The search for Kalid/1



If you want to read the spanish version, go here

Mental Powers?
“Is this the planet we are looking for?” asked Leone, his voice indicated disbelief and disappointment.

“Yes, it is. At last we have reached the planet of Kalid, the Wise One,” answered Aristark.

Leone and Aristark were two Counselors on their home planet, Sakkara. They were desperately looking for the great man called Kalid and were now moving close enough to the planet to be able to watch it through the windows of their “Thot” spaceship. Leone had been placed on this course by what Sybil had told him about Kalid. Leone started remembering the scene of his meeting with Sybil, at the usual place, her home on Sakkara. At first, Leone had waited impatiently in a small closed room with no window. As a Planetary Counselor, Leone did not often have to wait for others. Leone was particularly anxious and impatient because he was acting on orders from the head of the Galactic Antiquist Party, orders that had come as a surprise to Leone.

Finally, Sybil's female assistant, who was very pretty, released Leone from the small waiting room and led him to Sybil's meeting room and left him there, once again waiting for her. Leone tried to get comfortable, but his chair was not designed for comfort. It was all wood, in the ancient style of Earth, with mysterious symbols from ancient times carved into the arms and back of the chair. Leone was wondering how Sybil had come to believe so much obscure spiritual stuff... although she would say it was not obscure. Leone knew he had a tendency to drift towards fear what seemed to be irrational beliefs, but Sybil was an eloquent defender of her spiritual beliefs and she insisted that there was certainly nothing dark or evil about them.

Sybil had seemed to be a very skeptical woman when Leone had attended university with her. Her disciplined and scientific approach to history was something that Leone had admired. Leone tried to look back across the years and he now felt it was doubtful that he would ever have gotten involved with a mystic. Leone looked around the room and shook his head in disbelief...had she changed over the years or had she always been the same and just hidden her odd beliefs back when they were in school? The room was lit by candles of several colors and there were many small statues (shabtis) from Ancient Egypt. All the surfaces and shelves of the room held relics, amulets and what seemed to be Tarot cards. The walls were decorated with dozens of paintings that seemed to have been inspired by images used on Tarot cards. It seemed that Sybil had a special interest in divination and maybe that interest was useful for her work. When she met with people in this room and gave them counseling maybe she included divination arts in her practices. However, in parallel to all the cartomancy images, the room also contained a perfectly modern virtual reality computer interface. Leone was amazed to see such a weird combination of spirituality and technology.



Besides the uncushioned chair, Leone felt very comfortable in the room. He tried to decide if the positive feelings were just from being near to Sybil, but he thought it was really the room itself. It was very small and warm. The way it was illuminated showed that Sybil was an artist. Through the only window in the room (the inside could not be seen from the outside, for security reasons) Leone could see the oddly tinted glow of twilight. He always felt a sense of vacuum or something mystical when near Sybil, like longing for something that could not be. Maybe it was that his unconscious mind could not understand everything around Sybil, all that spirituality made him experience a sense of magic... Or maybe Sybil indeed had some aura around her, something that could linger in her wake like a scent... it seemed like some essence of Sybil had impregnated this room and then somehow took on a life of its own. But no, he would not believe such things. At last, she entered and he could then actually smell her soft scent and then there arose many pleasant memories for him, sweet memories of old times.

It seemed like Sybil was busy, maybe rushing between appointments. She spoke even before she was fully through the the door and in the room. "Hi, Leone. I'm sorry I kept you waiting. It is nice to see you again." said Sybil, a white witch for many, although she called herself "Priestess of Isis".

"Yes, I am glad to see you too. How are you?"

She sat down but seemed to barely touch her chair as if expecting to soon jump up again. "Fine. I was promptly notified that you needed to see me, but this is a very busy day." She glanced around the room and seemed to smile at her private thoughts. "I'm sorry I had to exile you over in this wing, but the house is nearly full of out of town visitors today....I'm hosting a retreat." She locked her eyes on Leone's and asked, "Is this about Set again?"

For a moment Leone felt some guilt for taking Sybil away from her guests, but then he was put at ease by the warmth and concern in her voice. It was clear to him that her thoughts were now totally here and focused on Leaone and that they could seemlessly continuing the subject of conversation from their previous meeting....although the situation on Sakkara had gone completely out of control during the intervening weeks. "Yes. Our spies have informed us that he is planning to extend his campaign of evil to the entire Empire. As a prelude to that, he plans an invasion of this planet... very soon. He intends to take Sakkara by force."

