...And We Will Have Snow

Chapter 6-7: The World's Aquarium

Sedna had already spent many hours exploring these waters and recording her impressions of the marvelous variety of sea life for her World Dream. She had captured Ryan and Rosita in their sea lion dream. But following Zeke, seeing what he paid attention to and sensing his responses via her shaman dream as well as through the drone dream, gave it all a new level of meaning. Zeke understood the ecology here the way Aunt Marian understood the farm system. He saw it not as many fascinatingly different kinds of fish, but as a complex web of interdependent life systems. As his thoughts echoed through the Q she sensed how the web extended outside this preserve through the whole extent of the sea, and into the oceans beyond. Capturing his viewpoint and awareness would enormously enhance her recordings for the World Dream.

Later, when they had returned Zeke's drone to the apartment, Sedna too took a break from droning long enough to freshen up and reassure the people at WBI that she was still with them. Zeke was relaxing in the lounge, contemplating the newly revealed extent of undersea life beyond the window, when Sedna sat her drone down next to him.

"I can't thank you enough for today's tour," she said. "This truly is the world's aquarium. I thought I had already captured enough examples of sea life. But being with you has added a whole new dimension."

"And I can't thank you enough. I feel rejuvenated. How effortless it is! I had no idea. Swimming is always effortless compared to walking and climbing, but it comes with an edge of anxiety because water is not our natural element. Using the drone removes that anxiety.

"We have people here who are experts at using remote controlled cameras and manipulators to explore the sea. They are invaluable to our research. But that technology is primitive compared to this. The drone experience is far more intense and personal. Yet in a sense the remote camera tech seems more complex and sophisticated, more difficult to master. It's the shaman link, the Q, that makes the difference. I see that now."

Sedna could see that Zeke was still looking inward, so she didn't say anything.

Zeke said, "I am not a shaman. In my travels I have met many of them, count them among my friends and respect their ways. I have been impressed with their healing powers, but never understood the working of spirit in the process.

"Until now. Through your World Dream, I began to sense the deeper reality you call the Q. Now, by your introduction to the Drone Dream, I realize that controlling a drone via the Q link is accessible only to those who embrace their own spirit connection in the dream. And I see that the Drone Dream and the World Dream are aspects of the shaman dream. The World Dream is spiritual Truth, truth that resonates in the Q. Being in the World Dream expands awareness of the Q, the common source of all awareness, all Self. You are making it possible for all men to become shamans!"

Sedna was overjoyed that Zeke understood this so well. She hardly knew how to respond. Finally she said, "I hope so. Bear and Xayna made the Dome Dream because people needed to be more aware of their responsibility as caretakers of their domes. Tengri understood from the beginning that shamans have always been the spiritual caretakers of their domains, of the people within their areas of influence. But that has been limited to the people a shaman could know directly, and as civilizations grew and spread the shamans were displaced and superseded by priesthoods and religious orders. These could be benevolent, but were inclined to dogmatism and stagnation. In times of change, such as we live in now, shamans again feel the call to respond and to lead, to open new ways where the old ways are failing. It was Tengri's vision, not mine, that inspired the World Dream, to help people find the shaman within, and open new ways for themselves."

Over the next several days, while Bear and Xayna were still on their way to the Shell in the WBI motor launch, Zeke continued to swim Bear's drone, usually accompanied by Sedna, often with Ryan or Rosita, who shared Xayna's drone, tagging along.

But Ryan and Rosita were members of the Shell community, and had duties they didn't want to neglect. This included swimming out together to observe certain areas of the sea floor they were keeping tabs on. Ryan and Rosita had not revealed their shape-shifting ability to the dome dwellers. Instead they had been at pains to hide it, leaving the Shell before shifting. But once they had shifted they had no qualms about making their observations in sea lion form, even if there were other human swimmers around. So it was no surprise to Sedna when she and Zeke encountered a pair of especially friendly sea lions while they were exploring the bottom. She did not give it much thought until Zeke commented on them later.

"The two sea lions that swam near us today? That was most unusual behavior. The other sea lions I've encountered with the drone have all been quite wary. It occurs to me it might be useful to tag one of them. Or both, if we can. It might reveal other unusual behavior patterns."

Sedna was alarmed and didn't know what to say. She knew that tagging a sea lion with a tracking device would normally be considered good science, not harmful and possibly beneficial if it improved understanding of their behavior. So she said nothing and let the matter drop. But she told Rosita what Zeke had said.