MENTAL ESSENCE
PAGE 8

    "The nations in the alliance must not have their own military.  They must supply a specific number of troops to common armed forces that protects all of the nations in the alliance.  They must sign the Common Constitution and Bill of Rights.  They must accept and enforce the same laws.  Plus, they have the same monitory system and currency.  Religion and other personal preferences are up to the individual as are all civil activities under the Bill of Rights.  The nations in the alliance must not have their own military.  They must supply a specific number of troops to common armed forces that protects all of the nations in the alliance.  They must sign the Common Constitution and Bill of Rights.  They must accept and enforce the same laws.  Plus, they have the same monetary system and currency.  Religion and other personal preferences are up to the individual as are all civil activities under the Bill of Rights," said Mrs. Dennen.
    "Religion.  According to the data, religions are belief systems based on imaginary tales.  There seems to be a very large number of beings involved in religion.  It does not make sense to spend time and resources pretending make believe is real.  Is there something I am missing?" asked Trent.
    "Believing that make believe is reality is in itself a method of coping with reality.  Some beings find that using make believe to fill a void in their knowledge base in certain areas is easier than understanding the reality of that same thing.  For instance, it is easier to live an unhappy life if the being thinks there is going to be an eternity of bliss after death.  Plus, there are a large number of beings that actively engage in convincing others that make believe is reality using gods, devils, eternal happiness or damnation as a tool," said Mrs. Dennen.
    "Why?" asked Trent.
    "To con them out of their money, valuables, and property," said Hiret.
    "The minds of organics vary in abilities," said Mrs. Dennen.
    "That's a nice way of saying some beings are just plain crazy," said Hiret.
    "Which is something to consider when interacting with organics regardless of what the circumstances are.  We are born, we reach our peak, and then we start on a downward trend.  Eventually we die," said Hiret.
    "I wonder when I will die," said Trent.
    "You have apparently been around a very long time.  Perhaps you won't die.  Maybe you will exist forever.  Maybe over time you take on new forms.  Maybe you already exist in many forms," said Mrs. Dennen.
    "You'll just have to wait and see.  Just like us.  That's a kick," said Hiret.
    "Mental instability.  The database refers to a large number of mental problems.  It is difficult to comprehend illness of any kind.  I suppose an organic life form type body is required to fully understand.  Pain, despair, confusion, hopelessness, anxiety, and fear are just wards when you cannot actually feel such things.  Is having no feeling of emotions a good thing?" asked Trent.
    "In some ways yes, in some ways no, and always open to interpretation.  Feeling pain can help organics avoid or react to injury.  For you, understanding that organics can be injured and sense pain is important so that you can take care not to cause injury to one.  That is very important now that I think about it.  You could cause massive destruction by accident.  In fact, you're vary existence could cause catastrophic occurrences.  You are electromagnetic energy, which is flowing throughout everything including the systems that control energy flows, guidance systems, chemical containment, and a million other activities that if interfered with could cause an unimaginable amount of devastation.  Can you control yourself?" asked Hiret.
    "This is quite important.  Can you?" asked Mrs. Dennen.
    "Control.  I do not know.  Perhaps getting me concentrated into a link is an urgent matter.  If I were concentrated enough, perhaps I would have control of myself," said Trent.
    "Let's see if the physics department has come up with anything," said Hiret.
    " Is Rye Faeb there?  This is Hiret," said Hiret.
    " Intriguing and beyond.  I've been thinking about it while listening.  I think perhaps the power generation station has something that might work.  Can you route Trent there?" asked Rye.
    "I guess so," said Hiret.
    Hiret set the coordinate to the power generation station on the link.
    "Can you focus on these coordinates?" asked Hiret.
    "Yes.  I am bonded to it like everything else.  It is moving to it like when I was moving around this grid.  I do not have the ability to flex or stretch.  Maybe if there was a wire I could be conducted along," said Trent.
    "How about an electromagnetic beam?" asked Rye.
    "One way to find out," said Trent.
    The next two days were spent rigging up a transmitter large enough to handle the expected energy load.
    "Ok!  Let's give it a try," stated Rye from a ship about half way between Trent and the power station.
    I am sensing the beam.  It might take a while to focus on it though," said Trent.
   "It's emitting at max now.  We can always add another," said Rye.