CONNECTING THE DOTS, ILLUMINATING... THE COSMIC CONSPIRACY

The car came to a screeching halt. “How much more?” Brian sat in limbo thinking about Karen’s last comment.

“Well, for starters, their DNA seems to have more strands in it than ours. They seem to have OUR DNA makeup in it, plus a lot more.  I counted 12 strands, but there certainly could be more.” Karen seemed to be in disbelief. “How’s it possible to have more than two strands?”

Brian gathered his wits about him. “We need to go.” After witnessing the horrendous carnage of the Lizzies back under Mount Rainier, he knows caution is what’s needed from now on, especially with Karen tagging along. He stepped on the gas. 

“We’re gonna’ go to Tacoma to see my folks and hopefully, I can figure this stuff out.” Brian’s brain was going nearly as fast as his car. He knew he would have to continue to head out on Paradise Road East, to get him home. The switchbacks and turns kept his speed down, though. 

“Figure what stuff out?” Brian’s driving was making Karen sway in her seat.

Brian wouldn’t answer. He was focusing on what he was doing and didn’t waste much time getting from the Visitor’s Center down the mountain where he picked up Highway 706 at the Westside Road fork.  Then he made a beeline to Elbe, where he caught Highway 7 North up to Tacoma.

Although the whole trip to his parents’ house would be less than 150 miles, to Brian it might just as well have been to the moon. He couldn’t stop looking over his shoulders to see if he was being followed.

‘Calm down brother, you’ll get there. Just breathe.’  T’s voice echoed in his mind.

Brian’s mind was somewhere else as he drove this very busy street. He could not get that vision of Mount Rainier out of his head. Soon Highway 7 turned into I-705 North, and he took that up to Schuster Parkway, then turned north on Ruston Way.

Karen couldn’t get over how every turn took them farther and farther north. “Your folks live all the way up here?” Karen had never been this far north. “My God, we’re almost in Canada.”

“The way I feel, maybe we should just keep going.” Brian’s mind was clearly focused on the Lizzies.

“What?” Karen had no intentions of skipping the country.

“No, my folks live up here in Ruston, just off Puget Sound.” Soon Brian hung a left and then went south on North Ferdinand Street then turned west on North 48th Street then south again on North Orchard Street.  “Man, I almost forgot how to get here.”

‘What is it with you, when it comes to directions and street names?’ Again T noticed how backwards things had to seem in order for Brian to make it to where he was wanting to be going.

“How long has it been since you’ve been home?” Karen was checking out the cool scenery.

“Oh, about 20 years.” Brian’s face reflected back a sad look of regret. 

“20 YEARS! You haven’t seen your folks in 20 years?” So much for the scenery.

“No, they came down to Orlando and stayed with me for two weeks a couple summers ago. I mean, of course, I’ve seen my folks in 20 years. Geesh.”

“Oh. For a minute there I thought I was hangin’ out with a real jerk.” 

Brian gave Karen a look of amazement. “Huh, I’ve never seen this side of you.” 

“Well, if you spent more time with me…” Karen suddenly sidetracked her train of thought. “And besides, what could be more important than family?”

‘Ooh, she got you on that one.’ T’s finger licked the sky.

“Quiet down.” Brian said to himself.

“What did you say?” Karen thought he was talking to her.

“No. Uhm, nothing. I was just talking to myself.” 

“Oh. Do that often?”

“YES.” Brian gave her a stern look. “We’re here!” He turned his car into the driveway of a very nice single-level ranch home. 

Just as the two were getting out of the car, Brian’s mom came outside on the porch to see who had just pulled in. When the unfamiliar became familiar, she screamed for joy. “Brian!” She placed her hands over her mouth and then turned and yelled inside to her husband. “Honey, look Brian’s here!” 

Brian's father immediately jumped to his feet to come see the return of his prodigal son.

“And he brought a friend - a GIRL FRIEND!” Mom’s voice got very excited. Never before had she seen such grand visions of grandchildren, and knee-bouncing, and toll-house cookies… 

“Hi, ma.” Brian walked up the concrete steps and gave his mother a big hug, and then pointed back. “This is Karen Wilson. Karen, this is my mom and my dad.”  Brian was being rather nonchalant about things.

“Brian, such a nice-looking girl.” She threw her arms around Karen and gave her a good ol’ family hug. “Call me, Ginny.”

“Call me, Pops.” He touched Karen on her shoulder.

Then hugged his son. “We thought we’d never see you up in these parts ever again.” Dad was quite pleased to see his long lost progeny. “I didn’t think the airlines would let you use the other end of a round trip ticket after 20 years.” Of course, that pleasure comes with a little tongue-in-cheek sarcasm.

“Mom, Pops I think it’s best if we go inside now.” Brian cut the greetings short. With all that’s happened still fresh in his mind, he opened the screen door to lead them inside.

“Where’s your luggage? How long will you be staying?” Ginny kept looking ahead to her son and back to his car.

“Let’s go inside and I’ll tell you what we’re up to.” As he held the screen door for everyone to go inside, he looked around the neighborhood to see if he was followed.

“What’s going on, son?” Dad felt his son’s concerns.

“Pops, I can’t tell you everything that’s happened, I can only say that what I’ve just been through in the last 7 days has changed my whole life. I’m not the son I used to be.” Brian sat down besides Karen on the couch. “I’m really sorry for not calling you more often and for taking so long to come back home. I’ve had my eyes opened on a whole lot of things lately, and I just want you to know that I love you and that no matter what happens, that will never change.”

Just then the phone rang. Pops answered it – there was a long pause. “No, no we haven’t seen him.” He turned and looked directly into his son’s eyes. “What is it that he’s supposedly done?” Pops paused to listen.  “National security?” Then there was another long pause. “Alright, if I happen to see him I’ll let you know. Who do I call?” Pops then took down a name and phone number on a pad of paper resting on the table near the phone. “Alright, goodbye.”

Brian and Ginny both stood and asked, “Who was that?” 

“Mother…” Pops looked at his wife, “you may want to sit down.”

“What’s wrong, Honey?” Virginia looked at her husband, and then with a mother’s instinct turned to face her son with great trepidation.

“That was the FBI. They’re looking for Brian. They said something about him being involved in a conspiracy against national security, but they wouldn’t say anything else.”

“WHAT?!!” Brian was shocked at the accusation.

“Brian?” Brian's father gave his son a stern look.  “I think it’s about time you explained a few things.”

By now, Karen had a most ghastly look on her face, and Brian’s parents didn’t look much better.

“Wait, now.” Brian put his arms up to defend himself. “If anything, THEY DID IT.” He pointed to the phone.

“Who did it, the FBI?” Mom gently took ahold of Brian’s hands. 

“Probably…. Maybe… Could be… I don’t know!” Brian stuttered in frustration. “Oh Hell! They were all wearing black. They all looked like Nazi ninja’s.”

All three stood before Brian, totally out there.

“You know! They got them Nazi helmets on and those black uniforms with bullet proof vests, with guns and grenades hangin’ all over ’em.” Brian seemed to be getting very frustrated. “I don’t know who, exactly…” Then his lips moved without his cognizance. “But they’re not from this planet.”

“What?” Ginny caught it though. She always does.

Brian then caught himself. “Nothing. Just nothing. Look Pops… Mom… it’s best if you don’t know anything. I really, really think it would be best if you knew as little as possible. So I can only say this, what I just witnessed a few hours ago was a horrible act, committed by a foreign government, and that act involved the killing of many of my friends.” Brian paused to think how he was going to continue. “I don’t know anything about this conspiracy against national security or whatever, but I do know that what I saw makes me a threat to those who did it. And if I were to tell you, then you would be a threat to them, and let me tell you, you don’t want these people coming down on you – they’re merciless.”

Just then, Pops went over and flipped on the television set, and sure enough, there was Brian’s face plastered all over it. Then it showed a room full of people who were lying lifeless on the floor. The anchor man spoke up, “What you’re seeing is the inside of a compound near Packwood, Washington, where another cult, like the Jonestown followers or the Heaven’s Gate cultists, decided to end their lives. Except, these all seem to be twins…” He looked down at the dead bodies. “…dozens of twins. According to the FBI, this man being sought after, named Brian Obson, is somehow linked to this mass suicide and…”

Brian looked at the screen with horror; somehow he knew every one of the people who had died. He began crying uncontrollably. “My God, they killed you – they killed you all!” Brian was weeping on his knees in front of the television set. “You bastards, you killed them all!” He slammed his hand down on the carpeted floor. This was the answer as to why he and T were the only ones to return. 

“You know these people?” Karen kneeled beside Brian, trying to comfort him.

“You know who these people are?” Pops pointed to the TV set.

“I never met them in person, but yes, I know them all.” Brian cleared away his tears. “Those bastards. They killed them and since I got away, they’re blaming me to find me.”

“Got away from what?”  Father needed answers.

“I’m sorry Pops, I just can’t tell you. I can’t tell you what I saw.” Brian’s voice got really soft. “I can only tell you that it was horrible. It was disgusting and I want to forget it.” Brian paused for a moment to gather himself. “If I tell you, then YOU’LL be in jeopardy, and I love you far too much to do that. For right now, you’ll just have to trust me.”

“Well, Brian, it makes it hard for us to help, if you won’t tell us what happened.” Mom just wants to help.

“Mom, Pops, I came up here to see you, because I don’t know when I’ll be able to see you again. These people are going to come after me for what I saw. And they won’t stop until they’ve got me. I love you with all my heart, and now I gotta’ go.” Brian new that was not going to go over well. He stood up to get ready to leave.

“BUT YOU JUST GOT HERE?” Mom cried out. “We see you for 5 minutes and that’s it? After 20 years you finally come home, just to have the FBI call us and tell us that you’re in some kind of trouble? WHY?” Mom never saw this coming.

“I wish it could be different. Please Mom, Pops, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen this way.” Brian shook his head. “Please forgive me. I didn’t do what they said I did. All I know now is that I have to leave you, so you don’t get in trouble, too.” Then Brian cleared his eyes and gave both of his parents a big hug and a kiss, and then he turned to Karen and grabbed her by the arm and headed out the door. He turned back to his folks. “You never saw me.” 

“But honey….” Mom started to reach for her son.

Brian wiped the rest of his tears from his face and yelled, “YOU NEVER SAW ME, GOT IT? I love you with all my heart, and soon, very soon we’ll be back together again, I can feel it. So believe it.” Brian’s voice had a spark of hope in it. Then, with Karen in hand, Brian rushed out of the house and jumped into the car.

“Brian,” Karen wasn’t sure what the heck was going on, “I want to go with you. Let me go with you.”

“Yes.” Brian replied. “I need you. Thank you for wanting to stay with me.” Then Brian slapped his car in reverse, backed out of the driveway and stepped on it. The last view he saw of his parents, were of them standing on the front porch arm in arm, with mom still reaching out, trying to get ahold of things.

“Be careful son!”  A very concerned father yelled. “Our prayers are with you!”

Brian gave a quick glance over to his anxious, but willing, passenger. “Now we go back to I-5 and head south.”

“We gotta’ ditch this car.” 

“Really?” Karen really didn’t want to see him get rid of it. She’s ridden in it a hundred times and really enjoys it, especially with the top down.

“Yeah, gotta’ do it.” As Brian got back on the Interstate, his intuition told him his best chance to get rid of it with the least number of problems was to do it in Portland. “We’ll head south to Portland, I’m sure we’ll find something there.”

‘Breathe, brother. I am with you.’ Brian heard T’s voice.

For the next 150 miles, Brian’s paranoia got the best of him. Every car that passed him was a cop car, or at least he thought it was. He got a lot of strange looks back from the folks in those cars he was passing.

‘No need to speed brother, we’ll get there.’ T reassured his twin.

As Brian passed Kelso, he came upon the great Columbia River. Of all the wondrous Nature that Brian has witnessed on this trip, no natural event has ever affected him like this one. The moment was sublime. The river seemed supernatural. The hugeness of it, compared to the smallness of him, left him slightly off balance. And he, for just a moment in time, a blink in eternity, experienced its vastness. Goose bumps, lots of goose bumps. The view definitely calmed Brian down. Brian had a fleeting thought of running bear. ‘The river is always new.’ He heard running bear’s voice in his head. “Always new.” Brian repeated out loud, smiling a rare smile, remembering his newfound, very old friend.

“What did you say?” Neither she nor Brian had said a word since they passed through Olympia.

“Did you know that the water in a river is always new?” Brian seemed much calmer and gave a nice, if rare, smile.

Karen smiled back. “No. No I didn’t realize that. I’ve always looked at it like it’s always been there, but I never considered that the water is always new, coming from one place and going to another.”

“That’s us if you think about it.” Brian reflected on everything he’s learned in the last few days and seen how he’s become more than just “that dolphin trainer” down at Sea World. Then Brian remembered the Ziploc bag in Karen’s coat. “Give me that baggy with the material in it. Best if I keep it.”

“Okay.” Karen reached into her purse and handed the Ziploc baggy over. Brian stuffed it in his right front pants pocket.

“Best if I keep it.” Brian reassured his friend.

Within the hour they had reached Portland, Oregon. Just before Interstate 84, Brian saw an exit with car dealerships off it. “Broadway, we’ll be taking this one.” After turning left on Broadway and proceeding for a few blocks, Brian spied a mom-and-pop auto sales on the left. “That’s it. We’ll find what we’re looking for, there.”

‘Good job, brother.’

As Brian pulled in, the owner came out and Brian could tell that he liked what he saw, because he was licking his chops, while wiping his grease covered hands with a shop rag. “Howdy.” He stuck out his hand. “I’m Bud, and this is my place.” He pointed to the sign, ‘Bud’s Used Cars’ up overhead of the shop door. “This sure is a mighty fine lookin’ car.” He eyed the rally wheels, the beautiful red paint job and the fact that there ain’t many of these cars left. He also knew what was under the hood. “Lookin’ to trade?” He hoped.

“Yes, I’m looking for something a little less sporty. Something that I can sleep a little better in.” Brian’s awareness focused on his twin, and the nights they spent sleeping on the road.

“Well, I just so happen to have a Chevy van over here,” Bud pointed around the corner, “that an elderly lady just traded in yesterday. She said she only drove it a couple a' times a week to go to her doctor’s appointment and church. It’s got low miles and from what I can tell, it don’t leak oil and the engine runs strong. Blows cold air, too.”

Brian noticed the tinted windows all the way around. He cupped his hands on the side of his head to look inside.

“She told me she had it tinted because her eyesight was real sensitive to light. In fact, when she walked into the office, she looked like she was wearing a pair of those virtual reality sunglasses, if you know what I mean.” Bud cupped his hands around his eyes making them look like a box. Bud turned and walked into his tiny office and pulled a key off a hook.  “Here.” Bud threw them over to Brian. “Give her a start.”

Brian had a look of skepticism on his face. ‘Trust your feelings.’ T intuited.

Brian got in and turned the key – it started right up and ran smooth, too. Then he flipped on the AC. “Feels good, I’ll take it.”

“Great!” Bud responded. “But you know I can only go straight up for your wheels, I can’t give you any money for it.” Bud was looking at his feet.

“My ‘goat’ and four hundred bucks, for your van.” Brian stood firm.

Bud thought about that for a minute. “Deal.” He agreed and reached out his hand to seal the deal.

“Cash.” Brian added. 

Bud thought for another minute, and then looked over to the Pontiac rocket that just landed in his lap for a song. “Okay. Deal.” 

“And you need to take the plates off this one right now.” Brian pointed to his old car, “and put some different ones on it. Best if you put it inside your garage, too. And maybe give it a paint job.”

Bud started looking at Brian with very suspicious eyes.

“Don’t worry.” Brian placed his hand on Bud’s shoulder to reassure him. “It’s my car, I have the Title in the glove box, along with everything else. And I’m not a criminal or anything like that. There’s just some folks out there who want it, and I just ain’t willin’ to give it to ‘em.” 

Bud’s fears were allayed. “Okay.” He perked up. He trusted his feelings, too.

Within 15 minutes, a bill of sale was drawn up, along with some temporary tags, the cash was handed over and Brian and Karen were into a new set of wheels. Then they emptied out everything in the glove box and placed it in the van, along with his clothes, blankets and the cooler.

“I’m gonna’ miss ol’ Bubba.” Brian looked in the van’s side mirror at his old car for the very last time.

“Me, too.” 

Then Brian heard, ‘Are you sure Bubba didn’t transfer himself to your new van?’

“BUBBA!” Brian yelled out, and then he began caressing the steering wheel.

Karen smiled.

Brian stopped at a convenience store a few blocks up from Bud’s place. There, he gassed up the van, along with a 4-gallon gas can secured to the back door. He also filled the cooler with loaves of wheat and rye bread, a big tub of extra crunchy peanut butter, and a big jar of grape jelly and a twelve pack of grape juice. “This should get us pretty far.” 

Brian and Karen then turned around and headed back to the interstate. The onramp to I-84 East was less than a mile up the road. “Are we heading back to Orlando?” Karen started looking toward the future.

“Yeh, we’ll be heading back to Florida, but I don’t think it would be too wise for me to go back home any time soon. That’ll be your job. They won’t be expecting you. I think there’s some things you’re going to have to get for me there. I’m sure things will get clearer, in time.” 

“Where will you go?” 

“I guess I’ll know that when I get there.” Brian responded with a smile. 

‘You are learning.’  T echoed.

I-84 followed the Columbia River for about 170 miles; it is a beautiful stretch of road. The river alone is awe-inspiring – so huge. Along the entire way though, Brian could only think of his twin, and the things they saw and did. Although he was paying attention to his speed and driving, he couldn’t get T off his mind. Karen was also very quiet. She felt some very traumatic things happened to Brian, and she knew inside that he needed to bring them up to talk about them.

Just before Boardman, Brian saw a woman up ahead trying to flag down anyone who’d stop; she’d run out of gas, and it was starting to get dark fast. Brian pulled over.

“Is it safe to stop?” Karen worried for Brian’s welfare.

“Best to help whenever we’re asked.” As he got out, he could see the distress on the young woman’s face. 

“I’m out of gas. Can you give me a lift into Boardman, so I can get a container of gas and hitchhike back?”

“No.” Brian said very directly. “I have a gas can on the back of my van. I’ll give you some of that to get you where you’re going.”

“God bless you.” The young woman sighed with great relief.

Brian went around the back of the van, removed the steel container and poured about 3 gallons of gas into her car. “There that’ll get you where you need to go.”

The woman reached into her pocketbook in search of a buried wallet. 

Brian reached out to cut her search short. “No. No need.” He patted the top of her hand.

Then she gave him a big hug. “You know I’ve been standing here for over 20 minutes trying to get someone to stop. No body stops anymore.”

“I did.” Brian smiled, and then he reattached the gas can to the back door.

“Thank you so much, you’re a real life-saver.” The woman then got back into her car with much less distress than she had when she got out, and then drove off, waving goodbye at a furious pace.

“That was really kind of you to help her.” 

“Kindness is the beginning of enlightenment.” 

‘You are on your way now.’ He heard T say. As Brian got back into the van, it seemed his own clouds of distress had lifted. ‘Helping others is the surest way to help yourself.’ 

“It sure seems that way.” Brian commented to himself, on himself.

“What sure seems what way?” 

Brian could tell this shroud of secrecy couldn’t go on any longer. “Karen, we have a long way to go, and we won’t be stopping anywhere, except to go to the bathroom and such, and there’s lots of stuff that you need to know.”

“Does this mean you’re going to start talking to me?” Karen replied in a kindly, but sarcastic tone.

“I guess I haven’t been a very good host. Sorry.” Brian reached behind him and showed Karen the blankets and sleeping bag that he took out of his old Pontiac. “If you want to sleep, go back there and lay down. I’m sure after a while, I’ll want to and hopefully, you’ll be okay to drive and help us to get back down to Florida as soon as possible. But no speeding though.” Brian warned.

“Okay. I don’t mind driving at night. I’ll be alright.

“Good. Now let’s get back on the road, there’s so much that you need to know.”

Brian became really comfortable in his new set of wheels. Although he missed the convertible, he’s really taken to the captain’s chair and being above everyone else on the highway. He can really see everything now, and with the tinted windows, no one could see HIM.

As they headed down I-84, into Pendleton, Brian noticed the sign for Umatilla Indian Reservation and instantly thought of running bear. “Have you ever heard of smudging?” 

“Uh huh.” 

Brian smiled. He’d gotten pretty use to T’s ‘Uh Huhs’ and wasn’t used to hearing anyone else respond like that. Then Brian reached into the new glove box and pulled out the small baggy, which contained the sage from Colorado. “Here, smell this.”

As Karen opened the bag, the smell of the potent sage filled the entire cabin. “Wow, this is potent stuff.” 

“It’s the best sage in the world.” Brian replied. “T and I got it when we were in Colorado, at a place called Wild Horse Mesa.”

“Sounds like a great place.” Then Karen paused, remembering his twin brother. “Where is your twin brother, anyway? What happened to him?” 

“Oh. He had to go. But you could say, uh,” Brian uplifted his tone, “that we’ll always be together.”

“Something happened to him back there didn’t it - at Mount Rainier.” Karen was very intuitive. She then sealed up the baggy of sage and put it back into the glove box. “Is that why you couldn’t tell your folks?”

“Yes. He and all our family there were killed.” 

Karen wasn’t ready for that. “What? Killed? FAMILY? We need to call the police!” 

“Who do you think was responsible for it?” 

“You mean cops killed your family?” Karen was very disturbed.

“I can see now that it really wasn’t something they were doing on their own. I guess you could say they were tricked into it – just following their orders, doing what they’re told.” Brian mumbled aimlessly.

“But they’re still RESPONSIBLE. They’re still responsible for their actions!” Then Karen paused to think for a moment. “What family did you have back in Washington, other than your parents?”

“I think it’s best if we start from the beginning.” 

“But I want to know about what happened at Mount Rainier.”

“Do you like to walk into a movie theater and start watching the movie right at the very end?”

“Well, no, of course not.”

“Good, then I guess we have enough time between here and Florida to get it all out.” Then Brian started to speak of all the lessons that T had taught him about treating everyone like family. And after speaking for a few hours about the Cajuns and the American Indians, he was startled to realize that he’d driven all night long and into the early morning. That’s when he noticed his gas gauge. For the first time in a long time, it read nearly empty. “Holy cow, we need gas.” 

“You sound surprised.” Karen seemed surprised at Brian’s comment. “Did you think we’d make it all the way to Orlando on one tank?” 

Brian had to think about that for a moment. “No, I guess not.” He didn’t want to sound strange. He wanted to tell her that he’d made it all the way up there on one, but things were already strange enough and he didn’t want to add to it. “We’ll stop up here near Twin Falls. There’s probably a gas station right off the interstate.”

In about a minute, Karen noticed a Phillips 66 station up the road on the right. “Up there.” She pointed.

As Brian pulled his van up to the very end pump, he couldn’t help but think that he was somehow being cheated, because he now had to spend money to get anywhere. “Good thing Bud gave me the four hundred I asked for.” 

‘It is all part of the deal.’ Brian heard T’s voice in his head. 

Brian thought about that for a moment as he started pumping the gas. “You mean, if I didn’t take the money from Bud, thinking that I needed it for gas money, I’d a got there on one tank?” 

‘We will not ever know that now, will we?’ T replied.

“I’m going to the rest room.” Karen noticed Brian talking to himself, again. “Everything okay?”

“Yeh, sure. Everything’s fine.” Brian showed his regrets. “I just have to stop basing my future on my past.” Brian gave his words another thought. “My way past.” 

Karen shook her head, not quite understanding what Brian meant and headed off inside the station.

After filling up the big tank and the one on the back, Brian noticed the total amount that was due. “EIGHTY-FOUR DOLLARS!” He said in disbelief. “Wow, now I’m really glad I got that four hundred bucks.” 

‘You do it to yourself.’ T echoed.

As Karen came back out, she told Brian about a very poor looking man inside that didn’t have enough money to pay for his gas. She made comments about his clothes and that he looked rather ragged. She said he thought he had the cash, but he didn’t know where it went. Brian went inside to pay his debt.

“I don’t know where my cash went.” The man said in disbelief. “Can’t I come back later and pay you?” He pleaded with the attendant. “I have to be in Idaho Falls for my wife’s surgery at nine this morning.” Then he looked at his watch. “And that’s only three and a half hours from now. Where am I going to get forty-four dollars and fifty-two cents at this time of the morning?” The man was clearly distraught.

“I don’t know. But my boss would fire me if I let you go without paying. You’re going to have to get me that money somehow, or else I’m gonna’ call the cops.” The attendant was very adamant about getting her money.

Just then, as the man once again began reaching into his empty pockets, searching for something he knew wasn’t there, Brian slapped a hundred and a fifty on the counter and said, “This is for pump 7, $84 even, and for my brother here, $44 and change.” Brian then smiled at the distraught stranger.

Suddenly the stranger’s face lit up with a most heavenly glow. “You’d do that for me? A perfect stranger?” The man had tears welling in his eyes.

“You’re not a stranger to me.” Brian replied with a big smile and a warm heart. “You’re my brother. You just don’t know it yet.” Now Brian had a big smile on his face.

The attendant then placed the $21 and change that Brian had coming back into his hand. Brian then turned and handed the money to the stranger. “Here, take this. Get your wife some nice flowers.”

“For real? THANK YOU! GOD BLESS YOU!!” The man replied quite loudly as he grabbed Brian’s hand and the money with both of his hands and nearly shook Brian’s arm right off his shoulder. “My God, there is hope in the world, after all.” With tears of happiness, he strolled out the door and screamed to Karen, who was sitting in the only other vehicle at the station - he naturally deduced that she was with Brian. “Your friend saved me! Now I can go be with my Mary at the hospital!” He held up the twenty and the one in his right hand.

Karen didn’t have a clue. She just watched this once distraught, raggedy man run to his car, jump in and take off down the road. Then Brian got in. “You paid his bill?”

“Uh huh.”

“And gave him money, BESIDES?”

“Yep.” 

Karen was taken aback; she’d never heard of such kindness before. “You know you’ll never see that money again.” She shook her head in disbelief. “It’s a wonder how his kind could even afford a car, let alone get the gas to go in it.”

“It’s not about his kind, Karen, it’s about BEING kind.” 

‘We are proud of you, brother.’ Brian saw T and a bunch of Yeti looking back at him in his mind’s eye, all with thumbs up. 

Brian started feeling really good inside and realized why his van was running low on gas just at that right moment. “No accidents, no coincidences, right?” He said to his Higher Self.

“What do you mean by that?” 

“That’s just another thing we need to talk about.” Then Brian remembered another reason why he needed to stop. He got back out and started to stretch. “Ooh, this feels good.” His body made a bunch of those cracking and popping sounds.

“You always do that?” Karen projected her voice through the windshield.

“I do now. You should try it, it’ll make ya’ feel like a million bucks.” After a few minutes of stretching, he felt the energy come back to him that he had lost over those last 8 hours of driving. “I thought I’d let you drive, but I think I can go a bit farther. You may want to get some sleep though.” He climbed back into the driver’s seat.

“Now what are you doing?” Karen watched Brian juxtaposition himself in his seat.

“If you’ve never tried this, do it. While you’re seated looking forward, place your right arm over the back of the seat, then take your straight left arm and put it to the outside of the right knee. Then do this.” Brian gently twisted far to the right, then switched his arms and hands and repeated it this time to the left. “Did you hear that?”

“Yeh.” The popping sounds gave Karen a sense of unease. “Uh Brian, is that sound good?”

“It’s just gas being released from my spine. That’s all. And doing it this way, with the arms thrown over the back of the seat, relieves all the stress from gravity.” Brian saw Karen’s face and thought his words needed clarification. “Your back is free to move without stress.”

