Chapter 3
“That was a beautiful wedding,” said Sean, gazing at how well the scene at the dome had been transformed from a ceremony to a reception. “And this is one grand reception.”
Sean was looking quite the part in his tailored suit. Normally unshaven and with a poor sense of fashion, tonight he looked like a new man.
“I’m in awe at how well it all went,” replied Elise. “If you didn’t think too hard about it, you would think we were in some exotic place on Earth.”
“Absolutely,” said Sean. “Not only is it the nature of our union as transformed human beings, but we are also in the moment of something very special, something sacred.”
“Yes, I felt that,” said Steve.
“Hey, something happened with the Oracle after we said, ‘I do’,” said Elise. “Powerful vibrations came out of it, and it sort of clicked or something.”
“Marriages are certainly very significant,” said Sean, “and your Oracle has responded to that. We need marriages to protect our chastity and our innocence. As Guardians, it is even more important.”
“That’s kind of like the bond between a couple, right?” asked Steve, squeezing Elise’s hand.
“It’s more than that,” said Sean. “It’s the essence of the union, the purity, the significance of it for humanity.”
“Yeah, you see very few divorces in this day and age,’ said Elise. “It certainly stabilises society.”
“Hello, everyone,” said Jenny Davis. She was one of the bridesmaids and a good friend of Elise. “Everyone looks so serious! Hope I haven’t interrupted anything important.”
“As usual with Mr. Cummins,” replied Elise, “he’s telling us something important.” Everyone laughed.
Jenny hugged Elise and nodded at Steve. “So you are married now! When’s the baby due?”
“Sex is an expression of love within a marriage, within a secure relationship,” said Sean. “It’s best only after marriage, and then it happens spontaneously!”
“Do you have to be so spontaneous on that point?” said Elise firmly, but not seriously.
Everyone laughed again. Jenny laughed so much that she tripped and fell over; the joy went out of her face momentarily.
“You all right, Jen?” asked Elise.
“Yeah,” said Jenny, climbing to her feet. “I just remembered how that Shadow killed all the plants and trees in here. It was certainly a surprise.”
“I know. The Moon’s portal was just doing her job, but didn’t quite have time to finish,” said Elise.
“One hell of a lot of negativity,” put in Steve, remembering that Shadow Wolf.
“Mother Earth in Moondome is contained in a very small area, much like a giant pot-plant,” said Sean.
“Same as the Tube of the Martian Voyager,” said Elise. She looked at Sean inquisitively. “When are we going to Mars, anyway?”
“Soon,” said Sean hesitantly. “Preparations are being made as we speak.”
“So there will be a mission to Mars?” probed Elise.
“Yes, eventually,” replied Sean.
“So when are they actually setting sail in the ship?” asked Elise. “I mean, flying it to Mars...”
“You are so persistent.” replied Sean. “You, young lady, have a honeymoon to attend to. Space should be the furthermost from your mind!”
“Maybe I should dress up like a Martian,” murmured Steve.
“I’m sorry, my dear,” said Elise, grabbing Steve around the waist and pulling him closer. “You’re absolutely right.”
“Hey, Elise,” said Jenny, “let’s go and catch up with a few of the other ladies and let the men have some men’s time.”
“Excellent idea,” said Steve. “We’ve got so many men things to talk about, you’d better leave us for a while.”
Elise gave Steve a mockingly serious look as she walked away.
“If I were you, son,” said Sean, “I would start practising putting that toilet seat down now!” Both men laughed. “Actually, I’d asked Jenny earlier if she could arrange to separate you two for a while.”
“Oh?” said Steve.
“Yes, I nearly let the cat out of the bag there,” continued Sean. “It was my plan not to tell Elise anything about when we were going to Mars, so that it wouldn’t spoil your honeymoon plans.”
“Thank you, sir,” said Steve.
“In September, Elise and the primary Keepers will be going,” said Sean.
“Excellent!” said Steve.
“As you know, there’s a much larger agenda for humanity than what the Earth Space Agency envisages,” said Sean.
“The Shadows.”
“Absolutely. All the mission objectives, like testing the new fusion drive, landing systems, space travel effects on the crew and living in the Tube, are insignificant compared with the testing of our fearlessness, our wisdom, our purity and our innocence against the Shadows.” He gave Steve a serious look. “That’s why it’s also important that you and Elise focus on having such a beautiful time up until then.”
“I completely understand, sir,” replied Steve.
“You’re a good man,” said Sean, “and you two deserve to be where you are.” Sean paused in deep thought. “Don’t under-estimate your position as a Guardian’s ‘soul-mate’. She needs you. Your bond with her is more powerful than any force the Shadows can hold against you.”
