In a place like the Guardian Headquarters and Training Academy there were few secrets that could be kept for any length of time, as the nature and temperament of the gifted individuals working and studying there tended toward an overly inquisitive disposition. That being the case, gossip did abound from time to time, especially where noteworthy or more ascetic members of the organization were concerned, or if said gossip related to the purpose and functioning of those parts of the faculty deemed off-limits to all but a privileged few.

  As the Sun crested the hills of the Florey Basin to herald the first day of March, the rumor mill was working overtime.

  At 6:00 a.m. sharp, three people dressed in the plain white hooded gowns that identified them as members of a Transcension Ceremony, made their slow way through the complex toward the armored doors that led to the lunar catacombs.

  The transcension candidate herself was well known to most at the academy and was easily identifiable at a distance due to her unstable psyche, which flared at irregular intervals as if she could barely contain its exuberance. Many were still openly amazed by what the Overlord had done to enable Anatt Yasin’s already mature nexus to expand as it had. Though privately, a small minority feared the long-term consequences of such an evolution.

  Leading the way as Shepherd was none other than the enigmatic and reclusive Shadow Lord, Andrew, who no one appeared to know anything worthwhile about. For him to be seen so openly and so often around the facility lately was a rarity. And the fact that he had agreed to fulfill such an intimate and important role had set minds and tongues wagging.

  Fuel was added to the fire when it was discovered that the assistant or Supporter’s position had been filled by Guardian Master Naomi Cruz. While her superlative cognitive talents were common knowledge, most were speculating as to the reasons for her selection in the first place, as such an auspicious privilege was normally assigned to Guardians of a much higher rank.

  Of course, when you added in the mystery of where they were now heading for the actual ceremony itself, the catacombs, it was no wonder the base was buzzing.

  Entrance could only be gained through a set of heavily armored and shielded doors close to the main generators, which were said to give access to a restrictive corridor that curled away into the depths in a gradually sloping spiral. That hallway was somehow able to mute extrasensory ability due to the unique harmonic properties generated by strata particular to this one place in the solar system. It was thought the passage led to a room studded with gemlike mineral deposits. Naturally occurring, the composition of those deposits harnessed the energy released by psychic exploitation in such a haphazard fashion that they defied the laws of quantum physics and arcane expression.

  If allowed to go unchecked, it was alleged those crystals could drain an individual’s entire complexus like some monstrous multifaceted vampire. This explained why an Ultra Class Guardian always had to be there, as their presence would ensure the choral resonances produced during the ritual were properly and safely directed.

  Darker speculators argued that not all who descended that corridor were seen to emerge again.

  This particular lunar day dawned with so much hot air being generated by mental and mundane tittle-tattle that had there been a proper atmosphere, kite enthusiasts would have had no problems whatsoever in getting their rigs airborne.

  Nonetheless, all of this went unnoticed by the youngest member of the transcension party as she trailed along behind her more experienced friends.

  On entering the tunnel, Naomi quickly became fascinated by the floors and walls of her surroundings. Jet black in color, the surface texture felt crusty and brittle to the touch and was laced through with veins of iridescent orange quartz that throbbed gently with hidden power. Such a setting pulled at the bowstring of her nerves, and despite the subdued atmosphere, Naomi felt her excitement tightening with every step she took.

  The candidate herself, Anatt Yasin, was lost to the wonder of the living pulse beating all around her. Although this was the first time that she had ever entered this section of the new academy, her mind and thoughts were turned inward. There, she surveyed the growing swells of power that piled irresistibly higher and higher against the mental constraints put in place by her savior, the Overlord, a different lifetime ago.

  Those barriers had done a remarkable job over the past year, gradually siphoning her increasing potential through in manageable levels. Such a gambit had allowed her to retain a fleshly form whilst coping with vitality that would instantly vaporize a normal human brain. Anatt could sense things would soon change, and when they did, there would be no stopping it! Too much pressure had coalesced within her newly formed metapsychic magma chamber to avoid an eruption. An ever-increasing tempest now stormed against the restraints placed there, overwhelming them in a controlled collapse leading her toward a metamorphosis of unimaginable glory.

  At the same time, Anatt could taste a fearful anticipation growing inside her, as if something wonderful—and yet terrifyingly predatory—was flexing its muscles at the prospect of imminent release.

