The Well Warden

Al followed Keeper Rami down a long, cold corridor. Torchlit walls glowed a soft, flickering orange against the blue-grey of the stone. Charcoal sketchings of what appeared to be constellations covered the entirety of the walls. The thumping and squeaking of Al’s boots echoed up and down the hall. The keeper was silent. Everything about him was silent. Each stride was exerted with such intention and precision that it was as though he were floating. Who was this man? Who were these people? Al reflected back on what Jakob had told him at the camp.

“Sitting and following the breath is the foundation of all balance, but the most important step is integrating these skills into everyday life.”

He began to follow the sensation of his chest rising and falling as they continued down the hall. He listened to the rhythmic echoing of his thumping and squeaking and felt the subtle impact that moved up his legs each time he took a step.

“This must be a lot for you to process. Especially since you're so new to the continent.”

Al turned to meet a bright, joyful smile from Keeper Rami. Given the earlier interaction between the keeper and Master Omari, he hadn’t been sure what to expect and was pleasantly surprised.

“I’m just glad that Jakob was around to find me and help. Those traffickers would have killed me.” A few silent seconds passed as they walked down the hall before he looked back up to Keeper Rami. “This really is a lot to understand. What is this place?”

The keeper raised his eyebrows and his smile grew wider.

“Before I can tell you that, you’ll have to tell me what you know about Antarctica.”

As they walked, Al investigated the constellation-like figures on the walls.

“I know that the continent started to melt faster as the oceans rose. By the time governments began mining the land, Helios already controlled the global helium-3 supply and ended up annexing the continent. I know that after the Antarctic Conflict, people were drafted to mine the land for Helios. It was a DMZ during World War III and after the fighting was over, Helios moved its capital to Janus on Mars. Now Henosia on the peninsula is really the only safe spot left outside of the mining lines.”

The keeper’s face grew solemn and he lowered his gaze to the floor.

“And now too many poor souls are left to either mine the inner continent under Helios or scavenge the chaos of the Outlands in hopes to buy a ticket to the old world.”

The terror Al had experienced upon arriving to the continent overcame him. His stomach dropped and he could feel his face and ears swelling with an exasperated warmth. He looked to the floor and suppressed the urge to raise his voice.

“So... what is this place? Why do you patrol the outlands helping people? And what is the well?”

“We are sworn to protect the well. I am the well’s keeper, oath-bound to look after it. Jakob and Omari are wardens, guardians of the well. Part of this responsibility inherently includes the protection of anyone experiencing suffering. In time, you will understand.”

The keeper was silent for a while and looked down the hall with what appeared to be an empty gaze. All that could be heard was the thumping and squeaking of Al’s boots. An empty stone doorframe became visible. The deep, rich orange of the mountainside sunset poured through and washed the hall in light. They exited the hall onto a dirt footpath. Bright orange light reflected off the mountain peaks. Al could feel the cool air move through him. Past a few rocky slopes to his right, he could make out the glimmering of the sun setting over the Ross Sea. The keeper’s voice cut through the air as Al looked out in wonder.

“There used to be more of us.” The rope fence separating the path from the steep, rocky slopes below swayed in the mountain breeze. “The first monastery was near the center of West Antarctica. There were many of us. People of all occupations pursuing freedom from attachment and aversion through clear nature of mind.”

A breeze from over Ross Bay whistled through the mountains and the dirt crunched under Al's boots. After a sharp left curve, the path began to take on a steeper incline.

“Nature of mind.” Al had heard that before. Jakob had mentioned it when teaching him his awareness and perception exercise.

“What is this nature of mind I have been hearing about? Does it have anything to do with these attention exercises that Jakob has been trying to teach me?”

They came upon what appeared to be a cave entrance. The keeper stopped walking and turned to look towards Al.

“Tell me, Al. Have you ever heard about the works of Carl Jung?”

Al thought for a moment. He recognized the name a little bit.

“The name sounds familiar, but I don’t remember any specifics.”

Keeper Rami nodded and entered the cave. As they began to walk through the narrow, torch lit mountain tunnel, he continued.

“Jung proposed many theories of our own mental processes. One of his most prominent was that of the collective unconscious.” As they stepped carefully through the rocky, narrow tunnels, loose stone could be heard falling from the ceiling. “Many scientists of his time already agreed that underneath the surface of our everyday thoughts and perceptions, many unperceivable cognitive processes are occurring. This was referred to as the subconscious.”

The tunnel began to open wider and the two entered a rather large cave space. The keeper continued.

