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(Finally, something Jenny recognized. She had looked back on her time in Sanglarka as some of her best and most treasured memories of her journey to become a guardian and eventually a gatekeeper.
She knew Lizzie’s experience would be slightly different, as most of the people who ran Sanglarka in her own time were yet children, but Sanglarka felt like a home-away-from-home for her.
She could picture it clearly, and the images sharpened in her mind as she read.)
As they stepped through the door in the long hallway, they were greeted by a dark sky sprinkled lavishly with diamond points of light and a sliver of a moon.
They exited into a meadow from under an archway covered with climbing roses. Around them, shimmering in the dim light of the moon and stars, were towering white mountain peaks.
Before them, holding a lantern, stood a tall blond man in a vibrant blue and white sweater and what were probably jeans. His bright blue eyes twinkled with welcome. “We meet again, Lizzie Japhet,” sent Grenheim. “Hello, Tarafau, my friend. It is cold. Come along to the lodge. There are many who are eager to meet you before we adjourn to our beds for the night.”
They followed along behind him towards the large, brightly lit lodge on the well-worn, stone-lined path. The windows in the lodge were large, with shutters on either side and flower boxes under each. Lizzie imagined that in spring and summer the bright flowers against the wood exterior would have been a cheery accent to the simple lines of the three-story building.
They entered the double doors to a large lobby area, much like you would see in a very nice hotel, with conversation areas scattered around the room that was dominated by a huge stone fireplace. A fire burned merrily in the hearth and, all in all, it gave off a feeling of warmth and welcome.
Standing expectantly in a semicircle just beyond the double doors were a half dozen people Lizzie didn’t recognize. Somehow, she had expected to see some of the people she had met in Switzerland, but of course, they had probably all gone back to tend their various gates all over the world.
“Allow me to introduce the training staff of Sanglarka,” Grenheim said, a note of pride in his mind voice. “You will be working and living with one and all during the first six weeks of your training. We all use mindspeech as a general rule, to accustom you in its use and to eliminate misunderstandings, as not all here speak English natively.”
Lizzie found herself nodding a bit apprehensively. She had spent more time interacting with people over the past couple of weeks than she had ever done, even in school. She was a loner by nature. This would definitely take some getting used to.
He gestured first at a dark-haired, medium-height, stocky man on the left of the group wearing a dark-red turtleneck sweater and black corduroy pants. “Meet Oak. For now, I suggest you call him that, as his real name is difficult for Earthlings to pronounce. Even in mindspeech.”
Lizzie started slightly at the word “Earthlings” but held her peace. She was sure explanations would come later, or so she hoped.
“Oak does all of the physical training, as well as orientation, so you will begin with him first thing in the morning after breakfast.
“Moving on, next to Oak is Livia, my wife and the mainstay of the lodge. She supervises meals, makes sure the staff keeps everything clean and orderly, is a sympathetic listening ear or mind, if you will. She also will be training you in certain mind disciplines that will be crucial to your duties as an agent.”
The petite, strawberry-blond woman bobbed what could have been an ironic curtsy and beamed at Lizzie. She was dressed casually in jeans and a blue gingham shirt, over which extended a long denim vest with deep front pockets.
“Next is our groundskeeper, tracker, and all-around handyman, Gustav. He also is our medic, so if you feel ill or are injured, he is the fixer upper.”
Gustav was short and wiry in build, dressed in grey sweatpants and a matching sweatshirt with curly, tousled dark hair and brown eyes. His dark eyebrows were his most distinctive feature, bushy and a bit wild, but his smile was cheerful, and his round cheeks were rosy and hairless.
“And now we come to your tech instructor. She will be introducing you to Alliance technology and instructing you in its proper use, as well as safety and security protocols. This is Meta. As you can probably tell, she isn’t from around here....”
The person he pointed to had a slight blue tinge to her skin, as though she had been caught out in the cold longer than was prudent. Her long silvery hair was caught up in an elaborate braid that held it close to the contours of her head. Her eyes were large and violet, and she had no eyebrows. She wore a snug silver bodysuit which Lizzie’s mother would have thought scandalous, but it extended modestly up to her neck, down her wrists to very long dexterous fingers, and to the tops of what appeared more to be delicate silver slippers than shoes.
“My people are called ‘Liliophytes,’ Lizzie,” she said in a chiming, nearly sing-song mind voice.
