The Bromeris man, Solse Prab, was the subject of much curiosity at the IP shipport. He had top secret meetings with high command and it was confirmed that he had indeed lost his memory. They had hoped to learn more about the mysterious planet/spacecraft that was emitting the magnetic field, but Solse proved to be useless. Alia asked that Solse be allowed to accompany her and Nebuchad when they returned for a second recognizance mission, and it wasn’t long before the three piloted a ship back to the planet.
“I didn’t mention the screen that appeared to anyone,” Nebuchad said as he manned the navigation controls.
“Why not,” Alia asked, keeping an eye on the view in front of the ship.
“Because I reviewed your report and you didn’t,” Nebuchad said and turned his attentions to Alia.
Alia looked at him. She liked Nebuchad, he had a lot of respect for her, and she was really making a lot of progress under his care. But the experience on the planet had stirred something in her and she was eager to experience it again. She had a feeling that it would not be helpful for IP efforts, but she was sure that the face on the screen had important information for her.
“You’ve never been here before have you? You wouldn’t lie to me?”
“I’m curious just like you are. I want to know why that face knew my name. Maybe it had some sort of facial recognition technology. Whatever it is, I want to know before we tell higher command.”
“I respect that,” Nebuchad said and returned to the controls. “I trust you Alia, and our new friend should be able to watch our back. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t suspicious of all this.”
“Well, we will solve all mysteries soon enough,” Alia said as they passed into the cluttered field of the uncharted territory.
They were soon confronted by the planet, and Alia landed the ship close to the hatch that they had entered before. Solse disembarked the ship to open the hatch and Alia piloted the ship inside. He followed closely behind with the jet boosters of his IP standard-issue spacesuit.
They landed in the same field of grasses that seemed to be located directly beneath the hatch. Alia and Nebuchad left the ship and Solse landed behind them.
“Shall we stir the pollen?” he asked.
Alia walked deep into the field and raised her arms at her side, and as she moved the pollen drifted up around her. Sparks of electricity were visible and then lines of electricity began to form. The screen emerged in the sky between Alia and her traveling companions, and the furry face appeared. It smiled down at her.
“You said none of this matters,” Alia said.
“It doesn’t.”
“And that I’m not really here.”
“You’re not,” the face said with a smirk.
“Then where am I really?”
“Deep inside your subconscious, where your dreams and fears mix with memories of lives you couldn’t possibly know.”
Alia was frustrated, “What does that mean?”
“I’m not speaking in riddles,” the face said.
“Why am I in my subconscious?”
“When you stare into the sun, your eyes burn. That is not the Alia that you know.”
Staring into the sun, she thought to herself. She would never stare into a sun. Unless she wanted to glimpse the future. But wait, that made no sense. Where had that thought come from? Why would she think she could glimpse the future? She could only see alternate futures…
As the thoughts swirled around Alia’s mind, her face was locked in contemplation.
“I’m not really here,” Alia thought out loud and the face on the screen smiled at her. “How do I get it back? How do I fix what’s wrong?”
“You must find your friends and discover the mystery of the afterlife. The source of your powers are there. The spirits can help restore you to what you were.”
Alia nodded up at the screen.
“And now that you have all you need from me, you can return to the life and time more familiar.”
The pollen started to stir, but instead of a dust cloud, it was a cloud of glitter that surrounded Alia. She panicked and closed her eyes, covered her face for fear of inhaling anything. She heard someone calling her name and she assumed that it was Nebuchad or Solse, but she felt the chaos of winds around her and she was too afraid to open her eyes.
When the winds calmed, Alia slowly opened her eyes.
She sits in Clay’s house and his sister Brittany is standing nearby with a look of concern on her face.
“Are you ok?” Brittany asks. “It’s a mess in here.” She looks around at the house that had not been cleaned in almost a year. It isn’t in very bad condition, just layers of dust on everything that Brittany was not used to seeing. Alia had been sitting in the same position for months probing her own mind for answers, she had no time for maintaining a household. And her friends, Gertrude and Vita, had given up trying to see her when she locked the door and stopped answering it.
“I’m sorry about the house,” Alia says. She has not spoken to another person in a long time. She smells like she has not showered in months and her hair is nappy, on the verge of locking into dreads.
Brittany stares at Alia and she smiles sympathetically. She pitied the woman and wants to help her. She approaches and helps Alia to her feet; her legs are weak and she leans on Brittany for support.
“I’m sorry about the house,” Alia repeats, but she cannot see the condition of it. Alia’s vision has blurred to almost nothing and there is a persistent black spot in the center of her field of vision. She had only recognized Brittany by her voice.
“Don’t worry about that,” Brittany says calmly.
It is clear to Brittany that Alia cannot see well enough to walk without help. The last time she had seen Alia, she didn’t have any trouble with her vision that Brittany could tell. Now, she slowly guides Alia to the bathroom to help her clean herself up.
PRL Serials 