I was with Luke, Clyde and Rani. We were going to watch Martin Trueman's show, Secrets of the Stars. "The only reason I'm down here is because this is free. All these horoscopes, signs of the zodiac, it's so sad." Clyde complained. I giggled. "I'm just down here to avoid William." I muttered.
"Come on, Clyde. Everyone checks their star." Rani said, walking into the theater. "I'm Aries, confident, a great leader. What sign are you?" Rani asked Clyde. "Look I'm not getting into this," he said. "His birthday is June the 5th." Luke chipped in. "Right. Gemini. Funny, popular." said Rani. "Oh yeah? Maybe there is something in it." Clyde said. "Lazy, shallow…" I had to add. "There, you see? It's rubbish." Clyde huffed. Rani and I laughed at our friend.
"How about you, Luke? Asha?" Rani asked us. "Astrology has no scientific basis. It's based on primitive observations and a fundamental misunderstanding of the way the universe works." Luke said. "Yeah, thanks for that. I meant what's your sign? When's your birthday?" Rani clarified. "February the 16th. Exactly a month after my father died. Ash Wednesday of 1994." "Oh, I'm sorry. What about you Luke?" Rani said. "I don't have one." Luke admitted. "Good evening." said a dark skinned woman. She must work here. "If I could ask you to write down your names and dates of birth an put them in the box here?" she asked. "Do we have to?" Clyde and I asked at the same time. "Everyone has to. It's part of the show. An essential part of the show." she said, looking at Luke pointedly.
"What do I put? I don't have a star sign?" asked Luke as Rani distributed the pens. "The day you were activated." I whisper to him. "Thanks." he said. Clyde groaned. "What am I doing here? This is no way to spend a Friday night. I should be out there, you know, moving, shaking." A new voice interrupted. "Or perhaps doing your homework?" Haresh asked.
"Dad. You said you weren't coming." Rani said to him. "He's so narrow minded. I said 'how can you dismiss something, Haresh," Sarah Jane had come and stood in between Luke and I. "if you don't give it a chance?'" Gita said. "Wasn't expecting to see you here Mum." Luke said. "Well, it's nice to spend some time with adults, for a change." That made Gita and Haresh smile. "This Trueman's come from nowhere, and now he's pulling in all these people. Who knows, there might be a story in it." Sarah Jane said. "You work too hard." Gita said. "I've been telling her she needs a night out." I grinned. The bell to signal the show starting rang. A voice rang out. It was that woman from earlier. "Tonight's performance…" "Oh, right, come on. We want good seats." Gita said, marching off. "Secrets of the Stars with Martin Trueman will begin in five minutes." The woman finished.
I was sitting next to Luke. Clyde was on his other side. "Martin Trueman says, 'I travelled through life without meaning, until, suddenly, I felt the power of the stars.'" Luke read out to us. "That man needs a life." I said. Clyde looked at me oddly. "I thought you were the one who wanted to go into space." Clyde remarked. "No, I'm the one who wanted to meet an alien." I reminded him. "Oh, Sarah, Rani, over here." Gita called. "Sarah Jane. My name is Sarah Jane." Sarah Jane hissed as Luke and I moved over. "That's what I said." Gita defended. "Never mind." Sarah Jane muttered. "Budge up." Rani said to Clyde. He scoffed. "No! Never sit in a middle seat, or you're trapped." He said. Suddenly, a Fanfare came on. "From the dawn of time, man has looked up to the stars for guidance. Tonight, the secrets of the stars will be revealed to you. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, Mr. Martin Trueman!" His assistance's voice rang out. We all turned back as the spotlight was on the door he just came out of. We were all clapping. He raised his hands. "Thank you, thank you. How nice to see you all." He said. "Wonder how many times he says that in one performance." I whisper to Luke. "Welcome, welcome. Oh, thank you for coming!" he exclaimed. "Ladies! A couple of golden girls here." He said, gesturing at some women in the back. "He's a bit milky, isn't he?" asked Luke. "It's cheesy. For the hundredth time, the word is cheesy!" Clyde hissed at him. "Young man! Welcome, welcome. Thank you." Mr. Trueman said to Clyde. He ran up on stage to lots of applause. "Thank you. Thank you, thank you. Now, Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, I want to share my journey with you. I was a nothing, a nobody, until I learnt the secrets of the stars. In some way, I feel as if I was chosen. There is so much more in the universe than what we can see from here on earth." There was a slight buzzing as Sarah Jane scanned him. "There are 200 billion stars in our galaxy alone. Huge, shifting stellar forces, pulsing with ancient light. But," he chuckled. "You didn't come here for a science lesson did you? No. So, let's try a little showbiz shall we? Now, who in the audience tonight was born on May the 29th?" He asked.
