Editor’s note: This is Chapter 3 of a story written by Ron Holzwarth, describing a dream he had. Hailing from Germany, Ron is an engineer, who has studied quantum mechanics and has a background in technical writing. He also has extensive experience with the paranormal. Ron’s focus now is spirituality and I can relate to this, originally hailing from a scientific career. I thoroughly enjoyed The Ride and discovered new concepts when I read it again, with different meanings.
Chapter Three
The story of the Ride began soon after we had stepped to a position near Earth after plotting another planet. In the early part of our plotting cycle, a plotting craft imaged a somewhat bullet shaped metal pod. It was imaged during the reverse cycle of our timewave oscillation, that is, in your past.
The pod was near the apex of its trajectory, and its altitude would surely ensure complete destruction upon descent. Since it was far outside Earth’s space travel time segment, we assumed that it was a weapon of war. The study of the resident’s use of war weapons is obviously very important, so the pod was pulled aboard for close physical examination, without anyone viewing the complete plot first to determine exactly what it was.
After the pod was pulled into the loading bay, a hatch opened and a human emerged – a man in an outrageous Buck Rogers “spacesuit”! With the first few words he uttered, we could comprehend his thoughts completely – he and a large team of humans had been unduly influenced by a popular science fiction writer, who had postulated that a great cannon could shoot a “spacecraft” not only into space, but possibly all the way to the moon. He even gave complete, but unworkable, directions.
More or less following these directions, the “spaceman” had just been shot up in a huge cannon about 1870 AD Earth time or so, I don’t know how he survived the takeoff. Somehow he was cushioned by breaking boards and rushing water. The takeoff was dangerous enough – but the more than risky part of the endeavor was that there was no workable recovery system. Just some little wings that could be extended from inside the “spacecraft”. One can always find a human to take on a hopeless and doomed to failure mission. Some humans are just like that.
Once we had the “spaceman” aboard, it was obvious that his one overriding concern was that he wanted to go to the moon. So I showed him the Earth’s moon on the holographic projector, from a distance, and then a little closer. From where we stood in the ship, looking through the holographic projector’s large circular viewing window, there is no perceptual difference between looking at the holographic projection and actually being there, or traveling towards it. Especially for us, since we are used to traveling without the inertial forces of acceleration. But, you can’t touch anything, or take anything from it. You can look inside and see its internal composition if you want, but it is not of much interest. There is nothing there, the Earth’s moon is a dead stone and always will be.
Of course, the holographic projector was not installed just to look at the moon. Any location and time point that has been plotted by any mission ship can be viewed. The library is very large, it includes the complete history of all the living planets and the celestial bodies surrounding them.
He kept asking “Is that the moon?” Of course it was, but what he was actually wanting to know was if that was really the moon, and if we were really going there. He couldn’t comprehend the difference. I tried to show him the projector controls, and how we zoomed in and went for a closer view. He thought that meant we were physically moving towards it, which we were not and would not. Besides, since we were out of phase with it at the time, it did not actually exist anyway.
I thought briefly of the joke I could pull on him. I could have showed him an approach to the “moon” with a landing there, then switch to a planet where the residents are actually green. Then show him great volcanic eruptions and continental upheavals, then maybe galactic collisions. But I quickly repudiated the thought – with thoughts like that I will be on a mission ship forever. So, I let him believe that we were only aboard an enormous spaceship visiting the “moon”.
And he couldn’t understand a word we said. I tried to tell him, yes, just believe it, it is just like that. He thought that we were actually going to the moon, not just looking at a holographic projection of it. But what would have been the point of trying to explain it all to him? This was someone from 1870 AD! We could have told him that it was a picture of the moon, as he was familiar with daguerreotype photography, but he never would have believed that. After all, he was seeing the “moon” with his own eyes as we (he thought) skimmed along the surface of it as I operated the projector, and searched unsuccessfully for anything interesting. It was only on a very crude letter by letter basis that we could get him to understand anything at all, so any explanation was not possible. Like I said, just believe it, that is the moon.
