Starseeds

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. Yet, out here in the deafening silence, the void, this empty abyss, it’s the screams. Oh, God, it’s the screams. It’s the mind shattering shrieks clawing against my brain, ready to burst, screams. It’s the empty-full feeling in my ears; the invisible force seeming to trap the cacophony of despair in my head. And the Echoes. Oh, Goddess, the Echoes. A reverb of despondent despair riding the shockwaves pulsing throughout my entire Essence. The pain. Oh, Source, the Soul crushing pain. It crescendos through my entirety, a steady, accented staccato with each pulse. Those screams, I hear loud and clear.

Though, the voices are in my mind, the pain is all too real–physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The shadows of guilt, shame, and regret my constant lingering companions whimsically dancing around my Soul. They held the looking-glass back to that day. The day this all began. They told us we were the best hope for humanity’s continued existence and growth, Starseeds they called us. Our destiny is to create a New Earth. I fear I’m jumping ahead; you’re probably asking New Earth? What about Old Earth?

Let’s visit the events leading up to that day for context. Earth had collapsed. No, not literally. Society as a collective, irrevocably, became splintered and fractured. The Collapse, it became known as. It was Earth’s very own Dark Night of the Soul, they incessantly preached to us in their sermons. World-wide, society had become twisted, dark; humankind gave up kindness, eventually to lose their humanity. Dissent, hate, intolerance, and closed-mindedness swept across Mother Earth. The world was filled with so much negative energy; She was in danger of shifting back to a lower dimension.

Overnight it was like She flipped a switch. When the sun rose, globally, something had sparked within the masses. Across the world, in every country, citizens woke up to the ineptitude and corruption in each of their respective governments. This sparked mass uprising and call to action. The numerous social movements, groups, anyone with a belief to fight for all universally and collectively took to the same escalation of force. In the beginning what began as just mere protests had escalated to the point of world-wide rioting. Then came the Day of Reckoning. The day that would forever alter the course of humanity. The Collapse.

One man had foreseen these lines of events. He seen it in the stars he would tell people. Old Man had managed to amass a following from early on, decades before. “Follow the Stars,” he would preach. “For it is the tapestry which the great tale of the Universe is written.” The Old Man was engrossed in the stars. The Universe was his God and astrology Its living word. The Old Man knew he had to be ready for when that time arrived. He needed to be ready to enact what he viewed as his Highest Calling directly from the Universe. During that time, he continued to amass his following. In organizations he could not convert members, he would send in an agent to infiltrate. Old Man’s reach, didn’t take long, was deep. The covert network he had established spread like a wildfire sweeping across the globe. Capital and funding had quickly become a non-issue. Another piece to the Old Man’s grand design was to arm his following. He had the foresight to begin with a central compound. From there he sent out his most trusted and loyal disciples scattered across the country to do the same. Each, in turn, sending out disciples of their own to continue the cycle.

The Day of Reckoning came. That’s what the Old Man always called it. All the pieces were in place, and the Stars had decreed it was time for him to act. There is a plethora of theories on the details of the events that day. Details aren’t important. The unwitting distraction caused by the rioters and a secretly weaponized communications satellite is what led to the capture of The President. The Old Man, upon The President’s capture, had the following chain of events broadcast globally from the Oval Office. After a display of live footage showing the destruction of Capitol Hill from a beam of energy from the sky, The President offered no resistance in relinquishing control to the nation’s nuclear armaments, after threat of a second target in a densely populated civilian area. Having control of the nation’s nuclear armament, the Old Man launched a missile. World-wide people watched on video screens as the missile landed on its target. The Pentagon. The cascading crumbling of America’s military center set forth a domino of chain reactions. Military installations and government buildings either exploded or became under attack. All broadcast live, internationally. That was the last thing The President saw. The Old Man executed him with a single bullet between the eyes. He turned to the camera and began to preach that same old, tiresome sermon of his, as similar events began happening across the globe. The dominoes had rippled across Mother Earth, essentially toppling the world’s governments. The world descended into chaos and darkness.

Anarchy had become the new world order. Earth had become home to warring groups and factions. Each vying for control of food and resources. Murder and violence had become a norm. As much as things change, they stay the same. The strong always have preyed on the weak. Seduced the vulnerable. Programmed the weak-minded and willed. Deceived the narrow-minded. It was the darkness in the world, the suffering, the pain; a reflection of what was within me illuminated my purpose once my eyes were opened after my first Awakening. Again, I find myself jumping ahead. That’s what happened to “Old Earth.” True, it may have changed, but in the end, it was still the same-old.

