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Bonded on a cloud
Transfixed I am by your eyes
I hover nearby - Avitorian Haiku
The elevator doors opened up on the eighteenth floor of the high-rise business building. Matt stepped out and stopped for a moment to admire the view. The entire floor was wide open, exposed concrete floors, steel support columns covered with sprayed on insulation, and various pipes, cables, and HVAC ducting along the ceiling. Matt’s attention wasn’t on the rough interior, but rather on the incredible view through the thick, tinted, plate glass windows. The western corner of the building faced out toward the Olympic Mountains. The setting sun was just starting to touch the peaks and the northern corner of the building revealed the famous Space Needle awash in the bright orange reflection of the setting sun. The echoed sound of typing on a computer keyboard reminded Matt why he was here. He walked over to the source of the noise as he added his own echoes from hard soled shoes on a concrete floor to the facility.
Dr. Corellis was too busy typing to even notice the stark beauty of the scenery. Her L-shaped desk was the only one on the floor of the building, sitting next to several racks full of computer and networking gear. Several bundles of cables stretched from the equipment into various conduit openings in the ceiling. She glanced at a world clock map display on one of her three monitors, checking to make sure Matt was arriving on her pre-defined schedule.
“I think I have a candidate,” Matt stated rather nonchalantly as he approached her desk.
“You think?” Dr. Corellis stated without looking up from her computer display.
“I want to do a little more observation to make sure.”
Dr. Corellis looked up from her computer, removed her glasses, and gazed at Matt while pondering the implications of his statement.
“What?” Matt asked.
“That’s fine,” she stated while putting her glasses back on and returned to looking at her computer display. “We still need a little more time to get our cover settled. The university has accepted my credentials along with the grant from a generous contributor. We should be able to move in and get settled before the fall semester.”
“That’s excellent news. Which facility?”
“University of Washington, CENPA,” she replied.
“Ah, perfect. The Center for Experimental Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics.” He paused while watching the last of the sun settle down past the mountains. “Excellent computer system there. I’m sure we’ll put it to good use. What about logistics?”
“I’ve acquired some space in the lower levels of the bio building. It’s close enough that we can get Angela into the facility with a boat.” She paused and looked up at him. “I’ll coordinate it. The team will be here in a few weeks. You just stay focused on your candidate and keep me posted.”
“Sure thing doctor.” He leaned down over the desk and gave her a quick kiss before heading back toward the elevator.
***
Leif spent most of his day hovering throughout his condo, getting his balance and stability while trying not to leave too many marks on the walls. He remembered what his father told him the night before, about the training techniques used for helicopter pilots. They hover, barely above the ground, focusing on balance and stability. In the back yard at his parent’s house he had the wide open spaces between the house and the evergreen tree. It was easy to just point in a general direction and go. But, as he quickly discovered when he got close to the tree, it was important to have control over his position in relation to other objects. His bruised knees reminded him his landings needed a lot of work as well.
Most of his living room furniture had been moved to the walls, giving him as much room in the center as possible. If anyone came for a visit, they would clearly think he had been practicing dancing or aerobics. The smell of sweat from all of his exertion would complete the image. He figured exercise would be his excuse if one of the neighbors stopped by to see what all the wall thumping was about.
After spending most of the morning practicing his vertical hovering he decided to focus on horizontal. He started vertically and slowly moved to a horizontal, face down hover over the center of the living room. He laughed at himself, thinking about the many “planking” pictures he had seen on the internet. He focused on the tingling of his skin from the forces being projected from his body to counteract the force of gravity. By making slow and smooth movements he discovered he could change his height and position by thinking about the tingling and where he wanted the tingling to move. He learned he had the most control through his hands and feet with movements reminding him of swimming. He slowly drifted in circles around the room, raising and lowering himself over the terrain of the furniture along the walls. Occasionally he would touch a wall or a piece of furniture and push himself off in a different direction. It didn’t take long to figure out he didn’t need to touch the surface of a solid object - he could just think of the tingle in his hands or feet and the propulsion force would flow toward the surfaces. He played around with the intensity of the propulsion until he slammed a shoulder into the door frame toward the hallway. He grimaced from the sharp pain and cursed himself for getting clumsy. Great, another bruise. He straightened into a vertical position in the doorway, letting himself drop to the floor and landing on his feet with a thud. The loudness of his landing startled him. “I gotta work on those,” he mumbled.
