Letter from Celestine to Solus

Nephew -

I can't say I'm surprised that you asked questions, Solus. I have many, myself, and neither of us are going to be satisfied with whatever answers we are given. But I'll do my best to tell you what I can.

Your mother and I were always Oubliette Ghosts. We had no desire to join any military. However, when Isely came to us, asking for help with their research and development projects, we agreed because we believed in the work they were doing. Space exploration had led to the creation of Ghosts, and we felt we owed it something.

We were with Isely for six months. The first three months, we did very dull work, using our clairvoyance to see if a certain lab experiment or engineering project was on the right track, shifting probabilities this way and that, nothing exciting. We were undoubtedly useful, but there was hardly anything even remotely special about it.

Then, we were approached to participate in an experiment. Isely had recently developed an interest in discovering intelligent life outside of Earth. They wanted to be the first to make contact, as they'd been the first to develop faster than light space travel. They thought Cosmia and I could use out powers to perhaps reach out telepathically into the void of space, or at least help steer the course of engineering long-range communication probes.

We did our best, had a little luck with keeping the team focused and moving in the right direction, but that was all.

Then, there was news that doctors at a specialized psychiatric facility had created a new drug that supposedly enhanced Ghosts' abilities. Isely had negotiated with the facility for their research and samples of the drug. They asked us if we would be willing to take it, and see if it helped reach farther into space and time for our clairvoyance. I was hesitant, but your mother convinced me it would be safe.

I remember very little of the last month we were with Isely. The drug had an anaesthetic effect, putting us into a half-stupor. In this trance, we said many things I cannot remember, and I know that even then, they made little sense to us.

After the first session with the drug, I wanted to quit, uneasy with the effects and my lack of conscious control and understanding. Your mother, on the other hand, went through some sort of strange transcendence. She claimed the drug was allowing her to see and speak of vitally important things, things that had to do not only with extraterrestrial life, but our children as well. At this point in our lives, we'd not yet become mothers, so this seemed baffling to me. Cosmia also said the drug trapped us someplace else while it was in our system, but she didn't know what that place was. She was in such a fervor, though, that I agreed to continue. We took the drug once every three days for a month. Then, we left Isely.

I know you want to know what we saw, what we said, and what Isely did with the information. I am sorry, but I do not know. Looking back, I know they recorded our brainwaves, hooked us up to biofeedback machines, and watched and recorded everything, but my own memories are vague and unhelpful.

There is only one thing I do remember with any clarity - we had been babbling numbers for hours on end and it was utterly flummoxing the team in charge of us. I remember them poring over the transcripts desperately for days, and then someone actually shouting 'Coordinates! They're celestial coordinates!'

I don't know what the coordinates pointed to; Isely never told us anything they learned from our trances.

I'm sorry if this leaves you with more questions than answers. I'm here to talk to you I'd you need it. Please keep safe.

Celestine