The Castrator - Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov (most read books in the world of all time .txt) 📗

TURNED AND WHILE BLINKING WAS GONE. WHO KNOWS WHY THIS FOCUS IMPRESSED ME MORE THAN HIS RATHER INTERESTING WORDS.

IT TOOK US MORE THAN THREE HOURS TO WALK BACK TO THAT SAME DENVER ESTABLISHMENT - BUT TO OUR SURPRISE IT WAS STILL FULL OF PEOPLE!

BOTH ZONARA AND I HAD STRETCHED A FEW CACHACAS OF A RARE DUTCH HEMP VARIETY, BUT OUR THOUGHTS WERE AS CRYSTAL CLEAR AS THEY COULD NOT HAVE BEEN UNDER OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES. I HAD THE FEELING THAT I WAS PRACTICING AS A NOVICE MAGICIAN TO SEE SOME OBJECT IN MAGIC CRYSTAL. BY THE WAY, THE METHODS FOR PROJECTING VISUALIZATION WERE EXACTLY IDENTICAL TO THOSE FOR PROJECTING EMOTION.

- "THAT'S THE KEY!," I SHOUTED. "FELISTER'S REAL POINT. YES, MAYBE LA POINTE IS THE PLACE FOR THE RITUAL, BUT SURELY WE NEED TO PROJECT THE RIGHT EMOTION TO SEE THE REST."

- "WHAT IS THIS SIMPLICITY?," SNIFFED ZONARA. "YES, WISCONSIN IS INDEED LOCATED BETWEEN MISSOURI AND OHIO, BUT THERE WAS ONE MORE CLARIFICATION IN THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR FINDING THE INHERITANCE."

- "THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT," I ADDED. "REMEMBER THE MESSAGE FELISTER FORMULATED. - "WHOEVER FINDS THE INHERITANCE WILL ALSO INHERIT MY SORROW. HE WHO FACES DEATH WILL REALIZE HIS INNER STRENGTH. AND HE WHO GOES AGAINST THE WILL OF THE GODS WILL SUFFER!"

- "SO SURELY THE PLACE IS LA POINTE, BUT FOR ALL I KNOW THERE ARE VANDALS THERE WHO COULD PROVE DANGEROUS. IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY UNPLEASANT IF WE WERE INTERRUPTED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RITUAL," ZONARA CALLED IN ANNOYANCE.

- "THIS MEANS THAT THE LA POINTE CEMETERY ITSELF IS NOT PURELY INDIAN, AS THE REMAINS OF MANY OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS ARE ALSO LAID THERE," I INTERJECTED, "FROM WHAT I HAVE HEARD, SOME OF THE INDIAN GRAVES ARE PROTECTED BY WHAT IS CALLED A 'SPIRIT HOUSE' TO PROTECT THE DECEASED."

- "BUT BLUEBIRD HASN'T REVEALED WHO THIS DEMON IS THAT IS SO ACTIVELY STALKING US?," I SOMEWHAT ODDLY CHALLENGED ZONARA.

- NOR IS IT NECESSARY! WE MAY FIND THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION OURSELVES!

- "HE WHO HAS LEFT THE CHILDREN'S WORLD OF YURAS[4] SUFFERS," I SADLY REPLIED. "DISTANT JOURNEYS INTO THE ASTRAL WORLDS ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE. IN A STATE OF SLEEP PARALYSIS ONE CAN REACH THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF THE ASTRAL."

- "WE HAVE TO GO," ZONARA LOOKED AT ME, NOT WITH A DREAMY LOOK, BUT RATHER WITH A MELANCHOLIC ONE THAT I JUST COULDN'T BEAR, "THIS IS THE WAY WE HAVE TO GO! WE ARE COMPANIONS IN THIS WORLD, REMEMBER? WE SHALL FIND THE TRUE HERITAGE OF FELISTER, AND BE HAPPY-TOGETHER! TWO SOULS!"

I SEEMED TO BREAK FROM MY NUMBNESS. SHE KNEW WELL ENOUGH WHAT SHE WAS SAYING TO ME!

WE DECIDED TO ASK THE GUESTS OF THE ESTABLISHMENT JUST WHERE BLUEBIRD - THE GOOD-NATURED INDIAN - LIVED.

