Category Archives: aliens

THE STARGIRLS BECOME STAR WARRIOR MYSTICS

alien worlds, aliens, fantasy, science fiction

Chapter 40 pp. 238-242

THE STARGIRLS’ BODIES SLICED through thin air and a flag of thick white clouds in an extreme freefall, high above the Himalayan Mountain’s northern ice-rock face that rushed toward them. They felt a mixture of fear and exhilaration, plummeting past the mountain’s zenith and the summit ridge, as a pyramid of vast snowfields flashed past them. The clouds suddenly parted, revealing a magnificent view of the Tibetan plateau below that kissed the golden horizon.

Like bird-women, they rode the tumultuous mountain winds, soaring along its breathtaking northeast ridge and legendary death zone, where mountaineers triumphed on the summit . . . or met their fates buried in ice. Gracefully, they sailed as condors over its icy rim and vertical walls, toward the base of Jomolungma, mother goddess of the world—Mount Everest.

Sparkling blue glaciers and the Rongbuk monastery, the sacred threshold to Everest, came in view. The ancient monastery, a Tibetan power spot, was an unforgettable image that flashed through their minds when Mala declared, “Stargirls, you are ready to embrace the Way of the Stars as Star Warrior Mystics and receive your gifts and Star Initiation.” Mala’s riveting words evoked the inspirational image that symbolized their intrepid spirits and the quest awaiting them . . .

* * *

Mala was patiently tapping the Star chart to secure their attention. A crimson blush painted all their faces, faces that seemed to orbit the Star chart like planets. Mala smiled at their awkwardness, remembering her own disquiet when faced with the power and mysteries of the stars.

“I am thrilled by your commitment to step into the unknown without all the answers. Your faith in yourselves will serve you well as you travel uncharted dimensions of time and space and experience the staggering implication of your earthly E = mc².”

Mala lifted the celestial bowl from the jagged Star chart and held it close to her heart. “The ancients understood your fears even before you were born, and they sent this gift to aid your transformation to Star Warrior Mystics.”

THE STARGIRLS’ BODIES SLICED through thin air and a flag of thick white clouds in an extreme freefall, high above the Himalayan Mountain’s northern ice-rock face that rushed toward them. They felt a mixture of fear and exhilaration, plummeting past the mountain’s zenith and the summit ridge, as a pyramid of vast snowfields flashed past them. The clouds suddenly parted, revealing a magnificent view of the Tibetan plateau below that kissed the golden horizon.

Like bird-women, they rode the tumultuous mountain winds, soaring along its breathtaking northeast ridge and legendary death zone, where mountaineers triumphed on the summit . . . or met their fates buried in ice. Gracefully, they sailed as condors over its icy rim and vertical walls, toward the base of Jomolungma, mother goddess of the world—Mount Everest.

Sparkling blue glaciers and the Rongbuk monastery, the sacred threshold to Everest, came in view. The ancient monastery, a Tibetan power spot, was an unforgettable image that flashed through their minds when Mala declared, “Stargirls, you are ready to embrace the Way of the Stars as Star Warrior Mystics and receive your gifts and Star Initiation.” Mala’s riveting words evoked the inspirational image that symbolized their intrepid spirits and the quest awaiting them . . .

* * *

Mala was patiently tapping the Star chart to secure their attention. A crimson blush painted all their faces, faces that seemed to orbit the Star chart like planets. Mala smiled at their awkwardness, remembering her own disquiet when faced with the power and mysteries of the stars.

“I am thrilled by your commitment to step into the unknown without all the answers. Your faith in yourselves will serve you well as you travel uncharted dimensions of time and space and experience the staggering implication of your earthly E = mc².”

Mala lifted the celestial bowl from the jagged Star chart and held it close to her heart. “The ancients understood your fears even before you were born, and they sent this gift to aid your transformation to Star Warrior Mystics.”

Mad, in deference to Mala, promptly followed Jill’s gutsy example. Mad let out a deep sigh of relief after the Giver joined her body without incident.

Oddly, after the emotional and physical bonding with the Givers, Sade’s mind slipped far away to Earth. She wondered what they were about to experience, what their initiation as Star Warrior Mystics really meant. She was thinking about incredible free-dive records humans had reached as they dove to dangerous depths, with only their breath to bring them back to the surface alive. Now she thought of what depths she might plumb unhindered by the ocean’s crushing pressure or need for oxygen. The possibilities made her lightheaded. It all seemed like a dream—until Mala called to her.

“Sade . . . Sade, please come, it is time to meet your destiny.” Sade had not noticed the Stargirls standing around the archaic stone monolith, waiting for her to join them. The critical moment was upon them. Sade trembled, approaching the Star Wheel . . . trembled at the power it would make flesh. She felt the energy of yin yang—the cold stone’s yin energy and hot yang energy of the Golden Star. She felt the power of the universe pulsating before her, a power she desired, yet feared, knowing they would wield powers that no human could foresee. Power, she feared, her human weakness might corrupt.

Mala discerned Sade’s fear, thinking fear a good antidote for impulsiveness and said, “Stargirls, fear not—your Star power will see you through dark moments, a power meant to inspire you to your utmost potential. Your Starlight Initiation will unite the fiery power of the Golden Star with the arctic energy of the Sacred Stone.

“Your bodies and minds are the medium for their cosmic fusion that will generate your Star power, creating a perfect union of cosmic forces.” Her heartening words comforted the Stargirls who were ready to consummate their initiation. They carefully stepped ‘round the mysterious stone and touched its frigid surface. At the stone’s heart, a carved Star caught their eye, encircled by ten expanding rings that symbolized the elemental dimensions of space-time. On its outer edge, five symbols stood out in bas-relief. Mala called them star-points, each one connected to the inner Star by lightning bolts that formed a star-shaped pentagram. The ancient stone’s cosmic gestalt formed a Star Mandala—symbolic of the universe.