This startled Lizzie, as she began to realize that mind voices were as unique as any person’s regular voice was, and she found herself wondering how her mind voice sounded to the others around her.
“And last, but certainly not least,” Grenheim continued, “Randall, our communications expert. He will be teaching you the ins and outs of the Alliance communications network.”
After Meta, Lizzie had to admit, Randall looked pretty ordinary. Almost too ordinary to be honest. Light brown hair, brown eyes, medium height, medium build, wearing a t-shirt and jeans and tennis shoes, he could have been anyone passing you on any city street in Los Angeles.
“It is good to meet you all,” was all Lizzie could think to say. She had to be honest with herself; this was more than a little disconcerting. The rapidity of the transport and the complete difference in her surroundings with no opportunity to orient herself was definitely going to take some getting used to.
Grenheim said, “I’m sure we could all use some rest, as we have a lot to do tomorrow to get you settled into your routine and start you properly. Livia will see you to your room and get you settled in. You have a lot of work ahead of you. Goodnight, one and all.” And with a nod of his head, he dismissed them.
Livia gestured towards a long, wide, wooden staircase leading to the second floor. “Your things have already been taken up to your room from the Switzerland gate,” she sent to Lizzie, leading her up the stairs. “If there is anything you need beyond what you have brought with you, please let us know. A large part of the function of Sanglarka is to support, supply, and provide initial training for new agents and gate guardians.”
From a long balcony that led the entire length of the lodge, they could look down into the lobby area. Livia led Lizzie to the second door and opened it, gesturing for Lizzie to precede her.
Lizzie had expected some sort of small room like her dorm room at the college, but the room was a generous size with a queen-sized bed, a dresser, and a large desk that looked out of a picture window. There were also two doors on either side of the room. She assumed that one was a closet and the other a bathroom, although, based on her experiences today, she wasn’t so sure she would ever look at a door in the same way again. The gauze curtains were drawn at the moment, but Lizzie could imagine that during the day the view looking out onto the valley and into the surrounding mountain peaks would be glorious.
Her suitcase laid on top of the dresser. On the desk was a leather book and a fountain pen.
Livia noticed her glance at the book. “We generally gift each trainee with a blank journal to allow you to preserve your memories of this time of your training. It is a great way to look back and understand how far you have come and how you can avoid pitfalls in the future.”
“Thank you, Livia,” Lizzie sent. “This is amazing. I don’t see an alarm clock, and I failed to bring one. When should I get up in the morning?”
“You will not have any trouble getting up in time, I promise.” Livia said, her eyes twinkling with some secret amusement. “Now, if there isn’t anything else, I’ll leave you to it. Your bathroom is fully stocked with towels and a bathrobe that should fit.”
“Thank you again, Livia. Goodnight.”
Once Lizzie had showered and dressed for bed, she remembered thinking there was no way she would sleep with all the ideas, observations, and questions that were buzzing in her mind. But the next thing she knew, her dreams were interrupted by what was definitely an alarm. Instead of hearing it with her ears, though, it was in her head.
She shot up out of bed. The light filtering through the gauze curtains was bright and warm. She practically jumped into the clothes she had laid out the night before, a long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans, gave her short cap of auburn hair what her mother would have called “a lick and a promise,” and rushed down the stairs, anxious not to be late her first day.
In the lobby, Livia was speaking to Gustav, a clipboard in her hand. Since she was not broadcasting but mindspeaking to him specifically, Lizzie couldn’t overhear what they were saying. It occurred to Lizzie that mindspeech was potentially a much more effective means of communication than verbal speech and saw how it would make many things much easier in the long run. However, the quiet while they obviously were nodding and gesturing during their conversation was admittedly a bit unnerving.
Livia looked up as Lizzie was halfway down the stairs. “Lizzie, good morning! I hope you slept well?”
“Better than I expected, actually. I guess I was more tired than I had thought. The bed was comfy, and the nice hot shower definitely helped. I hope I am dressed correctly. I wasn’t sure what to expect today.”
“Actually, you look like you are dressed to work, and that is a good thing. Breakfast is through the double doors in the dining room. We should be sitting down in the next few minutes.” And she turned back to Gustav, evidently to finish their conversation.
Lizzie crossed the shiny wood floors of the lobby area and, as instructed, went through the double doors into a long room with doors along one side and a long trestle style table with seating for over a dozen people down the center. On a long, brightly patterned linen runner were spaced many covered dishes, as well as condiments and serving utensils.
