Day Nineteen ∞ Tuesday

DR. KRUGER GRABBED the room microphone. "Miss Wamba, please be so kind and stop. I think Doctor Bogdanov isn't quite alright!"

Mickmi snapped her eyes open and snatched up her hand to point her palm toward a puzzled Bogdanov.

"You're bleeding," Dr. Yusuf said.

"Oh." Bogdanov pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his nose. "Nothing to worry about."

"Are you okay?" Yusuf asked.

Kruger peered at the screen. "Dima, can you hear me?"

"Oh, I can hear you perfectly! I feel so good! Ochen harashoh!"

Yusuf bent to inspect Bogdanov's nose. "Seems like it stopped bleeding."

Danny sighed in relief.

"I was listening to the music of the spheres!" Bogdanov stuffed the stained kerchief in his pocket. "Oh Hans, there's so much more than just visions. There's music... tactile sensations... smell, texture! I perceived things I can't even begin to describe. Describing this experience is like... is like explaining light to a blind-born person. Impossible!"

Mickmi lowered her hand, looking concerned. "I am sorry to have caused your bleeding. It was... unforeseen."

"Don't worry, Miroshka." Bogdanov beamed at her. "It's nothing major. It's not the first time it happens. I grew up in Tashkent, Siberia. Very cold. Transferring to this warm place caused the capillaries in my nose to dilate, excessively so. And if I get excited, occasionally bleeding occurs. Nothing of concern."

Kruger opened the mic. "Don't worry, Miss Wamba. Doctor Bogdanov seems to be fine. I think he just got a little too hyper, that's all." He looked thoughtfully at Danny and Dr. Mahoney before returning to the mic. "I think we should reconvene, all of us, and discuss what just happened. Agreed?"

"Definitely!" Bogdanov said and pulled the electrodes from his skin. Yusuf helped Mickmi with hers.

"Doctor Kruger," Mahoney paused for Kruger to look up, "are you proposing we all openly discuss classified information with an uncleared and unauthorized party?"

Danny caught his venomous look. "Hey, I am not a spy! I can be as discreet as anybody."

"That's not the point. You're not authorized. You haven't been given clearance after an extensive and thorough background check, like everybody else here."

Kruger cleared his throat. "I think, Doctor Mahoney, that in this case, Mister McGahn here is privy to more direct information than any of us. As a matter of fact, he's—"

"But this is totally informal. Against any protocol for dealing with extraterrestrial intelligences. We must adhere to protocols!"

"Doctor Mahoney, please consider this: those protocols you are referring to," Kruger said in measured tones, "were carefully drafted for First Encounter scenarios with unknown – extraterrestrial – entities. Miss Wamba here is not an extraterrestrial entity, she's terrestrial. The fact that she is from a parallel dimension doesn't change that. And she's from the future so she knows about us, our political system, our military capabilities and secrets at least as much as we do. It's history to her—she probably studied all of that in high school.

"Besides, we're the ones seeking information from her—not the other way around. And, in case it's not clear enough, we don't intend to discuss classified information now, but to analyze this experience we've just had. Do you think I or any of our colleagues here are prone to leaking classified information?"

Mahoney's face reddened. "I'm sorry, Doctor Kruger, I didn't mean to imply anything like that at all. I just wanted to make sure we're not deviating from the right set of procedures."

"That's right, Doctor Mahoney. And as you are aware, we don't have much time to devote to learning about Miss Wamba and her world. Due to an unfortunate set of circumstances, we need to rush certain aspects that require much longer study. Of course, I've already filed a complaint and requested more time to be assigned to us, to obtain as much information from her as possible. But that might take a while. So we'll do what we can now, while we wait for a response. Agreed?"

Danny had to suppress a grin at Dr. Mahoney's meek whisper of agreement.

The door opened and Mickmi entered, followed by the other two lab coats. With four steps, she was within Danny's reach. He didn't care who was watching, he hugged her and pressed his lips against her hair.

"You okay?" It felt like ages since he had the chance to hold her last. It couldn't have been only two days since they were on that hill—before he saw her ship for the first time.

She pulled back to smile at him, her eyes glowing. "Aye."

Danny longed to kiss her but resisted the urge. The lab coats were studying them too closely for comfort.

"We can use our meeting room," Yusuf said, "and help ourselves to our standing buffet. It should be empty at this time."

"Excellent. Shall we?" Kruger spread his arms to usher them out.

"Excuse me. Dr. Kruger?" Danny took Mickmi's hand and turned to him. "My phone call?"

"Oh, of course! Doctor Yusuf, would you mind facilitating Mister McGahn and then bring him with you to join us?"

"Not at all. I'll Iet him use the secure line in my office."