Mala instructed the Stargirls to climb onto the Star Wheel at their preordained star-point. She then aligned their bodies, so their heads touched at the stone’s heart, and placed their feet so they rested on their star-points that symbolized their individual Star power. They gazed up into the fiery Golden Star that hovered above them; the freezing stone numbed their bodies.

“Focus your minds on the Star!” She circled the icy stone, placed her left hand on each of their hearts, and said, “See you—in your next glorious life.”

When she finished, the Golden Star transformed into five Light Arrows that shot through their hearts; their bodies arched and convulsed. The Stargirls’ hearts absorbed the formidable power of the Light Arrows that triggered a cosmic chain reaction, the nuclear fusion of a supernova, which exploded inside their bodies.

Starlight radiated from their bodies and filled the chamber. The female principle of Creation—the Big Bang—flooded their hearts and minds. The last thing they recalled was searing white light from a vast cloud of dust and gases, as a brilliant star emerged and consumed their bodies.

A cosmic fire had swept through them that resurrected them on the ancient Star Wheel, creating micro-stars that burned inside their hearts, giving them superhuman powers and eternal life. Once their Star conversion was complete, they lay, comatose, on the frozen stone.

Awakening, they felt weird and wonderful powers stir within them, powers that no longer alarmed them. What they felt was beyond words when they experienced an epiphany; they realized they were the genetic offspring of the Star people. They were children of the stars, created from love to protect the Earth from evil. In that magnificent moment, the Stargirls comprehended their Starlight destiny as Intergalactic Angels and Guardians of Earth.

The Stargirls lay breathless on the Star stone, while Mala chanted in a bewitching tongue, striking by its rapid rhythmic grunts, obscure syllables, and unintelligible utterances that created an aria that mesmerized them.

Mala’s remarkable chants vibrated deep in their hearts, awakening the highest vibration of being—Love.

Mala said, “Now you understand your sacrifice and are ready to receive your sacred names that embody your Star power.” She stepped around the stone, placing her right hand on each of their foreheads and said, “You are all Star Warrior Mystics.”

“Lyn, Starlight, the flesh of Spirit; Sade, Starwave, the flesh of Water; Jill, Starblaze, the flesh of Fire; Ali, Starquake, the flesh of Earth; Mad, Starbreeze, the flesh of Air.” Once she finished, they rose from the stone and hugged each other, then turned and gaped at Mala.

“You are immortal, yet human and vulnerable. You will face the age- old dilemmas of Earthly desires and attachments. Beware of those who claim you goddesses. This you must forsake. There are forces in the universe that will try to control you. Evil will try to divide and conquer you through treachery and despair. Although you are invincible, the Starlight Prophecy warns of forces that conspire to enslave you.

“You must wield your powers for noble purposes, inspiring peace, equality, and justice for all. You must define yourselves by your actions. You have the power; you can completely change the Earth. Your vision must be bold; offer them the supreme dream of what is possible.

“One last thing—your expedition’s discovery in the Afar Triangle came from the planet you call Mars, a planet our people colonized and later abandoned when life was no longer sustainable. A small satellite of Star people reached Earth but wiped out by a super volcano eruption over 20 million years ago. Aggressive creatures forced the survivors to interbreed. This genetic mixture gave birth to a new hominid family.

“Millions of years of interbreeding led to sexual preferences that created a genetic divergence and the evolution of gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans. When you return to Earth, you must tell Desta and Azmera about the origin of your species, and that the extraordinary skeleton found in the Afar is a Star Warrior Mystic. But tell them your world is not ready for the truth until sometime in the future when they are better prepared. Your Star power, for good or evil, is your responsibility.

“Remember, Earth’s physicists faced a similar dilemma when they split the atom and discovered the wonder of its power. Produced in the labs of the Manhattan Project, however, it forged into an appalling reality by the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that killed over a quarter of a million of innocent humans—ending your Second World War. It was a bittersweet legacy the fathers of ‘Little Boy’ and ‘Fat Man’ died knowing. Stargirls, this is your second challenge, to wield your Star power wisely.”

 

The Stargirls Betrayed

aliens, fantasy, science fiction

Chapter 21

SADE FELT CAUGHT between a molten neutron star and the terminal edge of a massive black hole where dead suns spun, and super gravitational forces sucked her deeper into Aagaatar’s pit of torture. A terrifying thought. She had nowhere to turn, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. She shook the desperate feeling off. She had to do something. But what Whom could she trust? Whom could she tell? Her logical choice struck her upside the head. All right, she thought, Mad it is.

Mad sat, trying to be objective, but her dubious expression spoke otherwise. “No way in hell—you’re kidding, I hope you’re kidding.” “Wish I was joking little sister. Star Talker has never led me astray, and Lyn is acting weird.” Mad wanted to protest but could not refute what Sade said, even though the thought shocked her. “Okay, what if you’re right—what can we do?”

“That’s the tragic song of my life. What to do . . . I don’t know.” “Are you convinced it’s Lyn?”

“No! Don’t get me wrong, I even suspected you.” “Whoa, I see what you mean. This is weird. Do you think it’s a mind game or mind control?”

“All I know is Aagaatar wants to turn us against each other.” They sat, dejected, looking expectantly at each other for answers while their minds turned to jelly. They stared into each other’s eyes, hoping to break the spell of indecision. Sade let go of a squeamish feeling in her gut. “Mad, I have to listen to my heart, and it tells me something’s wrong with Lyn. I must share my suspicions with Jill and Ali.”

