7...
	The next few words recorded on the tape machine were after some time. They were slow, drawn out, weary, afraid, and concerning. They were: ....Vegas was something I had no intention of discovering..... long pause, ...ever......ever.....ever.... This was followed by long moments of silence and introspection between my colleagues and I as we sat atop a grassy mound slightly off the main strip. To try and explain what had happened in that great span of time in any traditional sense would be ludicrous, but then again the whole idea was ludicrous. Consciousness began to slip away and nothing could help me at that point. Assimilation had begun and soon I could think of nothing that was mine. The voices began to fill my head. They were cartoon like at first. I thought they were coning from speakers, but to no such luck. They rose to such an intense level, they had totally plagued my mind and I had become part of a collective conscious brain of a throbbing, ever flowing entity or organism known as Vegas. All I could do was let go and walk amongst the sea of the whole. All the aspects were there...the immense flourish of testosterone, estrogen, greed, ego, sex, hunting, pornography, status, all the bits America has been indulging in for quite some time. Soon there was no real differentiation between the street and the side walk. At times they were both one, but it didn’t seem to matter because the flow was constantly perpetuating itself further and further. We had all become part of a closed circuit- mucilaginous organism/microcosmic universe. Was it really all man made, or is Vegas just an intense power point of the earth, working in harmony with the flow of energies and currents to create a massive vortex bringing millions of souls together to sustain its life? It’s mirrored through the flow of people and its wily tools of looping them infinitely. It’s mirrored through the flow of traffic and all its similar traits, such as the ever present hormone driven squelch of tires on asphalt...squealing off like clockwork, and the vicious road blocks and loops that make leaving the place more difficult than one would think. We just kept walking.. The pain in the feet had been pushed further behind the glaze of the mind, as tendrils of psychic reprogramming were slipped in and out of the conscious and subconscious mind. There was the fear that this was what life was ALL about, and somehow we were experiencing it as an ?it?. After what seemed like the longest span of time ever, out feet hit unpaved ground and our wits came recoiling back in horror. We followed the dirt up to a grassy knoll, collapsed, and tried to grasp what had just happened. We had some juice and shared a grapefruit. We tried to communicate and understand what was going on, but language crumbled. A good 15 or 20 minutes past of laying in the grass staring up at the sky...two things we could remember as true to hold onto. We began to stabilize and relax, slowly bringing our breathing patterns to an organic familiarity. We then began psychically repairing the immense taint that had scathed our souls, and using what had just been shown to us as a tool for understanding that which cannot be understood. Then, the laughter came like thunder. Some of the most manic, psychotic, true, and releasing laughter one could muster. In a state such as that sometimes all you can do is laugh. When we had mustered enough strength to brave another go at the chaos, we continued on our way back to the “sanctuary”. We were far enough from the heart of the vortex now to maintain and in some way enjoy the dazzling sparkle and charm of this force. There were still magnitudes of the “whole” droning by us and not a single one looked towards the trees, the grass, the sky, or dirt to reground and break free of the mighty hold. All I can really say about the rest of the evening into morning was that it flowed through a number of ever changing swells dealing with introspection, understanding, bonding, and the most painful release of the most laughter I have ever mustered....and in mere hours we would be right back in the land shark for another 24hour span of restless containment, doing God knows what until we hit P-town again. Sleep deprivation was at an all time high. We left the parking lot at approximately 9am on saturday, but couldn’t manage to get onto the freeway until after 10am. There were a multitude of strategically placed detours and other taxing complications. All I know is that we were back on highway 95 in the midst of a calm, serene, unpopulated desert with mountains, joshua trees, cacti,dust devils, myself, Eric, Laura, a green land shark, love, and harmony... and I gave more thanks and praises to that than can be measured. There was so very much more to this whole experience than can ever be explained to anyone who wasn’t there, but I try.....documentation, translation, and integration. All I know is that no one should ever be put through anything like what we experienced. No matter how useful, thought provoking, or life changing. I give many thanks and praises for holding up as well as I did and many thanks and praises to the well being of my companions. I give a thousand blessings to all that which is and continue to spread love, chaos, creation, experience, and life to help better understand our selves and our universe. a man once spoke.... and no one listened. end transmission.
			the author....and good doctor.