  As Andrew led the way steadily downward toward the Reflection Chamber, he was more than prepared for what lay ahead, having attended the transcension of a number of individuals in the past. Even so, his immediate concerns ran to deeper, more convoluted and troubling things.

  For one, he was is hoping against all the odds that he’d be able to prevent certain personal facts from becoming common knowledge as the ceremony got underway. In truth, he didn’t really hold out much hope of that as the orphic processes involved spliced the minds of the participants together in a sharing far more intimate than any harmonic union program ever devised. It was bound to happen sooner or later, I suppose. At least Anatt and Naomi are people we can trust to be discreet . . . though I do wonder how they’ll react initially.

  That thought reminded him of other recent events he’d rather keep to himself. So, why did he think it so necessary I witness the incident in the first place? He hasn’t explained himself yet. I mean, who was that? Better still, what was that? How the hell did they know each other, and when is he eventually going to get around to telling us?

  Such remonstrating didn’t last for long. The scant illumination afforded by their tenebrous surrounds gradually diminished, giving way to a blackness so pitch, so complete, it swallowed the company whole. Soon, Andrew was forced to quit his deliberating and concentrate instead on the path ahead.

  Eventually, after an age of walking in eerily prolonged silence, the corridor widened and they found themselves standing in a brighter, mineral infused cavern. The walls here were comprised of the same pulsing, arterial rock as before, presenting an uncanny counterpoint to the sophisticated security station looming before them.

  Constructed of what looked like a single piece of gunmetal gray alloy, the post had been fashioned into the shape of the Guardian emblem with wings held rampant. Beyond it, a gulf at least a hundred yards wide and deep enough to disappear into obscurity wound off into the distance in both directions.

  Across the void, they could see a corresponding sentry positioned before a huge armored door which had been fashioned into the cliff face. The tingle of a thousand pinpricks puncturing his skin warned Andrew of the presence of a high magnitude force field. Beckoning for Anatt and Naomi to follow, he went to stand before the sentinel and waited.

  Twin rays of golden light lanced out from each wingtip. Starting at opposite ends of his body, they took their time scanning Andrew from head to toe and bottom to top before repeating the process with the women standing on either side of him.

  Once the sensors detected the unique auras of the Shadow Lord and the Transcension Candidate, a beacon on top of the sentry activated. Its counterpart on the far side of the chasm came to life and a photonic platform started to stretch toward them. No sooner had it extended fully, to create a bridge, than the distant door rolled silently up into a hidden recess, exuding a silent invitation for them to cross and enter.

  The pins and needles frittered away. Using that as his cue, Andrew ushered everyone forward, and in no time at all, they had crossed the gorge and stepped through into the fortified environs of what would be their crucible: the Reflection Chamber.

  The Chamber resembled a mirrored amphitheatre, in that the circular entrance level gave way—in equal tiers—down to a completely smooth floor area, thirty feet in diameter. That design was reflected by a matching arrangement in the upper portion of the room, so a flattened sphere was formed by the joining of the two halves.

  The walls, floors, and ceiling were made of a dull carbon composite, which appeared to have identical weblike traceries of earth-blood running through it as the stratum outside. Those veins pulsed like a heartbeat, their deep orange-red color flaring in rhythmic unison to the subliminal thrumming sensation they could all feel running through the soles of their boots and spawning flickering shadows that flowed backward and forward in time to the beat, teasing the eye, tempting the imagination.

  At first, Andrew couldn’t distinguish the sixteen-foot high construct of gleaming facets and angles filling the center of the cavity with refractive glory. Not only did the gloom make seeing things difficult, but the artifact itself kept folding in and out of existence as if it couldn’t decide which reality to settle in.

  It wasn’t until they had descended the steps all the way to the bottom that comprehension finally dawned. Jesus, I didn’t recognize it in this setting. It . . . it’s huge.

  Beside him, Naomi spluttered, “What is that thing?”

  “That, my inquisitive friend, is a psitronic crystal. You could say it’s the heart and soul of the place. It’s an extremely rare phenomenon that actually absorbs most of the forms of energy you can think of, including psychic manipulation, before converting it into a highly agitated expressive state.”