Karen then gained some courage and tried it herself. “Wow! My head went light for a second.” She stopped there.

“Yep. Happens every time.” Brian said reassuringly.

“Well, I guess I’ll head back and go to sleep.” Karen squeezed between the two captain’s chairs to lay down in the back with the blankets.

“I’ll wake you up when it’s time for you to drive.” Brian turned to see his friend rearranging the blankets and pillows.

“Okay.” Karen pulled the blanket up over her shoulders. “This is pretty comfortable back here.” 

‘Yeh, probably a lot more comfortable than my old goat.’ Brian thought to himself.

‘But sometimes it is the lack of comfort that teaches you the most about it.’ T reminded his twin. ‘You said it yourself.’ 

Brian then pulled back out onto the interstate and continued to head east, back to whence he came.

After a little over 7 hours, Brian found himself heading into Rawlins, Wyoming, barely able to keep his eyes open. “This’ll be a good place to stop and fill up and wake up Karen so she can drive.” After pulling off the interstate at Exit 211, he noticed a line of motels and gas stations just up ahead. Brian reached back to touch Karen’s hair, as he pulled into a Conoco station. “Okay, it’s your turn to drive.” 

As he was filling up, he remembered all the feelings he had when he and T traveled through Wyoming just a few days earlier. ‘Man, it sure seems like a lot longer than that.’ He reminisced. Suddenly the gas pump clicked off. Brian pulled the handle up again, to keep filling it up. Gas sprayed out of the hole and onto his hand. “Aw, man.” Puzzled on how the tank filled up so fast, he looked up to see the numbers on the pump. “Eleven gallons, how can that be?” Then he opened the door, grabbed his Rand McNally map and quickly calculated the distance from his last stop near Twin Falls, Idaho. “416 miles, how can that be?” Then he figured the miles per gallon he was getting. “Let’s see 11 goes into 416… 11 times 30 is 330, leaving 86 divided by 11 is almost 8. Wow, 38 miles to the gallon! That’s pretty good.” Then he checked the oil and noticed that it was still amber colored, and the engine was still pretty much spotless. “I like this.” 

By now Karen had crawled up to the driver’s seat and strapped herself in, still yawning. “Hey,” Brian tapped the window, “I’m gonna’ go in and pay for this and you’re going to get out and stretch. I’ll be right back.” After gladly paying the $42.35 for gas, and a couple of dollars for one cup of coffee, a bran muffin and a bear claw, Brian walked out of the store and saw Karen standing outside waiting for him. He placed the coffee and muffin in the center console.

“Is this going to be gym class, or what?” Her hands were on her hips.

“No.” Brian smiled, “They’re simple exercises and won’t take but a minute. Here I’ll show you.” Then Brian brought her around to the front and placed his hands on the hood and stretched his calf and thigh muscles. Then he slowly rotated his hips without moving his feet. Then he stepped back, closed his eyes and gently rotated his head clockwise, then counterclockwise. “Got it? C’mon, it’s easy.”

Karen did fine with her legs. She definitely felt the muscles pulling and stretching in them. But, when she got to her neck, that’s when the popping really began. She heard the terrible crunching noises in the base of her skull where it connects to her spine and started seeing lights flashing inside of her eyeballs. “What is that disgusting crunching noise I hear in my head?” Karen immediately stopped.

“It’s alright, that’s just calcium deposits you’re breaking up, releasing the blockages that have kept the light energy from getting to your head. Keep going, the crunching sound will go away soon.”

As she started back gently rotating her head, Karen heard clicks and pops and crunches and could feel things beginning to release. And the flashing lights became more intense. She opened her eyes and became quite dizzy. Brian reached out to steady her. “There, now how do you feel?” He asked with big eyes.

“Better, much better. And really awake now, too. But toward the end, when I moved my head the least, I felt something like tiny bits of gravel up in between my eyes.” Karen reached back and cupped her neck, looking up.

“That gravel is called brain sand. It’s good to feel it. And remember, just don’t force anything. Now let’s climb in and work on our backs, then it’ll be your turn to drive and my turn to sleep. I got you a cup of coffee and this bran muffin.” Brian pointed to the center console. After the torso twist, he crawled into the back, where he felt quite at ease with himself. Even though he knew the government was after him, for some reason, he really wasn’t too worried about it. 

‘Trust your feelings.’ He heard T say. 

“Right now, I’m feeling sleepy.” Brian yawned.

“What?” Karen turned around in her seat.

“Just talking to myself, again.” Then he looked up and pointed through the windshield. “Oh yeh, uhm, pull out and go right, follow this road right back to I-80. Cross over the Interstate then go left, that takes you east. That will take you to Cheyenne, where you’ll take I-25 South to Denver, then catch Interstate 70 East to Kansas City.  You’ll be staying on that for a while.”  

Karen had a surprised look on her face. “You expect me to remember that?”

“No, I put it all on that piece of paper sitting on top of the dash that the muffin is sitting on.” He pointed.

“Oh.” Karen found it. “How long do you think it’ll take to get to Cheyenne?”

“We get there when we get there.” Brian yawned with a big smile. My, what a difference the anticipation of a good sleep makes. “Take your time. No speeding. Okay?” Then right before he nodded off for one of the most restful sleeps he’s had in a minute, “Mmmmm. Bear Claw.”

When Brian awoke, he noticed huge grain silos out the window to the left. “Where are we at?” He yawned.

“We’re just now going through Goodland, Kansas.” 

“Boy it’s always nice to wake up a few hundred more miles down the road.” Brian yawned some more and stretched his arms outward. “How you doin’?” You could have fit a grapefruit in is mouth.

“I’m starving.” And her tone proved it.

“Well, how come you didn’t wake me up so I can make you a sandwich?”

“With your snoring? If we flew off the Grand Canyon and landed on the roof, I doubt you’d of even woke up.” 

“Oh. Well, let me make you something. How are we doing on gas?” Brian stretched forward to see for himself.

“Great. I haven’t even used a half a tank yet. I didn’t know vans were this good on gas mileage. I’ll have to get me one.” 

‘Excellent.’  Brian felt quite pleased. Then he opened up the cooler and popped the top off a grape juice and handed it to Karen. 

“Thank you!” That drink never stood a chance.

“Now, how’s about a nice peanut butter and jelly sandwich? They’re really good ya’ know.” 

“Sure.” Karen responded. “They’re my favorite.”

‘No accidents, no coincidences.’ Brian thought to himself. “Wheat or rye?”

“Well rye, of course, that’s my favorite, too. You mean you didn’t know that?” Karen paused. “That’s why I thought you got all those supplies, because you knew that I just loved grape juice and peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches on rye.”

“Uhm… yeah… sure… I knew that.” Brian uncomfortably paused. “One or two.”

“Two, so long as I can have another grape juice.”

“Yeh, when it comes to peanut butter, you can never have too much grape juice.”

Brian made the sandwiches and then crawled up into the passenger side captain’s chair. “Hey, this is a pretty comfortable ride.” He stretched as he reclined back. 

“Sure is. I don’t feel tired at all.” 

“Good. That’ll give me the time to sit back and see all the things I’ve been missing.” Over the next few hours, as the sun moved behind the two, Brian watched the great plains of America go by. ‘No overpopulation here.’ During the trip across Kansas, Brian and Karen chatted about little things, but nothing earth-shattering. Then as they got close to Kansas City, Brian commented, “Ya’ know Karen, I know those people who live in this State are proud of it and they probably wouldn’t live anywhere else if they had the choice. But I gotta’ tell ya’, that was THE MOST boring ride I’ve ever had in my whole life. I mean I-10 from Houston to San Antonio was more exciting than this!”

“Consider yourself lucky. You didn’t have to drive through it.”

“Point well taken.” Brian humbly replied. “Let’s get through K.C. and then we’ll look for another gas station and maybe do a little more stretching, along with a bathroom stop.  Sound good?”

“Okay. I am getting a bit tired.”  Karen readjusted her butt in the seat. “And I’m thinkin’, I gotta’ go soon.”

“By the way, how was Denver?” Brian always wanted to see that town. “I’ve got an inkling to go back there one day.”

“Well, they may call it the Mile High City, but all I saw was miles and miles of construction and the roads are terrible.” 

‘Must be because of being less denser.’ Brian deduced in his mind.

“And those people drive like maniacs.” Karen complained.

“Must be the lack of oxygen.” Brian also deduced. “Maybe I’ll go to Colorado Springs, instead.”

As they drove east and passed through Kansas City, Kansas, they crossed over the Missouri River into Kansas City, Missouri - the “Show-Me” State - and came into a small town called Blue Springs. After taking Exit 20, they pulled off into a bp convenience store. “Pull up to that pump.” Brian pointed.

“Boy, I really have to go.” Karen hit the brakes and bolted out of the van enroute to the closest restroom.

As Brian got out, he walked around the van and noticed two “suits” in a black car that had just pulled up under the post light. He didn’t get a very nice feeling from them. He could sense he was safe, in a way, because they weren’t there for him. But still, he intuited that they looked just like the suits T saw back in San Luis, Colorado. The ones T never happened to mention, by the way.

‘Oops.’

As Brian stuck the nozzle in the van and started pumping, one of the suits got out and walked right passed him. Brian quickly looked like he was checking his rear tire for something. He got chills up and down his spine. As Karen walked out of the store, she inadvertently ran right into the “suit.” Then she walked over to Brian.

“Did you see that guy?” Karen turned to look back into the store. “He’s creepy.”

“He’s a suit.” Brian commented without emotion.

“What do you mean he’s a suit?” 

“What was creepy about him?” Brian wanted to know what she felt.

“It was like he wasn’t even human, like he was some kind of robot or something. I don’t know, I can’t explain my feelings, but I do know that I don’t like him.”

“Neither do I. Let’s get this thing filled up and get out of here.” This time when the pump clicked off, Brian didn’t bother to see how gooda’ gas mileage he got. His concern was to get away from these fellers. As he anonymously moved into the store to pay his bill, Brian quickly noticed that the suit, which had gone in earlier, had made it to the counter. There were three people between them. Brian noticed there seemed to be some kind of energy field surrounding everyone else in line, like some kind of “light shadow,” but there was no such field around the suit.

After the suit paid for whatever it was he had just bought, Brian made sure to NOT make eye contact with him. Then he turned and watched him walk all the way out to the black car, get in and take off. They seemed to be following a couple in another car that had just left the station.

Once he paid, Brian rushed out to the van and hurriedly made his way out to the intersection to get back onto the interstate. Both the black car and the one they appeared to be following were still sitting waiting at the red light when he pulled up from behind.

“Don’t get so close.” Karen warned. “I don’t like those guys.”

“I don’t think they’re human.” 

“What makes you say that?”

“They have no auras. I never knew what an aura was, until I didn’t see one… AROUND THEM. I know that sounds weird, but I don’t know of any other way to explain it. We’re gonna’ follow them for a while. I have a feeling that they may want to harm those people in that car ahead of ‘em.”

For the next few miles, Brian followed the two vehicles east, along Interstate 70. Then the first car pulled off on to Highway BB, and the suit’s car slowed and then turned to follow them – headlights off. Brian kept his distance. Then the lead car pulled off the main road onto a dirt road and traveled it for a little less than a mile and stopped. “This reminds me a lot of what T and I did.” Too many memories came flooding back from that lifetime spent - one very special week. 

‘Watch carefully.’ T re-minded his twin. 

Brian turned his headlights off and could barely see the road in front of him. Then he saw the suits park a few hundred yards behind the first car, and stealthily begin to make their way up to it. “This is it. I gotta’ go, STAY HERE.” He commanded.

“What?” Karen seemed alarmed. “What the hell is going on?”

“STAY HERE.” Brian pressed down on Karen’s leg as he got out. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I think it ain’t gonna’ be good.”

Brian then stepped very gingerly, but very quickly, over the terrain that took him within eyeshot of the lead car and its inhabitants. 

It was starting to get pretty dark. 

As he got closer, he noticed that the two people in the lead car looked very similar, like twins. Then suddenly, the suits jumped up, one on each side, and grabbed the occupants by their necks. “HEY!!” Brian yelled out. Then he grabbed a steel t-bar fence post that he’d noticed was lying at his feet and went running towards the car. “WHAT THE HELL’S GOIN’ ON HERE!!” 

The suits, being startled by Brian’s presence, looked up and that’s all that was needed for the two occupants in the car to defend themselves. Suddenly the suits stopped attacking the twins and stood straight up, as if in a trance. They didn’t make any further movements as Brian made his way over to the car.

“Are you alright?” Brian quickly checked out the occupants for any injuries, while also checking out this stiff standing before him. “What’s up with these guys?” The suit just stood there and didn’t even blink. Brian dropped the steel fence post on the ground.

“Hello, I am Beoneius Baker and this is my twin brother, Michael.” The twin on the passenger side greeted Brian as he got out and put his hand forward to shake Brian’s hand.

“Hi… I’m…” Brian kept pausing, because he couldn’t get over the suit that was standing right in front of him. The suit was acting as if he’d just been hypnotized into standing there like a statue. 

“And you are Brian Obson, twin of Theoneius Obson.” Beoneius Baker replied.

That took Brian by surprise. “Yes I am. Bee-own-ee-us?” Brian enunciated his name, and then he deduced, “You’re from Mount Rainier aren’t you? You’re his Higher Self.” Brian pointed to Michael.

“You can say that.” Beoneius smiled back. “But please, call me B.” 

“What did you do to them? I thought they were going to kill you.” Brian couldn’t stop looking at them. He was half expecting the suits to come back to life at any moment.

Suddenly Karen showed up and was taken aback with what was happening. She too, put her face right up to one of the suits and just stared at it in amazement, feeling that it must have been hypnotized. “How did you do that, Brian?”

“I didn’t do anything. I was about to ‘brain’ these idiots when they just went into a trance. It was B who did it.” Brian pointed to one of the twins.

“He just told them they were stiff, rigid, upright marble statues embedded in concrete and they just stopped and stood there.” The other twin was pretty amazed, himself.

“This is my twin brother, Michael.” B motioned with his left arm to his twin who was still sitting in the driver’s seat.

“What did you say?” Karen asked.

“I just told them that they are statues and their feet are embedded in solid concrete. Immoveable. Stiff. Completely rigid.” B replied.

Then Brian thought of what the Yeti told him back under Mount Rainier and deduced how he hypnotized them. “Higher dimensional beings can manipulate lower dimensional beings.” He concluded.

“You can say that.” B replied, and then motioned for his twin to get out of the car. “Please greet our guests, Michael. It is rude not to.”

Brian suddenly realized that he had made no introductions. “Forgive me, this is my friend Karen Wilson.” 

Michael then got out, moved slowly around the suit and put his hand out to shake Karen’s hand. “I’m Michael. One very confused twin.” He was also shaking his head – in disbelief.

“They know who you are now. They know the car you’re driving.” Brian was going through another moment of deja vu. 

“Yes, we must do something about that.” B confirmed.

“How did you know they were going to hurt us?” Michael asked Brian.

“We saw them waiting for you at the bp station back in Blue Springs and followed you here. I thought you might be in for some shenanigans.” Brian was glad he followed his intuition. “Maybe it would be best if you came with us, in our van. I had to get rid of my car once I figured out they were following me, too.” Then Brian walked around the car, reached up under the wheel wells and found a transmitting device just like the one he pulled out from under his car, except theirs was up in the driver’s side back wheel well. He then smashed it on the ground, just like the other one.

“How did you know that was there?” Now Michael was really impressed.

“Experience.” Brian responded. “C’mon, we need to get back to the van and get out of here before any more suits start showing up.”

“What’s going to happen to these creeps?” Karen was poking one of them in the chest with her finger. And she seemed to be really enjoying herself.

“They will wake up in the morning when the sun hits them, not having a clue about what just happened.” B commented without an ounce of fear in his voice – maybe even, a little compassion.

Brian and Karen then helped the twins get all their stuff out of the car and into the van. As they were walking over, Brian took time out to chastise Karen for not staying in the van. “The next time I tell you to do something, you better do it.” Brian whispered strongly.

“Hey, you don’t own me.” Karen replied like she was his sister, instead of his girl friend. Not much tolerance there.

Then from behind, B asked, “Where is your brother, Theoneius?”

“He’s with me now. The Lizzies got to us before any of the other twins could come back.”

“Oh, I am sorry.” A wave of sorrow came upon B. “The Yeti?”

“Yes. Them, too.”

B took a moment to gather his emotions. “I was not sure what happened, but my intuition told me to not go back there.  We decided to turn around in Sioux Falls. Then I felt Michael and I should head down to Bimini, instead, where we would be safe. So we took I-29 south to Kansas City, where we just started heading east, when you caught up with us.” B paused to think of his family in Mount Rainier. “For a moment I felt a terrible sickness in my stomach. They used ‘sonics’, correct?” 

“Yeh, it pretty much tore everyone up. It was ugly.” Brian was staring at the ground, witnessing all those visions that were going back through his mind’s eye again.

“What did he mean when he called you my Higher Self?” Michael asked his twin.

“Soon, brother. We will cover that. Very soon.” B put his arm around his twin.

Brian could feel the love between them, just like the love he felt for T.  “Forgive me, I didn’t mean to uncover any secrets.” He felt like he cast a pearl.

“That is okay.” B replied. “You have got room for us and all our stuff?”

“Yep, I guess that’s why I decided to get a van. We needed something to get us all back to Florida.”

“No accidents, no coincidences.” B smiled.

“No doubt.” Brian replied. “You said you were going to Bimini?”

“Uh-huh.” 

“Well then, I’ll bet a dollar to a donut that that’s where I’m supposed to be going, too.” Brian saw pieces of a puzzle falling into place.

“No accidents, no coincidences.” B repeated with a smile.

Brian smiled. “Let’s go, brothers.” He then walked around and climbed in to drive. “Have you eaten?”

“No, not yet.” Michael had hunger in his eyes. “We were just about ready to, but when those things showed up, they kind of wiped out dinner, too.” 

“Well, I bet I have exactly what you’re looking for.” Brian reached behind him and opened up the cooler, revealing the PB and J supplies and the grape juice.

A very large grin appeared out of thin air on B’s face. “Why am I not surprised?” 

“No accidents… right?” Brian started up the van, turned around and headed back out to Highway BB. 

“Why do you call them suits?” B seemed genuinely curious at the expression.

“Because, that’s what they always seem to be wearing. And calling them uniforms just doesn’t seem to have the same ring to it.” Brian was trying to focus on staying on this dirt road, where there were no streetlights, or straight lines, to show him where the ditches are.

“Good point. Is there anything strange that you noticed about them?” Beoneius seemed to be leading Brian on. Michael and Karen were also listening intently.

“Well, yeh, back inside that gas station in Blue Springs I noticed a light around everyone else in line, including the attendant, but not him.” Brian pointed back behind him, to the conservatively dressed statuesques, which just got left in the dust. “He didn’t seem to have that same glow, that same aura that all the others did.”

B paused for a moment and then asked, “Have you and Theoneius discussed genetics?”

“Yeh, we talked about it one night outside of Roswell, New Mexico.” Brian thought hard for a moment. “Trans… genetics. Yeh, that’s it. Transgenetics is what T kept calling it.”

“You mean, taking the DNA out of one being and mixing with a completely different one, creating a third being from the other two?”

“Yeh, except I don’t think he put it quite that understandably. T?” Brian looked up to the top of his head, as if to see his twin standing there like some kind of etheric miniaturized doll. “How come he made it sound so simple?”

‘When we spoke, you were not ready for simple yet. Or at least, that is what you always led me to believe.’ Brian could see his twin leaning up against a big oak tree, munching on a blade of straw.

Brian instantly got it and decided to pursue it no further. “So, what does transgenetics have to do with these suits?” He turned to receive B’s answer.

“Brian, what do you think you would get if you crossed a human with a machine?” B wasn’t about to beat around the bush any longer.

“Whoa! What the hell are you sayin’?” Brian caught himself. “Heck, I meant heck.” Then he regained his focus. “What the heck are you sayin’? I was ready for man and a gorilla, or man and a plant… But,… What part of them is a machine?” All Brian could see was Schwarzenegger in Terminator.

“The brain. But do not think of it as nuts and bolts, think of it as a holographic program, just like on Star Trek.”

“Wait.” Brian’s brain was blowing out a few fuses of its own. “Are you saying that those suits are human beings without a mind of their own? That somehow, they’ve been programmed to do what they are? To follow orders without having the ability to stop and think about what they’re doing?” The more dots Brian connected, the more he squinted his eyes and scrunched his forehead skin.

“Who created these beings, Brian, was it God or was it man?” B liked to cut to the quick, like The One did.

“Well, it was man.” Brian quickly deduced.

“And what is the one thing that can only be created by God and can NOT EVER be created by man?” B lifted his eyebrows.

Brian’s brain was really starting to smoke now. It’s been a while since it’s had to work this hard.

“A soul.” Karen piped up from the back.

“That is correct, my sister. Very good.” Beoneius congratulated Karen.

“A soul.” Brian said into the ethers, hoping that his words would somehow trigger something in his head, while they made their way from his mouth, back into his ears. “NO SOUL – NO LIGHT!” Brian finally saw the light. “That’s why they didn’t have any auras. They’ve been created by man and will do everything that their human creator tells them to do.” Then Brian thought of the flip side. “Because if they were created by God, they would have a soul or a conscience, which would help them to see what they’re doing!” A greater moment of revelation, Brian has not known.

“The new technology melds Holographics with humans - a whole new brand of DNA. This allows these suits to be programmed, just like your computer, and made to carry out these programs, without fail. To these suit-type beings, good and bad are never considered, only their programming matters.” B stared deeply into Brian’s eyes, trying to build a bridge between ‘I don’t know’ and ‘Oh, yeh’.

Brian made the connection. “And that programming can only be changed by a higher dimension, not a lower one.”

“Yes, and since the soul exists at a much higher dimension than simple flesh and the 4th-dimensional holographic device that they have replaced the brain with, they can both be easily manipulated through the imposition of a little bit of soul.” B’s smile was full of bright light. “They have no auras because they have no light force. They are just droids, robots, without a soul. Harmful to the unenlightened, but easy, for those who are enlightened, to manipulate.” B thought for a moment. “You know, we have always called them ‘droids’, human containers without a soul, but I like ‘suits’ better.” B reached out and tapped Brian on the shoulder.

Brian made another connection. “Just like what Obewon did with those Storm troopers in the first Star Wars!” He was remembering the part when they all went to the Port City to get transportation to Alderan. ‘Man, whoever wrote that script, knew a few things.’ 

‘No doubt.’ T echoed.

Things got pretty quiet, pretty quick right about then. Everyone was pretty tired and pretty worn out from all the pretty strenuous stuff that they’ve all, pretty much, been through. Only faint whispers were heard in the dark from the back seats. Although Brian and B may have heard them, neither one said anything. Pretty much.

By now they had made it all the way to Highway 13 and have taken that to the Interstate. Just after getting back onto eastbound Interstate 70, Brian’s mind sent him back to the events on the dirt road. “I’m really glad that you hypnotized those suits, ‘cause I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to do with that fence post.” He looked over to B. 

“Violence should always be the LAST RESORT.” B reminded his friend. “But thank you for yelling out, for if you had not done that, I am not sure we would be sitting here right now.” B then turned to his brother, reached back and put his hand on his knee. “We owe you a lot.”

“Yeh, a lot.” Michael agreed.

“Well, we’re on our way to Bimini, now.” Brian felt a needed sense of relief.

“Do these seats spin around?” Beoneius searched for the lever under his seat.

“Yeh, they’re captain’s chairs. They swivel and everything.” Brian was pleased that his van could accommodate Michael’s Higher Self.

B found the lever and pulled up, then spun around so he was facing the passengers in the back. He let go of the lever and it clicked into place. Then he turned to Brian. “Excellent. You do not mind, do you? Michael and I have some things to talk about. Things I am sure you’ve already heard.” 

“No, that’s fine. Besides, there’s some talking I need to do on my own. If you catch my meaning.”

“With both hands.” B replied, and then he turned his head back to Michael and Karen and continued the process of bringing Himself into their lives.

As Brian drove east, he could tell that Karen was taking an active interest in the twins, especially Michael. She paid close attention to what they were talking about and seemed to have a few quiet revelations of her own. She noticed how B often spoke of family and how committed everyone should be to one another’s welfare.

“You guys talk a lot about what Brian was telling me right after we left Portland. Is there a connection here?” Karen looked at Michael very affectionately.

Brian noticed it in the rear-view mirror. “I think there’s an excellent connection being made here.” He added.

“I wasn’t talking to you.” Karen said, “I was talking to them.” Suddenly Brian really saw Karen more as his sister, than anything else - a perspection that he’d never before considered, but for some reason, started making complete sense. The more the twins spoke, the greater her attention was. It appeared to Brian that B’s twin wasn’t the only one to learn of the Higher Self.

‘We all have more than one Higher Self, and more than one ego self.’ He heard T say in his mind. 

Brian pondered that for a minute or five. “What?”

Karen’s attention was drawn back to Brian. “Talking to yourself again?” 

“Uh-huh.” Brian responded.

“Say hello to Theoneius for me, we used to have a good time together.” B tapped Brian on his right shoulder.

“Already done.” Brian replied. “He’s glad you’re with us.”

Now Karen looked completely lost, along with Michael. “We have a lot to talk about.” B said to both of them. “Drive slowly, Brian.”

“You got it.” This trip back was turning out better than Brian had ever imagined. He wasn’t quite sure how he was going to allude the cops, get Karen to understand and figure out where he was going to hide when he first started out, but now he could see that everything that’s happened is right and best and all he had to do was get his mind out of his own way. ‘There’s a message there.’ He thought. 

‘Have no preconceptions, brother. Trust that God knows what He is doing and that your feelings will get you there.’ T assured his twin.

Brian’s spirits raised as he got closer to home. And because, his gas gauge wasn’t heading toward empty anymore. 

For the next number of hours, four friendships were cultivated on a 4-lane paved highway – traveling at speed. Although, no more gas was required to travel, a few “pit stops” still had to be made due to nature calling. As they traveled through St. Louis then down through Nashville and Atlanta enroute to Florida, they all took turns driving, allowing everyone to get their much-needed rest. Not much talk happened about enlightenment, but comments were made concerning the amount of police cars cruising around on the interstates.

“Is it just me, or does anyone else notice that we can’t go more than a quarter-mile without seeing a cop car?” Michael commented, as he was driving through Macon, Georgia on I-75. “You’d think that we now live in a police state, instead of a free one.”

“This happens every time governments trick their citizens into believing that safety is more important than liberty.” B was looking out his window at all the sites.

“You know, I once heard that Benjamin Franklin once said something like ‘...anyone who is willing to trade even a little bit of their freedom and liberty for safety, deserves neither liberty nor freedom.’ And being a founding father of this country, you’d think The People would heed those words.” Brian added.

“But those words aren’t taught in schools anymore.” B commented. “In fact, very, very little is taught of this country’s founding fathers, in schools or anywhere else.” 

“Why? Isn’t it important that we Americans follow the ideals of our founding fathers?” Michael changed lanes to his left to go around a car that had just been pulled over by two police cars with their lights spinning and flashing. “Do you honestly think that this is the way our founding fathers wanted this country to wind up? Just like it was before the revolutionary war?” Michael has always had a strong interest in history, especially Revolutionary War history.

“History repeats itself until the lesson is learned.” Both B and Brian said at the same time, and then laughed.

“You think this is FUNNY?” Michael was getting frustrated. “Let me tell you, IT’S NOT.”