Danny followed the lab coat to a nearby office, his anxiousness mounting. He tried to distract himself as he waited for his turn on the telephone. This room was identical to the one he'd done the experiments in except for the pile of paperwork on the desk, and no copper wire meshing  on the walls and ceiling.

"Keep it short," Dr. Yusuf said, covering the mouthpiece. "And say absolutely nothing about where you are or what you're doing here."

"I know. Thanks." Danny took the receiver and brought it to his ear with a deep breath. Then, when he heard his mother's voice, it felt like a huge weight had fallen from his shoulders, and he sank onto a chair. "Mom! Are you okay?"

"Of course I am—why wouldn't I be? When are you coming home, dear?"

Danny was puzzled. She did sound okay, like nothing had happened. Had Apocalypse been bluffing just to scare him? Couldn't be... not if Mickmi had felt it. "I don't know yet. Not for a few days... Is Gina around? I need to talk to her."

"She's right here, dear. May the—"

"Don't worry about us, Mom. I'll call again when I can, okay? Lemme talk to her."

"Dan? We're all fine, though we— Are you okay? How's Mickmi?"

"We're great."

"Did you try calling us yesterday?"

"Um..." No, he hadn't, but maybe Gina was trying to tell him something. "Yeah, I tried."

"Sorry we missed you."

She was. Danny could tell by her tone. He glanced at Dr. Yusuf who was turning over some papers at the desk. "What did my boss say when you called him yesterday? You did remember to call him, right?"

"Oh, Dan... I'm sorry, I couldn't. I promise I'll try to get him right after this. But..."

Danny shut his eyes. They weren't home yesterday... so when did they get released? What did Apoc's people put them through? It wasn't safe to ask.

"Dan... I have some bad news. Ray—"

"What?" A new stone of dread filled the pit of his belly.

"—came by this morning asking for you. The shop will be closed for some time. There was an explosion—"

"What? You can't be serious!"

"Yes, the whole of the workshop and behind went up in flames ... The shop building survived though but there's no work until the investigation is completed. Apparently they believe it was arson."

For a moment, Danny was speechless. Arson... It had to be related. Did everything in his life have to be affected by those people?

It was with a heavy heart he told Gina what to relay to Mr. Myers before ending the call. He barely noticed where the lab coat led him until he found himself in a conference room dominated by a large oak table surrounded by a dozen comfortable chairs. A couple of inbuilt bookshelves and cupboards lined the opposite wall, ending at another door. Mickmi sat in the middle, eating a sandwich, with the other lab coats occupying random seats on either side of Dr. Kruger who sat at the end, busily devouring from their loaded plates. Each had a notepad and pen beside them. She paused as she met Danny's gaze.

—Is all well at home?

He nodded, his brow still furrowed. —Seems so. But my workplace... Someone blew it up and burned down part of—

"Ah, Mister McGahn," said Dr. Kruger as he saw Danny, "please help yourself and join us. We'll discuss as we eat."

"Over here," Yusuf said, indicating the sideboard behind him.

Danny took a plate and picked from the selection of biscuits, croissants, and sandwiches. Then, ignoring the lemonade, sodas, and wine, he poured himself a cup of coffee. Yusuf filled his cup from the faucet of an oddly shaped silver contraption with handles and four small feet at its base. "Tea?" Danny asked.

"Ah, yes. Dima's favorite brew," Yusuf replied.

"Where did that come from?"

"This samovar?" Yusuf chuckled. "He brought that with him to remind himself of Siberia."

Danny nodded, took his tray and turned toward the table, locking eyes with Mickmi.

—I am sorry for all that has happened, Daniel. It is because of me.

He shook his head as he walked around the table. —Please... Don't blame yourself.

He sat down to her left, looked around and spotted a large movie and slide projector at the far end of the room.

"I am wondering, Miroshka," Dr. Bogdanov started, leaning toward the empty seat between Mickmi and himself, "how did you manage to make me relax so quickly?"

She dabbed a napkin on her lips and sipped her lemonade before answering. "It is a simple matter. I just emitted calming energy, feeding it directly into your mind, from my... what the Ancients called the 'Third Eye'. Are you familiar with it?"

"Oh yes!" Bogdanov nodded vigorously.

Danny halted before he could take a bite of his ham sandwich. Third eye?

"I've heard of it," said Kruger, putting down his large mug of black tea while the other two shook their heads. "Would you be so kind as to explain to us what that is?"

She sat back and folded her hands. "Each of our bodies is crisscrossed by certain pathways. These pathways are filled with an energy feeding all our organs and functional systems. At certain strategic locations in our body, several of these channels intercept each other with especially abundant energy. Each of these locations behaves as a portal of sorts, working as a gate through which our inner being communicates with the world. These are what the Ancients called 'Chakras'." Pausing, she looked around the table.

