Altogether, Jay had made seven trips back in time during his nocturnal ventures, as they came to be known. The central computer of the Fleece provided a listing of the items retrieved and the loops from which they were retrieved. The list is as follows:
Loop 8 The Annunaki Civilization retrieved a necklace from an individual known as The Tormentor.
Loop 7 The Toba Civilization retrieved a ring from the pharaoh's wife.
Loop 3 The Bosk Civilization retrieved a javelin device after a pursuit by sentries from the Monarch's Palace.
Loop 2 The Gamma Ray Civilization retrieved two tablet devices activated in the Artifact Room.
Loop 4 The Malthusian Civilization retrieved chemicals from a lab after the fall of that civilization.
Loop 5 The Wonderland Civilization retrieved basaltic rocks from the remains of the caldera eruption.
Loop 6 The Ice Age Civilization retrieved ice cores from a frozen wasteland after the fall of the civilization.
Loop 9 was no longer accessible, the Anderson Civilization. Most of the artifacts in the room were already from that civilization. Many felt the final three trips yielded nothing of value, nor did they make sense as Jay was risking his life to journey back.
Jay had only one more loop to visit, the first one Rapha took him to in the first dream in the Artifact Room before disappearing. Loop 1: The Atlantean Civilization. Jay wanted to return there but didn't know what Rapha might have in store. Rapha had been so vague that Jay had grown tired of listening to him. The last few dreams had been uneventful, having gone to civilizations left in ruins, much like the Anderson loop. So, Jay was concerned he would get a cold dose of reality if we returned to the Atlantean Civilization again.
"Ready for dreamland again?" Dana asked Jay.
"Not really. I'm pretty nervous about what will happen this time. The last few have been quiet. Too quiet."
"Just relax, you know you have Rapha there. I don't think he would really put you in harm's way."
"Really? I've only been eaten by a giant, shot at by sentries, nearly froze to death, and almost got disemboweled and burned. I think he has no problem putting me in harm's way."
"Yeah, but you handled it well," Dana said, adding a smile afterward.
Jay was not amused.
Linda was standing right there listening and concerned herself.
"This is the last one you can go to, right?"
"As far as loops, yes, but this would be the second time I've been to that one if Rapha takes me there. He said I have to keep doing this for as long as it takes."
"Well, let's hope this is the last one...maybe."
Once again, Jay was not amused.
A voice came over the loudspeaker, "Let's prepare for sleep intervention."
"That's my cue. Good night, ladies."
Linda leaned down and gave Jay a kiss. Then Linda and Dana made their way behind the safety console. They looked on as Jay began to fall asleep in the chair.
"I really hope this is the last one. I have a bad feeling about this one."
Dana looked at Linda and said, "I have a bad feeling, too."
Linda looked at Dana as they both were deeply concerned about what was coming next.
***********************************************************************************
"Rapha!"
Jay yelled out into the darkness surrounding him. There was no reply. There was no other sound and no echo. It was like a vacuum chamber devoid of oxygen. But Jay could still hear himself. He wandered through the darkness, feeling like a disembodied spirit. He pondered if this is what purgatory feels like or even hell. Jay contemplated a lot of things during his travels. He realized there had been a messenger in every civilization, as Rapha suggested. Someone with an unbelievable ability to reason, evaluate, teach, and sacrifice. The sacrifice was always about self, never about sacrificing others. These individuals were selfless and willing to give their lives for everyone. They went by many names, HeSu, Joway, Jesus, Hason, just to name a few. In Jay's civilization, this person's name was JusWah. Although traveling back in time in the dreams, Jay never got to see the ancient past of his own civilization. All he was seeing was the much more ancient extinct civilizations. Jay wondered, what am I still missing?
Certainly, Rapha had shown and guided Jay through a lot. But Jay had something nagging him inside. What was Pat really? He knew there was much more to Pat than what he had seen. Pat had knowledge and abilities that defied reason. His smugness was beyond tolerable. His arrogance was profound. Pat truly believed no one could lord over him. So, who was Pat, really?
Then Jay thought about the Tormentor. The being that knew his name in the past. He started thinking about the sentries that chased him. They all had helmets that blocked their faces from view, but their pursuit was relentless. It was as if the sentries could...read his mind?
"Wait a minute? They could! Those sentries were knowing my moves before I made them. Just like they were reading my mind."
Then Jay thought about the pharaoh's wife. She was seductive. But she also reminded him of someone else. Someone he knew. Britton.
The only time Jay didn't feel something familiar was when he met the man on the mountain. That was someone completely different and seemed to be like Rapha.
But the other times, everything felt like it had in the Anderson Loop and when he arrived at the Fleece. It was all too familiar. That's when Jay had an epiphany.
"What if. No, it can't be. But what if the sentinel is..."
Suddenly Jay was standing in a park in a large city. He was back in the open field again. But this time, several people gathered around another person. This person had their back to Jay. He could tell the person was talking to the others but couldn't make out what they were saying. Jay moved closer to them, realizing now Rapha had taken him back to the Atlantean civilization.
As Jay drew closer to the person, he could make out their characteristics. It was a man standing with his back to Jay. The man was also bald. Seeing his bald head, Jay stopped his movement and just stared. Suddenly, the man turned and faced Jay.
It was Pat. He was dressed in the attire of the other people. But what was odd to Jay was that Pat looked right at him.
"Hello again, Jay."
Jay couldn't believe it. Even in this past civilization, Pat knew who Jay was and could interact with him normally.
"You're here?"
"That I am, Jay," Pat said, showcasing his patented smile.
"But how?"
"You ask that because you think I'm human, Jay?"
"What are you?"
"What do you think I am?"
"A god?"
Pat laughed out loud, "I'm a lot more than that, Jay."
"What's greater than a god?"
"A being that believes they are greater than any god."
Another voice started speaking to Jay. It was Rapha.
"Rapha, what is Pat?"
"As you deduced, the sentinel."
"He and the Fleece have always been here?"
"Yes. They are always together, as the sentinel is always in command of their ship."
"Ship? The Fleece is a ship. Like a spaceship."
"Yes."
"So, Pat is going to use the Fleece to destroy humanity? Is that what you've been trying to tell me?"
"Yes."
"Then what are all the items that I recovered?"
"Those, Jay, are for me," Pat spoke up.
Jay looked back at Pat, "For you? Why?"
"Because I need them to make the Fleece do what it needs to do."
Jay couldn't believe what he was hearing. Pat would use the objects he recovered to use the Fleece to destroy his own world.
"But, you made me get those objects, Rapha. Why? You made me help Pat! Why would you do that?"
"As I said before, it was a means to an end."
"And to that end, Jay, I'll be seeing you. Thank you for completing all of those tasks for me. It was just what I needed. Now, if you will excuse me, I'll be going back to your world and leaving you here," Pat said as he smiled and laughed at Jay, then put his finger beside his nose and vanished.
Jay then woke up but realized immediately he was not in the Artifact Room. He was in the black void again. This time, he could see his body and look as he did in his world, even lying on the chair. But he knew he was still in the dream world.
"What is happening? I have to wake up!"
Jay laid back down and tried to wake himself up again, but even after laying there trying to fall back into a trancelike sleep, he would simply reappear in the void.
"No. I'm trapped here."
"You are not trapped."
Jay heard Rapha's voice.
"Then what is happening, Rapha!"
"I'm keeping you here for now."
"Why?"
"Since you have realized what Pat is, I can explain more why this being is."
Jay was intrigued. "I'm all ears."
With that, Jay was about to learn one of the greatest secrets of all time. The only question was, could he handle it?
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