Sybil seemed to effortlessly adjust her thinking to this new reality that was as yet known to only a select few, a reality that should have been a shock to any Sakkaran who had lived for decades under the peace and calm of the Empire. Sybil nodded and Leone wondered if Set's plans were already known to her. Sybil spoke without hesitation, "Then we need to act faster than him. Our only hope is that you contact Kalid... He was my master; he taught me everything I know. He is the Great Master of the Osiris Order.”

When he had been ordered to go to Sybil for help he had been doubtful that Sybil could be of any real use, but she seemed confident that there was a way to respond to the threat posed by Set. However, could her judgment be trusted? “The Osiris Order?” Leone asked in disbelief. "I thought it was extinct many years ago."

“Yes, for outsiders it seemed to have vanished, but that was an illusion created for security reasons,” Sybil answered. “The Order has been hidden all this time. Kalid is now the Great Master of the Osiris Order, so we must seek his counsel immediately. You must contact Kalid and get him to help us with our mission to defeat Set, but the main problem we have is that we are not sure of his whereabouts. Nobody on Sakkar knows for certain. I think he has gone back to his home planet, but now we have little time, and there is great danger if Set becomes aware of our plans.”

“Which planet is that?” asked Leone.

“The name of the planet is ‘Veritas Flammis’. It is called just Flammis by most of us."

“Flammis?” asked Leone. “I have never heard that name in all my years as an interstellar pilot, and I have traveled to half the planets in the Empire. Maybe it has another name in the planetary records.”

“No. That is its only name. It is a secret planet.”

“Secret planet? Nothing is secret from the Empire. Do you mean that the Empire did not conquer it?” The Empire was now more than a century past its beginnings. As far as Leone knew, the Empire had decades before taken control of the last of the hundreds of worlds with human populations.

“Yes. The inhabitants of Flammis hid when the Empire forces were there.”

“That is completely absurd. Are you saying that they hid themselves or that they hid the planet? Either is quite impossible. Nobody can hide from Empire scanners, not even with quantum shields operating on each of the 11-dimensions.”

“What you speak of are limitations of material science, but nothing is impossible by spiritual means. Nevertheless, they did not hide it fully. When the Masters of Flammis detected that Empire spaceships were close, they simply sent false data to those ships. The Empire forces had indeed seen a planet there, but their instruments did not show anything interesting; just void and rock. They could not see any signs of life in Flammis because the Masters created a powerful illusion. The Masters used their mental powers to confound the sophisticated detectors of the Empire ships, and so the Empire never knew about the importance of Flammis... they just moved on.”

“An optical illusion the size of a planet? You are full of amusing gossip! I don't believe in that... mental powers... it is nonsense. I feel that you believe it, you think you are telling the truth, but maybe someone invented that story and has tricked you into believing it. Sybil, I remember that in the past you were skeptical and sensible, but this Priesthood stuff seems to have changed you. The Empire MUST know about this "secret" planet. Believe me. Nothing and no one escapes the Empire, ever.”

“No, it is not the way you think. I am still a skeptical thinker, but I have seen strong evidence for mental powers... Unfortunately I cannot show you the evidence I have seen because it is protected by my vows to protect the sanctity of the spiritual knowledge of the Osiris Order. It is not for me to decide, but Kalid may show you some of his skills, if he trusts you. Anyway, the Empire is not infallible. There are stronger forces than physical force in this universe. Particularly, the Masters use Mental Powers which are superior to all the science the Empire could ever have. As long as the Masters remain undetected, they will be able to con... Oh, I am saying too much. The point is that Kalid is probably there, on Flammis, hidden from the hands of Set.”

“And how will I find this 'secret' planet where these 'Masters' are hidden? Will my navigation devices detect Flammis, will my scanners lead me to the Masters?”

“You will need a special device installed on your spaceship. That way the Masters will think that you are from our Order and thus they will not hide from you. You are not actually from our Order, but you will help us on this mission, so you can carry it for a while. My servants will install the identification beacon on your ship when you are ready to leave for Flammis.”

“A special device? Wow, I am amazed... If the Masters have those superb 'mental powers', they should detect my mind and know you had sent me. Even right now they..."

"The powers do not work that way".

"Because they don't work at all! I'm sorry, but everything you say about these mental powers is too strange. It just makes me want to laugh, but I have to trust you, for the moment, and have faith in your claims about the Masters being able to help us." Leone shook his head in wonder at this predicament. How had it come to this, a man of science being forced to listen to "mental powers" nonsense from a "Priestess"?