  “Is it dangerous?”

  “In the wrong hands, certainly! Once activated, it’s capable of draining the sum from anything within its sphere of influence. Dependent upon the amplitude and wavelength it adopts, it can also emit that potential as an augmented coherent force. That’s why we have to be so careful and match our extrasensory harmonics to the specifics of its uniquely ordered structure. We’d be screwed otherwise.”

  Naomi glared at the translucent paradigm, unsettled to be near something that was capable of sucking the life out of her without effort.

  Noting her discomfort, Andrew moved to reassure her. “Don’t worry, Naomi, we’ve used them for a long, long time now. This beauty is brand new and a welcome replacement for the remains of the old one that was destroyed thousands of years ago. In fact, we used several of the old shards recently to clear up the fallout left over from the meteorite strikes.”

  “Clear up the . . . ? Are you saying this . . . this King Kong of an engagement ring is capable of decontaminating the area of a nuclear blast?”

  “Of course it is. Radiation, electromagnetism, heat; all the things emitted by such explosions are just different states energy. So we simply adjust the pitch of absorption in one of the prismic focal nodes and it will feed on whatever particles are present, be they saturating the air, water, rocks, soil, and so on. Useful, eh?”

  To Andrew’s amusement, Naomi was only partly paying attention. Gawping intently at the encrusted outcrop nearest to her, she kept frowning and kinking her head from side to side. “Why can’t I see it properly? The more I stare, the more it fades and reappears just outside my peripheral vision.”

  “Ah, its molecular composition is unique. It has eighteen distinct Bravais lattices that create diffractive pockets of nullspace, allowing it to exist as a fourth dimensional cons . . .”

  “Can we skip the physics lesson and just get on with it, please?”

  They both spun on the spot to find Anatt’s distress increasing by the second. Delving inside her mind, Andrew discerned she was only minutes away from shedding her principal layers. She’s fighting to maintain control. Time to get down to business.

  Projecting appropriate feelings of comfort—and an apology—Andrew gestured toward their appropriate stations, as indicated by three tiny star symbols etched into the floor around the northern quadrant of the base of the crystal. “Ladies, as we rehearsed.”

  Anatt moved to stand at the centermost position and faced the gem directly. Leaning forward, she pressed her palms against the largest of the facets closest to her, closed her eyes and almost immediately began to murmur, “Oh! It . . . it feels cool to the touch and as fragile as wafer-thin ice. Yet . . . and yet I get the sense it’s far harder than diamonds could ever be. How strange.”

  Sparks leaped from her fingertips and caromed off into the multi-angled depths, whereupon her body vanished from sight. An instant later, she reappeared, encompassed up to the wrists within the stone’s superficial structure. Her knees buckled, giving the impression she was about to fall.

  Andrew and Naomi moved swiftly. Standing either side of Anatt, they adopted a stance that would ensure they remained facing toward her at all times.

  At a signal from Andrew, they reached out to grasp Anatt by the shoulders with their outer hands, while extending their inner arms so they could lean against the crystal itself for support.

  Now they were arranged correctly, Andrew issued final instructions: Anatt? Keep in mind, once I initialize this thing, it will attune to your complexus and negate any aggressive outbursts you might be inclined to make. As you’ve seen, it’s aware of your presence and has already given you a little taste of what you can expect as time goes on. Basically, don’t get distracted by any of the weird experiences you’ll encounter as you burn away your mortal coil and begin to expand.

  Breathing raggedly, her brow beaded with sweat, Anatt could only nod in reply.

  He continued: As hard as you may find it, relax as much as you can and try not to think. Just let it happen. Your mind will instinctively know what to do. I will guide you when things get more intense. Be confident in my ability and of the fact that the crystal will absorb the worst of your flares. It will be impossible for you to cause any harm or damage, okay?

  Anatt nodded again, her body trembling as if she were standing naked in a snow storm. Just hurry up, she gasped: I can’t hold it much longer!

