

Dwarg In The Seventh Dimension :

The Aggie Kellor Experience

A Science Fiction Adventure by

Tony Lourensen

Dwarg In The Seventh Dimension: The Aggie Kellor Experience

Tony Lourensen

Copyright Tony Lourensen 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Edition : First edition : Publisher : Tony Lourensen : shortys.book(at)optusnet.com.au

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Front cover design by Allan Garner... allangarner(at)iprimus.com.au

Image of Native American girl by Martin Basmajian...http://www.angelfire.com/planet/myart/index.html

**National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry** :

Title..............................Dwarg in the Seventh Dimension :

......................................The AggieKellor Experien

ISBN..............................9780646566917

eISBN............................9780646568904

Dewey Number.............A823.4

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE : VINCENT

CHAPTER TWO : SLIG

CHAPTER THREE : STEVEN

CHAPTER FOUR : EVA

CHAPTER FIVE : AGGIE

CHAPTER SIX : DWARG

CHAPTER SEVEN : EDNA

CHAPTER EIGHT : THE ROAD TO VERMONT

CHAPTER NINE : ACCEPTANCE

CHAPTER TEN : RICHMOND

CHAPTER ELEVEN : FREDERICK

CHAPTER TWELVE : DWARG AND EDNA

CHAPTER THIRTEEN : PUTNEY

CHAPTER FOURTEEN : JINGLE BELLS

CHAPTER FIFTEEN : SCHOOL

CHAPTER SIXTEEN : DAN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN : CLAIRE

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN : RITES

CHAPTER NINETEEN : PUZZLE

CHAPTER TWENTY : JANETTE

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE : PARIS

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO : ARLES

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE : MEGAN

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR : REVELATIONS

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE : LITTLE WILLIAM

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX : MEGAN'S PAINTING

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN : STEVEN RIP

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT : PROFESSOR LIEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE : ON THE ROAD AGAIN

CHAPTER THIRTY : RAMON

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE : S.S.J.H

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO : LITTLE BANG

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE : DEBRIEF

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR : RITES OF PASSAGE

EPILOGUE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ALSO BY THIS AUTHOR

INTRODUCTION

Even before the now, Whisps did not consider Humans any more interesting than other organisms – they cared not that some Humans appeared to live out their existence differently, longer, harder or easier– it simply appeared to be a Human's lot. Humans are born, exist, then don't. Whisps saw most Humans as inquisitive, industrious and replicate, ensuring that the species survive. They are heavy and clumsy and unlike the Whisps, could not flitter or flux around the planet at will. Humans had no idea of the existence, let alone the concept of Whisps, and innocently went about their lives as humans do – yet Whisps were as close as an atom away from the Humans' physical world, separated only by an invisible and unknown barrier. Whisps simply existed within the Aura - a space, an area between the planet and the extreme boundary of its atmosphere.

Quite often, some Humans would acknowledge an invisible world of spirits and supernatural beings, but Whisps were not supernatural creatures in that sense, they were natural in their own world, which just happened to be a non-physical world. Whisps were aware that Humankind was developing far above other species on the living planet – nevertheless, they were quite content to share the world in harmony with them. There was to become a time when all would have to change.

Occasionally, the Whisps would suffer upsets, and swirl around in uncontrollable chaos for no apparent reason – it was disturbing, yet most were rarely interested in reasons – they were just Whisps – and they were just there. They didn't have rules or organisations or religion or any form of society. They could be an individual or a group, they had no restrictions to any physical or Human laws, including time, gravity, speed and they had no need for food or shelter, no need for emotions or reproduction – they were not at all like the Humans. Whisps were however, quite capable of communication between each other and if one chose to be an individual identity, it would have no impact on the rest. Not all Whisps were exactly the same, although in general, the differences were quite minimal.

To them, time was never seen as a "thing", nor was it ever really needed in their being, but although time was not a restriction, it was becoming more and more of a tool that Whisps realised they needed to embrace.

Things were happening in their world of normal existence – Whisps were beginning to change, to think, and perhaps even evolve, and somehow, Humans were linked to these changes.

There were occasions where one or more Whisps would show more than a feint interest in the goings on of living creatures, in particular, the Humans. Whisps did not need to look or study themselves – they were perfect and quite neutral, yet something was upsetting the now and the harmonic balance was shifting in a way they could not comprehend.

The actual use of information gleaned from the Humans was something new in the makeup of Whisps, and a credit to those who had the will and persistence to flux around the planet, studying them.

Those Humans with a seemingly greater knowledge than others, firmly believed that their species, in fact all living things on the planet, had originated from a mixture of chemicals well before the now and that all living things were related. Others believe the species was created by an unknown non-physical power that controlled all aspects of their lives.Whisps well knew that living things did not originate from the one mix, but in time, the Humans would find the nexus of their origin.

It was strange to see that Humans regularly ended their or others' own existence, sometimes in great numbers. Although other events on the planet also ended their brief existence in masses, it was by far, the many varied and microscopic organisms and viruses that attacked and prevented them from living an average Human lifespan. Ironically, Humans were the natural prey of these small microbes, and given all the advancement and machines to safeguard themselves, Humans still succumbed to these continual attacks on their lives.

Whisps would gain a great deal of information from the observations and studies which was shared equally, but that knowledge, however interesting, was just that, knowledge - there was nothing really that a Whisp could do with it. There were exceptions.

Events like a Swirl Chaos were things that happened, and these events were often repeated, so Whisps started to use time as a system of placing events in some sort of order- and it made sense. Collectively, the Whisps decided to use the mainly common Human system of reckoning time and timelines, even though there were many and probably better systems to use. Interestingly, not all Humans used this same system, but with observation and deduction, this was the system that would prevail with Humans, forward of the now

Of minor interest was the method and reason for starting the Human year count at zero, which was unclear and put down to some event in the Humans' history. Whisps could never understand how the spacing, rhythm and divisions of Human time were calculated initially. This was because Humans used concepts and tools that involved matters outside the planet's Aura - yet it was a useful system and adapted by Whisps. No Whisp thought of the possibility of the end of time – it would not have concerned them anyway – that would be a physical thing – and to them, ironically, time was timeless.

The more the Whisps studied the Humans, the more they knew that in doing so, it would lead to a seemingly endless mass of complex and probable useless information. Amongst other vexations, was the Human counting and numbering system, which puzzled Whisps greatly – they tried to use the concept of mathematics in areas apart from time without great success.

Dwarg was perhaps the most inquisitive of the Whisps. It named itself Dwarg – not that it meant anything to the other Whisps - they had no reason for having names or for being individual, but Dwarg seemed to be able to adapt some of its knowledge of Humans to its own situation. It liked being an individual – there was nothing wrong with being a group, but it enjoyed being just that little bit different – the odd thing was that lately, it became to sense some strange and negative force from other Whisps. Strange indeed, as feelings or emotion was not in their makeup.

Dwarg enjoyed grouping with another inquisitive Whisp, whom it named Slig. Slig in fact did on some occasions, try to actively make some form of physical contact with the Humans and actually came close, but it reckoned that the consequences of its actions saw the Whisps again, swirl around in chaos. Although there were no rules or laws, the Whisps began to understand that there was cause and effect, and trying to attempt any type of physical involvement with Humans would not only disturb harmony, it may well have a catastrophic impact on the very existence of the now. Slig was very knowledgeable and understood that Human time was something always moving forward from the now. It was put to the wider group of Whisps that the first case of Swirl Chaos was in the Human time of 1942 followed by other, and sometimes worse episodes and noted that the Humans had been pushing "stuff" from the planet's surface, beyond the Aura. On each of these events, there was a Swirl Chaos – and the rate was accelerating.

Slig could only find one ally who really cared enough to have an active interest - and that was Dwarg. Together they would postulate about things that happened in this or that Human's life or the eternal question of why there is an Aura gap between their worlds. What would happen, they asked themselves, if there was contact with Humans? – would the physical world disappear? – would the Humans disintegrate? – how would Humans react to the realization that Whisps exist? – how come Whisps know Humans and their environment? – why don't Humans know about Whisps? Until Swirl Chaos, these were questions that Whisps would never have a need of asking – until now. Slig and Dwarg agreed that the Humans were somehow responsible for the Swirl Chaos and a threat to the Aura, and something needed to be done.

CHAPTER ONE – VINCENT

23rd December 1888

"You've shit in your pants again you filthy animal!" Paul shouted. "Why I let you talk me into coming to this festering dump of yours, I'll never know. Just look at you, you're an insignificant squashed flea that a dog has gnawed and spat out."

"So what?" shouted Vincent, "God didn't say I had to go the pot every time I had to shit? Do you see birds and rats and insects pissing and shitting through a hole in a box? – they do it when they feel like it, don't they?"

"Goddamn you to hell, you're more than a leech, a bludger and a dreamer – you're a stinking, vile and obnoxious creature – you should be put off the world – you are not a man, you're not even of nature's spawn. You should go and die!"

Van Gogh laughed out loud, "I've been dead for a long time, and living in hell. And you, you prissy housepainter, have been sent to me by Satan to impale me on the horns of your acrimony. You should get yourself far away from me and take that stack of rubbish as well – I've seen children painting with their fingers dipped in shit, do better works. – Go on, get the goddamn out!"

Eugène Henri _Paul_ Gauguin had come to a point in this turbulent and convoluted relationship, where he could take no more. He would willingly suffer for his art, but that crazy Dutchman made his existence more miserable every waking hour. To argue that van Gogh was eccentric or had idiosyncrasies was far too generous, he was just one plain mad, crazy and imbecilic lunatic. Paul threw the tin cup of cold tea at the wall and stormed towards the door, picked up his overcoat and left, all the while offering Vincent an upward extended finger.

"Go back to the devil, you little French maggot!" shouted Vincent with tears in his eyes. He did not want Paul to go; he would be alone, alone with that thing inside his head. It was the thing – the black fallen angel – that was responsible for all his ills, pains and vexation. No matter how hard he prayed to Our Lord for relief, the presence of that spirit would overwhelm and imprison him. Even the Holy Priest at Saint Trophime could not help. "My son, if you hear a voice within you, saying you are not a child of the Saviour; then pray to Our Lord and the voice will be silenced. If you hear a voice within you saying you are not a painter, then paint, and you will have silence."

The war within Vincent continued. His art and his visualisation and his colours, were the weapons against the black and white, analytical and unadorned entity that would continually try to overpower him. Vincent sat on his bed for a while, he looked up to the ceiling and shouted out loud, "I will roll around in my own filth, I will degrade and abase myself, I will wallow in self loathing so you will share my misery, you unholy and scabbed pus from Hades. I will smash my head against stone, I will imagine bright colours of yellows and blues and I will go and cleanse myself in Father Roudini's blessed water."
He staggered to the window and called out, "Eugene, do not go away – you have also been infused with the breath of Beelzebub – we must lay a siege and rid our temples of him." Paul did not hear him. Vincent was terrified, he needed to get Paul back, he needed his inspiration and guidance and companionship – he loved him seven weeks ago – and had they not untied the purse strings of their meagre allowances to share Rachel's caresses? This intrusive demon, this black embedded heathen crow, now wanted Paul to go away, to divide and conquer – this must not happen, Paul and I are the dramatis personae in this engrafted play. We are a union of pilgrim, of pioneer, of seer and visionary, cultivating the bland earth from sterile order.

Throwing off his long worn, soiled and rancid rags, he quickly changed his clothes, gathered up his satchel and went to look for his estranged friend. There would only be one place that Paul would be – Rachel's house. He banged on her door but Rachel's old housekeeper refused to admit Vincent, saying Rachel was out. He called out over her shoulder into the house "Eugene, be a man, come and face me, come and forgive me. Eugene, why do you hide beneath the underskirts of the madam? – do you seek the safety of a mother's thighs – Eugene, do you fear me?"

"You must go now monsieur, I will tell madam you called." Vincent shuffled back to his Yellow House. He would paint some bright and happy sunflowers on Paul's bedroom wall while waiting for his friend to come back.

Paul did return later that evening and saw, amid a circle of burning candles, Vincent, still painting his sunflowers. "Beau! - inspirant, mon ami Hollandais – your yellows pull the eyes from my sockets. You should rest ; here, I have some bread and absinthe to sooth our corrupted souls." Paul pulled out a long sandwich, then an earthenware flask from the pocket of his overcoat.

"I looked for you today. You were not with Rachel?"

"Yes, we spent the hours at Terrace Cafe drinking their pissy warm cha. Vincent, I stole these pages from the Cafe. I thought you may find this interesting for your search to capture the night. Here are a few drawings of things called nebula. They're from an old pamphlet written by this English stargazer, Rosse - he looked at the night sky through a telescope and saw these nebula things. See how some are different, this one he calls a crab nebula, this one a spiral and this one he called the question mark spiral nebula. – What do you think?"

"Flat, black and white - I see no sparkle, no light – no life - they are dead. He draws exactly what he sees and exactly what it is, it does not arouse my senses...yet, here is some beauty in his model. He is no artist and I would not invite him to my studio...yet the shapes of his drawing linger. How fares Rachel?"

"She has a chill and a slight fever. I believe she is with the pox, and for her medicine, she drinks tea and mercury. From this world, I fear she will leave, and not see the new year complete."

"She also says she cannot be bound to her bed. It's the Eve before Christmas Eve and her family from Brive will arrive tonight."

"Noel so close? - shall we decorate a tree and sing songs of joy? – what present should I offer you?"

"Peace on Earth and goodwill to mankind would be good presents."

"I have neither to give. May I keep these pages? – I need them to collect my faeces."

"Yes, go and wrap up your shit - is this to be your Christmas offering?"

Vincent laughed, "non, no mon ami – that would be a gift far too personal."
CHAPTER TWO – SLIG

**120 Human years later**

Whisps knew it would be inevitable that somewhere along the future timeline, serious contact with Humans must be attempted and Slig was in the forefront of taking up this initiative. Slig needed to enter the physical world. But how? It reasoned that the likely way of doing this was to leave the Whisps' Aura boundary – the one surrounding the planet – it needed somehow to go beyond that limited area. Humans were already quite capable of leaving the planet in their machines; indeed they had been doing so for 55 Human years. This would be a daunting task – it meant leaving the Aura and in so doing, try to discover some method of touching the untouchable. What happens to a Whisp when it enters the physical realm? – No Whisp knew. It's plan become one that required contact with the humans while far off the planet and far away from each others' Aura and to do that, it decided that it would follow a machine when one left the Earth.

Slig had studied the Humans for some time and became to know how they communicated, their habits and how they survive, and even though Whisps did not have very much in the way of emotion, it learnt that Humans were shackled not only with varied and sometimes extreme emotions, they had to adapt to their own environment, they had to cope with various senses, they were all individual yet were enslaved to a relatively short existence. A lot of things about Humans were totally beyond Slig's understanding. Initially, it saw Humans as backward creatures, never seeming to just be satisfied with their own existence or of keeping harmony within the realm of the world. Not all Humans were like that, but in general, it was the highly organized and adventurous ones who would group together and overrun the rest – most times by the destruction of those who would not group.

It appeared that Humans did not have the foresight to understand that by their constant hunger for advancement, they were degrading the planet – somewhere along the timeline, there must be an effect. Yet somehow, someway, here they are, living creatures, constantly reproducing as other living creatures do, but evolving so quickly that they are capable of leaving their own planet, indeed the Aura. This very fast and accelerated progress by the Humans gave rise to things new to Whisps; one of these things was a sense of foreboding and concern. Slig's plan (should contact with the physical world be made), was to somehow put a stop to Human advancement, migration and movement \- if necessary, eradicate the Humans entirely from the planet. The planet and the Aura would be better off. To achieve this, Slig knew that the utilization and distribution of selective microbes and organisms would be most effective. It put these ideas to other Whisps who saw this course of action as one of a perfect and final solution.

Dwarg saw Slig go off on this adventure; however, from its study and knowledge of Humans, Dwarg had reservations about Slig's future success.

Slig fluxed to the area on the planet where the last machine had left Earth. There had been a Swirl Chaos resulting from that activity.

By reports from other Whisps, it knew that there was a lot of Human activity and saw that another machine was being prepared for a possible push to outside the Aura.

It had no way of entering the machine (humans called them rockets) so it planned to wrap itself around the top of one and, by doing so, simply be piggy-backed off the planet and into the unknown – somewhere in this unknown, Slig would have to make contact with Humans.

Slig fluxed around Cape Canaveral for some time, following Humans around, getting to know some of their complex personalities, their strange ways, their need for replenishing energy for themselves and their machines and many other facets that it would take to be a Human.

Through the timeline, some Whisps had tried various ways to contact the physical world, in particular the Humans, but never in such a dedicated and serious way in which Slig was planning to do. Slig knew thus far, actual contact had never been made. Sometimes Slig would follow a Human and try to devise a way for that Human to notice it - but the separation Aura would not allow this. Slig had known of certain Humans who may become susceptible to the awareness of Whisps, but these Humans were mostly not complete or in some way were defective. Other Humans ingested chemicals and gasses which changed their "normal" existence for a while.

Oddly, many Humans accepted the possibility of a nonphysical world while in these altered conditions, but it was always a world without Whisps. In their earlier state of evolvement, Humans were more susceptible to an understanding of the non-physical world. Many recognized gods, spirits, elves, fairies, dead Humans, and even creatures not known to them. Perhaps the closest comparison that a Human might have made to a Whisp would be their belief in an entity called a Guardian Angel. Some thought that a dedicated Guardian Angel would follow its allocated Human around, somehow protecting him or her from some unforeseen peril or harm. Whisps cared little for Humans; it was the humans' threat of destructive evolution upon the planet that was of importance.

Slig followed certain Humans in the Cape Kennedy and Cape Canaveral area. It knew that these people were the ones destined to go into the rockets and exceed the Aura's limit. After a great deal of study and observation, Slig chose a female Human whose name was Eva Redcliffe. It (and very much unlike a Guardian Angel), would try to use her as a vehicle for the onset of the destruction of Humankind. This Human was a little different to the other designated Humans, in that her life path was not one of the same training, orientation and experience of her elite group. Slig saw that this Human had some of those difficult emotions that constantly confused studying Whisps - in particular, an enquiring and open mind.

She was a teacher and mentor of other Humans. Given the lesser degree of martial discipline, especially mental strength, she would be the ideal subject for the acceptance of some alternative and unknown form of communication. Perhaps she would acknowledge Slig or ideally, make physical contact with it. Eva was one within a special group at Cape Canaveral, undergoing various medical and other examinations. Having done all that, the group was then sent to a training facility in Huston Texas to ready themselves for leaving the planet.

Eva Redcliffe never knew that she was being constantly followed and surrounded by Slig. It would still be a number of weeks before being harnessed into her rocket; however there were times when she felt "strange" sensations and feelings out of the ordinary. She could not put her finger on it and put it down to the excitement of her forthcoming adventure.

One occasion, Eva was toweling after a shower and whilst looking into her mirror, thought she saw "something" behind her and spun around – nothing. This happened a number of times; she would walk past the hallway mirror and quickly look around because she thought something was there, yet nothing. This rattled her a little but was she was not going to tell her mentors of any of this and Eva avoided mirrors from then on.

Slig often wondered what a Whisp would look like as physical – would it look like a Human? - probably not, Slig didn't have limbs or bones or noses or any of the human attributes – but that didn't stop it from trying to look into a mirror to see if it could see anything of itself. At least Eva had a sense of Slig – yes, it was another step closer.

Slig would have to find a way somehow to present itself to the Human female whilst outside the Aura, without causing her too much distress. Slig would seize the moment before she could make any form of rejection – Slig would be as fair or as firm as it needed to be. It did not know exactly how it would materialize. What shape or image would it become? What would a Whisp look like to a human? - In fact would another Whisp recognize it? If its materialization proved untenable, Slig, as a final resort, would enter and completely takeover the Human.

Slig insisted that Dwarg not be anywhere near it during its exploits. It needed Dwarg to remain with the Whisps' body group and to continue the work of seeking a solution to the Swirl Chaos... should Slig fail in its quest.
CHAPTER THREE : STEVEN

Steven was well organized this morning. He found that being a temporary house husband was not all that disturbing and besides, he actually enjoyed the free time during the day where he could sit on the balcony, read his big fat legal study book, take down a few notes and make some entries on his laptop. He would check his email (he had given strict instructions to his secretary to severely cull most correspondence to him) and would just smile to himself when thinking of his associates busily rushing around the office back in Frederick. This is the life, he thought, and he was going to take full advantage of this wonderful and unusual time with Eva and the kids.

He was a lawyer of leisure and would go back to his practice in a couple a months, right now, he had the kids to get ready for school, and then see that his Evie was all organized for another day at the Flight Centre. It was Tuesday – his car pool day – and would drive Darren, Megan plus Zac from next door, to Highland Middle School. It was only about a 40 minute round trip and Eva may or may not still be at home when he returned. The NASA Limo (as they had dubbed it) always seemed to come and collect Eva between these domestic jobs.

He had finally mastered the art of flapjack making, ensuring that the maple syrup soaked well into the tiny craters of the small masterpieces – the kids loved them sopping and dripping and Steve had finally worked out just how to squeeze the spray cream enough to sculpture eyes, noses and mouths on these breakfast delights. He never thought that he would come to actually enjoy the hustle and bustle of a family getting ready for the day ahead.

Megan was a little surly this morning – she couldn't find her favorite scrunchie – it had to be the purple one – and her world would end if she couldn't wear it to school today. Darren was still blurry eyed from playing his electronic war games far into the night, and it didn't help matters when Steve reminded him that today he had a science exam to look forward to. A little cold running water to the back of the neck did wonders. The scrunchie was found in the laundry hamper, the flapjacks were eaten, the checklist was completed and all systems were go. Eva came down the stairs dressed in her tracksuit – hugs and kisses and goodbyes all round. "The coffee's hot and I've left you a couple of flapjacks – may or may not see you when I get back sweet heart – kissy, kissy, bye yaw'll" Steve chuckled – he just couldn't get used to the Texan drawl and would break out in laughter when listening to the local radio station in Houston.

Eva smiled to herself as she watched her family race to the front door "it's my turn in the front seat! no it's not, yes it is, dad, dad, tell him dad."

Steve turned and gave Eva a smile, hunched his shoulders, and said "just another day in paradise" and whistled that tune as he closed the front door.

Eva sat at the kitchen table; she knew he knew, that all her food and drink had to be strictly controlled and reached for her "suck bottle" of stuff that those wonderful chefs at the Flight Centre would like her to digest.

She was quite sure that Steve's coffee and flapjacks would have been the best tasting breakfast in the world right now, but she was in training and her determination to get through the next few months of the program, was strong

She looked at his handiwork and was delighted to see that one of the pancakes was shaped as a spaceman – how did he manage to write her name across it in cream? She gathered her haversack, and waited for the NASA Limo.

She had a lot of things to be happy about, in fact since her childhood, everything was perfect. Loving parents in a loving home, school and university without problems, a wonderful husband and children and now this, an opportunity and a possibility for going into space – and she wasn't even an astronaut! Although it wasn't all that important to her, she knew that she would become a celebrity, perhaps even worldwide. Her absolute passion was education, she was a teacher and she was already in discussions with the Flight Centre and NASA as to the possibility of teaching a lesson to her class in Frederick from outer-space. Currently she was learning and arranging a number of experiments that could be done whilst in orbit including the effects of weightlessness on eggs with embryos, some hydroponics and something she also enjoyed, photography. It was now day 30 of 120 days of training at Houston - so far, so good.

The NASA Limo was running very late today and Steve returned from dropping off the kids and was delighted to see that Evie was still there. They kissed and strolled onto the balcony. "I think I'm getting a little bit jittery Steve, lately I get this feeling that someone's watching me, out there and in the house – hard to explain. Sometimes I spin my head around to see if anyone's behind me. You know sometimes you think you see something just on the edge of your vision but when you turn, there's nothing there? – that sort of thing."

Steve scratched his head, "well this is a brand new house, it's not built on an ancient cemetery or a sacred site, I don't think the kids are possessed and I'm not trying to poison you – so it must be you Evie – you're going mad and I need to tell NASA immediately – I'll ring them right now."

"Don't even think about it Steven Redcliffe, you're not getting out of this - we have a deal remember. I'm going to be the hero for a while, so tell your dish-pan hands to get used to a few more months of it." They both giggled. Steve didn't argue – he knew he was on a good thing – for a while anyway. NASA had been very good and generous with the family, paid for everything, the trip plus compensation for loss of earnings, free rent on a lovely house; free schooling for the kids and all the creature comforts – a paid vacation with benefits.

"So what's on today O Maiden of the Heavens?"

"Today has something to do with emergency procedures, I suppose that being able to operate a fire extinguisher may come in handy...oops the Limo's just pulled up out front – bye honey – don't work too hard – kissy kissy."

Steve helped her to the white unassuming van and waved at some of the passengers already aboard. It was still hard for him to believe that shortly, these people would be up, up and away, far away. He was happy for her, but still harbored a primeval concern that his wife, his woman, would be out of his reach and away from his protection.

He wondered as to what he could do about her nervy jitters – perhaps she needed something more to be able to relax at home. She loved music and was quite the musician when they first met at the university. He walked to the hallway, flipped through the telephone pages and dialed a number.

"Hello, is this Oliverie's Music Barn? – yes, I would like to buy a baby grand piano - yes cash - can you deliver today?"

Yep, it was turning out to be a beautiful day. Steve looked at himself in the mirror on the wall next to the telephone and said, "Yaw'll like caffee dood? ...yesiree Tex, arl jist boot scoot along and git me some a that dar brew." He shook his head and thought - shit now I'm talking to myself – snap out of it councilor – there's ironing to be done.

-oOo-

During the next 90 days, Slig fluxed back and forth, reporting on his progress, to Dwarg and the Whisps. It had gathered a plethora of information about the female Human and her brood - but in particular, how other Humans were preparing her for the exit from the planet. The Whisps seemed to show little concern with Slig's reports on the female, what they wanted to know was how to stop the Swirl Chaos, which by Slig's own admission, was inevitable and shortly due to disrupt the now. Slig suggested that as a group or as individuals, Whisps may be subjected to a lesser swirl if they cared to flux to a position within the Aura on the other side of the planet, which would be directly behind the area where the rocket would leave. At the very least, Whisps now had some prior warning of an impending swirl – Slig became the messenger and was very much admired for the efforts.

-oOo-

On day 120 of Eva's training program, she was very weary and inwardly worn by the constant bombardment of information, techniques, repetition, analysis, calculations and the "stuff" that NASA needed her to know. She had however, thoroughly enjoyed hands-on training and had never been more fit in her life. She had actually developed a taste for the meals and drinks from those mystical NASA chefs, and she very much looked forward to leaving Houston and getting into the job of being a teacher in space. Steve, with Darren and Megan, were allowed into the training facility for Eva's passing out ceremony.

The motor of Steve's car was quietly idling at the sentry gate. The security guards were very particular with going through the invitations, passes, IDs and even through the trunk of the vehicle. Steve turned to his kids, "so remember what I told you. After today, we won't be seeing mommy for a while and we're going back home, our real home, in Frederick. What do we think about it all? – are you excited?"

"How long before mommy comes home forever daddy?"

"Only a few more weeks Megan – you know what mommy is doing is very special don't you? She is going into space, far above the Earth and doing things up there that have never been done by anyone, ever."

Darren shuffled and made his joggers squeak together - "Evan's father told him that sending people into space is just a waste of money – we could feed all the hungry kids in the world for the same price as sending a rocket up."

"I hope you told Evan that with the experiments done in outer space, we learn more about our environment and perhaps even find cures and medicines for sick people. There may be lots of important things to be discovered out there and we need to find out – did you tell him that?'

"No, I just punched him in the stomach; Miss said she would write to you about it."

"Great" Steve hissed – Frederick was looking better and better. He had been blessed with correspondence from Darren's teacher before - what a surly and primpish little sarcastic woman she was. Her last note outlining Darren's efforts in biology was a good example.

He presented a display of mounted insects neatly pinned to a foam tile, but it wasn't quite up to her expectations. She had to mark his exhibition with an F, because .."as I checked Darren's display, various specimens began to crawl around the tile: one large cockroach leaped from the tile, onto the desk and onto the floor with a sewing pin still attached. A honey bee did not have its head attached. Another insect was utterly unidentifiable, obviously due to the circumstance of its demise, perhaps by downward pressure from a shoe", and so on. It had not been a particularly good term in Darren's formal education, and no doubt Miss "Vinegar" would have sent a copy of her letter to the Principal of Frederick Middle School.

"Please drive forward to the next sentry, sir."

"Have any trouble getting here hon? I know they make visitors jump through hoops with their security." The Redcliffe family were having a group hug and Eva tried to be brave and not burst into tears. She had felt very emotional for the last few days and although she was in constant telephone contact with them, she had not seen her loves for the last week or so.

"No, not at all, how are you bearing up sweetheart?" Eva nodded with a smile. "By the way Mrs Eva Redcliffe, congratulations on your graduation – do I have to call you ma'am now?

"No, sweetheart will do thanks – kids been OK?"

Steve smiled, "great, and looking forward to Frederick – most of the stuff is packed already and the removalists come next Monday – we have a little more to move this time with the piano and kids' bicycles and the new refrigerator with the ice cube maker - your mother rang from Frederick to say she has given the old place a bit of a clean-up and she said she can't wait for us to come home."

Darren and Megan were wrapped around Eva's legs and holding on tightly – her heart ached. "Got to go now love, and get into costume - see you inside – see you later kids, we have cake, ice cream and juice for you as soon as the boss lets me join you after the parade." Begrudgingly, the kids let go of their mom – they knew all this was very important to her.

The ceremony at the Training Centre was not extremely formal – Steve was introduced to some of the Training Officers and Staff, the Commanding Officer, some government representatives and a couple of NASA officials. All were directed to a building and once through the portals, one could see a splendid and high marbled hall with columns – Steve thought it was all quite swanky with large golden framed portraits of astronauts on the walls, huge pictures of space shuttles, rockets and aircraft. A temporary stage had been set up and the Redcliffe family were ushered to the second row of chairs –there were little cards on the seats with names of guest and officials. They found their allocated seats and sat down. Steve looked around and tried to imagine how much all this would have cost. Darren began squeaking his shoes together again until Steve gave him a stern look with his finger to his lips. Maybe, he thought, Darren's friend had a point about all the money being spent.

"Will Mommy's picture be on this wall after she comes back from heaven?" asked Megan. She was also looking around and obviously wide eyed with wonder at all this big stuff.

"Yes, I think she will have her photo here later" Steve replied, "maybe in a few years we will come back here and see it."

"Yea, yea and I can tell everyone that's my mommy." Megan then sat up straight, pulled her skirt over her knees, brushed back her hair and became quite attentive – she knew she was part of this adventure and didn't want to do anything that may interfere with it.

The "class" walked onto the stage in single file – there were 15 people, all looking splendid in NASA uniforms and they lined up facing the audience. The Commanding Officer of the facility walked up to the lectern and proceeded to welcome all and sundry, explained the rigorous training program which this group had just completed, and then went on to extol the virtues of NASA and the part that Houston was playing in the exploration and investigation of space. He was followed by a few other dignitaries who Steve thought perhaps were pushing their own agendas with some wishy-washy tirades.

Quite a few references were made about Eva and the unique situation of her involvement, and when she was pointed out on stage, the audience clapped and cheered – Steve stood up and clapped as did Megan – Darren has just developed his whistling ability and used it enough so that people looked around to see where it was coming from.

Finally it was all over, scrolls of achievement were handed to each graduate, hands were shaken, the assembly clapped and the Redcliffes jumped and hooted when Mom's turned came. They were really proud of her, and knew that the best for her was still to come. Inwardly, Steve was a little relieved knowing that in a few weeks, things would be back to normal – he had enjoyed and celebrated her incredible adventure, but there would be an end and he and she could resume their careers.More importantly the family unit needed balance and it was the time in the children's' lives where parental unity and guidance was paramount.

The children had their ice cream and cake, Steve and Eva held on to each other until the time came for Eva to say goodbye... again. Within a few hours, she would be taken to Cape Canaveral and placed into quarantine - the countdown for the lift-off was now 74 hours. Steve and kids would be in Eva's classroom, along with her class, and God knows, half of Frederick to watch the rocket lifting off - in fact, the whole world would be watching.

Slig fluxed back to the Whisps to report matters and confirm that a Swirl Chaos would occur in 5 days of Human time from the now – it knew well before the NASA Weather Prophets did, that there would be storms and earth elements which would not allow the rocket to proceed, regardless of the Humans' predicted time. Slig thought it amazing that there were so many variables that Humans had to cope with and take into consideration when trying to achieve something. It was interesting that, given the Humans' advanced state of evolution, their inquisitive and aggressive nature, their machines, their concepts, their ability to heal each other, their harvesting of the environment– they still could not accurately foresee seemingly simple things. Things like the changing physical world, things they call earthquakes, movements of land masses and apparently the simplest reckoning of all - the weather over it.

Eva spent another 5 days in quarantine – storms, gales and high winds had seen lift-off postponed 4 times. She felt rather more relaxed. Those feelings of being watched were not so consistent now. Perhaps it was the spotless and sterile ward and the knowledge that the climax

of all this training was coming to fruition. Somehow she felt lighter – although her weight had remained constant, due to the meticulous input of the NASA sustenance – but a different kind of relief, almost as if some invisible pressure had been lifted off her shoulders.

Slig fluxed back to Cape Canaveral. The Whisps were concentrated and grouped in an area which the Humans called Egypt. They had no plan of action; they would just be there and wait for the Swirl Chaos to engulf them.
CHAPTER FOUR – EVA

It found the rocket and saw the many lines, cables, pipes, tubes and hoses attached and Humans were crawling all over it – Slig just waited patiently on the top and eventually the human numbers began to dwindle - it knew that the time for the machine to leave the earth was near – the rocket had mist and steam coming from it and at once, a huge noise with fire was blasting from beneath. Most of the pipes and lines fell away and the supporting towers let go of it. The countdown had reached one, then ignition.

Slowly the machine moved directly upward and although Slig could not feel or hear the powerful rumble of the rocket with its clouds of vapor and fire issuing underneath, it gained a different sense of motion. It couldn't of course, physically grip the rocket but made sure it kept its presence on and around the top. It locked onto itself. As the rocket ever increased in speed away from the ground and began to approach the outer atmosphere, Slig did notice that the invisible Aura seemed to get ever weaker.

The gap between Whisps and the living physical world was measured as the width of an atom - another useful tool and concept that Whisps borrowed from Humans. Slig could now see that this distance was very much reduced, in fact, the gap was nearly non-existent – any second now and there would be actual physical contact. Slig began to feel things. Even though there was still a miniscule gap between its world and the physical, it knew that the machine was on the fringe of the Aura boundary – it would be entering the unknown and would be the first Whisp to make this contact – as knowledgeable and as brave as it was – it had no idea of what would befall, or indeed, befall the fate of all Whisps. Within a micro-nano-second, Slig's being finally made contact with the outside skin of the rocket – it was actually touching – it was sliding down the huge cylinder and managed to grasp onto something non-metallic, a stretchy black material.

Eva was strapped in and actually enjoying the forces and pressures on her body. She thought of Steve and Darren and Megan – they and her parents and friends would be watching the liftoff. She was grateful for the rigorous training back at Houston because no way would she have survived the liftoff without that preparation. Now it was time to concentrate on this mission, she was one of a team and each had their own important procedures to follow.

Minutes earlier, Steve, Darren and Megan were seated in the Assembly Hall of Frederick Middle School. Besides Eva's class, the hall was filled to overflowing with such people as the Mayor and his entourage, local invited business people and sponsors of the school and the pastor with some church elders. There was also a group of "special" children who would see their experiments being conducted in space by Eva. Of course there was the ever presence of the reporters and the cameras.The hall was lovingly decorated by the schoolchildren and everywhere one could see posters saying "Bon Voyage, Miss", "Our teacher is in space", "Frederick teachers' Rock – in Space" plus a collection of models and drawings. A large screened television was set up on the dais and everyone was seated just in time to see Eva and the crew walking along a gangway to enter the rocket.

Steve saw Eva clearly as she waved to the camera; she was looking happy and radiant.

This was the third time that everyone was assembled here, and each time the liftoff had been postponed – this was the closet yet and looked to finally be it.

It was Darren who yelled out loudly "there she is - that's our Mom!" It still took a while but eventually a hush came over everyone when the loudspeakers attached to the TV began the countdown from 10. After the countdown reached zero, the audience immediately began to clap and cheer as the mighty rocket slowly lifted off. There were oohs and aahs as the rocket began to accelerate and the television cameras tried to keep track of it by zooming in. The trail of vapor behind the rocket increased in length and it was an awe inspiring sight for the spectators crammed into the Assembly Hall, and indeed for spectators all over the world.

The rocket then exploded in a huge fireball and disintegrated before the tail end had left the Earth's atmosphere.

The audience at Frederick Middle School was mute. Only Megan turned to Steve and said "daddy? – why isn't mommy's spaceship going any further?" For all intents and purposes, Megan was watching a television show – the impact of what she saw was beyond her comprehension. Steve's face was frozen, his smile slowly gave way to a face of bewilderment – his mind frantically trying to decipher just what was going on – his eyes widened as his brain revealed the full extent of what has just happened. The immediate thoughts of disbelief gave way to pleading to God that everything was not as it seemed.... perhaps Eva and the crew had ejected safely. The high pitched and excited voice coming from the loudspeakers kept repeating things such as "O no! O my God, No No, this is a tragedy - the rocket has completely disappeared – this is just unbelievable – it's an enormous ball of fire and white smoke – it's an utter disaster – there's nothing left of it!"

Steve's first reaction was to grab his children in a hug and turned them away from the television screen. He tried to cover their ears and cried out loudly in utter frustration "will someone turn off that fucking TV!!"

No one immediately came to his aid, most people just sat there stunned, hands on mouths, shaking their heads in disbelief. Even the insensitive and hardened media people failed to film and capture the scene of this family's emotional mutilation. Steve began to shuffle to the door, still tightly holding onto Darren and Megan, "daddy, will Mommy be coming back from heaven soon?''. As if on cue, the people around him started to offer anything, to share his grief, to find some means of supporting him "can we do anything for you?" It was of no use to try to console him – he must be strong – he was the protector – the kids must come first – he would have to wait to sort his own self out. At the back of his mind lay the realization that he would never see his beautiful bride again. He tried to suppress that thought; he would not accept this truth until he returned to a sane state and reality.

All humans within the machine were in fact, vaporized.

Slig swirled and swirled and tumbled back into the realm of the Whisps. It returned to the Aura to find the Whisps in utter chaos – it didn't matter where on the planet they grouped for safety - Slig had achieved nothing.

Slig had upset the harmonic balance between the physical and non-physical world – the fact that it caused the non-existence of some Humans was of little consequence. Slig, as an individual knew that there was substance in the plan of making physical contact outside the Aura - it had "felt" something in that nanosecond.

It would not attempt to go on another flux to the physical. It decided that it would simply be a Whisp. It would just flux around and wait for the next Swirl Chaos – and the next time that happened, it would just tumble and swirl around like the rest of them – Whisps would look to Slig for an answer, but Slig let it be known that Whisps would simply have to find another adventurer. It would be interested, but it would never again become involved.
CHAPER FIVE – AGGIE

**10 Human years later**

As Robert bent down to kiss Aggie, two small teardrops fell from his tired eyes. They softly landed on Aggie's temple and slowly slid down and alongside her face. These transparent beads glistened and reflected some of the multi-coloured lights from all the machinery and paraphernalia surrounding her hospital bed. The first teardrop broke its surface tension and dissipated on the edge of the oxygen mask covering her nose. The mask gave his beloved daughter much needed assistance with her breathing and for the last few weeks, Robert had become used to the hissing noise of the vital air being pushed through the tubes. It was not loud, yet somehow it synchronised with the pitch and rhythm of the beeps and whirs of all her life support systems.

It was now dark and Robert stepped back to seat himself in the armchair and nod off for the few hours before daybreak, just as he had done so many, many times before – however this time it was different - he was overcome with gratitude.

Audrey took a quick look through the window of Aggie's room and saw Robert settle down. She thought to herself that she had been working in the Oncology Department far too long, had seen so many sad and pathetic incidents and wondered if she would ever be able to forget the faces and tragedies she encountered along the way. What a fine man is Mr Robert Kellor – a good looking fellow, a hero of space exploration, a loving husband and father, yet just look where the course of fate and destiny has taken him. His wife was plucked from him less than a year ago in a highway accident, then his only child became crippled and confined to a hospital bed and dying from acute leukaemia - with absolutely no chance of survival. There he sits, just as he has every day for so long now. This is his lot and Audrey's heart ached. Yes, she would definitely ask to be transferred to another department, she had had enough - she had her own sanity to worry about. She promised herself that at the end of this shift, she would confront the Human Resources Department and speak her mind and that would only be a few hours from now. Nurse Audrey did not want to be the one to draw the sheet over Aggie's head and see the grieving of a heartbroken father – she did not want to be the person who would have to rearrange and reset the machinery and equipment when the room became vacant, again. She did not want to be the person to bring in the next child and watch another life expire.

Audrey passed by Aggie's window an hour later, all was well, the systems were still in harmony and Mr Kellor looked relaxed in his chair. Audrey did not know that Robert Kellor had died quietly an hour ago.

The second teardrop slid alongside Aggie's cheek and as she stirred, the teardrop slipped into a little dimple which extended under the oxygen mask. The air flowing through the mask's tube took up the drop and it entered Aggie. Dwarg was in that drop - he had left Robert.
Whilst lowering the hot coffee cup and saucer onto Aggies's bedside table, Nurse Audrey thought it unusual that Robert was still asleep – by now he would normally be awake and, God bless him, be ready for another day of keeping company with his daughter.

Audrey always made sure that Mr Kellor got a cup of coffee first thing in the morning – it was the last thing on her list of things to do before finishing her shift and she always gave him a reassuring smile. She was a little tired and thought that she may postpone her appointment with the HR Department. She looked at Robert Kellor again, and then realized that all was not well.

She grasped Robert's arm and tried to find a pulse, his skin was cold, and she knew, even before she pushed one of his eyelids up, that he was dead. She quickly turned to push the alert button behind Aggie's bed. As she reached over Aggie, a voice said "my daddy is dead, isn't he?" Audrey was startled as she pushed the button, glanced down and saw Aggie looking directly into her eyes. Aggie had removed her oxygen mask and Audrey immediately saw a face that was not the ashen and forlorn face of the dying child she had been caring for – it was still the same girl, but the face was warm, fuller and rosy.

The quivering in Nurse Audrey's voice must have reflected her state of mind, "sweetheart, we have to wait for the doctor - how are you feeling?" Before Aggie could reply, two nurses hurried into the room and Audrey tilted her head toward Robert. All she could do was to try and become a screen between Aggie and the nurses who were now examining him.

"I feel fine thank you Miss – don't worry, everything is all right - I know what is happening." More nurses arrived and in a while, managed to lower Robert onto a wheeled stretcher and quietly pushed it out of the room. Audrey was absolutely perplexed as Aggie wriggled herself further up her bed and sat almost upright – it was unbelievable; Audrey could not help but approach and embrace Aggie, fully expecting a huge outburst of hysterics. "I told you I was OK – you know what I would really like right now? – a warm bagel with squeezed cheese and maple syrup on it and a lime flavoured thick shake, and would it be alright if I give my Aunt Edna a call? I need her to come and take me away from here."

The next few hours saw Aggie's room constantly busy with the comings and goings of surprised and enquiring medical people. Scans, tests, probes and pathology inspections all showed and proved that Aggie was a healthy young girl with absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. Blood tests now revealed no trace of leukaemia, counts were perfect, and her cognitive skills were, if anything, above average. Further, and to the sheer amazement to all and sundry, was the fact that all her muscles were firm, active and working. She had been bed-ridden for such a long time – surely there should have been some degenerative effects. Nurse Audrey had no intention of leaving the hospital now and had gone to great pains to be able to present Aggie with her first meal of a bagel with cheese, syrup and a lime thick shake. She was seeing all this unravel and had witnessed the strange event of a father dying at the same time that his daughter was truly reborn. She saw this as a strange yet true miracle and decided that there had been divine intervention.

As inexplicable as it was, the doctors could give no reason for further treatment and Audrey's face glowed as she went about removing the drips, tubes and sensors off Aggie.

She had overheard Aggie talking with Edna Kellor on the telephone and realized that in all the time she had been caring for Aggie, she had never actually heard her say anything at all, apart from the last few hours.

Aggie's answers to the doctors' constant questioning were very mature for a 10 year old; her voice did not croak or strain and her words were exact, unemotional and lucid. On several occasions, Audrey was compelled (and in some instances, forcibly) to remind those who would ask her patient these questions, that Aggie's father had just died that day. Aggie seemed quite at ease with this loss – almost as if she had expected it. The most common words to Aggie were "I'm so sorry about your dad Aggie" and her most common reply was "Thank you Doctor, Robert Kellor was a wonderful Human."

"How much longer do I need to be here, Doctor?" – no one seemed to have an immediate answer – "we still need to check up on a few things, sweetheart – but it looks like maybe a few more days and we will see then."

Audrey had finally taken a few hours off to rest herself. Before she returned to begin another shift at the Oncology Ward, she called into the chapel and spoke with Father Stuart at length about the miracle she had witnessed. Whilst it all looked quite nice to everyone, Father Stuart was rather sceptical with what he was hearing from Audrey.

He had already heard about the child's remarkable recovery and although this is a place of healing, something was not quite right. "I'll come up with you, if you don't mind, I would love to see the work of the Lord" and escorted Audrey to the elevator. Aggie was sitting on her bed. Another nurse had helped her put on her "outside" clothes. She smiled at Audrey as she and the priest entered her room.

"Aggie, this is Father Stuart – he is our hospital Chaplain and would like to meet you."

Aggie extended her hand and Father Stuart gently shook it - "Hello Aggie, I'm so very pleased to see you and I'm so glad that you are not sick anymore – you are a brave girl and God must be watching over you."

"Thank you Father."

"Child, I pray every day for the people and the girls and boys in this hospital to get better and it seems that He has chosen to make you well and we should thank Him for that. Will you pray with me and offer God our thanks?" There was a vast difference between Father Stuart's intentions and his actions. Before Aggie could reply, Father Stuart placed his bible on her lap and bent his head to pray. In fact, he had actually placed the bible there to see if he would get any adverse reaction from this (seemingly) innocent child. He closed his eyes and silently began with his prayer. This moment of serenity was immediately smashed asunder by a deep, booming and nightmarish voice which drove him to his knees. "You! - get your ass outer here and take your book with you!" It surely was the Devil, and Satan was not happy.

A trembling Father Stuart looked up at Aggie – she was smiling but not looking directly at him; she was looking over his head, at someone else.

