We stood in front of the stone wall at the top of the stairs. Ricky and J.J. held the torches as we looked around searching for something to trigger the door. There was nothing. Finally I called on Thoth to open the door, nothing. What could possibly be the key?
Josi leaning against the wall, “When the door opened the first time, Layla had been dizzy and leaned against the outside wall holding onto it for stability. Layla, why don’t you try that again?”
I did and as I pressed my body into the wall the rumbling noise started with the grinding of moving stone. This time the large stones moved sideways disappearing into the existing wall.
Sunlight streamed into the passageway as we stepped out. We knew immediately that we were not back where we had started because we were surrounded by dense tropical foliage. Birds called out from the rain forest and it was extremely humid. The torches were stomped out and thrown back into the Sphinx along with the matches.
“Maybe we should take the matches with us,” I said to Ricky.
“What do we do now?” asked Josi looking around.
“I guess we look for people but I think we need to find some form of protection first,” J.J. reviewed as he picked a stick up off the ground.
Touching the crystal in my pocket, “Remember what Thoth said about the crystals being protection. We need to put faith behind his words.”
“I also remember him saying there is always the chance of danger when experiencing something unknown,” added J.J.
Walking away from the Sphinx I turned to look back at him and the others did the same. He was new and beautiful. His head was covered in gold and matched his body in size. The body was covered in silver with his wings a light mesh appearing material that reflected the sun. It was awe inspiring. The doorway into the Sphinx closed then disappeared. No need for matches, I guess.
Resuming our walk through the jungle, there was a rustle in the bushes to our left. Suddenly we were surrounded by natives holding spears. These dark skinned people were of medium build and sparsely clad with black tattoos covering their faces and upper bodies. They motioned for us to follow them.
Walking for quite a while through very dense trees and bushes we came to a high wall made of mud brick. A huge rustic wooden gate opened and we entered a very primitive village. Natives gathering around a central area curiously watched as we were lead to a large open space behind the village. A very large metal saucer shaped structure stood gleaming in the high sun. We were escorted up to the structure and a hissing sound was heard as a metal ramp lowered to the ground then two natives indicated with their hands to walk up the ramp into the saucer. Its presence seemed out of place in the jungle setting and definitely futuristic. The body glistened so brightly it was hard to look at. Once inside we immediately noticed a large triangular mosaic design on the metal floor of the circular room. The design looked like a cosmic map with constellations and star formations evident. A tall white obelisk crystal stood on each of the three mosaic triangle points. A native motioned for us to sit in the four large recliner chairs at the center of the round room. They were positioned, according to the floor map, due north, south, east, and west. These unusual gray recliners faced a large circular white crystal table.
Looking about, I started feeling dizzy again.
Ricky sat in one of the chairs taking in the scene. Looking over at me he became startled, “Your mask is back, Layla.”
Josi touched it this time. “It looks golden and feels warm like your skin.”
I touched my face.
The three obelisk crystals started glowing with several high musical tones heard. The two natives walked down the ramp and the metal door hissed closed. Josi and I huddled together waiting for something to happen. A voice came through the tones sounding neither male nor female. It asked us to sit down and remain quiet. The dome glass ceiling overhead covered most of the room and appeared to be a windshield. It gave a panoramic view of everything outside. I noticed the tribe of natives moving away from the structure.
Once seated, an intense force enveloped me, which caused an immediate internal pressure to be felt. I hoped we were safe because we had passed the point of no return, so to speak. The chair automatically secured me with lap and shoulder straps then what appeared to be a plastic bubble rolled over the chair. I was in my own atmosphere.
“Hey, can you guys hear me?” I asked.
“Roger that. I can hear you just fine,” said Ricky.
“What’s with the, ‘Roger that’?” Laughing, “Over and out,” injected J.J.
“Come on guys, enough. I’m just glad I can hear you,” said Josi.
Most everything in the circular room could be seen through the bubble and I could view the outside area around the spaceship on a digital screen attached to the right arm of the chair. A data screen popped up at eye level on the bubble shield showing my position on earth and body readings. A computer keyboard was built into the left arm of the chair and my body had molded into a liquid gel cushion. It was very comfortable.
The large crystal table began to glow with lights flashing through it causing the ship to slowly rise. We watched with apprehension and curiosity as we silently rose, and it became evident that the saucer shaped ship was surrounded by a protective electrical sphere. We must have looked like a very large soap bubble floating up into the sky. The ship was flying through earth’s atmosphere, past the moon and into the darkness beyond.