A woman near the back shot up. "What about June the 16th?" he asked again. Another woman stood up. "How about June the 5th?" He asked for the last time. Clyde shot out of his seat. Rani laughed. "What did I do that for?" Clyde asked. "Down. Down. Down." Mr. Trueman said. They all sat down, one by one. "Up!" He cried. They all shot up. "Down! Up! Down! Up!" We were all in hysterics at that point. "That's enough. Thank you. Down." he said.
"Oh no, no, no." Clyde groaned as he sat back down. "A round of applause, please, for my three accomplices." Mr. Trueman said. We all clapped. Clyde still had his face hidden. "How did he do that?" Clyde asked. "The power of suggestion. Oh, simple stuff. A parlor trick." Sarah Jane explained. "Nobody ever mentions that again, okay?" Clyde begs. Rani laughed. "Don't worry. You were really funny." Rani said. "I choose when I'm funny. Not him." Clyde said, still angry. "Now, on the way in, you all put your birthdays in a mystery box in the foyer. My assistant, the lovely Cheryl," Oh, so that's her name. I had wondered. It suites her, I thought to myself as she came on stage with the papers. "Has printed up your birth charts. Thank you Cheryl." He said.
"So, if we're ready, we'll begin, shall we?" He asked. "No, we shan't." I mutter to Luke sarcastically. "I'm looking for a Diane cope." He said. "That's me," a woman at the back said, standing up with her hand raised, looking nervous. "Diane, your Pisces moon indicates a love of learning. I think, perhaps you just went back to college?" He asked. "Yes, that's true." she said, nodding. "She's a plant." Sarah Jane said. "A vegetable life form?" Luke asked. Rani laughed. "It means he knows her." I explained quietly. "He's planted her in the audience." Sarah Jane said. Rani looked back at her. "She looks genuine to me." "Mercury in Virgo, I think you're studying history and sociology." He said. "Yes!" she exclaimed, sitting down.
"Now, let's try somebody else, shall we? Where is Rani Chandra?" He asked. "Oh, wow! Here she is." Gita called. Everyone laughed as Rani stood up. "Now, Rani, would you please confirm the you and I have never met before?" He asked. "No, we've never met before." Rani said, looking around. "Thank you. Now, in your chart Rani, Mercury is in conjunction with Neptune. Am I right in thinking you've just moved house?" he asked. "Yes, your right!" Rani chuckled. "In fact, your whole life is changing. You suddenly see the world in a new light. It's exciting and you love it." He said. "Yes. Incredible." Rani said, looking at Sarah Jane. "And there's an anchoring figure in your life, represented by Saturn. A Taurus man, calm and reliable. Is it your dad? A teacher?" He asked. "My husband. He's here." Gita said, making everyone laugh. Haresh covered his face. "And there's mum, a Gemini of course. Thank you, Rani." He said as Rani sat down.
"Now, who next? Ah, Asha Niko Yamamoto?" He asked. "Here, sir." I said as I stood up. "Ah, Asha. Now, you were born under a very sad star. Aquarius. Please tell me if I'm wrong, but your father died in the Japanese army on January the 16th, exactly a month before you were born?" I felt the tears. "Yes, he did." I said. "And you have lead a difficult life. Loneliness is a typical trait of Aquarius. Bullied at school for being intelligent and believing in the extra-terrestrial, a mother who is rarely at home and living with your step father who dislikes you." I glared at him. "Mr. Trueman, if I had wanted a biography of my life, I would have asked my mother to write it. Goodbye." I said as I walked out of the theatre and went home.
"Morning Sarah Jane! Is Luke inside?" I asked, my eyes still red from last nights crying. "Yes. Are you all right?" She asked. "Yes thanks. I'm fine." I said, gong inside as Rani came up the drive.
"Hi Luke. What're you doing?" I asked. "Going to have and astrology lesson with Mr. Smith. You all right?" He asked, concerned. "Yeah, I'm fine. Can I join?" I asked. "Yeah, sure." He said. "RACE YOU!" I yell, running up the stairs. "Cheater!" Luke called.
"The origins of astrology are lost in the mists of time." Mr. Smith said. "It says in here that the earliest record of astrology was in Babylon, in the 16th century B.C." Luke read out. "It is older than that." Mr. Smith said. "And not just here on Earth. Primitive cultures across the universe charted the patterns of the stars." Mr. Smith informed us. "This is the zodiac of the planet Ventiplex, for example." He showed us a zodiac. "And this is the zodiac of Draconia." He showed us another one. "There's astrology in the cultures of other planets?" Luke asked, amazed. "Yes Luke. A similar system operates in the culture of almost every inhabited planet." Mr. Smith answered Luke. "So it's everywhere." I said in wonder. That continued for a while.