“Mike,” Brian touched his shoulder, “anytime you have light, there must be dark. It’s the way things work on this planet.” Brian remembered the talk he had with T in Colorado about the yin/yang symbol.

B joined in. “The only way anyone can truly know what freedom is, is when they have lived through bondage. Then, once it is realized that freedom is more important than bondage, people will again choose to live freely. Perhaps, with The People being a little more safety conscious, this time around. It is a natural cycle. But it has to be a personal choice by each individual who lives in America.” B continued. “Until Americans start reading their Constitution again, they will NOT EVER get the perspective of what this country was supposed to be from their founding fathers; they will only get the perspective from those who claim to be their “authorities” and say that it is something else. And most of those people wear black robes.”

“And didn’t they all give their Oath to God and a guarantee to The People to uphold and support the Constitution?” Mike asked sarcastically, seeing all the ‘in-justices’ sitting on their high thrones.

“Most of them are members of a secret group. And they have taken oaths as members of that group, which allow them to disavow all other oaths they have taken, and do it with a clear conscience, within their own secret society.” B added. “Oh, and that oath takes precedence over all other oaths.” 

“You mean to tell me that they don’t have to follow the Constitution anymore? That those oaths they’ve taken are meaningless to them and they can do anything they damn well please?” Michael was clearly frustrated. “Man, I don’t believe this! Something needs to be done to change things, and it needs to be done right now!” Michael slapped at the steering wheel with the palm of his right hand. 

“I agree.” Brian tapped Michael on the shoulder to maybe calm him down. “Now what things are you willing to do right now in your life to live free? To set the example?” Brian put the ball squarely back in Michael’s court.

“What do you mean?” That caught Michael off guard. Suddenly he didn’t see Brian as this great ally that he thought he was. “What can I do? If I drive without a license, I’m a criminal. If I don’t register my car, it gets stolen from me. If I don’t get insurance because I can’t afford it, government will punish me by taking away more money that I already DON’T HAVE to make me get the damn insurance. If I don’t pay their taxes, they just come and take everything I own to cover them. Man, they’re like the Mafia!! Have you ever noticed that with government, you can actually get into MORE trouble by doing nothing, than by doing something? It’s nuts!” Michael could barely pay attention to his driving. Everyone could tell that his frustration was beginning to consume his consciousness and affect his hands on the wheel.

“Calm yourself, my twin.” B touched Michael’s shoulder. “Right now in this country, the game of control and punishment is what is being played out. Brian asked you a very valid question, what are you doing to be free? I promise you, if you think you are controlled, then you are. But if you think that you are free, within those controls, then you will be free. Thought creates reality, my brother. Within the realm of thought, you can still live freely.”

“How can I think about being free, when all I see is control? How can I even try to act free, when there’s a government out there that’s made freedom and liberty illegal?” Michael was shaking his head in disbelief.

Brian was listening to every word Michael was saying. Every ounce of disdain and hatred that Michael was demonstrating, Brian had previously felt and completely related to. Brian used to be Michael, in this very way. Used to be.

“You must first free your thoughts from thoughts of bondage. That will be your first step to achieving freedom, within this system.” B smiled.

“Mike,” Brian added, “your perceptions define your reality. If you perceive that you’re enslaved, then you most certainly are a slave. Then all your thoughts about being enslaved will create your life of slavery. It will literally prove your thoughts correct. Thought creates reality. The more you think of cops and lawyers and judges as your captors, the more you will see them as being just that.” 

“Very good Brian, or was that Theoneius speaking?” B could tell T’s time was not wasted.

“I’m not sure, maybe a little of both.” Brian smiled back.

“But don’t you see them?” Michael pointed through the windshield. “Don’t you see all the cops bustin’ down doors and bustin’ heads and stealin’ our stuff? Don't you see that ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, THEY’VE COME TO OWN US AND ALL OUR STUFF – LEGALLY?! They are the NEW MAFIA! Are you tellin’ me you can’t see that?!” Now Michael was really feeling enraged, and the inside of the windshield in front of him was in need of paper towels and some industrial strength Windex to clean that rage up.

“You remind me a lot of me a little while back.” Brian tried to relate to his frustrated friend, not giving up that a while back was only a week ago. “I used to feel exactly the same way you do towards them.” 

“Well, what did you do to get over ‘em… to stop seeing ‘em?” The look in Michael’s eyes was pure innocence. He was done with this stinkin’ thinkin’.

“I stopped looking for them. I stopped trying to point out ignorance in an attempt to define enlightenment.” Brian’s wisdom was coming through.

‘You are a blessed being, my self.’ Brian heard T say in his mind. Then Brian saw a big smile on B’s face. He could tell that B could hear T just as well as he could.

Brian continued. “These people exist to point out the darkness on this Earth. The actions they commit will one day come back to them, but it’s best if you have nothing to do with that returning wave. Your waves of frustration and anger will only generate those waves back into your life, and government will be there to make them all come true. Only when you realize that you generated them first, through your attempts to point out ignorance in order to show enlightenment, will you even stand a chance of government NOT being in your life as a controller and punisher of you. Only when you come to accept them, tolerate them and give mercy to them, will these things come to you.”

“Whenever the light tries to change the dark, it becomes the dark, my twin. Dark light.” B added. “And there is no middle ground here. Brian is correct. Only through acceptance, tolerance and the giving of mercy will you change your world - will you bring the freedom into your life that your founding fathers understood.”

“Easier said than done.” Michael commented under his breath.

“Watch your words, Mike.” Brian added. “They also create your reality.”

“Hey, look at that flower bed over there!” Karen suddenly cut in. “Look at how they’ve arranged them to make a picture. Isn’t it beautiful?”

Suddenly the talking ended, the mood lifted and everyone’s focus shifted to the port side of the van. 

“See, Michael? That is the power women have. They have been dominated by men practically all their lives and they inherently know that right now, there is little to no compassion and mercy on this planet. But even with all this control and punishment that you are speaking about and can absolutely prove, she still finds beauty in it. Now that is power.” B combed Karen’s hair with the palm of his hand. “Find your feminine side, and you will find acceptance, tolerance and mercy. Here is living proof.” B beamed a big smile at Karen.

“Who’s ready for some excellent peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?” Brian felt the mood change and went with it. “With all this talk about freedom and liberty, I’ve gotten hungry. Hey, let’s stop up here so I can drive, and so we won’t get peanut butter and bread crumbs all over the place.”

After a few more stops, and with Brian driving now, the group entered the outskirts of Orlando. Brian decided a ways back, that although a few options existed, he would come back pretty much the same way he left. However, due to the time of day, Brian chose to go the long way around and take I-75 South to 50 east, aka Colonial Drive, in. It was late afternoon and the traffic was pretty intense. 

“It feels good to be back home.” Karen was noticing all the familiar landmarks of her birthplace, along with the civilization that she’d been apart from these past few days.

“Okay, now here’s where things may get a little hairy.” Brian cautioned. He then turned left off Colonial Drive onto Magnolia Drive and drove up to a Marriott Hotel and pulled into the parking lot, parking all the way to the back.

“Why are we here?” Karen wondered. “Is this where we’ll be staying tonight?”

“No. We’re going to wait here until it gets a little darker.” Brian replied.

“Then what?” Karen wanted to know what was going on.

“Then you’re going to go to my place and get me a few things.”

“ME?! WHY ME? Why do I have to go?” Karen regretted her curiosity.

“Because they don’t know you. And I have a feeling that they’ve also learned how to hone-in on twins. I think they can feel our energy somehow, and that’s how they always seem to know where to look for us. And right now, they’re not looking for you.” Brian thought a lot about this decision. Passing off responsibilities to another just isn’t his thing.

“But I’m scared. I don’t even really know these freaks, and I’ve got to say that I’m still a little bit afraid of them.” Karen didn’t like this plan one bit.

“I know.” Brian tried to be compassionate. “We’re going to wait until it’s dark, for you to go. But, until then, I think this would be a good time to do a group meditation to help you get rid of your fears.” Brian checked out everyone’s faces.

“Very good idea, Brian. We will create a column of light around her that those droids - suits - won’t be able to penetrate.” B excitedly added.

“Okay, now let us all hold hands and face each other.” Brian and B lifted their chair arms; Brian turned in his seat and B turned his seat around to face Karen and Michael. “B, why don’t you lead us in this?” Brian motioned.

“Very well.” B situated himself, and then started. “Now close your eyes and breathe very deeply, very slowly. Count silently to five as you inhale in your nose and to six as you exhale out your mouth. Breathe out all the stress that is within you. Once you are completely relaxed, quietly call forth your Light from within. Feel the energy grow, starting at your hearts and expanding outward from there, completely filling you from within. Feel the energy pulse through you, head to toe. Know that this energy is directly from your Father in Heaven, and it is good.”

After pausing for a few moments, B continued. “Now, see that we form a circle, a circle of light. See the circle as complete and whole. Nothing can penetrate this circle, especially not fear. And even our own fearful thoughts cannot escape this circle. It is complete. It cannot be penetrated. Now see in your mind’s eye that our circle is starting to spin counter-clockwise, moving up and down, creating spirals of energy in its wake. Move this column of spirals up and down, above your head and below your feet. See that you are totally engulfed in the white spirals of light. Feel the warmth of the energy as it moves through you and up and down your spines. This is your shield. This barrier of white light will protect you from all forth-dimensional fears.” 

B paused again. “Feel this energy course through you. Feel it meld with your very being. This is your essence - this is your origin. You will carry this white light with you, everywhere you go. You will simply need to summon it, if you begin to feel tense and anxious. It is always there, but you must remember to focus on it and visualize it, for you to enable it around you. Now sit still for a while and feel the energies of God flowing amongst us. We are in synergy now, the total amount energy we are creating is greater than the sum of the parts – us, each individually.”

B stopped speaking for a number of minutes. He could feel the energy in both Karen and Brian as it was shaking in his hands. After a few more minutes, he said, “Okay, now that you are completely filled with our Father’s Light, silently count backwards to zero starting from ten, and when you reach zero, open your eyes.”

As each of them opened their eyes and released their hands, looks of amazement could be seen on the brightly lit faces. “Say nothing.” B warned. “Just look at each other, with eyes that have never been used before; with visions that have never been experienced before.”

Karen had tears running down her face. Michael’s hands were shaking so much; he looked at them as if they were about to fall off. Brian leaned his head back and began rotating it, like he was doing his exercises. B smiled a beaming smile. 

Then Karen spoke up. “Did you feel it? My hands were shaking so much I thought I was going spastic.” 

“Mine, too.” Michael added. “Man, I thought it was just me. You mean, you were shaking too?”

“Uh-huh.”

“We all were.” Brian said.

“It is the energy of light. When you call upon it, it seriously affects your motor functions because it taps right into your nervous systems.” B tried to explain. “It is always there, but in order for it to work, you must call upon it. You must create it from within your being and trust that it will come.”

“Like culture emulation.” Brian commented, remembering the Articles of Freewill.

“Yes, exactly.” B agreed. “You have free will to ask any spirit to enter your being. It is when we subconsciously keep calling on the spirit of fear that it keeps manifesting in our bodies. And when sickness comes in the form of cancer or any other life-threatening debilitating disease, is when it truly proves its existence. Stop calling on fear to justify your feelings. Whenever you call upon fear, I guarantee you it will come. And it will manifest itself in exactly how you visualize it.”

“Same with the love spirit then, isn’t it?” Karen started connecting her own dots.

“Yes.” B was pleased at the connection. “What you experience is a direct result of your thoughts about it. Thought creates reality. The moment you stop thinking fearful thoughts, is the very instant you begin to manifest love in your life. We are all naturally loving beings. It is only now that fear is so prevalent in this world, that very few love energies are being called upon to replace the fearful ones. And once the fearful ones are cast out, so to speak, you must fill the void with love. Or else more fear will just come back and take up the empty space.” Then B warned. “More than was there before.”

“So, it’s a willful thing. It’s not something that’ll just come to us, because we think God should be putting it there?” Michael’s interest was piqued.

“God has already put it there. But it will not come until it is asked to come – by each of us… individually.” That was an important dot.

“The First Article of Freewill.” Brian remembered his talk with T and the Pleiadeans, up on Wild Horse Mesa. “It’s always there, we just have to call upon it.”

“Yes, you are now beginning to understand.” B looked so compassionately at Brian’s face.

“You mean to say all the pissed-off-ed-ness that I’ve felt against the cops ain’t their fault, it’s MINE?” Michael’s innocence began to show its true colors.

“Yes.” B confirmed. “Just because it’s out there,” B pointed out the side window, “doesn’t mean that it has to be IN HERE.” He then pointed to Michael’s chest. “Start summoning love energy, instead of resistance energy when you see things that are perceived to be wrong. God knows what is going on, He just wants you to get over it, using His Love Source. Understand?”

“Perfectly.” Both Michael and Brian said at the same time, giving each other a smile.

“It is all a part of doing God’s Will, not yours. Just because you think people should know better, does not give you the Right to try to make things better.” B reminded his friends with great compassion.

“Been there, done that.” Brian said, under his breath.

“Choose to always think good thoughts, even though your senses may be telling you that you should be doing otherwise. Fear manifests fear, it actually magnetizes itself to the creator of it.”

“That’s why bees can sting you right out of the clear blue, isn’t it?” Brian laughed at the connection.

“Or dogs bite.” Karen connected out loud. She spoke those words like she lived them. 

“They sense your fear and actually help you to manifest it.” B continued. “It is not like they are out to get you; they are just proving to you that your thoughts create your reality. Should you be afraid of getting stung or bitten by those natural beings, they will do their best to make your thoughts come true - every time. In a way, they must. But, when it comes to bees, brush them away like they are just a little nuisance, interrupting your peaceful nature, and they will just fly away.” B paused. “Perhaps, however, when it comes to dogs, running fast works best.”

“All enlightened civilizations turn to Nature. That’s what T said more than once.” Brian’s mind was far away from sitting in that van.

“The more you turn to Nature for your answers, the more truths you will come to know about yourself.” B smiled at Karen.

“I still feel like I’m floating.” Karen remarked, remembering her time back at the resting pool. “All the fear I used to have doesn’t seem to be in me anymore. This is great.”

“Excellent.” Brian commented. “Now let’s just sit here for a little while longer, then you can go over to my place and get my stuff.”

Karen had forgotten all about that. “Well, maybe not all of it.”  She said lowly. 

After spending an hour, or so, pondering everything that had just been said, the darkness finally arrived. ‘Man, I thought it’d never get dark.’ Brian thought to himself. 

‘Patience my self, you seek the dark to deceive the dark. Now who is the one using the darkness to their benefit?’ T’s voice of reason echoed loudly in his twin’s head.

“You know I just had a thought.” Brian commented. “We actually do pursue the dark in our lives. We really do seek it out to use for our benefit.”

“I don’t.” Michael retorted. “I’m going to live my life in the light. Screw the darkness. I’ve had about enough of that to last me the next 10 lifetimes!”

B couldn’t help but step in here. “Twin, are you saying that you will never actively look for the darkness ever again to help you?”

“What are you saying, Beoneius? I have NEVER actively pursued the darkness to help me in my life. But it sure does always seem to find me, though!” Michael was surprised that B would make such a claim.

“Brother, when you are standing out in the hot sun, with its relentless heat beaming down on you, making you wither under its radiation, what do you do?” B needed to make this point.

“What do you mean what do I do? I go find some shade.” Michael thought about that for about two seconds. “Oh.”

“And when you go to sleep at night, what do you do with the bedroom light?” Along with this one.

“I turn it off.” Michael obligingly answered.

“More precisely, do you not instead turn ON the darkness?” B could tell he was very close to creating a causality revelation here.

Michael pondered over that for a few moments, along with Karen and Brian. “Holy cow, I never considered…” Michael was mentally in a place that he’d never been before. “There are times that I really do seek the darkness. And in those times, it’s to my benefit that I actually find it.” Michael was more talking to himself, trying to rationalize what he’d just learned, than actually speaking to anyone.

“The darkness is not bad, and the light is not good, THEY ARE ONLY A CHOICE. Can you see?” B had great hope for his twin.

“Yes, I do now.” Michael responded. 

“And in this world, do you think it would be possible to ever truly know what the light is without the darkness to compare it against?”  B pointed out the window.

“So, the dark exists to define the light?” Michael was now making a few connections of his own. “SO, I DON’T HAVE TO FIGHT AGAINST THE DARK ANYMORE, I JUST HAVE TO CHOOSE THE LIGHT?!” 

“Bingo! Revelation time!” B laughed. “Ding, ding, ding, ding!!!”

“I never knew either.” Karen added like she was in some kind of stupor. “I had never even thought that the dark was needed to show me the light.”

“In fact, Brian will tell you, that is why we have waited here for so long.  It is to wait for the darkness so we can use it to our advantage, to stay out of the light and to keep people from knowing what we are about to do. Is that not what you were thinking?” B turned to Brian.

“No doubt. In fact, it was that very thought that generated this whole deal about light versus dark.” Brian paused. “Wow, what a powerful thought that was.”

‘Hey! How’s about a little credit he-uh?’ T was in his mobster duds.

“Now watch how your reality changes.” B had light beaming from him like the sun itself.

“Excellent!” Brian exclaimed. “Karen, are you ready for your trip into the darkness, to help bring needed light to our situation?”

“Ready!” Karen cheered, then thought again. “Well, kinda’.”

“Now Karen, we’re going to get out and sit back by those dumpsters over there. While we’re waiting, you take the van to my place. You know that Methodist Church on Amelia?”

“Yeh.” It’s just up the street from your place.

“I want you to park the van in the parking lot there and walk to the house. There’s an excellent chance that they’re out front waiting for me to come home.” Brian reached out and touched her arm. “So don’t walk right up to the front door. Instead, I want you to do a little undercover work and walk around to Harwood and come up that way. You should be able to see them pretty easy.”

“Okay?” Karen was waiting for, but not wanting to hear, anymore.

“Okay, remember when you and I snuck in the back door that night to avoid Kenny seeing you? Remember how we went around and then under?” Brian’s eyes and fingers were doin’ a lot of pointin’. 

“Come on. I gotta’ do that?” Karen remembers the Olympic feat like she performed it yesterday.

“Nobody will see you.” Brian stared into Karen’s very fear-filled eyes. “Just be aware and stay low. You’ll be fine.” Brian fumbled with his key chain. “Here.”  He took his house key off the key chain and handed it to Karen. “Go in the back door. And be quiet.” 

“What am I supposed to get?” ‘That’s if I even make it there.’ Karen thought.

“Oh, yeh.” Brian reached in his other pocket and pulled out a list that he had made the night before of the things he’s going to need on his trip to Bimini. In fact, that was the name of the list - Things I’m going to need for Bimini.

“Here’s a list.” Brian handed her the paper. “On it are some things that I’m going to need when I get to Bimini. Don’t ask me what for, just trust me. Okay?” Brian moved his head up and down, hoping she would understand. “Now, everything on the list is either in my bedroom dresser upstairs or in the bathroom right off it. But don’t turn on any lights, they may see you. When you go in the back door, there’ll be a flashlight to your right, hanging on a hook by the door. Do you understand?”

Karen looked at the list. “Do I know what this is?” She pointed to an item on it. 

“Just look for a small canvas pouch, everything is in it. The other stuff, I think you know.”

“Okay. This better go right.” Karen gave a threatening tone, albeit hollow. 

Then Brian grabbed ahold of both of Karen’s shoulders and stared her square in the face, “And above all, BE CAREFUL. We’ll be waiting for you back here.” He then pointed to the dumpsters, sitting out back by the wooden fence.

To Karen’s surprise and also to her delight, Michael then gave her a big hug and told her to be careful, too. “We’ll be waiting.” He said, “So, hurry back.”

This brought a huge smile and some relief to a very anxious lady. Now, she didn’t seem to be so afraid. “Alright, I’ll be right back - maybe in 20 minutes or so. Don’t go anywhere!” Karen then climbed into the van and drove out of the parking lot on her way to church.

“C’mon,” Brian motioned, “let’s get out of the light before someone sees us.”

Karen drove very slowly, with her eyes wide open – south on Magnolia then east on Amelia. “There’s the church.”  In all her life she has never been so focused on what she’s doing. She pulled into the church parking lot and parked in the far corner. Then she got out and locked it. “This is nuts.” She shook her head.

As Karen walked around the block to Brian’s street, she allowed her imagination to go wild. Maybe that Terminator machine is there waiting for her. Waiting for her. Waiting.

“C’mon, girl. Get it together.”

She turned up Brian’s street. The closer she got to Brian’s house the more she scanned the surroundings for signs of bad guys. She didn’t have to look far. There were a few cars parked along the street. One right in front of Brian’s house. As she walked by it, on the other side of the street, she noticed two men in suits waiting in a 4-door sedan.  One of them was holding onto something that blinked red a couple times. 

“Let’s not get all paranoid, Karen.” She reassured herself. “These are just people sitting in their cars for good reason…I’m sure.”

Karen quickly made her way to the end of the street and turned to go in search of her secret entrance. “There it is. Crap.” Karen got down on her hands and knees and crawled through heavy brush, then under a rotted fence then back up again. Then Karen scaled a wood fence and stealthily made her way to Brian’s back door. These feats of physical endurance that Karen displayed, were not dissimilar to one’s she previously performed in college, when trying to get to those frat parties. 

Karen’s heart was beating pretty fast now. Not so much from running, but from the brutal anticipation of what might be coming. “God, I feel like Nancy Drew.” She slipped the key into the back door and opened it – very slowly, very quietly. “God, please smite whoever’s in here other than me.” She felt the wall to her right and found the flashlight.

The streetlight out front gave an eerie luminescent glow to the inside of Brian’s home, and she found that she could make it upstairs without turning the flashlight on. Karen had been in the house before and knew that his bedroom and bathroom upstairs didn’t face the street; another room separated them from it. When she got to the bedroom though, it was very dark. “They shouldn’t see the light.” Karen then placed her fingers over the flashlight when she turned it on, then spread them apart just a little bit, to not allow the whole light to shine out. When she got to the bathroom, she closed the door and pulled her hand away from the flashlight and could now see everything. 

“What the hell is a silver water machine?” She whispered. “Look for the canvas pouch. Look for the…” Then she looked up on the towel shelf beside the shower, “Got it.” Knowing that there’s a few items that she still needs to get, Karen then looked under the sink for the medium-sized plastic bags, which she knew Brian kept in there for his trash basket. “Excellent.” She pulled one out and stuffed the canvas pouch into it. “Now for the rest.”

As Karen made her way around the bathroom, finding as many things as she could, she made virtually no noise. For the second time in her life, she is really hyper-focused on what she is doing, making sure not to make a sound. After searching the entire bathroom and stuffing everything into the plastic bag, she covered the flashlight again and rifled through Brian’s bedroom. Suddenly she heard car doors shut out front and became quite nervous. “Oh my God, they know I’m here and they’re COMING IN.” Now she was flying through the bedroom, not really caring how much noise she was making. 

In about thirty seconds, she had everything on the list crammed into the bag and then bolted into the hallway. There she turned off the flashlight and then carefully, but quickly, made her way down to the back door. Hearing a noise at the front door, she turned to see two silhouettes moving their hands and arms, trying to peak through the windows. “Thank God for the curtains.” She very quietly exhaled. Then she noticed other silhouettes outside, making their way towards her, coming around the back. “Shit. Shit! It’s either now or never.” Karen didn’t know whether to run out or go and hide. “RUN!” She whispered at the top of her lungs. “Get the hell out of here before they catch you!”

Karen then locked the doorknob and pulled it shut.  She quickly calculated to see if she had the time to make her escape. Nope.  She then bolted down the back steps and jumped behind two large garbage cans sitting beside the garage. Breathing quite heavily, she peaked out between the cans and watched two suits walk up the back steps and turn the knob, checking to see if they could get in. Two more from the front then came around and joined them. By now, Karen’s heart was racing. Seconds became lifetimes. Anxiousness turned to terror. Fear completely engulfed not only Karen’s thoughts, but her whole body, as it began exuding that unique frequency right out of her skin. 

After a few moments of talking between each other, the multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-tasking gaggle of suits turned away from the house and started walking straight toward Karen. One of them was holding onto that black box device that Karen noticed earlier.  And it started to blink red - and blink quite feverishly, it did. With each step the suit made, the light got brighter and brighter and blinked much faster. 

Karen held her breath in terror. ‘Oh my God. Oh my God. OH MY GOD!’ Karen was so terrified that she was afraid that they could hear her thoughts and somehow know she was there. Both hands and feet were tapping feverishly to find an answer to the moment. ‘THAT MACHINE SENSES MY FEAR!’ She figured out, then the meditation they did back at the van dawned on her. “Call for the light.” She whispered ever so softly to herself. ‘Call for the light, girl!’ Her voice screamed through a bullhorn in her mind. Suddenly Karen visualized the shield of white light emanating from within her, then circling down around her, vibrating and oscillating throughout her. ‘I am love. I am light. I am love. I am light.’ She kept mentally whispering to herself.

Just a step or two away, the device suddenly stopped blinking in the suit’s hand. He stopped and slapped it against the palm of his other hand, acting as if the batteries just went dead. Suddenly another voice yelled to the suits from out front. “Come on, another set’s been found up north.” 

Karen decided to use her lungs again. Once the suits left, it took her all of about 10 seconds to jump up and run over to the fence, scale it and make it back to the street. She hauled tail back to the van.  After fumbling with the keys, she jumped in and tried to catch her breath over the next eternal seconds. Her life flashed before her. “This is nuts.” She exhaled. “You owe me, Brian. You owe me, BIG TIME.”

As she turned into the Marriott parking lot and drove back to the dumpsters, Karen saw Brian come running out in a panic. “Where were you? What took you so long?” 

Karen slammed on the brakes and put it in park. “I DAMN NEAR GOT CAUGHT BY THEM SUITS, YOU IDIOT! NEXT TIME YOU GO!” Karen grabbed the plastic bag off the passenger seat and crammed it into Brian’s chest. “Here’s your stuff!” She seemed extremely upset, that is until she saw Mike. “Michael, Michael, it was terrible.” She ran into his arms and cried. “They almost got me. But I think the meditation may have saved me.” 

“It’s okay, it’s alright. You’re back now. I won’t let anything happen to you. Don’t worry.” Michael consoled Karen in a very passionate embrace.

Brian’s eyes rolled.

Karen then turned to B, “I think your meditation worked. I think it made me invisible to them somehow or at least to that thing they were holding onto.”

Brian and B stood there and watched the embracing couple for about 30 seconds, and then Brian spoke up. “Is it okay if we leave now? Or do you want to hug out here all night long?”

“Hey, she’s scared, and I think you oughta’ show her a little compassion.” Michael reprimanded Brian.

“Yeh, for what I did for you, you’d think you’d show a little bit more understanding.” Karen added.

“Okay, I got it.” Brian threw his hands up in the air to confess his error. “You two in the back, and B will sit up front with me. Okay? Now c’mon, we gotta’ go.” Brian ran around and opened the side door and then ran back around to the driver’s door. “Now they’re kissing, for gosh sakes. C’MON LET’S GO!”

Brian pulled out on Magnolia and drove south to Colonial. In that short distance Brian was trying to figure out how he was going to get to Bimini with all these suits looking for him. 

'We must get to Miami, first.’ He heard T say in his head.

Brian stopped at the intersection looking both ways, knowing each way could get him to Miami. ‘Okay, let’s see, which shall we do?’ Brian pondered, head turning. ‘Let’s take Colonial east, all the way out to 520 and hit 95 south from there.’  Brian read the map in his mind. He knew the area pretty well. ‘Sound about right?’ Brian questioned T.

“Sounds right.” B answered.

