Gen - Seven Towers

 
First Tournament
Vala and I hover, waiting, five hundred feet above the stadium, as the gates open.
Another newborn Gen and her master hover near us.
We watch the first rush of walkers, as they pass through the gates to get the best of the unreserved seats.

The arena where the Gen perform is round, a hundred feet across.
An empty space, five feet wide surrounds the arena.
Each row of seats forms its own circle around the performance area, rising, higher and higher, toward the outer walls of the stadium.

The first circle of seats is reserved for the Gen.
The Gen area is protected by eight foot gates, and the second circle starts ten feet above the first.
When the tournament begins, a roof of green stone appears, and covers the first circle, hiding the Gen from walker eyes.

A few minutes before the gates close, the Gen take physical bodies, and enter the stadium.
Newborn Gen enter last of all.
During the performance, we dissolve our physical bodies, and watch the performance with energy senses only.

Gen awareness moves at different speeds, according to our will.
We can touch the world at slow, walker speeds, or thousands of times faster.

This is my first tournament as a Gen.
Vala and I walk the circle of empty space around the arena, followed by the other newborn and her master.
We move as slow as any walker of flesh, according to Gen custom, and the other Gen greet us as we pass.

We sit, and the stone roof covers us.
The oldest of the Gen, Vala, sings an old Gen song, and we dissolve our physical bodies.
Then Vala dissolves her body, and fills the Gen area with light.

The tournament is extraordinary.

There are five parts to a tournament: light, opening, middle, closing, and quiet.

The three judges and many of the performers carry physical bodies, and stay within the arena for the whole performance.
One of the judges launches the tournament.
She throws a large golden sphere a hundred feet in the air.

The sphere bursts apart.
Streams of colored light radiate in a hundred directions.

Songs of energy and vibration fill the entire stadium.
Everything moves a thousand times faster than the walkers can follow.

But we are Gen.

There are two tournaments, two stories, two visions.
One that walkers can see.

And another, at the same time.
That is only for Gen eyes.

The two move apart.
And yet together.

The tournament is a game, and a performance.

Art, dance, song, and sculpture.
All of these, and none.

I’ve been waiting to see this, most of my life.
And I’m not disappointed with the wonders that surround me.

It’s hard to believe that Vala and I will perform together in the next tournament.
As the oldest of the newborn Gen, I must lead the opening stage of my next tournament.

The opening is scripted, its moves always the same, except for the ending.

The newborn chooses an experienced player as a partner, usually her master.
I choose Vala.
She’ll design a routine that we’ll follow to complete the opening.

The opening is performed by a team of two, the middle by teams of five, and the closing is performed by one Gen, often the oldest.
But today, Vala will stay with me and not perform.

In the final moments of the closing stage, a judge rises and brings the quiet.
He throws a large silver sphere high in the stadium.

One moment the stadium is full of light and sound.
Then it is suddenly dark, and absolutely quiet.

The judges and the performers dissolve their bodies in the midst of that quiet.
A moment later, ordinary light and sound return, and the roof over the Gen area disappears.

The Gen are gone from the stadium, and the walkers leave.

 
Training
The next day, we start training for the tournament where we will open.
But Vala refuses to design the end of the opening.

“Vala,you’ve performed in thousands of tournaments.”
“I’ll make a fool of us!”

“You won’t,” she says.
“Do what your dreams tell you to do.”
“Your visions won’t fail you.”

“Don’t focus on what other Gen may think of us.”
“You and I are not like them.”

“They say that we express emotion too freely.”
“The Gen council may never let us perform again.”

“They say they feel nothing.”
“But they are filled with pity, shame or hatred when they think of us!”

“What hippocrites!”
“Still, they can’t refuse you your first opening.”

“Make the opening bigger than they can imagine.”
“Give everything to it.”
“Pretend it’s your last performance, and the last tournament you will ever witness.”

She’s quiet after this, and I know that she’s hiding some of her thoughts from me.

She’s planning something.
Will our performance mark our last day on this world?
Will we seek the towers so soon?

