File 60 - Planetoid 23A

“Ashley Baker, personnel number 17635. You should be dead, by all accounts. We have conflicting reports from your rescue crew. Can you clarify from the beginning? What exactly happened to you on planetoid 23A?”

The investigation counselor sat across the table from Ash, addressing her rather sternly. He had an incredulous air about him. Ash knew he was skeptical of the possible rumors going around about what had happened to her. She took a deep breath and began to recount her experience, and the message she carried to the world.

“As you know, I was assisting the prospecting mission, working closely with Roger Miller personnel number 26754. We were scouting within close proximity to our mobility craft within an area on the western subcontinental drift qualified as delta dash nine.”

“Our mineral sniffers were getting strong indications of strontium 45. All was going well, and just before our last safety and location broadcast back to mother station; we experienced a sudden shift in atmosphere.”

Ash recalled the terror she had experienced as the electrical storm erupted around her and Roger.

“The atmospheric pressure dropped sharply, and a strong wind rose all around us. I found it hard to navigate, or to move properly as the wind rose in strength. Visibility dropped to less than 15 meters as the wind grew in strength. The electrical interference alert system in my exploration suit gave me a warning alarm as bolts of lightning began to form all around me.”

“I became disoriented and was startled to realize that Roger was nowhere to be seen. When I tried to reach him through my intercom, all I could hear was static. I had my nav-map, but it was acting erratic, and I could hardly see the screen in the storm. I was walking slowly into the blinding sand and wind, when suddenly a cliff face appeared before me. I immediately decided to search for shelter among the boulders by the cliff’s base.”

Ash paused and looked around her. There were maybe twenty council members in the examination room, seated in chairs arranged in an arc that faced away from the examiner’s bench with her in between them sitting on a chair of her own. She felt herself being examined like an insect under a microscope, but knew it was her path to share her story. She imagined she would be questioned many times to come.

“As I drew near the boulders, I discovered a small cave opening in the cliff’s face several feet above the sand. The cave gave me hope of escape from the lightning. I scrambled up the rubble that had accumulated along the cliff’s base, and barely managed to hoist myself into the dark opening. I found myself sheltered within a small stone chamber, and I immediately began trying to reach Roger.”

“I still couldn’t get a message through on my intercom. I tried changing channels to mother station, but my intercom was useless. When I tried my nav-map, everything displayed as a scrambled mess. I decided it was time to activate my beacon, feeling the emergency justified a distress signal. Just as I activated my beacon, all the electronics in my suit shut down.”

Ash watched as the examiner wrote several lines on a document. She was about to go on when the examiner looked at her and spoke in a very calculating way. “We received your distress beacon pulse, which lasted for nearly five seconds before terminating. When we arrived at the coordinates we received, you were nowhere to be found. As you know, we were able to recover Roger quickly. But we are still unsure how we lost track of you. Please go on.”

Ash had spoken to Roger since her return and discovered that he had become disoriented as well and had wondered in nearly the opposite direction. His exploration suit withstood the storm better than hers, and he had activated his beacon immediately giving the rescue crew an easy target to navigate by. Ash didn’t feel upset with herself for not activating her beacon sooner. She recalled how challenging the situation had been and knew she had done her best. She never allowed the officials to strong arm her in any way. It was challenging enough being a woman in an occupation dominated by men. Ash calmed herself with a deep breath and continued her story.

“I was very alarmed, and immediately reached for my reserve vital statistics gauge. Fortunately, my back up primary life system was still functioning. I only had half of my oxygen generation capacity left, and knew I had to find a way back to Roger and our mobility craft. I also knew it was important to stay in a fixed location and felt divided on what to do. I was unsure my beacon had sent a readable signal and feared running out of oxygen.”

Ash thought for a moment about how she could explain what happened next. It seemed very unreal to her logical mind, but in her heart, she experienced it as factual as the sun that rises.

“I decided not to wait, fearing the beacon had failed. My life system’s oxygen supply was dropping steadily, and I knew the mobility craft wasn’t far away. The storm had settled greatly, so I climbed out of the cave, quickly realizing just how lost I had become. I didn’t recognize anything, and I couldn’t tell which direction to go. I was trying to decide what to do next, when I noticed a green light appearing all around me.”

