Free Reformation by Mark Henrikson

to power an iron-boron electromagnet that could pull a life force escaping its physical form to a focal point to preserve it for all eternity if desired.
    Unlike the Novi who used a blasphemous machine to prolong their lives, the Alpha accomplished it through a completely natural method that consumed absolutely none of Mother Nature’s precious resources.
    “It’s happening,” one of Tepin’s fellow monks said from the corner.  Tepin turned his head to see the man sitting next to a bed where the oldest member of the red planet colony lay. 
    The elder had contracted the parvovirus a week earlier and his immune system was no longer able to cope with the particularly aggressive virus.  He was in the final stages of respiratory failure and did not have long in this world. 
    Tepin slowly turned his attention back to the flat stone altar flanked by two seven foot clay vases.  He closed his eyes for a minute to say a silent prayer; when he opened them again he saw the radiant glow of a divine spirit floating an inch above the altar’s stone surface.  The robust red and gold flame flowed like liquid metal from side to side with a divine fire burning from within. 
    He watched the life f orce intently for a few minutes because he had high hopes for this one.  The man had lived a long, productive life and had much to offer the collective.  All his life force needed to do was hold it together long enough for the others to accept him.
    Tepin saw the vibrant glow flicker a bit, and then watched in sorrow as the glow slowly drained from the flame until the light was extinguished from existence.  What a pity.  Tepin only hoped that when his day came his life force would somehow measure up and be deemed worthy.
    **********
    Kuanti felt the new presence the instant it arrived in the collective consciousness of the Alpha relics.  There was a strange and unexpected harmony in the collective considering there were over a half million life forces present.  These disciplined minds were able to shelter their inner thoughts from the others to the extent only relevant information was shared.  The instant that harmony was disrupted by a newcomer it was open season.
    In life the Alpha determined leadership and worth by one’s ability to physically dominate others.  Existing as a formless stream of consciousness did away with that tool.  Alternatively, they made sport of mental domination instead.
    Kuanti remembered how thoroughly violated he felt the moment his thoughts entered the collective, which only included a few dozen others at the time.  His deepest fears, his most profound insecurities that he kept secured away in the back of his mind were dragged out into the open for everyone to feed upon.  The humiliation was almost too much to bear; he contemplated letting his life force expire.  The others sensed the impulse of course and egged him on to go through with the decision.
    In the end , Kuanti found just enough hope and strength of will to hold on until his mind was able to keep his thoughts private from the collective.  Since that day, existing among the others who were strong enough of will not to end their existence either had been a true pleasure. 
    Kuanti knew immediately this newcomer did not have what it took to survive; very few did anymore given the numbers they faced.  Cora was the first to grab onto the man’s humiliation of cheating on exams in school.  Another sensed his paralyzing fear of reptiles and projected into his thoughts an image of the newcomer being devoured by an enormous serpent.  Cheating on his mate, fear of the dark, inadequacies in athletics all crashed in on the new arrival at once; it was too much. 
    T he life force left the collective almost as soon as it arrived.  The mental discipline it took to exist as a formless stream of consciousness took time.  Time the weak-minded did not have. 
    Most newcomers chose to immediately extinguish their lives for all eternity to spare