Chapter Two

The first thing he noticed was the light coming through his closed eyelids. It seemed bright, brighter than it should have especially considering that there was supposed to be a violent storm going on. He tried to open his eyes and move his body but nothing wanted to respond to his wishes. He lay there, feeling the warmth of the light upon him. He enjoyed the cooling breeze that swept over his body whenever the wind arose. he felt the grass around him, the pricking sensation against his skin and he breathed deeply, taking in the smells of the world around him. Once again he passed into unconsciousness as his body demanded more rest.

Only much later did he awaken and succeed in opening his eyes. At first his vision was blurred but slowly it cleared. At his feet lay his shattered glasses, without which he should have only barely been able to make out his surroundings. In place of the hustle of the city streets he now saw the trees and thick foliage of an area left to nature. Some animal sounds came from the distance, sounds that he did not recognize. He forced his body into a half-standing position, then managed to finally become fully erect, swaying slightly as he did so.

"This certainly isn't Main Street," he said aloud as he surveyed the scene around him. He moved forward slowly, carefully at first., still slightly uncertain on his feet. He saw everything around him clearly, but before he could spend time pondering this mystery he heard strange sounds approaching from somewhere behind him, growing quickly closer. He ran swiftly as he could and hid behind one of the larger plants. As he peeked through the leaves he saw several small animals running along, the forest floor. The physical appearance of the animals startled him. Although he had taken many walks through forests in his college days, he had never seen any animals like these. They seemed to be about ten inches long with faces vaguely resembling those of squirrels, and long, very thin legs ending in paws and a dark brown, short fur covering their bodies. They moved with short, graceful steps, not moving in fear but apparently for the sheer enjoyment of being together and traveling through the world.

The animals soon disappeared into the forest growth and relative quiet returned again. As Mark looked carefully around him it became evident that he was on the border between the forest and a swampy area. To his left large amounts of pooled water were visible. He noticed that the kinds of plants differed between the forest and the swamp. The trees on his right bore the broad green leaves of a deciduous forest, but the leaves were none that he was familiar with. The more he looked at the plants the more he realized that there were no forms at all that he could identify, many of the plants having shapes far stranger than anything, he had ever seen in any forest he had walked.

Although the overhead growth was also thick, Mark could catch glimpses of the sun. "That's not the right sun," he said quietly to himself, a puzzled look coming over him. "It should be yellow and much smaller." he was beginning to become frightened, and stood back from the trees to try and get a clearer look at the sky. As he did he stepped into a pool of water, throwing him off balance, resulting in a loud splash as he fell backwards into the water.

The sounds of the forest and swamp both stopped for a few moments in response to the sudden splash, then slowly began their series of calls again as no further signs of danger occurred. Mark stood carefully, then started to make his way through the thick growth of plants. He pushed past some tall, thin plants which suddenly withdrew their tentacled tops into their tube-like shells. Mark jumped at the suddenness of the movement.

"That's it," he said to himself. "I've got to calm down." He took a few deep breaths and tried to relax his body and his mind, He continued walking and began to leave the swamp behind as he started to go deeper into the forest. He finally reached a slight clearing and sat down on a rock. A glance upward failed to aid his composure as he now saw the presence of not one but three suns in the sky. One was the large white star he saw at first; another was a smaller, rose colored star and the third was a very small, red dwarf star.

"Right," he said to himself, breathing out slowly. "Either I'm dreaming, or something has happened to me and am no longer on earth or on any other planet in our solar system." He looked around him and continued talking to himself. "That, at least, would explain the three suns and why I can't recognize any of the plants, not that I really loved that botany course that much."

He thought to himself for a bit and then spoke aloud once more. "But three suns? 1 thought you couldn't have planets orbiting three suns and still have any hope of life on them."

At that moment the air was pierced by the loud cries of a bird that flew down from the trees,a little over Mark's head, and then off into the distance.

"So much for the textbooks,"Mark said to himself.

He decided to move to a spot where the forest growth seemed to be slightly thinner. In a short while he came to a river flowing serenely through the landscape.

"Well," he said, "this at least solves the problem of getting some water." He knelt by the edge of the river. Cupping his hands he dipped them into the water, than raised his hands and drank deeply.

