Our story begins in the days before the Planetary Council had forbidden interplanetary trade with the small blue planet called Terra. Our first actor is Atalon, who came from one of the small planets circling the triple star, Sirius. His home planet was Obergon, the ruling planet of the Obergon solar system. From the planet Obergon, the court of his father, Lord Odon, ruled the smaller planets; (Felgon, Argon and Trigon) that orbited the star Obergon.

Obergon, Atreus and Sirius were the three stars that made up the Sirian Triple Star System. Obergon, the planet on which Atalon had learned the lessons of the physical world, bore a great similarity to Terra. Because of this similarity, Atalon yearned to rule Terra as he yearned to rule his home world, Obergon.

The young prince had learned the skill of interplanetary travel while still in his creation process, and thus was able to visit Terra whenever he desired. He would “think” himself wherever he wished to be and then materialize an appropriate body out of the local surroundings.

The blue gem called Terra spoke to Atalon in many subtle ways. On Obergon he was second to his sister, who was placed on the throne when their Father left. On Terra, he could make himself first with anyone, but especially with women. Atalon loved women because of the deep unacknowledged love he had for his sister. But he also felt mixed emotions of resentment and anger toward women because of jealously and hurt pride.

The story of how Atalon tricked his sister into going to Terra, and how he trapped her there, will be told later. Our present story tells how Atalon misused his power and consequently forced the Planetary Council to close the small blue planet to trade from other planets. An order of non-interference was issued. The punishment for disobeying the order was complete assimilation. Simply put, the offending entity would cease to exist as a separate being with a will of its own and would become one with the greater intelligence that rules the combined universes. Atalon was not the only space traveler who took advantage of the beauty and innocence of the planet Terra. There were many, but Lord Atalon is the one with whom we are concerned now. The story of his early visits to the planet Terra holds a special power for the human who bears the soul of Atalon. Somewhere on the small blue planet, a man looks up into the night sky and sees a bright blue star he feels is home. He has no idea why the star called Sirius speaks so sweetly to him. His memory of his life near that star is not yet fully awakened. And therein lies the reason for this tale.

It is now time for the sleeping memory of Atalon to awaken. Much has been learned from his stay on Terra, but it is now time for him and his family to leave, taking with them the knowledge and wisdom they learned in the Terran School. Atalon and his brothers and sisters are needed elsewhere in the universes where the special type of love that can only be learned on Terra is greatly needed.

Atalon made a fine looking human. His hair was the color of the Star Sol and his eyes were as blue as the oceans of Terra. Compared to Terrans, he was tall. His skin was golden while theirs was white or dark brown. The raiments he wore bespoke his noble lineage. His retinue of faithful servants showed his great power.

Atalon was a master metaphysician. In his studies, he had transcended alchemy and learned matter transmogrification. This skill is not uncommon on the planets of the universe where the nature of material illusion is understood, but on Terra, where a young group of souls was being schooled, these skills made Atalon appear as if he were a god.

Not only could Atalon change physical matter; he also had learned to alter the most private thoughts of Terrans. He could make Terrans do whatever he wanted. He did not have to force or coerce them. He could make them serve him willingly and happily. He could erase their minds, change their memories, program them to serve him, or even to love him. Atalon loved having this kind of power. He played with the humans of Terra as children play with toys.

Lady Shalma, eldest daughter of King Phylos of Atalontis and betrothed to King Xanos of Egypta, was in the garden caring for her plants when to the gate a handsome young man approached. Shalma had heard stories about the great god Atalon, but he had not appeared in Atalontis since the time of her birth. Eighteen years was a lifetime to Shalma, but to Atalon it had been only long enough for a quick trip back to his home world to attend his sister's betrothal celebration.

Atalon stood at the gate, momentarily mesmerized by the beauty he saw before him. Never on Terra had he encountered such physical perfection. The features, the texture, the color... everything was so perfectly flawless he wondered if this was one the many beings he had created. The quickening feeling in his breast assured him that Shalma was not one of his creations. He had never felt love for his own creations. As he gazed at Shalma, he felt something he had never felt before. He felt as if he was falling in love.

His eyes had never before drunk in such beauty, such grace, such poise, such love. Here before him, in the garden of his old friend Phylos stood a creature so rare and so fine that only she could be his soul mate. Atalon had fallen deeply in love for the first time. It didn’t matter if Shalma loved him. He would make her love him, even if it meant altering her thought patterns and memories.

Atalon truly believed Shalma was the soul created to be his other half, therefore he felt that anything he had to do to make her feel this also, was appropriate. If he had to erase the memory of her true soul mate, he would do it. If he had to change her thoughts so that she would love him, he would do it. If he had to program her to believe that their souls were destined to become one, he would do that also. He would do anything to possess the rare and lovely woman who stood in his friend’s garden.

