DAVE GEORGE
THE FLAMING LAKE




- Aula, Aula where are you? – she spoke quietly, almost whispering. - Aula, for God's sake, reply me.
Zena knew she had to find Aula. The matter was urgent and she was in the Dangerous. As the souls used to tell her, she should avoid the Dangerous. She heard terrible stories from the souls of these winding ghostly red halls where Aula was hiding. She knew that the Guards could grab her any time. She knew what they would do to her. But she had to take that chance. She actually had no choice.
Aula was a Prophetess, the only one left after the Third Cycle which ended ingloriously for the human race. When the souls took over, Aula was forced to retreat to the Dangerous, ghostly red halls built by humans in the middle of the Third Cycle. Retreat and wait. Zena knew Aula was hoping to destroy the souls one day, no matter when. To tell the truth, her powers were collosal even now, but not nearly as great as the souls.
Zena remembered the First Cycle, one fine stage in the Earth's history when humanity started to envade space. Not to colonize it, but simply explore it in great detail. Then, towards the beginning of the First Cycle, with the plans of colonization of other worlds, they made computers which, as microtechnology was advancing, became more and more advanced themselves. It was the golden age of the history of humanity, indeed.
Somewhere in the middle of the Second Cycle hyperdriven ships were constructed and planet Mars was colonized. Then Venus. Then people, aware of their powers, started to leave for other Astral systems and continued their colonization. The process was inevitable for the humanity on Earth was crowded, and people lived much longer than they used to. They lived for two hundred, two hundred and fifty years and not sixty or seventy as in the beginning of the First Cycle any more. They no longer died of diseases, but of old age.
In the beginning of the First Cycle earthmen organized a systematic search for their brothers by reason. Giant ears of radio-telescope were directed towards the sky, receiving signals from immeasurable interuniversal distances and sending them over to the computer center where the data were processed. The eyes of optical telescopes could see far away and take a good look at the starry systems thousands of light years away. But nothing was found. It seemed that the space was silent. Humans dreaded that they were alone in the dark nowhere of the Universe.
And then, when there was no hope left at all, contact was made. Contact with another civilization, far more superior than the Earthly civilization. The contact with souls. This was at the end of the Third Cycle.
That period marked the end of the human reign on Earth. Now the Aliens became the masters. Now they could rule the crowds and do what they will. And their imagination was vivid. Vivid and distorted. For earthlings, of course, for in their original world what they did was quite common.
And so, instead of the human race colonizing the space and conquering new areas, it allowed itself to be conquered. Conquered in the real sense of the word.
Sometime in the middle of the Third Cycle, the scientists in the laboratories on Earth found the way to store memories of the dead from the grey mass in their skulls to crystal computer memories and in that way save life after death. But these were inconceivably expensive services, so hardly anyone could afford such pleasure.
Humans knew how to store minds, not souls. But the Aliens did.
Actually, the Aliens were the souls. Earthlings knew a lot about them. They knew that the Aliens conducted an experiment some ten thousand years ago and tried to separate spirit from the body and store it into computer memory. They knew that their first attempt was a failure. But they were persistent in their endeavors, so persistent in fact that after six hundred years they succeeded.
Their knowledge was great. They knew the structure of the matter and it was clear to them that their form prevented them in their further progress.
The Aliens once had a humanoid form. They had brain. But their brain could not think fast. At least not fast enough they thought it should. After numerous experiments they realized that the spirit is unbound and primary. And they realized that the spirit cannot exist without matter.
And so they transformed their bodies and settled in new homes, made of the indestructible material which existed on their planet.
For centuries the Aliens searched for some foreign race. Their souls wandered from one solar system to the other until they found what they were looking for. The Aliens wanted to have fun. In their own way. And their wish was granted.
Once they received reasonable signals from outer space, the Earthlings rushed to a far away sun in their hyperdriven ships...
... and they brought the Aliens to the Earth. In the beginning, the Aliens were friendly and told them everything about themselves. Or, almost everything. For example, they did not say they allowed themselves to be shipped over to the Earth just for the change of scenery. And that they had indestructible thirst for human suffering.

