THE ELEMENT GUARDIANS

Chapter 9: Master Ribbit

Later that evening, the five Guardians and Quincey finally got an answer regarding their immediate future. For a long time, they had been obedient servants to Master Ribbit’s orders, endangering their own lives to retrieve magical swords. Master Topaz, their soldierly instructor, had told them that an invasion from an evil galaxy was imminent and that such swords would be of great help in defending their peaceful planet Element. These swords were invented, designed, and built by Master Ribbit. It had taken him centuries to produce the final product. The Guardians had been told of Master Ribbit only once before, told that his reputation for fighting evil in the galaxy was universal. So now, as they came face to face with perhaps the greatest person of all time, they first approached Master Topaz to inquire about this famous figure. In other words, they asked: “Who is Master Ribbit?”

Master Topaz understood her Guardians and satisfied their request.

“He comes from a galaxy where the impossible is possible,” she told them. “No one other than Master Ribbit can travel there. The only higher authority among living creatures is his Creator. Master Ribbit possesses unlimited powers unknown to the inhabitants of the surrounding galaxies. He and his immediate family are resistant to harm intended by any existing form of life in the universe.

“He can change his physical appearance according to the various needs. On Planet Element, he looks like a frog, but his daughter appears as a beautiful human girl. The reason for such genetic differences hasn’t been identified at this time. I have the honor of being Master Ribbit’s best friend. This relationship may have occurred because Master Ribbit, being capable of predicting the future, saw that a war was imminent. He then transported his prediction to me in a dream, and eventually I relayed it to you.

“Being an advocate of goodness and justice, he wanted to protect his friends, the Element Guardians, who would in turn protect the entire Planet Element. An example of Master Ribbit’s protective power can be explained by his offspring, Lilley.”

It was then that Lilley herself appeared and sat down beside Dan, who looked at her in disbelief yet ecstatic that she was standing there beside him. “While fighting alongside Dan, a huge scorpion stung me,” she said. “The poison was so deep in the wound that within seconds, any being would have died.”

Dan chimed in. “I ran to her side, knowing that she was dying and there was nothing I could do about it. But all of a sudden, a bright light invaded Lilley’s body and, in a trillionth of a second, this glowing aura was absorbed into my sword. At that time, I was confused by the glare and couldn’t realize that all the while it was Lilley.”

“When Dan was transported to the special temple in this secure galaxy, Master Ribbit immediately retrieved me from the sword,” said Lilley.

“Lilley will be assigned to perform important tasks during the oncoming war,” said Master Topaz. “And speaking of Master Ribbit, one must accredit to him the famous swords now in your possession. However, you must understand that evil has come to know that ‘magical’ swords have been transported to Element.”

“What?” demanded Jason. “With all the precautions taken to protect the swords, how is it that evil knows of their existence?”

“Evil is a powerful collector of cruel beings that side with everything contrary to goodness,” responded Master Topaz. “These weak beings sell themselves to evil because they love destruction and misery. This is why evil, through a web of spies, knew that you Guardians would search for a powerful weapon for the upcoming war.

“Master Ribbit is brilliant indeed. He knew that no one in any galaxy other than you could use such weapons. Master Ribbit will explain to you in greater detail and answer any concerns in due time. We recognize the fact that malicious beings gave you a hard time as you retrieved your weapons during your individual quests. That is why it is so important for you to master them now.”

“But why are the only known swords used as weapons?” asked Jason as the spokesperson for the Guardians.

“Because they’re only known to Master Ribbit,” replied Master Topaz. “Because the swords can assume different shapes and sizes if seen by an outsider, none of your opponents understood that the object they were looking at was actually the most powerful weapon in the universe.

