The Quantum Objective (16 page)

‘You’re telling us that you communicate with spirits to do your healing?’ Mimi scowled.
‘Yes and no. They’re two separate things. Things that are alive can be used as a tool to open a channel of communication with other intelligences. Many trained healers do this through consuming plants. What I do is a variation of that. I change the behaviour of living things at a cellular level. I don’t really need to communicate with remote intelligences to achieve that. I communicate with the cells themselves…with their own intelligence. The others are left out of it.’
A long silence greeted his words. Only the frantic scratch of pen on paper could be heard.
Dr. Greaves was staring at Perun. ‘So where are these spirits? The ones with medical knowledge to hand out. Are they inside the plant? Inside their DNA? And if so, are they not inside all DNA?’
‘They are not in the DNA, they are on the other side of it.’
‘What does that mean?’ Beth groaned. ‘Where is the other side of DNA?’
He shrugged, ‘I don’t know. The other places that are not here.’
‘You mean like another dimension or parallel universe?’ Beth suggested.
Perun looked sheepish, ‘I don’t know. I don’t have access to that information. It’s complex. In my training I tried to understand, asked for help to understand, but the spirits would largely ignore my attempts. Even those who helped me with achieving a task here, would dismiss any possibility that I could grasp even the smallest fraction of anything beyond my task. I don’t think human consciousness is rated very highly.’
‘So you’re saying there are other dimensions with more advanced consciousness entities who look down on us? Why do they bother with us at all?’ Mimi said.
‘I don’t think they do, in the main. When I’ve managed to communicate with them, they are surprised. Some are less than encouraging, some are helpful, some are even a little curious, but I always got the impression most entities on the other side have little regard for what we’re doing.’
‘That is the single most depressing thing I’ve ever heard,’ Beth broke the heavy silence. ‘And I’m not sure how that fits with what’s happening to us. Why would the twin serpents send you to me? What’s that about?’
‘They said it was important to achieve the solution. They implied you had it.’
‘The solution?’ Beth’s brows shot up ‘To what? And how did they identify me?’
‘They didn’t elaborate on the problem – I got the impression it was… above my pay grade, so to speak. They showed me your DNA imprint. DNA emits radiation. Once I had that, I searched for it. A bit like tuning into a faint but unique beacon. I was always able to locate you, to keep an eye on you and Galen. Unfortunately once you were near Khoen, the signal was lost.’
‘They’re hiding.’ Galen said. All eyes turned to him. ‘The snakes. I listened to them when I was little. They like to talk - a lot. They’re not really snakes, it is just the way we see them.’ He glanced briefly at Beth. ‘They’re hiding from an enemy. They say he’s terrible, but I don’t think they’re very brave. They created DNA in our universe as a place to hide. They made it…like an invisible lifeboat floating in a far corner of nowhere. So insignificant no one would think of looking for them there. They think it was very clever, what they did. Except, something happened.
Someone found their hiding place, the DNA. He loved it, loved all it could be used to create. He…convinced the twins to allow him to use DNA for his creations, told them it would increase their chance of survival, to have countless matter-beings carrying their essence through time and space. Copying their code in many disguises. He’s the one who really created us, all the DNA based life-forms in this universe. He created a way to make DNA evolve, just as the universe evolves. Everything everywhere evolves. That is what it’s all about. Every bit of everything is evolving.’
Mimi shook her head to make sure she was hearing correctly. Beth and Perun looked as stunned as she felt. Well at least I’m not alone in WackoVille.
‘How have you not mentioned any of this to me before, sweetheart? No, don’t say it – you thought I knew.’
Galen scrunched his face, ‘I thought everyone knew.’
Dr. Graeves thumped his mike with his thumb, shaking the audience from its daze. ‘Okay. Okay. I think we may be sliding away from the remit of this project. Creation myths are fascinating, but we must stay on topic,’ he glanced at his notes, ‘I believe we’d been talking about Beth’s innate leadership qualities.’
Beth scowled at him. Oh, oh.
‘Absolutely,’ Mimi filled her tone with concern, ‘I think all this hocus-pocus should be kept out of the discussion. We don’t want to confuse fact with fiction. We need to make the most of the team’s time. Debating mythology should be kept for after-dinner chats, don’t you think?’
