Trascendent beings

A trip into the Universe Beyond the Universe

Not since Covid did it seem plausible to travel in this manner. No passport. No wheels or wings. An adventure in the mind perhaps? The world spinning like a mysterious and dark planet in some distant galaxy hidden within the mind of the apostle, Fernando.

Fernando is a supporter of the Facebook group “Transcendent Beings” and follows each and every of the ten members of this secretive group. Now they have extended an invitation to meet and perhaps travel to the Galaxy beyond “Common Sense”. As the smell of Mint Chocolate tea filled his computer room, Fernando made the decision to risk everything and join in the adventure. But what to wear? Never a question really. More like “What stimulant” to ingest?” Tea, in the final moment before liftoff.

They were nothing like their Facebook profiles, more like something from the planet “GeeksforGeeks” where he got his latest computer update instructions. More like a goat in appearance, than a human, the “leader” seemed to have a surprisingly strong presence. Like his mind was infiltrating - maybe controlling - some of the others in the garden where they were meeting. A Brugmansia flower dripped the scent of the perfume counter at Printemps on the Boulevard Haussmann. Paris suddenly fluttered through Fernando’s mind. Now that was a pleasant adventure.

Fernando felt his insides trembling, as if he were riding a motorcycle. His hands were cold, his throat unable to swallow, yet he was surrounded by an ecstasy akin to the moment before an orgasm. It wasn't really pleasure; it was the absence of fear, like feeling like a teenager in a convertible speeding down a winding beach road. Full of life, and close to death.

"That's it," said the Goat, "That's how you should live life, full of energy and without fear of losing it. Because you're not really going to lose it; it's already lost. You come here to die, and the 'in-between' is to savor it, to drink, to swim, to love, to laugh, to cry, to feel pain, to breathe the present."

With his skin burning, as if with a fever, he peeled his tongue from the roof of his mouth and felt a huge hand grab him by the neck and force him to drink again, to which he did not resist.

A sweet, unpleasant taste crossed his throat once more, and without being fully in this world, he felt himself drifting back to the previous one.

He could vaguely remember that retreat, something he read in a Google news article during the pandemic, something about ayahuasca. Had he finally decided to try it? Had he dared to face his fears? Was he alone in this or accompanied by that green-eyed girl who had enticed him into drugs in recent months?

What was real? This world with lights or the other with shadows? Or both?

“Where do you have in mind? What plan of action have you devised?” Fernando almost demanded from the Goat.

“Listen and you shall learn,” replied the Goat.

Suddenly the smell of hot grease, like that of an overheated transmission in one of the old gas-powered cars. Fernando’s mind became cloudy, and then still, and then filled with a vision he had not expected.

Bright white light temporarily blinded Fernando, then sparkling edges of moving beings began to emerge. One began to nibble on his toes, it tickled.

"Ha, ha, hee, hee, ohhh, stooop!" snorted Fernando.

He felt a rush of glee as the creature began to lick his ankles and he realized they could understand him.

NEXT WEEK - Part Two: The adventure Continues. This is a collaboration with

Anastasia Nelson

and

Phil Dynan