Nexus - 0219 - New Times Magazine-pages

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had a colour and clarity of unbelievable depth. The Wonder- and rotting vegetation as a pungent, overpowering odour of Neap hovered nearby, and if it was in the least concerned, ! humus and decay. I liked it. It was the smell of a raw and felt nothing. It emitted no emotions, no humour, no concern, _ pure Nature. I can only liken the noise to the sound of crick- nothing, yet I knew that it cared. ets and cicadas, except it was far louder than any I have ever "A good way to learn a lesson." heard physically. Despite my efforts to detect just one cul- And it was succinct! "What happened? How?" prit, it was lost in the overall cacophony of sound. The club "You forgot you are not physical." moss seethed with huge millipedes, centipedes and other It was true. I had forgotten I was not physical. Ihad been insect life, while the cycads seemed to house the insects so rapidly overwhelmed during the struggle that I had jerked _ responsible for the noise. back into old physical reactions of The Wonder-Neap hovered close fear, and for a while, they became my by, floating with all the ease and reality. Once I blacked out, my meta- grace of a helium-filled balloon. physical Self resolved it, all physical "You are perfectly safe," it project- iluaiens calling. A bit like life, I "You are perfectly safe," ed neo : = yaasiad by its thought reflectively. : : + words unti aw the dinosaur. "Exactly! Good lesson." It projected silently. There is no way to describe the "Di know that Id hi ” Bea . impact of such an awesome-crea- les ae I was puzzled by its wor ds — Shows sce in rw admiring Without replying, the Wonder-Neap until | saw the dinosaur. © the elephants, impressed by their hovered close, and everything changed size, power and majesty, But com- again. pared with what confronted me, an This was Earth of a later prehistoric elephant had all the impact of a lime frame, with a climate and vegeta- Ss ~moOuse. This creature towered tion that left me gasping. I have expe- above me. It seemed impossible rienced high humidity in the tropics, but this was like being that it could have moved this close without my hearing it, in a sauna. The air was saturated heat, while the vegetation despite the background orchestra. Even more than its size, was beyond a botanist's wildest dreams. Where I stood, the _ the impact came from its colossal presence. landscape was dominated by very large cycads, plants with I stared in mute awe. Although I now felt safe in my meta- dark, lush, green fernlike foliage. Huge primitive ees grew _ physical state, the memory of my recent episode compelled in scattered groups, but I do not know whether they were me to take a few hasty steps back. Even the Wonder-Neap, massive tree cycads, tree [erns, or some type of palm which, I suspect, perceived life in a way that was far superior unknown to me. There was no grass, nor any flowering to vision, projected a feeling of awe. I was very relieved that plants other than the cycads and club moss. This grew ina __ the dinosaur was plainly vegetarian. It opened a vast mouth dense profusion, covering all the soil between and around the and cropped those huge, tough, four-metre-high cycads as cycads. It was a lush, moist, verdant green. Physically, 1 easily as a cow crops grass. The thought of a carnivorous would have had difficulty walking more than a few yards,so behemoth that could eat this way made me shudder. Ata abundant was the vegetation. guess, this creature could have looked into the window on the Two other things that surprised me were the smell and the __ third floor of a house, and its neck was not all that long, com- noise. The smell was astonishing. I could smell the wet soil pared to its body. It was not without defence, for it was armour-plated, with a huge, knobby swelling on the end of its tail that was a very effective club. One swipe with that would smash a car flat! Surprisingly, it moved with none of the crashing blunder that its massive size would suggest. It hada definite grace of movement, and it made no sound above the din in the background. As it grazed, it Ae|Parel pel are disturbed small reptilian creatures that darted from SST the undergrowth, running on their hind legs with remarkable agility and speed. None were longer \ S than about two yards, with some considerably small- " y er, but all had a mouthful of sharp teeth. I looked at the Wonder-Neap, perplexed. As fantastic as all this was, I knew there had to be a purpose. What was it? The Wonder-Neap was clearly attuned to my thoughts, for at that moment it came closer. The globe very gently touched my light-body head, and my visual perception expanded and changed. I could now see the consciousness of the dinosaur. This was a shock. For such an immense creature, its consciousness was quite small, as though it were a misfit. I perceived consciousness as a shroud of illumination, completely independent of the body but in juxtaposition to it. When, at that moment, a EAKFAS Foonus APRIL - MAY 1994 24*NEXUS DI