Brian wasn’t expecting that. Then he remembered, “You can read my thoughts, too, can’t you.”

“You can say that.” 

“Right.” Brian acquiesced, while he heard T laugh in his mind. “Well B, how are we going to get to Bimini?” 

“Let us get to Miami first.” 

That sounded all too familiar. Then Brian had a revelation. “You really don’t know, do you? I mean, it’s only when we get there that things will actually unfold and show us what we’re gonna’ do, ain’t it?” Brian’s voice had a tinge of disgust in it.

“For you and Theoneius, was it any other way?” B responded with great compassion.

“No, I guess not. He wouldn’t tell me either. I always thought that he could predict the future, but I’m starting to see that it was really only faith.” He shook his head. Brian looked in his rear view mirror, thinking for the first time, in a long time, about his old stomping grounds. 

B noticed Brian’s feelings. “Do you miss Sea World?” 

“A lot less than I thought I would.” Brian really gave that a thought. “Ya’ know B, I started this whole journey right from there,” Brian pointed into the mirror, “not twelve days ago, and it seems like a lifetime. I mean, I’ve worked there for 20 years and yet I’ve learned more in the last two weeks than I have in that whole time.”

“When the student is ready, the teacher shows up.” Beoneius answered. 

“You really think it took me 20 years to get ready for this?” Brian was having a hard time chewing on that.

“It happened that way, did it not?” B paused. “Everything that happens in life, had to happen…”

“Because it did.” Brian finished.

“Because it did.” B agreed. “To look at life any other way will only bring confusion, frustration, depression and anger. You cannot avoid it.”

“Like them back there?” Brian used his eyes to point in the back where Michael and Karen were still holding hands and consoling each other.

“Exactly.” B responded with a loving smile. “When the time is right, all the cosmic tumblers click into place.” B knew his twin’s love for Field of Dreams. “And not all the wishing and hoping in the world will make it happen any sooner.”

“Kind of makes me want to be happy with what I’ve got and where I’m at.” Brian did a lifetime’s worth of reflecting in one second.

“Brian, remember, you are always in the right place at the right time. Try to take advantage of that.”

For the next while, only the two in the front seats seemed to be enjoying the views outside the van. Along the way, Brian noticed the intent look on B’s face as he scanned the horizon. It was the same look that T had on his face as they made their way up to Mount Rainier.

“You won’t be seeing any of this, like this, anymore, will you?” That ol’ feeling was bringing on Brian’s compassion.

“You know all too well.” Beoneius said lowly.

“But… does Mike know?” Brian asked in a low breath.

“Does Mike know what?” Michael asked quite loudly, after taking the first seconds of this part of the journey to divert his attention away from Karen. (As far as she knew.)

“There are many things that Michael will soon know, and just like you, Brian, he will know them in good time.” B councils using the shotgun method - pull the trigger once and catch as many as you can.

Realizing he wasn’t going to get an answer, Michael returned his attention and affection back to his newfound love – completely.

Soon, sleep overtook all the occupants – except one.

After getting on I-95 South, Brian had a feeling that the next 200 miles were going to be pretty quiet. He found himself retracing his journey and repeating all the things that T had said along the way; the things that he didn’t quite understand then but could now see with crystal clarity. ‘I love you, my brother.’ Brian thought to himself. ‘Thank you for all of your teachings and all of my experiences on that trip… and this one.’

‘This is only the beginning, brother, this is only the beginning.’ T replied.

‘I’ve heard that before.’ 

‘Did I lie?’

In a little over three and a half hours, the light began to dawn, and the group found themselves heading into Miami. Brian still had yet to figure out how they were going to get to Bimini but trusted that things would somehow work out for them to get there. In a little while, yawns could be heard and stretching could be felt – with a few moans.

“Good morning!” Brian spoke into the rear-view mirror. “Hey Karen, how long did you tell Chuck that you were going to be away for?” Brian gave a momentary thought to how Sea World was making out without them.

Karen paused for a moment. “I didn’t tell him anything. He got me really mad after you left, so I just left.”

“YOU DIDN’T TELL HIM YOU WERE LEAVING?” Brian couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He may not have a job when he gets back, either.

“No. All he could do was rant and yell at all of us after you left, because none of the shows seemed to go right. Steve, well, Steve I think he quit. He definitely couldn’t take what Chuck was dishing out, not like the way you and I can, anyway.” Karen changed her tone. “Now without you and me there, maybe he’ll come to appreciate us a little bit more when we get back.”

Brian squinted. ‘If we get back.’ He thought.

“One does not know what one has, until it is gone.” B said. “Sadly, that is the way of this world.”

“I have learned to never take anything for granted, ever again.” Brian affectionately thought about the very short time he spent with his twin. “You know, at the time you’re in the middle of a relationship, you’re always asking yourself why you’re there. Then when it’s over, you do everything you can to get it back.”

‘Amen to that.’ T said.

“Strange how life is.” B reflected, looking back to his twin brother. “We will be going to the Marina.”

“What Marina?” Brian asked.

“There, we will be meeting a fellow in a boat who is heading out to Bimini today.” Beoneius said matter-of-factly.

“We’re just going to park the van and go?” Karen asked.

“No.” Brian said sharply. “That is, not all of us anyway.” Then he turned to look at B. “I take it you have your passport, because that’s what we’re going to need to get in there.” 

“Michael and I will work things out in a twin kind of way. Don’t worry about us.”

“I don’t have my passport.” Karen added. “That was one of the things I took out of your dresser. WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME THAT I NEEDED MY PASSPORT?” Karen seemed distressed now.

“Because... you’re not going with us.” Brian announced.

“WHAT?” Karen is really starting to not like Brian’s stories. She turned to look at Michael.

“Not now, anyway.” Brian tried calming her down. “Right now, we three need to go over there,” Brian pointed out to the ocean. “And you need to go back to work. It would be way suspicious for you not to. Please Karen, this is something you must do. You can join us later when we’re settled.”

“How much later?” She spoke directly to Michael.

“Soon.” Michael squeezed her hand a little tighter. “Soon.”

“Stay on I-95 here, then take 395 East – that turns into the MacArthur Causeway. Cross over Biscayne Bay and take your first right. Follow the signs.” B instructed Brian, while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“So some guy is there waiting for us, to take us to Bimini?” Brian asked with a squint.

“Yes, although he does not know it yet.” B smiled.

“Figures.” Brian reached for the center console to retrieve his sunglasses.

They turned off onto 395 and followed the signs to MacArthur Causeway. As the group made their way over Biscayne Bay, they couldn’t help but marvel at all the homes and such, built on man-made islands, connected by a single road, seemingly floating in the bay. Then Karen noticed huge cruise liners off to the right. It seemed surreal to have floating homes on one side and city sized ships on the other. 

Brian spoke up. “Pretty mind blowing down here, doncha’ think? I mean, for all that man has done here, all in the last hundred years or so.”

“I know.” Michael agreed. “I mean, so much concrete.” The others could tell where his focus was.

“Once materialism replaces naturalism, it does not take long.” B said.

“Okay, Miami Marina and South Pointe Park next right.” Brian read the sign. They then turned right on Alton Road, “There it is, Miami Beach Marina!” and then left into a parking lot. Brian turned to B. “Where do I go?”

“Park where you can.” B pointed. “We are in no hurry; we still have some time before our traveler will be ready to go.”

“Man, you and T, how do you know all this stuff?” Brian asked shaking his head.

“Did Theoneius not tell you? We are all One. Remove time and space and you cannot help but recognize that.”

“Yeh, I remember him mentioning something about that back at Canyon Lake.” Brian pulled into the parking spot. “Well, we’re here. Over 10 days and 6,000 miles later, I’m ending up just about where I started.” Brian visualized a map of the United States of America in his mind and saw the route that he’d just taken to drive all the way up to the northwest, and then turn right around and come all the way back, except going even farther south.

“You are a man of extremes.” B said to Brian. “Sometimes in order to learn the most, the fastest, those extremes must be experienced.” B then got out and motioned, “Do not go anywhere. I will be right back.”

As Beoneius walked out of sight, heading towards the countless numbers of boats docked in the marina, Karen began to cry. “I’ve never felt this way about any other people, than I do about you two. All my life I thought that maybe I could find another doctor or a lawyer and settle down and raise a family, in a big house with a swimming pool and a nice Bermuda yard. But, if I would have done that, I know I wouldn’t be sitting here right now, having experienced everything I have. For the first time in in a really long time, I actually feel alive.” Karen gave a hug and a kiss to Michael.

“So, you’re happy with your life now, huh Karen?” Brian inquired.

“Yes, more than I could have ever thought. I mean I really want to be going with you guys, don’t get me wrong. But you’re right, going back is the right thing to do.” Karen imagined a volcano going off - that’s Chuck.

“You still have all the data you got on that sample we sent you right?” Brian’s hand remembered the Ziploc baggy still stuffed in his right front pocket.

“Uh-huh. It’s all back in my lab.”

“Good, run some more tests on it. Try to find out everything about it that you can. I’m still going to hold onto this though.” Brian tapped the pocket holding the Ziploc bag. “I think it would be best.”

In about 15 minutes, B returned with good news. “Well, I found him, Sandy Beech. He told me not to crack any jokes about his name; he has already heard them all. So do not make any wise cracks.” Then B turned to Karen. “Thank you, young lady. Thank you for your kindness and your wonderful energy. We will see you again, soon.” B gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Now we must be going.”

“What are we supposed to bring?” Brian asked.

“Yeh.” Michael added. “Like do we bring any of these blankets or anything?”

“Just what I gave you earlier, my twin.” B answered. “And Brian, just bring what is in that bag that Karen got for you and that hefty bag that T packed for you. Everything else will be provided. You must trust me on this.”

“I’ve heard those words before.” Brian thought about his twin’s words.

“And did they lead you astray?” B asked.

“No. But in a world where you’re forced to figure out everything ahead of time, trying to pre-prepare for the future, having faith in the unknown doesn’t exactly exist in those concepts.” Brian reminded B.

“Now is the time to change.” B looked at all three. “No longer base your future on your past. No longer try to anticipate what is coming. Now is the time to start living in ‘the now.’ Right here, right now. Okay?” Greater advice has never been given.

“Easier said than done.” Michael responded.

“Watch your words.” Both Brian and B said at the same time. Then gave themselves a very funny look and laughed.

Brian turned and gave Karen a hug and kiss goodbye. So did Michael, accept his was a bit more. Karen climbed in the van and started it.

“Don’t mention any of this to anyone. You don’t know where we are. You haven’t seen us. Got it?” Brian grabbed Karen’s forearm that was resting on the driver side door. “The less you say, the better off you’ll be.” Brian was pretty intense about that.

“I got it. Will you be calling me when it’s time to come?” 

“You can say that.” B said with a grin.

Brian laughed. “That means, don’t be looking for a conventional one. But you’ll certainly know when the time comes.”

As Karen drove away, the three men stood and waved goodbye, and then made their way down to the marina. “There it is.” B pointed.

“BIMINI GODDESS” was painted on the keel of a magnificent looking sailing vessel – a nearly all white with teakwood boat, which had a mast, upper and lower cabins and even a crow’s nest spot up on top. “Boy, you sure do know how to pick ‘em.” Brian said to B, placing his right hand on his left shoulder.

“Hello!” B called on to the boat. “Mr. Beech, are you there?”

“Hello my healing friend!” A rather portly looking man came out of the cabin door. He looked like Brutus on Popeye, except his hair was pure white. “Come. Come aboard!” He motioned quite invitingly to the trio.

As the three made their way on board, they were all greeted with ultimate joy and friendship, as if this man had known them all their lives. “Going to Bimini today, huh? Well, me, too. Welcome aboard the Bimini Goddess. Now I have to go down underneath and check the engine. We’ll be ready to go in a few minutes.” Sandy had a contagious smile. “Please make yourselves at home.”

As Sandy made his way into the engine compartment, both Brian and Michael were stunned at the reception that they’d just received. “What did you do?” Michael asked his twin. 

“I helped heal his sciatica.” B made his way to the bow and gazed out at the dozens of vessels surrounding him. The other two followed. “When I walked down on the dock, I saw this man straining to even walk, so I walked up and gave him a healing hug, acting as if I had known him all my life. It is amazing how things happen when you act like you have done them a million times before, even though you may not ever have done them at all.” 

“So, he just said, ‘Thanks for the healing, let’s go to Bimini?’” Brian was stunned.

“You could say that.” B smiled. “Treat strangers like family and see what happens. It is not that we need other people to get to where we are going, but when you connect to them, you will find out that they will make your journey much more palatable. Or, I guess we could have swum the 50 miles to Bimini?” B stared at Brian.

“No.” Brian put his hand up. “This craft is fine. I’m not much for mingling with the sharks.”

‘You don’t think you could have caught a ride with the dolphins?’ T asked his Lower Self.

“Well, I never really considered that.” Brian said, back to his Higher Self.

“It really is amazing how much we do base our futures on our pasts, and how much those pasts seem to influence our decisions, without us even recognizing them. Ya’ think?” B said with a huge smile.

“You win.” Brian said.

“I’m lost.” Michael shook his head.

“In time, my brother. You will soon find out for yourself, in time.” B reassured his brother.

Within a few minutes, the ropes were cast off and Sandy took his wonderful vessel out between South Beach and Fisher Island and then out into the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean. The sight of many, many apartment buildings and skyscrapers built right on the sand held everyone’s attention for a minute.

“Bimini is pretty much due east of here.” Sandy said. “Now Beoneius said that you have all your papers. Right?”

Both men pulled out their passports. “Yep.” They both waived them in the air.

“Good. Now when we get there we will be going through Customs. But before we do, I have to take my manifest with you on it, to them, to get the forms they’re going to need from you when you pass through. I know it sounds a little complicated, but it really isn’t. Just stuff to fill out.” Sandy looked around at the newly found, unexpected, yet friendly, faces staring back at him. “Everybody stays on the boat until I come back to get you.” Sandy looked like he was born on the sea. The wind whipped through his hair and over his suntanned face like it was blowing all his cares away.

“Take people often?” Michael asked.

“Hell, no. You’re the first! But after your brother there…” Sandy pointed to B, “saved my ass from all that pain, how could I say no? I mean, I’ve been suffering from that damned pain for years, and all it took was a good hug to make it go away. Hell, you could put all the doctors out of business with that!” Then Sandy turned his face back to the wind and started singing a happy sailor’s song.

For the next couple of hours, the BIMINI GODDESS made her way over some very calm 2-foot ocean waters. “You know,” Sandy yelled down to the trio, “I’ve never seen it calmer than what it is today! IT’S JUST BEAUTIFUL OUT HERE, ain’t it?” He ran his fingers through his long, white hair and beard. “There’s something about the sensation of floating on the open sea that take’s all the crap out of life!”

“Amen to that.” B said. 

“Hey, you guys hungry? All I got is some beer and peanut butter sandwiches. They’re downstairs in the galley if you want any.”

The three laughed out loud.

“What? What did I say?” Sandy didn’t understand their laughter.

“Nothing, Sandy. Thank you, I think all this floating around has aroused my appetite.” Brian started to head down to the galley. “I’ll bring back a few for you, too.” Then Brian looked up to Sandy, “Got anything other than beer?”

“Oh yeah, there’s some distilled water down there in some jugs. But I only use that for my batteries. You’re welcome to that, too.” Brian laughed and shook his head. Sandy noticed Brian’s head shaking, “It’s still good to drink. Just doesn’t have much of a buzz to it, if you know what I mean.” They could tell that Sandy enjoyed his beer. His rather rotund belly gave it away, also.

“Sandy, distilled water and peanut butter sandwiches are absolutely perfect. Thank you.” With each step down to the galley, Brian became more and more aware of how this new way of life is going to be pretty amazing. 

‘No accidents, no coincidences, right?’ 

After coming back topside with plenty of sandwiches and water for everyone to partake of, the three men sat in the rear taking in the absolute and total vastness of the Atlantic Ocean – as far as the eye can see. As they got closer to the islands, their high-rise dotted silhouettes seemed to rise up out of the water almost magically.

Sandy seemed to turn into a tour guide. “That’s the South Island and that’s the North. The East Island is on the far side. We’ll be making landing on the North Island, up by the Hilton. 

Everyone was looking where Sandy was pointing. “On the North Island are most of the hotels and such. On the South Island you’ll find the airport and the Fountain of Youth and a bunch of other things that these New Agers nowadays, just seem to be flocking to.” 

As they sailed closer to Bimini, Brian noticed the spotted dolphins swimming off the sides of the boat. “Look, FAMILY!!” His excitement was contagious. The dolphins were swimming like streaking rockets, barely making any motions at all. And every now and then, one would jump straight up into the air and come splashing down not 10 feet from the boat.

“Wow, did you see that?” Michael pointed. “I thought he was going to jump in with us!”

‘Welcome home.’ They all seemed to hear in their minds.

As they pulled into dock, Brian couldn’t help but think he had lived in Florida all those years, and this is his first trip to this Atlantic paradise. All this beauty seemed to charm the breath right out of him.

Sandy collected his passengers’ documents and gave Beoneius a nod and a trusting, brotherly wink. He remembered their talk. “Now remember, I have to go and give them my manifest and your documents, and then I’ll be right back to have you fill out their papers.” 

Brian laughed, thinking about how he used to phrase that like the German soldiers back in World War II.

“Michael,” B instructed, “you stay here. Go down underneath and stay there until Brian gets cleared.”

“Why?”

“Because I said so, now go down there and wait.” B seemed to be very intent-full about that. “C’mon, go down there and wait. It shouldn’t be for more than 30 minutes.”

Michael complied.

It took a few minutes for Sandy to clear customs and get back to the boat with the paperwork for Brian and B to fill out. Then all three proceeded to the embarkation area of Customs. After getting their papers reviewed and passports stamped, B handed his documents to Brian and told him to go back to the boat and give them to Michael.

“What’s going on?” Brian didn’t understand.

“You will know in time. But for now, these things will get Michael onto the island with no problems.” Then B pointed to a shop storefront area. “I will be waiting for you over there.”

Brian was curious. “B, are you trying to get out of paying for his stay?”

“NO!” B snapped back, “But, I am surprised that you would think that I am capable of doing that.” B stared deeply into Brian’s soul. “Now take these papers back to Michael, and I will meet you over here at this shop when you come back.”

As Brian and Michael made their way back to B, the checkpoint man looked very strangely at Michael. “Didn’t you just come through here?” He noticed there was something different about him, though. “New clothes?”

“Uh, yeah. I had to change.” Michael said tongue-in-cheek.

“Very well, go ahead.” The Customs Agent waived them through.

As they walked through the turnstile, Michael had to express what he was feeling. It was important. “I feel really weird about doing this, Brian. I feel like a criminal or something. Like I’m smuggling myself into here.”

“Well, Beoneius had a good reason for doing things this way, and I’m sure we’ll figure it out soon enough. C’mon, let’s find B and figure out where we’ll be staying.”

After a short walk, the two caught up with Beoneius. “Okay, Higher Self,” Brian said to B, “where do your guides say that we’ll be spending the night, tonight?”

Just like the place had been built specifically for their stay at this time, B pointed over to a row of bungalows, just a little ways away, lining the rocky coast. “We’ll be staying there?” Michael was shocked. He thought they might have to be sleeping on the beach, since this is the middle of the peak season and no one had made any plans to find a place.

“How did you find that place?” Brian asked in amazement.

“I reserved it a while back when I knew we were not going back to Mount Rainier.” Beoneius revealed.

“WHEN?” Michael couldn’t believe it. “When were you and I ever apart in the last week that you could have done that?”

“The Lord works in mysterious ways, oh brother of mine.” B responded. “Besides, the couple that had time-shared it for this month had to pass on it, because they just won the lottery and elected to take a cruise around the world, instead.”

“And I suppose you know those people, huh?” Brian inquired.

“Sure, they’re my cousins.” B paused. “Your cousins, too. Pretty lucky for us, huh?” B had a smile from ear to ear. 

Just then Sandy Beech came up from behind and approached his new friends. “How you fella’s doin’? This is some kind of place, huh?” 

“Sandy!” Brian yelled out. “Man, this is great. You got a place around here?”

“No, I got my own place over on the other island. Complete with a gal named Sally.” He had a big smile on his face. “In fact, she’s waitin’ for me now.”

“Well then, you better go.” Brian said, as he walked up to Sandy. “Come here you ol’ salty dog and give me a hug.” 

“Easy now, don’t want to put things back to the way they were.” 

Brian gave Sandy a gentle, but affectionate hug. Then the twins followed. 

“You saved us, Sandy. You rescued us from the darkness of civilization and brought us to the light of paradise.” Michael said with a grin.

“Awe, wasn’t nothin’.” He waved his hand. “It was your brother that really did the savin’.” Sandy pointed over to B. “Now if you boys need anything, anything at all, just go over to Browns Marina,” Sandy pointed south, “and tell ‘em you’re lookin’ for me. They’ll let me know.”

“God bless you, Sandy.” B said. “You are a special man.”

With a tear in his eye, Sandy turned and walked away, not quite believing the way his day has gone. After a few steps, he turned and said to the boys, “You know, this morning I woke up with the same ol’ pain that I’ve had for all too long, but right now, I’m gonna’ go meet with my Sally and act like I haven’t in many a year. God bless you.” Then he turned and disappeared, heading back down to his boat. 

The three then turned and headed north for a little ways, until B revealed which of these wonderful bungalows, all-in-a-row, was theirs.

“This one. This is our home away from home.” B pointed to a beautiful house, with a big front porch that faced west, directly out to the ocean. “Come,” B motioned, “let us check it out and store our stuff so we can do some ‘sploren.”

Brian remembered that’s how T said it, too, ‘sploren. ‘God, I miss you brother.’ He thought.

‘I am with you, brother. Everything you see, I see. Everything you feel, I feel.’

‘Well right now, I see perfectly and feel great.’ 

‘I know.’ T responded, ‘So do I.’ 

As the three walked into their most excellent ocean front home, their imaginations ran wild with stories that they read earlier in their childhood by Ernst Hemingway. “Hey, you think Hemingway could have stayed here?”  Michael asked the ethers in the main room.

“Quite possibly.” B responded. “But for now, it is ours to live in and enjoy. Which room do you want, brother?”

“That one.” Michael pointed to the room off to the left.

“And I’ll take that one.” Brian said, pointing off to the right.

“And I guess that leaves me this one.” B said, opening the door to his new room. “This is beautiful.” He looked out the bedroom window, which faced some palm trees that were gently swaying in the breeze.

Brian took his two Hefty luggage bags and dumped them out on his bed. “The Dream Catcher was first to catch his eye. He saw a nail sticking out of the wall at the head of his bed and hung it there. “Perfect, like it was meant to be.” Then he yelled to Michael, “Hey Mike, whatcha’ think, is this heaven or what?”

“NO DOUBT!” He yelled back. “Thank you, brother.  Thank you for getting us this magnificent home away from home!” ‘I only wish Karen was here to share it with us, though.’ He thought.

Then B yelled from the other room, “She will be soon enough, brother. Soon enough!”

After settling into the bungalow, Brian couldn’t wait to head out to the shore. For some reason, his indifferent feelings to water, like he had back in San Antonio, fled from him like shadows in direct sunlight. He felt an insatiable pull to the mammals swimming around in the crystalline blue water. So pristine, so pure. “Hey, I’m gonna’ head out, wanna’ join me?”

“No, you go ahead. Michael and I have things to talk about.” B waved him on.

“I understand.” Brian remembered his talks with T. “Best to do them alone.”

Brian noticed a quaint, uninhabited beach area a ways up the rocky coast. A seaplane flew overhead. “That’s where I’ll make first contact.” He said to himself. Never before in Brian’s life, not even at Christmastime in his youth, did he feel such anxiety, such anticipation – with every step. He couldn’t explain it if his life depended on it. He just knew that at this moment in his life, right here, right now, he was in exactly the right place at the right time, to do what he was about to do.

He had barely found a place to sit, before dolphins started swimming in closer to him. Just like in Sea World back in Orlando, they began swimming in circles before him, eeeeking out their messages with a clarity that he’d never heard before.

“Hello!” He yelled and waived to them. “Hello, my brothers and sisters. Do you have any idea how good this human feels to be in your presence?” Brian paused for an answer. Suddenly, twenty to thirty more dolphins emerged from below the crystalline surface to greet him back. “EEEEK EEEEK AKAKAKAKAKAK EEEEK!” Over and over and over again - all swimming in a circle. Even their “children” participated in the greeting ceremony. Brian was brought to tears.

“Thank you, God. Thank you for getting me here in one piece. And thank you T, for without you, I’d still be living an all too sheltered life back at Sea World, thinking that that was all there is to life. What a fool I’ve been. But, no more.” Tears of joy dripped their way to the sand. “I can’t believe that I’m here.” Brian took a quick glimpse around – palm trees, beautiful sky, sand, crystalline water, ocean breeze in his face. “And you guys.  Man, this is great.” He wiped the tears from his eyes so he could better witness the beauty of Bimini.  Again, Brian thought, “My God, why did it take me so long to get here? For all that time I was only a few hours away.”

Suddenly Brian heard a voice in his mind, but it wasn’t T’s voice. ‘When the student is ready, the teacher arrives.’

“Who said that?” Brian stood up and really focused on the dolphins swimming around not twenty feet in front of him. Suddenly, one very large, ultra-sleek spotted dolphin jumped about fifteen feet into the air and after making a huge splash, resurfaced closer to Brian than any of the other dolphins.

‘I said that.’ Brian heard. ‘My name is Arcturus. I have been waiting for you.’

“You knew I was coming here?” Brian was astonished.

‘Remove time and space from your consciousness. It is those things that will do their best to make this event impossible.’ Arcturus let out a big eeeek.

“Are you a brother to Theoneius, my twin?”

‘Yes. But it is more than that. I am YOUR brother, also. Theoneius is your Higher Self, your self at a higher vibration. Did he not look just like you?’

“You mean I came to Orlando, to bring me to Mount Rainier to meet all of your, uhm my distant family, learning everything I did, and then brought myself all the way out here, to The Bimini Islands, to this moment, right here, right now?” That sounded pretty strange.

‘Why does that seem so strange, human? Why is it so impossible to think that you exist on other planes, other dimensions at the same time you exist in this one?’ Arcturus’ tone seemed to lose a little of its luster.

“Uhm….” Brian paused to think. “Because of time and space?”

‘You are learning, oh rising phoenix.’

“You know that name, too?” ‘Man,’ Brian thought, ‘and I never told no one.’ 

‘That is your name. It is the one you have in your higher dimensions. Is it not a perfect description for one always searching for more light, more consciousness?’ Arcturus bobbed with the waves.

“Well, that is what I’ve been doing mostly, of late. It just seems I can’t get into the drama of life anymore, I can only think about higher thoughts, higher forms of consciousness and being.”

‘It is good to be in that state of mind but be careful to not forget about your body in the process.’

“What do you mean?”

‘When humans delve into the consciousness that exists at the higher dimensions than they are currently existing, they are normally doing it with no physical exertion. That is okay for the short times of meditation, but to neglect the body in favor of the mind, will get you into trouble if you are not careful.’

“You mean like this gut of mine?” Brian pinched more than an inch. Although, it’s a bit less than what it was.

‘Everything in moderation is a difficult mantra for many humans to understand. To have a high consciousness, but low bodily self-esteem is a sure sign of thinking you are enlightened, while in essence, you are still in denial. To deny the body in favor of the mind is also a conditioning tool the Lizzies use quite frequently on so-called New Age humans. They think that they are ascending, when in actuality, they are not.’

