18/

            TESS WAITS. SHE IS NEAR THE ATHLETIC CLUB, THE MAC, IN GOOSE HOLLOW. SHE IS aware that Jannet is likely to be leaving the club soon so she will wait for a few minutes in order to see if the probability materializes. If after waiting five minutes, and Jannet has not made an appearance, then Tess will transport to a likely option # two, which is one of Jannet’s favorite trailheads in Washington Park in the West Hills.

           Tess could track Jannet, that is, she could easily track Jannet’s present location in the space/time stream, or she could play the probabilities. This present reality, this universe, does have its own inherent integrity, or a dominant time/space trajectory, but there is constantly some form of interactivity between other different realities; allowing for the actualization or enactment of other probable choices. More specifically, parallel space/time streams can weave in and out of the present reality, that is, the present time/space stream that enfolds the existence of her little cousin, as Tess affectionately refers to Jannet.

            Tess can become aware, should she elect to, of a range of future possible choices that Jannet might exercise. Or Tess can also simply use a form of GPS location sensing to locate Jannet or any member of the source family if she elects to choose that method, but she prefers to occasionally allow for the natural unfolding of probable choices. After five minutes Tess is ready to transport to the West Hills when she senses the human woman’s presence. As Jannet clears the entrance to the MAC, she senses Tess. As the two women approach each other, Jannet mentally expresses to Tess, ‘Are you here for a walk?” Jannet is optimistic.

            The two walk in silence, on a slowly developing decline towards downtown, for a block or two. Jannet stops and Tess does too, they face each other. “I think I know who you are; who you really are.” Jannet speculates in a mental mode.

           “You are checking in on me and checking in on other family members who are incarnated on this planet but they are scattered this particular space/time stream. Scattered in the present time/space, in the past time/space, and in the future time/space. But you are embarking on this assignation, in person and directly, instead of indirectly. You are not an ordinary spirit guide, are you? Not that spirit guides are ordinary, in fact I am sure that they are much beyond extraordinary.” Jannet stops and notices that Tess is still listening although with an air of faux disinterest and she notices no holographic stop signs have appeared so far.

           “You are the one of the many. Is that correct?” Jannet waits and watches Tess’ perfect composition maintaining its perfection.

            “That terminology is quite inadequate; don’t you think? But I guess, within the context of this conversational exchange, it will have to do.”

            “So why are you really here? The spirit guides, of our family, do generally and do always maintain a presence with family members in physical reality, yes? So why are you here?” Jannet is curious but she is not sure if Tess will respond.

            “I am here, again, to connect a bit more directly with family members, but I will admit that there are other purposes involved. Since the answer or answers are complex and outside the scope of what you need to know, I will convey only some minor amount of background information. As the lifespan of a human individual is subject to various stages of transition, so too is the lifespan of your source family that resides outside of this present physicalized space and time configuration. What you refer to as the solitary human spirit or soul is more akin to a community of personages, a collective of the many who are the one and the one who is the many. And this is perhaps the closest descriptive, of the us, for the purposes of our present conversation. In short, this community, your collective family, and your source, will be entering a period of transition. And when the transition period is concluded we will be ourselves yet we will be something other. Therefore, one of the many purposes for my visits is to prepare the troops, so to speak. I believe that is a common saying, in your present reality?”

           “You probably mean rally the troops and I am assuming that you are conducting a subliminal psycho/energetic process. And your use of the word, troops, has a military connotation. Is this planet considered to be a war-zone?” Jannet continues with questions as the two divert from walking due east and downward, and they veer southward towards a nearby train station.

            “Perhaps I made use of an insufficient metaphor. Nonetheless, in brief, at a deep subliminal level, I am preparing our people for a significant transition in the life of our collective. Tangentially in response to your query about this planet as war-zone, I must add credibly, that this is a planet of adversity, among its other attributes, but there is a great deal to learn from such conditions. However generally speaking, this planet could be regarded as a mix of adversity and of aspiration.” Tess pronounces her last statement with slight nostalgic edge. For an instant she appears lost in a cryptic bittersweet moment and then her facial features and her body attributes begins to change; these changes are slow at first; and this is occurring as the two women are strolling casually. First one facial/body type manifests, then another, and so on, and with an increasing rapidity. These transitions are physicalized manifestations of different people, one person after another and after another; this continues and increases in speed exponentially. These facial/bodily transitions continue for two or three minutes, and then they stop abruptly and Tess is Tess again. Tess’ only explanation is to say. “Apologies, little cousin. I needed to recalibrate.”

            Jannet is thoroughly amazed but she continues with her questions as the two women enter the concrete light-rail train station at Goose Hollow.

           “I recall a reference, among several references, in the dictionary about the word ‘transition’. It said: a transition can be regarded as a representative condition of death and rebirth. Is that what you mean by period of transition?”

            “So, your dictionary says that. How interesting.” Tess definitively ends this particular thread of the conversation. A small well-designed holographic stop sign appears in the air near Tess, which further indicates that this particular conversational thread is finished. The two women enter into a just now docked eastbound train.

