, when he obviously had this wonderfully radiant higher love of his own, made Maelgwn want to hit himself. ‘I have been such an idiot, Seshut,’ he whined, as he bundled the bedclothes around himself and moved to find some more suitable attire. ‘I have hurt every soul dear to me, and if I live to be as old as the cosmos itself, I shall never make it up.’
‘Oh yes, you will,’ she told him surely, pointing in the direction of his dressing module as Maelgwn seemed to be having trouble finding it.
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br /> ‘I knew that,’ he told her, dragging his bedding into the tiny module with him. ‘Sorry about this.’ He had a little trouble closing the door.
Seshut shook her head, amused by her error. He would have been more comfortable dealing with a male, she realised.
Maelgwn returned a moment later, having found himself a pair of comfortable trousers and a loose-fitting shirt. ‘Taliesin is linked to you psychically, you said?’
Seshut smiled warmly at this, and foreseeing where he was heading with the question, she assumed a physical form and floated down to stand on the floor. ‘That is why I feel I know you so well, Dragon … we are more proud of you than any we have tutored in our entire lives.’
Maelgwn shook his head, feeling most unworthy. ‘How can you say that after I unjustly accused you and banished you from Gwynedd?’ Maelgwn really wanted to die as he recalled the incident, he was so angry with himself.
‘Maelgwn, listen to me.’ Seshut calmly called for his attention. ‘It is not within our nature to truly bear you ill will. It never was. Not even when you left to study with the priests.’ She reached out and held the palm of her hand to his cheek. ‘Your absence left a gaping void in our life, that is true … but how we rejoiced upon your return. One of the reasons that we love Tory so well is that she brought our prodigy back to us.’
Tears welled in Maelgwn’s eyes — he couldn’t stop them. ‘There are no words to describe my remorse.’
Seshut shook her head slowly to assure him it was unnecessary. ‘We’d much rather have your love than your remorse, if it’s all the same to you?’
She made him smile, and he gave a great sigh. ‘You surely have that, merlin, and always have. Any hate I might have expressed was in fever, and not truly me.’
‘Then don’t blame yourself.’ She whipped a handkerchief out of thin air and handed it to him.
Maelgwn found it difficult to let the guilt go; it clung to his heart insisting more punishment was necessary. He wasn’t used to being this emotional either — he was worse than a pregnant woman.
Chronicle of Ages Page 17
