Friday, August 11th, 6:51 AM
Unknown Location
Neraeh let out a scream she quickly muffled with her hand over her mouth.
Evan wrapped his left arm around her and drew her tight against his body.
Freddy stepped closer to Evan’s right side. He came up from behind, in the same position where he had stood by his bed in the motel room.
"What the hell is going on here?" Evan demanded. “And where the heck are we?”
“Please,” Art said, walking toward them, motioning his open hands downward several times, “just stay calm. We do not want to hurt you. We are still in Wyoming, although I cannot disclose the exact location.”
“It will be all right,” Kamal said, arriving near Art. “Believe me. You’ll be much happier and more enlightened once you leave here.”
"What is that supposed to mean?" Evan asked. "And how did you bring us here?"
“As you know…” Art looked at Freddy. “Both of you know. The refresh rate for this realm. Incredibly fast. But if you possess the advanced technology, to not only be faster than this refresh rate but access and alter object coordinates at the same time, a teleporter is born.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Evan said. “Positive and negative charge cannot work if the refresh rate is disrupted. And how could anything be faster than the refresh rate?”
“The refresh rate is not disrupted. And I’ll remind you of virtual particle spin, physical phenomena faster than the refresh rate.”
“Yeah, didn’t look so fast to me,” Evan said. “Took far more than a split second for all your light works to get us here.”
“Only the acquisition process. The actual transfer is instantaneous.”
“The window,” Neraeh said to Evan. “It was unlocked. I don’t recall it being unlocked before we went to bed last night.”
Evan stared dead on into Art’s dark eyes. “That device in our room. Did you put it there?”
Art gave one brief nod. “I will not lie. We did. But not through your motel room window. Not necessary.”
“Not necessary?” Evan glanced at the same two goons he had seen by the van, and then several others, five in all, standing to the right of the table. Their stances were alert but calm. “Yeah. I bet. Was wondering why we didn’t see them. Keep us busy talking, disabling our electronics.” He kept his arm around Neraeh, and she pressed closer to him. “So, enlighten us, and then take us back to our motel room.”
“Of course.” Art smiled briefly. “Come. Let us sit over here, at our brainstorming table.” He turned and headed in that direction.
“Yes, please,” Kamal said, motioning with his hand to come along. “Again, we are not going to hurt you. We only want to talk.”
Confused, yet trying to stay observant, Evan turned back on his right to see behind the three of them. Nothing remained of their motel room. Only more of this room. A tall, concrete wall, like in a basement. And some chairs and more metal shelves with electronic equipment, with some of the devices having a very futuristic, advanced appearance. But no doors or windows. He turned forward and glanced around everywhere he could, even at the ceiling, also made of concrete. Not good; he couldn’t see any doors or windows anywhere, even beyond the shelves by those big guys – only walls, ceiling and floor made of concrete on all six sides of this rectangular-shaped box room.
“Evan,” Neraeh said.
He looked into her worried eyes. “Are you all right?”
“I’m really scared, but…but I want to do this.” She spoke quietly. “I want to hear what they have to say, even if it kills me.”
“Don’t say that. We’ll be all right.” He looked at Freddy.
"It's okay, dude," Freddy said in a low voice. "We need to do this. I want to know."
“All right.” Evan took in a quick, shaky breath. “Let’s hear what they have to say.” He began leading them toward the table, about six yards away, keeping his arm around Neraeh yet loose enough for her to move properly.
With every step, he felt reassured this wasn’t just some created hologram or virtual reality. The concrete floor definitely felt real, as did the small pieces of metal screws, plastic, or sand particles crushed under the soles of his shoes, much like walking across Bob’s garage floor. The smell, though, was different, more chemical-like than gasoline or exhaust-filled. And the temperature felt at room temp, just right.
They arrived by the lengthwise edge of a long, oval table, with papers and three laptops sprawled across the table’s surface. Lots of cushiony black chairs with wheeled legs, the kind used for computer desks, or for gamers, surrounded the table’s sides.
