Alice 1 Read online

  “No, Barry, and I’m not going to raise my child in such a closed-minded environment. Don’t call again!” Hung up, and burst into tears.

  Gotta make sure she doesn’t go back to sour puss, old maid.

  ____________________

  Classes are going well and summer school will start in a few weeks. It’s going to be fun working with Mary in her lab. She stimulates sites in the brain and records the behavioral response, either a physiological reaction or self report. She hasn’t gotten around to studying the pituitary. Wonder if electrical stimulation will have the same effect as our taps? Wow! Would that ever blow minds and guarantee a Nobel.

  Fat chance! They’d put that senile, old woman away as quick as they could catch her. Can’t have crazies running around messing with the OVR, Official Version of Reality.

  ____________________

  Arlene didn’t go back to sourpuss old maid. She knows what a nightmare it would be if she bowed before Barry’s God. And she is going to have a baby! We went and bought some unisex baby clothes and supplies. Her pelvis is spreading and her breasts are tender and growing. She loves it.

  Maggie, Molly and Johnny have gone to live with the Glacier Gang for a month. The Gang was so excited when Maggie showed them their Shadows. Next week is the start of summer vacation and lab work with Mary doesn’t start for a while so think I’ll go see how the gangs are melding. Checked the weather forecast for Glacier National Park. They aren’t going up there anytime soon.

  Damn! Will I ever get to Many Glacier?

  CHAPTER 34

  As I left the Bear’s Lair, I saw a young girl in the Shadow World wearing 60’s hippie clothes walk through Sather gate. Two black Shadow worms were following her. They came nearer and nearer, opened their mouths, and struck. She tried a few times to pull them off but gave up and kept walking.

  I followed her to the Campanile and she flowed through the door. After a few moments I heard a scream from the Shadow World and looked up. She was falling from the top of the tower. Her Shadow body was a gruesome mess when it hit the concrete, and the two worms were still sucking whatever they suck. Poor girl. I wonder how many times she’s reenacted that terrible decision made so long ago.

  In the afternoon I saw a boy and his dog in the Shadow World. They were running around having a great time chasing each other. So pets have Shadows? Maybe not. The monk created the iron bench to sit on, maybe the boy created the dog to play with. So if the evocation is successful this evening will it be the real St. Francis? How will I know? I don’t have a clue.

  I’m not used to feeling this stupid but it’s all relative. Yes, humans are smarter than ants, but imagine a super-super-being who creates universes in his spare time.

  ____________________

  The evocation of St. Francis was held in a large room in the Crowley home. Flickering candles provided an otherworldly atmosphere, and there was a pedestal in the middle of the room covered with white fur. Religious and occult symbols covered walls and ceiling.

  The Crowley group was warm and friendly. Shared danger does that.

  And to assure you I’m carefully attending to my studies,

  I have the data to prove it.

  Dr. Crowley started with a short meditation and then began the evocation.

  “Let our love and joy reach out to our beloved Saint Francis. Mother Earth needs his love and kindness to heal the neglect and destruction caused by greedy, uncaring people. They close their hearts and they close their minds to the harm they do.”

  Oh my, four Shadows came into the room. They look like old frat boys. The Crowley’s aren’t aware of the Shadow World, so can’t see or hear them.

  “Saint Francis, feel our love, feel our joy. Let our love and joy grow as we invite our beloved saint to come among us. Send out our love and joy. Send out our invitation for Saint Francis to come among us to help heal our beloved Mother Earth.”

  One of the Shadows began to morph into St. Francis. The robe of the saint appeared and then the halo. Another Shadow was changing into the Devil, with the usual tail, horns and pitchfork, or whatever it’s called.

  “Send out our love and joy. Send out our love and joy for St. Francis to come among us.”

  The other three shadows noticed the Devil and burst out laughing as the Devil started to walk toward the pedestal. They grabbed him and wrestled on the ground as macho guys sometimes do.

  “In the name of all that is just and holy, in the name of beauty and truth, we ask St. Francis to come among us.”