J.J. was the first to speak. “This is crazy! How is everyone doing? I feel like I’m at home watching a space program on TV.”
“I was feeling sick to my stomach but it subsided and now I feel tranquil and relaxed. I wonder if I was somehow given something for my nerves. The view is breathtaking out here, but it scares me because I don’t understand how all this works or where we are headed,” Josi confessed.
“I think the computer is monitoring our body functions and it must make atmospheric adjustments so we can maintain our earthly equilibrium. I feel good so far, how about you, Layla?” asked Ricky.
“Thoth created this journey and unless something unforeseen happens we should be safe and secure. We have the crystals he gave us. I feel such wonder at having this happen and it thrills me to be able to see the universe like this. It’s like I’m on a crazy ride at Disneyworld. Hopefully this is real and I’ve not fainted again!”
Time passed quickly and miraculously we descended toward a lavender planet landing in a meadow. After the completely quiet touch down we remained seated.
A rather dazed Ricky said, “That was a trip!”
J.J. was curious, “Where are we and what does all this mean?”
Josi complained, “I have a cramp in my leg and want to get up.” She massaged her left calf.
We waited. Nothing happened for several minutes, so moving to take the straps off, they automatically released as the chair bubbles rolled back allowing us to stand and move about.
The metal door hissed open. Looking down at the ground, I cautiously walked down the ramp and pressed my foot into what appeared to be grass. It felt firm.
“Let’s walk a bit, I think it’s safe.”
Stretching out as we walked, “Do you think we’re breathing air?” J.J. asked picking stones up off the ground and examining them.
Ricky shook his head negatively and shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know. We need air to breathe, my assumption is yes. How big would you say the spaceship is J.J.?”
“It looks like the diameter is about 75 feet.”
“Humm, yes, about 25 yards, a quarter of a football field, I thought a spaceship would be much bigger. I wonder what type of fuel it uses.” Ricky walked around the structure.
“Probably something far beyond our knowledge, I have a feeling that time has something to do with this. Time and movement through time more than combustion. This is way beyond our understanding,” deduced J.J.
Josi spotted a picnic table under a tree not too far from the ship. She ran over and sat down. “Hey, look at all this food. I’m so hungry I could eat a cow! Come on, let’s eat. Who knows when we’ll be able to eat again.”
The table displayed all our favorite foods. J.J. chose a T-bone steak, ravioli, and pasta salad. Ricky selected bar-be-cued beef ribs, beans, and coleslaw. Josi bit into a big fat juicy hamburger with fries, and I had fresh roasted turkey with all the trimmings. Yummm, we were hungry and it tasted delicious.
Once finished we weren’t sure what to do next so decided to explore the area. It didn’t take long for us to realize the area resembled the California foothills. Sitting under an old Oak tree to rest we promptly fell asleep.
Waking up from our nap, we noticed a man sitting Indian style on the grass in front of us. He wore a white robe and resembled a monk.
“Hello,” Ricky finally said stretching to get the kinks out. “We were waiting for you to come. Thank you for the wonderful food and needed rest. These are basic needs, as you must be aware. You made us very comfortable in familiar surroundings, but we know we’re not home, so please tell us who you are and why we have come here?”
The man rose and stood before us with his back to the familiar distant hills. His smile seemed genuine and his demeanor kind, yet when he spoke the vocal tones were harsh and hard to follow.
I stood and went to his side.
He asked, backing away slightly, “Please do not touch me.”
Up close I noticed his eyes had the look of a serpent. The pupils were vertical elongated slits and the iris was two lines of green and black. His breath smelled rancid and his fingernails were black and jagged. I realized the white robe was only a ploy. He started talking about a quest for knowledge as I returned to my friends.
Quietly I advised sitting down again, “We must return to the ship now, do not ask questions just walk back to the ship.”
We stood up then started walking. Everyone engaged the robed man in conversation.
J.J. asked him, “Please tell us about our planet Earth and its future.”
He talked randomly, but for some reason avoided realistic answers.
Josi was holding my hand as we walked and I saw fear in her eyes.
The door hissed open as we approached. Quickly walking up the ramp, the door closed and we went to our chairs.
The robed man projected on screen seemed confused then asked loudly, “What are you doing? Step off that spaceship! I am not finished with your teaching!”