“So, it’s just not good enough to raise my consciousness, I have to raise my body, too?” Let the class begin.

‘Yes.’

“How do I do that?”

‘First by initiating a good intentional breathing ritual. Second, by adhering to a natural diet. Third, through physical exercising. Mix those three together and watch how fast your light body will catch up to your light mind.’

“I’ll work on that, Arcturus. Is there anything special that you want to talk to me about on this beautiful evening?”

‘Only what is most pressing to you.’

“Well, I have a lot of things on my mind.” ‘Where do I start?’ Brian thought.

‘Another form of Lizzy conditioning.’

“Well, okay, let’s start with them. Let’s start with the Lizzies.”

‘Where do you want to start?’

“Let’s start with being able to tell a Lizzy from a human.”

‘You mean through physical sight?’

“Yes. How can I see if a human is actually a Lizzy?”

‘You cannot.  They are in your DNA, you all have a little bit of Lizzy in each of you.’

“YOU MEAN I’M A LIZZY?” That caught Brian off guard.

‘Do you act like one?’

“Lord, I hope not! After what I witnessed up in Mount Rainier, I don’t think I could step on a June bug.”

‘I hope not, human. How would you like it if some creature just stepped on you, because they did not like something about you, or they thought that you were invading their space?’

“I never looked at it like that before.” Brian started seeing things from a different view.

‘Maybe it is time to start.’

“So, Lizzies like to step on things, don’t they?”

‘Uh-huh. Their creed and natural tendency is towards gaining absolute control over everything they claim to be under their dominion - which is pretty much everything, by the way. And they love to kill. They love to watch things die. It is their nature.’ Arcturus blew some ocean out of his blowhole.

“What a horrible nature.” Brian shook his head in disdain.

‘Look around you human,’ Arcturus’ tone again took that not-so-pretty-tone. ‘What are you doing to preserve life? All we see is destruction. We see little attempt being made to save the richness of what you naturally have. Instead, you are like some kind of diseased monster, where you take over an area and consume it until you destroy your own homes and then discard the area like it is a piece of useless garbage. Gaia is hurting very much right now.’

“I don’t do that.” That old self-defense mechanism just clicked into gear.

‘Oh, no? You do not use plastic disposable bags or Styrofoam packaging, which does not ever disintegrate? You do not buy things that you can just throw into the garbage the next day, leaving it up to some company to take your garbage away for you and then bury it in another spot in Gaia’s body? You do not do that?’

“Boy, you’re hard, just like my twin.”

‘No human, it is you who are hard. You are hard on your environment. You are hard on your friends and family. You are hard on yourself.’

“I get the feeling when you don’t like what I’m doing you call me a human.”

‘I simply call you what you are. And what you are, is what you are doing. When you are doing higher dimensional deeds, I will call you rising phoenix, because that is what you are… then. But when you think three-dimensionally and act three-dimensionally, I will then call you what you are… human.’

“I will try to raise my consciousness. I will try to do better.”

‘Do not try, do. And “better” is a concept of man, “best” is the concept of The Creator of All Things. Do you think The Creator should do better with what He has already created?’ Arcturus stood up in the water and used his flippers to make the quotation signs. A surreal moment, for sure.

“Well no. I would hope that whatever God creates, would be the best He could do.”

‘And The Creator expects no less of His Creation.’

“I get it. No more ‘better’, just do the best I can.”

‘Is it really that hard? And when you think about it, why would you ever do anything less than your best?’

“I see your point. Now let’s get back to the Lizzies. You were going to tell me about their attributes, so I can see them better.”

‘I thought that is what we have been doing.’ Arcturus was resting on his back, flapping his tail.

“What?” Brian paused to think for a moment. “So, Lizzies like killing for the sake of killing and like to destroy their homes and create huge mounds of garbage?”

‘Look around you, do you honestly think The Creator of All Things is The One making this mess? rising phoenix learn this lesson right now, you are what you do. You are what you do. You can claim to be anything you want to be. You can think that you are something that you really are not. But make no mistake, YOU ARE WHAT YOU DO. The sooner you realize that, the faster you will evolve.’

“But what I’m doing right now, that’s good right? I mean, I am acting like a higher dimensional being now, aren’t I?” Brian was sincere in his existentialist quest.

‘Human, do you really need me to confirm that?’ Flippers now on dolphin hips.

“No, I guess not. Now you’re sounding an awful lot like Theoneius.” Brian couldn’t believe he was being called out by a dolphin. He made scribble marks in the sand.

‘The One I Us. Have you given much thought to that name?’

“No, not really. But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.”

‘As it is with all things.’ Arcturus added.

“So, what else do Lizzies do that makes them Lizzies?” Brian’s inquisitive nature was making a comeback.

‘Think of your American Indian brothers and sisters. What did they call the people who lied, cheated and deceived?’

Brian split his two fingers apart on one hand and put them to his mouth. “They called them snakes in the grass and claimed that they spoke with a forked-tongue.’

‘Does that physical distinction remind you of any of your animal species on land?’

“Well, yeh. All the snakes and lizards and… wait. They’re reptiles.” Brian spotted a lonely cloud and beamed his newfound awareness into it. Then the sun shined through. And there went that seaplane, again.

‘Uh-huh. And what else are humans called when they do things that are cruel and heartless?’ Arcturus bobbed up and down in the calm surf.

“Cold-blooded.” Brian paused again. “I think I’m starting to get this. All enlightened species go to nature to find their answers. And I’m starting to feel pretty enlightened.”

‘And what do you call a person who is trying to sell you something that you know for sure is being misrepresented?’

“A snake-oil salesmen.” Brian laughed.

‘Very good, rising phoenix. Within nature you will find all the answers to your questions. Although this form of communicating with Nature, that you are doing right now, is quite acceptable.’

“Culture emulation. I asked to speak with you, so here you are. It’s all a part of my freewill, isn’t it?”

‘Very good, again. My, we are getting less denser these days, are we not?’

Brian laughed as he remembered T’s lesson outside San Luis, Colorado. “Yeh, I’d say so. Thank you, Arcturus for sharing these insights with me.”

‘You are most welcome, rising phoenix. I have waited with great joy to talk with you. And I am most grateful that you have taken the time out of your very busy life to do this.’

“I just wish it would have happened sooner.”

‘You are always in the right place at the right time, doing what is right and best for you, at that time. To think otherwise….”

“Only brings frustration, anger and fear. I know. I’ve already been through this.”

‘You have?’ Arcturus jumped high into the sky. ‘Could have fooled me.’ Then he splashed back down into the sea with a thunderous THWACK.

“Alright. Alright already.” Brian felt the cold stab of truth. “I’m here right now. And I’m enjoying my time, right here, right now.” He gently patted the sand floor he was sitting on. “And I want to thank you for sharing yours with me.”

‘What is mine is yours. Are we not one?’ 

Brian thought about that for a long time. 

‘And you might want to think about that wanting to stuff, like thanking people.’

“You mean I’m NOT supposed to give thanks when people help me?”

‘No, you are. I am talking about you wanting to thank me. Do not want to, do it. Do not talk about it, telling everybody what your wants are; do it, then when they see you doing it, they will know. Then you may tell them what you have DONE.'

Brian thought about that for a long time, too.
 

Arcturus felt Brian was stuck in between that rock and a hard place, with the tide rising higher and higher. ‘What else do you have questions over?’

Brian floated above his quandary. “Well, really, right now I was just concerned about the Lizzies and their control over this world. Lately I’ve been giving a lot of thought to how they’re destroying this planet and not many humans are aware of that.”

‘Who is destroying the planet?’ Arcturus flipped over on his back again, and started slapping the water with his tail.

“Well, them… the Lizzies!” Brian pointed back behind him.

‘Human, there are far less Lizzies on this planet than you think. And I am talking about the full-blown, scaly skinned, upward walking, fully conscious kind.’

“So, it’s us that’s doing it then?” Brian’s remembered his mom and what she used to say about pointing fingers. ‘Whenever you point your finger, Brian, there are three more pointing right back at you.’ “Uh huh.” He lowered his hand.

Arcturus flipped back up to the vertical position. ‘You do it to yourselves. You always have. It has been your freewill to follow such a species, which so loves to destroy and do all this damage. It is your freewill to accept their ways into your lives.’

“But, if we don’t do what they say, they do everything within their power to destroy us!”

‘Based on what?’

Brian jumped to his feet. “Based on their Darth Vader black ninja outfits! Based on the fact that we no longer have a law that protects us against their systems! Based on the fact that we have Americans in this country who are more willing to destroy their neighbors in the name of socialism, than help them by using their God-given-Right to free will and free dom!”  Brian had to catch his breath from climbing so high on his soapbox. 

Then as he looked down upon the lowly world below, he yelled out from the highest peaks, in his highest volume, “IT’S ALL BASED ON FEAR!” He screamed at the seagulls that were a good distance away. “It’s all based in fear.” He mumbled. Then he humbly climbed back down, sat back down and felt slightly foolish for having imposed himself so intensely. Then he took a few minutes to really think about this. A few minutes. Then the light shown brighter than ever before, “But they eat fear, don’t they?” Oh yeah, the light was comin’ on now. “And that’s the reason why they’re acting like that, because our fears give them sustenance, nourishment.” Brian reasoned with himself, and then he truly saw the Light. “No wonder why they don’t ever want us to see the light of day, because when we stop fearing, they starve to death.” Brian’s mind wandered aimlessly around the badlands. Then his memory stopped at his court hearing, where he witnessed first hand how Judge Cole just simply became a whole new person. “He wasn’t a Lizzy.” He thought out loud. “Love will change a human, but it won’t change a Lizzy.”  

‘A single human can change an entire world, rising phoenix.’ Arcturus spoke in a very compassionate, but forceful tone. ‘It is only the belief in the propaganda that one person cannot make a difference, that is keeping all seven BILLION of you individual humans from overcoming the fear spread by only a few dozen. Look at how this conditioning has come to gain control over your collective consciousness. Look at your apathy. Look how effective your television programs are at conditioning you. Watch as they teach you “the system” (flipper thing again) through the eyes of all the black robed ones, so proliferating the airwaves, today. Watch as they show you that you either tow the line or you will be beaten back into line. Watch as they teach you how to be good sheep and to keep following your neighbors in front of you right to the slaughterhouse. And ironically, just as with the cattle moving through your meat processing centers, you too, always get the opportunity to see your own death coming, by watching the one right in front of you experience theirs, first.’ Arcturus spoke in a very sad tone.

“It does seem pretty bad when you put it like that.” Brian visualized a bunch of cows standing in line, getting pushed forward to their own deaths. “Man, all that stress. And they all know it’s coming, don’t they? In fact, I’ll bet that they all can feel it coming, too. How horrible.” Brian’s mind took him from being a steer roaming the open range in Wyoming, to a hamburger patty, roaming the open cooking range of some guy named Nick.

‘And where do you think that stress goes when you consume it?’

“Wait,” Brian’s mind boggled. “What do you mean consuming stress? I consume the meat.”

‘Which is imprinted with the stress of death.’

“Whoa.” Brian’s mind was shooting off somewhere else now. “Are you saying that the number one cause of human stress is because they eat meat?” Brian did not really want to hear this answer. He certainly is one who loves a good steak.

‘No, but you are what you do, as well as what you eat.’ running bear’s voice echoed in Brian’s mind. ‘Treat your cattle with honor and do ceremony, thanking them for their sacrifice. They die so you can live. Is there any greater thing one can do for another, than to lay down one’s life, to save his friend?’ 

Brian visualized the ceremonies that he’s seen Indians do, to honor Mother Earth and to thank Her for sacrificing all of Her plants and animals, just to keep alive one single species.

‘rising phoenix,’ Arcturus continued, ‘your life will always be defined by your perceptions of it. Your actual daily routine is dictated by your thoughts about it. And your essence, your being, will always be defined by what you are doing, as well as what you are eating. Life is really just as simple as that. It is only the conditioning that you have been given, that has taught you that life should be hard. Good money should be hard to come by. In the end, the rich were conditioned by their sums of money and the poor were conditioned to claim their situation as a blessing, because they believed that it was. Good lives are only achieved through hard work, and if you have worked hard for your good life, then you have a good conscience when you see your neighbors going hungry or being thrown out on the street by the systems the Lizzies have put into place. Because you worked hard for it.’

Brian noticed the hint of sarcasm and felt its stab so close to home. He stuttered back to logic. “W-What systems?”

‘The systems that are currently running your world.’

“Like what?” Brian wasn’t sure where Arcturus was swimming to. 

‘Human, where do you think money comes from?’

“Gee, I never really thought about that. I guess it comes from banks.”

‘And what created the banks?’

“Government.”

‘And what created all the corporations that are the banks?’

“Government.”

‘And what entity do all insurance companies and financial institutions owe their existences to?’

“Government. Man, I never realized how bad they are.”

‘This is not a lesson in right from wrong! This is a lesson in awareness. Get those thoughts of right and wrong out of your mind right now.  That again, is another system the Lizzies have created to make you separate yourself from what you really are. Government needed a system where they could enter every aspect of life – so they created the money system. First, money was gold and silver. Then money changed to paper and plastic. Now it is a touch screen on a cellular phone. It is all about numbers. It is all about tracking and control.’

“I hate that. I hate that this system exists to do so much destruction.” Brian remembers those documentaries on how the banks caused the great depression, great recession and darn near every economic downfall since the 1930’s.

‘You are what you hate.’

“What? I’m not this system of darkness, I’m a Light Being!” Brian confidently claimed. “Aren’t I?”  Confidence temporary.

‘Human, you are everything, and everything is you. You are the dark, as well as the light. The systems that you have created out there, are very much alive and well in you.’ Arcturus paused for a moment to let that sink in. ‘You are the Earth, and She is you. When you rape and plunder Her, you are raping and plundering yourselves. When you throw garbage all over Her, you are throwing garbage all over yourselves. When She shutters from earthquakes and throws Herself about with hurricanes and storms, the same is happening within you. When the Earth changes, so do you. The sooner you recognize that you are not separate from the Earth around you, the sooner you will realize what you have done. What YOU have done, not somebody else.’

“I hope there’ll come a time when you stop referring to me as human.”

‘We hope there will come a day when you start referring to us as family, as a part of you.’

“Yes, I see. I am one with everything, and everything that I relate to is a part of me.”

‘Very well put, rising phoenix.’

“And those systems you talked about, those systems are me, too. Right?”

‘Whenever you believe that money is more important than your neighbor’s welfare, you are a Lizzy. Whenever you accept a system where something material is more important than your family, you have bought into the Lizzies, hook, line and sinker. All the problems that humans are experiencing are based upon the concepts that they are separate from each other and the planet they live on. Fix those misconceptions, and you will fix the entire planet. Until then, you will tax each other to death, war with each other to death and prove to yourselves that you are no better than those beings that are currently controlling you. Simple as that.’

“When they scrambled up our DNA, that’s when they put a little bit of them in us, didn’t they?”

‘They may be unenlightened, fully conscious beings, but they are not stupid. They knew that at one point in your evolution, you would consider fear before love, hate before compassion and anger instead of empathy. All they did was rework a few things in your bodies to make you have those tendencies. Then they jumbled up the higher 10 genetic strands, which linked you to the cosmic consciousness, and kept the altered lower 2 strands, making you believe in only basic survival and sex and all the dramas that go along with them. Then all they had to do was sit back and wait to be called upon.’

“The Articles of Freewill.” Brian concluded.

‘Exactly. And anyone who could do anything about it was made powerless.’

“We did it to ourselves. Again.”

‘You always have.’

“So, Lizzies like to lie, cheat, steal, coerce, and create fear.”

‘Yes.’

“All to make us keep forgetting who we are.”

‘Yes.’

“All to make us believe that love is something that comes from the outside through some form of instant gratification, and fear is born from within, because we have no control over ourselves.” Those were some big dots connected there.

‘Yes, rising phoenix.’

“They are snakes in the grass!”

‘It is their nature. Once you see that, can you really remain angry at them?’

“No, I guess not.” Brian looked around him and noticed that it had gotten pretty dark. “I think it’s time to go back to the bungalow and think about all this. Will I see you again tomorrow?”

‘Do you wish for it to happen?’

“Well yes, of course. I want to do this every day.”

‘Then through your freewill, it will be made so. Adonai, rising phoenix.’

“Goodnight, my beautiful brother. And until I see you again, keep away from those sharks.”

‘Those sharks are not as dangerous as your Lizzies. We can at least sense them before they get nearby. You on the other hand, have to work on that.’

Brian then stood and waved out into the darkness. “Goodnight, y’all.” He said with a loving smile and then turned to walk back to the bungalow. He didn’t get but 10 steps before he heard someone crying. “Hello? Who’s there? Can I help you?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you. I didn’t think anyone would be out here in the dark.” A young woman offered.

“Where are you? Tell me how to get to you?” Then Brian heard flip flop footfalls in the sand and out of the darkness came a lovely, young girl who appeared to be native to the islands. “Sister, what’s wrong?” Brian walked over to her.

“I’m afraid. I’m afraid of what’s happening to our islands. Developers want to come in and build everywhere to make the almighty dollar. And government doesn’t seem to care much about how all this growth is affecting our environment. All they care about is more tourism and the dollars they bring.” She put her head on Brian’s shoulder. 

This kind of startled him, because he’s never been this familiar with strangers before. But then he realized he was basing his current feelings on his past. He quickly changed gears. “Would you like to sit and talk about it? I have a bungalow right over there.” Brian pointed.

“Can we walk, instead?”

“Yes, of course. Why go inside on such a beautiful night? Why keep out all this magnificent starlight? Certainly we can walk.” Brian looked up to the heavens and noticed how many stars were out - all of them.

“You’re not from around here, are you?”

“I’d like to think I am, right now. But sadly, no, I wasn’t born here. And I’m afraid that I’m one of those tourists you’re afraid of. Sorry.”

“Please, don’t be sorry.” The young woman wiped away her tears. “You may look like you’re from another place, but you’re acting just like us. You seem to care.”

“I do. I see all people as members of my family. And right now, I see my younger sister crying and I want to do something to help her. How can I help?” The two began walking up the shoreline.

“I don’t know what to do to try to save our islands. I have angry feelings and so much frustration inside of me that I’ve often thought about committing suicide to get away from them. I’ve left here more than once, trying to make it in other places, but I always come back. This is my home. This is the place where I’m meant to be. But I just can’t take it anymore. All the pollution. All the people and their garbage. All in the name of the economy.”

“Lizzies.” Brian said under his breath.

The young woman stopped and looked at Brian’s face. “Lizzies?” 

Then it dawned on Brian that he had not yet even introduced himself. He took a step back and brought his right hand up for a shake. “I am Bri…” ‘No wait.’ Brian thought to himself, ‘That’s my three-dimensional name.’ “I am rising phoenix.” Brian then extended his hand.

“rising phoenix, what a beautiful name. I am Angela. Nice to meet you.”

‘Angel-a.’ Brian thought to himself. ‘How appropriate.’ “Well Angela, I’m very glad to meet you. Now let’s walk on down this beach and talk about what’s bothering you.” Brian put his hand in the small of her back to move her in the direction they were walking, and then he walked with his hands clasped behind him. “What are your major concerns?”

“That money is more important than this land. That government can tell us people who live here that we have to put up with this, because somehow or another they’ve made this craziness legal.”

“Yes. That concern is felt by a lot more people than just you, and in a lot of other places than just here.” Brian’s mind traversed over the many causes going on around the world. From all the People Power Movements to governments having their “Springs” - those concerns are certainly being expressed.

“But what can I do? What can one person do to change the world? I see so much evil and corruption, but what can one person really do?”

“More Lizzy conditioning.” Brian laughed.

“Who are the Lizzies?” Angela’s frustration was showing. “Are they an organization or something?”

“You could say that.” Brian smiled. “But you’d be more on the mark to recognize them by what they do, not by what they claim to be or look like.” Brian could tell that Angela had the look of confusion on her face, so for the next little while, he repeated to her exactly what he and Arcturus had just finished talking about, minutes before.

They came upon a rock outcropping, and both decided to sit for a while and listen to the somber sound of the gentle waves lapping up on the shore. “So, all I have to do is love them? And somehow things will start to change?”

“I know it sounds rather simplistic, but to do anything else will only generate a fear in you, that you somehow or another aren’t doing enough, or that you should be doing something else. Perhaps the greatest of all Lizzy conditioning.”

“Am I to just love and stand back and watch our land become another Miami? Another concrete jungle where money is more important than our sacred space?”

“Do you believe in a Prime Creator, a Higher Being that created all there is?”

“Well, yes, Jesus Christ. Most of us here are Christians – or at least claim to be Christians.” Angela said lowly, thinking about what some do.

“Do you believe that Jesus Christ acted as God?”

“Of course. That’s what I’ve been taught. It’s what I’ve learned since I was a child.”

“Then why do you doubt Him?” Brian was remembering what the Pleiadeans had talked about when they interfered in Earth’s evolution by temporarily forgetting Prime Creator’s will - thinking that they knew better.

“Why do you think I doubt Him? I love Him.”

“Do you believe that God created everything?”

“Yes.”

“The dark, as well as the light?”

“Well, I hadn’t ever considered that. Why would God create the darkness and everything that goes along with it?” Angela was really struggling now.

“Maybe to set up a system where you could decide for yourself what light is, by witnessing the dark and deciding to take no part in it.” Brian put Angela’s hand in his hand. “Angela, God is in all things. It’s when we forget that, that fear and anger and frustration begin to enter our lives. If you think about it, you actually summon those things every time you forget Who’s in charge.”

“But things have gotten so bad over here just since I was born.  All the stories I listened to, that my elders spoke... Nothing is like what it used to be!" Angela was gettin' fired up. "It’s like we people who live here have been made to suffer with all this growth, all these offlanders. Why? Why does government rarely consider their own people, before they consider themselves?  Doesn't the government know that they're THE PEOPLE, TOO?”

“Angela," Brian spoke very calmy in hopes of passing that energy onto his newfound friend.  "It is because the governments have stopped being of the people and started being of the Lizzies.” Now Brian got real close to Angela and spoke very softly. “Angela, a piece of the Lizzies, a part of their DNA, is inside all of us. That is something that we cannot escape from. It’s there, and it’s going to be there for a very long time. Now the question is, ‘Do I want to activate that Lizzy energy inside of me by generating fear and intolerance and by acting like they would in an attempt to make wrong, right?’” Brian paused and stared into Angela’s soul. “The light, as well as the dark, is always a CHOICE. It’s not that one is good and the other is bad, it’s that they both exist to define what the other is NOT. And that’s the only reason why each one exists. If there were no dark…” Brian raised his hands up to point out the darkness all around them, “then how could you ever come to appreciate the light. How could you even come to know about the light? Or those stars?” Brian had a very compassionate look on his face.

“So, all this fear that’s being created by government, is being created to show us what love isn’t?” Angela’s light started coming on.

“Yes, my beautiful sister. God knows that you care. God knows that you know what’s going on. God just wants you to know that He knows, too. Then you can gain peace inside of you and become a living example of light that others can then witness, then come to you and ask you how you do it. Every time you generate fear, you feed the Lizzies. That’s about the only reason why fear exists on this planet. Humans are the only species on this Earth that look at themselves differently from one another. Another Lizzy conditioning tool. Through religion, politricks and different ideologies, we’ve been conditioned to see each other as being separate from Who We Really Are.”

“Yeh, I see how that’s happened.” Angela finds American politics kind of fascinating. And lately, she has never followed it more closely. From something called the Far Left she has seen the coming forth of groups relating to homosexuality, transsexuality, gender sexuality, feminism and public bathroom issues. From the Far Right, she has followed the Tea Party and now something called the right-wing MAGA extremists, which the Far Left has deemed homophobic, racist, sexist, gender biased and xenophobic, to name a few. There is nothing like this here in Bimini. Angela sees it more as a soap opera. An interesting, but sad, soap opera. 

“Now, more than ever, is the time to love. Love more than you ever have, in your whole life. Love everything. That means the dark, as well as the light. After all, if there was no dark, could we ever enjoy the starlight like we are right now?” Brian again pointed to the heavens.

“You are a special person, rising phoenix.” Angela combed her fingers through his hair. “I no longer feel like crying because of fear, now I feel like crying because of God’s love.”

“Excellent. Is there a T-shirt shop in town where we can make customized T-shirts?”

“Yes. There are a few in Alice Town. Why?”

“Because, on the front I want it to have the word FEAR printed in big bold letters, with a red circle around it and a big red line through it, then on the back I want it to read, PLEASE DON’T FEED THE LIZZIES.” Brian smiled a big ol’ smile.

“Hey! That’s a good idea. What do you say that tomorrow we get together and have a few made. That is, if you don’t have any other plans.”

“No. No, I have no plans. In fact, I would enjoy that very much."

"We are always in the right place at the right time. When I walked out of my bungalow earlier this evening, I wondered which direction I would walk.”

“What made you finally decide?”

“My feelings. I didn’t know at the time, but they led me to you. Let’s say we call it an evening.” Both then stood up and Angela gave Brian a really big hug.

“Thank you rising phoenix for bringing light into my life. I don’t feel anywhere near what I did just a few minutes ago. Momma will be pleased. She hates to see me cry.”

“Angel-a” Brian inflected the word Angel, “you have been given a heavenly name. It’s now time that you start showing everyone, including yourself, how special a gift that is. Now let’s go back.” Brian walked with pep in his step and Angela skipped along the shoreline. Brian felt really good for the first time in a long time. He was feeling a happiness and a joy in himself that he hadn’t experienced since his trip to the Rez. 

‘If there’s something you lack in your life that you want more of, give it away and see what happens.’  Brian heard T’s voice in his head.

“No doubt.” Brian whispered. Then Angela ran off to her house, waiving frantically back to Brian. He made his way back to his place, with a newfound joy in his heart – it made new muscles go to work.

“Where have you been?” Michael asked as Brian opened the front door. 

“Oh, talking to my family.” Brian responded in an exhale. 

B laughed in the corner. “Mike misses Karen.” Then made a sad face. “He’s pouting, feeling sorry for himself.”

“I AM NOT!” Michael retorted. “I’m just concerned about her, with everything that’s happened.”

“She’ll be fine, Mike.” Brian said. “Perhaps, right now, you should be focusing on your time with your twin.” ‘You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.’ Brian thought to himself. 

‘In more ways than one.’ T responded.

“Well, I’m going to bed, and then in the morning Angela and I are going to have some T-shirts made.”

“Angela, who’s Angela?” Michael asked.

“A beautiful, young island girl that I met OUTSIDE of this bungalow. A place that maybe you should be spending a little bit more of your time.” Then Brian turned to B, “Good night, Higher Self.” Then back to Michael. “Good night, Michael. Listen to your twin, he’s only here to help you.” Then Brian walked into his room and closed his door and jumped into bed looking forward to one of the best night’s sleep he’s ever had.

“Good night, Dad.” Brian said into the darkness. “Thank you for this beautiful place and thank you for my beautiful life. I am in the right place at the right time.”

As he lay in bed, Brian looked up at his Dream Catcher and studied all the really neat things about it. He saw how it was meticulously made by hand, how every strand of leather was strung in a certain way. He noticed the feathers attached to it and the small totems that seemed to give it more meaning. 

Brian felt more at peace at this bedtime, than he has in a long, long time. As he closed his eyes, he cherished every moment of this rest and how it was going to last a good long time. He took in a really long breath and exhaled. Then almost immediately, he saw T standing on the front porch of running bear’s house. “Hey brother, whatcha' doin' here?”

“I am visiting. What are you doing here?” T responded. 

