Chapter 10 The Factioning
Whispers and guesswork; it is all so fresh and so much of this cyber-realm remains a complete mystery to us, Yachi thinks to himself. He and Peta are looking into the disastrous incidents which recently occurred to several of his fellow guardians. She had transferred what they could of Lai & Achachak's astral form from the cyber-realm into the computer network. But what they could do from there was a mystery. Peta was also concerned about the size of the file which, they believed, represented his old friend, Achachak. It was far smaller than those Peta had seen on the network when an astral planar entered the cyber-realm. The news was better for Lai, as his file was of a similar size to that of many planars in the cyber-realm so it was much more likely that his astral form or consciousness was not irreversibly damaged. But how could they return this computer file to his semi-conscious, meditating body in the Himalayas where it belonged? Peta had spoken of the risks of manipulating the computer file which currently represented these guardians and despite its obvious importance or possibly due to it, Yachi was soon lost yet again. It was yet another example where answers to their questions of this new realm are still some way off. Their investigation of what happened to his fellow planars here also seems to create more questions than answers. The details they do have of these horrific incidents, which seem to have taken at least one guardian from them are minimal and poorly understood. After a lengthy discussion, which Yachi also found more bewildering and frustrating than useful, Peta is now busy at one of the computers compiling a report based on the details which, apparently they had agreed to in this discussion, though Yachi was none the wiser. He would rely on Peta’s expertise yet again
Yachi considers his old student, Stave, still fresh in his mind after the recent funeral. Could there be a 'file' of Stave's astral profile out there in this internet of computers? While it seems impossible that his body could have survived the fire at his old yoga studio, between the internet, the astra and whatever else that had been revealed to him in the past few weeks he can no longer assume anything is as it seems.
Peta interrupts his thoughts with the news that she has finished the report, a list of which guardians were in the cyber-realm, where they went and when they were there. The statistics are available because she registers each of the planars names to modem ports each time she connects them.
'Here is the list' she says pointing Yachi toward a nearby computer screen as she begins to interpret and explain the details from the report, 'They show a few of the guardians who mostly follow unremarkable patterns compatible with what we know of their first forays into the cyber-realm. Most of the unusual data correlates to those planars involved in the incidents'
'Is there any unusual information regarding any guardians who weren't attacked?' Yachi interrupts Peta.
‘Who are you suspicious of?’ Peta asks as she turns her attention to the report.
‘Not suspicious, just curious,' Yachi replies. 'We face a grave danger and all options must be considered. No-one or nothing can be ruled out’
'There does seem to be one unusual exception.' Peta tells Yachi as she peers into the details on the screen. 'Planar 017... Psi, yes, Psi is an unusual looking result alongside Lai, Dean, Mruyadgi & Achachak as expected. Those involved in the incidents'
'Really!' Yachi responds, 'What is unusual about Psi?' he asks as he moves towards the details on the screen. 'Oh no! Is that really the time? Have I already been here two hours! I need to join the meeting of the high council. It started twenty minutes ago!'
'Well, there's a few unusual things this report tells us about Psi' Peta responds. 'Firstly, she has spent far longer in the cyber-realm than any of the other guardians. Also she has a stronger profile than any of the other guardians and she has been highly mobile, look at all of these websites she has passed through,' Peta continues, pointing to a list of websites all with the ID '017' beside them. 'Compared to other guardians such as 023 here' she says pointing at another series of rows in the report.
'They were only able to reach three websites over the same period of time. And, if you recall the difficulties they have all experienced in this new world, this is an unexpected level of mobility across the internet'.
'Great' Yachi responds ' and what can you tell me about Lai and Achachak or Dean and Mruyadgi. Can you see what happened to them?'
'Well, like I said, their pattern in this report is quite different to the other guardians. For instance they don't finish their session at this site, our IP address. And there are some gaps in their timelines such as here for Mruyadgi or here for Lai' says Peta as she points to different areas of the report.
'Sure' responds Yachi impatiently. 'But what can you see about what attacked them?'
'Very little from this report. I'll need to do some more investigation and create another report.'
'Well, I need to go. I'm late as it is. I'll look at what else you've uncovered after I talk to the high council.' Yachi replies as he walks across the room. 'Good luck Peta and thank you.'
