The Phoenix Prophecy

Chapter 17: Epilogue - Part 3

Monday — July 21^st

Author’s Note:

I have made a few changes in the previous two parts of the Epilogue. Most notably, I have changed the fact that Albus encountered Athene, not Marcus, in the meadow. The other changes were mostly grammatical in nature.

Professor Albus Dumbledore:

“Marcus, I beg to differ with you. The question we should have asked you is ‘Why are we here—wherever and whenever here is, being of less importance than the why we are here?’ The reason for your binging us to this particular place, at this particular time, is foremost on all of our minds…and just to reassure everyone, we are most certainly…‘not dead!’ At least I am not dead, and therefore, I assume that none of you are either.”

I directed the last part of my statement quite emphatically to everyone in the group. The last thing we needed right now was for someone to become distraught over the idea that they had actually died.

“You are of course, quite correct, my old friend,” Marcus replied, flashing a disarming smile at all of us. “As a matter of fact, Athene and I are the only ones who are dead—or at least, dead in the sense that you humans perceive life and death.”

“You don’t look very dead to me,” Nicole burst out. “If you are dead, then how can you be standing there in front of us now?”

“It would be very helpful to us if we knew more about you,” I suggested to Marcus, smiling as benignly as possible. Since this was one of my primary concerns, I was quite curious to find out whom we were actually chatting with.

“Perhaps you are right,” Marcus began after a short pause during which he and Athene seemed to communicate mentally with each other. “We are merely projections, nothing about us is real. I am a projection of the person that all of you used to know as Marcus, or Gawain—why he went by two different names was always a mystery to us, very confusing, very. My mate is a projection of the woman you knew as Athene. The name I use when communicating with beings from your universe is Kai. My mate’s name is Nyssa.”

“What do you mean by ‘your universe’?” Harry asked.

“Our universe, which surrounds yours, is located in what you would call ‘the fourth dimension’,” Kai replied. “Your universe is composed of the three dimensions of space and one of time. Our universe has one additional dimension of space, which you cannot perceive because your senses are not quipped to do so. Like you, we have just one dimension of time, but it is not the same. Our time-lines run at right angles to each other, so they bear no relationship between them.”

“How many different dimensions are there?” Hermione asked, looking thoughtful and quite alert.

“No one knows for certain, but many of our scholars postulate that there may be as many as nine dimensions,” Kai replied.

“If we are unable to visualize four dimensions, then how is it possible that we can see you?” Harry asked just as Hermione was about to speak.

“Because your universe is a subset of ours, we can project life-like images into your universe at the time and place of our choosing.”

“I don’t get this projection thing. What exactly does that mean?” Alec asked, looking more than a little confused.

“Let me see if I can explain projection by giving you an example,” Kai began. “A subset of your three-dimensional world would be a two-dimensional world. Think of this world, which I shall call Flatland, as a very thin piece of paper that goes on forever in two directions. Beings that exist in Flatland would have width and depth but no height. They would not have any concepts for above or below. If you stuck your finger through this piece of paper, you would be projecting your three-dimensional self as a two-dimensional object in their world. The beings in Flatland would have no way of comprehending your true shape, as they would only be able to see the part of you that was in their world. It is the same with us. Your senses are not capable of ‘seeing’ an object in four-dimensions any more than those in Flatland could visualize your three-dimensional form. I’m not sure if that helps, but it covers the essential concepts.”

“Yes, that does help,” Alec replied, looking as though he had grasped the concept. From the looks on everyone’s faces, I think we all had the basics of what Kai was saying. While Kai was describing his example, I suddenly recalled some spirited discussions Marcus and I had had with his father on the subject of higher dimensions. Up until this point, higher dimensional universes had only been a theory, and not a very popular theory at that.

“The fact that Nyssa and I are beings from a higher dimension is not what is important at the moment,” Kai continued. “As Albus mentioned a moment ago, what is of the utmost important is, ‘why we have brought you here.’ There is no easy way to tell you what I have to say, so I won’t mince any words. The evil forces that are growing steadily stronger in your universe will soon plunge all of your worlds into total darkness. This darkness will last until all intelligent life has become extinct. Even those who cause the darkness will perish. This we have foreseen by looking far into your future.”

Deafening silence greeted Kai’s proclamation as everyone stood perfectly still as though they had been suddenly petrified. I would have felt less concerned if some of the others had cried out in protest after hearing such a devastating prediction of what lay in store for humanity. The complete lack of any emotional outburst could only mean that everyone was in shock over what we had just been told. I knew that I had to get everyone talking so that we could begin to deal with our fears over what was in store for us and the other inhabitants of our worlds. Dwelling inwardly on fear, instead of dealing with it openly, was the surest way for one’s spirit to self-destruct.