Everyone but Lizzie, Livia, and Gustav was already seated, mental conversations already going on, based on lively expressions and occasional nods or chuckles.
Lizzie took a seat on one side next to Oak, who nodded to her. “Good morning, Lizzie,” he sent. “Lots to do today. Eat a good breakfast, you’ll need the energy.” And he grinned at her in what Lizzie hoped wasn’t intended as an evil grin but felt very much like it.
At that moment, Livia and Gustav entered and Grenheim stood. “Ah, good. Now that we’re all here, let us be thankful for this good meal that has been provided by Providence and for the comfort of good company to enjoy as we eat. At the end of your meal, please remain seated, as we need to do a short orientation for Lizzie before we each go about our respective tasks for the day.”
And with that, the covers were removed from the various dishes. There were peeled hard boiled eggs, yellow and white cheese, some sort of dark thick rye crackers, and jam and butter. Livia got up from her chair beside Grenheim and went through a set of swinging doors and returned in a few moments with a tray of steaming mugs of hot chocolate topped with cream.
Lizzie watched the others as they went through their morning routine and decided to copy them, since this was very different than the breakfast she typically made for herself when dining alone: oatmeal, with brown sugar and raisins, and a glass of milk.
As she saw the others do, she laid slices of cheese on a large cracker and cut the hardboiled egg into slices and laid them on top of the cheese. It was actually quite good. Most of them also followed their cheese and crackers with an additional cracker with butter and jam. Lizzie also tried it. She decided she could easily get used to this.
The hot cocoa was rich and made a great accompaniment to the crackers and jam. However, she wished she had a peppermint stick to finish it off. She pushed her plate back with a happy sigh. About that time, Grenheim stood up at the head of the long table and began.
“Friends, one of the best and most satisfying things we do as part of our service to our planet and the Dimensional Alliance is the training of Alliance agents and gate guardians. Our new friend, Lizzie, embarks today on a both marvelous and potentially perilous journey. Our key purpose in her training is to prepare her for her final training at Dimensional Alliance headquarters, in a dimension far away.
“Lizzie, it behooves you, as you have made this commitment to serve, to pay strict attention to the instruction you will receive. Much of it will perhaps be perplexing to you at this point, but I promise you that you will be grateful for it down the road.
“Today you will begin a strict schedule with each of your trainers. They will be pushing you hard. Several things that will help you get through this: Get plenty of sleep when you can. Eat well, as I promise you will burn every calorie you take in. Be sure to use your break time for true relaxation. Write in your journal every night before retiring. Can you do this? Of course, you can.
“You will begin every day in the workout room with Livia and Oak, Livia in mental training and Oak in physical disciplines.
“After time to shower and change, you will take training with Meta. She will be teaching you how to use alien tech. I cannot emphasize to you enough that this information is strictly confidential. Our Earth, although advancing faster than you might realize in many areas, is far behind the advancements we have access to in the Alliance. Revealing anything you learn in your training to anyone outside the Alliance could have devastating consequences.
“Then you will break for lunch.
“After lunch, you will head outside with Gustav, who will teach you how to navigate in unknown areas, how to track, and, of course, additional physical conditioning to increase your levels of stamina and strength.
“Finally, you will study with Randall, who will instruct you both in the history and culture of the Dimensional Alliance and the Alliance communications network, vital to your work going forward.”
As he paused, Lizzie had to check to be sure her mouth wasn’t hanging open. She wasn’t sure what she had expected, but this certainly wasn’t it. She had promised Gaston that she would be patient with the process. It was hard, however, not to have words spill out of her mouth. Instead, she nodded and waited.
Grenheim smacked his hands together with a loud clap! and the rest stood. Lizzie rose and Grenheim sent, “Let’s get to it, then! Good success to you, Lizzie. Please follow Livia and Oak to the workout room. The rest of us will clear up.”
And, suiting words to action, each of them began to reach for plates and utensils and serving bowls to take to the kitchen.
Oak led out, followed by Livia and Lizzie. They passed several doors spaced about eight feet apart to the final door on the wall of the dining area. Another set of double swinging doors led into a spacious room. It was about half the size of a basketball court and had a polished wooden floor. Large picture windows lined one side of the room, letting in bright sunlight. From this vantage point, the valley spread before them, and the peaks of the mountains rose majestically surrounding it like sparkling sentinels tipped with snow.
