Chazzie: Part II

Chazzie awoke, once again, in the dark. Only this time he was fully ‘there’ in his body. As a reflex, he groped around for a light switch, but the surfaces were smooth and eventless. ‘Lights’ he commanded, and to his delight, it worked. With a slow, smooth fade, it introduced a warm golden glow, which humoured his Sunday morning-like pace.

Slowly, he worked his way out of bed. The tile floor was warm on his bare feet, and he checked, then, to see what in the world he was wearing. It was a velvety blue satin bedtime adornment, with gold trim. ‘Pretty spiffy for bedtime fare’ he thought to himself. Looking at the metallic door, it sat ensconced within an arched frame. A small instrument panel rested on the wall to its right, with a dimmed interface panel. He reached out without giving it too much thought and tapped a button which looked like a door: “Yep, that’s it.” It opened with a graceful but hasty clip without so much as a hiss.

Walking through what seemed like a combination kitchen and locker room, he resolved to explore this a bit later. What he wanted was the bridge, and that cushy rose-burgundy chair he figured might actually exist. Sauntering to the end of the suite, another door whispered open smoothly (automatically this time), to reveal a small set of steps: a sort of glorified ladder. Made of some type of deep grey pitted alloy (which seemed to be the case for most of the ship), it had something he didn’t expect: wood panelling on the surface of each step, like something you would see on an old civilian boat with teak trim. It had an inviting quality to it, and gave the impression that perhaps a mis-step at an awkward moment may be more forgiving on the feet than its metallic neighbour.

Carefully making his way up, he could hear the familiar hum of a starship’s propulsion system. It gave him an immediate sense of familiarity, anchoring him solidly in a moment he felt he actually belonged in. As his eyes peered over the horizon of a dark grey speckled marble floor, it stood there, centre stage — a sort of majestic monument. The chair… it’s real. With a gold metallic single column base, it coveted a plush segmented leather-like cushion which gave a simultaneous air of authority, and comfort. As he further scanned the space from left to right, it was a generous field of view (both horizontal and vertical) of the outer space, coupled with a series of detailed control surfaces, and classically designed knobs and levers. The design seemed to be a homage to all things old, and new. Gaining his footing on the bridge, he proceeded to more closely inspect all of its elements as he instinctively fell back into his dreamy chair. It gave just enough to welcome its new master, yet echoed back perfectly in bounce, and firmness: assuring him he was in his right place. Taking a moment to breathe it all in, the retired general felt restful, and satisfied. Yet, there was also a deep sense of possibility, of an exciting unknown: what to do with this new situation?

As the ship coasted along, graceful in the expanse of space, the scene eventually introduced some colour. A massive nebula with deep chocolatey browns, golds, and reds began to fill the visual field of Chazzie’s front window, permeating the cabin and tinting everything with its lush tones. Its celestial contents yielded to a gentle, swirling shimmer of space dust and various artifacts. “How deep does this go? Its diameter has to be at least… ”, he thought to himself. Just then, a notification came up on one of the control surfaces, prompting him to press a panel button. “Glad I asked.” he chuckled. Perhaps sensing his intent to move to the navigations area, he felt his chair unlock from its static position, and went into a sort of ‘floating’ status. This enabled him to push off and breeze gracefully over to the read-out for a look. He figured he must have unlocked it unwittingly, but was delighted at the chair’s usefulness, and this movement… perhaps facilitated by a magnetic connection of some kind.

Heeding the control panel’s instruction with the press of a button, it rewarded him with a beep and raised a two-dimensional holographic image (about a foot across), floating over the console. The map marked clearly his location to be just at the outset of this coloured star system. The numerical figures were not of his language, but seemed to be cycling through a recursive pattern of about 13 unique characters before it started back to what he figured was zero. He wondered: could it be this mathematical system uses the same base number as his own? In either case, he had a sense that his journey would be hours yet, before he reached the bright hexagonal orange marker labelled “XYP”.

As he explored more of the ship’s spaces, he noticed a high degree of efficiency in the way they were thought out. Just as with a good sailboat, nothing is left on tapped, unused; its potential is maximized for both function and ease. Yet, at a glance, it’s delightful to the senses, and elicits an aura of adventure and longevity. “It’s as though it was made for me.” he pondered. He thought, for just a moment, to reach out to Phoebe and ask a few questions — but he felt so far away now, and he certainly wasn’t keen to jump back into the astral realms. “No, it feels great to be here, right here rooted on this vessel.” He took another look around, appreciating his surroundings. Fascinated and delighted, he felt the pace of things was finally slowing to the speed of ‘reality’.

