Switzerland and pinpointing the exact moment and whereabouts of
his incarnation. Even with the equation of emptiness, it had proven impossible
to hold back a soul for any length of time. The equation helped ensure that the
next incarnation was made as favorable as possible, given that rebirth was as
inevitable as death.
Nicholas
Tiedemann, once Marianne's father, had parents of his own; and they were none
too receptive to Mother’s concerned interference.
Kate Strauss
had finally come to understand Reting's position in the last three years. It
hadn’t helped her temper in the least.
***
An hour
later, Marianne glimpsed far-flung glimmers of light that might have been
several more mandalas ahead of them. They were gradually losing altitude,
though, and the mountains cut off her sight of all but one brilliant wheel.
“Right on
target,” Jetsun Dorje said. He stretched a hand over his head, yawning, and
patted his topknot of thick curly hair. “Down we go.”
When they
were directly over the mandala, the jet engines whined with a new sound,
tilting. The plane began dropping straight down. The blue lights at the center
of the wheel dispersed rapidly as they descended, shading out into the rest of
the figure. The yellow southern quadrant took on a green cast, the west turned
purple. A circular void formed in the middle of the luminous field, opening like
a black iris beneath the jet. Marianne’s stomach lurched into her throat. She
pulled away from the window, but not before she saw a myriad of five-colored
upturned faces, each belonging to a nomad clutching a lantern.
They settled
lightly to the ground, engines whining into silence. The sound of voices
reached her through the hull:
“Gyayum
Chenmo! Gyayum Chenmo!”
The chanting
of the crowd surprised her. She turned to Dr. Norbu.
“Reting, how
do they know about that?”
“Word
spreads quickly,” he said. “More quickly than I would have thought.”
“Great
Mother?” said Jetsun, looking at Marianne with widened eyes. “Do they mean
you?”
She avoided
meeting his eyes. “Shouldn’t we be moving?”
Jetsun rose
from his seat, massaged his thighs briefly, then walked to the hatch and pushed
it open. A ladder unfolded from the door. Standing at the threshold, Marianne
looked down on the lantern-lit crowd.
The mandala
had lost its definition. A crush of people came toward.her in the dark, holding
out pale white scarves and other offerings. The sweet smell of wildflowers
fought with that of acrid cheese.
“They do
mean you,” Jetsun said. “I didn’t realize—”
“Sh!” said
Dr. Norbu suddenly, pressing past Marianne to the door. He leaned out into the
night, looking up at the sky.
Marianne
followed the direction of his gaze. Up above, she saw what looked like a
cluster of falling stars.
Aircraft.
The nomads
had already spotted the intruder. In an instant, every light on the plain went
out. Marianne was blind now; she waited for her eyes to adjust to starlight,
but there wasn’t time. Footsteps clamored up the steps and caught hold of her
wrists. She was urged to descend quickly.
“You were
followed,” said a gruff voice.
“Dhondub,”
said Dr. Norbu. “Good to see you. We half expected it.”
“Hurry,” Jetsun
Dorje said. “I’ve got to close up and get out of here.”
Marianne
reached the bottom of the ramp. She could hear them arguing above her.
“You can’t
fly back now,” Dr. Norbu said. “They’d shoot you down.”
“But my
jet—”
“Leave it,”
said the voice of Dhondub. “We’ll take it from here. We’ll also have a party
fleeing overland on horseback to further confuse them.”
“But you
can’t fly that plane,” Jetsun protested.
“I can fly
anything,” said a woman. “You go with your friends.”
“Quickly, Jetsun!”
said Dr. Norbu.
Suddenly two
beams of light stabbed down from the sky and touched the earth perhaps a
quarter mile away. They swept back and forth across the plain like
his incarnation. Even with the equation of emptiness, it had proven impossible
to hold back a soul for any length of time. The equation helped ensure that the
next incarnation was made as favorable as possible, given that rebirth was as
inevitable as death.
Nicholas
Tiedemann, once Marianne's father, had parents of his own; and they were none
too receptive to Mother’s concerned interference.
Kate Strauss
had finally come to understand Reting's position in the last three years. It
hadn’t helped her temper in the least.
***
An hour
later, Marianne glimpsed far-flung glimmers of light that might have been
several more mandalas ahead of them. They were gradually losing altitude,
though, and the mountains cut off her sight of all but one brilliant wheel.
“Right on
target,” Jetsun Dorje said. He stretched a hand over his head, yawning, and
patted his topknot of thick curly hair. “Down we go.”
When they
were directly over the mandala, the jet engines whined with a new sound,
tilting. The plane began dropping straight down. The blue lights at the center
of the wheel dispersed rapidly as they descended, shading out into the rest of
the figure. The yellow southern quadrant took on a green cast, the west turned
purple. A circular void formed in the middle of the luminous field, opening like
a black iris beneath the jet. Marianne’s stomach lurched into her throat. She
pulled away from the window, but not before she saw a myriad of five-colored
upturned faces, each belonging to a nomad clutching a lantern.
They settled
lightly to the ground, engines whining into silence. The sound of voices
reached her through the hull:
“Gyayum
Chenmo! Gyayum Chenmo!”
The chanting
of the crowd surprised her. She turned to Dr. Norbu.
“Reting, how
do they know about that?”
“Word
spreads quickly,” he said. “More quickly than I would have thought.”
“Great
Mother?” said Jetsun, looking at Marianne with widened eyes. “Do they mean
you?”
She avoided
meeting his eyes. “Shouldn’t we be moving?”
Jetsun rose
from his seat, massaged his thighs briefly, then walked to the hatch and pushed
it open. A ladder unfolded from the door. Standing at the threshold, Marianne
looked down on the lantern-lit crowd.
The mandala
had lost its definition. A crush of people came toward.her in the dark, holding
out pale white scarves and other offerings. The sweet smell of wildflowers
fought with that of acrid cheese.
“They do
mean you,” Jetsun said. “I didn’t realize—”
“Sh!” said
Dr. Norbu suddenly, pressing past Marianne to the door. He leaned out into the
night, looking up at the sky.
Marianne
followed the direction of his gaze. Up above, she saw what looked like a
cluster of falling stars.
Aircraft.
The nomads
had already spotted the intruder. In an instant, every light on the plain went
out. Marianne was blind now; she waited for her eyes to adjust to starlight,
but there wasn’t time. Footsteps clamored up the steps and caught hold of her
wrists. She was urged to descend quickly.
“You were
followed,” said a gruff voice.
“Dhondub,”
said Dr. Norbu. “Good to see you. We half expected it.”
“Hurry,” Jetsun
Dorje said. “I’ve got to close up and get out of here.”
Marianne
reached the bottom of the ramp. She could hear them arguing above her.
“You can’t
fly back now,” Dr. Norbu said. “They’d shoot you down.”
“But my
jet—”
“Leave it,”
said the voice of Dhondub. “We’ll take it from here. We’ll also have a party
fleeing overland on horseback to further confuse them.”
“But you
can’t fly that plane,” Jetsun protested.
“I can fly
anything,” said a woman. “You go with your friends.”
“Quickly, Jetsun!”
said Dr. Norbu.
Suddenly two
beams of light stabbed down from the sky and touched the earth perhaps a
quarter mile away. They swept back and forth across the plain like
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