Half of the room was covered with padded mats. There were also various types of gymnastic equipment lined along the far wall. On another wall were two more glass doors. Through one was a small swimming pool, and through the other what appeared to be a sauna.
Livia and Oak each seated themselves cross-legged on the mat and Livia patted the mat beside her. “Come,” she sent. “Let us begin with some breathing exercises. It may seem silly to you, but we will be learning ‘intentional’ breathing and relaxation, techniques intended to allow you to focus your mind as well as nourish your brain and body. These exercises are taught to every agent and gate guardian. You may find yourself amazed at how helpful this will be, going forward.
“I am aware that you began this journey to learn about science and how things work. This is science. The human body is an amazing machine. Medical science has only begun to scratch the surface in it quest to discover how we function.
“Breathing is foundational. You already know that if you stop breathing you die, but it is so much more than that. Learning to breathe intentionally allows you to control much of your mental and physical functions.
“We will begin by learning some basic controlled breathing techniques. It will require you to concentrate very intimately on your body and the timing or spacing of your breathing as well as the depth and length of your breaths. Let us begin.”
By the time they had been at it for about forty-five minutes, Lizzie felt like she would have after a long run on the beach. It had never occurred to her that simply breathing could be so much work.
“That will be enough for now,” Livia sent at last. “You will practice these techniques for at least thirty minutes every night before bed, and we will continue instruction in more advanced patterns every morning immediately following breakfast.”
She and Oak rose, Lizzie following their example. Then she realized she wasn’t done. Oak hadn’t said a word during their breathing session, merely breathing with his eyes closed the entire time.
Now he looked her up and down somewhat critically. “Tall for an Earthling female, not flabby or overweight. What do you generally do to keep fit?”
Once again Lizzie was a bit taken aback by the word “Earthling.” Was Oak also alien? She hesitated to ask, hoping all would be revealed in time. She admitted that Oak was physically a bit intimidating. Especially now with that carefully evaluating look he was aiming at her, as if she were a laboratory rat.
“I ride my bike and I like to run on the beach when I get a chance,” she replied, looking him directly in the eyes. She wasn’t going to allow herself to show how disconcerted she was.
“That will do for now. Do you have any weapons training?”
“Weapons? No, not really. I’ve fired a gun before on a shooting range, and I learned the basics of archery at girls camp when I was about fourteen years old. Haven’t handled a bow since. I don’t remember anyone saying anything about weapons training before now—”
“One of my assignments is to teach you methods of defense and how to handle yourself in, shall we say, difficult circumstances....”
He walked over to a basket against the wall with all of the gymnastic equipment and pulled out a long stick slightly longer than Lizzie was tall and tossed it to Livia. He took one himself. The stick almost looked tiny in his large hands.
“Observe,” he said, and launched himself at Livia, swinging the long stick at her head. Livia blocked it with her own with a loud crack! and pivoted on one foot, reversing her swing towards his middle, which he blocked with his stick upright in two hands.
Back and forth they went, the sticks clacking rhythmically while they pivoted, side-stepped, and ducked in what looked like a choreographed dance.
Finally, Livia got in a tap on Oak’s thigh, upon which he held his stick horizontally across his chest. “Score to Livia!” he sent, and they both faced Lizzie, panting lightly.
“These,” he said, gesturing to the sticks, “are quarterstaffs. You will be learning to use them as part of your training. I will explain the whys and wherefores at another time. For now, we will do some stretching and calisthenics to get a proper picture of where you are now and what we need to do to get you up to standard before you head to Dimensional Alliance headquarters for official agent training. Do you have any questions?”
Lizzie actually had lots of questions, but she decided to hold her tongue for now. Both Gaston and Miriha, knowing her inquisitive and often obstinate nature, had advised her to do more listening than questioning until she knew enough to ask the right questions. So, she shook her head, not trusting herself to answer otherwise.
Oak didn’t take her quiet amiss. He simply ran her through a series of stretches and exercises, many of which she recognized from P.E. in school and some that were new to her. As she did each exercise, he would stop her after a few seconds and reposition her, correct her posture, and re-demonstrate the proper execution of the exercise.
By the time they were finished, she was tired, and she expected she wouldn’t feel the real impact until the next morning. Livia reminded her that after her shower she would want to go to Meta in the lab next to the library. She pointed out the doors leading to each of these as they exited the workout room.
Lizzie was so excited about the opportunity to learn tech and science from an actual alien that she rushed through her preparations and was soon heading down the stairs towards the dining room.
