Everyone took their seats and grabbed their cameras. Region 12 consisted of twenty or thirty glass structures, not unlike the mountains, they has just seen, but square in shape, like huge glass office buildings. Like the mountains, these buildings had no bottom, only a layer of thin cloud, where the ground should be. The height of the structures decreased on the outskirts of the city.

The buildings were not symmetrically built, nor were they symmetrically placed. Their occupants did not require transportation or a place to walk even, so spacing was random. We are going into the largest structure, said Beem, pointing to it. Although it looks like no one is around, said Beem, there are thousands of Ehesti out there. Can they see us asked Marie? Most definitely, said Beem, as you will see later today. They know that you can't see them, so they aren't waving at you.

 When you return, in your astral forms, there will be no sign of glass anywhere. Everything will look quite different. The outline of the buildings will remain the same. You will be amazed at the activity in this city, compared to what you see now. We are coming up on our destination, said Bo.

 They stopped in front of what looked like a fifty foot trailer, parked on the thirtieth floor, of this glass tower. This is the only part of our city that contains matter, as you know it. This building is the main travel building. All information relative to our travels is coordinated from here. This metal tube contains the physical forms that we have the option of using when in the physical world. Because these bodies are physical, we have to keep their environment physical too. Those on Balenn, who have not yet traveled, usually visit first, with a group, in their non-physical forms. After checking out the planet's specifics from main storage, they proceed to Region

Twelve, to select an appropriate body. Usually the planet will support two or three of these life forms, displayed here in this tube. We sometimes chose another form, just to create a different living experience for ourselves. This is sort of like a costume shop, only the costumes are bodies. The side wall opened up and the sphere sidled up close to it, so everyone could see the inside.

 Beem and Bo transposed into the chamber, to act as tour guides. At one end of the trailer, are sample bodies like ours. There are shorter forms we call "Oog" and even shorter forms we call "Grammys". This next form is the extreme version of your Neanderthal man. This next smaller form is the example of what you call Chinese or Oriental, These you recognize as your black race and native Indian. Last but not least, is this set is the white Caucasian. The next species you call midgets, but they are more plentiful in the galaxies then people your size.

Your planet was not the beginning of life, as you believe, but instead, a seeded planet. Your different races all came from different planets and even different galaxies. When they first arrived, they brought with them their old planet religions and customs. Many even kept their old planet language. Rather than learn each other's language, they chose to hate one another and fight never ending wars. When visitors arrive on earth, in this century, they have to first decide which language to learn. It can be a confusing decision to make. We hope that most of you earth people, will someday swallow your pride, only enough to learn the same language. With everyone speaking the same language, you will be amazed at the harmony that will follow.

There will be more life forms coming to earth, hoping to share your planet with you. Your defensive reaction to alien forms has prevented that so far, but they will keep trying, until you are ready for them. Some of these life forms, are familiar to you, like the half man, half horse creatures from your past. Some will be invisible to you, but will occupy space just the same. There are already two species of alien life, living among you that you are unaware of. One of these species is the Ehesti. We have been living on and visiting earth for hundreds of years and still you don't believe in us. The second species are "Druids". They are living among you, showing no physical difference to yourselves, except they have the same powers as we do and maybe more. They do not die like you do, but instead, when they chose to leave for twenty years or more, they discard their bodies through spontaneous combustion. That way, there is no proof that they lived and died, so no one will go looking for them. Beem walked to the next species.

These reptilian forms are common where the planets have more water than yours. For example, the planet "Jola" in your galaxy is ninety percent water. The higher life forms are reptilian, because they have to live in water most of the time. Bo walked over to the Birdman.

These birdmen live mostly on planets where the gravity is less then one half of yours. On your planet, they could not even get off the ground. The size of the wings they would require would be enormous. There have been bird-men on earth, but they were much smaller and lighter than you. Back in the days of the Knights of the Round Table, these birdmen lived in the trees and even learned to communicate with your species. Their wings were made of skin, not feathers.

Beem was standing next to an anteater type of creature. This creature is basically an insect eater. They come from the planets in the "UPA" belt, where insects are everywhere. They are perfectly adapted to that environment. They are intelligent enough to have nice homes and cities, free of bugs like yours. They have been space travelers now, for the last three hundred of your years. Their vessels are cigar shaped and have been to earth many times. We have taken on their forms many times. Despite their appearance, their bodies are quite comfortable to live in. They are considered ugly to look at by humans and others, so this form is not widely used.

Here we have the hardware bodies. These bodies started out to be robots and have progressed to where they can be occupied by a life form, like us or even you. Your astral bodies can rest quite comfortably inside these robots and activate them, the same way you activate your own bodies. They require only a minimal amount of energy to control. The energy they use to do work comes from the sun or any light source. They are much stronger and resilient than fluid bodies. They are perfect for performing long tedious tasks in a dry desert climate. They require sleep, as do our fluid bodies, but not to regenerate energy, as we do. Their sleep is a reaction to the lack of light. On a planet where the sun never sets, they require no sleep at all. We occupy this form when we visit planets where the danger of predators is extreme. "Lona Eight" is like that. The food is so abundant on "Lona Eight", that the meat eaters have evolved everywhere. When a predator decides to try to eat us in these metal bodies, they get quite discouraged quickly. When they see us now, they leave us alone, but every once in a while, one of them decides we are food. You would like these forms, being hardware oriented as you are. What about senses, asked Allen? Do these mechanical bodies feel, smell, hear, etc.? They do indeed, replied Beem. Their hearing range goes above and below yours. Their sight is not as good. They feel about only ten percent of what you do. They cannot smell, but they have sensors, that react to gases and smoke. They do not breath, except to activate the voice boxes in their necks. Their emotional disposition depends entirely on the life form activating them. Allen nodded, as if to say "thank you for the explanation."

