![maze-g6caaa97b1_1280.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQma77fsuyu9RZ1wbBiEbtuqv7DxfXqujyE6MAQAtrxAU42/maze-g6caaa97b1_1280.jpg)

_This is part 8. See previous posts for parts [1](https://hive.blog/writing/@mada/meeting-elliot-tanner), [2](https://hive.blog/writing/@mada/the-unspeakable-secret), [3](https://hive.blog/writing/@mada/neptune-s-ascendants), [4](https://hive.blog/fiction/@mada/a-highest-organizing-principle), [5](https://hive.blog/writing/@mada/joyous-abundance), [6](https://hive.blog/writing/@mada/channeling-a-matrix-god), and [7](https://hive.blog/writing/@mada/the-dirty-three)._

Sitting next to Kim, watching Grant Fisher channel a transdimensional entity named Luru from the planet Reika, an idea came to Mira. Luru had all kinds of good things to say about the relationship between intention and perception. The mechanics of manifesting various realities were discussed at length. The crowd was passing a microphone around so the audience could ask questions. Mira nabbed the mic as it went by. "Love everything so far," she said. "But I want to know what kind of alien merges with Neptune at the Great Conjunction?"

On stage, seated in a plush chair, wearing a headset mic, Fisher, speaking as Luru, didn't miss a beat. "We are not in agreement about this," he said in his affected voice. "But there is a high probability that you are referring to a higher dimensional life form."

"Higher dimension?" replied Mira. "Is that why they're made of tentacles?"

"Next question, please," said Luru.

After the show, Mira approached Fisher, waiting her turn for attention. Fisher looked distinctly uncomfortable when he saw her there. "Did he send you?" he asked. "What did I do this time?"

Mira frowned, parsing the cryptic statement. "It's not what you think," she said. "Can we go somewhere and talk? There's a bar on the next block over."

"This hotel has a bar," said Fisher. "Meet me there in an hour."

Seeing this, Kim thought her friend was trying to get in Fisher's pants. "I'll hang out until you signal me to bail," she said, pleasantly scandalized.

When Fisher joined them later at the generic hotel bar, he ordered a soda and sat down at their table, saying nothing.

"So what're you like when you're not being Luru?" asked Kim, oblivious to the moment's tension.

"I spend most of my time listening to music and running," said Fisher.

"Listen," said Mira, having had an hour to think about what she wanted to say. "There are people who have an interest in exposing Hearken as a mind control cult. They know a lot. More than you'd think was possible. I can put you in touch."

Fisher appeared about to speak, then he stopped. His face fell. "Those fuckers," he muttered. "The contract they've got me locked into is impossible. I'm ruined if I don't keep working for them."

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Kim.

"The group behind Transforming With The Pattern is a cult called Hearken, and they've apparently got their hooks pretty deep in Grant, here," said Mira.

"Wait, so Transforming With The Pattern is bullshit?" asked Kim, horrified.

"Actually, I think it's an excellent introduction to expanding consciousness," said Grant. "The problem isn't the material, it's the publisher. Who do you know, exactly, that's going after them?"

"Former members," shrugged Mira. "I can set up a meeting."

"And channeling Luru, is that bullshit?" asked Kim.

"No, that's an authentic presentation of an altered state of consciousness," said Grant. "From my perspective, it's like tuning my radio dial to this one particular station. I don't even remember half of what I say when I'm tuned in."

"That contract thing you mentioned sounded pretty unenlightened," said Kim. "Can't you just, like, manifest a better contract?"

Grant laughed and tried not to sound condescending. "Not how that works, I'm afraid," he said. "I'm stuck in an unfavorable part of The Pattern with no good moves. I can, and sometimes do, manifest the best possible circumstances from moment to moment. But I can't change my placement in The Pattern."

"Right, but what if you could?" asked Mira.

"I don't think you quite get it," said Grant. "Supernatural forces are in play. People who try to leave go mad. The higher up they were, the madder they go. Look what just happened to Virginia Waters."

Mira's heart skipped a beat. "What happened to her?" she asked.

