《Erwin's Tome》 Chapter 1: Erwin Receives an Unexpected Guest At first Erwin didn¡¯t know what to do. No one had ever appeared in his living room before. It took him an awful long time to process this, but eventually he concluded fear was the proper response and he jumped up to find something to defend himself with. He decided on a knife in the kitchen. Unfortunately, he misjudged the length of the corner wall between the kitchen and dining room and ran into it face first, knocking himself out in the process. This might have been a self-inflicted accident, as when it came to fight or flight, Erwin was definitely in the flee category and wouldn¡¯t know what to do with a knife if he held one. Ethan was as shocked by Erwin¡¯s response as Erwin was by Ethan¡¯s appearance. He rushed over, picked the unconscious Erwin up and gently placed him on the sofa. It didn¡¯t take much effort. Erwin was short and only weighed about a hundred pounds. After checking Erwin¡¯s pulse and the growing lump on his forehead, Ethan walked over and looked out the front window. There were modest houses across the street, and to either side of him. Cars were parked along the street. They were old cars. Older than Ethan recognized. He placed them in the mid 20 ¡°Hmph,¡± he thought, as he let the curtain fall back into place. ¡°I wonder what brought me here¡±? Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°What¡¯s with all this plastic?¡± he wondered, rubbing it. It was thick and durable. It made the chair decidedly less comfortable, and a little noisy when he moved. For the life of him, Ethan couldn¡¯t figure out what that plastic was for. Maybe the guy was selling the set and wrapped it up to protect it? Ethan had to put the whole plastic thing on hold, as Erwin began moaning and showing signs of coming to. ¡° ¡°You ran into a wall,¡± Ethan explained. ¡°Oh,¡± Erwin replied as he fell back on the couch, trying to collect himself. ¡°Who are you¡±? ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° ¡° Getting Acquainted. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ve come to the wrong home Ethan. I¡¯ve been told, I am not a very interesting person¡±. ¡°Trust me. We share a connection,¡± Ethan said, getting up and looking out the window again. ¡°I¡¯m exactly where I should be¡±. The quiet street outside still held back any clues as to why Ethan should touch down here. He noticed the dining room table where Erwin had been working on his project. ¡°What¡¯s this ?¡± Ethan asked, walking towards it. ¡°That?¡± Eriwin said, looking over from the couch. ¡°That¡¯s my hobby. Please don¡¯t touch anything. Everything is categorized¡±. Ethan took a closer look. The table was covered with index cards and a number of newspaper clippings under each. One of the cards said Civil Rights. Below it were a number of other cards side by side with the headings, Origins; Martin Luther King Jr; Malcolm X; The Black Panthers, Reception and Other. Another section began with Youth Culture and another, The Vietnam War. They too had sub-categories and newspaper clippings under all of them. ¡°What is this?¡± Ethan asked again. ¡°Well, now, I don¡¯t know exactly,¡± Erwin replied. ¡°Something is underfoot, and it has me concerned. That¡¯s what¡±. ¡°What¡±? ¡°A movement of sorts. Dissension. An underswell of dissension I¡¯d call it¡±. Ethan took a closer look at the set-up. ¡°Oh. You mean the Counter Culture. ¡°The what¡±? ¡°The Counter Culture of the 1960¡¯s¡±. ¡°Counter Culture?¡± Erwin repeated. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what it is. What a wonderful name. It¡¯s a counter culture¡±. ¡°What year is this?¡± Ethan asked. ¡°December 31, 1966,¡± Erwin replied. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re documenting the Counter Culture,¡± Ethan confirmed. ¡°My World recognizes the 1960¡¯s Counter Culture was the first wave of Collective Consciousness. We drew extensively from this time period when civilization transcended into the Collective Consciousness¡±. Erwin looked at Ethan blankly. Ethan, noticing the confusion, smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you all about it later. Right now, I¡¯m trying to figure out what I¡¯m doing here¡±.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°I¡¯d like to know that myself,¡± Erwin replied. After a few more minutes of studying Erwin¡¯s display, Ethan commented. ¡°I think you¡¯re a little weak on the non-violent aspect of this movement. It permeated through all the subcultures. In my World, we came to use Direct Action which we adapted from this era. Direct Action was what propelled us into the New World¡±. In spite of the fact Ethan was an uninvited guest and more than just a little mysterious, Erwin felt him to be honest and forthright. He created a reassuring aura around himself with his matter of fact way. Perhaps this was why Erwin wasn¡¯t bouncing off a few more walls because of the unexplainable intrusion. In ways, Ethan¡¯s presence was comforting more than anything. He was engaging, and he had hit upon the very topic that was emerging in Erwin¡¯s own research; Non Violence. Erwin found himself falling in step with Ethan. ¡°I have a special file on Passive Resistance. I work on it during the weekend,¡± he told him. ¡°From your clippings, I assume you have Martin Luther King Jr., but do you have Gandhi and Tolstoy too¡±? Ethan asked. ¡°Tolstoy¡±? ¡°Tolstoy influenced both of them. Henry David Thoreau did too¡±. Was it possible Ethan¡¯s knowledge on the subject surpassed his own? ¡°I haven¡¯t found any references or connection to Tolstoy,¡± Erwin admitted. Ethan didn¡¯t offer further discussion on the subject. He was thinking about the Counter Culture. Obviously it had something to do with him being there. ¡°You know what we should do?¡± he said. ¡°We should put all this up on cork boards. If we had cork boards we¡¯d have access to all your research at one time. It¡¯d make it easier to identify associations and correlations between categories and subcategories too¡±. ¡°Cork boards,¡± Erwin repeated. ¡°Of course. Why didn¡¯t I think of that? We can go get some tomorrow¡±. ¡°Tomorrow¡¯s New Year''s Day, Erwin. I doubt we¡¯ll have much luck finding cork boards tomorrow.¡± ¡°New Year¡¯s? Oh, of course. Well, maybe we can work on my Passive Resistance file tomorrow? Add in some of the details you¡¯ve given me¡±? ¡°Sure,¡± Ethan replied. ¡°I¡¯ve studied this time period extensively. Do you have a bed for me? We¡¯ll start tomorrow¡±. ¡°A bed?¡± Erwin repeated. He did have a bed. It was a three bedroom house. ¡°I do have a bed!