Authors: David Clarkson
The atmosphere in the monastery had
altered, but not in the way Emmy would have expected it to. Any pervading
sadness over the many lives lost was far outweighed by optimism following the
removal of the region’s greatest threat.
A special meditation service was held for
all those who had died. The monks viewed death differently to the commonly held
western beliefs. To them it was neither a beginning nor an end, merely a period
of transition. After what she had come to experience on her astral journeys,
Emmy could understand their perspective.
With no more reason to stay, Esteban
arranged for return transport to the base in Australia. He was to meet with a
contact in Kathmandu. Firstly, however, they had one last item of business to
take care of. The bodies of both Jimmy and the general were infected by the
astral radiation and needed to be disposed of.
‘I wish it didn’t have to be like this,’
said Emmy. ‘His body should be repatriated for burial with his family.’
‘You know that’s not possible,’ replied
Esteban. ‘This is the only way.’
She nodded. With the high concentration
of astral radiation in Jimmy’s bloodstream and his unique ability to control
the changes it brought about, they could not risk it falling into the wrong
hands. If his corpse was experimented on, it could lead to any number of
potential biological weapons being developed.
They lit the fire together and watched as
the flames engulfed the cadaver of their friend. For Esteban this signalled the
end of his mission. Emmy, however, still needed to do one last thing before she
could achieve closure.
‘I’m going back with you,’ she said.
‘Are you sure that’s wise?’ he replied.
‘I could tell them anything you want me to. You can finally bury your old life
and start afresh without anybody looking for you.’
‘It’s tempting, but what would I do?
Besides, I still have unfinished business with your superiors. I cannot walk
away without knowing. Surely, you understand.’
‘I do. That is why I will do everything
in my power to help.’
***
Following Colonel Rodman’s suicide, all
military involvement in Operation Sleepwalker was suspended. The American and Chinese
Governments agreed to co-operate moving forward with a full disclosure policy
put in place regarding future advancements in the astral technology. Charlie
was reinstated as a professor and appointed to lead the joint venture between
the countries. When brokering the deal, he arranged for Emmy to be given a full
pardon. This, of course, came at a price, but it was also one she was happy to
pay.
‘So I am now your assistant?’ she asked.
One month had passed since their return
from Tibet. The lab had been fully refurbished and all of the astral pods
repaired. She was eager to get back to work, but first she had questions that
she wanted answering.
‘Don’t worry,’ Charlie replied. ‘You’ll
find me a relaxed boss. Just don’t go starting any fires and we’ll get along
just fine.’
She could not help but smile. Her
experiences had given her perspective on what had happened at Jackson’s Hill
and she no longer felt burdened by guilt. Despair had been replaced with hope
and she was optimistic about the opportunities facing her. Dr Stark had been
removed from the project, but the work she had carried out in Emmy’s absence
offered much promise.
‘Now that I’ve signed my life away, do I
finally have the clearance level for you to tell me what I want to know?’
‘You haven’t signed your life away, but
yes, I managed to get the information that you requested.’
Her stomach tightened. Since discovering
that the woman she had gone into hiding with was really a tulpa - nothing but a
lifeless entity created by her own imagination, she was determined to find out
what had become of the real Lucy Skye.
‘When do I get to hear it?’ she asked.
‘I’ll take you to her now – if you want.’
Her head started to spin. She had to go
over his words again to make sure she had heard him correctly.
‘She’s here?’
Charlie nodded.
‘Like the residents of Jackson’s Hill,
she never regained consciousness following the disaster. Unlike the others, she
is not affected by the radiation and her coma was not induced. Her body is
perfectly healthy so nobody knows the cause of her condition.’
‘I do,’ said Emmy. ‘When those bastards
in the army took over the observatory, they used Lucy as a guinea pig. I begged
them to send me in her place, but they wouldn’t listen. She never came back
from her astral trip. If not for my psychotic imagination, I would’ve seen this
sooner. Maybe I could have helped her.’
‘Maybe you still can. Come on, let’s go
and see her now.’
The medical bay remained full with the
survivors from Jackson’s Hill. They were still comatose, but no longer under
sedation. Their bodies were now empty vessels after having the consciousness
zapped out of them by Charlie’s trick with the global satellite relay.
Lucy was being cared for in a private
room. When Emmy saw her it brought a lot of repressed emotions to the surface.
She cursed herself for being so stupid. For allowing herself to succumb to a
delusion. After just a short while it became too painful for her to look upon
the still, apparently lifeless form of the woman she loved.
‘Please tell me the clowns that were
running this place left us something to work with,’ she said, once they were
back in the laboratory.
‘Not much,’ Charlie replied. ‘Their main
focus was in trying to understand the radiation and Lucy was clean. The one
thing we do know is that the consciousness does not stick around for long
outside of the body. Especially once the cord is cut.’
‘Does anybody know what happens to it?’
‘According to Dr Stark’s notes, and this
is based upon observing both the infected and natural disembodiments...’
‘Natural disembodiments?’ she queried.
Charlie looked away, awkwardly avoiding
her gaze.
‘You know – dead people.’
‘Oh.’
‘Exactly. It’s a sticky subject. Anyway,
what we know is that disembodied consciousness’ seem drawn to one another. It’s
almost as if the energy is magnetized. Once contact is made they appear to
annihilate one another. My observations back in China corroborate this theory.’
