RALLY IN EDEN

Sydny and Rosa hovered in front of the gates that stood before the new Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They were made from celestial silver and rose like shimmering bolts of lightening infinitely up into the sky. The sky itself was a flowering mass of colours as energy fields spun and twisted in a delirious dance with magnetic fluctuations emanating from the Tree itself. Shards of light spread in a fan across the firmament as charges were emitted and received by the Tree. For such a young Tree it had an impressive relationship with the metabolism it was a part of. There seemed to be a boiling passion in the ether that suggested its desire to confront the forces behind the act that slew its parent.

Rosa and Sydny could not see the Tree through the gates because the energy fields that its gleaming spires emanated spread colours that connected between them. They had agreed that the rest of their company should stay in Plato’s tower. Everyone would know the outcome of this meeting in good time. That they could all be sure about.

“Well…. Best of luck.” said Rosa as she kissed Sydny on the cheek.

“Thanks.” said Sydny and smiled at her.

Rosa flew off and Sydny turned in the air and faced the gates.

They swung open and Sydny was engulfed in light.

The new Tree of the Knowledge of good and Evil was a fantastic spectacle. It rose from the ground in nine different places. There was a central trunk that rose millions of miles into the sky. It had three branches growing out from either side of it. The two lowest on either side arced away from the central trunk like rainbows hundreds of thousands of miles across. They had multicoloured leaves coiling around them in configurations that resembled the spiralling nodes on a piece of fractal art. The ends of these branches fused with the light of the trunks growing either side of the central one. The highest two branches, one on either side of the central trunk, arced upwards and each had fourteen other branches leading away from them. These branches were scattered at random throughout the length of either branch. They coiled up into space either side of the canopy supported by the central trunk like pulsing veins and arteries that lit up the sky. At the end of each branch were clusters of giant multicoloured leaves that glistened with a wet consistency.

The central trunk itself rose up and disappeared into the aforementioned leafy canopy that held centre stage in this cosmic feast for the eyes. It had the physical parameters of the total amount of flora in a single dimension of the world if you add up the total number of plants throughout all the dimensions and divide that total by the amount of dimensions that existed as part of the fertilised Egg. It was as if all of one world’s forests were arranged into one gigantic sphere of foliage. The density of this foliage was at all times an accurate representation of how much forest there was in the life of the Egg prior to it evolving into an embryonic form. This foliage was also an indication of how quickly the Tree was growing and thus was an indication of how healthy certain parts of the Egg were.

There were four other trunks either side of the central one. The nearest either side were the shortest and grew in the swirling psychedelic aura of the central trunk. At the top of each they grew into three points that were obscured by clusters of giant multicoloured leaves.

Either side of these trunks were two that arced out like giant, multicoloured, coiling tendrils of DNA. Each split into two close to the ground. As they separated they seemed to meet again at the top. They had innumerable subsidiary coils that appeared to be the branches and these branches hugged each trunk so that it looked as if two sets of two giant lovers, millions of miles high, were in a constant state of passionate embrace. Enormous flowers graced the top of each of these two couplings. Such was the magnitude and complexity of these floral explosions of colour that they looked like two sets of two faces in a constant state of motion as they perpetually altered their form and sexuality. At all times each couple were constantly looking into each other’s eyes {if eyes is an adequate description of these ever changing features}.

At the ends of each of their branches was a configuration of leaves that resembled giant multicoloured hands that mutated into flippers that were then tendrils and then paws and then talons. They never seemed to stay any one particular genus for more than a second.

Each of the two trunks that grew either sides of these were similar couplings that spread out in a succession of graduating arcs so that the tips of those that were furthest away from the central trunk were nearest to the ground. It seemed as if the innermost member of each coupling was slowly pulling the outermost member up into the air over an immense span of time.

There was an overriding sense that here was a relatively new life form that was in the early stages of its struggle for height.

This might sound strange considering the physical dimensions of this mighty tree but it did beg the question as to what a fully grown Tree of Knowledge might look like. How on Eden had Adam managed to fell its parent? Surely there must have been forces manipulating him when he did it. His motivation was obviously his pride and ignorance but evil powers must have been working through him when he physically did it. This was the understanding of those in Eden that were aware of humankind’s plight.

Sydny joined with the other cherubim in an immense twisting cloud of feverish, hovering bodies. Each cherub represented a colour of the rainbow. All colours were represented in near enough equal quantities. Each cherub was largely the same colour all over but collectively they looked like one giant multicoloured organism of magnificent proportions.

