Indeed, in this place we simply have to forget about prejudices. It is somehow strange to hear such scientific facts from a beautiful long-legged blonde.
«We checked all around, but couldn’t find anything resembling the desired object. Runner was angry that we were losing time, – by these words, she throws a devastating look at the athlete, – then again it was Angel who drew attention to the strange glare on the tree trunk, where, according to all logic, there should be a shadow from the branchy crown. But the intricate play of light and shadow was the key to the solution! So we discovered a cavity in the trunk of the tree and took out a bottle of blue liquid. And guess whay? We have the element Light!»
With these words, she lays the crumpled piece of paper on the table and gives Angel a triumphant look. The guy just smiles modestly and looks away.
«How ridiculous is human in belief
To know everything about this Phenom!
He received his sight thanks to it, no doubt
But, as before, he’s blind to its secrets, so multi-colored.»
«So, a fitness trainer? Do you prefer to deal with oak trees in gym instead of oak trees in nature?» Alex asks. In response, she laughs coquettishly, which makes me angry and I scold myself for it.
Yu chops in:
«I also have something. I took this yellow bottle out of a burnt tree, which, most likely, was hit by lightning. From the text of the note it becomes clear that it’s about the element «Fire»:
«In the hearth, so calm and humble,
It gives you light, comfort, and food, and warmth,
But there is no enemy more dangerous and destructive:
It knows no mercy, if you piss him off.»
All players are really excited, this becomes clear by the gambling gleam in their eyes and the heated discussion of the theses of one or the other participant. We plunged headlong into the puzzle, like children, forgetting about food, rest and the dangers of the past day.
«Yes, we are all crazy about adventures of this kind,» I think to myself with surprise, «what can bind us closer than this almost unhealthy passion?!»
Meanwhile, Planck sums it up:
«Despite our relative success, there are still only six elements on the table, and the seventh is missing for the task completion and a hearty dinner.»
«Oh really?» Runner remarks caustically, «What did you or Martha find? You didn’t have to go that far and strain for the stupid colored bottles.»
«We were analyzing» Planck replies calmly.
«And how is this supposed to help us fill our empty stomachs?» the athlete is not appeased.
«Well, we really didn’t find anything, but we have some thoughts on using these, as you put it, „stupid colored bottles“. Martha, tell them about your guess!»
Surprisingly, in Planck’s speech, I do not hear any aggression or sarcasm. I am amazed at the dignity with which the elderly man reacts to the attacks of the insolent young Runner.
The small, bony woman shyly adjusts her spectacles on the bridge of the nose, tucks a lock of silvery hair behind her ear and clears her throat.
«Just now, Angel was trying to explain what was strange to him in the texts of the notes.»
«I wanted to pay attention to how natural phenomena are constantly opposed to a person,» Angel is embarrassed, «it’s just not clear which side the organizers are on.»
«Well, certainly not on the side of good,» BeBe sighs theatrically.
«We all noticed it,» Alex intervenes, «in riddles the elements prevail over man and demonstrate his insignificance and dependence on nature. It’s clear, however, that Water and Fire give life until they get out of control and destroy entire cities. Without Air, a person will die in a matter of seconds. Life is born from the Earth, which feeds a person and supplies oxygen, but he goes there after his death.»
«The same is with Sound and Light, although they fall out of the general picture a little,» Angel continues, «Light allows a person to see and yet it keeps many secrets and mysteries, for example, in the dark or under water. And this is also a kind of opposition to natural forces – after all, many animals see perfectly under such conditions…»
«And then what do you think is wrong with the Sound?» Runner asks defiantly, looking down at poor Angel.
«The guy is right,» Planck comes to his rescue, «the human ear is able to perceive only sound waves in the negligible range from 16 to 20 kilohertz. Everything below is called infrasound, everything above – ultrasound. Not audible to us, their help many animals communicate with each other.»
«For example, whales and elephants – with infrasound, and bats and some birds – with ultrasound,» Blonda looks at Runner with hostility, as if saying: «Get off Angel.» And I again catch myself thinking how unnatural to receive such explanatory comments from the mouth of such a beauty.
«And yet I still don’t understand how something that we know very well without organizers can help us. Namely, that man in the face of nature is nothing,» BeBe exclaimes emotionally.
Martha is shining all over her face, no longer able to contain her triumph:
«And here is our guess. What if all this is not about opposition or exaltation of man over nature, but, on the contrary, identification? Not the struggle is demonstrated, but that man is a part of nature itself? In other words, we are talking about chakras – a teaching widely practiced in religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism…»
«And also in Tibetan Buddhism! It’s not for nothing that Antakarana symbols are found at the site of each find,» BeBe exclaims in amazement.
«According to the belief of Buddhists, a person has a physical and spiritual origin, and the etheric double is an exact duplicate of the physical body. In this double there are psychic centers – „chakras“. And those multi-colored liquids with which we are dealing, personify mantras, because each chakra has its own color and element!»
«Of course, it’s obvious! Martha, you’re a genius!» I am surprised that this simple thought did not occur to me earlier, because I also did my homework and studied everything related to Tibet. Probably, I was confused by Zhang Kiang’s phrase that the game has nothing to do with Tibetan culture. How then to explain what we are dealing with now?
«Then why these stupid little notes with no less stupid riddles?» Yu sounds surprised.
«To designate which element corresponds to each of the colors and to demonstrate the close connection of the human principle with the forces of nature in order to lead us to the idea of chakras,» Martha concludes.
Inspired by Martha’s hunch, the players vigorously discuss their next steps. We have an idea of the chakras more-less. The elements Earth, Water, Fire and Air don’t raise any questions. It’s more difficult since we are talking about such a complex concept as «ether» – a special