“You should know now that all five swords were placed by Master Ribbit in the locations where you retrieved them. It was done this way for four reasons: one, to increase your mental and physical ability to fight the difficult circumstances you faced to get to those locations. Even the wooden swords had their reasons for existing. Two, to expose you to enemies that you had never encountered before so you could utilize your inherited magic against them. Three, as previously indicated, to mislead the enemy, spies included, by showing them a sword that did not look like much of a secret weapon. The fourth is the most important: regardless of the difficulty you faced during your journeys, you could not be killed. Master Ribbit, via an unknown magical feature, sheltered all of you Guardians and Quincey from being murdered. Lilley’s protection is genetic because she shares some of Master Ribbit’s powers.

“During your stay in this galaxy, your main effort will be to learn the potential of the swords. Be aware that each of you can only use your own sword. No sword can be exchanged between Guardians. This is because the weapon was made for you and only you. Each sword has been designed to blend one hundred percent with your brains and physical ability so that it may respond swiftly to a crisis or emergency during a war. This weapon can react to a mental request originated by a Guardian at warp speeds allowed by the latest quantum astrophysics techniques. It can change to any shape, size, color, temperature, and perform millions of tasks at the same time.

“Sea Breeze, during your journey, without knowing what actually happened, you witnessed the magic of the submarine changing size.”

“It wasn’t normal magic, was it?” realized Sea Breeze. “It was one of the capabilities that Master Ribbit had inserted into the sword.”

“Exactly. Although the weapon was not in your hands yet, your thoughts were already integrated into it,” Master Topaz confirmed. “Even your animal guardians can communicate with the swords, and therefore with Master Ribbit.

“It took Master Ribbit hundreds of space years to build this technology and for this reason, Quincey and myself could not be equipped with such equipment. But while you were on your journeys to retrieve your swords, Master Ribbit engineered other weapons to be deployed by Lilley, Quincey, and myself. All non-Guardians within our squad will have special arms to participate in the battle. I will distribute those weapons to them when we return to Element.

“Seeing as you five Guardians are well known in Element, your families and my own will be protected, because almost certainly the enemy will want to take them hostage or worse. The families will be transported, until the war is over, to a safe galaxy known only by Master Ribbit on a planet called Tarra. This planet is very much similar to our planet Element. You could, at your discretion and depending on the status of the war situation, even visit them.

“This plan has been completed with the cooperation of Master Ribbit and Tarra’s outstanding citizens. Normal social requirements like playgrounds, hospitals, schooling, and stores are in place on Tarra because that planet accommodates similar beings and creatures as those on Element. Meanwhile, Master Ribbit and his family will relocate to this safe galaxy where we are now. From here, he will be the central point of command, leading us during the upcoming war on Element.”

***

The following morning, the five Guardians met Master Ribbit in a large room with walls that were built with panels of white glass. The entire ceiling was covered by unspecified unique silver, like the kind used for metals that emanated lethal photons at night. Seven chairs, next to a round table covered in thick white marble, were the only noticeable furniture. On the table, there were six large metal bracelets without name labels. Five bracelets were the same; the sixth one was different in design and size.

After Master Ribbit had welcomed the five Guardians at the door, a small grin emerged on his face as he watched them walking toward the table. Since there weren’t any names, the five brave men gathered together by the table, wondering where to accommodate themselves. At this point, Master Ribbit walked up next to the group and cleared their discomfort.

“Gentlemen, welcome to the first session of training to use the power of your swords,” he said. “Before we all sit at our pre-selected seats, I would like to tell you something about this room. It was designed by the best architects known in this galaxy. The building material used is not out in the common market yet, and the latest technical addition to this room is amazing. Heat and cold are controlled by the natural environment of this galaxy, whose resources are infinite.

“Because no one but my guests can access this room, there is no need for locks and keys. As you have heard from Master Topaz, this is a galaxy that is not mapped in any geomatics paper. No living being could get here without my permission. We will spend a long time in this room. The intellectual material you will absorb is not only necessary but essential for your own and the entire planet of Element’s survival. All of you have IQs well superior to university professors. I know this because I prepared your exams. Your remarkable results made you Guardians, a task that few beings in the galaxy could achieve.

