A Psilent Place Below

He didn’t know how it would work other than the impression that a combination of psi waves and the rare crystal walls would deliver them to their desired destination. Win’s statement about the Ledorian belief that thoughts become things flitted through his mind, another spontaneous connection that he knew wasn’t coincidental, yet now was not the time to fit all the pieces together.

It would have been so simple if they could have simply psiported to the prison and brought ‘Merapa home, yet Enoch had made it clear they couldn’t use it directly for illicit activities; it couldn’t get much more illicit than that. Furthermore, if they were caught and Troy found out about the caverns more than their own family would suffer. He chided himself for his inward complaints and hoped no one else had picked up on it as he turned to Enoch and Weird El.

What do we have to do? Dirck thought, though something inside chided him he already had the answer.

{{When it’s time, concentrate on your destination, visualizing it in full and specific detail.}}

What he knew about his uncle’s clinic from his description when he’d brought them the oppsuits back in the ballome resolved instantaneously into a crystal clear mental image. The Physical Assistance and Remediation Center, or PAR, was built into the side of a red hillside, all but it’s face and a small extension shrouded with dirt as if designed to merge with the terrain, though its primary purpose was weather protection and insulation. The front curved gracefully with the ground, following the lines of its surroundings, an aesthetic combination of rock and plastiglass. Numerous growing chambers alive with thriving greenery hugged the perimeter below dark, mirrored glass. 

An enclosure in the hill to the left housed the mediveke while a physician’s flag with Delta Region’s crest and the Brightstar coat of arms snapped in the wind above the canopied entrance. The striking contrast to the ballome crossed his mind with a momentary pang of jealousy. 

“Can you see it?” he asked Win.

“Only as a concept. There’s no detail for the building, only the surrounding area.”

Dirck conjured up the image in his mind again, thinking to describe it, until he noticed the energy level of the chamber was changing as the swirling patterns intensified.  He hastily blanked the vision, suddenly knowing that he could transmit the image to Win mentally anyway while also realizing how the transport process worked.

The underground cavity was a literal Think Tank that amplified thought energy and somehow converted it to reality. No wonder he and Win had been warned away earlier, the consequences could have been grave. And Win’s earlier comment about the cave’s strategic advantage was more frightening than ever.

Intelligence continued to flow into his mind, including the method of return. When ready, he’d concentrate on the Think Tank and psi for Enoch and Weird El to administer a boost for them to come back. Eventually he and Win would be able to focus clearly enough to do it on their own. If he and Win were traveling together, they had to focus on the same, identical place, their minds in perfect sync, or the results could be catastrophic. Since Win couldn’t visualize it as clearly, they’d have to go with common ground, which was outside. If Dirck tried to describe it, he could inadvertently introduce a fatal error. 

And at that moment he understood why its power was limited to Cyraria alone, to preclude inadvertent portation to somewhere else in the universe. Confident with his understanding, he sat on the floor to don his oppsuit while Win did the same.

“Are you clear on what we have to do?” he asked Win.

His friend nodded, standing up to pull on the suit, replace his boots and secure his helmet. “We ought to be able to hit ground zero when we go to the SD. These unknown places are a little rough.”

When both were ready, Enoch instructed them to stand on the platform, back to back with elbows linked then concentrate on their destination. Both bnolar left the tank. Dirck closed his eyes and allowed the image to form in his mind. Blinding, spectral light and energy swelled around them, reflecting off their oppsuits as the hum increased beyond audibility.  Consumed by light, he tried to forget the timebump, the facts of molecular dissociation, and the logical notion that they could die. Then all thought evaporated as he merged with the substance of time and space.