Distant Reality Chapter Seventeen

GRID Traveler Trinity: Distant Reality
Author: J Carrell Jones
Table of Content

---

Chapter 17

---

There is a very old saying. It’s based off millennia of experience and situations, yet it is the least listened to and followed of all wise sayings: Be careful what you wish for, it may happen.

Chapter 17

Sean sat opposite Loggar at a small table in a room that didn’t have an E stenciled near the door. Kathy Loggar felt “safe.” Sean did not. “Privacy” was a word that didn’t really exist. It didn’t exist on board the Johnson, or throughout GRID system. “Safe” and “Privacy,” in Sean’s mind, were words used to give a false sense of security. He let Loggar continue on. If she felt “safe” in this room then he wouldn’t be the one to spoil the atmosphere.
“Sean,” she said, “Wicca is a nature-based religion. Witches know that, as men and women, we are part of the central nervous system of Gaia, which is in turn a part of the kingdom of Ka . . .”
“Gaia? Ka?”
Loggar nodded. “Yes, Gaia is the Earth organism. Ka is the main entity where Gaia exists. Before space-travel, we thought Gaia was it. It wasn’t until a hundred years ago or so did the Most High accept the fact that Gaia was part of a bigger picture. We had to rethink our entire concept of the “universe.” She stressed the word universe. We based all our ideas and concepts on the motion of the stars, the Sun, and of Earth. We structured our lives around planetary motions. In a way, we were probably the first astronomers. To do a ritual, one has to know the right celestial settings.
Sean sat motionless and absorbed what he was listening to. Sean’s notion and concept over the all God thing was scant. He didn’t believe in a God, or a Goddess. But what Loggar was telling him somehow drew him further in. It was as if her words were some type of magical drug that would allow him to transcend all his problems. Wicca to him was rapidly becoming something to believe in. It was a long time sense he allowed himself the luxury of believing in something besides GRID. Loggar got up and walked over to a shelf of books. She ran her fingers along the length of the shelf and stopped at a small black book. She pulled it out. “Here, Sean.” She gave it to him. “Read this. It will answer a few questions.”
Sean looked at the cover. It said, ‘Wicca: The Myth. The Truth.’
Loggar gave him a big smile and kissed him on the cheek. She looked at her watch. “I have a meeting with several of the departmental heads. Sometime in a few days, we’re going to do a gate ritual.”
Sean looked up. “Gate ritual?”
Loggar nodded. “Yeah. We’re . . . actually you’re going to perform a rite of passage so to speak. You’re going to awaken Agegi.” “Awaken? Agegi?”
Loggar nodded, “The single statue in the first chamber. Since it seems to be watching us and guiding us it seems logical to help animate it.”
Sean listened to her words with a bit of uneasiness. He thought the whole thing a bad idea, but who was he to question the validity of . . . well . . . Kathy, the Most High Goddess? He tuned his military gut feeling down several notches. He continued to listen.
“Herb and Milkens ‘found’ a file that contains the words to activate the statue fully. It’s not too different from a passage we’ve used in one of our rituals. It seems that the Necronians used words to perform various tasks. Some of the tech and theory lads think that this entire complex had two modes of operation. They worked at a computer terminal not too different from ours or they simply spoke the commands. The lads in tech, bless their hearts, recovered older versions of the same software. The phrases used were less complex and easier to remember. They think that as time went on the Necronians made just about everything they did into a ritual.”
Sean listened and nodded. But the one thought that haunted him was, ‘is it safe to activate Agegi? With trepidation in his voice Sean asked. “Is it wise to activate the statue?”
Loggar’s smile dropped. Sean wished he had somehow rephrased his question differently. “I mean, this is Alien technology and didn’t Herb think that it was kind of strange that the group started “finding” things?”
Loggar said, “He used the word ‘stumbled’.” Her words came out curt, sharp, and had an ugly undertone.
Sean chose to ignore the way she answered him. He told himself that this was her project. She and all these scientist type were the experts. They understood Wicca in its entirety. Loggar continued, “I’ve talked it over with most of the others. We’re going to set up a level 9 force field just outside the doorway . . .”
“And me?”
“We’ll set the shield to allow organic matter to pass in and out.”
Sean moved the book around in his hands.
“You okay, Sean?”
Sean sighed. “Maybe, maybe not. I just don’t know if I’ll fit.” He stopped and considered his words. “What if all this doesn’t work?” Loggar shrugged, “Then it doesn’t. If you’re concerned about what the’ others think, don’t worry. I get a general sense that they like you.”
Sean looked at the book again. He opened it to the beginning.
He chuckled at his choice. Usually he opened a book in the middle and read a few lines just to see if he would like it.
“You chuckled, Sean?”
Sean nodded and gave Loggar a slanted grin. “Yeah I did.” He began reading and walked off.
Loggar watched him and smiled inwardly. Sean was going to work out just fine. A little naive to the ways of the Goddess but he was going to work out.

