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Created page with "{{TplDistantRealityChapter|title=Chapter 23|chapter text=There is a penalty for arrogance. Not one of imprisonment, but one of transformation. To be transcended to levels never imagined nor dared reached by those who dare to take that one step beyond the normalcy of mediocrity. To be arrogant, one must have knowledge, to have knowledge one must be privy to information. To assume arrogance when all data, all information has not been collected is cause for punishmen..."

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{{TplDistantRealityChapter|title=Chapter 23|chapter text=There is a penalty for arrogance. Not one of imprisonment, but one of transformation. To be transcended to levels never imagined nor dared reached by those who dare to take that one step beyond the normalcy of mediocrity. To be arrogant, one must have knowledge, to have knowledge one must be privy to information. To assume arrogance when all data, all information has not been collected is cause for punishment. May the punishment fit the crime. 
 
Chapter 23 
 
Agegi stood in front of the entrance to the second chamber, the one that had 12 other statues. It was several hours since they left behind Sean and the others. When the doors opened Agegi glanced inside. It was the chamber. The chamber that housed all the Elders left on the planet. And he was going to get his revenge after all. Awake, they could best him, but asleep, he could crush every single one of them. This human was going to be the instrument for getting back what had been lost: his power. Long ago the Necronians turned him and all those that followed him into these abominations. He was flesh, bone and blood transformed into polymers, metals and exotic fluids. 
 
Once long ago he had been alive and lived like any organic creation. He was not different from any other Necronian. The reason he was the way he was lay in the reason that he questioned the Council on their decision in their deep sleep endeavor. He advocated they abandon this absurd plan to split the population into two distinct groups: Sleepers and Time Travelers. And just be explorers and creators. They had been the third oldest verifiable creation in the galaxy. The other two had vanished a million years before them in an epic war that destroyed thousands of star systems. Both had been races that lived for a hundred million years and wasted it all for dominance of the entire galaxy. Each foolishly vied to reign over the visible Universe. In the end neither won. Both succeeded in bringing about the ultimate tragedy. They utterly wiped themselves from the visible existence of the known Universe. It was a fight that either dared to risk it all. No one won; both lost. The Necronians had been able to develop on their own and become the superior species in the whole of the Galaxy. And within a million years they had become the oldest living active species and had visited millions of worlds. They had touched thousands of them with their seed and only a few had responded with positive growth and potential. Agegi himself had been one of the first to visit Earth. 
In three-quarters of a million years the Necronians conquered mortality and decided that they would be travelers and explorers. It was over half a million years ago and he remembered the first time he saw the beast hiding in trees and huddled in caves. They had a rudimentary understanding of fire, tools and language. He had a choice of half a dozen humanoid species to work with. So, he changed them all! He pushed and pulled and prodded all the groups to converge into three distinct groups. One short, stout and muscular. One tall, gentle and powerful. The other slender and intelligent with much promise. He merged two and gave them fear and religion all in one visit. The third he let die out. He believed that the Council should continue developing new species in their image and that the Necronians had an obligation to the Universe to seed the entire galaxy and ever galaxy henceforth. But the Council ruled him down and dismissed him from the Chamber of Decisions. It had been ugly. Later, he and his followers vowed to break away from the Council, take others with them to the planets they developed and live out their days ruling over these shaped worlds. 
One of the rules the Council established long ago was that no one person or persons, without Council approval may influence another world. Doing so resulted in a harsh penalty. For Agegi to affect his plan he had to know entirely what the Council decided for all of Necronian. But his recent nature toward the Council had effectively barred him from the final plans and the in-between details. Agegi remembered the moment the Council police entered his home and searched his files. He had placed a seal over the files, but Marduk, the head of the Council, overrode it at the time. A few of his followers escaped, some even made it to Earth. He didn’t. He and twelve others were detained and jailed. The proceedings were swift. Under penalty, he was to live his days out as an Ancient – a fallen Elder. Ancient in the old tongue meant: Altered Sentient. 
The irony was not lost on Agegi. The very creatures he started and his followers influenced were here to both help and hinder him in his plans for revenge. 
 