Ash could see the examiner smiling at her, not even trying to hide his skepticism about her experience. Ash didn’t mind. What she had learned from her experience had already changed the way she acted toward people around her. She knew there was never any reason to take anything personally.

“I was surprised by the light, and immediately checked my oxygen levels. I was relieved to see that my life support systems were normal, and I watched as the light grew in strength. I started to feel strange and realized that all the fear within me was slowly dissolving. There were shapes slowly moving within the light, and as my eyes adjusted, I began to see a lush forest all around me, covered in leaves that were gently swaying in a breeze. I had never seen such a forest before. The green light came from the leaves, as the sun shined through them. I thought there was no question I was dying, but there was no fear in me. I blinked my eyes, and the forest was as solid as you and me. I looked down and realized I was still in the same place, but the world around me was no longer harsh and devoid of life.”

Ash listened as the people in the audience whispered among themselves. The counselor continued writing and speaking to Ash without raising his eyes. “Do go on, Ms. baker.” Ash put aside any feelings of dejection from the skeptical people around her.

“As I said, all the fear had vanished from me. I stood there simply enjoying the beauty around me. The plants and trees were amazing, as if this was the first time I had set eyes on another living thing my whole life. To experience a forest this far from Earth was beyond my imagination. I was growing warmer and realized there must be a hot tropical climate all around me. I knew I had little oxygen left and wondered if the vegetation meant I could breathe the air. While I was thinking about this, I noticed a new light emanating from beyond several large trees that stood near me. The light drew my eyes, and I could see that within the light were figures. The light seemed to come out of them, and they were approaching me. They had a vaguely humanoid appearance but were ephemeral and had little definition. Immediately I could feel their intentions and presence. They were speaking to me, and I realized they were speaking without making sounds. There words came in through my heart, carried on a sensation of love.”

“The beings of light comforted me and told me I had been carried into a higher vibrational dimension that coexists alongside the lower vibrational reality we humans usually perceive. This is the message they gave me and asked me to carry to Earth. Planetoid 23A seems lifeless to us, but it is actually covered in lush rainforests and pristine life. I felt my interconnection to the beings of light, and to everything around me. It was clear that everything is made of the same material and is sustained by the same intelligence. I knew that the intelligence is inherent within all things regardless of human perception. Visions flashed before my eyes showing me the nature of this interconnection, and how there is not one aspect of reality that is ever more or less important than any other.”

“The beings of light showed me their world. Everyone on planet Planetoid 23A speaks through the interconnection of life, and they have no ruler to govern them. Instead, everyone moves and operates as one cohesive whole, and in that way, everyone manages all things together. Their society is built on cooperation and interconnectedness, instead of competition and division. Nothing is ever wasted, and everything they do supports and protects the inhabitants and their planet from harm. Their state of perfection comes from the deep perception and experience of the universal truth of life that permeates all things, even across infinite galaxies and time."

" I could see how the intelligence of life is never lost, and how it only ever re-materializes within one physical form after another. The fear of death vanished from me as I realized my own eternal nature. This perception belongs to humans and Earth as well as every being in the universe, and we are all an example of this truth. We only have to open our eyes by choosing the truth that is inherent within us. It is a truth that opens your eyes to the miracle of the world around us. They are still with me now. And they are with all of you as well. We can ask for the truth at any time through the interconnection of life, where we are eternally interconnected. We must lay aside our illusory differences and divisions and come to recognize that we are all one. The truth is love, and it is the common bond between us.”

“I felt a newfound purpose within me to share these truths with the Earth. The beings of light were pleased with me, and I felt it was time to return. The forest began to fade around me, dissolving back into a green light, and then disappearing altogether. Even though I could no longer see the forest and the beings of light, I could still feel their presence, and knew that all around me there existed another world. I found that my suit’s electronics were working again, and that is when I signaled for help from mother station. My oxygen supply was nearly gone, and I was thankful for a quick response. I was surprised when the support team informed me that I had been gone for three days.”

Ash knew she would meet resistance. The beings of light told her many people would never listen to her story, reassuring her that her message and experience would leave ripples echoing though all things. She was not the same person she had been, and she was thankful. The counselor finished writing and looked up to address Ash and the council members.

“We have no choice but to take your account as the official record of your experience and disappearance. All accounts will be investigated. Do you have any final words Ash?”

Ash felt the urge to stand and address the council members. She spoke four words. “Always follow your heart.”