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(Jenny looked up from the journal’s yellowing pages with a start. This sounded all too familiar. She had been lulled by the seeming peace of Lizzie’s experience so far. She had been excited that she would finally get the opportunity to enjoy a nearly idyllic experience of what agent training would have been like for her if she had been given that opportunity and nothing had interfered.
But she knew linklings’ abilities. She knew that it was unlikely Ynni had been fooled or had imagined the threat.
She turned the page...)
Lizzie was afraid Liliath would discount Ynni’s report of a “bad one.” However, later when she was admitted into Liliath’s office and reported the experience, Liliath questioned Ynni closely about it. It was obvious she not only believed what Ynni was saying but took it very seriously.
When Lizzie asked Liliath how such a threat was possible or even likely, Liliath replied, “The Dimensional Alliance is not without its enemies. Most are intimidated by the combined might of the member dimensions, but now and then a group of them conspires to infiltrate or even attempt to shut down the gate system. They imagine the riches of the dimensions could be theirs if the Alliance was not there to interfere in free reign over those dimensions not prepared to defend themselves—especially those, like Earth, who are protected by the Alliance but are not official members and who do not know there is a threat.
“In addition, not all of the beings within our membership agree on how things should be done all the time. These are generally in the minority, but their complaints are usually brought before the governing council and resolved through negotiation and reasonable concessions that may not be completely satisfactory to both parties. In these cases, both parties agree to live by the final decision of the combined council.
“We shall put security on alert status. Ynni, if you notice this ‘bad one’ around again, please attempt to identify them. I know this will be difficult if you are in a gathering of any size but having a description will be paramount to catching this being or any of their potential confederates. We will be careful to notify only our security team about this, so please do not spread it. Lizzie, have you told any of your podmates about it?”
“No, we came straight here as soon as the crowd had dispersed. They know I have lessons with you, and I used that as an excuse. I wasn’t sure the best way to handle it, and I was pretty sure no one else noticed anything or they would have said something. I also admit I didn’t want to feel foolish if it turned out to be nothing to worry about.”
“Very good. Then, for now, let’s keep this between us and security. Ynni, stay on alert, please. If you need to contact me, Lizzie, simply touch the icon that will now appear in the contact list on your tablet. Don’t go into detail. Simply say, ‘Ynni,’ and I will know. At that point I will get with you immediately. Are we clear?”
“Clear as can be, Liliath. Thank you.”
“Then return to your pod, and let’s hope this was just a passing thing. If it isn’t, we can deal with it. Thank you for coming straight to me with this.”
As she left the office, Lizzie knew that something had shifted within her. All of a sudden all of the preparations they were making, all of the self-defense and learning to control her facial expressions and the reasons for the foundation of the Dimensional Alliance became real to her in a way that none of her lessons had achieved so far.
Of course, it might be nothing. It could just be a disgruntled agent student mentally grumbling to themselves. It might never occur again. It might not be connected to any kind of a conspiracy or intent to do actual harm to the Alliance.
Nevertheless, Lizzie realized for the first time that her training as an agent was not only informational. She had thought that any threats to the Alliance were in the past, not something she might ever have to deal with herself as an agent. She knew the Alliance also had an organized army called the Troopers, but she thought this to be mainly for some vague future threat and more as a deterrent than a current necessity.
Over the next week or so, she found herself more intensely engaged in all of her lessons. Even her mental sessions with Liliath took on new meaning as she realized that protecting her mind needed to be a first priority.
Every class became more significant, more urgent. Her desire to ask questions for the pure sake of learning was transformed with intentional focus on what her instructors had to teach her. There would be plenty of time to expand her search for the answers to all of life’s questions once she had mastered the skills necessary to fill her role as an agent for the Alliance.
Not only was she more intensely focused on becoming the best possible agent, but she began to understand that, regardless of the huge idea of defending the multiverse, she felt she had a specific responsibility to protect the Earth. It had not occurred to her before that some shapeless, faceless, inimical force on the edges of the multiverse might actually impact her home world.
She thought of all the Earth had been through in the past few decades and realized that those world wars and destruction were nothing compared to what a technologically superior culture could inflict on them. She pictured the entire Earth enslaved or even completely destroyed and shuddered at the thought.
While it was true that her encounter with the “bad one” might not be the runner up to anything like that, she finally thought she understood what she had signed up for and now fervently hoped that she would prove up to the task if necessary.
Therefore, it was a new Lizzie who continued her training. Mang remarked during their defense training that she had “fire” in her eyes, and all of a sudden, she found herself more engaged and attentive as Lall instructed them in new techniques.