∙

            The train, the light-rail train, traverses only one stop and Tess rises from her seat to exit. Jannet follows suit. As the two wait for the train doors to open, Jannet notices that the other occupants are dressed differently, in more of a 1950s or 1940s style. Jannet and Tess are dressed differently, as well, and as they exit; Jannet notices that they have departed from a bus instead of a train.

            Jannet discretely checks her GPS application on her cellular phone. The application indicates a location of 49∙14’ north latitude and 123∙06’ west longitude, Vancouver, BC Canada on a Sunday morning, 10.03 am, in June of 1946, the 23^rd day. It is 12 years earlier approximately before her last visit to Vancouver, BC. Jannet wonders why the GPS application seems to work anywhere and anytime and then she notices Tess’ nonchalant shoulder shrug which indicates to Jannet that the spirit guide/higher self is responsible for the application’s functionality. They are not at the Granville Island ferry dock but rather slightly astride the Lions Gate Bridge, in Stanley Park, looking over the English Bay and towards West Vancouver. There is a foreboding sense that something is about to happen.

            “A family member is here, somewhere, although now the person is much younger than when we last visited and…” Jannet stops abruptly when she sees the floating holographic stop sign. “Sorry, I did not mean to invade their privacy; the information just appeared to be available; my apologies.”

            Several minutes later the event manifests. Jannet experiences gigantic spools of oscillating waves of sound and color just prior to the happening, which is an earthquake event. The colors are mostly red and yellow, and the sound is a type of growling or snarling; all of this on an enormous scale. The earthquake centers on Vancouver Island, miles west of the city of Vancouver and it cascades concentrically outward toward large sections of southwest BC Canada and towards Washington State USA to the south. The visual experience, in the city of Vancouver, is one of the very ground, the bay, buildings, bridges, and streets encompassed in a violent swaying. Jannet experiences the event via several different sensorial channels while maintaining her safeguards against sensorial overload. The event lasts just over a minute, although that time duration varies by region, within the overall affected zone. There are numerous and wide-ranging after-effects, most notably a tsunami on the far side, west side, of Vancouver Island.

            As soon as the scene settles, there starts a progression of change, changing refinements within the urban vistas, manifesting at an accelerated pace. The two women are moving through time/space, while remaining in a stationary posture in the Stanley Park; they are smoothly projecting into and through a succession of months, one month at a time. As it seems to Jannet, every minute or two, the two women skip ahead one month. Nearly three years past, month by month, in the span of an hour. The new construction and some amount reconstruction of parts of Vancouver and West Vancouver are viewed in a quickly moving succession. It takes about four hours to traverse 12 years to 1958.

            There is a bus waiting on an April day of 1958. The two women board the bus. Jannet is a little shaken but she is stable.

∙

           Jannet and Tess have only just settles into their seats and it is at that point that Jannet gradually notices another change in attire and there is now a difference in the visages of the people on their moving conveyance. The GPS application reveals a location with a mix of letters and numbers that contain unusual degrees and minutes, and the location is a now accustomed moon of Saturn. The month is indicated as 3 of 19, the time is indicated as 09.73 of 36.00 and the year is indicated as 2263. It is nearly six years in the future from their last visit to the Saturn moon. At the next stop, the two women depart a futurist train. “Observe but do not interact.” Tess advises as she walks away from Jannet, leaving Jannet suddenly on her own on the Saturn moon of Rhea.

           This particular site is a similar type enclave or settlement as before but in a different location on the moon of Rhea. Jannet settles onto a bench to observe. This particular enclave is several contiguous miles long and about a mile in diameter. It is completely enclosed within a clear see-through type of metallic and its maximum height appears to be about 10 stories high. The buildings are two, three, or four stories in height and they feature a variety of architectural styles and surfaces. There is a substantial central street with many shorter length perpendicular streets at various intersections. There are no moving vehicles or transport conveyances, at the moment, except for a continuously moving, back and forth, futurist train, which moves along the central corridor.

           Jannet conducts a superficial scan of the passing groups of people. They mostly wear loose-fitting comfortable mono-colored clothing, with not an anticipated tunic in sight. The people seems to fall into four categories; that is, male, female, androgyne, and the enigmatic cyber/human hybrids. A few individuals are obviously safekeeping officials who sport long crystalized batons secured to the middle of their backs. Jannet reaches out mentally to Tess, even though she is not visibly nearby. “Who are the individuals again of the fourth type of humans?”

           Tess’ mental reply is instant, ‘they are hybrids or transhumans.’ This she explains is a category of human who are born with more than 20% to 25% of their human structure as cybernetic. She adds that in this space/time period, humans can be born consisting of both human bio-materials and with internal cybernetics materials; this has become a new evolutionary wrinkle for humans.

           Jannet also asks, ‘Is possible population control issues another reason for the establishment of enclaves on the moons of Saturn and Jupiter?’ Tess comments that although the human race has achieved some degree of zero-growth population protocol, the issue of overpopulation still remains its number one challenge. There is presently a concerted human effort to understand the physics of natural celestial wormholes and to master the physics of the artificial construction of wormholes, all to facilitate possible population migration to other distant habitable planets that would be outside of the solar system.