Of course, Leone knew how this odd state of affairs had come about. Ketar, the head of the Antiquist party, had sent Leone to visit Sybil. Leone had been ordered by Ketar to act on the advice of Sybil. If Leone wanted to remain in good standing with the Party he had to trust Sybil. It also helped Leone to trust Sybil that he had known her when they were young. For a few years in their youth they had been close friends.

For Leone it was hard enough to trust anyone since the recent deaths of so many Antiquist Party members, but it was particularly difficult to swallow this story about a "powerful illusion" that could not be penetrated by the Empire's scanners... "I will go to Flammis because I have no other option, so far. I can only hope that the Masters will help us against the Evil One...”

Sybil


When Leone left her, Sybil felt a cold vacuum inside her. That cold sensation revived old memories; it was the same sensation of loss she had always felt after being with Leone. She knew it was not about love...or was it? After their time together at university they had gone their own ways in life and she had forgotten him, but now, with all of Sakkara dealing with Set's madness, they had been thrown together again and the feelings came back stronger than ever.

No, it was not love, it was another feeling, as if they were "connected" in some way. Fate, perhaps? Sometimes it seemed like she could read his mind, for instance, saying the same sentence Leone was about to say... Of course using different words, but maintaining the same message. Now she examined her feelings carefully and Sybil realized she was a little worried about Leone; this was something new that she could not explain. It was obvious that Leone would find Kalid, no? And Set knew nothing about the Order or Kalid, so why was she worried and why had she mentioned the idea that Set might become aware of their plans? Somehow, she could not imagine Leone meeting Kalid in Flammis... her mind seemed to reject the idea. Maybe she was paying too much attention to her intuition. Intuition can be misleading sometimes. But this time it seemed that her feelings were very strong.

The only way to know such a thing would be by using divination, but she was trying to avoid that practice. Master Kalid had warned her about not abusing the gods' counseling. In this universe we have to use our mind and exercise our free will in order to live and survive. Divination of the future and asking the counsel of higher entities is not the only way to solve a problem. Kalid had emphasized the idea that sometimes divination can cause more trouble than just muddling through a challenge by thinking about matters and tasks, each in their own time as they came to one. And maybe he was right. Sybil had payed too much attention to her insights and took a wrong decision once, thinking her intuition was about the future... and apparently it was not. So, she had stopped using divination. So now she firmly decided that she would not try to find out about Leone's destiny. It was more than just prudence... in the depth of her mind, she was a little superstitious about trying that again. That was an idea from outside of Teaching that she had read somewhere: the idea that divination can actually create the future. If true, that meant what she saw in a vision or through cards could make the people involved choose some path just because she had already observed it. Of course, we can observe alternate futures... but she was very afraid of that possibility ever since she had found out about her father's death prior to it actually happening.

Her father... how much she missed him. People said that everything changed with time and that time can make people forget their losses or eventually push one out of a depressive state after the death of a relative. But it was not true, at least for her. Every month and year that passed made her remember her father more and more. No spiritual method, Vichido or Ankhido technique had ever helped her. She was even thinking of going to a psychiatrist in order to get some relief from her greif, but she knew she had to try to live with it not try to avoid it. Death is the other side of life, the aspect that gives meaning to life itself. However, repeating such rationalistic mantras did not work because her rational mind could not accommodate her feelings about the interplay between life and death. When she thought down this path she always started remembering that it was her father who had decided her destiny. She had only reluctantly agreed to be what she was, a Priestess. Anyway, her father had never seen her enter the Osiris Order because his illness rushed him to his death before she could complete her training. That theft by death was just too painful so she forced herself not to think about her father and by force of will she replaced those painful thoughts with a memory of how she met had Kalid for the first time.....

Worrying and worrying
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 Osiris 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 Osiris 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 Osiris 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 Osiris 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 Osiris 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.

Kalid's temple
Sybil had been told that this was an ordinary Osiris Order retreat where initiates gathered for study and meditation. It was called "Kalid's temple" because during his time as Grand Master Kalid had gotten into the habit of using it as his base of operations while visiting Sakkara. Sybil wondered why Kalid would select this particular location as his favorite place on Sakkara. Sybil had to admit that the rural setting was calm and well suited for meditation, but the facilities, at least by outside appearances, seems absolutely primitive. There was nothing but a dusty path leading from the landing field to the temple.

