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The funny thing is, I don&039;t see anything Alanda explains that the ship will land deep in the desert, beside a clear pond She offers to drive oes withround is not excessively bu, I climb out and stare at it in amaze?ment

The pond appears to be natural--Alanda assures h it is a perfect circle A hundred feet across, the water lies so still that it could be a polished e of the pond, I see more stars in the water than I do above I see the approach of the saucer in the water before I see it in the sky, quite a few seconds before It

The saucer is blue-white, and the light fro out any chance ofLandulf, I would be thrilled by this moment But I can only think of Landulf s devilishly handsoh, and the way he wouldsharp nails and slowly pull out the victim&039;s entrails while the victim watched I feel IYet Alanda says that is the way of failure

I have no idea what I&039;ll do that is different from what I did the last time

I stare up at the saucer

"This is incredible," I whisper

"This is but a beam ship," she says "Our mother ships are a thousand times this size"

"And I have been on these before?"

"Yes"

"When?"

"Another time"

"Are you sure the brakes work? The ship looks as if it&039;s going to land on us"

"It will land over this pool"

"Then we should ht over us"

The light grows dazzling, and I have to shield my eyes

"This asp

"No one sees it but us," Alanda replies

I glance at her "Is it physical?"

"What is physical in one density is not physical in another"

I have to laugh "One of these days, Alanda, I a to ask you a question and understand your answer"

The water of the pond seelow as the space?ship settles over us One moment it is above us, the next we are inside it The translucent floor, I assu the ed We noear long white robes I don&039;t even bother asking--the night is so weird already

A gentleman waits for us inside He is tall and bearded--like a child&039;s drawing of a Biblical charac?ter His robe is the color of the outside of the ship, blue-white The interior of the vessel is in various shades of gold, and the ceiling is a clear dome, that opens to the sky There appear to be no controls Alanda introduces her friend as Gaia He s His eyes are liquid green and very lovely

"Gaia is from a race that doesn&039;t speak," Alanda explains "But he understands your thoughts"

I nod in his direction "I appreciate your co a journey"

He s

There is a faint huines," Alanda says

"Will we leave soon?"

"We have already left" Alanda motions with her arm "See, we are in orbit"

The floor of the craft turns clear as glass, and I ju to fall Below our feet is the black-blue Pacific, and the glittering coast of California I spot Lake Tahoe, and think ofard, at considerable speed Yet the hum has stopped, and all is quiet The view takes my breath away, it is so beautiful, and yet it also e point, to realize it is all I have known Never before did I realize howwo my mind "But delicate as well"

"Can a planet be alive?" I ask

"Can a sun?" she replies "I told you that it was the god within your sun that decided that humanity should live with the veil--until this time"

"Are you froinally, yes"

"Can you tell me about that world?" I ask

"Not at this time"

"But I lived there before I came to Earth?"

"Not precisely Before you calory"

"You&039;re saying that I was in a higher diher density"

"Why did I decide to corow The two are the same in the creator&039;s eyes"

"Why did I chose to be a vampire?"

Alanda hesitates "When you came here, you were not a vampire"

"I had a life before this one?"

Her voice is abruptly filled withto tellit

"I made a mistake when I returned?" I say "Is that why I had to be reborn as a vampire?"