POLTERGEIST
by
T.J.Hurford
copyright: T.J.Hurford. 1996
A time in the not too distant future.
Remarkable strides have been made in understanding the field of the paranormal. Science has discovered a parallel universe in which our own society is mirrored. Like us, there is superstition of an after-life, together with a skepticism on the subject of ghosts.
The theory of folded space-time in which there are peaks and troughs like a wrinkled table cloth has been proven yet the 'cloth' is constantly moving like the ripples of wheat in a field on a windy day. Contact is sporadic and can only be made when the ripples are close together.
For some time scientists on both sides of 'the great divide' believe that the spectral images that they are seeing are in fact the shadows of living people in the parallel universe with which they have infrequent contact. This idea is rapidly debunked when it is found that these people are, in fact, dead. They are real alright, but they are the ghosts of both worlds who exist in what they refer to as 'The Middle Kingdom'.
The Middle Kingdom is a place in which the deceased of both universes congregate. It is found that these 'shades' once contacted can simplify communication between the living of both societies despite there being thousands of light years apart in normal 'space time'. There is a problem however. Contact with the dead is as infrequent as it is with the mirrored societies in the other universe. What is needed is a fully equipped team of experts to voluntarily enter the Middle Kingdom, their sole purpose, to make contact simpler. The Middle Kingdom is assumed to be an ethereal phenomenon. Unreal except in its capacity to 'gather' the souls of the 'departed'.
There is a top level meeting in the White House. Contact with the parallel universe must be made. Population pressures are growing on Earth and if there is the slightest chance that another society exists identical to our own to which some of the teeming millions of our planet can be sent, then it must be grabbed. The very fact that from all information so far received, this world IS identical, and therefore, in all likelihood, mirrors our own population problems, is unfortunately overlooked.
A team of volunteers is assembled. To a 'man' they are all terminally ill. they are taken to a top secret research facility and those with inappropriate skills are retrained. There is no hope that science can cure them. They are to be 'euthanized'. Their ghosts will then report back. They have been purposefully chosen as having very high potential telepathic and 'sensitive' abilities. The plan to send them into The Middle Kingdom has been worked on for many months before any of the volunteers was even contacted. There is a top-level conspiracy. Nothing must be left to chance. It is felt unfortunate that there are no 'real' experts among the 'away team'.
Records are altered. Doctors subverted by any means possible.
Three people, all very highly regarded in their respective fields of physics and paranormal research 'unexpectedly' discover that they are suffering from incurable diseases. There is, they are told, no need for a second opinion. The government gets to 'hear' of their misfortune and 'timidly' suggests that they might like to join the mission. It will be the crowning glory of their careers. They will be dead slightly ahead of time it is true, but they will still be in contact with Earth. Their dependents will be handsomely taken care of. They agree.
Their last days are not sad affairs. The 'Euth' team are cossetted. They are examined, monitored and probed. There are parties every night. They wear external AND internal equipment for their 'journey' which will be as scientifically prepared as any space mission. The day arrives and they are given a heroes send-off. They are euthanized.
Next door in Mission Control none of the usual equipment associated with astronautical expeditions is visible. Instead there are teams of spiritualists, mediums and 'sensitives'. For months before the mission a rapport between the 'stayers' and the 'goers' has been nurtured. Contact WILL be maintained.
The Middle Kingdom is a revelation. Far from being an ethereal, unreal place, it is discovered by the 'away team' to be a vast, thoroughly tangible world. There are governments, industries and apparently, unlimited space. the inhabitants are, it is true, unnable to enter either world in the parallel universes for there they would be only shadows, but in their own world, they appear as real as you or I. This news is greeted with extreme shock. There IS life after death!.
The population crises are solved. Euthanasia is marketed as a beginning, NOT an end. It is not enforced but the 'free gift' of 'life' in another unpolluted and far more beautiful place generously given by their respective governments is one that many find impossible to ignore.
Many years pass.
The 'home-worlds' have become virtual paradises for those who have not taken the 'Death Trip' to The Middle Kingdom. Unfortunately, the original assumption that this place had infinite space has been found to be false. Massive immigration has resulted in a Hell world. The Paradise that it once was is no more. The Middle Kingdom is riven with strife. The original 'euthanists' of the away team are hunted by gangs seeking retribution. There is only one hope for them. To 'come in from the cold' and be protected by the government of the Middle Kingdom, but why should they be given succour?.
Professor John Planter has a secret. One of the original three scientists brought on to the project when it was 'discovered' he had a terminal disease has made an awful discovery. He and his two colleagues had been 'set-up' by the American government. They never were terminally ill. It was all a great big cover up. They were murdered in pursuit of their politician's ambitions, but, driven very nearly insane by their knowledge, they hatch a plan that will, they hope, allow them to get even.
They fight their way into the Central Government building of the Middle Kingdom and seek sanctuary, offering their idea as payment for safety.
The Middle Kingdom is made up of many different types of 'ghost'. Except for a very small minority, all would be unnable to touch the solid peoples of either 'homeworld'. However, among their ranks is a very special type of 'shade'....the poltergeist. There are not very many of them but they are the only ones who can rescue the Middle Kingdom from its terminal difficulties.
The poltergeists will be formed into a small platoon of 'shock troops'. Their aim?. To enter the 'real' world of Planet Earth and destroy the government, establishing a 'bridgehead' in the original laboratories through which the original team had been sent. They will open up a gateway for their brethren, the dead, to return 'home'. At their head, Professor John Planter, scientist, and of the original 'three', the only POLTERGEIST.
end
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