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| The Cavern |
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