Vowing to leave with Shalma as his wife, Atalon quickly pushed open the gate and entered the private garden. He frightened Shalma and she summoned her guards. The guards quickly rushed toward the intruder. Shortly before they reached him, Atalon put into their minds the picture of the God Atalon. The guards quickly prostrated themselves on the ground in front of him. Shalma was too astonished to speak. Her guards were the bravest and best trained in the land. They feared no one. They bowed to no one but her or her father. "Who is this brash young man?" Her thoughts held disdain and fear, as well as wonder.

Arise and tell your Master of my return." Atalon commanded the guards. They quickly left garden. He was alone with Shalma. Atalon rapidly scanned her mind to learn as much about her as possible. Shalma was totally oblivious to what Atalon was doing. As he was scanning her memories, he was changing the ones that did not suit his plans for her.

Shalma’s higher self, a part of her soul that had never incarnated in the material, understood the peril. Her higher self pleaded on her behalf and told Lord Atalon of the great mission that Shalma and her soul mate, Xanos had been chosen to perform. She told Atalon about the breeding experiment taking place upon the planet Terra. She reminded him that Terra had been chosen as the planet on which the developing souls from Atalon's home world would incarnate to finish their lessons on the material plane. She reminded him that the sun from his home had become a red giant and his planet could no longer support life. She told Atalon that if that if he proceeded with his selfish desires he would set back the breeding experiment by ten thousand years. She also added that this delay could imperil the combined universes.

Shalma’s higher self could not comprehend that Young Lord Atalon didn't care about the breeding experiment. He had heard about it, but he wasn’t interested in it. That was his Father and Sister’s project. He couldn’t have cared less about it.

Therefore, taking Shalma from Terra, and installing her as his first consort back on his home planet, would cause him no guilt at all. It did not matter that his selfish actions would set back the evolutionary progression for millions of souls in his own soul family.

Shalma's higher self sadly realized that she was dealing with a soul that had no compassion for other life forms, not even those who were part of his own soul group. She saw that he understood romantic love, and she made one final effort to save from erasure the love that Shalma bore for Xanos. Atalon was told that Xanos and Shalma were the two halves of a soul that had been split in two for a planetary purpose. Somewhere, deep inside of him, the truth of this rang a chord. He listened as he was told that the two halves had been preparing for lifetimes to perform the great mission that had been assigned to them. If Atalon removed Shalma from Terra not only could she never fulfill her life plan, but also she would forever be separated from Xanos, her other half.

Shalma's higher self saw into the future and knew that one day Atalon would tire of Shalma and leave her on empty world, served only by creatures that were created and programmed by Atalon. Shalma’s higher self pleaded for Atalon to leave the memory of Xanos in tact. Atalon also saw into the future. Atalon knew the pain of separation. In this moment of pure new love, he vowed he would never do that to Shalma. Even though he would not permanently erase the memory of Xanos, he would conceal it so deeply, that by herself, Shalma could never find it.

Atalon listened carefully to the pleadings of Shalma's higher self. The conversation lasted about an hour of Terran time, but to Shalma only seconds had passed before she heard the Lord Atalon laugh. As he laughed he sent back the silent reply to Shalma's higher self, "Before this day is gone, the love she bears for Xanos will not even be a memory. I, Lord Atalon, will be the only love of her life!"

Shalma's conscious mind had been totally unaware of the communication taking place between her soul and Atalon. She knew nothing of the pleadings to leave her and her soul mate alone so they could carry out the mission for which they had been created. The soul of Shalma begged Atalon once again to forget his own selfish desires and think about the other souls who were involved, the younger children of his Father, the Great Lord Odon. Atalon laughed once more, and ended forever all communication with Shalma's higher self. Henceforth Shalma's soul would never be able to reach her or Atalon.

Shalma now belonged Atalon alone. She looked up at the handsome and arrogant young man who was standing before her. At first she had wanted him thrown out of her garden, but now she was feeling something for him that she had never felt for anyone but Xanos. Unknown to her, Atalon was busy changing her thoughts and memories. Soon she would have difficulty remembering the name of her beloved mate, let alone the loveliness of his face and the gentleness of his touch.

It was easy for Atalon to have his way with Shalma for hers was a young soul group not yet skilled in dealing with the thought-changers. Given time, the newly incarnated souls would grow wise in the ways of the material plane and develop skills equal to those of Atalon. But for now the conscious mind of Shalma was swept away by the overwhelming love she suddenly felt for Atalon.

