*SONG* “Solitaire” by Laura Branigan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tKRhM8qlPA

For some time now things have felt off…
The sense of time warped, twisted
As if nothing makes sense,
Or has lost its synchronicity somehow.
For me it’s felt like time has been
Suspended or distorted since 2009…
Especially May of 2009…
Something has been off,

And whatever it is…that date 2009
Keeps popping back up…
Others have told me this too, so if
You have felt this as well you are
Not alone…
Share those stories, The Bubble Burst
And mysteries will unfold.

Solitaire, that song…it never felt
So right as it has now.
Lost and confused, that sense
Of being alone…waiting for something
To happen…
Onward…

Into, Upon the Circle of Light…
By the call, by the time,
By choice, by will, by command.
It’s a mission. Can’t stop now.

His voice, deep and strong like
Thunder, but a charm so kind he could
Be my brother…I mean in the
Literal sense by blood, not some polite
Or friendly address…
“And how did it go?” Brishan asked
As he sat there watching me, eagerly…
Both he and Ceres had been waiting.

“Well, it went well I hope.”

“This part we said would not be easy,”
Brishan replied leaning forward towards me.
“It’s no small task.”

“I am sorry if I take too long.”
I told them.

“Not at all, this is excellent.” Brishan
Answered fast. “I am the one who is
Sorry…Remember I can only say so
Much…Too much and I risk imposing
Opinions…Not enough and they only
Ask more questions…It’s a delicate
Balance to turn those wheels to get
Them thinking.”

“For a moment there I thought you would
Mention timing.” Ceres teased him, “As though
Our resident trickster might have.”

“That was his way.” Brishan grinned. “THIS…
Is MY way…”

“But of course,” Ceres laughed, “How could
I be mistaken…”

Brishan simply turned to look at
Me firmly. “We should proceed now…”

“No pause of reflective thought?” Ceres
Asked batting her lashes
Like swords.

Brishan dismissed her sarcasm with a
Gracious nod and grin. “Now…
Remember what I said…write
The words, what we say…No more.”

I only nodded…

“Sasquatch and the Shadow People…
Are just the beginning.” He said,
“Myths for their minds, nothing more…or so
They thought. Because they are real, very,
Very real…They will learn.”

“I still do not see how they could doubt so
Much…they believe in so much garbage…”

Brishan nodded. “Just write it. Tell it.
There is so much more to know…
So much more to come.” He paused,
Looked at Ceres, who was watching too quietly.
He studied her but said nothing about it, then
Turned back to me. “There is a great deal on
My…on our minds. It is difficult to break it
Down and discuss it in a way…that you
Can understand.”

“I understand you.” I told them.

“No no,” he said, “I mean with regards to
Relating it…the correct way. The cause and
Effect process…For instance, this matter
Of sub-atomic research on your world greatly
Concerns us…That is very dangerous…Even
The slightest imbalance, the ripple effect moves
Through other dimensions…But the worst
Is the attention it attracts…There are numerous
Forms of predators out there…The Shadow
People are but a few…There are predatory
Forces that exist that prey upon physical
Beings…neutralizing them is a problem.”

“Still it can be done.” Ceres added quietly.
There was clearly something on her mind,
But Brishan avoided acknowledging it; he clearly
Sensed it.

“I believe it is called some kind of a…
Collider?” Brishan struggled to word it right.

“I believe that’s the right word,” I nodded,
“But honestly I don’t know much about it.”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what
You know, just listen,” he pointed to the
Notebook, “Against our advice time technology
Was introduced…in the hopes of solving problems
On suffering worlds…instead it was misused
And abused in order to further manipulate…
Hidden agendas…that created the fracture
In time…The singularity that trapped your
World and a few others in a dark resonance.
But we have neutralized that problem.
Now…of course the forces that misused that
Technology are seeking other ways to
Maintain control over worlds, your world…
By other experimental research…with
Parallel dimensions…or what you call
Alternate realities.”

“They are still trying to do this?” I asked.

Brishan nodded with a very intense look.
“Secret factions are doing this…In one
Very successful dimension…A very brutal
Reality…The science that mastered this
Science called it the Halcyon Project…
Yes, it comes from a parallel dimension,
But has managed to find its way to yours.”

“What is it?”

“It’s simple really, although the dynamics,
Equations and so forth are complicated.”
He explained. “It involves taking elements
From one reality to stabilize another. Or
Rather, manipulate another. For example,
Taking a scientist from one dimension
To work in another…or even something like…
Taking a species from one dimension
And introducing it or re-introducing it
Into another…Or even something as
Diabolic as taking one leader from
One dimension…to rule another…OR…
Removing or eradicating something
Or someone from one dimension in order
To duplicate the effect in another.”

“They can do that?” I asked.