The crystal table started glowing as we were belted into our seats. The plastic bubbles rolled over us and the outer electrical sphere appeared. The ship rose with increasing speed. Our screen showed the man on the ground becoming angry. He was yelling and cursing at us then began propelling himself physically through the air trying to upset the rising bubble. Within minutes we were once again being hurled through space.
Josi was upset, “What happened back there? Why was that man so evil?”
“I guess we’ll never know,” reviewed Ricky.
We passed huge stars and Nebulae. There were moments of complete darkness then an incoming star would brighten everything. If it was too bright, the sphere would shield the ship. Traveling along we realized we were heading toward what appeared to be an unusually colorful worm hole. No one spoke but fear was evident as the ship entered the large sucking circulating abyss. The ship was thrown, tossed, and turned so fast we became unconscious.
At some point the ship landed somewhere on the other side of the universe. We woke up to a view of color patterns unfamiliar to us. The ship had landed where the outside view was unusually indescribable. We sat for a while trying to understand what had just happened. No one was harmed, burned, or disoriented. It was very evident that we didn’t know where we were. The data screen showed nothing familiar, but our body readings were normal.
We felt long gone and I refused to move off the spaceship for fear of never returning to Earth. We sat in our opened chairs.
Ricky finally asked, “What happened back there with the man and the picnic?”
I had thought about it before we entered the worm hole. “The man was evil and reeked of vile vomit. He had serpent eyes and I felt we had to leave or be committed to a hell of sorts.”
J.J. stretching out and moving out of his chair, “Good call Layla, we were in trouble back there. I felt it too.”
Josi agreed.
“If we needed to command this ship J.J. could we do it?” asked Ricky.
“I see no instruments to define fuel needs, engine quality, fighting capabilities, or location maps. I have no idea?”
“Thoth planned this trip and I imagine the ship is preprogrammed. If we needed to take control, possibly he would contact us or reprogram the ship. At least I hope this is the case. It’s too late to do anything different now,” I summarized.
“I need to feel secure. That being was quite hostile after we boarded, which shows that others could try to harm us. Hopefully Thoth knows what he’s doing. It’s hard to depend on someone else, though I have my crystal; that’s something at least, though I don’t know what it could do to protect us,” reviewed Josi.
Eventually a chubby little man dressed in silver and blue waddled over to the spaceship from behind what appeared to be a cloud of fog. Seeing him on our digital screen, I thought he looked like a wizard from one of my childhood storybooks.
“Hello, hello, welcome to my home. I have been expecting you for some time. Come, come step off the ship. I will take you on a wonderful journey that will teach you all you need to know. You will learn many things while here. Please come, come quickly.”
I didn’t feel right about this either. My gut instinct was wary from the last encounter. Josi was getting up as was Ricky.
Following my gut I said, “No. Stay on the ship. Something is wrong, terribly wrong.” Everyone quickly sat back down but nothing happened. The ship didn’t move. The little man came closer and put out his chubby hand encouraging us to get off the ship. Watching him on the screen, I said, “I command this spaceship to leave!” The ship activated with everything closing up and the ship rising again.
The little man on screen watched us climb into the air while throwing a temper tantrum. I noticed he had the same green and black eyes. What is with this trickery? Suddenly I wanted to go home.
I told everyone, “Mentally wish to go home. Click your heels three times if you think it will help. Something is wrong with this quest and I feel we’re in danger.”
We were hurling through space again and eventually saw a beautiful blue and white marble planet advancing toward us. Descending, we were reminded of Earth. Soon we set down on a lovely island. A city of tall glass like buildings was seen off in the distance. There were many clusters of these beautiful buildings with multiple colors moving transparently inside their walls. Some buildings were green, others yellow, still others various shades of blue. I was thinking the terrain looked similar to our Earth.
A greeting party in an open hovercraft floated across a lovely meadow toward our parked spaceship. They got out and stood tall, dressed as we had never seen before. Intrigued and feeling slightly secure, we left the ship and waited to be greeted.
J.J. leaned over and asked quietly, “Do you think we’re safe?”
I hoped so.
A tall woman dressed in a highly decorative chartreuse jumpsuit with hair to match stepped forward and addressed me. “Welcome Isis, it has been many time periods since I saw you last, dear friend.”