 
Mystery
The Gen don’t sleep as people do.

We rest a few hours a day.
Our energy senses narrow.
And the world outside becomes quiet.

Energy bodies draw strength from the stars.
And refresh themselves.

Some believe we reach deeper than the stars.
And farther away.
Connecting to distant currents of energy and knowledge.

Gen pretend they are masters of the universe.
But even Gen live in a universe full of mystery.
A universe that humbles them.

An infinite web of energy surrounds us.
No Gen can touch its end.
Or understand all its ways.

A Gen sees the shining web to a great distance, far beyond the sun.
But not forever.

The mystery calls to us every day.
If we listen.

It stands before us.
When we enter the energy wells.
And when we free the full power of emotions.

We rest, and visions of possibility fill energy eyes.
The visions change and grow.
Feeding on hidden knowledge.

I see the coming tournament as the ocean touching the shore.
A wave of possibility and mystery.

This wave will come, and cover all in its path.
And shine with us, into the hearts of all at the tournament.

 
Hidden Dreams
The tournament is tomorrow, and I still haven’t designed the end of the opening.
Yet, I’m strangely confident and calm.

“Vala, join with me during resting.”
“And let us dream together.”

She shakes her head.
“Impossible,” she says.
“And forbidden, besides.”

“Who knows what will happen?”

“We may go mad.”
“Our energies twisted beyond recognition when we separate.”
“Or we may not be able to separate at all.”

I shake my head, and take her hands.
“Last resting, I saw a vision of you and I, flying among the seven towers.”

“At first we were joined.”
“Then we became two again.”

“If I can find the way to that world, will you come with me?”

“Of course I’ll follow you, Neebol,” she says.

“And we will rest as you say.”
“But we must hide this joining from the others.”

“We’ll go to one of the birthing caves.”
“An old cave which isn’t used any more.”

 
Resting Together
We enter the ancient birthing cave.

Vala tells me that this is the cave used for the birthing of the first Gen.

“You told me that she awoke as a Gen, without a normal birthing.”

“That is the typical legend,” she answers.
“But some believe that there was a birthing, different than all the rest.”
“She was transported here while she was full of dreams, waking only after she became Gen.”

“Some say that she awoke for a moment here in the cave, before finding herself floating above ground.

I’ve studied every legend I could find of the first Gen, but I’ve never heard this story.
Vala shares so much of herself with me, but still there are secrets.

“Why do you think that this is the cave?”

“It’s directly below the arch, near the center of the planet.”
“Everything around this cave is molten rock, but somehow this place is shielded from the heat and other forces.”

“And no one else knows of it?”

“No one.”
“You can’t see it, even with energy eyes, until your energy body is a few feet away from it.”

“Vala, this looks just like my birthing cave.”

She hesistates for a moment.
“It is,” she admits.

“Why did you perform the birthing here, Vala?”

“Legend says that the first Gen was far more powerful then the Gen who followed her.”
“The energy being who helped her said that this cave should not be used for regular birthings.”

“Yet you brought me here!”

“You’re different Neebol.”
“You carry the whisheeku.”

“You belong here, and won’t abuse your strength.”
“we need that strength to reach the seven towers.”

Vala is quiet after this, and I know that she won’t speak anymore today of the cave.”

I form six crystal vessels on the floor of the cave.
Bound to six of the seven energy wells.

They seem to be filled with thick liquids, red through purple.
But the liquids are only energy.

The circle of six has a space in the middle for a green vessel.

The stream of vessels starts to spin in a circle.
Neither of us is moving the vessels.

“How do they move, Vala?” I ask.

“I don’t know,” she says.
“This cave is full of questions without answers.”

We bring our whole energy bodies into each vessel, dancing together to the rhythms of energy that surround us.
We join together at the bottom of the well, just before we touch bottom.

Two energy bodies rise, joined, shining with color.
We separate just before we leave each well.

When we leave the sixth vessel.
It’s time.

We join again.

