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Chapter 10
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
"Zeena introduced me to Jarze, one of her parent
Elders....
"....Jarze was seated in the transport vehicle, so I could not
get a good a look at her at the moment of our introduction. I
say "her" for I felt a distinct feminine thought-line in her
conversation.... There was no way to tell her gender on looks
alone. In any case, these people seemed to place very little, if
any, importance on gender, so the issue was ever raised from
their side of the conversation.
"The "Dan Dare Special" had seating for four. It was a bit of a
squeeze to get into, but with some adjustments I managed to fit
into it.... The 'car' (I'll use this word from hereon in to save
confusion with other forms of transport) was being 'driven' on a
grey-brown surface similar to the cork-like material I described
earlier. This 'road' was approximately 10 meters (33 feet) wide
and did not appeared to be kerbed, but the outline side was so
precise it looked as if it had been cut with a sharp knife.
"On the way to the dwelling which
Zeena called home, I was given a little tour.... I
was soon to discover that Zeena's dwelling was only a few meters
from the water's edge and that we could drive right in under the
building. As dazed as I was with the amazing sights of the city,
I was not prepared for the visual symphony and associated
sensations that awaited me within this most spectacular of
dwellings.
"As we exited the car I had a better chance to take note of
Jarze's general appearance. I found her very small in stature,
possibly not even four feet tall. Her eyes, which were only
visible after the removal of her protective goggles, were
quite large and dark.... a very deep blue or indigo -
curiously enough, almost the same colour of the sky overhead.
These dark eyes showed no sign of any white, but the pupils
within were quite difficult to distinguish. It was much later
and only in a brighter light that I noted they were
elliptical on a vertical axis! Dare I say this? Yes, you
have it right - just like those of a cat! However, this
was not a feature of Zeena's eyes, apart from their size they
were very similar to our own.... They had four-digit hands
with fingers proportionately twice as long as ours, but then
their hands were small compared to ours. The thumb was almost as
long as the other fingers, and, of course, they had no
fingernails! Arms and legs had very little shape or muscle
development, but the toes were unusual. Once again, they had
only four digits.... Their heads were rather more square than
round in appearance (but don't take that too literally; it was
just a general observation), due partly to a large lobe
overhanging at the back of the skull. They obviously had ribs or
a rib-cage similar to our own, as the ribs were plainly visible
to me.... I would think that the power of the Elders' minds
could flatten a tank at half a mile - and this is a conservative
estimate!
"Jarze would have to be the most gentle, considerate soul
I have ever met.... She, more than anyone on Haven, Zeena
included, allayed my private fears and in some respects made my
decision to return home, when that time came, just a little more
difficult....
(At this point the Author describes the
interior of the home, only part of this description appears here)
"....The furniture looked to be made
from the now familiar glass or plastic substance.... all the
colours of the rainbow seemed to be deep within it. This colours
could be changed by a person's thought patterns.... When a
person was in meditation, the light level would drop and only
the softer tones would come through.
"....Bedrooms as such had been made totally redundant, with
meditation having entirely taken the place of sleep. These
meditative states would last for an hour or two each day.
"With no need to prepare solid food.... they did have a drink
station, but this was no more than a circular table with curved
sitting around it. The drinks were served through straw-type
devices....
"....My room was on the next level up and was normally used by
Zeena for her studies and private times. Because I was
still in need of a little sleep now and then, it was decided
this would be the best room for me as I would not be disturbed
by anyone moving around the house....
"....The top two levels of the dwelling had outside viewing
terraces. On one side was the view of the city; on the other, a
view of the sea. They afforded great views, even though to some
extent neither terrace appeared necessary....
"I say this in all puzzlement, for I do not fully understand
whether what I am about to describe to you was totally an aspect
of their technological achievements or a partial side-effect of
this strange dimensional world which seemed to hint of illusion
as much as cold, hard reality. The point was that if one stared
at any wall long enough and hard enough, eventually one could
see right through it!
"When I queered Zeena about this phenomenon she seemed surprised
that I'd even asked, suggesting it was a perfectly natural
occurrence that the building should want to accommodate my
wishes. Evidently, the suits helped align the wearer's frequency
or life-pulse to that of the biological portion of the building.