- Aula – Zena whispered again, a little louder this time. She turned around to check if the Guards had noticed her. She stopped breathing and listened. She could only hear her heart beating fast in her chests. It was alright, then. The Guards did not notice her presence.
She stepped up and turned in the other hall covered in complete darkness, when something grabbed her by the hand and pulled her to the side.
She almost screamed. She almost died of fear. Her heart was beating wildly now, her palms were sweaty. She recovered her breath when she saw who it was.
- What are you doing her? – the Prophetess asked. She dragged her down the hall and deeper into the darkness. - Zena, didn't I tell you not to come her! – she hissed.
- But I had to come, Aula. I need your help - Zena said in one breath.
- Help? It must be something important when you dared come to the Dangerous. – She stopped talking suddenly, as if she were listening to something, and said: - Come with me. This isn't a good place for talking.
The Prophetess must know where she is taking me, Zena thought. She knows all hidden places around here, she was taking courage, while fear was creeping into her very being. She knew she was trembling and she felt embarassed for Aula. But she could not suppress her own fear. She was walking through the dark hall and even though she knew Aula would not hurt her, even though she knew the Prophetess was on her side, she was afraid of the dark. She feared mostly because she could not see anything, because she could not make out any movement, because everything was so still.
The Prophetess stopped.
- Wait a minute – she said and starting saying some incomprehensible words quietly. A quiet, hardly recognizable sound was heard coming from inside the walls. – Come on – Aula said and pulled her by the hand. – We'll have to stay in dark – she spoke somewhat louder than before. – These walls have solid sound insulation, but any artificial light might draw Guards' attention. I'm not saying it would, but it could happen. Especially if they have the detectors, and I believe they have acquired these tools by now. – The Prophetess sighed. – Why did you come over her?
- Because of Ul. He wants to break into the Operative Center with some of his friends and try to destroy the souls.
- He's mad – the Prophetess said. – That Ul of yours has gone completely out of his mind!
- That's what I told him, but it's no use. You know how stubborn he is, Aula – Zena was saying placatingly. – You have to help us and that's why I'm here.
- Help you? – the Prophetess smiled. – How do mean that, Zena? Only if you sent Ul down here. No, Zena, I don't believe he would do that.
- I don't believe either, but I'll try to talk to him. You know, Aula, I'm really scared for him. He is so whimsical.
They stopped talking. Zena tried to remember what the Prophetess was wearing when they met last time. She had ebony black robe and some charms around her neck. Charms she believed in and which, as she once told Zena, were the only things that could help her destroy the souls. Provided she reached the Transfer, that is. Zena did not know what it meant, but she believed it was something important.
Aula was a beautiful young woman. She must have had been around ninety, but Zena could have sworn she was no more than sixty. She had oval white face and full black slanted eyebrows. Her eyes were black and deep and her lips full and sensual. Her hair was long and messy. Always. She had no time for dressing up. In her constant running away from the Guards she struggled for her life. Besides, she was meditating all day. She was putting her best efforts to reach the Transfer.
- And where are we now, Prophetess? – Zena asked quietly.
- I told you you could speak up – Aula said and then answered: - In a run-down room the Guards do not visit. It's the safest place, Zena. I discovered that room purely by chance, when I went to the Silver for food. The Guards rarely control the Silver, for there are permanent vitamin pills which they do not use as food. At my surprise, there I discovered something else. Something like a prysm. The Guards have probably seen it, but they thought it was of no importance, so they left it there. – She stared at Zena. – There is an arrangement of all secluded rooms in the Dangerous in that prysm. And the codes to get into them. It can all be seen clearly if the prysm is set approximately at the angle of seventy degrees and if it is illuminated evenly from all sides.
Zena felt the Prophetess reacher her hand. She carressed Zena on the cheeck and said: - Now go, Zena. Go! Go and pursuade your brother to call me!




- o -




When the Aliens conquered the Earth with their powers impinging upon people's consciousness and turning them into obedient servants, they appointed the Guards, symbiotic creatures made of human beings and machines in charge of taking care of the Dangerous, the Silver and other halls of the Temple and bringing individuals to seances in the Operative Center.
The seances never lasted more than two or three hours, which was enough for the souls to have their fun. Once they were done, the Aliens would release the subjects and bring them back to normal lives.
They had no set plan when they will take someone to the Operative Center and how often. But if the subject responded fervently, they tried to bring him as frequently as possible.
The control over the Earthlings was not permanent, and there was no need for it. The souls were indestructible. The Aliens were aware of that, so they allowed themselves to behave so casually.