"Hello Aunt Edna."

"Hi darling, sorry I'm so late."

Aunt Edna had a particular dislike for all things religious and it took a fair bit of self control to prevent her from kicking this quivering and intruding priest out the door. "Git out – we don't want you here."

Father Stuart left Aggie's room on his hands and knees and hissed to himself, Bitch from hell. He was not to know that Edna had been the young victim of a trusted and lecherous priest.

"Aunt Edna, this is Nurse Audrey, she has looked after me all the time I was in hospital. She has been my friend and I owe her so much."

"Pleased to meet you Audrey, we cannot begin to repay you for all your love and care. I believe Robert would also have wanted to thank you for all your kindness and friendship." Audrey was still a little unnerved with what had just happened, and simply smiled as she shook Edna's hand.

"I don't know what to think Edna, I was heartbroken when Robert passed, yet we have Aggie back with us, good as new – I've never been happier yet never been sadder. You are certainly going through strange and interesting times." At first impression, Audrey did notice that Edna was a "hippy" type of person – she certainly spoke her mind and seemed not to be too confused as to the goings on of the past few days. As to her reaction to Father Stuart, she knew immediately that Edna had an axe to grind with priests and would explain her thoughts to Father Stuart later. Of immediate concern was the fact that Edna had come to collect Aggie and Audrey had no authority to release her.

"We're off now Audrey; here is a copy of my driver's licence, my social security number and my contact details. Sweetheart, kiss Nurse Audrey goodbye, we are off to Vermont."

"Goodbye Miss" Aggie whispered into Audrey's ear, "and daddy thanks you with all his heart." Dumfounded, Audrey watched Edna and Aggie leave the room – they did not even look back. She sat down in the armchair beside Aggie's bed – realized that this was the chair Robert had died in – she jumped up and headed for the Human Resources Department.
CHAPTER SIX : DWARG

"Doctor Noble, this is Chris Hayden from the morgue. Can you spare a few minutes? – we have a situation here – yes, it involves the recently deceased Robert Kellor – yes, that's him – well we've started the post-mortem and, and well, we would like you to have a look at the body – I really think you will need to see this - door 20B – OK? See you shortly." Dr Hayden placed the phone receiver down, looked at his colleague, and turned his gloved palms upward. He shrugged his shoulders, "dinged if I know Harry – only been cutting up bodies for fifteen years – go figure."

Michael Noble made his way down the many corridors and swinging doors and elevators. He had the right to walk tall, after all he was the department head, had been published many times and never tired of lecturing and demonstrating his knowledge of the human heart – he was probably the country's foremost heart transplant surgeon. He had just again, refused an offer of an extremely highly paid position at a leading hospital in Washington – it wasn't the money, he just loved where and what he was doing now. He had it all, power, respect, great income, his wonderful yacht and enviable lifestyle. Why would anyone in his right mind want to change it all? Here he could follow and practice his speciality of cardiology and the myocardium was his passion. He had ensured he was on the distribution list of every autopsy report involving cardiac related investigation, and was insistent that anything out of the normal relating to heart episodes and diseases, was referred to him.

He wondered what this was this all about, and why the urgency? He didn't particularly like the morgue department – he didn't know why, perhaps the place lent itself to some sort of failure – he would fight tooth and nail to prevent his patients ending up there, yet fate was fate. At the very best, the morgue pathologists would gain valuable information from any autopsy, not only for the sake of the law or next of kin, but for the physician, especially the physician of the deceased. Strange, he had heard about Kellor's sudden death and there was no record of him actually having his own doctor – then again it was all so fast. He had also heard that Kellor's young daughter was still a patient in the hospital.

He pushed open the swinging door 20B marked Autopsy in Progress and approached the partially exposed body lying on the stainless steel slab of the lab. Standing on each side were doctors Hayden and Young. Other inquisitive examiners were peering through the windows – something was certainly out of the ordinary.

"So, gentlemen, how may I be of assistance to you?" – Michael Noble was prone to quipping in an upper class English accent – "someone lost his wedding ring? Someone misplaced a pancreas or kidney...... you guys remember which side of the body the heart is?" Chis Hayden did not answer as he slowly removed a green linen cloth which had been placed over the cadaver. Michael walked over to the slab then looked down at the open chest cavity of Robert Kellor. At first, he had some trouble interpreting what his eyes were seeing. What the hell is this? Just what the hell is this?"
He didn't know if he said those words out loud but he struggled to come to grips with what he was looking at. He saw the veins and arteries, they were all there, they were joined at a nodule, but there was no discernable heart where there should be a discernable heart. THIS BODY HAD NO HEART!

Michael's immediate thoughts covered situations of pranks, April fool, hidden candid camera, revenge, fraternity dares or just idiotic medical student tomfoolery. He glared at Hayden, waiting for an explanation as to why his valuable time was being taken up with this nonsense. "It's no joke doctor, this is what we found during the procedure – here, we've got it all on video." Still bemused, Michael watched the monitor and studied Chris Hayden's movements as Robert's chest was laid open. "If I find out you are just wise-guys wasting my time, I'll have you in front of the Administrator with your gonads pinned together!" he bellowed – and not in a posh English voice this time – more in a voice from someone who had lived all his life in the Bronx.

Doctor Noble snapped on the rubber gloves, ordered more light and swung the magnifying glass across Robert's torso and peered into it. "This is bullshit, this can't be true – get Len Avery from Coronary down here – right now!!" Michael was looking at the nodule where the veins and arteries met, "this was a heart once, but it's shrunk down to a small knot – no way in hell could it keep someone alive – no way in hell!! – this guy should have been dead years ago!!"- what the hell is going on here?" - It was a rhetorical question and no one present dared comment. "I want the full works on this – every test and scan you've got – what are you waiting for – move!" Doctor Avery came into the room, "take a look at this Len."

"Okey Dooky, hmm - nice work Bones, what did you do? hit it with Captain Kirk's Phaser or maybe Vader's sabre? – wow it's sure shrunk – what's the deal?"

"This is how it is Len, this cadaver has just been opened not more than a few hours ago, this guy was alive and well at 2am today – this was Robert Kellor the VIP, the astronaut who had his daughter in Oncology – well, what do you reckon?"

Len Avery handled the knot and studied the veins and arteries, he pressed them, he pulled on them gently, and he followed their lines and junctions. "Never seen or heard of anything like it Mic; this isn't a joke of some sort is it?" Michael shook his head – "no, I've seen the tale of the tape, we sure have a mystery here Len." Both men just stood there staring at the body. Mic finally said, "OK – let's see if we can work it out."

"One thing Mic, when we finally explain what's going on here, and you are writing your report, don't forget to include my name. Just let me take a couple of shots with my 14 mega pixels – you did order full scans?"

"Every test known to this place Len, and probably then some – this is going to be quite an adventure and a very interesting inquest. I'd better let the Miami-Dade Coroner know that we have a situation – just hope we beat the Press before they start asking him questions – and I think that NASA will want to be told as well."

Michael noticed that more and more people had some sort of reason to walk into the room to cast a furtive look at the open body of Robert Kellor. He called out to all the staff present, "people, this is a serious matter which requires serious investigation. I would ask you all not to discuss this matter outside this department – we have privacy issues and warn you that breaches will result in instant dismissal and I will be very active and aggressive in prosecuting those that cross the line – I need a list of all your names before you leave here. Thank you. So where do you suggest we start Len?"

"I think a full pot of coffee and let the kitchen staff know that overtime is authorised – indefinitely."

Doctors Noble, Avery, Hayden, their assistants and the staff of the hospital and every consultant involved in the investigation would never know exactly what happened to Kellor and his heart. Even if given the truth, they would never believe it.

The depth of the mystery became even more profound when the medicos found out that Kellor's daughter had made a remarkable recovery from her terminal illness and had been released by a bewildered Oncology Department head. She had already left the hospital with Robert Kellor's sister.

The truth was that Dwarg had kept Robert alive – Robert's heart had failed about 10 years ago – he should have died then. Dwarg had learnt that a Human, with some form of pseudo-physical hosting or contact with a Whisp, will become, and remain, in perfect physical condition, regardless of injury or disease. Dwarg did not know of the exact mechanics bringing about this (healthy) condition in the transmutation – it became just so. How else could Robert have survived that horrific traffic accident where his wife was killed? How come, in the last ten years, he never become sick or had needed to see a doctor? It was all Dwarg's doing. Robert became Dwarg's host – they were both high above the Earth's atmosphere in a space station.

Dwarg had learnt much from Slig's experiences, even copied the idea of wrapping itself around a rocket and leaving the Aura – this time the rocket did not explode and Dwarg actually became the first Whisp to make contact with the physical, indeed, with a Human. Unlike Slig, Dwarg would take the softly, softly approach and try to interact with Humans – time was not important.

Ten years ago, Robert Kellor's craft, lifted-off from Earth. His journey was bumpy, frightening and exhilarating and everything went to plan. Robert had a right to be happy. Ever in his mind, was the image of the horrific end to the last space mission – he had actually seen it happen back there at Cape Canaveral. The subsequent investigation proved that a simple thing like a faulty O ring was the probable cause leading to that rocket blowing up.

Robert could not help but think of all the simple little things that could go wrong on this ship. NASA had guaranteed 99.9 per cent odds of success; still, that left .1 of perchance for failure. His ship was made of about 3 million parts so .1 percentage equalled around 3,000 parts that statistically, might fail. He certainly had a lot to live for, having just become a proud father. He had just enough time to give little baby Aggie a kiss and a cuddle before he had to go into quarantine prior to liftoff.

His ship proved to function at a full 100 percent of success and it finally docked with the space station and he settled down for the next two weeks to perform the various tasks, maintenance and experiments which he had been trained to undertake.

On the second day of his mission in space, he was excited to learn from Mission Control that he was to walk in space to check out some components on the exterior of the station. There was some concern that there was a slight malfunction of the sensor apparatus which measured the weights, balances and gyros of the navigational system. Yes, he had certainly trained for this work and always enjoyed that state of weightlessness. It would also demonstrate his talent for fault-finding and repairs, and this time, he thought, it would be for real. After his companions helped him on with his suit, hoses and tethers, he made his way into the airlock booth and waited until he was isolated from the ship by hissing and sliding hatches. He watched the readouts of the various pressure gauges until they reached stabilization at the correct readings; he then pushed the big red button which caused a small outer door to swing open – outside was nothingness and Robert took a step into it.

He looked left along the glistening outer shell then to his right. Just for a second and at the edge of his vision, thought he saw something shiny and fluffy, much like a piece of crunched up white lace, sliding over and behind the hull, then out of his sight. Robert put it down to his eyes adjusting to the light or maybe this was a reflection from the hull onto his visor. A voice said "did you see that thing slide along the bulkhead Bob?"

He replied, "I thought I saw something white and shiny, but it disappeared over to the other side – thought it was my imagination. I'll take a look as soon as I tweak these sensors." Minutes passed and Robert had a look around the body of the station. "Control, I can't see anything here, probably a sunray reflection – I don't know – coming aboard – over."

"Roger Bob, see you when you get back. We'll have a look at the monitors and check. Out."

Robert had gone through the arduous process of re-entry to the station; he was not to know that he carried more on him now than when he exited. Dwarg had become a physical object; he had come from behind and attached himself to Robert, while both were still out in the open vastness of space. During the quarantine process in the re-entry chamber, Dwarg had shrunk himself to such a small size; he was able to attach himself to the body hair on Robert's back – where he hid for some time. The monitors indeed showed a shape sliding over the bulkhead and the body of the station. It had a non-descript form and its shape was unrecognizable. To the crew, cramming their faces together whilst looking at the screen, it looked much like a small cloud or a wad of cotton wool. It did seem to travel of its own accord, and did appear to purposely keep out of Robert's line of sight. At full zoom, nothing else was discernable. "Well if that's a UFO and it wants to attack, we don't have much to panic about."

"Should we report this Chief?"

"Guys, you know that if we do, it's a few more weeks of debrief at the Tank – so unless you like those panels of shrinks and endless reports and Men In Black following you, I suggest that we saw nothing, nothing."

"Hardly worth reporting a little piece of tissue paper in orbit, Chief – I've already forgotten about it."

The next day, Robert was entertaining the massive audience on Earth far below. He had turned on the camera and like a professional tour guide began to explain everyday life in the space station. He demonstrated how things were in a weightless environment. He opened the seal to a beaker and poured coffee out. The liquid just floated there, magically suspended and he then scooped it back into the beaker and drank it through a straw. Dwarg saw this all too late – that would have been a perfect way to enter the Human. Next, Robert squeezed some (far too much) toothpaste from its tube and again, the paste became suspended in mid air. Dwarg made his move when the string of toothpaste, looking like a fat wriggling worm, came nearer and he sprang onto it and embedded himself. Robert then smeared some of the suspended toothpaste onto a brush and began brushing his teeth, all the while smiling into the camera. Dwarg was ingested with some of the toothpaste – it had finally entered a host.
CHAPTER SEVEN – EDNA

"All your clothes and things are being packed right now by the removalists, sweetheart. Mrs Sharkey from next door promised that she would keep an eye out to see that nothing gets lost. Your uncle Dan has come down from Richmond and will take care of everything with the house. Dan said your father wrote down everything that he wanted with his stuff if something like this ever happened. To be truthful Aggie, nobody expected your father to pass on so suddenly and we'll have to find a time and place to really talk about it. At least he died peacefully and quietly in his sleep."

"He's made sure that you will be provided for – he was always a straight thinking man – I know you will miss him dearly – so will Dan and I. We need to get you far away from Miami quickly and before the Press comes along with all their questions and lies." Aggie looked straight ahead through the windshield at nothing in particular and she nodded knowingly.

Edna was a powerful person and although she had been somewhat estranged and separated from the rest of the family for a few years, this tragedy was certain to pull them together. Last week, she had had a premonition that something was not right and that the something involved Robert and Aggie. Did those thoughts come in a dream or a trance?

She vividly recalled a sensation, a nagging, irritating and upsetting feeling – something was amiss. She packed her overnight bag, asked Lisa her neighbour if she would mind the puppies for a few days, hopped into the pickup and with the exception of a few short naps and refuelling, drove the entire way from Putney Vermont to Miami Florida. She had premonitions before, all turned out to be accurate. Even given the fact that she did not really get on too well with Robert, she would not hesitate to follow her intuition. In any event, Robert did keep her up to date with Aggies's condition and Edna was planning to make the trip South in due course, hoping to see Aggie before that dreaded cancer took her precious young life.

Nevertheless Edna had felt this pressing and urgent need to go immediately – something strange was about to happen and her presence was needed, somehow.

Edna was a child of the Earth and proud of her heritage. Her grandparents, of the Abenaki Tribe of Canada, both died of cholera and her own parents moved to the New England area just after their wedding. Of their children, Robert was the eldest, followed by her, then Daniel. Neither brother seemed to be interested in his heritage and eventually moved South and went their separate ways. Robert became an astronaut and Daniel became a guitar player and music teacher. Edna remained in the family house after her folks passed away. She was quite happy being by herself and had no interest in marriage or raising a family of her own, although she had recently acquired the two malamute puppies.

Her upbringing, apart from the terrible episode of the parish priest's sexual assault, was relatively normal. She was baptized Catholic and attended the local church each Sunday for mass, learnt the catechism and read the bible – the same one which that "son-of-a-bitch priest" gave her a few months before she was violated by him.

She in turn condemned "make-believe" religions and their leaders and turned her belief to the natural world, a living planet in which nature was nurture. Nature had ensured that she received some inward consolation when she heard that Father S.O.B had been killed in a freak accident. It appeared that lightning had struck a large fir tree which fell on him – it had taken several days for him to die and Edna could not help but wonder if this holy person would end up in his heaven or in his hell.

She enjoyed the outdoors and loved the mountains, the clear streams and the multi colours of fall in Vermont. In the winter, she loved nothing better than reading some novel while sitting on a warm woollen rug in front of the large stone fireplace, listening to the crackle of the spruce logs burning. She was very independent – she had even cut up the firewood several weeks before winter and was never afraid of using the chainsaw. Her basement was well stocked with cans of food and containers of anything needed to survive the sometimes long and isolated snow seasons. She had the know-how to install her own electrical circuits, the oil burner which she had amazingly converted to an LP heater and had even managed to replace the pipes and pumps for the water supply. It took Lisa, her neighbour, quite some time to convince Edna that she should get a professional drill operator to dig a new well as Edna was prepared to go-to and do it herself with pick and shovel – after all, that's what her parents had done.

Early morning and evening, chipmunks, squirrels and brightly coloured cardinals and woodpeckers would visit her and she always had some scraps and seed for them. She loved to watch these little creatures scurry up the pole to the feeding dish and see the little squabbles and chatter between them. Occasionally, a wild moose would trample around the back of the house where she had her vegetable and herb garden – she would run outside with her shotgun hollering loudly at it – but she would never ever shoot one – that was against her belief and culture – and besides, her freezer was only so big.

Although she was self sufficient, she was by no means a recluse. She would visit the neighbours, go into town for the shopping and even enjoy a movie at the local theatre in Putney. On her "big shopping days" she would travel further afield to Brattleboro. Sundays were her favourites. Early in the morning, Edna would take the pickup and drive around the countryside, looking for yard sales.

She loved going and fossicking through these trash and treasure outlets and had picked up the most fantastic bargains. The majority of the canned food in the basement came from places like these and she had saved a lot of money and trouble by finding tools and bits and pieces of machinery to help her run the property. Her best, yet useless purchase was from a woman who had been heavily involved with Avon beauty products. She wanted to rid herself of the Avon business and Edna bought her entire stock of products for $75. There were so many cartons of perfumery, lotions, potions, creams and powders, that the springs of her pickup were nearly fully compressed after she loaded her bargain. She had met most of her neighbours, near and far by going to their yard sales. She seldom refused an invitation to a BBQ or social event and enjoyed spending a few hours a week at the library.

Her passion and interest was her heritage and she would spend a lot of time in researching her past and studying the customs and ways of the Canadian/American Indian – indeed she proudly considered herself one. Under different circumstances she would have been with her nation – not a warrior, but perhaps a Shaman or healer. She had a vast knowledge of plants, seeds, herbs and roots and knew of the mixtures needed to treat ailments.

It did not take long for the word to get around about the healing power of Edna's medicines An occasional visitor would call in for a chat and inevitability the talk would turn to a particular medical problem which Doctor Rixon or the chemist at the drug store, had no success in treating. Edna never charged people for the "here, try this stuff" therapy, but she ended up with chickens, piglets, baskets of corn and farm produce, so much so that she would give most away to Deslie at the Goodwill Store. Deslie was always amazed at the "stuff" that Edna would bring in but never questioned her sources – that would have been impolite, besides, Edna's potion had miraculously stopped Deslie's husband from his loud and incessant snoring. Edna kept the two malamute puppies – a gift from a grateful Derek, the deputy warden of the fish and game department, who, after a few daubs of Edna's "rub this on" stuff, did not now have gout.

Before he died, Edna's father was a basket weaver and worked in a small factory in Putney. The baskets were of all shapes and sizes from small strawberry punnets to fishermen's creels and large storage boxes. Perhaps of its uniqueness, the business thrived, especially so during the fall when the tourists would visit the factory and buy these wonderful local products. It was not a glamorous occupation, but he provided the basics of life for his family. Unfortunately in later life, he drank heavily and was arrested several times for drunk driving. Often, the drinking led to fits of temper and he would come home and be abusive to the wife and kids – they would run out of the house and hide while he would stagger around yelling, throwing furniture and breaking anything in his path. They would wait until he finally collapsed before coming back to tidy the place up. In the morning, he would wake up ashamed, sob and beg for everyone's forgiveness.

Before his children were born, he lived with his wife in a trailer on the land he had purchased on the Turner Trail. The land was lush and green and he set about building what would be the family home. Side by side, they cut and shaped every piece, nailed every nail and spent all of their time in the construction. He purchased a small generator and with his homebuilt sawing machine and compressor, he was able to use the abundance of local timber. Most of the trees they had cut down to make way for the house, were recycled and the lumber was eagerly converted to beams, planks and posts. Once the stumps had been burnt out and the basement and drains dug – the two Kellors were a construction team with purpose. The dream not only came true, but they were blessed with the arrival of baby Robert, just after the last plank was nailed. The dream waned in later years as he took to the drink and it completely ended that day when he collapsed and died while mowing the lawn around his castle, leaving Edna's mother to raise her three pre-teen kids.

Edna's mother was a wonderful and caring woman whom everyone in Putney and surrounds, knew and liked. Unfortunately she suffered from severe diabetes and Edna was called upon to administer the regular injections of insulin to her. At first, she found it terrifying, but after her mother told her that without the injections she would die, Edna became very proficient and did so for many years after. Perhaps this was where her interests in healing arose.

Her mother was a devout Catholic and it was always her secret desire that Edna may one day look at entering a cloister and become a nun. Nowadays it always brings a smile to Edna's face when she thinks of that - just how far off the mark had that wish gone? She dearly loved her mother and her heart aches when thinking of her.

Edna loved the homestead on the Turner Trial, and hoped she could spend the rest of her life living there.
CHAPTER EIGHT – THE ROAD TO VERMONT

The sun was going down as Edna's pickup pulled into the Best Weston North Miami. Aggie had said nothing to her except for a few brief answers to direct questions, no chitchat, prattle, sobs or tears. Edna would not press her - not yet anyway. "Only one and a half thousand miles to go Aggie , but at least we're on the road and away from those nosy and troublesome people – I'm really looking forward to a nice hot shower and perhaps...pizza?"

"That would be nice Edna, Oh I mean Aunt Edna, sorry."

"So pizza it is, I'll order a large one with everything on it and some soda, soon as we check in – after that and when we are all settled, we will have our little talk – OK? - then in the morning before we head off again, we'll do a little shopping and get you some nice clothes." The child looked up at her innocently and nodded – she would reveal all tonight and hope that Edna would not run away and abandon herself and Dwarg.

Showers were taken and pizza was had. Edna lay on the bed and watched the ceiling fan blades turn and felt the light breeze on her face. Aggie was sitting on her bed, pressing her finger on some loose crumbs and toppings on the bottom of the pizza carton – she remembered that she loved doing this, and these little spilt scraps seemed to be the best tasting part of the pizza - it seemed such a long time ago now. "Aggie, would you like to watch some television – you never know, we might be on the evening news?"

"Thank you, no." replied Aggie. The mood was quiet and Edna knew that she should not begin to nag. Aggie closed and took the empty pizza carton to the waste basket and placed it on top. She climbed on her bed, looked directly at Edna and said, "I'll tell you something that you will have trouble believing, so please open your mind and try not to get upset." Edna was curious and impressed with the mature language and wording that Aggie had been using – it would take a lot to upset Edna, who nodded encouragingly and took a deep breath.

"I've made a pact with someone who is not human - he is in my brain. He is not a spirit or a ghost or a demon. His name is Dwarg - he's cured me from the cancer."

"In the beginning he met with Daddy while he was up in the space station - Daddy didn't know, or didn't want to know that Dwag was inside him since that time. It's taken about ten years and finally this morning, Daddy understood and accepted him. Now that Daddy has died, Dwarg has transferred into me." Aggie paused to study Edna to see if see should continue with her fantastic story. Edna had her hands on her mouth and her face was losing a little colour, yet she said nothing. She made a little burp and mumbled something about the pizza and soda and said "excuse me honey, I need to go to the bathroom for just a minute."

Edna lent on the marble basin and turned on the cold water faucet. She looked at herself in the mirror then put her hands under the tap and splashed some water onto her face. She had managed not to vomit.

She was somewhat shaken and a little numb and felt dizzy, yet she had to control herself in front of her young niece.

Poor darling, perhaps the sickness had manifested itself in a different direction. If the trade-off is some form of delusional or psychiatric problem, that at least is a far better alternative, and something that might be treatable. There was certainly something wrong with Aggie yet she must be strong and supportive. This is serious, this is her family and she had no intention of letting Aggie down. She towelled her face, took a deep breath, put a smile on her face, walked back into the room and sat on the bed next to Aggie. "Sorry Aggie, I think I had one too many slices, please go on with your story." Aggie was still sitting in the same position on the bed as when Edna left the room.

"I have an idea of what you're thinking Aunt Edna, but that's OK, it will all work out and then you'll understand what's going on." Edna sat down next to Aggie and held her hands.

"Darling, just tell me everything."

"When I was back there in hospital, it was like I was waking up from a sleep. The first thing I realized was that there was no pain, I could breathe without gasping and I could hear beautiful music, well not real music but beautiful sounds and noises. I also heard drumbeats and bells and saw a beautiful red and purple dress. There were bright colours all around me and I could smell lovely flavours – I didn't even have my eyes open."

"Then I heard a voice talking to me – not really a voice but a feeling of someone talking to me. He said that I could call him Dwarg, and I shouldn't be afraid of him - he was going to make me better and get me out of here. I thought that the hospital people were doing something to me – and it was so nice and I had a warm feeling inside – it was so good to be able to move again – without pain. I thought that maybe this was a dream and God had come for me. During my sleep, I sometimes did think I heard Daddy talk to me, but just some words and I think I heard him cry sometimes – I was sad that I could not wake up before – and now that I thought I was awake, Daddy was not there. Dwarg kept saying that this was not a dream and I must be strong because he had something very important to tell me."

"He said that he had a message from Daddy, for me to relax and just listen – it would actually be Daddy – but he would not be here – I tried to open my eyes but couldn't. It's hard to explain, but then I saw Daddy, in my mind. Daddy told me that he had to go away forever and leave me because he was very sick. He explained that he should've died a long time ago, but Dwarg had kept him alive. He then told me how they met in the space station and regretted not believing that Dwarg was an alien inside him who kept him alive for so long – you see Daddy had a very sick heart. When Daddy finally accepted Dwarg, he was very grateful that he'd been kept alive, allowing him to see me reach my tenth birthday. Without Dwarg, he wouldn't have seen my first."

"Daddy then went on to tell me that I was also dying and there was nothing that the hospital could do for me. He was sorry and sad that he would not be able to see me grow up. Aunt Edna, I somehow felt that in Daddy's mind, he did not want to go on living."

"Daddy begged Dwarg to help me live, so Dwarg somehow left Daddy and went to me. That's how come Daddy died at the same time I got better. I think his dying wish was to see me cured and I'm sure he got to see that happen because as soon as I opened my eyes, I saw him smiling at me, he sat down and took his last breath - the rest you know – are you OK Aunt Edna?"

Edna had tears streaming down her face. It had been a long, long time since she last cried – come to think of it, she must have been about Aggie's age then.

"Everything will be alright Aunt Edna, I know it's all weird and confusing but you must trust me. If you just knew how happy and grateful Daddy was at the end, and the way he said goodbye, you would understand. I'm very sad that he went but at least I still have part of him inside my mind and I can see and hear him vividly explaining why he did what he did and what he wanted me to do. I can replay him whenever I need him and for the last few hours he has been with me."

"Aunt Edna, I hope you don't think my reaction at losing my father is a bit cold. I haven't cried or broken down yet and Dwarg has helped me to cope with everything so far – there is still a lot to tell you, but I think a good night's sleep is what we need now – by the way, this dress is too tight - I've spent so much time in a hospital gown, I've got no idea of my dress and shoe sizes, I should be a size up by now."

"Here, Aunt Edna, I'll give you a hand to your bed – you must be so tired, goodnight, see you in the morning."

"Goodnight Aggie," Edna managed to whisper.

Aggie turned off the main light switch and jumped into her bed. It was going to be a long and sleepless night for Edna – Aggie went to sleep almost instantly.

The morning sunlight reflected off the side of the motel wall onto one of the deep green quilted curtains in the room. Aggie opened her eyes and stretched her arms in the air – she felt happy and alive, even more so now that she was away from that hospital. She thought about Nurse Audrey back there and wondered who her next care would be. Aggie was especially pleased to have avoided any scans or x-rays of her head and brain in all that commotion back there. Dwarg was a physical entity, albeit in microscopic form, and as he put it, "hangs out" in her head. X-rays and scans might not necessarily spot him there, but he had no idea of how the radiation may affect him. It was important to get away from the probing and questioning medical people. Aggie looked across at Edna who was snoring mildly.

She was not to know that Edna had spent most of the night with eyes open wide, listening to the soft, yet irritating and repetitive clicks of the ceiling fan. Try as she may, Edna could not rationalize what Aggie had told her – this was just too wacky – this was science fiction stuff – aliens in her head? – what was next? and what was she to do about it?

What was the urgent compulsion for her getting into the pickup truck and driving all the way here? and how coincidental that she turned up on the outskirts of Miami, just in time to get that call from Aggie on her mobile? More and more questions, more and more thoughts...some made sense - most were irrational.

It was to be an hour before sunrise when Edna finally fell into a deep and disturbing slumber.

Aggie could see that her aunt was tired from all the driving and of course the news about Dwarg would have given her quite a scare as well. She crept to the bathroom but Edna stirred and opened her eyes.

"Good morning Aunt Edna, did you sleep well?"

"Fine Aggie- - how about you? Do you remember all the things you told me last night honey?"

"Yes I had a real good sleep and it was so nice not to be in a hospital bed. I know you must be upset about what has happened to me and about Daddy and Dwarg, but there is nothing bad or evil to be worried about. I'm not sick or mad – just relax and everything will become clearer to you, I promise."

Edna had hoped that Aggie might have slept off this fantastic fantasy during the night, but it looks like the nightmare will continue, at least for today. She was fatigued, it was 9 a.m. and her plans for shopping before leaving outer Miami early, were looking to be near impossible. "Aggie, would you mind if we spend another day here before moving on? We still have to go to the mall to go shopping and my truck needs a good service - it's really done a few miles lately and there's still a lot to go."

"I think that's a good idea Aunt Edna, besides I think you need a good rest from driving anyway."

"Done deal Aggie; let's have a chick's day out – starting with a big, big breakfast at Denny's. Oh by the way, Uncle Dan asked if we could call into his place in Richmond on the way and visit with your aunt Claire and your cousin Jade."

"That would be nice, I remember that Jade had a lot of guinea pigs when I saw him last, he was forever making little boxes and houses for them and he kept getting more and more and reckoned he was going to get rich by selling them at flea markets."

"Yes, I think he still has the guinea pigs" said Edna, carefully noting that Aggie's memory, at least, seemed OK.
CHAPTER NINE – ACCEPTANCE

To a Whisp, time was just a measure. Dwarg had spent about ten human years inside Robert Kellor. During that period, Dwarg had studied the internal make-up of Robert's being. It was a difficult learning time because Dwarg was now in fact, a physical "thing" and could not do some of the things that a Whisp within the Aura could do – conversely, he could do things not possible for a Whisp. Of course, being physical meant that he was technically not a Whisp and could not relay information back to the Whisps – further, he now saw himself as a he rather than an it. Dwarg was sure that Slig must be aware of what was happening, because of his obvious absence from the Aura – perhaps Slig was actually following him in his endeavours – he still had not worked out a way to contact him.

Dwarg had the capability of reducing his size, (not that he knew what size he should be) to such an extent that he could enter an atom, which he did regularly. By reading the knowledge within Robert Kellor's brain, Dwarg learnt that Humans had determined that the atom was the basis of all things physical, of all material things, of liquids, solids, gasses and any matter living or dead. They thought they knew everything about the atom, and of its composition. However they were yet to discover the huge and wonderful world within an atom. If, as the Humans thought, the atom was the building block of all things possible, how come Dwarg was here and now, and physical? He was certainly not "constructed" of atoms at all. In this paradox, Dwarg determined that hereby was the key to the inability of a Whisp to touch the physical world. Their Aura and their existence lay in the spaces between atoms within the Earth and its atmosphere.

Within Robert Kellor, Dwarg had established a network between the atoms of his being, and was able to control and direct the molecules, cells and electrical activity keeping the Human alive. After Robert returned to Earth from space, his heart began to deteriorate rapidly and Dwarg, now being physical, was able to wrap himself around this failing organ. He was also able to manipulate the Human's cells into such a structure that ensured the continued and regular pumping of blood throughout the body. Dwarg could not afford to let the Human die as he had no indication of the effect upon himself residing within a dying cell, so it was in his interest to keep Robert alive – not only alive, but healthy.

One thing Dwarg was not able to do, was to communicate with Robert. Robert was strong willed and somehow kept up a block to any attempt to get through to his thoughts or awareness – it was a frustrating barrier. Sometimes Dwarg would try through Roberts's dreams, and on a number of occasions, leave "messages" after Robert drank alcohol.

One day Robert was doing some home-improvements when a wooden beam fell onto his head, rendering him unconscious. Dwarg immediately took control of the body cells and ensured that the head injury was healed almost instantly. He also took this opportunity to introduce himself as an entity in Robert's brain and asked him to open his mind for better contact between them – Dwarg explained who he was and that he was the reason for Robert's good health and being - it wasn't just good luck.

Later, Robert was badly injured in a horrific vehicle accident.

His deep and critical wounds healed completely, minutes before the paramedics arrived on the scene, yet his wife died upon impact.

Given the emotional state of Robert's mind at the time of his wife's death, Dwarg again took the opportunity to communicate his presence there and then – to no avail. These attempts however did, and at the very least, leave a feint imprint on his memory. Robert never concentrated or tried to explore this imprint, in fact he greatly feared that he might be at the edge of succumbing to Alzheimer's, schizophrenia or even encephalitis. That fear ensured that he would not seek medical advice – Aggie was his world now, and that was where he would focus all things.

It was only when Robert's disposition, depression and thoughts of suicide at seeing his daughter dying slowly, that Dwarg was able to get through to him – Robert had hit rock bottom and opened his mind – he had nothing else to lose – Dwarg had everything to lose. He filled Robert's thoughts with what had happened, where and when they met, things in Robert's past and things that only Robert would have known about. Robert was forlorn and frustrated and would accept anything, even if that anything was totally and utterly ludicrous. Strangely, the things that Dwarg communicated, actually made some sense – or maybe he was now completely insane. Anyway he decided that he would even accept the fantastic, the improbable, and if not impossible, proposition posed by Dwarg; an offer of exchange of lives - Robert for Aggie. Robert asked Dwarg for some sort of sign to prove his existence – so Dwarg told him to reach over and touch Aggie. After holding her hand for a few minutes, Robert saw the colour come back into Aggie's face, the machines seemed to "calm down" with their urgent noises and readings and Robert could see an immediate improvement in Aggie. Robert was convinced.

Dwarg explained that for Aggie to fully recover he would have to leave Robert and enter her body; this would lead to Robert's death. Robert was anxious to have this happen immediately. He also accepted Dwarg's generous offer of leaving a personal message with his daughter. Robert did not have to actually speak his mind, yet somehow he put forward his story, his feelings, hopes and wishes to Aggie. This was the happiest yet saddest moment in his life and he was ecstatic at being able to give something to enable her to live. Robert implored Aggie to be happy for him and not to mourn his passing.

Dwarg had promised Robert that he would take good care of Aggie, would not be a controller or lead her to any evil or harm. Further, Dwarg would carry with him, a history of Robert's memories extracted from certain brain cells along with atoms, impulses and cells from his DNA; this meant that Aggie would have access and perhaps guidance if and when she may have a use for them.

All this being done, Robert bent over to kiss Aggie for the last time and accepted death with relief and gratitude.

Dwarg entered Aggie within a cell in one of Robert's teardrops. He immediately fluxed to her brain area and began communication with her. She was in a coma and had no barrier to block any incoming information from Dwarg and the messages from her father.

Dwarg set about altering, rearranging and redirecting the cancerous cells in Aggie's body, this happened in a number of minutes and Dwarg ensured that her tissues, muscles, bones and organs were functioning and healthy. This was only possible because he was a physical entity – no Whisp within the Aura could do anything like this. Aggie was very receptive to all the explanations, data and seemingly difficult information given to her. Dwarg then asked her to wake up and take one last look at her father before he died – Aggie opened her eyes just in time to see Robert sitting down on the chair beside her bed – he had a smile on his face and looked at peace. She now knew all and had accepted Dwarg.

For the next hour they exchanged stories, Dwarg explained as best he could about the existence of Whisps and how Humans were causing Swirl Chaos by punching machines through the Aura. He asked Aggie to help him find a solution. Aggie argued that she was only a little girl, with no parents, no power or position – how could she possible help him? Dwarg explained that they would both work it out - he was in no hurry. Aggie thought deeply about what had happened and knew (although still at the tender age of ten) that she had now found a meaningful purpose in life.

Dwarg in turn, would let Aggie go about her life, yet ever looking for ways and means of fulfilling his quest – things would be easier for him now that he had a willing host and time was no real consideration.
CHAPTER TEN - RICHMOND

Edna's pickup truck slowed down and stopped at the toll booth. Begrudgingly, Edna paid the bridge toll and whispered something quite uncomplimentary to the steeled and disinterested collector. The city of Richmond was in sight and both Edna and Aggie where in high spirits and looking forward to visiting Claire and Jade.

Earlier that day Dan and Edna had a long telephone conversation and Dan would remain in Miami a bit longer to oversee the sale of Robert's house. Edna did not tell him of her concerns about Aggie, but did suggest to him that Aggie needed to get away from the bad experiences of late. Dan reported there was a fair bit of red tape and delay, involving the release of Robert's body for his funeral. It seems that a few different departments and agencies had an interest and the county coroner had no intention of releasing the body until all the bureaucracy was sated. Edna advised him not to make a fuss just yet, as she wanted to get Aggie to Vermont before the news hounds caught a whiff of whatever was going on. Dan was overjoyed to hear that Aggie's cancer had completely disappeared and she was now able and healthy. She was a joy and they had spent many hours shopping for new clothes – more importantly, they got on extremely well. They spent many hours in the truck, just chatting along like excited little girls going on an adventure. Dan said that Claire was expecting them and had been baking her scones and pasties for the occasion.

Dan and Claire lived in a lowset house about a mile away from Richmond airport – and young Jade spent many an hour on the front porch watching the aeroplanes take off and land. Sometimes he would wonder to an area next to the main terminal which housed some museum aircraft. On the front apron of the building was a full scale Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird and he would pretend that it was his plane. He wanted to be a pilot or an astronaut, just like his uncle Robert, or if he could not be that, he would like to be a guinea pig farmer. Much to the consternation of his father, Jade had absolutely no interest in music. To him, it was just noise with a thump thump, or someone screaming or sounding like they were sick. He liked the sounds of jet engines, sirens, V8s and the soft subtle squeaks of his guinea pigs.

He quickly put one of his pets back into its enclosure when he saw Edna's pickup turn into his driveway and ran to meet them, hollering to his mother that Aunt Edna and Aggie were here. Hugs and kisses later, they sat down to a delightful afternoon of tea, soda and scones with cream and strawberries. Claire offered sympathies to Edna and Aggie about the loss of Robert – Jade at twelve years of age – could not fully comprehend that Aggie now had no father or mother. He was embarrassed and found it difficult to enter into the conversation, especially so in hearing the way Aggie spoke just like a grown-up.

After a while, Edna said "Aggie, why don't you go with Jade and look at his guinea pigs, apparently he still has a lot of them – I'll go and unload our stuff from the truck."

"Yes that would be nice, Jade, do you mind showing me your collection?" Jade had never heard younger kids speaking like an adult, but he had to show her every respect possible and said "Sure, but you might get some mud and shit on you, maam."

"Hey! I'm Aggie your cousin, remember? You used to call me daggy Aggie – what's this maam business?" Claire's and Edna's eyes turned upward as the kids raced to the back door giggling, just like normal kids should.

Aggie was cuddling a fat, white and tan guinea pig and Jade was counting a family of new arrivals. "Six more today; I think I'll sell these later, after they leave their mother. Aggie I feel bad about you not having your Dad anymore. Maybe I can marry and look after you so you won't be alone anymore. I can sell a lot of pigs, so we can have money to buy things you want."

"Jade, I think your mother and father won't allow that, anyway we have to finish school first. I'm fine and I have Aunt Edna to take care of me now, and if that doesn't work out, I'm sure your mom and dad will look after me."

"Aggie, how come you talk funny? You sound like a grown-up."

"I'm sorry Jade; you know I was very sick didn't you?" Jade nodded, "well I spent a long time in hospital and I wasn't able to talk for a long time, I couldn't move sometimes and other times I couldn't wake up. I was always in pain and I thought I was going to die. I don't think I was growing up while I was in hospital. Then a few days ago something strange happened and I woke up with no pain or anything and I felt really good. I think when I woke up, all the growing up caught up with me. Don't worry, I'm not trying to be a snob – I'm still daggy Aggie and you're still stinky Jade." With a laugh, Aggie threw a muddy lettuce leaf on Jade's head.

"Aggie this is Butch, he's from the very first of my herd. He's very old and can't walk anymore. His back legs are kaput and Dad keeps telling me to put him down, but I can't, so every day I carry him to his feed and water and give him a little rub down. Don't know why, but he hates me handling him, even though it's for his own good. Stupid pig, but I like him and every morning I came down expecting him to be dead – just listen to him whine – come on Butch, roll over for Jade's daily massage."

"He's beautiful Jade; can I rub his tummy too?"

"Go ahead Aggie, I want to fill the water dish anyway – mind his tail, he can give you whiplash with it." Aggie rubbed her fingers on the protesting creature, which immediately calmed down and submitted to her touch. "OK Butch, let's get your body back to your home" said Jade picking him up and nosediving him into his hutch, like a toy jet fighter flying into its hangar.

"So have you made a lot of money from your guinea pig ranch, Jade?"

"Well last market I made $175."

"Wow, so much?"

"Well I would have made a lot more if the door to the cage didn't shake loose while mom was taking me to the market. I lost 15 pigs. They must've jumped from the trailer on the way there. On the radio, there was a story about a lady who was upset because she had seen the biggest rats in her life running along the footpath outside her house – and these rats had no tails." They both cackled as they walked back to the house.

Butch was watching them walk back – he had trotted, without difficulty, from his bed to the outer gauze netting, some five yards away.

Edna had assured Claire that she was more than happy to raise Aggie as Robert had wished. She explained the strange and powerful urge to drop everything and drive down to Florida to see Robert and Aggie and how she had received the telephone call from Aggie an hour after Robert had died – it was almost as if she knew that Edna was nearby. "I know you have special gifts Edna, and your relationship with nature and the earth. Dan said that of all the kids, you were the one who kept, dare I say, some spiritual connection with the family past. He never really wanted to talk about his background. I suppose there are forces out there that we have no idea about, there has to be something to it, don't you think?"

"I suppose you're right Claire, maybe one day it will all make sense. Did you notice anything different about our Aggie?"

"Well it's been a while since I last spoke with Aggie, but I'm a bit surprised at the way she speaks and carries a conversation – seems like a different child, but the same, sort of more mature – am I right?"

"Exactly Claire, I found it a bit off-putting at first. Also I've noticed that for a ten year old, she's extremely advanced in mathematics. We had a little contest on the way here and I challenged her on different things like mental arithmetic, calculating and converting mileages. She even worked out how many power poles are between Jacksonville and Savannah by gauging the distance and studying the mileage counter in the truck – couldn't tell you if she had the right number, but wouldn't be surprised if she was dead accurate – she was at everything else. Claire, do you think I need to get someone to see what's going on with her?"

"I don't think you have any worries just yet Edna, don't forget she's gone through a lot of trauma in the last few days –so there should be some reaction to all that. I must admit that she appears to handle Robert's passing quite well – how was she when you collected her from the hospital?"

"I didn't make a very good entrance when I walked into her ward room. The first thing I saw was a priest – I thought he was giving her the last rites - and I lost it. I threw him out and it must have seemed to Aggie that I was a loud-mouthed bully. Surprisingly she was fine, and happy to see me – and I could tell that she wanted to get out of that place so quick. I tried to talk with her about Robert, but she kept telling me that everything was OK and not to worry. Like you said Claire, she's the same Aggie but different – a more mentally mature Aggie. Maybe that's a blessing anyway." Edna would never think of telling Claire about Aggie's revelations of an alien in her head – Aggie did not deserve any unnecessary concern or heartache from other quarters. It was a problem that Edna would bear on her own shoulders.

Claire, who had worked with special children for many years, initially saw the possibility that Aggie might have a mild form of Autism, yet Aggie did not show any of the more common tell-tale signs. She had no problem coping with challenges, no apparent disability or trouble in the area of social communication – in fact, the opposite was true. "I think you two are well suited to each other and I'm sure you'll get on well Edna, and I can only wish you all the best and happiness for both of you – you know that Dan and I would have been quite happy to take Aggie in with us?"

"Yes I know, but Robert's wishes were for me to care for her. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea, but I'll also respect Aggie's wishes, and should she not want to stay with me, it's good to know that she has other family to go to. Anyway we won't be leaving the country and Putney, Vermont is only a couple of hours from here – and we want to see you come up for more regular visits, promise?"

"Well we won't be seeing you in wintertime. I remember last time we were up there, snowed in for two weeks and living off your canned food. I can still see us opening the tins, yes the ones without the labels, and seeing what lucky dips we were going to have for dinner. Remember those cans hand-marked peaches and custard, which turned out to be braised lamb and vegetables? Ugh, I've never looked at custard again. Still haven't told Dan or Jade that they were eating baby food much of the time." Edna gently put down her tea cup then roared with laughter.

Jade and Aggie were leaning on the railing of the front balcony. They were watching the planes take-off and land at the airport. "I want to be an astronaut like your father was. I want to fly into outer space and float around the world and even go to Mars or Pluto for a look – that would be fun. Would you like to go into space or walk on the Moon or something like that Aggie?" Aggie was in deep thought – this was quite a question.

"I guess I would like to be involved with space travel, but more on the scientific side of things, perhaps a researcher, yes a researcher."

"A researcher? What will you be searching for?"

Aggie suppressed a smile and said "I think I would be looking for stuff that would make the world better, maybe fix sick people or make sure that they always had something to eat. Maybe there is something out there in space or even something invisible around us, that needs my help."

"OK, you do that and I will fly you there in my rocket." They both turned to see what all the laughter was about inside. Jade whispered, "I bet they're talking about the tins of baby food we had to eat when we were trapped in Aunt Edna's house. The snow was so deep that we couldn't even get to her front gate. She tells everybody about those cans, over and over, and thinks that Dad doesn't know about it – he told me not to say anything and just let Mom carry on thinking that she has a secret." It was now Jade's and Aggie's turn to laugh loudly.

The rest of the day was relaxing. Dan phoned later that night to report that he had gone as far as he could to recover Robert's body from the coroner. Everything was still on hold and he had placed directions with the undertakers to retrieve the body from the county administration, whenever they approved its release.

The early morning calmness in suburban Richmond was broken by the roar of an incoming airline. The sun was coming up and Jade came running in. Edna, Claire and Aggie were up quite early and sitting at the table enjoying those wonderful small flapjacks with maple syrup that Claire enjoyed making – it was Dan's favourite breakfast and he didn't mind a fried egg or two on top of them as well.