Randals stared into the monitor. He read with wide-eye fear. Cold sweat formed on his forehead. He heard a sound and nearly jumped out of his seat.
A tech came in, got a tool, and walked out.
Randals continued to read the text scroll before him. At one point, he began to smile. His smile turned into a chuckle then turned into a hysterical fit of laughter. After a moment, he shut down the terminal, got up from his chair and leisurely walked out of the room and down the hall. Randals was deep in thought when he stepped through the doorway. It was his office and on the door jamb was a large E painted near it.

“No, no, no. Not there. Backup, Milk.”
Milkens, the tech from Electronics, followed Herb’s instructions. He stepped forward several paces, paused then backed up. He held a TF emitter of some sort.
“Right there! That’s it.”
Milkens stopped.
Herb walked over to the tech. He wrote a big X just in front of Milkens’ feet. “I think this is it.”
Milkens nodded. Herb had his flashes of brilliance, but this one surely out did them all. The problem had been how to null out the building’s gene sampling ability. Herb figured that if they couldn’t null the ability out then they could somehow trick it. Make it accept all DNA.
Herb placed a medium sized box on top of the X. He turned it on.
Milkens and he stepped back.
Herb said, “I feel tingly all over. You feel it Milk?”
Milkens nodded. “The TF field is damping the air.”
Herb reached into his pocket and pulled a small squirt bottle.
“Ready, Milk?”
Milkens nodded.
. Herb took a deep breath and squeezed. A misty poof of air whispered away from the little bottle. The lights and the machinery fizzed, bleeped, and popped, “Hot damn.” Herb shouted. “We is friggin’ geniuses.”
Milkens patted him on the back, took out a notebook and started writing feverishly. He mumbled to himself. Herb knew to leave Milkens alone when he was in this state. Herb watched as the man poured his thoughts into his journal. Milkens looked up after a minute and proudly said, “I can miniaturize the box.”
“What about the sample?” Herb asked.
“We could encode it onto our clothes. The field would be strong enough to pull the sample off our clothes and deliver it to the sampler.” Herb nodded. “Do you think you could make three by the time of the rite?”
“Yeah. I can do it.”
Herb looked around for a terminal. It was in the corner. Herb walked over to it. The markings on this one were different from the standard ones. For one thing, they had to trick the complex into turning it on, so it had to be special. He ran his fingers across the symbol. It looked familiar. “Hey Milk, what does this look like to you.”
Milkens peered over Herb’s shoulder. “Well, I been damned.”
“Huh.”
“That’s the symbol for Marduk.”
“The Marduk?” Herb’s stomach sank.
Milkens backed up. “Yeah, that’s exactly it. Necron was more than a good name for this place, it’s perfect. I think we should tell Dr. Loggar about this one.”
Herb turned and let out a loud sigh. A mystery is about to unravel.

“Again, Sean, repeat it again.”
Sean sat in the middle of the floor and recited the piece again. Loggar listened with eyes closed. Sean said the passage with feeling this time.
Loggar’s skin tingled. She shuddered. After Sean finished she said, “Very good Sean. That was very good. Now do the Imbolg. Recite the passage before you deliver the Charge in its entirety.
Sean closed his eyes and dredged up the words:

“Behold the Three-Formed Goddess;

She who is ever Three - Maid, Mother and Crone;

Yet is she ever One.

For without Spring there can be no Summer,

Without Summer, no Winter.

Without Winter, no new Spring.”

