THE HEALING BEGINS

by Richard Kaplan

So Bennu led Mira to the camp of the People. Chief Sunsong blinked.

Sunsong: "We had just changed our name to "People of the Chosen One. But it must be 'Ones,' for we are doubly blessed! How blind we have been. Of course a god must have his consort!"

he tribe wondered hopefully about the possibility of god-children to help raise. Mira was not amused.

Mira (to Bennu): //Consort, indeed! The Wise chose me as your Partner because of my superior abilities in essential parts of our Mission.//

Bennu: //Indeed they did. But what did you expect Immatures to think? And isn't it your responsibility to be the Teacher of Immatures, that they learn to control their minds and become as us? Do your job and all will be well.//

Mira: //Forgive me, Bennu! But all of the Training Eldebran can give can't fully prepare one for the first real encounter with Immatures.//

Bennu: //You have much to experience. These people are already in harmony with Nature and fairly well with themselves - and they have Healers! My job here will be easy. Imagine trying to Teach a Premminger - and, don't forget, he was not willfully Evil. We have much work to do in this world. At least these people are friendly.//

The thought of firearms flitted through Bennu's mind. Both of them shuddered. Though, as Missionaries, their Training made them actually more capable of Killing than other Eldebranis, they found the thought utterly revolting. Well, if they did their jobs well, this attitude would become the norm here, too.

Bennu: //Better enjoy the "easy" task we have before us.//

Though the People were shut out of the telepathic conversation, they could certainly sense the unhappiness of their gods, and wondered how their chief's greeting had gone wrong.

The two of them burst into laughter. Of all the possible problems their Mission posed, trying not to appear to be offended gods really was funny! Not to the People, of course, but they would, sooner or later, accept the Truth.

Bennu: " Now I have kept my promise to you. Tomorrow we would begin our Mission."

Sunsong: "What do you require of us?"

Bennu: "We do not - cannot - require anything of you. We have been sent here to help. Most of you are Healers, so you are aware that your minds are not ruled by your conscious, but primarily by emotions and drives from deeper levels. You are certainly aware of the trouble that can cause. We will teach you how to bring them under your conscious control, for you will need the knowledge in the upcoming years."

Sunsong and the rest of the tribe looked curiously at the two of them. Thousand-year-old beliefs die hard, and it was easier to believe in modest Gods than "people from beyond the Sun and Moon." Besides, it sounded as if there was another Prophecy about to be made, and the first one had certainly come true! It would take much to convince them of the Truth...

Bennu continued: "Another Race will come from the Stars. Though they do not intentionally do harm, they are very curious about Races such as this one, who have not attained control over their minds - what we call Maturity. They, in fact, choose not to fully do so themselves, so their thought processes are different from all others we have met.

"Unfortunately, such Contacts often spread panic among the Immature. World-wide disasters sometimes happen as a result - something we are attempting to prevent by preparing this race for their Visit."

Sunsong, among others, rolled his eyes. Trouble with gods this time! Still, it was in their nature to intervene in the affairs of mortals.

Bennu: "If you are willing, we will begin your Lessons tomorrow."

Sunsong decided to try an experiment. "And if we are not?"

Bennu: "Then we will go elsewhere, of course. Maturity cannot be forced upon anyone, and in any case, we would have no right to do so. There are many in this world - we hope - who would be willing, and we would Teach them. Though we certainly hope you will agree. Your Race badly needs the Talents you posess."

Sunsong shrugged. Would they really have just left? Apparently so! No matter. "Tomorrow."

Bennu: "And tomorrow will be Mira's turn, as she is the more skilled at such Instruction. It has grown late, and we are tired. Good night."

Sunsong understood his earlier error. These really were unusual gods - the female had as much responsibility as the male. Still, that made them even less likely to be human!

Bennu and Mira sighed gently. Even these People had much to learn! And, starting the next morning, they began to. Since most of them were Healers already, the task ahead did seem to be, as Bennu had called it, "easy" - relatively speaking, anyway. Immatures developed the strangest traumas!