Evan pulled out one of the wheeled chairs for Neraeh and she sat down. He sat in a chair to her left. Freddy sat to Neraeh’s right. Now she was protected on both sides.
Art and Kamal were already sitting across the table. Art moved two of the laptops out of the way, so he, and Kamal, had a better view, obviously.
Evan glanced to his right. Those goons. He again recognized the two from before. The three others were all Mexican or Hispanic-appearing. And they were all big, football-player size, and though calm, were outwardly threatening. They approached a little closer to the table but remained standing.
“Just curious about something,” Evan said, his eyes mainly focused on Art. “With your abilities, why the need for your guard dogs here?”
“Ahh, guard dogs, yeah? That is a fair question. As I insinuated before, people, like yourself, are alarmed and frightened at first, and want to lash out, physically attack. But with my guard dogs here, that is far less likely to occur, and so it is far less likely I have to use my abilities in the first place. And besides, my guard dogs here all have extensive backgrounds in various aspects of technology and are thus very useful to our work.”
“Yeah, well, maybe it’s your approach that needs adjustment, like I told you before. I would advise figuring out a less alarming and frightening encounter with people, so maybe you wouldn’t need them in the first place.”
Art smiled and nodded. “I’ll take that into consideration. But when time is paramount, sometimes a gentler approach won’t work. Things need to get done by yesterday. And besides, my guard dogs here are family and friends.”
Evan eyed the big guys again and then looked at Art. “Didn’t mean any disrespect, calling them that.”
“What do you mean?”
“A very important acquaintance of ours, worked for General Tauring,” Art said. “Big mistake for him, yet ultimately led you here, to us.” Art directed his eyes on Neraeh. “He was there, when your sister, Syrrah, her essence, her life force was transferred into Dana’s body.”
“Wait a minute,” Neraeh said. “You…you are telling me, this all really happened?”
Art slowly nodded a few times. “I am sorry, but it is true.” He looked at Evan. “And yes, our friend worked with General Tauring, but we, and he himself, absolutely did not endorse this or want this. He had no idea what he was getting involved with. Only knew his expertise, in, shall we say, sound and light engineering that also included rigged security monitoring made him a well sought-after civilian.”
"What was your acquaintance's name?" Neraeh asked.
"That is not important now. Of the information I am telling you, sometimes less is better. But just be aware he is gone, has been completely missing for approximately six years."
"Why is that?" Freddy asked.
Evan noticed Neraeh was trembling, but she was sitting up straight, her arms tense, trying to suppress it. Evan put his arm around her and drew her closer, though carefully, making sure her chair didn’t crash into his. “It’s all right, Neraeh. I’m right here.”
She rested her arm on her chair’s armrest and leaned closer to him. “I’m okay,” she said softly. “Just a little nervous.”
Kamal reached across the table and lightly patted Neraeh's other hand on the table. "You don't have to be nervous. This is for your safety as well as ours.”
"Okay," she said quietly. "I'm all right."
Evan kept his arm around her but directed his eyes on Art or Kamal.
“Our acquaintance,” Art said. “He had reached his limit. He wanted to tell what had happened, to certain news media. But he was never able to. We did what we could, to block his memory with us, with hypnosis, other means, since knowledge of our involvement would have been a further threat to General Tauring. We had both tried to access Akashic-like records within this realm but have been blocked, by their alien associates. He’s been missing all these years, a missing person. He would never do this. We know his outcome could only be the worst possible outcome.”
“What do you mean,” Evan asked, “a further threat to Tauring?”
“If that worthless shitbag,” Kamal said, “Hakan, had found out our friend was involved with us, Tauring would have no doubt our friend was going public, if not worse.”
Evan nodded. "Hakan. The mind reader."
"No, not exactly," Art said, "the life force transferrer. He failed with you.”
“Yes,” Evan said. “He tried. I got great satisfaction from seeing his face as he failed. He couldn't do it whatsoever."
Art smiled. "Very satisfying."
