The Infinite Evolution - Conversion (31 page)

Mileva laughed, “Savior, it’s
just a few seeds, you make it sound like you are their
creator.”

“
If I were their creator, I certainly would
not have to be explaining my actions to you.”

“
If you say so,” said Mileva as she adjusted
the conversation to something a little bit more interesting, “Has
Quartus shown you anything of importance lately?”

Delighted Mileva chose to move
on, Shiphra replied, “Let me think… Quartus has shown me a number
of items of importance. Can you be more specific?”

“
Has he shown you any interesting
stones?”

“
Are you talking about the stone
with the yellow, blue and green markings?” asked
Shiphra.

Mileva responded with excitement, “Yes! He showed
you that?”

“
No, I showed him. It has been in my
possession for years, until it was time for me to pass it
on.”

Utterly surprised in what she
heard, Mileva asked, “How did you come about it and should you even
be talking to me about this?”

“
Why? Quartus has already
entrusted you with this information. What I tell you will make no
difference.”

“
I assume this is confidential?” said
Mileva.

“
And that is why you brought it up so easily?
You should be more careful. It is confidential; the stone has been
passed from council member to council member for thousands of
years. When I chose to give it to Quartus, I felt it was time for
me to separate from this life and move on,” explained Shiphra as
she picked the last few seeds.

Mileva responded back with distaste, “Wait, are you
telling me you are going to terminate your life?”

“
No, I am telling you I am going to Earth and
I will be living out a life of mystery and excitement,” said
Shiphra gleefully.

“
You are going to Earth, you mean temporarily
like Izri?” asked Mileva.

“
No, permanently as an Earth
humanoid.”

Mileva looked at Shiphra with concern, “But
why?”

“
Why not? I believe in diversity.
I believe we should spread our seeds naturally. I am tired of
technology being our creator. I feel the planet we end up living on
should determine our existence and destiny,” Shiphra paused, “You
act so surprised.”

“
I am, you are a very influential
member of the council. You hold a very prominent place. I just
cannot understand why you are going to throw it all away,” said
Mileva.

“
On the contrary, I am going to be a beacon
for our people. I am going to show them there is more to our life
than eternity. I want to experience life to its fullest and I
strongly believe one cannot achieve this without the promise of
death. Our planet should open up to all planets and all planets
should open up to each other, allowing their seeds to spread,” said
Shiphra patiently.

“
I take it you are a firm believer in
inter-planet exchange of field programs?” asked Mileva.

Shocked by this question Shiphra answered,
“Seriously? You are just figuring this out now? Zaccai and even
Melchior know of this.”

“
I figured you were, I am just
surprised you are taking such a chance,” said Mileva.

“
I like to practice what I
preach. You know that old Earth saying, ‘If you’re going to talk
the talk, you better walk the walk.’”

“
Sorry, I do not keep up with Earth
lingo.”

“
Maybe you should, you would be surprised what
you could learn.” Shiphra stood up from plucking the last batch of
Shadingbloom buds.

“
So when are you leaving, in a few years?”
asked Mileva.

“
Try a few months.”

“
A few months! Are you serious?” asked Mileva
surprisingly.

“
I am very serious.”

“
What about your Connectors, how are you going
to break the news to them?”

“
I was never big on Connectors.
Just because we share the same neurological pathways does not mean
I need to consider my life around them. They are mature, as am I,
and I will make decisions that they will have to
accept.”

“
How are you going to go about it? How are you
going to get to Earth without Prime 2 noticing?” asked
Mileva.

“
Those are questions you will
need to ask Quartus. I am not at liberty to share that
information,” replied Shiphra.

“
Ok, I will.”

As Shiphra finished placing the rest of the blooms
in her purplish cloth bag, Mileva asked, “So can you explain to me
how you were given this stone?”

“
Certainly, when a council member
feels it is time to move on with their life they will pick another
council member who they feel connects to the belief structure of
the stone and ask them to become part of this secret
tradition.”

“
What is the secret?” asked Mileva.

“
Only two current council members at a time
can have long term knowledge of the stone. The one who turns it
over and the one who now has the responsibility to protect it,”
explained Shiphra.

“
Well that is not the case here. Three of us
know about it.”

“
Yes, but only two of us are council
members.”

“
Two of us, what are you saying?”

“
I resigned my position the day Quartus
introduced you to the stone.”

“
You resigned, but why? You have only been a
member for a short time.”

“
I have been a member of this council long
enough,” advised Shiphra.

“
But the council needs your vote.
We can make change if we stick together. If you leave there is one
less person who can give us what we are looking for, the ability to
merge all of our civilizations,” pleaded Mileva.

“
You know just as well as I do
that will never happen. We first need a unanimous vote from the
council. If by some miracle we did achieve this, we would need to
get a three-quarter vote from the general population. We have a
better chance of figuring out how to reproduce by ourselves than
merge with other planets. Plus, all of what I am doing is part of a
much greater plan, do not fret.”

“
Easy for you to say. You know of this plan,”
replied Mileva with disappointment.

“
I wish I did. I am not just
following my personal beliefs, I am also following
orders.”

“
Whose orders?”

“
Again, a question for Quartus.”

“
So why did Quartus expose me to the
stone?”

“
The same reason why I exposed him to the
stone, you are going to be the next caretaker,” explained
Shiphra.