  The Shadow boys finished wrestling and St. Francis was moving toward the pedestal.

  “St. Francis, use our love and use our joy to guide you here tonight! Come among us in love and joy! Come among us! Now!”

  And yes indeed, the Shadow of St. Francis floated onto the pedestal and the faint outline of his robe and halo began to appear. There were many ohs and ahs, gasps and grunts, as they realized their prayers were answered.

  “Yes! Yes! Feel the love, feel the joy. Yes! Yes! I see our beloved Saint.”

  St. Francis was becoming more and more solid and gaining color. His golden halo was beautiful. There was complete silence as the Saint materialized in all his glory. The shimmering light around his body was a nice touch. And the great Saint began to speak.

  “Your love and your caring have brought me forth. I feel your love and feel the goodness of your hearts. In life I also sought to heal our beloved mother earth and her many creatures. Evil people are now causing great harm.

  “You are among the blessed, and I give you my love, and I give you my joy, my wisdom, and my strength. Fight the evils of the world! Fight evil with love! Fight evil with joy! Fight evil with wisdom! Fight evil with strength and courage!”

  The Shadow guys were jumping up and down, clapping their hands at this magnificent display of saintly rhetoric. And pointing and laughing at the gullible fools.

  “My stay here is brief and I must go. I leave you with a heart full of love and joy. Blessed followers of the Lord like yourselves nourish all Reality. Together we will make the world a wondrous paradise for all God’s children.”

  Everyone stood with outstretched hands as Saint Francis faded away. We overflowed with love and joy.

  Not for long. The Devil jumped onto the pedestal, there was a loud clap of thunder, and he suddenly appeared in a midst of smoke, fire, and brimstone.

  What a magnificent display of demonic glory. Heads snapped around and mouths flew open.

  “You stupid fools left the gate open and I am now among you! I am the power behind all realities. I am the power behind all creation. Your simple little god lives only in your simple little minds. Poor little talkative Christianity. All the divine words from ‘Let there be light’ to ‘It is ended’ are nothing but the vicious threats and empty promises of fools, liars and thieves.”

  Oh my, these really are college boys and the Devil has taken British Lit. Most of that last part was lifted from E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India.

  Dr. Crowley was the first to gather his wits and courage.

  “Be gone Satan! I beseech you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the power of God almighty. Be gone!” The good doctor falls back on the rhetoric of Christianity in a pinch.

  “Empty, meaningless words. What pitiful, ignorant weaklings you humans are. Your tiny minds understand only the simplest maps of Reality. Reality itself is far, far beyond your comprehension. I’d gouge out your eyes and take your souls, but they aren’t worth the trouble.”

  The other Shadows were rolling in the aisles. I was beginning to feel a little sorry for the Crowleys. This guy playing the Devil is good. I gotta admire Dr. Crowley though, he was badly shaken but not giving up.

  “By all of the love I have ever felt! By all the good I have ever done! I order you in the name of God Almighty to return to Hell! NOW!”

  Well, I decided it was time to help out a little. So at the end of that reverse evocation I stretched out my Shadow hands and found the Dev
il solid enough to grab. Picked him up, turned him upside down, lifted him in the air, and dropped him on his head.

  Oh my, what a sad, pitiful howl of fear and pain, and then the poor Devil faded back to full Shadow. He’s obviously not used to such rude treatment at these fun events he and his friends attend. The frat boys looked around trying to figure out what happened. They were scared and when they didn’t find anything, decided it was time to leave lest further evil befall them. Remember the old saying, “it ain’t no fun when the bunny’s got the gun”.

  Dr. Crowley quickly recovered. “Yes! Yes! With the help of our Lord, we have conquered evil. Oh you good people. Oh you good, decent people! St. Francis sent us the love, the joy, the strength, the courage, to send the Devil back to Hell!!”

  And they burst into a soul shaking chorus of “Onward Christian Soldiers”. They really aren’t Christians but that great march was just right. I was moved.