“Hakan had a close call recently,” Kamal said. “Last we heard, the person he transferred to had a plan. Once within Hakan’s body, this person somehow snatched a gun from a DFR security man and immediately stuck the gun in Hakan’s mouth. Would have blown Hakan’s brains out, if security hadn’t been super quick. They now make sure to strap both people in place before the procedure, or Hakan must guarantee he can handle anything that might come up.”
“Ha. Yeah. Hakan getting stuck in someone else’s body,” Evan said. “Was this a woman?”
Kamal smiled. “That would be correct. She was a woman. And fortunately, for her, she’s still alive, and recovering.”
"I see," Evan said, both disconcerting yet gratifying thoughts filling his mind from Kamal’s sudden revelation about Hakan.
"Excuse me, but," Neraeh said, "what do you mean by life force transferrer?"
"Did she...did she want this to happen?" Neraeh asked.
Art’s gaze softened, even showing sadness, though he still expressed a stern, tough face. “Unfortunately, from what our friend told us, she did not. She did not enter this willingly. And she wasn't the first."
“Hold on, here,” Freddy said. “How is this even possible, to switch a person’s thoughts and memories into another person's head? What, two sets of memories and thoughts all in one brain? Wouldn't that produce brain failure, if not death?"
“Excellent question,” Kamal said. “’There are levels. They go by number first, letter next. The numbers are from one to five, and the letters from A to E. Age is important too. Being that Syrrah was only 18 years old, she didn’t have access to as many memories as someone older, and this was probably one of the deciding factors. Most likely Syrrah received a 5B or 5C transfer. All her memories and thoughts are accessible, but she can only access some of Dana’s memories.”
The thought of this disturbed Evan greatly, yet he tried to concentrate more on understanding it. “So, a 5E would be all thought and memories transferred, and all memories intact in the new body?”
"Yes," Art said, "Exactly. Which is what Hakan could do, by himself alone, after specialized training with certain EBEs. Very effective in finding important memories."
"With your abilities," Neraeh said, "what can you tell me about Syrrah? Is she okay? What is happening to her?"
"That is the issue,” Art said. "We cannot access her mind. She is being blocked, most likely via EBE blocks. We doubt any humans involved with her have such abilities, unless they're being guided by these same aliens."
She looked at Evan. "EBE?"
"Extraterrestrial biological entity," Evan answered, “or, aliens, as in those Greys.”
"Oh. Okay," Neraeh said. "Do these EBEs, like, read her mind too then? Know what she’s thinking?"
Art nodded slightly. “Most likely, yes, Neraeh, if not more.”
Evan felt his innards sink, and hurt, but he had to keep on track here. “I suppose that’s why you haven’t picked up your friend’s torch and gone to the media with all that you know, from his thoughts and memories. Forces beyond your abilities.”
"Yes, and no," Art said. "We are dealing with some of the most powerful beings in this realm, it is true. We struggle daily with a difficult balancing act. Too much prying, and they could turn on us. But, at the same time, too much meddling on their part, and we could do some damage back as well. We choose to remain mostly hidden, discrete, so we can help those few who get caught and somehow escape…or are even mercifully released."
“I see,” Evan said. “So, what about you, and Kamal?” He glanced around the room at all the high-tech equipment and devices. “How did you guys get involved? What did they do to you?’
“Let me guess,” Evan said, “and once you found out he was using your skills for wartime maneuvers, you wanted it to end.”
“Close,” Art said. “That certainly was a factor, although it was always sugar-coated as valuable defensive moves to protect the country from invaders. More than anything, though, it was the treatment received. We were locked up and treated as slaves. And we could not fully retaliate, because the EBE’s psychic abilities out-matched our own.”
“Believe me, I get that,” Evan said. “Which is why I got us all out of there as soon as I could.” He noticed too much warmth was emanating between himself and Neraeh, and she began inching away from his embrace on her. He gently released his arm from around her. “You doing okay?” He asked her in a quiet voice.
She smiled briefly at him. “Yes,” she replied softly, “I’m okay.”