Jade rushed inside, he was beside himself with excitement – "take a look at Butch, he's been running around on his legs, there's nothing wrong with him now. I went down to see if he was still alive this morning and here he was just a running round like a new piggy – I can't believe it." He danced a little jig around Butch who indeed scampered around without difficulty, trying to avoid Jade's rubber boots which were depositing a little more mud than Claire cared for.

"OK, both of you – out!" said Claire with a wave of her arm, not knowing whether or not to be angry or happy with Jade. Jade scooped Butch up and ran back to his "ranch" and placed Butch back into his hutch. Butch immediately tunnelled through the new pile of straw which Jade had put there and hid.

Edna stifled a little burp with her hand -"well on that note, we had better get ready to hit the road again Claire, only a few miles to go now, might make an overnight stop in Frederick tonight."

"Sorry you missed Dan but we'll see each other again, at the funeral – whenever that is – Aggie, you look a bit down this morning, is everything OK sweetheart?"

"Yes I'm fine Aunt Claire, just a little tired, things have been going around in my head and I had a few dreams last night – not really nightmares – but I kept waking up. Anyway, isn't it great to see Jade so happy? - he was really preparing himself to have to bury Butch this morning – I reckon Butch will live for a long time yet." Edna looked at Aggie - she seemed to have a knowing smile on her face.

Did Aggie have something to do with Butch's remarkable recovery? Edna did not miss the subtle parallel, and she felt a slight chill running down her spine. With great difficulty, she managed to suppress any more questions.

A few hours later, Edna's pick-up left the driveway and Claire and Jade waved them goodbye. Edna was particularly happy to have made the stopover and promised herself that she would see the family more often now. These are the times when families support each other and it's such a shame that sometimes it takes a death, for this to happen.

"To answer your question Aunt Edna, I think so, I'm not sure. Dwarg must have seen that I was sad about Butch. I felt something strange when I held Butch and my fingers tingled – that's as much as I know." Edna in fact, had not asked any questions, but she nodded anyway.

"Aggie, what do you think was happening last night, you said things were happening in your head, do you think you may be getting sick again, did you have a headache or any pain?"

"No, nothing like that at all – I think for some reason Dwarg was upset or restless – he couldn't explain it to me but promised it would not happen again."

"Aggie, please promise me that you let me take you to see the doctor or someone, if anything and I mean anything, upsets or hurts you –I need to know for my own peace of mind – promise?"

"I promise."

Edna was thinking about home where she could touch her "lucky" stones, shells, bones and signs – she didn't actually believe in their healing powers, but they sure as hell would settle her nerves right now. At that precise moment, Aggie turned to her with a smile and said, "Anyway aren't we the female healers of our tribe – if we do get sick, shouldn't we be healing ourselves with our powerful medicines anyway?" Why would Aggie say that? Was Aggie reading my thoughts?

The next hundred miles on the road to Frederick went by quietly. Edna was deep in thought, trying to think of a way of getting some treatment for Aggie – but whatever probable solution she thought of, it would come to nothing, if not, be more harmful.

She never had much faith in psychiatrists and their ways and at that tender age, a certain stigma would always certainly follow. Play it by ear Edna, she told herself, and at once wondered if Aggie was reading her thoughts. She turned to Aggie and smiled, but Aggie seemed be become a little tense.

"What's wrong honey? Did Dwarg tell you anything more about last night?"

"Aunt Edna, that picture on the wall across from the bed I was in, at Aunt Claire's place – do you know anything about it?"

"Can't recall which one you mean – oh the painting of Van Gogh's Starry Night?"

Aggie went on, "It shows a small village and the sky has all those swirls of colours and lights."

"Yes honey, it's a print of a painting by Vincent Van Gogh – it's a very famous painting – why do you ask?"

"Well, it gave Dwarg quite a turn when I looked at it – I don't know why, nor does he, I think. That's why I couldn't sleep too well last night – he was really restless." Edna was seldom lost for words, but was, for the next fifty miles.

"Edna, sorry, Aunt Edna, is there any chance of meeting that person who did that painting?"

"Goodness, no, Aggie – he died well over a hundred years ago, somewhere in Europe, Holland I think, because he was a Dutch artist."

"Do you know anything about him or his life? – was he famous or powerful and do you know how he died?"

"Whoa there missy, don't know too much, but I remember the story of him cutting off his ear to give to his girlfriend and I think he died quite insane. His paintings are very famous and the most expensive – that's why people can only get copies or prints if they want one. His original paintings are hung in museums and art galleries around the world."

Aggie was beginning to get a little excited, "he has painted more? Do you know what other pictures he painted?"

"Not off-hand Aggie, there's a painting of a pot of sunflowers, a chair...but tell you what, seeing you are so interested, when we get to Frederick, we'll hop into a bookstore and see what we can find out about Vincent. I'm sure they'll have a book of his life and his works – how about that babe?"

"That'll be great Aunt." Edna, still utterly confused by the conversation they just had, felt a lot better although she didn't know why. At the very least, she thought, Aggie's invisible friend has a little interest in art and culture.
CHAPTER ELEVEN : FREDERICK

Dwarg had learnt a lot thus far. All the learning over the past ten Human years and indeed all the knowledge he gained from Robert Kellor, Slig and other Whisps, did not prepare him for the shock he received when he first saw the painting of van Gogh's Starry Night. Yes, there was some residual knowledge from Robert Kellor's memories, but obviously Robert was never interested and had never even looked directly at this picture. Aggie had glanced at the painting hanging on the wall and as the image fluxed around her brain through impulses, transluting flashes and ionic stimulations, Dwarg also saw it. He didn't see it as Aggie saw it. Aggie saw it as a colourful painting of greys and blues, of clouds, starlight and moonlight over a sleepy village nestled in the mountains. What Dwarg saw, was a black and white image of a Swirl Chaos.

Curiosity kept Dwarg active inside Aggie. To him, most difficult of understandings was in the area of Human emotions. He had identified many emotions, even worked out triggers, situations and conditions where emotions changed. He had still to identify how certain Human emotions arose, sometimes spontaneously from mysterious sources. Fright, fear, loss, foreboding, love, hate, even curiosity were some emotions he had already studied and had a little knowledge about. He had no idea that he himself would be the subject of what could be equated as a Human emotion – and that was one of shock. It was a realization that he may not have been the first Whisp to become physical.

He had absolutely no doubt that the painting had been guided, inspired, and certainly had some degree, of a Whisp's involvement. As a result of this initial realization, Dwarg vibrated; causing Aggie some anxiety, dizziness and upheaval. It was difficult for him to explain the situation to Aggie and took some time for him to settle down. Robert Kellor's legacy to Aggie came with an inbuilt safety sensor to which Dwarg was bound. In some inexplicable way, Dwarg was admonished for the disturbance.

Aggie had sensed his confusion and curiosity with that painting –her own inbuilt and faiI-safe mechanism had recognized the upset. Would she help Dwarg in his turmoil and help him work out what this is all about? - Of course she would. After all, he did do a nice thing for Butch.

Dwarg was puzzled for a number of reasons. The how, when, where and why of the image of the Swirl Chaos. He had never known of a Whisp contacting the physical before.

Who was this Whisp? Whisps in the Aura were never "lost" or failed to exist as Humans did. Whisps knew each other; sure they never counted their number to see if they were all there, it was taken as being so. How would a Whisp or Whisps know and understand if one of their number should disappear? Dwarg had no answer, just more questions.

If this picture of a Swirl Chaos was painted over a hundred years ago, well before the Human's machines lifted off the planet, are the Humans innocent? Dwarg needed much more information - at this time, he could not call upon the Whisps – he would have to keep investigating and he would have to use Human resources.

"Frederick is not all that far from Washington" remarked Edna, "but I try to avoid driving through the Capital. Last time I went to D.C. I thought my pick-up would be squashed on the beltway. I was doing 60 miles per hour and between two big trucks. I swear they were doing over 80 miles an hour and somehow it seemed that the force of the wind or whatever, lifted my car and I was buffered along for quite a while. All the other traffic seemed to be going so fast that they flew past me. I wondered if my speedo was wrong. Those drivers in Washington think that because they have a half-decent freeway around their city, and if it's not bumper to bumper traffic, they make-believe they are on the autobahns of Germany. Never a cop when you need one. How is Dwarg doing sweetheart?"

"Oh, he's still a little confused, but he's settled down a bit."

Edna turned to Aggie and asked, "So any more about that painting or why it caused a stir."

"No, not yet Aunt Edna, but sure looking forward to learning more about it when we get to Frederick."

"Aggie, you know that nearly everything that there is to know, can be found on the internet? If you like, we can go and buy a laptop and you can look things up on it. I don't have a computer at home – too much high tech for me. Aggie, Aggie?"

She was deep in thought, "no, thanks Aunt. I know Daddy had a good one and Uncle Dan will get it to me when he can."

"OK, well there's the town and here's the turnoff – I've been to this motel before and it's very nice – I know there's a very big bookstore a block down from it. Would you like to eat at a fancy restaurant tonight, I know a great little Mexican place?"

"Do you mind very much if we have pizza in the motel? I'd like to do a little bit of studying."

"Of course darling – I was hoping you'd say that." Edna replied, lying through her teeth.

The young lady at the bookstore greeted Edna and Aggie as they entered. "May I help you ladies?" she asked with a charming and warm smile.

"Yes", said Edna, "we're looking for a book about Van Gogh – maybe about his life and a book of all his paintings." The sales assistant maintained her smile, full knowing that Vincent Van Gogh had painted well over 900 pictures and numerous sketches and drawings.

"Yes we have quite a few books about him and his works – he painted hundreds of pictures and he's my favourite artist. I've studied him while I was an art student – here we are, these three shelves are books about his life, there are a few books with the letters he wrote to his brother Theo and the next shelf are books with plates of his paintings – I don't believe we have a book with everyone of his paintings, but if you are looking for a particular theme or a time in his life, I can find something for you."

"Would you know exactly when he painted Starry Night?" asked Aggie.

"Well yes," replied the assistant. "He painted The Starry Night in September 1889."

"Did he paint more pictures of the sky?"

"Oh yes, there's Starry Night Over the Rhone and another one called Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night – Vincent painted all of these when he was in Arles, France."

"Would you know how and when he died?" Aggie asked.

"Actually he shot himself – it was July 1890 and his body is buried just outside Paris, France." replied the now curious assistant.

"Well, if it's possible, could you find some books about him from the time he spent in Arles to when he died, and a list of the paintings he did at that time? And that book of his letters too - I'm going to be a researcher – if that's alright with you, Aunt Edna."

Edna shrugged her shoulders, turned to the clerk and said "anything she wants – let's go for it – I'll buy that book out front as well, the one with the title Idiots Guide to Making Bird Houses – may as well do some research as well tonight."

The store manager was very happy to see her sales girl processing such a large amount of books in a single purchase – thus far; it had been a quiet trading day. Both manager and assistant escorted their customers from the bookshop with broad smiles of appreciation. "Oh by the way ladies, the original painting of The Starry Night is in the Museum of Modern Art in New York."

Edna and Aggie left the store, quite struggling under the weight of the books – it was only a block back to the motel. Edna hissed out loud, "Thanks be that I've got a pick-up, thanks be that Dwarg isn't interested in elephants" – Aggie just giggled – both of them knew it was going to be a long night. Later, just before the pizza delivery guy came around, Edna called her neighbour Lisa and explained the situation. Lisa gave her condolences about Robert – she and Scott were relatively new to the area and had never met him – but she was excited to hear about Aggie's recovery and her new home coming. Edna expected to be home the day after next, early afternoon.

The pizza was a bit gooey but tasty and Edna was fascinated just watching Aggie flick through all those books. Sometimes she would come to a page with a painting and study it in depth, others she would just flick over without interest –just what was she, (or was it Dwarg) looking for? Not even a word, a gesture or any show of emotion apart from an impatient yet eager look – what did she say back at the shop? Oh yes, she was thinking of being a researcher.

"Find anything sweetheart?"

"Not yet, but there are a few things about this man that Dwarg thinks are a little strange – here, look at this sketch of Starry Night over the Rhone – he did this in October 1888. Look at the couple in the corner, look at the direction they face – directly at us - and the man's stance and the woman's left hand – now look at his painting of it which he did the next month – see the differences?"

"Well yes, their faces are now turned to the left, almost as if they had just heard a noise. They seemed to have moved one step further forward – oh, and the woman's left hand is now by her side. Is that important Aggie?"

"Dwarg seems to think so; also the man is carrying something like a cane or a fishing pole in the painting but not in the sketch - its night-time they wouldn't be fishing. In one of his letters, he says the couple are simply lovers on a walk – there is something curious about the way the woman has her right hand held by the man – almost if she was captive. Now look at this picture, it's of a group of prisoners – they are walking around in a circle, probably exercising, look at the one looking back at us – he is Vincent and he is trying to say something, well not exactly, he is trying to give a message – he is trapped and if you look closely you can see two butterflies going up towards the top of the painting – that in itself is a message."

"So what about The Starry Night – what's the problem there?"

"Dwarg is having trouble trying to explain it. As best he can, he says that a Human mind can't visualize and translate such a scene let alone paint it, even if he was looking directly at it. Dwarg's conclusion is, and this is where the paradox arises, there is some evidence of inner-terrestrial involvement."

"Good lord Aggie, could you say that again in English this time? - are you saying that Dwarg the ET, is worried about another ET? - where do these words come from honey?"

"Sorry Aunt, Dwarg is trying to say that Vincent van Gogh was a host to an alien – rather like me I guess."

Edna snapped back, "So will you cut your ear off too?" and immediately apologized for the sarcasm.

"Dwarg would never do me any harm Aunt Edna – he exists in me, he is not an extra-terrestrial, he is not from outer space, he comes from this world. He helps me, I would be dead if not for him, and I know that if there is any trouble with him, – well, at the least, I can deny him. There are still a lot of things I have to explain to you Aunt; it will take time like I said before. Please don't be upset, I'm alive and well and a growing little girl, I'm Aggie Kellor, niece of a tribal healer of the Abernaki - Edna Kellor. Now tell me all about fox-glove and its healing properties." Aggie was pointing to one of Vincent's paintings of Doctor Gachet. It was a picture of the good doctor sitting with a wistful look on his face. On the table, Vincent had drawn a sprig of digitalis, commonly known as fox-glove.

The hours went on and after a series of silly observations, coupled with yawns and stretches, Edna finally said, "Aggie, tell Dwarg that you are a little girl and a little girl needs lots of sleep – she can look through more books later."

Aggie smiled and said, "Goodnight Aunt Edna and thank you so much for caring – I know what you must be going through." She then hopped into bed.

"Thank you darling....and I'll be watching you Dwarg!!" Aggie was asleep within seconds and the night was still and calm.

On the other side of Frederick, the night was also still and calm. The young woman stood on the back porch looking up at the stars. As she sipped the coffee, she thought about that little girl in the store asking those questions about Vincent – how mature was her conversation and how curious for a girl of that age to be interested in post-impressionist art. Oh Vincent van Gogh you are an enigma. You were once also a bookstore clerk, just like me. The stars had some affinity for her as they obviously had for Vincent.

She thought of her mother and remembered the words she used at her mother's memorial all those years ago back in Houston. They were words that Vincent had written and she whispered them again as she looked into the great expanse of celestial starlight. . . Looking at the stars always makes me dream, as simply as I dream over the black dots representing towns and villages on a map. Why, I ask myself, shouldn't the shining dots of the sky be as accessible as the black dots on the map of France? Just as we take the train to get to Tarascon or Rouen, we take death to reach a star.

"Good night mommy"......a tear fell from Megan Redcliffe's eye as she turned and went back into the house.

Steve was at the kitchen sink towel drying the plates after dinner. "Everything OK, Megan?"

"Fine pop, I was just saying goodnight to mom."

Steven Redcliffe peered through the kitchen window at the dark sky outside and silently whistled to himself; The stars at night, are big and bright...deep in the heart of Texas. He wiped off some tears before hanging up the tea towel.
CHAPTER TWELVE – DWARG & EDNA

Edna was pleasantly surprised that Aggie (or was it Dwarg) did not get excited when driving past New York. She had expected Aggie to beg and plead for them to go to the Museum of Modern Art to see the original The Starry Night painting. Nothing, not even a comment, so she had to ask "Aggie, it's really no great trouble, it will only cost us an extra day on the way up, while we're so close we could pop in if you would like to see that painting."

"No, it's OK; the pictures in the book are enough for now. Aunt, here's something funny about Dwarg – he doesn't know about colour, I mean he doesn't know exactly what it is and he's been trying for years. I don't know how to help him."

"Honey, can you see colours all right?"

"Yes I can, but I can't explain what colour is to him." Without thinking, Edna said, "so then Dwarg would have problems with those paintings, because that's what Vincent was all about – his unusual use of colour."

"I suppose so Aunt, but Dwarg still sees something like coded messages in them, even without the colours."

"Ok, are you sure you don't want to take a look at it in New York?"

"It's fine – there's only one original painting that Dwarg would like to see and that's the one called Starry Night on the Rhone – the book says that it's in a museum in Paris – I suppose we're not going anywhere near there soon?"

Edna's head snapped towards Aggie who had a broad smile on her face – "very funny Aggie – tell Dwarg to pull his head in." She turned on the car radio - they both broke in song and joined John Denver singing take me home down country roads – Dwarg hated Human music.

Another motel stop in Hartford without too much excitement. Books were studied and Edna now knew how to build nice and practicable bird boxes. In fact she was looking forward to a few hours in her toolshed and off her backside, which by now was quite sore – even the special cushions on the driver's seat became hard from all this driving. Yes, it would be a birdhouse in the shape of a railroad station – she remembered that she had some old toy trains in her basement and these would do the trick. She was also looking forward to seeing the two puppies again – her family was growing. She also had a little worry about Robert's estate. The delay in getting the death certificate would be a hindrance and she hoped that the bureaucrats down South would not insist that they had to return for any legal proceedings they may decide upon.

Her own credit card had received a beating in the last few weeks, and although she had a substantial holding of assets, she would have to start getting her finances in some sense of order. A visit to Jimmy, the accountant would probably solve her financial worries – it wouldn't cost her much because she had given him some stuff after which, he never suffered again from Irritable Bowel Syndrome and could now eat all the cheeses and drink all wines, he so loved.

She also thought about her future with Aggie. There was school to worry about, there was her Dwarg to worry about, and how would the other children react to her? She would have to encourage Aggie not to talk about her little colour-blind alien friend to others – that would certainly lead to a lot of heartache, ridicule and isolation. Kids can be so cruel without realizing it – she herself had had a fair share of teasing, bullying and anguish. She had also resolved to get herself a personal computer and learn how to use it. The local school for adult learning in Putney was always advertising courses in computing, and Bucky down the road was a computer freak who could also help her with the ways of using one. If she was going to be Aggies's mentor, she had to get herself up to date with the modern world. She just hoped that Aggie would not develop an interest in modern pop music, it was something that she would never understand – especially that hop beat rap stuff – it just didn't make sense at all. And what was she to do about Dwarg? \- should she just humor Aggie until the novelty wore off?

After leaving Hartford, Edna pulled off Highway I91 – it was time for lunch and a leg stretch. Aggie had spent most of the time reading about van Gogh and the letters he had written. Edna didn't mind, it gave her more time for thinking about the future. She would also have to make an appointment with Tony Lee, the town's attorney to get him up to date about what was going on with the family. She would probably have to use his services to make sure Robert's estate and his Will would be processed smoothly. Aggie was the beneficiary of everything that Robert had left and there was to be a very generous allowance for Edna for the costs of caring – not that Edna felt this was of great importance – she was prepared to care for Aggie no matter what, and given the delicate condition of Aggie's mind, she felt that she was the best person for the job anyway.

At the stop, there was a rather large diner with a big car-park. A few semi's were parked there (Edna had already worked out that the food is always good where you see semi's pulled up) – so this looked like a good place for lunch – and she was really hungry. They found a booth and Edna ordered the special of open hamburger and fries, Aggie would just like a plate of French fries plus a lime thick-shake. As they sat there looking through the large windows at the passing traffic, Edna thought that she would have a little fun with Aggie's Dwarg. "Aggie, do you see that TV screen up on the wall? – see that screen of numbers from one to eighty - see how some of them end up with a cross on them? - well that's a game called Keno. You have to guess which numbers will end up with a cross on them. There will be twenty crosses. Let's see if you can guess which numbers will end up with crosses on them in the next game – OK?"

"OK, but we'll have to wait for two more games to work that out."

Edna thought that here at last was a situation where Aggie (or Dwarg) was bound to fail – she knew from experience that the odds of winning anything on Keno were extreme. By the time the food arrived and Aggie took her first sip of the lime thick-shake, she said "Aunt Edna, I can only give you six numbers that will have a cross on them in the next game and they will be nine, eighteen, nineteen, twenty six, twenty eight and thirty six. I will need to see more games to tell you more numbers that will be crossed."

Edna then wrote those numbers down on a card which she gave to the cashier for registration. She paid a dollar to play the numbers for the next game of Keno.

They both watched the TV screen as the next game commenced. The first number was seventy-seven, the next was three, the next was eleven, and Edna relaxed and picked up half the hamburger which was neatly sliced. On her first chew, the number twenty-eight come up, followed by nine, followed by seventy four, followed by twenty six and thirty six and nineteen. She looked down to her card of numbers, five out of her six crossed so far – number eighteen still needed a cross and there were eleven crosses yet to come. Crosses appeared on other numbers but number eighteen was not chosen until the very last cross came down- and it fell on number eighteen – Edna then had six out of six numbers crossed – she had won.

"Aunt, Dwarg wants to pass on this message ..."Pull your head in Edna."

So Dwarg has a wry sense of humour. Edna had never eaten a tastier hamburger with fries and even managed to eat the fries that Aggie could not eat.

The eight hundred dollars she collected from the cashier would make a decent payment off her credit card. Had she cheated? -hell no - she assured herself – nevertheless, she was not going to push her luck any further. Deep down inside, what Edna really ached for, was to just sit down on her front porch, watch the squirrels scurrying up to their feed-bowl – and all the time, getting well and truly inebriated. Maybe in this condition, she, as Aggie had already done, would accept Dwarg for what he was – whatever that was! The pick-up continued on its long journey North.

They had just crossed the border into Vermont and Edna had finally plucked up the courage to ask Aggie something she had been afraid to ask before - "Aggie, is it possible that I can talk to Dwarg, you know like person to person?"

"Well sort of Aunt, but he can only do it through me – he can't talk or anything because he's only a tiny thing – he's not like a person with arms and legs, he's not human, but does have a personality – and he's so very smart" she replied with an air of cheekiness. That comment was not lost on Edna, who saw that Aggie at least, did have some capacity in separating herself from her ET, or should that now be, her IT.

"OK, can I ask him where he came from?"

"Sure, I can tell you that myself without asking him because he already told me"

"Well I'd rather like to hear it from him directly if that's OK Aggie."

"Fine. Edna, you must trust Aggie. I come from a place that Humans do not know about yet. I was a Whisp and Whisps exist in a place we call the Aura, which is the Earth and its surrounds – Whisps are not physical. We share the Earth with all things on it, but until now, we have never made contact or communication with any creature."

"What do you want with Aggie?"

"I am on a quest and needed to become physical in order to communicate with Humans. Robert Kellor became my host ten Human years ago."

"We were both free of the Aura – in what you call outer-space. He would not allow me to communicate with him until he asked me to enter Aggie to prevent her from not existing. I did that and now I must look after her to ensure my own existence. She is my host and I will protect her from harm."

"Does she have her own free will?"

"Certainly she does, not only that, Robert Kellor's influence and spirit are with her – I am not her controller. She does call on me for information. I can suggest and recommend, but she makes all decisions by herself."

"Do you believe in God?"

"I can only answer that from my world, not yours. Whisps exist in a non physical Aura which was never created by anything or anyone, so... no."

"Can you come out of Aggie?"

"Yes it's possible but it may mean that I and Aggie will perish – it was an exceptional condition when I went from Robert Kellor to Aggie. I will leave Aggie when I work out how to do it safely. It may take more Human years."

"Does Aggie understand all of this?"

"Yes she does – I did have to accelerate cerebellum apperception in her cognitive ego, so the acroamatics are current and functioning well."

"Aunt Edna, I think Dwarg needs a little spanking for being such a smartass – just for that Dwarg, no books about Vincent tonight!"

Edna's face was flushed. "Dwarg, just humour me some more. Years ago when I was a small kid, my Pop had something that frightened the heck out of Robert. He would threaten Robert with it if he was naughty, can you tell me what it was?" Edna always wondered just what power was within that small ceramic pirate treasure chest. Pop would only have to pretend to reach for it and Robert would instantly behave or do as he had been told. Apparently nobody except Pop and Robert knew what was inside the ornament.

"You must be referring to the porcelain treasure box with the hinged lid – yes, Robert really hated it."

Edna remembered how, just after pop's funeral, Robert raced home before anyone, took the chest, peddled to the banks of the Connecticut River and threw that evil thing into it.

"So what was inside the box?" Edna's heart started pounding hoping to at last hear exactly what it was that scared Robert so much.

There was a pause, "I'm afraid I can't tell you that Edna."

Edna turned the steering wheel and drove onto the emergency breakdown lane of the highway – then turned to Aggie. "Well, did Robert know what was inside it?"

"Yes he did."

"So do you know what was inside it?"

"Yes."

"Well damn-well tell me mister- now!" Another awkward pause and Edna found herself starring into Aggie's eyes yet directing her demands straight at Dwarg.

Aggie squirmed a little, blinked and nodded. "Sorry Aunt Edna, I don't know what it means, but there was some of daddy's skin in it."

The pickup took off with a spin of the wheels and for the next few miles, there was utter silence. Edna thought to herself well I've put myself into my own minefield – dumb bitch – what on earth am I supposed to think now? \- damned if I know.

Aggie finally said, "Did I say something bad Aunt?"

"No, It's OK honey, I just have to pull into this rest area coming up – need to go to the bathroom."

She now knew it all. Their asshole of a father had had Robert circumcised – no, mutilated, and he kept the evidence to use as a weapon. To the Abenaki, mutulation of this type was the greatest of insults to a male – how Robert must have suffered to appease his father to keep the secret. "By the way Aggie," she asked between stifled sobs, "did I tell you about our puppies?"

She couldn't say anything further. She thought, if only I could have been at the hospital one day earlier – I could have hugged and kissed poor, suffering Robert.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN – PUTNEY

There were so many questions that Edna wanted to put to Dwarg. She realized it was now impossible to ignore what Aggie was saying – her story (and that of Dwarg) was very plausible. No way would Aggie have known about the treasure chest that freaked Robert out. Edna was only a small kid when Pop used it as a threat. Everything about those incidents now made sense – poor Robert – what a cruel way of disciplining a child. No wonder Robert hated his father so much, he didn't even cry at his funeral and never told anyone what was in the small mysterious box.

Mom was heartbroken when Robert left home as soon as he graduated high school, as was Edna. Dan, the youngest, took it all in his stride. Robert went off and became a pilot then joined the NASA and eventually became an astronaut and achieved world-wide fame. Mom's funeral three years later was the only time that all the siblings were together again – now it was impossible. Thanks be, that we have Jade and Aggie to carry on after us, Edna thought.

What were those words?.. "Robert would not allow me to communicate with him" and Aggie said that Robert did not want to know anything about Dwarg, yet he still spent ten years inside him and obviously did bring some of Robert's memories with him into Aggie. Edna's probing questions could not have any other believable answer. ESP? – maybe – but Aggie was not acting like someone possessed or at all like a medium, no trances or theatrics, no convulsions or disorientation, certainly no hallucinogenic or stupefying substances. Perhaps, thought Edna, I am being like Robert and refusing to see what is in front of me – Aggie accepted Dwarg immediately – she was cured of cancer within the hour – is this really the truth? – she resolved to find out more. Was Dwarg a blessing or a threat? – The answer was paramount and she made this her resolution.

Dwarg had his own questions. He understood that something beyond his knowledge was within that Human and his paintings. In 1888, some unknown and mysterious Whisp had left a message on the painting called Starry Night on the Rhone. Dwarg decoded the message as information or a warning and he determined that the message was not directed at, or was for, Humans. Van Gogh's later painting of The Starry Night shows a Swirl Chaos – perhaps that was the subsequent event forewarned. The question was - how did this Whisp know of Swirl Chaos some sixty-five Human years before the first one occurred? He had to divert his quest and his knowledge gathering, to ever more directions, and this, added with the delicate communications between him and a sometimes hostile Edna, put his now, in a high state of agitation.

Aggie, although a juvenile, had an amazing power over Dwarg, so much so that she knew the tolerances and boundaries of their pact – she indeed did have a power of veto – whether or not its exercise would kill her, is unknown. As far as Dwarg was concerned, he must remain within and continue his quest - this was for the sake of all Whisps and the Aura.

Normally Edna would pull into the "Big Smoke" of Brattleboro to stock up on groceries and have a chat with Ed at the supermarket.

Ed sold his famous Breakfast Baked Beans there and Edna would always leave with a carton of 12 bottles. She jokingly told him it cleansed her insides when she was constipated, but the truth was that she thought his baked beans were made in heaven. She even tried to replicate the recipe, but never came close to the wonderful taste of his beans. She worked out he must have added maple syrup, fern fronds, bacon and a secret sauce to come up with that lovely dish. If she was to be pressed for an answer to a truth or dare question about Ed, she would admit that she was just a little more interested in him than his baked beans.

Thoughts of Ed were not anywhere in her mind right now. She turned the truck off Highway 5 onto the road to Putney, drove directly through the town and onto Turner Trail, a dirt and gravel road, which led to the homestead – finally she was at the end of an epic trip of more than three thousand miles – and the pick-up had never missed a beat; she however, was quite worn out.

Lisa and Scott from next door watched the pick-up arrive and walked across the road to greet the weary couple. "Welcome home travellers from the Deep South – how did everything go?"

"Hi guys, we're glad it's over, no place like home. Aggie, this is Lisa and this is Scott – our neighbours. They've been looking after the place and the pups since I left."

"Pleased to meet you, do I call you Lisa and Scott?" asked Aggie as she shook their hands.

"Whatever you like sweetie – up to you – it's fine with us."

"Do you have any children Lisa?"

"Well, no" she replied with a well managed smile looking at Scott, "we can't have babies, but I do have a big Persian cat who keeps us busy and of course your two puppies, which Bangles will be pleased to see the back of. I've got them fenced in at the moment and I'll bring them over when you all settle in. Wow didn't you girls do some shopping? I'm sure you left with only a small suitcase Edna – just look at all that stuff and all those books – van Gogh? – Scott will give you a hand bringing it all in – by the way, I've beef stew on the cooker – are you guys hungry?"

"That sounds great Lisa, give us a few minutes to freshen up and we'll be over directly – are you as hungry as I am Aggie?"

"Yep sure am and maybe we can bring the puppies back after we eat."

Scott finished off-loading the bags, cartons and packets and placed them on a neat heap just inside the hallway entrance.

"Thanks for that Scott, we'll see you shortly then."

"Dar we go den" he said, then and walked off, hand in hand with Lisa back across the road.

The pleasant aroma of the stew wafted in the air. Lisa had also baked some fresh bread and rolls – Scott was concerned if there would be enough for him – he was a big guy, a mountain man born in the green mountains of Southern Vermont, and he was really hungry.

Lisa presented the food on blue, ceramic wicker designed plates and a basket of fresh rolls, still steaming. She passed the tureen of stew around the table, starting with Edna who scooped a ladle full onto her plate then one onto Aggie's plate, Edna then passed the bowl to Lisa who seemed to be taking her time in scooping the stew for herself. Scott's fixating stare followed the tureen around the table and Lisa's slow-motion fairly taxed his urgent need for refuelling. At last he had the bowl and ladle. Lisa's look reminded him of the requirement to use his manners and he managed to scoop one, and only one, ladle-full without spilling a drop of that precious life-sustaining brew. He delicately broke a bread roll, dipped a portion into the stew and just before his mouth opened; Aggie turned to him and asked, "What do you do for a living Scott?"

"Um...I'm a logger, I coot trees and sell the wode, got me own trook wit winch crane 'n arm – ave a look thru window – a biggen eh?"

Aggie turned and looked through the window. "Why it's quite a big rig Scott, it looks like an Autocar Michigan Special."

Everyone looked amazed, "Ye got it in one, wee lass - she's designed for eight feeters, crosswise."

"So being a 94 Cummins, it would take about 22 cords?"

"Yea wee maam – your sure ken ye wheelees and lumber – want a job?" All laughed.

"Schooling first." said Edna.

-oOo-

"Lisa, that was a delicious stew, it just hit the spot, and your bread rolls are out of this world." Edna patted her stomach heartily.

Lisa turned to Aggie, "So Aggie, what do you think about settling down here with your Aunt?"

"I think I will be happy here, it's such a lovely place and I love the mountains, the fresh air and the nice people. I can see why Aunt Edna doesn't really care for the city life."

"Why Aggie, you speak so eloquently. I'm pleased to hear you're over all that horrible medical treatment and stuff."

"Thank you Lisa, it's such a shame that my daddy had to die just at that time. Yes, I miss him terribly but I know I have part of him in me, but with him and Aunt Edna – I'll never be sad or alone." A few minutes of silence followed.

"Boy I'm glad I'm back in God's own, and well away from the crazy rat race. That hospital in Miami is just unbelievable – they tried to keep Aggie there, even though they said she was a hundred percent OK – I had to really put it to them and they didn't like my attitude or appreciated my telling them to kiss my burro."

Scott had eaten as slowly as was humanly possible – and Lisa was proud of him.

"Lisa and Scott, thank you so much for looking after the pups, we'll take them off your hands now and head off for a doubtful quiet night – the food was wonderful and we must have you over for dinner soon."

"Glad to be of help Edna. Aggie it was a pleasure to meet you. Do you need a hand rounding up the dogs?... obviously not." Aggie and Edna were already cuddling a puppy each. "Have you thought of names for them yet?"

"Not yet – I think I'll give Aggie the honours of doing that."

"Already have" said Aggie, "we can call the black one Moosbas and the white one Moolsem." Edna was not going to ask Aggie the how or why of these names – she knew these Abernaki words and what they meant. By now, Edna was getting quite used to Aggie's surprises and revelations.

Scott turned to Lisa as their neighbours left and crossed the road. "Lis, be that really a young wee lassie or wat?"

"Of course she is Scott, she's been to hell and back with the cancer and her father passing away – maybe it's affected her somehow, but what a lovely little girl – she's sure to light up Edna's life."

"There's still a wee dram of stew left if ye wee tummy can stretch a wee bit moor."

"Watch yer cheeky tone, lass or I'll stretch your'n tummy" – they cuddled their way back to the table – there was more eatings to be had. Ironically, and just before they returned to their home, Aggie told Edna that Lisa was with child.

"How wonderful," replied Edna, "Aggie, you keep surprising me – I don't want to know how you knew – but I've no doubt you're right. It's something Lisa and Scott always wanted but she said they had given up hope. We'd better not tell them just yet. Let's leave that as our little secret."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN – JINGLE BELLS

The puppies scurried here and there and Edna and Aggie laughed seeing them slip and slide on the polished wooden floor. They were balls of fluff and with their antics, yapps and constant running around, and, coupled with the laughs and giggles from their owners; it made for a warm and happy home-coming evening. Aggie's room had not yet been cleaned or arranged. It was Edna's junk room and she had had no time to prepare it – she didn't know beforehand what was in store with the upheaval of the family. There was a bed under the cartons of Avon products and Edna piled these up in a corner. She did have spare sheets, blankets and pillow and made up a cosy bed for Aggie who was playing with the pups in the lounge room. Aggie would occasionally flick through the book of Vincent's letters, then toss a piece of rope across the room and watch the pups capture and wrestle with it.

Edna came in and sat on the settee arm next to Aggie. "Bed's made, sweetie. I suppose you're missing all your belongings from Miami – Uncle Dan is trying his best to get it all up here – there is a lot of paperwork to be done. We still don't know when the funeral people will have your dad up here. Are you worried about what's happening with things at the moment?"

"No, not really, most of my clothes will probably be too small for me now anyway. There's some things that mommy left for me like her jewellery and stuff, I would like to keep that. Not much else, besides the photos I had in my drawer. I hope Uncle Dan sends up Dad's private stuff, you know his medals and things – can you help me go through it?"

"Of course sweetheart, but that doesn't look like happening for some time yet – anyway I think we have everything we need till then, if not, we can go on a few shopping sprees, yeehaa!" Aggie seemed happy enough. "Ok missy, I have to ask – how is Dwarg going?"

"Still much the same – he is so preoccupied with the paintings. I've found that he does have a problem with things that transmit and receive electronically – he can't seem to relate to TV, radio or telephone and digital things – not even the clocks back in those motel rooms. He knows what they are, but can't interact with them. By himself, he can only understand writings, symbols, drawings, photos and speech."

"Then what about the Keno games back in Hartford? – they were on a television screen."

"Yes I know, he couldn't see the numbers and I had to really concentrate for him to understand – I had to visualize all the numbers on the screen before he could calculate anything."

"So he can't watch TV?"

"Well only through me, I guess he can somehow plug into my brain to see what I see, but on his own – no. I think his problem is that he has to interpret my reactions and emotions when I'm hearing and seeing, and it's so funny Aunt Edna, when I hear a song and start to move to the music- he's got no idea of what's going on."

"Does he get angry with you when this happens Aggie?"

"No, no, no – I can sense his confusion and I tell him "don't worry Dwarg, it's only a Human thing."

"Oh Aggie, I'm so worried that something will go wrong with all this – what will happen to you when Dwarg is finished with whatever he is after?"

"Well he's working on that too and sometime in the future he knows he must leave me. He says while he is with me, I'll never get sick or be injured, and one good thing Aunt, I'll never ever get leukaemia again."

Edna suppressed a slight sigh of relief to hear that, plus knowing that there was to be an end to Aggie's Dwarg – albeit in the future – o yes – Human years.

"Ok Dwarg, let's get going with this quest of yours, what do you want to know and how can this Human, me I mean, get your ass into gear and get you moving back to your planet or world, oh that's right – your Aura?"

"Well for starters, Edna, stop your machines leaving the planet." Aggie realized that these words had come out of her far too quickly - she had missed filtering that retort from Dwarg.

Edna stared blankly into Aggie's eyes and thought, Up yours E.T. – hoping that Aggie could not hear the thought.

"Here, hold my hands Aunt - just close your eyes, don't say anything, just think of what you want to ask Dwarg – that may be less confusing for you – I will talk for him."

"You mean like a séance?"

"Not really, you don't have to say anything, just think the question, and besides, we're not communicating with spirits or ghosts." Edna clasped Aggie's hands in hers and closed her eyes and concentrated.

"What do you look like Dwarg?"

"I am now physical but invisible to Human eyes because of my size. When I first became physical, I was seen by Humans. I heard their description of my appearance as something looking much like a piece of cotton wool or white tissue. As I entered Robert Kellor, I had to reduce my size to enable me to attach myself to some of his cells."

"Did you kill my brother?"

Aggie pulled her hands away. Edna apologized immediately. "Oh, I'm so sorry Aggie, I forgot myself. I keep forgetting that you and Dwarg are not separate – maybe time for me to shut-up before we all get upset."

"I'm really, really happy with everything Aunt Edna – I don't mind sharing myself with Dwarg – it's never dull or boring – come on, let's try again."

Edna held Aggie's hands and concentrated on her next question, but they come out in a flood.

"What about Aggie's future? What about her schooling and her growing up? – She won't be a child all her life, she will grow into a teenager then a woman – what about her future relationships? - She may want children of her own – how about that?

"Aggie will live the normal life of a Human. She will be happy and will never suffer from illness or disease."

"Aggie refers to you as a he, are you male or what?"

"In Human terms and in Whisp terms, I would be a what or an it – but I have adopted some character traits from Robert Kellor, so would come over to Aggie as a he – it's as simple as that."

"Wouldn't it be easier if you just reveal yourself to our leaders, our government or scientists – you seem to have powers – couldn't you attach yourself to someone who has some clout?, that would get the ball rolling. I can't understand why Aggie has to be involved in all this."

"That plan was proposed then rejected. It would lead to disaster for your world and the Aura. Whisps have studied Humans and know that Humans will never tolerate and accept the now –they will always progress – it is in their nature."

"Don't know exactly what you mean by that, but you're probably right – are you putting thoughts into my head Dwarg?" Edna's question was very valid as at that very instant, she had a flash of her forebears - generations of families, living happily with nature in the mountains, just wanting to exist without interference – the progress of man, however, ruined all that.

"Edna, Humans know about DNA, but have yet to discover that there is a lot more to DNA than just genes, traits and directions for reproduction – there are also memories."

This was getting a bit freaky. "OK Dwarg, what about that other stuff? – those pictures and things – what's the deal there? – do we need to find or go and dig up lost aliens or whatever? - I hope he, or it, had nothing to do with van Gogh's going loony-tunes, if you get my drift."

"More information is needed, there is something very important and needs to be investigated - more time is required."

"Damn right it's important. Maybe I can help. I'm going to buy a computer tomorrow – I know it's useless to you, but at least Aggie or me can find bits and pieces of information from the internet on just about anything in the world – or so I've been told anyway. Bucky down the road, has been trying to talk me into getting set up with a computer, he's the local whiz kid on these gadgets and what he can't teach me, there's always the School for the PC challenged in Putney."

"Thank you for your assistance Edna."

"Now give Aggie a rest, she should be tired by now."

"Aunt Edna, I think it's Dwarg who's all tuckered out."

"Just like those pups, just look at them sleeping on my valuable Indian rug, made in Pakistan. Wow quite a day – OK, off to bed now – nighty night darling – and I suppose you too Dwargles"

"Goodnight Aunt."

Dwargles? - Dwarg was again confused with Human emotions – why would she call him that? – it's just another thing to add to his list of ever increasing questions about the myriad facets of the Human psych.

Before Edna retired to bed she flicked through a bundle of mail which she really didn't want to look at and read. However she did sit down and write a letter in response to a very nasty communication from the hospital in Miami. She wrote that she was Aggie's guardian, nothing she had done was illegal and she would take Aggie to a doctor of her own choosing to confirm her current medical condition. Their questions as to medical insurance would be passed to the executor of Robert Kellor's estate – she added. "you remember Robert Kellor, you know, the guy who died mysteriously right under your noses."

Edna would wait at least a week before trying to enrol Aggie at school. Perhaps something would change – perhaps Robert's body would arrive shortly – neither happened.

During that week, she had bought a computer and had it installed and set up, compliments of Bucky. For a backwoods kid, he was an extremely knowledgeable and patient teacher. Within the first few hours, Edna had learnt to play solitaire and to move and work the mouse pointer all over the monitor without shaking. The language was weird and sounded funny to her, but she was determined to conquer it, so much so, that on the third day, Bucky said she was ready to go on-line and access the internet. Day five, she had an email account and sent her first message to Claire. By day six, she had an on-line bank account, and was overjoyed to be able to simply pay her utilities and other bills by clicking and typing on her marvellous machine. She marvelled at the colour printer and the things it could do – even print photographs and scan and copy things. She kicked herself for not doing all this years ago. Her sacred stones, bones and signs had become things of secondary importance.

Aggie was only mildly interested in Edna's new found passion. She enjoyed the trips into town and to Brattleboro. She knew that Edna was so happy to take her shopping for clothing – not that Aggie was ungracious, but it seemed that Edna wanted to buy anything and everything that a girl may want. A new cupboard had been delivered, lacy curtains purchased and she even bought a wind-up non-digital clock (with moving hands) for Dwarg.

Aggie's best love however, was walking along the tracks and following the creeks further down the Trail. The puppies would follow her, all the while romping and playing together, stopping occasionally to look at some noise or sniff at anything of interest to them. Aggie dearly loved them. She had found her favourite spot. It was in a small valley with spruce, fir and maple overhead, a little stream was cascading over small boulders and on the banks was a small green grassy patch where she would sit and just listen to the sounds of the mountains. The pups would settle down for a nap and Aggie would lie back and look up at the branches and watch birds and butterflies flitter, going about their lives like all creatures of the Earth must do.

She would think about Aunt Edna, sitting behind the computer, cussing and muttering when things didn't go the way she meant. What a lovely person she really was. She didn't have to go to all this trouble, yet it proves that she really cared for her – and she was grateful for the love. It must be so hard for someone set in their ways, to accept all that has happened so far and still smile.

Dwarg himself, was rather passive during this time, only passing on some gossip about Edna's emotional state when she introduced Aggie to Ed. Aggie found Ed to be a pleasant soul, a nice person – more than could be said about the taste of his baked beans, which she found revolting.

She also visited Lisa, who gladly showed her how to make those delicious bread rolls. Aggie confided to Lisa that she was frightened to go to visit Doctor Rixon. Aunt Edna said that it needed to be done to satisfy the assholes in Miami. She told Lisa of her fear that the doctor may find something wrong and she would be sent back to hospital. Lisa admitted that she had some reservations herself about examinations, inoculations and blood tests and would avoid doctors as best she could; in fact she hadn't seen a doctor in some time. The conversation, ably guided by Aggie, ended up with the proposition that Lisa and Aggie would both see Doctor Rixon at the same time for a complete medical check-up. Aggie skipped and whistled all the way home – knowing full well that Lisa would now be on the phone to Edna, telling of her clever plan to help waylay Aggie's concerns. Next spring, Aggie thought, Bangles will have a playmate.

Apart from the antics and yapping of puppies, evenings were quiet in the homestead at Putney, Vermont. Aggie had found a quicker way of reading books – with the help of Dwarg. She now had to simply place her hand on the book, concentrate for a minute or so, and all the contents would be absorbed with complete comprehension. Dwarg wished he could have done this with Robert Kellor – it would have saved valuable time in gathering information about the Humans and their history. Aggie, on the other hand, became ever more proficient with all the knowledge. She now knew much more of her cultural heritage, cooking recipes, DIY projects, history, how to maintain and repair machinery, arts and crafts, animal husbandry, identification of herbs, seeds and foliage, and luckily, Edna had kept all her old school text books – the contents of which were gleefully gobbled up.

One quiet afternoon Edna was sitting on the porch watching Aggie play chase with the pups. Aggie ran up to her and said, "Aunt may I ask you something? You can say no if you want, it's to do with daddy's funeral."

"Go right ahead sweetheart, ask me anything."

"I would like to do the Jingle Dance for you and Uncle Dan at daddy's funeral – would that be all right with you?"

