The search for Kalid/4

Surprise
After reading about Azur, Leone stood up; he was surprised and scared. He thought he felt as if the spaceship were trembling. Another attack? It could not be, they could not have been followed. Could they? In general, hyperspatial jumps were undetectable for another ship, but there were always rumors about a new technology that had achieved that.

"Aristark! We are attacked again!" Leone shouted.

"Yes. It seems." Aristark replied, in a tired voice. "And we never cared about recharging the spaceship shield. If they ever attack us again, we are lost. Unless we make another jump..."

"No way!" Leone said.

"Yes, of course, Mr. Leone wants to fight like a lion, a mad lion, I would add. Oh, my Graviton, I think I will have to flee this time, if my life is worth anything. I do not want to be a hero, a dead hero, as all of them."

"We will NOT die. We have to send some kind of signal to Azur."

"I do not know if we can. After we got in here, I checked communication systems and it seems it is damaged."

"I did not know." Leone commented. "Then, our only option is to try to flee, but that is not my wish. However, we have no other option. This time, just this time, I agree with you, Aristark... besides, I do not want you to be hurt again due to my behavior."

"Thanks. I expected to hear something like that from you, I am glad to know that the Leone I always knew is back and ready to kick..."

"It is not to br..."

At that moment, they could clearly feel that the attack was being resumed; the spaceship trembled again and they could hear an annoying beep. Another one of the subsystems was damaged and that was its cry of death. It was something inconceivable, the fact that they were being attacked... there were many non-aggression treaties near Azur; it was a neutral planet, or at least that was what Leone believed. He told that to Aristark and he added that the treaty took place nearer Azur, not there, in the boundaries of Akara system, where they were now. The attack in there was completely legal. Leone started to lose his self-control once again and could not think clearly.

"We have to do something." Leone said. "I am surprised that we are still alive while the shield is just 1%"

"What it happens is that 1% is an average. Inside the room I was, it got to 0% and that was why I got hurt. If they keep shooting us that way, we will lose all of our defense systems and they may damage the propulsion system too."

Very few words can actually describe the anguish and fear the two Counselors were feeling at that very moment, being there, locked inside that metal and energy tomb. They were going to be murdered soon and there was no place where to run or hide. Besides, as Leone noticed after a few seconds, there was not a second chance to enter hyperspace again. They could not make a new jump so soon, they would have to wait weeks or even months for that. They would have to go far from the place hyperspace had materialized them, they could not use the same hole made to the space-time fabric for months! Then, where did the enemy ship come from? Because it was sure it was a spaceship; there was no planet neither satellite in there.

Worried
The year 74 ANE (After the New Empire)

It was a sunny afternoon. The star of Sakkara was bright in the sky. Sybil was sixteen and her mother was with her. Sybil was thin, not so tall and with black hair. She had never tinted her hair although other girls did that all the time. She tried to be natural in everything she did. And she did not care much about beauty... she considered it best that we should not change our body in any way since it was what God has given and we must accept it. Sybil's appearance provoked in others a sense of fragility when she was seen for the first time, but that was only an apparent weakness; she actually had a very strong will within her. Upon a second glance others would notice her eyes and the way she looked at people; that metalic gaze made them feel uncomfortable.

Her mother was tall, thin and had black hair, too. She combed her hair in such a way that it nearly produced a sphere, and she was very hairy...sometimes it seemed like she used all that hair as a power display, in the way a cat might fluff out its fur in an attempt to look larger.

They both were on the landing point, where their flying car was parked. Although cars were usually driven by an AI, her mother, Dorothy, always liked to drive them manually. They both entered the flyer and sat in the two front seats, the doors closed automatically, the AI greeted them and they were prepared to shuttle. Her mother took control of the car and they rode to the appointment with Kalid. Sybil was a more than a little nervous about the whole matter since her destiny was going to be decided that very day. With a whistle, the flying car went up.