“Jung believed that although we function as individuals with independent modes of thinking, there are memories deep within our subconscious that two independent individuals with completely different life experiences can share. He believed that the subconscious mind was a compressed set of seemingly infinite memories dating back to the beginning of whatever life we evolved from.”

The flickering orange of more torches painted the walls and an empty, flat space lay in the center of the room. They stopped walking for moment.

“Nature of mind is the shared experience of all life on earth. One could think of the Earth as an entity of its own.”

The keeper looked up towards the ceiling.

“Just as we are the sum of our parts, we are a part the Earth’s network of life as a whole. Together, under the gravitational network of the Earth, we exist within an interconnected timelessness of all past, present, and future life of the planet. This is the nature of mind.”

Al didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing. The keeper’s gaze shifted towards the flat surface on the floor in the center of the room.

“And now we must discuss the well. Please have a seat in the flat area in the center of the room and remember the attention techniques you were shown.”

Al walked across the cave’s rough stone floor and sat down in the center. He could feel the cool, smooth surface on his palms as he adjusted himself into a proper posture. The keeper drew a deep, patient breath. All was silent in the cave but the slow dripping of condensation from the ceiling. He exhaled slowly and continued speaking.

“These wells are special because they subtly refract the gravitational fields around them. A passerby could encounter these locations and wouldn’t notice a thing, but an individual trained in attentional control can utilize these spaces to access areas within the subconscious that transcend the material present.”

Keeper Rami’s face began to grow noticeably more serious in expression. Al could feel his palms begin to sweat.

“I’m going to have to ask of a lot from you, Al. You are new to the art of attentional control, but for reasons I cannot fully explain right now, I need you to attempt navigating this gravity well.”

Al could feel his face swelling with heat again. He took a deep breath, focusing on the sensation of the air passing through him.

“And how do you know I am even capable of this?”

The keeper looked into Al’s eyes with a soft smile.

“An old friend told me you will be able to handle it. At the moment, that is all I can say. Did the wardens also tell you about the five colors of nature of mind?”

Al shifted his seated position upon hearing this.

“I think so. Blue for the openness of conscious experience, white for clarity of form, yellow for connection and emotion, red for clear judgement of perception, and green for motivation and accomplishment.”

“Excellent. Time is of the essence, so we must begin. Proceed with the attentional exercise you were taught. Once you feel yourself enter the gravity current, listen for my voice.”

Al straightened his seated posture and began to feel the rising and falling of his chest as he breathed. He felt the sensation of the air flowing through his nostrils. He felt a warm glowing sensation in his limbs slowly spread through his body and up to the crown of his head. Almost immediately, what began as a subtle feeling of floating shifted to a great falling sensation. Al struggled to maintain balance in the face of this intensity. He could hear the words of the keeper as if they were echoing across a valley from afar, but he couldn’t understand their meaning.

It felt as though he was being swept into a whirlpool. In front of him he saw a bright blue light, blazing through every cell in his body. Almost immediately, he began to fall into a tumble and was surrounded by a dull white light. As he fell, he approached a new, blinding white light, but tumbled again and found himself enveloped in a dull smokiness. He began to panic. He saw a brilliant yellow light cut through the smoke, but it was so intense that he flinched and was suddenly cast further into a dull blue space. He could still hear the keeper’s voice, but at this point it was completely indiscernible. A bright red light soared past him as he fell into a dull yellow. He could feel himself losing control.

As he plunged towards a sea of dull red, a brilliant green light cut through and a shimmering, verdant hand caught him. As he was drawn closer to the bright green light, he saw a figure becoming clearer. To Al’s shock, he found himself looking at the figure of what appeared to be himself. The figure cast a gentle smile that transformed from shimmering blue to yellow and finally to green. Al felt a sense of relief wash over him, as though he was safe in the presence of this figure. Suddenly, the individual’s face became stern, and it appeared as though they were communicating something. The figure’s color gradually shifted into a dull, smoky purple that stuck to the surface of Al’s skin like tree sap. He tried to shake this feeling off and panicked. All color, shape, and space around him folded in on itself. When he began falling again, he saw a bright white light pierce through the haze and he felt himself being propelled upwards.

Al opened his eyes and immediately collapsed backwards onto the floor of the cave from his seated position. The keeper looked to him with a grave stare.

“I apologize that we did not have the time to fully prepare you for this. What did you see?”

“I was falling into a dull, red light when something reached out and caught me. It… It looked like myself.” Al sat back up and began to reorient himself to the cave around them. “He… He tried to tell me something. He looked upset and I couldn’t understand anything. I panicked and almost fell further.”

“What color was his message?”

“Purple. A dull, smoky purple.”