"Tastes good enough," he though. "Doesn't have the chemical taste of water from the tap," he continued as his mind started to turn towards the problem of food. He had not eaten since before his visit to the psychiatrist and was now rather hungry. Looking around he saw to his right that the river meandered off somewhere into the distance. Behind him was the edge of the forest, beyond that the swamp. Overhead were a few wisps of clouds bathed by the light of the three suns. To his left stretched a moderately hilly plain, covered by some grass-like plant. In none of these directions did he spot any potential food sources.

He walked further along the river's edge, allowing himself to enjoy the warmth of the suns and the gentle sound of the river in its movements. He realized that he faced potential starvation. Even if he could find food he could not be sure that it would be usable by a human body. It could be poisonous or simply indigestible. Still, he knew he had to try something sooner or later.

He watched the smooth flow of the water for a while, letting that calm him. He saw the gentle bending of some of the taller plants as they swayed in the breeze.

"At least here I might find peace," he though as he looked at the water. He bent down and noticed some short plants that looked somewhat like cattails but with a thicker stem and a shorter, broader top. He carefully touched the plant then picked off one top and tried to open it. After a few moments he figured how to, managing to split the top down one side and expose the soft, pulpy insides.

"This looks as good as anything else to try," he thought to himself as he bit into the pulpy interior. He found the taste rather bland but still filling. He ate two more of the plants and then drank some more water.

"Well," he said aloud, "if that's poisonous then I've from a few minutes to maybe a few hours to live. If it's not poison I just might stand a slight chance of surviving." He found an area of snort grass by the river and decided to rest, lying; down and putting his head on his hands. He closed his eyes,, opening himself to the soothing sounds and the gentle warmth around him.

Back in the swamp, at the spot where Mark had appeared in the world a shimmer began to form in the air. Eerie sounds as from a tortured dimension began to move through the air as the shimmering filled with electrical sparks dancing to some ancient, hideously obscene melody. Slowly a blackness oozed from the air and where the blackness touch death followed. Plants withered and died as if someone had poured acid upon them. The shimmer disappeared as the blackness lay upon the surface of the land.

At the intrusion of this malignant life form into the world a sharp warning note sounded from far away. Mark heard the note and sat up., wondering where it could be coming from. It stopped in a few moments and the normal sounds of the world resumed.

Far away an old, old figure looked at a massive crystal hanging suspended in the air over a circular pit. The figure looked deep into the crystal, seeing the cause of the warning. Others in the world also heard the sound and shuddered for it had only been a short time since their world had been cleansed of one evil.

Mark's attention, meanwhile, had shifted to the sound of some small animal moving slowly through the tall grass a few feet away. He tensed his body slightly, unsure whether to prepare to run or simply to observe. He laid back down and now he turned his head and opened his eves slowly. He saw the grasses bend away from each other as the movement neared, now obviously coming directly towards him, but without any great speed or attempt to conceal its movement. The tall grasses ended and the source of the noise appeared.

Mark's eyes widened as he forced himself to avoid jumping up. He saw that the sounds had been made by a child, but not a human child. They had been made by a pod child, exactly as he had seen them appear in the movie he loved.

The child was dressed in a loose fitting brown homespun, with a small cap on her head, banded in red with the rest being the same brown shade as her other clothes. She looked at him, her eyes wide with wonder, and when he made no movement towards her she began to edge slightly closer.

"Hello," Mark said in as soft a voice as he could manage. "Are you really a podling child?"

The girl continued looking at him, too shy to reply and unaware of the meaning of his strange-sounding words. She was not easily within arms reach of him. Mark very slowly sat up, watching her, trying not to make any moves that would frighten her away. When she did not run away, he smiled.

"Where is your mother?" he asked. He looked around but could not see any signs of other faces watching him. He held his hand out to the child and she touched it. He looked her hand over closely, marveling at how small it was compared to his. Mark thought and then realized that he was probably about the height of a Skeksis and hoped that would not cause any problems if he became fortunate enough to meet other podlings.

As the girl continued to look at his hand Mark finally admitted to himself that he was really on Thra. This was not any dream. And if Thra was real, and the podlings were real, then probably Jen, Kira and Aughra were likewise real. .