“
Are you sure? I mean I am honored, but the
responsibility may be beyond my capabilities,” replied
Mileva.

“
I know, you will need to protect it as well
as keep its whereabouts a secret,” instructed Shiphra as she
brushed off any remaining dirt from her skirt.

“
When does Quartus plan to turn it over?”
inquired Mileva.

“
I do not know that is his
choice. What I do know is you must not tell anyone of its
existence, including Zaccai,” instructed Shiphra.

“
Why?” asked Mileva now showing
signs of frustration towards the broad answers Shiphra had been
giving.

“
That is tradition. There will be
a day when the stone will lead its caretaker to a path. When that
day comes, this caretaker must decide if they are willing to accept
this path for themselves and not for others. Just remember Zaccai
has his own personal motives,” warned Shiphra.

“
Where did the stone lead you?”

“
That is private and will never
be shared with anyone. One day you will see for yourself. Now I
must go. I need to prep my consciousness for its new life. If I do
not see you again, I wish you all the best.”

“
That is it? You are just going to walk
away?”

“
What do you want?” asked Shiphra
calmly.

“
I do not know. What if I did not
show up here when I did? You would have just left without saying
goodbye?”

“
But you did show up and we did say our
goodbyes. I am sorry, but there is not much more to
say.”

“
I will miss you, Shiphra.”

“
I will miss you, too, Mileva.”

As Shiphra walked away she gave a big smile and sent
Mileva a message telepathically, “Please remember if you ever feel
the stone is threatened take it to the Mana-dorn mountain
range,”

“
Why?” asked Mileva,

“
Because that is the only place the stone can
fulfill its prophecy,” replied Shiphra as Mileva stood there in
disbelief.

As Shiphra approached the
levitation lifts, she ran into Corinth.

“
Ah, good morning, Shiphra. Will
you please accompany me to my reflection room? I need to have a
word with you.”

“
I am sorry Corinth, but I need
to be on my way, I have some important business at home which I
need to take care of.”

“
I see, well this will take but a blink of an
eye, so please come with me.”

“
I am sorry Corinth, but I really must be
going.”

“
Well here lies the
problem. You see, I am concerned about certain matters and we need
to discuss them before you leave. I would hate to inform the
authorities of certain plant material you may have in your
possession. I am sure you do not want to acquire detention for such
a frivolous matter. So please, do accompany me to my reflection
room, then you can go home and plant those seeds that I never saw
you take from
The
Ark
. How does that
sound?”

“
It sounds as if I do not have much of a
choice, Corinth, but that does not really surprise me. Shall I
follow you?”

“
Yes, and of course you have a choice, I would
like to think of it as more of a motivational option.”

“
You can think of it anyway you
like Corinth, I see it as a pathetic attempt at blackmail,” said
Shiphra.

Ignoring the insult, Corinth took
point and both of them walked down a separate hallway from where
they met. Once they arrived at the entrance to Corinth’s reflection
room, Shiphra stood there while Corinth projected a thought towards
two large metallic doors engraved with numerous figure eights. Once
Corinth’s thought was complete, the two doors opened and Corinth
politely told Shiphra to enter. This was the first time Corinth
ever invited Shiphra into her reflection room and she found it to
be surprisingly comfortable. There were a variety of conifer trees
growing in large ceramic pots, a large cage in the corner holding
two blue and pink Selfire birds, and a waterfall, which encompassed
an entire wall, illuminating greenish light. The colors of the
reflection room were of all sorts of bright yellows, oranges,
blues, and greens which reflected off of a glass ceiling that
allowed one to see the sky of Tureis.

“
Please take a seat,” as Corinth, pointed to a
chair. “Would you like anything to eat or drink?”

“
I appreciate the pleasantries, but can we get
to the point? Why am I here?”

“
I have always liked that about
you Shiphra. You do not waste any time,” as Corinth held up her
drink. I know of your plans to leave our planet and become just
another humanoid on Earth.”

Shiphra interrupted, “I do not know what you are
talking about.”

“
Yes, yes. I have no patience for
this, so I am certainly not going to sit here and listen to you
play me a fool. I do not really care if you go back to Earth. I do
not care if you become a low life humanoid who dies of some
disgusting disease, which you probably agreed to send in the first
place. My interests lie in who are the council members that want to
merge planets. Before you answer, I already know more about your
hapless movement than you may think, so your lies will not be
tolerated,” explained Corinth as she stood there with her arms
crossed.

“
Your threats will not be tolerated either
Corinth, so, on that note I will be going.”

As Shiphra tried to stand, she noticed both of her
legs were not responding to her mental commands. “Why can I not
move? What are you doing?”

“
You are so young and naïve. You
need to be careful where you sit. I placed a paralysim energy
crystal inside your chair, as well as an inhibiter field. As I
reduce power to the inhibiter field the paralysim energy crystal
will increase in strength and you know what that means,” smiled
Corinth.

“
How did you get a hold of a
paralysim energy crystal? They have been outlawed as well as
destroyed.”

“
I really think the answer to
that is the least of your concerns. Who else is planning to merge
with Earth? Tell me!” Corinth’s level of agitation was elevated, as
she was used to getting what she wanted in a prompt
manner.

“
Why, so you can kill them too?” blared
Shiphra.

“
Absolutely not, I promise you. I do not want
any harm to come to anyone who wants to move to the harvested
planets. I will even help them and you if that is what is
needed.”