June 19th, 2028, Long Beach, California

After finding our berth and loading up all our essentials we cast off with our new “friend” Captain Marco. He told us all about being a yacht Captain and all of the crazy things that rich people do when they don’t think anyone is looking.

We made it to the Island in record time, as the waterways were completely empty of traffic. It took more time to load and unload all our gear than it did to get to where we were going. But I wasn’t leaving my weed, my guns, or my food for some asshole to steal from our Jeep as we tried to help make this world ours again.

We took all of our things and loaded them onto a golf cart we found in the harbor parking lot, the drive to the Casino building took forever in our partially charged and overburdened golf cart. Both Julie and I had been to Catalina Island a number of times and it was deserted; there was an eerie and foreboding feeling in the air, all you could hear was the waves lapping the shore nearby.

After an exhaustive search we found the crack in the back wall of the Casino building (keyhole) we were looking for. Julie handed me the key, I slid it into the hole and the entire wall turned bright blue, then faded away to reveal a large vault door. We opened the huge door and drove the golf cart laden with our belongings inside the door and it closed quickly behind us, as the door finished closing, a small ball of golden light flew up and stopped about six inches from my face, then shined a golden laser up and down each of us briefly.

“Hello, Derrik Rinn, Julie Rinn, and Hillary Rinn, welcome to the Gold Armory, I am Flex, I am the curator, the guardian, the guide, I am here to help you find what you need to continue on your path.

It is very irregular for more than one to enter, but it appears Mr. Rinn has unlimited access to any, and all Arcturian facilities in this dimension. I’ve never seen that kind of clearance or access in almost 375 million solar cycles on this planet.” The glowing orb said. “So, I think exceptions can be made.” It finished.

I looked around and it looked like we were in a large bank vault with digital screens all over the place and boxes with digital screens attached to them. Large boxes the size of a small car, small boxes the size of a basketball. Gold everywhere, almost every surface was adorned with gold and or platinum. I felt like we were in King Midas vault.

“This facility and other facilities within the network are lifeboats left by the founding races, there are Armories, Training Halls, and Ancient Archives. All facilities are equipped with food printers, with a teleport array, an elemental stone (shower), and sleeping quarters. All facilities are upgradeable as we go through the reintegration process. Most facilities will be able to expand the living quarters to accommodate much larger numbers of survivors. The training halls and archives are all located in a state of time dilation. This allows for maximum effect while spending minimal time training or absorbing crucial information or skills. Mr. Rinn, where would you like to begin?” Flex asked.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Adam said I needed at least 100 Large Aether crystals to get Talos back online and release everyone there from stasis. So, I guess that is a good place to start.” I replied. “I’m sorry, Flex, do you have that many available?” I went on to ask.

“Of course, we do, Mr. Rinn. We have access to 130,941 large Aether crystals, 169,111 medium Aether crystals and 1,113,810 Aether crystal shards. Are you sure 100 large crystals will be enough to fulfill your needs?” Flex replied. “Maybe we double up and add about that many medium crystals as well?” I asked. “I will add 20,000 of each to a spatial ring for your convenience.” Flex announced. “Spatial ring? Like in a video game? How will I use it?” I queried.

“Mr. Rinn, what is today’s local date?” Flex asked. “June 19th, 2028. Why?” I replied. “That explains a lot. On June 20th when you gain access to the , and your UI we can proceed. I suggest you three make yourselves at home and meditate until we can move forward at midnight.

Until then you cannot access anything inside this vault, as you need access to make use of all I have to offer.” Flex mused.

“As to your question about the use of spatial rings, once you’ve been given access to the , you will have access to the inventory inside your spatial ring. It is quite simple, you access with your mind and reach into the pocket dimension around your ring and boom, there is your item. It takes a bit of practice, but once you are proficient with the it will be like flexing a muscle. I am not able to be much help until midnight, but I can provide access to the food printers, they have enough Aether in them to create whatever you would like to eat for the next few hours and provide clean water for drinking. The elemental stone in the rear of the armory can be used as a source of water to clean yourselves after meditation, and there is working and operating air flow systems in place should you need to burn incense or smoke some of the cannabis you brought with you to aid in your meditation. If you are in need of any assistance, please just ask, I will help anyway I am able.” Flex finished.

After hearing about the wait and all of the things Flex would provide so we could get the things Talos so desperately needs to be restored, we decided to meditate, the way Evelyn showed us upon our meeting here in Talos.

We prepared ourselves by stripping down to our underwear and sitting far enough apart that our projectile vomit wouldn’t affect each other once we are finished. We all sat down and smoked a big, huge glowing joint, and started our meditation session.

I breathed in slowly and then out again, in and out as rhythmically as possible until I slipped into the rhythm, in and out until I was completely full of that pressure circulating through my limbs and calming down in my abdomen to add to my Aether pool. I did this three times before I heard Flex announce, “Mr. Rinn, you have 60 minutes to zero hour, June 20th, 2028. I suggest you and your family use the elemental stone and clean yourselves up before the announcement.”