LUCID

CHAPTER 10

"Well this looks like it's gonna be fun," I said. The pod-like contraption attached to the side of the balcony was indeed a vehicle, and I was just about to take my first ride on our way to meet with Kat.

It was the size of a big armchair and looked like a transparent motor-cycle helmet, complete with a visor that slid up over the top to give access. There were two seats inside separated by a thin console with a simple joystick. And that was about it.

"How does it work?" I asked.

"Climb in and I'll show you."

Ember helped me with the safety buckle – the only bit of complexity in the whole pod. "It's not really necessary for passenger protection," she said, "most people can levitate if they fall out. But if there's no pilot, the pod will just fall to the ground, and that's a danger to the people below. So it's actually to keep you attached to the vehicle because accidents can happen, especially when the top isn't down, or during aerobatic manouvres..."

"Don't try to scare me girl, it won't work. C'mon, hit the gas."

Ember grasped the joystick, the visor closed over us and we immediately shot upwards into the sky at breath-taking speed. I didn't experience any G-forces, but it was exhilarating all the same. There was no engine noise of course, and the visor dampened the air-noise outside. "So how does it work?" I asked again.

"Really simple. The joy-stick tunes into my consciousness when I hold it, and reads my intention. Wherever I want to go, it takes me there. Direction and speed are also just a matter of intention. The consciousness-reading technology is built into the fibre of the whole pod – and don't ask me how that works because I have absolutely no idea. Try it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah... let's see if you can scare yourself."

I took hold of the joy-stick and felt the pod come under my control. It really was simple, but then I'd done this sort of flying-by-intention in earlier astral experiences when I'd manifested and flown aeroplanes and microlites.

The response of the pod was instantaneous and limited only by the focus of your intention and the confidence you had in it – and in yourself. I took the pod down to the mountains (flying high gives you no reference point for speed, therefore no sense of speed), and skimmed over the tops heading inland. I found a winding river that cut a deep gully in the landscape and descended lower to get as close to the water's surface as I dared. The lower I went, the greater the sense of speed, and the greater the exhilaration.

It was the ultimate flying-machine – climbing, diving, spiraling, turning, flipping and looping were as simple and automatic as sitting, standing and walking. It could never stall and it stopped on a dime. For about fifteen minutes I was like a kid with a new toy, then I gave the control back to Ember. She headed back out to sea where we had our appointment with Kat – on his yacht!.

"So, if everyone can levitate and teleport in this realm, what's the actual purpose of this vehicle... besides it being fun?"

"That's it, just mostly fun," she said. "There are larger vehicles used for transporting groups – delegates, that sort of thing. And they're handy for tourism – you don't want large groups of people flying around together or teleporting all at once, it would be chaos."

"I can imagine. And what about ground-vehicles?"

"These are ground vehicles too, but if you're talking about things with wheels... well, we have 'enthusiasts' who still like to drive those things. Again though, it's all for fun."

"Ever been on a motorcycle?"

"No."

"Remind me to take you on a ride someday."