Beem went to the next form. These translucent, smoky looking creatures, said Beem, live on planets where the heat is almost twice that of earth. They live in temperatures of approximately forty to sixty degrees Celsius. Their translucent appearance allows most of the sun's rays to pass right through them. Their primary food source is insects as well. The vegetation they live in, is very different then yours also. Nearly all the plants are pastel colored, to pass the sun's heat, as do their bodies. Because of their odd construction, they have some advantages. They are not fluid bodies, but gas bodies. The life controlling element in them, similar to blood in us, is a gas we call "Neura." This gas carries food to the main parts of the body, but it does not require a pump, like a heart. The gas flows by convection. The sun's heat provides the temperature changes necessary to create the convection flow. Their bodies have often been mistaken as ghosts.

Last, but not least, in this display, are these green monkey like creatures. These people live in very humid tropical like conditions, where the sun seldom penetrates the forest floor. These creatures live in the tree tops and even grow gardens up there. Their homes are in the tree tops also. Their green color is for camouflage from predators, like snakes and reptiles, from the forest floor. There are not as many of them as there are humans or Ehesti, but they are growing. They aren't much different from the tree dwelling monkeys on your planet, but as you can see, the head is much larger. Beem stepped back, so everyone could get a better look. Later, in the astral plane, you will be able to try anyone of these on that you wish. It's not much different from trying on clothing.

That ends our display from this place, said Beenan. There are many more life forms throughout the universe, but these are the ones we use most frequently for our travels. The most popular form of course, is the Sasquatch form we are in now. Beem and Bo transposed back inside the sphere, with the rest of the group. Are there any questions before we leave this place, asked Beem? What about the senses in that gaseous form, asked Kelly? It would seem they don't have any. They don't seem solid enough. You are quite right, in your deduction, replied Beem. There is no sense of feeling in that form and no sense of smell. They can see however and they hear only the sounds from ten thousands cycles upwards. They are almost invulnerable in those gaseous forms; however, a large explosion can disperse them, to where they can't re-unite. One of the most attractive features of these gas forms is the weightlessness. They aren't affected by gravity, unless it is about one hundred times stronger than the pull of earth's gravity.

The side wall began to close up and their sphere pulled away slowly. Did you get enough film, asked Beenan? I think so said Cliff and everyone shook their heads "yes", while Cliff was answering. One more trip before the dinner hour, said Bishop, as the sphere began to move away from the glass city. The mentioning of that word "dinner" sent Kirby's mind into action. He was imagining all kinds of surprises for dinner. He hoped he could get some new ideas from this one. They headed upwards and beyond the city on the same path. You have about fifteen minutes before our next destination, said Bishop. The music came back up. The lights of Region Twelve disappeared behind them. Sarah and Marie let out a sigh of relief. They had been jotting down notes and filming frantically and now they could catch up. Did those reptilian forms remind you of anything, asked Marie? Yes, replied Sarah quickly. They looked like they came straight out of a science fiction movie set. They looked the least comfortable of all the life forms to me. Why? Were you thinking of trying one when we astral travel? No, not me, said Marie. I couldn't help but think of a couple of horror shows I've seen, where these creatures stocked the swampland. If I was going to try any of the bodies, I think I would try the gaseous form. They look like fun. I could pretend to be Casper the ghost and spook all my friends.

The ritual changing of film took place once more. I assume we won't be able to film anything, when we are in our astral forms, said Cliff. That is correct, said Beenan. This will be the last event you can film. Sarah and Kelly decided to have a coffee break with Kirby again. Well Kirby, aid Sarah, I guess your culinary expertise is going to be put to the challenge at supper time? Are you ready for that? You bet, replied Kirby, as he poured the girls coffee.

Allen was thinking about the alien forms he had seen. None of them seemed that strange to him. He was recalling a dream he had had a while back, where the characters looked exactly like those robot creatures. Some of the others looked familiar too. Those metal life forms, said Allen to Beenan, why would you want to go to a place where they are required? It is no different to us, what form we take, said Beenan. We use the life form shapes that are best adapted to our needs. A hairy body like this would do no good on a hot planet. We go there for the same reasons we go to earth. We have made friends like you, throughout the universe. Your mind sees a hostile planet, if we need metal bodies, but we see a beautiful place, with many delights, despite the need for the robot bodies.

Are there any planets you have not visited, asked Allen? More than you can imagine, said Beenan. The largest number you can think of is not even close to the number of life possibilities that are available. We are beginning now, on Balenn, to communicate with life forms that exist on a plane way above us. In time reference, our 16,000 years of life, equates to one year of their life. Because of this enormous time difference, we can't even communicate telepathically. We assume they are working on establishing a link that we may both use, to meet and learn about one another. I suppose it is not much different than us using the Sasquatch as a link between Balenn and earth. We are looking forward to our first contact with these new entities, said Beenan. Me have not yet given them a name, because once we do meet, they will tell us what they like to be called.

The girls came back from the kitchen, munching on chocolates. I am looking forward to dinner said Sarah, but I hope it's not more chili. Dinner will be a little more extravagant, said Beem. It is your last meal here on Balenn, so we want you to have fond memories of it. The music dropped again, two minutes to our destination, said Bishop. Everyone went to their respective seats and cameras. We are coming up on Region Six, said Bo.

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