  Making eye contact with Naomi, Andrew said: After the time you’ve spent together recently, you know Anatt’s mental parameters intimately. Make sure you mesh with her as we begin to phase-shift and then stay with her. Wherever her soul goes, you go. Don’t think, don’t suggest or intimate any particular course of action other than to constantly remind her of who she is. The close companionship you provide will help her stay linked to her humanity as her consciousness expands toward a whole different level of existence. Consider too that what you feel—all those bewildering sights and sounds and sensations—aren’t happening to you, they’re happening to Anatt. So don’t sweat it, keep her rooted, and you’ll both come out the other side.

  Naomi winked and braced herself to indicate she was ready. Andrew allowed her a few moments grace to take a number of quick, deep breaths to calm her nerves, then watched in admiration as the younger mind leaped fearlessly into the swollen psyche between them, which was flexing and flashing alarmingly.

  Anatt suffered a series of agonizing spasms. Growling with pain, she bared her teeth. Her head snapped forward, then back. Finally, her eyes flared wide, streaming forth with a brilliant white light as the last of the mental restraints started to crumble. Her mind and voice screamed in conjoined ecstasy and agony, cascading argent shockwaves about the chamber: IT’S COMING!

  Andrew responded, and within the blink of an eye, the man was replaced by a ten-foot tall, blazing apparition of majesty and splendor. As his true form anchored, fully manifest, Andrew triggered the psitronic crystal so that it erupted into incandescent life, overcoming the fragile senses of the humans before it.

  He heard Naomi whistle. Linked as he was to her thoughts, he saw himself through her perceptions, transformed and radiant, an angelic avatar of the interdimensional paragon next to them.

  Nonetheless, Naomi refused to be distracted. Though she was clearly overawed, Andrew noted with satisfaction how she remembered the importance of her role and strove with all her might to sustain her friend who, by now, was wracked by seizures so violent that it was a miracle her spine hadn’t been shattered.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  A tremendous throb of energy resounded throughout the chamber. As it dissipated, an intervening pair of incorporeal arms—titanic in proportions—wrapped itself around the two women.

  Satisfied that his charges were safe, the Shepherd set about demonstrating the true nature of his calling.

  Anatt became conscious of the presence of others within, without and all around her, emblazoned with fluctuating degrees of potency. A stronger nucleus of life congregated a quarter of a million miles away. Buzzing like angry bees nests, the more concordant nuclei of extrasensory operancy were interspersed randomly throughout, their presence betrayed by brighter flares of puissance.

  It was as if her impressions had become so fine tuned, that the other entities had temporarily—or permanently for that matter—become an actual part of her psyche. Anatt wasn’t sure which. All she could be certain of was the fact that the monumental pressure that had ravaged the very core of her being for so long was at last finding sweet release. She managed to peek inside one final time to confirm that all trace of the mental restraints had indeed been swept away, and then a cleansing purge flooded her acuity with light.

  Unadulterated power claimed her, roaring along her synapses and bursting out through her inconsequential flesh with ever increasing passion. Her grasp on reality evaporated and she went deaf, blind and dumb in a juxtaposition of absolutes:

  Whispers screaming like banshees throughout the stillness of an endless night that stretches on forever; fires raging to the cruel bite of winter’s touch; liquid sounds, as restless as waves, impinging on a faltering consciousness; ripples of thought as insubstantial as smoke; the frigid taste of humanity lost; a global heartbeat stuttering to regain its rhythm; tones of soaring majesty captured at the point of silence as they dance through the never-ending lattices of an enormous jewel; elation the moment a psychic barrier is pierced, bringing paralyzing bliss and release, together with an expansion of perspicuity.

  A clear voice rang out amid the pandemonium: Do you see the way you need to go? THEN COME, FOLLOW ME!

  Rush headlong down new pathways freshly created, like water flowing through rocks; seeking, surging, bubbling; swelling higher, higher—expansion!

  I am with you.

  I will never leave your side.

  We are with you. . .

  Nostalgic reminiscences from long ago converge and flow:

  A little girl sits alone in the street. As a child that is different, she is shunned, by parents and others in the village too frightened to understand—switch!

  This time we see the recollections of another youngster standing on cliff tops with the loving arms of her mother wrapped around her. Squealing in delight as the howling wind whips through her hair, she extends her mind’s sight high into the sky to fly with the gulls that mock from overhead—switch!