“Before we start our first session, are there any questions?”

Jason, the leader of the group, replied, “Yes, Master Ribbit, we have two questions. The first is where are our swords? And second, where do we sit?”

“Good questions,” answered Master Ribbit. “The first one is, in a way, joined to the second. Your swords are here in the form of bracelets, and later, I will explain why this transformation took place. As far as where you will be sitting, I couldn’t tell you, but your bracelet can.”

“I don’t even know which bracelet is mine,” said Jason.

“Even I don’t know,” said Master Ribbit. “What each of you should do is ask aloud, one at the time, where your seat is. Your bracelet, wherever it is, will light up in front of the seat you will occupy. You see, each bracelet recognizes only one Guardian and no one else.”

Jason tried it, and saw one of the bracelets begin to glow. Each Guardian repeated the process with their own bracelets, finding their seats within seconds.

“Gentlemen, what you have just witnessed is a simple response between you and your bracelet. Now please, get up from your seating positions, turn around, and walk out of the room. After a few minutes, re-enter the room. Your swords—oops, bracelets—will have been moved around the table. This time, instead of asking loudly where your seat is, think of your request with your mouth closed. See what happens.”

After coming back into the training room, the five Guardians did exactly what Master Ribbit had instructed them to do. Amazingly, the bracelets directed them to their seats once again. Their brains and theirs bracelets had become one.

“Thank you, Guardians. The success of our first official demonstration gives me the confidence that we will defeat whatever enemy we encounter. Now you can place the bracelet on your wrist. The sensation you will feel is the same as if you had on a normal bracelet. Now, all of you, exchange the bracelet with any Guardian you wish. An icy, very icy feeling will force you to remove the bracelet that is not yours, thus proving that you may wield only your own.”

***

Later that morning, Master Ribbbit assembled the Guardians in the same room; this time it was not bracelets that awaited them on the table, but books.

“Please notice the book that is in front of you.” Master Ribbit gestured to them. “It is a special book that contains your personal history, from the day you initiated your journey until the moment you retrieved your swords. These books have been written by you without the burden of a pen. It was your brain that automatically transported the data concerning a particular event onto the proper page in each of your books.

“For security reasons, at the time we introduced this method of information gathering, you were not told of its existence. The motive to furtively register your actions? First, to ensure Master Topaz and me that you and your families’ safety is under control. Secondly, to provide historians with evidence of detailed events that occurred before, during, and after what will be the greatest cosmic war of all time. At your leisure, during your stay in this galaxy, I would suggest you read the escapades of your fellow Guardians during their missions to get their swords.” Master Ribbit smiled as he ended his lecture.

***

“Gentlemen, as of this moment, we have initiated the training that will help us to be victorious against the ever-present potency of evil.” The next segment of their training had begun, and the Guardians were eager to learn more about their bracelets, their Element Swords.

“To defeat such an enemy, around your wrists you have the most powerful weapon ever created in the known galaxies. Yes, I said ‘known galaxies,’ where trillions of planets reside. This weapon is an integration of all the sciences that compose the cosmos such as matter, energy, space, and time. In other words, cosmology, high-energy astrophysics, and the whole electromagnetic spectrum. These sciences contributed to proving the existence of Einstein’s relativity, but the limited velocity of light prevented efficient travel through the cosmos at that time. Without the capability to transport, traveling between galaxies was impossible.

“However, millions of years after Einstein, a maximum warp speed of ten times the speed of light allowed some traveling between galaxies. The real solution, however, of traveling within a reasonable time through the cosmos was solved thirty years ago by myself using a semi-scientific addition to the existing process. This has been incorporated into your bracelets so that you five Guardians can travel as I do.