It was frustrating because whenever he tried to express his thoughts verbally, we could always comprehend his thoughts exactly. But he just could not get any substantially correct meaning out of anything we tried to tell him. The reason is that we communicate with complete thoughts, and not in strings of smaller ideas to be strung together and then connected (rarely completely and accurately) in the listener’s mind, as you do.
The “spaceman” soon had difficulties because the rubber coated fabric used for the “spacesuit” developed splits during the blast upward, and very little movement by the “spaceman” resulted in more cracks appearing. Not very good protection from the rigors of outer space – which of course were unknown in the “spaceman’s” time. It did not mean anything to us, but he was constantly thinking about how the only garment he had to wear was falling apart. He had a problem with it even though he was actually within his body (we left it in the loading bay) only during the timewave/timeline intersections.
So we were faced with a repair problem for his “spacesuit”. We carry a small stock of linear physical items, and we did have a roll of duct tape. So we taped it back together for him as needed.
Exactly what the “spaceman” believed us to be was something we were never sure of. He was able to perceive us and most things aboard the ship as he was dragged along on our timewave, but he understood very little and, we knew, would later have only fragmentary and disjointed memories of the experience after returning to the linear state.
While aboard the ship, he had no memories of anything prior to being pulled aboard, except during the timewave/timeline intersections, although things he had learned at the higher levels of consciousness were retained and always accessible. The entire time he was aboard, we had to keep a close watch on him during every intersection, as at that time he could remember that he had an identity from before, and that everything around him made absolutely no sense now. His reactions to that were not good. Usually he thought he had died. Considering the capabilities of his “spacecraft”, that was a very realistic conclusion.
Except during the intersections, he was not bad company. Like a curious house pet, a cat or something like that, he often wandered around looking at everything without understanding, but fortunately with a terrible fear of touching anything. So we didn’t mind having him around, and of course he gave us some close up perspectives on human behavior. Of course, these were limited to this one individual, we were not deluded about that. I mean, who would agree to be blasted up into space using a cannon for no more reward than to be the first to try?
After the “spaceman” had “been to” the “moon” and spent a few days checking it all out, he learned that the moon is nothing of any real interest. We were then faced with an entertainment problem for him, as we would not be able to return him to his timeline state for some time. We had already concluded that we would show him nothing other than the surface of the “moon”, as this situation was obviously well out of control already. We did not want to risk him taking any more memories back, it was not worthwhile to take on even more difficulties that way. Other than the plots, we had absolutely nothing to show him or entertain him with that did not require enormous explanations, which he would never be able to comprehend anyway.
Once he wandered past my space and saw my chess set. Although it was extremely different than any chess set he had ever seen before, he knew immediately what it was. It was a nice holographic set which appeared quite ordinary when viewed from a distance, as the pieces then sat on the chessboard, in an ordinary way. That is, you saw only the external shell of each chess piece, which was about two inches across, and made of a sturdy glossy material similar in appearance to very finely carved and polished stone, each placed on an ordinary black and white chess board.
Like most chess sets, one side was white, and the other side black. The holographic projection and communication equipment is inside the pieces, out of view. So, as long as you are out of playing distance, you see only the control centers, big warships, little rockets, and other pieces sometimes used to represent the kings, queens, bishops, etc. But when you move to within playing distance from the board, each piece projects a moving holographic image that illustrates its possible moves.
When you are close to the pieces, the projected holographic images appear almost life size and very real, although only in black and white. A relatively small movement away from the piece results in the image assuming a smaller size, making it appear as though it is much farther away. Thus the perspective of an actual battlefield is shown, as the distant pieces appear smaller, mimicking the visual appearance of great distances across the chess board. Each chess piece is always stepping through each possible move sequentially. You are right in the middle of the chess “battlefield”, which is all in action, with your choice of image sets. With a small movement, you can view the action from anywhere else in the fray.