“Right, we have to risk all to defeat Aagaatar. You talk to them, and I’ll distract Lyn.”

Sade felt guilty going behind Lyn’s back but felt there was no other way. She caught Ali and Jill coming out of the shower and said, “Can we talk?”

Ali said, “Sure, what’s up?”

“I don’t think you’re going to like this.”

Jill said, “Give it a whirl—nothing would surprise me after what we’ve been through.”

“Okay, then keep an open mind, because I had a vision.” Ali said, “A vision?”

“Yes, Star Talker’s guardian warned me that one of us would betray us.”

“Did you say a Stargirl would betray us?” Jill asked. “Yes, yes, that’s what I meant—I wish I didn’t.” Ali said, “Do you believe it?”

“Yes.”

Jill said, “When did you find out?” “Shortly before Laya was murdered.”

Ali, offended, said, “Why didn’t you say something?”

“I wanted to, but I was too afraid. Afraid I might tell the wrong one

and she would alert Aagaatar.”

“Why tell us now?”

“I needed time to figure out who it was—that’s the part you’re not going to like. I suspected all of you, even Mad, but the evidence points to only one Stargirl.”

Jill, jolted by the implication asked, “Lyn?”

“Yes.” The crushed look on their faces pained her.

“You’re accusing my sister of plotting to destroy us?” Jill roared.

Fires burned in Jill’s eyes; it scared Sade.

“You asked for the truth; I knew it would hurt. I love Lyn and want to protect her and us. We must find a way to save Lyn and ourselves.”

Jill weighed Sade’s words. Her rage subsided. “Forgive me; the very thought eats at my soul. I am not angry with you. I’m furious at Aagaatar.”

Ali said, “What if Aagaatar has control of her?” “Do you think it’s possible?” Jill pressed.

“When it comes to Aagaatar, his powers seem limitless.” “Lyn would never betray us,” Ali’s voice quivered with fury.

“Right, she must be under his spell. I will try to tune into her.”

Jill said, “Sounds like a plan—still, I can’t believe she would betray us.”

“Did you ever think she doesn’t have a choice?” “Damn.”

Sade felt immense relief at getting the secret off her chest. Grateful her awful assertion did not fracture the Stargirls and pit them against each other. She thought the Stargirls’ spirits shined through Aagaatar’s cold- blooded psychic attack. However, the thought that Lyn was victim to Aagaatar’s power disturbed her. Lyn was the last one she imagined being possessed and capable of treachery.

(To be continued.)

The Stargirls Cheat Death

aliens, teleportation

Chapter 13, pg. 72-74

They awoke feeling rested, giddy, and thankful to be alive. Three suns beat down on them from a purple horizon, creating an astonishing purple atmosphere. How long they slept was lost to blank digital wristwatches.

Soulful crossed Lyn’s mind, watching the unknown stars that created life and gave them warmth to cheat death. What mattered most was that they were alive to continue their mission and find a way back home. Home resounded in Lyn’s mind, as a lump formed in her throat, wondering whether they would ever get home. “Do you think we will ever see Earth again?” Lyn murmured.

“God, I hope so,” Ali said. They hugged. Lyn whispered, “Thanks, we need hope.” Ali wondered what kept them going to defeat the demons of doubt and fear in their hearts, to fight on. Home felt like a distant memory, but it was all she could hang onto. Home sweet home, she glumly thought.

Lyn said, “I think we just climbed out of a wormhole. We are now lost on a planet that looks like Earth, but isn’t.”

Sade said, “I guess that alien mandala was a doorway to the stars.” Before Lyn could answer, a deafening roar caused her to freeze—as last night’s nightmare emerged as a gigantic shadow rushing over them. Jill screamed, “Run for your lives!” The monster plunged out of the blazing sunlight. Massive razor-sharp claws clicked, while four bulging yellow eyes tracked their heat forms scurrying below. Jill felt a blast of heat, smelled the stench of fiery breath, and dived headfirst beneath a rock ledge for shelter. Smoke rose from her hair; frantically she patted the back of her hair—only singed. Enraged, she thought, that thing tried to cook me.

Ali shrieked, “Watch out, it’s breathing fire!” The beast’s head jerked and one eye locked on Ali, who scrambled toward a jutting sharp ledge hanging above her. She leaped through air as the shadow closed on her, hoping the gigantic beast had a tiny brain and fallen into her trap. Consumed by the lust for the kill, the fiend ignored its reckless descent. Ali’s body heat and movement hypnotized one eye, while the Stargirls actions distracted the other three eyes. It flew blind, crashing head-on into the saw-toothed ledge that looked like an ancient chiseled spear. The winged beast’s roar turned into a rattling groan, the ground shook, and stones fell. Impaled, it hung precariously over Ali; a black waterfall cascaded, splashing steaming blood around her. She lay, trembling but triumphant, in the small ravine she had hurdled into at the last moment. She lay on her back, gaping at the hideous beast and torrents of blood bubbling around her. She hollered in victory. “I slew the Thunderbird.” Her quick wits had turned the grisly predator into dead quarry. Quite a coup, she thought when the Stargirls rushed to her side. Sweating, they stared in disbelief at Ali and the monster above. Jill helped her from the bloody mess. They patted her on the back for saving them and then sat in a circle, considering their impasse and resources, when grumblings from their stomachs gave birth to a creepy thought. Mad said, “I’m starved, do you think that thing is edible?” Taken aback by her startling question, they did some soul-searching; but in the end, hunger won over repulsion. They butchered the choice parts of the meat that surprisingly had an agreeable pungent smell, unlike its rank breath.