A temple resident approached the landing field and greeted Dorothy. They embraced each other and Dorothy introduced the man to Sybil as Matthew. He nodded politely to Sybil and led them towards the shelter of the Temple. Dorothy and Matthew knew each other from old times, back when Dorothy had just entered the Order. Matthew commented that Sybil had the same facial features as had her mother at that age and that they shared a common manner of walking that reminded Mathew of light-footed cat. He made a joke about Kalid being an old dog and wondered if Sybil had any new tricks to teach Kalid...they all laughed and Sybil started to relax. Matthew spoke mostly to Dorothy but most of what he said was intended to diminish Sybil's visible tension; still, she could not stop biting her nails. The way along the path was a bit long and up hill. When they finally got to the old farm house that was the temple, Sybil was not so nervous.

They entered the building and another temple resident informed them, "Master Kalid will receive the girl as soon as he finishes his current appointment."

Sybil knew that when Kalid visited Sakkara, all the new initiates were brought here for Kalid's attention. Matthew went off and about his temple duties, leaving Dorothy and Sybil sitting on wood chairs and waiting for the time of Sybil's appointment to arrive. Dorothy noticed her daughter was a bit calmer now. Matthew had that gift; he was able to make people calm or happy. He was very kind and interesting man and Dorothy had known him before meeting her husband. Dorothy thought fondly of her affair with Matthew back when they had been students in the unnamed fifth circle. She had always remembered him with tenderness and maybe he did it too, it seemed.

Sybil observed the room; it was barely lit by a few candles perched on top of some high shelves. She was aware of a subtle scent that reminded her of medicinal herbs. Kalid was rumored to be some kind of shaman, and Sybil wondered if Kalid might have some appointments not for new initiates, but rather for the purpose of curing people of an illness with his own hands and his knowledge of medicine.

Now that Sybil was relaxed she was impatient to meet someone as smart and wise as she had been told Kalid was. If even half the rumors were true....that he spoke more than four different languages, was a Grand Master, shaman, physical and spiritual yogi practitioner, Vichido master and who knows what else... then he was someone worth meeting, even if she was not going to be a priestess.

Sybil yawned. If she could only have slept the night before things would be a bit easier now. Sybil had calmed down and now she felt a little weary. The conversation with Matthew had been very amusing, but now silence and boredom were draining her enthusiasm and strength.

Sybil noticed that her mother seemed lost in thought. It was a shame her mother had lost every form of contact with people from the Order like Matthew, but that was the price she had paid to be allowed to exit the Order and to marry Jeremy. If she did enter the Order, Sybil thought that it would be nice to talk to Matthew from time to time. Would she be able to see him again in the future if she was accepted? Just how many members of the Order were there on Sakkara, anyhow? She had no idea. If she was accepted. All her thoughts came back to that one conditional. She told herself firmly that she should not worry more about that. Time would tell her destiny and besides, she would have her opportunity to meet Kalid the sage, no matter what the decision was. She would try to remember everything she saw during the meeting. She tried to escape from the swirl of her worries and come back to the peaceful reality of the here and now.

She looked all around the room again and decided it was like a doctor's waiting room. Maybe patients from this district, possibly local residents like those farm workers she had seen always waited in this room before meeting with a temple shaman. Maybe the low candle light of the room was meant to ease the thoughts and calm the spirit of patients and initiates alike.

Now she was feeling as if she was going to sleep, entering a dozing state. Her lack of sleep was making her lose control of her body now. She told herself that she had to remain alert and she tried to think about what she will say to Kalid. But she did not have a clue what to say; maybe she would just do as instructed by her mother....answer Kalid's questions while trying not to say anything silly. Suddenly a touch of her panic returned and she regained full alertness again, sensing a danger. What if Kalid tried to enter her mind? She was not prepared for that kind of invasion. But if that did happen, would she even notice it? Her head automatically turned to the right, a door was being opened.

An old man was there in the door way, thanking Kalid with many bows. Maybe he was a sick person who was receiving help with either a physical illness or even some tricky mental problem; the knowledge of a shaman was useful to help people handle stress, anxiety and other trouble caused by imbalance of the energy inside and outside the body. Some people thought that a shaman could re-open a way for the free circulation of energy, resulting in relief from illness. Sybil could hear Kalid's voice for the first time, calling out from the next room and asking who was next. It was her!

Sybil entered the room where Kalid waited. She was unable to hide the fact that she was a bit scared....her hands were trembling. With one last glance at her mother, she closed the door. Now this was her time with Kalid and nobody else would hear their conversation. As instructed by Kalid she sat on a chair.

"Welcome, young lady. I am Kalid and you are...?"