Randals smiled at himself to be servicing Agegi like this and was able to help bring the others alive. The maskers were taped to his chest. Agegi told him that clothing would never be needed again. Randals meant to ask him why, but he could feel his body changing. After he walked through that force field and came out alive and whole. He noticed that his body was becoming tighter, his muscles harder. He was changing and he could only guess into what. He looked back at the others, six of them left and nodded. Agegi had corrected him on the proper invocations needed to start the process. Randals swallowed hard and ‘Invoked the Pentagram of Fire.’ He spread his hands outward, palms forward and said, “In his name do I invoke thee. Mighty Father of us all - Lagh, Pen, Balen, Hernar. Cernunas - Come in answer to my call! Descend, I pray thee, in thy servant and priest.” He stepped back. 
The group rose. 
Randals made the Invoking Pentagram of Fire toward Agegi with his athame. He turned to face the chamber. With sweating palms, he grasped the athame with both hands and ‘Invoke the Pentagram of Fire’ at the statues. He took a step into the chamber, a group member came up behind him and started squirting Sean’s DNA into the room. Randals yelled, “Let there be Light!” 
Intense heat and light set the room aglow. Randals counted to twenty and he could feel the mist from the squirt bottle flow over his shoulders and around his neck. It was working. It was working. Then in one bright flash and a burst of light the chamber went dark. The first second nothing, no light no sound, everything was still, then Randals heard something take in a deep breath, then he heard another and another. He counted twelve distinct breaths in all and the lights came on. All twelve statues stepped away from the wall and walked toward them. Agegi turned his bland face to them and said, “Revenge is at hand. They will pay for what they did to us.”
They all started to laugh. 
 