Evan placed both his arms on the table. He looked at her again. “Just want to ask a few more questions. Shouldn’t be too long.”
“I’m fine, Evan. Really.”
“Okay, hon.” He looked at Art. “So. What are your powers exactly?”
Art clasped his hands together and smiled at Neraeh, and then stared straight on at Evan. “Primarily telepathy and telekinesis, with some clairvoyance and remote viewing thrown in with the mix.”
“And I mostly channel or sense future events, with some clairvoyance,” Kamal said. “I often help Art with his interpretations of future events. And he helps me with my channeling. We help each other. Most of the time, though not always, I need to touch or be near my intended target, whereas Art does not.”
“I’m sorry,” Neraeh said, “but I have no idea what you two just described. Could you explain those terms to me, please?”
“Certainly,” Art said. “I can read or access a person’s thoughts and memories from a distance. That is telepathy. I do not need to touch a person or an object in order to obtain these readings. And I can alter, change, or even damage physical objects, or living beings, from a distance, and I do not need to touch the living being or object to do this. And that is called telekinesis.”
“Clairvoyance,” Kamal said, “or remote viewing, both terms mean the ability to sense or perceive people, objects, locations, and physical events via extrasensory perception. And channeling is receiving information from another entity, beyond our realm. Does that help to clear things up for you?”
“I believe so.” Neraeh glanced around the room but then focused on Art and Kamal. “I mean, I’m still trying to understand, and even believe what I see…all of this. And how I got here. But it’s so hard. And there really, truly are aliens? Or, I mean, EBEs?”
“Oh yes, most certainly,” Art said. “I have seen them myself.”
“It’s true, Neraeh,” Evan told her. “I saw them too. When…when I met with what they call The Collector.”
“Oh, right. Messengers of the Collector. Your group. I’m assuming that’s where the name came from.” Her eyes drew perplexed. “But who is the Collector?”
“Maybe,” Art said to Evan, “it is time you tell Neraeh the complete story.”
Evan crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Art. “Now why does that make me hesitant?”
“Because you still do not trust us,” Art said. “And we can fully appreciate why. But you understand I know much about what happened to you.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“There is no need to be hesitant, Evan,” Art said. “We only want to work with you, not against you.”
"After how you brought us here, that all does seem a bit odd, don't you think?"
“Yes, of course,” Art said. “Again, we only did this for your protection, and for ours. We need to return you soon, before the motel housekeepers enter your room. So this is a good time to discuss quickly a few things.”
“Yeah. I suppose.” Evan turned to Neraeh. “Are you ready for this?”
“With being in our motel room one second, and then the next second here, well, yeah, I guess you could say I’m ready for this. And if it will help me understand more about what happened with Syrrah, then yes, please tell me.”
Evan thought about how he could sum it up. This wasn't going to be easy. There was so much to explain. He leaned back in his chair. "Not sure how to begin."
“You were late for school,” Art said.
“Simple. I am not actually entering your mind, but accessing the code for your mind, and your memories. The brain is merely a processing center interacting with the mind’s code.”
“I can see how that makes sense,” Freddy said. “And I guess that also helps explain what you said earlier, about repressing Dana’s memories. Those memories aren’t really in her brain, they’re in the universe engine, so no need to worry about an overcrowded brain with both women in there. They only need to block what they don’t want read or accessed.”
“Yes,” Art answered. “Precisely. Very observant of you Freddy.”
“Yeah, that is a good point, Fred.” Yet other concerns were materializing in Evan’s head. “But, wait a minute here. If you are accessing the code for my mind, in the universe engine, then aren’t you allowing the Causalitors a major peek into what we’re discussing right now?”
“What we call the front end,” Kamal said, “or rather, the hack end.”
“Hack end?” They thought they were sick and cool with their clever words, but it was starting to get annoying. “What exactly does that mean?”
“Again, with summary,” Art said. “The best way to explain this. Threads or shadow points of code, sort of like how mechanical hard drive disks leave behind traces of data even after they have been wiped. The code of the different parts of your body, and your clothes, and even the objects in this room and the walls, especially in regards to the air displacement pressure put upon these objects and walls, all of these shadow points, combined together, give me all the information necessary to read your mind’s code.”