The best I can do for an explanation is that the building
- a living entity in its own right - considers that the
occupant's thoughts are its own thoughts and obeys any
commands instinctively. This would also explain the colour
variations within the house, for they appeared to respond to
personal different moods just as if they were the building's own
moods. I guess this would encourage the occupants to keep up a
cheery outlook, and might say also something of the state of
mind of these highly intelligent people that they could conceive
and design such wondrous abodes.
"....After I'd been shown about the house, Jarze offered us some
liquid refreshment. Zeena and I then went outside so I could
look around and take in the local sights at my own pace. This
was the first time we had been truly alone. At no time in the
transporter could it be said that we had any real privacy, not
that we sought it especially.
"We ended up at the water's edge and walked for some distance
along it.... I do love being by the water's edge, and its
proximity on this occasion made me think of my home planet all
the more.
"Later we returned to look at Zeena's water vessel. It was a
type of catamaran or twin-hulled craft, comprising two
elongated bubbles which were totally transparent and fitted with
sliding covers to keep out the weather. As mind-power or
telekinesis was its sole form of propulsion, it had no need of
engine or sails.
"We began to discuss the sea once more.... the minerals in
suspension are a natural phenomenon and have not changed very
much over the thousands of years that records had been kept....
The wavelets that were coming ashore looked tired, travelling
almost in slow motion.
"As I suspected from my earlier aerial observations, the area
where we were standing was artificial and similar to the road
surface, a type of synthetic cork....
"....We would be travelling to the outskirts of the urban area
and clear the artificial coastline the following day, time
permitting. Zeena was keen for me to meet her other parent
Elder who was involved in the testing and development of
their new-version bodysuits. We would wait a little longer in
the hope that I would have the chance to meet 'him' before going
on a small tour Zeena had scheduled for me.
This seemed to be the right time for a lesson in synchronized
meditation.... Now I wasn't at all sure about this meditation
stuff, never having had any experience of it before - on or
off planet Earth! The sight of Zeena floating six
inches off the ground on the other side of the room from me
was an introduction that could probably unnerve the best of us,
let alone an uninitiated rookie. Needless to say, I didn't get
off the ground, no matter how hard I tried! And I am yet to
succeed, even though I try every now and then when no one is
looking....
"A short city tour was next in store for me. This involved the
use of the 'vibe station' the device I described earlier,
which allows the traveller, upon entering the destination
coordinates, to achieve almost instantaneous travel....
The cars were legacies from the past and only used to access the
more out-of-the-way areas which the vibe stations did not reach
- or "just in case", as Zeena said without elaboration. I
suppose even alien high-tech devices can break down....
"....These city centers were open continuously but there were no
shops as such, even though there was much on display. Nothing
was bought or sold over the counter, and cold, hard cash did not
exist. Their society is more closely allied to what we would
call Communism on Earth, but seemingly without the
drawbacks that appear to be rife with terrestrial forms of this
style of government. If I have it right, from what Zeena told
me, there is a credit allotment of some kind for time spent on
community projects, which could encompass almost anything
including space travel. However there is a maximum level to
which these credits can accrue. In other words, if you're a
workaholic, most of your extra hours on the job will be
unpaid....
"....Of course, I can see this going down like a lead balloon
with certain factions on Earth. While I have a neutral opinion
on this idea, I guess you would have to try it to know if it
worked for you or not.
"Anyway, goods would be ordered, and when available they would
be delivered, but nothing was ever sold over the counter.
The exact reasons for this I do not know. They don't seem to be
materialistic people anyway, and they appear to have no great
desire to own things. This would apparently place them in a
different plane of thought from ours.
"I marveled at their buildings. They looked as if they belonged
there. They were no where near as tall as ours. Mind you, ours
are products of high-priced terrestrial real estate. That was
not a factor on Haven....
"....Perhaps the greatest sight of all among this wonderland of
new experiences were the huge, white, glass or crystal pyramids.
I was told they contained all the knowledge of these amazing
people.
"My excitement intensified when I was told we could access one
of these buildings and that I would be allowed to study some of
their history.
Back to Contents
Chapter 11
HAVEN ON EARTH
"It had been quite clear to me on more than one occasion during
this interaction that the Haven I was currently visiting was not
in the same time-frame as present-day Earth.... it was in our
future.
"It was therefore plainly obvious to me that if I were to try to
study anything of Earth's ancient history using these archives,
I would have to access some extremely old Haven records....
"At last I can reveal some details of what I found in those
ancient records.
