Affirmation: Ascension, #2

By Brian Rickman

The Luciferian Preemptive, as it had come to be known, was a failure. The Humans were successful in collecting their Earth-bound souls, full of vitriol and hate. These souls, made in the Human image, are the sole possessors of a concept known nowhere else in the known Omniverse: death. With the Humans now in possession of this ultimate weapon against their oppressors, other worlds and soul groups prohibiting their further ascension appear to be at risk of extinction should they oppose the Human will to become the ultimate power in the Omniverse. 

Meanwhile on Earth in the Third Dimension, the Grand Queen Alicia holds rights to no Queendom. In the lawless, post Ascension world, she struggles for survival among her peers, those who have also managed to opt-out of the promised Human enlightenment. Perhaps surprisingly, the world still functions for the most part but it lacks organization. With no clear leaders and supply chains breaking down, Alicia concludes to use her leadership skills and her access to a world-wide television and radio link-up to rally the remaining citizens of Earth in the spirit of cooperation. 

Forging a new society based on barter and, eventually, when required, brute force, Alicia’s new Luciferian society proves successful. Working in cooperation with the Christians in Alabama and Mississippi, their influence begins to spread throughout the South. In time, the Luciferians and the Grand Queen Alicia will become among the dominant powers in Third Dimensional Earth. 

Promised by Sariana that a savior would return to lead her people to another, more rightful, Ascension, Alicia and her society await further instructions. Finally, an original Luciferian Warrior Soul arrives but he is not the benefactor Alicia’s citizens had hoped for. Disgusted by these “new” souls and their seeming obsession with violence and death, he reluctantly leads them to meet the Second Order of Earth Bound souls. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Black Dahlia
• Release date: Mar 28, 2015
• ISBN: 9780692269015

Book preview

Thanks to my family, Kendall, Mike & Dean

Text copyright © 2014 Brian Rickman

All rights reserved.

ISBN-13: 978-0692269015

ISBN-10: 0692269010

CHAPTER ONE

Graham awoke in a blinding white room and nothing came into focus. He sat up and strained his eyes. He could make out a red seal hovering the distance; otherwise, just white. He considered standing up but, in the glare, he wasn't even sure if there was a floor below him. He felt peaceful. The last thing he remembered was the elemental rainfall, the euphoria and then nothing. Absolute black. Now white. He still felt the euphoria. He could recall a snap. A sound making him deaf and blind in a single instance. Then, it felt as if he took flight. He had a vague recollection of the wind in his hair. Did he die? There was a war. Kelly.

Kelly? Haley? he called out to the white.

There was a pause a finally another voice filled the room. It is normal for you to feel confused. It was the voice from the broadcasts. The two you speak of are safe. They look forward to seeing you and they are very happy. Are you awake?

Graham looked around the room. He didn't see anyone. Where are you? I can't see you.

You will in time. This should not concern you. Do not worry. You, too, are safe.

Graham didn't doubt this. Somehow he felt content. The voice was, as always, reassuring. He trusted it. Have I died?

You have not died. You will understand this in time.

Who are you?

I will be your guide.

What is your name? Are you God?

I have been known by many names, as have you. I am no more a God than you but no less.

Is this heaven? The afterlife?

I see that you are still dreaming.

What?

The effects of your journey will subside soon. I will return shortly. For now, explore. There is no danger here.

Graham looked in every direction into pure white light. Explore what? he thought. Graham sat for a moment and focused his sight on the red seal in the distance. He thought that might give him a clue. He stood up.

Suddenly, he began a free-fall. Panicked, he flailed his arms to grasp something, anything to stop his fall. There was nothing. Finally, he felt his body splash into a body of water but he didn't sink. Now the world around him had light. The sky was purple with glittering, black stars. He was in the midst of beautiful blue ocean. He could see a rocky shore in the distance, lush with green fields. He tried to tread water but he could not feel his arms or legs. At no point did he go under and as he tried to move he saw the waves rise and fall. The harder he pushed with his now imaginary arms and legs, the larger the waves grew until, finally with a single, powerful thrust, a tidal wave. He felt the entire weight of the ocean behind him, rushing against his back as the wave grew taller and taller with Graham surfing the top. The shore grew closer and he held his breath as the tsunami he created crashed upon the rocks and the fields.

He watched the ground grow closer as he fell from the crest, soaring into the green blades of grass. He braced himself for the impact and as he landed, he felt his body shatter into millions of water drops. He fell into the soil. The dirt felt warm and alive. It was embracing him and it was wonderful. His body then reconvened. Molecule by molecule, he could feel each single piece of reconstruction until finally he lay on his back in the green field, face to face with the purple sky.

