Chapter Forty-Three: Explanations (Pt. 2)

At the Drone's behest they got up and walked down the paved paths alongside the park's interconnecting lakes. Tedford and Krystal listened as he illuminated them to his viewpoint on the Hive's higher purpose. It all sounds very similar to Tedford's explanation, yet not quite as dark, and was delivered with an air of superiority that comes from one brainwashed into a belief system, Tedford thought to himself. "Not brainwashed," the Drone corrected Tedford, reading his thoughts, "indoctrinated. I was taught the fundamentals, Tedford - enlightened, you might say, but it appears that this knowledge has somehow become foreign to you." Tedford bit his tongue and said nothing.

The Drone, for all his superhuman senses and abilities, wasn't immune, it seemed, to all of the physical necessities of his human body. As they approached a small building containing restroom facilities, he took his leave of them, giving Tedford only a knowing look, but with no words spoken. Tedford knew, and Krystal guessed, that even if they ran, the Drone would find them within minutes. For Krystal, however, it would be minutes well spent.

*****
As they ran toward the parking lot, Krystal recognized a man leaning against a vending machine that looked oddly familiar, and she stopped in her tracks. It was the man from her dream, Tanagua.

Tanagua opened an ethereal door, barely visible to the naked eye, and he stepped though it, almost entirely disappearing right before their eyes, and then beckoned Krystal and her companion to follow him. Krystal looked at Tedford, whose face registered completely and utter consternation, and said to him, "It'll be alright - I think I know this guy, I've seen him before."

Time seemed to stand still as Krystal and Tedford watched wide-eyed and flabbergasted at the singular scenes 'floating' before them. They weren't really floating, per se, but they seemed to be layered somehow in various positions around them, some closer and some further, and some more transparent than others, depending on which ones they focused on - like there was a fourth and a fifth dimension at work here. They could see glimpses of scenes through partially open doorways, and Tanagua explained that these portals allowed them to pass in between various times and places with minimal effort. Everything in the past and present was continually available, and was like an open book. In fact, Tanagua winked, things in the past aren't necessarily "set in stone" really - everything is malleable, subject to review and refinement at any time.

Krystal politely asked a question, "What do you know about 'The Hive'?" Tanagua's face remained unchanged, much to her fascination. (She had expected him to frown, to look serious, or something, but the warm comforting expression on his face remained.)

Tanagua's answer was somewhat cryptic. "There's an opposition in all things, Krystal. This planet is no exception. Every person who has ever lived is a remarkable combination of two opposing forces: the natural body and the eternal soul. The natural body brings with it the senses, and therefore worldly temptations. The eternal soul brings with it our minds, our reasoning, and our conscience. When the two opposites are married, the result is a complex dichotomy, a living breathing embodiment of fused yet polarized elements."

As they stepped through another doorway, Krystal smirked, "So all of us are bi-polar?" Tedford looked at her incredulously, but Tanagua's visage still emanated the warmth and pleasant countenance he always had. He continued, "The mortal struggle is characterized - nay, defined - by our actions and reactions to conflict and opposition. There are some at work that seek to capitalize upon certain types of situations as they arise. Some seek to alter conditions upon the timeline to advance their interests and agendas. 'The Hive', as you call them, are one of many such groups that we monitor." This piqued Tedford's interest. "Who is 'we'?" Tanagua smiled at him, and explained. "'We', dear Tedford, are emissaries of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator and God of this Earth and many more like it. The group known as the Hive have a limited focus to this particular planet, being mortals themselves, but 'we' have a vested interest in all of His creations, throughout the far and vast reaches of the Universe."

"You mean you can travel to other planets using these doorways?" Krystal blurted out. "Yes, my dear - distance is only one way in which things are separated. Time is another, of course, but there are others. We are granted access to traverse these sundry barriers in order to roll forth God's plan."

It was immediately obvious to both Krystal and Tedford that they had barely touched the surface of a magnificant and grand scheme, in the which they were but minute, insignificant pawns, the sheer dimensions of which were unfathomable to them. Their petty problems seemed just that now: petty and inconsequential. Suddenly, the Drone and the Hive didn't worry them anymore. They both instintively knew that when they returned back into their own proper place and time that their "problems" would still await them, but it all seemed so small as not to even occupy their minds.

A second later, and they were stepping out of the portal near the vending machines, and T-Bone slipped in a dollar in quarters and retrieved a bottled water. They walked back to where the Drone was now exiting the restroom, and it was then that the Drone noticed a subtle change in the comportment of his captives.