  Impressions from another; a boy; cramped, trapped in the womb, fighting for space against a twin that had always been there. Each together, always separate. Both are cognizant, aware, even before their miraculous birth; seeing the world outside by telepathy alone as vernix coated eyes are still shut tight—expansion!

  Neural pathways extending beyond a fleshly cerebrum, so new, so fresh; sensitized, energized; sounds combusting throughout all the hues of the spectrum; tastes oscillating to corporeal stimuli; smells eliciting texture; sights possessing the rarified palate of sophistication; touch generating music in limpid transparency. Everything supercharging, changing, metamorphosing.

  Flashbacks intrude again:

  The lonely girl is an outcast, spurned by her family. Unwanted, she learns to rely on herself and wanders far and wide. She revels in justified gratification as she learns to control the devils within and finds new acquaintances with whom to share her aspirations—switch!

  A first kiss and the thrill of what it’s like to be touched for the first time by a lover. Fear of discovery; the anticipation of hidden pleasure; forbidden lusts made real—switch!

  The unique pride of a patriarchal presence as you create your first tangible illusion; that same father’s countenance—apprehensive, filled with concern—as you teleport across a nebula for the first time; a parent’s aura glowing rosy warm in satisfaction as ideals long in the making come to fruition; endless wells of luminous gray reflected in the mirrors cast by your own pupils—expansion!

  A boundless symphony contained within a single note that pierces the silence; our universe, vibrant and whole, contained within the dust mote of another reality; the crux of life as it is carried throughout the cosmos on solar winds; a concordance of grandiose proportions revealed!

  I am with you always. Together and separate, always present when I am absent.

  See the path, Anatt, become one with it.

  Everything is vast and endless; tiny and miniscule; simple and intricate; so full of zest and élan. All connected and intertwined by the Creator’s wisdom.

  Why am I the extraneous factor to the riddle?

  More memories come unbidden in a tumbling avalanche of color and explosive roar of sensations:

  The solitary child is now a young woman, well versed to the bitter embrace of loneliness. People approach. They have been watching her and would like to extend an invitation; the prospect of a life where her gifts will be honed and valued—switch!

  Welcome advances from new friends who offer a chance to achieve true fulfillment. They rejoice as she demonstrates what she can do, soaring among the stars without effort, piercing the veil between the mundane and mighty—switch!

  A monstrous wave approaches. So high, so wide, the colossal pressure of its approach mounts by the second as he fights to prevent it engulfing the barrier he has placed in its way. Soon after, he becomes aware of the glare cast by frozen silver-white wastes and is consumed by a barely suppressed rage toward those who have destroyed a thousand years of careful planning—switch!

  Your calling realized and a destiny fulfilled as you find discipline and purpose among those who are like you. Those who welcome you as a daughter, a sister, a long lost member of the family, returned at last to a fold you never left—switch!

  That first day of duty where your heart bursts with pride. The peace of mind that comes from being able to accomplishing things faster than anyone ever has before—switch!

  A gradual withdrawal from those you have served for millennia. New goals unveiled, now thousands of years from culmination. The patience of a careful search to gather those who will join you on the road to Unification—expansion!

  Newborn, a lustrous, radiant mentality—energized far beyond the strictures she thought might ever be possible—pushes and pries at the superficies of veracity as her neurological transformation continues to diversify. A psychoenergetic concordance manifests, spanning the length and breadth of the spacetime continuum.

  Body gone. Shackles gone. Weight gone. Free to soar at last, free to reach out, to shine and thunder a challenge into the ether at full capacity. To grasp and take hold of hypothetical phenomena!

  I see, I see. SUCH INCREDIBLE BRIGHTNESS!

  NO! Not that way. The consequences are far too perilous. Follow me as I lead.

  Strong inhuman arms reach out to enfold the fledgling pulsar, ushering her toward a safer course: Remain with me, Anatt.

  And me, Anatt. Don’t forget I’m here too. Don’t leave us, please stay.

  But . . . but you’re so tiny, so inconsequential and far below me. Who is that? What is that? Ah, an insect, an echo, a reminder of . . .

  It is who you are, child. What you are. Never forget.

  It is who you were, what you were, never forget.

  Reminders of that previous life interrupt again:

  The unbelievable strike of a hideously warped lightning bolt, willingly received. Crushing you to the ground, it boils blood, eviscerates organs, vaporizes bone and makes you scream. Having no lungs to do so, your pain is amplified a trillion times as your very soul is raped by fire—switch!