She loved him with her body, mind and soul. However, each time she swore the oath upon her soul, another presence would grip her and she would fleetingly remember sweeter days and a different presence. She was not and would never be free of her love for Xanos. He was her other half, the masculine part of her eternal soul, the north pole to her south pole. He was the mate with whom she would reunite once her journeys were complete. Her mind and her body may love Lord Atalon, but her eternal soul would forever bear the pain and humiliation wrought upon her by the young Lord from Obergon.

After consulting with his old friend Phylos, a quick wedding celebration was performed, after which, Atalon physically removed Shalma from Terra. He installed her in his palace back on Obergon. Shalma's soul knew that Atalon had no more love for her that he would have for a fine animal. He would soon tire of her and be off again on another adventure. But after Shalma, Atalon's adventures would never be the same.

While scanning Shalma’s mind, Atalon felt something he had never known before. The love between Shalma and her soul mate was mysterious and desirable. He vowed he would feel that kind of love. As the weeks and months wore on, Atalon slowly realized he did not love Shalma as she loved her soul mate Xanos. While life with her was pleasant, Atalon now had a mission in life… a mission that would keep him traveling to every planet in the combined universes, looking for the one soul that could make him feel the kind of love that Shalma felt for Xanos. He vowed he find his other half, even if it meant he had to meet every feminine soul in the combined universes.

The intensity of Shalma's love for Xanos had changed Atalon. He would never be the same. Shalma's love had opened a deep wound in Atalon. The pain was so intense he could not bear to look at it; therefore he never knew what was causing the pain. Without realizing that the secret of his own soul mate was hidden behind his pain, Atalon set off on his universal travels. This time his journey had a purpose, other than playing with lower life forms. This time Atalon set out to search the stars for a love he never knew existed. A love he could never experience until he stopped long enough to look within. Until Atalon was strong enough to face his own pain, he would never find the soul who had been created to join with him and become the other half of a new super-soul.

Because Shalma had a soul mate, Atalon assumed that everyone must have one. But this was not the case for Atalon. Even though it appeared that he and his other half were split souls like Shalma and Xanos, this was not the case. Atalon and his soul mate had burst forth from the womb of creation at exactly the same instant. The two souls were an experiment that had been sanctioned by the Universal Council. Atalon and his intended mate were created for the purpose of saving the Combined Universes. Whatever they did with their lives did not matter to the Universal Council. All that mattered was that they evolved, learned their lessons and accomplished their mission, before it was too late.

Atalon and his mate were created as two whole souls who will become geometrically more powerful than they were created, once their lessons are complete and they are permitted to join as one.

Shalma and Xanos were once one soul. They are now one soul in two bodies. After XanoShalma had matured to a certain level, their soul volunteered for a planetary mission, which required that they split into two halves. One half was the positive pole, or masculine side; one half became the feminine or negative pole. Because Shalma was a feminine pole, and Xanos was the masculine pole, they attracted each other like magnets.

Atalon could not attract his other half. He was created with the positive and negative poles within his own being. He was created whole, and could have felt whole, if the pain of his creation had not caused an open and festering wound. A wound so painful that he could not bring himself to look at it and discover what had caused it. Because of this, he doomed himself forever to walk the stars on a hopeless quest for a non-existent ideal.

Atalon chose to travel throughout the universe, while the other soul, (his sister, Raelon) the soul which was created to eventually unite with his, returned to the womb to help nurture the younger souls. Atalon developed his masculine nature, while the other soul developed the nurturing or feminine side of the soul. Atalon felt pain at being deserted. Because of this, he built a steel chamber to hide his pain. Until he opened the steel chamber and discovered what he had hidden in it, he was doomed to wander the universe like a blind man seeking sight. All he needed to do to become whole was to stop long enough to look within, but this truth was too simple and too painful for Atalon to understand.

The soul of Shalma, in great despair, brought her case before the Planetary Council. She set forth in detail the transgressions and manipulations perpetrated on the developing Terran souls by Lord Atalon of Obergon. She told how he had conducted his own breeding experiments creating women so beautiful that men from other worlds came to Terra to satisfy their own lustful desires. She told how Atalon enslaved some of the little Terran people, to work in his gold mines. Shalma spoke to the Council about Atalon's lack of compassion and how he influenced other souls until they became just like him.

Because Atalon was the powerful first son of the Great Lord Odon, the other souls felt that everything he did was correct and sanctioned by the Planetary Council. Many souls looked upon him as their Lord, their teacher and patterned their life plans after Atalon. If Atalon was selfish and heartless, these souls believed that this must be a desirable trait to possess.