Brian looked around him and tried to remember how he got there. “I don’t know, I was just looking at running bear’s Dream Catcher, closed my eyes, and wound up here.” This was strange. “But, now that I am, come here and give me a big hug, will ya’ bro’?”

As the two embraced, T could tell that his twin had become more of himself since the last time they were together.  “You seem to be more at ease now, my twin.” 

“I am. I’m not as angry as I used to be.” Brian inspected his current feelings bank. “In fact, I’m really not angry anymore, at all.” A feeling of grandiose satisfaction came over him. “And I owe all of that to you.” 

“Just be aware of that which is inside of you that is still hiding.” T was checking out running bear’s lizard totem resting on the small table, beside the rocking chair.

Those words blew by Brian’s ears like dust in the wind. He heard nothing.  He was too busy complimenting himself. “You know, if it weren’t for you, I’d probably still be back at Sea World, loving my cetaceans and running away from the real world and all the people in it.”

“Probably. But you are not.” T confirmed and then turned and looked into Brian’s eyes to see if he was finally listening. “You are here now, and we need to do some ‘sploren.” 

“Alright!” Brian jumped. He knocked the lizard totem on the ground in his excitement, then bent over and picked it up. “What kind of ‘sploren?” He felt like a kid again.

T reached over and took the totem from his twin and replaced it on the table. “Today, we are going to look for lizards.”

“Whoa!” Brian instantly grew up. “You mean the natural kind or the supernatural kind.”

“Maybe both.” T grinned. “Come, we need to go.” T touched Brian’s shoulder and they were immediately taken to outside a large church, where men dressed in black uniforms and helmets, carrying automatic weapons, were about to break in.

“Somebody holdin’ hostages?” Brian asked.

T thought about that for a moment, knowing full well that this was not the case with anyone inside, and responded, “Yes. Yes, someone is holding somebody hostage.”

Just then all the men in black uniforms, with automatic weapons, stormed into the church and escorted four people out in handcuffs. Three of them were immediately taken to police cruisers. One of them was wheeled out on a hospital gurney. Brian couldn’t make heads or tails of this. “He looks like he could be the preacher.”

“He is the preacher.”

“Wait.” Brian was completely lost. “You mean to tell me that that man was holding those three people as hostages?” Then Brian thought some more. “But they were taken off in handcuffs, too.” He was Captain Clueless on his way to being promoted to Full Bird Colonel. “I’m lost.” 

T turned to his twin and spoke very plainly so his brother would not misunderstand. “These people did not pay the money that those people in black uniforms said they owed them. Therefore, since these people did not do what those people said they had to do, those people were obligated under law to remove these people from the public and move them into a place where their actions can be controlled.”

“Man, this sounds like the work of the Mafia, and all their strong-arm tactics!” Then visions of Caesar and Hitler warped through his mind so fast that they were gone by the time he could think about them. “That was strange.” Brian got his mind back on track. “So, what happens now?”

“Now the circle is complete. The church was the last Government-Free Zone left in America. But since they have all sought protection, through incorporation, that zone is now gone.”

“But I thought there was supposed to be a separation between church and state. How can government have jurisdiction over God? I mean, how the heck can you even tax God?” That really boggled Brian’s mind. 

“When you replace God’s Will with Man’s Will.” T responded quite matter-of-factly.

Brian looked incredibly stunned.

“That is what always happens. Can you not see that?” T was back to watching the twirling lights and commotion.

“Wow, that was a little more simple than I was looking for.” Boggle U had a new freshman.

T then touched Brian on the shoulder again and they were instantly transported to a courtroom where a trial was going on. “What’s this?” Brian whispered, tugging on his brother’s sleeve.

“It is okay. They cannot hear you here. BUT DO NOT YELL. Okay?” T put his arm over his twin’s shoulder. “This is a trial about the Rights of the collective over Rights of the individual. Watch and listen.” T and Brian then turned their attention to the trial.

“I don’t understand.” The man said, seated in the place of cross-examination. “I don’t understand why I’m even here, at all. All I did was build a brand-new sunroom on the side of my house and now I’ve got all these people and their lawyers suing me. Will someone please tell me what’s going on?”

The cross-examination lawyer spoke up. “Mr. Jones, you are here today because you violated the Homeowner’s Association Code by building a structure on your property that was of a non-compliance nature with that Code. And after being approached on this matter 14 times over the last 87 days, you have not yet come to rectify the situation and bring it back into compliance. Since remedy can only be captured by my clients through the sequestering of your self, you were subpoenaed to come into this court today sir, lest you be in violation where a warrant would be issued for your arrest, and your presence here today will provide said remedy.”

Brian laughed. “What a scam.”

T slapped his twin’s shoulder. “Watch and pay attention. Please.” 

“But that property is my property. I own it. I have the right to build anything on it that I want to build and I have the right to do anything on it that I want to do, so long as what I do, doesn’t bring harm to others.” 

“Motion to strike your honor. That testimony wasn’t asked for, nor is it germane to this case.” 

“Motion granted.” The Judge responded in an almost chastising way.

“What just happened?” Brian asked T.

“The lawyer wins. He argued to the Judge that the defendant should only speak when he is spoken to and he also argued that there is no such thing as private property anymore, because Code Law has already done away with it.”

“Wow, T, he said all that?” Brian looked in amazement at the lawyer.

“In court, it is not the number of words that do you in, it is your lack of understanding them that is making you lose all that you own. Now watch some more.” T put his palm on Brian’s head and turned it back to the bench.

The lawyer then walked over to his table and picked up a two-inch thick pad of paper, then strolled over to the Judge and slapped it down on the top of his beautifully stained, all-natural, hand-carved hardwood walnut bench. “Exhibit 1, Your Honor. The Hillside Neighborhood Association Housing and Landscaping Homeowner’s Code Reference for 2023.” Then he walked back over to his table and picked up a much thinner pad of paper, then turned and handed it over to the Judge. “Exhibit number 2, Your Honor, Mr. Jones’ Mortgage Contract for said property.” The lawyer then flipped the pages to somewhere near the end of it. “And witness Your Honor, that is said defendant’s signature.” And pointed it out.

The Judge then turned to Mr. Jones and held his mortgage before his eyes. “Sir, is this your signature?”

“Yes, but….”

“Thank you, Mr. Jones.” The lawyer quickly cut him off. “Now, since this is your signature, and in this legal document, it clearly states that as a signer affirming your intent, upon signature, you will abide by all Statutes, Ordinances, Codes and Zoning laws listed or implied here within. Is that not correct?” The lawyer took the mortgage documents over to Mr. Jones to show him where it says that. 

Both, T and Brian, could clearly see that Mr. Jones was confused. He had no lawyer representing him. He felt he didn’t need one since he owned his own property. He also believed that since government gets its power from the people, if the people don’t have the Right to do a thing, then neither does their government.

“Look, that mortgage is to my bank. My bank, not these people.” Mr. Jones stated, pointing to his well-dressed neighbors, sitting in their seats, anxiously awaiting justice.

“Sir, you signed here affirming that you will follow all applicable Codes, Statutes, Ordinances and Zoning laws that you are subject to. Upon signing, you became subject to them and one of them is your own Homeowner’s Code.” The lawyer then walked back over to where the Code Book was still sitting in front of the judge and opened it to somewhere near the back. As he walked over to Mr. Jones, he began reading part of it. “Today I reference, Section 24-11-01, Proposed Building Additions Intended for Creation After Initial Blueprints are Constructed. Paragraph 1-4b. “No physical exterior additions can be attached to the existing structure without prior approval of Homeowner’s Executive Committee.”

“Who the hell are they?” Mr. Jones was really getting angry now. “I don’t know about any Executive Committee. Nobody’s ever told me that we even have one!”

“Mr. Jones, ignorance of your own Homeowner’s Association, as well as The Law, is no excuse.” The lawyer reminded him. Then he turned back to the Judge, “Your Honor, based on the overwhelming evidence against Mr. Jones, I hereby request that this case be settled now, in favor of my clients.”

The Judge without even a moment’s hesitation slammed down his gavel. “Mr. Jones, you are hereby found guilty of violating Section 24-11-01, paragraph 1-4b of the 2023 Hillside Neighborhood Association Housing and Landscaping Homeowner’s Code. And since this is the Court of Jurisdiction in this case, you are hereby ordered to tear down your sunroom and either put the house back to its original condition or apply for approval of new plans through your Homeowner’s Organization. You have 30 days.” Then the Judge slammed the gavel down again. “Court is adjourned.”

While most of the courtroom cheered, Mr. Jones just sat with his head in his hands and trembled. “My God, we don’t even own our own property anymore. What has this country come to?” Puddles were forming in his palms from his tears of frustration.

“I feel sorry for him.” Brian’s sympathy-meter pegged.

“Why?” T’s Couldn’t-Care-Less-Meter equally pegged.

That kind of surprised Brian. “Well, look at all that money and time and effort he spent to build that sunroom and now it has to be torn down. Everything has to be put back to the way it was, or the way that those people will let him. Don’t you feel sorry for him? I mean, you are my Higher Self. Isn’t a little sympathy kind of required here?” Brian felt like he had entered into an arena of debate and just couldn’t lose on this one.  ‘Got him.’ Brian considered himself to be enlightened – evolving. And, needless to say, it is a brother thing.

“He signed a contract. Do you not think that he should be held to it?” T focused on his twin’s eyes.

Uh-oh.  “Couldn’t lose” didn’t see that one coming. “Hey, he signed a contract with his bank, not the Homeowner’s Association. And besides, you and I both know that none of those laws are even spoken of in the Constitution. No laws like this were ever authorized by America’s natural born citizens, to be used for Americans against other Americans.” Oh yeh. Great comeback. Well thought out. Great delivery. Oh yeh. Been waitin’ years to get that out.

T noticed Brian heading back down that dark path and felt that he needed a little enlightenment, to bring him back. “Brother, what form of organization is a Homeowner’s Association?”

“Well, I’d imagine it’s a corporation.” Eyes rolling.

“And what type of organization are banks?”

“Well, they’re corporations, too.” Still rolling.

“And what agency is it that creates corporations?”

“Government.” Getting dizzy.

“And how is government given the power to do this?”

“Through the Constitution and United States Law…” Brian paused for a minute, and then offered “Corporate Law.” Room no longer spinning.

“So that law makes the United States government what kind of organization?” 

“A corporate one.” It took a few moments for that to sink in. “I guess it really takes one to know one.”

“Or in this case, to MAKE one.”

T spoke no more, he just waited for Brian to start making the connections. Terabytes of previously useless information all came together in one previously unknown place. “Wait, so Hillside is a corporation and all the banks and probably most of the churches are corporations and government is the original corporation, and from it comes all other government corporations… and all of their CORPORATE LAWS!” The rush of data created a brilliant light of billions of photons completely engulfing a singular human’s thought. “So, government sees everyone as corporate citizens, who must follow the will of the corporation, and not the individual.” The preacher flashed through Brian’s mind. “Like that church and its people.”

“Yes. And there are thousands of these Associations and Organizations across the country.”

“But, why?” Brian couldn’t get that poor guy, who just got sued for his sunroom, out of his mind. “Why is it so important to make everybody’s house look the same? Why would anybody think that they have the Right to tell any person what they can or can’t do with their own property?”

T then touched Brian on the shoulder again, and they were transported to another church where a preacher was yelling about fire and brimstone and the abominations of gays and lesbians and pre-marital sex and fornication and how those people were going to hell, because they didn’t follow the church’s laws. 

Then T touched Brian again and they were transported to a school, where they saw kids being frisked by police officers and being made to walk through metal detectors just to get in. “Man, it was never this way when I was a kid.” Brian couldn’t believe his eyes; it looked like something that he saw in a bunch of old WWII pictures of Nazi Germany.

Then T touched Brian again, transporting them to someone’s house, where a family was arguing around the kitchen table. “You never listen to me!” A young teenaged girl screamed. 

“You never do what we ask you to!” Her dad snapped. Brian couldn’t see his face because his back was to him. 

“Why do you want me to look like you? I hate you! You’re all hypocrites, living this lie about being so well off, while we eat TV dinners every night, because you’re off working your second jobs. Then whenever you ARE home, you’re way too busy doing other stuff than to sit down and help me.” 

“Well, are you going to start paying the bills around here, Miss Princess?” Her dad had that serious gotta’-play-the-role dad tone in his voice.

“See? Now you want to send me away so I can make money that you can spend, all so you can spend more time with me. What sense does that make?” Then the daughter pointed to the sliding glass door off the kitchen, “And your projects, you spend more time on those stupid things, then you ever will with us.” Now her voice was reaching ear-splitting range. “You want me to be like you by acting like you and looking like you and talking like you! No way!! You’re always arguing, you’re always yelling at us, you think that you own us! YOU TREAT US LIKE WE’RE JUST SOME KIND OF PROPERTY OR SOMETHING!!” Brian could see the tears running down her face.

“As long as you live under my roof young lady, you will live under MY LAW. And you WILL NOT have pink and purple hair, and you WILL NOT see that Bob Morley looking kid anymore. I know about them, they all smoke pot. And…” His daughter cut him off.

“You don’t know anything!” The girl jumped up from the table and ran upstairs to her bedroom. The other three younger children were all staring at their feet, wondering what wrath their parents were going to bring down on them, for this.

“Come back here!” The father yelled. “Why can’t she have normal looking hair and normal looking friends?” 

“Carl, please.” His wife reached for his arm, to calm him down.

“No. That girl is going to know who the boss is, if it’s the last thing I do. If she thinks that she can do anything she wants, with anybody she wants… well, not as long as she lives here!” The father then headed after his daughter.

T touched Brian again, and this time they were transported to a half-way house for runaway teens. They stepped inside and saw a meeting was going on.

“Robert,” the guidance counselor asked, “what made you run away?”

“My folks, they thought they owned me. Like they could make me do all the crap they gotta’ do. I didn’t make their world and I shouldn’t have to be punished for it and forced to live in it. So, I laid around a lot. Well, after gettin’ smacked around by my old man a few dozen times, I figured it was time to split.”

The counselor then turned to her left. “And Wendy, why are you here?”

“My mom would never get off my case. Always tellin’ me how I needed to keep goin’ to school and that I needed to wait and not have sex and not get pregnant and not do drugs and not hang out with the wrong dudes. My mom, the same person who quit school at 16, had me when she was 17 and was divorced by the time she was 24. My say-no-to-drugs mom… the same one who’s doin’ everything she can to forget about the past and support the prescription drug market at the same time. Then,” laughing out loud, “she’s got the nerve to tell me what I can or can’t do. Never once did she ever look in the mirror. Never once did she even think about seeing things from my point of view. She doesn’t have any clue about the pressures we live with today. She’s clueless about everything.”

T touched Brian’s shoulder again and they were transported to back outside the courthouse where Mr. Jones was walking down the steps. “Why are we back here?” 

“Because you asked the question.” T replied.

“What question?” Brian had forgotten.

“Why would anybody think that they have the right to tell any person what they can or can’t do with their own property? Remember now?”

“But I was talking about that guy’s house.”

“Oh, I thought you were talking about personal property. Come let us follow him.” T grabbed Brian’s arm and pulled him in Mr. Jones’ direction.

Brian was paying no attention to T’s imposition; he was really thinking about that personal property thing. “Well, I was, but… Wait.” Brian’s brain hit high gear. “It all starts from the family, doesn’t it? It all starts with parents imposing their will on their kids, then repeating it all over again, except this time on a much grander scale, with governments and churches and associations being the parents and all the people who don’t want to follow them, being the evil ones or criminals - the kids who need to be punished.” Many, many more dots were connected on that thought.

“As is the microcosm…” T started.

“So is the macrocosm.” Brian finished. “I see. It’s not government that started all this, WE STARTED IT!” The revelation hit him just as he said it. “We thought that we could own our neighbors. We thought we could make them do whatever we felt was right on their own property!”  Brian thought about all the property Code laws and the ones that make us wear things. “It is us!”

“It always has been, brother.” T calmly patted Brian on the back. “And the Lizzies have always been there, more than willing to help out and do their part. Lizzies hate freedom.”

Brian, once more, saw himself standing on a mountainous peak, out of breath, hands on knees. “We use them every time we think that we own our neighbors, don’t we?” 

“Yep.” T pointed up ahead to Mr. Jones. “Look he’s turning up there and walking up his driveway.” 

Brian was oblivious as to where he and T were heading. “And we use them every time we try to make our neighbors do something to change something we don’t like.” 

“Yep. That, too.” T knew.

Brian’s awareness shifted. “Hey, haven’t we been here before?” He noticed something familiar about the residence. Then as the two brothers got in front of the house, he saw Mr. Jones’ wife come out to greet him. “Hey, I know her. She’s the one who’s got the daughter that…” Brian was shocked. “My God, it’s HIM - holy cow - he’s the father. He’s the one with the projects and the two jobs. He’s the one who was going to do everything within his power to make his daughter normal.”

“What goes around, comes around.” T looked deep within his twin for the wisdom that he knew was there. 

“We get what we give.” Brian’s self-imposed supposed higher-consciousness sympathy towards Mr. Jones started doing some serious backtracking. “Wow. That really blows me away.” Then he thought back to the beginning of this field trip, where he and T were standing outside of running bear’s home, enroute to doing some serious ‘sploren. “I didn’t know it before, T, but I do now. I think I know where the lizards are. I think I know where to look for them from now on.”

“And where might that be, oh wise brethren?”

Brian looked down at his stomach. “Right inside of me.” 

“You have jumped far today grasshopper.” A look of relief engulfed Theoneius’ face.

Brian’s head was still reeling from learning that it’s not “them” against him; it’s “him” against him. 

“Sweet dreams, my twin.” 

That morning, Brian woke up just before the sun did. He felt an overwhelming urge to go back to the spot where he met Arcturus. So very quietly, very gently, he snuck out of the bungalow and made his way back to that spot. Arcturus was waiting for him.

“Did you call me here this morning?” Brian was very pleased to see him again.

‘Do you not like talking with me?’ 

“Oh yes, very much so. What shall we discuss this beautiful pre-dawn morning, my divine dolphin?”

Arcturus jumped right into it. ‘rising phoenix, do you remember the “sonic devices” that were used in the underground?’

“How could I forget?” Brian’s mind instantly transferred him back to Mount Rainier and all that carnage.

‘Know now, that those devices used Extremely Low Frequencies to generate that effect.’

“Yeh, I felt it in my gut. Those frequencies made me sick to my stomach.” Brian noticed a condominium floating in the ocean about a quarter mile away, then turned and noticed a sliver of the sun making its way above the horizon.

‘That is what we are going to discuss this day. ELFs are one of the great tools the Lizzies are using these days to promote their agenda.’

“I don’t ever want to feel that way again – ever. I really thought my guts were going to explode. What a sickening feeling.” He turned back to Arcturus.

‘Exactly. They made you feel sick, instead of enlightened.’

“You mean…” Brian paused. “Wait. You’re saying….” Brian was having a hard time trying to put his thoughts into words.

Arcturus helped him. ‘The Lizzies know that the feeling center in all humans is in the solar plexus area - in your gut. And they know that the best way to get to it, is through the use of Extremely Low Frequency waves to disrupt that area. ELF waves.’

“You know, I was invited to a rock concert a few months ago and I had to leave before the one group I wanted to see took the stage. The bass notes thumping out of those massive speakers were so loud, they were actually making my heart beat irregular. And it also made me sick to my stomach.” Brian had a revelation. “Oh my God, all because of those EXTREMELY LOW FREQUENCY bass notes!”

‘rising phoenix, in your body you have energy centers, called chakras, which when working fully open and harmoniously, create one of the most enlightened beings in the universe. But when they are closed, they create one of the greatest resistive forces known to man. Inside your body are seven centers, they are located at the base of your spine, the root center; in your reproductive area; in your solar plexus area, your feeling center; in your heart area; in your throat area; between your eyes and at the top of your head. These energy centers all have unique properties and duties to perform. Are you with me?’

“Yes, I understand. I’ve done a little reading on chakras in a yogi book I have at home.” 

That seaplane flew overhead, again. Brian’s eyes followed it for a few seconds. ‘Awful early.’

‘In the body, exists the energy which ignites these areas, turns them on and sends them spinning. This energy is called Kundalini. It works its way up these centers, through your spine, to the place where your spine connects to the base of your skull.’

“Is that why T had me doing all those neck exercises? Is that the lights that I see flashing behind my eyes?” Another revelation was coming on fast.

‘All humans have Kundalini energy. When you reach a certain age, around your age for men, the energy begins to rise up the spine and energize all the chakras. The Lizzies know this, they know that it is the kundalini which is the glue that is used to reconnect and recombine your DNA strands - all 12 of them - to make you into the fully conscious beings you really are.’

“Well, if we all have this energy and it starts to make its way up the spine when us guys get around 40, how come we’re NOT all fully conscious?”

‘Because you have yet to energize all of your chakras, especially your feeling center, your solar plexus.’

“Solar plexus. That has something to do with the sun, with light.” Brian squinted as he looked up. “Nice metaphor.”

‘It is more than just metaphor, it is literally real. Lizzies know that in order for your Kundalini energy to rise to your head, it must pass through this feeling center, along with your heart and throat centers.’

“I have a feeling that we’re about to get to why Lizzies love using Extremely Low Frequencies.”  Brian intuited

‘Lizzies understand that any time these energy centers become blocked or get shut down, resistance is created and then any number of fearful emotions are generated and then acted out. This is their way of keeping themselves at the banquet table, so to speak. Right now, you have been conditioned to suppress your feelings, to act like droids, and keep a calmness, a civilitude about you. And Extremely Low Frequency energy waves do more to keep you from opening your feeling centers, than just about anything else.’

Brian had another revelation. “That’s what’s being beamed down to the Earth from their ethereal generators on the far side of the moon, isn’t it?” The light started to dawn. “Oh my God, that’s why people act the way they do around music that generates tremendous bass - heavy metal and rap music. That’s why kids that listen to that music act in a destructive nature! No wonder why those kids created a mosh pit!” Brian thought back to the concert he attended a few months ago. “It’s all that bass!”

‘And do not just consider the self in this, rising phoenix. As is the microcosm, so is the macrocosm. As is the humans, so is the Earth.’

Brian thought about that for a few minutes. “Are you saying…” More light was beginning to dawn, “that those ELF waves are also generating all the earthquakes?” Brian’s head was spinning. “Oh my God, it’s OUR destructive emotions, our lack of feeling that’s causing these earthquakes!”

‘The Lizzies are not stupid. They are perhaps the most deceptive of all the creatures in the universe. They have come to know you so well, that they are using your own ignorance against you. Quite the conspiracy, would you not agree?’ Arcturus was back to floating on his back again, lightly slapping his tail.

“Yeh, but it’s gotta’ be more than just the sonic devices and bass thumping music that’s causing this. It’s gotta’ be more than the beams coming in from the moon. Right?”

‘Yes, there is also Earth-based technology that your governments and scientists are using to promote this, and they are doing it without even realizing the disastrous results of their experiments.’

“Experiments? You mean to tell me that they’re destroying our planet and don’t even know it, through some stupid experiment?” Brian couldn’t believe his own mind.

‘The ego is a powerful weapon that the Lizzies use to promote their agenda. It makes people think that material power is more important than compassion and empathy. That imposing fear is better than spreading love.’

“What experiments are you talking about?” Frankenstein flashed through his mind.

‘Have you ever heard of HAARP?’

“You mean like the musical instrument that the angels play?” Brian saw a quartet of Yeti playing away, with T as the conductor. Big toothy grins.

‘Isn’t it interesting that they would name something so destructive after a beautiful musical instrument played in the heavens. No, I’m talking about the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program that started in Alaska and Australia. And is now going on EVERYWHERE.’

“Wait, you said high frequency, I thought we were talking about low frequency waves.”

‘By beaming High Frequency Radio waves, up to a billion watts, into the ionosphere, huge waves of Extremely Low Frequencies are generated and then bounce off this space back to the Earth. And it does not just affect beings above ground, but also below the ground and in the sea.’

“You feel it?”

‘Everyday.’

“But why? Why would our own people, our own government do something like this?”

‘It was sold under the guise of protection, safety.’

“PROTECTION! Protection from what?”

‘It was determined that this technology could destroy incoming nuclear missiles and it could also be used to communicate with underwater vessels at a real time rate. The density of water has always caused communications delays and problems with you humans. A human named Tesla knew all about this, and also the fact, that human consciousness exists at the same frequency. Also, your cellular telephones operate at this extremely low frequency. And now you humans are using something called 5G, which is very damaging to human consciousness.’

“Wow, all in the name of safety and convenience.” Brian thought of all the recent phone ads. Then he remembered the paraphrase from Benjamin Franklin. ‘We don’t deserve freedom.’

Arcturus wanted to keep the conversation swimming along. ‘But it is not just earthquakes and protection that HAARP supposedly generates.’

“Oh no, what else, the weather?” Brian looked up to see a perfect blue sky, with few clouds to be found. It was a perfect somewhere-around-75-degrees out and a sea breeze was filling his nostrils. Waves crashing against the rock outcroppings seemed to have a random timeliness to them. Perfect. Perfection. Personified.

‘You are very intuitive, rising phoenix. Yes, the weather.’

“Unbelievable.” Brian whispered.

‘By selectively heating certain portions of the atmosphere, anything from droughts to floods can be created and controlled. A military aspect that most are not aware of.’

“Military. What does the military have to do with the weather?” Brian had a vision of lightning bolts coming out of guns and cannons.

‘If you could drown your enemies or force them to starve, would that not be a much more efficient and effective winning method, than sending in ground troops and using weapons, to do the job? Or maybe even fill the skies overhead with poisons and toxins that would cause severe respiratory conditions and mental health issues? If they cannot breathe, it will be difficult to do much of anything else. Let alone reason.’

“What do you mean, reason?”

‘Some toxins like fluoride and aluminum have devastating effects on mental capabilities. I have noticed of late that many humans stop mid-sentence because they have forgotten what they were about to say. That is new.’

“I’ve found myself doing the same thing. Even forgetting what I was looking for, right after figuring out that I needed it and went looking for it. Only to go back to where I started, to remember why I needed it in the first place. Then I remembered!” Brian laughed.

‘Exactly.’

“Wait…” Brian visualized one of those connect-the-dot books you find sitting on the coffee table at the dentist’s office, grabbed the pencil sitting beside it and began lining them up. “Destroy things at a distance; Cause earthquakes; Communicate under water or really anywhere; Screw with the weather AND our thoughts, too?! All in the name of our protection? Didn’t they know what harm the ELF waves would do to us? I mean, even THEY can’t run away from its destruction and manipulation, unless they all have space ships and can live off planet.”

‘Some do.’

“My God, we are doing it to ourselves and don’t even know it. AGAIN.” Brian’s head was reeling from all this information. “And ELF waves are doing it. Everything from shutting down our feeling centers and manipulating our thoughts to causing hurricanes and earthquakes to making it possible for billions of people to waste their lives living in the palm of their hand.” Brian surveyed the vast wasteland, which lay before him. “We’re dead.”

‘rising phoenix, there is another side effect that many are just now figuring out.’

“No way... more?” Brian’s cup runneth over.

‘Spontaneous human combustion.’

“You mean when people burst into flames and burn up for no apparent reason?” Old video clips of leftover charred remains of feet and arms flashed through Brian’s mind.

‘The reason is because their Kundalini energy is stuck in their root and sexual energy areas. Extremely Low Frequencies are being used to control it and keep it there. Kundalini energy is energy in motion. Once activated, it cannot be stopped. Therefore, it will attempt to move, which will create resistance. Resistance causes heat. Heat generates flames. You only need to look as far as your own household appliances to prove that theorem.’

“For real.” Brian imagined a flamed-out slice of bread that was left in the toaster a little too long. 