“Kai, I am not disputing what you believe will happen to our worlds. Nevertheless, as you must know, the future is not set. The free choices that each individual makes, as he or she lives their lives, have a profound influence over what the future will be.” I tried to balance my tone of voice to show the others that I was not accepting Kai’s prediction without question. I felt it necessary to attempt to move the mood of the discussion to a more academic tone, as if we were debating the possibility that some event might occur in the distant future.

“I do not disagree that an individual’s actions affect the future,” Kai replied. “However the effects are mostly centered on the individual and those in close proximity to them. On a global and historical scale, the effects of an individual’s actions quickly die out over time. It has been our experience, from long observation of your worlds, that these effects are negligible after two or three generations.”

“That is a rather pessimistic view, if I do say so myself,” I responded with as much lightness as I dared without making it sound forced.

“To us, our observations are neither pessimistic nor optimistic, they are simply statements of what we have believe to be the truth of the matter we are witnessing,” Nyssa answered, her voice calm and emotionless. “We have two formidable advantages over you in drawing conclusions from observations of your worlds. One, we can see all of your worlds from any vantage point, and two, we have been observing your worlds since the dawn of your species.”

Nyssa’s statement, if true, had just the effect on the others that I had hoped to avoid. Kai and Nyssa, by virtue of the fact that they were as old as humanity itself, had seemingly cast their predictions as an absolute truth, which of course was out of the question as far as I was concerned. It never ceased to amaze me how highly intelligent ‘people’—or whatever Kai and Nyssa’s species called themselves—could be so oblivious to the effects that their statements had on those around them. Fortunately, I was less likely to be emotionally effected by their predictions of death and extinction because I was nearing the end of my life’s journey. The others being relatively near the beginning of their journeys would take such predictions much more literally. I needed to quickly snap everyone out of their hypnotic embrace with the ‘end of the world’ prediction that Kai had just delivered, especially the children.

“Kai, Nyssa, please excuse me while I attempt to place your predictions into a perspective that my companions will understand.” Without waiting for a reply, I quickly rose and moved to the center of the semi-circle facing the others.

“I want all of you to focus on my face,” I said as soon as their eyes settled on me. I waited until I had everyone’s attention before I continued to speak. Minerva was looking at me intently, her eyes shining brightly, with her accustomed serious look on her face. This I had expected, as she was old enough not to be overwhelmed by something as trivial as the end of the world. I winked at her and continued to scan the rest of the faces in the group. The adults looked more worried than I thought they would. Then it came to me that they were worried more for the sake of their children than they were for themselves. The youngster’s expressions ranged from disbelief to outright panic. Once I felt the tension ease, I told everyone to join hands with those sitting beside them and began to speak.

“If I had a bag of chocolate, I would require that each of you eat your fill until you felt happy once again. Seeing that I am fresh out of chocolate, I want you to try to remember what it felt like the last time you ate some. Think nothing but pleasant thoughts. We are all together here in this lovely meadow, on a beautiful, warm, sunny day. Our dearest loved ones are at our sides and nothing should dampen our spirits.

“Now, close your eyes and take several deep, slow breaths while trying to imagine that you are as light as a feather. Picture the faces of your loved ones in your mind and try to send them your love in return. As you send your love, and receive theirs in return, you will begin to feel vibrant and full of energy. Your fears will begin to melt away, to be replaced by feelings of peace and tranquility.

“Once you feel as if you are as vibrant as you possibly can be, focus you mind on the beauty that surrounds us. Picture the flowers that fill the meadow. Draw in the sweet fragrance that they give off. See the majestic beauty and living energy given off by the forest of trees that surrounds and protects us. Send your love to the world that is our home and receive its love and energy in return. Only when we are one with the world can we truly be at peace. The world around us will sustain those of us that know how to love and cherish its beauty.

Watching everyone follow my instructions to the best of their abilities, I was greatly relieved to see that they all looked quite peaceful and serene. In fact, everyone but Alice, Katie and Nicole were actually hovering several inches off the ground. I said nothing for several minutes, as I wanted to ensure that everyone was completely relaxed and free from the fear of what might be in store for our world.

“You may all open your eyes,” I said after I was satisfied that we could now begin a discussion of why we had been brought here and what Kai and Nyssa wanted from us. It was obvious to me that they didn’t go to the trouble of bringing a handful of humans to this place just so that they could tell us about the end of the world. I was sure there was a lot more to this story that we had not been told yet.

“Kai, you have yet to tell us ‘why’ you brought us to this place,” I said after I sat back down beside Minerva. “I feel that we are entitled to know the reason we now find ourselves sitting before you.”