¡± he announced with certainty. ¡°Let me show you to your bedroom¡±. Erwin led Ethan down a hallway past the kitchen. The house was a bungalow. ¡°There¡¯s only the one bathroom,¡± Erwin said, stopping to point it out. ¡°And right across here is your bedroom¡±. He opened the door to the bedroom. Ethan looked in. It was filled with furniture at least fifty years older than even Erwin¡¯s dated living room furniture. It looked to be as untouched as the rest of the home. Ethan was relieved to see the bed wasn¡¯t plastic wrapped. ¡°I clean the sheets every month, just in case I have visitors,¡± Erwin said. Ethan suppressed a laugh, ¡°It¡¯s perfect Erwin. Thank-you,¡± Ethan closed the door behind him, and looked the room over more closely. It had a feel of strict religion about it. The furniture was simple, functional and sparse. As well as an overhead light, there was a small table beside the bed with just enough room for a lamp and bible. A single bed left plenty of room for an equally unimposing wooden dresser, housing a small oval mirror on top of it. There was a built-in closet, with a flimsy wooden door that stuck when you tried to open it. Besides that, there was a wooden cross hanging on the wall above the bed. Opposite the cross was a crudely painted picture of a deer in a meadow someone, probably Erwin¡¯s mother, mistook for art. ¡°Boy, is Erwin¡¯s life about to change,¡± Ethan laughed to himself as he took in his surroundings. Chapter 3: A Lazy Sunday Erwin woke to the sound of pots and pans clanging in the kitchen. ¡°It must be Sunday,¡± he thought dreamily. ¡°Mother¡¯s in the kitchen, making bacon, eggs and pancakes.¡± Bacon and eggs was their Sunday breakfast. It wouldn¡¯t be long and Mother would be at the door telling him breakfast was ready. After breakfast, they¡¯d go to church. Erwin snuggled deeper under the covers and stretched contentedly, but only for a second or two. ¡°Boy,¡± he thought. ¡°Mother¡¯s making a lot of noise. What could she be doing in there¡±? Then, memories of the night before came to mind and Erwin sprang upright in his bed, causing his forehead to pulsate and throb. ¡°Wait a minute!¡± he thought. ¡°That¡¯s not Mother. It¡¯s the guy who invaded my house last night. Now in the light of the day, Erwin wasn¡¯t sure what to think about the man who had appeared in his living room and apparently taken up residency in his home. He was surprised how nonchalant he was about the whole thing. Drawing his bedspread closer to his chin, he wondered if he should be afraid. The man wasn¡¯t even a man really. What was his name again? Ethan. Ethan looked to be a few years younger than Erwin, maybe 23 or 24. He reminded Erwin of one of those hippies. Long brown hair, slight build and kind of a laid back attitude, and friendly. He had made Erwin feel like he was his friend. The main thing Erwin didn¡¯t mind about Ethan was he conveyed a sense that he knew what was going on. More than most people. Definitely more than Erwin and it came through as a kindness and sincerity in his appearance. Although already attractive, it made him more attractive. ¡°Dang it!¡± Erwin thought, after Ethan caused a particularly loud clatter. ¡°I have to get out there before he destroys the place¡±. Erwin got up, and to brave whatever elements awaited him, wrapped a quilt his mother had made around himself. After a few moments, Ethan noticed Erwin, standing quietly at the entrance to the kitchen from the hallway. ¡°Hey buddy!¡± Ethan greeted, sounding chipper as can be, like one of those early risers. Although Erwin forced himself to be an early riser, he was not. ¡°I¡¯m making breakfast. Where do you keep your bread? I still have to make toast¡±. ¡°No toast. We have pancakes on Sunday,¡± Erwin replied. ¡°But with toast too, right?¡± Ethan asked. ¡°No. Just pancakes¡±. ¡°But you must have some bread laying around¡±? ¡°On Sunday, we have pancakes. I buy a loaf of bread after church so it¡¯s fresh for sandwiches to take to work the following week¡±. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know what we¡¯re supposed to dip into our eggs. Seems to me, you might have a loaf of bread lying around¡±. Then, after a final hopeful look around the kitchen for bread, Ethan looked at the food he had prepared. ¡°I guess we¡¯re ready then,¡± he sighed. Bacon, eggs and hash browns sat on the kitchen table. There were no pancakes. He didn¡¯t know how to make pancakes ¡°How¡¯s your head¡±? ¡°Sore,¡± Erwin responded, never one to hold back if someone asked how he felt. ¡°It¡¯s throbbing and now my whole head aches. I think I might have a blood clot. They can travel through your body, you know. They get logged in an artery and then it¡¯s over. You¡¯re dead. I doubt I have much time left, if you want to know the truth¡± Ethan took a closer look at Erwin¡¯s bump. It was there, but had gone down considerably since the night before. It didn¡¯t look like anything other than your ordinary, run of the mill, bump.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Sit down and have some breakfast,¡± Ethan said. ¡°It will make your body strong so you can fight it off¡±. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what Mother would have said,¡± Erwin thought, as he sat down obediently. They sat across from each other eating silently. Ethan dipped his hash browns, then bacon into his runny eggs. It wasn¡¯t the same. Dipping his toast was his favorite part of bacon and eggs. He lost all interest in the meal and turned his attention towards Erwin. ¡°What kind of life does this guy have?¡± he wondered even though it was obvious. The whole house was like a giant womb. ¡°So, what do you do, Erwin ?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m an archivist for the San Francisco Library¡±. ¡°A worthy profession,¡± Ethan replied. ¡°Thank-you,¡± After a few moments of silence, Erwin asked. ¡°Ethan, do you think you¡¯ll be leaving today¡±? ¡°No¡±. ¡°Why not?¡± Erwin responded, disappointed. ¡°Because I just started my quest and you¡¯re part of it. I landed in your living room for a reason. You can rest assured, whatever I¡¯m to do here, you¡¯re going to be a big part of it¡±. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to be a part of anything. I want my life. I think it¡¯s best you leave. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s other people out there who can be more helpful to you. After all, you can¡¯t just barge into someone¡¯s home and expect them to drop everything and follow you. ¡°I do it all the time,¡± Ethan replied. ¡°Listen Erwin, I know I¡¯ve placed you in what looks to be an impossible situation, even to believe, but I am from the future. I come from the same earth, only about 100 years ahead of you. Our technology is advanced by computerization so powerful, it can build new Virtual Worlds, and this is what I did here. In the future, people build their own Virtual Worlds to understand themselves and get more out of life. We build our own virtual world, or we go on quests where the computer builds a simulation of a past time and place on earth that has a potential to impact our life. While on our quest, we are given the opportunity to discover and influence the situation. By removing barricades of the past, we open ourselves to our true potential, which is to merge with the Collective Consciousness, and in turn, the Universal Frequency. I hate to break it to you, but you are not the same person who was sitting at your table last night when I dropped in. You¡¯re a simulation of that person. You are part of my quest. Who you think you are now lives beside you in the Space/Time Continuum. You are two completely different people, exactly the same for now, but who will experience polarized future lives. This is my recompense for involving you. In creating a simulation, I also create a new Duality out of you. You and your counterpart are connected and from here on will bump into and influence each other through life. Eventually you will merge as a greater life force because of this quest and you will live on into eternity. Erwin, not receptive to a word Ethan had just said, pushed up his glasses thinking if he was better focused, he could see what was going on. The lenses were rather thick and gave him an owlish look. ¡°What?¡± was all he could say and then he turned his head away from Ethan, also reminiscent of an owl. He was thinking of pretending Ethan wasn¡¯t there again. Ethan looked reflectively at Erwin. It was a lot to take in. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about how confusing this is Erwin, but I find the best way to tell people they¡¯re a simulation is to come right out with it. Rip off the bandage, as they say. The thing you have to know is I come in peace, and you will benefit from this experience and its challenges. ¡°Challenges!¡± Oh, Erwin hated challenges. ¡°What kind of challenges,¡± he asked, still not looking at Ethan. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Ethan replied. ¡°I won¡¯t even be born for five more years. I wonder if I¡¯ve come to kill myself¡±? Ethan of course meant to somehow sabotage the birth of Eldon, but Erwin didn¡¯t know that. Erwin was now looking directly at Ethan. None of what Ethan had told him made him feel any better about the situation. Ethan knew Erwin needed time to process things, but like others in his past quests, would eventually come round. Eventually he would accept the reason given to him, because there wasn¡¯t any other explanation. It was kind of like being hypnotized. A hypnotist will do something to disrupt a person¡¯s equilibrium, while providing a suggestion on how to deal with it, which is to sleep. The person, without a ready response of their own, yields to the suggestion and sleeps. Ethan¡¯s presence disrupted Erwin¡¯s equilibrium, and his suggestion to follow was the only one for him to grab onto. Ethan found a stack of newspapers Erwin had neatly placed beside the dining room table. He picked one up and settled into the plastic covered lounge chair. He had grabbed an underground rag called ¡®Good Morning Teaspoon¡¯. Erwin was still staring at Ethan. Ethan gave him a nod as to say, ¡°Take your time,¡± and opened the paper. There was an article about the first Kwanzaa, which Ethan read. Then he turned to the notices and advertisements on the back page. Terence McKenna, a student at University of California, Berkeley, was giving a talk on the Mind Expanding Potential of Psychedelic Plants. Ethan Decides on the Purpose of his Quest, or at Least One of Them Inactivity made Ethan sleepy and he began to doze as he held the newspaper and waited for Erwin to work things out. He wasn¡¯t asleep. He still held the newspaper, but he¡¯d look at the words, zone out, and come back and look at the same words again. Finally, he fell asleep all together. His head fell back and woke him. Erwin was standing silently beside him. Ethan looked at Erwin. He wasn¡¯t a big man. Maybe 5¡¯6¡± and 140 pounds. In spite of not having much excess weight, he still had rounded features. There was nothing very sharp about him. A rounded nose held up his plastic framed glasses , and a rubber strap attached to the two ear pieces ensured they would never leave his head. He was kind of hairy. The kind of hairy where if he didn¡¯t fasten the top button of his shirt, tufts of his reddish brown chest hair would be sticking out. He also had a thick beard, but the same could not be said about his head of hair. His hairline was receding, and a little bald spot at the back was starting to show. All in all, Erwin managed the look of a person who had no idea what was going on at the best of times, and the fact that he was wearing a pair of flannel pajamas with prints of cowboys on horses doing all kinds of cowboy things, wouldn¡¯t go far to convince you otherwise. ¡°Erwin,¡± Ethan said. ¡°You haven¡¯t told me about your father. Is he still in your life¡±? ¡°He left Mother and I when I was 9¡±. ¡°Gotcha,¡± Ethan replied. ¡°Are you ready to get to work? Time¡¯s a wastin¡±. He sounded just like Mother. Erwin liked that about Ethan. He nodded but waited for direction from Ethan. ¡°Maybe we should start with your Passive Resistance file,¡± Ethan said. ¡°You know the potential of the Collective Consciousness first showed itself during your times. The CounterCulture actually produced an alternative to the way the World was playing out, and eventually became part of the new reality. It¡¯s an interesting time period for our historians in the New World. It represents a baseline Freedom. The degree of Freedom exercised during the CounterCulture showed the difference between having it and not having it. We learned from the CounterCulture, that degree of Freedom can never be surrendered. The lesson proved worthy in the chaos leading up to 2030; the year of Enlightenment. We were starting to be controlled by technology that could shine a light on every single person on earth, and our beliefs were being threatened. We remembered how the public took to the streets during this time period and effected positive change regarding the war and civil rights. We used your example and adapted the way we used our technology to shine the light on those who would suppress us. We employed Direct Action, where we¡¯d all agree on something, like boycotting a business run by an unscrupulous owner. We¡¯d shut them down and the decisiveness and fallout of the outcome, sent fear through others we would be coming for next. This was when understanding our Collective