Sybil always liked to watch the land from above because it never failed to provide a very interesting feeling: a sense of power. While flying high above, one's daily duties and worries seemed far away, she thought. She started remembering what her mother had told her about Kalid the day before the meeting. That last night she could barely sleep. All night long she was bothered by imagined views of Kalid as if seen again and again from all angles... and she could not stop thinking about the coming meeting. She obsessively thought Kalid was going to say "no" to her, that was, not accept her as apt for Priesthood. Only a thin objection could be heard through the fear: that maybe he would accept her, after all. During the flight to the meeting she was very tired for not having slept and her mother was also clearly agitated and worried due to the fact that Sybil's fate would be decided once and for all that day. Her mother had said she trusted Kalid and that he would allow her to enter the Order, but nobody could really be certain about that. Kalid had strange and unknown ways to detect if a person had the gifts needed for Priesthood and there was no second guessing the Grand Master.

There were plenty of legends and rumors about Kalid. Some people said that he had fully studied ancient religions, particularly those using “the energy that pervades it all” concept. Now this was called Vichido, the art or study of the energy of life... of course, that jargon did not mean much to non-practitioners. In this context, "energy" was taken as a superset that included the more limited concepts of energy and matter as known in physics. In addition to the "energy" of conventional physics, Vichido included the more important spiritual energy, that which allows precognition, telepathy and martial arts special hits. It was thought that such energy circulated in the body and through the whole universe and that the practitioner could use it for good... although some people did use it for evil.



Kalid was the Master of an Ancient Order of priests called the Haldus Order. That Order was thought to descend from Ancient Egyptian religion, from the times of the Great Pyramids. It was a very secret society and it was believed that not even the Empire had been able to penetrate it with their spies. Plus, the vows of silence were very strict... there were even rumors that people who broke them ended up dead. But nobody knew for sure. Even an important member in the Order like Sybil knew very few other high-ranking people inside it and what each knew about the other was only the information that each person needed to know. What members knew was strictly determined according to the rank of the initiate. There were four grades called The Four Circles. The first one was the most advanced and only dead (disincarnated) masters could enter it, in spirit; it was only accessible through the astral plane. Second circle masters could access the first circle in order to get counseling from higher entities.

The Order was only for people who already had mental powers (paranormal abilities): telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, feeling detection (a more advanced skill than empathy, it included emotion induction, too), among others. Before entering the Order, there was a special school for applicants. And after entering that school, where the special gifts of initiates were detected and improved, there was the meeting with Kalid. He would decide who deserved to get inside the Circles of the Order.

Sybil had learned all of this from her mother, and it filled her thoughts on the day of her meeting with Kalid. Then she tried to imagine Kalid himself. One of the rumors about Kalid was that he was more than 90 years old, but his appearance was that of a 60 year old, people said. Very few people would actually say anything about Kalid's appearance to others after having seen him; secrecy pervaded the Order in many ways. Her mother had only met him the day he declared her apt for entering the Haldus Order. Sybil's father, Jeremy, had been personally instructed by Kalid, in contrast.

People said that in his youth, Kalid had been personally instructed by the wisest members of the Order, those who knew much about Earth's traditions due to family heritage. The Haldus Order possessed an eclectic body of knowledge from all ages, but that knowledge was in no way as chaotic as that found inside some new religion movements at that time. Initiates of the Order depended on sources of knowledge that were very reliable, particularly the Order's special academies for training and detecting the gifts of candidates before they entered the Four Circles. Sybil had already passed through that school which could be thought of as a kind of unnamed Fifth Circle. She had been declared ready for the meeting with Kalid due to her skills as clairvoyant and specially due to her ability to see the Ether Body, a skill required to be able to see the aura in full colors. According to the Order's secret theories, the Ether Body was some kind of emanation coming from the soul which was around the physical body. It was like some kind of "egg shell" that the person was encircled by. Its colors indicated the person's health, thoughts and emotions... some even said that for skilled Masters, lies could be detectable by learning to distinguish aura colors, which turned dark yellow in that case.

Thanks to the training inside the Order's school, Sybil had developed her gifts. She could usually detect the Ether Body around people. Sometimes, she could even guess what people felt inside. She was unable to detect thoughts and only sensed emotions. After that day, she could start a long journey of learning in which she would further improve her paranormal abilities. She could one day become a Priestess of Isis... if Kalid accepted her, anyway.

Although sixteen, Sybil's body looked like she was older than that. She was pretty and her personality had always been firm. Although "firm" was just a nice way to say that she was a rebel. She always had rebelled against everything and everyone, including the decision to become a Priestess. Nevertheless, because she loved her father so much that she ultimately had accepted the fate he chose for her.