Sean nodded. “I appreciate your wisdom, sir, and I will endeavour to keep that sentiment right here,” he said, placing his hand over his heart.
Elise, Jenny and a few other women came toward them.
“That’s the most serious face I’ve seen on you since we were married,” said Elise. “Anything you’d like to discuss with me?”
Steve grinned. “Sean was just telling me what a beautiful couple we are and how we deserve each other.”
“Did he?” said Elise, eyeing Sean sceptically. “Anything else?”
“No,” said Steve. “The rest was just men stuff.”
***
“There it is, honey,” said Steve, staring out at the scene before him. “Two places you wanted to be: on your honeymoon, and at Uluru.”
Elise smiled and said nothing, immersing herself in the landscape. She could feel the same vibrational power that emanated from the Oracle, but on a much grander scale.
“Let’s take a walk,” said Steve, grabbing Elise’s hand. He locked the doors of his electric-powered Honda.
“I am not sure why I didn’t come here earlier,” murmured Elise, still staring at the rock. “After all, I lived in Queensland. I could have flown here anytime.”
Steve pointed at the Moon. “Probably too busy bouncing around up there. As Mr. Cummins always said, you must come down to Earth some time.”
“Hey, you!” said Elise. “Well, I have been down here, mostly.”
“Mostly, but your mind’s still up there,” said Steve.
As she reflected on those times, she felt the Oracle in her khaki shorts.
“Well, it’s hard not to think about anything else when you’ve been told you are now the Guardian of Earth,” she quickly added. “That is, aside from you, my dear.”
Steve grinned. “Nicely caught.”
“Thanks, dear,” replied Elise. She diverted her view back to the rock, which was becoming larger as they advanced along the track.
“Hey, that’s weird! There’s a strange mist rolling in.”
Suddenly, they were in the mist, and for a moment they had no idea where they were. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the mist vanished and they were walking toward a vision of the Moonbase in the past.
“What happened?” asked Steve.
“The Oracle has taken us back to Moonbase seven years ago,” said Elise, watching Arden pull the Oracle from his overalls pocket and pass it to her dream-self.
“Elise, this is yours,” said Arden.
She remembered feeling a tremendous calming feeling and going completely thoughtless, enjoying the moment.
She had studied the disk before. Initially, she could only see a sixteen-pointed star made up of interlocking triangles, surrounded by eight and sixteen petals. However, the further she had gone into a meditative state she could also see a three and a half coiled spiral and flashes of a swastika – not the Nazi swastika, but the one that is found in Eastern religions.
“What is it?” asked Elise's dream avatar. “It’s amazing.”
“It's called the 'Oracle of the Guardian’,” said Arden.
“What's it for?”
Arden smiled. “It can be anything you want it to be, because the power of the Oracle is infinite.”
"Why are you giving it to me?” asked Elise.
“Because you have replaced Sean’s role here,” replied Arden. “You are now the 'Guardian' on Earth.”
There was a long silence.
“You speak of Earth as if you’re from somewhere else.”
“Yes, I'm from a planet called Caldon. It’s several light years away from Earth.”
“This is big,” Elise whispered to herself.
“You don't need to worry. The Oracle will reveal its secrets to you as you require them,” said Arden.
At that moment, the scene changed. They were suddenly in what looked like a coffee shop, although the five people were wearing kurta-style uniforms.
“Now, when I say ‘Oracle’, I mean,” a man held up a small disk, “the ‘Oracle of the Guardian‘ and the ‘Planetary Oracle’, respectively.”
Elise stared at the man. She felt like she’d known him all her life.
“The mandala within the Oracle is formed by nine interlocking triangles that radiate out from a central point,” the man continued. “The four triangles here that point upwards, represent God or the masculine. Five of these triangles point downwards, representing the Goddess or the feminine.”
“So the Oracle represents the union of the masculine and feminine Divine?” asked someone.
“That’s correct,” said the man. “Together, these nine triangles are interlaced in such a way as to form forty-three smaller triangles in a web symbolic of the entire galaxy.”
There was another scene change, and for a moment it looked like they had been taken back to Uluru. Elise could still see a rock similar to Uluru in the distance, but the landscape around it had been dramatically transformed. It was like they were looking down from a mountain.
“Where are we now?" asked Steve, bewildered.
“Not sure yet,” said Elise, smiling at Steve’s bewildered expression.
