"Jody Lynn Nye - The Grand Tour" - читать интересную книгу автора (Nye Jody Lynn)

Trying some of them made him feel silly even though he was alone. Others were downright
uncomfortable, either to his physical body or his upbringing. When he found a method that made him
feel at ease, he had worked on it nightly. Only once he had succeeded in lifting himself out of his
physical form, or at least thought he had. It had lasted for only a brief moment. He had felt as though
he was flying. Then, he was whisked right back to his bed in his room. That single, exhilarating
moment of weightlessness was so uplifting to his spirits that it made him delve further into
parapsychological and metaphysical studies. If he was capable of that kind of joy, surely he could find
the key to setting his life onto a more positive path.
He really could not recall how he had come into contact with Keir, but he did remember something
about the instructions for attaining the altered state of consciousness that ought to work. He knew if he
could do it right he would meet his spirit guide and go on a journey to himself. He really wanted to
succeed, but hardly dared that he could.
It looked as if this time he had made it, Chuck thought again, looking around with satisfaction. This
astonishing place couldnтАЩt be a figment of his imagination. He wasnтАЩt that detail-oriented. But it wasnтАЩt
at all what he had thought the astral plane would look like. What had that flight attendant called it, the
Dreamland? He didnтАЩt feel as though he was out of his body, but this certainly was not where he had
lain down, nor was it anywhere heтАЩd ever been in his life. But, now what? To tell the truth, now that he
was here, he had no idea how to begin to straighten himself out, and he only had one night to learn.
Who knew if he could ever achieve this state of consciousness again?
KeirтАЩs voice interrupted his thoughts, jerking him back to the present.
тАЬDid you bring any luggage?тАЭ
Chuck reluctantly returned his attention to the way ahead. He thought hard. Again, that film over
his memory got in the way. тАЬI . . . I donтАЩt know. I donтАЩt think so.тАЭ
Keir sighed. тАЬYou probably did. Almost everyone does. Especially people with personal agendas
like yours. They usually have lots of it.тАЭ
The small man escorted him down endless square passages, some of them carpeted and some not,
some of them with moving walkways, decorated with murals, paintings, sculpture, filled with music,
the sound of falling water, or the rumble of engines. All around Chuck were more wonders, the most
astonishing collection of people and things. Waiting in line at another gate was a host of unlikely
beings, including cartoon characters. As he went by, he recognized Hopkins the Rabbit, the main
character in his favorite childhood Saturday morning TV series. The giant bunny shifted his green
briefcase to his other paw and looked at the outsized wristwatch on his arm. Chuck gawked. To his
amazement, Hopkins looked up and met his eyes. He seemed to recognize Chuck, too. He gave a wink
and a buck-toothy grin, turned sideways and became a tall, thin black line. He was still only two-
dimensional, even here.
As they went around the next corner, Chuck hesitated, eyes wide. The chamber ahead was filled
floor to ceiling with water, pale green and alive with waving fronds of seaweed. There was nothing
holding the water back from flooding the rest of the hallway, yet it stood there like a wall. Keir
plunged in without hesitation. Chuck held back, fearing he might drown. Keir didnтАЩt stop. Chuck
pulled in a huge gulp of air before plunging forward after his guide.
Men in business suits wearing bowler hats and carrying briefcases walked or swam by. A blue-and-
green-skinned mermaid hovered behind a desk resting on the floor and chatted in a stream of bubbles
with a giant, brown crab while humans, animals and fish waited their turns in line. At small white
tables with wrought-iron legs in an underwater cafe, dignified women in business suits sat and sipped
tea, ignoring the fact that their hair was waving around them in the current.
They seemed so at home under the water, yet they looked as normal as Chuck. He wished he felt as
comfortable in his surroundings as they did. He reminded himself they were only dream creations, but
he was a real person. If he inhaled, he would die. The next section of dry corridor was hundreds of
yards ahead. Too far. Chuck felt his lungs twisting with cramp. He couldnтАЩt possibly make it, and
looked in vain for a pocket of air. He tried to get KeirтАЩs attention, but the guide strode ahead, jauntily