Two as One

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Two as One
Mick Stratton
mstratton@hlkn.tamu.edu

A child has faith in the seemingly impossible. Sometimes we should be more childlike.

Exactly what is the “Merging”? I imagine some of you have been thinking, “I surely would never want to have my mind merged with another so they could be in my head all the time, no matter how much I loved them.”

Everybody has less than beautiful thoughts toward another regardless of their closeness. Have you ever thought about your significant other such things as, “I think you are gaining a little weight.” or, “Why buy so many knives? What a waste of money.”

You might have also asked yourself, “Does this mean that when merged, one can control the other's body?” That could be dangerous if not very irritating.

When Ravenwolf, Corbcer, and Diavol became “merged” their minds could enter instantly into the heads of the others at will. However, Ravenwolf could block out the others whenever he decided because his brain was so much more advanced. As for controlling another's body, that could only be done if the owner of the body gave his consent. That had never been done between Ravenwolf and the companions because there was no need to ever do so.

Whenever Ravenwolf wanted to be in the head of the others he just was. If the others wanted to get his attention they would telegraph the thought and he let them in, or not, as in some very rear cases.

Now as for Louve and Ravenwolf… If they would ever succeed in merging it would be somewhat different. Each was equal to the other so each could keep their private thoughts to themselves and only project out what they wanted the other to know. However, they would, in fact, be in the other's body and would be able to sense and feel whatever the other did, unless again, this was blocked. So in that regard each could have total privacy from the other.

Where the power of the merging could come into play was the ability to turn the body completely over to the other and this would be done instantly. So Louve's body would be able to be totally possessed by Ravenwolf and vice versa. The possession could be complete, or anything in-between as on a continuum. This would allow for the flowing of the Yin-Yang between masculinity and femininity in a liquid sort of way, unlike Unulr_u who was completely both with no movement as in a rock or cement. Also, whatever one of them learned the other would immediately know. If they ever were to merge Louve would immediately have all the knowledge and skills that Ravenwolf had developed during his travels making her equal to him in regard to The Way.

That night Ravenwolf, Louve and the companions went to Doethblaidd's and Miclupea's house for dinner. Corbcer was very sociable (Ravens are that way) and liked everybody until he decided not to. Diavol was the opposite; he loved Ravenwolf and would tolerate other beings in spite of himself. However, he did love Ravenwolf's parents and they him.

Miclupea and Louve? They fell in love with each other immediately. They were similar in so many ways and since both were people of such strong character, honesty, integrity and empathy this was natural. Doethblaidd was very pleased with Louve and could immediately see what her potential was; giving him great hope that their plan might succeed.

The next day at the meeting they decided that they would send ten warriors to attack the fifty two Elite Guard of the Bivolians and another fifteen warriors as back up. This was because the Elite Guard was the best of the Bivolians and the Consilui Intelepti didn't want to take any chances.

The Consilui Intelepti was concerned about letting Louve be involved for two reasons. First, they believed she was the last chance for the plan to work and secondly they were unsure on how good she would be.

Ravenwolf spoke up “As to the second point I can vouch for Louve; she is on par with our very best and I have no doubt she will be a valuable member to the squad. As for the first point, if the plan works in regard to her becoming an Om Deluminii and if she and I can actually “merge”, we would be better off having experienced fighting as a team before we confront Unulr_u. With that in mind, we doing this together would be of great value. I suggest that both she and I are members of the squad.”

After some discussion the Council voted in agreement. Corbalb was going to go because he was a great warrior and he had the most knowledge about the Bivolians. Miclupea and six others completed the ten who would engage the Bivolians.

The fifteen member back up squad and the ten attack members were all considered to be amongst the very best Corb Lupia had. Of course Corbcer and Diavol would go long.

The countries on the planet Planet_ Verde in many ways were more advanced than Earth; one major exception was that they did not have air transportation. All the countries did have a system very similar to high speed rail used in Europe and Japan. They also had excellent road systems for their wheeled vehicles. They had a great communication system and an advanced understanding of computers. However, they had no interest in robotics.

What was confusing was why were the Bivolians using trucks and the roads instead of the rail system? Also why so many guards? Whatever they were carrying must be very valuable. Corbalb had no answer concerning these questions but he did know when they were scheduled to depart.

The Elite Guard would be easy to locate because their speed of travel and travel time per day was very predictable. The route back to Oras de Ur_ (Capital of Bivol) was also predictable. All the assault team needed to do was simple math to figure out approximately where the Elite Guard would be at any particular time.