- o -




Ul somehow managed to gather six of the bravest who were willing to go with him to the Temple. He thought that the souls were somehow interconnected, which would make their task much easier. If they managed to destroy at least one Alien, he thought, that would cause a chain reaction and all the souls would be dead.
His green eyes were ablaze with a strange glow as he spoke to the six chosen ones.
- We must destroy the souls!
- Yes! – everybody cried.
- Enough with their tortures!
- Enough! Enough! Enough!
Ul opened up his cloak under which he wore a ruo – gun attached to a linen belt. A deep scar was visible on his well-built chest, covered in sweat.
- This is what I got the last time I tried to find the Prophetess – he spoke with pride, although one could feel in his voice a note of bitterness. – The Guards gave me this stigma! – he hissed. – But now they will meet Ul. Both them and the Aliens!


- o -




Zena sneaked away quickly through the opening as the Prophetess said the code. She knew she was passing through complete darkness, but she was not afraid. She was afraid of nothing. Not even the Guards.
She had to find Ul. As soon as possible. She had to send him to Aula. Alone, without the six madmen. Last time the Guards stigmatized her brother. He was not careful and they caught him. She knew the next time they would kill him.
She reached the middle of the Dangerous when she heard some noise. She was petrified. She had nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. In fear, she looked one way, and then the other. Noone was there. She waited for some time, cowered and numb. Nothing. She must have been hearing things. Stigl
She speeded up. She was trying to hold her breath. There was just a little more to go to the end of the hall and then she would exit the Dangerous and be safe.
She stopped suddenly. The Guards! They knew she was there and they waited for her. The three of them stood at the end of the Dangerous, blocking her way. She turned around instinctively and started running the other way. But she did not get too far. Another two Guards appeared in front of her.
She started crying. There was nothing she could do. The Guards were approaching her slowly. They were grinning and saying: - She will be stigmatized before the souls take her under.