"I am Sybil. I am here for you to choose my destiny."

"Hehehe. No, my dear. I will not choose, I will just try to find out if it is good for you to follow the path on becoming a priestess in our Order. In the female part of our order, I mean. As you know, the Osiris Order includes the Isis Order, for females. I remember inviting your mother into the Circle. In the same way you would be a Priestess of Isis if we discover that it is your destiny to do that."

"Oh. Well, I hope I receive that invitation."

"I see you are very worried about that, and your mom too. It seems you have been dreading this moment for quite some time. Did you sleep last night, young lady?"

"How...? No, I could not. My mind was too busy thinking about this meeting."

"You should not be afraid. Nothing wrong will happen. Just try to relax. Enough talk. Now, to help you relax, move over to that sofa and breathe thoroughly. Do one of the breathing exercises you learned in school."

At first Sybil doubted that she would be able to relax, but then she thought, what could happen? She obeyed and went to the sofa. As soon as she started a controlled breathing technique the lights went off and she was left in the dark wondering why she had not even noticed how Kalid's room had been illuminated. Her eyes adapted to the dark and then she could see some faint colored lights moving towards her. Kalid explained that those were to activate her energy centers and open a way to see if her fate was inside the Order or not. Sybil understood that that light would open her mind to him, more likely. Kalid mentioned she should not be afraid, there would be no invasion of any kind and that she should concentrate on breathing. Slowly, she began relaxing. He told he would make a full system exploration of her energy, to see if it was flowing as it should be. He ordered her to close her eyes and imagine nothing, just put her mind in blank state, watching the blackness. With her eyelids closed, the dim lights did not reach her eyes, so it was not that hard to do. Sybil finally relaxed and Kalid approached her. She was very beautiful and similar to her mother, Kalid noticed. Trying not to lose concentration, he touched his talisman and then her forehead.

"Do not be afraid, my dear. Trust me."

Sybil thought that she should not trust anyone asking for trust. But Kalid's voice convinced her. Now Kalid tried to visualize her aura and all the energies around her. It seemed Sybil's mind was hypnotized now. He tried to focus and noticed that part of her mind did not like darkness and was trying to open her eyes. He told her not to do so because she would suffer a headache later and resumed his job. He could see the colors and tried to make a meaning of them. He could see her past and future illnesses and the weakness of the body in those places where the energy was not circulating efficiently. Now he entered a conscious REM state, in order to find out more. He would try to have remote access to her central nervous system. This was the part that required more concentration and skills. Kalid took a deep breath, prayed briefly and tried to enter her mind, in order to find out about her future.

Kalid imagined a far place where he could study her mind like the terrain of a world. He saw himself there after entering the dream stage in a conscious way and remember what he was trying to achieve. He could see Sybil from far; she was running... away from him, apparently. Kalid tried to go after her but she always escaped. He had to find a way to attract her. He finally was near her and was thinking whether to take the external appearance of her father, to gain support by her but decided it would not be fair. It would just remind her of her suffering and sadness and would bring her mind to conscious state again. So, he showed himself as he was, and some white and green glow could be seen around him. The green part was the healing energy he possessed at all times, ready to heal someone nearby. As soon as she saw him, she tried to walk away, but Kalid extended his hand and tried to calm her down.

She decided she would stay there, maybe that was part of the meeting and maybe had to do with her entering the Order. She calmed down and said to herself that nothing evil could happen, Kalid was protecting her. Although Kalid knew there could be trouble, in case some evil entity was near them and had noticed their sudden appearance. But all the temple was shielded against those beings and there was no problem right then. Kalid looked at Sybil's eyes, focusing on their green color, trying to mix his own color with hers. He looked right there, at the blackness of her eyes and tried to enter her nervous system.