  I heard a noise in back of me from the Shadow World and turned around. The Shadow monk from Sather Gate was clapping and laughing, and Ashara’s Shadow was standing next to him, jumping up and down and waving her arms. Then they faded away. Well as I suspected, Ashara is a little more than a sweet little girl who steals chocolate donuts.

  I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t dropped the Devil on his head. Would Ashara and the monk have saved Christianity?

  The Holy High was still going strong a half hour later and I had enough holiness for one night. I told them how profoundly impressed I am by their almighty power and glory.

  And what about poor old Aleister and all those demons and monsters he evoked?

  THE GREAT BEAST

  Just a bunch of Shadows having a go at the poor, ignorant man? What chuckles they must have had.

  CHAPTER 35

  David met me at the airport and wanted to spend a little quality time together. So we found a cute little motel on Sarasota Bay and chatted, among other things, for a good three hours. He is able to maintain an extraordinarily stimulating and satisfying level of communication for a long time. The fairy bells were ringing and little blue and green fairies were flittering around our shining bodies.

  We had a nice, healthy glow when we came through the front door of the Glacier Gang’s mansion in The Meadows. We were a little late to no one’s surprise. The cake was fresh. The ice cream still frozen. All’s well.

  They’ve decided to combine the two groups. Doris will be the leader and depend upon Maggie when she’s not around. Thank God they like each other and have similar styles. Everyone will go to the hunting camp summers, and alternate between Sarasota and Carmel winters.

  I told them about the 5-foot slimy slug that poops black worms like the two they saw floating around the old man by the sea. And warned not to get too close when mommy poops.

  Everybody laughed and cheered when I told them about dropping the Devil on his head.

  “What worries me is the frat boys are way ahead of us. They know how to transfer their consciousness into their Shadow, how to change the appearance of their Shadow, how to partially materialize into this solid world, and even how to create the fire and brimstone of Hell. We don’t have a clue.”

  “Yes,” Johnny said, “and we don’t know how dangerous their Shadows or their materialized Shadows might be. Just maybe the Holy Warriors of God from Walton know all about how to use the Shadow World. Not so good if they find out what we did to their buddies from Plattsburgh and come for revenge.”

  “I’m pretty sure those four guys at the Crowleys are students at Berkeley. I’ll find them when I get back and do whatever I have to do to learn their secret.”

  “Be careful, Alice,” Doris said. “If you need us we’ll be there.”

  “I’ll do some research,” Johnny said. “Maybe there are hints in the religious, occult and spiritual literature about how to activate Shadows.”

  “So far we’ve just had fun,” Maggie said. “Now we get serious. Alice will be here for a week. Let’s get to work”.

  We got nowhere. Our stupid Shadows just stood there staring back no matter what we did. How hard can it be? The frat boys can do it.

  It wasn’t all work. We walked around the huge banyan trees and great orchid collection at Selby Gardens, and went shopping at Saint Armand’s Circle. Then off to the Friday Night Artwalk at Towles Court, a cluster of funky little 2-story cottages that used to be a migrant camp. Artists live on the second floor and sell their creations on the first. Wonder if they have Friday Night Orgy right after the Friday Night Artwalk?

  And toured the marvelous Persian style mansion built by John and Mabel Ringling.

  Click Ca’d’Zan

  Then goodbyes and back to Berkeley. Gonna miss David and the Gang.

  While waiting for my connection in Atlanta, I saw a crowd of Shadows go thru the check point and flow into the boarding area. They behaved so naturally, talking to one another, reading a paper, watching people. When their flight was called they all got up and went through their final gate. Why this need for reenactment?

  CHAPTER 36

  Arlene was very anxious at breakfast. She threw up twice last night and phoned her doctor’s office early this morning demanding she be seen immediately. I assured her it was just morning sickness but she’s taking no chances. Her high level of anxiety is not good for the baby and I gently tapped her calm center.