Edna was stunned. "Oh wow, honey that would be marvellous! – wonderful – Oh how good that makes me feel. How did you know about?....never mind – tell you what, we may not have too much time, let's go straight to Brattleboro, right now, and get you some material and bells. I'll dust down the sewing machine and I'll make you the bestest Jingle Dance dress in Vermont. Our traditional colours are red and white and mauve."

"Believe me Aggie, you won't regret this and it's an experience you will always remember. You probably didn't know that I did the dance for your grandmother. . Oh this is really great. I'll go ring Uncle Dan."

"The thing is Aunt Edna; I already have a Jingle Dance dress and matching moccasins. They should be coming up with all the other stuff from our house in Miami. Daddy got it for my tenth birthday, but I never came to wear it – perhaps things may have been different if I did. I'd completely forgotten about the dress till last night – that's the second time I've dreamt about it."

"Oh sweetie, I didn't know you had that dress. Did your dad tell you anything about it?"

"Sort of, but I didn't quite understand at the time. It's only now by reading your books that I know more of our background and traditions. I know the dance is all about healing oneself. I would like to attach more bells to the dress - one each for Uncle Dan, Aunt Claire, Jade and you. I don't think the spirits will be overly upset at me having a total of three hundred and seventy bells. Better still, I noticed those shells you keep in your office drawer, would you mind if I use four of them in place of the bells?"

"What can I say Aggie, of course you can – and what a great compliment. You know those shells come from a sacred place don't you?"

"Ahem, yes Aunt, but we'd better keep that as our little secret. Aunt Edna, are you blushing?"
CHAPTER FIFTEEN – SCHOOL

Mister Alan Garner, the principal, had studied Aggie's past educational history from her old school in Miami. It showed that she was, for all intents and purposes, an average student with no exceptional talent. Her absences from class due to past ailments and hospitalisation had obviously impacted on her record and he was sure that Aggie may have to repeat her last school year. Edna pleaded with him not to do that, but he finally did offer some comprise, allowing Aggie to undergo some assessment and aptitude tests. This was arranged through the Vermont State Educational Division, under the supervision of an independent examiner who had no knowledge of the candidate and his/her current level of education. This would ensure for a fair and unbiased result.

The ensuing report, in part, noted... that the applicant has an extremely high degree of general, social and technical awareness and mental aptitude. Academic and scholastic knowledge was similarly extremely high, so much so, that certain elements, as listed in Annexure A to this report, could not be measured by conventional means available to the Division. Problem solving and analytical abilities are well above the average standard. It was noted that an intelligence quotient evaluation was performed using both the Stanford-Binet and the Wechsler tests, resulting an I.Q. score of 160.....further assessment by the _Massachusetts Institute of Technology_ ( _MIT_ ) under the direction of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC), is strongly recommended _..._

Needless to say, Aggie would not have to repeat the class. Since her first day at school, she had settled in without any hassles and got on well with her fellow classmates. Her teacher, Miss Michelle, of course had pre-warned the children in the class of Aggie's loss of her parents and to look after her as she was now an orphan – and they did. Some would come up to her during recess and tap their hands on her shoulder and offer her some fruit or candy. "Come play with us Aggie", "chase me Aggie", or "I know a secret about Caitlin and Brian, Aggie, want to know?" Aggie did not feel at all out of place, after all, she was doing what a little girl was supposed to do.

A buzz did go around the teacher group concerning Aggie - it was the familiar comment of "just how mature and advanced are her words, her diction and phrasing – she is something very special – and so smart." Miss Michelle became quite the focal point during lunch breaks – everyone wanted to know what Aggie had said or done during the lessons. Aggie seemed to have a never ending store of information on apparently any subject one chose. She would come out with things that her own teacher was not aware of. She even showed the kids in the class, some amazing short cuts to find answers to mathematical problems.

She had a wonderful way of explaining things to the class and Miss Michelle loved these diversions. Aggie would demonstrate how Greek and Latin derivation was embedded in the English language, and Miss Michelle was absolutely awestruck to find that Aggie knew the complete table of logarithms, algebraic equations, calculus and the mysteries of trigonometry.

She could give an answer to any number to a power of anything, quicker than one could tap the buttons on an electronic calculator.

She also had an in-depth knowledge of the Abenaki and other aboriginal nations, including their histories, customs and other interesting facts. Often, Miss Michelle was bemused to see some of the faces of her fellow colleagues, peering through the classroom window when Aggie was invited to come to the front to explain something.

As to show and tell, Aggie was seeking permission, from Mr Garner, for a field trip to show her class an actual Abenaki tradition – the celebration of a warrior's funeral. This was however, duly (and tactfully) rejected by the principal, much to Edna's relief.

Even the older children in the higher grades took a liking to his delightful, cheery and smart kid who had come here from the world of the flatlanders. They never regarded her as being a snob or prissy, indeed she interacted warmly with each one, almost from the first meeting when she would introduce herself, shake their hands and show a genuine interest in talking with them. They all knew the name Kellor, they all knew her father had been an astronaut and spent time in the space station and they all knew he was a past student of their own school. She certainly was smart and everybody wanted to know her and be her friend. When Edna drove up to the school gates in the morning, a group of kids would be waiting for her, just to say good morning and walk her to her class. Afternoon was the same. Edna knew just where to pull up in the truck; just look for a group of kids, milling around a little girl.

Edna would ask about her day and Aggie would rattle off what had happened, any gossip she had heard and what she enjoyed most. Edna never got tired of hearing these often mysterious and baffling stories and incidents. One afternoon on the way home from school, they were stopped at the traffic lights in Putney – the only traffic lights in Putney – waiting for the red light to change. Aggie said "there was something interesting that happened today Aunt. After you dropped me off this morning, Miss Michelle put her hand on my head and said good morning. I didn't know why, but at that moment, Dwarg seemed to switch off and I could only feel a tiny bit of his presence. After lunch, I could feel that he was active again. He said he was investigating something and then said that Miss Michelle was related to Joan Domremy.

"I've heard of that name, I think it's out of Quebec, correct?" asked Edna.

"No no, Domremy is a little village in France; he was talking about Joan of Arc – Joan was born there."

The sound of a car horn in Putney was unusual and nearby people would turn their heads to see what was going on. The honking came from the car behind Edna whose driver had been more than patient waiting for her to go through the green light ahead. Edna accelerated from the spot with a wave of apology.

"And she's related to her?"

"Yes, pretty much directly, but she doesn't know about it. Her mother was born in France. Somehow Dwarg was able to trace the chromosomes of her family right back to Joan. Now isn't that interesting?"

"Wow that is interesting darling." Edna tried hard to work out what the hell Dwarg was up to now – and what on earth was a damn chromosome anyway?

Occasionally, Edna would turn the tables on Aggie with surprises. One day after picking Aggie up from school and listening to interesting prattle, Edna turned to Aggie and said, "Guess what honey, there's a fan of yours, back at the house."

"Who is it Aunt?"

"Ah, it's a surprise - you'll have to wait and see, honey-bunch." – even Dwarg showed a feint interest.

Aggie nearly tripped over the pups as she raced to the front door to see who was waiting for her. "In your room Aggie" shouted Edna who was still getting out of the pick-up. Aggie slowly opened the door to her room - no-one was here!

She looked around her room, and then saw it on her bed.

It was a feathered ceremonial fan, beautifully adorned with multicoloured trim and threads. The brilliant white feathers of the fan were large, and at the black tip of each, fine silky silver strands cascaded down. Soft eider and gathered delicate plumage had been interwoven into the band which held the feathers and the fan together. Aggie could only gasp in wonderment.

"You'll be needing that for your dance Aggie. It used to be mine and I've been working on it for a while now, making it more suitable for you. Don't even need a Medeoulin to bless it - it's ready to go – hold it like this - now let me see some of your steps sweetheart."

Aggie was utterly stunned. For the first time in at least a year, she began to cry. Her tears were tears of joy – another darn Human emotion that Dwarg had to study and interpret.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN – DAN

"Please come in gentlemen" said the County Coroner, directing the two men into his office, "and take a seat."

"Yes, thanks doctor, I am Darren Redcliffe of Redcliffe, Redcliffe and Associates, and this is Dan Kellor, brother of the late Robert Kellor. He is also Robert's executor. The Coroner shook hands with both men; he knew this meeting was going to be awkward. "Short and simple Doctor Jenna, we want Robert's body and his Death Certificate. I'm sure your people have had adequate time to do what you have needed to do and my client has shown a fair degree of patience with your office – we would like a definitive answer."

"That's understandable and I do thank you Dan for that patience," he said as he opened the manila folder in front of him. "OK, let's get to the quick – as you know, deaths like that of your brother must be referred to the coroner for investigation." Both men nodded. "At the autopsy, the medical examiner found something unusual and that was the condition of Robert's heart – it was in such a state that even our coronary expert could not explain how he had lived at all – he estimated that the heart had been badly degenerated at least ten years ago – that's when he should have died. Needless to say, we have had a bank of professionals, consultants and technicians – even NASA pathologists, try to figure it all out – and we haven't. The truth is that we have come up against a brick wall - we're completely stumped and confounded. We know the cause of death, but that's only half the answer. So you see why the delay."

"Are you saying you don't know what else to do, so won't release the body?"

"Well we want to keep it for further, and I must admit, undetermined examinations - things like this just don't happen every day."

"Doctor, this has been going on far too long now. Don't forget that Robert Kellor was a well known and respected national figure – he was an astronaut, a hero and he deserves better than lying on a slab in some morgue, surrounded by head-scratching incompetents. I can't believe that the press haven't beaten a path to your door yet and I can imagine the public outcry at the lack of consideration your department has for his family, especially his now orphaned, ten year old daughter who is dying of leukaemia."

Mike Jenna flicked through more papers, the veiled threat of the press was not lost to him – further, as soon as he heard the word astronaut he recognized the name Redcliffe – too young to be the widower – must be the son. "I see here that the young lady has made a remarkable recovery – has even been discharged from the hospital; something, at the very least, to be positive about. Mister Kellor, are you aware if your brother had made any provision for the donation of his organs for research?"

Dan opened a folded wad of papers and said, "let me read you a bit of Robert's Will...I would ask my executor to respect my wish as to the disposition on my mortal remains...that my body, in its entirety, be cremated at a place near the family home in Putney, Vermont and my ashes therefrom, be sprinkled along the Turner Trail, following, as to the best of his ability, the rites and traditions of my forebears of the Abenaki Nation. – does that answer your question doctor?"

Mike Jenner pursed his lips in thought.

Darren said, "Puts a new twist on a Writ of Habeas Corpus – we want the body Doctor. We would like to avoid the publicity and hysteria when or if, this bungling becomes public and I'm sure you don't want to become the object of countless subpoenas, warrants, inquiries and investigations." Darren stood up and said, "So what time tomorrow would be convenient to have the morticians collect Robert Kellor?"

Mike Jenna had already made up his mind. "All right, after five, we'll have the body ready – and the Certificate – Mister Kellor I am truly sorry for your loss and all the trouble. We are doing the best we can and mean no distress to you or your family. I will make the call now."

"That's all we wanted doctor, nothing more, nothing less," said Darren. Dan nodded in agreement, stood up and shook hands with the Dade County Coroner. All three men were glad that the meeting did not end in hostilities. Doctor Jenna was well aware of the legion of activists, minorities and special interest groups that the press would undoubtedly whip up. They would descend upon the capital, looking to spill his blood and his job. Facing Doctor Mic Noble would be easier, but no less harrowing.

"Oh, by the way doctor" said Darren, I would like to have a copy of the autopsy report – no big deal is it? I may just need it as a support for any unforeseen developments."

"Sure, no problem – you can take a copy with you now – I'll get my clerk to photostat one – hang on a bit." A copy of the report, neatly attached to a buff coloured folder was handed to Darren who gave the P.A. a wink and a smile and noticed that she did not let go of the folder right away. Nice little flirt he thought – maybe I've forgotten something and I'll need to come back here later. Dr Jenna escorted Darren and Dan to the marbled steps of the building and gave them a farewell wave and smile – that smile quickly disappeared when he began to try and think of some clever words to say on the phone to Noble and his lackeys. No, better go to the morgue and face them in person – wouldn't trust those geeks – wouldn't put it past them to hide the cadaver – that would really bust my balls!

"Thanks so much Darren, I think he would have smooth talked me into giving him more time to stuff around with Robert's body."

"A pleasure Dan – I think everything will fall into place – do you need a hand with transferring the estate, titles, deeds and all the other bullshit government and authority notifications – it can be a sea of overwhelming paperwork and red tape?"

"Well, believe it or not, I've spent the last few days getting ready for that. Trouble is, I desperately need that Death Certificate to verify all of the notifications and applications I have to do. Once I have that, everything will be moving along. So how many guitar lessons do I owe you Darren?"

"I've calculated eight, less if you bring my friend Jack Daniels with you."

"How about tonight?"

"Not tonight Dan, I've got to come back here and pick up something from the Coroner's Office – I hope. By the way you may want this Autopsy Report for your records. See you back in Richmond buddy, I've still got a week left here to enjoy the sunshine."

Dan hailed a taxi back to Robert's house – ah progress at last – still, it was a little annoying spending nights in a house where all the furniture was stacked, wrapped and tapped ready for removal. He lived in a corner of the lounge room and slept on a stretcher bed – it seemed ages since he had a home cooked meal. The empty pizza cartons and fast food wrappers gave evidence of that. He would practice different strumming techniques on his guitar of an evening, write some compositions, talk on the phone with Claire and Jade and go over the comprehensive check list of things to do as an executor.

He tried to make sense of Robert's autopsy report, saw the many diagrams, drawings and notes attached to the prime report page – like the coroner said, everything referred to the heart. Only one detail was incorrect though, the report showed Robert as being uncircumcised – this certainly was not the case and Dan knew it for a fact – after all he was his brother. He remembered a conversation he had with mom. After Robert had left home permanently, Dan simply asked her how come Robert was circumcised and not him. Mom explained that when Robert was about five, he suffered repeated infections to his genitalia, so much so, that the doctor suggested he be circumcised, which subsequently happened. She regretted that things were not properly explained to Robert beforehand and ever since that event he carried some resentment, especially towards Pop.

Tomorrow afternoon he would collect his brother and organise shipment to Vermont, after that, and when he finally got that Certificate, it would be all systems go – the sooner the better – he was missing home and there was still much to do after that. The real estate agent called in to say she had some interested clients and could they come by in the morning – no problems.

Late afternoon and Dan met the morticians at the door. They were ready to collect Robert's body. Doctor Jenna was also there waiting and handed a large envelope to Dan, "The Death Certificate Mr Kellor – you'll find everything in order – and again, I apologize for the delay – good luck to you and your family." He personally ushered the undertakers and their trolley into the large, stainless steel labyrinth that was the morgue. "If you wish Dan, you can stay out here till they do their thing, might be a bit upsetting for you." Dan shook his head, he needed to do this. "I have to go, hope everything works out for you." Mike Jenna walked away and gave a sigh of relief.

A large handle was pulled and a sliding table came out of a wall – on this, lay the body of his brother. The morgue technician checked and scanned the bar code on the toe tag to confirm that it was the correct body – it was. The trolley height was adjusted and the body was slid onto it. The technician unfolded the body-sheet and Dan (as he had already done before) confirmed it was Robert.

He grimaced as he saw the terrible maze of cuts and intrusions all over the body, the pathologists and examiners were definitely not neat and the large stitches and staples looked like a mass of spaghetti randomly thrown over it. The undertaker covered Robert with special sheets and wraps. Dan made a point of looking at Robert's penis - he was not circumcised.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN – CLAIRE

Dan said "Claire, that was the best breakfast I've ever had. Flapjacks, maple syrup with a fried egg on top – this should be listed as the official breakfast of the great State of West Virginia. Tell you what, takeouts were giving me the runs; you don't know how good it is to get back home."

"Honey, I'm so proud of you – you must have gone through hell with all that organising and arranging things. I know Edna and Aggie are grateful for everything - she said she'd never have been able to do what you did. By the way, she said that she'll send money to you as soon as the bank account is transferred over – that should cover our costs for the last few weeks at least. Hope you don't mind, but I spoke with Edna about how much we were out of pocket because of all of this – well, you did miss out on a few gigs and a few music lessons as well."

"Not to mention missing out on a number of conjugal get-togethers – that would be about seventy-five to a hundred per pop?"

"What's a conjiggle Dad?" asked Jade.

Dan looked at Claire with a smile, "Um, um, it's something a criminal does when the power to his electric chair is turned on."

"Don't listen to him Jade – Dan that was terrible. Honey, conjugal means that when a man and a woman love each other, you know, like daddy and me, and we hug and kiss and.....Jade, where are you going? Jade?"

"So when do you think the undertakers will let us know Dan? - we'll have to book flights up there and Jade has to organise his pals for guinea-pig duties."

"Any time now, it's just a matter of getting everything together on the one day. Don't forget that someone from ye olde tribe over the border has to come down and do some drum beating and a little foxtrot at the funeral."

"Speaking of dancing - it's still early Dan, Jade won't be back for a while, feel like a little...tango?"

"You mean a conjiggle? – You're in luck toots; how much should I claim on Edna for this one? – fifty bucks?"

"You'd better be worth it, asshole."

-oOo-

The following day, Dan received the call from the undertaker. "Mr Kellor, your brother's body has been sent to our representatives in Brattleboro. They will call you directly for further arrangements – everything is in order. May I again express my sympathies and regret for the horrible delay."

"Peter, I really appreciate everything you've done for me, I couldn't have wished for better service. Your dedication and the way you've kept all of this confidential is a credit to you and your staff. Thank you on behalf of my family – we are all deeply grateful." Dan meant every word.

That afternoon the Brattleboro agents rang to say that Robert had arrived.

Dan flicked through his notebook, picked up the telephone and made a call to the Wolinak Indian Reserve in Canada. He then phoned Edna. Rather than fly, and much to the consternation of Jade, they decided to drive to Putney. Dan liked his new car and this was a good opportunity to take it for a spin. Jade had found volunteers for guinea pig sitting. Everything was progressing smoothly – he now had a definite date for Robert's funeral.

"I still find it hard to believe that Robert wanted a tribal funeral. You could have bowled me over with a feather when I read his Will. Not only that, Edna loves the idea, and get this..Aggie wants to do a traditional dance in costume! We could have given him the biggest funeral in the country, in the biggest church in the country with hundreds of VIPs, bands and fanfare and the Feds would happily pay for it all. Still, I guess it was his call."

"Aggie is going to dance? Tell me all about it, what does it all mean Dan?"

"Well I don't know much about it Claire. Edna just said that Aggie's been reading up on Abenaki traditions and wanted to dance at the funeral – its part of the ceremony. We'll be having a drummer and an old tribal person there. I can remember back to Mom's funeral and Edna did some sort of dance then. You know, Claire, he never told me that he still had any interest in our family past. I thought he was all over that – much like I am."

"So would you have preferred your brother to have a Christian ceremony?"

"Why not – it was a Christian funeral for Kay – he didn't seem to have any objections about that. Don't know why he was so specific about his own funeral – I would've thought he'd want to have his ashes scattered with hers."

Claire said, "I remember all the angst at her funeral. Her horrible parents should have been kicked up the ass for blaming poor Robert for her death – in full view of the congregation too. Those stupid upper class snobs gave him such a hard time."

"To be honest, I'm still wondering why those snobs haven't taken out court orders and stuff, to grab custody of Aggie. I know they tried it before, saying Robert was not a fit parent. It's no wonder his Will was so specific about who should have custody. Kay's folks - the Very Reverend la-de-dah and his misses would just die if they knew what Aggie was planning to do. I can just imagine the conversation: "Oh mercy dahling, our little grandchild is being forced to participate in ritualistic and barbaric practices with those awful uncivilized savages."

Claire gave a little pat on Dan's head. "Now there's a thought – maybe we should invite them to Robert's funeral. Anyway Mister Daniel Kellor, you smug heathen, it wouldn't do any harm for you to do some soul searching."

"Me? – I'm an angel – you told me so last night."

Other things were also progressing. The paperwork for the sale of Robert's house had been finalised and filed. Dan was now the registered owner of a spotless and fully restored 1951 Pastel Blue Hudson sedan - compliments of Robert's Will. The van containing the furniture and effects arrived from Miami and luckily, Edna had enough space in her giant lawn-locker to stow most of it away. She and Aggie agreed that one day; they would have the largest lawn sale this side of Keene – anything left over would happily be scooped up by Deslie at the Goodwill store.

Aggie now had considerable funds in a trust account, fully accessible at age 18 and was to receive a generous allowance in the interim. Edna was also to be paid a healthy allowance whilst Aggie was under her care. Robert left a huge portfolio of stock and shares with a current value exceeding a million dollars. The attorney, Tony Lee had ensured that everything was in order, apportions made, registration transfers and notifications made, taxes paid and that other terms and conditions in Robert's Will were followed to the letter. Other hefty sums of monies followed, insurance claims were processed, NASA co-operative benevolence payments, plus retirement benefit funds, and union and past associations' payments and donations. All these increased the level of Aggie's substantial trust account. Added to all this was the fact that Aggie was the next of kin and sole heir to her grandparent's fortune.

By now the Media had been made aware of Robert's passing. The once famous astronaut had died quietly in hospital, from a heart attack. He was a widower, leaving a daughter who was under the care of his family. His family has requested a small and private funeral in his home town in Vermont. NASA had issued a statement outlining Robert Kellor's achievements, and letters of condolences from the President of the USA and other VIPs, were also received. Everyone involved with the tragedy had been tactful and diplomatic, so much so, that the press reported it in a matter of fact way, without a hint of anything out of the ordinary. Had they been aware of the circumstances, the event would have become an international sensation.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN : RITES

Dwarg knew that shortly, there would be a time of severe upheaval within Aggie's brain. Her flashes of neurons, nerve sensations and the plasmic stimuli activity was increasing in intensity. Most of these signs pointed to the forthcoming funeral for Robert Kellor. Even though he had a basic knowledge of many Human emotions, Dwarg knew that this particular event would be tumultuous. He would suspend his other activities and make a detailed study of Aggie's sensations during this episode – he determined that he would remain in her background and not interfere with her natural Human mental and physical processes. In his investigation, he would also have to take into consideration, the fact that Aggie was not the average and typical young Human – she was mentally superior - after all, Dwarg was a part of her psych.

The crematorium with its high vaulted chapel attached, was surrounded by a lush green lawn. People had begun to arrive and small groups formed. Hands were shook, greetings made, anecdotes, chatter and gossip were exchanged. A black limousine slowly drove through the gathering and stopped at the door to the chapel – Edna, Aggie, Dan, Claire and Jade got out, smiled to the waiting assembly, and walked in. Edna wore a long black dress and Aggie wore a long black coat, both wore matching black veils, they nodded to Mr Jeroen, the funeral director and walked directly to the front pew and sat down. In front of them was the casket containing Robert's body. Robert Kellor had come home.

The ever increasing assembly kept filing into the chapel, and it was quickly filled, and the directors guided the overflow to other areas where they could hear the ceremony. Some peered through windows; others crammed their necks to see - they were here to farewell their home-town hero. The director had reserved VIP seating along the second and third row of pews along with other invited guests – some included an official representative from the White House, the Governor and his wife, the State Senator, a high ranking officer from NASA, the supervisor of the county, and Derek the warden. Robert's in-laws were not invited.

Two flags were draped over the coffin; the red, white and blue Stars and Stripes, and the green flag with the seal of the Abenaki tribe. A silver framed portrait of Robert wearing his NASA space garb, was atop the flags. Surrounding the photo were small pine boughs, some stones, shells and small artefacts, as well as Robert's medals, badges and awards. The funeral notice had requested absolutely no flowers, and absolutely no photography or filming was allowed.

Dan gave a nod to the Director who in turn nodded to his left. An old man shuffled through a doorway and took up his position next to Robert's coffin. He was splendidly dressed in the traditional native clothes of the family clan – he looked at the casket for an agonizing long time, then turned to the congregation and said in a tired and wheezy voice, "There are no right or wrong ceremonies – always do what your heart tells you to do. Do them in a good and sincere way and all of our relations of the past will understand – be thankful to your ancestors that you remember them in your blood."

At that, a loud thump was heard and the congregation turned their heads towards it.

A second thump, then a third, then a steady rhythm of drum beats. The drummer came in and made his way, using short and springy steps, to the side of the coffin. He was also brightly dressed and adorned with multiple colours, feathers and trim. He began to chant a gathering song to welcome ancestors to join the ceremony. After that, he began another song to the Great Spirit and to the mother.

The old man shuffled his way to the front row where Robert's relatives were seated. He lifted Aggie's veil, daubed his thumb into a small circular container and placed a red smear on Aggies' forehead, then Edna's, then Dan, Claire and Jade. He shuffled back and placed a smudge on the drummer's forehead then picked up a bundle of long white feathers. Both men began a different chant in which the old man would raise and lower both his arms skywards, then turn left and right to cardinal directions, pointing the feathers. His chanting words were lost on most of the congregation, only Edna, Aggie and the drummer knew what was being said. The chant went on for about five minutes and ended in an abrupt and eerie silence

Dan was invited to approach. He bowed to the coffin as he passed, then stood before the lectern on the edge of the dais and looked up at the assembly and said, "Come I, to speak at my brother's funeral – he was of my blood, he was my friend. His soul will depart and be set free and purified by the swift purging heat of the flames, not dragged down to be clogged and bound in the mouldering body, but borne up in the soft, warm chariots of the smoke toward the beautiful sun, to bask in his warmth and light, and then, to fly away to the Happy Land." Dan invited guests to come up and say a few words, and there was a steady procession of friends and acquaintances who had something to offer. Some told of stories of their involvement in Robert's life, others of his exploits and discoveries, some kept their words short, others became unnecessarily bothersome with long winded oratories. Dan looked at his watch and by tact and diplomacy, halted those who were yet to come up. It was all taking just too long.

He looked at Aggie and raised his eyebrows in question – she nodded, stood up and unbuttoned and passed her coat to Edna, then walked over to where the old chief and ceremonial drummer stood. She was wearing her Jingle Dance Dress, and the congregation were abuzz at the sight of this beautiful young child dressed in a most spectacular and jaw dropping Native American costume. The dress, made of red, white and mauve colours, had small brassy tubular bells suspended in four rows around the chest, waist, hips and lower hem. The gold, silver and black shiny trim, the tassels, threads and frills which complimented the outfit, were a delight to one's eyes. The assembly was hushed and as she walked to the dais.

The old Chief then handed her a beautiful fan of white feathers – the fan that Edna had spent so much time in secrecy making for her. He then placed a one-feathered bonnet on her head and again with his thumb, placed a smear along the length of her nose, then bowed. She walked to the front of the raised platform and said to the fascinated and curious audience:

"Lakamigwezo - I am Aggie Kellor, daughter of Robert. My father loved me so much that he gave me the greatest gift that a man can give – he gave me his life. The fire that awaits him will only consume his body that came from the Earth and will return to the Earth."

"He believed in the immortality of the soul and that nothing can burn or consume that soul. I have claimed those parts of him, which the Earth could not. My father now lives in me, in my family and in you all. If you think upon him, you keep him alive. Think also often of your own departed loved ones and your ancestors - you are all they have – bodega kanni. Daddy did not want mourners at his funeral, yet we are human and must mourn at least a little, and we will be sad, and we will accept.

My father gave me this dress just after I became sick. To those of my tribe, you will know of the importance and the traditions. It's called a Jingle Dance Dress. There would normally be 366 bells or shells attached – one for each day of the year – plus one for me. I've added another four, one each for my family. In honour of my father, my family and my ancestors, I will now dance."

The repetitious drumming commenced. Aggie placed her left hand on her hip, and with her right hand holding the fan upright, she began. The first movement started with raising and lowering her heels and rocking back, up and down to the rhythm of the drum. With each movement, the bells tingled in unison with the drummer's hypnotic beat. She would slowly sidle to, and around her father's coffin four times, all the while the bells jingled. After five minutes, the rhythm increased and she began to do other steps, side steps, spins steps, toe and heel taps and began a soft chant of her own. She had not once, lowered the fan or taken her hand from her hip.

The assembly was engrossed at the spectacle and still coming to grips with firstly, Aggie's poignant words and how wonderfully she had delivered them; secondly, the sight of Robert's young daughter being so strong in her resolve in that she could perform something this noble and spiritual. This was especially so, when grief and pain would surely overcome anyone, other than this obviously strong and focussed little girl.

Edna cried openly, Claire cried openly, Dan cried openly. Dwarg had to reduce his size to avoid the powerful turmoil of the emotions within Aggie's inner self – her movements confused him further. Another three minutes went by and, all at once, everything stopped. The drummer, now sweating profusely, sat on the floor. Aggie walked to the front of the dais and in between gasps, said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the end of my dance signified Mourning Removed. Let there be no more mourning – it is done." She walked back and sat down next to Edna who hugged her so much that it hurt.

Dan returned to the dais and gave thanks to the Old Chief and the drummer, to all those who spoke for Robert and to Aggie for her brilliant dance and to Mister Jeroen, the Director of the Brattleboro Crematorium, who had never seen such a powerful and emotive service. "As Aggie has so dramatically said, it is done, let there be no further mourning. We will let the fire cleanse and collect this warrior's ashes. They will be returned to Mother Earth along the Turner Trail – a place from where he came. Please feel free to think upon Robert whenever you travel there." He nodded to the Director who pulled a string which closed a curtain around the casket and a whirring of machinery was heard.

Arm in arm Dan, Edna and Aggie walked out of the chapel, followed by Claire and Jade.

The congregation, still in awe, watched them leave and as if on cue, they broke out in a thunderous applause. Everybody wanted to know about Aggie. Outside, she went from person to person, shook every hand and thanked each for attending.

It was late afternoon when the black limousine dropped them off. Lisa had volunteered to put on an afternoon tea on Edna's front lawn. Other neighbours and friends were already there waiting. She saw to it that Scott had mown the grass and he had erected the canvas awning and the many nibbles, sandwiches, cakes, tarts and finger foods were prepared. "So how did everything go Edna?"

"Oh, Lisa, it sounds terrible, but it was the best funeral one could hope for – Dan and Aggie were absolutely wonderful – I'm so proud of them both – tell you the truth, my heart is aching with joy – what a great farewell – I'm just over the moon. Aggie, did I tell you how good you were?"

"Ah, let me think - just a few times, Aunt – I loved Uncle Dan's talk – you should have seen the look on Aunt Claire's face when he said those things – I bet you're proud of your dad, Jade."

"Yep, sure am. Mom, can I go sit on Scott's truck?"

Old Chief Atian and the drummer came by some hours later with the earthen-ware pot containing Robert's ashes and a box containing the flags, medals, photo and artefacts from off the coffin "Can't stay too long Edna, we're needed up in Maine for another service. Aggie, that matter we talked about yesterday?"

"Oh yes, I'll go and get it now." Edna looked at him with curiosity.

"It's something our little princess will have to explain to you Edna – umm, love these little bread rolls."

Aggie skipped to the house and came back with a package. She passed it reverently to Atian, saying, "May the spirit of Glooscap bless this dress and may it never lose its magic."

"Thank you my child, blessings upon you and your family and your ancestors."

As their taxi left, Aggie said to Edna, "OK Aunt, I'll tell you all about it, Aunty Claire and Uncle Dan, you might like to know as well – you too Lisa."

"Chief Atian told me that my Jingle Dance dress was originally made for his dzidzis, his grand-daughter, who was very sick. In a dream, Gichi Niwaskw the Great Spirit, told him that the girl was to wear the Jingle dress and dance for him and she would be healed. Even though she was weak, she began to step and chant and the magic of the dress flowed through her and she became well. Later when Chief Atian heard of my sickness, he contacted daddy and offered him the dress for me to wear. He sent it to Miami, but at that stage, I was in a coma and the dress was left at home. I was so happy and proud to wear it today and my chants were for the health of all of you."

"I felt it was proper for the dress to be returned and Chief Atian said it would be cared for by the Nation and be held as a magical and sacred treasure. Hope nobody minds. I've kept the fan Aunt Edna - that's now my special treasure."

"That's a beautifully story Aggie" said Claire with tears in her eyes. "Dan, when we get home, I want to know everything, and I mean everything; about your background and culture. You may think it's too old fashioned for your taste, but you do have a damn obligation to Jade to pass on this heritage to him."

"Yea, I think I needed a kick in the guts, and after today's efforts, I got it. Claire, after all this, I think I've found a new direction – I've thought of some music and poetry to write - do you think Jade would like to visit a real American Indian Reservation before we head back South?"
CHAPTER NINETEEN – PUZZLE

Slig and the Whisps were subjected to a Swirl Chaos several times since Dwarg had left the Aura. The intensity of the swirls had not changed and each event affected them dramatically. Slig's knowledge at the least, gave forewarning of an event. However, the Whips had found no protection from the ensuing episodes.

Dwarg had been absorbed into the physical, and that, at the very least, may yet prove it's worth. Slig would continually flux around the planet looking for Dwarg. It had lost Dwarg many Human years ago when that machine left the Aura, with Dwarg wrapped around it. Unlike the machine that Slig had tried to "hitch" on, Dwarg's rocket did not break up. Slig stayed as long as it could, just on the outer edge of the Aura where it lost track of the machine, and Dwarg.

Nothing untoward happened as a result of one Whisp leaving the Aura, but the Whisps would not take the risk of more Whisps attempting to do likewise. The Whisps would simply have to wait for Dwarg to return and report of its mission.

Slig continued to flux and flutter around the planet looking for Dwarg, or at least, seek for signs that Dwarg may have left - it could find nothing.

-oOo-

Mid October in Vermont USA, is world renowned for the colours of the fall season. Tourists from all over the world drive through the State, marvelling at the spectacular displays provided by nature. The mountains are awash with reds, oranges, golds, greens and browns, plus a multitude of shades in between. The disposition of the Oaks, Beech, Mountain Ash, Alder and Pin Cherry trees offer the viewer a kaleidoscope of exciting and exotic displays. The sight of bright contrasting colours, as where a Maple tree with its brilliant red foliage, stands amid a grove of golden Aspen, leads to gasps of astonishment and joy. To compliment the landscape, nature has also painted the ground awash, into a carpet of beautifully shaped and multicoloured leaves. Even the locals appreciated the wonders of nature's artistry during the fall.

Dwarg however, had no such feelings – he could only see in black and white and he only saw the trees as creatures, preparing for the winter.

Since his infusion into the physical, he had gathered a vast store of knowledge of Humans and their existence and their effect on the planet. He gained a slight empathy for the individual Human but had yet to conquer the intricacies of their emotions and reactions. Aggie was a suitable host, being young with a young Human's ability to absorb all manner of information and an ideal vehicle for assisting him in his mission. Dwarg calculated that he had now reached the halfway point in his quest.

The distraction of the coded messages was another matter. It had persistently interfered in his calculations and propositions, and he knew he would have to continue to investigate this phenomena. He had scanned all manner of information available to Humans, learning mainly through their speech, their pictures and writings.

He had even found a way to flux through the huge chasms of stored memories following the pathway of a Human's chromosome. He was not actually travelling back from the now, but he could flitter from one entire lifetime of memories to another. Humans' DNA contained, amongst other things, banks of life memories – these memories were added to with each succeeding generation. Unfortunately for Dwarg, the bulk of these memory units comprised of Human feelings and emotions – just the things that Dwarg found profoundly difficult to understand and interpret.

To go on such a journey, Dwarg merely needed Aggie to make physical contact with another Human, usually just a touch was enough for Dwarg to capture a cell, ingest it through Aggie's skin then simply enter that cell and it's DNA. At Aggie's school and on the day of Robert's funeral, Dwarg had amassed a considerable collection of individual Human memories. He encouraged Aggie to always shake hands with new people she met – in return, he would often offer Aggie some information, snippets and gossip that she or Edna might enjoy. "Aunt, did you know that Mister Norris, our school deputy, has two students in his class that he is the father of – and does not know it?"

At times he would answer more probing questions from Edna, who much like himself, was an enquiring creature. She wanted to know more and more details of his world and his mission, and no, he had no intention of wiping out the Human race. Edna and Aggie would sit at the computer and investigate the many facets of science, including astronomy and biology – Aggie always asking questions (mostly on Dwarg's behalf) – Dwarg did not have the capability of interpreting anything with electronics. All in all, Edna steadfastly refused to believe that there was any possibility of stopping rockets leaving the Earth "not in this century anyway."

The Whisps were unaware of the world outside the Aura – what the Humans call outer-space. It didn't affect Whisps – it was of no interest to them.

They did not know of the moon, the sun, the planets, asteroids and heavenly bodies. Dwarg however, had learnt of those worlds while inside Robert Kellor. He was cautious of any information that the Humans had gained – it was from their viewpoint. Dwarg knew that Humans would gain information and knowledge, then change or sometimes even negate that same information. He saw numerous instances of where Humans would even attack other Humans in order to have a particular piece of knowledge accepted or rejected.

He had managed to work out something else that was peculiar about Humans and their written knowledge – a great deal of it was untrue. They knew it and still accepted these untruths! Of course, the answer was so simple when he found it; the Humans called these writings fiction and fantasy, and the knowledge from them was absolutely useless – just another emotional strand in their makeup which he was obliged to research.

Humans, in their accelerating evolvement to the unknown, now had some knowledge of the existence of atoms, and were investigating these building blocks of the universe. He noted that the Humans believed that these atoms actually existed outside of the Aura and those atoms were random and distant. The further from the Aura, the more sparse and distant they became.

Given this concept, the Humans now believed that there was no such thing as a true vacuum, a true nothingness, as atoms were everywhere. Begrudgingly, Dwarg became to realize that other worlds were a true possibility – and the Humans may well be correct.

As to the matter of the painting of the Swirl Chaos, Dwarg would flux along the lines of the X and the Y chromosomes of the Humans. Using his collected store of life memories, he would try to find a link to the Human Vincent Van Gogh – the vessel, the puppet, the agent, of the unknown and prophetic Whisp.

All Humans are related. By going back one hundred and fifty Human years of memories, from thousands of lives, thousands of paths and branches, twisting and backtracking; Dwarg could not find a channel to Vincent's memory. The only clue he gleaned was one emanating from a cell belonging to the Director of the Brattleboro Crematorium – Mister Jeroen. The clue was in his memory of meeting a Frenchman in Las Vegas a few months ago. He owned a funerary business in Arles, France. This person told of his family business which had been established in the same premises for the last 300 years and how the tradition was passed from father to son.

Dwarg knew that Van Gogh died in 1890 at Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris – far from Arles. The Frenchman's great grandfather would not have been involved in Vincent's funeral because of the distance and jurisdiction. Yet it was a tantalizing clue. If he could find and enter the memory store of Vincent Van Gogh, it was very likely that the answer to this painting, this perplexing puzzle, could be solved.
CHAPTER TWENTY – JANETTE

Principal Garner ushered Edna into his office, "Mrs Kellor, this is Ms Janette Conaghan, Vice President of the University of Oklahoma – Janette this is Edna Kellor – Aggie's aunt."

"Pleased to meet you Mrs Kellor, please call me Jan."

"Nice to meet you Jan, I'm Edna – what's all this about? – obviously something to do with Aggie?"

"Yes Edna, I've heard about Aggie's remarkable talents, especially in the academic field. In a nutshell, I'm getting together a group of students who have special abilities such as Aggie's. We've done this in the past because we found that students with special abilities or very high IQs, became frustrated, even bored, having to be held back in a class according to their age. It's so unfortunate that we've lost many would-be prodigies and talents because the system did not recognize them or provide encouragement. I'm here firstly, to gauge Aggie's capabilities, and secondly, to offer her an opportunity to join this elite group under the auspices of the OU. All this of course, needs your blessing."

Aggie had never mentioned or indicated that she was not happy at school. Edna turned to Principal Garner and asked, "Do you believe Aggie is bored or frustrated here Alan?"

"Certainly not Edna, she's a lovely and talented girl, and well liked – but I do have a concern that she may well become so in the next few years. I would hate to see her 'switch-off'. If she is in a position for accelerated learning, should we keep the brakes on her? Perhaps her potential should be looked at – I've heard of other children her age with college degrees. It's a hard call I know – but if there is an opportunity for Aggie to become a graduate, that could save years of unnecessary schooling."

"Of course I'll have to talk with Aggie about this; after all it's her call. I'll tell you both straight up, I don't feel particularly happy for Aggie to go off into this crazy world just yet, no need to tell you just what she's been through over the past months and for heaven's sake, she's only ten."

"Fully understood Edna, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. All I ask at this stage is to have your permission to make an assessment. Believe me, I'm not looking to exploit children, or put them under a microscope to see why they have special talents - I won't even go into their family background trying to find clever genes. What I'm all about, is fostering and developing outstanding talents to their fullest and in that, everyone wins. The university has many successful graduates who are now amongst the leading scientists, musicians and masters in the field of art, medicine, philosophy and many other disciplines. I can say, without exception, that every one of them is happy with our programs. We have had children as young as six; receive scholarships to other institutions and academies."

"Fine, but what about her social life, her life skills, her home life, would you be putting her into a dorm or something? Oklahoma City isn't just down the road."

"Luckily Edna, we're in the digital age. We don't necessarily need the person there all the time – sure, a couple of trips for interaction and hands on purposes, but all in all, it would not be far removed from a child receiving home education. The amount of physical attendance would be entirely up to you and Aggie."

"Well as I've said, its Aggie's call," said Edna, "but one guarantee I'll demand is for total and absolute secrecy of your interviews and assessment of Aggie. The last thing I want is for her life to be disrupted by the media and nosey-parkers. As her guardian, I'll pull the plug if I see a cameraman or reporter stalking or sniffing around us."

"That's fair and understandable and you have my word Edna. Would you have any objection if I spoke with Aggie alone, one to one?"

Edna stifled a little giggle. "Fine with me, you'll soon see that she's got quite a character" – wow that was a clever answer, she thought – you, Ms Janette Conaghan, deputy president of the University of Oklahoma, are in for an interesting session.

The session was into its second hour. Ms Conaghan was nowhere near establishing any level of Aggie's academic, scientific, general or practical knowledge. She found Aggie's intellectual faculties to be outstanding and her apperception and reasoning powers, without boundary. Janette was overwhelmed. With a sigh, she asked, "OK, what, Aggie, do you not know?"

"Ms Conaghan, that is not quite innocens honesta quaestione but I will give you this answer; the God of your belief."

"Aggie, I believe in God and His Son Jesus, our saviour. May we talk about it?"

"If you wish Ms Conaghan, but theology does bore me somewhat. People's interpretations and conjecture tends to cloud one's mind. I see that you have a leaning towards the hypothesis of the Merkabah."

"Your powers of observation are really impressive Aggie, I'm not wearing the red bracelet, what gave me away? – was it something I said perhaps?"

"Yes and no. Your briefcase tells me a lot. I saw the small engraving of the two tetrahedrons next to your name, the opal pendant on your necklace, the eighteen measured breaths when we were having a soda half an hour ago and you really miss the security of that red bracelet. As soon as God was mentioned, your hand reached for it - just look where your hand is now."

"That's incredible – please tell me more."

"Your parents are Jewish, you've been somewhat ostracised because of your conversion to Christianity. You are now in internal conflict because of your own perception of Ezekiel and the metaphoric language of the chapter. You began to question your belief seven years ago."

"Can you tell me where all your knowledge comes from Aggie?" – Janette was becoming a little edgy – and uncomfortable.

"Miss Conaghan, I think you are a wonderful, caring and intelligent person. You accept the concept of higher metaphysical power – so let's say for me that it's a God's gift. You may be aware that the Abenaki also believe in the immortal soul and spirits of ancestors. Belief is not tangible or tactile and to attempt to strip it down in order to find the frame which holds it together, would only become a vexation. Some people can accept, without dissecting. Anyway, if it helps in your assessment, I would not class myself as a prodigious savant. Oh and I suck at music."

"Aggie, you obviously know why I'm here, I'm hard pressed to see how my group study program may be of help to you. I can only direct you on a path. You said before you had an interest in earth, sub atomic and astral science and to become a researcher in that field. There are a number of institutions that spring to mind but first we need to go through the red tape to secure qualifications. How do you feel about sitting for examinations and submitting papers?"

"Bring it on professor."

"You're a brilliant young lady, I really like you and our university would love to back you in your endeavours. Aggie, please, I have to know, ah..about.. what you said about questioning my belief seven years ago...?"

"Well, you said you joined the University of Oklahoma seven years ago. As we know, one thing special about the OU is that within their History of Science Collection, is the rare and famous book by Camille Flammarion, L'Atmosphere: Météorologie Populaire. You would have read, and possibly studied its history and representation. Page 163 of that book has the picture of the Flammarion Woodcut and this is where your belief of Kabahalla arose and it became your passion. Yet a little doubt lingered and you've never been able to dispel its presence and it festers within you. I think you are a really nice person Mrs Conaghan and I do appreciate what you're going to do for me. May I tell you something very very personal?"

"Of course Aggie, anything you say will be strictly confidential and I swear I will never tell any of your secrets."

"OK, I'm not a medical doctor, but I think the hot flushes and those night sweats you get, will disappear if you commence some HRT. Praying may be good for the soul, but your physician can also help. So when will you show me around the campus?"

"Er..I..er...I'll let you and your aunt know, probably within a month, two at the most – I still have some people to interview. Aggie thank you for talking with me, I really appreciate your views and candor – you delighted and scared me."

"Bon voyage Miss, you may need your overcoat – it's very windy in Buffalo this evening." Aggie, as she walked out the office, pointed to a portion of a bus ticket sticking out of Jan's organiser - before Janette's wide and enquiring eyes were able to blink.

"Edna, I don't know what to say. Of course we are interested in her. Of course the full weight of the university will back her. You have one amazing and talented child – you must be so proud. How do you keep up with her?"

"Tried to do it once and gave up, and yes, she is the most precious thing on this Earth. Have you been crying Jan?"

"It's OK, Aggie reminded me of something sad. Looking back on our discussion, I now wonder who was really assessing whom. She seemed to look right into my soul."

"I call it the Aggie Kellor Experience" said Edna with a knowing smile.

"I'll contact you in due course Edna and we can start thinking out a plan."

Ms Janette Conaghan, aged fifty, Vice President of the University of Oklahoma, for the first time in her life, walked into a bar and ordered a rum and cola..."easy on the cola please."

Dwarg, of no determinable age, traveller and physical matter from the Aura, revelled inside Aggie knowing that everything was going to plan.

-oOo-

Edna was fast becoming Bruce's best customer. He sold her reams of paper, inks and seven cheap printers thus far. He prompted Edna to get the latest laser/fax/scanner and copier. "This one is wireless and much faster than those squeaky old printers that keep breaking down, and does a lot more. All you need is to replace a cartridge every now and then." Edna bought it and Bucky installed it.