Then his face darkened for a moment."On the other hand," he thought, "How do I know when I am in Thra's history. For all I know the Skeksis could still be in control or not even created yet." His face darkened as yet another train of thought appeared. "Of course I could be totally mad imagining all of this and actually locked up in some asylum somewhere." He shrugged his shoulders. "If it's madness I may as well enjoy it," he thought as he turned his attention back to the podling child.

The smile began to return to his face as the girl started to swing his hand back and forth, holding it in her tiny fingers. Mark relaxed as he watched her.

"Of course, if Kira does exist and has met Jen," he thought, "then no matter how much I love her I couldn't allow myself to interfere. It wouldn't be right. She loves him and that is the way it should be. Still, maybe I could at least enjoy her friendship."

He started to sing softly. The girl looked up at him and seemed to enjoy his singing as she continued to play with his hand.

Meanwhile Ydra, Kira's adaptive mother, watched hidden in the tall grasses. She and several other of the podling mothers had taken their children for a walk to enjoy the day and to have a nice picnic when one child wandered away. Leaving most of the mothers to watch the other children Ydra and three others began their search. When they had heard the sound of strange singing they approached carefully, unsure who or what was making the unusual musical sounds. The love of music was deeply ingrained in them and they recognized the sounds as being warm and friendly, even though the words were totally unknown to them.

When they saw the little pod child swinging the hand of some large, alien creature they were frightened, and for a moment their movements were frozen by their fear. The alien was far larger than anything they had seen since the days of the garthim and the Skeksis, at least for the land creatures. They saw the alien smiling, singing in its own tongue and apparently quite pleased to be entertaining the child. Ydra sensed with the intuitive nature of the pod people that this stranger to their world was no threat to the child or to them. She motioned for the others to remain quiet and continue watching.

The girl took a little ball out of her pocked and tossed it to Mark. He gently tossed it back to her and they went on playing thus for several minutes.

"If only my own people could accept me as freely as you do," he said to the podling child. B now Ydra felt she could approach the creature in safety so she slowly moved away from the grasses and into Mark's vision.

Mark heard the movement and looked. "Hello, he said gently. "Are you her mother?" Ydra moved closer, unable to understand any of his words but sensing from the tone of his voice a nonthreatening question. She took the little girl's hand in her own and looked directly at him.

She was now close enough for him to study her features carefully. His mind whirled in momentary confusion and then he spoke. "Ydra?" he asked, unsure of his identification of her.

Ydra was startled at the sound of her name, for she could recognize that, even though it was pronounced strangely. Mark looked down at the little girl and told her that it was time for her to leave. Ydra pulled the girl's arm slightly and the child turned quickly to her and spoke rapidly, refusing to move.

"It seams," Mark said, "that the child is slightly less than anxious to leave."He laughed softly.

Ydra looked deep into Mark's eyes. "Oneka mala?" she asked.

"Sorry," he answered, shrugging his shoulders, "but I can't understand you, probably no more than you can understand me." As he spoke he heard another movement and saw that the other mothers had appeared at the edge of the grass, eying him with wonder.

He shook his head for a moment, realizing that the world of fantasy had somehow, against every single scientific principle that he knew, had become reality. He also knew that everything around him appeared to be very, very real. "Curiouser and curiouser," he said to himself.

Suddenly a howling sound , began near them and from the woods burst a strange half weasel, half dog animal. The pod mothers turned to run, Ydra gabbing the child and lifting her into her arms.

It took less than a moment for Mark react. In an instant he was on his feet, yelling and rushing at the unwelcome creature. The animal looked at the strange alien bearing swiftly down upon it and decided to seek its prey in a safer place. It turned and ran swiftly away, leaving, Mark still yelling at it, throwing a few stones he found in the direction of its retreat.

He turned to see if the podlings had all left, but Ydra remained, still holding the girl against her. She put the child down and walked over to Mark. Now he was better able to compare his size with that of the podlings. Ydra seemed be slightly less than a third of his height, while the little girl was around a foot tall.

Ydra took Mark's hand and started to pull as she had with the child.

"Mark smiled at Ydra and followed as she led him to the other podling mothers who had run away. In a few minutes they reached the place where the rest of the mothers and children were waiting. A few cries of alarm came from them upon first seeing Mark, but Ydra talked quickly to them, reassuring them that this new arrival in their world was not hostile; indeed it had just saved them from an attack by as predator, and it didn't sing too badly, either.