Evan shook his head, and let out a snicker. He wanted to stand up and demand Art return them now, but Neraeh was listening and watching Art intently. “That sounds impossibly difficult to even comprehend.”
Art leaned forward on the table. He looked directly into Evan’s gaze. “The human body is impossibly complex and difficult to comprehend. The human brain is enormously complex and difficult to comprehend. Yet, we use both effortlessly all the time. My God-given abilities are much the same. I don’t need to think much on how to use my abilities, they just happen.”
“Yeah, okay. I see. So why can’t you just access the surrounding code for Dana Zypher?”
“Because, as I explained, there are those more powerful. Imagine, if you will, when I attempt to access her code, it is scrambled, incoherent, like a TV channel inaccessible, all static and fuzzy. Yet, at times, blocks may be relaxed, and I can access some of her thoughts and feelings. It can be very unpredictable.”
“Okay. I get it.”
“This all sounds so crazy,” Neraeh said. “Are we living in some sort of universe like The Matrix movies?” She looked at Evan. “A universe engine. And the Collector, the Causalitors. Who are they?”
“Well, yes, and no, in regards to the Matrix movies,” Art answered her. “It is more complicated, but similar. But the Collector, and the Causalitors would be best explained by Evan.”
“Evan. Please. I’m okay,” she said softly. “I can tell you think I’m not ready to hear this, but I am now, really.”
He glanced at Freddy, and the dude’s face only indicating he was willing to support any decision made right now. Besides, Art already knew details he couldn’t have found out any other way than by his mind-reading ability. Art most likely already knew all of this. Evan looked at Neraeh. “I still say you’re going to have a hard time believing it all.”
“I know, but, I still want to hear the full story. You already told me there were seven of you. So, how did it all start, from you being late for school?”
“We were driving across the intersection when something odd happened.” Keep it vague and keep it short, Evan told himself. Have Art fill in the details to prove what he knows. “Felt like a nearby earthquake, a vibration.” He leaned back into his seat. “My dad slowed down, nearly got T-boned, and then when we parked and looked back at the intersection, we saw another Suburban just like ours, sitting there in the same spot where we had been, but not moving.”
And he continued, bringing forth hints of what was to happen next, but allowing Art to explain the rest. And, surprisingly, Art did. Every time. Like when Evan explained that the others arrived yet didn’t give their names. But Art did, naming Alan, Robert, Nahas, and Akina without hesitation. Just plain mind blowing. But regardless, Evan still tried to keep it short, limit the details, until finally wrapping up the entire story by mentioning how they ended up encountering the horrible Causalitors, which eventually led them to meet with the Collector and Syrrah, when Evan was then 16.5 years old.
“Sixteen and a half,” Art said. “Of course. All makes sense.”
“Yeah,” Evan said. “I get what you’re saying. Felt like it was all planned out that way.”
“You say he was the Collector,” Neraeh said. “The collector of what?”
“That’s easy,” Art said. “He is the collector of souls.”
Evan nodded. “Yes, you could say that.”
"So, was he, Jesus of Nazareth?" she asked. "The Son of God?"
“Not sure, Neraeh. To this day, I’m really not sure. Our whole entire event really doesn’t seem to fit with the Bible. But, the Collector, he told us, there were things wrong in the Bible, and that eventually we would get or find the truth, something like that.”
“There is much more,” Art said. “This story is not over. Much more to learn and discover.”
“Yes,” Evan said. “I suppose so.”
"But, to be in what you thought was heaven," Neraeh said. "That must have been...incredible. It is very hard to believe."