“As explained to you by Master Topaz, your first transport from here to your temples in Element will be managed by me—after that, you will be able to do it by yourselves. Each of you Guardians must remember that your bracelet belongs only to you—if you lose a leg or an eye, the regenerative part of the bracelet will kick in, but only if it is yours. The same thing will happen if you damage the bracelet. Having said this, let us see each other tomorrow at seven AM. We will start detailing the use of the weapon.”

With this salute, Master Ribbit concluded training for the day.

***

“Good morning, Guardians. I noticed you found your seats with the power of your brain,” remarked Master Ribbit. “To be honest with you I’m very pleased to see how fast you learned yesterday’s lesson. It took me many years to design this portion of the bracelet because the interface between the mind and the electronics was very difficult. The most difficult segment to provide security for. The speed of the mental execution between two or more people is complex but well superior to that which takes place between machines. For this reason, we will concentrate every day on the brain.

“You all proved to be above average in the IQ testing, therefore it will be an easy task for you to understand how powerful this tool is. Each of you will conduct an experiment along with me. For the first part, the other four will be asked to stay out of this room. The one that remains in the room must undertake a task without expressing any emotion I will start with Jason.”

As the Guardians filed out of the room, Master Ribbit went into a closet and returned with a gun in his hand. He stood by the wall opposite to where Jason was waiting for instructions.

“Jason, would you be so kind as to take this gun and shoot me in the leg?” Master Ribbit observed Jason’s expression, but he did not flinch. “Don’t be afraid, the bullet will never hurt me.”

Although he was reluctant, Jason pointed the weapon at the master’s leg and pulled the trigger. The noise of the shot was perceived by the four Guardians on the other side of the door, who immediately opened it to see what happened. What they saw was amazing: a smiling, unhurt Master Ribbit was holding something in his right hand. Jason was holding a smoking gun, looking at it with amazement.

“Gentlemen, I expected your reactions because what happened in this room was not a normal situation,” he said to them. “As you can see, I too have a bracelet, but it’s different from the ones you are wearing. My right hand holds the bullet that was fired from Jason’s gun. I was able to see the bullet while it was in the air and gently grab it before it could hit my leg. This is part of the training you will undergo while you are with me.

“Going back to the bullet, my bracelet informed me with a brain signal that the gun had fired and that I had approximately two hundred milliseconds to intercept the bullet while it was in the air. This information included the projected speed and angle of the missile. I was never in danger of being hit. During the war, you will be faced with similar situations where the enemy will shoot to kill. As of now, I will tell you that you will survive, because the training you will receive will safeguard you against multiple shots. I will show you how easy it will be. There are many ways to respond to such attacks.

“The most important thing I will tell you is that right now, you are using only five percent of your brains. When you’re ready for the war, you will be able to use ninety percent. In an instant, you will be capable of reading the intentions of your enemy, even if they are five hundred yards away. It sounds exaggerated, but it’s not. Remember, your wrist is carrying the most powerful weapon ever invented.

“Before the week is over, all of you will shoot at me. I guarantee you I’ll survive. To prove that you five can do the same, I will shoot at you with soft plastic bullets at the speed of light and you will capture those projectiles as they were real ammo. In time, your confidence will grow to the point that you will be asking me to shoot at you with real bullets. To survive multiple shots, you will utilize other methods involving the use of transport techniques similar to lightening speed. What I mean is not transport from one galaxy to another, but transport from one location to another while in combat.

“What I’m telling you is that, following the Creator’s order, I have invested a large part of my life into building a device that will keep you five Guardians alive to protect not only your planet Element but also the rest of your galaxy from the Dark Sky invasion. I will be seeing you all tomorrow and we will proceed with training in transportation. Today you are free to see Master Topaz, Lilley, and Quincey and share with them today’s experience.”

Finally, after a long period of silence, the Guardians had gotten some important answers from Master Ribbit. They now understood why their journeys had been necessary and, most significantly, the importance of their swords—now in bracelet form—and how Master Ribbit had fooled their enemies by hiding the real value of such powerful weapons.