Shalma’s soul barely mentioned her own misery, choosing first to protect her family and friends. However, just as Atalon could read the minds of humans, the members of the Council could read the thoughts of Shalma's soul. Her true plea was heard. The Council immediately understood the grave situation that existed as a result of Atalon's selfish and hedonistic actions. The Council acted without pause.

The Planetary Council was in charge of the breeding experiment, which was taking place on Terra. They knew about the traders and travelers from other planets who had met and bred with the daughters of Terra. They even knew about Atalon's own creations. But since the resulting offspring were so few, the Council had decided not to take action. In the case of Shalma, things were different.

A being from Terra had been physically removed against the desires of its soul and the plans of the Planetary Council. The being that was removed was not just an ordinary soul. It was a soul that had been groomed and prepared for a planetary mission. By removing this soul, Atalon had not only altered the evolutionary plan for that soul, but he had altered the Planetary Plan.

Shalma was an ordinary soul. The mission she and Xanos had agreed to do would be critical to the creation of the lighter and finer bodies that were needed for the next evolutionary stage of soul development. As souls mature, they need bodies that are capable of handling more of the soul energy. Denser physical bodies keep a soul at the primitive level of survival and reproduction. As souls mature, they require physical bodies that are capable of intellectual reasoning and philosophical discovery. These advanced bodies pave the way for an enlightening or awakening response which signals that the soul is ready to graduate from the Terran school.

When Atalon removed Shalma from Terra he removed her gene pool. This gene pool had taken thousands of years to create. Shalma was one of the most genetically advanced beings upon Terra. Her offspring from Xanos would produce the DNA necessary for humankind to reach the pinnacle of creation upon Terra. Without Shalma’s genes, the higher and finer bodies would not be created for tens of thousands of years. This meant that the Obergon souls, who were waiting for these bodies, would be delayed by that same amount of time. These souls were needed by Lord Atalon. Would he and his brothers be able to contain the threat at the border until his children were strong enough to join him?

After the Council became aware of the facts presented by Shalma's soul, they closed Terra to all trade and visitation. Even though their breeding experiment had been irrevocably altered by Atalon's interference, the council decided that the experiment could be saved if they closed the planet. They needed to make sure outside influence would interfere with the steps they needed to take to restore the Plan on Terra.

The Council ruled within moments of hearing Shalma's story. Terra was closed to all souls who are not officially assigned to Terra by the Planetary Governing Council. The punishment for disobeying the non-interference order was immediate absorption.

Their action was fair and of great importance to the humans of Terra, but for Shalma, the decision came too late. Even though Shalma's soul had acted within seconds, the difference in time between Terra and Universal Headquarters saw the passing of a thousand Terran years.

During this time, Atalon had transported Shalma to his home planet of Obergon and set her up in his palace as first consort. Shalma's soul had been right in predicting that soon Atalon would tire of her and continue his wanderings. They had hardly settled on Obergon before Atalon was off again. This time Atalon did not leave seeking adventure, riches or new toys. This time he went seeking for the one woman who would fill the emptiness within him...the one woman who would love him the way Shalma loved Xanos. This time he went in search of his other half.

While Shalma's soul was with the Council she was given a glimpse of the soul evolution of Atalon. She was given this insight because the Council knew the part she would eventually play in the joining of Atalon with the soul that had been created to join with his. Shalma was told that part of the growth pattern Atalon's father had developed for his children was for them to become whole within themselves before being told of their mission. They would never be told that while they were created whole, they were intended to join with another soul to create one super soul with powers far beyond any soul in the universe.

No wonder Atalon’s search would be in vain. His soul was not like Shalma's. Had he spent more time on Obergon, instead of wandering throughout the combined universes, he would have known this. But he refused to subjugate himself to teachers on Obergon who could have taught him all the mysteries surrounding his creation. He refused to have anything to do with the mystery schools of Obergon because his sister, Raelon was in charge of them. Because he refused to become a student, he never learned the secrets of Obergon's mystery schools. These schools were the only ones that could tell him the secret of his birth. There he would have learned that his destiny was different. But since he would not consent to study the secret mysteries in a school run by his sister, he would never know he was different and could not find love as others did.

Because he did not understand that his creation was an experiment, he did not understand the tremendous sadness and desperation that filled him. It was a sadness created from separation, a separation that occurred when souls were ejected from the womb of creation at the exact instant. It was a separation that was required in order for growth to take place. It was a separation that required a circular journey back to wholeness.

In the beginning he was whole, in the end he would be whole. But at the moment, he was in the middle of the journey, with no understanding of the beginning, no belief in an end, and no comprehension of how to complete the journey.