As one every cherub took off the ring they were wearing on their right forefinger.

Sydny took a silver ring off of his.

It had an eye carved into it.

He rubbed it eight times.

With no sound whatsoever it instantly metamorphosed into a book. It was the Diary of Bobby Rewind.

Every cherub had a diary by a different human.

As cherubim compared their books with one another it soon became evident that all the humans whose stories were represented in the three million three hundred and thirty three thousand three hundred and thirty three diaries were from a selection of only three dimensions.

All these dimensions had similar patterns of linguistic development and all were facing environmental crises by the beginning of their twenty first centuries.

Blentyn and Eglwys would have been comforted to know that their dimension was one of those under scrutiny here.

There were one million one hundred and eleven thousand one hundred and eleven diaries representing each of the dimensions that had been directly affected by the interface between the cherubim and the human race.

For every cherub like Sydny there had been creatures from various desolations trying to make use of these pathways in their attempts to bring Eden to its knees.

For every cherub like Sydny there had been some gathering of Edenites in their quest for understanding more about the relationship between Eden and Earth.

Each of the three million three hundred and thirty three thousand three hundred and thirty three cherubs had been involved in some expulsion of the forces of desolation from some geographical location in the Garden. This gives some idea of the scale and complexity involved when assessing the connectedness between events on the Edenic plane.

It was only now, after myriad experiences and adventures, that a pattern had emerged that involved the number of cherubim gathered here.

Since one million one hundred and eleven thousand one hundred and eleven cherubim had been experiencing links with humans from Shiva and Bobby’s dimension it therefore followed that each had been involved in a series of historical events where the forces of oppression had met head on with the forces of liberation. Just about every nation on Earth had had its respective set of instances where planes had converged and humans had found themselves blipping in and out of their “normal” lives.

There were the Zappatista rebels who had had to expel a formorian demon from a rain forest in Latin America. The demon had taken control of a multi-national corporation who were committed to the long-term defoliation of the whole Amazon Basin. There were the eco-warriors who had to fight an evil dragon called Constantine who was committed to punching holes in the sides of oil tankers. There were the Native Americans who had to expel a Spectre from the Pentagon for his involvement in fiddling election results and allowing the inauguration of George. W. Bush as President of the United States of America. Although they couldn’t stop the rigged election of Bush they did stop the Spectre from provoking a nuclear holocaust on September 11th 2001.

There were many like Shiva and Bobby who had been part of enormous demonstrations that had allowed Edenic forces to harness energy and use it to combat the armies of desolation that were trying to destroy the Egg.

All three dimensions experienced normality shifts and within each dimension there were jumps between time lines that drew up close to one another at critical moments.

Although only three dimensions were directly affected by the vortex there were a myriad number of other dimensions that were involved on a secondary or tertiary level.

Shiva and Bobby’s world experienced an immense physio-telepathic shift at the end of the Docker’s march 1997 in order to stop the evil machinations of Cain. These subliminal political jumps had happened time and again over the two decades either side of the year 2000. As well as the immediate ambitions of Malthus the evil dragon there were other desolations involved in other parts of the world at points in time around the specific moment that a quantum leap occurred. Elements of healthier dimensions were grafted into the time streams that were too close to genocide for comfort. It was a bit like a heart bypass operation where an artery is moved from one part of the body and used to replace the clogged artery in another part of the body. Although the diaries originated from only three dimensions those dimensions themselves were a hybrid of time streams that fused and switched paths according to the ebb and flow of recent Edenic involvement.

All of this was as mind-boggling to the cherubim as it would have been for any humans if they had been allowed to perceive it all in detail. Some Edenic philosophers have argued that part of the Goddess’s reasoning behind keeping human knowledge of Eden to a barest minimum was so that humans wouldn’t be distracted from their role in sorting out their own affairs.

In accordance with Aldous Huxley’s theory about the effects of hallucinogenic drugs on the brain some argued that the human ability to filter information so that only experiences relevant to their role as hunter-gatherers held sway was all part of the Goddess’s plan to prevent humans from being distracted from their more immediate physical concerns. Huxley argued that certain psychedelic experiences allowed you to have a glimpse of the bigger picture.

Well the bigger picture was causing a great deal of commotion where the cherubim were concerned.