At the moment of joining, we shape the seventh crystal vessel,
Tie our joined energies to the crystal,
And fill it with the green energy of the birthing cave.

We enter the well. still joined.
And stop at the bottom, to rest.

How will we enter a resting state within the well’s intense energy?
We spin an energy cocoon around our joined energy body as we lay at the bottom of the well.

The cocoon doesn’t completely block the energy, but it slows the energy, so we can rest.
And dream.

 
Fire
Our two energy bodies fly together through the energy web, over a great ocean.
Much larger than the small oceans on our world.

Soon we feel that the ocean is not water.
But energy.

We fly for hours, and still we’re in the middle of the energy sea.
Will we fly over this ocean forever?

I stop Vala, and spin energy around each of the energy wells in my body.
She does the same.

Each of us focuses on the energy we call love.
We let it grow and grow within us.

Then it bursts out of us and into the other’s green well.
We feel the energy reach the bottom of the well, and go beyond it.

The energy web is lit up in green across the entire ocean.

We join, and find ourselves on the shore of the ocean.
We have tied our energy body to physical form.
The form is not male or female, but something else.

At first we are tired.
And walk.

Then our strength returns.
Our energy body release the physical form.
And rises into the air, becoming two again.

Ahead of us, we see the alien from my other visions, wearing black robes.

He has a physical body, but not like our old bodies.
His body is slightly shorter.

And his skin is smooth, without golden fur.
At least on his face.

Does he have fur on the rest of his body?

We rise above him, and follow as he flies toward the seven towers.
His face is so familiar.
I feel that I should know his name, but I can’t grasp it.

The alien reaches the green tower in the center.
And raises his hand.

The door begins to open.
I try to warn him, and send a picture of fire into his mind.

He turns and sees us.
“Neebol and Vala!” he calls.

Strange that an alien knows us!
Is he the energy being that gave birth to the first Gen?

The next moment his body is consumed by the fire, and the dream ends.

Our rest time is done.
We release the energy cocoon, and leave the well.

Then, we end the joining.

 
Last Tournament

“Did the dream help, Neebol?”
“Do you know how to complete the opening?”

“I know enough,” I say, and explain my plan.

A few hours later we enter the stadium.

We take physical bodies for the performance.
And wear elaborate gold and silver robes.

In the center of the arena is a beautiful crystal pillar that rises to the dome.

Along this pillar are fourteen small platforms, seven pairs of two, on opposite sides of the pillar.
Each pair of platforms is made of crystal, the color of the well.
And each platform holds a crystal vessel.

The bottom third of the vessel is black, and the top two thirds are the color of the well.

Vala and I hover in the air, back to back, as the judge launches the golden sphere.
Light stage begins.

As the light spreads to all corners of the stadium, Vala and I fly.
The pillar is completely transparent, except for a single ray of light that shines from floor to dome.
And the platforms seem to hover in the air.

We trace circles around the crystal pillar, in opposite directions.
The circles are smaller near the top and bottom of the pillar.

Every circle we fly leaves a circle of light behind.
Until a sphere of light surrounds the pillar.

We release our physical bodies and their robes.
And make our energies bodies visible.
They look like glowing, living crystal.

The seven energy wells of our energy bodies are visible to all.
Spinning, twisting, shining.

We begin with the red platforms and vessels.
I land on the red platform on the north side of the pillar.

The light from my body’s own red well shines out in a curved shape.
It forms a curved bridge to the red vessel.

Vala circles the pillar and flies into the red bridge and disappears.
There is a soft spot in the walls of each well which leads to the other well of the same color.

Vala flies out of the red vessel on her side of the pillar.

She then forms a red bridge on that side.
I circle the pillar and fly into her bridge and disappear.
Then, I fly out through the crystal vessel on my side of the pillar.

Vala and I then repeat these movements for the Orange, Yellow, Blue, Indigo and Purple platforms.
Skipping the Green.

We finish the movement for the Purple platforms.
And so, we finish the scripted part of the opening.

The green vessel calls to us.
To bring it into the tournament.
And make this tournament our own.

