Chapter 28
As the others enjoyed their coffee, Chianna produced a vaporizer and the now famous Dragon Drops to help set the stage for the meal that was to follow.
After the gluttony of the previous night, Elliott was reasonably sure that today’s first meal would be best appreciated for its quality, rather than sheer quantity.
Melon, Mango, and grapefruit. All locally grown and a homemade “approximation” of prosciutto gave everyone a chance to prepare themselves for a meal to begin the first day of the rest of their lives.
After being told about The Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, neither Elliott nor Chianna had much of a clue about what to expect.
They had tried LSD, Peyote, Mescaline, Ayahuasca and Psilocybin many years before, and had even used the local mushrooms twice since establishing The Colony.
With such an imposing name, it would be difficult to live up to anybody’s expectations were it not for the fact that, once ingested it would so far exceed them that there was about zero chance that they would be disappointed.
As they consumed their sumptuously restrained repast, Jed and Leigh-Anne took the lead in attempting to prepare them for this most auspicious of occasions.
“Although you will probably experience the briefly unpleasant sensations of almost flu-like symptoms and a very low-grade fever like the onset of virtually all psychedelics, in addition to an initial feeling of minor disorientation, bordering on dysphoria, when it passes, you will not feel as if you were being catapulted into some surrealistic fifth dimension, or anything that you would be inclined to label as hallucinations.” Leigh-Ann’s demeanor was part clinical nurse, part tour-guide, and part merry prankster.
“But you can rest assured that before you have any real chance to feel any sense of disappointment that you will be presented with some sort of enigmatic observation or vision that will precede the systematic deconstruction of essentially everything you have taken for granted; not as an illusion, but rather as if you are observing successive layers of illusion being lifted.” Jed was affectionately gentle and reassuring as he alternately shifted his attentions to Chianna and Elliott.
“You may be reminded of the Dance of the Seven Veils. As long as you don’t try to control what is presented to you, it’s more like a philosophical strip-tease…” Leigh-Ann’s words trailed off as she smiled and slightly shook her head, obviously amused by her own turn of phrase.
The systematic deconstruction of every aspect of your known world is not like a continuous series of fun-house mirrors, nor was it likely to be a horror show either, given the present company’s familiarity with each other, which more or less precluded any serious concerns for anyone’s physical or mental safety.
“And never forget…what starts as well as what happens between friends stays between friends…” Rebel interjected almost as if she had been reading this narrative as it was being written, (which was presumed to be happening as the event was unfolding…something of a stylistic ouroboros….).
As much as she tried not to appear to be too deep, or too sentimental, as she let down her bravado, when she did, the sincerity was even more disarming.
This was one of those times; it would be easy to portray her as an almost illiterate self-parodying porn star with hillbilly roots, but it would be the most unkind of injustices to ignore her instinctive drives for finding and nurturing true friendship, and her own fierce loyalty, as well as her hidden wisdom of the moon.
Nonetheless, everybody, including Rebel groaned loudly at the re-overworked cliche, before suddenly becoming silent, touched by her aura, or whatever you might be inclined to use to describe the ambience of that moment , (but that’s just it, even trying now to scratch the surface of the transcendent with mere words, can never do it justice, so there….perhaps you may even be inclined to use your imagination; after all, you didn’t just start reading this as if you were an empty vessel, right?).
Jed continued. “I would not advise anyone to consider taking ‘The Knowledge’ with anyone other than close, trusted friends, at least for the first time. I realize that puts Chianna at a distinct disadvantage, and although there is no sort of competition in any of this, I would be remiss not to at least recognize that five of us have known each other for years, even if it has been a long time since Elliott was a part of our group.”
“As much as I sincerely want to share this experience with Chianna, I am compelled to offer her a ‘pass’ if she is uncomfortable in any way with any of us, because if she is, it will come out eventually.”
“At best, you be challenged by the sheer magnitude of the experience in general. I don’t mean to sound condescending, so please understand me on this point. As we progress into this experience, you will see each of us like an open book, and we will be able to read you just as well.” Jed was soft and sincere in his approach.
“Some people are not prepared to accept some of the truths about themselves that they may have been trying to either deny or pray not to have to acknowledge.”