A cool breeze danced across his face. His mind was racing now and he raised his hand to meet the wind. He watched as the breeze blew it away like grains of sand. First his hand, his arm and then his entire body encompassed the wind. He became the breeze and now drifted across the landscape, not as one single body but rather as the whole wind. At once, he could touch the grass, the trees, and the rocks.

He began to drift upward, higher and higher until he reached the pinnacle of the purple sky. From here, he could see infinite space. A mass of revelations filled his mind. He need only think of a destination and with a sudden burst of velocity, he would arrive. He knew this. He still did not know why. With that, he found himself thrust back into the white room and his physical body reassembled atom by atom.

I see you are awake.

What... was that?! a breathless Graham asked the voice.

You are remembering. It is natural.

Did I actually go somewhere or..?

It was not a hallucination. It was as real as you are.

Well, that's just the thing. I don't feel very real at the moment.

You are still adjusting to your natural state. The life you led in the third dimension is complete.

I died there?

You have ceased to exist on that plane, yes.

But I'm not dead. You've said before that there is no death.

This is correct.

Graham once again looked about the white space that surrounded him. When can I see you?

You may choose to see that which surrounds you at any time. Just concentrate and everything will become clear. Graham looked hard in the direction of the voice. He still couldn't see anything. The voice recognized this. Clear your mind. What do you see?

I see nothing but white.

This is your problem. See nothing instead. Everything will then come into focus.

As crazy as this sounded, Graham seemed to instinctively understand what the voice was telling him to do. He imagined the room as he wanted to see it and it began to appear. He was sitting on a bed, a dresser and an end table appeared. He found himself in his childhood bedroom. Baseball trophies and posters were scattered about the walls and toys littered the floor. He had imagined a familiar, safe place from the third dimension.

Good, the voice encouraged. You are remembering well. The world is of your making. As I speak, see me.

Graham now concentrated on the voice and a human form began to appear. Slowly, a man took shape before him, enveloped in a sharp blue glow. He wore a dark suit of clothes. His face was a blur. I can't see your face.

You have not yet decided my appearance. This is understandable. There are so many choices. The man's face appeared. He was blonde with chiseled facial features. He wore an eye-patch. This didn't seem right. The man now morphed into Ricardo Montalbán. Graham smiled.

As you can see, I may take any form you wish.

I like this one.

Good. We are glad that you are comfortable.

Will I eventually see you as you really are?

You must first understand that the physical body you knew in the third dimension is irrelevant in this world. Think of your brain as a receiver. As a radio, if you will. The radio waves beamed into the receiver exist independently, do they not?

Yes. The radio waves exist even if there is no radio to receive them.

Correct. The radio is simply a means of broadcasting the waves deployed from the radio tower. As such, your consciousness exists with or without any one receiver.

And where does the broadcast originate?

From here. What you refer to as your consciousness originates here. It may be broadcast to any vessel. This is your home.

I've been here before?

Yes and your consciousness has ventured into many planes of existence.

Why can't I remember these past experiences?

You will remember in time. It is far too overwhelming for you to remember all at once.

If I have just left the third dimension, where am I now?

This is the sixth dimension.

What happened to the fourth and fifth?

You are an old soul. These dimensions offer little to you. You are far too advanced.

If that's the case, why was I residing in the third dimension?

This is far more complex. You will know this in time. Have patience. We feel it is time now for you to begin your full awakening. Please. Step outside this room.

Graham followed Mr. Montalbán outside the room and watched in wonder as everything around him appeared just as he imagined it. They walked on gold stone roads, observed a bright blue sky and snow-capped mountains in the distance. It was as if an unseen artist was painting the landscape as Graham thought it. If he didn't like what he saw, he simply thought of something different and the original object was erased and replaced with the new. It was a world of wonder, one of his own creation and it was spectacular.

CHAPTER TWO

Alicia felt the sweat drip from her armpit and trickle along her side. She sat on the lumpy cot and could feel the hard steel beneath the mattress creak as she inhaled. The stye on her right eyelid had forced the eye shut; it was swollen and her lips were chapped. She heard coughing down the hall and the smell of two hundred unwashed bodies hung in the air. Crickets chirped outside but the birds were curiously quiet.

Ms. Alicia, the gravely voice in the cell beside hers spoke.

Yes?

Where do dogs come from?

Alicia was slow to respond. The heat was unbearable. What do you mean?

The Humans... created us. Did they create dogs too?

Alicia hadn’t really thought about it before. It was a fair question. I’m not really sure, Tinker. I guess they must have.

Could that be where the lost souls are? Inside the dogs maybe?

Alicia managed a weak laugh.