They climbed up over a ridge to find a large circular, tessellated, stone-covered area. Immediately in front of them was a shallow pond, with a stone bridge crossing it in the shape of a rainbow. Tall pillars surrounded the area, with swastikas displayed on each of them.
Beyond the stone-covered area stood a large domed temple. On the dome was an etching of the Primordial Fountain. Elise studied the circular area.
“It’s a huge Planetary Oracle,” she said, remembering the words of the gentleman. Unlike the Oracle of the Guardians, which was a little smaller than a DVD, this large Oracle on Mars was the size of a basketball court.
“I’ve never seen these energy centres displayed on your Oracle before,” said Steve.
Elise looked at the symbol at the bottom of the Martian Oracle.
“That large one at the bottom is Mars, the realm of innocence. The next circle is Mercury, the realm of knowledge.”
“The next one is Jupiter, the realm of contentment,” said Steve.
“The next is Venus,” said Elise, “The realm of security.”
“And up here at the realm of collectivity, we have Saturn,” said Steve.
“The Sun up here at this cross-road between the left and right ways,” said Elise, “is the realm of forgiveness.”
“That’s it. This where we are!” said Steve, excitedly. “Mars! That’s where we are go...”
“What?”
“Sorry. I guess I let the cat out of the bag there,” said Steve. “It was meant to be a secret until we finished our honeymoon. Mr. Cummins announced a Mars mission. You and I are going in September!”
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” cried Elise excitedly.
“Honey, look out there!” gulped Steve. “Shadows.”
She looked down toward the rock that looked like a dark Uluru on Mars to saw a huge swarm of Shadows climbing up toward them.
A large platoon started amassing from behind them. They began standing on specific points of the Martian Oracle. They all wore rings on different fingers and on different hands. They were the Realm Keepers.
Elise and Steve walked toward the group, now conscious of the fact that they themselves were merely ghosts in this whole scene.
As well as the group of Keepers, ten more authoritative individuals made their way over and stood in the middle of the Martian Oracle, positioning themselves in the shape of a large circle. They each wore an Oracle over their chests and studied the mass of incoming Shadows without any fear on their faces. They were the Guardians. Interestingly, one of these Guardians wore battle dress similar to the distinguished individuals around them, but the others looked like they came from other tribes or races.
The first Shadows to come over the ridge were the Shadow Master and his Centurions. It was apparent that the Master held an authority over the army behind him. Three Centurions stood at his side and nine Shadow Lords a little further away.
A huge army of more Guardians was coming down from the mountain and forming a military-style line in front of the temple. They held up their swords, while the archer-men held up their bows. Elise noticed the tips of their weapons were vibrating like the Oracle.
A god-like figure suddenly appeared from within the Dome structure and made his way toward the Martian Oracle.
Elise felt tremendous vibrations coming out of the Oracle of the Guardian. She knew this person was someone of great significance. As their attention was drawn to him, Elise and Steve were taken right up close.
“Who’s that?” asked Steve quietly, afraid he might be heard.
Elise didn’t answer, transfixed and in a thoughtless state.
The Keepers and Guardians bowed respectfully to the Incarnation, who walked between the Keepers and Guardians, assessing the scene before him. He stared at the Shadow Master and his minions, who all took a step back. He walked back and stood amongst the Guardians.
“My Lord,” said the Guardian wearing the same dress as the warriors, “we await your orders.”
Elise noticed the Guardian’s Oracle was attached to the middle of the man’s chest and was emanating tremendous vibrations. The Incarnation’s face showed no sign of contemplation.
“The Shadows have amassed a huge army.”
He studied the eyes of the young Guardians in the platoon surrounding the temple and noticed the unsteadiness there. He knew immediately that many of them had already been compromised.
“Yes, we will fight, but it won’t be a fight we will win on this night.” A few of the Guardians stirred in protest, but soon became solemn with the news. “It will be a fight that will last many lifetimes.”
The Shadow army was beginning to march into the open area of the temple, and the Shadow Lords were transforming into various dark forms.
Steve looked at Elise nervously. Elise was transfixed by the words of the Incarnation. The two of them could feel tremendous heat coming from the direction of the Shadows, but were cooled by the pleasant vibrations coming from the Incarnation and the Guardians.
Suddenly, the sun blackened for a moment, before a trail of black cloud started making its way across the sky and toward the two armies. It seemed to circle around a few times over the tops of their heads, before coming down in a mass of black smoky cloud between the opposing sides.
The dark smoke began to shape itself into a very large dark form, much larger than even the Shadow Master or his Lords. Its large, red, piercing eyes glared down at them, and a wide, black, open mouth roared a dreadful roar.
***