In fact, the high level of Sensitivity in the tribe managed to add a few problems. It's understandable enough if you're the one attacked by a wolf at age three. When you're asleep and it happens to your identical twin ... and such telepathically-induced traumas happened just as easily with the unreasonable mental blocks as the reasonable ones. (Leakage from Mindsmoke use was another unexpected cause of problems, and Mira found herself doing a lot of detective work she was Untrained for as she helped track down the causes of problems.)

Mira's medallion was kept busy as she helped members learn to face their inner fears. Even though, as the first few were met, understood, and rendered harmless, the People began to realize the "what" and "how" of cleansing their minds, it was hard, and often unpleasant, work for all. After a few hours, a halt for the day was called by mutual consent. Anyway, it was time for lunch.

After lunch it was Bennu's turn. The weather looked like it might turn stormy, so everybody moved into the main lodge. (Quite cleverly, the People had built a "Mindsmoke collector" - a funnel connected to a horizontal pipe leading out of the Lodge. Somebody was detailed to manipulate the spent smoke into the collector funnel and so out the exhaust pipe, permitting its use in even truly foul weather. Bennu was impressed, pleasing the People of the Chosen Ones no end. Impressing one's god is not at all easy or common, and usually leads to rewards.)

They lit their version of Mindsmoke and he concentrated. The mind of Osiron appeared.

Osiron (jokingly): //Friend Bennu, have you more work for me? You have been busy indeed!//

Bennu: //I think you will enjoy this - you are more likely to be on the learning end than the teaching. This tribe is rich in Healers, and already well in harmony, and even makes their own Mindsmoke powder. We should have little trouble here with our Mission.//

Osiron: //Somehow, I get the impression that this "we" is not you and me!//

Bennu: //Here is someone I have been searching for a long time - my Partner Mira.//

With that, Mira (having learned the general principles of Mindsmoke use by reading her Partner's mind) joined the "conversation". It was not a long one - basically, aside from giving Osiron the good news, it was to get the People and Osiron acquainted, and, as a result, permit them to be able to contact each other. Then Bennu switched to Light-touch and Smokesinger.

They, too, were delighted with the news. Smokesinger's Apprenticeship was coming along very well indeed, and he expected to be able to invite Bennu - AND Mira - to his Initiation as Healer in less than two years. But he had a surprise, too.

Smokesinger: // I, too, have someone for you to meet.// With that, a female of the tribe, about his age, hesitantly joined in. //Meet my wife, Spotted Fawn.//

Bennu's thoughts went back to the test he and Light-touch had given Smokesinger, and the image that had formed in the smoke. //Oh, yes, I recognized her right away.//

Smokesinger: //As you can tell by her full Indian name, she has always been a practitioner of the Old Ways. She would not even cast a glance in my direction while I was a foolish youth. She is my heart's treasure, and I owe you a debt beyond repayment for helping me see the error of my ways.//

Bennu: //As our religion - what little most of my People find necessary - says, always seek to do the work of The Light. His ways are subtle, but not always His rewards.//

Bennu had accomplished what he had planned for the day, and the Mindsmoke was allowed to dissipate. As there are almost as many versions of it as there are users of it, he got into a technical discussion with the Healers. Mira chose to excuse herself and went outside to watch what, from the rumbles and booms she could hear, was a thunderstorm.

It turned out that the People had two separate versions of Mindsmoke powder. One, containing hallucinogens, was actually termed "Visionsmoke", the idea being that the drugs helped the user contact his subconscious. He then, through his training, learned to select the hallucinations to produce Visions. Bennu promised the People that they would not need drugs once they learned to control their subconscious.

The other version was a general form, much like Osiron's, though, as expected, with a very different formulation, and the People agreed to act as a sort of collection center for various formulations of Mindsmoke. The Healers were quite excited - this way of using it to "talk" to others far away was a novel idea. (Bennu thought to himself - how unusual. Normally, we use our Power to boost our telepathic ability, but Osiron is well out of even medallion-boosted range. Here, the reverse is true, and thoughts are impressed on the Power, which acts as a carrier - almost like speech modulating a radio wave! The range would then be limited only by the Power, not by the lesser strength of the mind! Remarkable!)