Yachi settles himself and starts to meditate so he can enter the astra and join the meeting, what usually takes him a moment drags on for seconds as he struggles to clear his mind. Lai & Achachak’s encounter weighs upon his mind and with Stave's funeral yesterday he simply has not had time to analyse and organize Peta's information for the meeting. Not only has he not prepared but he is late. Finally he manages to free himself from his physical body and enter the astral plane but his mind continues to dwell on all that has not recently gone as planned, He needed to bring to the council all of the available details so they could direct the guardians based on as clear an understanding of these traumatic events as possible. But he had very little to show them. And due to the horrible events the meeting is discussing it is already a very difficult and emotional decision for the council. He is convinced that they must continue within the cyber-realm despite the dangers but he knows many of the guardians disagree and he simply hasn't had any time to talk to his fellow high council members since what occurred to Lai and the others. He will know soon enough of their responses.
He engages the psychic link used for high council meetings and feels the guardians communicating discreetly. Yachi is surprised by the sombre mood, high council meetings are typically volatile and given the circumstances today he expected it to be more so than usual. This is the realm where Peta and the boys first encountered the astral guardians and the high council. Once more, the astral profiles of the guardians seem crisper, more life-like than those usually encountered in the astra, due to the combined power of the astral guardians making the astral senses stronger in this place that they created specifically for the high council meetings.
However none of the guardians are presently noticing such trivial effects of their abilities. They are shocked; for if Lai, their talented leader, has succumbed then what hope do they have? While they were told of the dangers, there is clearly a lot that they do not understand about this cyber-realm and the lessons it teaches are clearly unforgiving.
Without Lai the gathering is shambolic, some members of the High council are trying to gain the attention of their fellow Guardians and begin the meeting in Lai's absence. While there is little they are sure of regarding the new realm and the dangers it involves, they know they need to decide quickly as things are getting more and more critical. So they are having another meeting, as far as anyone recalls there has never been a meeting of the High Council called so swiftly after the last, but these are highly unusual circumstances and here they are.
Despite the best efforts of the council most of the room is engaged by another guardian who has also noticed the void and sombre mood left by their absent leader. Sta comes across the psychic link forthright and confident, gaining a larger audience than usual. She is enjoying what she considers to be ‘her long overdue moment’ as she continues;
‘The Astra is about understanding, it is a peaceful place. It has been corrupted by computers- become a place of murder and ba
ttle. This is not the true way. Yet we give our constant attention to this cyber plane no doubt aiding its growth and fueling its power.’ The attention of the majority of guardians focuses on Sta as she continues;
'For too long Lai, Yachi and their gang have ridiculed and undermined me and they have led us astray. Now Lai is comatose, close to death and all they thought they knew of the astral realms is in disarray. Listen to me and I will guide you to safety, far from these horrors that are so far removed from the true astra.'
Yachi notices the growing energy around Sta as the astral forms of those present align with her argument and thoughts. She regularly received positive auras from Psi and the rest of her core supporters but now she had almost universal support from all the guardians in attendance. Yachi knows he must respond while there is still a hope of being listened to, he organizes his cluttered mind and addresses his colleagues;
'But Sta, The history of the astra is a turbulent one, with violence and war recurring themes. It is moments like this that our position and ability as the guardians of the astra is so critical. If we buckle now when will it end? We have a duty to protect all of the astra from such corruption. If we cannot manage this new plane then rest assured the problem will grow throughout the astra until there is no escape and we will have lost all of our beloved world to this evil.'
Sta quickly interjects; 'Why should we return to this cyber-realm? Our efforts so far have, luckily, only brought one death but there have been several near misses. How much more luck can we hope to have invading this monstrous apparition that we have been told is part of the astra? It is no more part of the astra than a deck of tarot cards but its threats and dangers are all too real! They are the responsibility of those who create these computer networks and we, as guardians of the astra have no business interfering there. Anyone of us who does so, acts at their own peril or if Yachi, you are looking for fools to follow you, may any further tragedies also be solely your burden to bear.' She continues, her compelling argument still holding the attention of most of the guardians.