Consciousness first started taking shape¡±. Stolen novel; please report. ¡°I¡¯ll go get my file,¡± Erwin said, going into the third bedroom of his house, which stored his files and a few toys from childhood. In no time he was back with a box full of paper clippings. They cleared the kitchen table and set up there. Erwin sat at the table, making order out of the clippings, while Ethan stood over him watching it come together. ¡°There,¡± Ethan said, pointing to a clipping on Satyagraha. This was what Gandhi called his Active Form of Civil Disobedience. It wasn¡¯t passive at all. It was non-violent , but the intention was to expel Britain from India, which it did resoundingly, and brought two violent factions to do it. Satyagraha comes out of the beliefs of Henry David Thoreau and Leo Tolstoy. Thoreau¡¯s message was non-violent civil disobedience by not participating in unjust rules. Tolstoy drew from Christ¡¯s teachings of Non-Violence. Gandhi may have leaned more on Thoreau and developed a fairly intricate system of Direct Action. He called it Truth Force. Martin Luther King Jr adopted Truth Force, but leaned more heavily on the Christian values of Non-Violence and called it Soul Force. King believed Soul Force was more powerful than the physical force of oppression and this has proved to be so. ¡°There is such a Force,¡± Ethan continued. ¡°In the New World we have defined it. It¡¯s the Collective Consciousness. Just before the Enlightenment it became a global phenomena. Previously it was a reflection of the norms within a particular society, but technology provided us with a Global Voice; Global Brain actually. Once the memes or neurons started sparking and networks were formed we all easily travelled through it, and a functional and intentional Collective Consciousness came into being. We used it to put our attention on and destroy evil that threatened our survival. Collective Direct Action started with something called ¡®Me Too¡¯. That was when the World learned when Soul Force comes, it comes crashing down like a wave that can swallow the earth. Offenders don¡¯t stand a chance¡±. Erwin stopped, holding a news clipping in midair. ¡°What¡±? ¡°Yes. This is a very important time in the history of humanity. It provided a glimpse of Soul Force in action. We referenced this time period considerably when evil became recognizable and we knew we had to put an end to it. ¡°I think we have to tell this story,¡¯ Ethan continued, having decided on the purpose of his quest. Chapter 5: Terence McKenna ¡°Why do we have to go to this?¡± Erwin asked, glancing worriedly from side to side as they walked into the building where McKenna was to give his talk on ¡®The Mind Expanding Potential of Psychedelic Plants¡¯. ¡°Because McKenna became a leading voice of the 60¡¯s on Psychedelics. His work influenced the New World,¡± Ethan replied, ¡°You¡¯re documenting this era. We can¡¯t not go see McKenna. Also, he¡¯s one of the biggest stoners ever, but one of the straightest guys you¡¯ll ever meet. I can¡¯t wait to hear him speak¡±. ¡°But the police will be here,¡± Erwin replied, continuing with sideways glances. He noticed someone who was for sure an undercover officer. ¡°They¡¯ll take our names¡±. ¡°I doubt it,¡± Ethan replied. ¡°I think there¡¯s still a grey area regarding the legality of psychedelic plants in 1967¡±. Now, Ethan could have left it there, and perhaps relieve Erwin of some of his fears, but it wasn¡¯t in his teasing nature to let things pass so calmly. ¡°They¡¯ll probably just take our pictures¡±, he said, knowing full well it would set Erwin¡¯s off again. He knew it when it was coming out of his mouth, but he said it anyway. Ethan was very aware how nervous Erwin was about attending what he considered a subversive event. Erwin made it very clear on the bus ride over, he did not like the idea of going somewhere that provoked authority. His provocative and often unthinking nature was one of the main reasons Ethan had to keep going on quests. He said it anyway, and this threw Erwin into a whole new level of anxiety, where he started to unconsciously grab at his hair. ¡°Our pictures! Why would they want to take our pictures¡±? Seeing this, Ethan''s brain finally caught up with his mouth, and he suppressed the urge to say, ¡°So they can getcha!¡± He remembered he could be a dick that way and it wasn¡¯t too New Worldly of him. ¡°It¡¯s okay Erwin,¡± he said, adopting a calming tone. ¡°There¡¯ll just be a bunch of students here. It¡¯s just something to do over the holidays. There¡¯s nothing to worry about¡±. The talk was held in a small, tiered seating theatre with soft tones and a laid back institutional vibe. There were a few professors wandering around, but as Ethan predicted, mostly students filed in. As no-one seemed to pay particular attention to Erwin, he started to relax a little, but still watched the passing people, and turned around and stared at those he thought had ulterior motives. McKenna¡¯s speech was interesting, but he was at the beginning of his journey and yet to reach the remarkable conclusions of his life experience. It was still good. Mostly about how indigenous cultures used psychedelics back in the day to access guidance from a spiritual realm of consciousness. Psychedelics were part of, and influenced their culture. He argued how it was a Mind Expanding potential for people and culture. After that he talked a little about the pharmacology of the plants and how the same chemicals were found in the human brain. After his talk, McKenna stayed for questions from the audience. No one even touched on the subject of the speech. They all wanted to know how to avoid a ¡®Bad Trip¡¯. ¡°Your speech was groovy. But I was wondering if there¡¯s a way to avoid bad trips¡±? Is what they¡¯d ask him. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± McKenna said. ¡°It¡¯s almost like you have to take enough to blast through to the experience. I¡¯d say, take more rather than less. You shouldn¡¯t take so little that you still have a degree of self-control. That¡¯s when you get paranoid; when there''s still part of your ego to be afraid and fight the experience. Take enough so you can¡¯t escape it. Don¡¯t fight for control. You took the drug to have a different experience. Step back and become part of it.¡± ¡°I¡¯d add,¡± McKenna said, ¡°To focus on breathing or try singing when you feel the urge to resist. Oxygenate your brain. ¡°Also,¡± McKenna concluded. ¡°Not everyone should take a psychedelic drug. We all have our issues and you¡¯re going to run into them. Psychedelics tear down the walls of the self. If you¡¯re still building or are already clinging to a sense of self, you should not be taking these plants¡±. Throughout the entire talk and follow up, Erwin sat head down documenting everything in a notebook, probably word for word. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I would like to comment,¡± Ethan said from out of the blue. McKenna nodded willing consent. ¡°The breathing part is very important. The extra oxygen is required to meet the potential of the experience, which is to connect to the Universal Frequency. The oncoming waves you feel can be startling at first, but they¡¯re just waves. They come and splash upon the shore, but they always recede. They come in, sometimes crash down, but always go back again. You calm the waves with breathing, and you¡¯ll notice the shore you¡¯re on is very bright. Darkness will not be part of your experience. The Psychedelic not only brings you to an entire new ocean, but also the clarity to observe it. You¡¯re part of it, and if you let yourself go, you become one with it, and wave after wave flows through you and out into the Universe and you are part of it all. The ocean is the Universal Frequency. All that is known. If you look, you will find the understanding you seek¡±. No-one, even McKenna said anything after Ethan¡¯s comments. It was a perspective foreign to everyone, and someone, especially someone like McKenna would take the time to conceptualize it before speaking. He more or less just stared at Ethan for a while, and then said, ¡°Well this is a provocative message. Perhaps we should end on that and go home and think about it. Goodnight, and thanks for coming¡±. As the people were leaving, McKenna continued to stare at Ethan, which Ethan expected and in spite of Erwin plucking at his sleeve to leave, stayed seated and waited. Once most of the audience were on their way, McKenna came down from the stage and made his way to where Ethan and Erwin were seated. Ethan and Erwin rose to meet him. ¡°Universal Frequency¡±? He asked. ¡°Yeah, well, I probably shouldn¡¯t have mentioned that,¡± Ethan replied. ¡°I don¡¯t think humanity discovered it until after you were dead. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. McKenna stared at Ethan for another moment. This time more intently. Where does one put that? ¡°So, you¡¯re from the future?¡± he says. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Ethan replied, with an assuredness that if nothing else, was compelling. ¡°Alright,¡± McKenna agreed after another few seconds thought. When it came to other-worldliness, McKenna was pretty much your Huckleberry. He¡¯d follow you down whatever wormhole you wanted to go in. ¡°Let¡¯s go get stoned,¡± he said. They ended up at a big two-story house by the University. The type of house students rent for the school year, which was the case with this one. It was an older house, with an abundance of character. There was a beautiful old mantled fireplace which now glowed from Christmas lights drawing attention to a Buddhist shrine. The living room was full of bean bags, old couches, and a large Indian rug covering most of the hardwood floor. In spite of the bohemian decor, the old house added an inviting warmth. Students and the same profs who attended McKenna¡¯s talk were grouped throughout the entire first floor. A few were playing the latest rock and roll albums on a tinny portable stereo in the dining room. Others were sitting around in conversation, while others milled around talking or listening to conversations. It was all very laid-back. Ethan, Erwin, and Terence, sat at the kitchen table, which seemed to be a familiar place for McKenna. Erwin, out of his comfort zone for hours now, was at the height of anxiety. First, openly attending a subversive talk, and now finding himself in what he sure was an opium den. Something illegal for sure. He could smell it in the air. Thoughts filled his mind of all the drug raids in his newspaper clippings. Images of misguided youth being hauled off to jail, filled his mind. Fortunately, a young woman brought the group tea, and that and sitting at the kitchen table brought him a degree of comfort because that was what he and Mother used to do. ¡°Oh, thank-you,¡± Erwin said. ¡°A tea would be lovely¡±. ¡°Now, about this Universal Frequency,¡± Terence asked. ¡°Well,¡± Ethan replied. ¡°In the future, we recognize we live in two universes. One is the Physical World we¡¯re all familiar with; the other is the Abstract World of our thoughts and ideas. They are a duality and share the same history. When we take two ores and create an alloy, this is an abstract discovery utilizing the potentials of the natural world and civilization advances. ¡°All these Tools, mathematics, everything, live in the Abstract World waiting for us. Some of them like math, we have discovered, recognized their utility, and through their adoption, advanced Civilization. All thoughts, ideas and constructs; conceptual stuff travelling with us through space and time, lives in our Abstract World and becomes part of us when we adopt it. With these tools, we¡¯re creating momentum in our species to take us to the Enlightenment; the Universal Frequency. It¡¯s the same thing as the Universal Wavefunction in physics, which is static at any given moment. The Universal Frequency is the wavefunction of the Universal Wavefunction. It¡¯s everything that lives in the Abstract Universe and it flows freely through us if we open ourselves to it¡±. ¡°Wow,¡± Erwin said. He didn¡¯t look as anxious as a few minutes ago. He appeared calm, but caught up in his thoughts. You couldn¡¯t tell if he was responding to what Ethan said, or just something going on in his own mind. ¡°So we¡¯re entering a completely different world when we take Psychedelics?¡± ¡°Yeah. We¡¯re surrendering ourselves to the Abstract World where the Universal Frequency lives. Because the Universal Frequency contains everything, there are greater elements of God in it. Something unknown possessing an understanding much greater than our own, put it there. Walking into it either through meditation or psychedelics should be regarded as a spiritual experience. In the future our species has evolved into a permanent state with the Universal Frequency through our Collective Consciousness. Understanding this transition should be the goal of your trip¡±. ¡°So when do we fully inhabit this place?