  Graduation day and the relief you feel on seeing the faces of your parents in the crowd. The elation of having constantly improved on what you can do, gaining the approval of your superiors—switch!

  Gray eyes in the darkness. Peering up out of the abyss, they hold you steady against a fatal fall. The void recedes and a soothing radiance takes its place, warmth that restores and changes what you are—switch!

  Delight at being the best and being noticed. A simple smile that brings pleasure and wards against the fear of treading into the unknown—switch!

  The wonder of seeing reality ripped apart and beholding what no mortal or immortal being has ever witnessed before; the place beyond conquered—exposed—affirmed?

  Who is that? Where is that?

  Why am I suddenly so small—expansion!

  Multiple levels of impossibility spring abruptly to the fore.

  Therein, a fusion linking the building blocks of life together takes place, a strident plainsong of sonorous nobility that peals within the void between atoms. Without, solar winds gain depth, timbre and taste. Dark matter blazes within a network of unforeseen, inexplicable frescos. The cords holding fast the universe exhibit a texture that can be grasped and manipulated, molded to serve a higher purpose.

  The vastness of space and time urge you to experience it all, taste it all, and savor it all: I . . . I want it all!

  Not yet, Anatt. Soon. Be patient, for I am with you mind sister, always.

  I’m here for you too. The anchor for your soul, a reminder of who you are.

  Return.

  Return.

  But the song of the cosmos . . . it urges me, invites me, calls to me.

  Return . . . NOW!

  Return, please.

  The duality speaks as one: You are Anatt.

  A prodigious, dominant originality asserts itself and moves in close.

  Further away, a fainter spark begs you to stay.

  Vistas, previously outside her ken are now easily discernible; as is her grasp on the intricacies of creation. A purer synthesis of self asserts itself, along with a modicum of self control.

  The threat of anarchy recedes, muted in defeat. In its place, a vibrant sense of rightness reigns supreme, spurring the dyad to repeat its plea: Know yourself and be whole.

  One voice is principal, authoritative, assertive, guiding: Anatt!

  The other pleads, begs, clings and reminds you: Anatt!

  I am Anatt Yasin. I am . . . I am myself. Reborn. Renewed. Released.

  Coming back to her senses, Anatt looked down on the small form of Naomi, pressing herself against the crystal on one side and into her transcended essence on the other. She seemed so fragile, so temporary, nothing more than a rumor on the breeze. The merest thought enabled Anatt to see into the young woman, then through her and into the microverse of the components making up her body.

  And the crystal. Much larger than it had appeared to mundane sight, it randomly wove itself in and out of existence with a complexity she was stunned to grasp with ease. What was more, it occupied multiple phasic states simultaneously, each of which were extraordinarily different. And yet, they occupied the same spacetime reference at those points where reality overlapped without sparking the slightest reaction. It was at those junctures Anatt could see the quarks and leptons interacting to create the unique conditions required to absorb and harness limitless energy without spawning havoc.

  Turning to view her shepherd, Anatt looked up into his blazing countenance. No longer dazzled beyond comprehension, she truly saw him for the first time.

  She sighed, becoming distracted by the whorls and powder-puff concussions her verbalized expressions generated on this plane: Whoa? Where did those things come from? Andrew, am I here? Have I actually . . . ?

  Yes, Anatt, you did it! And very quickly too. I’m not surprised, considering the circumstances surrounding your change.

  She understood the subtle inference to his father immediately.

  His father of all people! What an eye opener.

  Anatt noticed how solid his voice was in comparison to hers, the hues possessing a richer, deeper texture as they chimed around her complexus like ice encrusted teardrops.

  Dragging her wayward attention back to herself, Anatt realized she had stabilized with a matrix close to seven feet tall. Wow, that’s bigger than I was led to believe I’d be! Does this mean I . . . ?

  Without warning, she detected an imploding electron within one of the facets of the psitronic crystal, close to where it transposed between multiple causality nodes and the lunar bedrock.

  Next, she looked into Naomi’s heart, fascinated by the volume of blood flowing in brief surges through its various chambers.

