Lea laughed and as I turned my bewildered face toward her she said, "Don't worry, Jon. Some of them can't see you in your astral body, but they can't hurt you, either, by walking through you."

As she said this a part of the wall opened and she walked through. I followed, experiencing the eerie sensation of watching the door slide shut through my leg.

The room was filled with strange looking chairs neatly arranged around a large cylindrical container with a curved glass-like top.

I was startled to see lying in its bedlike interior the naked body of-me!-apparently asleep for I could see my chest rising and falling.

Lea smiled triumphantly and said, "That's your new body, Jon. It's almost identical to your 1976 body except that it has no physical imperfections."

"Good God!" I exclaimed. "It's me-and-and-I'm me!"

"That's right, Jon. You are you, it's you, and I'm you," Lea explained.

I had too many questions to even speak coherently.

"This body is modeled after our electronic pattern and your gene patterns. It's alive, but it won't be occupied until your astral body enters it."

My mind was spinning.

"I want you to let go of your mind with all its concerns, and let me take over the operation of your astral body for the next few minutes." Lea was saying. "Can you trust me, Jon?"

Looking into those all knowing eyes, my mental turmoil was gradually replaced by desire until every fiber of my being reached out to this girl who called herself Lea.

Nodding my head, I said, "I trust you, Lea."

Suddenly I was as clear-as honest, as open, as undefended-as she was. There were no barriers between us. We merged, and though her lips did not move, I heard her voice.