Leif peeked out from the closed living room blinds at the dimming twilight over Lake Union. It was slightly past nine p.m. and the sky was still too lit up to even consider flying without being seen. Even with the lights of the city he wasn’t sure if it would be secure enough to launch off in this area. He pondered if he was really truly ready. What if I misjudge my landing and kill myself? Leif’s phone vibrated two short pulses on his belt clip, indicating he had received a text message. He pulled the phone from its clip, gazed at the screen, and smiled at the text message from Uncle Georgeo.
Want to go practice?
“How in the...” Leif mumbled to himself. He started to type a reply when there was a light knock at the door. He quickly typed out ‘sure’ and pressed Send while walking to the door. He was certain it was one of the neighbors wanting to complain about his bumping around. He opened the door and was startled to see his uncle Georgeo standing there.
“Uncle Georgeo!” Leif gave him a hug and invited him inside. “You are indeed a sly one,” Leif laughed while closing the door.
“It’s good to see you again. Your father says good things about you.” He paused while examining the disarray of the living room. “Is that your shoe print halfway up the wall over there?”
Leif blushed. “Um, yeah.”
“If I was your neighbor, how would you explain it?”
While the critique stung, Leif knew it was for the best. “I was exercising?” He replied, half knowing it wasn’t a very plausible excuse. The training has begun already, Leif realized.
Georgeo laughed. “Well, let’s get that cleaned up and then go flying.”
“Alright,” Leif responded while heading to the kitchen for the cleaner and a rag.
***
Leif stepped out of Georgeo’s Jeep, stretched, and took in a deep breath of the cool night air - full of the scent of evergreens, ferns, and moss of the forest. It was refreshing, and much needed after the hour long drive and information dump from Georgeo. All the reminders about secrecy, protection, being alert to surroundings, to be wary of those who want to get close, and the need to be unseen when flying. It all made his head spin. He watched as Georgeo walked back down the dirt road they came in on - checking to make sure there was no one following or watching.
They were on a secluded trail surrounded by thick evergreens, hilly slopes on one side, and a high tension power line path a hundred yards off. Leif could hear the sound of a flowing river off in the distance. He took another deep breath to try and calm his nerves - a combination of excitement and anxiety about flying with uncle Georgeo. He felt close to Georgeo. Even though he wasn’t really a true uncle to Leif, he felt like family. Leif felt privileged to be receiving his training from the one and only Overseer of the Avitorians. It sure seemed impressive when he thought of it that way. But, then again, it was just uncle Georgeo.
“Looks clear,” Georgeo stated while walking toward Leif and the Jeep. “Take your shoes and watch off and put them in the Jeep. Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
“My shoes?” Leif asked, but was startled to see Georgeo suddenly shoot straight up into the night sky. He tried to see where Georgeo went, but it was too dark. He took his shoes and watch off, put them in the Jeep, and waited just as Georgeo asked. The moisture from the ground started to soak into Leif’s socks, but he didn’t care. It actually felt kind of refreshing. There was a slight breeze blowing through the trees creating a soothing whisper. Leif imagined the trees were talking to one another. What are the humans doing here? Can’t they see we’re busy. Tell them to go away and leave us alone. He chuckled at the thought.
Georgeo appeared just as suddenly as he had left. “Are you ready?” he asked.
“Um, yeah. I guess. Why the shoes?”
“If you are to learn how to land without killing yourself or breaking your legs, you need as much sensitivity as possible. Taking your shoes off gives you more feeling for the flow of the energy and the position of the ground. Just as airplanes experience what is called ‘ground effect’, you’ll be able to sense when you’re getting closer to the ground or to other objects.”
“Ah, okay, but what about my watch?”
“Silver strap easily reflects light. What if you’re tempted to hit the button for lighting it up to check the time?”
“Ah, gotcha. You’re right.” Leif realized he needed to be more aware of the things that could make him visible while flying.
“So, ready?”
“Um, yeah.”
“Okay. I want you to just hover for a bit. A few inches off the ground. I want to make sure that you’re stable and able to hold your position.”
Leif lifted off around six inches from the ground and held his position there. He felt pretty confident about his hovering after his practice time at the condo. He even rotated around both directions just to show Georgeo he had control over his movements.
“That is pretty good.” Georgeo commended. “I want you to go straight up and stay at the level of the top of the trees.”