“Then again, as far as those aspects of our psyche’s are concerned, like either falsies, heel-lifts or a toupee, most of the time, the only person that is fooled is the the one who thinks that anybody else is.” Rebel chimed in with her characteristically droll and bucolic ease.
Rebecca’s native intelligence had taught her that most people don’t have the attention span of a gnat unless you weave your real message into a conversation about sex, money, drugs, or human politics.
(But she also admitted that she would occasionally test her listeners by protracting the conversation even farther by exaggerating her drawl. She often made her friends ‘prove’ themselves to be worthy to an extent that drove off all but a select few, because once you made it past her radar, she was as generous and passionately loyal as a pit-bull.)
Once again, Jed found himself completely absorbed in Chianna as he stared into her eyes with a tenderness and affection that would have betrayed his true feelings, were it not for the fact that everyone, including Elliott was very much aware of not only his infatuation with her, but her infatuation with him as well.
“By the end of the day, you will see each of our identities dissolve to the point where you may feel that you can’t tell where you end, or where I begin. You will see yourself in each of us, as well as each of us in you.” Leigh-Anne once again took control of the conversation as it became evident that Jed had lost his bearings and was adrift in his own revery.
“Looks like it could be starting already…” she chuckled and shook her head.
“Hey! You two haven’t been dipping into ‘The Knowledge’ without us, have you?”
“…You know I’m kidding, right?” she added.
“Because what you are feeling right now isn’t a splinter compared to a Sequoia, once ‘The Knowledge’ begins to take over…Jed already knows that, so I can only assume that he is simply adrift in fantasy.”
“But before we get too intellectual about all this, I just wanted to add that at some point, you will recognize that ‘The Knowledge’ is going to re-arrange the Table of Contents in your brain.”
“What I mean by that is this: as long as the neurons are healthy and undamaged, every experience, every sensation, every word to which you have been exposed remains in your brain. This includes an unbelievable amount of seemingly trivial minor details, as well as horrific details you may have tried to bury. Without reinforcement, including recall, the connection pathways grow very faint.”
“The Knowledge will eventually index, categorize, and cross-reference EVERYTHING in a way that allows you to intuitively connect all relevant data and information flawlessly and seamlessly in less time than it will take your thinking mind to narrate this message to yourself.” Leigh-Anne paused for a moment to let it all sink in.
“And as we spend time together, we eventually learn everything that each of us used to possess singularly.” Aimée and Jeannette (aka Rebecca [Steele], aka Rebel) were speaking in perfect unison and pitched harmony as they jumped into the conversation.
“Hi! We’re the Rogers Twins, and we’ll be here all week.” (The most remarkable aspect being that Amy’s voice was now coming out of Rebel’s mouth.)
“Be sure to try the veal and the sweetbreads, and don’t forget to tip your waitress…” (Similarly, Rebel’s voice now was coming from Aimée).
Everyone laughed, but Aimée and Rebecca made it clear that some, if not most of the effects were not only essentially permanent, but also cumulative.
“And this here is one thing I think you will especially appreciate, Doc…there is nothing like fuckin’ somebody you really like, and have them suddenly turn into you…it’ll teach you a thing or two about the difference between true love, self-love and narcism.” Rebel’s words were more deliberate than protracted as she shyly winked at Elliott.
“So what do you say we take this dog and pony show on the road? As Chianna spoke, she arose to look each of them deeply in the eyes as she alternately smirked or winked at each of them, but it was the way that she rotated and slightly raised her shoulder as she leaned into first Elliott, and then Jed, caressing their lips with her middle finger to beckon them as she started to walk away for three very exaggerated steps before turning to look backwards over her shoulder, raising her eyebrows as if looking over a pair of sunglasses that spoke volumes to attest to the fact that Chianna was clearly more than ready…at least so far.
Namaste
नमस्ते
Chazz Vincent
copyright © March 12th, 2021
Fish swim with the tides, in and out of the lagoon as it empties itself, receives from, and flows back into the sea.
*ALL REFERENCES TO ANY PERSONS CONFIRMED STILL LIVING IS PURELY CO-INCIDENTAL…AND THE DEAD ARE TOO BUSY LAUGHING AT US TO CARE.
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