She was delighted when she saw Meta standing in front of the door, a plate of fruit and cheese in one hand and a pitcher of what appeared to be lemonade in the other. “Come, Lizzie. I’ll bet you could use a snack after your workout. I know Oak doesn’t believe in going easy on his students.” She chuckled, and Lizzie observed that the musical sound of her voice was very similar to her natural voice. She then realized that this had been similar with all of those with whom she had mindspeech conversations.
She found herself wondering: is the mental voice you project based on your own idea of what your voice is supposed to sound like? A question for Livia at their next mental exercise session.
She followed Meta through the door to the lab and was interested to note that, although there were aspects of any lab she had ever encountered in her studies, this was arranged in an interesting way. There were the standard worktables equipped with what she thought of as standard lab equipment, but there was also an area sectioned off with a circle of comfortable chairs interspersed with small low tables surrounding a very low round table, much like a large coffee table.
Meta led the way to the circle of chairs and gestured for Lizzie to sit.
“Make yourself comfortable,” she said, seating herself in a chair next to Lizzie and setting the plate of snacks on one of the small tables between them. “You may be surprised to know that as many scientific advancements happen in this little circle of chairs as do any of the time we spend actively working with the equipment in the lab. Please feel free to munch on the fruit and cheese as we talk. One of the advantages of mindspeech is that we can eat and converse at the same time without worrying about speaking with a full mouth.”
At this she smiled, and Lizzie couldn’t help but smile back. Meta had small white, even teeth, and her lips were a dark teal color.
Meta continued. “Your species’ current level of technology is somewhat primitive in comparison to that which is available in the Dimensional Alliance, although you have progressed remarkably over the last several centuries. What you will be learning to use over the next several weeks is vital to your ongoing training at the Dimensional Alliance training unit. We don’t want you to be at a disadvantage with the other agents in training.”
“Then, this isn’t the actual agent training?” Lizzie said, remembering only belatedly her resolve not to ask questions before she was ready.
“No, Lizzie. This is a preparatory class to bring you up to speed before you are subjected to the training to become a certified agent. That course would be the equivalent in Earth time to gaining an Associate degree in your Earth colleges. The first section of that training will be coursework with classes and labs. The second section will pair you up with a ‘Guide,’ where you will do field work, as you would call it. What we do here is simply prepare you, so you don’t begin at a disadvantage.”
“Thank you for clarifying that, Meta. I will try to do Sanglarka credit.”
“That is a great way to begin, Lizzie. So, today I will simply explain our coursework and how we will proceed. Starting tomorrow, we will delve deep into what most of your Earthling associates call ‘alien tech.’
“The first thing I must emphasize and will continue to reiterate is that all of this information is to be held secret to anyone outside of the Alliance. This includes as you go to other worlds throughout the dimensions. Not all of the worlds you will visit will be at the same technical level as the Alliance. By agreement, the agents and representatives in the Alliance have access to tech from all over the multiverse, but only because they do not share this technology with species or beings of a lower technological development, including those on their home planets.
“Revealing any of this is a serious infraction and can be punished severely. It often results in a wiping of the memory and resettling the perpetrator back into their original culture with a feasible cover story for their extended absence and no further contact with the Dimensional Alliance.
“Is this very clear to you? I know you may get tired of the many reminders of this, but it is vital to uphold this as part of the interdimensional agreements that allow the Dimensional Alliance to do its work. You will learn more about the culture and history of the Alliance with each of your instructors and in much more detail in your training at the agent training unit.”
Lizzie found that this was actually very helpful in calming the racing questions in her head. Now they were finally getting to some useful information.
By this time, the fruit and cheese plate was empty, and they wiped their hands on the napkins beside the plate. Lizzie also realized that she had unconsciously drained her lemonade.
Meta reached out onto the round table in the center of the circle of chairs and picked up what looked like a very shiny slate, like the kind small children use to learn their letters. To her surprise, when Meta touched the side of the slate, a light came on from underneath and small pictures were revealed.
“This is a tablet, a small computing device used for training, communications, and recording important data. Tomorrow you will be receiving your own, but for now, I will instruct you in its use....”
Thus began Lizzie’s first introduction to alien technology. She was instantly smitten with delight and satisfaction. At last, she would get her questions answered and she would put every effort to keeping track of her questions and checking them off as they were answered until the time was right.