I had a day of reckoning of my own. At this point, I must acquiesce, was most likely the singularity setting off the chain of events placing us in our current situation. Yet, again, I get ahead of myself. I was putting this off for as long as possible, but it’s bound to slip sooner or later. Might as well let the cat out of the bag now. I know this is dating myself, but I was around for The Collapse. Even more, I was a participant. I was amongst the group that captured The President. I always swore that was a secret I would take to the grave. But alas, there is my confession. That’s not even the kicker. Here’s the icing on the cake. The Old Man–that’s Dad. That’s right. The man that orchestrated The Collapse and pops is one and the same.

My mother passed right after giving birth to me. So, imagine being raised by that man as your only parent. Being forced-fed astrology and over and over, his incessant “follow the stars” sermon. It literally felt like being gagged. Day after day, he would tell me that I was destined for great things. The Universe had a role only I could fill. It was nails on a chalk board. Everything he did he told me was for me. I wanted to rip my hair out. But that was my dad. The man who raised me, made sure I had everything I needed. He was the only family I had. The only thing. Despite the excruciating annoyance growing up, I still loved the crazy old coot. Even so, the roots of disdain for destiny and fate or The Will of the Universe had already been sprouted within.

The moment pops pulled that trigger. That was the moment I had my first Awakening. Oh, God, I’ll never forget that moment. The flood of emotions and energy was overwhelming. Time had slowed to a crawl. A mere moment before the bullet pierced his skin, his eyes had locked onto mine. Under that dead-locked gaze, I was paralyzed. A flood of fear and hopelessness cascaded within me, permeating my entire being. It was suffocating. That despair. I knew, instantly, that fear wasn’t mine. I was absorbing, I was feeling what The President was. My eyes became waterfalls tracing my cheeks in salt. My heart had begun to race as my vision became blurry and sound muffled. Amidst the fog was a single point of clarity. His suffering marinated eyes and the hole that appeared between them. Oh, Goddess, I felt it like it was a touch. The moment his soul left his body. The moment the light went out in those eyes. The energy it lingered a fleeting moment before dispersing. Yet, the impact of that still haunts me.

This was when my eyes had become open to the darkness and suffering of the world. I’m not going to say it was fate or destiny. I felt compelled. I felt within me with a strong conviction, a calling, I suppose to help. After The Collapse, I had become appalled at the actions of my father. I haven’t seen him in the same light since. On top of that, was this newly “awakening.” In the beginning, it felt like a curse. Feeling everyone’s emotions as my own. Feeling the energy of a room. Let me tell you, the energies around headquarters after The Collapse were varied, yet mostly unpleasant. It got to the point I couldn’t tell whose emotions I was feeling. All I know, is I had to get away before it consumed me or drove me insane. Then I decided. One night, I just left and never looked back.

At first, I set out aimlessly wandering the country. Helping those I could when I came across them. I was a gypsy, I suppose. Slowly, progressively over time, I got a better grip on my “gifts.” I could differentiate between my feelings and energy from that of others. It made it a little easier to ride those waves. The Echoes. I was down in The Bayou that chanceful day. Call if fate if you’re so inclined. I helped a fellow down there escape from a gator. After thanking me he left me a business card. The logo was mirroring “K’s” standing back-to-back within a star. “1111 CunxSext Transit, New Orleans, LA 70114” was the address. No company name or title. I instinctively flipped the card over to see a phrase in black ink. “Follow the stars,” it read. My first impulse had been to just toss it after reading that so-stale phrase. But again, I felt something within compelling me to see what was at the end of that road.

What did I find at the end of that road? A single man. Chiron Nouveau was the name he gave. A man just like pops. Engrossed with the stars and The Universe. Its calling. Firmly holding The Will of the Universe is written in the stars and astrology is the voice. Though some key views differed from those of Dad’s. For as much disdain as I held for that, I told myself to keep an open mind and hear this guy out. What he offered, was a greater purpose, and a more efficient way to carry it out. Chiron put all the cards on the table up front. That intent was his recruitment.