¡± Terence asked. ¡°We do already. It¡¯s your abstract mind. It¡¯s where you go when you daydream. Here in the 1960¡¯s, humans have yet to recognize its value and utilize it, but you are becoming aware of it and it is the force behind the Counter Culture. Psychedelics can help some people find and understand the Enlightened Abstract Universe, but they are not required to find Enlightenment. Many glimpse the promised land through religion, meditation, and the majority connected as part of the Collective Consciousness around 2030. Aligning ourselves with the Collective Consciousness is what causes the evolutionary transcendence of our species. ¡°It¡¯s not a scary evolution,¡± Ethan continued. As a matter of fact, we¡¯ve already done it, but it¡¯s such a part of us we take our state of abstraction for granted. No one¡¯s ever wondered where you go when you daydream. It¡¯s another place, and foreign to us. We often fear it although it¡¯s where Heaven dwells. It¡¯s too foreign from the ground we walk on, and there¡¯s that whole question of whether you¡¯re going to get laid in heaven, floating around up there in the clouds. They fear they¡¯ll have to give up their bodies, and they won¡¯t be doing any fun stuff. The thing is, we have both right now. at change? You never lose what you already have. ¡°The thing to do here is enlarge your perception of yourself. You are not of the kind making your way through this one life. You are of a kind traversing the space/time continuum throughout eternity. When you join as a species and move forward as one, you keep your personal spaceship, but you¡¯re flying through space and time as a fleet. You¡¯re stronger. More secure. A Collective Presence ensures there¡¯s plenty of space and time on the road ahead. Each one of us is a star in the Abstract Universe and together we light the way. There¡¯s more God in this dimension too. You become one with the Universal Frequency and all those God Tools are with you. It¡¯s quite a trip¡±. ¡°Far out,¡± McKenna said. ¡°What do you do with all this expansiveness¡±? ¡°Whatever you want. If you want to trip; you¡¯re exploring yourself in relation to all that there is. It¡¯s like being in your own spaceship flying from one curiosity to the other. You¡¯re tripping the Universal Frequency and riding the Wave of Collective Consciousness. You¡¯re part of it all, but you¡¯re also your physical presence. If you want to hang with friends, you can do that too. When you live in the Collective Consciousness, you¡¯re not reading anyone''s mind, or anything like that. You sense their energy, and like attracts like so you develop some very strong relationships on earth¡±. ¡°Have you looked at this table,¡± Erwin said, somewhat out of the blue. It was a reddy-orange Formica table and filled with white-yellow stars. When you looked closer, yellow glitter was embedded, dampening the deepness of the red and creating depth perception. ¡°I feel I could walk right into this table,¡± he said. Ethan and Terence turned their focus to Erwin. With his thick spectacles, he was down, eye level to the table, tilting his head back and forth from one angle to another. You¡¯d think he had found an entire universe. Terence got up and led him to a Mandala wall hanging. ¡°Look at that,¡± he said, sitting Erwin down in front of the wall hanging. ¡°Whoa!¡± was all Erwin said. Chapter 6: More McKenna ¡°So you¡¯re saying,¡± McKenna said when he sat back down with Ethan. ¡°There¡¯s otherworldly information flowing through our Abstract World of Thought¡±? ¡°Yeah, and when you get stoned, you¡¯re opening yourself up to that information you wouldn¡¯t normally see. New and more detailed information than you¡¯ve imagined before. There¡¯s more information in everything you see or think about, producing a much more vibrant reality. ¡°The intense experience is uniquely personal, and it¡¯s difficult to see it as something beyond that, but from the unique perspective, you¡¯re not really seeing anything. When you go into a trip with a ¡®Me¡¯ perspective, and this is a perspective you develop through life, you¡¯re only a spectator in the New World you entered. You¡¯re seeing the colors and brightness, but you¡¯re not standing far enough back to see the entire picture. You have to see yourself as connected to something greater. You never will until you start looking at your life in connection with all life, most importantly, your species. ¡°You¡¯re entering a connected world. Everything is in there. It¡¯s you, but just as importantly, it¡¯s your species, because we are a heavenly species, and once you understand, you discover a life that is you, wrapped up in your species, wrapped up in eternal life that predates us, and will live forever. You discover you are part of a greater life travelling through the very forefront of the space/time continuum and always will be¡±. ¡°I¡¯m starting to look at tripping in the same way. The more I trip, the more I see myself in context with where we are headed as a species. At the same time my experiences are becoming deeply personal,¡± McKenna replied. ¡°I mostly take psychedelics alone now. I find this produces the most insightful experience. ¡°I think that¡¯s the best way,¡± Ethan agreed. The experience is personal. The context is community¡±. ¡°Yeah,¡± McKenna replied. ¡°You become much more aware of the World we live in, and what¡¯s holding us back from finding greater potential in ourselves and our species. And you know, when you trip with all this in mind, you get a sense our potential is unlimited¡±. Ethan nodded agreement. ¡°I¡¯ve always thought,¡± McKenna continued, ¡°that consumerism is all our leaders can come up with to move society along. They seem bankrupt of ideas, and have no more plan than to extract and spend until it¡¯s all gone¡±. ¡°I think it¡¯s more sinister than that,¡± Ethan replied. ¡°By and large, our leaders are motivated by personal greed. They are the opposite of the Collective Consciousness. They don¡¯t want to change the way things are, and create more chaos and distraction so we don¡¯t see the order and stability in the universe we see when we trip¡±. ¡°Yeah,¡± McKenna agreed. ¡°But when our leaders keep feeding us more of the same with no end in sight, at some point we react and this creates a divide and opening for a new system to replace it¡±. ¡°Absolutely,¡± Ethan agreed. ¡°The idea of the new system you¡¯re talking about begins in this era. You are the generation who fights for the basic freedom to live without the weight of Authoritarianism, and the right to live with the expectations of love, joy and fulfillment. In the future we eventually achieve this through computerization. We become connected as a society, a global one in fact, and communicate peer to peer, and even peer to everyone. It is our Collective Brain and we learn how it works and it becomes the Collective Consciousness. It¡¯s completely equal and anti-hierarchical. It¡¯s representative of our Agreed Judgment and this leads us to our next Evolution; the Enlightenment¡±. ¡°How¡¯s it work?¡± Terence asked. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°More information started being fed to us, and we could visually see pretty much anything anywhere in the world. If you looked, you could clearly see what was going on in any situation, and when we found violations to the common good, we would draw attention to it, and if enough people were affected, a tipping point would be reached representative of the Common Voice, a Common Value. We called it The Crowd, and when The Crowd spoke, the evil in the violation was decimated including perpetrators and anyone associated with the practice. ¡°It was that simple. When people heard of a wrong they would not have done unto themselves, they¡¯d visit that place through their computer, and voice their disapproval. When enough people showed up, change for the Common Good was inevitable. ¡°The big thing we have to watch for,¡± Ethan continued. ¡°Is a Common Voice takes away our leaders authority, and in the future they attempt to use the same technology that gave us the Voice to monitor and subjugate us. More than anything, we must fight to keep peer to peer communication out of the hands of Authority; be it Government or Business. The Common Voice is needed for our Enlightenment. It leads us through the chaos the Leaders, who we later identify as the Magnates, created towards the end of the World as we know it¡±. ¡°What¡¯s going on with me¡±? Erwin was back. ¡°I think that lady put something in our tea¡±. Ethan stood up and put his arm around Erwin reassuringly. ¡°I think it¡¯s possible our tea was made with Magic Mushrooms.¡± ¡°Magic Mushrooms! Magic Mushrooms!¡± Erwin cried, but then it occurred to him he didn¡¯t know what Magic Mushrooms were. He knew what psilocybin was, but he didn¡¯t know that¡¯s what Magic Mushrooms were. ¡°What are Magic Mushrooms¡±? ¡°Well, they¡¯re magic,¡± Ethan replied. ¡°Haven¡¯t you noticed how colourful and magical everything is¡±? Ethan¡¯s words didn¡¯t calm Erwin at all. He was just now realizing he had taken Psychedelics and as far as he was concerned, it amounted to being on heroin. ¡°Oh No! Oh No!¡± he started repeating. Fear filled him. ¡±I¡¯m hooked. I¡¯m hooked¡±. ¡°He¡¯s going to freak out,¡± Terence said. ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Ethan said to Erwin. ¡°Maybe we should sing or something? Do you want to sing Erwin¡±? ¡°Sing? I¡¯m going to lose my job and you want to sing!¡± Erwin declared. ¡°Where will I live? Probably just on the street where I can get my fixes¡±. Ethan and Terence looked at each other, not really knowing what Erwin was talking about. ¡°Calm down,¡± was all Ethan could think of to say, as he patted him on the back, but his words were not soothing to Erwin¡±. ¡°I am Freaking Out!¡± he shouted. ¡±I am Freaking Out¡±! ¡°Freak Out! Freak Out!¡± he shouted even louder. It was then the woman who had served Ethan the tea showed up. ¡°What¡¯s all this? Was my tea too strong?¡± she asked soothingly, hugging Erwin in an embrace. ¡°Terence likes his tea so strong¡±. She was taller than Erwin. A full head taller, which placed Erwin¡¯s face breast level. They weren¡¯t all that big, but big enough that Erwin knew they were there, especially because she pressed his face against one of them and he could feel her pointy nipple on his cheek. She was an attractive young Indian woman, with piercings and bangles. She wore a traditional sari, but much more provocative than you would expect from a garment that already exposes a provocative amount of flesh. It was of a light orange material and you could kind of see through it. As mentioned, Erwin could definitely feel her pointy nipple through it. ¡°Come baby, settle down,¡± she said, continuing to hold him close. Erwin, mama¡¯s boy that he was, settled right in, and started to calm down. If she had actually given him her tit, she would have probably would have had to burp him. ¡°See,¡± she said, running her fingers through Erwin¡¯s thinning hair. ¡°It¡¯s not so bad.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not so bad,¡± Erwin mumbled from his titty position. Ethan gave Terence a sideways glance, ¡°Well this has been lovely,¡± he said, ¡°but I suppose it¡¯s time we should be leaving¡±. ¡°Yeah,¡± Terence agreed. ¡®Hey, do you want to share information? Maybe we can meet again and talk some more¡±. ¡°I¡¯d love to,¡± Ethan replied. ¡°You¡¯re one of my favorite people from the 60¡¯s. Erwin what¡¯s our phone number¡±? Erwin, still wrapped in the embrace of the young woman, who was now rubbing his back, told him. Chapter 7: The Picnic ¡°So now what are we going to do?¡± Erwin asked. The two had been admiring the Cork Boards bolted to Erwin¡¯s living room wall. There were 12 boards in total, 4 side by side and 3 high, each. There was room for 15 more boards, but they only had enough categories and clippings to fill 12 boards for the time being. At first Erwin was reluctant to make such drastic changes to Mother¡¯s house, but once the boards were up with all his clippings and they had run multi colored strands of wool indicating a cross reference, from one board to another, it was pretty much his idea of heaven. He could stand and stare at those boards all day long. ¡°We¡¯re going to tell the story of the CounterCulture,¡± Ethan replied. ¡°What? Write a book¡±? ¡°Yeah¡±. ¡°What about Soul Force?¡± Erwin asked. ¡°That is the story,¡± Ethan replied. ¡°The first wave of Soul Force came out of the CounterCulture and we have to tell the future how to recognize it when their time comes to use it¡±. ¡°So, we¡¯re not just going to archive all this information¡±? ¡°No,¡± Ethan replied. ¡°Everything¡¯s being archived now. All the newspapers and media clips. Everything will be kept waiting in the future for people to go back and reference. What we have to do is tell the story to motivate them. ¡°How are we going to tell this story¡±? ¡°I¡¯m not completely sure yet. We have to show how protesting and not accepting the status quo overcomes tyranny and creates positive change. Maybe tell a bunch of smaller stories and hope they come together to make the bigger story,¡± Ethan replied. ¡°Soul Force is our species'' next Evolution. Martin Luther King Jr is one story. Terence McKenna is another. You know McKenna pretty much figured everything out before he died, and in the future there will be all kinds of media on him, showing what he learnt and his conclusions and understanding. In the future, a day comes when we recognize with certainty our leaders are taking us down a destructive path. When we do, we will reference the roadmap left behind by true leaders like MLK Jr., and McKenna whose voices resonate into the future. ¡°You know,¡± Ethan continued. ¡°The CounterCulture really defines the repeat cycle that led to our Enlightenment. Everyday people driven to rise up and defeat the continued Abuse of our leaders. It happens Erwin. Soul Force is everywhere during your time period. The nonviolent marches of Martin Luther King Jr., a girl offering a flower to a soldier, even burning your draft card. These are all nonviolent acts of resistance¡±. ¡°Hmm,¡± Erwin murmured agreeably, confident his wall of boards and clippings could tell the story. Just then, the phone rang and Erwin walked over to answer it¡±. ¡°Hello,¡± ¡°Hello. Erwin? ¡°Yes¡±. ¡°It¡¯s Terence. Is Ethan in¡±? ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Can I speak with him¡±? ¡°What about?¡± Erwin was hoping they were done with Terence McKenna. He was of the opinion that although the Magic Mushroom trip was not as horrifying as he expected, he was glad it was behind him. ¡°We¡¯re going to the lake for a picnic, and...¡± Ethan grabbed the phone from Erwin. ¡°Terence. What¡¯s up¡±? ¡°We¡¯re going to the lake for a picnic and I was wondering if you and Erwin would like to join us¡±? Erwin, being close enough to overhear, and wanting nothing to do with it, was aggressively waving his arms and mouthing, ¡°No¡±. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°A picnic in January¡±? ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s something we do, to greet the New Year. A few of us run into the lake and wash away our sins from the past year to cleanse ourselves for the year ahead. We¡¯re supposed to do it on the 1st, but organization is not our strong point¡±. ¡°We¡¯d love to,¡± Ethan replied. ¡°I don¡¯t think Erwin has a car. Can you come get us¡±? ¡°Yeah, we have a big old bus. We¡¯ll swing by and pick you up¡±. McKenna rolled up. He was driving, and the Merry Pranksters had nothing over this busload. In addition to Terence, there were seven other people, including the Tea Goddess from the other night. When Ethan and Erwin got on the bus, they were greeted with clapping and cheers. Everyone was glad to see them. There was no wondering where to sit. The young Indian woman, with the extreme exotic sexiness vibe, walked up to Erwin, took him by the hand and led him to a seat on the bus. ¡°Oh, my friend from the other night,¡± She said, leading him to a seat. ¡°Are you feeling better¡±? ¡°Yes,¡± Erwin replied shyly, almost obediently. Now that he wasn¡¯t tripping on Magic Mushrooms, he wasn¡¯t the charmer he had been the first time he met her. ¡°Come,¡± The young woman said. ¡°I will feed you¡±. ¡°Well just as long as you don¡¯t give me any more of that tea,¡± Erwin replied, as the young woman guided him to one of the vacant bench seats. ¡°I do not want to go through that again¡±. ¡°No baby,¡± the young woman replied, ¡°Just some grapes and cookies¡±. ¡°Well, okay then,¡± Erwin said, as the woman slid up close. ¡°Just as long as there¡¯s no more tea¡±. ¡°That¡¯s Priya,¡± Terence said. ¡°She takes in stray animals¡±. ¡°She found a good one,¡± Ethan replied, taking the seat across from McKenna so they could visit. It was quite a drive. Terence had chosen a different lake to go to because Erwin lived at a place that took them off course from the lake where they would normally go. No one seemed to notice the long drive. These were Children of Nature. They were called Flower Children, and even their age was part of it. Young and ready to challenge every moment of life. They had plenty of time and good company was all they wanted as they sang, clapped, and then pretended the aisle in the bus was a runway, and showed everyone how they would walk if they were a model. That¡¯s how they arrived. Everyone was happy and not put out a bit by the length of the drive. Ethan had a wonderful time too, listening to Terence point out various features of the area even though his knowledge of the area was limited. Terence loved nature and was quite knowledgeable about it regardless of where he found himself. His enthusiasm was infectious when he talked about it. They parked close to a camp area that was close to the beach and had plenty of abandoned fire pits. Being it January, no-one else was there and they chose a nice pit close to a number of picnic tables and not too far from the water. It was a beautiful day. There was no wind and the sun was shining for a change. It was still cool, and you needed a jacket. When Erwin got off the bus, Ethan noticed he had a goofy grin on his face, and seemed in much better spirits than when Terence picked them up, and Ethan almost had to drag him on the bus. He didn¡¯t even notice Ethan as they filed past. He was preoccupied, holding onto Priya¡¯s shoulders and dancing like he was in a Conga line. The first thing they did was get the fire going. Terence was in charge making sure they had the proper kindling and whatnot. ¡°No. That branch is too green,¡± he¡¯d say and they¡¯d take it away and come back with another one. Soon, the fire was a roaring blaze with veggies packed in tin foil having been thrown directly on it. These were intended to share but mainly for the Vegetarians The others went hunting for a hotdog stick. Everyone was very proud of their stick, and thought privately theirs was the best. Maybe even Erwin did too, but his was obviously the worst stick of the bunch. He chose a sapling, too weak to hold the weight of the hotdog and it was always springing up and then down into the fire. It was pretty funny watching the hotdog bob up and down, especially because Erwin was laughing the hardest. He didn¡¯t quite connect that he was the reason for the bobbing hotdog. In his imagination, it was doing it on its own, and everytime it dropped into the ashes, he¡¯d burst into laughter, causing everyone else to laugh too. After lunch, someone suggested they take the plunge into the lake, which was the purpose of the picnic. Everyone was in good cheer, especially after Erwin¡¯s antics, and they all cheered as they stripped off their clothes. Terence and Ethan were standing a little back from the group, and it was Ethan who noticed it first. ¡°Check out the unit on Erwin,¡± he said. ¡°What?¡± Terence mumbled, confounded by the perplexity of the button and zipper on his jeans. He looked over to where Ethan was pointing and after a moment commented. ¡°I would not like to see that angry¡±. ¡°No kidding,¡± Ethan replied, nodding his head and still staring at Erwin¡¯s dick. ¡°You coming in?¡± Terence asked, noticing Ethan was not taking off his clothes. The truth was, Ethan didn¡¯t see the logic in freezing his ass off in a half frozen lake. He wasn¡¯t a full fledged hippie yet, and didn¡¯t get the idea of doing things just for the fun of it. ¡°Not after seeing Erwin, I¡¯m not¡±, he replied.