- o -




How red that lake is, Zena thought as she stood on the edge of the cliff and looked at the flaming water down below. The blue sun was burning hot and she felt sweat running down her back. She covered her eyes with her hand and looked at the sky. It was indigo blue. She could see downy clouds in the distance, but it seemed to her they were not moving. Strange, she thought. She was not familiar with such landscape. She was sure she had never seen it before, she had never created it in her immagination. She did not wonder what she was doing there. She knew she was looking for something and she knew exactly what it was.
Ul was caught by the Pious. It happened the night before last night, when the Pious were especially active. They rarely dared enter into the area of the Flaming Lake. Zena did not know why, but she could guess. The Pious not only feared the lake, but they thought of it as some kind of divinity.
She somehow managed to get away from them. It was a little strange how she did it, especially since the Pious came in large numbers and literally prevented her from running away. Both her and her brother. She remembered. Ul was fighting hard not to get caught. His shiva – knife tore into the bodies of his attackers. But not for long. They caught him and tied him up. And then they took him along.
She did not know which way they went. To the north? Or to the west, perhaps?
So she stood, looking at the Flaming Lake and thought. It was of no use. She might as well be thinking for hours and try to determine which way they had taken Ul away.
She was already resigned herself with Ul's fate, when she thought she saw a human figure in the distance. Air was frickling with steam and everything was rippling in front of her eyes. She looked down and covered her face with her hands. Her eyes were burning insufferably and tears started to appear in them.
She somehow managed to supress all nelagodnosti and raise her head up again. The person was approaching her, there was no doubt of it now. She put both of her hands on the forhead, made a few steps and then stopped.
The Prophetess! She was so close now that Zena could see beyond any doubt that it was Aula. Aula, whom she needed so much at that moment. She is the Prophetess. She must have known where they had taken Ul.
Zena ran to her.
- Prophetess! – she said. She was thrilled to see her. - Prophetess, you are the only one who can help me. You know they have taken Ul, don't you? You know that, my dear Aula, don't you?
The Prophetess was looking at her. She was grave. Her look was stiff and cold and her face had no grimace. She said: - Yes. I know they've taken Ul away.
- But where to, Prophetess? Please, tell me.
Prophetess Aula looked at the Flaming Lake.
- It knows the answer – she pointed to the red water below. – It will tell you – she said.
- It?! The Flaming Lake?!
- Yes, Zena. The Flaming Lake has a soul, just like the two of us. I know that. I have always known that.
The Prophetess fell into trans.
- Go eastward – she spoke in a transformed voice. Go until you see the Skull. There you will find Ul.
- But...
- Go, Zena. You must hurry before something terrible happens to Ul – she was still talking in a ghostly manner. – The Skull is an enormous rock. You'll find it easily.
Zena mumbled something in gratitude to the Prophetess. She turned eastward and ran as fast as she could.
She thought she would die. The sun was ablaze and the air was dry and heavy. Sweat ran down her body, but she paid no attention to it, The most important thing for her was to reach Ul. The Prophetess said something terrible would happen to him, but she did not say what. Maybe the Pious were about to sacrifice her brother? The thought incurred her horrible pain and made her run even faster.
In the end she had no more force for any kind of effort. She was breathing fast and her heart was beating so madly she thought she would suffocate. Worn-out and exhausted she fell on the ground.
She knew she could run no more. But she still had the strength to crawl. While she was doing it, she felt a sharp pain in her knees and palms several times. Only then did she realize that the sun had set a long time ago and that it was night.
When in the light of the Double Moon she saw the Skull, she thought she was dreaming. Her hands were bloody, her legs were covered in wounds and blood soaked the torn clothes she was wearing. Her thick hair was messy, her lovely face was sticky with sweat and dust.
She made herself get up and run again. She was tripping, falling, but never gave up. Some hundred meters separated her from the Skull, no more than that. She gathered all the strength she had and somehow moved her legs, heavy as lead.
The Prophetess was right. The Skull was an enourmous rock, no more than fifty meters high, so it could be noticed from a great distance. Fire was burning on its top, and some strange voices reached Zena. They were like creeks. The Pious had caught Ul and now they were having fun. She knew it.
Although her body hurt all over, although her every muscle was tight from the previous effors, she started climbing to the top without any hesitation.
When she finally reached it, all wounded and bloody, she could hardly manage to sustain from screaming. The sight was so horrible, so terrifying and unreal she wished she were dead. She wished she would die, right there, and not look at Ul's sufferings.
Ul was tied to a pillar. Fire was burning all around him, and the Pious were dancing some ritual dance and made terrible shrieks from time to time. They were entirely naked, and their hot sweat reached her nostrils making her want to vomit.
The Pious were suddenly peaceful. Their dance was finished when a person, dressed in black, appeared. Her long black hair was shimmering in the light of the Double Moon. The Prophetess!
She came to save Ul, Zena knew it. When the two of them talked back there, at the Flaming Lake, Aula told her to hurry. That something terrible was about to happen to Ul. She was a Prophetess, she knew everything. She knew Zena could not help her brother. She had no power to liberate Ul, to rip him out from the bloody claws of the Pious.
The Prophetess was moving slowly. She had a knife in her right hand and she was going straight to Ul. The Pious stood petrified and looked at Aula in silence.
- This is for you, oh, great Flaming Lake! – the Prophetess said when she approached Ul.
The blade cut through the air and thrust into Ul's chest. A powerful twitch and his heart popped out. The blood sprinkled the face of the Prophetess, and the Pious continued their dance in a more fervent rhythm and with more terrifying shrieks.
- No! Noooo! – Zena was screaming, but noone paid attention to her.




- o -




- The Guards do not go into the Silver – someone said whispering.
- No. When we met last time, the Prophetess said that there is food in the halls that the Guards do not use. We are the safest there, surely.
- But we cannot stay in the Silver for a long time – another voice said. – Our goal is the Operativ Center, but in order to reach it we must pass through the Dangerous. Right, Ul?
- That's right – Ul said pensively. – We'll be on our way immediately – he said. – You, Tob – he said to the strong man standing beside him – you know what to do. You used to be a computer and brain storage expert. Now, let's be on our way.
They moved slowly, stopping from time to time to check if everything was alright. The Guards did not notice them for now and it was good.
They went from the Silver to the Dangerous. Ul took out his ruo – gun. The others did the same. There were some fifty meters left to the Operative Center. Ul gave them a sign with his hand to halt. Three Guards stood in front of the doors of the Operative Center. Ul thought it it was strange. So far the Operative Center was well guarded. Usually there were no less than ten Guards there. Why were there so few of them now? He could not know that.
- I think now we could... – Tob whispered, but did not get to finish the sentence.
Something flashed brightly and a ray of light flew towards them. Tob fell down suddenly.
The Guards! They were coming from the Silver in great numbers. But, did not the Prophetess claim they never went there?
Ul activated his ruo – gun. One of the Guards stumbled and fell with a painful cry.
The Guards killed all his friends. Very quickly. The attack was sudden and deadly. Ul was left alone to the mercy of the Guards.
- Don't kill him – one of them said. – We need him alive.
A ray of bluish light fell on him. While he was falling, he heard one of the Guards saying: - These were her orders.