I’m serious, Ms. Alicia. Think about it. What if the lost souls are in the dogs. Or all animals. Wouldn’t that be some shit? That’s some revenge right there. All this time, the lost souls are right here on Earth and we, the Human step kids, are keeping them as pets. And eating them. That was somewhat profound, Alicia had to admit. We’re sending them back to start over and over. They never even get a chance to ascend. Because we keep eating them and mistreating them and not talking them for walks and shit. Leaving them tied up in the yard or in hot cars.

Damn, Tinker, that’s some cold ass shit right there, came a voice from another cell.

If I was Human that’s what I’d do, said another voice. That’s makin’ a motherfucker pay.

Quiet laughter and ‘yeahs’ in agreement fell all around the Colbert County lock-up.

But those souls could be your lost brothers and sisters, Alicia said quietly when the murmur silenced. Remember, we’re all born of Lucifer. Offspring or not.

That cow could be your great, great celestial grandmother, said another voice.

I think I ate my great uncle at a White Castle in Jersey, joked another. More laughs.

All I know is, if I ever get outta here, I’m going straight to the pound and lettin' those brothers out, Tinker concluded and the other prisoners agreed.

Alicia smiled. These voices were all weak and very tired, just like her. She was happy that her fellow inmates were able to pass these moments philosophically. She knew that they might never get out of lock-up. It was good, she thought, that these men and women, most of which she could not see, these exhausted voices might spend their final hours with some security and peace. If nothing else, Sariana had given them this gift.

It had been nearly two weeks since the rapture. Alicia was incarcerated in the Colbert County lock-up for the shooting of Sariana’s attacker. Most of the jail staff had ascended, leaving Alicia and her fellow inmates imprisoned indefinitely. Without food and conditions looking bleak, Alicia helped the prisoners to pass the time by preaching Sariana’s gospel and telling her story. With the promise of a second opportunity to ascend, the majority of the prisoners readily became converted Luciferians during this time.

Alicia wasn’t angry at the jail staff for unexpectedly ascending. After all, no one knew exactly when the rapture would occur. It happened quite suddenly. Had they known of their imminent departure, Alicia suspected that they might have let the prisoners go. After all, why should they care? They were on transfer to a new dimension. Practically all of the prisoners were unwashed in the elemental rain. The bad seeds wouldn’t be following them northbound anyway.

The experience did brew an additional level of hatred for the Humans, however. As they drank the toilet water in their cells, Alicia had encouraged her jailed counterparts to focus their anger in this way as well. The Human disregard for those left behind was all the more reason to steel herself against them in her mind. This coupled with a strong desire to not reset her Earthly clock once more kept her alive. Sariana had assured Alicia that the Savior would arrive in this lifetime. She couldn’t die now. She was certain that the repercussions would be great.

Alicia often lay sleepless in her cell wondering where she might be had she never taken the assignment in Alabama. Would she be in L.A. with a full run of the bars? Back in Portland, sipping coffee with the unwashed hipsters, catching up on her reading? Hell, she could be anywhere. She spent many hungry nights cursing this wretched place above the snoring of the man next door.

When she did sleep, she didn’t dream. Rather, Alicia found herself in an infinite void. She was trapped in this terrible loop and by morning, when the stinging light of day made her squint and grimace, Alicia resolved again to survive; if, for no other reason, to perhaps one day see another city. She’d be damned if Alabama killed her; Sariana or not.

One night on the cusp of sleep, Tinker woke her with his voice like sandpaper, Ms. Alicia! You awake?

What? No. Tinker, what is it?

Someone’s here.

Huh?

Listen, Ms. Alicia...

She did so and could hear voices in the distance. Metal on metal as doors creaked open and footsteps grew nearer. Other voices spoke up.

Someone’s here, y’all!

I hear ‘em too!

We’re in here!!!

A door opened and a well dressed group of men and women were surprised to be greeted with a grand ceremony of applause and laughter. They had been found. Alicia felt relief and adrenaline all at once; a rush of happiness overcame her. Breaking character, she cried.

Tinker, the man next door, comforted her as the men and women fumbled with the keys and unlocked the cells one by one. It’s all gonna be okay, now, Ms. Alicia. We’re free now. It’s all gonna be okay, darlin’.

I know. Thank you. I’m just happy.

You been real strong this whole time, Ms. Alicia. You been strong for us all. You let it out now.

Alicia discovered later that the rescuers released the men first and then the women. She was one of the last to be removed from her cell. As prisoners were escorted past her cell, they caught a glimpse of a frail, red-haired girl sobbing into her pillow. Alicia was the only female in this corner of lock-up. It was their first glimpse of the Luciferian Queen. No one was disappointed; perhaps, only humbled.

