3.23 Thought Laws

Starlight stole the royal stage just like all the other bands had done so far, their music was crazy loud and the old stone walls only amplified the sound. The beat was amazing, the vocals tight, their long flowing hair was spectacular. Within seconds the dance floor was a bouncing sea of bodies once more, it was absolutely incredible! When their song ended, goddesses were screaming!

         Dying for an escape, Torus lit the pipe and took a long draw, he closed his eyes and slowly exhaled, letting the drug transport him into a much less painful place. Within moments he could feel himself rise up into the heavens, he could see his body sitting on the bleachers, a mere housing unit for this multidimensional entity he never knew he was. He would learn to master it, he would travel to other worlds with it, heavenly worlds, godly worlds. In a whirlwind of kaleidoscopic comets he soared to the stars, surrounded by flocks of Flaming Goddesses, goddesses of Desire, reaching out to him, whispering his name...

         Cheers and whistles erupting from the courtyard once again, brought him back to his mortal dimension, he hadn't mastered it yet. He sat up and scanned the crowds anew, it was an even sadder scene having just returned from heaven... When all of a sudden, he spotted the Flaming Goddess from his dream!

         The young goddess from the stage was standing alone on the outer skirts of the dance floor, her brilliant red hair illuminated by the afternoon sun, sparkled with crystal beads making her hair look like it was on fire, she was mighty attractive... He slid the smoking accessories into his pocket, stood up, straightened his attire and headed down the steps into the courtyard below.

         Halki didn't like the sounds of the Dog Show either, they weren't ready for it, half the security personnel and all of Bell's staff were already employed. He waited with Ku and Ra-Ku at the construction site gates to inspect the first shipment from the Treasury Coffers, a tight and highly secure operation. It was Halki's task to verify the load, crews, documentation was all in order whether it be treasure or gravel. Hungry and in need of a break, he stole away from the site as soon as he could. Half way down Main St, wafts of food from the courtyard failed to compete with the Skin Club, weakness and thirst lured him inside.

         Returning to the Grand Courtyard was a startling reality, the cheering and screaming was almost as loud as the music, the aribu had gone crazy!

         "Oh. My. God!" Mel stared in horror when she saw the new band on stage.

         "That sounds awesome!" Dena couldn't help herself, the excitement in her voice was revealing her true feelings. "I wish Atalon would reconsider the sound laws! This rocks!"

         At first Mel wasn't sure she heard right or if Dena's head bobbing was sarcastic mockery, would she actually dare say that? She wouldn’t admit to herself that she liked the sounds even if she did, and she most certainly didn't want to question the laws!

         "Oh. My. God!" Dena gushed on and on, regardless of Mel’s disapproval. She had never seen such colorful long hair, flowing in the wind, they were even spinning it around! "Look at them!" She clutched her heart, desperate to snap Mel out of her mental jail. "They're like... TOTALLY HOT! ALL of them!"

         Mel couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you really that stupid to fall for this crap? Oh. My. God. Dena. Do I need to take you to the Moha Lab?" But deep down, Mel couldn't disagree with Dena, she too was captive to the yards of flaxen tresses flying around on stage, the screaming goddesses obviously liked it! For the first time in her life, Mel felt an unfamiliar sensation... An uncomfortable sensation, what if her beliefs weren’t right? Were they simply thought laws? What would it mean to be free from these thought laws? She hardly dared think about it.

         "I’ll bet they're ALL lousy in bed! It’s always the good looking ones who can't keep up! Like Nolan."

         Dena ignored Mel's passive stab, she was so over Nolan already.

         "Do you think they would be welcome to come again? Maybe Atalon just never knew, maybe we can convince him to hire them, I'm sure they could generate lots of business at the clubs in Fina. Can you imagine if they played at the Green Serpent? Goldens like Zara would actually go!"

         "Who's Zara?"

         "Oh, no one, just an expired Golden."

         "Fina's history” Mel updated her on the news, about to break.

         "WHAT?"

         "I said, Fina’s history."
         "What do you mean Fina's history?" Dena struggled to picture the news, her cold demeanor wasn’t helping. "In what way? What are you talking about?"

         "Everyone is dead."

         "WHAT? How?"

         "There was an epidemic."

         Dena wasn't sure she heard right. "ALL DEAD? What do you MEAN they're all dead?" She didn’t know how to react, unsure if she was more shocked by the news or the fact she hadn't heard anything of it. "When? We were just there! Oh! My! God! What HAPPENED?"

         Already irritated, Mel lacked patience for Dena's ignorance.

         "I told you, it was an EPIDEMIC!" Upset, she turned to make her back to the bleachers, signifying the end of the discussion. But when she looked up towards the spot beneath the Oak tree, the bleachers were vacant; there was no one there.

         "Great! Now Torus and Nolan are gone!"