  Surprise! On my way to class, the Shadow monk waved and smiled and I waved back, attracting the attention of people walking by. They saw nothing and stared back at me with that “she must be crazy” look. I walked over but he ignored me, again. Limited conversational skills from too many years in his tiny cell at the monastery? Where’s his buddy, Ashara?

  Between classes I searched the bulletin boards for Satanist groups. Two looked interesting.

  YOU HAVE BEEN LIED TO

  God and Satan dance together eternally. Neither exists without the other. We worship the power of creative destruction. All are invited who no longer believe the Christian God is all powerful and all good. That is an obvious lie. Come to our group and learn the truth.

  June the 2nd 7 PM

  784 Bainbridge Drive, Berkeley

  The second group was not quite as philosophical.

  COME TO THE RIGHTSIDE

  Do all those holier than thou Christians make you sick? Do all those self-righteous hypocrites make you puke? If you’ve had enough flim flam Christianity come to our meeting. We worship Reality, not sugar coated lies. We worship the true, the glorious power of the universe. We worship Satan. 426 Socrates Lane, Berkeley, 8pm June 4th.

  ____________________

  Half-way through breakfast with Arlene the next morning Karla called and asked me to come in around ten. Well good, I want to find out about the Satanist groups on campus. I have no idea if he knows about the Shadow World and don’t want to ask. He can be trusted to treat me well, as long as I’m useful.

  The Shadow monk waved again on my way to see Karla and pointed past Sather Gate to the sad Shadow hippie walking to her death. Three black Shadow worms were following her. The monk moved between the girl and the worms, did something, and they scattered.

  He put his arm around her as she came through the Gate and they floated to the Campanile, and through the door. I heard beautiful music from the Shadow World and looked up. They were floating higher and higher into the sky. I’m pretty sure I won’t see her again.

  Why did he invite me to come along? How did he scare the worms away? And why has he watched her go by so many times and decided to help today? I hate knowing so little.

  ____________________

  Karla’s in a good mood, poured coffee, and pushed over two chocolate donuts. He’s discovered the second best way to make me happy.

  “That was quite a show at the Crowleys.”

  “Oh my, yes! I was so impressed with Dr. Crowley. How many people do you know can send the Devil back to Hell?”

  “None! That took great courage and self-control. Oh I so wish
I’d been there. What drama! The Devil himself, appearing in a clap of thunder, surrounded by fire and brimstone.”

  “Believe me, it was impressive! I’ve never seen a better entrance and I‘ve never seen a better exit. Dr. Crowley flipped that poor Devil upside down and dropped him on his head. He howled and screamed, and flew back to Hell with his forked tail between his hairy legs.”

  “Amazing.”

  “Very.”

  He burst out laughing. “Alice, you are so entertaining.” Nice laugh, too bad he’s so old. “Ok. If you have the time I have a little job for you.”

  “Sure, and I have a question for you.”

  “Go.”

  “What do you know about the Satanist groups on campus?”

  “We know a lot about them. Would you like basic information about the five most important, and pictures of their members?”

  “Yes I would. Thank you.”

  He typed, and the printer printed.

  “Ok, here is what I would like you to do. It’s rather important so I would be grateful if you would come with me now to the National Lab at Livermore. This is short notice and I apologize, but it is highly important. A helicopter is waiting.”

  “Sure. Never rode a helicopter before.”

  The helicopter pad is on the roof of an old building on campus. They built solid back then. Wow! What a rush as the helicopter went straight up and the campus become smaller and smaller.

  “Here’s the deal. There’s a shift change at the lab in about 2 hours, and one of the workers will be carrying a very valuable red plastic cylinder. The cylinder is about 6 inches long, 1 inch wide, heavy, and sealed at both ends. No markings. I would like you to stand next to the guard at the exit gate and search for the cylinder with your Shadow hands. When you find it, quietly let me know.”

  “Won’t people wonder who I am?”

  He opened a bag. “Here’s your uniform.” Ugly gray and green.

  “Change now, or…?”

  “Changing now would save time, if you don’t mind.”