"The energy that circulates in these channels vibrates at different frequencies. For example, the energy associated with digestion vibrates at a lower frequency than the respiratory energy. The lower in our being the Chakra is, the lower the range of frequencies it emits and receives. The higher the location of the Chakra, the higher the vibration.

"Not that each Chakra emits only one range of frequencies. Each Chakra contains within itself the frequencies of all the other Chakras... like a holographic projection of the whole being, while each is more strongly associated with their own type of frequency.

"Now, the Third Eye Chakra is associated largely with the mind's energy. It is here"—she placed a finger on her forehead—"between the brows. This is the place whence my mind emitted calming energy into Doctor Bogdanov's Third Eye."

Dr. Yusuf, who'd quietly seated himself opposite Mickmi, became animated for the first time. "You mean that our ancestors were right in their spiritual teachings?"

Mickmi hesitated a moment. "Many ancient lore have been carefully preserved and transmitted for millennia. When our science progressed sufficiently, we realized there was no need to rediscover the Ancient knowledge. So we incorporated these Ancient practices and traditions into our lives. This, in turn, enriched our lives extraordinarily. In a very short time, many faculties hidden in our minds were unlocked. It also caused the gradual erosion of most biases, such as discrimination based on racial and religious prejudices... All attitudes of violence faded into our past. It is a topic I could discuss in more detail but – in the interest of time..." She finished the sandwich and pushed her plate away.

"Please, Miss Wamba," Kruger said, "you should have some more. You can take as much as you want. This food is from the officers' mess and, if not consumed today, will be recycled."

Gesturing toward her chest, she dipped her head. "Thank you, Doctor Kruger, but my needs are covered."

"Are you sure you won't have more?"

"Nay... thank you. My body processes food with great efficiency, thus I have little hunger."

The lab coats exchanged surprised glances. Danny reached for the second sandwich on his plate as he watched them.

"What about the wonderful experiences I enjoyed a while ago?" Bogdanov asked. "Was that telepathy?"

"It was more than telepathy. In my world, we call this technique 'mind-sharing'. It is a connection using many levels simultaneously. Using several Chakras to create a multilayered experience. Please," she turned to Bogdanov, "be not offended by this, but you possess not the required mental... uni-directionality, so I was forced to use a very simplified version."

Bogdanov beamed at her. "Oh no, Miroshka, I'm not offended at all. I know I'm far from your level."

"That is not what I meant. What I am saying is that you have not had the required training to process such – amount – of information. It would be just – too much – for you to receive." She absently rubbed her left shoulder.

"Is that why his nose bled?" Kruger got up to help himself to more food.

"No no, of course not!" Bogdanov interjected. "That happens about once a month, bleeds for a while and then stops. I was due this month, that's all."

Mickmi looked up. "Perhaps... you will be pleased to know the nosebleed will no longer occur. Your capillary walls are now reinforced, as well as your blood pressure normalized. And a few stomach and duodenal ulcers which exist no more."

Danny caught Bogdanov's aghast expression as he spluttered, "H-how did you know about all of that?"

"Like I said, Doctor Bogdanov, I used mind-sharing to connect with you. You must understand, in my world, it is mainly used... by lovers..." She met Danny's gaze for a moment, blushing slightly, "to share and express their feelings to each other.

"It is also used by our healers and health monitors... to better understand and assess the conditions of their clients. The distinctive feature of this method is that it involves the simultaneous communication through several Chakras."

Kruger stopped beside her to slip a couple of biscuits on her plate before returning to his seat.

"To be able to do that, the initiated must first master a mental state of uni-directionality. That is a stage in your practice where your thoughts follow one after the other without breaks—all connected, all in harmony... It is the uppermost state of mental concentration." She rubbed her shoulder again.

"The next stage is the last one before reaching what you would call 'enlightenment'. Since you have not achieved this stage, Doctor Bogdanov, the connection between us was – perforce – incomplete... though enough for me to gain a comprehensive assessment of your health. I hope – you mind not."

∞

Dr. Kruger chewed pensively on a croissant. He'd met Dr. Bogdanov previously but never collaborated on any project with him or anyone else here before. Botany was as far from his professional work as it could get. Now looking around the table, he thought about the nagging health problems everybody dealt with day after day, which made their lives needlessly miserable.

Dr. Yusuf interrupted Kruger's somber contemplation. "I heard you come from a parallel dimension. Is that true?"

Kruger perked at that. This was closer to his professional interests.

"To the best of my understanding, that is correct," Mickmi replied and tasted one of the biscuits before finishing it.

"Perhaps... can you explain a little for those of us who know nothing of physics, like me—what is a parallel dimension and why haven't we heard about it before?"

