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"THE SUBTERRANEAN WORLD":

     "Editor's Note: Many of the reports which we receive about the inner earth are fantastic and almost unbelievable. In this chapter we print two such accounts. The first one was recently sent to us by an individual who claims no former knowledge of the Shaver Mystery. Several years ago this person, who requests that we identify him only as ‘V. J. Royal’, began receiving strange messages at night which told him to leave his home and walk -- with no destination given.      “At first Royal feared he was losing his mind. Soon, however, the words, and the force with which they were spoken, began to overpower him, and his will was no longer his own. Here is his story:

     "’I still shake to think of it... the shocking beauty fit only for gods to gaze upon. Yes, I have seen a heaven, a fantastic Utopia beyond your wildest dreams. I have seen the unbelievable and ask myself, "Why?" For what reason have I been chosen as the one to behold this enigma beneath the earth's surface?

     “‘I find it difficult to write about. Each time I go back and picture what I saw, the awful beauty wrenches my mind away from reality. I have to mentally tear myself away from that indescribable scene. Is there a purpose to it all? Surely there must be. I cannot believe that "they" have no purpose or aim in permitting me this frightening "privilege".

     “‘It began about a year ago. I am a fairly stable individual, not impulsive or nervous. So, when I began receiving strange, unearthly calls, and urges to "go" someplace, any place, I was filled with panic and fear. The strange calls were faint at first, but day by day, month by month, they grew progressively stronger. I began to have nightmarish dreams of constantly running, traveling, moving, never stopping. Would the dreams never leave me? Night after night I would wake up

dripping wet and trembling and quivering with terror. Finally, one night, my will completely collapsed. I