Planet M'alala, the 7th Dimension

Will you, with the Grace that was given, uncover the Secret to life?

Behold! Now the Door is ajar – will you enter?

Songs to M'alala as the New Year dawns – Be'eriad, Land of the Free

Mé followed Anana, Thynna and Caana along the gentle river through shafts of light falling from high above through the foliage of the trees. The weather was mild and the earthly scents of the forest wrapped around her.

They climbed up a hillock, and Mé could now see two pyramids farther in the distance, constructed as if at the dawn of Time, their sides not smooth, but as if made of giant stepping stones; one was smaller, and the one behind it was many times its size; a stone fence wall like a vast rectangle enclosed them from afar.

"That is the Temple of Beren," said Anana, pointing out at the first one, "where you might enter, if you choose, and the larger structure is the House of the Highest, wherein only after passing through many trials is a seeker of God allowed to enter, as the vibration of that place is so high, only the pure at heart, mind and soul and body as well are able to withstand."

Mé nodded in understanding. "Based on what might I enter the Temple of Beren?" she asked.

"If you wish to," said Anana, "its Doors are open to you."

"Your invitation honours me," Mé replied.

Anana smiled and glanced at Thynna and Caana.

"This is the 7th dimension," said Caana. "Much is allowed if you know how to ask."

Mé smiled. "Then please help me grasp the notion of dimensions and how they interact in the realm of M'alala."

"If understanding is what you seek," retorted Anana with a nod, "then follow us to the Temple of Knowledge, where we shall honour your quest for better discernment through knowledge of Truth."

Mé inclined her head. "Thank you."

"I commend you on your choice," Thynna told her. "I, too, seek Knowledge of the highest kind. Allow me, then, as a sister walking before you on this path, to hold your hand immaterially as you venture along this road."

"I'd be delighted," said Mé.

Suddenly, she realized how open-minded she had become since Umbar had landed on Planet B-17, and more exactly since her descent into Íma. She smiled to herself, and followed her three guides sideways, away from the Temple before the House and down a sloping green hill, wherefrom she could spot a dome-like white abode that held several chambers throughout its single level. It lay upon a hill, surrounded by silence. Even the birds seemed silent, but rather than soundless, the place was simply peacefully quiet.

"We shall go in together," said Thynna as they climbed the stone steps that led up to the rounded patio before the entrance.

"Alright," said Mé, and in they went, the four of them.

The dome was peacefully quiet on the inside as well. It resembled an ancient library, filled with, but uncrowded by, old manuscripts, handwritten tomes, some with such symbolic language that deciphering them was an art in itself, and many more treasures of inestimable value.

An old man approached, tall and kind, and dressed in a silver-blue robe on top of which he wore a deep-violet mantle-garment, and on his head he wore a pointy hat, deep-violet as well, dappled with golden stars.

"I greet the seekers within you," he said, inclining his head. "How may I assist you on this day?"

His voice was calm and his demeanour as well. Mé felt she would love to serve tea and remain in his company, mainly to simply listen to what he said.

"Our visitor, Mé Khn, comes to us from a dimension below," Thynna revealed to him, "and would like to learn about dimensions and their entwinement."

"Ah," said the old Master. "Do follow me, young Mé," he said and, turning, made his way into an aisle, shelves on each side stacked with age-old tomes. They walked and walked through the dome, the air fresh and pleasantly warm, and then they turned right. Windows were on the left side, while on the right were the ends of the shelves. The Master touched the railing of a stairway going down and, without turning, he said, "To look up, one must also look below."

It made sense to Mé, thus she followed him, accompanied by her three guides.

"It may seem that answers are elusive," the Master then said, as he'd climbed the few steps and reached a wooden door on the left, walls all around. He passed through it as though he'd combed through air with his will and he held it free for the passage, enabling them all to enter as well. "True Knowledge is sound and is clear." He bowed as if to the answer he'd given, as if in salutation to the essence of what he had said.

Mé listened keenly, but she decided to remain quiet, so to pay more attention.

"A relaxed spirit knows more than an overly-burdened mind," the Master advised, and Mé felt as if his knowledge encompassed knowing her as well.

In the space they had entered, Mé could discern a model of a planetary system: gold loops around an epicentre, but she wasn't sure that was what it was. It felt that the sky and the earth had combined into one, and that her perception was shifting in between the two planes, thus it was a chamber in the ground and in the sky, both up and below; but more than their presence and the vision she'd had, she could not discern.

"To seek knowledge of any kind," the Master then said, "one is advised to look keenly, with fresh new eyes and a desire to understand, for the foundation of Knowledge is understanding. One cannot see what one does not know. Now the Truth is being revealed to you. Look keenly."

Mé could only hope to observe the Truth in the answers she was being told.

"For to seek is to know before you can find," said the Master. "That way, when you do, you know you have found it. Look with fresh new eyes," his advice returned.