Corb Lupia was advanced in technology compared to the other countries, because of their lack of restrictions on experimentation in regard to technological development and the fact they were very bright. This was also because the free market system invariably creates strong competition and efficiency causing more creativity and faster development.

After Miclupea had invented the hover vehicle she and Doethblaidd formed a corporation and were currently doing quite well selling them. Even to the point that they were now exporting their hover vehicles to friendly countries. All of the Om Intelepti owned one.

The hover vehicle, which looked like a miniature flying saucer, when activated, would rise approximately twelve inches off the ground and could move out in any direction, not needing either rail or roads as long as the terrain was relatively flat. When on roads they could travel at full speed. This was up to 200 miles an hour so it would not take them but approximately six hours to get to where they planned the ambush.

Miclupea had suggested that they use one of the top secret flying machines but the council did not want to take the chance that it would be spotted. It was decided to save using the flying machines until they were in all-out war with the Bivolians. Instead they would use the hover vehicles for this ambush since the Bivolians already knew they existed.

The Elite Guard were being transported in six trailer trucks. One was for their secret cargo, supplies and extra arms. Another was for meetings and communications leaving four more used as soldier transports with each trailer being able to carry fifteen soldiers. Each trailer was pulled by driving cabs which could seat three more soldiers. In this convoy, there were two in the cab of the trucks, the driver and a guard, so this convoy was relatively roomy and comfortable since this left ten Elite Guards in each trailer.

Once the Corb Lupians reached the general vicinity, Corbcer took off in flight trying to locate where the convoy was exactly. This did not take long; and of course Ravenwolf saw everything that Corbcer saw.

Each warrior had their pistol, four throwing knives and their fighting knife on them. They put together their collapsible bow and arrows and took their positions. Both forearms had a mini-shield attached to it and every warrior wore an ear bug and small microphone so there was no problem communicating.

The ambush area was forested. It was where there was a curve in the road, so they cut down a tree and put it across the road on the far side of the curve. The ten attack members spread themselves out, five on one side and five on the other side of the road. The fifteen back up troops were spread out further back in the woods and would not enter into the fray unless needed.

As they were waiting Louve was thinking about what was about to happen. She did not like to kill and had only killed a few small animals when she hunted with her father. Now she was going to kill humans and she was not looking forward to it. She was very nervous.

While she was thinking about this she heard Ravenwolf in her head saying, “Nervous are you, Most Beautiful Lady of the Cosmic Stream?”

She chuckled and telegraphed back, “What do you think, Most Obnoxious Man in the Entire Universe?”

Because this was through telepathy and not the communication system, no one else heard it.

The Elite convoy was coming, all six trucks in a long line. When the lead truck, a soldier transporter, took the curve the driver saw the tree, slowed down and stopped. Immediately all the trucks stopped, all transport trailers opened in the back and the troops began to flow out and roll under the trucks to assess what was going on.

As they exited the truck the Corb Lupians were ready. Of the forty that exited the four trucks, eight were killed, each with at least one arrow through the head.

Six designated Corb Lupian warriors then threw a ball bomb through the window of each of the trucks immediately killing the driver and guard as well as blowing up the cab and engine. Within less than a minute twenty of the Elite Guards were dead and the remaining 32 were under the four trucks.

On command from Ravenwolf the ten Corb Lupians came out from concealment, five on one side of the trucks and five more on the other. They began taunting the Bivolians to come out and fight, sans bows and pistols on both sides.

The Elite Guard was very arrogant, brash and not so bright. Being among the best of the Bivolians, who were running rough shod over every country in their way and none of them being involved in the battle with Corb Lupia over thirty years ago, they were quick to spring forward in answer to the challenge. So there they stood, thirty two Elite Guard against the ten Corb Lupians and Diavol. The Bivolians charged at the Corb Lupians throwing their knives while moving out for the massacre!

This was Louve's first battle (or real fight for that matter) but she held her ground. She expertly blocked the knives thrown at her with her mini-shields, threw two of her knives each taking out a Bivolian by going through their brains and then she took out her fighting knife to confront the third rushing her.

The Corb Lupian to her left had been knocked out when he only partially deflected a thrown knife which hit him in the head with the handle. One Bivolian ran to him to deliver the Coup de grâce while another charged Louve grabbing her from behind.

This particular brute was huge, over six feet six inches tall and in excess of 290 lbs. When he lifted her up she brought both her feet up and kicked the Bivolian in front of her in the head knocking him out. The brute then took her to the ground while pulling out his knife to slit her throat. Louve swung her right foot around kicking him in the head allowing her to free herself from his grasp. As she dove to pick up her knife, he brought back his to throw it. It seemed as if he would succeed before she could grab hers.