Because Sybil's gaze was very penetrating and she did not blink very often, many people found it hard to think of her as warm and friendly. She was not as sociable as most girls her age and she had not had many boyfriends up to that time. And she had never really loved any of them, truly. If at that age there could be something called love, anyway... she thought sometimes. Her interests were on her studies. She loved languages and had already learned one of the rarely spoken languages from ancient Earth and was starting to learn another. Many people said that there was no reason to learn more than just the official language of the Empire, but Sybil believed that there were mental benefits from knowing more than one language.

As they flew to the appointment with Kalid, both women drifted deep into thought and were mostly oblivious to the outside world. Sybil's mother was driving and it might have been imagined that she concentrated on that task, but she was not thinking about driving; she was thinking about her daughter's future. They were both very anxious about Sybil's fate. Dorothy expected her daughter to be accepted by the Great Master, but nobody knew in advance. She knew about cases in which the Master denied access to the Order and never mentioned any reasons for his decision. She believed that the Master entered a person's mind and judged if such person was suited for a life in the Order. Other people believed that Kalid looked at the future of the candidate and judged if it was good for the person to enter the Order. Anyway, nobody knew which methods he used. In those matters, he was the first and last word because he was the Great Master of the Haldus Order.

"Do you think Mr. Kalid will accept me?" asked Sybil, as if she were reading Dorothy's thoughts.

"What? Ah, yes. I was just wondering the same thing. Maybe he will accept you because you can read thoughts..." Dorothy commented, making a joke. She was familiar with her daughter's abilities and knew very well that Sybil only sensed emotions.

"No. Really, what do you think?" young Sybil asked again.

"I do not know. I believe in your gifts and your father did too... but one thing is what your parents think and another what the Master thinks... we will have to pray and wait."

"But... what would happen if he does not accept me? I cannot imagine another destiny for myself." Sybil said.

"You would have to study at a university, as normal people do, and lead an ordinary life. There would be no other way. A cousin of mine had to do it when she was denied access to the Order. Kalid told her it was not in her destiny to become a priestess. Even if you enter the Order you might be told to study some subject at university, anyhow, so do not imagine that everything in your life will depend on what happens today."

"Do you think he can actually see the future?" Sybil asked, in wonder.

"I do not know any more than you. When I studied to become a priestess, I was told that the future did not exist yet, that we are the creators of it. However, they taught me to read the hexameters, runes and other types of divination. But I think that what we see in divination are only possibilities and, after all, we are the ones who decide what will happen, anyway. Predestination does not exist."

"But... it could exist, right?" Sybil asked, a little confused.

"Wait. Evan, take automatic control from now on." Evan was the AI of the car. She resumed, "In that case we would be mere pawns in a big game of chess played by gods. Or by God himself. Which would not make any sense, I think. But we will never know for sure and someone once said even if we are not really free, if we did lack free will, then that fact would not really affect us since we can never confirm it for sure....we would still behave as if we do have the power to make the future. So I think, for all probable events, we can exercise free will, to some extent."

"Does Kalid know?" Sybil inquired, fascinated at the possibility.

"I do not know, my dear. But when you meet with him be aware and do not ask silly impertinent questions of him... just try to listen instead of talking."

"I will. Was it really Kalid who accepted you into the Order or was it another master...maybe an earlier "Kalid"?"

"No, not some other Kalid, you will meet the same man, the same Kalid as I."

"Then, he must be really old... Oh, excuse me, I do not say that because of you, I mean, imagine that he must be older than both of us." Sybil commented, a little embarrassed.

"Hmmm... Yes. And given that I am thrice as old as you, you can imagine it. He must be sixty or seventy years old, at least. However, there are rumors that he is much older than that and that he possess hidden knowledge to rejuvenate himself. Besides, he has the power to heal others too, using his mind and hands. But there are always strange legends about great men, I guess."

"If he were ninety or more..." Sybil tried to imagine what it would be like to live that long. "He would be very, very wise, then."

"Right, but whatever his age, he is very wise. His counseling has helped and protected us for a long time. I just hope his decision about you and whatever advice he has for you leads you to a good future..." Dorothy commented, while wiping tears from her eyes."

"I wish. Nevertheless, I am worried... and afraid. I do not know what to do in case he does not accept me. I want to be no other thing than a priestess..."

"Now you say that. You once wanted to became a psychologist, remember?"