“I must apologize; I am only dressed to represent Isis of Egypt. I am actually Layla Lily Nole of California, United States of America, of the third planet Earth, which is part of a solar system in the Milky Way Galaxy.”
“Ahh, well, all this time while recording your coming and due to your appearance, we thought you were my friend Isis. And your companions (indicating Ricky, Josi, and J.J.) we thought were Osiris, Hathor, and Horus. Welcome Layla, Brodrick, Josephine, and Julius. We did not understand everything in the message sent by Thoth earlier, but now it is clear. You are all on a quest for knowledge. We welcome you (at this point the greeters bowed). I am Mo, the mother of all knowledge. Please enjoy a walk in our lovely meadow. Soon someone will take you to your rooms. We will meet later and begin your teaching.”
The greeting party climbed back into their craft and left.
The meadow looked like the Garden of Eden as I had imagined from the Bible. There were winding streams with occasional crashing waterfalls running through the grounds. Glass statues placed around the area glowed with colors of the rainbow. Many were displayed in lovely alcoves of greenery beside the walking path. Tall majestic trees in decorative gardens could be seen near and far. A group of children ran through the meadow playing games of chase and laughing at the fun of it all. People walked busily to their appointed destinations. Everything felt normal.
We sat under a tree near a playground and relaxed. A man came by pushing a refreshment cart.
J.J. refused what appeared to be an offered ice cream bar, explaining, “We have no money.”
Smiling, he said, “It’s free to newcomers.”
The ice cream’s flavor tasted unusual. Josi thought it was lavender flavored soy bean yogurt.
A handsome young man in a gold and white body suit walked over and introduced himself. “I am Ronald. I have been appointed to take you to your rooms and I offer my assistance with any of your needs during your time here.”
Directing us across the meadow, we were asked to step into a large glass elevator attached to the outside of a beautiful green glass building. Climbing through the low clouds that surrounded the upper building, it stopped at a very large open patio. We were about half way up the building. The young man escorted us to a beautiful suite of rooms.
Ronald reviewed, “You will be staying here. I hope this is suitable.” He pointed to a clock on the wall in the common room explaining, “This clock has been placed here for your use. Mo will begin your teaching at 6 A.M.” The clock showed 8 P.M. He reviewed several things including the use of the refrigerator and its contents.
“Any questions before I leave?”
“No. Thank you,” J.J. said looking at the rest of us to verify.
He left.
“I feel very tired and need a hot shower. A nap sounds good,” I reviewed while reaching into the refrigerator and pulling out what appeared to be a wrapped turkey sandwich, a small tub of cherry yogurt, and a bottle of water.
Josi took out an egg salad sandwich, banana, and water. J.J. and Rick took out several things then closed the refrigerator door. We talked about staying close with no one wondering off alone then went to our rooms to rest.
This is not what I expected. Removing my costume, I put my crystal on the bedside stand. Entering the shower I felt something wasn’t right. My crystal isn’t with me. I decided to take it into the shower. I called to Josi to keep hers with her. Suddenly I needed to tell the guys. Covering up I went out and knocked on their door. Ricky answered and understood.
My dreams were clouded with green and black serpent eyes. When I woke up I felt just as tired. Putting my costume back on, I smiled thinking about how I had been confused with Isis. Something still isn’t right, I feel it. Where is our spaceship? How could I forget about such an important thing? Picturing the ship in my mind I envisioned it close by hoping it would work. The thought of looking for it in unfamiliar surroundings was very unappealing. A moment later J.J. called to us through the bedroom door.
Discussing the ship in the living area, we spotted it floating in the air next to the building.
Continuing to feel uncomfortable I encouraged, “Let’s leave. I feel we’re in danger again and I know I sound like a broken record, but my intuition says leave.”
“You’ve been right so far, I’m with you, Layla,” put in J.J.
We walked across the patio to the hovering ship, which had moved in for easy access. Sitting in the recliner chairs everyone watched Mo enter the suite of rooms on the digital screen. She was calling out to everyone while looking about. It was 6 A.M.
Surprise showed on her face once she realized we had left. Seeing the spaceship she ran toward us calling out, “Please do not leave. This is where you are supposed to be. Your quest rests here in this lovely city. I, Mo, will lead you down a beautiful path, which will show you many wonders beyond belief. Please stay, you have all the comforts you will ever need, right here.”