Yachi's mind is a blur; the funeral of a student, the disasters that he led his fellow guardians into all weighed heavily upon his mind and he could not think of suitable responses to the claims of his wily colleague, Sta. She continues and Yachi remains dumbstruck. He notices other members of the high council continue trying to gain the guardians attention and bring some order to their meeting which Sta has happily hi-jacked. At last, Sapi, who has long been Lai's confidant and his unofficial deputy on the council, interrupts Sta and politely requests order. Slowly, Sta stops her speech and the collective attention of the guardians turns to Sapi and the high council, including Yachi. Sapi addresses the meeting,
'These are turbulent and distressing times for us, my fellow guardians. The discovery of a new plane, the cyber-realm is a development which has not occurred in the astra for millennia. And yes, our efforts to understand it have been largely unsuccessful and frustrating; not to mention dangerous.
Firstly our fellow guardians, Dean & Mruyadgi had a narrow escape from some powerful monster in this new cyber-realm, barely returning to the physical realm with their life-force intact. They are recuperating now and should recover but little is known of their attacker.
But that was only the first of our distressing encounters in this cyber-realm, the latest was even more shocking, our leader, Lai, is now incapable of planing and was very close to moving on from the physical realm. A fate that has befallen another of our dear colleagues, Achachak. All of the guardians are now silent as Sapi gathers himself to continue.
'We seem to be unsure what had done this? Was it the same monster which Dean and Mruyadgi had barely escaped from? Could it follow them to other astral realms, such as here, a place we have effectively created? There is no doubting that a great power has been unleashed in this cyber-realm, and it seems any of us could be the next to bear the consequences. Yachi, what can you tell us of these encounters? Has Peta been able to uncover much from the computers that we used to enter the cyber-realm?' he asks Yachi.
'We are still investigating but we do have some details from Peta already. She has highlighted a number of unusual events that occurred to all of those who were attacked; both Lai & Achachak, Dean & Mruyadgi. Understandably, after the traumas they have recently faced, they are all resting and once they have recovered, and are comfortable doing so, we will speak to them about what they experienced. Combining this with the details that Peta is still uncovering from the computers should provide us with some kind of understanding about what occurred. But unfortunately we do not know too much right now. However there was one unusual discovery Peta made, another planar who also shared some of these unusual details and I was hoping to speak to her, Psi, I understand that you were also spending time in the cyber-realm when these encounters occurred to our colleagues?
Sta intercedes; ‘Look, what is he doing? Trying to distract us from the horrors we’ve just experienced and the losses befallen us. Challenging Psi, one of our strongest planars with something he gathered from these computers, the very source of all our problems! When will this madness end? Surely enough is enough? We don’t want any more of your Cyber-realm!'
Sta continues to defend her fellow guardian, denouncing the report as technical jibberish irrelevant to the guardians and their world, the astra. What she says quickly gains support of many guardians across the psychic link as Yachi responds.
'Sta, please I'm just trying to find out what has happened to our colleagues, surely that's what is important here? We're all uncomfortable with these unfamiliar computers that the astra has merged with but we all know that they are how we access this new realm and they are the best place for us to start understanding what occurred to our fellow guardians and what is happening to the astra we know as it morphs with these computers to form a new realm.
Yachi notices the level of engagement he has across the psychic link is far smaller than Sta’s but this time it is not because of her interruptions. Beside Sta is Psi, the talented but unbalanced guardian they speak of. Being the focus of their heated argument is having an unhealthy effect on her, her astral profile is deteriorating a stark contrast to all the other guardians who display more vividly here than any other astral realm. They also feel vibrations emitting from her warped remains and a low moan carries across the psychic link. She continues to deteriorate and seems like she will combust or transform any moment. Despite their countless years of experience in the astra none of the guardians are sure what is happening to their colleague but they all wish it will stop as they observe helplessly.
‘Are you happy now?' Sta demands of Yachi, responding to the situation first. 'Our dear colleague, Yachi, has clearly been brainwashed by this fool's gold from the computers and seems happy to tread all over anyone or anything to drag us after him. It was not enough when Dean and Mruyadgi nearly died and now Lai is in a coma and Achachak has passed you still don't heed the warnings. At the first opportunity you make false accusations against the most vulnerable of us, Psi. I will not stand for it! What more warning do we need? If it is enough to kill Lai surely it is obvious…we have no place here! Come Psi, we have heard enough, you do not need this, none of us need this! We have no interest in your agendas with this cyber-realm. We will not be returning to the astral guardians where you so recklessly put us in the path of danger and so readily harass our friends with lies. Who is with me?’