Ali yelled, “Fire up the Barbie!” Smoke from the alien barbeque escaped into the purplish sky, fed by wiry brush they had gathered, as a sweet smell made their nostrils flare.

Lyn said, “Hmm,” with a half-smile. “Let’s brand it a Star burger.” The outrageous idea made them howl. Her humor in the face of death surprised them. Once full, they cleaned their greasy hands and knives in the red soil. Jill said, “We need to give this way-out, red planet a name.”

Ali said, “How about Bahtra, in honor of our bad-mannered host who grudgingly gave us food for our journey.” They all laughed and said, “Bahtra it is.” Ali rolled the spare monster meat in a heap of halite to keep it fresh.

Sade glimpsed—at a whirling golden star that arrested her attention. The Stargirls’ destiny flashed through her mind, like a near death experience, challenging her sense of reality as to who they were and what they would become.

aliens, science fiction, shamans, spiritual

Chapter 9; pg. 47

LYN FEELING AWESTRUCK stared at Valla, now a dead planet. She
felt confused as it vanished into the inky blackness of space and a
stunning figure materialized. The emerging form mesmerized her mind.
Lyn felt on fire; she felt possessed. Was she dreaming or awake?
Bewilderment gave way to illumination when the alluring alien
pointed at the night sky. Lyn beheld a matrix of inscrutable symbols that
spiraled and formed a gleaming galaxy. She heard a commanding voice,
“Stargirls . . . Stargirls . . . Awaken!” The ineffable being touched her mind
with a radiant light; and Lyn awoke startled, bolting upright. She cried,
“Stargirls!” They all awoke to a surreal reality. Intuition, or something
beyond them that set their internal compasses for a journey into the
unknown—a journey they could not refuse.
Mad complained, “You’d think we were packing for darkest Africa
or maybe the zoo.” Teasing Sade, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume . . . or is it
bedtime for Bonzo?”
Sade snickered. “Look on the bright side—it’s neither. We don’t
have a clue.”
Mad strapped scuba and repelling gear onto the roof rack and
covered it with thick canvas, while thinking it strange that Sade insisted on
scuba gear when going into the desert.
Sade stood, gazing at the golden orb that crested the Malibu cliffs,
painting the morning sky a lacy scarlet. She marveled at how the sun
transformed the gray dawn into living color as dazzling pink clouds
unfurled to welcome the Son of Mother Earth.
She spit into her hands and rubbed them together, raising her palms
to the sun. “Father Sun, open my heart to the stars, so I may see truth.”
She closed her eyes and stared into the red hue that filled her brain while
her mind gazed beyond to something beckoning her—shamanic
consciousness.
Kundalini energy uncoiled from the base of her spine and exploded
from her crown chakra, a fiery ball of light that soared into the morning
sky while her earthbound body convulsed. The Flower of Life opened
within her. Her third eye used its sacred geometry to guide her astral
body. Sade felt immense joy as she left her body and planet Earth behind Her awareness expanded as she flew past the dark side of the Moon.
Sade glanced back and gasped at the bluish prominences of Earth’s
corona flaring around the moon’s rim as she transformed into a streaming
comet. The sun loomed ahead; she wondered if it was her destination.
Unexpectedly, a red apparition captivated her mind. It was larger
than Earth’s moon and brighter than any star she had ever seen. She
entered its fiery red atmosphere that softened into swirls of pale pinkish blue, and the fluid colors transformed into a cloudy rose-colored sky. She imagined the God of War’s shield, protecting the planet from radiation.
Mars’s blue-violet inner atmosphere exposed two polar ice caps with a
prominent bulge between them. The Martian North Pole was a gigantic ice sheet of iridescent swirls. Like the circular ridges of a colossal thumbprint, encircled by a vast cobalt ocean that stretched toward the Martian equator. Farther south, in the
Southern hemisphere, dense belts of lush river valleys fed the Martian
ocean while, on the distant horizon, a great highland shrouded in a
massive rain cell.
Rising skyward in the Northern hemisphere were white plumes of
smoke and ash from an enormous chain of volcanoes that towered ten
miles high. Sade reasoned it was the Tharsis region.
The dark blue sea lapped the Martian shore, a tranquil background
for the volcanoes’ volatile tempers.
The Aureole Ocean’s surging tides cut enormous orange-red bluffs
into the Martian shoreline, dotted with cotton candy beaches and shallow
emerald reefs that generated monstrous waves. She saw a brilliant beacon
of light reflected off the sea, sending signs of life back to a desolate Earth.
Toward the east, a vast tectonic crack scarred the Martian surface. Its
vertical sides were miles deep, stretching thousands of miles to the
horizon.
Sade flew over dreamlike landscapes until she saw a gleaming
metropolis that towered over rolling savanna grasslands. What enthralled
her were shimmering buildings that formed a sarsen circle, each monolith
100 stories high. The roof’s sculpture curved as lentils that connected
them while an inner circle of trilithon skyscrapers soared high over the
outer ring. At its center was a perfect oval of small buildings that touched
the circle’s wall.
Slightly off the Martian city’s epicenter, a spiraling crystal tower