AFTER WE HAD SPENT SOME TIME AMONG THESE STONED GRASSMEN ONE OF THEM VENTURED TO DECLARE WITH HALF A MOUTH

- HE COMES AND GOES AS HE PLEASES. HE IS AT ONCE EVERYWHERE AND NOWHERE. AND NONE OF US KNOW EXACTLY WHERE HE IS FROM, BUT WE HAVE HEARD THAT HE SPENDS SOME TIME ON AN INDIAN RESERVATION- NOT FAR FROM …

HERE, SOMEONE TUGGED ON HIS ARM AND HE WAS BACK IN THE EUPHORIC GROUP OF OVERZEALOUS HIPPIES WHO COULD HARDLY GET OUT OF THEIR HEDONISTIC LIFESTYLE!

HOWEVER, AFTER A WHILE HE CAME BACK TO US AND SAID SERIOUSLY:

- BLUEBIRD IS ABLE TO TRAVEL BETWEEN WORLDS. HOW HE KNOWS, BUT SOMETIMES RECRUITS DISCIPLES WHOM HE IS WILLING TO TRAIN. I BELIEVE THE MENOMINEE INDIAN RESERVATION, LOCATED IN NORTHEASTERN WISCONSIN, IS WHERE HE RESIDES. BY THE WAY, HIS TERRITORY IS QUITE LARGE, BUT NOT THAT MANY PEOPLE LIVE THERE - MAYBE UNDER FOUR THOUSAND, SO YOU'LL FIND HIM FOR SURE!

THE NAMELESS HIPPAR THEN LEFT THE JOLLY SHOP.

THE ROAD FROM DENVER TO WISCONSIN WAS NOT THE MOST PLEASANT, BUT NOW THE ZONAR AND I WERE MUCH CLOSER. AND MOST UNEXPECTEDLY THE HIPPO[5] DECIDED TO JOIN US BY SAYING:

- I'M FOND OF THE MOST OUTLANDISH ADVENTURES IMAGINABLE, AND I HAVE A FEELING YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING, AND I'M ASKING YOU TO TAKE ME WITH YOU. I THINK I WILL HELP YOU TO FIND MORE EASILY THE MENOMINEE RESERVE, WHERE THE BLUEBIRD IS MOST LIKELY TO BE FOUND, AND PERHAPS THE THREE OF US CAN BE HIS APPRENTICES TO MASTER THE SKILL OF TRAVELING THROUGH THE ASTRAL WORLD. KNOW THAT ONE OF THE POSSIBLE DANGERS IS THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF RETURNING TO THE SOUL'S PHYSICAL BODY, BUT THIS IS KNOWN TO EVERY RECRUIT, SO I'M HARDLY TELLING YOU ANYTHING NEW. BUT GETTING TO THE ASTRAL IS A MUCH MORE DIFFICULT THING THAN RETURNING. THE FAMOUS SILVER THREAD CONNECTS THE SOUL AND THE BODY, AND ON THE OTHER HAND THERE IS ANOTHER PROBLEM, NAMELY THE FEELING OF THE PASSAGE OF TIME IN THIS OTHER AND DIFFERENT DIMENSION, WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE TIME THAT PASSES WITH US. AND THE BEST PART IS THAT GETTING PHYSICALLY HARMED IN THE ASTRAL IS NOT VERY LIKELY. BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN ASTRAL CREATURES THAT FEED ON HUMAN ENERGY THAT WILL DRINK FROM US.

GOING TO THE PRESERVE WAS VERY SPECIAL FOR ZONARA, WHO DEEP DOWN WAS BEGINNING TO BELIEVE BLUEBIRD, WHO HAD STATED THAT THE PLACE FOR THE RITUAL WAS THE LA POINTE CEMETERY BECAUSE OF ITS SPECIAL ENERGY, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND THERE WAS SOME DOUBT THAT NOT EVERYTHING HAD BEEN FINISHED. HOW MUCH SHE HAD INVESTED IN THE HOPE OF DISCOVERING FELISTER'S LEGACY - THAT WHICH HER SOUL CRAVED AND HER BODY LONGED FOR. TO RECEIVE THAT RIGHT OF CLEANSING FROM HER SINS WHICH SHE FELT SHE DESERVED.