"....Approximately 12,000 years ago in Earth's history - or
10,000 BC, if you like.... It just so happens that Haven
historical records become more than a little confused at
about this time, which clearly suggests that something
unexpected happened to them or their planet during this period.
"....And if our geological records are to be believed, Earth
also went through a very rough patch approximately 12,000 years
ago.
"I have every reason to believe these Haven records
constitute the true history of that time period. This is
not a misinterpretation of Haven records or speculation on my
part, for many ancient Earth artifacts, from stone megaliths to
calendar systems, also suggest this scenario to be our true
history. It you would care to re-examine some of this evidence
in a new light after you have read this account, you may well
agree with me....
"....I was astounded to learn from the Haven archives
that our Earth did not always have its present Moon and
that, indeed this present Moon is a recent acquisition
- possibly as recent as 12,000 years ago! However, Earth already
had a companion satellite before the arrival of this new Moon.
"....Apparently, this moon was not a moon as you might conceive
of one. It was actually a small planet - a mini Earth!.... It
was inhabited by life-forms similar to those on Earth today, but
some were more advanced.
"These more advanced life-forms had 'rocket-ships' tens of
thousands of years before the meaning or concept of rocket was
understood here on Earth. The distance these rocket-ships had to
travel to Earth, was but a stone's throw, and could have been
achieved with technology no better than we have on present-day
Earth.
"....I do not hold much sway in what terrestrial scientists tell
the ordinary folk of this planet, but I do believe them when
they say that long-distance space travel by conventional
means (that is, rocket power) is impossible or highly
improbable because of the vast distances of space involved and
the time factor required with this manner of travel....
"....By now you may be thinking, "Okay, then, where did this
'other' or older moon go? It is clearly not orbiting the Earth
now."
"....Many think this moon crashed into the Earth, thus
forming the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans and at the same time
causing a great flood which no doubt you have all heard
about....
"....If the Earth managed to survive such a holocaust, what of
the fate of the human race?...
"....Not only does geological evidence point to our having had
this larger or closer moon at that time, but it also suggests
that one moon was swapped for another. Some of the evidence even
suggests there was a time when the Earth had no Moon at all!
If you'd like to look into this further, I suggest you consult a
fascinating book,
Our Cosmic Ancestors (Temple
Golden Publications, Arizona, USA, 1988), by former NASA
space expert Maurice Chatelain (recently deceased).
"As I stated earlier, Haven also went through a
transformation or dimensional leap 12,000 years ago (Earth
time). This not only sent them to another time (the future?)
but also to another realm of existence in this or even some
other universe. If you can put two and two together here, you
may get the same answer I got. Yes, our other moon or
mini-planet was Haven!
"It is not only the planets of Haven and Earth that appear to be
tied. The peoples of ancient Earth who still had Haven blood
coursing through their veins could well have been involved in a
disappearing act when Haven leaped into this other dimension. In
other words it is as if they were somewhere, too - and the Earth
tried to follow!
"Well, the Earth could not or did not follow but the
event sure caused a commotion.... I believe it may even have
damaged this grid system that alien visitors use to power their
spacecraft when they roam our skies and oceans....
"....Thanks to researchers like Bruce Cathie, for his
theory of
Earth grid harmonics, and
Richard Hoagland, for his
presentations on interplanetary archaeology and geometry. I
would hazard a guess that some of these points would have to be
close to latitude 19.5 degrees north and south on our globe.
One area which fits into both the latitude 19.5 degrees north
scenario and the ancient cultured theme - and so would have been
hit very hard by this vortical onslaught - is the piece of water
which encompasses the southern end of an area known as
the Bermuda Triangle. The area
was not all water at the time of this onslaught, but in fact was
part of the great land mass called Atlantis....
Atlantis did exist, but was
finally lost to us approximately 12,000 years ago.
"....The disappearance of something the size of Haven
from our solar system caused more than just a disturbance to
planet Earth. To fill the space,
a new moon was drawn into the orbit of
Earth. Our present Moon had arrived! But
this only occurred after the planet Venus came rushing
past the Earth, seemingly from nowhere! Yes, Venus is
also relative new to us.... Even the people of Haven do
not know how Venus arrived here.
"....I have heard comment from here and there that the planet
Venus had our new Moon in tow when it was rushing by the
Earth, but lost it to Earth's gravity field as it passed.... I
could find no reference on Haven as to the origin of Venus.