To her distress, however, more fervor didn’t necessarily translate into a higher skill level. Although she was a lot less likely to allow her thoughts to drift during the forms and sparring matches, she noted that she just didn’t have the natural abilities that would make her more than an above-average fighter.
In her other classes, the kinds of questions she began to ask were changed from “why” to “how,” a change that more than one of her instructors seemed to notice.
She still very much enjoyed the visits to the other podmates’ dimensions and was still awed at the visits to alien dimensions led by Galena, but she also found herself paying a lot more attention to the study of what she thought of as the Dimensional Alliance constitution.
It was vital to her, as an agent, that she thoroughly understand the whys and wherefores of how the Alliance was put together.
Her pod drew closer and closer together as they visited one another’s dimensions. She still had not told any of them about the “bad one,” but she found herself feeling more and more protective of these beings who had become more than just teammates or friends. There was no word in her extensive vocabulary to explain this relationship, but she definitely knew that she had never felt this close even to members of her own family.
She had loved visiting Geln’s dimension. It was like having triple vision to see all of the repeated faces, but each set of three, with an occasional set of four (rather like twins on Earth), were unique and had differing temperaments and abilities.
As Geln had told her, they were a very peaceful people and lovers of nature, which was not clogged by large sprawling cities. Instead, there were townships along country roads. Their visit was carefully monitored, as Geln’s dimension was not a member. Therefore, they got to meet only the gate guardians and their families.
It turns out that the planet was very large and the gravity slightly stronger than most of the dimensions they had visited so far. Which explained how Geln, bulky as they were could be so light on their feet. The landmasses took up a much larger percentage of the planet’s surface. When asked how the planet wasn’t overwhelmed by population, the guardian in charge of the excursion simply shrugged three sets of shoulders.
“Our life spans are short compared to many in the Alliance, and most families bear only one set of children. A family, therefore, generally consists of six parents and one set of siblings. This is the natural order for us.”
Geln seemed very happy to be on his planet and to introduce them to his six parents. They definitely seemed to be proud of their son(s).
Mang’s dimension was so very different from anything Lizzie would have described as “elf-like.” His people lived in large, extremely modern cities, similar in technology to the Dimensional Alliance headquarters city. There were farms, but the farming was done by a second race more suited to those tasks. Commerce went back and forth between the two types of beings, the rural folk exchanging for goods with what her dad would have called “city folk.”
She had somehow pictured him in Tolkien-like surroundings, woodlands, playing harps and engaged in tending the land. Their guide explained it had once been that way, but that was far in their distant past. When they had established a relationship with the agrarians, it had freed them to pursue higher sciences and technology. His expression as he explained this seemed a bit haughty, as if this should have been obvious.
Minth had been sorry that he was unable to bring his podmates through his own gate. “The environment is so highly charged that even your environmental suits would be no protection.” So, his report in Lin’s class was all they had to go by.
One by one, they visited the various dimensions. Finally, there were only two left, Earth and Gi’s planet, Finque.
Instead of the Switzerland gate as Lizzie had expected, they were received joyously at the Sanglarka gate by the Sanglarka team. It was definitely an impressive entrance, with the sparkling, diamond-like, snow-covered peaks surrounding the beautiful green valley with its forests and streams.
They did their workout together in the workout cycle that had become so routine for Lizzie in her pre-agent training. They ate together at a sumptuous feast with special foods that had come ahead of them. Evidently this wasn’t the Sanglarka team’s first time to do this for the agent training program. All of her podmates pronounced the meal well served.
They had the opportunity to watch a filmed presentation showing the many wonders of the planet, and Grenheim had answered their questions. They did their defense workout in the lodge workout room, and Oak had complimented one and all for their prowess in defensive training.
Lizzie had returned knowing that her podmates had been as impressed with her home planet and its hospitality as she had been with theirs.
The next day, before they left the pod for the journey to Gi’s planet, Gi put an arm around Lizzie. Up to this time, each time they had left to visit a planet, Ynni had gone along with her reflection turned off. But Gi requested that this time, Ynni should be visible.
“My people are not shy to meet other beings, and I think most of them will be enchanted with our Ynni, especially with her beautiful singing voice. And please make sure you have your mbira. You will need it.”
Lizzie did as instructed. She had anticipated this trip most of all.
They came out of the gate into what seemed like a cave, light spilling fractured into rainbows by the waterfall that shielded the gate. There was a path that took them around the veil of water into bright sunlight reflected off of a large, nearly oval pool of water surrounded by trees of a pale yellow-green.
“Welcome!” came a smooth tenor mind voice. “I am Lolo. Please follow me and do not stray. There is no danger here, but very few of our people have mindspeech ability, and if you get lost it might be difficult for you to communicate your need to find us.”