Try as he may, Bucky could not convince Edna that she need not copy everything that appeared on the monitor of her computer. Anyway what was all this stuff she was printing off? Pages of calculations, scientific experiments, papers of theories, of history, of astronomy, of chemical analysis – even to Bucky, the local nerd, this stuff was way too nerdy. "Its fine Bucky, it's all to do with research. Anyway the paper will be recycled and the only waste will be my time and effort."

Dwarg did not think of it as a waste. He couldn't read the screen of her monitor, but he could scan the pages of what her computer printed out. Aggie had simply to put her hand on the page and Dwarg would absorb the information that Edna had downloaded. This had been going on for a few weeks and became a regular feature of a day in the life of the Kellors.

Moos and Mool were growing fast and forever chasing those chipmunks and squirrels who were deliberately teasing them. On school days, the pups would wait patiently in the early afternoon, looking down the road for the pick-up to come with Edna and Aggie. Even before the dust cloud rose and the noise of the engine could be heard, the dogs would instinctively pick up their ears and start tail wagging, prancing and whelping into the air. Aggie would cuddle them and run around the yard watching them fall over each other in clumsy romps.

If Aggie saw Lisa across the road, she would wave hello. Besides Scott, Lisa was the happiest person on Earth because, despite all the odds, she was going to have a baby. It would be a spring baby, the perfect season for new life and growth.

"That was a lovely dinner aunt; you sure have a way of making yummy gravy. I guess we should talk about that scholarship with the UO."

"Oh must we Aggie? I just can't bear to think that you will be off down South again, with strangers and in strange places. There are so many dangerous things in the world and the thought of a ten year old girl out there by herself makes my blood run cold."

"I can't expect you to hold my hand in the classroom aunt, Ms Conaghan said I would be chaperoned every minute, besides, she said that absences wouldn't be more than two days at a time, and I'll be staying with her."

"She lives by herself in a house on the campus; sometimes she has other kids of her group stay there as well. The university pays for everything and really it's a great opportunity to get into some serious research and development."

"Please don't grow up too fast Aggie."

"I'm only human. Now aunt; another matter – my money – I would like to spend some of it."

"Of course sweetheart, may I ask how much and what for?"

"About fifteen thousand dollars should do it. It's to pay for our vacation to France the week after next. We're going to celebrate my graduation from Putney School and I'd like to take you shopping in Paris. We can forget about university and absences and growing too fast, and simply enjoy the sights and sounds of the city of romance. We'll have a ball and you'll love it – guaranteed – and it's my treat."

"Mmm..will Dwarg be coming too? – seems I remember some comment a while back about a painting in Paris..?"

"Oh umm, Dwarg thought you may have forgotten about that. He says he has a mild interest in looking at a Van Gogh painting, but he's quite sure that you would simply love the place anyway. He says a road trip through rural France is a truly exhilarating experience; the scenery, the people and the history would be wonderful to discover."

"If you were to draw a straight line on a map across the world from this house to Europe, you will see that it cuts across rural France. We could see Roman ruins, even those caves where the cavemen drew those wall paintings, the Eiffel Tower, croissants, escargot, the Louvre and country markets that sell so many different types of cheeses, you would not believe."

"Whoa there Dwargles, you're getting Aggie far too excited – give me some time to think about it. That's very short notice, we have to get passports and stuff, I need a new suitcase, go to get that money out, travellers' cheques, and the pups. France you say? Darn aeroplanes, darn airports, darn crowds – can't even speak the lingo."

"Je peux parler couramment le francais" said Aggie "I can."

"Of course you can sweetie, see that? Not even surprised. I'm getting better at not being shocked by your little revelations. Tell you what; I'll go for the ride on one condition Aggie."

"et ce serait?"

"You're a growing girl; eat all the food off your plate."

-oOo-

Anyone not knowing Louis Orrslet just before he died, could be forgiven for seeing this bent old and wheezy man, as a relic from the nineteenth century French slums of Clignancourt. Louis had spent his whole life in Arles and had only once seen Paris; the city that everyone had told him was the centre of the universe. He was a young man then and took up the invitation from the Bureau de la Défense in Paris, for a little of his time - not that he had any choice in the matter – the nation wanted more soldiers.

Upon his arrival in Paris, he got as far as one hundred metres from the platform at Gare de Austerlitz before he was set upon by four chatty Romas who promptly relieved him of his pouch and valise. Knowing passers-by merely looked on at this naïve youth who innocently enjoyed the attentions of those smiling, miserable gutter rats. They systematically robbed him of all his possessions. The only thing left in his pocket was the paper warrant of travel to the Inspector General's office in central Paris. This was his introduction to Paris, a bizarre world of bricks and cement, of stink, of expressionless faces and terrifying traffic – he was no more the fresh and optimistic rural lad of a few hours ago, he was penniless, alone and worried for his safety and his future.

"Flat feet, poor eyesight and I suspect an onset of consumption" said the government official, "no good to us Monsieur Orrslet, go back to your father and attend to the dead in Arles - remain an entrepreneur de pompes funebres, a noble and necessary profession." With a hard thump, the official stamped a document. "Merci beaucoup for your attendance – here is your certificate of exemption and a travel warrant." He snap-closed the cover of a file. Again he stamped the cover with "impropres" and pointed his finger to the exit. Louis left and immediately returned to Arles, vowing never to return to the hellhole that was Paris.

Louis Orrslet was to remain and carry on in his father's and his grandfather's funeral parlor. He himself now had a son, Anton, to carry on and become the next generation of undertakers for his beloved town of Arles. Anton, as a young apprentice to his father, assisted in the funeral of his grandfather, whom he loved dearly.

Anton Orrslet had absolutely no interest in carrying on with the family tradition. As Louis lay dying, he promised his father that the business would continue – it was a lie – but Louis died peacefully.

Anton had been well trained since a small child to become a mortician and was adept at his craft. He would keep being a funeral director and keep running the parlor, but only for so long – he had already taken steps to sell the family business. Anton was not overly concerned because Arles now had four funeral businesses and anyway, he was a man of means having sold property in and around the city. His father and grandfather had bought land and houses around the district and as the title had been passed to Anton, the selling off of these assets provided enough money and security to retire at an early age. He would let his small staff carry on running the business in his absences, which were becoming more frequent.

"There's an international conference of Morticians next week, which I must attend – It's vital for this parlor that I keep up to date on practices, problems and necessary information. It's being held in Las Vegas – I leave next Monday – any concerns?" The staff would never show concern or complain.

He did actually acquire some interesting information at that convention and spoke with many other morticians. He learnt of some of the different systems of embalming, cosmetizing, new and improved chemicals, family grief counseling, marketing and selling the product (in particular, getting people to prepay for their own funeral), and the art of presenting a suitable theme at the service.

What Anton had to offer the people of Arles, was still the old fashioned, straight forward funeral, and to him it was quite adequate – he did not want a larger enterprise. The trip to Las Vegas did however, prove profitable - he had won $7000 on a single slot machine, and left the land of hope and glory with $5000 extra in his pocket ($2000 was taken by the greedy Nevada tax man).

Back at the parlor, an official letter was waiting for Anton. In essence, it was to inform him that his business property at Rue Barbes was, amongst others, listed as being on a proposed order of reclamation by the government within nine months. His premises lay directly over historical Roman ruins and the area was to be classified as Preserver Nationale. Heavy restrictions would be applied to any future proposed minor building work, renovations or even gardening.

He was invited to lodge appeals and objections and the letter gave contact details of various historical, heritage and national bodies. Details of compensation would be assessed in due course.

Anton was overjoyed, and was hard pressed to stop himself from smiling in front of his staff, who were already aware of the bad news.

He told them to prepare to seek employment elsewhere after six months - beyond that; the Orrslet Funeral Home, a family institution of many generations of Orrslets, would be closed forever.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE – PARIS

Both women looked at each other and nodded politely. Both were desperately trying to recognise one another. Both smiled, then turned and looked straight ahead at the flight attendant trying to push that cumbersome food and drink trolley down the aisle of the aeroplane. Edna was a little frustrated in not remembering who that person was – she knew her from somewhere but the recall was failing. The other woman again looked at Edna and then looked past her to see a young girl in the next seat – then she remembered.

"Sorry, for staring, but we've met before, in Frederick. I was the bookstore clerk who sold you a lot of books about Vincent van Gogh. It's only when I saw the young lady next to you that I remembered."

"Of course" replied Edna, "my brain was really buzzing trying to remember you – how are you? Are you off to Paris as well?"

"Yes I am. Sorry, my name is Megan."

"And I'm Edna and this is Aggie. Aggie you remember Megan from the bookstore?"

Aggie stretched her hand across Edna and shook Megan's hand. "Yes I do, pleased to meet you again - may I call you Megan?" Dwarg instantly began his chromosomic fluxing.

"Please do Aggie, are you still into Vincent and his life? I vividly remember you asking me all sorts of question about him."

Both Aggie and Edna giggled, "That's why we're sitting here in this beast heading off to Paris – we're on an adventure of discovery – we're going to see everything there is to see about the man and then some. How about you Megan? Off to see the latest fashions?"

"That's amazing Edna, I've been saving for this vacation for years, and I'm going to spend it by learning more about Vincent. The Musee d'Orsay is presenting a special display and an exhibition of his works which I would love to see. From there I'm going to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, then back to Paris to see his grave. It's a trip I've promised myself since college - it's wonderful that you're doing something similar – and what a co-incidence."

Dwarg told Aggie of another co-incidence. Her mother was an astronaut who died tragically many years ago, ten years, in fact.

Finally all this came out as the friendly banter continued. Megan mentioned that her mother died in an accident working for NASA and when Edna enquired of her name, she recognized the name of Eva Redcliffe. Similarly Megan knew the name of Robert Kellor the astronaut who had recently died – she was again amazed to find out that Aggie was his daughter.

"This is unreal Edna and a little scary. And here's some more...my brother Darren is a good friend of Daniel Kellor, who must be your brother. He lives in Richmond; in fact Daniel is teaching him to play the guitar, probably at this very moment. I just can't believe it."

They exchanged addresses, telephone numbers and Megan gave them a copy of her itinerary. "Pop insisted that I call him every day – he didn't like the idea of me travelling alone. Gees Edna, I'm so looking forward to this trip – I've never been further away from home. I hope you both have a marvellous time – I really intend to."

"Have a great vacation Megan, I'm sure we'll bump into each other somewhere in Paris – maybe we can compare notes on the great man."

Megan hugged Aggie before they left the customs hall at Charles de Gaul airport. "I knew there was something special about you when I first saw you. I think we all should be sisters – may I call you when we get back to the States?"

"I would love that Megan, please do."

"That would be great – take care you guys, I've read that Paris can be dangerous if you don't watch out – au revoir Edna, au revoir mon soeur." Megan donned her backpack, gave them a friendly wave and followed the bus signs out.

"The plot thickens - what does our guru have to say about that coincidence Aggie?"

"He reckons about eight hundred and sixty four thousand to one."

"Did he factor in, that there just happens to be an exhibition of Vincent's paintings...never mind - tell him – tell him pull his head in again, smart ass little foreigner."

The taxi from hell finally pulled up at the Best Western de Rivoli. The driver was somewhat sombre as he helped the hotel porter with unloading the luggage. For the last few minutes of the ride, Aggie had, in fluent and local French, given him a torrent of unwelcomed information about his attempted extortion of innocent tourists, his inability to follow the shortest or most economical route to the hotel, his character and in particular his aggressive and devil-may-care driving skills. She told him she suspected that he was an unauthorised taxi driver because the ID card stuck on his dashboard, was not original. Perhaps the Bureau des Transports should talk to him. The driver knew to say nothing - he thought that this woman and that little girl were almost certainly spies, plants, or most likely, inspecteurs from Conseil Taxis.

Aggie told Edna to only pay a half of what he asked – even that would have been too much money for that hair rising ride. Edna would have rather driven along the Beltway in Washington on a motor scooter than suffer the terrifying ordeal of this aggressive and stupid driver. Her knuckles were still white from hanging on to the grab bar as the taxi barrelled its way through red lights, drove on footpaths, and all the while, honking the horn.

He was quick to leave and never thought of asking for his tip. "Exactly what did you say to that idiot?"

"Do you really want to know Aunt?"

"No, not really honey and I don't need to know how come you speak French. Hey - this looks like a fancy place – hope it's got a nice big bath."

That night, Edna sat at the hotel window looking down at life on the streets of Paris.

She watched a dark and tall man dressed in a long orange brocade shirt with a matching brimless hat; push a metal shopping trolley onto a little grassed area under an ornate light pole. He placed a little portable gas stove under the trolley and arranged a number of corn cobs on the bottom of the cart and began to grill them. In a matter of minutes, people would gather around him to buy the hot cobs. He would squeeze something from a plastic bottle onto the corn cob, and then wrap a paper napkin around it. All at once he had sold his entire stock. As quickly as he had set up, he left.

After watching the way people drive their cars in this place, it appeared to Edna that perhaps the taxi driver was not that different after all. Still, this was the big city, no open natural spaces and even though it was a concentration of concrete buildings, at least they were built in styles and architecture that was pleasing to the eye. She could see the Pont Neuf across the River Seine – she thought it was a beautiful thing. Aggie told her it was the oldest bridge in Paris and was actually the centre of the city. "Well, after we do some shopping, we should take a walk across it Aggie – but first I need good walking shoes, and this brochure says that we can hop on a bus which will take us straight to this place called _Galeries_ Lafayette – maybe we can find a Dollar Shop there."

Two days of sightseeing followed. They loved hopping on and off the Red Double Decker Buses, went on some river cruises, did some gasping at the beauty of the Notre Dame Cathedral, waited in the long queues to get onto a lift to ascend the Eiffel Tower and they wondered through the galleries of the Louvre. "Aggie, we are actually looking at the original Mona Lisa - can you believe it?" Edna became more and more excited at all the things this city had to display - with one exception. All of the food, in restaurants, cafes and the hotel, all was wonderful but Edna did not care for the anaemic looking crepe bathed in nutella which was served to her and Aggie from that stall at the Trocadero.

Try as she may, Edna could not find the man with the stove and shopping trolley – she yearned for a hot cob of corn, dripping with butter. Dwarg tried as much as possible to stay away from Aggie's emotions, she was obviously in high spirits. Apart from helping her with the language, directions and snippets of information for which she asked, he continued with his fluxing of Humans' memories – he was still seeking more clues. Tomorrow would see them walk to the Musee d'Orsay – a pleasant stroll across the Pont Neuf then along the Seine. The Van Gogh exhibition had been heavily advertised on posters, billboards and leaflets and at last, Dwarg would finally be able to take his first look at the original Starry Night on the Rhone.

The queue to get into the Musee d'Orsay was long and people were impatient. "Just look at those people queue jumping Aggie, bold as you like, they just walked past us to the head of the line, nodded to some other people there, as if they know them, and stepped behind them – you'd think the museum would have a better system – I don't mind waiting in a queue, but it gets my heckles up when these assholes just do as they please – look, here's another group trying to jump the queue." Edna grabbed the thick red cord which corralled the long line of waiting people and held it to her side, so that no one could walk past her.

She waved her finger at the approaching interlopers and pointed to the queue. There was no misunderstanding the message she was giving them. The people in the line behind Edna and Aggie did the same thing and a buzz of satisfaction swept the long corridor. Step by step, the line approached the anteroom and further, the large open and high vaulted galleries revealed the masterpieces hung sporadically on the walls. The rooms were huge and the security guards only allowed a limited number of visitors per room.

Finally, finally, they both stood together directly facing Starry Night on the Rhone. Edna tried very hard to "get it" – she was no artist or appraiser of fine art, especially impressionist interpretations. In all fairness, as she looked upon one of the world's most expensive masterpieces, she kept an open mind and allowed her feelings to draw some sort of exhilaration. Nice colours, a little clumsy with the colours of the land, the sky is drawn in silly little rectangles of blue, the reflections on the water are far too long in perspective, the stars are too bright – can't really see what all the fuss is about. Was she so naive? Everyone around her was gasping in delight and awe. Was it really so beautiful? Just can't relate to it – I wonder if this is one of those situations where I am the only honest one and all others are just pretentious or snobs, is this a case of "the emperor's new clothes"? Edna decided it must be her tasteless understanding of art – she had never been schooled or trained to "see" the artist's rendition. She wondered how Dwarg would rate this masterpiece of human endeavour – after all, he could only see in black and white.

Dwarf was disappointed. Through Aggies's eyes he studied the painting - no clues, hints or discovery. Something was wrong, where was the secret message? They stood there for some time and Edna was getting a little uneasy as one of the guards began to look at them as if they were becoming of some interest. "Aggie, I think we should move along, those bruisers are starting to stare at us."

-oOo-

"Inspecteur, these are the women." Edna shrugged indignantly as the two burley security guards let go of her. Looking up at them from behind a huge ornately carved desk was a man, obviously important, well groomed with a thin pencil moustache. He had a smile on his face – but it was not a smile of humor.

"Ah ladies, I am Raymon Odrow of the Museum Police – please sit down. I see by your passports you are from the USA. May I ask your purpose here?"

"Just sightseeing. Mister Odrow, there has been a terrible mistake; we aren't terrorists or criminals or anything. We just wanted to see the Van Gogh exhibition. Aggie here just lost control when she saw the painting and all she wanted to do was just touch it with her fingers. That's all. We didn't mean any harm."

"Mrs Edna Kellor - and you Aggie Kellor, do you realize just what you've done by breaching our security?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry sir; Aggie is only ten and doesn't fully understand the gravity of what she did."

"Do you know that the Museum now has to bring in a conservateur to ensure that she has not caused any damage to the painting? Can you give me a reason why I should not charge you with wilful damage and why you should not have to pay all these expenses for your lack of control with this young one?"

"Sir, I will happily pay for anything."

"Madam, please go and wait outside. I wish to say something to this child – perhaps a little warning from the Police may be of learning. Bonjour."

"Aggie, you have been a naughty little girl. You and your aunt may have been put into jail for what you have done. What possessed you to run past two of my guards, climb under the Perspex shield and touch that picture?"

Tears ran from Aggie's eyes and she started to sob – "I'm sorry Mister Policeman – I was just looking at it and I heard a little voice telling me to go and touch it and before I knew it, I ran up to touch it. Please don't put me in jail, I have to go back to school and I'll be in trouble with Miss Michelle and Mister Garner – they will think I'm a bad criminal and not let me come back. If I go to jail, I'll have to eat bread with spiders on top – I won't do it again sir – really, I promise."

"OK, OK, easy now" said the security chief who had come to the front of his desk placed his hand on her shoulder and offered his handkerchief. "I hope you realize the trouble you caused, now go away and remember to always be a good girl – if you forget, you may well end up in a prison for naughty people and you don't want that, do you?" Aggie shook her head. "Here, give these passports back to your tante – I don't want to see either of you again."

Edna swiped the key card of their hotel room. Not many words were spoken since they left the Musee d'Orsay. "Just have a look at these bruises on my arm Aggie, those gorillas back there literally lifted me up by my arms to drag me to face that little make-believe Napoleon. You, young lady, have a lot of explaining to do – and you ET – use your magic to get these bruises offa me – right now."

Surprisingly, Aggie's touch did soothe Edna's bruises instantly, but the adrenalin was still pumping. "I've no idea of how much that little episode will cost. Probably have to mortgage the house and the pick-up . Aggie, just what were you thinking?"

"Aunt Edna , you've every right to be angry with me. I know you would have physically stopped me if I told you I needed to touch the painting – but I just had to."

"We'll there goes the vacation I guess, we will need every cent to pay for this little act......argghhh...I could just scream. I've never been frog-marched out of a place before, how humiliating, everyone was watching, just hope it doesn't get in the news."

"No that won't happen aunt, and the museum won't follow through with their threats of making us pay. That painting is not an original – it's a fake – only that inspector and the Museum director know and they can't take the risk of having it scrutinized. Apparently the original was taken by the Nazi's during World War Two and never recovered. The museum has been fooling itself and the world all this time."

"I see...so we waited in line like cattle, to look at a bogus painting. Damn that little prick – I'm half tempted to go back there and give him the bird...not that you're out of the woods, girl – you're grounded till I figure out what to do next."

"That's fair aunt, maybe as a punishment, we should leave Paris and go into the countryside – somewhere there must be a place where I can't get you into any more trouble. I'm sure the concierge can organize a rental car for us – I think you're the best driver in the world – certainly better than any one of these French daredevils."

"Flattery and smooth talking helps, Aggie, but I'm a little disappointed that you found you could not trust me back there. You know I would do anything for you, even spend time in prison and eat bread with spiders on top – did you really say that to the little pecker-head?"

"And then some, aunt. Inspector Odrow isn't a bad person – he has kids of his own and they are always in trouble; the eldest is in jail for selling stolen property. He is stuck with his secret about the fake painting and knows the consequences if it was ever revealed – he has a genuine loyalty to the Museum. Anyway I felt that if you knew what I was going to do, you would not be able to honestly say to the Police that I did it spontaneously. You were just an innocent party to your niece's outrageous behaviour. Are your bruises all gone now?"

"Hmm, yes, and no pain. He did a good job; I had a couple of small scars on my arm and hands, now I can't find them. So why did you need, or should I say why did Dwarg need, to touch the painting anyway?"

"He was looking for clues and hoped that a physical contact with that particular painting would help. I know you've been reading the Van Gogh letters to and from his brother and you may have seen where he wrote, What lives in art and is eternally living is, first of all the painter, and then the painting. Dwarg was looking for some sort of link to Vincent. Anyway that lead has dried up."
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO – ARLES

It had taken only one day for it to leave the Earth's atmosphere. It then spent the next two years in orbit around the Earth, then one year on the outer and one year on the inner boundary limit of the Aura. The fifth year of its migration saw this lump of "stuff" succumb to the gravity of the planet and slowly return to Earth. From the perspective of a Human, this was by no means anything like a lump of stuff. They would be hard pressed to even see it – it was smaller than a speck of dust. To the Smota, it was a large mass and a suitable vehicle. It was extremely rare to actually find such a piece of slow moving matter with which the Smota could bond. Meteorites, meteors and heavy cosmic grains would burn up and kill them, as would the metal containers used by the Humans. To bond with a piece of slow matter which actually came from, and was returning to the Earth, was an opportunity that they could not ignore and as the speck drifted downward, attached to it was a small colony of Smota.

These were astral travellers, which traversed the universes using dust, comets and gasses as their means of transport. They, unlike the Whisps, were not confined to an Aura, but were aware of the existence of barriers and boundaries. These were not unassailable and the Smota would find ways and means of entering and leaving them. They had evolved from something, but did not know what – all that mattered was forward progression. It was their purpose to constantly travel, to discover, to adapt, to learn, if necessary to integrate with matter. The results of their discoveries were seldom, if ever, passed on to other Smota – because of this, the Smota as a body, had a disorganised existence.

This tiny mote of dust finally floated back to Earth after five year's absence. It had been hurled into space from a massive explosion on the planet – the Humans called that event Krakatoa.

-oOo-

"Are you Mister Orrslet?"

Anton had just entered the reception room through a violet curtain from his office. It had been a quiet morning and he was alone reading an old National Geographic Magazine, when he heard the little front doorbell tingle.

"Oui, yes ....mesdames, may I be...of service to... you?"

Edna replied, "We're from Vermont, USA and touring France. You may remember Mister Jeroen, he is the Funeral Director of our town. He told us that you met in Las Vegas a while ago and how he was interested in seeing your place."

"Ah - yes yes I remember him, he was telling me of how it was near impossible to bury the departed during your winters... oh pardon me, I didn't mean to cause upset, young lady."

"Ne vous excuse pas" replied Aggie, "monsieur you speak English quite well."

"Merci - and you demoiselle, speak good the French."

"My name is Aggie and this is my aunt, my tante, Edna." Aggie held out her hand, but instead of shaking it, Anton took it to his lips and kissed the back of her hand, then Edna's. Dwarg went off on his flux.

"Now lovely ladies, what is it with Mister Jeroen?"

"Well he heard that we were going through Arles on our vacation and he asked if we could stop and say hello to you and if we could possibly take some photos of you and your funeral home. We would understand if you feel it's not proper, we don't want to trouble you."

"Tante Edna, you have me at a good time, nobodys here today \- ha ha, you see morticians funny can be also. I would be honoured to pleasure you. Let me take you on a tour of my establishment, take plenty of photographs, take anything you like. I will tell you of something that Mister Jeroen will despair. This place by the government, will be shut down because underneath this building are other buildings – old Roman buildings – and we must make way for them."

Anton showed them the parlour, the workshop and embalming room, the shelves of bottles of chemicals and morticians tools. He kept directing Edna and Aggie – both snapping away with their cameras – at things that Mr Jeroen may find interesting.

"I will show you some more things ladies, come down these steps into the cellar, wait, I will turn on the lights. These are the legacies of my forefathers.

You see those old desks along the wall? They belonged to my father, his father and his father. I have kept everything as a memorial to them – unfortunately all this will have to be disposed of – and I will be the last of this line. My ancestor's life works will be scrapped and dumped by tractors earthmoving just to resurrect some ugly walls of stone put there by invading Italians." He shrugged his shoulders and held his palms up – quite the victim of circumstances beyond his control. "Cést la vie mon petit enfant."

"Wow Mister Orrslet, there is some interesting stuff down here." She walked around the desks and boxes and the clutter of many years of accumulation. "Aunt Edna, have at look at those gorgeous urns. Just look at this little round tin - it's got little fairies and daisies painted all over it – it's beautiful."

"Tante Edna, please call me Anton." He turned to Aggie, "petit papillon, it is merely an old container of camphor paste; you may keep it if you wish. You will need to empty and wash it – it's sure to be off. Do you see anything you might like for yourself or something to bring back to Mr Jeroen?"

"Anton, he'll be disappointed that I didn't bring your entire parlour back to Vermont, and as for me – I've been shopping in Paris and I'm worried that I'll become bankrupt paying for excess baggage to get it all back to America."

"Was this your father?" asked Aggie looking up at an old dusty framed photograph on the wall.

"Non, no my cherie, that is my grandfather's father, Claude Orrslet."

"What an expressive pose, and I love the black suit with pipe-stove hat and black lace – he looks exactly how one would imagine a funeral director to look. I love the shiny cummerbund, and even the lilies in the background seem appropriate – you must be proud of your heritage. Isn't he handsome Aunt Edna?" Aggie was squeezing Edna's hand.

"Ah, yes, a very nice looking man. Anton, would it be possible for me to take a close up photograph of it? – I think Mister Jeroen would really be interested in seeing this."

"Of course, here, I will get it down for you. Take it with you if you like - I have copies. The glass is rather thick so it should not break easily."

"Why thank you so much, that's so gracious of you Anton. I think it's a wonderful picture and I'll treat it with reverence. Are you sure you don't mind me taking it?"

Anton just gave a little whistle and a wave of indifference.

"Thank you so much for your time and trouble Anton – we're really happy to have met you. May we offer our condolences on the loss of your business. Goodbye and good luck."

"Au revoir ladies, and, as you say....happy trails."

Anton returned to his small office, picked up the National Geographic and kept reading the fascinating story about Eskimo life. To him, life was bon and he was going to live the good life.

Edna and Aggie jumped into the car and drove toward the city centre of Arles. "Tell me, tell me, tell me" quipped Edna. She felt like a little schoolgirl who had just done something very naughty, "did we do what little shithead wanted us to do?"

"Wonderfully and Dwarg has found a connection Aunt, he's still working on it. See this pretty little tin Mister Orrslet gave me – on the bottom someone has scratched GARDER POUR R. Dwarg has just worked out that the R stands for Rachel – KEEP FOR RACHEL."

"O my Lord Aggie, you don't think what's inside that, is...aw come on now...that's going a bit too far."

"You mean a bit of Vincent van Gogh's left ear? – Yep – I reckon so."

Edna reminded herself to have a check-up if she ever got back to the States. Her heart had missed so many beats in the last few months that she was bound to have some condition or other. Aggie interrupted her thoughts and said, "I saw a little restaurant just down from the hotel. It's called la Boehme, and the board outside advertised Australian BBQ dinners, that would be a nice treat to celebrate our nefarious caper today – don't you think Tante Edna?"

"I don't know what nefarious means Aggie, does it mean spanking a cheeky girl whose aunt ain't too good at big words?"

" Ooh noo, it means unspeakably wicked, and I promise never to use that word again."

"Thank goodness. As to food, anything but crepes and pizza, sweetheart, or that eel pudding you made me eat – that was something nefarious. So where do we go from now? and don't say the Bastille. And what about this dirty, ugly and heavy photo of grandpa grim – what's that all about?"

"I really don't know aunt – Dwarg likes it. You remember Anton saying something about invading Italians? Well there was a riot in Arles around the time of Claude Orslett. Seems a couple of French soldiers were mugged and killed by two Italians. A lynch mob demanded that the police give up the two, but failed. There was a great hostility toward Italians in the town, who all packed up and moved away for fear of retaliation. Claude was very active organising that mob – perhaps he was looking to improve business."

Dwarg had waited for so long to get onto the trail of the mysterious Whisp through possible stored memories of Vincent van Gogh. He had fluxed through the memory modules of Anton's father Louis, and Louis's father Philippe, then Philippe's father Claude.

It was Claude who was summoned by Rachel, the madam, on 15 January 1889. She asked him to collect a bottle which contained alcohol and the lower portion of an ear. She related that it belonged to Vincent van Gogh, the red headed Dutch painter who lived on Place Lamartine. She told of the incident which occurred on Christmas Eve of the previous year. Late that night Mnsr van Gogh knocked on her door and left a newspaper wrapped parcel with her, saying "keep this, it is important."

She assumed it was a Christmas gift. He had some linen wrapped around his head but she could see blood seeping at the left side of his face – he would not come in and left - he was very agitated. She then saw blood on the newspaper and asked her housekeeper unwrap it and went into a swoon when she saw the mutilated ear. The housekeeper called the gendarmerie who took the bottle away as possible proof or evidence of a crime.

The police returned the property to her on 15 January, saying they had no further interest in the matter. They did not offer advice as to the disposal of the ear. She then called Claude Orrslet who collected the ear and asked him to keep it at the funeral parlour until she knew what should be done. She paid five francs in advance for such storage. Claude pressed the portion of ear into a bath of menthol, camphor and wax; stored it in a decorative tin and marked it underneath – "GARDER POUR R."

At last Dwarg had found something that would take him directly to van Gogh – all he needed was for Aggie to firmly touch that piece of Human ear.

"Aggie, this is too morbid. We can't just open that tin and fondle a one hundred and twenty year old wrinkly piece of cartilage, you can never know that there won't be some disease or germ or fungus that will pop up and kill us."

"Wouldn't it be better to get the experts to open and examine this first?"

"We could try but it would be hard to convince people about all this – Inspector Odrow back in Paris would not like the idea, besides, Dwarg wouldn't let us get hurt – OK maybe a bruise or two. There is a big pharmacy in the city, we can drive there and buy some rubber gloves, masks and antiseptic, would you feel better if we did that?"

"Might need some smelling salts as well."

They had eaten, it was evening, and they looked like laboratory technicians. They were in their hotel suite, in the bathroom dressed with white paper aprons, masks and hair coverings, safety goggles and gloves.

It took all of this for Aggie to convince Edna that everything would be safe. The lid was tight and Aggie couldn't pop it off – Edna put out her hand and tried, "get me the car keys sweetie" and after several attempts and a scraped knuckle the lid was prised off. Edna set the tin container onto the side of the bathroom sink. They both peered down through their plastic glasses and saw only a brownish blob – the smell of camphor was strong. Before Edna could think of saying something, Aggie had poked her finger into the substance, stirred it around and brought a black solid lump to the surface. "Ah – ear we are" - she looked at Edna with a smile – Edna was not amused "...sorry about that aunt."

"Yuk Aggie, now what? You're not actually going to touch it with your bare fingers – are you?"

"It's something I really have to do. After I touch it, I may have to lie down. Just let me sleep – I want to give Dwarg as much energy as possible." Aggie removed the rubber glove off her right hand, looked at Edna, and said "OK, here goes..." and grabbed the bit of ear. Nothing happened. "Aunt Edna, could you let me have your brooch, I just need a little pin prick to get past the crust." Edna took off her brooch and said, "here, let me at least do something" then stabbed the point into the "thing"- Aggie rubbed her finger over the small hole that Edna had made.

"If you could, can you put the lid back on and tape it all together – don't want to let the bacteria in." Edna wrapped the tin with cling-wrap, then used an entire roll of surgical tape to seal it - no way would some evil spirit from Pandora's Box spring out. Edna kept a close eye on Aggie.

"Whoa, yes, I'm feeling a bit woozy now, that did the trick - I think I need to rest now Aunt – it's about bedtime anyway. I'll just wash my hands and say goodnight – don't let the bedbugs bite." Aggie then wobbled to her bed. Edna pulled up a chair next to her. She would keep a vigil for however long it might take. Aggie immediately fell asleep.

"Good morning sweetheart – how are you feeling?"

"A bit giddy aunt, were you here all night? did you get some sleep?"

"I dozed a bit, you were running a bit of a fever at one stage, I think you were having nightmares, you were moaning and sometimes you opened your eyes suddenly – gave me a few starts, but you've been sleeping calmly for the last three hours – after all that, I hope Dwarg has come up with a few answers."

-oOo-

Aggie spread some maple syrup on a fresh croissant. "Dwarg has confirmed that some alien was in Vincent. The good news, it was not a Whisp. The bad news is that the entity was not of the Aura or of the Planet. It came from another world."

"Great, just what we need! – more ETs and gremlins fluttering around our assholes..oops sorry Aggie, I meant, our world – OK, let's have it, what's the little shithead's story on this bug?"

"Dwarg says it has limited group intelligence but does have a small influence on its immediate environment. It entered Vincent while he was here in Arles. Ironically it became trapped in the body of this Human who was already suffering from a variety of maladies. It kept to its course of seeking escape from the organism but the Human fights back at each attempt to leave. The entity does not have the ability or knowledge to heal or repair creatures. At the time of the wounding, the entity was still present – seems both Vincent and it, remain trapped."

"So, after all these years, where the hell is this damn bug now?"

"Dwarg says Paris. We may need to find Vincent's grave – and we may need to buy a shovel."

Edna sprang up and nearly up-ended the coffee pot. "Aggie, with the combined knowledge of Dwarg and yourself, try to figure out just what I'm thinking right now."

"Don't worry Aunt Edna, Dwarg's sense of humour is improving. He was just waiting to get back at you for calling him a little shithead \- twice. He believes that the entity would have expired when Vincent died. Obviously the intruder had an awareness of, or may have actually observed, the Swirl Chaos and somehow influenced Vincent with his paintings, especially The Starry Night."

"I guess it explains why he went gaga big time. Hmm...I wonder if he shot himself in order to kill off the ET inside him?"

"You know, that's a very good point and quite possible. He had just painted a scene of a wheat-field with big black crows flying overhead, away from him. He may have been inspired with the thought that if he shot himself, so would the entity fly away from him – but that's only a presumption, anyway he still lived a few days after he shot himself."

Edna said, "O yes, the crows. I read that Vincent was handed a pistol as he went to go and paint in the field. He was asked to shoot it occasionally to scare them off. Hmm...all so interesting. I've bookmarked a page in this here book of Vincent's letters, let me see..ahh yes, listen to this... "When a man comes out of prison after having been there a long time, there will be moments when he will even miss his prison, because he finds himself at a loss now that he is at liberty – so called, I suppose, because the grinding daily task of earning your living hardly leaves any liberty at all." I thought that was well written – even for a nutcase. Don't you look so surprised young lady, I can read too."

"And back in Putney you said you'd just come along purely for the ride."

"OK, OK, so what now? – mystery solved? - back to Putney?"

"Still a few days to go aunt – anything can happen."
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE – MEGAN

"Hello – is that you Edna? – it's Megan here – can you hear me?"

"Yes Megan, how wonderful to hear your voice, where are you sweetheart?"

"I'm ringing from the American consulate in Amsterdam, I'm in a bit of trouble, I've been mugged, robbed – I'm OK, no injuries – I wondered if you could help me."

"Oh that's terrible Megan, of course – anything."

"It's just that I didn't want to say anything to my dad, I know how he'd react – he'd be on the next plane, come and get me and take me home. Luckily I still have my passport, but my backpack with all my stuff and money has been stolen. The police here have taken me to the embassy but they don't hold much of a chance of getting my gear back. I can't access my bank account because it's all frozen now and I've only got one paid night left at the hotel. The embassy here can give me some emergency money, but apart from that, I'm stuck."

"Don't panic Megan, of course we'll help you out. We're in a little town in France called Beaulieu-Sur-Dordogne – the closest city would be Limoges. Tell you what, why don't you come down here and meet up with us – I'm sure Aggie can organise the fares and flights for you from this end – that's unless you want to stay in Amsterdam for a while longer."

"Gees, that would be fabulous Edna, I must admit I'll be happy to see the last of Amsterdam and be with some smiling faces for a change – you are a life-saver."

"OK, leave it with me, stay right there and we'll get straight on the net and make the booking – just give me some of your details and I'll ring you back."

Edna was quite the European driver now – rude, aggressive and unpredictable. She had learnt all the various finger signals to tell other drivers of her thoughts as she barged the car through busy and not so busy, streets. Occasionally she would have a relapse and smile as she allowed a pedestrian to cross the road. "Should be fun to have Megan along, poor dear, I could just imagine her father in a tizzy fit. You know Aggie, that town back there would have been one of the most beautiful places on earth and that church on the river bank was mind blowing. Did you see the plaque with its history? They even found stone-age axes and arrowheads when they were digging and restoring the crypt - so even ancient man lived on that spot. And the beautiful river and the overhanging balconies of those crooked buildings – so glad we took a wrong turn back there in Brive."

Aggie was glad that Edna was having a good time and she had to agree that the vacation was going well. She also looked forward to seeing Megan again – "Next turn left aunt, finally we have road signs with planes on them to guide us to the airport."

They hugged like long lost sisters. Edna drove out of the airport car-park employing her usual devil-may-care driving skills. "Aunt Edna, I think we owe that cabby who took us from Paris airport to the hotel, an apology - he was not the worst driver in France – just look at poor Megan's being tossed around back there."

Megan sat amongst bags, packages and the general paraphernalia that tourists gather after days on the road. "Goodness" said Megan "you've really done some shopping girls - even bought this...um...interesting photo portrait of an undertaker?...looks very old."

"Yes a few interesting things have happened on our trip Megan" said Edna turning to a nodding Aggie, "young missy here, the backseat driver, nearly got us thrown into jail. Seems back in Paris, she had a hankering to go and touch one of Vincent van Gogh's paintings and we both got hauled off with a nice kick in the ass."

"That was you guys? I heard there was a scuffle at the gallery – heard that someone was trying to damage a painting, but the efficient and alert security guards stopped her in time and saved the day. The story goes that a woman was high or drunk and tried to stab one of the Van Goghs. The guards were going to be rewarded for their bravery or something." Edna and Aggie giggled like naughty children.

"Did you get to see the exhibition Megan?"

"Oh yes, it was brilliant, didn't like having to wait in the long queues though. But I'm happy that I got to see the paintings. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam was great as well – I took so many pictures, but I guess someone else is enjoying them now. Not the best thing to happen half way through a hard earned vacation. I really appreciate you taking me under your wings – I'll pay you back as soon as I can organise a money transfer from my bank."

"Relax, put that behind you, we still have a week to go and when we get to the hotel in town, we'll organise your return tickets and stuff. Have you spoken with your dad yet?''

"I tried to ring last night but couldn't reach him, so I phoned Darren and told him everything. He couldn't believe that we had met up on the way to Paris. He'd just come home from a guitar lesson at Dan's place, so he's going to talk to dad. Guess I'll get an earful when I ring him tonight – are you sure this is our hotel?"

"The Mercure I hope, yep that's it. This time I'll get all our stuff out of the car and do a repack. What a shame, we may have to do some more shopping, we need more bags and suitcases – and something to wrap that oversized photo of sad sack in. Are you sure we need to keep it Aggie?"

"Can't you imagine that wonderful photo on our dining room wall, Aunt Edna? – right next to the cuckoo clock?"

"I know there's a joke there somewhere Aggie, but no, I can't imagine that. How about on the wall of the converted outhouse?" In a whisper, Edna added, that should scare the shit out of anyone. "What the hell do you see in it Aggie?"

"It's history aunt; and Megan, would you believe that this photo was taken in Arles, about the same time that Vincent was there. This is Claude Orrslet and he probably knew Vincent personally. When we passed through Arles, we met his great grandson Anton, who gave us this photo ...and other bits and pieces" Aggie looked at Edna whose lips were already pursed.

"Wow, you really have been on an adventure. I didn't think of going to Arles because there's nothing too much of Vincent left there – just some tourist traps and a few landmarks and I'm not really into Roman ruins."

"Just hope this joint has a decent restaurant, all this driving has made me hungry and we need to power up for the mall."

All three sat around on the terrace that evening just people watching and enjoying the ambiance of a French street at sunset. The hunting and gathering of the day had seen a few more carry bags, another suitcase and more tourist items, including some fine collectable porcelain from the district of Limoges. "Well Megan, Aggie has got me really interested in Vincent's letters – I've still got the book you sold us. He did write wonderfully well for a loony and I reckon I know exactly what happened when his ear was cut – would you like to hear my version?"

"Please do, there are so many versions nowadays."

To the amazement of the girls, Edna then proceeded to offer her theories with a snooty upper class accent, obviously trying to imitate Sherlock Holmes. "I don't believe it was an act of love for his woman Rachel. On that Christmas Eve, Vincent and Paul Gauguin had a fall-out – they were crazy drunk, just like the night before, don't you know. Gauguin was an amateur fencer – I read that somewhere else. The argument became more hostile, Vincent grabbed his cut-throat razor, Gauguin grabbed his fencing sabre, Vincent lunged, and Gauguin parried the razor which ran across Vincent's ear, severing the lower part of it. Seeing this, Paul Gauguin panicked and ran away thinking that Vincent's throat was cut as well. Vincent (luckily for him he was well and truly soused), somehow bandaged the side of his face with a piece of linen from his bed, picked up the bit of ear and wrapped it in some newspaper and went to report Gauguin's assault to the police – (he had assumed, incorrectly, that Gauguin would have already gone to the police). On the way, he changed his mind, reasoning that he may have good evidence to somehow blackmail Gauguin. So instead of reporting the crime, Vincent called on Rachel and asked her to look after the package (his evidence) until he could work out some plan – it was never his intention to offer it to Rachel as a gift. With me so far children?"

"Why Aunt Edna, you're quite the detective – more please."

"Vincent wanted Gauguin to stay with the studio, which he hoped would develop into a school of modernistic impressionists, but Gauguin had already indicated that he wanted to leave Arles and especially get away from Vincent. If the police were to take Gauguin away, all would be lost, but now Vincent had a trump card – incriminating evidence (don't forget that Gauguin was a swordsman)."

Edna continued; "As the evening went on, Vincent became weaker and the local mailman, whom Vincent had befriended, found him and took him to the hospital – by then the police were looking for him because Rachel had notified them of the severed ear. No charges were ever made, the ear was returned to Rachel who promptly disposed of it. Gauguin left for Paris the next day."

She continued, "In Vincent's mind, it was all Paul Gauguin's doing, yet he bore no grudge. Reading all his letters of those times to his brother and to Gauguin, there were only clouded and vague references to the episode – never a mention of blame – you could almost sense a little embarrassment. It's certain that Vincent's brother Theo and Paul Gauguin would have discussed the altercation with the Police and the whole episode would have been put down as...as... Oh what's the term Aggie?"

"Delire alcoolique?"

"Sounds right. Vincent continually stalled with sending Gauguin's fencing masks, gloves and other infantile toys of war back to him in Paris despite Paul's repeated requests. Seems there were still subtle thrusts and parries well after the brawl. And that, dear ladies, is the tale of the ear, in a nutshell – or maybe in a pretty metal tin."

"Well Edna, I guess that all makes sense and I've heard bits and pieces much the same, although I've never heard that he may have given his ear to Rachel for safekeeping as evidence of Paul Gauguin's involvement. But that makes sense as well – one word of warning though, if you tell that story to anyone working in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, you will probably get what you got at the Musee dÓrsay, plus a sound beating as well."

Dwarg of course knew that everything Edna said was very much correct. What he still could not comprehend was the admiration for these bits of canvas with paint and stains splashed on them – he still could not interpret colours, but even given that, it all appeared to be so inane.

The photograph - that was another matter. Here was a true and accurate representation of something. It was perfection, it captured a moment in Human time, yet here were these Humans apparently failing to realize that a photograph, when taken, actually made time stop in its tracks. Those other images, painted over a period seemed to please the Humans more – again Dwarg felt that he would never fully understand. As to Megan, Dwarg had become aware that the rocket, in which her mother had died, was the same rocket that Slig used to attempt his escape from the Aura.

The time-line of the picture of the Swirl Chaos was all wrong; unless of course, that the entity could see ahead of the now, or that the Swirl Chaos was not of this Aura. His concerns about the intruders from beyond were ever increasing. These beings were certainly capable of eradicating all life on the planet – more disturbing was the fact that the Aura would also be in danger. His study of the migration of earthly microbes from continent to continent concluded that airborne viruses can and do occur. Microscopic dusts and particles carrying "bugs" are forever circulating within the Aura – and that is quite natural – but a virus from beyond the Earth's atmosphere is another matter.

Dwarg knew it was becoming vital that he return to the Whisps' Aura – they must be alerted. He had to find a way of continuing his mission of stopping the rockets, yet he must leave the physical - and Aggie - and her world.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR – REVELATIONS

Edna was sound asleep. Megan and Aggie were sitting on the balcony; they were rugged up and comfortable. Megan had satisfied her father that there were no problems and she was having a wonderful time with Edna and Aggie. Poor Aggie had been answering the many questions pouring out of Megan: "how did you learn to speak French? – How come you've already graduated from High School – tell me about the UO – what are you going to research? – are you psychic? can you read minds?" Aggie fielded them as best she could – she couldn't tell her about Dwarg, that would certainly bring on strains and uncertainties.

"I'm so blessed with these gifts Megan and you won't find me ungracious. I remember telling Mrs Conaghan of the UO that sometimes it's better to accept than dissect. I don't mind admitting that I'm enjoying life. OK, so I'm a bit more mature than other ten year olds, I don't think I'm missing out on much. Gees, just look at my lifestyle now – who would not like this? I don't blame you for being curious Megan – something happened to me while I was in a coma – something wonderful and something sad – and I've a lot to be thankful for."

"Well little sis, you are special – and so is Edna. Can you talk about your mother Aggie, or does it bring up sad memories? – I'll tell you about my mom first, if you like."