‘So where do they go?’
‘Unknown. We don’t even know if they
actually do go anywhere.’
‘They do – I’ve seen it. My father,
Lucas, Sammy, even Pops – I saw them all cross over.’
‘Don’t get ahead of yourself.’ Charlie
could see the conversation veering towards the idea of an afterlife and he was
uncomfortable with the idea. ‘We experiment and we observe. Only when we have
the data, do we start to theorise.’
‘So let’s go get the data.’
The prospect of her first astral trip
since leaving for Tibet made Emmy more than a little nervous. She had learnt so
much more about herself in the intervening time and the things she was capable
of frightened her. Both Charlie and Esteban had sworn not to reveal her ability
to create the tulpa, but there would always be fear in the back of her mind
that it would resurface when she least expected it. To try to prevent this she
was experimenting with various forms of medication in the hope of suppressing
her ability as best she could.
‘Are you ready?’ asked Charlie.
‘As I’ll ever be,’ she replied.
Although the pair had been reinstated to
the program, the powers that be did not entirely trust them. Several new
protocols had been put in place. No astral activity could be carried out
without at least one lab assistant being present. There was also a network of
security cameras set up around the laboratory, recording everything that took
place therein.
‘You know, it feels a little lonely doing
this on my own,’ she added. ‘The last time I took a trip, I had Esteban by my
side. It was reassuring to have that level of backup.’
‘Well, he has an open invitation to
return any time he wants,’ replied Charlie.
‘I can’t see it. He’s a protector not an
explorer. Besides, I feel safer knowing guys like him are out there, fighting
for a cause rather than an agenda.’
‘I know what you mean. Maybe we’ll be
able to lend him a hand some time.’
Charlie set the output to maximum. Emmy
could handle it and the more power at her disposal the better. With all of her
experience she could achieve the separation as easily as taking a breath and
she knew exactly where she was headed.
Her only lead as to what might have
happened to the disembodied consciousness’ of the townspeople was the town
itself. The last time she travelled to Jackson’s Hill she had found dozens of
ghostly spirits wandering the radiation-addled landscape. This time there was
none. She was completely alone.
The only living energy sources were from
the animals. As her consciousness drifted over the landscape, any creature in
her way would move aside. That was the radiation in action. Only those that had
been infected and subsequently altered by that fact could sense the presence of
an astral being. In a way, she envied them. They were free in a way that she
could barely comprehend.
What now?
She was not yet ready to return to her
body. When in an astral state, her emotions would become disconnected. All fear
and anxiety was kept at bay and she was able not to dwell on her problems. She
wanted to hold onto this sense of release for a little while longer. The
observatory still loomed large and a feeling that was not quite nostalgia drew
her towards it. That was when she saw him.
He was standing at the entrance. When he
did not immediately react to her, she concentrated on projecting a semblance of
her physical appearance. This seemed to do the trick as her actions were met with
a smile. Even in death, Jimmy had an aura of hopeful innocence about him. Once he
was within touching distance, she reached out to him.
‘I never thought I would see you
again,’
she said.
‘If I had known
what was going to happen, we would have thought up a different solution. I am
sorry’
‘There was no other solution and you
have nothing to be sorry for,’
he
replied.
‘Besides, death has not changed me too much.’
‘Sure, immortality and the ability to
pass through matter and move freely through space and time are only minor
differences.’
Her remark was met with confusion.
‘Okay,’
she added,
‘what I really want to know is - why
are you still here? Without a cord, the other spirits should be aware of you.
They will help you to cross over.’
‘I did see others, which is why I came
here. The green mist keeps me hidden from them, I think.’
‘I don’t understand. Why would you
want to remain hidden? Everybody crosses over. Even those, who, like you, were
infected by the radiation. I came here to find them, but they have already
gone.’
‘I know. That is why I waited. Now you
are here, we can go together.’
If she could still feel her heart, it
would have skipped a beat. She glanced down to make sure her cord was still
attached.
It was.
‘I can’t go with you,’
she said.
‘I still have a life here. It’s not yet
my time.’
‘You will return to that life. First
though, you must come with me. Don’t ask me why, but it has to be this way.
They need your help.’
Was he talking about the townspeople?
‘What about Lucy?’
she asked.
‘Does she need my help too?’
‘I can’t answer that.’
‘My spirit is still bound to my body.
This may not even work.’
‘There is only one way to find out.’
Their entwined consciousness rose into
the air. They drifted higher and higher into space. When the planet below them
was nothing more than a dim after image and the toxic radiation long out of
range, she could feel the opening beckoning them toward it.
She thought of home. She thought of her
body laying peacefully at rest in the laboratory. Then she thought of Lucy.
‘I’m ready,’
she said.
In a flash, they were gone.
TO BE
CONCLUDED...
Sapphire Sky
By
David Clarkson
Emmy has travelled through the wormhole in search of
her lost love, Lucy. As she struggles to make sense of the world that exists
beyond the physical, her lab partner, Charlie, works tirelessly to bring her
consciousness back to her body.
The two scientists are finally applying their
technology to its full potential, but they are about to discover that pushing
the boundary of human achievement comes at a great cost. This time, the price
may just be higher than either of them is prepared to pay...
Coming soon to paperback and digital.