The Cloud
"Who ARE you?"
Derby studied the man as if he were a science project. He wore what appeared to be a uniform from a Mission Impossible organization. His muscle tone and physique were accented by the clothing but this wasn't gym attire as much as action clothes. As Derby considered who what how and why about this man, he couldn't help but wonder about the material and design of the uniform.
"And what are you wearing?"
Who stood before him was a man who appeared to be in his early thirties with short cropped brown hair and eyes as green as emeralds. Medium heighth and build with the body of a champion fighter. His jaw was extremely strong and his brow made him appear Germanic or Russian. He was clean shaven and amazingly at the moment seemed cool and collected, showing no sign of fatigue after his stunning performance of rescue.
"But wait a moment," Derby thought to himself as he studied the stranger. "From what have I been rescued? She didn't ever turn on the Cat Monster facade until after the door was blown open. The only reason she seemed scary was because Super Action Hero Guy attacked her and reduced her to a white ball. And what they hell was that butterfly light show?"
"What the hell was that butterfly light show? And why should I believe you? And what is going on? And what is this nonsense about the Polish Police. I invented them for a story and it turns out they didn't even exist in my OWN story? Is this all some kind of elaborate show put on by Planetary Publishing as a PR stunt?" Without even meaning to, Derby ripped lose. He was jabbering and sweating and his stomach still felt as if Mr. Rockem Sockem had torn a hole in it.
"My name is Fredalnte Muscadito. At your service." He clicked his heels and made a slight bow with his head. His arms remained at his side. "The reason you were given the story of Zol was because it had to be told. But now there are forces at play from even a higher source than from the organization which transmitted the idea to you in the first place. One of these higher entities will fight to protect you. The other one will try to destroy you. Please don't take this the wrong way, but the chances of you surviving this battle are very small. We're not sure yet from whom Planetary Publishing is taking their orders. We think they are oblivious to the cosmological implications."
Unconsciously Derby was rolling the marbles in his hand. To his amazement they were generating heat. Their weight was surprising. They appeared to be glass or porcelain-like but they were extremely heavy... like lead. They felt good. There was an electrical sensation which moved from the palm of his right hand --up through his wrist and into his forearm.
"Look Mr. Muscodito. I like a good joke and show as well as the next guy. I love the movies and action adventure stories and all that. And hey, by the way, this little episode has been top notch. You guys had me going there. I was...well, from the waking up with a beautiful woman to thinking I was about to be killed by terrorists and watching the seductive black hole energy show to these little amazing marbles..."
At that moment he opened his hand to look at the white and black balls and the air above them was warped. A three dimensional crackling of images distorted the view and what seemed to be miniature clouds or smoky air floated above his hand, like from another dimension.
"What the...," was the best Derby could come up with.
"Mr. Ripley." Fredalnte started deliberately and cautiously. "It is never easy to discover that our view of life and universe have been greatly restricted. As a species, mankind is in a very early stage of development. But the time is crucial and his consciousness is about to leap to a new level. Everything adds up but no one, from any level...actually NO THING from any level...has all the answers. We wonder how and why there was a start. We don't know if there will be an end. But we have learned many things. Hold onto your balls. We promise you are going to have a wild ride."
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