penetrated golden clouds while five black monolithic structures that
formed a horseshoe greeted the rising sun. Her discovery of the Martian
Citadel of Light repeated across the Martian habitable zone. Some crystal
citadels swarmed with life while others abandoned. She felt mystified by
the cities’ identical designs until their parallel geometry made her gasp and
cry, “Stonehenge!”  She heard a siren’s song that struck a chord inside her. The harmonic
chanting called Sade to a sacred circle where she saw a wraithlike stream
of light emanate from each Stargirl. They sat in a whirling-wheel of
rainbow light that formed a spinning aura.
Jill emanated an infusion of garnet and coral-red light into the
astonishing aura; Ali stunning malachite-green; Mad an exquisite citrine yellow; and Lyn delicate rose quartz light. Sade enraptured by the electromagnetic whirlwind and chanting, felt space-time shift. Her consciousness cracked and released a wisp of blue lapis-lazuli light into the sacred circle. Violet light flowed upward toward the stars and twisted into a tunnel of love that linked them to the Great Mystery. She thought,
DNA, the cosmic spiral of life.
Back on Earth, Sade’s body shook, bathed in the Earth’s morning
light; her hands trembled as her heart opened to what called her. Mad
wondered what touched her so powerfully but waited in silence to honor
the transcendent moment.
Sade felt the Stargirls’ untapped power—embodied in their life
works, colorful auras, and mysterious destinies. She found herself
chanting with them as the fiery light purified them. She realized a rite of
passage that opened their minds to their true selves. Suddenly, the
Stargirls’ heart song ended. Lyn cried out, “Great Spirit, help us find our
way; hear our cry.” Sade shape-shifted into a golden eagle, soaring above
them as Lyn’s fervent cry echoed. Sade’s heart fluttered as Spirit-Keepers
encircled them with love.
A commanding voice said, “Children of the stars, we come to grant
you your Earthly powers. Embrace your powers with love and the purity
of your hearts. You will face severe trials ahead. Be true to your quest and
your powers will defeat a great evil. Your powers are the forces of
Earth.”
The great voice then thundered, “Lyn, power of Spirit; Sade, of
Water; Jill, of Fire; Ali, of Earth; Mad, of Air.” The words rang true in
their hearts. Sade glimpsed—at a whirling golden star that arrested her
attention. The Stargirls’ destiny flashed through her mind, like a near
death experience, challenging her sense of reality as to who they were and
what they would become.
She soared over a pink Martian bluff where the Stargirls sang their
song of love and peace, but they had vanished.
Instead, she found a large eagle’s nest nuzzled in the bosom of a
great white tree. Five hungry eaglets peeped loudly; tiny bird voices called
out to life, filling her with joy. She then heard a loving voice, “Sade, Sade.
The Stargirls need you. It is time to go home.”
Sade felt confused about where home was. The planets seemed to
revolve around the sun as usual, but she felt something was different  about the stars as she passed the dark side of the moon toward Earth.
Dazed, she reentered the Earth’s atmosphere, burning brightly like the
meteorite that gave them their name. She thought, too much for one mind to
bear, when her spirit slammed back into her chest. She reeled and gasped
for breath.
Mad grabbed her. “Sade, are you okay?”
Sade shivered. “Don’t know—give me a moment.” She bent over
trying to catch her breath . . . she burst wide-awake. “What in the world?”
Mad said, “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t know. I feel weird. My mind is empty.”
Mad laughed. “That’s nothing new—so what happened?”
“That’s the funny thing . . . I don’t know. I do not know why you
ask. Strange, don’t you think?”
“Yes, but are you all right?”
“Yeah, I feel well.”
“Good, we have enough to deal with.”
“Wait, follow me.” She grabbed Mad’s hand, trotted down to the
sand, and picked up a stick, drawing something in the sand.
“Sade, what is that?”
“It’s what popped into my head when you asked what happened.”
They looked at a cryptic pentagram Sade had drawn in the sand.
Mad said, “That’s spooky, big sister. What does it mean?”
Sade looked again, “Hmm, something about our destiny, but my
mind draws a blank.” She took one last look. “Hurry, let’s join the
others.”
Lyn, unaware of their peculiar experience, yelled, “Hey, look at the
fireball of nuclear fusion that gives us life,” pointing to the sun.
Ali said, “Yeah, it’s a wonderful life,” as the sun’s rays warmed her.
“Do you realize the sunlight you feel left the sun 8.31 minutes ago,
traveling at the speed of light?”
Jill laid hard on the horn. “All aboard who’s coming aboard, we have
a date with destiny. Get your boney butts on board.” Her command made
them hoot with laughter, but they obeyed.
Once on board, Mad said, “Look—glorious sunbeams announcing
our journey to nowhere.” She grimaced, knowing they headed somewhere
. . . but where.
Ali awed by the iridescent beams said, “The rays of Buddha or
Jacobs’s ladder pointing the way east—which symbolizes birth, wisdom,
and enlightenment.”
Sade said, “Call me crazy, but it feels like a good omen.” She then
brooded over what she remembered from the astral plane—the star
symbol. She closed her eyes, and a radiant light filled her mind. She thought our quest begins.

