It's generally around age 16 or 17 before I start getting busy stabilising the water resources — ensuring that the regenerative cycles of the planet are secure and fully checked out, that it will continue to pulse for another million-year cycle before requiring another calibration, if needed at all.
Planets like this one are a gift, so I allowed myself a little holiday time with my partner to enjoy the pleasure of this stable little gem before getting busy on my purpose for being here. A place like this makes it so easy to forget what I came for.
Time to get busy. It's been a pretty sweet 25 years so far.
First task — locate the White Sapphire Crystal. With some long-track memory I can locate the dimensional points always used for a Crystal placement on a planet. Its base sits on the central equator mark of the longest day and internal orbit, closest to the sun.
I am sometimes fortunate enough to find the pod above water. Not this time. Some unknown distance beneath the sea, it is pinned to the first layer of the crust, secretly signalling outward until it is correctly calibrated. The question is — how do I get to the bottom of the ocean at that precise spot, on a planet with technology barely beyond rubbing two sticks together? Well — maybe not quite that primitive.
This is always the tricky point. Explaining — or more so enlightening — my girl as to why I am here and the seemingly impossible task that lies behind my purpose. We have really started to settle into each other, and the idea of simply settling into a family, playing house in our contented tropical community, is very inviting.
Very nice indeed. But that path will definitely get me into trouble later and could leave me with the near-impossible task of unravelling a faded memory, should I have to assume a mortal body once again and try to figure it all out from scratch. Right now I have it crisp and clear. So now is the time.
Mila comes in with a huge haul of assorted fish and a basket full of seafood. Look at her — she is so beautiful. Her warm eyes find mine as she radiates the satisfaction of the feast we are about to share. Not a spoken word needed. Maybe dinner is a good time to tell her, so I busy myself with the preparation.
"Did you get these from the middle reef, babe?" I ask.
"Sure did. It seems like the more fish we take from that spot, the more come in to take their place. I'm not really sure what that is — but I think we should leave it alone for a few weeks and see what happens. This reef is so good to us and I really want to make sure we don't upset its natural cycle in any way."
"I agree. There are plenty of other spots, and there are some chubby little wild squealers fattening up nicely after last spring."
"Cool!" said Mila.
"Is it okay if I tell you something pretty important tonight, babe? Over dinner?"
"Tell me now if you like," she casually suggested.
"Oh, it's fine — let's finish cooking up this feast and we can relax and talk it through."
"Ooh! Sounds pretty serious to me," she smiled.
"Yeah, okay — a little bit. But I'm sure you're never surprised by what comes out of my mouth."
"Okay. Dinner it is," she agreed.
We wrapped up the afternoon cleaning the yard and veranda. It always feels so good when the sunset starts to shimmer across the ocean swells.
Mila spoke first.
"So — what's this big subject you want to talk about?"
"You want a bit more lobster?" I responded, ignoring her question entirely.
"Come on, 'Oh Great One!' What is it?"
"Well — you know that we are spirits, right?"
"Yeah. And?" She left me wide open.
"And you sort of figure that I'm not really from this place, right?"
"Well, that's not too hard to figure out. You're definitely… different." Mila laughed at me the way she always does about my little idiosyncrasies. "What is it you're trying to tell me?"
"I actually came to this planet with a vital purpose."
"Yeah! To give me something to laugh at!" she replied.
We both laughed.
"I have an almost impossible task to carry out. In fact, with what I have to work with, it may very well be impossible. But I have to do it."
"God! What are you talking about? Can you just spit it out? You're starting to spook me a little — and you know you can trust me with whatever you say, right?"
"Yep."
"That's right. So what is it, boy?"
"Fourteen and a half billion years ago, an agreement was made — that if we are going to keep this universe intact, then certain responsibilities come along with playing such a game. A physical universe filled with life contains specific key balancing components that sustain its ability to support life. Without them, the potential void of infinity fills with chaotic turmoil, death and barren spaces — trapping beautiful beings in rock or suspended in space, unable to find their way out, unable to pick up a body because every planet is dead. The potential for space and life is infinite, but a mass solar system destabilisation has the power to trap billions of peaceful beings in loss and timeless amnesia."
"Keep going, babe. You've got me," she replied.
"At that time the Council was formed, and the magnitude of the different tasks was set before us. It is truly recognised that the immersion of spiritual beings holds infinite potential. But as we create the space in which to build our dynamics, so comes the responsibility of stabilisation and the protection of that environment — carried by a special few. These key tasks include anchor point stabilisation and distancing, heat and thermal star longevity, entity planning and programming, the freedom of evolution — and among the final responsibilities, the one assigned to me — the stabilisation and protection of water planets."
"It started as something of a joke that we took on our different titles. God of Anchorage. Warrior of Heat. Chief Overlord of Planetary Forestry. And for me — Lord of Water. I know it sounds like a grand and godly title, and yes, it did begin as a game. But to win this game, each and every time around, I have had to truly take on and wear the role that is nothing less than Lord of Water."
"This planet is beautiful — it has settled into a magnificent cycle of life. But I know that should I fail to carry out my task correctly and quickly, what could seem like a single breath in the universe could splat this planet like a drop of water and trigger a chain reaction that unbalances this entire sector, leaving a vastness of waste and frozen death that would take billions of years to unravel."
"Alright, Mr. Lord of Water — what have you got to do?" she asked.
"Each water planet has been strategically positioned in balancing locations distributed across the universal sectors. It gives the appearance of water being rare, when in actual fact water planets are in abundance — more than enough to sustain an unimaginable quantity of life and dynamic interaction. The reason for distancing these planets, at what seems like too far or too few, is protection — and the time that may be needed to prevent the destruction of any one planet from chain-reacting to the next."
"If global wars were ever about to break out, or technology reached a critical level with the power to destroy an entire planet, the one thing most likely to hold it together is the collective agreement that the planet is so precious — possibly the very centre of the universe — that all will join forces to protect and restore it before it is pushed over the edge. It hasn't happened yet, but I have had some very close calls. Some famine and war-stricken planets have come dangerously close. Should it ever happen, there would be quite a cleanup ahead — and a long wait for the beings of that planet, for those who choose to remain, until bodies acceptable for occupation by a sentient being exist once more."
Mila was watching me with total intent. She knows what I am saying is the truth. Look at her — she is so beautiful. How could I have ever doubted that she would understand?
"So what do you have to do?" Mila asked again.
I knew she wanted her question answered. The honest truth was that I hadn't even worked out how in this world I was going to achieve it.
I had tried on many occasions to sidestep her questions. But that was no longer possible between us. When Mila asks a question, an answer will be given.
Could this woman even comprehend the danger and the demands that would be placed upon her, if she chose to follow her man — or simply tried to keep up?
The journey begins.