- o -




In the beginning he could not make out where he was. He tried to move, but he felt pain all over his body. His neck was stiff, his arms were not moving. His legs, too. He somehow gathered the strength to pull himself up. He felt as if he were in chains. As if he was tied up.
Bright white light from the ceiling prevented him from seeing where he was. He wanted to scream. He tried to. But he could not make a sound.
He gave up, trying to calm down and think things through. He closed his eyes so the light would not disturb him.
Then someone spoke up.
- Turn off the big light and turn on the auxilliary light. That's it.
Ul felt chills running down his spine. He opened his eyes and looked up. The Prophetess! She stood beside him, smiling.
- You have never seen what the Operative Center looked like – she spoke quietly, in a melodic voice, as if she were singing. – You couldn't have, of course, because the Guards always brought you here when you were not awake, like all other Earthlings. – She stopped talking. Her penetrating black eyes observed him hypnotically. – Now is your opportunity, Ul – she whispered. - Look!
The walls opened and Zena appeared in front of appalled Ul. He realized his neck was free and he could move it to the side without difficulty.
He and Zena were separated by a transparent material, something like glass. He could clearly discern that she was tied with some strange lighting bands to a large oval crimson bed.
- Zena is now in dream-reality – the Prophetess explained to him. – It seems the souls are having a lot of fun – she added in a casual voice.
Ul felt his chest was pumping up powerfully. He felt he was about to explode. He wanted to ask Aula something, but he believed it was impossible, because of his previous failure to speak. Yet he tried. And he managed to speak up.
- What is your relationship with souls? – his voice was feeble and quiet.
The Prophetess said repremandingly: - Oh, you're much too curious, Ul. It's not time for you to find out some things yet. Have some patience. – She stopped talking for a moment and then said in a melancholic voice: - We had to kill your friends. – It seemed as if she were apologizing to him.
- Kill them – Ul panted. - You, miserable woman!
Aula was silent and watched him bluntly. How naive they were! They believed that Aula was the last Prophetess who remained on the Earth after the planet was conquered. They blindly believed her stories that she wanted to reach the Transfer and destroy the souls. But she was, beyond any doubt, an Alien herself.
But the Aliens did not have human form. They were placed in grey oval shaped boxes, made of some shimmering material, unknown to Ul. And the Prophetess was a woman. A rather attractive one at that. This confused him even more. He tried to understand, but he understood nothing really.
The Prophetess spoke again.
- It's time for me to give you the explanation, Ul. This will not be a seance – she said – and the souls will not have the opportunity to take joy in the sufferings of others. For the first time since they have conquered the Earth. They are too busy observing what is happening to Zena, so in this moment the two of us do not even exist as far as they are concerned.
The Prophetess became stiff all of a sudden. Her black eyes were shining. Ul felt his brain was contracting. It hurt a little, and then he fell under Aula's influence entirely.
The Transfer.
The Flaming Lake. He saw it before, during the seances, but he never realized its true meaning. Now he did. Only now.
The Prophetess: - I am the Flaming Lake, Ul. I am the soul. The first one who took the form in the world of Aliens. I knew everything that was happening on this planet. I was omnipresent and I could follow the development of the civilization. When the Aliens had the idea of storing souls, their souls, I felt fear. Although it was very complicated to find the way to store souls, I knew they would succeed in it and make their intentions come true. They were persistent, and they had collossal knowledge. They reached a substantial stage of evolution of consciousness. But there was something they did not experience. The suffering. They never waged wars and they never killed each other. And they wanted to see what killing looked like and what kind of feeling is to suffer.
After the first unsuccessful attempt of storing, they organized a systematic search. They thought there must be something in the Nature that succeeded in what they didn't. Two centuries passed until they found what they were looking for. Then they needed twice as much time to discover all my powers. The powers of the Flaming Lake.
And so, six hundred years later, they stored their souls, rejecting the human form they used to have. In order to be the absolute masters of the world, they had to take precautions first. That is why they reconstructed me, the Flaming Lake, separating one part of my omnipresent spirit and putting it into this body.
I became the Prophetess. The Aliens kept me under constant control, which was not so hard, since they separated me from the lake in space. For me to remerge into one and to become the Flaming Lake again, it was necessary to reach the Transfer. But it took a lot of time and autogenous training.
Once they realized they were receiving reasonable signals from outer space, the Aliens were thrilled. They were interested in what kind of race you were. And when they found out you waged wars once, their sick imagination exploded like a bomb. At the same time, all my hopes of ever reaching the Transfer were dispersed like a soap bubble.
The Earth is far away from the Flaming Lake. The spacial barriers are enormous and I really cannot make a connection to my previous form. This is something I realized only now. I was ready to try again when the Aliens shipped me to the Earth. I couldn't stand what they did to you. But my powers were insufficient, Ul. I am in their power and under their control. – Her voice started to tremble. – There is only one way to stop all this. Only one way for you to get rid of the souls. And the seances. And the suffering. And the misery in dream-time. Listen to me carefully, Ul. You'll take hyperdriven ship and go to the Aliens' world. There you will find the Flaming Lake. You will throw the charms I will give to you into the lake – my previous form. By doing this you will destroy both me and the Aliens.
The Prophetess explained to him how to reach the hyperdriven ship.
- Go to the abandoned space cosmodrome – she told him. – There you will find two old hyperdriven ships from the Third Cycle. Take one of them.