While Master Ribbit was busy with the Guardians, Master Topaz was entertaining Lilley and Quincey. She introduced to them the preliminary plan, with the two of them as infiltrators into the enemy’s camp. Because of Lilley’s ability to change her physical features, a gift that she had inherited from her parents, and her superior intelligence, she would be considered a direct field operative and receive a lot of assignments. Quincey, who was also intelligent, would be trusted as an informant of the fairies’ techniques in battle, because Master Topaz knew they intended to cooperate with the invaders.

While verbally exchanging the latest events with each other, the Guardians shared with the group their special books that Master Ribbit had created. They spent hours reading and commenting on the contents of their volumes. Every small detail was illustrated, giving the readers the impression of being there. It wasn’t always a good thing. The picture of Lilley disappearing inside the sword gave Dan the shivers.

***

“How is it possible to travel through the cosmos at a velocity greater than the speed of light?” asked Master Ribbit. “This is the question that was asked by astrophysicists many years ago. Today, it is possible to travel at such speeds using only your mind. The mind is connected to a special device that directs the isotopes, the radioactive forms of your unique elements, to the proper locations. All coordinates within the known galaxies are stored inside this device, and it acts as a normal old GPS would. The mind is the engine that propels the build. Build being any form of mass.” This is what Master Ribbit said to the Guardians when he started the next day of training.

“Today, the normal way to travel is achieved by way of teleportation of large objects—in other words, large masses of atoms.”

“So an army can be transported from one galaxy to another?” asked Sea Breeze.

“It can be done, but it requires time and individuals to achieve such transport. My invention transports a mass instantaneously anywhere in a mapped galaxy. You will learn how to transport yourself and others by using my method. All of you were brought into this galaxy as soon as you got possession of the five swords. Nobody in any mapped galaxy has this capability but you five Guardians, Master Topaz, and me. Lilley, being in a delicate position during the war, will be learning how to use it as well with another special method similar to mine. She will attend the training segment along with Master Topaz. Although they, like me, will not be using local transportation for the war. Local transportation is very complicated and took me a long time to resolve because it involves great concentration and knowledge of the territory in which it’s applied.

“For example, being shot by multiple weapons at the same time is a normal situation that must be considered before the defense mechanism is applied. This will happen to you at the time of the battle. As part of the defense, your brain and the bracelet will use multiple solutions that will involve visual detection by the bracelet, which will scan the territory and allow the brain to decide whether to use ‘pulmonology’ or ‘meteorology’—in simple words, clouds or lighting will be utilized. Lighting is around twenty-seven thousand degrees Celsius. That is six times hotter than the surface of Element’s sun. The application of pulmonology at basic transportation speed will direct the lighting toward the location where the enemies are pointing firearms. That section of shooters will be disintegrated without leaving any sign of prior existence. We will simulate this method of defense during the training using robots as the enemy and special glasses to protect our eyes.”

***

“Guardians, the first segment of your training involving the interfacing of your brain with the bracelets will be very hard for you to accept, even as a theoretical introduction. By the way, notice that I have said ‘the first segment of your training,’ because when you attend the second segment, that is to say, the practical fraction, you will need serious help to remain sane. I’m the inventor of this technology thought to be impossible to apply only a millennium ago. You may not know, but in my galaxy, life expectancy is much longer than in your own. Our temporary stays in other galaxies do not affect our longevity. On the contrary.

“See Lilley. Our children have our exact intellectual genetic structures, thus Lilley, when I die, will inherit my cerebral awareness. This natural condition guided me to invent things that are centuries, even millenniums away from being understood by other scientists. I didn't say all because certain creations, like transport, for example, may not be permitted to exist after Lilley.”