ARLO - THAT WAS THE NAME OF THE HIPSTER, HAD A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT OPINION ON THE MATTER. IN GENERAL, THE HIPPIE MOVEMENT WAS BASED ON FIGHTING CONFORMITY, AND THAT WAS NOT TO BE IGNORED. IF CONFORMISTS LIKED TO BE PART OF THE HERD, THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE HIPPIE MOVEMENT DID NOT SUFFER FROM SUCH SCRUPLES.

- SOME REPRESENT DIFFERENT IDEOLOGIES, BUT I LIKE BEING PART OF THE WOLF BRIGADE[6], WHICH OBEYS ITS OWN RULES IN ITS SURVIVAL. MOST HIPPARI'S HAVE TURNED TO HINDUISM, OR BUDDHISM, BUT FRANKLY I AM STILL SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS FOR MYSELF.

- "OUR SOCIETY IS SICK," ZONARA AGREED, "BUT THIS IS ONLY THE SURFACE OF THE ICEBERG, AND IT IS BOILING AND SEETHING UNDERNEATH."

WE DECIDED THAT WE COULD HEAD TO WISCONSIN AT DAWN, AS ARLO WAS KEEN TO HAVE SOME MORE OF THE EXCELLENT DUTCH CACHAÇA.

- "A REAL TREAT! WONDERFUL PRODUCT! ONLY HERE IN COLORADO CAN YOU TASTE THIS WONDERFUL WEED," HE SAID CHOKINGLY, "IT FILLS YOUR LUNGS WITH THE DESIRE FOR FRESH AIR, AND KEEPS YOU ON YOUR TOES. IT'S ONLY FOR TRUE CONNOISSEURS, BUT NOT FOR PROFANE!"

- "ACCORDING TO SOME, THERE ARE SEVEN ASTRAL WORLDS," I OBJECTED, "BUT SOME SAY THERE ARE NINE, AND OTHERS SIMPLY SAY NOTHING ABOUT IT!"

- "A BLUEBIRD IS THE RIGHT MAN AND YOUR GUIDE ON THE WAY," THOUGHT ARLO. "WE MUST GET TO THE RESERVE AN HOUR SOONER, FOR THERE IS A GOOD DEAL OF DISORDER THERE, AND WE MAY NOT CATCH HIM. HE'S ALWAYS TRAVELLING ABOUT HIS OWN BUSINESS."

THE ROAD FROM COLORADO TO WISCONSIN WAS OVER A THOUSAND AND A HUNDRED MILES, WHICH MEANT THAT WE WOULD BE THERE AT LEAST SIXTEEN OR SEVENTEEN HOURS, IF NOT MORE.

ARLO SUGGESTED THAT WE HITCHHIKE, NOT ONLY BECAUSE HE THOUGHT THAT WAY WAS RATHER ROMANTIC, BUT ALSO BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT ATTRACT UNDUE ATTENTION.

BEFORE WE LEFT, HOWEVER, HE EXPRESSED A DESIRE TO TELL US A FEW WORDS ABOUT HIMSELF. WE AGREED OUT OF COURTESY AND LISTENED TO HIS BRIEF INTRODUCTION.

- SEE, I'VE LIVED OUTSIDE SOCIETY ALL MY LIFE - WE HIPSTERS WERE PART OF A FADING MOVEMENT THAT GENERALLY LIVED IN AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE. BUT I CAN CLEARLY SEE THAT YOU HAVE A CAUSE THAT BECOMES MINE AS WELL, AND I WILL HELP YOU GET TO THE TRUTH. I HOPE BLUEBIRD GIVES YOU WHAT YOU NEED.

 

[1]   From "How I See the World", a collection of essays and letters by the genius Albert Einstein

[2]  Jolly shops in the state of Colorado have been linked to the legal sale of marijuana, the first state to introduce such a measure.

[3] One of the five main tribes of the Iroquois League.

[4]  In the book "Traces of Souls", Michael Newton describes this first level as the place where souls are born and their energy is infused. It is also where their spirit guides are who guide them.