‘Yes. This is for real.’

“You know, it’s hard to believe that this is all being kept secret.” Brian exhaled in a low breath, while his head spun on its axis.

‘It is not secret. Many books have been written specifically on HAARP, from concerned humans who have envisioned the catastrophic possibilities of using it. It is just the conditioning of ignorance that is keeping humans from finding this out.’ Arcturus blew a little water out his blowhole.

“And you said there was another project going on in Australia, too?”

‘Yes, very similar, except their experiment sends energy waves into the Earth Herself, not out into the atmosphere. But needless to say, earthquakes are a very real side-effect of this program. Not to mention the reflective properties of those energy beams going back into the atmosphere, where the protective layers are destroyed.’

“Is that why they have to wear hats when they’re outside?” So many dots – so many connections.

‘Yes, from what I have intuited, it is a government mandate.’

“How are we supposed to fight against these projects? How the hell are we supposed to defend ourselves from an ENERGY FREQUENCY? I mean, according to you, this frequency is capable of controlling the weather and our thoughts. I mean, you’re telling me, it’s operating at the same frequency as my thoughts. MY THOUGHTS!” Brian feels like this whole session has been a lesson in frustration and futility. Like once again, winning the Lottery check, but not being able to find a place to cash it. “What on Earth can I do to fight against this evil, if it’s already in my head?”

Arcturus was feeling Brian’s anger. ‘You already know that fighting against fear is not an enlightened way to get the job done. Fighting fire with fire only creates more fire. Resisting evil only makes it persist.’

“Well then, what the hell can I do?” The sound of true frustration.

‘Have you noticed the little white rectangles, stacked one upon another, on top of your communications towers and buildings?’

“Yes, a crap-ton have sprung up everywhere. I remember when there was one tower in Orlando. Then within no time, there were those towers with the little white rectangles everywhere.” Brian saw them clearly in his mind, the way the little white rectangles were paired in numbers of six or eight, mounted all around the tower… and now encircling every tower and many of the retail rooftops and apartment buildings he used to drive by on the way to work. “And now they have them hidden as palm trees.”

Arcturus followed Brian’s train of thought perfectly. ‘Yes. That is them. Meditate on them. Pray on them. Send them love. Remember, what can go one way, can go the other. If they are transmitting a signal received from another source, they can transmit your signal. Therefore, each time you see a collection of white rectangles, transmit them love. Love conquers all. Love is the answer, human. It puts energies into motion that inevitably create light and information.’ 

“Can it really be that easy?” This almost seems too good to be true.

‘rising phoenix, fear creates darkness. The darkest times on the Earth have always been when humans fear their existence. It is time to love. It is time to not fear anymore. Think for a moment, which is more denser, love or fear? Which is a higher frequency, love or fear?’

“Everything tells me that fear is a much lower frequency than love. Way more denser.”

‘Would you classify it as being “extremely” lower?’

Brian’s head spun. “My God, ELF waves are actually the causality of fear. It is actually the equivalent of fear in a higher dimension.” Then Brian thought some more. “The fourth dimension! ELF waves are literally fear itself!” Again, Brian couldn’t believe his own mind. “And ELF waves disrupt our feeling centers, making us stay in our lower chakras, which keeps us living in fear, because we don’t have the capability in those areas to FEEL LOVE! It’s all becoming so clear to me now!”

Suddenly the many dolphins that have been stealthily hanging out began EEEEKING very loudly. It was as if they were cheering Brian on. Then from behind, Brian felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped up in fright and spun around, only to see Angela standing behind him. 

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Angela nervously laughed.  “I didn’t mean to startle you. I heard the dolphins and saw you sitting out here.” Angela felt bad. “I’ll leave you alone and come back later.”

“NO!” Brian caught his breath and his wits. “No, I think I’m done here. Besides, we have T-shirts to get made. And please don’t feel bad, I really can’t tolerate that energy anymore.” 

Brian then turned to Arcturus and all his friends and yelled, “Thank you my family! Thank you for your insights and wisdom! We will meet here again!”

“You talk to the dolphins?” Angela gave Brian an uncertain look.

“Don’t you? If not, you should. They have a lot to say.” Brian looked toward Arcturus, and then turned back to Angela. “C’mon, let’s go have some fun.”

By now, the sun was a pretty good distance above the horizon and the townspeople were bustling around on the streets. The many shops were going full tilt and tourists seemed to be acting like ants, all following one another in search of goodies to take back to their nests.

“Over here, this is the place.” Angela pulled Brian over to a small shop nestled in between two eateries. “This is Oscar.” Angela pointed. “Oscar, this is my new friend, rising phoenix, I met him yesterday. He’s a really nice guy, not like all the rest.” Angela whispered the last part.

“Greetings, rising phoenix. What an unusual name? You don’t look like an Indian.”

“Not everything is as it appears to be.” Brian responded with a smile.

“How can I help you today? A T-shirt maybe or how about an airbrush?” Oscar had many samples of his excellent artwork lining the walls of his small shop.

“We’re looking for two specially made shirts.” Brian grabbed a marker and a piece of paper that was resting on the counter in front of him; he drew a symbol which had a circle with a line going through it, crossing out the word fear and then wrote down some words. “I want it to have this symbol of “fear-busters” on the front, and I want it to say, “PLEASE DON’T FEED THE LIZZIES”, on the back.”

Oscar stood in awe for the longest moment, it was like something just turned on inside of him – his awareness button got pushed. “This is very good. Where did you come up with this idea?”

“Right out there.” Brian pointed to the beach. “You have a lot of good ideas out there.” He smiled. “Can you do it today?”

“Oh, I think I can have them ready for you by lunchtime. Ten bucks a piece sound reasonable?”

“Very. We’ll be back.” Brian reached out to shake Oscar’s hand. “Very nice to meet you, brother. I can’t wait to wear it around the island.” Brian seemed excited, like a kid on Christmas morning. As they walked out the doorway leading back to the street, he turned to give one last look at Oscar. He saw him just standing and staring at the piece of paper like he was in a trance. Brian turned back, grinned and snickered and then joined Angela out on the busy street.

Suddenly, a car drove by with its rap music playing so loudly, that the trunk and rear wheel wells were reverberating to the bass thumping pulse, making a kind of low rumbling, grinding sound. “I hate that.” Angela said. “It’s like they’re the only ones on the street. It’s gonna’ make them deaf by the time they’re thirty.”

“You don’t listen to music like that?” Brian watched the two young people in the car bouncing up and down on their seats.

“No way. I don’t like that music at all. It makes me sick to my stomach.”

“Me, too.” Brian chagrined. “I don’t listen to it either. Now what do you say you treat me like a dumb tourist and show me all the good spots.”

“You’re not dumb.”

“You’re right, best to watch my words. How about new tourist, instead?”

“Yeh, I like that much better. Let’s get out of here though, too many people. I’ll show you some really good spots that most people don’t even know about.”

“Excellent.” Brian had a tremendously good feeling inside; he knew more than ever that he was in the right place at the right time. “I never knew it was so beautiful here. I didn’t really think it was possible.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet.” Angela grabbed ahold of Brian’s hand and pulled him forward.

“I’ve heard that before.”

As Brian and Angela made their way around town, Brian noticed how many people seemed to be ill, or at least suffering from a lack of joy. “Do you have much sickness here?” 

“We have had a lot lately. I think it’s the flu, or maybe something else...” Angela pondered.

Brian looked up and noticed all the “x’s” in the sky and that seaplane flying by - again.

“…Anyway, a lot of people aren’t as healthy as they used to be – there’s lots and lots of coughing. But, it could be all the tourist food, too. Real garbage if you ask me.” 

“You don’t like tourists much, do you?”

“Would you like strangers walking around your house all the time, hackin’ and spittin’? Would you like people throwing garbage in your yard and trampling over everything without an ounce of respect?” Angela seemed frustrated and a bit miffed.

“I see your point. Good analogies. Any other reason for your sorrows?”

“Right now, my Gramma’s sick and there’s nothing more the doctor can do for her. He’s already given her pills, but I don’t think she’s taking them anymore, they make her even sicker.” Angela truly loves her Gramma and hated to see her this way.

“C’mon, let’s go back to my bungalow, there’s something there I want to get.” Brian grabbed Angela and headed back to his place. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.” Brian didn’t want her to see the mess that his room had already achieved. ‘Man, I’ve only been here one night and it already looks like a hurricane blew through.’

In less than a minute, Brian joined Angela back outside with the canvas pouch that he had Karen pick up, while she was back at his pad in Orlando. 

“What’s that?” Angela innocently spied the canvas pouch.

“It’s a silver water machine.” 

“What does it do?” Angela wondered.

“It makes a solution that’s 100% natural and totally effective towards treating unwanted germs.” Brian grabbed Angela’s hand again, “C’mon, let’s go see your Gramma.”

“How do you know all this stuff?”

“I’ve attended some seminars and such, over time. And frankly, I’ve only come to see doctors pretty much just as drug dealers and hate the thought of having man-made chemicals coursing through my veins, trying to cure something that Nature can cure Herself.”

“Well, if this stuff works, you’re going to have a lot of clients.” They reached her house.

“Your whole family lives here?”

“Yeh, it’s kind of cramped in here, but I really love being around them. They’re my family. Ya’ know?”

“Uh-huh, I sure do.” Brian smiled a big smile, looking out towards the sea.

“Gramma, it’s me. Are you here?” Angela knocked on one of the doors and walked in. “Gramma, this is a friend of mine, rising phoenix. He’s brought something here that he says will help you.”

“I take no more drugs.” Brian heard the old lady say. “They make me sick, sicker than I am now.”

“Hello, ma’am. Angela’s told me about your condition, and frankly, I agree with you – no more drugs.”

“What’s that?” Gramma pointed to the canvas pouch.

“It’s a machine that uses pure silver and electricity to make a solution that’ll make you well again.” Brian turned to Angela. “Do you have any distilled water?”

“No. What’s distilled water? You mean like bottled water?”

“Distilled water is water made from steam or a process called reverse osmosis. It has absolutely nothing in it but two molecules of hydrogen for every one molecule of oxygen – H20 – no chemicals or heavy metals."  Brian was half-sounding like some salesman. "But regular water will work just fine. Can you get me a glass of warm water? Not hot. Make it to where when you put your finger in it, you can barely feel the warm water.” Brian then opened the canvas pouch and pulled out a small plastic box, a small eyedropper marked “Sea salt solution – one drop only” and a little square green 3M-scrub pad.

Angela returned in a few moments with the water. “Is this okay?”

Brian touched the water with his finger. “Perfect. Now watch what I do.  First you take this back panel off this box and pull out these two wires with alligator clips on the end. Then you pull out the two pure silver rods from this end of the box and push them into these rubber grommets in the back panel. Then you take the two alligator clips and hook them to the rods. Then put the rods in the water, making sure the alligator clips don’t touch the water.”

“Hey, the light came on.” Angela noticed a small bulb glowing inside of the plastic box through a small round window on it.

“That tells you that you have sufficient heavy metals in your water to generate an electrical current. With distilled water, you have to add one drop of sea salt solution.”  Brian held the small bottle up. “But please note, to generate the current, the bulb does NOT need to glow. Just look for the cloud. But since the bulb is already glowing, the process is happening, and the sea salt is NOT to be added.” He placed the eyedropper of sea salt solution back in the canvas pouch.

“Hey look, a cloud’s forming around one of those rods, just like you said. Cool. And it’s turning dark.” Angela felt like a new student at a science fair. 

“That’s the silver you’re seeing. Molecules of silver are actually bonding with molecules of water to create the solution. Now this process only takes about three or four minutes. Anything more really isn’t necessary.”

“But why silver? What makes that so special?” Angela continued to stare at the cloud forming inside the glass of water.

“Silver is a natural antibiotic, a natural germ killer.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Have you ever heard of people drinking out of silver goblets and eating off of silver plates? Or have you ever heard of silverware?”

“Well, of course, everyone’s heard of silverware.” Angela picked up a spoon resting on the nightstand by Gramma’s bed.

“That is stainless ware. It’s made of stainless steel. That is not silverware.”

“But everyone calls it silverware.” She was carefully inspecting the utensil.

“Silverware is made of silver. Back in the old days, everyone used to eat off of silver, drink out of silver containers and eat with silver utensils. I’ll bet Gramma here can remember putting silver dollars in the milk to make it last longer.”

“That was before refrigerators.” Gramma added. “And yes, I remember, now that you’re talkin’ about it.”

“See? Silver is the number one immune system outside of our own.” Brian stirred the water with the rods, before pulling them out of the water. “And this solution actually kills over 600 forms of bacteria, germs and virus’ known to man, and who knows what else not known to man.” Brian has thoroughly read the pamphlet included in the pouch.

“How does it work?” Angela was still checking out the light milky color.

“Imagine a ball inside of a ball. The outside ball is water, the inside ball is a magnetic charge of silver. Now imagine all germs and viruses as things that get attracted to magnets. And in the bloodstream, when these germs float close enough to the magnetic charge of silver, they actually get attracted into that ball of water and drown within 6 minutes. Simple as that.” Brian stared down at the solution. “Can’t breathe without air.” 

Brian removed the rods, after stirring the water one last time, and then handed the glass over to Gramma. “Here Gramma, just take a sip. Only a sip.”

Gramma sat up in bed and grabbed the glass and took a sip. “No taste.” 

“Isn’t that great? It’s good for you and doesn’t taste like Cod livers!” Brian laughed.

“How often do I take it?” Gramma was checking out the milky looking solution.

“Take just a sip or two every day and follow that up with lots of water. You may want to think about buying some distilled water for later on. It’s pure.” Brian turned to Angela again. “Do you have a dark bottle with a lid?”

“We have this old green beer bottle we’ve been keeping around for who knows why.” Gramma smiled. “Maybe for this.”

“Excellent. Yes, this will work perfectly. Now there’s a couple of things you need to know. One is, try to always store the solution in a dark glass container – like green or brown. It has silver molecules in it and they’re sensitive to light. Light actually diffuses the solution and neutralizes its effect. Secondly, always keep the solution in a warm place, don’t ever store it in the fridge. That’ll diffuse it, too. And last, make sure that the solution NEVER comes in contact with anything metallic other than the silver rods, and always shake it up first, it works better that way.” Brian then took the glass from Gramma. “You should be feeling differently by tomorrow. A lot of dead germs are going to be trying to get out of you, so be sure to drink a lot of water, it’ll help them to do that.”

Brian poured the solution into the clean, green beer bottle, clicked the top in place and then placed it on Gramma’s nightstand. “Now remember, only a little bit at a time. If you want, you can take a mouthful and swish it around for a few minutes, BUT DON’T SWALLOW IT, spit it out. You don’t want all those dead germs going back into your system. For now, just take small sips to swallow. I think you’ll be amazed, a little bit goes a long way.” Brian then put the wires back into the box, reattached the back panel and then cleaned the darkened rod with the 3M scrub pad and pushed the silver rods back into the unit. Then everything was placed back inside the canvas pouch.

“You bought this somewhere?” Angela asked, checking out how everything was neat and tidy in the canvas pouch.

“Well, no. A friend of mine made it.  He said he bought one a long time ago, but it wasn’t very user friendly. So, he made a few and gave me this one.” ‘Nice friend.’ Brian thought.

“Can we make one?”

“I asked him the same question. He told me all it takes is three 9-volt batteries and their connectors, that’ll be run in series. A…” Brian looked up at the ceiling, pausing to remember, then returned his sight to Angela. “Oh yeh, a 28-volt 40 milliamp bulb and holder and a couple of alligator clips, which can all be gotten at Radio Shack, by the way. And then you’ll need a pair of PURE silver rods, absolutely not sterling silver or anything else. It’s got to be 99.99% PURE SILVER – that, and some distilled water, to make the best solution. Otherwise, if you use tap water, the solution you make will spend most of its energy purifying the water, not you.”

Brian then picked up the canvas pouch and unsuccessfully found a pocket to put it in. “Can I leave this here? I don’t feel like carrying it around all day.”

“Sure.” Angela took the pouch from him and set it on the nightstand.

“Okay, time to resume our journey.” Brian noticed the clock on the wall. “Maybe we should head back to Oscar’s place. He might have the T-shirts done by now.”

“Okay!” Angela seemed excited. “I really can’t wait to wear mine. It’s a really cool idea, ya’ know?”

“Nice to meet you, Gramma.” Brian waived, as he headed out the door.

By the time the two made it back to Oscar’s he had already made two shirts for them and a few more, which were already hanging in the display case. “I see you like the idea.”

“I love it. For some reason, it really hits home with me. You don’t have some kind of copyright on that ‘Don’t feed the Lizzies’ thing, do you?”

“No. It was just an idea.”

“Well, for your excellent idea, I’m going to give you these free, if you let me continue to sell the others.”

“Of course. Thank you, Oscar. That’s mighty nice of you to give us these.” Brian took Angela’s shirt and handed it to her. She immediately put it on over her bikini top. 

“This is great!” She was looking at herself in the mirror on the wall. “No more fear. No more feeding the Lizzies!” She laughed.

Brian reached out and shook Oscar’s hand. “Thank you, kind sir. We’ll wear these shirts with pride.”

“And I have a feeling I’m going to sell a lot of them with pride!” Oscar had dollar signs floating in the ethers in front of him.

Just then, another tourist walked into his shop and immediately noticed the shirts hanging on a bar. “This is unique.” She commented, as she flipped it around and noticed the PLEASE DON’T FEED THE LIZZIES words on the back. “How much are they?”

“Nineteen Fifty, plus tax.” Oscar winked at Brian. 

Brian and Angela both laughed and left the shop.

“It looks like it’s going to be a hit.” Angela said, admiring her new wardrobe.

“I think so, too. If you think about it, it makes a lot of sense.”

“C’mon, rising phoenix, let’s go over to the Fountain of Youth. There’s some really neat things over there that I think you’ll really enjoy. 

“I’m really enjoying everything, right here, right now. Thank you, Angela for your time and effort. You make an excellent guide.”

“All I’ve shown you is Oscar’s shop.”

“And a fine shop it is.”

Brian and Angela then headed for the ferry. For the rest of the day, the two found themselves frolicking around the South Island of Bimini – the young and the young at heart.

That night Brian fell straight into dream state, and there was T waiting for him.

“Hello, brother.”

“Why, hello there. And where might we be standing tonight?” Brian looked around and couldn’t make out the landscaping. It was too dark. 

“We’re in England.”

“Oh man, I always wanted to see England. Why did you have to bring me here at nighttime?” Brian’s disappointment really showed.

“Because you are going to see some things tonight that have to do with this darkness.”

“What things?” Brian was really straining to see something out there in all that darkness but had no success.

T touched his twin’s shoulder and suddenly they were standing in front of a very large, spectacular castle. Because of the night-lights, he could make out some gardens and magnificent shrubbery and the beautiful stonework. “Wow, this is right out of King Lear. It’s magnificent.”

“Let us go inside.” T touched Brian’s shoulder again. Instantly the two were now standing inside a large chamber, just inside the front door. Magnificent wooden furniture and beautiful tapestries lined the stone walls, along with large painted portraits (which were at least seven to eight feet high), of some majestic looking people. 

“Who are they?” Brian asked, as he checked out a few of the paintings.

“They are the dark ones.”

“You mean the Lizzies? But they’re human.” Brian seemed confused. He studied them more closely.

“Not everything is as it seems.” 

“But they look like they’re all important people. I mean they all look very stately.” Brian was stunned by the beautiful artwork.

“Come with me.” T led his brother down the hallway. “We are going to go downstairs now.”

“Downstairs. Why do we have to go down there?” Brian stopped checking out all the cool artworks. His anxiousness was palpable.

T again touched Brian and they were transported to a stone stairway leading down into the bowels of the castle. “Do not be afraid.” T reassured his twin. “No one can harm you now.”

“With talk like that, how can I be anything but afraid?”

T smiled. “C’mon, brother. You are stronger than that.” T led Brian down the winding stone stairs into a cold and damp basement. The twins could hear water falling in the distance.

“Is that a waterfall or some kind of stream I’m hearing?”

“Yes. It is just up ahead.”

As the two brothers rounded the corner, Brian saw crocodiles and lizards slithering in a pool of mud and water. “My God, there’s an entire swamp under this place. Are those crocodiles real?”

“What do you think?”

“They sure look real. And they sure do sound real, too.” Brian could hear them sloshing around in the mud. He also heard some of them slapping their tails and chomping down at one another. “Somehow I get the feeling that they’re not the ONLY critters down here.”

“You are right, oh intuitive one.” T touched his twin's shoulder. “Look a little closer.”

Brian strained his eyes to see in the darkness of the basement room and noticed another room off the swamp area. He saw shadows moving around in it, but these shadows were moving upright, they weren’t crawling around on the floor. “Are they what I think they are?”

“Come, let us take a closer look.” T led his twin just a little closer.

Brian’s anxiety levels arose exponentially as they got closer to the shadows. Then Brian saw a vision that paralyzed him in mid stride. “They’re Lizzies!” He whispered with great intensity. “But wait…” Brian strained his eyes to see more. “My God, they’re changing into humans.” Brian couldn’t believe his eyes. He was watching reptiles, which stood over 8 feet tall with scales all over them and large fangs and claws, standing inside glass chambers, change right before his eyes. He was amazed as the shapes shifted from ones of terrifying Lizards into ones of mild looking humans. “I KNOW THESE PEOPLE.” Brian said out loud. His voice seemed to shatter the silence.

Suddenly the Lizzies-turned-humans turned to look in Brian’s direction. “Oh God, they heard me.” He said in disbelief, as he and T ducked back into the shadows. “I thought you said they couldn’t see us!” He loudly whispered.

“I said you could not be harmed. I did not say anything about them not being able to notice you.” T reprimanded his twin. 

Suddenly, just as quickly as Brian and T were transported to the English Castle, T transported them out of there, to a wilderness area in some other place of the world. “That was wild.” Brian checked himself to make sure he’s all there.

“And close.” T said. “Another moment and they would have seen you. And that is not in your best interest.”

“But you said they couldn’t hurt me.”

“Not in dream state, brother. But in real life, that is another story.”

Then Brian looked around and felt something familiar about the place he was standing. “T, I feel like I’ve been here before.”

“You have. Or more precisely, we have.”

“Well, that narrows it down to anywhere between Orlando and Mount Rainier.” Brian had a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

“Look closer and try to remember.” 

After a few moments, Brian’s mind connected the trees and mountains and streams, to one of the places they had stopped by on their trip. “Maybe the Nez Rez.” He thought out loud. “No, that’s not it.” Brian pondered some more. “Maybe Colo…” Then he stopped in mid thought, “No.” Then he knew. “I know now, this is right outside of Jackson Hole where we stopped to look at nature. Isn’t it?” Brian felt sure of himself.

“Very good, brother.”

“But why are we here? Why did you bring me back here? To show me more of Nature?”

“You could say that.” T gave him that look.

“C’mon now, no more games, not now. Why are we here?” Brian’s not in the mood for playin’.

“To show you more Lizzy nature.”

“Here in Jackson Hole, Wyoming?”

“Uh-huh.”

Brian then noticed a ranch with horses and a huge house, and the black helicopters flying overhead. “Where are we?”

“At the Lizzy headquarters.”

“That wasn’t the Lizzy headquarters back there in England?”

“No, not the headquarters. A very important Lizzy stronghold though, but not the headquarters. Lizzy HQ is located right here in the good old US of A.”

“Then what purpose does that stronghold over there have,” Brian pointed toward England, “other than it being a place for those Lizzies to live?”

“Brian, I asked you this before and I am going to ask you again, where does money come from?”

“Like I said before, banks.”

“Where do you think the concept of banking came from?”

Brian thought about that for a moment, he’d never really thought about where banks came from. “I don’t know, there, in England?”

“The bank that runs the world is located there. It is the place that originated the concept of people borrowing something made out of thin air and then having to pay it back with interest, with more money than they borrowed.”

“But doesn’t that interest pay the banker’s wages and his employee’s wages and all the other costs of doing banking?”

“Yes, that is called simple interest. Where 10% interest on $100 is $10. But the concept that now pays the banks back is called compound interest. Where interest can be charged against interest, and 10% of $100 can actually cost you much more than $10. In fact, if you borrowed enough from this bank, there is an excellent chance that you will only end up paying back the interest on the interest and NOT EVER pay off the original principle, which was borrowed.”

“Is that why America’s in so much debt?” Brian saw the debt counter increasing with each second.

“Yes. It is because America no longer bases its monetary system on gold and silver, which are intrinsically valued minerals. Your government has been taken over by the banking system in England and now can barely make the interest payments. Have you not noticed that England is the last country in western civilization to still have its money based on mineral wealth? And everyone else’s is just paper? That brother, is no coincidence.”

“But…” Brian had to give his mind a chance to catch up with his mind-speaker.  “I mean, who gave America the Right to change our money or borrow it in the first place?”

“Exactly.”

“Don’t we have a Federal Reserve that’s supposed to make our money?”

“No, that corporate institution is neither federal nor a reserve. It is a private bank.” T helped his twin see a little more clearly. “Or more precisely, a bunch of private banks.”

Brian had a very disgusted look on his face.

“Remember twin, a corporation does not have to be what it claims to be or calls itself. That is how they are allowed to keep their secrets for so long. The Federal Reserve is an agent for the banking system headquartered in England. It is that institution which has come to own most of the property on the planet, along with their governments, by getting countries to borrow paper money made out of thin air – all the while exchanging that script for the people’s gold. And all of this is regulated by banks and enforced by governments. Quite the scheme, do you not agree?”

Brian was floored. “Boy, they couldn’t beat us in the Revolutionary War, but it sure seems like they’ve finally taken control over America without them even firing a single shot.”

“I told you brother, they may be unenlightened fully conscious beings, but they are not stupid. You may have been led to believe you won something, but make no mistake, they always win.”

T touched Brian’s shoulder, which instantly transported them into the ranch house, just like back at the castle. Except this time, they transported themselves right to the basement, under the house. Again, they felt the damp, coldness and saw the pits of mud and running streams. And instead of crocodiles, alligators were swimming around, along with a multitude of other lizards and snakes. 

“This place really gives me the creeps. It’s a whole lot more Lizzy than what that castle was.” Brian’s awareness meter was pegging.

Just then, the two saw a huge cobra-looking being and one that looked more like that Star Trek lizard, like what he saw back at Mount Rainier, walk out from behind a wall about 30 feet away. “This time I’ll be real quiet.” Brian whispered to T, as he knelt down on the cold, dirt floor.

“Good.” T whispered back, kneeling down also. “Now just watch.”

As the two very large and very scary looking creatures walked around the mud pits, it appeared that the snake-being was the one in charge and the lizard-being was following him, like a good soldier. Although Brian couldn’t make out the language they were using, he could definitely feel what they were saying to one another.

“The snake-guy is the Lizzy leader, isn’t he?” Brian turned as whispered to T.

“Yes, he’s the King.” T’s eyes did not move from the King.

“He’s the King of all the Lizzies?”

“Yes, and the one standing next to him is the Chief of his Sons of Darkness.”

“The King is a snake-dude?” This was becoming a bit too surreal for Brian.

“Do not underestimate these beings, Brian. They are fully conscious and fully capable of destroying your world and everything in it.”

“I’m too scared right now to underestimate anybody.” Brian whispered, feeling his heart pound through his shirt; realizing he was about to ‘dream-pee’ in his pants. Then, from the same area the Lizzies came out from, other beings emerged, “Hey, Grays.” Brian quietly noticed. They seemed to be urgent in their motions. Something was happening, or was going to happen, that was causing their anxiety.