“Wasn’t what you thought,” Evan said. “For years now, I have questioned this. Why couldn’t this powerful being, who the Causalitors feared so greatly, just take back our universe from them, and end all the suffering? For quite a while, I felt that Robert was right, his atheist beliefs, no God, no Jesus. He kept saying that we were messed with, by aliens, that all of them, the Causalitors, the Collector, and angels were all simply alien beings, deceiving us, playing with us…felt my dad and the others were wrong.” Evan leaned on the table, glanced at Neraeh and then settled his eyes on Art and Kamal. “One thing, kept me going…all these years…”
Art nodded, very slightly, a faint smile forming. “Testing me again, I see.”
Evan only stared at him, waiting.
The expression on Art’s face changed. He was blinking more, staring at the table intermittently. His features softened and filled with awe, enlightenment. “The touch from him. From the Collector. I feel it. I feel it as you did.”
“What is he talking about?” Neraeh asked gently.
Evan gazed into her curious eyes. “The Collector placed his hand on me at one point. I felt this incredible loving, caring, comforting feeling flow through me. Never felt anything like it before, Neraeh. It was stunning, amazing.”
“It is as he told you, Evan,” Art said. “If a high enough percentage of the worlds in this universe can be at peace, he will take back this universe, and convert this universe to a paradise universe.”
“And you believe him?” Evan asked.
“Yes, I do.”
“Doesn’t matter much anyway,” Evan said. “Our group, MOTC. No one believed us, really. Besides that, we have been called satanists, or blasphemers by other churches or religious organizations. We…we eventually just sort of broke apart.”
“But good things did happen,” Art said. “Robert is no longer an atheist. And Alan made improvements as well.”
This guy was good, in more ways than one.
Still couldn’t confirm it for sure, but Evan felt some of the heavy weight bearing down on him lessen. He focused on Art’s gaze. “You are for real, aren’t you?”
"Yes, Evan. I am on your side. No need to be afraid of me, or any of us here."
“Excuse me, but,” Neraeh said, “I need to ask something again.” She looked at Evan. “You said the real universe was put on pause. How could that possibly have occurred?”
“They equated our universe to a game that could be placed on pause. And from what they explained, no one here, not you, or Freddy, or any of us here, would know the pause state occurred. If you can believe that.”
“Here is more of what I know,” Art said. “Ron didn’t believe this, nor did many of your temporary followers. But I believe it.”
“You really believe they put the universe on pause?” Evan asked Art.
“As with your PSP, that you had. A convenient analogy to the virtual reality game we live within. And how impossible it appears for computer generated characters to exist outside of this system. Yet it can occur, because you and the other hull people did exist outside this system.”
“Hmm, I see,” Evan said. “So due to that, anything could be possible with them.”
“Yes, more or less.”
“Those creatures, hybrids I saw,” Evan said.
“Then why were we sent to Tauring’s base? They were supposed to help us.”
“I don’t think you need to ask that,” Kamal said. “Those having experience working with EBEs will of course be most capable of solving a possible problem involving EBEs.”
“But let us return to the main subject here,” Art said, eying Neraeh. “After summarizing all that we have gathered about your sister, Syrrah, we believe it is imperative that we connect with her, help her, very soon.” He looked at Evan. “Your plan, applying for the security guard position with Dana’s tour, could not be more perfect.”
“Why do you believe that?” Evan asked.
“Wait a minute, Evan.” Neraeh placed her hand on his forearm. “Art. I know her situation can’t be that good, but why do you say it’s imperative we help her soon?”
“I am not sure of all the details, but I sense darkness and despair in her current life. The light of her soul is dimming. That is the best explanation I can give you.”
“It’s okay, hon.” Evan took hold of her hand. “Try to stay positive about this.”
“I know. I’m trying.”
“All I can tell you, Neraeh, from what I sense, is she needs our help, and soon,” Art said, his tone kind, gentle. “A relative of mine. My cousin, Felicia. She is twenty-two years old. I cannot supply all the details at this moment, but I think she could help.”
“What do you mean? She would…she would like to switch souls, with Syrrah?”
“In a manner, possibly. But, again, I must work out the details, before explaining more.”
“Wait, hold on here,” Evan said. “Why would you want your cousin, to exist in Dana Zypher? That’s insane.”
