The Power of Twelve by William Gladstone Page B

If we don’t sleep through the night we will not have enough energy the next day.”
    Abigail responded, “I’m sorry. On planet Naranjada sleeping is optional and not something I do very much.”
    â€œWell, when you have a human body you need to sleep, or the body does not function. How about we limit our chocolate to one bar a day?”
    â€œAll right,” Abigail conceded with a sigh, “just one bar. But I sure love chocolate.”
    In other aspects of her life, though, Abigail’s presence was giving Barbara a big boost. For instance, Eve was amazed at how quickly Barbara was answering the door and almost rushing to pick up phone calls. She assumed the new vitality was simply a response to the ever-increasing probability that Project Wake Up would become a global phenomenon. On the negative side, Eve noticed that Barbara was slow to recognize her neighbors and volunteers from her Foundation for Conscious Evolution. Eve assumed that the occasional forgetfulness was caused by the stress of so much happening at once.
    At the meeting at Jack’s, Jim had graciously offered to cover Eve’s traveling expenses to Mcely so that Barbara would have a traveling companion. Thrilled by the glamorous prospect, Eve spent days researching the area around Mcely. She discovered that, just like Lourdes and Fatima, there had been sightings of the Virgin Mary in the great forest surrounding Mcely. Prelates at the highest levels of the Catholic Church debated whether to recognize these miracles or not, and in the end they decided not to. Their decision was not based on the factual evidence, which included three different reports of the sightings from three separate and reliable witnesses, but rather the political climate in Eastern Europe at that time. Eve’s research also found that the area around the Chateau had been settled nearly three thousand years ago and represented one of the oldest and most sacred areas on the planet. She marveled out loud, “How appropriate it is that such an ancient and sacred location is about to become the central communications hub for the grandest human experiment in history.”
    Abigail was looking forward to the event as well, but she found the flight to Prague restrictive and confining. She had always been able to teleport herself instantly wherever she chose throughout the universe. Being confined in a human body and having to sit in a confined space for close to fifteen hours was not what she considered a productive use of her time. She found the security precautions of the TSA agents particularly odd.
    That was because Abigail/Barbara was randomly selected for a full-body search while going through the TSA line. Abigail was so offended that she called for the TSA supervisor to protest. “I am an eighty-three-year-old great-grandmother. How could I possibly be a security threat? This is ridiculous. You are wasting taxpayer dollars that could be spent educating children.”
    The hulking, overweight supervisor did not see her point. “Ma’am, that may be, but we have a job to do, and if you do not let us search you, you will not board your plane.”
    Abigail/Barbara looked at Eve. “Well, I really shouldn’t allow this. My brother-in-law is Daniel Ellsberg of the Pentagon Papers. He did not risk his career so people like you could abuse innocent citizens for no reason.”
    Alarmed, Eve intervened. “Now, Barbara, I have been searched before myself. It takes only a minute and I am sure they will be gentle and respectful. We do not want to miss this plane.”
    The supervisor smiled thinly. “Your friend is right. We will not harm you or touch you inappropriately, but if you do not submit to this search, you will not board the plane.”
    In the end, Abigail/Barbara did it mainly because she didn’t want to spoil Eve’s trip. “I will submit, but I am doing so under protest. We have important work to do in