Mé watched the system model more carefully. The gold rings around the sphere at the centre appeared to be moving. How many there were, she could not discern, for the farther away from the sphere that they got, the more subtle the material that formed them would become.

"How many are there?" she dared ask.

"How many can you see?" came the Master's reply.

She waited a long moment to focus better and re-check, then she said, "Clearly, I can see only one. This one," she added, pointing at it, and she sensed her companions stir, as though in warning not to touch them and disturb their flow. She drew back her hand. "I apologize."

"No need," said the Master. "Carry on. One you see clearly. What about the others?"

"I can faintly see one – two more," she answered. "The one in between, more clearly, whereas the other is barely perceptible to my sight."

"That is the 5th dimension that you barely discern," said the Master, elucidating the mystery of what the loops in the system were. "It shows your ability to see into dimensions as it is at this moment in time. The clearest represents the dimension you have the most practice observing, most of the time. The model expands well beyond these, but since I'm a firm believer that Knowledge is best acquired at a slow, steady pace, so that which you find can be thoroughly processed, to further your quest qualitatively rather than acquire an information clutter with hardly any essence grasped, I shall not reveal to you how far this model goes."

He gently lifted his right hand. The model faded. The sky-plane was lifted, it seemed, revealing instead an old room, nothing beyond ordinary at first glance. It was a study chamber that held many shelves, bounded manuscripts and parchments upon them, and a table with one chair by the small window through the side of the hill.

"Follow me back outside," he asked them and he opened the wooden door, allowing them to pass before him.

They waited by the wall for him to climb the flight of stairs first.

"This is the Temple of Knowledge," the Master said. "Whosoever ventures through its Doors shall find Doorways many. Here, answers are revealed; they are not given. One is not told what one cannot handle, for there is Knowledge whose time has come – for which the pupil's ready – and that which remains temporarily elusive. The tendency to rush – to accumulate prizes of data – is folly, for a true seeker grasps notions one by one, absorbs the Truth within, discerns their usefulness and embodies their essence;" he turned to glance at Mé as he entered the aisle, "that way, when one looks again, one sees more. Understand?"

Mé gave a nod.

"The more the clutter of notions," the Master continued, "the less useful they are. And if knowledge does not liberate the mind with the touch of Understanding, it is not Knowledge that is true, but mere accumulation of facts. What purpose does it serve," he went on asking as they'd reached the main hall, "to know the number of trees in a forest, or the indentation angle of a hill? Does it help one stroll more serenely or find mental peace, lying down to gaze at the heavens? Does it help an aching heart if one counts the blood vessels that run through their body? Or when seeking notions as profound as the nature of God, does it help to account other people's perceptions, but form none of our own? I assure you it does not. That is why our lesson today may reveal nothing more of your quest: Knowledge cannot be externalized, for that's sign of fragmentation, and fragmentation is not Truth."

"I understand," said Mé.

"You are invited to return to these halls as often as you please," the Master said, smiling.

The Umbarian bowed. "Thank you, sir."

Her three guides bowed as well. "Thank you, Amos the Wise, for your presence in the Land of the Free," Thynna said.

"For those who seek Knowledge, It extends a response," he replied.

Together they left the beautiful Temple and walked down the railless stone stairway along the hillside. The day was clear and the sky was blue. They returned to that place in the forest where they had met.

"You are welcome here always," said Caana, and a small chest materialized in the palm of her hand. It was denser than light and it had an elegant shape, but still it seemed barely material. She handed it to Mé, who received it with a bow.

"Open the lid," said Thynna.

Mé did so. Within it, there was light: infinitesimal stars glinting as if the insides of the chest were the sky. And beneath the light was a small ribbon of paper. Mé glanced up at Thynna, who confirmed with a nod. She reached within and retrieved the paper, which she unrolled. Upon it lay written, "The Seeker always finds. You are commended."

She bowed again. "Thank you," she murmured.

"Keep it in the light and from time to time look at it again," said Caana with a smile.

They embraced her and encouraged her to continue her journey. Mé expressed her gratitude once more. A portal was then formed, and she emerged aboard Umbar, in the Assembly Hall. Zadek the Omirion was there. He came and greeted her. Then came Soo Beran, Captain of the crew, recently returned from a voyage back home. The nine who had remained behind her in the crater: Meknáni Sto, Menior Lem, Sla Malút, Sakna-Sa, Gre Mahná, Umbe Nasár, Arít Nasí, Maýla-i Hé, and Uiio Mne drew closer as well.

"Welcome back, companion," Meknáni told her.

Gladly, she replied, "It's good to be among colleagues and friends."

The Captain spoke. "Planet B-17 – M'alala is a place well worth exploring further, what do you say?"

A clear and joyful yes emerged from the crew's lips.