My Library

I turned inward. I had long ago defused the rote of my painful early climb—no, blundering is more apt—through these close-in patterns. My subsequent training experience was minimal at the most. But I knew the next ring inward. It wasn’t nice. Beyond that was physical life. The two were tightly interwoven, the thick ring just slightly out of phase with physical matter. It was the interface between one reality system and another. Even from this perspective, it was difficult for a novice to distinguish instantly the differences in the two. But I could. That was the problem. The inhabitants of this ring couldn’t. They didn’t or couldn’t or wouldn’t realize they were no longer physical. They were physically dead, no more physical body. Thus they kept trying to be physical, to do and be what they had been, to continue physical one way or another. Bewildered, some spent all of their activity in attempting to communicate with friends and loved ones still in bodies or with anyone else who might come along, all to no avail. Others were held attracted to physical sites in which they had instilled great meaning or importance during their previous human lifetime. All had long forgotten or blocked deeply the technique that once was so basic: the M Band. Still others interpreted their change in status as simply a bad dream or nightmare, and were waiting and hoping to wake up soon. I moved in cautiously, with BB tight behind me. He was almost completely closed, just scanning for ident AA, no more. I don’t blame him. I would have turned and spun away fast if it had been my first run through the place. The M Band noise was thunderous, a cacophony of fear, anger, and about every other human emotion, every desire, every need connected with human physical existence. All open, naked, uncovered, up front. As we entered more deeply, I kept expecting BB to signal me, but he didn’t. Physical earth and those aboard for the ride were intermixed now as I speeded up the search, moving faster and faster. But you could tell the difference. Those still physical seemed less distinct, not quite but almost transparent. Suddenly, I got a pull from BB and stopped immediately. (I got him!) BB vibrated strongly. (Not much, all covered over, but it’s