The Teacher

The Teacher: Part II Testament, Chapter 34

CHAPTER 34

WHILE THE TEAM THAT FAILED WAS on their get-it-right-this-time substitute mission, the others prepared themselves for the initiation ceremony. For the early Christians, water baptism marked one as a committed, born-again believer. For a loyal Roman soldier during the glory days of the empire, the letters SPQR were branded on the upper arm marking them as a legionnaire dedicated to the service and honor of Rome. So it would be with the Disciples. Their baptismal mark would be a brand of the Guardian's symbol on the left side of their neck.

As the rampant assault on the mortals escalated, it would be important to quickly identify friend from foe as more and more Disciples were mixed in with the general population. Holden had a branding device crafted by a jeweler while he was on tour in Europe. We used a propane torch until it was glowing with the deep rusty magenta of hot flowing lava. Naturally, some of the Disciples were apprehensive about the pain that might be involved.

"Look, I can see a few of you are worried, but trust me this is just another teachable moment. Pain is now completely under your control. Fallon hasn't received her initiation symbol yet and she's agreed to show you how easy it can be...okay, Fallon?" Holden teased.

He was right. I'd avoided the Inception ceremony, I suppose not wanting to deal with the pain, but more, I knew what it was supposed to mean, and I wasn't really sure I wanted to go there, to a place of public commitment. I wasn't going to get out of it this time, so I walked over to Holden and held my hair back away from my neck.

"Now, Fallon, instead of seeing the hot metal, imagine that I'm holding a Popsicle. What's your favorite flavor by the way?"

"Orange...no, make that cherry."

"So, when the hot metal meets your skin it will feel as if I've touched you with a cherry-flavored Popsicle, and you'll only feel a slight chill, but no pain and no heat. Okay, I'll give you a moment to set that up in your mind. Just nod when you're ready," Holden instructed.

I knew I could trust him. He'd never lied to me and his powers were real and growing, as with all the Disciples, including me. I let the suggestion settle in, then nodded.

"Let me say a few words before we begin."

Holden paused in order to be overshadowed by the Guardian's spirit.

"We are assembled here to honor you for honoring us with your gifts and powerful presence in our lives. Your new Disciples are prepared to publicly mark their allegiance to you by having your symbol fixed upon their bodies for all to see. We long for the day when all will see the wisdom of following your Way. Now, if our sister Fallon will step forward."

Holden pressed the hot metal to my skin.

Everyone heard a steamy sizzle, yet I felt nothing but a cool pressure for a second or two before he pulled the branding iron away.

"Now Fallon, please tell them what you experienced."

Everyone could see that I didn't flinch, or grimace, or react in any way.

"It felt like he touched me with the end of an ice cube! No problem! Who's next?"

I tossed the challenge out to the Disciples. One of the girls was first to step forward. We reminded her how to control the pain and she, too, was unhurt. One by one, forming a solemn line, like receiving Holy Communion during a Catholic service, each Disciple was marked with the Guardian's symbol. When the Inception service was over, Holden addressed the group as himself, the Guardian having withdrawn.

"The Guardian is pleased with your public commitment to your new faith and he wants me to reward you."

Just then, the team sent out on a makeup mission returned, but instead of pictures or objects as proof of what they did, they were instructed to bring three mortals with them.

They'd waited near the rear entrance to the Elizabeth Waters dorm. When three coeds approached, they started chitchatting with them and subtly implanted a hypnotizing suggestion. They were told that someone they knew was hurt and needed help, and with that they came along willingly back to the Delta Gamma.

"Bring them up here," Holden directed.

He waved his hand over their faces, and they fell into a deep trance, but still remained highly suggestible. He then asked them to lie down on stage and they all quietly complied.

"Your reward will be another feeding of the Guardian's special energy, this time needed to release the genetic potential in your new four-stranded DNA molecules. Many things are changing...sometimes even day by day. Until recently, in order to feed from mortals it was necessary to be in close physical contact. Now, I've been informed that all you need do is place your right palm over the mortal's heart and call fourth the transmission of soul energy. Not unlike charging your cell phone battery, your reserves of energy will increase at the expense of the mortal. Once the flow begins, you won't want to break it but you must; first, in order to share, and second, you can kill the mortal if you drain their soul dry. I've been shown that in the near future we will be farming mortals for this purpose, so you must learn not to kill them while feeding. Fallon knows how to do this, so she'll show you," Holden explained, while sharing a revelation that was just an indication of the dramatic changes to the overall society that were coming.

The subjects were calmly lying on their backs and in a semiconscious state. I approached one, sat down, positioned my hand, palm down, over her heart and began to imagine the flow of soul plasma streaming out of her body. I'd forgotten about the intense rush that comes with the infusion. My eyes opened wide as I took a reflexive double breath, holding it until the transmission supplied me with the necessary dose. Then, the hard part—stopping. I did, and got up.

"Fallon, obviously you were able to pull away. Would you please explain to everyone how you managed that?" Holden requested.

"Sure. Your imagination is a powerful tool. To access the person's soul stuff just conjure up a picture in your mind of it and what's inside. For example, you might see their soul as a pot with a spout, full of tea. To start the flow, tip the pot forward in your mind, feed until the pot is only half full, then, tip it back to slow then stop the flow. Any image will work. The trick is stopping before you've drained them dry. Are there any questions?"

"Never having done this before, how are we supposed to know when to stop?" one of the guys asked.

"Good point. The best thing is to go by time. You can get a healthy dose in about a minute. After that, the rate of flow begins to speed up and you'll quickly enter the danger zone. Does that make sense? Alright, who wants to go next?" I asked.

ONE BY ONE EACH DISCIPLE CAME forward and successfully fed while Holden monitored the process, letting me know if I had to remind someone to stop before it was too late.

The team that brought them fed last, then, revived the girls enough to walk them back to their dorm before leaving the coeds with a suggestion wiping out any memory of what had just happened.