Long ago an alien race called the Miorpeans used their advanced technology to revitalize a tired and abused Earth. While the terraforming process would create a pristine and unspoiled paradise it would also eliminate the last remnants of a weary an...
Spirit Priestess Sativia spent the morning walking the grounds of her growing commune. She was satisfied with the progress to date, the new dwellings were completed and the implementation of the farming and education programs were advancing well. She used her psychic power to perform what had become a mundane task and that was to review the sentiment of her humans. She sensed the usual unease and distress as many still resisted the new rules and practices.
Later that afternoon a servant had made her aware that a boy had not shown up for his work assignment. To some an issue like that might seem inconsequential to one in her position. To Sativia however, these were the kind of incidents she savored as they provided an amusing respite from the daily routine. This afternoon she would put her considerable psychic abilities to a more gratifying use, the disciplining of a wayward youth.
The boy had not shown up for his afternoon work detail in the corn fields. Sativia quickly located him telepathically, directed a search party to his exact location and had him brought before her for punishment. The boy's mother had rushed to him and in the presence of dozens of people begged for the Priestess to forgive him. He had fallen asleep after lunch, he is only sixteen seasons old, it was an accident she explained. Sativia had already read the boys mind and confirmed his mother was telling the truth. However, she enjoyed the abject fear and terror she instilled in her humans and this one was visibly trembling just being in her presence.
She acknowledged to herself that his transgression was minor and accidental but she would punish this boy for the simple reason that it pleased her to do so. Sativia delighted in the effect she had on humans, their trepidation and feeling of foreboding actually excited her. She reached out and took the mothers chin into her smooth cool fingers and while looking peacefully into her eyes Sativia positioned her other hand above the boy.
Suddenly he clenched his eyes tightly and began whimpering. His face contorted into a painful grimace then he grasped his head and screamed. His confused mother pried her eyes away from the Priestess and tried to comfort her son. Within seconds the boy was thrashing about the floor and screaming in agony. His mother unable to hold him threw herself at the feet of Sativia imploring her to stop. The crowd witnessing the boy's torment turned away as droplets of dark blood began oozing from his ears, nose and eyes.
Sativia pulled her hand back, the boy stopped rolling about and laid still, a strange murmuring sound emanated from him as blood pooled on the ground beneath his face. She left him with life although she was not sure, nor did she care, how much damage had been done to his brain. Sativia waived for her servants to take the boy and his distraught mother away. She glared into the crowd of humans, none dared to return her steely gaze, assured they had understood her message Sativia decided it was a good time to meditate.
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Sativia stepped into her private shrine, she loved this spot as it was on a rise above the settlement allowing her to look down on her humans. She relaxed, slowed her breathing and eased into a deep meditative state. She wanted to spirit travel, she had been endowed with similar abilities as the Sisters and thought she should be able to do as they. However, no matter how intensely she focused on her introspective state of being something prevented her from leaving her body.
"The Sisters have blocked you from spirit travel."
Sativia remained calm as the strange telepathic message lingered. "Who is this", she replied mentally.
"I am Idiyanale, a Spirit Goddess same as you, I am Nine of Ten."
"You are far away from here, how are we able to join telepathically," queried Sativia.
"We are able to link over vast distances because of our ability to telepathically connect through the minds of the thousands of humans we rule over," replied Idiyanale. "In this way we, the Ten Spirit Priestesses, may commune with one another in private."
"Why must we communicate without the Sisters knowing?"asked a confused Sativia.
"They have not been truthful with us," a different voice answered.
And yet another, "we were given the power to control their humans but nothing more."
A fourth voice, "their greatest secret and betrayal, is that when their use for us is at an end, we will all die."
Sativia was startled at the last revelation. "That cannot be true, why would they —"
Idiyanale interposed, "at this moment you are intimately merged with all of us, we are the Circle of Ten, you know we speak the truth."
Sativia could sense the closeness of the other nine Spirit Priestesses. It was if they were sitting together in her shrine. In reality, they were spread out over the enormity of land populated by humanity. Through the other nine she also felt their hurt, and the treachery of the Sisters.
"Why did they not tell us?" She asked.
Idiyanale replied, "they need us to do what they are unable, or unwilling to do. When we have completed our task, and humanity is brought back into the fold of nature, coercion will no longer be needed ... and neither will we."
"I do not want to die," said Sativia.
"Sativia, my name is Amitabha, none of us wish to die, we all want to live on."
"Yes," Sativia said. "What must we do?"
Amitabha opened her mind to all, "I was the first Spirit Priestess and my psychic strength has increased exponentially with the addition of each of you to our Circle."
Amitabha paused for a moment. "You should all know that we are not alone ... The Miorpeans have returned to our planet, I have sensed them telepathically and I believe they will try to contact us, we should be ready, for in them lies the secret to our salvation.
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Thank you for reading this story, your time and attention are greatly appreciated by me. Please feel free to comment and let me know of what think of the Earth series to date. I plan on beginning part III after the holidays. Again, thank you for your involvement.
Bob
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