Aagaatar the Stargirls Nemesis

aliens, horror, science fiction

Jill mutely stood in the background transfixed by the size and appearance of Aagaatar, who appeared ten feet tall. He was a eunuch, with two powerful arms—one human, the other a horrendous looking black claw. His hulking, muscular body was a brilliant green with bold black streaks. A misshapen predator, she thought, perhaps a product of genetics gone amiss.

Red antennae that bristled at their torment crowned his massive head. His face was bizarrely humanoid, except for his large insect eyes. Protruding from his massive chest were teeth sharp ripsaw that viciously snapped. Jill cringed at the whirring sound . . . imagining it ripping and tearing flesh . . . made to tear a body apart while his soulless black eyes stared through her. A hellish adversary she shuddered involuntarily.

Aagaatar’s acidic voice startled her. “You are my servants sent to fulfill my Final Solution.” He raised his black claw and the Golden Star materialized. “The power of the Universe—naively delivered to me by misguided puppets. When I’m through with you, you will regret you were ever born—” But before he finished, a deadhead collided with Lyn. She saw blood oozing through her sleeve.

“Come, children of Aagaatar, let me show you the fruit of your malignant planet.” He waved his black claw and blinding light descended around them; they vanished. Lyn lost sight of the others while the light swirled around her. Her mind stretched like a rubber band until she felt it would snap—she lost consciousness.

The Stargirls face Garlig’s Deadly Gauntlet

aliens, fantasy, science fiction, Starlight Destiny

Chapter 34; pg. 204-205

DAZED AND CONFUSED by fantastic tidal-gravitational forces and stomach-turning vertigo, the Stargirls struggled for breath as they plummeted in a graveyard spiral. They fell and fell and fell until they lost all sensation of falling, and a peculiar state of stupefaction beset them.

They were unable to discern if they were traveling beyond the speed of light, frozen in space-time, or stretched beyond the laws of physics. They had the sense they were moving and not moving at the same time, feeling weightless as they crossed the boundary of an event horizon. The sudden sweeping view within the black hole mesmerized them; it was astounding and disorienting. Everything appeared distorted as they accelerated towards its singularity—it was unavoidable.

Their eyes, like fun house mirrors, bent light as they entered the strange world of quantum gravity. They entered a nightmarish spiraling tunnel that ripped a hole in the fabric of the universe. Space-time broke apart as an unknown dimension opened to some cursed destination.

Suddenly, they erupted from the gravitational field and tumbled on a sand swept surface, into still, mystifying blackness. Ali felt for injuries and groped in the darkness then hollered, “Is everyone OK? Where in the Hades are we?” but before anyone could answer.

Massive bonfires erupted, surrounding them. The raging fires exposed a hostile barren landscape, choking with sulfur dioxide. Out of the acrid smoke, tormented inhuman cries pierced the thin air, sending shivers up Jill’s spine. Grotesque dreamlike forms bounded across the dark terrain, casting fearsome silhouettes on the desolate ground that shook from their vast numbers.

Jill’s eyes widened; she felt spellbound by the horrifying sight. She swallowed hard and yelled, “Cover your backs,” as the horde of death and cold-blooded screams came closer.

Ali cried, “In God’s name, what is it?”

“We’ll soon find out,” Jill muttered. They formed a circle with their backs to each other to face the terror bearing down on them. Out of the smoky haze, a fierce army of yellow, gleaming eyes and fiery bodies appeared, as beastly cries turned to ghastly growls.

An enormous beast crashed through the bloodthirsty horde and stood on hind legs, violently shaking its flaming head, roaring to the heavens. It stopped and fixed its hellish gaze on them. It inhaled their blood scent and roared again, breaking into a swinging stride to attack, sending the swarm into a frenzied charge.

Jill shouted, “Take out the leader.”

“With what? Our bare hands, spit, or throw sand in its blazing eyes,” Mad angrily asked

When a startling voice like an angel’s rose high above the mayhem and proclaimed, “Sometimes spiritual healing means death—but not today—at least, not ours.” A towering-tsunami then encircled them.

They watched, fascinated, while a black orca fin sliced through the devastating wall, causing the soaring blue lapis sea to quake and crash down, washing the gruesome beasts and hellfire away— For a fleeting moment, the Stargirls stood exultant, amazed at Sade’s hidden Star power—then the incredible scene and terrifying reality they had survived transformed. The gauntlet’s inescapable theme of death repeated—against their will.

Their horrifying ordeal was far from over, as pitch-blackness engulfed them again, but with a demoralizing twist. The inkiness slowly turned ghostly light, as luminous stars filled the blackness. The Stargirls had no time to ponder their good fortune when a hailstorm of deadly meteorites crashed down around them. (end of post)

The Stargirls felt trapped between forces of good and evil competing for their souls

aliens, fantasy, horror, science fiction

Chapter 17:pg 102

THE STARGIRLS felt entombed and damned. Jill wondered how many maidens were sacrificed to some god . . . how many witches burned, drowned, or hanged in the name of madness . . . how many women raped and killed by righteous insane hands. She grimly shook her head, the list of injustices against women endless as she contemplated her own sacrifice. She fumbled in the cell’s gloom to find the others. Choked with emotion, she whispered, “We are alive and have one another.”

“Yes,” Lyn answered.

“We have heart.” Ali’s tone resolute.

“We are the Stargirls.” Mad growled.

“Garlig stole our innocence but not our courage to fight. If need be, let us die a warrior’s death,” Jill said solemnly.

Sade said, “Yes, it’s in our hearts and spirit to fight for our freedom.” Out of the dark, they heard their Star guide’s voice: “Stargirls, your imprisonment is unfortunate but fated by prophecy. What you must comprehend is that the Apocalypse is upon us. You are the Intergalactic Angels, ordained to inherit the power of the stars to free us from great evil, changing the fate of the Star people and your Earth’s future—“ The telepathic link was broken as light burst through the cell door.

Huge, hairy hands grabbed flesh and bone and tossed them over broad shoulders while creepy-crawly metallic eyes watched. Stunned by the sudden show of force, they surrendered. Resistance would only provoke senseless punishment. What could it mean? They were Intergalactic Angels and in the glare of an apocalyptic war. The proposition seemed outrageous, except for the fact that it was happening. The Stargirls felt trapped between forces of good and evil competing for their souls—cosmic forces that desperately sought their Star power for salvation or domination. Jill thought we inherit the power of the stars, yet any hope of escape crushed.

