Eye of the Beholder

Chapter 3.3 Echoes

Like a tunnel that you follow to a tunnel of its own, down a hollow to a cavern where the sun has never shone.

Tengri agreed with Sedna, and wanted to bring as many members of his original Coon Island crew together as possible, in the Q via QAR, to give them the best chance of finding the ancient link. They also wanted to include Frogo and Dutch and Stovie in the plan, since they had drones on Mars, and their familiarity with the lava tubes could be very helpful.

Newt arranged that. He joined up with Frogo and his gang and told them about how he and Sedna had flown their drones to Egypt on the way to Mars, how Sedna thought the pyramids in Giza resembled the montes. And that they had found the stone.

"How did you find it?"

"It was right where Stovie left it."

Stovie grinned shamelessly.

"And Sedna read it."

"She did? What does it say?"

"That there's another, much bigger chamber."

"Where?"

"She couldn't figure that out. That's why we need your help."

Arrangements were made, and in a few days they all gathered in the Coon Island lounge, either live or virtually by QAR.

Tengri had learned from Newt and Sedna that Frogo and company were old hands at QAR, but not fully aware of the Q connection. He knew this still applied to some of the non-shaman members of his own group. So he decided to start by addressing the team in a way that he hoped would help put these newer members at ease.

"Some of you are joining us via QAR only," he said, "while others are also linked in the Q.

"For those not already comfortable in the Q dream, I want to say a few words, because you may find yourselves drawn into it as we progress, and that can be unsettling.

"At first, the Q will be familiar, because it is in fact the world of dreams. Some of us have known it as the shaman dream, from before it became known as the Q. Back then some of us called it lucid dreaming, because in it we could be not only passive observers, but actively control our engagement in it.

"We began calling it the Q when QAR, quantum augmented reality, was introduced, and we began to understand the connection. It is the world of quantum level reality, the world of not only actual physical existence, but of the possible, the probable, as well. It is the world of the mind.

"I don't want to belabor this unnecessarily, but having a common understanding of it may be our best anchor where we are about to go. So I feel the need to give you a sense of that."

He looked over the group and they appeared willing to hear him out, so he continued.

"The world of dreams is the world of imagination. It is a world we all share, but also a world unique to each of us, because our minds, our memories, our paths through the Q, are unique.

"If there is a purpose to our existence in this universe, it may be simply to explore its possibilities. We are explorers, each by our unique existence defining a possible path.

"On this venture, exploring an aspect of Mars, we will be sharing a path through the Q more closely than is commonly possible. But even in the Q, our minds are our own, and our dream paths may diverge. This is where the Q dream can be most unsettling.

"If this happens, if Mars seems to be drawing you into uncomfortable territory, the dream offers multiple possibilities. It can draw you off into unfamiliar realms, out of touch with any reality you know. If the dream sense of being in a strange place threatens to become overwhelming, you can wake yourself up, return to the familiar reality of your body. That is the most normal response to this effect.

"But instead, please try to remain connected to our little group. Our shared reality will be the best guard against losing control of your own. If need be you can disconnect from the Q dream and carry on in QAR, but that will limit your reach. You are all here because we need your help, to maintain a strong shared purpose in this dream journey we are about to embark on.

"With that, welcome aboard!"

Frogo knew that this was directed largely at his group, so he said, "Thank you Tengri. That does help ease my mind about this little adventure."

"Thank you, Frogo,"  Tengri responded. "The experience you three have on Mars may be exactly the stable reality the rest of us need to lean on. I can't tell you how important that may be."

Frogo expanded visibly.