At that moment, Sybil felt a strong headache and a sense of panic. Kalid immediately walked back and soon he was running. He felt as if some kind of force had struck him; he was still not sure if this had anything to do with Sybil or with another conscious entity in that realm, but he had felt that before. He remembered he was in a created dream and that he could get out using a door he invented for that. He went there but remembered Sybil's mind was trapped in his dream. He could not abandon her that way, maybe her mind would never get to the real world again. That was a real problem in this kind of session. So, he went back again, recovering from his pain and looked at her again. He should have talked to her first, telling the way out but he preferred to look at those eyes. When he did it, he felt instantly hypnotized by them, they filled his entire mind and pulled him in until the blackness in the center of her eyes was the only thing he could see. His mind told him that he was losing himself trying to get inside Sybil's mind and something made him remember why he was there and what he was trying to do, again. He decided they both had to flee, so he tried to send a telepathic message to Sybil; in that realm he could not talk anymore, for unknown reasons and he felt as if a door was closing on him. It was impossible! He did not know if Sybil received the message and now he felt repentance. He felt a sudden sadness that took control of his entire body, from his energy point up to his brain. He repented for what he had made... He immediately remembered his family which was no more. He had no family at all now, he was alone in this vast universe and did not know why. His family had been killed and now he remembered it all. He did not know how he could have forgotten that fact before. He forgot about Sybil and entered his own mind, suffering. He felt a sense of void, he did not want to keep on living anymore. It was a tragedy that could never be cured. His mind... he was losing it. His hope, all those things he ever cared for, even the Order... were not important at all at that moment. He could not save his relatives and now he would not even try to save his own mind. He thought of the possibility of losing his mind in a place like this, during a telepathy session. And he was not afraid of the possibility... Was he? Oh, no, he could really become mad if he did not come back fast. But why would he want to come back? Meanwhile, Sybil was escaping through the portal he had opened and her mind was trying to recover control of her body, outside. Kalid's mind was still trapped in there, crying over the death of the people he loved more... Nothing was worth it, he could just let himself sink in there and nobody would ever know or care. And now the thoughts about going mad came back again, this time making that fact true. His mind submerged itself in a kaleidoscope of weird thoughts, contradictory thinking that made him dizzy. He did not feel his imagined body now and his created dream was becoming a nightmare. Soon, he lost conscience and entered the dream in an unconscious state.

After some time, he could finally wake up and found himself in his office. Sybil was there, also trying to wake up and he could finally recover from that dead-end he had placed himself in. He concluded that when his mind entered the unconscious mode, his mind had ordered his body to wake up and abandon those weird ideas. But not before having a chain of interconnected dreams, in most of them Kalid had suffered many false awakenings. Now he confirmed this was reality. Somehow he had been able to save his own mind, at least unconsciously. All his years of training had ingrained his unconscious mind with an advanced sense of self-preservation, apparently. Now he focused on Sybil. He called in two of the temple's monks who injected her a special substance to help her mind come back more easily and finally she woke up.

"What happened?" Sybil asked, when she regained consciousness. "I tried to escape but you were there and you did not want to get out. You told me the way to get out of that dream of yours but after some time your image got darker and darker. I called to you, but you never listened to me. I did not know what happened, the only thing I remember is some strong pain I felt in my head and then I was trying to escape. It was horrible! And you wanted to stay in there!"

"Yes. It seems I imagined a powerful illusion that I believed afterward. I believed that my f... It does not matter now. The important thing is that you are safe now and I will take my decision."

"Oh, no. I know what you will say to me."

"What will I say to you?"

"That I do not deserve to enter the Osiris Order for whatever reason." Sybil commented, sad.

"No! I already took my decision. Your destiny will be becoming a Priestess of Isis inside the Osiris Order."

"What? You must be kidding."

Kalid thought that that young lady was treating him as if they both were old friends. A little weird for that situation. Maybe because both of them were in danger, inside the dream...

"Yes. You are now accepted inside the Osiris Order and will be able to enter the Fourth Circle as soon as your age permits. That is all."

"Wow." Sybil literally jumped on the floor and then tried to embrace Kalid. Kalid hugged her and she felt very happy.

"I never thought this would end up this way." Sybil thought. "Oh, and I apologize for being so emotive, it is just that this..."

"Yes, it is very important for you and has been important for every member before entering. Congratulations. Now rest a few minutes while you recharge your energies in here, then you to be able to exit and tell your mother about this."

Sybil relaxed again and fell asleep again for a few minutes. Kalid went outside and tried to relax. He decided not to tell anything to Dorothy yet, it would be her daughter the one who would say to her the important fact. Dorothy was waiting outside and tried to catch Kalid but he went directly to another room, to order his thoughts.

Soon Sybil was awaken again. She could remember mostly everything that had happened and went towards Dorothy.

"Mom... I was accepted inside the Order!"

"What? Oh, my dear, just as I had thought! I am so proud of you."

They hugged each other and Matthew appeared again and asked about Sybil's fate. He congratulated her.

Sybil recalled all of that strange dream experience she had shared with Kalid and thinking of those old memories made her stronger now, in her new time of uncertainty about the future. Somehow she sensed that Kalid's dream was linked to this current crisis with Set, but how?