Michael directed Jonathan towards a black car parked by itself in the back of the parking lot.
“Michael, what is that?”
Michael grinned with pride. “One of the perks of being a dreamer in addition to being a scientist and inventor. You are a dreamer, right?”
It was love at first sight for Jonathan and Michael’s question entered his ears as a muffle as he stared at the car in disbelief. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
Michael withdrew the question for later and just smiled. “I’m going to show you something. Walk over to the car while I wait here.”
Jonathan walked slowly towards the car. Every neuronet in his brain was mesmerized as he studied the stunning design. He stopped and looking back he asked, “Okay, Michael, what did you do to this thing? What’s it going to do?”
Michael changed the tone of his voice to something out of a thriller “I’m not going to tell you.”
The appropriate word for moments like this privately slipped
out of Jonathan’s mouth. “This is a bit scary.” Then his brain found an association to his past that made it even worse. Turning back towards Michael again he said, “This is like the first time I dared to walk up to the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid my eyes on.”
“What happened?”
“The humiliating stuff that’s amusing to everyone else but you.”
Jonathan hesitated. “So is this one going to be nice?”
“She’s a good one and faithful. She only lets me in close,” Michael said with a Cheshire cat grin on his face.
Jonathan had already reached the car when those words were spoken. He stopped and words nervously slipped out just under his breath once again. “Oh, man.”
As Jonathan stood over her, all was still and quiet. “What’s she doing?”
“Checking you out.”
“Checking me out?” Jonathan repeated, looking anxiously puzzled.
Michael waited just a moment then said, “Show her your best move,” as he could hardly keep from laughing.
As Jonathan set his hand on her and followed the beautiful lines, he spoke to her softly “hey, pretty lady.”
Then, in a voice that could stop a heart in the middle of a beat, she responded, “And just what do you think you’re doing?” Jonathan jumped back. It was as sexy, arousing and demoralizing as the real thing and before he could think of what to say, her head lights came on and turned red, the car hunched up, spikes rolled out over each of the four wheels, and the fully armed, crazed cat sprayed a piercing hiss at him.
“Michael, she morphs!”
Michael was behind him now, motioning her to calm down. For a moment, Jonathan stood frozen with his mouth open, staring at the enchanting car, unable to get a word out. Then he collected his feelings into one thought, “This may be Maybeland and not able to get us to our real dream but when I find the answers, and figure out how to get out of here, I’ll be driving one of these into my dream life!”
Amused with his car’s intoxicating charm over Jonathan, Michael responded, “I think I can arrange that for you.”
Michael looked down for a moment then looked up at Jonathan who was still admiring the car. “This is just a toy Jonathan. My real work is very serious and I’ve needed a very particular kind of person to help me and I think you’re the one I’ve been waiting for. Get in the car and we’ll talk about it when we get to the restaurant. I know a quiet place where the food is really good. Oh, by the way, Jonathan, meet Felina. Felina, this is my new friend Jonathan. He may be assisting me with my work.”
The now composed Felina spoke with her velvety, catlike voice, “Hello, Jonathan, it’s nice to meet you.” She morphed again sliding down her doors and slipping the top back to allow them to come in. As they sat down, she closed back up, started the engine and began to drive to the restaurant.
“Michael, you aren’t saying or doing anything. How does she know what you want and where we’re going?”
“This is a dream car. She just knows because she knows me. She’s very good at figuring out people in general by watching their movement and monitoring their body chemistry. She had actually already sensed your intent and approved of you when you were coming towards her in the parking lot but I motioned her to put on her act for you.”
Felina was beyond anyone’s dreams. She had sensors for everything. She knew what color the traffic lights were. She could feel every person’s position in the intersections, those standing, those crossing the street. She could drive at optimum speed knowing the best route according to traffic. A violation or accident would be impossible. She gave a new meaning to ‘fully equipped.’
As they pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, she stopped and waited. “What’s she doing now?” Jonathan thought out loud. Just then backup lights came on and a car pulled out of a space just in front of them. Sight unseen, Felina could sense everything everyone was doing around her within 200 yards.
“Unbelievable! I need to add this to my stories about Mrs. Abbey. She would give her millions that she’s been hoarding since the beginning of time to have this software installed in her brain.”
“Who’s Mrs. Abbey? Oh, yes, the lady in front of the bookstore who were trying to avoid. You’re serious about the stories you tell people?”
“Oh, yes. It’s been a lot of fun. She even knows about them and I think she likes the attention..”
Felina pulled into the parking place and Felina let them out and said “Enjoy your lunch gentleman,” as she closed the doors back up.
“She’s perfect, Michael.”
“Yeah, but I’m worried she’d get jealous if I brought another woman into my life.” At that point Jonathan had gotten so caught up in the game they were playing, he had to stop his mind as it began to consider the possibility. Michael knew what he was thinking.
“Gotcha!”
Jonathan was feeling overwhelmed at this point, “This is just too much!”
They both laughed.
“Seriously, Felina could at least let you know if Mrs. Abbey is around. But you haven’t seen anything yet,” Michael said.
As they entered the restaurant, they spotted a booth in the corner and asked the hostess if they could be seated there.
They sat down and opened the menus and quickly set them down.
“Jonathan, I need to get an idea how far along you are on the Path. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes, Michael, I do. And to answer that, I’m going to sound very cocky when I say that I’m beyond anyone I know, every book, every movie, everything anyone is saying.”