As they spread out from the entrance, Lizzie could now see a tall green man with curly lavender hair in a distinctive blue robe that flowed to his wrists and ankles in gentle folds. It was fastened with a clasp that looked as if it was made of a blue opal in a silver setting. Lizzie guessed this ornament and the robes might be a badge of office, but she had only ever seen Gi in their standard working gear in the training compound, so she had no way of telling.
They passed through a forested area down a well-maintained path lined on either side with colorful stones. They emerged at the top of a low hill looking down onto a wide grassy plain. A stream wound through it, and from this vantage point they could also see their first glimpse of a concentricity. Radiating in a huge circle from a central cleared area surrounded by what might be fruit trees were domelike homes, each with acres of cultivated crops behind them.
Lizzie had pictured a dozen homes in a community based on Gi’s report, but there were hundreds of these homes layered in a concentric circle from the central plaza-type area.
From this height, they could also hear music wafting up from below. It was like the background music for a film, never ceasing, but rising and falling in sound and intensity and tightly harmonizing like a vast choir. There had to be thousands of voices, and yet, Lizzie remembered that Gi could vocalize in multiple voices at once. Even then, the effect was mesmerizing.
After pausing to appreciate the view, they descended on a gentle path to the plain. Lizzie realized as they walked that she hadn’t seen anything like a vehicle in their bird’s-eye view of the concentricity.
The walk was pleasant, and their guide was silent. She assumed it was to allow them to soak in the ambient music that pleasantly surrounded them. Her companions seemed to agree, as no one seemed to be conversing in mindspeech as they walked.
Of them all, Geln seemed to be the most affected by this. His faces all reflected a combination of awe and a touch of discomfort. Lizzie remembered what he had said about the concept of music being foreign to his planet, and she could see why this must be an eye-opening experience for them. She also realized that she thought of Geln as three individuals with joined mind as opposed to one individual controlling three bodies.
She often argued with herself but wondered what an argument for Geln must be like. Their experience with Liliath made Lizzie think there was much more to Geln than met the eye.
Lolo led them to the center of the concentricity where people were beginning to gather. At the arc of the circular plaza was a raised platform. He led the group up onto the platform and gestured for them to stand and face the gathering crowd.
Still looking out towards the people assembling before them, he addressed the pod in mindspeech. “I will be speaking to these, my people, in our language. As I address them, Gi will provide a translation for you in mindspeech. I will be assigning each of you a competent mindspeech translator so that you do not have to linger as a group but can mix individually with our people.”
Gi, who was standing next to Lizzie, nudged her and said, “You and I will stay together. There are people to whom I would like to introduce you. The others can mix as they will.”
Lizzie nodded acceptance and Ynni added, “Gi is a good friend and will be true. We are happy to have this link.”
The statement startled Lizzie somewhat. She hadn’t thought about the fact that Ynni might decide to vet her acquaintances or that her link to Ynni might extend to people she cared about. This was somewhat disconcerting, and she wasn’t quite sure how she felt about this. But Lolo was speaking...
All other voices had subsided. A bright, rich tenor voice rang out in a beautiful melody and then blended into three voices harmonizing as Gi had done.
Gi translated, “My people, we have the honor and opportunity today to meet a small group of representatives from different dimensions than our own. Today we celebrate. Work may be laid aside. These young people are learning the necessary skills to be representatives of the Dimensional Alliance and, as such, are friends and compatriots. As they mix with you today, please show them our beating heart and give generously of your time and understanding. Do I have your agreement?”
A great swelling chorus arose before them, melodious and grand in its enthusiasm.
“Now let’s get you settled with your companions,” Lolo sent, turning his back to the crowd that was once again emitting various musical tones which seemed to harmonize effortlessly with the other voices among them. “After the mixing, we will assemble for a feast and then more entertainment.”
He introduced each of them to one of the villagers and gave Geln a choice of either one for all three or one for each of them. They chose to occupy only a single translator.
Gi tugged at Lizzie’s arm. “Come with me. I see my family, and they will want to meet you.”
She led the way down the steps of the platform to a waiting group of nearly a dozen people who were singing excitedly with one another. Lizzie noticed that Lolo was the only one in formal robes. The people around her were dressed in vibrant jewel tones, typical of country folk on her own planet on a celebration day. The women wore breeches or skirts in various styles, and the men tended more towards long tunic-like shirts and breeches.
An older version of Gi stepped forward to hug Gi, and then she turned to Lizzie, singing with a warm welcoming smile. “Lizzie, meet my mother, Ooli.” Gi sent, at the same time singing back to her mother.