Vala and I start the crystal pillar spinning.
As it spins, we fill the stadium with energy.

We fill the stadium with emotions and dreams.
With energies of joy, search, possibility, and wonder.

We turn toward each other.
And feel the strong web of love that connects us.

We let that energy fill the stadium.
Connecting every heart that allows it.

The Gen will not let that energy move their spirits.
But the walkers will feel that dance!

We bring the red pair of platforms and vessels into the center.
They merge and form one platform, with one crystal vessel.

There is a burst of color.

The solid world seems to waver for a moment.
And the energy web that fills the stadium is lit up in red.

We merge the platform and vessel, leaving a red fire burning in their place.

As the red fire burns, a red fountain bursts out of the open area around the pillar.
The fountain rises up to the dome.

Then it falls in a red rain, a few feet around the fountain.
Tiny streams form, and feed the fountain.

We repeat our actions with five other colors, and the other fountains form.
Six fountains now form a complete circle around the crystal pillar.

Each fountain has its own song.
The six songs fit together like an orchestra.

Focus on one color and one fountain.
One song will grow strong, and the others grow weak.

Vala and I fly to the first fountain.
We hover on two opposite sides of the fountain, 100 feet up.

Each of us reaches toward the ground.

A swarm of long, crystal staffs rise from the ground.
Their intricate designs glowing and changing.

Each crystal staff is the color of the fountain.

About 50 feet up, the staffs begin to spin and melt into each other.
A red crystal tower takes shape around and above the red fountain.
Then Vala and I move to the next fountain, and raise 5 more towers.

Only the green is missing.

We fly to the green platforms, standing on opposite sides of the pillar.
Green light rises from our two wells and joins in a bridge that goes straight through the pillar.

The two green platforms and crystal vessels merge together.

In a moment we disappear, leaving only the bridge.
The bridge shatters like glass.

The bits of glass turn into drops like rain, and fall into the crystal vessel

Green crystal staffs rise from the ground and build a crystal tower around the pillar.
A large, green fountain forms at its base, and the fountain rises through the entire pillar.

Within the well, Vala and I join.
And I bring us to the bottom of the well.

 
World Without Stars
The bottom of the well is soft when we touch it in our joined form.

Our hands pass through towards the unknown.
In the stadium, the image of what we’re doing is displayed in the green fountain.

We fly through the bottom of the well.
Holding a small connection to the well.
Keeping it open.

We travel through a large spinning tunnel, surrounded by stars.

We broadcast the energy of connection outward.
The tunnel and stars are lit with green energy.

We reach for the other end, and we are there.

We pass through the end of this tunnel.
Again holding it open.

The long connection with our old world is difficult to hold.
It’s almost time to let go.

Crystal staffs fly upwards in the areana, from each tower toward the dome.
And the towers fade toward the ground.

Each staff strikes the dome above.
Melting, it ignites a shower of beautiful, colored crystals.

Six of the towers fade away toward the ground.
When the towers are gone, their fountains disappear.

Now, the green fountain grows larger, and its energy falls on the crowd in a green, energy rain.
The green tower is consumed by the fountain.

The fountain itself, fades away.
And the way back to the stadium closes forever.

But a last few images shine on the dome of the stadium.
A moment before the way closes.

Our joined body becomes two again.
Vala and I take physical form, and sit down on the stone path, holding hands.
My left palm is so warm, it almost burns.

I raise my left hand to look at the whisheeku, and see that her left palm carries a whisheeku, like mine!

“You have a whisheeku from our joining!” I tell her.

“No, Neebol,” she answers.
“I always carried a whisheeku, but I hid it from you.”

“How?” I ask.

“I am the first Gen.”

I am stunned into silence, and distract myself with my surroundings.

The sky is gray, but not with clouds.
We reach with our energy eyes.

Beyond the gray is an endless energy web.
But nothing else.

This is a world without stars.
A world apart.

In the distance a black-robed figure approaches.
The world of the seven towers stands before us.