Arrival

Hours in, he was surrounded by the galactic mist; it was as though he and the ship were now swimming in this sea of vaporous sparkle and warmth. The ship’s controls chirped once more, notifying him of his approach. As he touched the familiar button, he noticed the view had changed, there was something new on the map. Clearly, he was deep into the XYP system but a new waypoint, more specific, had come into view. It read with a beautiful set of characters, which to him were illegible. He thought, then to try his luck: “translate!” he barked. The machine returned a sort of funny beep, as a household appliance might give you a curt error tone. He paused… and considered the ridiculous: “Please translate to my native language.” Almost before he completed his sentence, the display re-wrote all entries to something he could read clearly. “Holy shit, what is this technology?” he was beside himself. Was this system actually responding to his personal etiquette, or perhaps, something related to speed of delivery, specificity of language?

Just as soon as he read the title of this new waypoint, it directed him to the real-world situation. Highlighting a nearby planet, it travelled off-screen to show him a distant meteor belt in one of the ship’s windows: a literal indication using what he could see with his bare eyes. Peering closer, there was what looked to be a star shining brightly at the head of the stream. “Wait a minute, is this thing INSIDE the meteor belt itself?” A quick study of the display, confirmed he’d be heading to the inside of it. Things were getting more interesting by the minute.

The ship’s precise navigational abilities guided him safely through a powerful stream of asteroids bending around the gravity of a solitary planet. At the belt’s forefront, was something he had never seen throughout all his years in space. It was a small, terraformed ‘green’ area atop an asteroid. Upon it was, a gigantic…treehouse? He rubbed his eyes twice over because there was more to see. Around it was a small lake, and a waterfall, which of course wouldn’t be possible unless the gravity well… from perhaps the rock’s material, was dense enough to hold it there…. But on such a small celestial object? Furthermore, where is it getting its atmosphere? Questions, so many questions.

As he approached the Athenaeum, it became more surreal. He noticed a small wooden boat, an extended dock, and various segments which made up this house which sat within a sizeable tree. Just then, the system prompted him once again, “Landing: Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 3 — Please select.” He figured Zone 2 to be his lucky one. The ship swooped down promptly to a hidden area on the underside of the rock which resembled the homes of seabirds, dug out of the cliffside: each a little starship haven of its own. There wasn’t much to do, but let the ship do what it does. Zone 2 lit up with some smooth mood lighting as he pulled in, and he readied himself for his arrival.

Revelation

Chazzie freshened up, dressing himself back in his regular clothing (which had been left for him, carefully folded at the end of his bed). After managing to find the exit of his ship, he was met with a platform which led him to an elevator. This brought him directly to the asteroid’s surface without so much as an enclosure or roof to receive him. Thus, as the scene came into view, he felt like a groundhog, popping his head up gingerly to investigate the outside situation. The ship had informed him of the breathable atmosphere, but of course, he was playing it safe, holding his breath at first as he had come onto the platform. As the landscape came into full view, he was captivated; a vaporous lake lay before him just about 30 metres from where he stood on the jagged rock surface. There was a reasonably flat area where he could make his way to the dock he had earlier noticed. Looking up to the sky, he reckoned it likely to be a permanent night setting, with this brief moment providing a nearby view of a massive blue planet. Everything was in movement; as such, he doubted it would stay in view for very long. The air, quite breathable, had a rich, nourishing quality to it. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs, and let out a long sigh. With everything happening here, all the movement, it was almost shocking that there were essentially no sounds at all to be heard. The stillness was certainly a child born from the vacuum of space, yet there was atmosphere, and he could hear his breath, and then, the solitary sound of a paddle in water… A boat, arriving at the dock’s edge, was captained by an elderly looking chap: a human no less. He had a long white beard and hair tied into a bun at the back of his head. He peered at his guest with an air of curiosity, and foresight.

“Welcome, dear Seeker.” the ancient-looking boatman declared. “I see you’re right on time, and within the cycle of synchronicity. As such, I feel it’s good we meet now, and perhaps at no other time would it be so auspicious for myself. Zeepatchia has made herself known these days, and it seems she’s expecting something to manifest within the Realm. This moment, it seems, is pregnant with possibility, my new friend.”

Chazzie, was shocked once again, this man spoke his native tongue: should he expect this from everyone? “You speak the language of my universe, good Sir, and I appreciate your welcome.” he declared.

“I make it my business to know the languages of many, considering my vocation, here at the Library of Galactic Awareness. It is with gratitude, that I bring you across today, young man. You bring an energy that is not familiar, which I surmise will be a great addition to the Athenaeum.”

“Thank you, that is very kind.” Chazzie responded.

The old man peered at him, as if reading his energy, and said nothing more.

They arrived at the massive treehouse and with respectful nods and goodbyes exchanged, Chazzie exited the boat and walked up a curved stairway to the main entrance. As he stood before its stately and artfully carved wooden surface and iron-clad edgings, he realized that a door is not simply a door… but a portal. It is for this reason it is called an ‘EnTrance’.

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