First Look Up

Moon Light

Music=

1. Zen Meditation

  - Zen Meditation

UFOtext=

Each tree of jade- a finger of history pointing at the enlightened moon. For Princess Lei, her streams of thought flowed away- a rain of moonbeams in the cloudy night. Only then did the moon itself appear- a calm luminous pearl set in the sea of darkness.

 UFOtwit

Jade Trees

Blooms Open Up

Music=

1. A Love Before Time 

 (Mandarin)

  - CoCo Lee

UFOtext=

The Count & Princess  locked eyes- sharing the same idea.
"Yin, search for a timer, some sort of clock." spoke the Princess softly.
Within seconds the glowing Buddha expanded, transforming into a luminous door. The abstract door connected to a local network of electronics- a small golden key shown brightly- beside it glowed a small universal icon for a clock.
The Count & Princess locked eyes again- their excitement growing.
"Yin, set the clock to the lunar new year of the Dragon." spoke the Princess, slightly nervous as the moment of truth would now arrive.
But for the next long minute nothing changed. The Count & the Princess held their breath. Then suddenly the hologram disappeared- the antechamber  returned in all its prosaic glory.
The Count & Princess locked eyes again- sharing a slight disappointment. 
But then without warning the mountain of hard rock behind the Buddha opened up into a forest of jade!

 UFOtwit

The Cavern

The Cavern

Music=
1. Lovesong-
    The Cure
2. Islands-
    The xx

UFOtext=
Part I- Without Yu
"Count- where do these two passages lead?" asked Lei, stepping back from the laughing Buddha of lost time.
"They are two pathways to the same place." said the Count, leaning a photonic torch against the chamber wall.
"Like yin and yang, they are two sides of the same coin."
"I see," said Lei, looking to the nearby passage to her left.
"Well- why fiddle around, let's go!"
And her words no sooner took flight than she started toward the passage, the Count scrambling to follow with his other photonic torch.
The narrow winding passage snaked through the earth, twisting and turning, creating a sense of confusion, a sense of disorientation. But after thirty minutes of rapid walking, a light appeared at the end of the tunnel- a dim light, but a hopeful presence nonetheless- an indication of a final destination.
"Count- I think we're getting warm!" And the Princess turned to the Count, looking for a sense of confirmation. His dark eyes merely gazed into the dim future, apprehending the light ahead.
The Princess turned back to the light, and continued her rapid pace. Within five short minutes the passage opened up into a small well lit antechamber. There she stopped- somewhat stunned- in front of her perched the laughing Buddha with the Count's photonic torch leaning against the wall!

Part II- Timing Is Everything
Princess Lei stared at the Count, not amused by their return to the laughing Buddha.
"Where is the Pearl of Dreams?" she asked, looking for a straight answer from the Count.
"Princess, legend says that the way of knowledge only reveals itself on the very first day of the lunar new year of the Dragon. I was there and I can attest to this  truth."
"So we can't get in now?" asked the Princess, somewhat peeved.
"Lei, I don't know- maybe not." said the Count, sincerely disappointed.
The Princess turned to the laughing Buddha with chagrin, gazing at the mysterious inscriptions as if they might hold the key. And then her delicate fingers caressed her Yin black diamond, and the invisible Foundation computer began its magic process.

Part III- Within Yu
For one cosmic second Princess Lei fainted. The hologram appeared- a glowing 3 dimensional apparition set before the laughing Buddha. The hidden passage of light, the vast underwater cavern beneath the sea- and the large luminous moon- formed one panorama unified by a soft white veil of electromagnetic lace. And the mysterious inscriptions upon the glowing Buddha randomly melted and then crystallized into precise black text written in Galactic Standard.
The Princess slowly recovered her senses . She began to read the lost galactic history of thousands of years revealed by the decoded inscriptions. Within the span of a few minutes she realized they were in fact too late- the time of the Dragon had just passed and the Buddha's door would remain closed until the Dragon's return. She turned to the Count.
"Count, unless we break down the door or speed up Time, we just have to wait."
The Count thought for a moment and replied-
"If we break down the door, we risk the destruction of not only the cavern and its treasured pearl- but ourselves as well."
"So we speed up Time." said the Princess, staring blankly at the laughing Buddha.
"Perhaps," mused the Count, looking intently at the Yin diamond upon her breast- a hybrid product of both Nature and the First Foundation.
xx