"That's OK, my mom's name was Kay. She died in a road accident last year. She was very strict with me, probably because my grandparents were equally severe with her. Sad to say, she didn't have much time for me, she always seemed to be out somewhere socialising. Looking back, I don't quite know how daddy managed to tolerate her episodes. She was often drunk, loud and abusive. I remember hiding away when she came home late at night, shouting and cursing and daddy would come to try and settle her down. Because of her moods, I really never got to know daddy's side of the family well – and that was a great loss. It's not that I was scared of her, but I would try to stay out of her way. Sometimes she would look at me and just get plain angry – to this day, I still don't know why. Then one evening, she picked up daddy from the office, she was angry and drove the car like a maniac and hit a concrete light-pole – blood tests proved that she was well and truly inebriated – she died – daddy didn't even get a scratch. I was alone in the house when the police came by and told me what happened. Grandfather and grandmother both blamed daddy for allowing mom to drive. There was an awful quarrel later, then I got cancer. Poor daddy. I still have mom's jewellery and one day I might even wear some. One day I might even go visit Grandma and Grandpa and try to smooth the waters – apparently they are well off. And you Megan, I know how tragic the loss of your mom would have been for you. Ever looked up at the stars and thought about her?"

"Every night Aggie."

"Here's something to think about. Atoms. Everything, and I mean everything in the physical world is made of atoms. Atoms combine to form various molecules of stuff - gasses, solids, liquids and everything physical. They are everywhere and when something changes, the atoms don't simply disappear, they recombine into something else."

"Humans are made of combinations of atoms and when we die, those atoms don't die, they go off to become something else – and not necessarily something human - they recycle. Our universe is a huge recycling centre of atoms. Who knows, some of the air we are breathing right now may contain an atom which was once a part of the pen used to sign the Declaration of Independence or once comprised a grass leaf outside the Tower of London or once comprised a hair off the beard of Abraham Lincoln; or might even have once been part of the nose cone of an exploding rocket. Megan, atoms are, and will always be, around us – even those from which our moms were made. Oh I'm so sorry Megan, I didn't mean to upset you."

"Aggie, you have a beautiful way with words. You know, I was about your age when I lost her. I remember the man on the television crying out things and all I saw was clouds of smoke. Daddy was so beside himself and I couldn't understand what was happening – I miss her so much."

"Have a little sob Megan, I'll get you some soda from the mini-bar, and some tissues. Now a smile? Lovely. Here is something else from the mini-bar - now let me tell you a little story about this tin, and our adventure in Arles."

-oOo-

"Oh my God! Is that it? Is that really it? No way – is that really it? What the.. f...flipping hell ...you just can't be serious Aggie?"

Aggie became rather jealous of Megan's stamping and jumping around the room. She could have used those steps in her Jingle Dress Dance, they were certainly lively enough. "What's going on here ladies?"- Edna thought that the hotel was in emergency evacuation mode.

Aggie gave Edna a wink - "I just gave Meagan a little earful, aunt."

"Edna, Edna, is it true? Did you really find it? Oh my God, this is unreal."

"No big deal Megan, it's only a bit of hundred and twenty year old gristle – don't even know what to do with it – no way in hell are we bringing it back to the States Aggie – that photo is bad enough – but the customs will have plenty to say about bringing in human body parts."

"You're right aunt. How about this – we send it to Inspector Odrow with a note saying how we came to have it. We could say we thought it may be Vincent's ear because of the inscription on the tin. We don't want any claim or publicity because we have already been in trouble."

"Perhaps we can suggest that he go and look at the wonderful relics in Anton's basement – and in particular, study the account books around the period of Vincent's accident and see if there may be a reference to a payment by a certain Rachel. That should be enough for him to get really excited."

"Ha ha, I can just imagine him running around not quite knowing what to do – wish I could be a fly on the wall to see that – now who was that bungling inspector in Pink Panther movies? – oh yes - Inspector Jacques Clouseau. But let's not send it yet, I think there is a post office at Charles de Gaul Airport."

"OK, bedtime little ladies. By the way Aggie, just as a matter of interest and for no particular reason, where are we going to drive to tomorrow? I'm only the driver - just thought I'd ask."

"You know aunt; there is a place I think you would really like to check out. I'll give you some clues. Alps, yodellers, snow, fondue, chocolate, cows with bells, Roger Federer.."

"Right, I'll wear my furry knickers tomorrow – now git to your sacks children."

-oOo-

"Where the..., what the hell, is this place Aggie? – and don't say downtown Geneva because we left it a few miles back."

"Aunt, it's CERN, the LHC, you know, the world's largest particle accelerator, it's a 17 mile circle of tube and used for smashing atoms. We are looking at mankind's most advanced piece of technology – just turn next left and we can park at the Visitors' Centre."

Edna looked at Megan and shrugged her shoulders, "don't ask me Megan, this has been going on since Paris – I'm only here for the ride." There were large buildings all around the place, industrial complexes, weird sculptures and a lot of construction work going on. They drove past a large green pipe on a concrete stand – an advertisement – a showpiece of the area. On it were the words CERN Superconducting Dipole Magnet – LHC. "Wow Aggie, the LHC – now let me figure it out – light hearted circus, maybe left handed circle, something like that?"

"It's Large Hadron Collider and the actual tube is underground, even crosses the French and Swiss borders four times. The scientists here have split atoms and found a whole new world of sub atomic particles – we are at the edge of a new era of discovery – the age of nano technology – isn't that wonderful?"

The Reception Room at the Visitors' Centre was lavish – and warm and they found an area to sit and have some warm chocolate.

Aggie went from display to display and talked with some people who were constantly coming and going - the free automatic coffee machine being their main focus. She examined the many models, diagrams and posters around the rooms.

One older man, dressed in the typical white coat of either a janitor or a scientist, took an interest in what Aggie was saying to him and the conversation seemed to develop intensely. Edna was quite content to just sit there and enjoy the chocolate and talk with Megan. "That young waiter back there at the restaurant really took a shine to you Megan; he stumbled over himself and nearly dropped the pot. I noticed him staring though the servery window."

"Oh stop it Edna. I wouldn't know what you're talking about. He was rather cute though."

"Aunt Edna, this is Professor Ethan Lorenz and he works here. If it's alright with you, he'd like to show me some of the inner workings of this place?"

"Hello Mister Lorenz, please do – we'll wait here until she drives you crazy and you make us take her away."

Without even a goodbye, Aggie took the professor's hand and both went through the door with multi-lingual signage – the English words read, Strictly Authorised Personnel Only.

"Now, Miss Aggie, what was that you were saying about your theory of the disappearing Quark particles?"

It was a full hour before Aggie came back to the Visitors area. She was expressionless, if not somewhat sad. "Everything OK sweetheart?"

"Yes, sort of aunt – we need to talk later. Anyway we're supposed to be having a great vacation. How about a real treat – there is a place in Dijon we can stay at that will blow your mind. It's a luxury five star, right in the middle of town and everything's laid on – we can even have little fish nibble our feet and legs to get rid of dead skin – it's the latest rage – there are heated pools and get this Megan, there is a large art gallery next door." Edna did not miss the tears in Aggie's eyes.

-o0o-

The road to Dijon was long and there were interesting sights along the way. A few rest stops, a couple of strolls at local markets, some marvellous views from the mountains, scenes of vineyards and farms – yet the excited gaggle of girl prattle was somewhat muted during the drive.

Aggie was true to her word. The hotel was breathtakingly beautiful and everything they could wish for.

Aggie became quite adept at navigating and pre-booking hotels over the internet. So far she had a perfect score in selecting the accommodation – this place was by far the best yet. It didn't take long for them to unpack and head for the heated swimming pool.

"That's it Megan, just keep walking around the pool – with that hot little body of yours, we'll never have to holler for a waiter – OK Aggie, let's get it out in the open – what is Dwarg up to?"

"Something I never wanted to have happen aunt – Dwarg has found a possible way to get back to his world. He needs to return to his own and make them aware of the aliens coming into the Aura. He has to organise a resistance of some sort, otherwise his Aura may be invaded and destroyed. He won't leave until he is sure that I will be all right and capable of getting on with my life without any suffering or relapses. Oh aunt, I don't want him to leave – he is part of me."

"Here darling, don't cry – was this to do with that scientific place back there where they were killing atoms?"

"Yes, he says if he could get blasted with a stream of particles, he would be blown back into his world."

"Can I talk with Dwarg?"

"It's as Aggie said, Edna – I need to leave. I had planned to stay with her for five years more, but circumstances have led me to go back much earlier than that. Further, we all know that Aggie will develop anatomically and undergo many chemical and physiological changes in the coming years – my presence would imbalance and threaten this development."

"Can you guarantee that Aggie won't suffer from this, will she get cancer again after you leave?"

"She will not, for the rest of her life, become sick. She may well have accidents, cuts and bruises, but she will always heal. I cannot give her eternal life, but I can ensure that she will live long and will never suffer from any disease – and she will keep and be active with all the knowledge we have collected."

"What time scale are we talking about?"

"Six months."

"After you go, will you ever come back?"

"I have six months to work on that Edna. Would you like me come back if I could?"

"Well if you do, how about you come back in the body of a good looking guy."

"I will prepare Aggie for the separation. I will gradually regress and become less active, until I am dormant and leave her without anxiety or distress – yet I will be alert to her needs."

"Tell him not to go aunt. You know I can stop him leaving if I want."

"Honey, I think we all know what the right thing is – now have a good old sob, hell, the world won't stop turning after six months and you'll still be Aggie. From what I understand, Dwargles will still be around somewhere in our atmosphere watching over us."

"At least I will have you, and now I also have a sister – I really like Megan, and so does Dwarg."

"That's the spirit honey. We still have a few days left to leave our mark on France – then home and your studies – don't want to let Miss Conaghan down, do we?"

The trio spent the remainder of their vacation touring and sightseeing, each had undoubtedly gained a little more weight than they would have liked, but the food was wonderful. Not once had they succumbed to the temptation of entering a McDonald's, a Burger King or a Pizza Hut – even though they sometimes yearned for a clean restroom.

Finally back in Paris, Megan found that her bank account was active, indeed her balance was very much healthy, thanks to a concerned father. She had collected many posters during the trip; posters of France, of Vincent's works and posters of ordinary, everyday advertisements that the French love to post on walls and lamp-posts. She and Aggie would sometimes sneak out of the hotel in the evening and go along and steal these "prizes" off fences and bill-boards. She would roll these up into a tight bundle and found a thick cardboard tube to hold them.

She also had a new backpack and bought a little digital camera off a seedy looking African on the steps of the Sacre Coeur. The rows of touristy souvenir shops at Montmartre saw many sales of postcards, scarves, leather bags, hats, belts, shoes and ceramics to the three Americans who had to struggle back to the hotel with all their booty. There was a continual shuttle up and down the elevator to get all the luggage from the car – luckily the hotel had an in-house facility for the return of the rental car.

The final evening saw the trio packing, repacking, downsizing and rearranging the mass of "stuff" they wanted to take home. Despite Edna's objections, the heavy glassed portrait of Claude Orrslet just had to come. Aggie spent considerable time wrapping it in bubble wrap and cardboard with a full roll of gaff tape. As planned, the tin with the decrepit portion of Vincent's ear was placed in a postal pack and marked "Inspector Odrow, Museum d'Orsay, Paris"- Edna had added a short note to say how they came by it - found the inscription, and what it just might be – and it might be in his interest to verify everything by going through the account books in Anton Orrslet's funeral parlour in Arles, and especially to check around the date January 1889. She could not resist a P.S. "Unlike a certain van Gogh painting, you will find this is not a fake." Edna made certain that the hotel reception staff would post this the following morning, registered and certified – they would be over the Atlantic Ocean by the time he received it.

Steve Redcliffe was at JFK to meet them. He insisted that Edna and Aggie come to Frederick before heading off to Vermont. "How much in extra baggage did you guys have to pay? Holy cow just look at all this stuff." All three looked rather sheepish as each pushed their own little mountain of bags and suitcases on trolleys. "Just as well I've got a Hummer."

Megan introduced Edna and Aggie. "Amazing, I know Dan Kellor well – guys, thanks so much for taking care of Megan – if it wasn't for Darren, I would have been over to Amsterdam in a flash. I know I'm a little, well a lot, protective of Megan, but he assured me that you would see her right."

"Steve, Megan is an absolute delight and a lovely girl. She and Aggie really hit it off together. They now see each other as sisters – I guess they do have a lot in common."

Aggie and Megan were already making plans for a reunion – Aggie told her of the beauty of Vermont, the mountains, the air and the people. Megan promised she would try and come up for Christmas - it all depended on her getting time off from her work at the bookstore.

"Aggie, I know you are destined for an interesting life, will you remember me when you become famous - or a celebrity?"

"How could I possibly forget my sister. Megan I would like to give you something as a reminder of our trip. As you know, I've gone to a lot of trouble to get and keep this. It was destined to be yours as soon as I met you back in the plane going to Paris. She picked up the well wrapped photograph of Claude Orrslet and passed it to Megan. "I know you will come to like it Megan, just give it a little time – just look beyond the man."

"Ah... thanks Aggie, gee I have a lot of pictures – I wish I had more walls."

Aggie did not take the hint - "It would look really good here, just above this nice piano."

"What is it Megan?" asked a curious Steve.

"Oh, it's just an old photograph of an undertaker in France. Aggie and Edna got it from the guy's great grandson, along with some ..other...er..surprising...s ..stuff?"

The penny was starting to drop. Aggie turned her eyes upwards, looked at the ceiling; quite the innocent child.

"Oh my God...I've been through this before...No way sis..there's more to this than meets the eye isn't there?.. look beyond the man you say....guys?....Aggie?!"

"Ask no questions Megan, accept, don't dissect."

The Peter Pan Green Bus ensured a happy last leg to Brattleboro. Ed had responded to Edna's phone call for a lift to Putney and he met them at the depot - took them home to Moosbas, to Moolsem, to Lisa (who seemed a little larger now), to Scott, to the chipmonks, squirrels, jaybirds and woodpeckers of the Turner Trail.

With Aggies blessing, Ed stayed overnight.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE – LITTLE WILLIAM

"You've made a very good impression with Professor Lorenz, Aggie. He wrote to me about your visit and your thoughts on certain aspects of nuclear theoretics. Thanks for mentioning my, our, university – seems you have lifted our profile before you had even joined us – I feel we are going in the right direction. Did you enjoy your time in France and Switzerland?"

"Oh it was great and Aunt Edna was the best possible person to go with, we later teamed up with Megan who had a bit of bad luck in Amsterdam – she was mugged, so aunt insisted that she come and join us for the rest of the trip. She's like a sister to me. We got a rental car and toured France, that's how come we ended up checking out the LHC and I actually met Professor Lorenz in the Visitors Centre there. He was interested in my theory of Quark dissipation He personally gave me a tour of the facility – quite an awesome place. I must admit that he got a bit excited when I rattled off some equations and he broke the lead in his pencil a few times trying to write everything down. That's when I realized that perhaps he should contact the university before I passed him any more information. I thought that perhaps the UO may need to know of our communications – you know, loyalty and royalty."

"I see we're eye to eye about kudos, good on you. So it's a path in sub-atomic physics for you Aggie – the world's youngest physicist?"

"Only for a while Miss Conaghan – I have an experiment in mind and to fully see it through, I will need to go back to Geneva. In the meantime, I know I have papers to write, people to get onside (I'll have to tease Professor Lorenz to get his co-operation), get access to a smaller particle accelerator (the one in Los Alamos should do) and look after my dogs back home. All that should be done by my eleventh birthday – doesn't time fly sometimes Miss?"

"And after you reach the grand old age of eleven?"

"I shall be reborn. I intend to study the health of our planet and its inhabitants – global warming, energy, radiation and ozone depletion – all things which may damage our mother earth – then come up with suitable solutions – it's a path I seem destined to follow."

"Aggie, I don't doubt you for a minute and such a noble cause. Now come and I'll show you that book with the picture of the Flammarion wood engraving – by the way, I'm wearing my red bracelet – I took your advice – accept, don't dissect."

"Glad you've finally made peace with your parents Miss. As a matter of fact, I'm calling in to visit my grandparents in Fort Lauderdale, on the way back to Vermont. I heard grandmother is ailing. By the way, Miss Conaghan, as soon as I get approval for my research here, I will be asking for an assistant – you must admit, at my age, I need a chaperone and scribe – and I just happen to know someone suitable – she lives in Frederick."

"Justification will have to be reflected in your efforts Aggie."

"That is quite a drawing Miss Conaghan. It's simplistic yet intricate. Did you ever really look closely at the detail, I mean the background details – the little township with its church and the river behind it. If you've ever looked at Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night, you will see the exact same village, it's Arles in France. This book was thought to be published in France in 1888. Vincent painted Starry Night in 1898 – allegedly from memory."

"So what else do you see Aggie?"

"I see the traveller looking through the curtain of the Earth's Aura, into a place of encryptions and mystification. In this drawing, the wheel within a wheel can mean different things to different people – and I can understand how your belief arises from it. May I not also argue that it's symbolic of an atom, the motion of the electrons being the outer rims, and the nucleus in the centre and the spokes that support the whole structure are ions, particles and other sub-atomic matter. Look at the left and right border frames, don't you think they look like rocket-ships? – look closer, you can even see a person inside each. Look at the nose cones, they are sharp and spark as they move through the astral world. Isn't it also interesting that no one has found out just how and where this wood engraving actually came from - I would love to know the circumstances of its inspiration – but I guess that's research for another time. I see the Department has about twenty other works by Camille Flammarion – quite an impressive collection."

"We do our best Aggie, now let's get to and see if we can get the best from you."

-oOo-

He knew he would be two hours early in meeting her flight from Oklahoma City, but his eagerness saw him drive to Fort Lauderdale for this well overdue reunion with his granddaughter. Grandfather Lofting waved happily as Aggie came through the turnstiles – his heart was bursting with happiness – he needed a short break from the sorrow and pain back home. His wife – Aggie's grandmother was dying and this unexpected visit by their estranged Aggie was a true delight and lit up Gladys's face when she heard of it.

"I have so much to tell you grandad – many wonderful things have happened since I last saw you. I've never forgotten you or grandma; it's just that in the last year, my world has been upside down and hectic. I'll try my best to explain the situation and I know you'll have a hard time understanding. Anyway the important thing now is to cheer grandma up – right?"

Aggie spent the next two days with the Reverend Lofting and an ailing Gladys. Aggie told them of her miraculous recovery, her life and adventures with Aunt Edna, her trip to France, all about her dogs and the beauty of Putney. She described the culture and her father's background and how she participated in the rites of his funeral. She discussed her remarkable ability of gaining and retaining knowledge and her academic achievements – her acceptance into the UO as an associate in the sphere of theoretical physics.

This little girl was nowhere near the little girl they last knew, but the elderly Loftings accepted her with loving and open arms.

It had taken them many months to come to the realization that perhaps Kay was not all that innocent in her relationship with Robert, and it was only pride (and dirty laundry), that kept them from seeking to gain any form of custody of Aggie.

"Aunt Edna, I won't be back till next week, I would like to stay with Grandma and Grandpa for a few more days – Grandma is very sick and we fear the worst."

Two days later, Gladys passed away, peacefully. Her last words were, "thank you for blessing our lives Aggie, God bless you." Once again Aggie sat down in the front row of a chapel, a participant in yet another family funeral.

At the gravesite, she asked if she might say something after grandmother's coffin was lowered. "That would be lovely darling, I'm sure grandma will be looking down on all of this with love in her heart." Aggie stepped forward next to the minister.

"Lakamigwezo - I am Aggie Kellor, daughter of Robert and Kay, granddaughter of Gladys – all are now my ancestors. I would like to offer an ancestral medicine poem, which has been passed to me through my father's and our nation. He told me that after death, a person's soul will leave the body and find its place of belonging. This then, is the message from the departed spirits."

She raised her head and arms skywards and began:

I Am Not Here

Don't stand by my grave and weep  
For I'm not there, I do not sleep  
I am a thousand winds that blow  
I am the diamonds glint on snow  
I am the sunlight on ripened grain  
I am the gentle autumn rain  
When you awaken in mornings hush  
I am the swift uplifting rush  
Of quiet birds in circle flight  
I am the soft stars that shine at night  
Do not stand at my grave and cry  
I am not there, I did not die

Grandfather Lofting saw Aggie off to catch her plane back to Vermont – she was becoming quite the frequent flyer. "Yes Aggie, I'll be fine, I have my congregation as my support group – promise you'll visit me often child?"

"Of course I will grandpa; as a matter of fact you might like to come to my graduation at the university as soon as I finish up on some papers."

"It's a date honey. By the by Aggie; that poem, I've heard or seen it before and can't seem to place it."

"It just came to me at the time grandpa. Somehow I felt it and I knew it came through my daddy. Sometimes when I am sad, he comes to me and helps me ease my pain. I hope my references to the Nations and the spirits, didn't upset the protocol of the service."

"Not at all Aggie, I thought it was very appropriate and you melted my heart when you delivered those words...and it eased my pain as well."

Aggie waved him farewell as she walked to the departure lounge. On the plane she opened her laptop and began keying vigorously. She was a little annoyed at the thought of Mrs damn Emily Hughes from next door, giving much more support to reverend granddad than was obviously necessary, especially when grandma was still alive. Oh well, at least I have all of grandma's jewellery and trinkets aboard, that's something she won't get her hands on.

Edna did have a little concern about Aggie's visit to those people, but she accepted the fact that Aggie was a free spirit and would always do the right thing. "So glad to see you again sweetheart, sorry to hear about your grandmother - for a young girl you've seen far too many sad departures."

Aggie spent long hours behind Edna's computer, the amount of printing had dropped remarkably and Edna could see just how much Aggie was actually learning – hopefully not involving Dwarg whom she knew had a reliance on printed matter. Edna preferred that if Aggie was to achieve a tertiary qualification or even a doctorate, she do it without using the resources of a very clever Dwarg. Dwarg agreed.

The date set for Dwarg's departure from the physical was planned for July thirteenth. Aggie must be in Geneva and be in a position where she could direct the interaction of quantum treatment upon an atomic evacuation - by blowing Dwarg back into his Aura.

-oOo-

When poets write of Mother Nature, revitalising, refreshing and reawakening the earth from a sleep, they are thinking of Spring. Spring in Vermont is even more apparent and invigorating. The melting of stubborn little patches of snow, the rivulets of icy water, the drip-drop sounds of moisture falling off new growth, the reflection of the sunrays off shimmering leaves high in the tall trees, and the chirps and whistles of birds overhead are more endearing to the observer then the best efforts of the poet. Lisa's baby was due – and what better time and place for a birth, than Spring, in Vermont.

Doctor Rixon's practice was attached to his large house. It was right next door to the town's attorney, Tony Lee – both loved fishing in the waters of the Connecticut River not far away. Tony had a nice skiff and the pair would regularly look at their appointments for the following day, hoping to see if they might be able to squeeze in some huntin time. "Nope, not tomorrow Tony, got a youngen to deliver, young Lisa's due." The next morning, just as she got into the car for her appointment, Lisa had begun her contractions. She had phoned Doctor Rixon earlier and he said that the Putney Birthing Suite was ready - and it was a good day to become a mother.

"Edna, this be Scott ere, I'm wit da Doc and Lisa is a asking for ye. Could ye spare da time? Sometin be amiss."

Edna slammed the phone down, grabbed Aggie by the hand, nearly sending the keyboard flying and quickly explained the phone call.

The speed of the pick-up raised the dust of the Turner Trial in its rush to town. "Please don't have anything going wrong, oh I hope it's not serious, oh dear." Doctor Rixon and Edna had an arm's length respect for each other, he thought of her as a bit of a backyard witch-doctor who was harmless yet unexplainable lucky; she thought of him as a close-minded bone setter but his medical talents appeared to be adequate.

"This way Edna" said Carolyn, the doctor's wife, receptionist and nurse. "the baby's having a few problems – afraid you can't come in lass – Lisa is calling for you." Aggie followed them in anyway. Scott was at Lisa's side holding her hand; tears were streaming down his face. Doctor Rixon was holding his stethoscope to the baby's chest. The baby was dying, he had a not too small hole in his heart and the tiny heartbeats were very slow and irregular

"It's his little heart Edna, he's going fast – I've already called for a chopper – but I fear it's all too late."

"Oh this can't be, after all these ordeals – this will shatter them. Edna turned to Aggie. "Aggie? Aggie?"

Aggie was already summoning Dwarg, but he did not want to communicate. She tensed her jaw and shook her head – for the first time in their relationship she insisted that he make immediate contact. "Dwarg get your ass here or I'll damn well chew ice blocks and go to rock concerts forever!"- Aggie's outburst was a little louder than she wished and the doctor looked around to see who she was shouting at. "You damn-well did it for me and for Butch and aunt Edna, so do it for this little baby! – I've had a gutful of funerals - no I don't want to hear about your warnings – just do it!"

"Whoa there young lady, what do you think you're doing – move away" said a confused doctor as he tried to pull Aggie's head from the baby's, "he doesn't need mouth to mouth, I've got all that gear here." Truth was that Aggie had stuck her tongue into its mouth, and then she promptly collapsed to the floor.

"Let her be where she is Doug, she often faints in panic situations, she'll come around soon."

"Never told me that before Edna – we'll see to that later. Carolyn prepare for an injection of Epinephrine – that's all I can do – maybe an embolism? - he's turning blue. Just let me listen again...wait....again..please let it be a physiologic murmur.. Edna, just lift the baby and hold him straight up..good,...gooood..better. Wrap him, must keep him warm...better...better - his heart is beating a little better...and stronger...c'mon kid, be strong - his colour is coming back - look he's just opened his eyes. Pray to God that he holds on."

The noise of the medical evacuation helicopter reverberated through the town - Doctor Rixon provided details to the paramedics and Lisa and the baby were airlifted to the **Paediatric** **Emergency** centre in Hanover. "I'll ring the centre and tell them you guys are also on the way – and you, young lady, I want to see you later."

The trauma centre at Hanover was across the border in New Hampshire. Edna left the pick-up at the medical centre and they would make the trip with Scott driving Lisa's car. Aggie's head was hurting and she was very weak, but insisted on coming with them. "Scott, everything will fine – the baby had a close call but his heart is getting stronger. The people at the trauma centre are the best – you can ease up, the worst is over now, so it's OK to slow down to the speed limit."

The ultra-sound scanner was pushed into a corner – another one was needed, these images were just too weird. "Well have a look at the photos if you don't believe me, see it looks like there's some sort of gauze or tissue over the septum. It seems to be straddling a ventricular septal defect – everything else is fine. Maybe we'll get a better image with this machine." The new image was indeed better, and showed absolutely nothing out of the ordinary - no embolism – no holes. The baby's heart, all the vital signs, blood and respiration were normal – and Lisa, for the first time, heard the baby cry.

Only Scott was permitted to enter the Emergency Room. Sitting on the couch in the waiting room, Edna held Aggie "tighter please aunt – I don't know how long I can keep awake, I'm so tired and empty." They could hear the loud cries of the baby from there. Hours later and many more scans later, the attending physicians decided to release Lisa and the baby; both were healthy.

The trauma specialists were looking and comparing the photo-scans - "the first plate definitely shows this piece of what looks like flat cotton wool. The next shows it is now half the original size. Now the next few show absolutely nothing – it's gone. Too much for me. I think I'll email these images to Mic Noble – he was a colleague of mine in Miami – a top cardiologist - he'll solve this puzzle."

A proud Scott came out holding his new son.

"Looken this ere fine specimen of a budden logger – easn louder dan a paddock come and git it holler 'n whoop."

"He's beautiful Scott, and Lisa – what a voice."

"Looken ere wee William, ere be Aggie. Whoa youngster, yar tryen to fly?"

Scott lowered little William to Aggie's height. His arms and legs began flaying vigorously and Aggie noticed his little tongue darting in and out like a little lizard's – he was definitely communicating – Dwarg wanted out. Aggie kissed him on his little lips and immediately William stopped crying and calmed down.

Aggie was a little nauseous but her inner strength was returning. "Edna and Aggie, we would be honoured if you would both consent to be William's godmothers."

Edna noticed that Aggie was snoozing with a smile on her face. She quietly hummed the Abenaki Birth Song – all the way home to Turner Trail, Putney, Vermont.

In a fashion, Dwarg had also come home.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX – MEGAN'S PAINTING

"Megan that's just plain strange, how could you possibly go off and be employed by a ten year old – oh beg your pardon; have a ten year old as your boss. I've been trying for years to get you into the firm and pay you whatever you want. Is Darren the problem? Is it me?"

"Pop, we've been through all this before. You know I love and care for you – if I didn't, I would have moved away by now. It's just that legal things and courts and writs and criminals and people in trouble, and the greedy bargaining and the contracts, all make my skin crawl – I find it so depressing. The job at the bookstore is simple and I like it, but that vacation to Europe showed me that there is more to life than selling books, or even sitting in an attorney's office. I think this offer from the UO will give me the chance to do what I dream of – to get out and discover my world. If it means playing nursemaid to Aggie, that's a bonus – she's a clever girl and knows where she's going."

"I really missed you on Christmas Day Megan. The house was empty, Darren was sharing his Christmas cheer with a cheer leader and I was called to spend most of my time as a "volunteer" public defendant for the County Court. Still at least I had the tree and the Nana Mouskouri Christmas Carol CD to listen to later, and to sample a little from the huge bottle of Chivars Regal you left under the tree for me."

"It snowed in Putney on Christmas Eve. Edna had their Christmas tree up, a real one from her back yard. We all decorated it with things we made ourselves – no plastic or metal foil – things from nature like pinecones, flowers, stringy vine, fern fronds, daisy-chains and bird feathers. We went for a stroll and Aggie showed us her little place of reflection – absolutely beautiful. We picked up things along the way that we could use as decorations. Even though they're not Christians, they still celebrate Christmas – to them it's a celebration of peace and goodwill – instead of gifts, they give blessings and wishes and remember their ancestors. Oh and Aggie has two young dogs, they look like Huskies – and they love me, we played for hours in the snow."

"So will you be moving out Megan?"

"This will always be my home Pop, I may have to do a lot of travelling with this job, but this is where I want to come back to – if that's all right with you."

"Come here and give me a big hug, you beautiful daughter. Your mother wouldn't have it any other way."

-oOo-

"Monsieur Orrslet, would you also take this with you – I feel it's not appropriate under the circumstances", said a weary Rachel. It was an unframed canvas painting which Vincent had given her late last year.

"Oui madame, as you wish, I will dispose of it" said Claude. More rubbish to clog my basement, he thought.

When Claude returned to his parlour, LeGundy, the photographer was waiting for him. He proudly held up Claude's portrait photograph which had just been developed - Claude was very pleased with it – "Merveilleux, I have just the right frame for it." He was happy to pay the five francs for the photograph and giggled to himself as he knew exactly where LeGundy would spend it. That five francs would find its way back to Rachel.

Later, in the basement, he found the frame and was pleased to see that the glass was still intact. He placed the photograph face down on the sheet of glass, found that there was an awkward space between it and the backing sheet of thin wood – ah this canvas will fill the void exactly. He then gently nailed the picture together and hooked it onto the wall behind the reception desk. Anyone entering the parlour would assuredly be struck by the magnificence of this portrait - Monsieur Claude Orrslet – a true Directeur de Services Funeraires.

-oOo-

"You know Megan, of all the prints of the Van Goghs you have around the place, this one seems somehow different – it's the only one I really like." It was a casual remark from Steve, but it made Megan smile.

"Yes, it's one of his works that not many people know about, Pop."

Megan sat down at the shiny black Steinway piano and began playing Beethoven's Sonata Pathétique, Steve's favourite. He sipped his Chivas and was contented.

Under the old photograph of Claude Orrslet, Megan had found Vincent's canvas. She didn't mind paying for an expensive and lavish frame and it was certainly suitable. Technically, a lot of people had seen the subject of this work, but in a somewhat smaller context.

On this painting, Vincent had created a scene of two lovers walking arm in arm on the sandbank of a river. Over their shoulders, he had painted the night brightly, and soft starlight reflected onto their faces. Megan knew at once (even though the scribble on the back confirmed it) that this was a painting of Vincent himself with Rachel. Their expressions were wonderfully captured. Rachel's face was not pretty; Megan could see a reluctant yet willing soul, tolerating her arm being held by a man not particularly to her liking. The man was obviously Vincent. His red and scruffy hair could be seen under the fisherman's cap and he strode with the arrogance of a victor – perhaps a jailer with his prisoner. Vincent was honest in this metaphoric representation – yet Rachel absolutely hated the painting – she was glad to get rid of it as well as his severed lower ear.

Megan was quite the opposite. She would enjoy it every time she walked into the room. This was her very special secret, no one in the world, not even Steve, Edna or Aggie knew exactly what the painting was. The only thing Megan could not figure out was Aggie's cryptic message as she passed the well wrapped picture to her..."Megan, this is really a gift to you from Slig. I can, and may say, no more."
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN – STEVEN RIP

The short absence in baby William told Dwarg that it was possible to leave Aggie, but considered the transition as far too risky - there was so much at stake. Aggie had apologized for her demanding behaviour, but things may have gone wrong, she may have died, and Dwarg had no idea of the rejection powers of a baby Human. All of the planning and calculating, in fact his mission may have come to a useless end. Luckily, he knew exactly what to do to repair the baby; he had had ten years of experience with Robert Kellor's heart. At least Aggie had the nous to rescue him from the baby just as he felt mysterious forces seeking his expulsion.

At the time of Aggie's command, Dwarg was delving into the memory files of many and various Humans. He found common instances of "voices from God", "voices from within", entities, poltergeists, episodes of "alien abductions" and a hodgepodge of other happenings where the Human became a subject of some external (or internal) manifestation. Most events were of no great consequence – others were. Joan of Arc, a predecessor of Aggie's past schoolteacher said she got her directions from a voice from Heaven. Nikita Tesla, Isaac Newton, Galileo, Einstein and James Chadwick, seemed to be unusually gifted. Vincent van Gogh – Dwarg already knew of that entity. Prominent religious and occult leaders often took directions from voices and commands not of this world. It could even be argued that Aggie would fit into this category; Dwarg was indeed an entity – a Whisp. He knew of only one other definite intruder and that was the mysterious Smota. How many others were or are in the Aura and where would it all lead to? In any event, he had to prepare for his final exit from Aggie – one good thing he knew for sure now; she would not perish as a result of his departure.

Aggie's first batch of assignments had been completed. She had papers and pages of theorems which the university had accepted and some were even published. Her thesis was very cleverly written and gave tantalizing hints as to the dissipation of elements under certain conditions, without actually giving complete formulae which would neither negate nor prove the theory. Conversely, she would offer a solution to a proposition using a thinly veiled vehicle of connection.

She had kept a dialogue with Professor Lorenz who, under the auspices of the University of Edinburgh – and with the cooperation of the University of Oklahoma - proposed to conduct a trial using some of Aggie's analytical reckonings as to particle disappearance.

She was formally invited to attend the experiment at CERN Geneva, the trial commencing on the twelfth of July next.

Megan was a very good companion and organiser on many of Aggie's trips around the country. She would arrange flights, accommodation and rental cars, be a driver, secretary and sometimes cook for Aggie. Aggie was never arrogant or demanding and the arrangement worked well.

After two days at the Jefferson Laboratory, where Aggie manage to "sit-in" on some experiments with the particle accelerator , she invited Megan to come and visit Aunt Claire and Uncle Dan – Richmond was not far away. "You'll adore Jade, he's the king of guinea pigs and he promised to drive me in a space shuttle to Pluto one day. If you like we can pay a surprise visit to your brother while we're there."

"Would you believe it Aggie," said Jade, proudly displaying Butch who didn't seem to mind being perched on his carer's shoulder, "he hasn't limped or been sick since you were here – and he's been a conjiggle to seven more families – I think."

"How are the markets Jade, still selling plenty?"

"Sure am Aggie, I seem to sell the bigger guinea pigs better – and I've got regular customers every time I set up the stall. They don't even want to know the names I give to the critters, they just point to which ones they want. They even bring their own boxes and cages – they must have plenty of kids or have big families that like pets."

"And do these customers speak English?"

"Not too good, but we use sign language – I think they are from Mexico or somewhere. Hey Aggie, dad took us to an Indian Reservation in Canada – wow it was great. I didn't even know that we were a tribe till your dad's funeral. Now dad has taught me a lot of stuff about it – I remember you doing a dance and dad promised that next vacation we might go back and I can learn more. All the kids at school are so jealous of me – I still want to be an astronaut but I'd like to be a Brave as well – just like your father was."

"Tell you what Jade, you should start studying about rockets and space right now. This is something you may find interesting – NASA is working on a new propulsion system that will be up and running shortly. They are going to power space vehicles that go so fast that it will be possible to fly to Mars in two weeks instead of six months. It's a little complicated to explain exactly how it works but that would be a good project for you to get involved with. Here, I'll write it down for you – it's called a Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) – it's a mouthful, but if you learn it, you can show off to your friends. NASA is also working on things called ion thrusters, which is also worth looking at."

"Claire tells me you're off to Europe again Aggie, on some sort of research experiment" said Dan "your Aunt Edna told me all about you guys being thrown out of an art gallery in Paris and Megan getting mugged – can't get enough of it?"

"You know Uncle Dan, France is really a beautiful place – it's different, but once you get into the countryside, it's awesome and we had a great time. I'll be going over with Megan in July to Geneva, compliments of the UO. It won't be so cold this time. I know Megan is really happy to go, I think she is interested in a certain person who works in a restaurant there."

Megan smiled. "As my dad and Darren keep saying, there's nothing wrong with a little mix of business and pleasure. It's just a shame that Edna won't be coming with us, anyway Ed seems to be occupying her time more and more."

Dan entertained them that evening with some compositions he had written over the last few months. He explained how the visit to the Reservation had revived his interest in cultural music.

He had the full backing and blessing of Chief Atian who encouraged Dan to go further with it - "Daniel, it is reasonable that the dances and the music should develop as we develop. Our heritage is important, as is the very nature of our culture. We can dance to the traditional rattle and drum at the powwows but there is no reason why we cannot also dance to the music of the present. Dan, make your music pure, and make it honest. As you write and play notes, remember from hence these came and why you have created them."

"Dan, may I possibly have a copy of these sheets? I would love to play them on the piano when I get home – are you teaching Darren to play this?"

"Yes and no. Yes I'll photocopy one for you and no (and please don't tell him this), I'm flat out teaching him basic guitar cords, let alone this composition – maybe we can collaborate on some of the pieces later on Megan, that's if you're not too busy gallivanting all over the world."

Dwarg had fluxed back to Aggie's consciousness for an instant, only to find that the topic being discussed was music – unfathomable and illogical Human interests. He promptly found a new chain of Human memory cells and went off exploring again before Aggie even realized he was active.

Later that evening, Darren called by for a visit and was delighted to see Megan again. "So this is the special Aggie that everyone is so impressed with – so charmed to meet you young miss."

"Likewise Mr Redcliffe, and may I firstly say a thank you for all your help with getting the coroner to release my dad – I heard there was a lot of red tape to cut through. Uncle Dan thought you were very tactful and professional. Aunt Edna and I were so glad when we heard."

"A pleasure Aggie, please call me Darren. I am sorry for your loss, your father was a good man."

"He was a good man and a good father and his spirit lives in me. I've accepted his physical passing. I guess we share a similar emptiness \- I'm aware of your mother's sad accident and I know Megan still misses her at lot."

"I must admit I miss her as well – thank you, and thank you and your aunty for taking my sis under your wings back there in France. She was frantic as to how Pop would react. She had been saving up for that trip for a long time, but everything worked out OK in the end. Did I hear correctly that you're currently an undergraduate at the UO?"

"Yes, the UO has bent over backwards to help me. I can't remember how many examinations, boards and assessments I've had to get through to reach this level."

"The Deputy President of the university has pushed and sponsored me. My problem is time, and I have compulsory credit hours to fill up before looking at graduate levels, but Mrs Conaghan seems to have a knack of finding shortcuts for me."

"And what exactly are you into?"

"Nuclear, subatomic physics - I seem to have a leaning in researching the make-up of the physical world and what keeps it all together."

Claire's scones and cakes were heartily eaten over the next few hours Megan and Darren reminisced of childhood days. "You know Aggie; there is a big photo of your father in the great hall at the NASA Training Centre in Houston. I've seen it quite often, our mom's photo's there as well. Sometimes when I get the blues, I just hop on a plane and visit that place, it somehow helps. It's a shame that our Pop is just not interested in going – I really think he doesn't want closure."

"We can go and see it next week Aggie, you're scheduled to give a talk at the ... here, let me see... Centre for _Nuclear_ Receptors and Cell Signalling, Houston. I'm sure they will show us around."

"Well time for me to git, people, thank you all for a great evening. Megan, say hi to Pop for me. Aggie, it was a pleasure to meet you – wish you were ten years older."

In fact it was two days later when Darren rang Aggie. "Aggie, is Megan in hearing range? I've got some bad news about our Pop."

"No she's not around at the moment, what's up Darren?"

"He's had a stroke, he's in the Frederick Memorial Hospital – it's not looking particularly good – I'm at Richmond Airport on my way now."

"Oh Darren, I'm so sorry, we're in Washington, I'll find Megan and get a cab to the hospital – meet you there."

As the taxi passed the outskirts of Rockville, Aggie reassured Megan that her father was in the best of hands. She had phoned the hospital a few minutes earlier and the news was that Steve was in a stable, yet critical condition. He had collapsed in his office. Luckily all of his staff had been trained in Emergency First Aid (one of their conditions of employment) – and the resuscitation most certainly kept him alive until the paramedics took over.

The anxious and excited state of Aggie's mind brought Dwarg back from his Human memory channelling. He told her that, in this situation, it would be quite impossible to enter and heal Steve. If there was brain damage involved, Dwarg's could do nothing for him, perhaps may even cause further, if not, complete, brain failure. Aggie accepted this and felt helpless; all she could do was to console a sobbing and upset Meagan.

"This way Miss Redcliffe, he is stable at the moment, on life support but he's not conscious. Your brother will be here shortly, he phoned. If you need help, just push the assist button on his bed. You can sit with him if you like, but there will be people coming in and out all the time, so please give them space as they need it. And this girl?"

"Oh this is Aggie, my adopted sister, we go everywhere together."

"Miss Redcliffe, this may be a traumatic experience for a young person."

Aggie responded, "Doctor, I have lost both my parents and my grandmother – I saw them die, I was at their funerals and I understand the principles of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – but thank you for your concern – I will be fine."

Megan sobbed. "Is my daddy going to die, doctor?"

"We have further testing and monitoring to do, but to be honest Miss Redcliffe, I think you and your family should prepare for the worst – I am so sorry. We'll talk later after your brother arrives. In the meantime, we have all the family facilities at hand – make yourselves comfortable. Do you wish the hospital chaplain to come by?"

"I'll wait for Darren first, if you don't mind."

The hospital room reminded Aggie of her own experiences. Steve Redcliffe was strapped to a bed and was surrounded by machines, tubes, cables and hoses. The hums, hisses and rhythmic noises filled the air. Megan kissed him on the cheek and said "Hello daddy, it's Megan – can you hear me?" No response, no increase or decrease of the readings and dials connected to him. "Please don't die poppy, please don't leave me alone – I'll do anything, even go and work in your office, we all need you." The tears fell from Aggie's cheek – this was so pathetic and sad. Megan sat down next to the bed and held her father's hand. Aggie sat behind her and put her arm around her shoulders. "I don't know what I'll do if I lose him Aggie."

Dwarg knew of this emotion – sadness/sorrow. He also knew of the feeling of frustration, which in this case he had combined. He communicated with Aggie again that he could not enter and repair this Human. At best, he could rearrange a few of his cells, but not near enough to heal him. What was possible however, was that Dwarg could impute and resurrect some of Steve's memory. As there was no doubt that the Human was going to die, Dwarg could at least give Steve some fond, happy and gratifying thoughts before he expired. "Is poppy going to die Aggie?"

"Oh Megan, we all know we will have to die sometime and it's all so sad. Maybe it's the sometime for your dad. It would be nice if we could just put everything off till later, but if it's his time now, the best thing you could do is to be thankful to have been a part of his life – I'm sure he would feel the same."

Darren arrived and covered his mouth with both hands as he walked in the room. "I had no idea anything was wrong with Pop – have you spoken with the doctor Megan?"

"I've had a talk with one of the doctors – he was honest and told me to prepare for the worst. Darren, he's unconscious and probably won't ever wake up. The stroke was bad and the doc said there was irreparable damage. Doctor Clutterbuck will be seeing both of us later, as soon as he checks all the tests and scans."

"Hello Aggie, thanks for bringing Megan here."

Two hours later, the doctor called Darren and Megan into his office. Aggie stayed behind in Steve's room, holding his hand.

"I don't propose to colour the situation here. Your father has suffered a severe ischemic stroke - a blood clot in his brain. To make matters worse, a haemorrhage developed inside the clot, it's called a hemorrhagic transformation. Even if we had the facilities to give therapy at the time of the attack, chances of recovery would have been extreme. I wish I could offer some hope for further treatment or recovery, but you must know that he will not survive. Our resus equipment at this stage is only assisting his body to function. He has no cognitive skill and he is totally paralysed. I am so sorry to be brutal."

"But he is still alive, isn't he? as long as those machines keep helping him, he's alive."

"Megan, what the doctor is really saying is that Pop is brain dead, he's not Pop anymore – he will never get better. We've got to understand that it's time to say goodbye to him – at least we have the chance to do that. Thanks Doctor Clutterbuck, I appreciate that at times your job sucks."

"Call me Eric. I never get used to it young man – go and celebrate his life – he was a fine man and we shared a few adventures at university. I knew him and your mother well."

As they walked back to Steve's room, Darren shook his head and said, "There's so much that I still wanted to do with Pop – I wanted to take him on a balloon ride over Harper's Ferry – we promised that we would walk the Grand Canyon trail – to drink Tequilas in Tijuana and to spit into the falls at Niagara."

Aggie moved aside as Megan and Darren placed themselves on either side of the bed. Darren held his father's hand and stroked his hair. "Goodbye old pop, thank you for a wonderful life, for everything you've done for us, you were the best father in the world, and I'll never forget you." He bent down and kissed him on cheek, then with tears in his eyes, left the room to sign the necessary documentation.

When he returned, Megan was still there holding Steve's hand. Aggie was on the other side with her hand on his forehead.

A nurse came in and made some adjustments on the machines, and then left – she was expressionless. Steven Redcliffe was on his own.

Dwarg had managed to push some cells through the skin on Steve's brow. These cells were activated and enhanced the memory units that Dwarg had planned to implant into Steve's brain. Luckily the weak yet adequate flow of blood carried the cells to the directed site and in electrical flashes and activities, Steve's mind was able to see the film that Dwarg had produced.

