Chronicles of Han: Preserving Creata: Part 1: Learning Curve

I woke up with a raw, dry throat and a hell of a headache.

Something had woken me.

I was not sure what.

I lay there listening, battling to open my eyes.

Everything seemed quiet.

Too quiet.

I willed an eye open.

Daylight was filtering through an opening in the curtain.

When did I leave it open?

Yesterday?

Yesterday was a very long way away.

It was still extremely quiet.

It was day, so shouldn’t I at least hear some birds?

Tucker stormed into the room.

He was moving his mouth, but I did not hear a word.

I frowned uncomprehendingly at him. What was the man doing? He placed a cool hand on my forehead.

I watched him going to the bathroom and return with a glass of water.

He held my head and helped me sip some.

The burning, dry sensation eased and hearing returned as if through a tunnel.

“Han, stay with me. You’re feverish. We need to cool you down.”

Yes, I felt hot and a cool shower would probably work.

Tucker helped me out of bed and together we made it to the bathroom.

I felt as weak as a baby and was unable to undress myself, so Tucker had to help.

He seemed unhindered by my nakedness as he shoved me under the water, adjusting the temperature so that the water was comfortably cool.

I sat down, allowing the water to cool my body.

It seemed to wash some of the fatigue away, enabling me to try and analyze the problem.

“I think I overdid it yesterday and I did not have dinner either.”

It was said more to myself than to Tucker, coming out as a croak.

There was concern written on Tucker’s wrinkled old face. I was positive he had lost more hair since yesterday too.

Smiling confidently up at him, I asked him to make us some coffee.

“I became worried when you didn’t answer your comm device and your door,” he told me. “I’ll see to that coffee now. Oh, and by the way, your door was unlocked.”

He left me in peace to ponder the new saga in my life.

What had happened last night?

I remember slamming the door behind me. I do not remember leaving it unlocked.

I remember falling into, or rather, onto my bed.

What then?

Dreams?

No.

Spirit plane?

I think so.

I could vaguely recall my spirit slipping out of my body. Then rows of pillars appeared.

Yes, I remember!

I had been there before. Those were the halls where I had met Sensaii, the Databank/Library where I and others of my awareness could browse for knowledge.

I was sure that I had obtained or ’downloaded’ information.

But what?

I had no recollection of the content. It felt as if someone had just given me important information during a conversation but I cannot recall what exactly it was.

I must have been summoned to the Halls of Knowledge by Sensaii.

A great help he turned out to be. You work your butt off in the daytime and then you still have to study at night!

When are you supposed to rest?

*Whenever you can.*

I had not meant it as a question, but Sensaii gave the answer anyway.

I had sensed him since waking, but had tried to ignore him. There is only so much you can handle while feeling hung over.

*Why am I feeling so ill?* I finally asked him.

*It is your body’s response to the strain placed on it by the extra sensory input you are receiving.*

This information only served to confirm my suspicions of last night.

*I always thought that the body and the spirit planes were totally separate* I thought at the spirit entity.

*While you are attached to an active, living body, the body cannot be separated from the spiritual experience. With practice, the body can ultimately become one huge receiver of energy particles, or, to put it in a different way, a psychic receiver. When trained properly, you can use it as a transmitter too.*

The shock of ice-cold water assaulting my body blew the last cobwebs from my brain.

No more hot water!

I washed and dried quickly. Then dressed, still shivering, as fast as I could in civilian garb.

I ignored Sensaii’s further attempts for my attention. He probably had more lessons, but first things first.

Breakfast!