The Stargirls Stare Down Death

aliens, psychic connection, Starlight Destiny, teleportation

Chapter 12 Pg. 64-69 ∞ The Starlight Prophecy

A green pall materialized from the darkness; and they gawked at each other, thankful their eyesight was restored and awestruck by their bodies’ ghostly green color. They spread out, looking for a way out. Lyn stumbled on a large mandala with curious interlocking patterns on the cavern wall that resembled the symbol in their dream. Its motif had a mystifying cipher text she feared defied analysis. Although she knew cryptography, number and information theory, computational complexity, and quantum computing, what she stared at baffled her. She decided Occam’s razor was the answer. Entia non sunt multiplicande praeter necessitatem. She thought keep it simple, baby. She boiled her analysis down to combinatorics theory and the fundamental number Pi. She hoped her calculations would expose the meaning and purpose of the mandala. They gathered around her and gazed at the enigmatic pictograph while Lyn checked and double-checked the alien signs. She felt those signs were a set of laws to the cosmos similar to the image of Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man whose body reflected the universe. That is when the mandala’s secret design hit her. Ali peeked over her shoulder. Lyn felt her breathing down her neck and said, “Do you see that?”

“See what?”

“Hold on a moment.” She examined several symbols.

Ali grew impatient, shaking Lyn. “See what?”

Lyn pointed to several symbols, which meant nothing to Ali, and said, “These symbols are mathematical constants in the mandala’s design. Whoever put this here wanted us to find it. What you are looking at created by an advanced intelligence. Mathematically, these five symbols activate the mandala and put the universe at our finger tips.”

The symbols revealed five star-points within the alien matrix that represented a derivative of the transcendental number pi, the optimal number she had been looking for. Lyn sighed deeply. “Listen up. This may sound incredible, but I think these symbols represent a teleportation access code.”

Mad blinked. “Did I hear right . . . teleportation?”

“Yes, a quantum teleportation code to the stars.”

“You can’t mean ‘Beam me up, Scotty,’ do you?”

“Yes, but not science fiction. I think I broke the code to the star system in our dreams and the extraordinary events that brought us here, but it is a test. “Do you remember the Great Sphinx, Abu al-Hôl, Father of Terror, and the Greek Sphinx who strangled all that could not answer its riddle? I am afraid this alien brainteaser is the Alpha and Omega that has been cursing me. “You see the laser light that blinded us was a warning to trespassers. Whoever left this message did not want anyone accidentally accessing its secrets. I hate to think what would happen if they failed—or if we fail. “Nevertheless, I think I have the cosmic answer to its challenge.” She swallowed hard and mustered her courage. “However, if we fail, I think it will cost us our lives.”

“What are the odds you’re right, a flip of the coin if we set this thing off?” Mad demanded.

Sade interrupted. “My intuition says it’s a go.”

“Sade, with all respect, it’s our lives at stake.” Jill objected.

“Jill, we are on a quest. Come on, do you want to live forever?” Ali chided.

Lyn laughed. “Let me be the devil’s advocate. I figure a 90 percent chance it will work. You all know something beyond Earth is calling us. Jill, didn’t you say it was our destiny, back in Malibu?” “Yes.”

Ali declared, “It’s our way of putting the star in Stargirls.”

“Who can fight that?” Mad agreed.

“Looks like the Alpha brats rule.” Jill capitulated.

Life is difficult at best, Lyn thought. The choice was to run or bravely leap into the unknown. She understood their choice would forever define them and their fate. “Okay, is it a go?” Lyn asked. Without thinking, they embraced her shouting, “One for all and all for one! We are the Stargirls forever!”

Lyn forced a smile, “Okay, the alien mechanism means life or death, depending on how we activate it. Kind of a 50s nuclear missile, fail-safe system where two controllers turned two keys to bring their Intercontinental Ballistic Missile to life; but that’s where the analogy ends.” She paused. “The point being, hidden within the mandala’s encrypted symbols are five star-points. Mathematically, when they come together they form a perfect geometric star that should release the mandala’s energy—but there is a catch. Each point is a trigger, and we must press them together in concert. Pressed out of sequence, we will never know what happened. Whoever created this technology designed it to self-destruct if it fell into the wrong hands. “Now, place your fingers on your star-point, and when I say ‘Ready?’ you shout ‘Ready!’ back to me. Then, when I give the command, press your star symbol—any questions?”

Jill warily said, “Wait! Let’s not screw up. What command?”

Lyn blushed. “Oops. Star power. She then double-checked their positions and took her own. “Ready?” They shouted, “Ready.” The Stargirls were following her—hollow-eyed, trusting, and hopeful. Without hesitation, she gave the command, “Star power.” Directly, they pressed their star-points and stepped back. In that gut-wrenching moment, the Stargirls mesmerized as the mandala blazed and the cavern wall flickered, and then rippled in kaleidoscopic light. Suddenly, the mandala imploded and the wall vanished.

* * *

The Stargirls lounged on rainbow beach towels while Malibu’s summer sun baked the sand. Ali said, “Boy, its hot and sticky.”

Lyn added, “Pass me the sunscreen—” while Jill and Sade sipped tart lemonade, puckering their lips. Jill commented, “Hmm, southern California, land of milk and honey—yet today it’s a tropical paradise.”

Sade replied, “Life’s good.”

Ali asked, “Why do you think we picked these bright rainbow towels?”

Mad chortled, “Simple—to attract attention. Men like alluring, sexy colors.”

Lyn tittered and smiled. “I think they have a deeper meaning than a mating ritual.”

Ali sniggered. “Kind of reminds me of when our hormones erupted and our parents freaked out.

Jill howled. “Yeah, that was a crazy time.”

“Remember how Mad got caught sneaking out to see her boyfriend?” Sade taunted.