"Mr. Smith, I need…" said a frazzled Sarah Jane, bursting into the attic. "Mum! What's happened?" Luke asked. "We nearly got zapped by Trueman!" Rani exclaimed. "And we need to find out from where he gets his zapping power." Sarah Jane said, pulling of her coat. "He said 'Ancient Lights', whatever that means." Rani piped up, trying to be helpful. "Mr. Smith, analyze the damage to this fabric. What caused it?" Sarah Jane said, holding the jacket up. A green laser scanned the burnt area. "The fabric has been burnt." Mr. Smith stated. "By what?" I asked. "By nothing. Nothing has burnt the fabric." He replied. "That doesn't make any sense." Luke said sensibly. "Nothing has burnt the fabric." Mr. Smith restated. "But it's been burnt." Sarah Jane said. "By something Mr. Smith can't detect." Luke said. "Like Clyde said, how can we detect something we don't believe in?" Rani exclaimed. "The power of the Ancient Lights. What if it is astrology? What if astrology is true?" Rani continued. "It can't be true." Sarah Jane debunked, turning around to face Rani. "It's completely contrary to the laws of physics." Luke shrugged. "I'll call Clyde. He won't want to miss this." Rani said, whipping out her phone to phone our missing friend.
"No answer. It must be on silent." Rani said, discouraged. "Does Clyde even know the meaning of the word 'silent'? I've never asked." I said. "Asha's right. He never puts it on silent. Not even in school. He's probably just got his headphones on." Luke said. "So this energy. We saw it. It exists." Sarah Jane changed the subject, joining us by the door, with the damaged jacket. "Hang on, astrology breaks the laws of physics." Rani said dramatically. "What are you getting at?" I asked. "So, what if the Ancient Lights come from somewhere else? A place where the laws of physics are different, so they can break ours?" Rani suggested. "Brilliant theory. But from where?" I asked as Luke said, "That's like saying you can break the law of gravity." "But maybe that's why Mr. Smith said nothing burnt my jacket. What if this energy, the Ancient Lights, is a different kind of energy to anything that we know?" Rani said excitedly. "No, Rani. The laws of physics, they're the same across the universe." Sarah Jane explained. "Our universe." I said. "But what if the Ancient Lights are from another one?" Luke finished.
"Mr. Smith said that every galaxy has its own form of astrology, not just Earth." Luke began. "Technically he said planet, but whatever. Anyway, what if astrology is a kind of memory of a time before?" I said, knowing Luke and I were on the same page. "Explain." Rani asked, looking curious. "13 billion years ago, the universe was created, a massive explosion, the Big Bang. But what was there before?" Luke said. "Nobody knows." Sarah Jane answered. "What if there was another universe?" I suggested. "Where the laws of physics were different, where astrology worked!" Rani caught on. "And this energy, it somehow survived the Big Bang." Sarah Jane finished the thought.
"The Ancient Light, so they're very ancient. So what have they been doing these last 13 billion years?" Rani asked. "And why have they picked Trueman?" Sarah Jane wondered. "May I make a suggestion?" Mr. Smith piped up. "Oh, go ahead Mr. Smith." Sarah Jane said, turning around to face the Xylok. "If Luke and Asha's theory is correct, the energy form has been waiting for exactly the right astrological conditions across the universe. Trueman's birth chart is a vital part of the equation. He is the channel the energy needs." Mr. Smith said factually. "It wants him for what? What does it want?" Luke asked. "Yeah, it can't have waited that long just to appear on a stage in Acton." Rani dead-panned. "Sarah Jane, my media sensor reports that Martin Trueman is about to appear live on the television. Shall I relay the image?" "Yes please." Sarah Jane responded to Mr. Smith.
I tuned everything out until I heard Sarah Jane say, "We're going there, to the theater." "But how will we stop Trueman?" I asked, guessing what they were talking about. "You can't stop him." Clyde said in a dead voice. "Clyde? Where have you been?" Sarah Jane asked cautiously. "I've turned to the stars." he said, raising his glowing red hands. "Are his hands meant to do that?" I asked, getting scared. The attic started shaking, and there was a rumbling. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, don't be scared." "Clyde!" Luke called. "Clyde! What's happening? What's Truman done to you?" Sarah Jane called out to our friend. "He's given me power." Clyde answered Sarah Jane. "No! Clyde, NO!" Sarah Jane shouted. "Mr. Smith, what's happening?" I screamed. "Nothing is happening. Nothing is happening. Nothing is happening." Mr. Smith kept on repeating. "Clyde!" Luke called again. "It's the dawning of a new age. The power of the Ancient Lights is reborn." Clyde said. "Welcome to the future." Trueman said. Does he ever shut up? "Sarah Jane, you must be destroyed." Clyde said, moving his right hand towards Sarah Jane.
an: I don't own Sarah Jane