Ravenwolf and Diavol, making short work of their opponents, turned to see the woman he loved more than any in the world, on the verge of being dispatched and knew it was too late for him to do anything.

The brute threw his knife but Louve expertly blocked it with her mini shield. His knife had barely left his hand when he immediately fell with a thrown knife imbedded in his brain. Both Ravenwolf and Louve looked in the direction of the throw and saw Miclupea, with a grin on her face, turn and charge into another Bivolian.

The melee lasted less than two minutes and all but two of the Bivolian Elite Guard were dead. The Corb Lupians had lost only one warrior.

The two Bivolians who lived were wounded but not severely. One with a head injury, for he was the one who Louve had kicked in the head, and the other with two broken arms. Ravenwolf wanted to keep these two alive to tell the Bivolians what had happened.

This was the reason they had used only ten warriors; to let the Bivolians and anyone else who wanted to know that ten Corb Lupian warriors were more than a match for fifty of the best of the Elite Guard.

The Corb Lupians then went through all the vehicles collecting any documents, computers or other devices that might give them information on the purpose of the excursion the Bivolians were on. They also found some ancient artifacts including several manuscripts from an ancient civilization that needed to be taken back to Oras din Corbul for study. The manuscripts would be coming back with them, but they would send a larger hover vehicle for the rest.

The night after the fight Louve had a dream where The Way told her what she had to do when the silver disk stopped in the Cosmic Stream on the morrow, for she and Ravenwolf had planned to surf the Cosmic Stream. It also told her to have faith; that when she did that which was requested, the answer of why would be obvious.

Ravenwolf was sitting outside looking over the city contemplating the morrow. The Way visited him, telling him to let It control the disk and when the disk stopped that he was to do nothing, no matter how bad he wanted to.

So early that morning they went down to the jumping off point, held hands and leapt off the cliff into the glimmering light purple flow. An Om Deluminii did not need to enter on the spot or say the words Curs de Apa Cosmic because of his advanced oneness with The Way. As they entered Ravenwolf formed the silver disk and off they went surfing through the galaxies with The Way taking them to, who knew where.

As always they were surrounded by love for the Cosmic Stream is made up of Pure Love and for that reason Unulr_u could not enter it. Eventually they were where there was nothing but a large void and the disk stopped.

Louve looked up at Ravenwolf and kissed him; she then turned around and jumped of the silver disk. Ravenwolf felt fear and panic like he never had before and immediately started to surf so the disk would be with her and then he remembered and stopped! Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to do nothing.

In less than an instant he saw a disc forming under her and then they started spinning and shrinking. Smaller and smaller, spinning faster and faster as the Essence of Pure Love collapsed around them and they were no more. One second, two seconds and where there was nothing there was then an humongous explosion. The void was lit up with the most beautiful of colors thrown out of it in all directions. In front of this wave of colors raced two silver disks across the void. On one was a most handsome man who was the epitome of masculinity and on the other was a beautiful woman who was the epitome of femininity for there is nothing more beautiful than a soul full of Pure Love and they both possessed this Love.

If you would have seen this you would have known that instead of one Om Deluminii there were now two. What you could not have known was that they were now two completely separate entities that were as one; for The Way through the power of The Creator had transformed them and they were now MERGED!

Unulr_u suddenly was struck with a dread like iT never had felt before, an instance of pure fear and despair, knowing something had just happened that put iTs plan in great jeopardy and iT realized this had something to do with that woman who was with Ravenwolf in the valley.

The Mysterious Woman was talking to some of her generals when she was suddenly overcome with a feeling of complete hopelessness, screamed, “No, no!” and collapsed.

In Oras din Corbul a light purplish flash appeared in the sky and the people, for an instant, felt a great joy. Diavol and Corbcer were with Miclupea and Doethblaidd as they were eating dinner in their house. Suddenly Diavol leapt to his feet, tail wagging lifted his head up and let loose a joyous howl. Corbcer spread his wings and screeched “It is done, we are one!”

And now… it is time for this old man to go to the Shipwreck for a beer. Tomorrow is time enough to begin the next book…

And the Cosmic Stream Flows On…
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For those of you that are surprised, ravens, crows and magpies can be taught to talk. Corbcer because of the merging was significantly smarter than the average raven and did not have to be taught, He rarely did talk because it would be very disconcerting to the average person and because he and Ravenwolf’s minds were merged he didn’t have too. If you are interested, go to the web and put “Can raven’s talk?” in the address area to see a raven talk.

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