However, I most certainly discovered how we acquired our new
Moon.
"....You will remember the whole point of their experiment was
to evolve to a more advanced state in their natural evolutionary
cycle. It is obvious, I think, that this could only have
happened to them as a race if they had skipped over some time.
And as they took the whole planet with them, everything was now
in a future place. But here's the catch: there can be no two
Havens displacing exactly the same frequency in time and space,
can there? The answer would appear to be no!
"And guess who acquired the displaced and once-future Moon in
the vortical vacuum or space that the now-absent
Haven had left in its wake? Yes, we did. We now had a
very old Moon from our future!....
"....It would also appear that when Venus came rushing by
us at this same time in our history, the exact reverse of what
some historians suggest happened actually occurred. Instead of
Earth capturing a moon in its tow, Venus almost stole our Moon
from us, and that is why our Moon now has a wider and slower
orbit around Earth than it once had.
"....since the astronauts first went to the Moon in the late
1960s and brought back samples of Moon rocks for
analysis, it has been accepted that
the Moon is indeed older than the Earth. However,
no explanation of how this could be so has ever been forthcoming
from scientific academia....
"....In my view, there is still more exciting evidence such as
that recently presented by Richard Hoagland.... these
revelations suggest that the Moon was once inhabited by
an extremely advanced race. I use the word "once" here,
for it is evident that the remains, or artifacts as he
calls them, are quite possibly millions of years old.
"If I have unlocked the door of curiosity for you, you must now
open it, and step through it for yourself!
"....According to Zeena I had already seen more than some
would have wished me to see!.... Zeena almost had to drag me off
the building....
"....Of all the buildings I had visited up until then, this
pyramidal construction, where I studied the Haven records,
housed the most plant life....
"....Upon leaving the building I could not help feeling that
some of the plants looked vaguely familiar.... I couldn't help
but think I had been here or at least touched these plants
before, in the past!
"I looked over to where Zeena was standing, and even though she
sent no thoughts my way I felt she was trying to encourage me to
remember something from deep within, but without interfering
with the process. We exited the building without exchanging any
further thoughts.
"In my travels about the city I had noticed some rather
strange-looking devices at the entranceways of the buildings.
This turned out to be dust compactors.... They seemed to
work quite well, as all the buildings were immaculate inside.
"When showing me over the city, Zeena was full of enthusiasm....
I could tell she loved her home town with possibly more gusto
than I had for anything of the like back on Earth. I could see
it in her eyes and in her hands movements as she described
various aspects of whatever had caught my attention. I found
myself spending more and more time watching her and her
movements, absorbing the delightful way she had of conveying
thoughts to me.
"....before the forthcoming expedition to the desert area.... I
excused myself to both Jarze and Zeena and retired
to my room on the third floor.
"....It was now becoming apparent that my desire for sleep was
more a reflex action, my body still having in mind the
need for it because a set period of time had elapsed. Zeena had
suggested earlier onboard the transporter that my need for
sleep would diminish.... so this state seemed to be
manifesting itself upon me at last....
"....Because I didn't [have] to sleep, I now had a little bonus
time.... this was a good chance to have a three-way discussion
about many things to mutual interest. Out of this discussion
came the topic of other life on the universe, and how our search
for it from Earth has not yet produced any real evidence apart
for the occasional UFO.
"Jarze was quick to ask if we had looked for it in realms
other than the physical.
"We have used radio telescopes, I believe," was my reply.
"Good idea," Jarze replied, "but not very many other life-forms
use that form of communication. It would be best for you to use
what we have used in the past, and that is a device which is
activated by the intelligence levels emitted from various
planetary systems."
"How can you do that?" I asked. "On board the transporter I was
told that all things, even the energy known to us as atoms,
contain a certain level of intelligence."
"Correct," replied Jarze, "but conscious intelligence,
such as you or I, emit far higher readings than non-conscious
forms - to the order of many of your Earth numbers, if you
understand me, perhaps ten-thousand fold as much emission would
be a conservative number, I think. This form of detection has
other advantages, too. For instance, life-forms that you may
not physically see can be detected in this way....