“Tell her, I am pleased to meet her,” and Lizzie extended her hand. She was surprised when Ooli grasped it firmly and pulled Lizzie also into a great hug.
It turns out that members of Gi’s family weren’t the only huggers. Evidently there was no handshake in this culture. She noticed after receiving hug after hug from Gi’s parents, siblings, and an aunt and uncle that her podmates were also on the receiving end of many hugs. This definitely tested Professor Fin’s training in schooling their features, as she knew that Mang, Linlin, and Negoth only tolerated touching when it was required in self-defense classes or helping a podmate up a slope with a grasp of the hand.
Nevertheless, they accepted the offered hugs with placid expressions, although Lizzie could almost see the mental rolled eyes with every contact.
Evidently, Minth’s translator had warned those he met about his particular situation of no touching, and they accepted this restriction with good grace, keeping an adequate space between him and them.
In any other crowd, the sounds emanating from such a gathering would have been tumult, but in this case, it was like being in the center of a large chorale. The music seemed to create itself from the vocal cords of hundreds of people. Lizzie could begin to see why Gi was able to harmonize with her own “doodlings” on the mbira so easily. It became obvious that these people did this instinctively and effortlessly.
Then surprisingly, a rhythmic clapping began. It was the first percussive sounds she had heard since their arrival. And further, it was coming from a circle of onlookers surrounding, of all people, Geln!
In the center of the circle were Geln, dancing gleefully and individually to the music that surrounded them. Of all the beings she associated with daily in agent training, Geln would have been the last she would have suspected of such a public display of pure joy. Their eyes were closed as they pursued their own unique choreography.
Then, to her utter astonishment, one by one, as if it had been planned, her other podmates joined Geln in the center of the circle which widened to give them space to move. Lizzie couldn’t believe it as Gi tugged at her arm and Ynni sent, “Lizzie must dance. The steps are written in your heart.”
She timidly stepped out into the circle, watching the others as she moved to the music. Each of them had a different style of movement, some fluid, some staccato, in their response to the swelling chorus.
Most striking was Reanni, her wings part of the expression of her dance. Occasionally she would leap joyously, her wings giving her the extra height other beings would lack. Her bright coloring made it even more impressive, like a Polynesian fire dancer.
She was most surprised by Mang. He was always so dignified and impersonal, but his eyes were closed, and his face was euphoric. He moved with the same grace he displayed on the practice field, but without the ferocity she was used to seeing in him.
The faces of each of her podmates expressed a joyous abandon that she had never seen in any of them before. This was more than just play or recreation. Dancing to the glorious chorus was an elevated expression of more joy than Lizzie could remember having experienced in her lifetime.
Slowly the music began to fade, and the clapping died to a single person in a slow and gentle cadence. As the dancers slowed and stopped, there was one last clap almost too quiet to hear, and all was silent.
“Come with me,” Gi sent to the group. The crowd around them remained silent, and an aisle parted to allow them to follow her to an area on one side of the circle that appeared to be set up for a huge picnic. At one place in the center of it all someone had placed cushions around a low table, just barely high enough to fit their knees under. Gi gestured for them to sit.
Behind them the music of conversation began again, but it was different this time. Much like the ambient music in a restaurant or theater, it was not compelling like the music they had danced to.
As they sat, Lolo sat amongst them. “We are so glad to have shared this with you,” he said, looking around at each of them. “What you have just experienced was a mass recital of the story of a time in our history when the concentricities were first constructed. This is beyond living memory, but the song tells it all. I know you could not have it translated to you. It was sung in a very condensed manner of communication among us.
“In order to tell the story completely in mindspeech or even our normal song, it would have taken many hours.
“When you have time with Gi, perhaps she can tell you some of the stories which were included.”
At this point people began bringing around large bowls of produce to place in a line down the center of the table. “Gi assures me that the food choices we offer here are all amenable to your various constitutions. I understand that in some of your cultures, food is processed by heat and other measures. Here we do not cook our food. It is harvested in its season and served fresh from our gardens and orchards year-round.”
They waited, as they had been taught to do in their etiquette classes. This appeared to be a good choice, as suddenly a song arose again from all of the surrounding low tables which Gi translated for them.
“Creator of All Things, we thank thee. We thank thee for food and raiment and all good things which spring from the soil. We thank thee for home and community. We thank thee for all good gifts.”
Then a hush fell for a moment and the ambient music rose around them, but not as intense as before. Lizzie assumed this was because, unlike mindspeech, one could not eat and swallow and continue to sing.
“When we are finished eating, you will meet with the Alliance agents who are native to our dimension, and you may ask whatever questions you wish. Afterwards, we will entertain you before we wish you farewell and good journey.”