- o -




While he was moving in the night, away from the Temple, he thought about Aula and her words: " You will throw the charms I will give to you into the lake. By doing this you will destroy both me and the Aliens ". He felt sorry for the Prophetess, but she said it was the only way the Earth could be rid of the Aliens.
He rode on the flycycle to the cosmodrome. When he arrived to the ship warehouse he did not hesitate long which one to pick. There were air bags, little tourist gravity boats, Claus' angels. He chose the flycycle for two reasons. It was a noiseless ship and the smallest of all the ships used from the middle of the Third Cycle up to now.
He knew that the Guards were on twenty-four-hour duty at the cosmodrome. But he also knew there were not many of them there. If he was careful enough he would manage to get the hyperdriven ship which would take him to the world of Aliens.
He landed in the woods, not far from the cosmodrome. There he left the flycycle and went further on foot.
The cosmodrome used to be an enormous inerplanitary habitat, but it was not used since the souls conquered the Earth. They used to launch probes with the aim of exploring Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune i Pluto – the external worlds of the Solar system, that is, and to explore what was ouside of the orbit of the most distant planet. Then the ships which flew approximately at the speed of light. Then the hyperdriven ships.
Ul was so close now that he could see the Guards. The three of them. They were talking and laughing loudly. Their laughter was ringing and unnatural, but Ul paid no attention to it. His thoughts were directed at the ship.
He knew there was only one way to reach the goal. His attack had to be fast and sudden. He had nothing to wait any more. He took out his ruo – gun, activated the deadliest beam of rays and fired.
He fired and fired... When he made sure he killed them all, he ran to the nearest hyperdriven ship. He opened the door of the cabin hurriedly and went in. His hands were shaking as he was pressing the round, shimmering buttons.
The engines were activated. It worked! The computer signalled that the tachionic drive still worked perfectly. He pressed the start button...