Adruqu looked at the assortment of humans with curiosity. It was one thing to see them in her mind and another thing to see them with her eyes. They were huddled together going through some sort of bonding. Before that, the one named Sean sat on her container. He had enough of the DNA to start the activation and thus she stood before them. The travelers foretold of the humans and that Adruqu would have a hand in saving them. She knew their dilemma and offered her assistance. 
Sean, she saw, recovered from the initial shock of seeing her. The Relations Council said they would be immobilized for a time, until their brains could assimilate what was transpiring. They said that Sean might recover first. He did. 
Sean stepped forward. He had his head angled awkwardly and asked, “Who are you? Are you real?” 
Adruqu laughed cutely and walked to Sean. He took a step back but stopped and let her touch him. “I can give you vocal words and explain or I can just give you the information.” 
“How?” Sean asked. 
Adruqu got closer and touched Sean’s bare chest with hers and she kissed him deeply. The kiss was passionate and long. After a moment, she broke the kiss and moved over to Loggar. “You are Kathy Loggar, Most High Goddess.” And smiled. 
Loggar stammered, “Y-Y-Es, I-I am. How did you know?” 
Adruqu looked to Sean and said, “We have been watching. Would you like me to pass the knowledge on to you?” 
The group stared at Sean. He licked his lips as if savoring the best substance in the entire Universe. He turned to them and nodded. He chuckled at nothing in particular. “Do it Kathy. Do it for me, please.” 
Loggar turned and looked into Adruqu’s eyes. Her pupils were not that much different than humans, maybe more oval. She let Adruqu draw close to her. Loggar was about the same height and she was warm. She could smell her sweet breath as her lips got closer and then their lips touched and Adruqu embraced Loggar tightly. Loggar was swept up in nothing she had ever encountered. She loved the way Sean kissed her, his passive aggressive, give and take way of kissing. Sean seemed to magically know how to kiss her, but Adruqu’s kiss was beyond anything she had experienced. Energy seemed to flow from her like sweet tasting water from a glass dipped in the magical waters of the Fountain of Youth. Their tongues touched, flickered back and forth against one another. Then Loggar heard words in her mind and saw pictures and images and scenes. Adruqu was giving her information and she understood all at once what was going on and what needed to be done next. Then the kiss ended and Loggar almost cried out ‘No!’ Once she and Adruqu withdrew she looked over to Sean. He reached out and grabbed her hand. He nodded and smiled. He heard Milkens raised voice, “My turn!” 
Robin was the only one to refuse. Adruqu explained that the kiss was her way of exchanging data. She was giving each person special nanobots, which was how each person understood certain things. Adruqu explained that their brains were not that much different because the human species had been shaped. She said that each person would now be able to understand her native tongue and in time would understand a great deal more. 
Robin rocked back and forth as she listened. In the end, she snapped that she didn’t like the way the information was given. Sean shrugged, turned his back and asked Adruqu, “What I don’t understand is why you guys settled on this plan?” 
Adruqu chuckled sweetly and said, “It was the only logical and sanity saving thing we could do. I am over 100,000 years old and . . .” 
Herb interrupted. “100,000 years old? But what about that old man we saw next to you and the older woman and the child? If I was 100,000 years old, I would rather look like I was 20!” 
Kurp cut in, “Yes, young . . . “, he caught himself and chuckled, “. . . looking lady, with your technology I would not want to be this old looking, and the child? Is the child as old?” 
Adruqu smiled. Before she slept, the others told her Aliens would awaken her. She was frightened at first, but she was told it would be by descendants from one of their developing worlds and that they would need her help. She gladly accepted the task. “Drepha is my son, the ‘old’ looking one, and he went into sleep before it was his time to rejuvenate. Andurio is one of my mother’s clones, as she too has to wait. The child,” she chuckled, “is our father, Maniluso.” 
Sean listened and waited patiently. 
Adruqu said, “But Sean’s question is still unanswered. Our civilization had been around for a million years. Our prehistory goes back maybe another 2 million years. We achieved space flight within 40,000 years and immortality soon after that. We traveled the entire galaxy in 500,000 years and started projects a little after we achieved faster than light travel. In all the other half-million years of our existence we lived, traveled, explored, created and soon became bored. We as a species had nothing else to do. In my 100,000 years, I have been to the galactic center and back, I know hundreds of languages and just as many sciences, I’ve given birth hundreds of times. I’ve visited just as many worlds. My main disciplines are astronomy, biology, music, exobiology, physics, and chemistry. You would rate my IQ in the three hundreds and I am but average. I’ve died tens of times and made first contact as many times. I’ve built empires as well as destroyed them and I am but one single individual. Think of the millions of others lying asleep behind me. We utter words and make gestures and things appear and magically happen.” She closed her eyes for a second and uttered softly, “tolas, kolas, yuhonki, ye ohtgi dukufa.” And a cross between a honeydew and peach appeared in her outstretched open hand. “Tock, tock, tock.” And three more appeared. She handed everyone a fruit except Robin. 
Sean touched the fruit in his hand. The skin was smooth and had a gray-orange color with a texture like honeydew. 
Adruqu said, “The dukufa is a very juicy and sweet fruit. It has been engineered to respond to the touch of someone with nanobots in their system.” 
“Come again,” Sean said. 
“Look at the fruit and tell it to open, but use the tongue.” Adruqu urged them. 
Sean cleared his throat and said, “Dukufa lup aba ca na dabra.” 
The fruit split into a half dozen pieces. He almost dropped a few. 
Loggar and the rest tried and laughed and walloped on their new talents. 
Robin stayed some feet from them. She just stared at them feeling hurt, alone and betrayed all in one. Maybe a little bit angry. Sean was willing to forgive Loggar, but Robin was not ready yet. Sean seemed happy with her and that bit of information seemed to bug her. She nearly jumped when she saw Sean looking down at her. 
He had his arm outstretched. “Robin, join us.” 
