Agariste

The best woman by far

Chapter 4   Agariste

 

 

 

“Dr. Mohan?”

 

He turned around to see a tall blond, dressed in shirt sleeves and corduroy jeans with buckle and boots. She stood there, with a hesitant smile on her face.

 

“Yes?” he inquired.

 

“Hi,” she said, “it's Shelley Cameron. I was with you for two weeks on the Algonquin dissertation in Delaware.”

 

Charles remembered.

 

“Certainly,” he replied, “ how are you?”

 

“I'm fine,” she replied, “ can we talk somewhere? It’s kind of important.”

 

It occurred to Charles that it wasn't a chance encounter, but he waited for her to state her business. They walked over to a cafe at the end of a row of shops. She walked with ease, placing each foot firmly one in front of the other, with her back held straight. Her voice carried something unusual to Charles's experience but he couldn't place it.

 

“You realize Ms. Cameron....”

 

“Shelley...” she said expectantly.

 

Charles started again.

 

“You realize Shelley, that it was you who got us started on the thesis about the Scythians and after all the effort we went through for the sponsors and starting the dig, you backed out and left.”

 

She smiled a dazzling cheeks-and-teeth and said with the most curios shake of her head,

 

“I can't explain it.”

 

They had taken a seat at the cafe table and ordered some coffee.

 

“I was into something very strange, doctor,” she confided openly, “and I didn't know it. It was only after I joined the McClellan group.....,” she produced a card, “did I realize, what was going on with me.”

 

The card named her and indicated her position as research analyst in the McClellan group in Switzerland.

 

“Ever since I was a child, I was in, what is called an  'index communication' with someone, we refer to as an ' Almeg factor,'......Alpha Omega,..... in the human experience. I was just a child and was playing around with the experience, like an invisible friend, and eventually grew up to be completely convoluted and confused in my life.”

 

She spoke with an unusual familiarity. Suddenly Charles realized what it was. She was representing herself to him like a male friend......it felt as if she was him.....and vice-versa.

 

She continued.

 

“My masters’ thesis was on ' lucid dreaming,' and in a strange way, I found my way back to being myself again.”

 

And then as if she had forgotten something, she quickly added,

 

“I'm sorry, doctor, I really ought to be telling you that this meeting is not accidental....McClellan has been following your career with UNESCO with a great deal of interest and they are keen to speak to you about teaming up on areas of common interests.”

 

Charles considered asking her to drop the 'doctor' label but decided against it. He was however curios about McClellan.

 

The bright, Californian sunshine brought a welcome relief to Charles. He was starting to feel a little 'Jekyll and Hyde' in his sensations.

 

“What does McClellan do?” he asked.

 

“Research on the human psyche.”

 

He appeared thoughtful for a while, then asked,

 

“Paranormal....paranoia....?” he spoke in the nature of a question.

 

Something seemed to have set her off and she waved at him, as she took a sip of the coffee to calm herself.

 

“I can't speak of the paranormal project....” she hesitated, then said, “ there...have been accidents. But we are keen to follow up on your research with the archetypes.”

 

“I'm not with UNESCO anymore,” he said, “ I work in a government funded project for the mentally challenged, here in Los Angeles.”

 

“We're aware of that doctor,” she answered. She reached into her bag and brought out a manila envelope. “The President of McClellan extends an invitation to you to visit us for a meeting, anytime.” She handed the envelope to him.

 

Charles took the envelope from her and proceeded to open it. Shelley seemed to be in a pitched breath over something. She continued to sip from the cup.

 

There was a letter and a bunch of brochures on McClellan. The letter was signed by a Theodore Caine, President.

 

“You must have had an interesting time dealing with Almeg,” he said, changing the subject completely.

 

She warmed to the personal interest.

 

“It hasn't been easy....” she said, in mock dialogue, “it's a continuing process.....I have to always work at it.”

 

“What do you do in McClellan?”

 

“Well, the index communication is categorized according to several levels. Children do it, unconsciously, like a game of some kind. But the communication also takes place at adult level and it is consistent with an orderly sense of organization. We call it the ' Agariste factor' that's after the mother of Pericles, the Greek general.”

 

“It's a revival of the Parthenon,” Charles suggested.

 

“Only in a limited way,” she replied. “We ran into a lot of problems in adhering to former practices. It coincided with a memory base in individuals and caused a parallel experience. We are reformulating it in some areas and renaming them. We used your research on the archetypes to do that.”

 

Charles told her he'll need time to think it over. He promised her a call within the month.

Reviews

[patricia]

huh? why are these people from your other book here in this one...is this maybe the follow up book to the other, is mike the mendicant, the mike from the other book? oh wow...i think i best finish the other book first, i am having one of those....(it emerges then.. moments) back soon when i have worked all this out. Thanks.