Every human diary had tales that covered the end of their world’s second millennium and the beginning of their third. Every time a cherub swapped notes with another as to any detail in each of their books they found links and sharp synchronicity curves that blew their perceptions of the universe as they knew it into new realms of understanding.

The chatter of the cherubim was a constant buzz in the air as they wove in and out of each other above a giant yellow brick road that led to the Tree.

None of them got too near the Tree.

It was widely known throughout Eden that the Tree cherished its own personal space. The effects of the felling of its forebear had produced within it a rather sensitive attitude towards visitors. You had to be invited to join with its myriad parts if you were to experience it on a tactile level. This attitude was often regarded by some Edenite scholars as the reason why a lot of flora and fauna acted with reserve in the different dimensions of Earth when it came to meeting new-comers.

As the cherubim swapped notes it became apparent that no two cherubim had been aware of any other cherub’s experiences with the vortex during the recent bout of connections. In the grand scheme of things it had all happened extremely quickly. As far as the history of Eden was concerned the vortex had only been in evidence for so many days {if one is to attempt a linear assessment of experiences in a Garden that defies the terrestrial space/time continuum}.

Suddenly the six “heads” that sat atop the hugging trunks of the Tree broke from their constant observation of the partner they were attached to. All six turned and faced the cherubim. It was an awe-inspiring sight. The cherubim all turned as one and collectively faced the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

All six heads spoke with one voice. That voice was the voice of the Goddess herself.

“FAITHFUL CHERUBIM. I HAVE A MESSAGE FOR YOU. THIS MESSAGE WILL, IN TURN, BE TRANSMITTED TO EACH OF THE HUMANS YOU HAVE A LINK WITH. THE VORTEX THAT HANGS IN THE SKIES OVER PARTS OF EDEN WILL TRANSMIT FROM EACH OF YOU TO EACH OF YOUR FAMILIARS ON EARTH. BEFORE I CAN REVEAL THE MESSAGE THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT NEED EXPLAINING. THE VORTEX TRANSMITS INFORMATION BUT IT IS ALSO A MEDICAL DEVICE. THANKS TO YOUR EFFORTS AND THOSE OF YOUR FELLOW EDENITES AND TERRANEANS WE HAVE COLLECTIVELY ENABLED THE FORCES FROM MY MACROVERSE TO ATTEND TO THE PROBLEMS IN YOUR MICROVERSE. WE CAN ONLY HOPE THAT THE TREATMENT YOU ARE ABOUT TO RECEIVE PROVIDES AS MUCH OF A REMEDY AS IT CAN FOR THE SPECIFIC ILLNESS THAT YOUR CORNER OF THE MULTIVERSE HAS BEEN SUFFERING FROM.”

With that the Tree started throbbing with electrical energy.

The vortex in the skies of Eden started pulsing and such was its brightness that the company in Plato’s tower all rushed to the oval shaped window and looked out.

The black pyramid that Sydny and Mont Mont Vinsita had danced with in her cave appeared in the centre of the vortex.

Its eye blinked open.

The monstrous cosmic tube that housed it started swinging in giant arcs across the sky.

It seemed as if the eye in the pyramid was looking around Eden and assessing the location of various points of interest.

It swung away from the regions around Plato’s castle and hovered over the Desolation of Cain.

All Plato, Baphomet, Miss Scum, Old Tongue, Rosa and the alien now saw was the side of this massive astral tube.

The exterior of its mighty walls were multicoloured and corrugated so that it had the flexibility one would associate with an earthworm or an umbilical cord.

“I wonder what it’s doing in Cain.” said the alien as it gazed out of the window.

There was suddenly a loud bang like a sonic boom.

It was accompanied by a bright flash of light.

The cosmic tube then whipped across the sky and settled its gaze on another one of the Desolations.

A similar boom and flash filtered through the ether.

This process was repeated over each one of the Desolations that were known to have grown in this part of Eden.

It must be remembered that we are only dealing with a specific set of locations in our narrative here and our observations only pertain to a tiny percentage of the Garden as a whole.

It makes the cancerous areas of Desolation no less worrying though when you consider how destructive an outbreak can be.

With each flash and bang waves of relief seemed to wash over the flora and fauna that inhabited this part of the Garden.

“Quick,” said Miss Scum, “let’s go and see what effects this is having on Cain.”

Baphomet hovered in the lotus position, Miss Scum flew and the alien rode on Rosa’s back while Old Tongue the Bearded Giraffe rode on Plato’s back.

