Journeys Through SpaceTime

EarthVerse: Contradictions of Thought Part II

...Present Day New Haven, Connecticut

Shortly after the sun had set for the day, Thomas walked up to an old brownstone building just a few blocks from the Yale campus. Once inside, he punched a code into the security lock on a large metal door and continued down three flights of stairs leading to an anteroom. On the far wall was another modern entry door.

As he approached the door, scanners in the surrounding walls and ceiling picked up his presence from the chip implanted under his skin. A small sliding door opened to the right of the larger entry door. Thomas rested his chin on the now protruding platform and aligned his eyes with the small slit as green beams scanned them. Soon, a loud click came from the entry door as he reached for the handle.

As was the case each time he entered this space, Thomas felt like he had gone back in time 200 years. Rock formed the walls of the main great room and all the smaller rooms that adjoined it. The great room walls were almost thirty feet in height with a ceiling that formed an upside-down funnel. The ceiling funnel emptied up into a chimney stack that ran all the way up to the roof of the old building.

Observing hooded figures mingling in the dimly lit great room, Thomas slipped into a side room to put on his own hooded robe. Walking out, he nodded at the others as the familiar smell of burning gas from torches filled his nostrils. While effort was made to clean up after certain rituals, the faint smell of blood always lingered in the air.

While everyone else was dressed in black robes, one person wore a red robe with gold trim and displayed a demeanor indicating leadership of the group. Soon, the red-robed figure spoke, "Let us all gather and give praise to our Master. While Master Hades is always within us, perhaps the Exalted One will speak to us all tonight as well."

With those words, everyone in the room gathered in a circle around the red-robed figure as he placed a baby goat upon the marble altar in the middle of the great room. The little goat began to bleat as the group's leader secured it to the top of the marble slab with leather straps designed for that purpose.

The slab was large enough to hold a full-sized human, and Thomas always wondered if it had ever been used for that. These rituals seem so arcane. Are they necessary? he thought as he continued to ponder the spectacle before him.

The red-robed leader began to chant in what appeared to be an ancient language that Thomas did not understand. While most of the participants in the room did not understand what was being chanted either, they all began to chant the words their leader was saying. Thomas reluctantly joined in. After a few minutes, the chanting stopped. The red-robed figure pulled a large ancient dagger from inside his robe, with which he used to slice the neck of the small animal. The goat's bleating stopped as it gave its last breaths.

"We give this blood sacrifice to our exalted, Master Hades. May our Master share with us if that is our Exalted One's desire," called out the red-robed man as he placed the blood laden knife on the marble slab beside the freshly killed goat.

Everyone bowed in silence as they waited. After a short while, a slight breeze could be felt through the great room as the torches on the walls began to flame brightly. Thomas could feel the room begin to heat up from the flaming torches as a pile of wood in a second altar trough made from granite seemed to ignite on its own. With the room now quite warm, a face could be made out hovering above the burning pile of wood. This huge red face had sharp gnashing teeth, black eyes, and horns protruding on each side of its forehead. While Thomas had experienced this demon's presence before, it still gave him chills every time.

Soon, a very deep voice began to emanate from the floating demon face. "It is so good to see all my disciples here tonight. Each of you has been selected by my divine providence, and therefore we all share a special bond. Just as we share a connection, the entire creation shares a connection as well. While this connection throughout creation is important, it is also vital that each created being never loses their individuality. It is through this individuality that true power is manifested. It is important to remember that true power and knowledge is obtained by learning from those who have come before." The flames became more intense.