- o -




The Flaming Lake! It was enormous, red and pulsating. Ul watched it his eyes wide open. He saw it before in dream-time. But it never looked so ghostly. And he was never afraid of it as he was now.
He took out the charms the Prophetess had given him. He held them in the palm of his hand and watched them silently. Something was going through his mind. No, he could not do it! He did not have the strength to do something like that! He could not destroy the Prophetess!
- Do it Ul, please.
He turned around abruptly. The Prophetess! She was standing a few meters away from him, looking at him pleadingly. – Do it – she repeated.
- No. This cannot be... – he stuttered. – You are on the Earth... How...
- My soul, Ul – she said. – I managed to reach the Transfer. – She approached him and patted his face. Her big eyes watched him in sadness.
- I belong to the Flaming Lake, Ul. I am the Flaming Lake – she spoke in a bitter voice. – My material form does not mean anything. Not any more. – She sighed. – The Aliens thought that if they gave me human form they would manage to separate me from my powers. That's where they were wrong, as you can see. In that way they helped me become aware of myself. – She looked at the Flaming Lake and reached towards him. – Take a good look at me, Ul. Look and remember. I was created thousands of years ago, when a tiny black hole fell in the world of the Aliens. I have already told you the Aliens were in search of something in the Nature which managed to store their souls. When they realized that something was on their planet and within their reach, they were thrilled. But as soon as they came in touch with the Flaming Lake, they started to preinačuju. The Flaming Lake causes distortion of reality and there is no difference between dream-reality and reality in it.
She took him by the hand in which he was holding the charms she gave him on the Earth.
- Now you can give them to me, Ul – she said in a sure voice and gave him a smile.
He reached out his hand and watched her collect the the charms with her fingers. He carressed her hair, shining in the sun, and kissed her forhead with his chapped, dry lips.
- When the emissaries from the Earth arrived to this world in their hyperdriven ships, they were aware of the fact that an altered reality was reigning here. By taking the Aliens along with them, they transfered dream-reality to the Earth. This might surprise you, Ul, but we are in the dream-reality even now.
- You're joking.
- I'm not joking at all. Dream-reality will reign until I throw this into the Flaming Lake – she said, showing him the charms. – Once I do that, you will get your material form again. As well as all the others on the Earth.
- What?! – Ul cried in surprise.
- This shouldn't surprise you, Ul – she said in a quiet voice. – The Flaming Lake causes the distorted condition. I've already told you that. And I told you what the Flaming Lake is. I fought for a long time to find the way how to destroy the Flaming Lake. Once I did, I could never reach the Transfer. And transfer the elements of destruction to the world of Aliens. But now I managed to do that. I reached the Transfer, although it was unnecessary. Though you were hesitating, I am sure you would throw the charms into the Flaming Lake. – She sighed deeply and painfully. – I wanted to merge with it in space, too – she said honestly. – Now you know everything, Ul. Now you can return to Earth in your hyperdriven ship. You can return to the reality which existed before the Aliens arrived.
- But I don't want to do that – Ul mumbled. – I want to stay with you.
She pouted her lips.
- I'll do what I intended to do, with or without you. But I'd rather you didn't watch my dying sufferings. Can you promise me that?
He nodded.
- Good bye, Ul – she said and gave him a long look of determination before she threw charms into the Flaming Lake. Then she disappeared. Irretrievably.
He stood for some time on the rock, looking at the pulsating, red surface. Then he turned around and went towards the ship, as two tears ran down his face. IF YOU WANT TO READ COMPLETE STORY THE SLAVE contact us via perseius@yahoo.com






the end

Okaaaayy.... The word Jerk spings to mind. I could also use rude, ignorant, inconsiderate. But what the Hell. Subtle doesn't seem to work. Please pay attention to the Mods (Dax) and stop repeat posting Short Stories here. A link to your own site should suffice for those interested without shoving reams of turgid blurb down our throats....

Ogre

Could be a bot - in which case

So this story comes straight from the bot?

<geekmode>
I assume the bot just picks up the stories from predesignated servers/sites and then spews them forth onto unexpecting forum systems
A lot of bots can actually scan the web looking for forum sites and then autoregister themselves with them , thus providing a very annoying (and free ) way of attempting to promote products/other sites etc. It might be worthwhile looking into anti-bot registration schemes ( like having a randomly generated number appear in a jpg which the person requiring registration has to type into another box ) if infiltration starts to be an issue.
</geekmode>

Scary...... Can't we just go around and give them a kicking ? (my version of <geekmode> )

Ogre

Just did a quick search on google for our friend Astrohal and it seems he/she/it is banned from :

http://www.scifi-meshes.com/forums/member.php?u=21376
http://www.empiremovies.com/forums/member....nfo&userid=1725

and seems to be posting the same short stories to many other sci-fi related sites.

Evidence seems to be mounting.

I think we should put it straight back into the bot
Am I overdoing the 'bot' joke now?

Good work Morbious