“They have done it.” Brishan said seriously.
“I don’t want to alarm you…further…
But trust me when I say your life,
And many other peoples’ lives should have
Been very, very different. I am sure many
People sense that their lives are very wrong…
That things aren’t working as they
Should.”

“You can say that again.”

“And they are most likely distracting
You with ridiculous antics in your
Media system.” He said.

“Oh I am sure people will LOVE hearing
You say that!” I laughed.

“Why?” He asked.

“Never mind.” I laughed. “Go ahead.”

“The quest for power, personal empowerment
Over the whole is a dangerous game,” Brishan
Said, “Especially in a turbulent time.”

“Well, it’s a physical world.” I told him. “People
Need to survive, unfortunately they need money
To survive.”

“I realize that…and in time hopefully
Your world will overcome these things.” He
Said. “The best thing you need to do is
Kindly say…to others…to accept and
Embrace the present…if you, they or
Anyone is unhappy with who they are…
As a person…then try as best you can
To make the decisions the way you would
For the person you want to be.”

“You want people to throw things at
Me for giving advice?” I laughed. “They
Hand out advice like rain falling from
The sky, I don’t want to lecture anyone.
I always agreed that the best way
To help is through telling stories…stories
That inspire…The way Varence and
Ceres told me.”

“That’s true.” Brishan nodded. He sighed,
Studied Ceres briefly…she still wasn’t
Talking then turned back to me. “Well
Then…Tell me what you know of other
Dimensions…”

“Me?”

“Yes,” he said, “You had these images in
Your mind that I recall…from your
Dreams…of your group of people from
The Great Hall…remember, there were 7
Of you…in a movie theater…They
Brought you there…There were these men
In some kind of formal attire. They
Had guns, they were sweating…
Desperate…They took you there in the
Night, 7 of you…to a movie theater…
Do you remember?”

He was making me remember.

“Yes, I see it, I remember.” I said.

“Write that down. Share that story.” He
Said. “Let that be the example story.
It’s probably the easiest way to explain
These parallel dimensions.”

“Oh joy another trip down merciless memory
Lane.”

“Please.” He said…encouraged…insisted.

“There were 7 of us left,” I began
As he told me to do it… “It was well
Before 2012…I thought these were dreams…
It was late at night, no idea when.
But I remember feeling happy to see them…
But the happiness was short-lived. There were
These men, 5 I think…I had seen
Them before in dreams. They used to
Take me to these places…facilities…
And show me strange experiments
Going on. Very strange, even
Frightening!”

“I remember when they took us…
Kathy was still there…

“Boy did they pick the wrong
Person!

“These men had medium olive skin, dark hair,
Clean shaven, they were always very well
Dressed in fine Italian suits…all designer type,
Tan, grey…with white dress shirts, ties, even
Their shoes were shiny and fancy. Their
Hair was always well groomed, shiny and
Slicked back…They were normally very
Well mannered…almost aristocratic…very
Polite…sometimes there was a woman with
Them, but this time it was only men. I
Remember it was odd this time they didn’t
Have their suit jackets on, just the white
Dress shirts…they were sweating, they looked
Panicked, like something was very wrong…and
They had guns…hand guns. I’m no gun expert
But I could tell they seemed very sleek
Modern type guns and they waved them
Around like crazy.

“There were 7 of us…I remember Joe, Julie,
Jacob, Jason and Kathy were there…and
Someone else and me…7. They kept
Saying something about that, there being 7
Of us, that’s how I remember.

“They brought us to a multiplex movie theater,
It was the middle of the night, we were in
Our pajamas of course…except for Joe, he had
On his boxers and a T-shirt, I remember he
Was very unhappy about that…

“I didn’t know their names, but they acted like
They knew us. They gave us no time to talk
Or socialize…The one in charge shouted a lot,
Something I had never seen him do, they
Were usually so polite, not this time. He
Held this gun, pointed at us like he was
Ready to kill. Once we were inside the theater
They brought us to the hall where the
Separate theater’s doors were wide open.
He ordered one of the men to begin? Then he
Pointed his gun at my head and said, “Now
Listen, if you think you cannot die in
A dream, think again…I want you and
The others to go and stand in front of each
Of the theaters…wait for it to start, then
Tell me what you see.”

“I was angry, I was really sick of having
A gun pointed at my head. Go to the theaters
And tell him what we see? What was he
Talking about? This was crazy! I was tired.
But this man was clearly sweating in
Panic…

“So we did as instructed, each of us stood in
Front of a theater and waited…as his men
Hovered near us, each pointing
Their guns, they were wide-eyed and sweating
A lot.

“There was no time to think or question, we just
Did as we were told. The main guy hovered
Near me with his gun, he started shaking…

“I watched inside the movie theater at
The screen…Then the picture came…It
Was that TV show “LOST”…
He shouted at me to tell him, for everyone
To tell him what we saw…We all said
The same thing…the TV show “Lost”…

“It was series final episode of “Lost”…
But as I watched it became clear that it
Was NOT the final episode that I remembered?