Steve saw how he was dying, he saw his life played out as if he was an outsider, he saw himself as a young person, then school, then college, then Eva, then his calling to the bar, then Darren, then Megan, then his firm, then the loss of Eva, then his close relationship with his children.

He was satisfied with all things given him in life - sure there were tragedies, but all in all, not too bad a life. Then he saw Eva, not back at university, not back just before she died, but now. She was a little older, but still had that look on her face – that wonderful look – somewhere between a smile and a laugh. She even fluttered her eyebrows and held her arms out to him.

He was frozen, he could not move. He fought with all his might, but could not take a step towards his beloved wife. He tried to curse and swear and to struggle against the invisible force holding him back. The more he struggled, the more difficult it became. In desperation, he tried something different – relax, easy now, just relax – just try to softly glide over to her – yes he was getting somewhere, he was getting closer to Eva. Her face glowed with pride as he made his way towards her – "Steve, Steve, you've made it, give me your hand darling."

"Look at daddy's face, he's smiling! Nurse, nurse, my dad's smiling, look Darren!" Darren gave the nurse a knowing look and she nodded back.

"He's left us Megan. At least he wasn't in any pain. I could have sworn I heard him say Evie, with his last breath – let's think he has found mom after all these years."

Aggie promised she would have extra maple syrup on her pancakes for breakfast...Dwarg loved maple syrup.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT – PROFESSOR LIEN

On one of her rare days off, Aggie strolled with the dogs to her little place of serenity, her haven of contemplation. She sat on a log and tossed little pebbles into the stream. Dwarg was active and Aggie was communicating. If you can rearrange and instruct cells to behave and replicate with the ontology of their origin, surely you can do much more than just add a couple of them in a person for a quick fix. You know we have stem cell technology – I would have thought you could do a lot better without physically leaving me and doing your thing. Can't you find a way of getting these cells to heal the entire person? – It doesn't matter if it takes time.

This was not in Dwarg's mission. It was plausible, but Dwarg considered this course of action to be untenable outside of Aggie's world. To have Aggie go around like one of those faith healers, place her hands on another Human and have that Human mysteriously cured, would attract undue investigation. There were only forty Human days left before he would try to leave the physical, not nearly enough time to heal all damaged Humans. Humans must be born, exist then expire – leaving their legacy, their DNA, to the next generation. Along their path of life, they must succumb to all the emotions, the pains and losses that Dwarg had identified with his relatively short stay with them. This is the Aura shared by Humans and Whisps \- the same world but divided between the physical and the not. Dwarg had deduced that the Aura was in evolution, and apart from a small influence by the Humans, other forces were in play.

At least Dwarg had given Aggie some ideas of how cures and treatments could be achieved with cell technology beyond the current concepts of the stem cell platform. She could see that somewhere, sometime, all this knowledge would come together. Like it or not, Dwarg was already a participant in the ever accelerating progress and evolvement of the Humans, and perhaps the Aura.

Edna had been remarkably quiet for the past few weeks. She was happy enough to see Aggie on her path of achieving scholastic and scientific perfection. She would rather have liked to be doing what Megan was doing, but the arrangement worked out fine - Edna was not particularly fond of travel and Megan was quite the opposite. Edna was thankful for having Aggie share her life – it was such a shame that in the last few months to see Aggie attending to far too many funerals – a child, not matter how smart, shouldn't be subjected to these traumatic experiences so regularly.

She felt so sorry about Megan and Darren losing their father. She was well aware of the tragedy of the kids losing their Mom as well – it made her sob when she thought about it. Again, Aggie was strong and a comfort to all. Still, Edna was enjoying a happy life - a good home, good neighbours and friends and Sundays spent at the lawn sales around town. Ed's visits became more frequent, dates were made and they were often seen as couples around town. Everything was cosy.

The upcoming loss of Dwarg however, was a different matter. Edna really didn't know how she felt about it.

To her, Dwarg was the mystique, the unknown quantity, the saviour of Aggie and little William; he was the dependable rogue within. Rogue? – more like a shit-stirring rascal and he must have been the architect behind the episode involving Ed. On the night of her return from Paris, she should have questioned herself as to just why she had had a heightened level of libido - or was it lust? She desperately needed a man and an unsuspecting Ed was hastily encouraged into her bedroom where she had her way with him – she vaguely remembered hollering a few war whoops during her not too gentle session of lovemaking. Just to think about it now is so embarrassing. Poor Ed, he sure was in for a surprise. Edna was even more surprised when she realized that her virginity, taken away by the damned priest of her childhood, had been repaired and reinstated – very funny Dwarg – but how could she complain or kick his ass? After all, it was she who demanded that Dwarg fix her up back there in Paris. Of course, she couldn't complain to Aggie about it – her hands were tied. Dwargles, you're sure one damn smart-ass bug – and I'll damn miss him.

She worried about Aggie's future – would she change? Would she loose that fine and articulate mind? Would she revert to the childhood of an eleven year old girl? Dwarg had promised that nothing would go wrong with Aggie after his departure. Would he somehow brainwash her and remove all traces and memories of his presence? Edna decided to put her foot down – she would insist on going to Geneva with Aggie and Megan. She needed to be there for Aggie and spent most of the morning practising her arguments for tagging along. She would use all the tricks in the book to convince Aggie – beg, even conjure up some tears, and if that wouldn't work, she could always use her ace up her sleeve: damn it all Aggie; I'm your legal guardian and I'm coming with you.

"Oh it would be great if you came along aunt – I didn't think you ever wanted to go back there – yippee!" Sure took the wind from Edna's sails.

-oOo-

"I really believe that Professor Lien should be involved in the experiment Aggie – he's our closest expert in the field. He's investigated synchrotron radiation and has written a paper on electromagnetic and secondary emissions on a range of accelerated particles." Janette Conaghan knew she would have an uphill battle convincing Aggie to share the research. The President of UO had suggested (in essence commanded) that Aggie, although quite capable of going it alone, should have at least one of the department scientists to stand by her while carrying out such a groundbreaking experiment. He was basically concerned that any kudos due to the UO may be directed elsewhere.

"Professor Lien is a wonderful physicist, but all of his research, calculations and trials were carried out using vacuum media. This is quite a different area, Miss Conaghan – we are going to use plasma. He's only got a basic knowledge of the information paradox. He will only slow me down and I haven't got the time to coach him – I know he is fastidious, but with due respect, this is my paper and my project. You told me before that Professor Lorenz has already guaranteed accreditation and shared rights with the UO – if you like, I'll sign any waiver over to the college."

"Nothing that drastic Aggie, look at it this way; Professor Lien will be there strictly as an observer – and he'll be briefed to that effect. You won't have to tell him anything you don't want to – he won't be spying on you. He's really a nice man, Aggie, but the Chief is insistent that a senior faculty representative comes along."

"Well, it's going to be quite the entourage. He'll have to put up with three loopy females – I feel sorry for him already." Janette Conaghan tried not to giggle – she had heard about the escapades of the terrible trio in France from Edna.

The idea of old Rienus Lien trying desperately to keep up with the antics of Aggie and Edna and Megan brought up some impish images in her mind. She would have to go softly softly in explaining what the university wanted of him; his need to be diplomatic and tactful; his muted participation; his utter support of Aggie's program and the importance of the UO to be seen as the major contributor. Any press release or media enquiry needed to be relayed to the President in the first instant – Rienus was to be the ambassador and would be expected to make all policy decisions in the best interests of the college – the procedures however, would totally be Aggie's call.

After Aggie left her office, Janette sat and thought out her upcoming interview with Professor Lien - he can be such a fuddy-duddy.

She unlocked the third drawer of her desk and pulled out a shiny silver hip flask and shook it near her ear – yes there was still a little Captain Morgan's spiced rum left.

Rienus Lien was the typical university nerd. He had gone about life from early childhood, through primary, secondary and tertiary education on a non deviating path. He had never been affected by world events, wars, protests or demonstrations – had never been in any form of limelight – and although he had achieved a very high degree of recognition with his research and publications, he somehow remained very much the quiet professor, keeping mostly to himself and delivered his lectures without fuss or controversy. He lived alone in a small apartment not far from the college campus. Apart from a few nephews and nieces, he did not have close family contacts – his father did not return from the Korean conflict and his mother abandoned him to an aunt. His outings and hobbies were varied; he enjoyed going to stage and theatre productions, and although he did not play any instrument, he had a love of classical piano music. With the soft sounds of a Chopin nocturne in the background, he found he was able to think more clearly and deeply on theories and calculations that constantly occupied his mind. Unfortunately, due to a fall on his bicycle in his early teens, he suffered some irreversible damage which ensured that he could not father any children. That was not to say that he was gender neutral – the sight of a shapely female would still turn his head – it was not because of any sexual interest – he saw beauty in the curves and composition of a woman, as much as the appreciation of looking at fine sculptures or nature's natural beauty.

He had never left the country and avoided long trips away; however the needs of the UO did see him travelling interstate to places to attend seminars, various committee meetings and symposiums.

His philosophy of life was simply to be in the background but useful - he would leave adventuring, drama, notoriety and fame to others – he was satisfied just being what he was. If any of his work would prove to be of benefit to the environment, he knew he would leave the planet a happy man.

"Well that's it in a nutshell, Rienus." Janette thought that the explanation went over very well, although she could not interpret the straight and expressionless look on his face.

"Just as an added note Professor, you have banked up an enormous amount of vacation time – why don't you make the most of it, extend this little trip, let yourself go, discover Europe – I'm sure there are dozens of places that would interest you. You like music, why don't you check out the Mozart performances at the Vienna State Opera House, or Milan where.... I have it here somewhere...look, free ticket vouchers to get you into the La Scala. I believe Turandot and Casanova are the productions this coming season." Rienus Lien just looked straight at her "Well, what do you think Rienus? Have I sold you?"

"So you want me to babysit a smart ass kid, Oh beg your pardon, you want me to be second banana to a smart ass kid whom I have to babysit, to hold my head up high in the company of renowned physicists yet be powerless to participate in anything unless she determines it so?"

"That's pretty well the summary Rienus – you will be our safety net – don't for an instance think that it denigrates your position with us. The Chief chose you above all others, you should see that that alone is a compliment and trust – don't forget, there are forces out there planning two years hence, when our leader retires – and I'll tell you now, I'm not interested in running."

Professor Lien was never the aggressive ladder climber – his ambitions were moderate, but these last words from Janette caused a flow of adrenalin and suddenly he was very much interested. "May I think upon it Janette?"

"Of course Rienus, give me your answer after lunch...whoa, don't forget these vouchers." He left the vice's office, feeling somewhat taller. He had made the decision to chaperon that lovely young and talented child on behalf of the University as soon as Janette Conaghan had dangled that tasty carrot. What person in his right mind would not pursue and accept such a delicious morsel. He had on some occasions, actually seen the President's residence. He thought to himself, is covetness a sin? Don't think so – I'm not coveting his wife or his property, well not yet – and why the heck should I care anyway – I'm a heathen. He became lost in thoughts of lying on a blow-up mattress on the President's residence indoor swimming pool with the mathematical music of Bach playing in the background. A couple of bikini clad undergrads were standing on the edge with trays of cocktails and finger food, a student or two stood beside a whiteboard, markers poised, ready to write equations and formulae as he conjured them up between the sips and the chews. Hmm I think I'll do it.

"Good afternoon Professor Lien, I see you also had a session with our Vice President – at least we have something in common – invito acceptio, and a coming together of unlikes."

She continued, "are we to be a partnership at arm's length united by a bond not of our choosing, but for the good of the institution?"

"My dear Miss Aggie Kellor, nothing of the sort. I've been asked to accompany you to CERN and to be of any assistance you may require. It's your show – I'll just be a shadow, all I ask is your friendship and tolerance. Mrs Conaghan made it quite clear and plain as to my role and I intend to follow it to the letter. I can only offer my hand to you as a fellow collegiate – I'm sure your work (and my subsequent reports) will be rewarding to all concerned. What say you?"

Aggie extended her hand and Rienus nervously shook it firmly. Dwarg began an immediate history and memory tour through the Professor's DNA. "Did Mrs Conaghan mention that my assistant Megan Redcliffe and my aunt will also accompany us? My aunt is my chaperone, and there's nothing much I can do to get away from her protection. Anyway, the university is footing the bill."

"No, Mrs Conaghan didn't mention it. To be perfectly honest that's somewhat of a relief – I am a little naive when it comes to interaction with young people. I guess I've led too much of a sheltered life. So, how will it work out with the LHC? Will they have room for us all in the lab?"

"As I imagine it, you and I will be actively involved, Professor Lorenz and his colleagues, and perhaps another physicist from CERN. My aunt and assistant won't be in the facility. Aunt Edna will be our driver - are you ever in for an adventure - and Megan will attend to all admin matters. She'll take control of our travel, accommodation, food, communications and clerical matters. By the way, do you possess a passport? No? I'll get Megan to organise one."

"To be candid with you Aggie, Mrs Conaghan warned me I'd be in for quite an experience and to forget being in my comfort zone for a while. I must admit I did baulk at the idea at first, but what the heck, just for once, I'll let whatever's left of my hair down and be cool."

"The expression now-days is, "be sick" Professor...er, never mind. Somewhere along the line, we'll have to sit down and have a heart to heart discussion – if you don't mind. I have already spoken to Miss Conaghan about this; I would rather not go into too much exacting detail involving the experiment."

"It's nothing to do with national secrecy or any intent of approbation to gain merit – but there is a reason and I would ask for your trust and tolerance."

"I'm intrigued Aggie, but of course you can rely on my utter cooperation – may I have the pleasure of your company, and your assistant's, at dinner this evening? – I will find a table in a quite part of Luigies' and we can discuss terms and conditions and anything else on your mind...Aggie?..Miss Kellor?"

Dwarg was making his report – he could not find anything negative or dangerous about this human – he informed Aggie that there was nothing to fear.

"Yes, that would be nice, wow, my first business dinner – if I'm right, you can even claim the costs on your departmental expense account – I'm still fighting to get one for myself. See you there at seven Professor? – better bring some documentation for Megan to get you that passport."

"Where are you staying Aggie? Still boarding at Conaghan's cottage?"

"No, Megan has bought a condo in town – it's a good investment and much more convenient – would you like us to pick you up Professor?"

"Thanks no, I've just rewired my bicycle lamp and I'm street legal – peddle power will do me fine." He thought that perhaps he should become a personal assistant - every one of them he had met thus far, seemed to be very well off financially.

He was not to know that Megan was the beneficiary of a multi-million dollar legal practice, which she now partially owned in partnership with Darren. Steve had ensured that he left enormous investments and assets to his children. Megan purchased Darren's share of the family home in Frederick and bought real estate properties where and whenever she "felt" a bargain.

Although the Van Gogh painting in her house had never been appraised nor its provenance documented, its value would easily be assessed as around $40 to $60 million – should the world ever learn of this discovery. "No Aggie, a deal's a deal – I'll be your girl Friday for a while yet – I've never had more excitement in all my life – besides sis, you are good for my soul – let's talk about it again – after Geneva."
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE – ON THE ROAD AGAIN

The first thing one notices on arrival at Geneva airport is the incessant outpouring from the guilt industry. "Madam, the amount of carbon dioxide emission from your trip from Boston is calculated at 4.5 tonne. Would you prefer to pay the offset of CHF152 to the general fund which is other than for Switzerland or for the offset within Switzerland for CHF512?"

"What's this shit? Is it compulsory?" asked Edna, who did not have the best of the long flight – she was seated next to the toilets and for some reason there was a continual row of people queuing along the aisle and getting into her space.

"No madam, it is voluntary and to compensate for ones usage of carbon, a "footprint" one has left – it is for the good health of the planet."

"Tell you what young man, when I get back home I'll plant a few trees, that way I know I've balanced a bit of Mother Nature. Now go away and annoy the airline staff who served up the food which made most of the passengers spend abnormal times in the crapper – those are the emissions that should be compensated for - big time."

Professor Rienus Lien on the contrary, had had a wonderful flight. He met up with the trio at Boston International with plenty of time to spare before the flight to Geneva. He had an open return ticket, travel warrants compliments of the UO and oh yes, those free vouchers for performances at La Scala. He had enjoyed coffee and cake at the terminal building and some hearty chatter with Edna, whom he thought was an absolute delight. Here was a salt of the earth woman, no nonsense, straight talking and he adored her melodic New England accent. "So what do I call you Prof?"

"Rienus is fine Edna."

"OK, Prof it is then. So we have 40 minutes before boarding time – let's hear your story – none of that boring educational stuff, tell me about your family and your upbringing and anything I should know to be wary of."

"Aw Edna, I know you know, that young Aggie has all the details about my life – I've been through the "Aggie Kellor Experience"- as our deputy so aptly put it. She must have told you that I have had a non descript and unexciting life of academic pursuits. I was a bit sceptical about her abilities to see into one's soul, but when she proceeded to tell me things about my past, my interests – even some quirky things I didn't even know were quirky – I've become quite convinced that she has a genuine talent or sensitivity in interpreting personalities."

"OK fair enough, I take your point Prof – still you must be proud to know you are related to Thomas Jefferson."

"What! What's that? – Thomas Jefferson – how? who? – Oh I get it – the Aggie Kellor Experience.......right?....right Edna?

"Um, you know Aggie thinks you also have a lot in common with a guy called Glenn Seaborg, he was some sort of a chemist back in the forties and fifties, apparently he won a Noble Prize – have you heard of him?"

"Wow, if Aggie thinks that, I am indeed honoured. Doctor Seaborg discovered plutonium and was my hero. I actually met him once in 1963 in Philadelphia. He was there to receive the Franklin Institute Medal. You know Edna, he was responsible for adding 10 new elements to the periodic table – and was even honoured to have had an element named after him - Seaborgium – (Sg). Throw in finding over 100 different atomic isotopes, countless honours and awards, papers, text books, lectures and publications, advisors to three US Presidents – he was truly a man of the century and revered throughout the scientific world and..... OK Edna, nice sidetrack, now what's that about Thomas Jefferson?"

"Whoops, it's something Aggie mentioned Prof. Don't ask me to explain the whys and wherefores – she has some sort of ESP about family ties and links – maybe she checked you out on the net, I don't know – maybe you should do some research on your background, might be fun to find out you're related to the first and last Confederate President."

"I think you mean Jefferson Davis, Edna. Thomas Jefferson was one of the founding fathers – he was the force behind our Declaration of Independence. Was he the one Aggie mentioned?"

"Now I'm confused Prof, which one liked a bit of interracial hanky-panky when his wife's back was turned?"

"Hmmm, both of them I believe."

Edna starred directly into Rienus's eyes. "Yes I believe that both of them were into slavery - hope the Jefferson genes have improved down the line." She saw his eyes widen and at the very last second, she laughed out loud. "Aw Prof, you should have seen your face just then."

Rienus smiled and said, "Hmm I wonder if Aggie knows about Gunter Nimitz from the University of Cologne. He's demonstrated that there are ways of going faster than the speed of light. It's all revolves around something called quantum tunnelling where perhaps the mind might actually travel forward or back in time. The laws of physics don't actually forbid it, so who knows, Aggie may just have somehow found a path to do just that. Anyway, I digress. Slavery – hmm that may just explain why I have a passion for collecting whips and manacles – must be in the blood." They both laughed. Aggie and Megan came back from browsing in the Duty Free Store.

"Ok, what's so funny Aunt?"

"Oh nothing much, the Prof here was just telling me about how to keep a captive audience – what you got there sweetie?"

"Elizabeth Taylor's Red Door, here take a whiff."

"Mmmn..Goddamn if that's not the best smelling odour I've sniffed – much better than that Arome et Perfume de Gaul young Jade gave me for Christmas two years ago. Only got a quart of it to go. Sometimes I suspect he bottled it himself – anyway, I promised him I'd use it all – if anything, it keeps the mosquitoes offa me. And you Megan, find any bargains honey?"

"Well I've bought these CDs on learning to speak French – wouldn't do any harm – might come in handy talking to the natives over there."

"Yes, I guess it would cramp your style to have Aggie over your shoulder translating the sweet nothings between you and your native."

"Aw Edna, you're such a bitch, but I still like you....oops that's my phone."

They all watched Megan on the phone – she became livid and paced up and down. No-one could hear what she was saying, but she was saying it loudly – finally she trode back to the table and took a long sip from her soda bottle. "Well it's this way guys, I had us booked and confirmed on this flight as business class. To cut to the chase, the airline had overbooked and downgraded us to tourist class. We can grin and bear it and go now, or wait for the next flight which is five hours away. Sorry, but had I known earlier, I could have made other arrangements."

Edna shrugged her shoulders, "don't bother me too much, might be a pleasant change to travel with the commoners , what do you say Professor? Do you fancy being strapped in like a slave and transported to another country with nigh a platter of croquettes nor a drop of Chardonnay?" All agreed that another five hours wait was out of the question.

As they walked toward the departure counter for their final call, Aggie tugged at Edna's sleeve. "Slaves? Aunt, you've been saying things out of class, haven't you?"

"Er, I thought you had already told him he was related to a Jefferson, Thomas was it?"

"Yes Aunt, I'm sure glad I didn't tell you about Jefferson's affairs with the dozens of prostitutes around Paris – yes he was once a diplomat in France. The Professor would be horrified to learn that one of his forebears was conceived on a park bench in the garden behind the Notre Dame church. Dwarg even told me something funny about the incident – during the lovemaking, a passing pigeon pooped on Jefferson's bare bottom." The hysterical shriek from Edna made most of the travellers in the crowded terminal turn to see its cause.

At Geneva, the group collected their luggage from the carousel and passed through the customs counters without incident. Edna then turned to Megan and said, "I've seen that young man before. Our last trip - Megan, isn't that the guy from the restaurant in Geneva – your hunky native – I'm sure it's him – take a closer look."

"I think Aunt Edna is right Megan. Looks like he's now a greeter for CERN – he's holding a sign – I think he's looking for us – he is. Stephano stood at the end of the aisle holding a sign with LIEN and CERN neatly written on it. "I am Professor Lien from the University of Oklahoma and these are my associates."

"Oui, professor, please allow me to collect your baggage, I have a baggage trolley over there." Stephano did not look directly at Rienus – his gaze was firmly upon Megan. He recognized her at once – this was the beautiful girl he had once seen while working at the Restaurant and still remembers. He had dreams about her, she was his imaginary girlfriend and his friends were bored with his tales of having seen the most special and breathtaking female on the planet. Now she was here, right in front of him – his heart beat loudly.

Megan smiled at him and held out her hand. "I know you from somewhere, have we met before? My name is Megan."

Instinctively, Stephano took her hand and kissed the back of it, "Miss, only in my dreams. I am Stephano and am pleased to take your party to your accommodation." Aggie held out her hand and Stephano, with an exaggerated bow, kissed the back of her hand as well. Edna kept her hands to herself. She knew that Stephano was unsuspectingly undergoing the Aggie Kellor Experience. "The Limousine is just around the corner and there is plenty of room. Please follow me, allow me to take that bag off you Miss Megan."

Edna smiled and said, "Smooth as warm Swiss chocolate, don't you think Miss Aggie?"

"Indubitably, Miss Edna."

"I'll just carry my own bag" whispered Rienus, struggling to keep the small mountain of luggage from falling off the trolley, "hope this guy is a better driver than a porter."

Their reception at the hotel was above expectations. Professor Lorenz was waiting for them at the huge revolving entrance doors. With a beaming smile, he opened his arms to greet Aggie. "Ah lassie, it's so good to meet you again, I'm so excited that we can do this together – I've gone over your formulae and equations several times and hopefully later we can put them to the test. Everything is prepared and we just need your final check before we push the button. Now, who have we here? – ah Professor Lien, I recognise you from your photo on your paper The Interpretation and Concept of Heavy Element Structures – I found it very useful with my own research into transurics."

"Very pleased to meet you Professor and I must say I admire your work. I've followed your progress since the first trial. I must admit that I'm a little jealous of the facilities you have at CERN and grateful that I've the opportunity to see the LHC in action." They shook hands.

"And Edna and Megan you may remember from their last trip."

"But of course – welcome back ladies. I remember you both sipping hot chocolate from the vending machine at the Visitors' Centre – it really was a cold day that day, but your young lassie here certainly warmed up my day with her brilliant observations and comments."

Rienus said, "Aggie's been quite the researcher and the pride of the University of Oklahoma. I've been asked to accompany her for any support she may require, but to be candid, I think my real mission was to make sure that nobody poached her away from us."

"The thought had crossed my mind Professor, but from our correspondence and what I know of Aggie, she is an independent and free spirit and knows her path."

Aggie smiled, inwardly she became more anxious. Free spirit is one thing, free of spirit is another, and all too soon, Dwarg would be leaving her.

"So Aggie, we have the go-ahead the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow we can do our programming at the lab, double check our calculations, set up and calibrate the detectors and instruments and let the worker bees wind up the elastic bands."

"By the way, I have only pencilled in the project name as OEUS – Oklahoma and Edinburgh Universities, but I would like you to give it a formal name, whatever you like."

"Gee thanks Professor Lorenz – how about Project DWARG ONE? ... no, better still, take out the space, how about...DWARGONE, yep, I like that." Edna stifled a laugh and wondered who really thought that one up."

"Project Dwargone it is then. You have Stephano at your disposal for the duration. You have the rest of today free – go and check out Geneva, have a fondue and be merry. I take it that your Aunt and Megan won't be coming to the lab tomorrow?"

"No, and I don't think Stephano would mind showing them the sights and sounds of the city tomorrow, would that be OK with you Megan? Aunt?"

Megan was quick to answer - "Only if you're sure you won't need me - how about you Edna?"

"Looks like it's you and Stephano tomorrow. I think I'll have a lazy day – might even check out those nick-knack shops we saw on the way here – I won't need a car for that." Edna gave Megan a knowledgeable wink and thought to herself that she should have a little chat with Stephano before the roller-coaster ride took off. At least Aggie appeared to be reassured about Stephano, but mother hen Edna still had her protective instincts on alert.

"OK, Aggie, I'll be here around 8 am tomorrow to collect you, and you, Professor Lien. I've tried to shortcut some of the administrative requirements and obligations, but you will still have to undergo the compulsory safety training before we get too far. You will need to attain at least a Level 4. Your Miss Megan has seen to it that all the medical tests and doctors' certificates are in order, but before you are issued with your film badges and dosimeters, it's back to the classroom for a few hours. Oh by the way, all expenses are paid and the room service is 24 hours. Enjoy."

Aggie asked, "Before you go Professor, I've heard that the LCH has just reached a new record in higher beam intensity?"

"Indeed lassie, it's now at a luminosity of 4.67. The Director is ecstatic. Personally, I think it's more about having one over on the USA. Anyway, we're going to keep it at that level for the rest of this year – don't want to upset everyone's calculations for a while yet. OK, don't forget to bring all your documents, ID's and especially your passports. Collegues au revoir."

Aggie shook Professor Lorenz's hand, "avoir un professeur, merci de votre amitie."

As the group was shown to each of their rooms, Rienus Lien just couldn't stop himself from asking, "Aggie, you speak French?"

"Oui monsieur, mais ne me demandez pas de pigeons derriere Notre-Dame."

Professor Lien had studied and knew the French language quite well. He thought to himself, what a strange answer – why the hell should I not ask her anything about pigeons? I don't like pigeons - never have.
CHAPTER THIRTY – RAMON

The large open office stretched through the entire second floor. It was filled with a gaggle of people, each going about his or her business with purpose and direction. In a well chosen corner, Professor Nicolades Melczarek had set up his workstation. This allowed him to keep watch on those scurrying overpaid ants of the nest. His eyes lifted from looking through his reading glasses – he had been going over the notes in the folder marked Project Dwargone. His head was still down and he was looking at nothing in particular. The large room was filled with tables, desks with computers, screens on the wall, charts and scientific paraphernalia. He then looked at one or two of these people and tried to work out what they were actually doing at that very instant. Most wore clean and sanitised white coats, some were topped with white hair nets, and some wore floppy white tracksuits with oversized socks. It reminded him of a scene years ago, at the Lotz University in Poland.

Back then, amongst other tasks, he was required to assess, design and enforce the necessary protective clothing and equipment for the Department of Physics and Applied Informatics. Damned Soviets were always over his shoulder; he never could make any independent decisions, everything he wrote, from personal letters to laboratory notes were double checked by them. His home and family were constantly under surveillance and there was always the pressure to perform, to analyse and decode the various bits and pieces that the KGB put to him. He fondly remembered how he had put something over the Reds and had never been found out – maybe it would not have been of any great consequence, yet he found it inwardly satisfying.

Back in those days, the Russians had given him permission to go ahead with the manufacture of uniforms and protective clothing which included manufacturer's tags bearing the Polish Coat of Arms. It consisted of a stylized white eagle with golden beak and talons in a red shield. The communists had changed the design by removing the golden crown with cross and even shortened the length of the talons. Nic was careful in ensuring that the tag was approved by the soviet masters before the clothing was manufactured and issued. It was only after Poland saw off Russian rule that he drew attention to the tag, which, if one was to fold it in half, the lower portion would show a stylized picture of Nikita Khrushchev's head atop a feathery and absurd body.

He had come a long way since then. His was a unique position within CERN, requiring vast knowledge in many fields. The title of the position he accepted in Geneva, was Operational Inspector General, Developmental, Experimental and Organizational Facilities for European Nuclear Research.

He loved the work and felt very gratified when he was offered employment from many other worldwide facilities. This would do him fine. He had set up the many policies and procedures to ensure that the staff and the facility were kept healthy and safe. "When it all boils down, I'm just a glorified health and safety inspector" he would tell the continual flow of VIPs and visitors from all over the world, "but maybe a bit more technically trained in physics and sub atomic sciences. Simply put, it's my job not to let these white coats blow up the world accidently."

His eyes went back to the papers he had been reading.

There was something – he could not quite put his finger on it – that was different and he found this a little uncomfortable.

The conclusions reached by the various formula and flowcharts appeared accurate enough. The instruments to be used, the detectors, the radiation containment, the predicted readings, residual isolation, power projections and energy rates and levels, all were within tolerable criteria. Yet there was something niggling at his intuitive senses. He read it all again without finding a reason for his concerns. He closed the folder, picked up his rubber stamp and still with some trepidation, brought the stamp down on the front of the folder. The project was now approved on all levels. Be that as it may, Professor Melczarek had made his mind up that he would be there to witness the event and would keep his keen mind and eyes on each and every process. He also wanted to meet this little girl from Oklahoma whom he had heard so much about. He pushed back on his office chair, picked up the file then threaded his way through the mass of oddly dressed people, toward the Director's office.

Induction and safety training was taken very seriously at the centre. Professor Lien and Aggie were glad to get through the mountain of information, rules and instructions. The people in the personal protective equipment store had a little trouble with finding suitable – and well fitting – protective clothing for Aggie. She had struggled a little when trying to hold a heavy extinguisher and aim a jet of foam at a make-shift fire. All in all however, the trainers were happy to issue them both with a clearance certificate.

Later in the afternoon, Professor Lorenz collected them and escorted the pair to the inner workings of the LHC. "Just through this doorway and ..de dah.. here's the set up Aggie. Would you like a soda before we start the initial check?"

"Not just yet Professor, wow I never expected all this, you have really been busy. What do you think Professor Lien? – just a few steps up from our meagre lab back home?"

"Looks like an Aladdin's cave Aggie, do you want me to stay here? – I know this is your show – and I did promise not to look over your shoulder."

"From now on Professor, consider yourself totally involved and you may ask me anything you like. The only reason I have not let you in on all the details before, was due to an agreement between Professor Lorenz and myself. He's OK with it now, so let me just write down this equation for you...here we are...this is what it's all about."

Professor Lorenz nodded in agreement, "If everything checks out, the collision will occur at exactly midday tomorrow. You, Aggie, will have the honour of pushing the Activer button on Project Dwargone. Ok let's start with checking the stabilizers and buffers – I'm still waiting for my cauldron, it's on its way."

Edna in the meantime had strolled downtown and was lost in the maze of a huge thrift shop.

"Madam, that Beanie Baby is quite valuable. Humphrey the Camel was retired in December 1995 and that one still has a perfect tag." A familiar voice. She turned to face Inspector Ramon Odrow of the Musee Police, Paris. "Ah, do not worry yourself Madam Kellor, I have no jurisdiction here. When I was informed about your return to Europe, I was anxious to meet you again – to perhaps talk further about the little gift you sent me. May I have the pleasure of taking you for cafe et gateaux next door?"

"In handcuffs?"

"Non, however that is a fantasy I myself may be arrested for, ha ha. No, I must beg you for some of your time – this is an extremely important matter and may develop into an international incident, one which would involve yourself, your niece and one other – I believe her name to be Mrs Megan Redcliffe. I desperately need to know of how you came to find that tin and more about that event at the Musee d'Orsay. Believe me Madam Edna, I am not your enemy and seek not to bring any trouble to your door."

"Well, OK. To be honest, I've nothing better to do with my time today. I wouldn't mind a long French stick dipped in a hot cuppa chino. Lead me to your place of interrogation, Inspector Inquisitor."

Ramon Odrow was sure Edna was playing with her words but chose to ignore the innuendo.

The Kahvesi, a Turkish cafe was indeed just around the corner and he found a suitable table just outside on the footpath. It was a sunny day with a very light breeze and there was a wonderful waft of spices coming out of the small Thai restaurant further down the street.

"It appears your niece is not quite the little innocent girl I thought she was. From what I can gather, she is highly educated and mature. After she told me of her fear of having to eat bread and spiders, she nearly melted my heart, and believe me, I don't get fooled easily. Anyway good for her and I'm not bitter about it."

"My Aggie is an amazing girl Inspector. Some people will tell you she has special gifts or even that she has ESP, I don't know exactly, but she's still a loving and likeable child with absolutely no trace of evil or darkness. When I said I had no idea of what she was trying to do to that painting in Paris, I was telling you the absolute truth. She obviously had her reasons, but hell inspector, she didn't damage it."

"Please call me Ramon. These special gifts...was it she who suggested something was ...out of order, in our Museum? – never mind. I am interested in Mrs Megan Redcliffe. My people tell me she is a lawyer, is very wealthy yet on her travel documents she states she is a Personal Assistant – if one were suspicious, one could easily deduce that perhaps she is the mastermind of some business or enterprise, which one has not yet defined."

Edna turned on her chair, "Let me just bring this flowerpot closer, your people may get a better reception...how's that inspector?"

Ramon Odrow nodded in submission, reached over and removed the bug. "Fine, here, I have another one and a camera in my top button." He placed them both on the tablecloth – Edna picked them up and dropped them into the jug of water and watched them sink to the bottom. This was not the blubbering woman that Ramon had interviewed months ago.

"I see you have gifts also Madam Edna."

"Look, you should be ecstatic that you have that piece of Van Gogh's ear. Any other museum would offer big money for it. Consider it a gift from Vincent to his whore, to the undertaker, to Aggie and then to you or your gallery, whatever you like. We don't want it, we don't want anything to do with it – send it to the Van Gogh Museum in Holland, they'll love it I'm sure. Did you do a DNA match?"

"I cannot confirm or deny that, but Madam, our Musee is certainly not ungracious for your offering. Dear lady, it's just that there are so many... loose threads as you say, ...and I have a job."

"Fine Ramon, get to the point – what's bothering you?"

Edna spent the next hour smoothing out the story of their eventful trip. On the surface, the story was one of innocence and coincidences and Ramon could find nothing wrong with Edna's responses. Both purposely avoided talking about the authenticity of the painting that Aggie had felt.

"There was one thing we didn't cover Edna – Anton Orrslet, the undertaker at Arles, said he also gave you a large photograph of one of his forbears. Did you take it to America with you?"

"Oh that horrible monstrosity – yes Aggie loved it for some reason. I actually had to leave some ceramic bowls behind in Paris because of all the junk we took on the plane. She ended up giving it to Megan who really didn't want it, and I believe it's still in her attic. Hey, if you want to have it back for any reason, we'll send it to you – no problem. Here, let me ring her now and we'll settle it."

Edna took the mobile from her handbag and pushed some buttons. Ramon hoped that the signal could be traced to Megan's location. His bungling men had lost sight of her and the man she was with, just outside the city. That limousine was bugged with the latest tracking devices, yet she had still managed to elude them with a male on a motorcycle. "Megan, I've been asked by the French officials if they can have that photo of the undertaker that Aggie gave you – it's something to do with their heritage. OK fine, I knew you would be happy to have an excuse to get rid of it. No, no problems, I'll tell you all about it tonight. Having a good time sweetie? Great. See you this evening then – have fun. Bye now."

"Again Edna, I, we would be very grateful to have it. The way I see it, that little parlour in Arles will become a major attraction and museum in its own right – especially after the story of the ear comes out.It would appear that the Roman ruins will have to wait a century or so more.

I am very satisfied with everything you told me Edna. I will make it my purpose that you and your accomplices, er I mean acquaintances; will not be mentioned in any of my reports to the government."

"So you will be having some sort of special announcement about the Van Gogh relic? – a big party perhaps?"

"It will be a worldwide event and the Musee owes you its fervent thanks. Of course you understand you are not invited."

"Suits me fine. Aw come on Ramon, there's still something bothering you – out with it."

"Just another little loose thread, perhaps not important or worth asking about. I did have a long talk with one Monsieur Jeroen – I believe he is an undertaker in Vermont. He remembers you but absolutely denies that he asked or suggested that you call into and pay a visit to Anton Orrslet in Arles. I thought that was strange. But you know these undertakers, their minds are often affected by the formaldehyde and embalming chemicals they work with – certainly would not make good witnesses at any enquiry."

"umm..Ramon, these cakes are so moist and tasty. I think I've had enough."

He could take a hint - he stood up, poured two glasses of water from the jug, pulled up his white sleeve cuff and fished out the bugs. "The boss will want these back – we have to account for everything these days, don't we?" He thought that was pretty witty. He motioned to the waiter for the bill.

"Ramon, do you think I could have a copy of the tape of this session? Our waiter friend here – his name's not Kato Fong is it? - with his directional microphone could surely run off one for me – and I hope he captured my cleavage tastefully."

The inspector could only shrug and look towards heaven. "And while we're at it, tell your spies back at the hotel to go home."

Both smiled warmly as they shook hands.

"Inspector Odrow, whatever they pay you, it's not enough - au revoir. Oh, by the way, how is your family? Is your boy out of the Bastille yet?"

"And adieu to you Missus Kellor." He watched her walk away - "putain chienne de enfer" he whispered.

"Gees, what a sleazy, pecker-headed asshole" whispered Edna as she headed back to the thrift shop to find Humphrey the retired Beanie Baby Camel.

Inspector Ramon Odrow turned to Slavis, the Turkish waiter. "Erase the last five minutes. It's in the interests of la securite nationale - do it now! – and find out just who in Hades is Kato Fong?
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE – SSJH

Megan had left very early, before breakfast, and Stephano was waiting for her in the foyer of the hotel. "Well I have the whole day off today Stephano, where are you taking me?"

"My parents live in Luzern Megan, they have a lovely place right on the lake and the views are like nothing except paradise. It's a three hour drive each way, are you sure your boss won't need the automobile for her work?"

"Nope, Professor Lorenz will collect her and drop her off at the end of the day – she told me that today is my day and didn't even ask what I was going to do with it. Tomorrow I will be on standby. Anyway I have my mobile, just in case. It's a beautiful day today isn't it? Shame the limousine isn't a convertible. I could stand having the wind in my face, driving along the Alps."

"Your wish is my command." Megan got into the limousine and Stephano drove it into town, into the security holding yard. "I'll be back very quickly my lovely" and he ran behind the main office. Not a minute later, Megan turned to see (and hear) a large shiny and black Harley Davidson pull up next to the limousine – it was Stephano. "The trunk of the limo has another helmet and jacket – just your size I think."

"Why Stephano, you're quite the planner. Do you take all your ladies out like this?"

"When I first bought this motorcycle, I also bought the extra helmet and jacket – just for you – true, you will be the first to wear them. See, the tags are new and the plastic is still sealed."

"I don't know what to think. You certainly know to impress, OK, why not - let's see if it fits."

"And also this Megan" he opened a saddlebag and pulled out a long scarf of multi colours from a brown paper bag, "I bought this from a small stall while I was in Venice. As soon as I saw it hanging there, I pictured you wearing it – and now the day has come."

"I told you before at the airport, my dreams have really come true and now here we are. Megan, I am so happy my heart is bursting."

"How long did you plan to wait for me? Do you know the odds of something like this happening?"

"Megan, this is something that was destined to happen. I would have waited forever. From the very first time I saw you, I knew that you ladies had something to do with CERN, so I took a job as a driver there as well as a waiter in town. I worked day and night preparing for our meeting which I knew just had to come. I did not even know your names. One day, a glorious day, someone left a magazine in the limousine and in it I saw a picture of your sister, Aggie is it? I made some more enquiries and Professor Lorenz told me that she was coming to Geneva later for some experiments. I made sure I was at the airport for every flight from the USA. I prayed and prayed that you would be with her – the rest you know."
"You know, Stephano, and this is a little creepy, I did remember you from the restaurant, you were staring at me. Even Edna and Aggie made some comment about it, and how I wished you would have come over and talked with me or something. I must admit that after that, I thought of you often. Here's the creepy bit; on this trip, I was planning to go to that restaurant to see if you were still there."

They held hands, their faces came closer and there was a clash of helmets. Both laughed.

-oOo-

"Aggie, this is a wonderful concept" said Rienus Lien. "the Bose-Einstein condensate has the elements completely suspended and there's absolutely no activity within the atom. I know that's been done before, but trying to put them in reverse and giving them a blast, well it hurts my head to think of the reaction. May I see those notes again?"

"Sure, here you are Professor. I can tell by your tone that you have some reservations as to the outcome. The worse that can happen is that we create a little bit of anti-matter – at least I hope it would only be a little - wouldn't want a black hole chasing us down the tube."

"Anyway Professor Lorenz hopefully, will finally solve the problem of tracing those pesky quarks and find out where they disappear to. Ah, here comes the brew to add to the plasma – if you thought super-cold was cold, you should see this stuff."

"Where did you get this from, Aggie?"

"Compliments of University of Edinburgh - Professor Lorenz and his people. He's a little protective of the formula."

"Well the cylinder's big enough."

"And the funny thing is that we only need a couple of drops. I believe there are over forty protective shells holding the agent in the bottle. Ah, Professor Lorenz, I see your special recipe has arrived safely."

"Hello Aggie, Professor. Aye this is the last piece to put in place. I had some wee trouble in finding suitable slings to suspend the crucible, but...up we go lads, easy now...whoa... lock it in. Excuse me Aggie, I just need to get the injector installed and calibrated."

Rienus Lien was impressed, "You know Aggie, this experiment may just open up another world."

More than you know, thought Aggie. Dwarg knew exactly.

"Ah, Miss Kellor, may I introduce myself. I am Nic Melczarek, Director of Safety and other protocols within CERN. I have read the papers in relation to Project Dwargone and authorised the procedures."

"I must explain that I have a power of veto over any experiment which in my opinion may pose any risk to the staff or the facility."

"If you have the time now, I would like you to walk me through the stages and of the methods and conducts of your set up. I see Professor Lorenz is very much occupied up there on the hoists. If you wish, I can wait for him as well."

Aggie shook hands and introduced Professor Lien. "That would be fine Mr Melczarek, do you have some knowledge of nuclear mechanics?" Dwarg immediately began his DNA travel – perhaps his last investigation of a Human's past.

"I've studied a little, dear girl. I've also looked into your background and I'm very impressed with your talents. I read somewhere, oh you know those cheap unresearched sciences magazines, an article about your brilliant ability to tell about someone's background – and that perhaps you utilise ESP in some way."

"Professor Melczarek – it is Professor isn't it? Would you like me to read your mind or your palm? Sorry for sounding cynical, but it's not ESP as you may think. I seem to have a gift where, from observation, I can deduce and interpret information about a person. I've never met you before this, but so far I've figured that you were born and educated in Poland, was restricted in your research, and you are somewhat rebellious with the establishment. Your mother was Polish, your father Dutch or from Belgium and he died before you were six years old. You were an only child and have no other family alive. You were baptised Catholic, had Confirmation, but lost your faith at age thirteen. You suffered from thyroid problems and have had cataract surgery."

"Wonderful young lady – I can see how you worked some of that out. Now how about something that will knock my socks off, so to speak." He crossed his arms – his body language screaming a challenge.

"As you wish Professor. "Państwo absolwent Uniwersytetu Lotz bo was miał z seksualne z państwa nauczyciela." Nic Melczarek froze in his tracks. "You said that in Polish - do you know what you just said?"

"Tak, wiem dobrze jezyka polskiego. Nauczyciel mial rude wlosy. Oh, and her pet name for you was moja mala kielbaska. Chcesz znac slowa szeptal do niej?"

"Thank you no. The best of luck with your experiments Professor and Miss Aggie, my telephone is vibrating and I must go." Nic, whose face became a crimson red, very quickly turned and headed back to the safety of his office in the corner of the large room on the second floor. His heart was still beating heavily from that ordeal – he felt he wanted to get away from this place, away from Europe. He reached into the second drawer of his desk and opened another folder – this one contained a letter of offer of employment from the University of Singapore.

"I see our Safety Officer has just gone through the Aggie Kellor Experience" said a cackling Rienus.

"Why Professor," replied Aggie with a fluttering of her eyelids, "whatever do you mean?"

Ethen Lorenz waved to them, "All right people, if you care to inspect this part of the chain, we are all a go." Aggie looked all over the cylinder, saw that the release valve operated smoothly and held up her thumb in satisfaction.

"Professor you may now seal the apparatus" she said.

"Here we go lass, now the only variable is ssjh" he quickly put his hand over his mouth – an unguarded utterance. He looked at Aggie and both looked at Professor Lien. Yes, he had heard.

"So what is char? Didn't see that in the process or notes." Rienus was a little hurt at being left out in the cold.

Aggie looked at Professor Lorenz again and he nodded in silent agreement. She said, "Professor Lien, ssjh is another interesting and profound concept that Professor Lorenz and I have worked out. If you like I can describe it in simple terms?"

"Only if you feel that I should be in on such close collaborative discussions."

"Well consider yourself so honoured. This would bring Michio Kaku of the Discovery Science Channel in a spin. He's always going on about an equation which sums up the laws and theories of everything – well we think we've got it and we've called it ssjh."

"You're trying to tell me you have found the holy grail of the universe? the ultimate of the ultimates? the formula for everything and then some? – before the big bang? the quest that has turned many men into quivering jellies?"

"Yep" said Aggie "it accounts for just about everything."

"assar, you say, it's a Polish word, yes?"

"No professor, it's a simple acronym, and its pronounced ss-j-h, as in shar."