"....There is one device upon your planet which can read this
intelligent thought-patterns very well and could do even better
if the owners of these devices would train themselves a little
better in their operation. The endowment all you humans were
born with, and which you call your mind, can do the job
very well if you would only let it. Since the dawn of your
race's time on Earth, we and others like us have been trying to
contact you in this way, but you keep trying to make it into
some kind of religious experience. We have been passing
on ideas to help you evolve for aeons of your time, but very
little is ever taken on board by your kind. Still, we try,"
Jarze concluded.
"....Near or far, it makes very little difference if you have
control over this means of contact or communication. It's the
receiver at the other end that we usually have trouble with,"
was Jarze answer.
"So other planets could be right next door, too, and we would
not see them, and perhaps we would even pass through them
without knowing it," I suggested.
"Of course, this could happen if they were totally out of phase,
for there not even any small parts to anything, like some of
your Earth scientists believe and spend so much time trying to
find. Nothing is solid; it is just an illusion. You know this,
Alec," Jarze replied.
"Here we go again," I thought. "Have they got the wrong guy
here? I don't know these things. If I'd had a class earlier on
about this stuff, I must have slept through it."
"Thank you," I said. "That explains much that has puzzled me
over the years."
Back to Contents
Chapter 12
AMAZING ESCAPES
".... the morning of my only full day on Haven had dawned, we
decided this was as good a time as any for our planned desert
trip.
"....Zeena and I were to use the "car" and, more interestingly,
I was going to have the chance to drive it....
"....Like most other items that were made from natural products
or grown, the car appeared to be made from a plastic-like
material.... there is room for doubt in my mind as to whether
this plastic was indeed a synthetic product or some natural
substance, the like of which we do not have here on Earth....
"....The top half was transparent but heavily tinted; the bottom
opaque and greyish-brown. I guess you could say it was even
vaguely pyramidal in shape, but it had a squashed and
stretched-out look compared to a conventional pyramid. There
were no wheels, and it sat a few inches above the ground, even
though it was not yet in motion. If you could imagine a
stealth fighter cockpit without wings, you would not be far
off the mark. (Now isn't that a coincidence!)
"How does this thing work?" I asked.
"Part mind-power, part magnetic repulsion," was Zeena's reply.
"....You guide, I'll provide the power," she said, sliding back
the top section. "Like this." She was reaching over and moving a
slider from side to side. "This is the manual way of doing it. I
don't think you're quite up to doing that by pure thought yet,
Alec."
"I doubt it," I was thinking to myself, without sending the
thought to her. Yes, I had at last learnt to keep some thoughts
to myself.
"Looks easy enough," I said confidently as I got into the car.
"Just set the slider... that's right. Straight ahead is in the
middle, sliding it to the right side will turn us right at the
next available intersection. Don't worry," she emphasized, "it
won't turn until the roads guides let it. Then it will reset to
the middle.... I'll navigate," she said.
I was hesitant.
"Come on, let's go," she added impatiently, "and do not forget
your extra eye-protection."
"These glasses or goggles were an event in themselves. The only
way to describe how they were attached is to say they simply
stuck to your face or suit-covering material without any other
support. There was some sort of interaction of materials, as far
as I could tell.
"As we made to leave, Zeena's other parent arrived home and I
was introduced to him. His name was Theurus, but don't
hold me to this name or any other name as it is an appropriate
interpretation only.
"....The car's guidance system had me puzzled. As the vehicle
did not actually touch the ground, how did it know how to turn?
It was suspended above the road by a form of magnetic repulsion,
the details of which I did not get into but which didn't seem
all that complex. I'm sure it could be reproduced here on Earth
without too much trouble....
"....Anyway, I'm sure it knew where it was on the road. Perhaps
it used a form of satellite navigation, of GPS (global
positioning system) as it is sometimes known here on Earth - if
they still had something as primitive on Haven! Unfortunately, I
could not interpret the symbols that I saw on the dashboard as
the suits were only good for interpreting the thought language.
"The car was of particular interest to me as I've been involved
in all aspects of motor-sport back on Earth. It seemed to be
capable of immense speed, not that I could have read a speedo
even if it had one.... we would have exceeded speeds of 160 kph
(100 mph).... it was more like being in a low-flying aircraft.
Later when we were travelling on these high-speed sections of
road, I noticed a small light was blinking on the dash but it
would go off whenever we slowed down.... I think we may have
been exceeding a predetermined speed limit. Knowing Zeena
as I did by then, this wouldn't have surprised me at all!
"Meanwhile, not too far into the trip, Zeena thought it
timely to discuss some delicate issues with me.