UFOtwit

Mystery Tour

Mystery Tour

Music=

1. Time

2. I Wish, I Wish

(both songs by
 Cat Stevens,
 now Yusuf Islam)

UFOtext=
And then the lotus returned to seed within the womb of the earth. Princess Lei followed the Count into the passage, his photonic torch lighting the stairway on their descent. The tunnel gradually leveled out and the stairway dissolved- the Count reached back for the hand of the Princess and together they made haste- walking rapidly for about one hour. And then the passage opened up into a barren antechamber. The Count's torch illuminated the antechamber, revealing two passages on the left and right of a rotund laughing Buddha. Princess Lei walked up to the Buddha figure covered by intricate inscription. The Count brought his torch closer to facilitate her inspection.
She began to read but then stopped- the inscription was half familiar, half unfamiliar, making a difficult and awkward read. But she could make out the date- about 50,000 years in the past- about the time the Galactic Empire was founded. She stood in stunned silence for a few minutes, just letting the revelation sink in.
"Count, these inscriptions refer to Yu the Great of the Xia Dynasty- this time period predates the Galactic Empire." she said, looking to the Count for a sense of confirmation.
"Indeed," said the Count, "Will wonders never cease!" 
And he smiled in sympathy with the laughing Buddha.

UFOtwit

The Doorway

Inner Door

Music=

1. Whispers From A Spiritual Garden-

Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens)

UFOtext=

For one moment day and night stood still as one. Nothing moved. Everything changed. Princess Lei stared unbelieving at the open passage and wondered for the first time if the Count's fantastic tale could actually be true.
"Lei, to see is to believe and you were right to place no faith in my word- the word of an ordinary man. But this extraordinary passage leads back in time to the dynasties of the Far East- even before the Galactic Empire. The first step in this journey of discovery is to open the closed inner door of your mind- that is the very first step."
Princess Lei gazed at the Count and then she took her first step into a garden of lotus.

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The Secret Passage

Secret Passage

Music =

1. Lose Your Way- Sophie B. Hawkins

    (from across the waves in London)

UFOtext=
Like moonlight, faint music from London filled the air. The Count led the Princess through the backstreets of Paris- now nothing more than ragged pathways crossing through abandoned ruins. Finally he stopped in front of a nondescript and dilapidated apartment adjoined to a wall. They entered.
Once inside, the Count opened a series of three creaky doors that lead to a small interior room faced up against the outside wall. He held up his photonic torch and the Princess could see a collection of rotted books now strewn on shelves lining two of the walls. But she could see the Count's agitated fascination lay not with the books, but with a small stone fireplace - something of an oddity in a tropical location. Picking up a small hooked poker, the Count began to feverishly pry at one particular small stone, working so intently a small bead of perspiration fell from his brow to the brimstone. At last he freed the stone- a small black lacuna now manifested itself. He looked up at the Princess with fervent and maniacal eyes. She almost began to cry as she realized that the proper and refined Count of Paris was in fact no more than a deranged madman- she looked at him in fearful pity.
"Lei- brace yourself."
She did.
The Count thrust the hooked end of the poker into the small black lacuna and then began to grope- finally he pulled. A deep grinding noise filled the air and the fireplace opened. A cool musty smell of centuries filled the room- the Count's photonic torch revealed a stairway leading down a long deep subterranean passage.
Princess Lei jumped as a disturbed snake slithered across the floor.

 UFOtwit

No Teardrops On St. Valentine

Paris, Kiritimati Island

Music=

1. Teardrops- The xx

UFOtext=

The Count and the Princess walked along the abandoned street in Paris. Thin moonlight littered the street.
What did he really know about her? Was she alone- or not? But then who was he to ask such questions? Regardless, he would stand by her side- and cherish the deeper truth revealed by his heart.

 UFOtwit