"Yes. But that was, as you adults like to say, just a passing passion of a teenager, I think. A way to try to rebel and test my freedom."

"You are still a teenager, young girl."

"I think my mind has changed a bit now and I am proud to recognize the wisdom of my father's decision that guided me towards the Order. Maybe it is my destiny." Sybil said, in a solemn voice. For a time they slipped back into their private thoughts.

Dorothy knew that her daughter's mind had changed, indeed. She had always seen Sybil as her beloved little daughter, but now she realized that Sybil was acting like an adult, sometimes. Maybe Sybil's new maturity was due in part to the disillusionment that followed her breakup with her most recent boyfriend. Or it could be that she had finally realized what it meant to take on the responsibilities of a priestess or professional position and in that way her esoteric and psychology studies could have given her a more mature perspective.

Sybil had indeed read many books about psychology. She enjoyed learning about modern integrated cognitive approaches for study of mind and the historical beginnings of the science of mind. She had a fascination for the strange names that could be traced far back in time...words like Gestalt, structuralism, psychoanalysis...words coming from more than 500 years ago. Was it right for such a young girl to be so absorbed with such topics? Dorothy had tried to introduce Sybil to more friends and give her the chance to live a "normal" life with friends of both sexes. However, Sybil was not a normal girl. She had gifts of clairvoyance that were very advanced for her age and her limited training in those arts and she had even had prophetic dreams. For those reasons, Dorothy let Sybil follow her natural inclinations to enter the realms of mind and spirit.

As much as Sybil enjoyed her studies of ancient history, she was also aware that psychology was undergoing a new burst of development and advancement. For centuries there had been many waves of new discoveries and new models of the mind, but now parallel advances in robotics and artificial intelligence were finally allowing a long-anticipated unification between many fields, some kind of a new cognitive/AI revolution that went beyond the centuries of wishful thinking and empty talk that had come before. When Sybil had found some psychology books in her father's library she became instantly fascinated by that field... the study of human mind. Sybil took some comfort in thinking about psychology as a safe fall-back option in case she was not accepted as a priestess... she would have to study psychology as a career... maybe even neuroscience, but she was not sure. Anyway, it would not be that bad if Kalid rejected her. However, Sybil doubted that would be her fate. Something inside her kept whispering that she would be accepted by Kalid that very day...

Sybil's mind turned to Kalid again. What was he like as a person? Her mother had described him as a gray-eyed tall men with his hair completely white, but she could not imagine him, in spite of that description. He was full of vitality, people said, because he was an advanced practitioner of Vichido and possessed the highest ranks in several martial arts. Another rumor said he had traveled to many planets during his training, before entering the Circles, and that he had learned several of the ancient languages Earth and about the odd costumes worn by people before the space age.....it was even said that he liked to dress in archaic clothing like the ancients had worn.

Rumor was that Kalid had managed to reach his position of greatness even after having entered the Order at the relatively old age of twenty. His parents had died from illnesses, in spite of the fact that they were very rich and could pay well for special medical treatments. Their deaths, at such young ages, were particularly painful and left a profound trace on the young Kalid. Maybe that was the reason why he sought refuge in the Order and so ardently accepted as his mission the careful accomplishment every challenge and task the Order assigned to him. When he was brought into the Order, his interest in living was almost completely destroyed and out of despair he might have accepted anything that was offered to him just to give purpose to his life and a reason to survive...anything, that is, that was fair and just. He asked no more. As usual, he had been told to develop his psychic gifts, but at first he was not sure about that and he had not distinguished himself early. After five years of slow and difficult training, he was finally accepted inside the Fourth Circle. It was said that in order to begin his advanced training within the Order he was sent to a secret planet that nobody on Sakkara could name, even in Sybil's time. Upon his return from that secret world, his powers were unequaled.

While they flew along in the car, Sybil's thoughts kept returning to and swirling with all the rumors and stories she had heard about Kalid. She was now completely lost in her worries about Kalid and her fate and was not even paying attention to the beautiful landscapes below and the new part of the planet they were flying over...new for Sybil, of course. There were types of flora and fauna down below that she had never previously had a chance to see with her own eyes, but even when she happened to look out the window she did not think about what was below. Her mother finally broke the silence.

"Sybil, are you worried?" Dorothy asked. "It seems as if you were on another world just now."

"It is just that... I don't know." Sybil answered. "I keep on thinking the same, in a circular manner. What would happen if he does not accept me?"