‘Absolutely, I apologise for getting side-tracked.’ Perun nodded.
Beth stood abruptly. ‘I’m afraid I don’t feel very well. I’d ask to kindly be excused.’ She turned on her heel and tumbled off the platform. Perun caught her wrist as a gasp went up, breaking her fall before she hit the floor. He steadied her and supported her to the door; Mimi scrambled. She sprang to Galen’s side as he hurried behind his parents. Commander Decker appeared by the exit. He looked like he wanted to stop them, but as Perun approached, he held the door open. As Mimi passed, suspicion shaded his piercing eyes. She stopped just long enough to salute. Then with a wink flounced out.

Beth peeked through the crack and pushed the door a little wider as Mimi’s soundless soles danced along the linoleum corridor. Unfortunately, a large plastic bag crackled against her legs. So much for stealth.
‘Why are you making such a racket?’ She hissed as she squeezed the door shut. She took in Mimi’s silk nightgown, and then her own pyjamas billowing around her bump.
‘It’s 3am. How can you look ready for a fashion shoot?’ The pile of snacks Mimi heaped onto the central table allayed her irritation. ‘Wow, how did you get hold of burritos at this hour?’ Perun and Galen smiled at the abrupt change of tone. She snatched up the roll as though she hadn’t eaten in a week.
‘Ways and means, chica. Ways and means.’ Mimi plunked down at a workstation. She withdrew a USB chip and plugged it in. ‘Ok folks, I’ve been Googling my ass off and am armed to blow you away.’
‘Hang on; let’s start with the boys’ stuff first. No disrespect to Google, but I’d rather hear from the horse’s mouth. You found anything new?’ She gulped down a cheesy mouthful, and waved Perun on.
‘I’ll recap the latest, but emphasise that I’m relying on a language of images I’m not that experienced with. Having said that, I’ve verified my findings against other shamanic sources and there seems to be an overarching consistency about hierarchies in the spirit world.
As you know, they tell the story of an entity that was able to move between worlds. Worlds isn’t really the right word. The images convey more like…um layers, frequencies. His powers were rare even amongst his kind. Very gifted and creative, he was their Leonardo de Vinci. He could transform himself and other entities at will, even altering their level of consciousness. He is known by many names, but the shamans of South America know him as Avireri.
When he stumbled on our realm, he realised the rules here made it harder for him to transform and create, until he found the perfect tool: DNA. Through it he created many matter-beings by spreading DNA through the universe, but there was a problem. He was irresponsible with his powers, arrogant and inconsiderate of the havoc he often produced in this and other realms. They say he caused the careless death of many and specifically his sister’s child.’
‘I still don’t buy the sister thing.’ Mimi raised a brow.
‘I don’t know if it means the same as we understand it, I’m just telling you the story. I guess it could just mean another entity of his kind.’ Perun shrugged.
‘Ok, let him finish.’ Beth waved an empty wrapper.
‘She, the sister, heard his boasts about his wonderful creations, and tricked him into showing her. She then caught him off guard when he was intoxicated and imprisoned him within DNA. Well…He was said to have been pushed down a deep hole, and trapped in a long vine from which he could not escape. I’m guessing that vine is DNA.’
‘Ah, caught in his own trap.’ Mimi bit into her chocolate, ‘nothing beats sibling revenge.’
‘There’s no word about him getting out. In fact the story specifically states that he remains there to this day, caring for his creations.’
‘Yep, it’s still creepy, no matter how many times I hear it. And what I have isn’t going to help. So can I talk now?’
‘No.’
Beth was studying Perun as she chewed. ‘Ok, let’s break a few things down. I know that Crick’s Panspermia theory could account for the arrival of DNA on Earth from other parts of our universe, and as no one has come up with a plausible account of how it could have evolved by chance, I’m for now, rolling with this idea that it was designed as a form of biotechnology. The ability of Tardigrades to survive and successfully reproduce in a vacuum also suggests interstellar travel of life isn’t impossible.’
‘Panspermia?’ Galen said.