  Then she somehow became aware of the passage of the Moon through the interstellar medium dominating this region of space. More distant, the hum of the Earth’s molten core spinning within its layered shell predominated; reminding her that planet was responsible for the prevailing gravity currents shimmering to and fro through the ether.

  Damn! Why am I skipping about so much? Addressing Andrew once more, she asked: Is it always like this?

  Yup, pretty much. A comforting conflux of warmth, comradeship and love washed over her: But you get used to it after the first thousand years or so.

  The room filled with the light of scattering starbursts. Tinkling together, those flecks meshed so as to form a glittering fall of rainbow snowflakes that pattered to the ground in polychromatic explosions of red and green, blue and yellow and orange and violet over exuberance.

  Anatt realized she was seeing them laugh and became captivated by the novelty of the experience . . . only to fixate on something else an instant later.

  I think it’s time to get you back down to earth, Andrew chuckled.

  What? By now, she had become engrossed in the composition of one of the carbon tiles in the ceiling.

  Watch me as I transform. I’ll slow it down so you can copy the process. Don’t worry, you’ll find it easy.

  The air became translucid, containing a luster that reminded Anatt of highly polished glass. That patina commenced swirling in lazy spirals toward the crown of Andrew’s head. She felt a stronger impression of the man she knew before the ceremony, growing. His identity as a human being became more prominent, spurring the vortex to spin faster and faster. The vacuum of subspace began to glow as Andrew harvested the dormant energies hidden there to create an embryonic puddle of solid matter.

  Describing his process, Andrew explained: It helps to store a physical archetype within your plexus, so that what you recreate becomes a fully functioning living entity.

  His form started to shrink, cool, and dim. Within seconds he’d literally infused his construct and animated it, bringing it to life.

  For the first time, Anatt truly saw a transcended being in the flesh, and was amazed to find the area about his brain glittering like a rotating prism in sunlight. The canorous pulsing halo extended out from his body for several yards. Ah-ha! I always wondered how they managed to encompass all their potential within the limited human brain. I never realized they don’t actually bring it all with them. Of course, the solution would have to be as elegant as it is simple.

  Anatt acted without hesitation and mimicked the process flawlessly. Imagining herself as the woman she had been, she poured herself into the framework of that icon like fluid into a jelly mold. Within seconds she had solidified in the corporeal shell she’d always known. Peering out from gelatinous orbs once more, she was saddened by how dim the world looked.

  She was surprised to find Naomi as motionless as a statue and staring into space, seeing goodness knew what through eyes that shone with a brilliant silver radiance.

  “Andrew, is Naomi okay?”

  The Shepherd studied their colleague for a while in silence before letting out a snort. “Well, I’ll be a . . .”

  “What? What’s wrong?” Anatt pressed, moving closer.

  “Oh, nothing’s wrong,” Andrew replied. “It’s just that someone we know well appears to have surprised us yet again.”

  “Surprised us, in what way?”

  He indicated the detached serenity on Naomi’s face. “This is called the Rapture. It’s a rare and enlightened state of euphoria brought on by the vitality released during the Transcension Ceremony. Anyone in attendance capable of undergoing the metamorphosis themselves gets a little foretaste of what’s to come.”

  “Foretaste?”

  “Yeah. Think of it as having the dormant aspects of their DNA and psi-well primed for future transition.”

  Anatt was puzzled. “I thought she’d been assessed as maxing out at High Grand Master level?”

  “That’s right. But as you know, her nexus is still maturing. Somehow the sneaky bastard knew she had the potential snuck away in there and ensured she got included in today’s proceedings.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “The higher echelons have known for some time that those with the aptitude to reach High Grand Master Class also display a genetic predisposition toward transcension. For some reason, it’s rarely manifested during the past five hundred years or so . . . until now.”

  Catching on to his line of thought, Anatt said, “You mean like me? My Psi-Well contained the capacity for healing and self regeneration, but for some reason they never bloomed. Well, until your father did something to me and boosted everything I have.”

  “Yes, it’s very much like that. As a rule, once a candidate has matured . . . that’s it! Their mind and complexus become hardwired to the level of expression their abilities have become accustomed to in a fleshly shell. If the well of potential isn’t somehow triggered by then, it never fully manifests. However, if a malleable, still developing psyche is exposed to the right stimulus at the right time, then even if those Ultra Class latencies are deeply buried, they can be jumpstarted, dragging other faculties along with them.”