When they got to the border of Cain they met up with a massive hoard of Edenites who were all staring in shock at the scene before them.

All over Cain trees and flowers were spreading in a rolling tide of colour.

It all happened in minutes and the company from Plato’s tower only caught the tail end of it.

As if this wasn’t shocking enough it was the effect of the great tube on the inhabitants of Cain that provided the most brainstorming shock.

Trolls mutated into Centaurs, Ogres mutated into dwarves, goblins and hobgoblins mutated into elves and ghouls mutated into aliens.

It was as if these creatures were mutating into a more natural state and shedding the shackles of some horrible disease.

They all started singing and dancing and Edenites rushed over the now non-existent border to join in.

“Well I never!” exclaimed Rosa as she smiled at the rest of her company.

A shadow passed over the place where Rosa, Plato, Baphomet, the alien, Miss Scum and Old Tongue now stood. It was followed by a thud as Malthus landed beside them.

“Don’t be alarmed.” said the dragon. “Malthus is gone. From now on you can call me Marx.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Marx.” said Rosa grinning.

“I assure you the pleasure is all mine.” said Marx grinning back.

Back at the Tree of Knowledge the voice of the Goddess spoke again….

“THANKYOU CHERUBIM. WITHOUT YOUR CONNECTIONS WITH WOMEN AND MEN ON EARTH WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO INNITIATE THIS MEDICAL OPERATION. IT DOES NOT, HOWEVER, MEAN THAT THE HUMAN RACE IS ANYWHERE NEAR READMITTENCE INTO THE GARDEN. SINCE THIS APPLICATION OF THE VORTEX ONLY INVOLVED A FEW DIMENSIONS OF EARTH AND SMALL AREAS OF EDEN WHO KNOWS WHAT CHALLENGES MAY LIE AHEAD. THE HUMAN RACE IS STILL IN THE THROWS OF A MAKE OR BREAK SITUATION AND ONLY THEIR BEHAVIOUR IN THE FUTURE WILL DETERMINE THE FUTURE HEALTH OF THEIR DIMENSIONS. THAT HEALTH, IN TURN, WILL COUNT TOWARDS THE HEALTH OF THIS TREE. BE VIGILANT FOR NOT ONLY ARE YOU AND YOUR ASSOCIATES ON EDEN IMPORTANT IN THE FUTURES OF MANY DIMENSIONS OF EARTH BUT THE HUMAN SPECIES IS ALSO INVOLVED IN YOUR STRUGGLE TO PREVENT ANY SPREADING OF CANCEROUS DESOLATIONS THAT MAY OCCUR IN TIMES TO COME.”

The Tree now started throbbing with an even brighter intensity. At length the Goddess spoke again….

“NOW FOR THE CONCLUDING MESSAGE THAT WILL PASS DIRECTLY INTO THE SUBCONSCIOUSNESSES OF YOUR FAMILIARS.”

The cherubim started muttering but quickly calmed down. The Goddess spoke….

“LIFE HANGS FROM A THREAD.

THE POINT IS TO TWANG IT AND MAKE A TUNE.”

With that the six heads turned to face their respective partners and the vortex disappeared from the skies of Eden.

Over three dimensions of Earth a total of three million three hundred and thirty three thousand three hundred and thirty three different musicians all started playing the same tune at the same time.

It was three thirty three and thirty-three seconds on the third day of the third month of the third year of the third millennium.

Some had acoustic guitars, some had tin whistles, some had clarinets, saxophones, harmonicas, violins, tenor recorders and some just sang. Some played djembi drums, some played the bagpipes but all started playing or singing wherever they were and with whatever instrument they could get hold of.

Everybody can be a musician if they put their mind to it and although the vast majority of those amongst the three million three hundred and thirty three thousand three hundred and thirty three people had had previous musical experience even those who didn’t sang or hummed this tune in a way that can only be described as pitch perfect.

Each person made up their own version of the tune but the words that everyone sang were identical. They went like this….

Our Mother
Who art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done
On Earth as it is in Heaven
Let us distribute our daily bread
And distribute it equally
And may those who seek power
Lead us not into temptation.
Forgive us our Westminsters
As we forgive those who Westminster against us
Forgive us our White Houses
As we forgive those who White
House against us
Deliver us from their evil
For thine is the kingdom
The power and the glory
For ever and ever

Awomen