"Now that we are alone again," she said with a more deliberate
and much slower thought pattern than usual, "there is something
I would like to ask you to consider. It is both personal to the
both of us and yet far-reaching at the same time. I do not
expect or want an answer immediately.
"With the tests you took on the transporter, I said I would get
back to you when the results were analyzed. Well, I have seen
them, and they are just what we hoped they might be. Your immune
system is of much interest to us, as we expected it to be. We
have tested others from your planet. There are others like you,
but they not all are compatible. There are many factors to be
considered. While it is of much interest to some of the
Elders who are involved with the breeding program,
health stability is not the only important consideration. We
have also been searching for other qualities - qualities which
have been lying dormant in most of your race since its
inception. Those who can now use these qualities, as you can,
are more suited for our cause. You know of what I speak?
"She paused as if expecting me to say something, but at the time
I could not think of anything appropriate or related to the
subject.
"You must have some idea about them; you must know," she
continued.
"You might have to help me here," I suggested to her.
"What was it with this people, was I out the last time they
called, or something?
"There was a flash of ideas across my mind - images which left
me with some almost long-forgotten memories. There is nothing
more certain. I have had a few close dices with death throughout
my life, but I have never really given them much thought, except
on terms of looking back, and thinking how lucky I was to have
survived.
"How did you know about them," I asked.
"From the tests," she answered....
"The first near-death experience that was reconstructed
for me occurred when I was fifteen or sixteen years old. I used
to hang the mast of a small yacht I owned upon the wall inside
my father's garage. There was a fuse-box and power points on the
same wall at about the height the mast would be placed....
(And Alec continues explaining this most
incredible challenge of survival .... in his book)....
"My second dice with death came a
few years afterwards, and repeated itself in an almost
carbon-copy episode at a slightly later date. It makes you
wonder if whether someone thought I needed the practice!.... I
really do feel I went somewhere outside my body during these two
experiences.
"I was sailing; dinghy racing, this time....
*
"....Ten years on.... I was racing again, but this time a
single-seated race-car. The construction techniques back then
were more aligned to light weight and speed rather than safety.
The car also had an open cockpit, just like a Formula I car.
"I had just spun off the track (well, I was learning) and was in
the process of rejoining it at perhaps a faster pace than was
prudent.... (and Alec, again, explains his incredible
experience....but I am sorry, as the book is still current I
will not reproduce the whole description on line)
"It would appear that as a race of beings we have the ability to
interact and influence our immediate environment using only the
power of our minds. At this stage in our development, this
ability apparently only manifests itself under extreme
circumstances, such as in life-threatening situations.
"....The ability to leave and return to the body while still
alive is not an uncommon phenomenon, I should think. To me, this
would suggest there is more to us than the physical self.
If we can leave the body while we are still alive - and I think
I have - then surely we can leave the body when it is dead.
There was a link between this out-of-body phenomenon and their
interest in me, but I cannot expand on it for it is something
that is outside my knowledge pool.
"Zeena still had this question to ask.
"I would like you to think about joining the breeding program
along with me. There is much yet we have to learn and much we
have yet to do. I do not want you to think that this was the
only reason why we have given you this experience with us, for
you are here for your own reasons as well as for anything you
may be able to help us with. If you turn down this request, I
and the others will not think less of you. I know you do not
know who we are, or, more accurately, you do not remember who we
are, and you humans rather think your bodies are important. I
know and understand this better than most around me, for I, too,
have a feeling about my own body that the Elders do not
understand."
"It took me a full five seconds to say yes to her question.
"Now, Alec, this is serious," Zeena stated earnestly.
"Too right," I replied. "I've already thought about it, ages
ago, when you first mentioned the scheme to me back on the ship,
er, transporter."
"Thank you," she said, looking straight at me. "Now I want to
show you my favorite spot in the desert. We can talk more about
the program tonight at home."
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Chapter 13
DESERT SURPRISES
"....On Haven, they do not need to farm the land, so they
have left most of it untouched....
"....The plant life was scarce though.... there were no trees
that I could see and, stranger still perhaps, no real mountains
or higher ground, just gently sloping-hills....