“I have to admit it was cool, I was so
Fascinated I think my eyes bulged…
Everyone I knew watched that show…
And apparently so did everyone
From my dreams?

“Now tell me,” the man said as he
Took the safety off his gun, “Watch and
Tell me what version is the safest
One, which is the RIGHT one?”

“Right version? What the hell was he
Talking about? So I watched, then
Very quickly it became clear just
How different these versions were.

“Joe shouted, asking eagerly, “What do
You see? I’m watching the finale of
“LOST!”
Everyone said something looked off…
What is going on here? How are we
Watching this? What does “LOST”
Have to do with everything?

“So we told each other what we saw,
What we knew…

“I see, in mine, Sawyer and Juliet
Are getting married…then Sawyer goes
On to become the secret big leader
Of the Island! It was so cool, nothing
Like the finale I knew as real…But
What I saw on the screen was vivid, so real!
“I don’t understand, I told them. Did they
Film an alternate ending that we never saw
Or something?”

“The main man just kept shaking, pointing
His gun at me. “Just keep watching.”

“I was really confused. I turned to Joe. “What
Are you watching?”

“Jack and Kate are on the island,” he said
Slowly, distracted, interested. “It’s not the
Finale I remember at all…They…They’re
Taking over the island…with Sawyer…And
I think, yeah…they’re becoming the Others…
And there’s a new plane crash…new people…
It’s like the whole thing is repeating…”
He turned to the others… “What are you all
Seeing in yours?”

“Mine’s nothing like I remember of
The show,” Julie said, “Jack and Kate
Are getting married…They’re all off the
Island…It looks like some destiny thing
Or something, like they all live happily
Ever after.”

“Jacob was very leery to answer. I saw
Him watching his screen with this horrified
Look on his face. “That’s not what I’m
Watching.” He seemed very disturbed.
“It’s like some horror finale…That it was
All some evil experiment or something…
The island is a lab to test people.”

“What?” Joe asked with a scowl.

“I don’t know how to explain what I’m seeing.”
Jacob said.

“Mine is different too.” Kathy said. “This
Is not the finale I remember. This is saying
It was all a dream. The plane never crashed,
Almost like a ‘what if’ thing…”

“Jason said something similar. “Mine too.
It wasn’t real. Like they flew through
The Bermuda Triangle or something and
Experienced some…alternate reality?”

“The version I was watching was fascinating,
But I wanted to see Joe’s…The man with
The gun nodded and let me go see…I
Stood in front of the theater with Joe…it
Was amazing, another totally different finale!
So real, like it was an original ending…
I didn’t understand. How could there be
All these different endings? “What is going
On? Why are they showing us this…LOST?
All these different series finales? How is
This possible?”

“Joe could not take his eyes off the screen.
“Man, this is so cool, though. I like this
Ending a lot better than the one I saw on
TV.”

“He was right, it was interesting…a whole
New plane crash with new characters…
Very similar to the ones we knew…
Another doctor like Jack…another
Fugitive like Kate, but blond…another
Sawyer-type…
What are we watching?”

“Julie seemed utterly bored with her screen,
Like she did not want to be there at all.
“I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s a
TV show!”

“The main guy started shouting to his
Companions in another language, it
Sounded like Italian? To bring us together
In the center to talk. He pointed his
Gun at us, at my head first… “You
Talk, then you choose. Talk. You have
5 minutes! Go!”

“What the hell is their problem?” Julie
Said bitterly. “What are we doing here?”

“5 minutes?” Joe spat. “So much time.
Like I’m supposed to pick what in 5 minutes?
I could spend 5 minutes picking my nose.”

“That’s so nice!” Julie groaned. “You’re sick!”

“Jacob eyed the other theaters, it was clear
He was catching on fast…guiding the rest
Of us. “All these versions of the series
Finale… “Lost” is a popular show…Everyone
Had talked about it A LOT.”

“So what are we voting on a better finale?”
Julie asked angrily. “The show is over,
Who cares! What does it matter now?”

“It sure matters to them.” Jacob said.

“I hated that one.” Kathy winced
About the one she watched. “I actually
Didn’t like that or the one I saw on TV.”

“This one I saw made more sense than
The one I saw on TV.” Jason said.

“The other guy was quiet, he never seemed
To say much that I remember. “I
Have no idea what to say,” was all he said.

“Why are they doing this?” Julie asked.

“I kept looking around. Then it struck me.
“This is one strange movie theater.” I said.

“What do you mean?” Joe asked.

“I used to work in a movie theater when
I was younger…” I told them. “Look at
The theaters…this hall…Where is the
Concession stand? Movie theaters always
Have popcorn and candy…I don’t see
Any, do you? This looks more like…
An office building with auditoriums…I mean
It looks like a movie theater but doesn’t.”