‘It just means the spreading of DNA throughout the universe via things like asteroids and comets. The ancient creation myths contain a recurring theme of life on earth having a snake-like cosmic source. If we accept that this may correspond to Panspermia and DNA, then we might also explore a literal interpretation of the story about Avireri and the twins.
My primary concern is how this involves us and the powers we are witnessing now? There’s been talk of a “solution” that I am apparently to provide. Trouble is, I don’t know the problem.’ Beth tapped her fingers together.
‘So, I started thinking about who’s looking for a solution. The twins? Avireri? Or both? The twins’ camouflage story would imply they fear discovery and extinction. If that’s their problem why do they keep talking so much about their true identities?’
‘That’s easy - Ego.’ Mimi said. ‘People who talk about themselves all the time are egomaniacs. Psych 101. They probably can’t stand that they don’t get credit for their work. And billions of years sure is a long time for an egotist to be overlooked,’
‘And what about Avireri?’ Beth frowned at the group, ‘He sounds like a sociopath. A creative genius who cares about little beyond his creations, happy to use the fears of the twins to his benefit, with a reputation for moral and social irresponsibility. His problem I’d guess is getting released from DNA. But how the hell would that happen, and what use would I be? I know nothing aside from a little mathematics, right?’
‘Right.’ Mimi nodded slowly.
‘However, this genetic voice thing, plus your transformative powers leads me to consider that the solution might not come from me directly, but from the group I-’ Beth’s nose creased, ‘lead. It’s disheartening, but crucial to note that these powerful entities don’t seem much more evolved than us mere humans. Enemies, fear, cowardice, revenge, thoughtless violence. Perhaps their power and knowledge is simply a result of their elevated perspective on the nature of the universe, rather than innate wisdom or superior enlightenment. I think we need to stop thinking about these entities as necessarily being better than us. I think they’re just different. It struck me as interesting that Avireri found that in our universe, his powers were limited by the ‘rules’. That’s why he needed the DNA. What if our universe has a different physics to many of the others, limiting his powers to transform? Maybe, the powers we see in you guys and Khoen is simply a breaking of the rules. Perhaps those are some of Avireri’s own powers flowing through your DNA. What do you think?’
Perun rubbed his forehead. ‘I find it difficult to think of them as being the same as us, even though I take your point that their story doesn’t paint them in the best light. Seems arrogant to equate ourselves to our creators. But maybe that’s just their arrogance shining through. What if the human need for survival and fear of annihilation is their nature evidenced in us, built into the DNA.’
‘What about love and kindness?’ Galen said. ‘It’s not as obvious as fear, but it’s far more powerful. It easily beats fear. Wouldn’t that also be from them too.’
Beth blinked, ‘Good point. Hadn’t thought of that. What do we know about love from your spirits, Perun? Where is God in all this? I’ve little knowledge of scriptures, but if Avireri created our bodies using DNA, then where is God? What is our consciousness? Are the conventional religions correct in their claim that we are embodied spirits? If so, where have we come from and what the hell are we doing here?’
‘I might have something on that.’ Mimi threw up her hand like a first-grader. Beth nodded.
‘Ok, check this out. I’ve been digging around the dead, and talk about consistency…’ She rubbed her hands together. ‘Well, you know the white light stuff you see in movies, when someone dies and a shaft of light takes them away to heaven or whatever…’ her eager smile wavered as she met three blank stares. ‘Oh, for crying out loud, you’ve never seen a ghost movie? Have any of you seen any movies of any sort?’
She thumped her head with her palm, ‘You guys might as well be damned aliens. Ok, forget movies. I’ve been researching the spirit world but from a different angle – near death experiences. So, people who have died, and then been brought back to life. The data and reports are phenomenally consistent across cultures and over human history.
People generally report leaving the body and witnessing their death from nearby with a sense of disconnection – as though watching a movie. They then usually experience a benevolent light through which they travel a path, river or tunnel that crosses a ‘darkness or void’ and they are met by other beings where they undergo a life review. They witness, super-fast but with complete clarity, every moment of their lives, not just from their own perspective, but they also live the experience of all those they affected.