"....Gradually at first, but after a few more miles it was as
dry as I had ever seen anything to be on Earth.... We appeared
to be climbing for the last 20 miles or so. The terrain was now
a reddish-brown colour and quite rocky, possibly not unlike the
planet Mars in our own system. The Haven sun had a red tinge to
it, so this perhaps was helping turn the landscape this unusual
colour. There was no vegetation at all, this far out.
"Take the next right," Zeena indicated. "It is not far now."
"...."This will do," Zeena said, opening the roof and jumping
out.
"The first thing that struck me was the heat. It was
ferocious out there, and, to make it worse, there was no
wind.... Our suits carried their own insulation for protection
against both heat and cold, but the intensity of this heat went
through that insulation barrier. We both put on an extra layer
of eye protection....
"Do not worry - there is shade from the sun at my lookout
point," Zeena said, obviously picking up on my
uncomfortable interaction with the environment.
"At this point I was not tempted to pick any of the interesting
rocks that were lying about and protruding from the ground, as I
usually would do.... Their appearance was more of opaque glass
than anything else, and some looked like glazed pottery. The
ground was covered not in sand but in a fine powder which
swirled about our feet as we walked through it.
"Once again, there was an eerie silence that seemed to dominate
the land. If I ever needed confirmation that I was not on Earth,
this was it.
"....At last, sheltered from the burning sun, I picked away at
some of the glazed outcrops of rock that projected from the face
of the cutting. There were no layers as you might expect. It was
a mix of different but smallish pieces which were almost in
suspension, more like a fruitcake mix.
"Come on," she said impatiently, ushering me forward. "You're
always picking at something or other. There's time for that
later. Wait until you see what is around the corner."
"It was just a short walk before we were perched upon a
cliff-top with a view that almost defies description. Before us
lay a vast rift canyon which I suspect would be more than twice
the size of the Grand Canyon back on Earth, although I have not
had the privilege of seeing that mighty landmark in real life.
"....For the first time, Zeena went out of her way to sit
close to me.
"Oh, man!" was all I could think to say on looking over out the
canyon.
"Another curious response," I heard Zeena say in the back of my
mind....
"How far down?" I asked....
"Almost four of your miles at the deepest point," she replied.
"Impressive, is it not? It was opened up in a monumental
earthquake, some time around those dimensional experiments you
were studying last night. There have been no recorded
earthquakes on our planet now for thousands of years and we are
not expecting any more. I have been coming here for twenty
years, since my early days. We came out to study the composition
of the rocks down there on the valley floor," she said....
"....I was unable to do anything but marvel at the various rock
strata that lay exposed before me.
"In any case Zeena took my mind off the view in front of me.
"May I try something?" she asked. "It has been a puzzle to me
since one of our talks on the transporter."
"Whatever," I replied.
"She lent over and, out of the blue, kissed me right on the
lips! She then withdrew with a puzzled look on her face. Just as
puzzled, I was looking back at her.
(Dear Reader, I hope one day you will
satisfy your own curiosity and find yourself absorbed in the pages
of Alec's Book; what did or did not happen at this point in Alec's
narration will not appear on line, sorry).
Alec continues:
"Please remember, this was just an experiment as far as Zeena
was concerned, and she was soon explaining other facets of the
great rift canyon to me.
"As we were leaving the canyon area, I spotted some interesting
rocks.... Curiosity killed the cat, so to speak, and as I was
trying to reach them I slipped and fell a small distance,
grazing my face and damaging the suit in the process.
"Zeena was most concerned, but I told not to worry as this type
of thing happened back on Earth all the time.
"It is not the fall that concerns me most," she stated. "Out
here, with this sun and no suit, you would not last very long.
Quick, cover that side of your face with your hand."
"It's only a small area," I pointed out.
"Cover it up," Zeena reiterated most insistently.
"I obeyed. And just as well, too, as I still have a patch of
skin in that area which will not heal properly. If I wanted to
bring proof of my adventures, there were surely less dangerous
ways of doing it! That little act necessitated a new suit for
me, and I lost some of my sightseeing time because of it.
"Later, back at the house, Zeena's parents welcomed us. They,
too, were concerned about my accident. There seemed much fuss
over what, to me, was a non-event at the time.
"We entered into a discussion of the state of the Haven
atmosphere, which was brought on by all this attention over
my slight injury. My thoughts, though, drifted back to Earth and
the problems with our ozone layer.
"I couldn't help but wonder, if they were ever to make it back
to our planet in some form, would they be jumping out of the
frying pan and into the fire?
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