Mad scowled, “You stinker …” and rolled over. “Watch out, I’ll feed you to the sharks.” The rhythmic sound of the shore break, chatter of sea gulls, and sun’s heat lulled Mad into a sleepy state, while sun- struck surfers turned waves into thrill rides; and dogs flew like Olympian gods catching Frisbees and dove in waves like dolphins fetching tennis balls. Defying leash laws intended to keep them from being Olympian gods or dolphins.

“What a wonderland—it makes my heart sing.” Ali mused.

Sade said, “Why don’t we join the surfers?” “Good idea.” They trotted toward the water, feet on fire, singing a hilarious chorus of; “Ooh . . . ouch . . . ouch . . . ooh . . . ah . . . ouch—“ until they dove into the water. The others sat, crowing at the comical sight. Jill said, “I wish I had a camera.”

“This is the kind of day we work hard for.” Lyn said.

Mad’s eye popped open. “Let’s join the fools and not waste it.”

Jill stretched and stood up. “Okay, last one in is a rotten egg.” She raced over the fire pit and dove in the shore break. Time seemed lost as they bodysurfed and built sandcastles and families came and went like the tide. Seagulls circled above, as others strutted on beach-stealing snacks. One big white gull pecked at a bag of chips until it gave up its salty treasure. An afternoon breeze turned the heat down. Mad shivered and said, “We’d better rescue our rainbows or the tide will claim them.” They reluctantly left their ocean playground and picked up their towels to dry off. Lyn, drying her hair, heard the sharp howl of dogs and thought it odd. “What do you think is stirring them up?”

Mad replied, “I don’t know, but look,” pointing to the sky teeming with brown pelicans and western gulls heading south.

Sade said, “Must be thousands; it’s unusual.” Their masses blocked the sun and cast crablike shadows around them. No sooner had the exodus passed than another wave of birds flew low and hard going south. Their agitated squawking startled them.

Lyn said, “What’s going on?”

Ali shouted, “What in God’s name!” pointing to the ocean horizon where a colossal object hovered.

Lyn screeched, “Jill, toss me your phone. I want to call a friend at NORAD,” but before she could, a terrific boom shook the beach. Involuntarily, she turned toward the deafening sound, stunned by what she saw. The object, now clearly in view, moved closer to the shoreline. It hovered thousands of feet above them, rotating counterclockwise on its axis. Awed, she tilted her head back. Her jaw dropped, and she gaped at the translucent object—a red, ethereal, whirling entity in the white-blue sky, emitting fantastic bursts of energy.

A mushroom cloud materialized over the object, forming a massive anvil thunder dome. The thing she thought, at a loss for words, gyrated faster and faster, glowing bright reddish-orange. Pulses of energy surged into the sky and sizzling and cracking lightning struck the ground, causing her hair to stand on end and spark. The Pacific Coast Highway’s sandstone cliffs moved from the force of the sonic boom, causing huge landslides that buried everything. Lyn screamed, “Mad, what’s going on?”

“All I know is that super cell looks deadly,” she replied, as a violent gust of wind bent them over. The sky turned to night as the object’s red glow created a shaft of light that pierced the ocean, causing it to boil. Three bluish-white tornados appeared curling and twisting like poisonous snakes, heading for the beach. Mad let out a shriek, “Get out of here.”

Lyn yelled, “Run for the cottage.”

Mad screamed, “No, take the jeep; we’ll escape south like the birds.” Lyn fumbled and dropped the keys. She grabbed them and slid into the driver’s seat. Jill rode shotgun, and the rest squeezed into the back. Torrential rain beat down as Lyn barreled off the driveway, driving like a maniac. She turned south along the shoreline. Mad glanced back and gasped. The sky turned greenish black as a massive wedge tornado touched down, annihilating everything. Cars, people, and million-dollar homes hurtled through the air as a rescue copter crashed. “Faster, faster or we’re dead!” Mad shrieked. Lyn squinted through blinding rain, as baseball-size hail crashed down. They screamed until their voices gave out, “Go . . . go . . . go.” The jeep hit a rut that blew a front tire, ripping the wheel from her hands, causing the jeep to veer and flip over. Shaken, they helped each other out of the jeep. Jill glowered at the flat tire and said, “Let’s make a run for it.”

Mad looked back. “It’s too late.” They hugged goodbye and turned to face their fate. Holding hands, heads high, they courageously faced the wedge of Black Death that swept them away—

* * *

Lyn was oddly aware; she was peering into a Star Chamber with gleaming transparent walls that reflected the past, present, and future. Gradually, she realized she was looking into a space-time crystal ball, a cosmic ball she had once gazed into as a small child. She realized they had left their bodies in the mandala’s cavern and had not even noticed. She felt the others but could not see them. She heard Jill’s pleading voice call out, “Are we dead or alive?”

Lyn tried to respond but could not find her own voice. Mesmerized by the shift in space-time, she realized their nightmare of annihilation was a subconscious projection, a projection of their deepest fears when they pressed the star symbols, not knowing whether they would live or die. Regardless of its reality, she was thankful they survived the killer alien tornado.

Mad, in exasperation, cried out to the unseen force, “Why did you summon us? There must be a reason. Tell us.” She heard a dreamlike voice.

“You are Stargirls.” The voice paused, letting the fog and confusion of their nightmare to lift. Lyn found her voice, “But why us?” “You are the chosen ones by prophecy; you have proven your worthiness. A time warp brought you here. The one you opened was no accident. It was left a hundred thousand years ago just for you. Your Star training as children has prepared you well. You are ready for the next stage in your evolution.”

Her disquieting words shifted reality, creating an energy-womb within them, a powerful psychic connection to their puzzling destiny.