These decisions are wise and not disputable. Please don’t ask me who will make such a verdict. In this case, I’m merely the messenger. For this reason, my invention will be used only by a limited number of people. This device, when activated, will automatically be destroyed when in danger of being misused. Your books, likewise, will be activated only by the University of Knowledge and the content will be erased if the bracelet, for some reason, is destroyed. All the information I have forwarded to you today is very important and is not recorded in your books.

“Going back to our bracelet-brain interface function, as indicated before, no one in any mapped galaxy has this capability but you in this room. For me, Lilley, and Master Topaz, we have similar technology that uses a different method of operation. As for pre-fact transport between universes or in local transportation, there is one common factor: the brain. This magnificent organ governs all decisions and commands sent to the bracelet. In return, it receives signals from the bracelet that increase the wearer’s IQ from 160, already genius level, to a number that is so high that it can’t be measured with conventional scales. My specially designed measurement device indicated that a Guardian’s IQ would jump up to 300 or greater. In situations where the Guardian operates in a locale where local transportation is possible, his IQ could go up to 400, maybe even greater.”

Hearing this, the Guardians looked at each other, wondering how all this was possible. Jason couldn’t hold his curiosity and asked mildly if the master knew his own numerical IQ value. A severe silence invaded the room as the Guardians sought to apologize for Jason’s indiscretion. Yet they each looked at Master Ribbit, hoping in their hearts to bargain the answer from him.

“Gentlemen,” Master Ribbit answered. “I understand how difficult it must be to be Guardians. You were selected to hold such positions because you proved that you were special, yet before now, you didn’t know what your intelligence scores were. Only Master Topaz and I knew, because I designed the questions of the test. If you’d like to know your IQs, I could tell you, but I would prefer that you didn’t ask, just as I didn’t ask the designer of my IQ test what my score was. I ask this out of mutual respect for both ourselves in this room and my Creator.”

“Master Ribbit, please forgive our ignorance and my poor choice of words when I made that crazy request,” said Jason. “What we have learned from you today is so different from the reality we know and practice. We heard of your existence from Master Topaz before our assigned journeys but never dreamed that one day we would be in front of such a genius as yourself. Master Topaz was right in saying that you can do the impossible.”

“In due time, you Guardians will be known in many mapped galaxies as the heroes that fought evil and won a war using intelligence as the only weapon. A great example of future beings. You have nothing to apologize for. Now, let us conclude the introduction of the bracelets’ features concerning the brain and transport.

“When I was asked to invent a method of travel throughout the known galaxies and beyond, the condition imposed to me was that such a discovery must be spread to only a select few individuals,” explained Master Ribbit. “Master Topaz, a wonderful partner who helped me immensely throughout the centuries to achieve the impossible, traveled the cosmos to find five individuals that fit such difficult qualifications. You may ask, why five individuals? It was a decision made to account for the many unknowns that mathematicians predicted based on geographical location and intelligence. At the time when these studies were run, you weren’t even born yet. Gentlemen, here we’re talking quantum genetics. We will touch this issue in the future.

“Now, how did I design the basis for traveling utilizing the brain as an engine? Because it has been a very long and tiring section, let me be very brief explaining what triggered this discovery. Using previous traveling ideas, I have noticed that all had a common denominator: motor dependent machines. I decided to look outside the box and utilize the energy given to us by God. We know that way back in time, scientists were analyzing neutrinos and other kinds of obscure matter to better understand the galaxy. They succeeded even in making matter travel faster than light, allowing travel from one location to another using a machine that could spread and collect atoms. It was all good, but not what I was about to do.

“I started to look at hypnotherapy, distance hypnosis, because I realized that consciousness emerges from the operation of the brain. No machine is necessary there. I expended such thoughts and finally concentrated on the power of the brain as a basis for travel—and there you have it. Gentlemen, I will see you tomorrow to initiate the real training.”

***

While Master Topaz started training Lilley and Quincey in a comfortable meeting room, Master Ribbit and the five Guardians entered a training area that resembled the place where the war would begin. It contained, on