"Aye" said Professor Lorenz – "even in this relatively safe and secure environment, the equation cannot be uttered. Here, I'll write it down on this sticky-note, look at it then I will drop it into that bucket of liquid nitrogen." Professor Lorenz first passed the note to Aggie for approval; she looked around to ensure no one was watching, and then passed the note to Rienus who eagerly scanned his eyes over it. He took a deep breath, and then slowly breathed out.

"I can already see the accuracy of this equation. So when do propose to publish this truly wonderful and scientific revelation?"

"One thing at a time Professor, let's get over Project Dwargone first. Our Theory of Everything, our ssje, will no doubt pop up somewhere along the line."

Rienus tried to keep a straight face. "Do you mind very much if I follow this note into that container of nitrogen?" and he let out a belly laugh – he had never laughed so hard in all his life.

Between tears, he read the note again. Professor Lorenz had written

Sometimes

Shit

Just

Happens.

Rienus did manage to say, "Ssjh...ssjh indeed...hey Aggie, you do know the motto of the UO – don't you?"

"Yes Professor Lien, it's Civi et Reipublicae – "For the Citizen and for the State" - why do you ask?"

"I wonder if ssjh may make a good motto for our football team – wonder how it would sound in Latin?"

"Ah, it would be something like excrementa accidit interdum. Good luck selling that to Coach Ray Johns." They both laughed.

Must be an inside joke, thought Ethen. "So that's it ladies and gentlemen tomorrow 10 am, after morning tea, the seals come off. I'll take you back to your hotel now – may I suggest we all have a good night's sleep so our cerveaux will be primed and ready for things ahead – it may prove to be a long, long day."
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO – LITTLE BANG

"Megan, you can have Stephano back as soon as he drops us off – we need to be at the lab before ten this morning," said Aggie. The three women were downstairs having breakfast in the fine and elaborate dining room. "I've no idea when we'll be coming back, I'll give you a ring as soon as I know – please pass the maple syrup, there's a part of me that needs more strength."

"Sweetheart, please let me come with you, I won't get in your way, promise."

"Aunt, we've covered this before, I've got to be focussed to get through this - and I've got to be cold and calculating today. Professor Lien will know what to do if anything goes wrong; you are the first contact aunt. Megan, I know you are a little confused about my mood this morning, just bear with me being a little wacky for a day or so. Don't look so concerned – tell me more about your boyfriend."

The chatter continued for another half hour. Rienus entered the room, chose a hearty selection of several different cheese slices and breads from the buffet and joined the group. With a smile he said, "You know Megan, I've always had a secret desire to drive a motorbike – never been brave enough though."

"Oh Professor, believe me it's a thrill, you feel so free and alive. By the way, one rides a motorcycle – something Stephano told me."

"He seems quite a nice young man – did you have a good time yesterday?"

"Utterly fantastic, I met his parents; they live in Lucerne in a beautiful house. I got on with them straight away. We all strolled through the town doing some sightseeing. Had a lovely lunch of sandwiches and cake. For no particular reason we stopped outside a store which had a display of wedding dresses in the window, you wouldn't believe it – at that very moment, the bells of the Abbey Court Church began to ring. We all laughed. I know, I just know, Stephano is going to be my man."

"But honey, you've only known him for a day or so" said Edna, "hope you're not rushing into things you may regret later."

"No, no. No eloping or anything spontaneous. I'll just let things develop as they may."

"If it's of any significance Megan," said a not too surprised Aggie, "you have my complete blessing – as the Professor said, he is a very nice man. You deserve your happiness and you will find it."

Megan jumped up, kissed Aggie, then Edna and even Rienus. She skipped out of the dining room. It would still be hours before she would see Stephano again, but she wanted to get ready anyway.

"Well, after today, I'm going to enjoy some show-business in Milan. I'm taking some time off. Janette Conaghan gave me some vouchers and I finally get to sit down in La Scala. How about you guys? Back to UO Aggie?"

"Afraid so Professor, still need that holy certificate."

"Ah, I will make it my business to fast-track everything for you. What of your future Aggie?"

"We need to talk about just that, but after your vacation Professor. I have something in mind that would be of mutual interest."

They were silent for a while. Edna placed her hand on Aggie's arm.

"Aggie, with Professor Lien going his own way and the way it is with Megan, I have a feeling that it will only be the two of us returning home this time."

Aggie burst into tears. "Oh Aunt Edna, how right you are – I'm going to lose Dwarg today."

Edna didn't mean to say it quite that way. She held out her arms and Aggie hugged her hard.

"Is anything wrong with little Aggie, Edna? She looks so upset."

"Aggie still has growing pains, Professor" whispered Edna, who also had tears in her eyes.

"Well so much for cold and calculating" sobbed Aggie, trying bravely to smile.

-oOo-

Dwarg had done all he could to prepare Aggie for the separation. The hardest part was trying to keep in harmony with her many and different emotions. Strange, he thought, he had prepared her for this now, yet she still has heightened levels of anxieties and distress. An hour had gone by since he left her – he had slipped away using her breath as a pathway medium and finally made his way to the sodium atom that was to be his transportation terminal, the place where he would await a fast moving piece of matter and be smashed asunder.

Aggie had opened the holding chamber for a final inspection – this allowed Dwarg to take a direct route to the atom – he decreased his size even further – just enough to avoid the mayhem and bombardment of the elements within.

The condensate was getting colder and activity within the atom was slowing down. "I'm adding a wee dram now Aggie" said Professor Lorenz. Aggie nodded, she was feeling ill and a little weak but kept alert. A drop of the catalyst was injected into the chamber. The huge electro-magnets, pre-programmed to Aggie's calculations, synchronised themselves to the rate of the cooling. The height of the peaks on the monitor became more rounded, and then slowly aligned with the x line. "We have total suspension Professor."

"OK lassie, here's another drop."

"Professor we have activity – under the zero parameter – we are pulsing in the negative – it's steady."

"Maddison, what are the readings please?"

"Radiation increase of Beta to R010 and Gamma to R002 – all other outputs and units unchanged sir."

"What say you lassie?"

Aggie nodded to Professor Lien who nodded back. He pressed the alert button and the repetitive he-haw alarm warned all and sundry that an event was in progress. She then looked at Professor Lorenz through her protective lenses. She knew that once she flipped the activia switch, Dwarg would exist in her world no more. She became a little unsteady and although she had steeled herself for this moment in time, she could not avoid the tears which tended to mist her shield. She thought of Dwarg, still yet a physical entity, grimly holding onto a slow moving and pulsing minute piece of matter – is he in pain? Is she keeping him from his escape back to his world? Was his spirit begging her for release? Ethen Lorenz pointed to Aggie and turned his palm up questioningly. With a quivering gloved hand on the switch, Aggie called out "Dwarg ! - Activating in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – activated!"

The particle was spun around the tube of the Large Hadron Collider three times. Dwarg saw it on the first pass, and then the second then watched its final approach to the condensate. He just had enough time to position himself so as to be directly in its path. At the very point of the collision, he "hitched" a ride with a strange meson anti-quark – it disappeared from the world of the physical along with him.

"We must do it again lassie" yelled Professor Lorenz, I think we missed – the count was neutral – somehow there was a balance – not at all like our calculations."

"I agree Professor, we still have time and the resources, should we not wait a little until the radiation dissipates – could affect the integrity. An ioniser sweeper would do it in an hour or so."

"Maddison, get the crew and arrange another set-up. Make sure the crucible is not leaking; old Nic Melczarek would kick our sporrans if we damage anything. Coffee, soda, cake and scotch-finger biscuits anyone? I'm buying."

"That would just hit the spot Professor – I just want to re-examine the condensate, just want to make sure there are no residual effects."

Rienus Lien was biting his lip. Now was probably not a good time to discuss the theory of ssjh.

"Aggie, I've been threatened by your lovely Aunt to let her know if anything is untoward. Are you all right, you seem a little pale – should I give her a buzz?"

"Thank you for asking Professor Lien. I'll be OK – just feeling a little light-headed, I'll give aunt a ring after some cookies – after that, it's back to looking for the dissipation of those darn elusive flavoured quarks and leptons in their reverse orbits."

"One thing Aggie, did I hear you call out Dwarf or Dworg or something as you did the count-down?"

"Er, well Professor you know I'm of the Northern Nations. I think it would have been inappropriate for me to holler Geronimo! – don't you agree?"

"My dear girl, as with everything else on this adventure – I totally agree with everything you say and do."

Aggie was beginning to feel a little better.

-oOo-

Their day finished late; around 9 pm. Professor Lorenz was ecstatic with the second and then the third collision. The first, he put down to ssjh. The only thing worthy of a complaint was the cold french fries with the chicken drumsticks, eaten hastily between trials.

"My dear lassie, your hypothesis was exact and we have proved it thus. Professor Lien, I think you don't really know just how much of a genius this young lady is. You and your people had better be good to her because we would be quick in snapping her up."

"You keep your hands off our Aggie Kellor – she is our best and favourite asset, and I'll fight anyone to the death who tries to poach her away from us – well I mean I'll really get upset if someone tried it – Oh you know what I'm trying to say."

Aggie said, "Don't worry Professor Lien; you'll probably leave the university before I do. Sorry about your plans for tomorrow though, we still have a mountain of data to finalize – I can handle it if you like."

"It's a case of ssjh Aggie, don't worry, I'll be by your side until Project Dwargone is well and truly signed off."

"Thanks Professor – I really do need your support – especially the administrative red tape...and your arm to walk me out of here."

After removing the protective clothing, each strolled outside onto the footpath, enjoying the crisp night air. Aggie could smell the delightful aroma of a log fire from somewhere – "hmm..someone's burning spruce – it reminds me of New England. Just look at those stars Professor; they somehow seem to be much brighter tonight – almost as if they have been polished recently. I reckon Vincent van Gogh must have been looking up at such a night when he got his inspiration."

"You know about van Gogh?"

"Oh, only a little – Megan knows all about him and his works."

"For fear of sounding like a nerd Aggie, it's not so much that the stars are so bright, it's the atmosphere between us and them that is particularly clear, well not really the atmosphere – the medium – the...."

"Aura – Professor?"

"Yes, a good word, why not."

"Here lass, some nice hot chocolate, Stephano is on his way. No need to tell you that your Aunt and your assistant are with him. He's a hard worker and appears to have taken a shine to your Megan, I remember him asking about you and her a while ago."

"I like him too. Professor, ever heard of some past character named Justinian?"

Ethen shook his head. "Not really, I think one of the Caesars was called Justinian. Why do you ask Aggie?"

"Oh never mind, it was something that came into my head when I first met him. For some reason that name appeared and I just wondered who it was. Ah... here comes our rescue party. See you at 9 a.m. Professor Lorenz?"

"I've got a cot here and plenty of candles to burn. Sure. And fellows, compatriots, thank you both for a wonderful and eventful day. My cup runneth over...oops I didn't mean that literally." He waved at Edna and company and returned to the lab whistling happily. Surely all this will see another generous grant from those hard-nuts at Westminster.

"Everything OK? Have a good day?" asked Edna as a tired Aggie and Rienus climbed into the large limousine.

"Just another day at the office aunt."

Edna turned to the driver - "Oh Stephano, just watch out for low flying pigs."

He turned to Megan with a puzzled look on his face. "Madam, our police do not have helicopters in this city." All except Stephano laughed loudly.

"It's all right love" said Megan, "you will get used to American English, and unfortunately"... turning to Edna, "to American humor as well."

Stephano said, "I did learn some Canadian American English from a visiting diplomat here last month. He told me to use these words in responding to something I do not understand."

"Oh, that's interesting, tell us."

"Well, I have to say... 'up yours, asshole, eh!'...and when I say it, I have to hold up my little finger like this."

It was a jolly ride back to the hotel.

"We need you again tomorrow Stephano, half eight, back to the salt mine, sorry, back to Professor Lorenz's lab."

"Your wish is my command young madam. My sincere wish is for you all to remain in Geneva much longer – there is so much to be seen and done. Professor, perhaps a short ride on a Harley Davidson?"

"Oh go on Rienus" quipped Edna, "Megan tells me your preferred method of transport is a pushbike. Get out of your comfort zone – go get a buzz man."

"You think I'm not game, don't you Edna?"

"Ha, you on a Harley?...never happen."

"Stephano, I would be honoured if you would take me for a ride...whenever it is convenient for you." He tilted his head up and turned to Edna with a victorious grin. Damn heck, he thought, why don't I just keep my big mouth closed?

It was well after midnight and Aggie was wide awake in her bed. She realized that it had now been the longest ever span of time away from Dwarg. She was just a little weak but was glad that she still had her faculties. Of course, there was some adjusting to do, sure she misses him and automatically tries to tune in to him, but nothing happens. For some mysterious reason, she remembered the words of Nurse Audrey all that time ago.

Aggie was still in a coma, yet Audrey would talk and gossip to her regardless. Audrey had had a tooth pulled recently. No matter how hard she tried to prevent it, her tongue would always wonder to the spot where the tooth had been – she would concentrate as hard as possible to resist, yet there went her probing tongue without her permission. It almost became a contest of will between her and her tongue. After a while she completely forgot about the tooth – and her tongue was curious no more. Nice analogy, thought Aggie, but my dilemma is where am I getting these very thoughts from right now? are they really from me? did Dwarg leave some clever rehabilitation program? Could it be Daddy? Daddy, are you still looking after me? – but nothing came to mind. Aggie tossed and turned. At that moment, she felt very, very lonely.

Edna awoke to a soft knocking on the adjoining door to Aggie's room. "Aunt Edna?"

"Yes sweetie, what's wrong?"

"I can't sleep. Can I sleep in your bed tonight?"

"Of course Aggie. There we go. Cuddle in tight – Goodnight my little Abenaki princess."

"Goodnight Aunt - sorry to be such a sooky baby."

"Goes to show you're only human, sweetheart."
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE – DEBRIEF

Dwarg immediately fluxed within the Aura – he was back at last. Other Whisps acknowledged its presence, without emotion or ceremony, as if it was nothing really special.

After eleven Human years of absence, Dwarg was pleased to be able to flux and flutter again. He did bring with him a smattering of Human emotions and concepts, so where normally he would be just plain satisfied with his return, he was instead, happy, elated and pleased. He zoomed from the Aura limit back to and around the planet. He realized that with his knowledge gained during his quest, he would still have the memories of the Human Aggie and her environment. Of all the Whisps, Dwarg had the clearest and most functional understanding of the universe. "Henceforth I am not an it, I am Dwarg and I am something, I am an individual and I have knowledge of worlds and planes outside the Aura. The Humans are not as we know them. There are reasons why we and the now continue to exist. We must plan and evolve like the Humans or the Aura will destruct." Try as he may, he did not get any serious arousal from the Whisps.

He discussed all manner of experiences, situations and stories with Slig, who had incessantly looked for Dwarg on the planet, but to no avail. Slig had an inkling of current events with Human technology but had no idea of the advancements they had made in the last few Human years to the now. Human progress was not an accident – other influences upon them saw it so. "Slig, I have seen evidence of other Auras, other creatures not of our world – some have entered Humans and altered their state of existence and evolution. I have witnessed the aftermath of one such being – this was a virus trapped in a Human of no consequence – a forward travelling virus. Had that Human not been in a defective state before the infection, the Human may well have been directed to an existence of arranging our destruction. It is not the Humans alone who are to blame for the Swirl Chaos; it is the entry of extra-Aura travellers and aliens who are directing them."

Slig suspected the existence of other levels beyond the Aura. Its constant warnings and ideas aroused nothing of consequence within the Whisp community. The average Whisp did not want to know of such things – Swirl Chaos was just a thing that was now acknowledged – it was caused by the Humans, the whys and wherefores were of no concern – the idea of other worlds beyond the Aura limit was simply not accepted. Whisps did adopt certain Human concepts such as time and time lines but in general they were just content to flux and flutter within the Aura. They lived in the now and nothing else really mattered. Dwarg could see how and why Slig had become so isolated and frustrated.

Dwarg revealed his plan to Slig. "We need to make a barrier, a fence or a net or some system of filter around our Aura to prevent incursions from the outer limits. As yet, the Humans have no such protection and are preoccupied with altering climatic conditions and the destruction of viruses from within."

"I have left some guidelines and solutions with my Human host to follow this path but Whisps must also be activated to ensure that the protection will be comprehensive and effective."

"Slig, I will need your help to convince the body to accept a purely Human trait – one that led them on the path of their rapid evolvement. That trait is to develop curiosity, it is to question, it is to ask how, when, where and why. This is what set them apart from other organisms on the planet."

"Human emotions", replied Slig, "another unfathomable mystery I could never conquer."

"I've experienced some, although it's all complex and embedded in their hereditary composition. For a Whisp to accurately map Human emotions would be a quest unto itself. The Swirl Chaos is endemic to a Whisp and my plan would be to use this as a key for arousal of curiosity."

Slig thought this was a possibility; after all, Dwarg's and its own exploits had the initial agreement of the body to study and solve the problem of the Swirl Chaos – even though now, the other Whisps considered their efforts useless. "So how do you propose to do this Dwarg?"

"Ah ha, I have already made you curious Slig." Slig rotated and vibrated – this was the nearest thing to a laugh out loud that a Whisp could do. "On earth, I found a message. I told you about the forward travelling virus within a Human. It guided the Human to make an arrangement of smudges and marks – he had made a representation of a Swirl Chaos. When I saw it, I nearly killed my host with vibrations. I then found out that the message was created many Human years before the first Great Chaos so it was not made by any Whisp, indeed it was an alien with foresight of the time forward of the now. This led me to the understanding that the Aura had been visited by other intruders. I believe that Humans have been infected, guided and had their evolvement accelerated by viruses not of this world. That's not to say that all are a threat to us, however at some point, an invader may enter the Aura and destroy all things."

"Slig, I also believe that given the opportunity, extra-Aura invaders (or their guided Humans) may attack Whisps."

"Perhaps my original plan for the eradication of Humans should be re-considered."

"No, the viruses will still come into the Aura regardless – they will simply seek other hosts. I believe we need to screen and filter – and the Whisps must be made to realize this. The Humans are not yet capable of such undertakings themselves."

Thus Dwarg and Slig formed a bond – a bond that saw more grouping among Whisps, and gradually quite a number of them joined the flux. One problem Dwarg came upon was that he had no idea of the "population" of the Whisps in the Aura – there had never been a count – there had never been a reason for a count – apart from timelines, they never had a use for numbers.

"This use of numbers, Dwarg, tell me again about the number, zero."

"The Humans commence the numbers at zero, then comes one, then two, then three, then these other numbers in order following."

"But you say zero is nothing, how is this so? Surely nothing cannot be a thing? If it is no thing, it does not exist, so zero must not exist."

"The Humans use zero as a start point. It is neutral. Numbers also go below zero, they become negative numbers."

"Why not commence numbers with the number one? – at least it is a something."

"Well there are portions and fractions of the number one, before number one becomes a whole number one – a positive number one."

"And the Human emotion you call humor, is that what you are using now Dwarg?"

"No, these numbers are very important and we must all learn them."

"So Dwarg, what lies directly between negative one and positive one?"

"Very good Slig, that would be zero."

"So that would be nothing?"

"Slig, let me tell you about a Human emotion called temper, I have listed it as an emotion under the heading of Human Affection."

"Dwarg, you tried to explain about this thing called a vacuum. You say there is nothing in it."

"I can see what you are trying to do Slig. Yes, but having said that, there really cannot ever be a true vacuum – the Humans have proved that. Even in the black expanses of the planes far from the Aura, nowhere will one find a true vacuum, there will always be an atom or two around. Humans have tried, but could never make one."

"So there is no such thing – nothing – that is a vacuum, a true vacuum?"

"No, er, Yes."

"So we are discussing nothing? Zero? And ah yes, naught."

Quite often, Dwarg would flux around the planet until his vibrations slowed. He knew that his individuality had been substantially enhanced by the experiences and emotions of the Humans - this was the only reason he could think of for his sudden departures from the groupings with Slig.

Apart from occasional frustrations with the provision of knowledge to others, Dwarg settled back into the existence that was one of being a Whisp again.

He would always have some shadow, some invisible connection to his host, the Human Aggie Kellor. Regardless of the reaction of the group Whisps, he considered his task had been completed to his own satisfaction. Convincing Whisps to begin any initiative for their own defence was \- (and to keep Slig happy) – close to zero.

"Some of the land near the top of the planet has exploded" reported a fluxing Whisp, "clumps are already reaching close to the Aura boundary."

"Slig, we should examine this. Should any of the matter reach or go through the outer limits, they may provide vehicles for foreign viruses trying to enter the Aura." Both fluxed to the area the Humans had named Iceland. "This has happened before Slig, when I was in the physical, although this eruption is more powerful."

They made their way to the extreme outer-limits and stayed for, in Human terms, about six months, waiting to see if any matter would reach that far. They returned without seeing any stray material that close, however they did notice that ash and other material was still floated within the Aura, a great distance away from the point of the explosion. "Dwarg, what could we have done, should we have seen this debris reach the boundary?"

"Between us, not much really – but we need to somehow repel this matter. Another thing we have to consider is the screening of extra-Aura material entering and falling to the planet. It was on the Earth that I learned of the vast amount of stuff that enters regularly, and has so, for times well before the now."

As you put it Dwarg, we are a form of anti-matter – a negative number on your counting system. We are in the same world as the physical yet separated by one atom. How could we possibly affect anything in the positive?"

"I think I have found a way Slig, but it requires the cooperation of the body group and take great effort."

He explained how he had guided some Humans as to the construction and use of neutron pulsating systems which would be used all over the planet. Emissions of the neutral phatets would be harvested by the Whisps by means of effertanious attraction. Much like spiders construct their homes on the earth, the Whisps would build a huge web - a network just inside the Aura boundary. The phatets would serve as an efficient barrier for the repulsing of any foreign matter. The Humans would have to take suitable action to prevent large meteors and machine scraps allowing infections or viruses to be deposited on the Earth's surface.

"Upon your counting, how many Human years from the now, will your plan come about?"

"Six Human years – and I will have to return to the physical."

"Dwarg, is that six from the number one, or from the non-existent number zero?"

"Sliggles, you are a damn pecker-head."

"Please explain?"
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR – RITES OF PASSAGE

Three Human years later

"Honey, you don't have to do this, it's the modern era now – no one would expect you to follow traditions to the letter – it may well kill you."

"Aunt, it's something I have to do – I need a complete change in direction. I want to move on with my life and I need a point, an event, from where I can turn. I've sent him on his way three years ago but still haven't washed him outa my hair, so to speak. What better way than the ways of the past – I need to satisfy myself and be able to truly say mourning removed. Besides, I'm a teenage girl, I can feel changes."

"Aggie, I don't think the old ways were necessarily the best ways – the ceremonies have become far more relaxed – at worst, you may have to dance for eight hours. To follow the exact rituals may well be beyond your physical strength – it may even been banned now."

"It's been discouraged in the Northern Nations of New England, but I know of the Lakota who still recognise the cleansing and preparation of life and rebirth. You know I need to live without Dwarg's influence. He's left a legacy of knowledge and enlightenment, memories and insights, and I'm grateful for that and won't reject any of it – but I want to know that Aggie, me, my ego, is totally and absolutely, me. If Dwarg, or his shadow, is still inside me, he would not let me suffer or even let me go and do this thing – that is the reassurance I need, and I have to go through with it."

"If you are so damned determined, at least let me go with you."

"You know it's a private and personal transition aunt, but I wouldn't mind if you came with me up to the departure point and be there when I finish the journey. We can get a flight to McIntosh, that's close to the Standing Rock Reservation and I can leave you there. Elanor Dassiart from the Reservation will be my sponsor and I'll give her my mobile phone so she can keep in touch with you."

-oOo-

The hot dusty road to the place of contemplation was several miles long. Elanor had seen Aggie off. "You must follow this and other paths. You must keep walking until you know where you must be. The spirit of your ancestors and our mother will guide you – be awake to their guidance. You seek to be complete, only you can do it. You will dream, you will be given a sign of the earth, you will sacrifice, you will die and be reborn. Do not come back without the power for which you hunt and pursue. I am your mentor and will search for you if I feel you need to return." Without a word, Aggie began to walk. She wore a rough hessian sack dress, no shoes, no hat and no backpack. On the horizon she saw mountains and felt she should be heading towards them.

The Rights of Passage traditionally comprise four stages. Firstly, the suppliants must be of an orphaned status, that is, somehow incomplete and in need of help. Secondly, there must be a journey, they must sacrifice and suffer separation. Thirdly, they must acquire power and knowledge. Fourthly, they will have an affirmation – and the knowledge gained will fill any voids. There is no time scale for achieving this quest – it simply needs to be undertaken and accepted.

Aggie walked the whole day along the winding, rough and corrugated road. She would clear her mind of all thoughts, often she would chant and hum and focus directly at what was in front of her. Occasionally she would stop to drink some water at one of many little streams crossing the road. She saw that her feet were cut and a little trickle of blood ran from under her ankle where she had scrapped it on a sharp rock a mile back. She jumped up with fright when a large moose ran across her path – she had just walked around a bend in the road and she and the animal saw each other at the same time. With her heart beating loudly, she kept walking until late afternoon - she was sore and tired. She decided to leave the road and headed for a small hill which seemed to have bushy undergrowth. She thought this would be an ideal place to prepare for spending the night. A soft patch of fern would be her bed. A hardy stick with its small branches removed would be her weapon and luckily she spotted a wild blueberry tree and the berries eased her hunger pains and the water from a little pond nearby quenched her thirst. She washed her sore and bruised feet, then finally lay down and listened to the sounds of mother earth and her creatures, before falling into a long and deep sleep.

The chirps, whistles and buzzing of insects and birds in the morning were loud and Aggie woke up and stretched. She was sore and bruised, and lonely. Blueberries for breakfast, her stick for support, she continued her journey towards the mountains, not nearly as briskly as the day before, more of an amble. For no apparent reason she looked up and saw that she had reached an area where the land sloped upward, steep in some areas and with gentle rises to her left. She stood for a moment trying to feel which way was to be her path; nothing came to mind so she just lowered her head and kept walking straight ahead.

The scrub was thick, but she managed to zigzag her progress to avoid being cut by the sharp bushes which seemed to sway towards her, almost as if trying to deliberately touch and hurt her. Near a patch of greenery, she managed to collect handfuls of fern fronds and greedily gulped them down; she was very hungry and hadn't found any water for a few hours. She wondered if she would have enough strength to walk back to the reservation, this would be somewhere near the point of no return and she had to look inward to decide what to do next. Before attempting this ordeal, she had fantasies of the birds and animals lining up and directing her – the trees would point the way and provide all the nourishment she needed. She waited for an animal spirit to come into her dreams and teach her the ways of mother earth – nothing of the sort was happening– it's just pain, hunger and weakness so far.

Directly in front of her was a small hill and she could see some boulders on top – looks like a good spot – that's where she would go.

She climbed and crawled to the top, disturbing a green snake, then a Merriam turkey and a couple of little critters with many legs, in the process. She looked around; the view was not all that spectacular as she sat on a large rock. Glad there's no mirror around, I must look a mess, my feet – look at all the blood and scratches, oh and there's a long scratch down my arm as well. She strolled among the rocks hoping to find a little pool of water somewhere, her mouth was dry and the fern fronds were beginning to make her dry retch. She placed some small pebbles in her mouth to keep some moisture on her tongue and decided to retrace her steps back, she desperately needed to drink and the last water was at least four hours away.

Halfway down the hill she trod on a loose and slippery stone and lost her footing. Her legs could only move so fast and the momentum caused her to fall heavily on her side. At first, she thought she had broken her leg because she heard a loud snap as she landed, but she could move her toes and bend her knees. She got onto all fours and using a small sapling – the one that stopped her from careering all the way down the hill – managed to pull herself up. Trying to step, she knew she had a twisted or broken ankle and the pain was unbearable. This was the first time that Aggie had experienced serious physical pain and she laid down and gasped and moaned. She came to realize that she was very much in a bad situation – no one to help, no one knew where she was and she was hopelessly disabled – none of this will come to any good –"I've still so much to do in life and I'm going to let everybody down." She sobbed for a while, then decided to crawl as far as she could, as far as her strength would allow, crawl to a spot where she may be found, get into the open at least. It took hours of screams and pain, but with determination she managed to crawl to a patch of green. She gathered white coloured rocks lying around within her reach and tried to place them in a circle around her – maybe a plane or helicopter might spot her.

She lay down and tried to tap into her father's memories and messages – Dwarg had once told her that there was a "library" of his life within her - she only needed to ask. Glimpses of early life did come back to her. She remembered the horror of being sent to childcare, her mother couldn't wait to bundle her off. She would spend the day looking out the barred window, hoping that daddy would pick her up and take her away from that prison. Daddy was very busy in space and being popular most of the time. He had terrible fights with Mom and always apologized to Aggie later – he said that Mommy was a little sick which made her angry a lot of the time. After the car accident, Daddy found out just how miserable life was for little Aggie. He stopped all of his work and devoted his life to bringing up his precious daughter, but it was all too late – fate had already stepped in and Aggie was stricken with an aggressive and deadly cancer.

She was laying there in the late afternoon sun, she could feel Daddy's love – that was enough for her, it didn't matter that he was a national hero or a space pioneer or held the 400 metre hurdles record at his college. The essence of his love calmed her and she relaxed. If I was to die here, at least I'll die in the arms of mother earth and my daddy loves me. She slipped into unconsciousness.

She moaned and painfully opened her eyes. It was evening and the moon was already bright.

The sounds of the forest were calming and a light wind rustled the leaves on the trees – these are the sounds of our mother earth. She tried to think of the poem she offered at her grandmother's funeral

I am a thousand winds that blow  
I am the diamonds glint on snow  
I am the sunlight on ripened grain  
I am the gentle autumn rain

She tried to think where and how this verse had originated. Her quick search on the internet showed that various authors were attributed with those words as recently as a few years ago. There was only a short reference that the poem may have been passed down through generations of the Navajo Nation. Certainly there is no copyright, how could there be? The Nations had no need of "owning" an ancestral medicine poem, the origin of which, is lost in time.

Thankfully, she fell asleep.

She dreamed that daddy was with her. He didn't want her to join him just yet - "Aggie you have a purpose in life, you are destined to do great things for our planet – you must live – you are our destiny." She felt his caress on her cheek, even the warm breath on her face and she opened her eyes then screamed. The curious coyote jumped in fright and ran away through the bushes. Her heart pounded from the scare and she weakly yelled out "CAN'T YOU AT LEAST WAIT TILL I'M DEAD, YOU GODDAMN VULTURE!" She felt a little guilty using the language that belonged to Aunt Edna. "Well at least I may be of some use to Mother Nature – her creatures need to be fed. Ha, I was so good at explaining the distribution of atoms after someone's death, to Megan."

She grimaced as she laughed out. Still, it was true – it was a pure scientific fact that atoms never die. Even the ancestors knew it and put it poetically:

When you awaken in mornings hush  
I am the swift uplifting rush  
Of quiet birds in circle flight  
I am the soft stars that shine at night  
Do not stand at my grave and cry  
I am not there, I did not die

Just before she dozed off again, she planned – if she should survive the night; to crawl as far as she could with her remaining strength first thing in the morning. What she needed now was a good deep sleep to gather all her resolve – she would postpone her death chant until all hope was lost.

Something disturbed her sleep again – it made her angry. Oh no, not again she thought - if it's not the coyote, it's some noisy insect buzzing around my ears. "Piss off bug! –let me die in peace – hum somewhere else!" So noisy, getting louder, closer, – "I'll swat you and you'll die along side of me!" Still that annoying noise – "Will you just buzz off and leave me alone you damn demonic insect." It had taken Aggie all her remaining strength to spit out those words with venom. Miraculously, the loud high pitched whine stopped.

"Well excuse me, o maiden of the Abenaki – a simple 'I'm not interested' would have done."

Aggie managed to open her eyes. Silhouetted in front of the full moon, she made out a figure. He was getting off a trial bike. "What! – I'm sorry, please help me, help me, I'm hurt, my ankle, thirsty."

"Zero Foxtrot, this is Jay Elk, I've found her. She's had a fall and looks like she's twisted her ankle, she's dehydrated and weak, a few cuts and bruises, but she's OK. Send the van to Lope Hill on the Southern side, there's a small track to the base – I'll keep the torch on."

"Whoa, not too fast, have little sips, swirl it around your mouth – there's plenty of water here – quite a situation you've gotten yourself into – you city squaws just go off into the wilderness and leave everything to chance. The sooner the elders stop these old rituals, the better."

Aggie gasped, "Did you call me a squaw?"

"Now don't get your dander up lady, I didn't use the word as derogatory – I know a lot of people think it is, but it's an aboriginal word that others have misused. If we erase it from our language, as those misguided politically correct assholes want to do, we will eventually lose all our language. I am one that agrees with the teachings of your own Marg Bruchac, who says that we must reclaim these words. My wife insists that she is my squaw. Anyway, if it upset you, I apologize."

"Please don't apologize, it's just that I've never been called a squaw – and I will take it as a compliment."

"Good – and of course that's what you are now. No more miss, girl, young lady, lassie. In the eyes of the Lakota, you are a woman – you have followed the path and passage – you have earned the right. Did you dream of an animal spirit?"

"I remember a coyote sniffing and licking my face, but I scared him off – I was dreaming of my father who was talking to me – he said it wasn't my time to die, and I guess he was right – I still miss him so...hmm this chocolate reminds me of Switzerland. You saved my life Jay Elk – thank you."

"Elanor should be here in an hour or so. Let me just wipe over some of these scratches. I've some medicated swabs in this first aid kit – not too bad, maybe a couple of butterfly clips for these deeper scratches. Your skin looks like you wrestled with Barberry bushes and your knees are badly bruised. I've got some pain killers if you like, or I have a bottle of special medicine from our doc, guaranteed to get your mind off the pain – I won't tell your sponsor."

"Thanks, no, I'll wait for Elanor. I really thought I was going to die Jay Elk. I feel so stupid for doing this, and to be honest, I don't feel anything different in my life – I hope I haven't wasted my, and everybody's time."

"Maybe, maybe not – I'll start a fire. I know you were named Aggie when you left the camp. You are now reborn and may be called by another name. Elanor will teach you more of this. I am a mere male and know not of the women's business of these matters. I will report of your spirit and strength - which has my approval."

Aggie winced every time she moved her leg but rather than scream with pain, she determined to laugh out loud instead – and it helped. The fire that Jay Elk made, now crackled and lit up the small clearing. Aggie could see his face - he was quite elderly, not as Aggie assumed. He had weathered skin, jet black hair in a pony tail with a multi-colored head-band studded with small silver discs. He wore a lumberjack checked shirt with an armless fawn colored jacket with thin leather fringes on the back. The belt around his jeans had a large oblong buckle inlaid with blue, probably turquoise stones. She could just make out the words on the buckle - Vietnam Veteran.

"I can see the lights of the vehicle down there – should be here in a few minutes and..." he was interrupted by the loud wailing of a coyote not far away. They both listened to the high pitched whine, which was repeated about five times. Jay Elk whispered, "I have listened to the songs of the coyote for many years. I know the different calls and I know of this song. Do you fear this animal?"

"Not at all. I have two malamutes who call me. This coyote wanted to know me. I guess he knows I will be leaving and he will be alone. Perhaps he is saying goodbye, perhaps he is sad, perhaps he just wants me to know that he exists."

"He has done just that - you now have him in your memory."

"And his song?"

"It is a song of loneliness. He has lost his mate and calls for her spirit. He will do so for some time, and then sing a different song – a song of lament and mourning."

"For how long?"

"Some will sing their songs until they die. Others may find another mate or some event may change their future – their destiny lies with the will of our mother."

Jay Elk looked directly into Aggie's sad and teary eyes. She wondered if he knew of her own loss. "So is the coyote to be my animal spirit Jay Elk?"

"That I cannot answer, squaw of the Abenaki - it is secret women's business. As to your destiny, that is of your choosing alone."
EPILOGUE

**Four Human years later**

It was yet another Christmas. They had been experiencing a particular heavy snowfall on Christmas Eve but none fell on Christmas Day. A bright sun reflected off the glistening fields and forests of snow around Putney.

Seven years had passed since the separation, but Aggie, despite her immersion in her work, and her rebirth, still felt an emptiness; just as much as the losses of her father, mother and her grandparents. An invisible attraction connected her to all of them and to a lesser extent, her ancestors. Like Aunt Edna, she had an awareness of her need to acknowledge them often, and the necessity of upholding the traditions of their (and her) culture. It was right that Christmas time was a time of reflection.

For the last few Christmases, Edna and Aggie had various family and friends stay in the guest house which they had built next door. It was a beautiful and modern house with all the latest mods and cons. Given the fact that Aggie was immensely wealthy now and could afford to buy mansions if she wished, she and Edna had absolutely no desire to leave the family home - they felt happy and comfortable there. Of necessity, she did have some renovations and additions made to the house, including a large office and a well equipped laboratory. She was particularly proud of the large and elaborate diploma from the University of Oklahoma which hung over her bed.

Last year Jade and his finance Phoebe stayed for a few days en route to the big powwow of Northern Nations in Canada.

The Christmas before that, Professor Lorenz and his wife Angela spent a little more time than planned. It was a winter of record snows. Aggie was pleased to see that the Professor had turned his efforts towards the development of fuel cells, which she hoped, would eventually end the need for fossil fuels. As a parting Christmas gift, she gave him a schematic and detail of her design for a small super capacitor which would revolutionize the way that electrons could be stored.

She herself, had a personal commitment to improving the standard and the use of global energy and was heavily involved with the propagation of geothermal generation. Here was a natural force, offered up by the planet, for man to harvest. It was a free form of energy – clean, powerful, in abundance and actually beneficial to Mother Earth. These installations were already generating vast amounts of electrical power in various places around the world and Aggie saw the many advantages of adopting this form of energy over anything else including tidal, solar, lunar, wind, gavatation and electrolytic generation. She thought the current trend of using algae as an energy source, was exceptionally dangerous and argued against research into this application.
As to atomic energy, it was certainly plausible – but a great deal of further research and development was needed. The current generators using atomic power were extremely dangerous and always subject to accidents. Their processes were foolhardy and the failsafe assurances far from being acceptable. Recent earthquakes in Asia and the catastrophes following them proved that radiation and fallout could never be contained safely.

Geothermal generators just made so much sense. Drilling deep holes into the Earth, anywhere on Earth, released super heat and this product would power turbines. Unlike fossil fuels, this heat would never run out and in fact, would go a long way in settling the pressures and faults which bring on devastating eruptions, earthquakes, Tsunamis and earth slides. She once tried to explain the principle to Edna who commented, "Ah I get you Aggie, the Earth needs to fart."

"That is so accurate aunt - I may just use that at my next talk to the "Friends of the Earth" symposium in Brisbane – I know those Aussies like straight talk."

Thus far, Rienus Lien had been at the forefront of drilling deep holes into the earth using electron pulsing. It was by far, the cheapest and cleanest form of boring channels to reach those hot energy sources. Aggie had virtually given him total operational control over the many sites she owned around the globe – he himself, was wealthy beyond his expectations, yet he never seemed to want to stop and enjoy the lifestyle of the rich and famous. At each successive drilling site, he would make tweaks and improvements, and to him, he was indeed doing something good for mankind. He fondly remembered the day when he rode his Harley Customised Trike onto the campus of the UO, right up to the President's Office. He opened the door without knocking, took off his black helmet and bandana, then said "President Janette Conaghan, get off your butt, we're going for a little ride into the countryside – here's your crash helmet, let's go...now" – and they did!

He didn't mind at all that he was in the employ of Kellor Resources and didn't even complain when Aggie asked him to set up a new installation in Reggane, Algeria. "A river of clean by-product water, flowing through the sands of the Sahara, should go a long way in promoting agriculture in that area, and the energy generated from the plant should allow more industry to develop. We won't be making much money on this project, but I think it's right, and a good thing to do. It won't be our last enterprise into a desert." Nobody ever objected to some of Aggie's wild and interesting ideas.

Energy needs for the planet were not the only things on Aggie's agenda. She was working on her proposal for the seemingly impossible - the actual creation of a virus. It was an enormous undertaking and would probably take the rest of her life to see its outcome. Instead of a virus which could strike and devastate mankind, why could she not create a virus that does the complete opposite? – a virus that heals, cures any disease, defect or ailment within the Human cells – perhaps repair damaged areas, restore lost sight or maladies and subject a person to a holistic healthy life. Perhaps this virus could eventually be released into Earth's outer atmosphere so as to provide a constant and protective barrier from foreign invaders, intent on harming the planet.

"It's going to be a nice shindig this afternoon honey. I think Lisa and Scott have started the fire for the spit – I can already smell the burning logs. It's certainly convenient that Derek will just happen to come up with some fresh confiscated road kill, seems to always happen when an event comes around."

"Do you think many people will turn up, aunt?"

"Well, a free feed on the Turner Trail is always popular; a little thing like a few feet of snow won't stop them. I know Ed will come, Deslie, Doctor Doug and Carolyn Rixon, Bucky, Miss Michelle and old Principal Garner will probably make it, don't know about Tony Lee, last I heard he was on a fishing trip to Lake Tahoe."

"Speaking of lakes, Aunt, I was on V-phone with Megan and her kids early this morning. There're growing so quickly. Stephano pleaded that we both come over in April to Lake Lucerne. Their new house is finished and he went to great pains to show me in 3D, the rooms we can stay in. Their lounge is huge with views of the lake and Megan's piano has finally found its place.

Stephano begrudgingly allowed her to hang, what he calls, "that crazy Dutchman's picture" over the matrimonial bed – only because it made her feel romantic when she looked at it. Oh, and Stephano's dad got on so well with Ed last time and wouldn't mind doing a little more fishing together. At the moment though, most of Switzerland is under snow, much like us. Young Agatha and Hayden are making the best of it with their new skis. You know, I'm so glad Megan is having a good life."

I really love Christmas time Aggie, it's good for the soul to be amongst family and friends – and a good time to remember absent friends... Aggie...Aggie?"

Aggie was lost in thought; she was looking at the Christmas tree and again felt the tug of invisible threads. "I wonder what Dwarg is doing now", she whispered.

Scott had erected a large canopy between his house and the semi. He'd spent all morning shovelling snow and preparing the pit; he then placed his homemade rotisserie over it and hoped it would support the deer's carcase. Derek couldn't tell him the weight of it yet, as he was still out in the mountains with his rifle, looking for a suitable road-kill.

Christmas Day at the Kennedy Space Centre also saw the return of the Space Shuttle. It was returning some of the crew from the orbiting International Space Station. Edna turned on the television for the latest news of the world and waited for the feature that promised an interview with the returning astronauts – a welcome home of sorts. It was no secret now that the trips into space were being scaled down due to financial restrictions, indeed this may well be the last of the space shuttles used by NASA. Edna often wondered if there was some of Dwarg's involvement in this.

Of the four, only one, Alex Bentley, had trouble talking to the press. Of questions put to him, he only seemed to be able to answer with the word, agree.

He had a puzzled look on his face at not being able to pronounce his words properly; everything that he tried to say was turned into the word, agree.

"Come and have a look at this Aggie – looks like space travel has made him coy with the Press – he's a bit of a hunk though."

Aggie looked – "Wow, not a bad looker – now there's someone I'd like to know better, wonder if he's married and if, and if......wait..wait...Aunt! Aunt! – great and holy spirits! Dwarg has come back! – he's inside that guy – he's sending out a message for me – he's back! - heee's baaack!"

"Can we wait till tomorrow Aggie? It's a bit risky driving to the airport now."

"No need \- if I'm right, Dwarg will find his way here – anyway Mister Alex Bentley will be in quarantine for a while yet. Yes he'll find his way to me and when he does, I'm going to give him a welcome home he won't ever forget!"

"Well I do know he's a bachelor and he's probably got a long list of girlfriends..."

"Aw Aunt Edna, I was really talking about Dwarg – but now that you mention it.... girlfriends? - maybe, but with Dwarg at the helm, I'm sure they'll fall by the wayside." Aggie made little jumps around the coffee table, much like a make-believe jingle dress dance.

"Seriously though Aggie, if you are right, how will this work out? Will you have Dwarg remain with our flyboy or will Dwargles go back into your head?"

Aggie was beaming. "What a dilemma Aunt, now let me think...hmm...a beautiful and perfect man, over whom I would have total control, or a confused person who.....oh hell, let's just wait and see how it goes."

Edna smiled inwardly and thought about the name given to Aggie by the Lakota. "Mourning she-Coyote" - ha, just look at her now.

The Christmas feast and cook-out at Lisa's place was fabulous. The sun was bright, the air was crisp and the sounds of falling snow from leaves and branches disturbed by fluttering birds, was pleasant to the ear. The smoke and the rich aroma of the barbeque wafted along the Turner Trail.

Lisa's eggnog was a little more potent this year, Scott cooked the venison to perfection and the circle of friends was happy and content. Bucky asked if he might say grace, Edna didn't mind. Giving thanks seemed to be very appropriate and there was a lot to be grateful for.

Old Alan Garner, who had lost his grandson in an explosion in Afghanistan, then stood up to have his little say. "People, would you believe that someone in our district has put up a sign in front of his shop? – it reads – "We would rather serve 1000 terrorists, than 1 American soldier." His audience was stunned. "Yes it's our own Mister Jeroen, and he's placed it in front of his funeral parlour." They all laughed, and laughed more when Ed squirted some canned cream down on the old headmaster's back.

Later, Edna was deep in thought as she watched small William bounce up and down on his new trampoline – a gift from herself and Aggie. She thought of Megan and of children and of Aggie. Could it ever happen that Aggie may end up having a child with Alex Bentley? Would it really be his or Dwarg's? What would the kid look like? All at once, she had a vision of SpongeBob SquarePants bouncing up and down next to William. She blinked hard a few times to get her thoughts back to normality.

"More eggnog, Edna?"

"I shouldn't really." she replied, holding up her large cup for some more.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in the Netherlands, Tony Lourensen, with his parents, migrated to Australia in 1952 at age six. He had a Catholic upbringing, being educated by both nuns and brothers. He was happy to get away from his schooling and as soon as he was of eligible age, he enlisted in the Australian Army. He saw active and special service in Vietnam and Singapore and spent 13 years in the military. After his discharge he found employment in a number of occupations including a post of Occupational Health and Safety Co-ordinator in a large service industry. He retired in 2000 due to ill health.

He has travelled extensively throughout Europe, Asia and the USA. It was in Putney, Vermont where he gained the inspiration for this book and keeps fond memories of the people, the mountains, the colour and the seasons.

ALSO BY THIS AUTHOR:

Ho Chi Minh, Johnsy and I : Ramblings from a Baggy Arse Army Clerk during those Hazy, Crazy Days of the Vietnam War.

ISBN-978-0-646-52323-1.....Published by Tony Lourensen. www.tonylourensen.com