Dorothy breathed aloud. "I already told you. You would move on and build your life around something else. Your father told you this too, and I say it again.....you are very smart and you can be successful in any path you choose in life. You could study psychology as you once planned or become an expert in ancient languages. Being a priestess is not the only thing you can do. If he does not accept you, it would not be your fault, it would be your Destiny."

"Then... is he never wrong?"

"We are all wrong sometimes, but he is very wise and makes every decision with much prudence, study and careful meditation. Besides that, he is very skilled in handling intuition and some people even say that he can actually read minds so..."

"No! I would not like that he read mine!" Sybil reacted in panic.

"He would not find anything unusual, I think. You are not evil. However, he is forbidden to use telepathy without the other person's cooperation and participation. He only uses it during two-way telepathy sessions, which are rare, anyway, because very few people possess that special gift. The Circles in the Order are more like a pyramid. Very few people in higher Circles, particularly the Second one. So, do not worry. He will just see you, see your aura and maybe he could have a glimpse of your future. He will say what you will need to know in order to fulfill your destiny, just that, and then he will make up his mind about your place in the Order...if you will enter the Circle. It is usually very fast. Do NOT worry about anything, my dear. You will be safe with him, he is a very good man."

Something, the lack of sleep, the worrying, all the silly rumors about Kalid's powers...it was too much and was driving Sybil towards panic. "Oh, I want the meeting to be right now!" Sybil shouted. "Although now, at this moment, I do not even care which way it goes for my destiny in life. I just want this to all be over. I am afraid and I feel myself unable to meet him... I do not want my mind to be invaded by this strange man."

"He will not do that. Besides, that is not as people think. He may detect emotions and some of your fundamental attitudes but he certainly cannot listen to your thoughts as if in a spoken language. The brain express itself using a language, our conscience sees it that way, but internally it handles electrical signals and waves. He can catch some of those signals and translate them to the language of his own mind due to his astral abilities, but he cannot actually "hear" what you think. There is no danger. I remembered the day I met him... I was as frightened as you are or even more. The meeting itself did not last more than thirty minutes. He saw me, he told me to relax, touched my forehead, prayed some unknown mantra and he focused during five minutes. After that, he told me I was apt and that I could enter the Haldus Order. It was something very fast and I was not afraid during the meeting, I did not feel anything wrong or weird. After seeing his calm ways, I think I calmed down too. He seems to emanate peace. It is a sensation I have not felt near anyone else. So, do not be afraid. Besides, we are near Kalid's temple now."

"OK. I will try to calm down, mom" Sybil said, without much conviction.

She looked out the window. Sybil had not realized where she was until that moment; she had completely forgotten to watch the landscapes. Now she noticed some peasants working the land. Would people still be useful for such manual labor? Shouldn't such work be given over to robots? She thought: well, maybe some people enjoyed working the land. Most of Sakkara's food depended on agriculture, as in Ancient Times. So, they were accomplishing a mission there, their job was important... Now she started thinking about Fate. Did it exist? She wondered whether we all have our destiny traced from the beginning or, alternatively, whether destiny depends on our acts, those of other people or even pure chance. She tried to imagine herself being a priestess and worshiping minor gods. She looked again at the fields below and the peasants...did they even imagine people such as her and options in life like entering the Order?

They were now within half an hour of the meeting place and suddenly their route was restricted to a single flight path. Normally the sky ways had several routes available to each car, but in this district transport engineers were repairing some force fields and only one path was still available for use, and at that exact moment it was blocked as a safety precaution for the repair crew. Dorothy had to take control again and stop the car. They waited for a light-emitting robot to give them the "all clear" and access to the sky way again. Meanwhile, Sybil watched the peasants closely. They seemed to be happy, enjoying their agricultural tasks! Nevertheless, life in the countryside had always been hard, too hard. Maybe those people could never choose another path, they just had to accept the same way of making a living as their parents did. And the parents of their parents, in an endless chain. Was that really any different than for Sybil herself, born from a marriage between two parents with psychic abilities? What real choices had she ever had?

After some time, they were on their way again and Dorothy again flew them by manual control of the car. After twenty minutes more they finally got to their destination, Kalid's temple. They got out of the car, the AI activated the alarm and shield and they started walking towards an old wood house, built in a very ancient style...