           Jannet’s attention is now diverted. She is transfixed. The upward view, through the top clear enclosures, reveal a black night and slowly transitioning moonlike orbs in the great distance. Their location on Rhea is presently facing away from Saturn, therefore the giant planet is not looming above. This moon rotates synchronously in its orbit around the planet, that is, one side of the moon, the same hemispheric area, is always facing away from the planet and one side is always facing towards the planet. In the location of this particular enclave, there is a permanent position of facing away from the planet.

           She becomes aware of the environment outside of the enclave. There are viewing alcoves, at street level, scattered throughout the enclave and she discreetly walks to a nearby one. It is an icy, rocky, and a hostile environment, outside, although striking in its alien starkness. But Jannet’s attention is snapped away from the dark skies and the bleak landscape. She notices two separate groups of people calmly engaged in a conversational exchange in front of a building just behind her. The building is distinctive because of its oversized entry doors. Jannet surmises it to be some form of meeting or performance hall. One group, which features a mix of the four human types, is wearing head-to-toe garments of soft reddish color with a long series of large buttons up the left side and following the underside of the left arm. The garment features a hoody element. Jannet sees a mental visual of a holographic image of an androgyne in a sitting area somewhere else, pulling on one sleeve of the great garment and the rest of garment automatically completing the process, including the buttons. She suspects that there is a similar but reverse and easy process to the removal of the special garment.

           The second group is similar in dress but their garments are of a soft grayish color. A few members of both groups are holding large oblong books similar to the respective coloring of their clothing. Jannet intuits that these are two distinct groups of spiritual adherents. The grayish books feature a stylized form of the letter ‘w’ in a large font size; Jannet recognizes this as the Greek symbol omega (ω). And the reddish books feature a distinctive letter ‘m’ in a large font size. The books have pages made of bleached metallic paper, identical to pulp-paper of the 20^th century, and the interior text and other content is conveyed in a specialized embossed metalized font that is permanently impressed on each page.

           Tess has silently reappeared. “Both of these spiritual sects work together frequently. These particular hooded garments are usually reserved for the Alders; which is a term that is similar to the word in your space/time, the Elders; and these garments are especially worn during times of processional activities. The group with gray books are members of The Omega spiritual sect and one of their tenets revolves around the concepts of death and rebirth. The group with red books are members of The Manual spiritual sect and one of their tenets revolves around the concepts of the universality of all beings. The Manual, that is, the book that you see before you, is a marginally different but a directly related progeny to the proposed project of the Deckers in your time. However, we should note that this particular space/time stream, although real, may be or may not be in sync with your own present space/time stream. Therefore, it could be or it could not be a parallel reality in the future.” Tess is speaking and she is strolling towards a waiting futurist train; Jannet thoughtfully follows her.

           Inside the train, the space/time stream effortlessly morphs into Jannet’s recognizable present day reality. Jannet is able to see a few of the mechanisms/manifestations of the actual transition, through a holographic representation, from the future moon to the present earth but she cannot comprehend it and she decides not to try. The present day light rail train stops in downtown Portland. It is approximately 18 minutes since she has departed the MAC and 18 minutes since she spontaneously met Tess in front of the luxurious athletic club in her present time/space construct; although the actual travel time, with Tess has been considerably longer.

           “Questions?” Tess inquires, she waits patiently as Jannet recollects herself.

           “The earth quake in Vancouver, any fatalities?”

           “There was widespread damage and two human deaths. Anything else?”

           “The two groups on Rhea, the two sects?”

          “They are as two rivers from the same source. They are not enemies but collaborators.” Tess comments simply.

          “A final question. How are you effected by what you see and what impact do you experience as you transport to different places and times?” Jannet thinking has returned to thoughts about the Vancouver event.

          “You are asking about feelings. You are referring to the events in Vancouver. Clearly we do not have emotions and feelings as human individuals do. However, we can experience a reservoir of other sensations as related to the context/content of every moment of our nonphysical existence. We do care… only differently. We are all travelers on a boundless sojourn. There are costs. There are benefits. And something undefinable that is beyond those polarities. All of it matters to us.” Tess responds sincerely albeit concisely.

           The two women are standing on a street awash with countless people in downtown Portland. They embrace. They go their separate ways.

           It is an August day. Jannet is dazed but she is re-stabilizing. She decides to stop at the nearest coffee shop, which is an easy prospect in downtown Portland; she stops for a vanilla latte. The busy and very human present day activity surrounding her, at the coffee shop, grounds her. And she eventually heads to the apartment in the Pacific building. She must then retrieve her vehicle at the parking garage next door to the Pacific; she parks her vehicle there, and she dutifully pays monthly parking fees, at the Holiday Inn Parking Annex. She will motor to SE Portland for tutoring. Meanwhile Tess walks serenely through the downtown urbanity and towards the river.