《Proximity Factor》 The Rite-of-Passage Ceremony The seasonal Blood Moon on this cool, crisp night is more likely to inspire personal and spiritual endeavors than discussions about the usual farming issues. "It''s almost twilight. When is Terif going to join us?¡± said Nickod. He was the circle leader for tonight¡¯s gathering, leading his brother Terif, a youngling, through his first past-life regression. A common rite-of-passage ceremony for families getting ready to introduce their children to the clan¡¯s society and governance. The rest of the onlookers walked in, followed by their personal cats. While the family lay down on their mats, each of their cats sat beside them. Here, cats choose humans for life. Aman, the father of the family, was next to his wife, Iscca, on his right. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Their other children, Stem, Wave, and Genia, rounded out the circle, wearing white robes. Terif was sitting cross-legged in the middle. He was not wearing a white robe to match his black cat. Nickod began the process of releasing the family''s spirits, who would guide Terif''s past life regression. ¡°Sat Nam¡± ¡°Sat Nam¡± He chanted it slowly, over and over, to relax everyone on their mats. The chanting created a steady stream of sound entering the family''s bodies. They knew this was their prompt, to progressively relax from their heads to their toes and reach full relaxation. ¡°Ek Ong Kar Sat Gur Prasad¡± ¡°Sat Gur Prasad Ek Ong Kar¡± Until a vortex of energy and brightly colored lights swirled around Terif as he entered a trance in his meditative state. Nickod spoke to the spirit-lights, ¡°¡°We are here to travel in time and place to witness Terif''s spirit journey. Events which uniquely contributed to and grew our culture and society, as well as adding to Terif''s aura.¡± He spoke softly to Terif, ¡°Where have the spirits taken you, Terif, in this past-life regression?¡± ¡°I am swimming in an ocean with many fish, and I feel one with them,¡± he whispered. Nickod¡¯s intuition suggested that it was not quite the correct time or place. ¡°We''ll try again, Terif,¡± he said, shifting on his mat. The vortex swirled faster, and the lights grew brighter. ¡° "Where are you now, " Terif? ¡°The location is correct, but not the right epoch,¡± said Nickod. ¡°Try again.¡± Terif felt warmth from the lights and energy from the spirits and said, ¡°I am in a region of cold, ice, and snow.¡± Nickod¡¯s intuition peaked, and he asked, ¡°What do they call it there?¡± Terif paused and replied, ¡°I don''t know how to say it.¡± ¡°Then spell it for us, Terif.¡± ¡°A l a s k a¡± ¡°Aye, aye, aye, aye, yes! Where do we go? Who are you called there?¡± said Nickod. ¡°I am Cynthia Austen,¡± replied Terif. ¡°It is Earth, USA, in the year 1999 of the 20th century.¡± "We have found it,¡± Nickod announced to the family and onlookers as they all clapped together. ¡°Speak, Terif. Tell us of your wonderful sights, sounds, feelings, and actions as together we watch your journey unfold with our third eye!¡± Chapter 2 - We are all just spirits having a human experience The Journey Time: 1999 The last year of the 20th century Place: HAARP Scientific Research Base Gakona, Alaska. It is positioned in the Chitina district in the center of Copper Valley, Alaska. Snowfall averages 61 inches (1.55 m) per year. It is the location of Darpa''s HAARP research project for the U.S. Department of Defense where I, Cynthia Austen, work for as a scientific project manager. The reason for the assignment here didn''t surprise me much, especially after reading the onboarding files, reports, and newspaper articles during the flight. Just another high-concept, big-budget project causing lots of issues, budget overruns, and other difficulties. But why did the Pentagon send me? My PhD is in neurology. I collected my luggage at the Fairbanks International Airport, Alaska. It was after 9 p.m., but still light out. I looked for someone to meet me, but after the small crowd thinned, there was nobody waiting around. ¡°Not a good start, Cynthia,¡± I said to myself. I called a cab from the information desk and described where I wanted to go. Not fully awake, a driver named Alma Qaunnaaluk, a local, motioned for me to come over and greeted me. Yeah, I''m sure I pronounced that name five different ways as we talked. Oh, he knew the location. His dad had been fired from there months ago after the recent incident at one of the dormitories. Yes, he was more than happy to describe the ruckus. Did I listen much? No. As we neared the destination, I pulled out my sketchpad and drew what I saw. The area stretched for miles. I''ve seen some weird projects, but this one tops the list. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. One of the reports in the packet was a description of HAARP, and Qaunnaaluk asked me to read it to him. ¡°The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) was initiated as an ionospheric research program jointly funded by the Air Force, the US Navy, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and DARPA the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.