All of them, Bennu included, began thinking about what they agreed to call Farthought. Things like Mindsmoke were sacred, and limited to tribal medicine men and the occasional Talented chief. Of what use could it have been until now?

Bennu was suspicious. "I'm sure if I ask Osiron, he'll say he invented this use - and that it came to him in a Dream or Vision. The Light is Wise beyond mortal understanding, and probably had it discovered just so it would be available for use when needed."

The Healers agreed - was this not the way of gods? Before Bennu could reply, he heard Mira calling him. "Bennu, come quickly before it disappears!" He trotted to the lodge entrance and looked out.

Mira had been watching the storm when, much to her amazement and delight, a thin finger reached down from the clouds and began wandering in their general direction. A vortex cloud! In all of her life on Eldebran, not only had she never seen one, but never met anyone who had, either, and here she'd been Awake only a day and one had formed right before her eyes! She called to her Partner, that he might witness this, too.

As Bennu approached the door, he heard a disquietingly familiar roar. He looked out. A tornado - a small one - and getting rather close, too!

He had made an entirely natural mistake. While Mature Adults did not form mental traumas, he had undergone many emotionally disturbing events and had not yet released them. In his haste to keep his promise to the People, and then FINALLY start his Mission, he had not yet relived them with his Partner. He reacted to the sight by having what was the mental equivalent of acute indigestion.

All present were bombarded by a series of very unpleasant images, all dominated by an eerie wailing and a horrid roar. Bennu had a very strong mind, and no one could act to either help him or protect themselves. No one but Mira.

She instinctively grasped her medallion, then used its power to help her block Bennu's thoughts from her mind. Then she Lit it and helped her Partner regain control of his own. He came to with a start, to find himself sitting down and sweating profusely. The familiar face of Mira loomed comfortingly over him.

Bennu: "What a horrible dream I've had! Where are we, anyway? This doesn't look like a Training site ..." Memory came flooding back to him. His face turned crimson with embarrassment. He looked at the People of the Chosen Ones and said: "Forgive me, for I have Failed you."

Sunsong: "You have not failed! You have told us repeatedly that you are no god, but we could not believe. Gods do not fear when the Earth or the Sky rises up against them. Men do. We would have done what you asked out of gratitude - and obedience, which you did not wish. We do not fully understand yet, but we will do as you wish, and accept you as mortals. And we will still do what you say - out of gratitude, of course, but also out of love, for you have risked much and given all in service to That which you call The Light.

"You say He works in subtle ways. In all my days, never has a Cloudfinger approached so near our camp. Do you think this is chance?"

Bennu: "Many times since my Awakening on this planet The Light has given help when I needed it most. Almost always it has been after I have freely chosen to do good, as is His way. We would not interfere with your beliefs, but we will tell you ours, that you may take from them that which you find useful.

"Long ago we learned much - that He is a Being of Love, and wishes most of all to be loved in return. Ceremonies and Rites are rarely of actual importance to Him - though they are often of much value to those who practice the religions that use them. We believe that all religions that sincerely seek The Light are true, so that one may pray in any of their places of worship, and honor their holy sites. But, as He has spoken repeatedly to every People we know of, yours and ours included, so no formal religion can hold all Truth, and all are in error to some degree. (Indeed, even those of Eldebran are, by omitting the importance of humor, a nearly universal error!) The horrors that men have perpetrated on others in His Name dishonor It and deeply shame Him. So we believe.

"But I am very tired now, and must rest and converse with my Partner."

He caught some of their thoughts. "I know that you find much of this hard to understand and harder to do, and we would gladly give you tomorrow off - if we could afford to. There are far too many people who need our help, and most will be far harder to assist than a People like you. Sorry, but School starts tomorrow morning when the Sun rises over the mounds."

They all laughed. They needed to! Indeed, humor was important to mortals ...

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