This review is seen as their opportunity to reflect on their life experience, gain enough perspective to judge their own performance and learn from it. They don’t feel judged by the guiding beings but comforted. They are allowed to reflect on their behaviour without guilt. Pretty much all of them also insist they gain the insight that they are part of everything else. Some report flying over cities of great beauty and gain access to instant and unbounded knowledge and love. They talk about certain spirits seeming to be of higher authority than others, which matches with the spiritual hierarchy thing.
The purpose of our matter-life, they are told, is to learn to love and evolve to ever-higher levels of consciousness in the face of challenges such as ignorance and fear. No pearly gates or God as such, though some think the light beings must be God or Jesus. Also there are reports of unpleasant experiences too, though this seems to be related to the psychological state of the person at the point of death. Some even say it started off hellish and then as soon as they accepted what was happening it became pleasant.
Then there are people who regularly practice Out of Body Experiences. They claim to be able to leave their healthy body voluntarily and travel within our realm: say, go to the room next door and read something on the wall. They also claim to travel to other dimensions, which are populated by spirits. Weirdly, they also report a kind of management structure in the dimension we go to after we die: again it seems peculiarly bureaucratic. And it’s not all sweetness and light either, like the majority of near-death experiences imply.
There are all sorts of places and characters out there and not everyone is friendly. To be honest it seems a bit chaotic, which may be why some administrative processes seem to be in place. Of course, it might just be because I’m thinking in my little human mind about something really big and complex. What?’ Mimi frowned and Beth stopped chewing on her fingernail.
‘Um. Well, the out of body death thing you mentioned…’ she tugged at her hair, twisting it round her finger. ‘It may have happened to me a little bit.’
‘What?’ Mimi coughed.
Beth turned to Galen. ‘The day we jumped from the bridge…well ok, I threw us off. In the water, I saw my body floating away from me, and my injuries. It was a bit like watching another person, except without the horror I might have felt. Was I dead when the fishermen pulled me out?’
Galen tilted his head, ‘You weren’t breathing and had no heartbeat, and it took me a while to find you. I remember that being a bit strange as I can always find you within a certain distance. Once I had you out though, I was able to fix everything quite quickly. Only your arm had a lot of damage. I was worried, but then I could sense everything coming back.’
‘Back?’
‘Like…on again.’
‘Like a machine?’
‘Sort of. A bit like electrical machines. When things are alive they use up electricity.’
Beth frowned, ‘Well certainly there is plenty of electrical activity in our system, but we generate it at a cellular level from fuels of food and water, creating electromagnetic activity at the molecular, atomic and subatomic level. Don’t we?’ She turned curious eyes to Perun.
He shrugged. ‘I’ve never thought about it, the source of living energy. But Galen is right. When I heal I draw power through the cells and into the body, directing it once it’s in, but its source is unclear. I always thought it was at the atomic level guided by the DNA but I don’t know that for sure. I work with imagery and willpower; I don’t get involved with how the healing energy is being generated. I did assume it was externally sourced though, from the spirit world.’
Beth stood, rubbed her belly and started pacing.
‘Well, the concept of bodies as electrical machines is antiquated. Of course we’re still talking from a large-scale real-world perspective. When we look at the universe from an atomic perspective, everyone can agree it’s an illusion.
Since I first learned the structure of an atom as a child, I was utterly convinced of the deceptive quality of our universe. No one could think otherwise. We all ignore it of course, because we have to get on with our lives, but it is a fact that every atom is empty. Google will tell you it’s 99.9999% empty. However, that tiny bit you might like to think of as solid is not really. The only thing stopping atoms passing though each other is the magnetic field that electrons create by whizzing around the nucleus. An atom is just a bunch of minuscule vibrations humming so fast that they act like something solid. However, they don’t really have the mass most people think. The world around us is not really there. Our bodies are not really there. Our brain is not really there. By the age of eight I was convinced our universe was a form of hologram, it’s what inspired me to study particle physics. For me the concept of non-matter entities - your spirit world - seems highly likely knowing what I do about the stuff we like to call matter.’ Dark Matter and Dark Energy, which make up most of the universe, are still a mystery.
‘So you’re suggesting this matter-universe is a kind of simulation where Avireri entered but couldn’t work the system due to its rules? He found the twins hiding in a DNA…program. He then used their program to access the system to indulge his creative desires, before being trapped in the hologram himself?’ Mimi swivelled her chair.