¡± ¡°Its original purpose was to analyze the ionosphere and investigate the potential for developing ionospheric enhancement technology for radio communications and surveillance. As a university-owned facility, HAARP is a high-power, high-frequency transmitter array.¡± As he kept driving, I told him the press reports claimed something had gone awry. He agreed and said that was probably why I was sent here. He also said I would see him again. It was starting to sound a little ominous, and all I wanted was to get to the base. He told me this was his second job and was primarily a reporter. He frequently wrote about the base''s construction, accidents, and phenomena for the local newspaper. I listened as the road wound around the base in concentric circles as we descended to the facility''s entrance. It took well over half an hour to go around the base, and each time around I was able to make a sketch. Yeah, Qaunnaaluk kept talking, and I was''t answering much. Curious, he wanted to see the sketches, so I held them up. The cost of the ride was more than I expected, and took longer too. But I paid him with a tip and offered him the portrait sketch. He seemed amused, but did not take it. Finally, he unloaded my bags and insisted on carrying them to the entrance. Chapter 3 - Proximity It was getting dark and snowing at the employee entrance, and it was only early September. I talked to the guard while waiting for the next transport. "I''m surprised, the transport system here is usually on point." Nope, not a bit nervous. Look at this place, I thought. Ed Seeding was already there at the sign-in desk. He was my original interviewer for this position, and he requested my transfer. ¡°Probably just the weather today, Cynthia. On a nice sunny day, it looks just fine.¡± ¡°Well, that may be, Ed, but I am primarily here to evaluate this project''s performance for DARPA. They are receiving quite a few reports of misguided science, and the press I am reading is quite disturbing. Don''t you agree?¡± Ed¡¯s phone began to ring, and he signaled to his assistant that he would have to leave. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Good,¡± said Cynthia. ¡°I am not in the habit of calling PhDs ¡®doctors¡¯.¡± ¡°Of course... of course. Who likes doctors?¡± laughed Wess. ¡°Ed and I read your paper on Proximity and Neuroscience.¡± ¡°So, one simple example of proximity I see,¡± continued Wess. ¡°I''ve sometimes noticed when my car''s at the shop and the mechanic looks at me strangely because it''s not acting up anymore, and I can¡¯t understand why it seems okay now.¡± Cynthia noddingly agreed, ¡°I have noticed some things like that on occasion too. Like our IT support. I''ve called and opened tickets for all kinds of problems with upgrading to Windows 98. The browser doesn''t work, and the printer doesn''t print. But when someone gets there, it works fine! Then they just look at me like I''m wasting their time. Why is that part of the proximity phenomenon you are interested in, Wess?¡± ¡°That''s why you''ve been transferred here. HAARP and its generated frequencies have been causing issues with perceptions of the staff here,¡± said Wess. ¡°No! That''s actually not the reason why I was sent here, Wess. But I am going to need a lot more information than that to start. I agreed to this transfer under protest. I was perfectly fine with my prior assignment,¡± complained Cynthia. ¡°Of course!¡± said Wess as they walked. ¡°We have a scheduled briefing in a few minutes. That should give you more information. Then we¡¯ll show you to your quarters, as I assume you are tired from all the traveling. Hold on - we are about to enter the briefing room.¡± Chapter 4 - The Briefing Room In the briefing room, there were the standard tables and chairs. The room had a podium with electronic controls for a display screen, with audio and video. Cynthia took a seat in the chair next to Wess. At the podium was Dr. Carl Basis¡ªat least that¡¯s what it said on his name badge, attached to his coat lapel. I hope you all will introduce yourselves to her later.¡± ¡°Please¡­ let me continue. HAARP is funded as a research project by the Pentagon''s DARPA division to conduct field transmission experiments and tests over the Earth''s ionic atmosphere.¡± As most of you know, we call these ¡®Heaters¡¯. These frequencies are also being used to study communication signals, global weather patterns and even the Aurora Borealis,¡± said Dr. Carl Basis. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°That''s the northern lights phenomenon,¡± injected Cynthia. ¡°Good to have you aboard, Cynthia. I have read your file. ¡°Let me bring up a simple graphic showing the distortions we are creating and studying in the ionosphere here at HAARP.¡± Recently, the backup station operator reported new and unexplained frequencies being transmitted from the array. Concerns were raised to my staff and finally with me. Like all of you, I have read the local and national press stories and their hysteria. I took particular umbrage at the mainstream press articles that report HAARP can be used to weaponize weather. To address that, I have asked Dr. Layest, the project architect and chief scientist, to address all of you¡­ Dr. Layest.¡±