Chapter 13

Orbs place around the room began to glow with a pale yellow light. Soon the room was lit brightly. The room was full of old bones. A layer of dust covered everything around them and a stale musty odor made the air hard to breath.

"What is this place?" Marcie asked. "It smells awful."

Joy looked around and then answered. "This is the tomb of the maidens sacrificed to Salban the Black. We don't know the details, but this is what caused the battle of the keepers of this world and the separation afterward."

"Is this Salban still alive? Is he like you?" Marcie look scared and spoke nervously.

Marian said, "Yes, he was once a keeper like us, but the power corrupted him. To stop him, the makers broke the Triad. This limited his power and when the red and yellow returned to their home world he was limited in time and space. He can only control or hurt those who choose to follow him."

Jack led them down the corridor and further into the mountain. As he walked the orbs lit ahead of him and faded as they passed. The corridor came to an abrupt end and the group stood facing a solid wall with three circles engraved on it that matched the disks they still wore around their necks. The keepers removed the disks from the chains and they snapped them into the appropriate circle. The wall slid sideways into the wall revealing a small room. They stepped inside and the door closed, but the medallions were now on the inside.

Estragon stood before them in a long white robe. "Welcome to the Node. Marcie you should remember me from your dreams. I am glad you have chosen to join with us. I sense you are fearful but don't worry you protected by powers beyond your understanding. Relax and enjoy the wonderful new life of adventure that awaits you."

Marcie walked over to the figure and tried to give him a hug, but her arms passed through him. He laughed a loud melodious laugh that sounded like a cascade of water.

"Relax daughter," he said. "I am a manifestation of the Node. I may seem real but this is all I am. After I tell you what I need to say, you may be less ready to hug me. Marcie, I must give you one more chance to change your mind and return to school. The Node will make genetic changes in your DNA and after that you will no longer be truly human. You will not be like Jack, but you will be compatible with sexually. We do not have the technology to undo the changes later. If you decide to return to your former life at a later date you will be sterile. Do you understand what I am saying?" He waited for her answer.

"May I ask you some questions?" Marcie asked.

"Yes, I want you to make an informed decision." Estragon smiled at her and waited.

Marcie's voice was hesitant. "If I won't be like them and I won't be human, what will I be?"

Estragon looked thoughtful then spoke. "Jack, Marian, and Joy are male and female, but they cannot procreate by themselves. If you are familiar with the Biblical story of Eve, then you can compare yourself to her."

"Do they or Jack really love me or is that just to get me to come along?" Marcie looked like she was going to cry.

"The love is genuine, Marcie, and it is shared by all equally." Estragon confirmed what she knew in her heart. "I need your decision, Marcie."

"I will go," she said.

"So be it." Estragon spoke in a commanding voice. "Follow me into your new home."

He touched the wall behind him and door of shimmering light appeared. They could not see what was on the other side, but they did not hesitate. A tingle passed throughout their bodies as they walked through the door of light. Marcie felt the sensation more acutely than the others. On the other side their clothes were gone. They found robes hanging on the wall next to the door. They put these on and were soon wondering around the room. It was a circular room with nine locked doors leading in different directions like spokes from the hub of a wheel. In the center of the room were nine capsules designed to hold a humanoid bodies. The ceiling was a dome with nine rows of lights radiating down and meeting the floor between the doors. Three computer type consoles were located symmetrically around the room. Each was a different color: red, yellow, and blue.