ARCANA Chapter 14 by William James Johnson

The most difficult adaptation the earthlings had to make was the lack of time consciousness. The ever present pale green sun eliminated forever the idea of night and day. Their biologic clocks which notified them when they required food was now supplanted by the direct energy infusion from the Sun Domes as it was with true Monads. If anything, the aging process was being reversed. Portly Moysev and ancient Chow now had the energy and physical appearance of men half their earth ages.

The one member of the Nobile crew who was experiencing the greatest difficulty adjusting to all these changes was John. Still determined he would somehow be able to lead his small band out of the Domain and back to earth, he waited for the right moment. It came with the message from Mehnra that they were all to meet at Koster's villa.

Mehnra waited until they were all reclining comfortably in the information chamber of the President's villa, then he entered the code into the data activator. Soon the Nobile crew saw themselves in living colour being greeted by Gerald Thorpe at Andrew's Air Force Base. When the Monad John Robins explained to the world that their lives had been saved by Tuma Tittigapu, here, in the Domain, the young native smiled.

The announcer reported why they had crashed and the details of their recovery. John could barely restrain himself. The clincher came when the journalist told the story of Dr. Henley Armstrong's death after his courageous attempt to walk out of the Arctic to get help.

John exploded. "Never in my life have I heard such a pack of lies."

"What else did you expect?" asked David Koster.

"These people...these Monads are supposed to be like angels practically. Don't they know it's wrong to lie?"

"They had no other choice, John," said Carlo. "President Koster explained their reason for letting us come to the Domain. This was the only way they could use us to convince earthlings that there is no such thing as a world within."

"But you miss the point...all of you. It's because you're all hooked on living in Paradise. Suddenly these creatures can do anything they want and you approve...even if it mean's cheating all of mankind out of the knowledge of Arcana."

Mehnra entered the debate reluctantly. He was always ready to assist the earthlings, but he was reticent to take part in the conflicts peculiar to their nature.

"You must realize that the crew which were sent back to earth are your alter egos. In other words, they are you. They are capable of making choices the same as you. In this case they chose to invent the story of the crash because something had to be said to account for the time you were missing. It is the same as the way you handled the death of Dr. Henley Armstrong when you were on your way to the Domain."

His remark about Henley shocked John and Sandra. They were certain somehow Mehnra knew the truth about his death and they didn't want the others to know. John covered up his dismay by continuing the tack he had begun.

"But I thought Monads were perfect. Incapable of doing wrong."

"In the Domain, our purpose is to show our love for IAM, and if IAM can best be served by taking on the weakness of his lesser creatures, we are willing to do it."

John jumped on this last remark. "Ah ha...you said willing. Did you hear that? Mehnra is willing but IAM said you have no will. You just serve."

"Let me correct you if I may. Monads had will but they gave it up for the love of IAM. This is why we live to serve. Man serves himself and as long as he is self-centred, he cannot become a true son of IAM."

John hated the way Mehnra could debate so cleverly. He often suspected that the words were put there by IAM himself. He was becoming more frustrated as the debate continued. Finally the tension in his voice indicated he was about to burst.

"God damn your IAM. You're always talking in circles. You do something wrong like lying and you justify it with words. You're no better than us."

The others could not believe his outburst. Cursing the Creator in his Domain was the ultimate insult. Sandra tried to calm him down. "Please, John, say you're sorry. You mustn't speak like that about our Creator."

"Our Creator...you call him our Creator. I thought you of all people, would not be taken in by these lies."

"She's right, John. You're still talking like an earthling. You cannot accept that life in Paradise is different," added Helga.

"Did you ever stop to think that I act this way because I am still an earthling...we're all earthlings. What is happening to you? Can't you see what I see? The longer we stay, the more difficult it will be to return to earth."

Koster had made up his mind long ago that he preferred to remain in the Domain and he had not participated in this exchange until he saw how genuine John's concern had become.

"But why would anyone want to go back?"

"Because... all men must know for sure there is a Paradise."

"Why?"

"This certainty of an after life, or whatever this existence is, will change how man lives on earth. And if enough men believe, they may change the Hell of earth and make it what it can be, Paradise for everyone."

"Beautiful sentiments, young man, but unfortunately the ranting of a naive, callow youth. You want to do what all the other avatars who have ever been, were unable to do. Man needs myth, not certainty. Give him a story which captures his imagination, and you capture his spirit. It's human nature.

"You cannot change human nature. Only IAM can do that, and we all know he has said that what he has made he will not change, for in his creation is truth. It is man's distortion of this truth that makes Hell out of his creation. Telling man there is a God is not necessary. It only requires that man look into himself and witness in his thought the need for God. God is within, not out here in the Domain or anywhere else. You and I are God."

John didn't know how to respond to Koster's eloquent summation of the world's greatest problem, the acknowledgement of the need of a Creator. Instead of taking these remarks in the way they were intended he challenged him.

"You're just like Mehnra. Great with the gift of gab, but short on action. Don't listen to him. Just because he has made up his mind to surrender is no reason we have to agree."

Mehnra did not like to see them fight amongst themselves. Always the consummate negotiator, he tried to show the merits of both sides.

"IAM wants man to be happy, but he will not interfere with his creation. Inherent in all men is the tendency to be good, but the perversions of time have caused IAM's greatest creature to choose to go against the truth IAM has put into his work. This we call evil. Evil is non-truth. Evil is going against nature. Man must arrive at truth before he can enter Paradise, and David is correct. The world gets in the way of the work of the truthsayer. It destroys the truthsayer and lives by the lies which have caused his destruction. I know IAM would be pleased to hear your high motives for wanting to bring this truth back to earth, but as David has said, who will listen?"

"Believe me, Mehnra, I want only to do what is right. Forgive me, IAM, if you are listening, and I know you know everything. I am sorry for having cursed you. I told you when we met, I am a weak human being who sees what he thinks must be done, and at the risk of loosing Paradise, I'm ready to do it."

"It will not be easy," said Nicholas.

"It wasn't easy getting here," replied John.

"True my boy...but then we had our lovely airship..."

"And the help of the Monads," said Liu.

"You're right," said John."...and the help of the Monads."

He paused for a moment and looked around at his crew. "There must be a way."

"I'm still going with you," said Sandra.

"And me and André," added Tuma.

He wished they could all see how important it was to return to earth with this fantastic truth. But he did not have the gift of language demonstrated by Mehnra and Koster. He could not deal in the realm of ideas. He was better in what he thought was the real world. John Robins was a man of action, even if that action was ill conceived.

"And the rest of you...you're going to stay in the Domain?"

"I've got to stay," said Carlo. "Life on earth has nothing to offer. Here I can stay with my beautiful Helga and together we will be happy in the worship of IAM."

"I agree with Carlo," said Helga. "I feel at last I am home. The struggle is over and I wish to surrender to the love of my Creator."

"Well spoken, Helga," said Moysev. "Liu and I will also remain."

"And I, too," said Michael. "Forgive me, John, for saying this, but I feel only a fool would choose living in Hell on earth over living in Paradise in the Domain."

"So you think me a fool. The world has known many fools, but look what they have done. Jesus was a fool who could have saved himself from the death on the cross but instead he gave the world the ultimate gift of love, his life. No my friends, IAM gave us free will and I choose to use this gift to bring the true freedom of Arcana to the world. We may not make it, but IAM who knows everything, knows we are serving him best, when we serve all men."

They crowded around the young pilot and embraced him. He had no idea how he would lead his small party out of the Domain, but somehow he would find a way. And now uppermost in their minds was the plan to return to earth

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