“Maybe it isn’t a movie theater.” Jacob
Said.

“Then what is it?” Jason asked. “Some
Kind of research place or something?”

Then Joe blurted out the craziest response.
“Those aren’t other versions of the
Series finale…They’re other realities…
Like that TV show “Sliders”…Those are
The “LOST” finales from other realities!”

“You’re kidding right?” Julie laughed. “That’s
Crazy!”

“That makes sense though!” I whispered.
“They’re so elaborate, they could never
Film so many different endings.”

“But why?” Jacob asked. “One for
Each of us?” He scowled. “Mine was
Weird, awful…I can’t even describe it.”

“I hated mine.” Kathy said.

“Mine was cool.” Joe laughed. He turned
To me… “How about yours?”

“Mine was OK, cool.” I said. “I have
To admit…I liked it better than the
One I saw on TV…It still felt weird though.”

“One minute!” The man shouted.

“My God this guy needs a valium or
Something!” Julie shouted, she never liked
Being pushed around.

“What do they want us to do, pick a
Version…that’s better?” Jason assumed.

“They must.” Jacob said.

“How do we do that?” Julie snapped.

“They obviously want a happier ending.”
Joe laughed.

Julie pointed to the theater she
Watched. “Mine was boring as hell!
No ending is that happy. Send
Them there!”

“They’re looking for a better place to go?”
Joe asked. “Why?”

“What for?” I said, going further. “Did
You see them shaking and sweating?
These guns…everything…They’re scared to
Death of…something.”

“Apparently we don’t have time to think
About that now.” Jacob said.

“Just send them to the one I saw and let’s
Get out of here and back to bed already. This
Is nuts.” Julie said.

“No!” Joe protested. “Send them there?!
To what some picture perfect happy
Ending…like they deserve that, a happy
Ending? With how they’re acting?”

“We don’t have time to argue this.” Jacob
Said. “And we can’t play games
On these guys!”

“Look,” Joe said angrily, pointing his
Finger…biting his teeth. “You want
Justice? Send them to that one, that
Picture-window doorway whatever…
That makes sense!”

“We didn’t have time to argue
With the main guy in charge…

“I don’t know.” Kathy protested.

“They’re so desperate!” I insisted.

“You’re always asking for out
Opinions.” Joe said. “Then listen
To mine. Send those guys there!”

“Without further thinking or questions…
When the main guy stepped forward,
Joe spoke first and urged the
Men to all go to his window.
Where he watched…He spoke for us…
Telling them that was right
Version of “LOST”…That’s what they
Wanted.

“We were amazed how eagerly they
Accepted that answer. There was no
Argument, they let us go…and
Very quickly fled into that theater
And VANISHED.

“We were shocked and stood watching.
What the hell happened? Something
Was going on with these theaters,
But it was too much to take in
So fast…doorways? Other versions
Of a series finale to a TV show?
It made no sense. A few moments
Passed of silence, we just grew
More scared. What were these guys
Running from anyhow?
Part of me wanted to run after
Them…What would have happened
Then? Was it a dream? Was it
Real? Before any of us could speak
Or theorize anymore…I woke up…”

Brishan studied my face. “You see
That is what I was talking
About…parallel dimensions…but with
Slightly different variables…”

“Slightly different?” I laughed.
“Those kinds of endings make a
Big difference, don’t they?” Then
It hit me…The power of those
Variables…The influence, suggestion,
The effect…struggles and happy
Endings…Even in something as
Seemingly insignificant as a TV show
Has a big influence…on one, two…
A population, a world?
“That’s not dangerous,” I said,
“That’s power!”

“Exactly!” He said. “That’s what
We’re studying now.”

Ceres could stay silent no longer…
I could feel the time-window
With them fading…She looked
Desperate, upset…more and more.
“Bill, I need you to do something
For me.”

“Alright?”

“I need you to tell a story,” she
Said, “And I need you to tell it
Now.”

“A story?”

“Ceres…” Brishan said cautiously.

“Earlier,” she said glassy-eyed,
“With the Bell Tolls…I tried
Relating to you, to tell you my story
With the Bears, my Bears. Do
You remember?”

“Yes.”

“I tried to tell you,” she said, “but
Varence took over the telling of it…
You need to know there was
More to the story, much more…
It wasn’t just about the Bears,
But something…we, I did…
Do you know the story of Noah’s
Ark?”

“Yes?” I was intrigued…

“The Ark…wasn’t just full of pairs
Of animals…it was an ark full
Of pregnant mothers…Not males
And females, but of pregnant
Mothers…I need to explain,
Because it’s happening again…
Will you tell this story for me, will
You tell it right now? It’s
Important…and right now it could
Make all the difference.”

“Of course I will…” How could I say no?

Valiant