Sean opened his eyes. “Well?”
Loggar smiled and touched Sean on the shoulder. She nodded.
“Excellent Sean. In one day, you memorized a fourth of our basic knowledge.”
Sean shrugged. “I’m good with certain things.”
Loggar moved closer and rubbed herself along Sean’s side. She whispered in his ear, “I know.”
Someone coughed.
Loggar and Sean turned.
Herb and Milkens stood just outside the doorway. “Sorry to disturb you two, but Milkens and I have something to show, Dr. Loggar. It’ll only take a minute. Afterwards you guys can pick up where you left off.”
Sean turned a bright red.
Class for now was adjourned.

Loggar entered the room first.
Herb pointed to the screen and indicated where the symbol was.
Loggar stepped up tentatively and glanced down at the strange characters. She touched it and nodded. “This is The Marduk symbol.
Fantastic! The files indicated we might find something like this, but to actually stumble on . . .” She stopped and turned to Herb and Milkens.
Milkens was writing in his journal when he suddenly stopped.
He looked up and swallowed hard.
Loggar said, “You two. What were you two doing in here?”
Herb replied, “Just checking on the rooms. You know, looking for things.”
“Things?” Loggar raised an eyebrow.
Herb and Milkens looked at each other. Both nodded rapidly.
“Yeah, Doc. Things. This section hasn’t been thoroughly explored.”
She scanned the room with her eyes, walls, ceiling and the floor. “Herb, what’s that X doing on the floor?”
Herb remained silent.
Loggar stood on top of it and looked around. “Herb, would this be something you and Milkens are doing without departmental approval?”
“Dr. Loggar, please, I’m head of the . . .”
“Now I know something is wrong. Give.”
Sean had stayed just outside the doorway. Earlier he found that just by crossing a threshold a room would erupt with activity. The first four times made him jump. The next four intrigued him. The last four pissed him off. He couldn’t just walk into a room with equipment without it suddenly coming alive.
Loggar walked over to the terminal and touched it. It was warm toward the end. “How?”
Herb started to fidget.
“Herb!”
“Okay, okay. Doc we’ll talk.”
“Well?” Loggar said after Herb had paused a second too long.
“We turned the room on.”
“Turned the room on? How? Impossible! Show me.”
Herb glanced at Milkens.
Milkens jotted down some notes.
“Okay watch.” In an overly dramatic way Herb took the black box tucked in a corner of the room and placed it on the X. “Ladies and gentlemen, for your amusement, the great Herb and Milk will dazzle your eyes and tantalize your senses.” He threw the switch on.
The air in the room felt tingly against their skins. Even at the doorway. Sean felt it.
Herb pulled out the spurt bottle. “As you can see ladies and gentlemen, this innocent looking squirt bottle has amazing properties. Observe.”
A wisp of vapor escaped from the bottle.
A second later the room popped and beeped, the terminal came on and dozens of suspended display images filled the room. Corner to corner the room was touched by symbols of color and light. Readouts of some unknown source hovered in front of them. It meant nothing to those ignorant of the incomprehensible.
“Amazing!” Loggar exclaimed. “How?”
“We took a sample of the commander’s DNA and cultured it. The box ionizes the air. When the sample hits the air it spreads out so the Necronian sniffer picks it up.” Herb swept his hand around the room slowly. “The results.”
“You were going to keep this from me?” Loggar said with a tight jaw.
“No, no. Milk and I were planning to make three miniaturized versions of the dampener. We just wanted to get the fundamentals down first. That’s all.”
Loggar relaxed her face and smiled. “You know you could have told me.”
Herb nodded. “Yeah, and you would have mentioned it to Mr. Administer, too.”
“Well, yes. He is my proxy when I’m gone. He should know some of the things I know. Just in case.”
“Yeah, but not this time. He would’ve tried to control our procedures.”
“Oh, Herb, Randals isn’t like that, he’s . . . well . . .”
Herb uttered, “He’s well, what?”
Loggar closed her mouth. “Okay maybe you’re right, but you still . . .”
Suddenly the room powered down.
“Sean,” Loggar asked, “could you step in here please?”
Sean paused a bit. He was lost in thought about what had just transpired. Did Herb and Milkens find a way to not use him? He felt strange, almost bad, at not being needed but hurt that he could be useless. He stepped into the room.
The room came to life.

Randals typed feverishly on his terminal. He had to get his thoughts down on file. This was important. He was going to do something he hadn’t dreamt before. But before he never had the means or the ‘know how’. Soon it would be different. He felt it and it was good. His life was going to be forever changed. 

---

Table of Content