Everybody stopped eating and waited for Mickmi to answer.

"You are familiar with the ordinary dimensions of space—length, width or depth, and height... May I?" she added, pointing to the shelf behind her.

"Of course," Bogdanov said.

She picked a smaller hardcover book and brought it back to the table, laying it flat. "This, from here to here, constitutes the length of this book. From here to here, the height." She pointed along the spine to illustrate length, then from cover to cover to indicate height. Then, moving her finger from the front edge of the book to the spine, she continued, "And from here to here, this is the width—or, from your position in relation to this book, you may also call it depth. What is important here is that you always have – three – spatial – dimensions. That is what makes your—and my world tri-dimensional. You need a series of three spatial dimensions to function in the world."

She spun the book around to face them. "Now... imagine all this world we are in, all you can see, hear, feel and know," she opened the book to show its pages, "is just a page from this book. As you can see, each individual page has three dimensions too." She held up one page. "Notice that each page is arranged by its own slot here and interacts not with the other pages."

Pausing, she looked around for any comment, but everybody was glued to the book, each lost in their own thoughts. "At least, that is the way it is supposed to be, usually. Only on very rare occasions... happens something that may cause a breach in our regular space-time continuum. When this occurs, portals may appear, allowing communication between adjacent dimensions—just like the pages adjacent to this page." She lifted one page one either side and held up the three. "This is the important point to remember: these portals will not skip pages."

Kruger stared intently at the book on the table, trying to wrap his mind about the concept of a multi-world theory. Finally he asked, "When you say 'adjacent' dimensions, do you mean they are closer to our own?"

"Not really," Mickmi responded. "The concept of spatial distance is not really applicable in this case. Nay, what it means is, dimensions which are similar physically. For example, a dimension where the planet's sky is, for any reason, purple, is 'further' than a dimension with a blue sky like ours."

She scratched her shoulder, then reached for the last biscuit. "Adjacent dimensions will always be very similar—just as my world was extremely like yours. That is why, I believe, I— we ended up here, amongst you. The fact that our timelines are different seems not to be very important in the physical terms of what adjacent dimensions are to each other. Or perhaps something happened in my world which caused a divergent timeline. There is no way to tell." Thoughtful, she turned the biscuit between her fingers before eating it.

"Tell me, Miroshka," Bogdanov said, "there's something I'm wondering. I'm a science fiction fan so I've read a lot and watched a lot of movies—it helped me refine my English... In many of the plots, one civilization finds representatives of another. Those who are more advanced sometimes say they cannot share certain technologies from their world because they're not allowed to interfere with the lower civilization's development—that it's their 'Prime Directive'. Do you have something similar in your world?"

"Aye." Mickmi nodded while absently scratching her left shoulder again. "We have a set of directives... to guide us in case of such – unexpected – encounters. After all, we were almost ready to start interstellar travel."

There was a moment of silence as they assimilated the news. Dr. Mahoney, who'd so far been watching and listening without comment, broke the awkward pause.

"That means you're holding information from us. Perhaps vital information, necessary for our country's defenses."

Danny appeared puzzled as he watched Mickmi scratching.

"Nay. In fact, the meeting I expect to attend is to inform your advisors of a matter affecting your country's— your hemisphere's safety. The only information I am not allowed to share is related to technology and theoretical developments... which you should achieve by yourselves within a few centuries." Startled, she met Danny's gaze.

Bogdanov frowned. "Tell me, Miroshka, are you having an allergic reaction or something? I can't help but notice you're touching your shoulder a lot."

Mickmi glanced at him, then looked at her shoulder. "You are correct. I have felt a constant itch in my shoulder since the last injection."

"Lemme see," Danny said, inspecting her. "It looks irritated and—"

Mickmi moved his hand away and closed her eyes as if to focus inward. When she opened them again, there was a slight smile in her face. She looked across the table directly at Dr. Mahoney. "It looks like your friends – from 'the Agency' – gave me a little gift. Unfortunately... I like it not. I am afraid I must reject it."

She pinched the skin of her shoulder between her nails and pulled upward. Bewildered, Kruger stood up squinting, trying to see what she took out. She held it up—something fine and silvery glimmered as she twisted it between her fingers.

"What the hell?" Danny held her wrist for a closer look at the foreign object as the others tried to get a better view.

"What on earth is that?" Kruger blurted, his voice high-pitched.

— ∞ —

©2019 by kemorgan65

GLOSSARY:

Miroshka – Russian: Impromptu version of Mic (Lepantra Wamba). Miroshka is an affectionate diminutive of Mira, Vladimira, Mironov and similar names. Familiar and informal.

Ochen harashoh – Russian: Very good