Leif increased the flow of energy through his legs and out his feet. He quickly ascended to the top of the trees and past them. Realizing he had gone too far he backed off on the flow and descended to the tree tops. Georgeo came up to meet him at the tree tops.
“Good job. A little sloppy, but actually very impressive for your first time out in the wild.” Georgeo added with a smile. “Take a good look around and make sure you don’t see any potential for being spotted.”
Leif slowly spun around and gazed in all directions, looking for any lights or indications that someone might be close by who could see him. He increased his altitude another fifty feet to get a better look above the tree line. Georgeo rose up to match his altitude.
“Very good. I’m impressed. Now let’s see how you do with orientation. I’m going to spin you around into a different position and I want you to right yourself back into vertical.”
“Okay.” Leif added.
Georgeo reached out and grabbed ahold of Leif’s shoulders. He spun him around in different directions and different angles. He let go and let Leif’s kinetic energy continue drifting at an unnatural angle. “Okay, straighten out.”
Leif thought it felt pretty weird to be in a strange angle - slightly upside down and around forty-five degrees’ angle toward the trees. He got his senses and straightened himself into a fully horizontal position in front of Georgeo.
“Excellent.” Georgeo smiled and patted Leif on the shoulder. “See the clouds above?”
“Yes.”
“Follow me into the bottom of the group of clouds directly above us.” Georgeo started moving before he was even done speaking.
Leif followed. He could hear the wind whistling past his ears as he accelerated to catch up with Georgeo. As he entered the bottom of the cloud mass he could feel the additional moisture on his skin. He slowed down and stopped as he saw Georgeo hovering in the fog of the cloud.
“Excellent.” Georgeo reached out and grabbed Leif by the shoulders. “Now I want you to close your eyes and to reach out with your senses.”
“Um, okay.” Leif closed his eyes and tried to listen and feel for anything out of the ordinary.
“We have the ability to sense the flow of electricity when we focus.” Georgeo added. “It takes practice, but you’ll soon be able to detect the flow of masses of electrons in various directions from your position. It’s very difficult when we’re down on the surface. We’re bombarded by so much from computers, communications, machinery, automobiles, and life in general. But,” he paused and then continued. “Up here, it’s easier. We’re in the air and surrounded only by clouds when they are here. Tell me what you feel,” he asked.
Leif tried to reach out with all his senses to try and feel what was out there. With his eyes closed he started to detect the flow of something distant yet elongated along the south of them. “I sense something, like a string, off to my right. It’s vibrating, kind of like a string on a guitar or violin.”
“Very good,” Georgeo added. “That’s the high tension power lines off to the south. Anything else?”
Leif kept his eyes closed and he listened to the silence. He reached out with all of his feelings and senses. He spread his arms and his legs, thinking these would improve his ability to receive whatever was out there. “I sense a blanket below us, pulsating and constant, extending out for as far as I can sense.”
“Those are the trees and the plant life. All living things have electrons flowing through them. When we’re up here, it’s easier to separate what is where.” Georgeo responded. “You need to perfect your ability to sense the flow of these electrons. This will keep you safe when you are flying. If there are planes or machinery nearby, you will sense it. If the clouds are stormy and full of lightning, you will sense it. Stay away from those. They can have a major effect on your ability to sense direction and on your flying. Same with the high tension power lines. The radiated energy can disrupt your flying. If there are cars or people below, you will be able to sense it. All life is full of energy. As you become more adapted to your senses and what you can feel, you will get better at knowing what is out here, just by feeling.”
Leif slowly rotated with his arms and legs spread out, trying to sense as much as he could in all directions. As he started to feel the various sensations of the power lines and the trees below, he could tell he was more sensitive to these feelings. As he continued, the sense of the energy was almost overwhelming - as if he was trying to listen to multiple radio stations at the same time. It all became noise and he had difficulty separating the different sensations.
Georgeo sensed that Leif was becoming overwhelmed with the different sources of energy he was feeling. “Open your eyes, boy,” he added while shaking Leif’s shoulders.
“Wow!” Leif opened his eyes. “That was amazing. I had no ideas this was possible.” He did a flip in the air with his excitement.
Georgeo laughed at Leif’s exuberance. “Take your time. Come out here as much as you can and feel the environment around you. You’ll find it might be a little overwhelming when you’re down below and surrounded by everything. But, it’ll get better. You’ll learn how to shut it out when you’re on the surface and when to utilize it when you’re air born.” Georgeo released Leif and added, “Do you sense where the Jeep is?”
