When inhaled, it gave the most euphoric high. And Paradise became that much more alluring. And all thoughts of war would simply go away.
There was no doubt that some sort of manipulation was at work here. That something supernatural was watching over everything, pulling the strings, making sure that everything was as pleasant as possible.
And after a while, all talk of conflict and hostility seemed silly, foolish, utterly human. They came to think of themselves as enlightened and above it all.
But were they really? Had they been spiritually elevated by the beauty of this place enough to see the futility of war? Or had they been lulled into it by some divine, unseen puppeteer, by that something in the air that made them all unintentional pacifists?
There was no way of knowing. But eventually, all talk of going back simply faded away.
There were many other souls here, of course. In Happy Valley, which they had come to call their piece of Paradise, Hunter estimated at least another 100,000 individuals inhabited the grassy plains nearby. And trillions of others were undoubtedly scattered throughout the infinite number of valleys beyond. Hunter and Xara had spoken to many of their neighbors inside Happy Valley. All had been friendly to a fault. No one ever questioned what they and the others in the UPF contingent were doing here, or why they seemed just a bit different, or even why there were twelve enormous spaceships hanging on the edge of the valley, just a couple hundred feet off the ground. The UPF had been accepted by the others in the valley simply because everything was good here, and there was never any basis for conflict.
At the same time, it was agreed among the United Planets troopers that they would not get into any details with the locals about how they'd arrived here or why they were all still wearing combat suits while everyone else wore little else than short white tunics or at most, the long white gowns.
Every authentically departed soul Hunter and Xara had spoken to here had another thing in common: not one of them had ever bothered to see what was over the next bill, never mind the next mountain. Just like the customers of the crude holo-girl trips, they were so happy where they were, they never had any reason to go anywhere else. The same was soon true for the 40,000 members of the United Planets vessels. This place was so beautiful, the desire to move beyond one's own sight line just wasn't there for them.
But not so Hunter and Xara. They were in love, but they were also very curious. Some things they just had to know.
So they had explored this place, setting off on journeys that took them hundreds of miles away from Happy Valley. They had seen many things in these walking trips, had met many souls, had discovered many things about this strange and wonderful place. And in doing so, they had become as close as two souls could be.
They'd begun this particular trek — their 113th — by going over the mountains northwest of Happy Valley.
It was a direction they'd not taken before. Most of their trips started out heading due west. As always, once on the other side of the small range, they'd come upon yet another row of valleys, all laid out, perfectly, in a series of rolling hills and vast, grassy plains. They cut across this row of valleys, then climbed over the next mountain range, then through the next series of valleys, and so on.
As with all their other journeys, the beautiful landscape never changed. Just like the beach and the ocean, they seemed to go on forever. They'd discovered that the number thirty-three was important just about anywhere they went. Each valley was exactly thirty-three miles around, had exactly thirty-three streams, thirty-three ponds, and thirty-three apple orchards. Always one long river wound through it; always exactly thirty-three miles long. They'd found no woods here, no forests, no cluttered glens. The largest group of trees they'd come across numbered, no surprise, thirty-three. The emerald grass grew everywhere, but not one blade reached more than three or thirty-three inches high. There were no weeds, no thistles, no thorns on any of the flowers. There were no rocks, at least not on the valley floors.
No sinkholes, no ditches or exposed roots. The deepest part of any pond or stream either thirty-three inches or thirty-three feet exactly. The same with the river, which, at its widest point, was always thirty-three feet across.
However, this trip proved to be different, as they eventually came to a valley unlike any other they'd seen. It was located about fifty mountain ranges over from Happy Valley and featured the same gently meandering river, the same perfectly planted orchards, the same scattered concentrations of shiny, happy people. But this valley also contained a vast lake, right in the middle. Its water seemed as golden as the light from the sun. In fact, its surface reflected the sky so intensely, it was almost hard to look at. Smooth as glass, it was surrounded by hundreds of individual apple trees. Their blossoms scented the air with an almost orgasmic sweetness.
Hunter and Xara were both surprised by this change in the terrain. In all their other sojourns, the topographic pattern of this place had remained the same. But a bigger surprise was yet to come.
As they drew closer to the lake, they were able to see its far shore. On the other side was a city. It looked like an enormous palace, huge and bright; so bright, they could see it clearly even though it was still a great distance away. It had towers and spires and domed structures; some were spherical, triangular, some conical. The illumination seemed to be coming from the shimmering of the buildings themselves and everything contained within them. There was an almost visible vibration surrounding the city.
They stopped at the lake's edge; from here they could see people lounging on the far shore. They could also hear singing coming from the city, a call-and-response chorus between two choirs. The voices echoed across the mirrored lake, one choir singing from somewhere on high, the other from deep inside the dazzling metropolis. They soon realized there were many different songs being sung at once, by many different voices. Yet they were all in perfect harmony.
At one point, Hunter looked down at his feet and was surprised to see they were moving in rhythm to this music. Then he felt his fingers begin to snap, and his head begin to sway back and forth. Then it began happening to Xara, too. A moment later, they were both dancing! It was a crazy moment; Xara moved very gracefully and naturally, but Hunter had never danced a step in his life. He'd tried to stop himself, but at the same moment he knew he couldn't — and he didn't want to. He felt like he was being filled up inside. The joy was indescribable. There were no words for the sensation. Ecstasy didn't even come close. They danced like this for what seemed like a very long time, his feet moving, her body caught up in the ethereal orchestrations, both of them bathed in the reflected warmth of the water. Finally, their eyes teared up. And then the music stopped, fading out in one long echoing coda. They'd both collapsed to the ground, laughing and exhausted.
After a while, their wits returned and they got to their feet. They drank some of the sweet water and felt refreshed again. Then came a great temptation to jump into the lake and swim to the other side and visit the city. And they probably would have done this except for one thing: the city looked so magnificent, they were afraid if they'd entered the place, they might not want to leave.
So they'd moved on.
They went over the next mountain range and walked through the next series of valleys.
They met many congregations of people along the way; the scattered communities could usually be found near riverbanks or along the edges of ponds. They were always warm and friendly and, upon seeing them, would always exchange pleasantries. Sometimes Hunter and Xara would stop and chat and drink some water with them. They both knew they could stay a minute or a year; it didn't matter. They would be welcome whatever the case, and the interaction would always be rich and interesting. But never once did they mention where they'd come from, or how they got there, or why they were different from everyone else. Hunter wasn't sure if it would have made any difference. That's the way it was in this place. It was the ultimate in tranquillity. No need to worry, no reason not to be happy. There was only one difference between these souls and him and Xara. They had all died and passed over; Hunter and Xara had not. At least not yet.