The “spaceman” was an avid chess player, and seemed to be able to happily spend all his time playing the game. And we could keep him busy – knowing his thoughts (whenever he spoke, which was often enough) would have made winning the game very easy. But that is not what we did. We chose the move that resulted in the most interest in him. This was usually the one he was afraid we would make, or hoped we would make. So he won sometimes, and he considered the games to be the most interesting ones he had ever played. However, he did consider it odd that after he made a move, whichever one of us happened to pass by reached down and immediately made the other side’s move, seemingly without thinking about it at all.
There were four moving holographic image sets installed in the chess set – dinosaurs, classic chess (with medieval images), an image set depicting WW II, and the starship war game. The images only change for amusement – the rules of chess remain the same for each, it is only a chess set.
The medieval images were the only ones the “spaceman” could understand. He was enthralled with the medieval pieces, as kings, queens, bishops, etc. were quite familiar to him, but not as black and white life size moving images that were short something of reality.
For example, the rooks are medieval looking stone fortresses, with heavy cannons. The holographic image of the fortress not only acts out its move up and down the board until blocked by another piece, but fires the cannons as well when it returns to its original position. Cannonballs are seen to fly by, colliding with the piece or pieces allowed to be taken with that move. There is no sound generated, as sound is a linear timeline phenomena which we have no use for.
The “spaceman” played with only the medieval set. Someone showed him the dinosaur set, and it is still a standing joke aboard the ship to shout “Terrible lizards! Terrible lizards!” to clear the way when you are running an errand in a big hurry. He just stared at the images, after he quit running away from them. So, we left it in the medieval image set for him, and did not show him the other two image sets.
The chess set would also image mechanistic war machine pieces and some historical figures loosely patterned after your World War II experience. The white king then projects King George, and the black side projects King Adolf and Queen Eva. The knights are warplanes, as they can jump over the other pieces, and the rooks are imaged as the tanks used during that conflict. The pawns are infantrymen.
The starship set images small planets for the pieces to land on, control bases, small robots for pawns, and warring spaceships of varying capabilities, all of which cross the void of space to another planet or moon for their moves. This is the image set which resembles the external shell of the chess pieces, and which, when it was new, warranted an outrageous price.
The void is actually just a representation of the transition between the squares of the chess board. It is only a black holographic curtain projection which creates an illusion of the blackness of space, with pinpricks of light which indicate the direction of the planets or moons upon which pieces are located.
Since identifying the pieces positioned on other planets across the void is not possible with this image set, it is necessary to move to another viewing position, where other pieces are visible, to ascertain their identity and exact location. It is the most complex of the four, while the others are just a chess game with different images, the starship image set visually mimics interplanetary travel, with only chessboard size movements. This image set presents the greatest challenges, since from any viewing position, at most one of the pieces is identifiable. All the others appear only as distant stars in the vastness of space. Intense concentration is necessary in order to play well.
To switch among the holographic image sets, you press a button on King George and the pieces will then all switch to another image set. Of course it is only a game, and an old one now.
It was necessary to keep the “spaceman” aboard the ship for about a month (our time) before his timeline and our phase, matterwave, and location coordinates were all close enough to return him and his “spacecraft” to his original timeline location.
We were then faced with a dilemma. If we returned the “spacecraft” and the “spaceman” back to Earth intact, there was no doubt that the residents would just shoot someone else up with the cannon. And, after experiencing the safety of the ship, we could not just let the “spaceman” die on his original timeline path, as retuning him to the position we found him in would be intentionally killing him, which of course we could not do.
The “spaceman” knew something was going on when he noticed that his “spacecraft” was no longer in the loading bay. When the coordinates were right, we had placed the “spacecraft” back upon its original trajectory, opened the little wings that served as an imaginary recovery system, and it was then falling back to Earth. Everything was exactly as though we had never touched it, except that the “spaceman” was no longer aboard.
Then he realized that he was going home soon – although we were not near enough to a timewave/timeline intersection for him to remember exactly what home was most of the time, he was looking forward to it. It would be a new adventure.
We all gathered about for a farewell in the loading bay, knowing that this was a never to be repeated event.