Art smirked. “No, you got that wrong. However this goes down, it would not involve my cousin as Dana, not ever. And yes, to your next question. Let’s just say some devices I gifted to myself, upon escaping Tauring’s snare. The same group of devices which moved you here can also accomplish a life force transfer, along with my and Kamal’s abilities.”
“I have a question,” Freddy said. “Why did Dana want this in the first place? Was it because of her drug problem?"
“Possibly,” Art answered. “But I am sensing much more than this, though, again, it is mostly blocked.” He stood up. “I apologize for the abruptness, but we must prepare to bring all of you back now.”
Neraeh stood up too. “Wait. I have one more question. That business card you gave us. What was that? And how did it break apart?”
“Simple. Only a regular paper card. I was able to break it apart, once the timing was right.” Art looked at Kamal. “That phone.”
“Oh yeah, of course. And I’ll get the main AKTS.” Kamal left his chair and walked over to a shelf of various electronic gadgets, near where Art’s goons were yet standing and yet looking rather menacing, and he picked up a small device, probably that phone. Then he picked up a larger, oval device that appeared advanced, strange, other-worldly from Evan’s rather distant viewpoint.
Evan stood up. So did Freddy.
But Art’s goons stayed put and kept their same calm stance, though they watched with ever alert eyes. Yeah. Definitely prior military. Or astute in combat arts.
Art walked around the table and instructed Evan, Freddy, and Neraeh to walk over and stand where they had originally arrived. While moving the chairs out of their way, Kamal placed the smaller, phone-like device in Art’s hands and placed the advanced, oval device on the table.
Evan guided Neraeh in their short walk. Not so surprisingly, his hands on her shoulders, he detected slight trembling yet. This was just too hard on her. Damn. If only Art could have figured a less thoroughly shocking manner to have them visit with each other. And it certainly didn’t help he just told Neraeh he crumbled that card with his mind, from most likely a massive distance, depending on this secret building’s location.
“To keep in touch,” Art said, placing the phone in Evan’s hands, once he released Neraeh so they could stand as before.
Evan gave it a closer look; it was a very small, rectangular-shaped smart phone, not much larger than a credit card, with rounded edges and tones of black and grey. The phone’s dimensions were about two inches wide by four inches in height, and roughly a half inch thick.
“A simple Unihertz phone, non-EBE, from this world, with a mobile virtual private network and advanced encryption algorithms,” Art said. “My phone number is already in the contacts. It does not have a screen password, but I will send you one later and instructions on how to enable.” He stared up into Evan’s gaze. “The phone has a built-in warning system. A warning message will block you from attempting to text or call if instead of me, the recipient is an intruder.”
“Okay. I see. But why do I feel like this is just a means to track me?”
Art smiled. “Come on, Evan. I think you know better by now. I don’t need this to track you. This is simply a means for us to stay in contact. Very important.”
“But won’t Tauring’s EBEs be blocking your connection with Evan?” Freddy asked. “Makes even more sense to have the phone, I suppose.”
“Excellent observation,” Art said. “And yes, that could occur. And that is another reason. But, as I have mentioned before, positive spiritual forces are guiding and helping us.”
“Limati.”
“Yeah, but why are you telling me this now?”
Art placed his hand, a warm hand, on Evan’s upper arm. “I am on your side, Evan. I am on your side. And I want you to understand too, that there is much I can do to protect you from the EBEs connected with Syrrah. Do not be worried about this.”
“The thought never crossed my mind…at least not yet.”
“Good. Those positive, beneficial spiritual forces will help too.”
Evan could only stare into Art’s dark eyes for a moment. “Well,” he said eventually, “I’m glad about that likewise.”
Art kindly told Neraeh that the unlocked window in their motel room was merely overlooked by the maid and not to worry.
After a few more verbal exchanges between them, but with no actual good-byes, Art explained the same process would occur again. Kamal pressed his fingers on various spots of the advanced, oval object on the table. The light mesh emanated from the object. And then the very bright flash soon after.
They were suddenly back in the motel room.