And Sta and Psi leave the astral guardians. Many follow, unsurprisingly those who always supported Sta but also others who had not. Many of the guardians don’t want to return to this new realm after the recent disasters that befell their colleagues. The fears of these guardians clearly outweighs their sense of duty to the astra and the role of astral guardian, for they join Sta and leave.
Yachi watches with disappointment, Situations like this are when the role of a guardian is more important than ever. It seems this challenge is too much and many of the guardians are failing the astral realms they hold so dear.
Leaving the astra exposed to whoever first understands their latest, and possibly strangest, developments.
Sapi notices the forlorn, lonely figure of Yachi and promises to stay in contact with him and help in any way he can, including sending members of the high council to assist as soon as they can be spared from their current priority of healing their leader, Lai.
'We appreciate your assistance with the remains of Lai's lifeforce. This must be our current focus, I wish we could provide you with more assistance my friend' Sapi said to Yachi. 'I'm sorry this meeting did not go as we hoped. I must take the rest of High council and we will do what we can for Lai.'
The other councilors apologize and farewell Yachi as they also leave him. Ana tells Yachi she has agreed with Sapi that she will part with her fellow high councilors and join him to provide whatever assistance she can. But otherwise very few guardians remained. Ana tries to cheer him up by mentioning Dean & Mruyadgi, two of his closest allies who are not in attendance today but will soon be by his side. However after the dangerous encounter where some creature from the cyber-realm nearly took their lives and the disastrous meeting that has clearly now finished, he is not so sure that they will return.
Ana, however persists, mentioning all the expensive equipment in the network room provided by Dean after little more than a suggestion from him. Yachi realises that while he is disappointed with many of the guardians, there is no doubt some of his colleagues have been an enormous help. Along with Dean, Mruyadgi and Lai risked their lives helping him on this mission and, of course, it looked like Achachak and Stave have already paid the ultimate price.
He understands why most of his fellow high councilors who are now focusing on assisting their leader, Lai. Undoubtedly their leader needed help, Yachi did not deny that but clearly the rapidly growing powers of this cyber-realm also require a lot of their attention. Such changes have not occurred through the astra for centuries, if not millennia, and if they are genuinely astral guardians then surely they need to understand such things and the powers involved. This is the only way they can ensure disasters like those that had recently occurred are minimised or completely avoided and the powers behind them are understood and not manipulated for personal gain. For such powers always attract those who will abuse and corrupt at any opportunity.
As they return to the physical realm Yachi continues to mull over all that is happening in his beloved astra. He still in't certain exactly what the 'disturbance' which first led him to uncover this cyber-realm is? Is it the new realm morphing from the overlap of astral, physical and virtual realms? Or some of these dangerous creatures which inhabit it and have clearly harnessed some of its powers into their own?
There seem to be more questions and fewer answers the deeper they delve here. And rather than assist with these mysteries most of his fellow guardians have only provided further distractions and complications such as the bickering in their recent meeting. While such a dynamic is all too common at the countless high council engagements Yachi has attended over the years, they rarely have such critical items for discussion... it is all so exhausting!
Yachi looks over to see Billy at a computer while Jas lies not far from him planing through the cyber-realm with his friend's assistance. Their skills are improving every day, they are far more comfortable than any of the astral guardians Yachi thinks. Due largely to their enthusiasm and Yachi concedes their fearlessness or recklessness. His concerns about exposing them to the dangers of this volatile new realm remain; the physical fusing with the astral unleashing powers sufficient to create a new realm can be as destructive as it is creative and with so little known, completely unpredictable, some disastrous consequences – or even more disastrous consequences are inevitable.
Yet the contrast between his two young students and the majority of the astral guardians is staggering and is largely due to the fearlessness he has been trying, with limited success, to temper since he first introduced his two students to this new realm. And it is this that currently makes them, not any of his fellow guardians, his only genuine partner. Who else could he look to when the next challenge arrives? Only his two young students have the abilities that could hope to avoid another disaster like those which have recently occurred.