Leif closed his eyes again and reached out with all his senses. He directed his feelings toward the blanket of trees and life below. Among the blanket he was able to detect a single pinpoint spot where there was something different than the rest of the environment. “Yeah. I think I’ve got it. It’s different than everything else below.”
“Excellent. So, now that you know how to find your way back, go and fly. Be free and feel the exhilaration of what it’s like to be an Avitorian.”
Leif opened his eyes, took a deep breath, gazed above, and extended as much force as he could muster toward flying straight up into the air. He passed through the top of the clouds and could clearly see the thousands of stars above. He stopped and slowly rotated as he absorbed the enormous view of the Cascade mountains off to the east, Mt. Rainier off to the south, the lights of Seattle off to the west, with the bountiful peaks of the Olympics beyond. He could see a line of aircraft lined up for approach into SeaTac airport - the distant blinking of strobe lights on the wings. A glow in the clouds to the south showed where Tacoma was and off to the north were various glows of lights into the clouds for Belleview, Redmond, and Everett. A half-moon was hovering above the Cascades and was reflecting off the snow covered peaks. Mt. Rainier was the closest and the glow of the snow topped crater sent chills through him and made the hair stand up on the back of his neck. It was at this moment he felt the proudest he had ever felt about being privileged enough to have been born as an Avitorian. No longer a curse as he had felt while in school, or while waiting for his abilities to show. He had truly become what he had always dreamed about and had desired. He was, as his uncle Georgeo had stated - truly Air Born.
***
Amazing, was all Leif could think. He hovered barely above the top of the clouds and gazed at the full moon rising slowly over the top of Mt. Rainier. It was so bright it almost hurt his eyes. In the three weeks since his first flight with Georgeo, he had managed to fly almost every night. Each night he had stated to himself it was the most beautiful night of all. But this night, “this takes the cake,” he mumbled to himself. He rose slightly from the cloud top to get a better view of the glowing white blanket of clouds stretched out around the mountain. He didn’t want to test his abilities, see how fast he could go, practice landings, or try to sense where the closest airplanes are. With this stunning of a view he just wanted to soak it all in. The moon slowly climbed higher as he continued to watch. He figured it was a good test of his abilities - being able to hover in a stationary position for a longer period of time.
After what seemed like an hour or more, Leif stretched out his arms, closed his eyes, and slowly spun around. Reaching out with his senses, he could feel the forest below. Stopping suddenly, he thought he felt something different. Something at his same altitude and not too far away. He turned toward the direction of the sensation. He slowly opened his eyes while trying to maintain his sense. Right away he saw it. His heart jumped into a rapid pulse when he realized it wasn’t a thing or machine, but rather, a person. At first he thought it was Georgeo trying to sneak up on him, to test him out. But Georgeo didn’t have long, blonde, hair, and he sure wasn’t a female. She was hovering in the clouds, facing away from him. He guessed she was about fifty yards away. Far enough that he couldn’t see any other details other than the back of her head. Her hair danced with the fluctuations of the light breeze. He didn’t know what to do. It was as if all his senses, his muscles, and his mind, had instantly shut down.
Should I say something? Should I get closer or should I just watch from a distance? Does she know that I’m here? The thoughts bombarded him and none of them with any clear answers. His heart skipped a beat when she rose up slightly out of the clouds. She wore a flowing white blouse which made it appear as if she was a part of the cloud itself. She reminded him of the tales of mermaids who would briefly make an appearance above the waters to entice the sailors away from their ships. As quickly as that mental image came to him, she plunged down into the clouds, disappearing into the blanket of white.
“Wait!” he shouted without even thinking. He quickly flew over to where she had entered into the cloud, but she wasn’t there. Closing his eyes and extending his arms, he slowly spun around - trying to get a sense for where she went. All he could sense was the forest below. His heart sank into his stomach. He felt like he could die of stupidity - for not even saying hello. For the next few hours he flew through the clouds, above the clouds, below the clouds - looking for any indication of where she could be or had flown off to. There was no sign or sense of the girl with the blonde hair. The moon climbed higher and a faint glow of a approaching sunrise appeared on the eastern horizon. Leif was devastated. He didn’t even know if she knew he was there. He slowly fell to the forest below while gazing up at the glow of the moon through the clouds and hoping to catch a glimpse of the mystery girl.
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