She looked up into his eyes, not knowing what to do. In the moments after Agegi wakened and everything got shot to hell she froze on them. She was Captain, she was supposed to be in charge, but she hesitated. She never hesitated, never! She commanded a Battlecruiser into war and came out victorious. She fought alongside her crew when the SIs boarded Gallant. But she froze back there and they all saw it. She saw it in their eyes. Sean asking, “Now what?” Loggar and the rest waiting. Then Sean ran and they followed. They all followed him blindly through the corridors, passed the elevators that would have taken them to the shuttles, into this place. Then Sean yelled at them for all being fools and not being able to do a damn thing. It hurt Robin, but he was right! Then Loggar pleaded for his forgiveness. She dropped to her knees and apologized! The Most High Goddess reduced to groveling at the foot of a male, Robin’s ex-lover and former-friend. At the moment Loggar begged, she figured Sean was getting a hard-on, but when she looked she saw that he hadn’t. He was not getting off on some power trip. She continued to look into Sean’s eyes. His hand was still outstretched. Robin summed up her entire situation. She failed herself and she was ashamed and Sean was not gloating. She reached up and grabbed his arm and pulled herself up. Then both walked over to Adruqu. 
Adruqu asked, “Are you uneasy about the method of exchange?” 
Robin said, ”I don’t know if I’m worthy of it.” And she suddenly looked down at her feet. Adruqu stepped closer to Robin; Sean backed away. Adruqu touched her on the hand. Robin nearly jumped. Adruqu lifted Robin’s chin, said, “and am I not worthy to give it to you?” And kissed Robin deeply. 
Robin’s eyes widened in shock and fear, but she relaxed after a bit and let the kiss take her away. Adruqu stepped away. Robin’s hands trembled. 
Kurp coughed and everyone turned to face him. “I am puzzled by one thing, Adruqu.” 
Adruqu smiled and said, “Yes?” 
“How did you know our names and how did you know you would be awakened by Sean?” 
“We have all been aware of your presence from the very beginning.” 
“From the beginning?” 
She nodded, “Yes, we are asleep but aware and we are all connected to one another. The project allowed us to create a paradox on Necronian. I am not the only one who uses the container. Other self is on another world, exploring. And while we have been talking someone else on the other side of the Gate has returned and exchanged places with their other self. Before we placed ourselves in sleep we made our rooms and machines with redundancies. We knew that one day a descendant would return to us and would unlock our secrets . . .”
Herb yelled, “I knew it, knew it, knew! Five bucks, Milk.” 
Adruqu continued, “It was I who gave you information Herb. We built into our plans that one day someone would open the Great Doors and that someday someone would touch my container.” 
Sean said, “What else do you know that you haven’t told us.” 
Adruqu smiled, but only said, “I am the third self and will make my stand with you.” 
“Stand?” 
“Different?” 
“Third self?” 
Adruqu nodded, “We are still living our lives in two different ways. One we travel through time to different places and the other we sleep here. Once every 694 days our self-returns, and for 60 ticks we exchange data, and talk about the next 694 days. If we decide to make it longer then we do so. But each person has the opportunity to explore.” 
Kurp asked, “How long have you been asleep?” 
Adruqu said, “Only 6 months.” 
Kurp shouted out, “Good Goddess! You guys have been exchanging all this time and we didn’t know?” 
Adruqu nodded, “We’ve been doing this for over a hundred years and there hasn’t been a reason for us to directly contact you. All that has been required is for you to continue to do what you do until you had been able to open the Great Doors. The rest now has been played out. The doors will open and you will make a stand.” 
Sean said, “What do you mean, ‘the doors will open and you will make a stand? We can’t fight those things out there!” 
Adruqu smiled and said, “You didn’t know Magick then. Now you do. And you know our language. What more is needed?” 
Sean blinked at that statement and faced the door. He closed his eyes for a moment and said, “Ruogka!” 
He was clothed in a white caftan. He giggled and turned to face the others. “And who said there was no such thing as Magic?” Sean walked up to Loggar and said, “My Most High Goddess should not always be nude, behold, the finest cloth in all the galaxy.” He closed his eyes again, visualizing a silk-like flowing simple gown. He opened his eyes and said, “Ruogka!” 
And Loggar was clothed. She shrilled like a little girl and yelled in delight, “Sean, it is so beautiful!” 
Herb discarded his robe and closed his eyes. He saw himself in a caftan like Sean’s but with gold trim and he pronounced, “Ruogka!” And he was clothed. 
Milkens and Kurp did the same thing. And they all jumped up and down like giddy school kids. 
Robin slowly took off her clothes and imaged her uniform. She then said, “Ruogka!” Nothing happened. She closed her eyes again, straining to make the uniform appear. “Ruogka!” Nothing happened. She turned to Adruqu who was looking at her. The others stopped their kid playing and looked at Robin. 
Sean said, “Adruqu, it didn’t work for Robin, how come?” 
Adruqu sighed, “She has separated herself from the group and no longer believes in herself.” 
Robin almost wanted to cry. Her eyes puffy and full of tears and her bottom lip started to tremble. 
Sean thought for a moment then walked to Robin. “Robin, for years I hated you. I hated you for walking away from the trial with a promotion and me with my teeth kicked in. During the trial, you broke all communications with me and I waited for you to contact me.” 
Robin looked away ashamed and horrified. She knew that one day she and Sean would have this conversation but she didn’t think it would be now. 
Sean continued, “When you took command of the Johnson I was just furious. It was like, how could GRID Command do this to me? I commanded the Johnson throughout the war. I hated you even more, but after a time it slipped away. Robin, I never accepted responsibility.” 
Robin said, “But you did Sean, you rescued them, I didn’t. You executed the rescue. I just watched. I should have talked to you during the trial, but I was told to stay away.” Then she stopped. 
“I know,” He said, “You were part of Most High and Most High takes care of their own.” He looked at Loggar. 
Loggar nearly crumbled and Herb, Milkens and Kurp stared at the floor in guilt and shame. Loggar felt like her heart was ripped out of her chest. Sean had to have guessed her secret and therefore hated her. 
“Robin, it doesn’t matter, none of it matters. I should have been adult about the whole thing. I wasn’t. Forgive me for hating you. Okay?” 
Robin sniffled and pouted for a second. Sean apologized. 
Sean walked over to Loggar passed the others, who still had their heads down. Loggar wanted to die on the spot. Sean smiled at her and said, “I’ve already forgiven you, please forgive me now.” 
Loggar blinked several times. “Forgive you about what?” 
Sean’s smile broadened, “For not believing you.” 
“W-What?” 
“For not believing in Aliens and Magick and the whole process of capturing what you believe in. You let me into your world and helped open my eyes. I believe in Aliens. And I believe in Magick.” And he hugged her and they both cried. 

 
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Distant Reality Chapter Twenty Three - Revision history