The Christians had saved them. Specifically, the First Baptist Church. Upon release, they immediately took the prisoners to the church to be fed, washed and clothed. For Alicia, the canned spaghetti could well have been a five star meal; the raspberry Kool-Aid akin to a fine wine. The generic shampoo was heavenly. The cast-away War Eagle t-shirt and jeans were better than anything she’d find on Fifth Avenue. The Christians were so kind and Alicia felt safe here.

Finally, the pastor spoke to the prisoners from a podium in the church gym. We feel so blessed that our Lord Savior Jesus Christ has brought us together on this day. He led us to find you this evening. Bless you all. While we are fortunate to be able to release, clothe and feed you on this day, one thing we cannot do for y’all is find you a place to stay. We have arranged for temporary shelters, however, if you’d like. The world is quite different from when you left it and I’m sorry to say that you’re on your own here. I do pray that you’ll enter this new world in peace. We must all sow the seeds of our new civilization together. No one in this room knows suffering as you know suffering. Do not inflict it upon others. This is your chance to start again. Please know that should any of you need counseling, I will be happy to speak to you of God’s plan in the coming days...

Not one word was said of the crimes committed by the prisoners. There were not condemnations or pleas for baptism. The Christians had simply let them go. Alicia appreciated this and would never forget this kindness. Their forgiveness was extraordinary, she thought.

When the pastor ended his speech, some of the prisoners followed him to the homeless shelters and for Bible study. The majority, however, stayed behind. Alicia was among them. A large man lumbered across the gym, dressed in an all purple XXXL sweat suit and he carried a ragged, black and white teddy bear. Finally, he stood beside her.

Well, Ms. Alicia... what do we do now? he asked. It was the voice of the man next door. Although they had spoken nearly every minute of their incarceration, the two had never laid eyes on each other; a brick wall had kept them apart.

Tinker? Alicia smiled. She looked around her and realized that all eyes were on her.

The man nodded. He was a beast. Tinker easily stood 6’8 and probably weighed close to 400 pounds. He had sleeves of tattoos, both ears pierced, two gold teeth, long hair and an unkempt beard. Tinker was a frightening presence, save the stuffed animal. He smiled back and Alicia saw kindness in his eyes.

I know where I need to go, Alicia announced. You can come with me.

She thought of the hotel. It would be a terrible walk and her band was truly exhausted. Yet, the thought of clean sheets, television and a telephone kept them all moving. They passed a grocery store along the way and Alicia and her crew stopped to watch the citizens walking and in out of the store with goods. Alicia stopped one of the exiting men.

Are they open?

You could say that, yeah.

Are you stealing?

The man laughed. Where you been, lady?

In jail.

Oh. Why you judging me then? he snarled and hurried away.

Alicia led her party inside and saw that the aisles were hardly stocked. She instructed her followers to take only what they might need for the next few days and only what they could comfortably carry for a few more miles. They each grabbed a few plastic bags and began shopping. Alicia selected some snacks, deodorant and a few microwave meals. She reminded her gang that the hotel would have toiletries available. Within ten minutes, they were back on their way with goods in tow.

It would have been a strange sight were it not a strange time: the red-haired girl leading a troupe of one hundred obvious hoodlums down Highway 72. Tinker towered beside her as he snacked on Ho Ho's and trudged down the side of the road. The rest of the men and women entertained themselves with jokes and wonderings of life in this new, half empty world. Alicia could sense an uneasiness about them. After all, they had nowhere to go but this hotel.

Alicia's mob arrived and found the place vacant. The double doors opened graciously as they stepped to the mat. It was a nice place and the convicts were quite impressed by the marble floors and the grand piano in the lobby. Alicia shouted for assistance but no one arrived. She stepped behind the counter and found all of the key-cards for the rooms but she didn't know how to activate them.

Ms. Alicia, said a woman in her group, noticing her confusion. I used to be a hotel clerk. You want me to help you some?

Alicia quickly agreed and she gave instructions to her assembly, Everyone, let's handle this just like we would if you were checking in to a hotel. There are plenty of rooms for everyone so just line-up here and we'll get everyone assigned a place. Let's try to keep the hotel nice because we're going to living here for a while, okay? There will be no housekeeping staff to clean up after us, so treat your room just like you would treat your home. Same goes for the lobby and hallways, the pool and work-out room. This will be our castle for now. It will be the base of Luciferian operations until further notice. Please treat it with respect.

Everyone agreed and check-in was quite orderly. Alicia was offered the hotel's suite but she wanted her old room back. She concluded that the suite would be used for special occasions only. Alicia asked