"She called Hearken to rescue her from a motel in Green Bay, where she'd been holed up, literally pulling her own hair out," said Grant. "Now she's back at the Appleton village, in isolation, maybe for a long time."

"Fuck," said Mira.

"How do you know Virginia?" asked Grant. "Did you talk to her while she was out?"

"Someone I know did," said Mira, who would've lied if she'd known what lie to tell. "She didn't sound too stable."

"She's been in Hearken since high school," said Grant. "It's all she's ever known. What did she think she was going to do?"

"Sorry, but I've got a question," said Kim. "Talking about strange women and supernatural forces. Are you telling me that The Pattern is real?"

"As real as anything else," said Grant. "I think of it like a framework for understanding unknowable reality."

"Awesome," said Kim. "What's the best meditation to, like, get in touch with that?"

"I'll tell you what I tell everybody," said Grant. "Pay attention to what you're paying attention to and follow where that leads."

Fearing that the conversation was slipping away from her, Mira said the first thing that popped into her head. "Do they do weird sex stuff in Hearken?" she asked.

"Well?" asked Kim after a moment of silence.

"Not really," said Grant. "Not officially, anyway. But a couple of the other ascendants might be trouble in that regard. Oh, and then there are the arranged marriages, where a man bringing a big inheritance into the group is rewarded with a wife, no matter what she says about it. Fortunately, those have fallen largely out of fashion."

"How does the money work in Hearken?" asked Mira.

"The short answer is, they take it all and give you back only the bare minimum you need to live," said Grant. "They control everything, down to individual purchases. Doing this with all of their followers, they've accumulated a vast pool of money, which funds all of the cult's projects. As far as I know, they pair fair taxes as a corporation."

"Tell me more about the supernatural part," said Kim.

"All I'll say about that is that the world is deeper than we can fathom and Hearken is somehow bound up with something in its depths," said Grant. "Not something sinister, but it's alien, deeply alien."

(Feature image [from Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/photos/maze-grass-stones-stroll-games-5794008/).)      

___

**Read my novels:**
- **The Paradise Anomaly** is available in [print via Blurb](https://www.blurb.com/b/10994168-the-paradise-anomaly) and [for Kindle on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NLB95NZ).
- **Psychic Avalanche** is available in [print via Blurb](https://www.blurb.com/b/10891426-psychic-avalanche) and for [Kindle on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JS6CV9X).
- **One Man Embassy** is available in [print via Blurb](https://blurb.com/b/9876573-one-man-embassy) and for [Kindle on Amazon](https://amazon.com/One-Man-Embassy-Mark-Bailey-ebook/dp/B0836SRC8K).
- **Flying Saucer Shenanigans** is available in [print via Blurb](https://blurb.com/b/10002213-flying-saucer-shenanigans) and for [Kindle on Amazon](https://amazon.com/Flying-Saucer-Shenanigans-Mark-Bailey-ebook/dp/B0863FRJN2).
- **Rainbow Lullaby** is available in [print via Blurb](https://blurb.com/b/9330918-rainbow-lullaby) and for [Kindle on Amazon](https://amazon.com/Rainbow-Lullaby-Mark-Bailey-ebook/dp/B07P4MYTGT).
- **The Ostermann Method** is available in [print via Blurb](https://blurb.com/b/9660167-the-ostermann-method) and for [Kindle on Amazon](https://amazon.com/Ostermann-Method-Mark-Bailey-ebook/dp/B07Y6RDTJF).
- **Blue Dragon Mississippi** is available in [print via Blurb](https://blurb.com/b/10192086-blue-dragon-mississippi) and for [Kindle on Amazon](https://amazon.com/Blue-Dragon-Mississippi-Mark-Bailey-ebook/dp/B08C54F99R).

**Check out the comic I wrote:**
- **Finney Vol 1** Immutable Journey is [available as a free e-comic](https://finney.world/finney-vol-1-immutable-journey).

**Read my autobiographical monograph:**
- **Navigating Dystopia** can be [read for free or purchased as an NFT](https://opensea.io/assets/matic/0x931204fb8cea7f7068995dce924f0d76d571df99/7/).