At the last moment the “spaceman” asked one of my shipmates for the chess set, as he wanted to take it home with him. Knowing that the thing was quite worthless, my shipmate handed it to him without thought or foresight, along with his goodbye. It was then that I noticed how very glittery white and glossy black the two sides of the chess set were. Somehow, all the time I had owned it, I had never noticed that before. Anyway, it was no great loss to me personally, if I wanted another I could get a much better one now. Besides, I hardly ever play chess, and that was the only thing that set could be used for.
After he received the chess set, we directed the “spaceman” into one of the plotting craft, and he was embarking upon his six second journey to the “spacecraft’s” crash site.
So the “spaceman” got to travel for a while, as his consciousness experienced about a month while being dragged along on our timewave. But when we returned the “spacecraft” to Earth only the normal amount of linear time for that flight’s trajectory had passed.
After the larger pieces of the “spacecraft” had settled, we placed the “spaceman” within the wreckage, still clutching his precious chess set. We also gave him enough bruises, scrapes, and minor cuts to cause serious pain without permanent injury so that the experience would not be taken lightly. No one who saw the aftermath doubted that a miracle had occurred – the “spaceman” was still alive after the horrible crash! And so, the residents had proof positive that the cannon method of space travel is definitely unworkable.
After the crash, the “spaceman” didn’t understand at all what had happened, or how he had managed to survive. But he did have some fragmentary memories of having “been to” the “moon” while aboard something amazing beyond description, which might have been considered hallucinatory, but he had an incredible chess set to prove it.
Today the pieces are quite scattered, and the set is not operating correctly any more. So, without looking at the plots, I do not know what images the individual pieces are projecting now.
Allowing the “spaceman” to take the chess set back to Earth – even inadvertently – was a terrible mistake. Because of its projections into oscillating time, almost all humans on the timeline in viewing position experience a serious confusion or total memory loss. This is because the set projects its images into an oscillating timewave – going forwards and back in time – and the human consciousness will tend to follow any new thing that is presented to it.
Therefore your consciousness will follow the images. Although you can see them, and perceive the piece movements as your reality (against a background of nothing), you will not be able to remember it later, or, while observing it, remember any of your prior experiences, except possibly during the timeline/timewave intersections. At this point some linear memories are available. Also at this time, a “freeze frame” effect from the holographic moving image pieces can sometimes be stored into linear memories.
For some individuals the pieces do not image well, as some persons cannot easily leave linear consciousness. Since these people are not captivated by the pieces, they experience the images as not much more than a briefly glimpsed series of still flashes as the projected holographic image intersects the linear timeline. These are the only people who are able to pick up and arrange the pieces without falling into total confusion.
So memories of the images are a mess for everyone, and understood by no one.
Thus, persons in viewing position live entirely alone, and without a past, except in flashes. Their universe is empty except for one or more life size moving chess images. They could be any of the chess pieces, and any one of the four image sets – the dinosaurs, medieval pieces, World War II weapons and individuals, or maybe the starship war game.
There is no way to determine how much perceived time passes for a person on the Ride. It depends upon the train speed going past the pieces, how many pieces this huckster has set up, and whether you perceive them all at once, or are captivated by the pieces sequentially – in which case you will have very little memory of the pieces already seen, and you start all over again with each piece. In any case, it is surely an extremely long time. Fortunately, very little biological time is wasted, as the normal number of quantum time steps take place as far as your body is concerned.
We would have taken a different course of action if we had examined the “spacecraft” before pulling it aboard! After we returned the “spaceman” to Earth he began this belief thing and centuries later little old ladies and other curious people are riding small railway trains with a few of the chess pieces arranged about it, and some are finding great meaning in the experience. Some have to go again and again until they learn that there are only a limited number of chess moves.
After moving away from the pieces, the most humans can remember from the experience is small fragments that make little sense. Everyone saw something but every one remembers something different. That is why so many myths and legends have been built up about the Ride.
It is not even a game, since only a few of the pieces are used and they are not ever moved after the setup for the next circus. Look at the images once if you absolutely have to, and that is all there is to the experience of the Ride. Then head on up the midway.
the end (of the story)