Chiron gave me the grand tour, explained their mission. Explained how it was all written in the stars. Forget the Will of the Universe and all of that. Just the means to the greater purpose alone, would have been enough to get my signature. I’m not getting ahead of myself this time, though let’s just say there was a bonus surprise added for signing on. He told me humankind on Earth was essentially doomed. Darkness and despair would lead the world to oblivion. He explained to me the special group of people termed Starseeds. Twelve members in total he told me. One for each corresponding Sun sign of the Zodiac. And each having differing spiritual gifts or aptitudes. Only one spot remained. A Virgo. Not just any Virgo he said. Of course, this part was written in the stars, but I digress. It was a remix of pops. How I’m destined for great things and the Universe has a role for only me. He revealed to me that my “gift” was that I was an empath. I could absorb the energy around me and feel it as my own. I knew that much. He then revealed that there was much more to it than that. He went on to say I was to be the central cohesive core of the team. Later it would be revealed that the main differentiating factor dividing me from the rest of the group was I was the only one truly human. The rest were homunculi, or artificially created humans. Each hand-crafted to consist of a particular birth chart. Further, each instilled with spiritual gifts. Chiron instructed me on the philosophy of transhumanism. He revealed they discovered how to merge science and technology with the spiritual plane. That didn’t sit well with me, of course, but that didn’t divert me from my commitment. He said the hope for continued existence lay amongst the stars, passed Earth’s horizon. What he revealed next, even after all that’s happened up to this point, I still can’t believe it. The APP, Chiron proudly called it. A moniker for Astral Projection Pod. A vessel sized sphere with astrological markings covering it. At the point an opening appeared in the sphere, I was no longer able to be astonished. Inside the sphere, the floor had the appearance of a dial with each zodiac in a circle each with a pod. Chiron explained that by merging science and the spiritual, the vessel was capable of astral projection on a physical level, and thus capable of faster-than-light travel. The pods acted as life-support for the team. The mission of the team was to traverse the universe in search of a New Earth. And to propagate the continued growth of our species.

Leaving alone destiny and fate, I was all for it. I signed up. What followed was intensive training under spiritual guru’s and masters. Meditation, astral projection, energy manipulation, reiki healing, the list goes on. The twelve of us Starseeds trained, ate, and lived together. The groups cohesiveness was paramount to our mission. In short time, we had become a family. Chiron had given me a “title.” A symbol to The Universe’s calling for me. I have no love for it, so I will not divulge it. I made well-known my distaste of it, and in the end acquiesced to allowing them to call me by the acronym E.D. Not long after, I adopted the name Ed and discarded my old one. I had no use for it. It’s been so long; I don’t think I even remember it.

It was during this time that I had my own Day of Reckoning. Outsiders had gotten wind of the scientific research and procedures going on at the facility. An abomination. A bunch of demonic heathens. Playing God. The labels varied, but the prejudice and judgment were consistent. News had reached The Old Man. Sharing the same sentiment, and with The Universe directing him through the stars, he set upon the facility. The Starseeds were all in the APP running simulations, during the attack. Pop’s forces were slaughtering everyone on their way to the Spirit Chamber, where the APP was housed. After the personnel, manning the monitors and systems were shot, mine and Dad’s eyes locked.

He called out the name he had given me.

“My name’s Ed.” I told him with no emotion.

“The Universe told me that I would find you here.” He began. “That’s the only reason I didn’t utterly outright level this place. Son, come back to where you belong. The Universe has a role for you. Only you can do it.”

As I stared at his out-stretched hand, everything went fuzzy. The last thing I remember before the darkness settled, was the collective screams piercing through my mind. The pain, agony, and suffering of those being slaughter. The cries for help. The stench of burning flesh permeated my nostrils, siphoning the breath from my lungs. The sounds weren’t the end. I could feel the crushing despair. The fear of those lives being taken away. I felt the hate. The prejudice. The misguided anger of those who invaded. The last thing I saw was my father crumbling to the floor after being shot as I fell back towards the floor. For a moment, I could swear I saw the floor below me spinning and lights flashing. My body felt like it was spiraling down a hole at the same time my soul was floating the opposite direction. That was when it all went black.

I was the first to come to and the only one not in a pod. I had quickly set upon rising the others from their slumber. Upon our waking, set of events were quickly set into motion that has brought us to where we find ourselves in the present. Scanning the black void surrounding me, littered with stars in the backdrop, I notice my eleven companions near me. All of us placed in a circle in a lying position. Only I seem to be conscious.

“Tell me.” I hear a voice in my mind.

I turn my head to find myself peering up into an ethereal visage with three eyes.

“What?” It was hard to concentrate through The Echoes. The darkness, the suffering it was too much.

“Tell me.” The Visage continued. “Tell me, what has brought you here.”

“Okay.” I silently screamed in reply. “I’ll tell you.”