“That is why you write in the margins? Michael asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yes.” Then Jonathan explained, “As I am reading how they are saying something, I’m writing the more evolved teaching in the margin. It actually ends up making what I know clearer to go through this exercise. So I love listening to deep things wherever I can find them. Jacob Madison is my favorite dreamer. He writes on a wide variety of subjects because he’s connecting everything. It’s very lonely where I am. There’s so few who come close to being in the level I’m in, understanding the language I speak.”
“This is all very good,”Michael said, “and exactly what I was hoping you’d say. I’ve needed someone operating at a very high frequency.”
Jonathan felt very grateful to find someone he could talk to.
“You aren’t just saying this. You speak the language at the same level. You really understood everything I just said.”
“Yes, I did,” Michael said as he took an Indian leather pouch out of his pocket and set it on the table.
“My grandfather, on my mother’s side, was full blooded Soen indian and a great seer. My mother would take me to visit him and he often spoke of a time of great upheaval when men’s dark past would come to their consciousness, like the earth being turned over as it was made ready for a new planting. He called it the Darkness. He said it would be a time when people would revisit the dark places in their lives and heal their pains and gain use of a power that builds up in us through our sufferings. He said it is locked in our being, remaining hidden until we learn how to use it. It would be a time when we would forgive and help one another because the time would be so difficult for everyone. His words inspired my life long work.”
“What is it?” Michael asked.
“I have an unusual machine. Because I came up against a lot of ridicule from my colleagues who are still very much asleep, I decided to keep my work concealed at my private lab, but I don’t think it will need to be hidden for much longer. The Darkness doesn’t all of a sudden start. The earth has been in the path of the energy from the stars that are causing it since 1980. Some have been feeling it this whole time, others just recently, but they all have very little awareness of the extraordinary thing that is beginning to happen to them. The great Solhan calendar placed the time of the Darkness’ greatest strength on the 2012 winter solstice and that is what we are still living with right now.
“As for the machine, it has to do with our past. I’m going to assume, since you are so evolved, that you have done some kind of reverie or regression type therapy, something where you have gone into your past to find times where something happened to you that was getting triggered and adversely affecting your present life.”
“Yes, I’ve done quite a bit of it. Everything is brought to the surface to fix. It helped me have a better understanding of people and why they do what they do. It’s been putting my life in order, ending harmful relationships, closing doors and opening the right ones. Seeing what happened to me back then, using the eyes I have now, gave me direction in my outer life and a vision of the future which is still pretty fuzzy and part of that is a teacher who will be coming into my life who I think will be giving me direction. I’m excited and hungry, stuck and lost. The process has been both amazing and extremely painful both at the same time.”
Michael was very pleased with how well Jonathan expressed the hidden life. “Stressors of the mind, heart and body, that we spend most of our time fighting, and that eventually are responsible for our deaths, are — according to the bigger picture — the mechanism that is evolving us. Like sand flowing into an oyster and creating a pearl, the universe stirs up a storm of stress in our lives and during that time we learn how to handle all the different kinds of negative things. With each of our lives, we get better at it until we figure out how to overcome stressors before they kill us again. When the evolutionary process is nearing completion in your final life, the stressful negative things die down and go away forever.
“What would you think if I told you that I have invented a machine that can take you not just to the past, but to your previous lives to find everything about yourself and unlock and release everything from your entire past holding you back from completing the journey and having your dream life.”
After seeing Felina, Jonathan had no trouble believing Michael could do anything including this.
“I’m in. When can I go?”
“Would tomorrow work for you?”
“Yes.”
Michael was looking at the people all around the room.
“People have been lost in the illusion, thinking life works a certain way and it’s going to keep doing that, and if they heard us, they would think we are crazy. But it’s about to change for us.”
Jonathan knew well how difficult it was for the first ones who entered the darkness. “I know.”
Michael looked weary as he spoke. “There’s no escaping the Path and it gets increasingly more difficult. I’m 56 years old and my body reminds me daily of my mortality.”
Jonathan continued his words. “You feel both young and old, both strong and vulnerable. You die and are revived over and over in a cruel game. Sometimes I feel like I can’t wait anymore for the Powers that be to rescue me again from another loss of some kind with something new to keep me going. It’s a feeling like we’re in a race against death, like it will overtake us if we take too long to get to where we want to be.”
With this full reality they shared, Michael made an announcement.
“So we’re going to help each other then help the rest of the world. Get a good night’s sleep Jonathan and eat a big breakfast and be at my lab by six o’clockThat gives us enough time before the sun comes up.”
Michael wrote down the address and his cell number and handed it to Jonathan.
“Where would you like Felina and I to drop you off?”
Jonathan thought for a moment about Mrs. Abbey and decided he’d rather walk than have to try to explain this car to her. Exposing his exploits to her was like having to put a dunce hat on and sit in the corner for everyone to look at.
“I’m going to walk, thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow, Michael. Good night, Felina.”
“Good night, Jonathan. And say ‘hi’ to Pete for me,” Felina responded.
“How do you know about Pete? Jonathan asked in amazement.
Felina slid a headlight cover slightly closed , then she opened it, as if she were winking.
“Never mind, I don’t want to know.” He smiled, turned the corner and headed towards his apartment.
“Tahl, what are You doing now?” he whispered.