In her excitement she accidentally touched the edge of the spaceship. The city with its beautiful waterfalls evaporated followed by the blue and white marble planet, leaving only Mo with her green and black serpent eyes floating in front of the ship. There was nothing but space around us. The beautiful planet was gone.
“I have tried all the deception I know to get those crystals away from you. Layla, give them to me now and I will reward your earth with all I have to offer. Deny me and your planet will pay a dire price.”
“Who are you?” I asked watching her on the digital screen. The electrical sphere had not surrounded the ship yet.
“Do not be naive with me, Layla, do we have a deal?”
The ship remained steady while my friends shouted against the agreement.
“Never, never will you get our crystals, you evil being. You must be a devil,” shouted J.J. half way out of his chair shaking a fist at Mo who could now be seen through the windshield.
Josi and I remained seated, being surrounded by infinite space seemed very ominous and unsettling.
Ricky stood up and shouted back, “Leave us alone! You are a deceptive disgusting being. We want nothing to do with you. Your elusion has been removed and our crystals belong to no one but us.” With that the spaceship’s electrical sphere appeared and the ship swung into action. Ricky and J.J., at that same moment, were quickly thrust down into their seats as the bubble rolled into place just in the nick of time.
Sailing through time and space again we were all wishing to go home. Descending back into the ominous worm hole and unconsciousness we woke up to our data screen showing close proximity to our Solar System in the Milky Way. Unfortunately and unknown to us, we had one last stop to make. We found ourselves landing on a distant planet light years away from Earth. We were tired and getting testy with each other.
Everyone waited.
Surprising us, Thoth walked up to our spaceship and asked everyone to step out and follow him. We were happy yet leery due to our recent experiences.
I asked, “Can I touch you?”
He smiled and opened his arms. “Of course you can touch me.”
Leaving the ship, he gave me a big hug and it felt like I was almost home. Ricky shook his hand, Josi kissed his cheek, and J.J. gave him a big smile along with the ok sign.
Escorted toward a beautiful round building that looked much like the Roman Pantheon, we were encouraged to sit in the chairs provided. Thoth motioned for the roof overhead to roll open and the wondrous Milky Way was exposed in its splendor. Thoth started talking about the universe and how it was expanding and continually growing due to the chemical connection of particles to each other. Matter formed through the coexistence of chemistry, physics, and mathematics. Balance was the key, without balance there was nothing.
“The advancement of humanity is costing Earth her resources. Everything eventually outgrows its existence. Time sets a cycle in motion until gradually something upsets the balance of things. The Cosmos in some metaphysical way ends the imbalance causing the birth of a new cycle.”
Thoth talked about the Mayan people who in ancient times had a wonderful teacher; a friend who taught about cycles of time and reviewed the human value of existence and attaining the after life. The Mayan calendars were a testament to this teaching having been brought to earth from another time. Soon a new cycle would begin.
“This is some of the knowledge I need for you to relay to humanity. The great wisdom of the past, the mysteries, has been lost through the progression of time. There are some who have the key to this wisdom, the Freemasons, but their eyes remain closed to the world’s sudden need of this ancient knowledge.
I am sending you back to the village where your quest began. This village existed 10,500 years ago. When you step off the spaceship you will be at the beginning of the 5th cycle of known time, around 5000 years ago. I will meet you there and you will continue your quest for knowledge.”
I stood up and asked, “May I ask a question before we leave?”
“Layla, always the vigilant crusader, yes ask your question.”
“My friends and I were thrown across the universe thinking we were on a great quest for knowledge only to find an evil doer with serpent eyes trying to take our crystals away at every stop. We were propositioned by this being to give up the crystals and in exchange it would give Earth greater power. We refused, of course, but these deceptive ways were uncalculating. What was the knowledge to be learned from this experience?”
“I wanted all of you to see for yourselves that even in the most extreme circumstances where ever you are, you must be cautious and steadfast to your cause. When a person is trying to reach a goal, he must remember that the cause and effect are positive, but the trials and tribulations while attaining it are negative. Remember the balance needed in the universe? Well that includes the choice between good and evil in life. You may be successful at keeping evil out of your life but the temptation to do evil remains because it creates balance. This is one of the most difficult lessons to learn. Many succumb to the negative side because it is easier or faster or more beneficial at the moment. But it eventually causes grief. Yet without the negative you would not feel the need to be positive. Now I want all of you to come back with me to the spaceship. We still have a lot to accomplish.”