Brian then witnessed the two large beings change from their scaly forms into their human forms right before his eyes. They walked into separate glass chambers, which had some kind of dull red light glowing on the inside of them, just like back at the castle. Then in about 30 seconds, they all shrunk to normal sized humans. Brian couldn’t believe his eyes. “I know these people, too!” Brian whispered loudly. Then rubbing his eyes, he stood with disbelief as he said with a loud voice, “Oh my God, THEY’RE…”

Just then T grabbed Brian by the shoulder and whisked him away to a field, far away from the house. “ARE YOU CRAZY?” T couldn’t believe his brother’s actions. “Did you NOT hear a word I said to you back at the castle? These are not beings to mess around with!”
 

“But I know who they are. My God, you can’t get much higher than them! And who’d a thought that the one in charge, ain’t in charge!”

“Get ahold of yourself, brother.” T reprimanded his twin. “I only showed you these Beings to let you see for yourself who’s really running the show on this planet. I did not show you these beings so you could judge them.”

“But you said they were the Dark Ones.” Brian defended himself once again.

“Yes, and you are supposed to be one of the Light Ones! Remember?” T was very disgusted. 

“But I don’t understand, they’re the bad guys.” Brian was genuinely lost.

“Stop judging things as good and bad. Because every time you do, I can assure you that you are going to think that you have to do something about the dark and do something ignorant and stupid in an attempt to try and change it. YOU CAN’T. And if you honestly think you can, well, you are no better than those critters, as you so eloquently called them… down there!” T pointed into the ground back towards the ranch house. “Do you understand? Have you forgotten the very words that you spoke to Angela, not 12 hours ago?” T was really miffed.

“I can’t do anything about them?” Brian sheepishly asked.

“NO.” 

“There’s no one that I can tell?” Things just kept getting worse.

“And what would you say if you did tell someone? Will you for once in your life stand back and think for just one moment before going and doing something stupid?” T has about had it with Brian’s childish ways.

Brian thought of the words that he would have to say. “I guess there really isn’t anything I could say. I mean how do you even begin to talk about this to anybody and try to make sense of it?”

“You cannot. You do not. You be the Light; that is your job. They will be the Dark; that is their job. And to think any other way will only bring darkness to you. Do you understand?” T grabbed both of Brian’s shoulders and stared him square in the face. “DO NOT RESIST EVIL.”

“They’re here for a reason?” Brian was just workin’ out the last of the kinks.

“Yes, God wants them here. Otherwise, they would not be here.”

“God wants the Dark Ones here on Earth? He actually wants the Lizzies to be here controlling us and scaring the living hell out of us and generating all this fear on this planet? He WANTS them to kill all the Yeti and cetaceans and destroy everyone’s Higher Selves? He really wants that?” Brian could not fathom the words coming out of his Higher Self's mouth.

“Brian, how many times do you have to hear, that in this place, no matter where there is light, there MUST BE darkness. No matter where there is darkness, there must be Light. And in this Shakespeare play, one cannot exist without the other.” T brought Brian close to him. “Know this, my brother, every time that light thinks that it can change the dark into light, it becomes darkness itself. Dark light. How many times, Brian? How many times do you have to hear that? How many times do you have to witness that, before you just become the light – that, being the Light light – and carry it with you everywhere you go, forgetting about the dark? The darkness will define who you are, by displaying who you are NOT. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?” For a thought form, T seemed to be almost out of breath with disgust.

“Okay, brother. No more trying to be cute. No more trying to define enlightenment, by pointing out the dark.”

“As long as YOU KNOW what the dark is, that is good enough. Others will figure it out in their own good time. Time for you to go to bed now.”

“We’re not going anywhere else?” Brian felt like a scolded child, as he watched a black helicopter circle overhead. 

“No. You need to sleep on this. We can talk further in the morning, when the light is shining.”

“Dang. All right brother, good night.”

“Goodnight, Brian. Please know, it is not my intention to scold you or treat you like a child, but one way or another you must stop judging what you see and become Who You Are. Sweet dreams.”

The next morning, Brian was up with the sun. As he rolled over he stared at his Dream Catcher hanging on the wall over his head. “Damn Lizzies.” 

Then he turned on his side and looked out the window at the palm trees swaying in the light breeze. After a while, a word seemed to be reverberating in his mind over and over again – service.  He laid there on his bed for a long time contemplating that word. ‘Service to who? Service to what?’ Brian kept thinking. ‘My service to others? My service to me? Why am I thinking about this so much this morning?’

‘Because you are starting to figure things out.’ T replied in his mind.

‘Figure what things out?’ Brian thought back.

‘Service. There is no greater act a being can do in the face of God, than service.’

‘You mean when I serve others or serve myself?’

‘When you serve God.’

‘You mean like becoming a priest?’

‘No, I mean like when you do God’s Will.’

‘Am I doing God’s Will?’ 

‘When you feel joy and love in your heart, you are. But when you feel fear, pain and resistance, you are not.’

‘Oh, we’re talking about the Lizzies, still, aren’t we? You can’t tell me that they’re serving God.’ Brian was certain of this. There is no way that those critters could ever do the bidding of God by serving Him.

‘Why not?’

‘Because they’re not spreading joy and love. All they know is punishment and control.’

‘Is that not their nature?’

‘Well sure, but in order to serve God, you need to love your neighbors and not hate them. You need to care for people, and not do harm to them. You need to express love and kindness and patience and understanding.’

‘Really? Who said that?’

‘What do you mean who said that? YOU SAID THAT, all the way up to Mount Rainier!’

‘When did I ever say those things?’

‘You told me that light beings should show love and patience and kindness and all of those things.  Now don’t deny it.’

‘I do not deny it.’

‘Okay, I’m confused. Light Beings shouldn’t express those things and serve in that way?’

‘Yes, they should, but we are not talking about Light Beings now, are we?’

Brian thought for a moment. ‘No we’re not. Right now we’re talking about the Dark Beings.’

‘Exactly.’

‘But they don’t love; they don’t show kindness and mercy. They control and punish! I hate that. Are you telling me that in doing all these terrible things, THAT THEY ARE REALLY SERVING GOD?!’ For a thought form, that one had real feeling.

‘Uh-huh.’

“BUT THEY’RE BAD! EVEN WORSE, THEY’RE EVIL!” Brian blurted out with great intent. Then sheepishly thought of those who might still be sleeping. Oops.

‘Evil is only “live” spelled backwards. And devil is only “lived” spelled backwards.’

‘But look at all the harm they’re doing to this planet. Look at all the destruction through wars and laws that they’re doing. You can’t possibly tell me that they’re serving God.’

‘They are serving God.’

‘Baloney! How? How in hell can they be serving God?’ Brian was losing it.

‘By being evil. By being the dark. By living the dark’s nature. In doing this, they are showing you the light, by showing you the dark.’

‘Here we go again with dark defining the light.’

‘Does it not, though? Without the dark, how would you in your wildest dreams ever figure out what the light is?’

‘By loving, by caring, by showing patience and kindness and mercy.’

‘Did you think like that when you came across the police, before you met me?’ T felt Brian needed a little grounding.

‘What do you mean? What’s that got to do with the price of eggs in China?’ Brian didn’t always like it when T turned the subject into Brian.

‘Were you patient with government? Did you show mercy to the police who pulled you over for all those times you were speeding?’ T cut to the quick… again.

‘Oh, you know about those, do ya’?’ Brian felt a little violated. 

‘Of course I do. Well… did you show them the light?’ T kept the train on the tracks.

‘No, I got angry with them, because they had no right to do those things. There are none of these laws in the Constitution that they’re using to impose on us. All of them compel The People to perform some act, jump through some hoop or get punished when they don’t. I think they exist to serve and protect the systems of control and punishment that are in place, instead of protecting our freedoms and serving us in protection of them.’  Brian has never been truer to himself.

‘So, you got angry. You showed no patience or mercy, yet you wanted them to give these things to you.’ Train kept a rollin’ all day long.

With some reluctance, ‘Ok, I think I’m starting to see your point.’ Then Brian’s train got diverted onto some old tracks. ‘But they’re still wrong. They’re still doing things to the people, that The People never gave them the authority to do.’

‘So, when you came up against darkness, you intended to express darkness back to it, in an attempt to enlighten it?’ T’s focus was squarely between his twin’s eyes.

Brian thought about that for a few moments. Well, maybe for just a few more than a few. ‘That’s what I’ve been doing, haven’t I, T? I’ve been expressing the dark towards the dark.’ This might be the biggest connection Brian has ever made in his entire life. It really is that big.

‘Like a mirror.’ T replied. ‘Bless the Dark Ones, Brian. Look how they are serving God. Think about this possibility for just a moment. Let us say that one fine day God came to you and asked you to serve Him. He was creating a whole new place and needed you to do something for Him. Would you do it?’

‘Well, sure. How can you say no to God?’

‘No matter what He asked of you, would you still serve Him?’

‘Yes, absolutely, without a doubt. I would do whatever I was asked.’

‘What if He asked you to be the Soul Representative of Darkness in a world of light? Would you still want to serve Him?’

‘Is this a trick question? Why would God ask someone to be evil, instead of good? Or stupid, instead of smart?’  Again, Brian’s mind was caught in a thought loop. ‘Wait a minute, are you telling me that God actually asked these Lizzies and Grays to come here? Are you telling me that these evil creatures are actually here to do God’s Will?’ Brian’s mind boggled. ‘The devil, Satan, Lucifer, the Lizzies and Grays and all the demons – are here to serve God?’ Welcome to Mind Boggle 201 thru 302.

‘In a relative world where opposites exist to define each other, how could you ever know what good is, without also having the bad? How can you come to rely on God, if you had everything you needed? How could you have a Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, if there was no evil? And how could you know you were choosing to live in the light, without also having the opportunity to live in darkness?’

The first three questions went clean over Brian’s head. ‘But these beings ARE the darkness, it’s not like they were given the opportunity to be anything else!’ Brian was about to eat his pillow.

‘Exactly. You have freewill, they do not. They MUST do what God has asked of them. And that service is to BE the dark. They do not have a choice in the matter – not in this universe. Think for a moment brother, how would you feel if God asked you to be something that you knew everyone would later come to hate. Something that would always be disparaged and denied and left alone out in the darkness of their own minds. And the only time you would be called upon would be to do the darkest of actions, create the darkest of thoughts and then ultimately, in the end, hear your name spoken, as the cause for everything bad.’ 

‘I’d feel pretty lonely and hurt.’ Brian really felt that. ‘Man, that would suck.’

‘Exactly. Yet you would not deny God, would you? You would still serve His wishes.’

‘Yeh. I’m starting to see your point about the Lizzies and Grays and every other form of evil on this planet. They are who they are, so I can be who I am. I am here to do Good, not to hunt down evil and destroy it. Man brother, when you put it like that, it almost makes me feel sorry for the Dark Ones.’ Brian never, ever in a million years ever imagined himself thinking these thoughts!

‘Brother, now more than ever, you must begin to show compassion to these beings. Their service is coming to an end, and they know it. You must empathize with their condition, but do not sympathize over it. Do not feel sorry for them; just realize that they are doing the Will of God. And that is to BE the dark, so you can be the Light. Think about it, they are actually sacrificing themselves for you. Can you say the same about what you are doing for them?’ 

Feelings began to arise in Brian that he had never felt before, ones of compassion and mercy, where retribution and anger only existed previously. He was literally feeling a heavy burden being lifted off his shoulders that he’d been carrying around for most of his life. ‘Being a light being has made me see things that others have yet to see, hasn’t it?’

‘Yes.’

‘But it’s not my job to keep pointing these things out to people, is it?’

‘No. In fact, most everyone is pretty sick and tired of hearing what you have to say about the whole dark side issue.’

‘I feel like such an idiot.’ Brian was doing some serious soul searching.

‘Remove yourself from your cross, brother. That is not the reason why we had this discussion this morning. ALL Light Beings must go through this humbling, this quickening to revelation, about the Dark Side. Now that you have, it is time for you to be the Light and to stop thinking about the dark, in an attempt to somehow make them see what they really are. Believe me Brian, THEY KNOW what they are, and they really do not want to hear it from you.’

‘So, my anger and all my bad feelings towards them were just being reflected back to me BY THEM?’ Brian was doing his best to get this lesson. But he’s finding it difficult due to almost every concept that T is teaching him, is pretty much opposite of the way he’s lived. 

‘Like attracts like, brother.’ A true universal law.

‘But I’m the light and they’re the dark.’ Brian’s pointer finger went from his chest to some out-there place.

‘Not when you think with dark thoughts. Not when you speak with dark words. Not when you act with dark intentions. These things you attract to yourself, to prove to yourself that they exist.’

‘My thoughts create my reality.’

‘Truer thoughts were never considered.’

‘So now it’s time for me to love all the darkness, all the things I used to hate.’

‘Those things you hate, are things that are inside of you, pointing themselves out to you. You related to them, therefore, you drew them to you in an attempt to make you understand the reality of them. Now it is time to let those things, those thoughts, go. Now it is time to accept them for what they are. Tolerate them as God’s Will.  And show mercy to them, as any good Light Being who is worth His Photons, would.’

Brian felt goose bumps all over his body. He felt a wave of peace pour upon him like it was warm water coming out of a bucket. ‘I’m really starting to feel different inside.’

‘You are starting to recombine your DNA. You are starting to become fully conscious in a fully enlightened way.’

‘Love is the only way to get there, isn’t it? I mean to be fully conscious and fully enlightened.’

‘Yes, there is no other way. You must now show that love, not by doing something or through thinking that it is somehow your duty. No, it will be through simply being love. Be love, brother. Be humble, be patient, be kind, be compassionate, be empathetic, be understanding – BE LOVE. In every breath you take, every move you make, be love. Love your environment, love your neighbors, love your planet and love our God. Love even those whom you perceive to be against you. Love you. Brother, you are closer to recombining your twelve strands than what you think.’

By now, Brian could here Beoneius and Michael outside his room walking around and whispering to each other. It was clear that they didn’t want to wake Brian up if he was still sleeping. ‘Brother, I love you. Thank you for these insights. Thank you for helping me to become fully conscious and fully enlightened… about service.’

‘You and I are one, brother. Do not ever forget that. You are also one with your neighbors and one with your environment and one with your planet and one with our God. The sooner you remember that and put those thoughts into practice in your daily life, the sooner you will complete your task.’

‘My task is to become a fully conscious, fully enlightened Light Being, isn’t it? It’s not to change the world out there, just me, the one in here, isn’t it?’ Brian pointed at his chest, then looked where he was pointing. 

‘You are wise, oh Master. Now put that wisdom into practice. And do not forget tolerance. It will be easier now more than ever for you to see pain and suffering in the world. It will be extremely easy for you to tell people the answers to their problems. Do not. That is not part of your path anymore. Perhaps saying you are sorry, is enough.

‘That’s going to be hard, brother. I mean, to not impose when I know better…’ Brian thought of that thought. ‘Oh boy, I almost found myself right back in my old ways.’

‘Yes. Here’s a thought to help you through these times – do you think that Jesus could have enlightened every single person on Earth to make them understand Who They Are and what they should be doing?’

‘Sure, I believe He had that power.’

‘Yet, He did not, did He?’

‘No, and I’ve often thought about that. It must have been gut wrenching for Him to see everyone in so much pain and misery, all the while walking the path of love and light… AND STAYING THERE.’

‘You are starting to realize this now, brother. Remember that everyone has the same capabilities to tap back into The Source. Everyone has free will to follow the dark or the light. It is always a choice. Be the light. Be the love that God used to make you with. Through tolerance of other’s choices, you will be able to walk this path. Lest you think that you know better and stray back off it.’

‘Acceptance, tolerance and the giving of mercy. The three things that are the most needed on this planet but are the least chosen. I choose them.’

‘Good, now it is time for you to get up. Angela is coming and she wants to show you something. Please know with all your heart, you are dearly loved, my brother. All of your family is standing behind you now, beaming their love and light right into you.’

‘You mean the Yeti’s and cetaceans?’

‘I mean the ENTIRE Family of Light. And they are in more forms, in more places, than you can ever imagine.’

Just at that moment, Michael knocked on Brian’s door. “Hey Brian, you up? Someone’s here to see you, she says her name is Angela.”

“Be right out!” Brian jumped out of bed and threw some clothes on, making sure that part of his wardrobe was the PLEASE DON’T FEED THE LIZZIES T-shirt that Oscar had made for him yesterday. As he opened the door, he saw Angela talking with Beoneius. 

“So, you and rising phoenix have been hanging out?” B asked her, making a concerted effort to repeat Brian’s higher dimensional name in public.

“Oh yes, we’ve been having a great time. And look,” She showed off her Lizzies T-shirt for him, “rising phoenix and I had these specially made for us yesterday. Don’t you just love it?”

“I think it is very appropriate for the times.” B said, with a warm smile.

“rising phoenix!” Angela noticed Brian standing in his bedroom doorway. “I’ve been showing your friends our new shirt.”

“I see.” Brian responded. 

“C’mon, I have to show you something over at my place.” Then Angela turned to B. “Nice to meet you, maybe we’ll meet again sometime.”

“That would be nice.” B said to Angela. “Have a nice day!” He yelled, as the two skipped out the front door onto the beach.

“What’s going on?” 

“Wait, you’ve got to see this for yourself.”

As the two approached Angela’s house, Brian noticed a half dozen people waiting out front. “What’s going on?”

“You’ll see.” 

As the two made it to the opened front door, Brian noticed a whole bunch more people inside. One of them was Gramma. “Here he is now.” She said, pointing to his direction. 

Brian felt very strange, he didn’t like crowds very much, especially when they were all looking at him and he didn’t have a clue as to why. At least at SeaWorld, the crowds were a lot more than an arm’s length away. “Uhm, what did I do?”

“You made me well!” Gramma exclaimed. “In fact, I FEEL GREAT! That stuff you made really did the trick.” Gramma then pointed to the empty green bottle that the silver solution used to fill.

“Did you drink it all?” Brian was kind of afraid of the answer he was about to get.

“Well, no, not all. But I did take a few more sips during the rest of yesterday, and by last night, all the sickness inside me was gone.”

“Wow. That was fast.” Then Brian thought, ‘It never worked that fast for me.’ “And all these folks?” Brian was looking around at all the smiling faces.

“They’re my sisters and brother and their sons and daughters and their children. I gave them some, too. But we’ve run out. Can you show us how you make it, again?”

Brian felt a sense of relief course through him. It’s always nice to find out that people are waiting to thank you, instead of crucify you. “Sure.”

“We even bought some of that distilled water you were talking about.”

“Great. Let’s get some made.” For the next ten minutes, Brian removed everything from the pouch and explained how to make silver water, how to store it and how it works. Everyone seemed excited that they no longer had to buy drugs to make them healthy. “Germs are everywhere all the time.” He said, “The important thing is to be healthy so your own immune system can fight them off on a regular basis. Pharmaceuticals have a tendency to move you farther away from Nature and Her natural immunities; silver brings you back to balance.” Without realizing it, Brian is a good salesman.

“I like your shirt.” One of the family said to Brian. “Both your shirts.” Then she noticed that Angela was wearing one, too. “Where did you have them made?”

“Over at Oscar’s. He’s got more there if you want one.” Angela offered.

“Yeh, I want one, too.” Another family member checked out Brian’s T-shirt.

“And me, too.” Another one said.

“You seem to have started something here, rising phoenix, with your silver water machine and your T-shirt.” Gramma commented.

“Just like ripples on a pond.” Brian said under his breath.

Gramma heard him. “Yes! Just like ripples on a pond. You cast a rather large stone here in Bimini.”

“Holy cow.” Brian looked around him at all the buzzing going on in and around Gramma’s house.  “I never knew that this would cause such a commotion.”

Then Gramma raised her hands and quieted everyone down. “Shhhh. Shhhh. I got something to say. Shhhh.” Finally, everyone stopped doing what they were doing and listened. “This man is called rising phoenix. He has brought truth to this place and helped heal us all. Take time out now to thank him. For an offlander, you done good.” Gramma then gave him a huge hug, almost squeezing all of the air out of him. Then everyone gave him a hug, a word of thanks and a smile and maybe even a kiss.

Brian had tears welling in his eyes. 

“Why do you cry, rising phoenix?” Angela touched his shoulder.

“Because you are my family and I’m only doing for you what I would for my own blood family back in the States. It’s good to see you all smiling and happy. And I’m so glad for being given the opportunity by God, to bring this happiness and health to you. Now before I really break down, I’m gonna’ leave. I’m leaving the machine here and if you want to make the silver for more people, please feel free to.” Brian winked his eyes to soak up the welling tears. “God bless you, my family.” Then he turned to Angela. “I need to be alone for a while. You understand.”

“Yes.” Angela replied, nodding her head.

Then Brian made a beeline out the front door and headed back up the beach to the place where he’s been meeting Arcturus. Sure enough, as he gets close, he sees Arcturus waiting for him.

‘Like ripples on a pond.’ Brian heard Arcturus’ voice in his head.

“Man, I never thought that it would make such a huge splash.”

‘Why, rising phoenix? You bring the truth of light with you everywhere you go. Do you not think that when light shines into the darkness that it makes a tremendous wake?’ Arcturus came out of the water in a perfect arc and splashed back down into the sea.

“Well, I never thought it would happen this fast.”

‘When the sun rises above the horizon, how fast does it take for that light to reach you?’

“Right away, I guess. I mean there doesn’t seem to be any delay between the time I see the sun and see the light.” Brian pondered a bit more. “Instantaneous, I guess.” 

‘That is how you affect the darkness around you rising phoenix – instantaneously. To think otherwise, would go against Nature, Herself.’

“Yeh, I see your point, but still, it’s pretty shocking when it happens. I mean it’s always been easy for me to see the light and change my truths. But to see others do it just as fast, well, it’s a little scary.”

‘You are used to being around Americans. These people are not Americans. They have not been conditioned to follow the authorities’ orders. They know how to follow their hearts.’

“You know, you’re right, I never considered that. Americans are rather conditioned in a very controlled kind of way. Most all the commercials on TV are drug commercials and they all start out with someone saying, ‘My doctor says…’”

‘Television is a very effective medium for conditioning humans. In fact, so far, it is the best one the Lizzies have found to do that.’

“Still, it is unsettling to have people believe me in such a complete way.” Brian couldn’t believe all those people were actually family and they all fit in Gramma’s home.

‘But you showed them, rising phoenix. You showed them through your own example. They had to use their own faith to follow your ideas. But you still showed them that your way was filled with the light of truth. Not propaganda, commerce-based technology, but technology based on love and light. Do not fear that, young human. Do not fear anything. Have you forgotten your own T- shirt?’

Brian looked down at his chest and saw the fear-busters symbol in big bold print. “Maybe so. This is uncharted waters for me. I’m so used to telling people about silver and having them laugh their ass off at me and then ridicule me. It’s gotten really old, ya’ know?”

‘Never stop shining the light, rising phoenix. The ridicule you confront is only the darkness showing itself to you. It is only being what it has to be. You be what you have to be and leave the darkness to stay the darkness. Consider this, in a pond that is frozen over, what happens when you throw a stone into it?’

“Nothing. I mean, it hits the ice and bounces off.”

‘What happens when there is no ice on the pond?’

“It makes a big splash and sends ripples out in all directions.”

‘Which is more denser, frozen water or liquid water?’

Brian remembered the talk he had with T back in Colorado. “Oh, I see your point.”

‘Density is as density is. There are actually places in Nature where the light cannot penetrate the darkness, and that is alright. For all other places in Nature, the darkness cannot penetrate the light. This balance is completely natural. Now all you have to do is figure out if your light is penetrating the darkness around you. If it is not, bless the darkness and move on. This will give you the peace that you so much desire. This will give you the tolerance, acceptance and mercy that you so much want to give.’

“Yes, I see that now. Isn’t it funny how many different ways fear creeps into our lives?”

‘Ain’t it, though?’

Brian again was taken aback by the cetacean’s slang, just like with T and back under Mount Rainier with the yeti. “You guys like that word ‘ain’t’, don’t you?”

‘Sometimes it fits quite well. Become aware of all your fears, rising phoenix. And always remember that you are dearly loved, even by those Beings that you cannot see, that have not made their presence known to you. Have faith, young One. God never sends His Light into the Light, for Light knows what Light is. God always sends His Light into the Darkness. For that is the ONLY WAY Light will ever recognize itself and its power.’

Just then Brian heard Michael’s voice off in the distance yelling for him. He strained to hear his words.

“Brian! Brian! We’re going fishing, you wanna’ come?”

Brian shook his head and waived his hands and yelled, “NO! No, you go ahead!” Michael and B headed back to a fishing charter.

‘You don’t like to catch fish?’ Arcturus asked.

“No, not really. I mean, I don’t eat them, and it seems awful cruel to rip its mouth apart in catching it, just to set it free.” ‘Although here, they probably don’t do that.’ He thought to himself. “And besides, I’ve been working at Sea World for the last 20 years and I’ve been in the habit of living and training fish, not killing them.”

‘We are not fish, thank you very much.’

“Oh yeh, sorry. I knew that.”

For the rest of the day, Brian sat and communed with nature. He meditated and had some more stimulating conversations with Arcturus and watched his friends swim and play in the crystalline blue waters that he’s become so accustomed to seeing. And there went that seaplane, again. In his short time at Bimini, he’s come to appreciate every moment and live his every moment as if it were his last. He’s trained his mind to not think of the future and review his past.  He’s come to exist in the moment, right here, right now. Never before had he experienced such peacefulness in his life, such ecstasy with every breath. After a while, he decided to lay on his back and watch the clouds and sea gulls overhead. His mind wandered with thoughts of Richard Bach’s book, Jonathan Livingston Seagull and at times, he could even see images in the sky created by the clouds. Then he fell asleep.

‘Wake up, rising phoenix. Wake up!’ Brian heard in his mind.

Suddenly he jumped to his feet without even realizing what he was doing. “Wha… What’s going on?” 

‘A storm is coming and you need to go inside.’ Arcturus warned.

“Wow.” Brian saw the horrendous clouds forming in the distance, getting closer by the second. “This looks like a bad one. Thanks again, Arcturus. I’ll be seeing you after this is over, okay?”

‘Yes, now get under cover. We must head out to much deeper waters, this one is going to be rough. Adonai, rising phoenix. Until we meet again.’

Brian ran back to the bungalow, opened the door and yelled, “Hey guys, look at what’s comin’.” Brian looked closer. “Guys?” Then he remembered, “Oh yeah, they went out fishing.” Then he had the real revelation. “THEY’RE OUT THERE!” Brian spun to look back out to the ocean and the storm that was quickly approaching. “Oh my God. Please God, please get them back here safely. If it be right and best, please use Your Hand to guide them to safety.” Then Brian sat in the doorway, facing out to the sea and meditated, trying to help them get to dry land.

Within minutes, the storm made its way to North Bimini Island. The wind howled as it sent horizontal rain into the windows. “My God, it’s a hurricane.” Brian realized under his breath. “I’m afraid for them, Lord.”

‘Be aware of your fears, brother.’ Brian heard T’s voice in his mind.

“But, I’m afraid for them.”

‘God knows what is right and best. Not all things that appear bad are bad, and not all things that appear good are good. But rest assured, all things that happen are necessary.’

“Because they’re happening.” Brian reasoned out loud. “But how do I not fear the worst? I mean, look at this storm, and they went out into it.”

‘Although you may see things as not being necessarily needed, God does. Trust in Him that He knows what is right and best. Allay your fears, brother.’ Brian could see T wearing one of those bright yellow land-lubber rain suits, complete with hat, jacket, gloves, pants and galoshes.

“How? How do I keep my fears from coming?”