The Long Road to Gaia Read Online Free PDF

one checking in, so there wasn’t a problem.
    Until she tried to lead him upstairs. He
made no-no noises, and she sighed heavily, and went back to get a different
key. She led him out the back of the building to a row of single story rooms,
overlooking the large front garden of the house next door. It was overgrown,
and a workman was using a whipper snipper to do the job of a ride on mower.
    Noise. Just what he needed.
    The room had not been prepared, so he had
to wait a short while, as sheets and towels appeared, and things were made
ready.
    On the plane, he'd read '101 Tips for the
John of God Brazil Experience'. For the fourth time. He tested the shower. One
quarter turn, as the book suggested. Hot water, yes. One full turn, the water
went through warm and turned cold. Exactly the opposite of home, where you
turned the tap on full to get hot water. Chalk one up for the book, he thought.
    The room was basic. More than one star, but
not quite up to two star. The bed was hard, and the base squeaked as he sat on
it. He sighed, and wondered why he'd come.
    Left alone, the drone going on outside, he
lay down, and went to sleep.
     

Two
     
    Twelve was sitting at the table when I
appeared in our meeting place. I shook my head. He was at the far end of the
table, where he'd been during our first meeting here.
    I sat in my chair on the other side of the
table, and waved to the chair opposite me. He balked, and I waved again, more
emphatically this time. So far, he hadn't shifted each time we met, and the
conversation had been held down half the length of the table.
    Twelve hesitated, looked around as if to
see if anyone would mind if he moved, and reluctantly sat opposite me.
    Neither of us spoke for a time.
    "So," we both said together.
    I held a hand out, palm up, giving him the
go to speak first.
    "He got there okay?"
    "Yes. It was a grueling trip, but he
made it. The cabin staff on two of the flights are going to remember that
flight for a long time."
    "Make sure he sticks to the
rules."
    "I know."
    "The stakes are high, Thirteen. Don’t make any mistakes."
    "I know."
    "He's only fifty five. He won't see
his life's ambition until he's in his early eighties. It is essential he lives
that long."
    "I know."
    "The Entities are ready for him. They
know what he needs, better than he does."
    "I know."
    "See he follows the rules."
    "I KNOW!"
    "Calm down Thirteen."
    I sighed.
    I knew all this. I didn't need it rammed
down my human throat.
    "I'm loosely attached to him. He
doesn’t know I'm there. But except for the salad on the plane I told him not to
eat, he normally follows what I suggest. He'll get told. Trust me. Anything
else?" I asked.
    "No, I just wanted to make sure you
understood."
    "Fine. Can I go now?"
    "Yes."
    I left behind a small cloud of purple
smoke, just for the effect.
     

Three
     
    The sign said " Casa De Dom
Inacio." All was blue and white. The buildings were blue near the ground,
and white for the top half. The people all wore white.
    He stood there, in front of rows of seats, looking into the
main hall. More rows of seats, mostly full. As he looked around, he noticed
they were all occupied, both inside and out. He wasn’t late. People must get
here early.
    At the front of the main hall, was a raised
area. At the back of it, was a wooden triangle. Someone was leaning against it,
arms laid up the wooden sides.
    Suddenly, everything changed.
    He was standing in the middle of nowhere.
The clay was the same colour, as were the clumps of grass and small bushes.
    There was nothing at all around him. No
buildings, no people, no roads, no sign of anything familiar. He was alone in the
wilderness.
    Not quite nothing, and not quite alone.
    Some way away, was some sort of ship, which
he could only call bizarre in shape. Near it was a pretty girl in a one piece
dark red overall, which looked rather like it was leather.
    Now he noticed, he was wearing the same
thing himself. And suddenly he wasn’t, now wearing a white