[5] Hipsterism is a youth movement that emerged as a counterculture in the United States in the 1960s.

[6] An allusion is made to Mamoru Oshi's legendary animation where an elite police group in post-apocalyptic Japan takes justice into their own hands.

GUS BENZOUR

CHAPTER TWELVE: GUS BENZOUR

 

WE WERE TRAVELING ON HIGHWAY EIGHTY AND THERE WE COULD CLEARLY SEE THE HEAVY TRAFFIC FROM CITIES LIKE SACRAMENTO AND AUCKLAND. WE ALSO HAD TO CROSS THE STATES OF NEBRASKA AND IOWA. AS WE TRAVELED, SOMEWHERE IN THE DISTANCE I GLIMPSED SMALL HOUSES SET IN AN ENDLESS FIELD DRAWING ELECTRICITY FROM WIND TURBINES. YES, THE WIND WAS THAT LIBERATING FORCE! THE RURAL IDYLL OF THE MIDDLE STATES WAS NOT TO BE UNDERESTIMATED - ESPECIALLY SINCE MANY PEOPLE WERE FORCED TO SURVIVE IN NEAR TOTAL SOLITUDE AND SOCIAL ISOLATION. BUT THEN AGAIN, EVERY ONE OF THOSE VILLAGERS HAD GUNS IN ABUNDANCE. BASS INSISTED THAT, IN ADDITION TO GUNS, THEY HAD AT LEAST ONE "WINCHESTER" HANDY.

THE DUDE WHO DROVE US WAS A SERIOUS PLANT TECHNICIAN WHO WAS GOING TO SOME AGRICULTURAL SHOW IN IOWA STATE, WHICH HAD ITS ADVANTAGES, BUT HE PROMISED TO HELP US ORGANIZE OUR TRANSPORTATION FURTHER. HIS PHYSIQUE WAS RELATIVELY LARGE AND HE WAS OVER ONE-EIGHTY TALL, WITH BROAD ENOUGH SHOULDERS TO IMPRESS THE LADIES HE WAS MOST LIKELY HITTING ON AT THE VARIOUS EVENTS. NOT THAT HE WAS A BAD GUY, AND HE WAS A CASUAL WHISTLER WITH HIS MOUTH!

HIS NAME WAS GUS, AND INWARDLY I THOUGHT HE WAS IN ON OUR IDEA OF HITCHHIKING. WHY AND WHY NOT! TOLD US HOW HE HAD WANTED TO DO THE SAME THING ALL HIS LIFE - ESPECIALLY WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER, BUT COINCIDENTALLY HADN'T BEEN ABLE TO.

DECIDED TO GIVE US A SHORT LECTURE AND DEFINITELY WHAT HE TOLD US HELPED US IN OUR FURTHER QUEST:

- CORN WAS REVERED BY THE INDIANS AS A SYMBOL OF LIFE ITSELF! AH, WE STOMP IT WITH OUR FEET!

HE LAUGHED SOMEWHAT SOURLY, BUT CONTINUED TO WATCH THE ROAD AHEAD, DRIVING MOST CAREFULLY. THERE WEREN'T TOO MANY VEHICLES ON THE ROAD AROUND US, BECAUSE SOMEHOW GUS MANAGED TO AVOID THEM AND KEEP A DISTANCE THAT WOULD HAVE PREVENTED A MORE SERIOUS ACCIDENT.

HIS RED PICKUP LOOKED BRAND NEW AND GLEAMED IN THE CHEERFUL SUN THAT SHONE FROM ABOVE - THOUGH SOMEHOW TOO DISTANT.

- THERE'S TOO MUCH SYMBOLISM IN THIS LIFE," HE SAID, TAKING A DRAG FROM A CIGARETTE THAT HE SOMEHOW MANAGED TO HOLD ON TO WHILE HE DRANK, "FOR INSTANCE, THIS PARTICULAR STATE WAS ONCE A DESERT, AND NOW IT'S ONE OF THE MOST AGRICULTURALLY DEVELOPED. AND THE OGALLALA RESERVOIR PROVIDES WATER FOR THE ENTIRE STATE. BUT YOU WANT TO