A few hours later night was falling over Thra while Mark sat outside of one of the podling homes, eating something that reminded him of cheese, some vegetables, and some sort of a delicious type of bread.

Bowls of juices were given to him, the juices all having pleasant, slightly sweet tastes, easily satisfying his thirst. The pod people still looked at him, talking amongst themselves, gingerly touching him here and there. They were enjoying themselves and their newfound friend, and soon the music started along with the dancing.

None of the stringed instruments were large enough for him to play so he contented himself with humming along with their songs. Once in a while, during a break in the music, he would begin a song he knew and the Podling musicians would quickly pick up the tune, improvising as they went along. Everyone was enjoying themselves and it was far into the night before the podlings retired to their homes for sleep.

Mark lay down on some soft grasses that had been gathered and had little difficulty drifting off into a peaceful slumber.

The next morning the podlings were up early, visiting him, talking, to him even though he didn't understand a single word they said.

Ydra was again standing near Mark. "Does Aughra exist?" Mark asked her. "Do you know where she is?"

Ydra nodded her head at the sound of Aughra's name and pointed out the direction where she could be found. With much difficulty he managed to get Ydra to understand that he was going to go in search of Aughra. Ydra called to the other podlings and they ran over to wish their friend goodbye.

Mark smiled at the podlings, especially at the little girl as she came to say goodbye to him. He picked her up and held her against him, then returned her softly to the ground. He began to walk in the direction Ydra had shown, waving goodbye as he moved away.

He walked quickly and within a few hours was able to spot the hill on which Aughra's observatory had been built.

"Well," he said to himself, "of her observatory is in one piece then it means either the garthim haven't attacked or it was somehow rebuilt."

Recognizing the possibility that the Skeksis and garthim might still exist added a degree of caution to Mark's movements. He looked around often, trying to spot any crystal bats or anything else that would come from the evil of the Skeksis.

Soon he arrived at the foot of the tall hill. The three suns were bright overhead as he made his arduous way up the side of the hill. Although it was not a mountain it still presented a formidable obstacle to him. The climb proved difficult and before long it seemed that every muscle in his body had decided to hurt with the top still a good distance away.

After several hours and a number of rests Mark arrived outside the entrance to Aughra's observatory. An intricate design of spirals, triangles and pyramids met his eyes wherever he looked. The door was covered by more spiral designs with various alchemical symbols added at particular points. The door itself was about five feet high and stood slightly opened.

After a few minutes he knocked on the door, then waited. Sounds of a rather cross, gruff nature came through the opening, proceeding the arrival of a gnarled, four-fingered hand belonging to Aughra, Keeper of Secrets. The hand opened the door further and Aughra soon stood before him.

Aughra had been born many, many centuries ago and had lost one of her eyes observing a Great Conjunction of the three suns. She had been the friend of the Urskeks before they so tragically split into the Skeksis and the urRu.

They had taught her much and had built her original observatory. From them she learned various forms of meditation and the importance of music and numbers. She used their teachings and her own considerable intelligence to study the nature of her world and of the other suns and planets near Thra. She could, to some degree, predict the future, and this ability led the Urskeks to rebuild her observatory just before they left Thra, right after the healing of the Great Crystal.

They had replaced all of Aughra's lost equipment and had included many new things that she was still attempting to understand. She had spent some time with Jan and Kira, trying to help them however she could, but most of her time and attention had been devoted to studying the new things the Urskeks had left behind.

As Mark watched, Aughra stepped from the doorway, carrying a beaker in her hand. Mark had regarded the Aughra of the movie as being part scientist, part philosopher. This Aughra had the same physical appearance to the Aughra of the movie. except that she possessed both of her eyes, her lost eye being restored by the Urskeks as another of their gifts to her.

"Aughra," Mark said. "I came in peace. I know..."

He was unable to finish his statement as Aughra walked right up to him, looked deep into his ayes, and handed a beaker up to him.

Mark took the beaker from her and watched as she motioned for him to drink its contents. He stared at the beaker than at her. "Trusting others has never been easy for me," he said softly. "Still, I don't see why you'd want to hurt me."

He lifted the-beaker to his mouth and drained the contents. Moments later he was on the ground, unconscious.

Aughra looked at his prone form, muttered something to herself and returned to her observatory.

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