Chapter 21

WEDNESDAY 1:30 P. M. CST News Stand, Chicago, IL

'Umm, are we up a creek by any chance?' Mike sent out.

A rumbling chuckle came back over network, followed by, 'Not unless you really want to be. You have been a good boy, right?'

'I think so, but who knows how that evaluation measures up.'

Laughter came back down the mental highway and then coalesced into speech, 'That's the one thing above all else, I love about you, Michael. Your self depreciation has kept you from more mistakes than you can imagine and yes, you have been a good boy.'

'Now, to business. You may address me as Gaia. I am, for all intents and purposes, The Earth. Every planetary body that holds the gift of life can develop a persona such as myself over the eons. I have spoken with my thirty six sisters and we are agreed that now is the time for mankind to disperse from the nest I have carefully maintained. They are willing to watch over my fledglings until you reach maturity. The thirty six starting points are only that, starting points. You, as a species, have a much farther journey to complete. I do promise this, you will not walk it alone. My helpers will be with you every step of the way. Some, you have already met, others might come as a surprise at first, but all of them will lend of their talents when the time is appropriate. Even now, they are gathering in their places of transport and will accompany your first sending to my sisters' homes.'

'Children, I almost feel like an apology is needed for frightening you this way. I would have rather remained unnoticed in the background, but this is such a crucial turning point in your development. Know that every detail is being guided to make this transition as smooth as possible.'

'Michael, you need to update The President and have him give the speech of his life. He'll be outlining the opportunity laid out before mankind and introducing how far reaching this event will be. Have him stress that this is a new beginning for all of mankind and that representatives from around the world are already being prepped for their journey.'

A shocked silence reined for a few seconds, followed by, 'WOW! That's sure a show stopper. Umm, Mom, is The President's update all you want me to take care of?'

'At present, yes. Everything else is in hand, Michael. Though you might want to stock up a few things at the stand. After all, don't you think Cosmology might take a decided leap in popularity following today's events?' sent Gaia with an understated chuckle.

'Holy mackerel, yes!'

Even as this shout of understanding finished, Mike could feel a sense of unease coming over the net. It didn't take much searching to track this down to Ella. 'What's the matter, Dear One? I thought you'd be tickled pink over all this.'

'I am, ' sent Ella as she continued to stew, 'it's not that I'm ticked about. It's that Gaia said she was always watching ... she ... she could have prevented my abuse... '

Gaia burst in with, 'Oh, Dear One, don't mourn your path, rejoice instead over the result. Look across the table. Who do you see?'

'Tina, my best friend.'

'Correct. As much as it grieved me to see you pass through your trial, I knew the outcome would be one of joy. Tell me truly now; would you have looked twice at Tina-the-Angry, or dismissed her out of hand as a pest?'

With a sigh, Ella responded, 'Dismissed her.'

'Correct again, Dear One. Now the hard part. Why did you not dismiss her immediately?'

'Because ... because she carried the same wounds I had. I couldn't ignore that no matter how much I wanted to.'

'Also correct. Then, because you couldn't ignore her, you had to deal with her where she was. To do that, you did the one thing that you knew had reached you. You beamed her your unanticipated, unconditional love and it worked in the same manner Mike's worked on you. The wounds you carry will never fully go away and because of that you will always recognize those same wounds in others. It's one of the combination of things that make you the most powerful Empath on the face of the Earth. There is not one person on this planet with the depth of your heart.'

'The actions of your foster parents that were meant for harm and evil, have now been channeled to create joy, love and happiness. Or would you give up your friend in exchange for removing the wounds?' asked Gaia with it completely understood that she could make this happen right now.

Looking across the table at Tina, Ella reached out and grasped her hand, saying, "No, don't you dare. My friend is worth any price."

'Yes, she is and so will be all the others you meet through your life. Know that I love you, Dear One.'

Shaking his head in wonder at this paradigm changing event, Mike made contact with The President, 'Mr. President, is now a good time, Sir?'

'I'm tied up at the moment in a briefing. Give me five minutes to wiggle out of here.'

'Yes, Mr. President and thank you, Sir.'

As The President sat listening to the Secretary of State mow through the weekly briefing, he decided that a little theater was called for to end this monumental waste of time. Reaching into his suit pocket with one hand, he then held one hand in a stop motion above the conference table while saying, "Arthur, I'm sorry but I have to take this call."

Opening the phone he answered with his standard, "Yes?" Then sat listening for thirty seconds. After this, he sighed and said, "This can't be put off until later? I see. Yes, I'll call you right back."

Looking up at the cabinet members present, he asked, "Is there anything in this briefing that will end the world if we put it off until tomorrow? Then Ladies and Gentlemen, I'll see you all here bright and early tomorrow morning, thank you."

Walking through the outer office, The President spotted his chief of staff, "Art, I'm going to need the next forty five minutes cleared out and possibly more, thank you."

Entering the Oval Office, he sat at his desk and then opened his ever present notepad to a clean sheet, while making contact, 'Mike, are you there?'

'Yes, Mr. President. I've taken the liberty of hooking the entire group into this call, Sir. This latest Intel update is so mind bending that I wanted all the backup I could get together.'

'This sounds serious, Mike. How bad is it?'

'My apology, Mr. President. I did not mean to make this sound like things had FUBAR'd, just the opposite in fact. I think this has to be the first update I've ever given that was nothing but good news. It's just mind bending good news, Sir.'

'Whew! Please don't do that again, my heart can't take too many of those, ' The President sent with a chuckle.