cp1
01 prologue
Fernando Venhorst's point of view
A teardrop slowly ran down Fernando's pale face. Before it could touch the ground, he reached out and caught it between his fingers. He sighed, wondering if when would be the last time he would feel such melancholy.
The office was completely silent, there was only Fernando lost in his thoughts, how could it be possible that his biggest dream and darkest nightmare threaten to come true on the same day and moment?
Sighing bitterly, he remembered the past and how difficult it was to make Catarina his wife; and what she sacrificed so they could be together and even when biologically she could no longer have children, against all expectations perhaps she would give birth today.
When a son loses a father, he would be an orphan, but when a father loses a son, what could he be called? Normally, Fernando was not a pessimist, however, given the circumstances, he wondered if he would lose his wife and unborn child.
Catarina Venhorst
Lying in bed, wrapped in white silk sheets, tears streamed down her haggard, pale face. She knew she could die at any moment. After having already lost two children, I thought this time would be different.
After a long time suffering, helpless, with nothing she could do for her children who passed away in her arms, 5 years later, Catarina finally smiled again, but there she was, dying.
Even though nothing could be done about it, all she wanted was to have enough strength to at least give birth and leave this child for her beloved Fernando. She knew more than anyone how much her husband loved her. Catarina didn't dare think about what she would do and be like if Fernando lost not only her, but also his son.
Even though she experienced such sadness throughout her life, Catarina was grateful to have Fernando in her life, father, mother, friends and companions in evolution. Catarina lamented that she would leave behind many who were dear to her. Finally, through tears, she wondered if her children at least mourned her death.
John Venhorst's point of view
Deprived of his senses in an unknown state, John thought he was surrounded by absolute darkness. For a living being to establish contact with the world, it would first need to develop its sensory organs in order to awaken senses that would allow it to interact with the world.
Hearing, touch, smell, taste, and sight. For a human being, the world was limited by these five senses. If someone lost all of them, it would be as if the world ceased to exist.
The human soul of Earthlings was so weak that it could not exist on the material plane if there were no body in which it could take refuge.
To answer the question of what a body would be like without a soul, I ask you the following question: if a helicopter pilot jumped without a parachute, what would happen to his means of transport and the pilot himself?
When John's soul was sucked into a dimension where time did not exist, it was difficult to determine whether he had been in this state in a time cycle prior or later than his known existence.
Time on Earth was like a chain of intertwined ropes and each Earthling, alive or dead, created more ropes with each decision made, with an average life expectancy of 85 years, each Earthling would create more ropes than stars in the Via Laxa.
Abruptly, some of John's senses returned—at the moment, only two: sight and touch. Looking around, he saw what could be described as a sea covering a circumference of the horizon. The crystal-clear water stretched in every direction.
Near John was what looked like an egg with a circumference of approximately one meter, its color was crimson contrasting with the crystal clear sea and John's translucent soul.
Looking at himself, John was startled. His appearance now resembled that of a baby whose umbilical cord had not yet been cut. Even turning his head was difficult. If he hadn't been floating, John definitely wouldn't have been able to move his little body.
John cursed his bad luck, in the middle of a mission in the pyramids of success a spherical artifact exploded, in order to protect his companions, he sacrificed himself and ended up as a ghost.
Looking at the egg floating before him, John wondered how the artifact had followed him even after death. Looking at his tiny body, he wondered if this was what a soul looked like, and why he still possessed his memories if his brain had been blown into a thousand pieces along with his body.
Could the dead win the Nobel Prize? If everything John was hoping for were somehow conveyed in the form of a rudimentary, first-hand experience, he would clearly win some awards.
Given the nature of his work, John knew the likelihood of dying in the line of duty was very high, but he didn't expect it to be so soon. According to his calculations, he was only 6 months away from turning 26 and having 10 years of service.
Finally, John shed tears of sadness for his sister and only family, as well as his companions whose situation was unknown.
John's sister was only a week away from turning 17. He planned to buy her a nice gift in Angola, since his mission was in Africa. Who would have thought he'd end up dead? What would become of his sister? At least money wouldn't be a problem; sharing it would ensure she'd have nothing to go for.
John's concern was that besides him, there were no other relatives to support his sister, there were his uncles, however, he felt angry just thinking about that couple.
Because of the dangerous nature of his work, John never considered getting married so as not to leave a widow, and even if he did marry, it would be at least after thirty with the permission of his department. It would be nice if he lived long enough to see his sister get married.
John suppressed the emotions in his nonexistent heart, focusing on his current state and what might happen.
Unfortunately, John had crossed the line between what conventional science could explain and now he was in the realm of metaphysics and religion, he could only rely on these two fields to try to explain his situation.
Compiling what he knew from both fields he came to the following conclusions, first, it would be a matter of time until his soul dissipated and his existence was erased, second, he would transcend into a fifth or sixth dimensional plane of existence, third, he was in some kind of purgatory and something would judge him in order to go to heaven or hell, third, he would be born again as a plant, animal and if he was lucky as a human being.
There was also quantum mechanics to try to explain the phenomenon in question, however, this area was too volatile to try to explain anything, there was too much uncertainty and myriad probabilities, John did not have the ability to think in this area of knowledge.