  Anatt was intrigued. “So why have we never included younger candidates in the process as a matter of course?”

  “Aah, therein lies the rub. You saw how disconcerting the rite is. That’s why we use a High Grand Master or one of the more experienced Grand Masters. It takes a great deal of concentration to maintain focus once things get disjointed, and people don’t normally develop that kind of backbone until they’ve matured. By then it’s simply too late.” Stabbing his thumb at Naomi, he emphasized, “but this young lady is unique in her ability to partition her consciousness and complete multiple tasks at the same time. She’s the first one we’ve ever felt might be capable of fulfilling the Supporter’s roll while still flowering.”

  “Will she be alright?”

  “She’ll be fine, Anatt. Remember, she was linked to us while we were in a transcended condition and her senses have become supercharged for a while. As the energy drains, she’ll gradually return to normal, although I’m thinking her well of Ultra Class goodies won’t stay hidden for too much longer.”

  He looked from Naomi to Anatt several times before muttering, “Interesting how things have worked out for you both?”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “You seem to have initialized at a far stronger level than is usual for a newly transcended being. Naomi appears to have a little secret tucked away, deep inside her. How the hell does he know these things?”

  Anatt was reminded of her earlier experience. “Funny you should say that, but I remember thinking my new complexus was much larger than I was led to believe it would be.”

  Nodding his head, Andrew replied, “You’re right. Normally, when a candidate weathers the process, they transmute with an initial threshold that corresponds to their human dimensions. That’s due to what we call psychoresidual memory by the way. Then, as the complexus flexes and adjusts to its newly expanded horizons, it actually shrinks for a while to accommodate its new esoteric parameters. It’s not until your potential becomes accustomed to operating without human restrictions that you begin to grow again.”

  “But I could feel I was close to seven feet tall, why?”

  Andrew projected wry amusement. “I don’t know the answer to that yet . . . but I have a feeling my father’s showing us the future in his usual sneaky way.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re the first human I know of who had mental blocks spliced into her mind during the emergent phase. Those blocks prevented you from being inundated by the onrush of power as you exceeded human limitations. However, they also allowed just enough psycho-energetic supercharging to leak through, to help your psyche adjust to the next stage. It’s as if your elevation was carefully stage-managed to ensure the change wasn’t triggered until optimum results—and your survival—was guaranteed.

  “It reminded me in some ways of the new compressor program father has initiated for babies in the womb. Those stimulated by such a regimen emerge stronger, have a wider range of abilities and mature with a more powerful complexus than ever before. I think he’s just demonstrated an adaptation of that program for Ultra Candidates!”

  Anatt was stunned. “So you’re saying his meddling allowed me to transcend in an enhanced way?”

  “It certainly seems so. You have metamorphosed at a degree that’s comparable to Ultra Lord Designate. The others will have a fit when they see you’re already about as strong as they are! And that’s before your natural re-calibration and growth cycle. No wonder he selected you for the Deputy Marshal’s post. I’m just wondering if that will be enough or if there other surprises you’ll spring on us as time goes by.”

  A slight intake of breath behind them caused Andrew to pause. Turning, he found Naomi staring their way in a most peculiar manner. Her eyes had returned to normal. Nevertheless, an argent gleam still flickered in the background, leaving bright streaks in the air as her gaze skipped between the ascended Lords in front of her. Every now and again she would stop to blink and stare off into an unseen distance. Andrew could see she was struggling to verbalize her jumbled thoughts in such a way that made sense.

  He felt it kinder to save her the trouble. Making light of a profound moment, he smiled, shrugged, and declared, “So now you know! I can appreciate how that might blow you away somewhat. It’s a little hard to digest, eh?”

  She could only nod and squeak in reply.

  Sweeping both women into his arms, he began ushering them toward the exit, “then why don’t I fill you in on some juicy details before we get back topside? That way, you won’t be so tongue-tied when you speak to my dad—who’s waiting in the Lord Marshal’s office and itching to meet you, by the way. Evidently, he wants to get in first before the gathering crowd gets their hands on you. . .”