Draco is free and will return. There is another ship, too, to my surprise, that will return. All is well."
The despondent tender was not comforted. "These beings are different from other seeds we have nurtured. They have an awareness of you."
"Of me?"
"Yes," she answered. "Many of them call you 'God.'"
"'God?' How are they aware of me?"
"They are not," the male said.
"Not specifically, no," she continued. "They have faith and hope in a creator deity. One that guides the universe and answers pleas for aid."
"But I do no such thing. I did not create these worlds, nor do I guide the universe or answer pleas."
"I understand, but this is what they believe." Her spirit grew frenzied as she remembered the prayers of Corol Gaber. So overwhelmed was she that she took on Corol's appearance. "This gives them hope and strength."
"I do not care for this belief. Or for this name."
The Messengers understood.
"You have not failed. The tree still lives."
The male was ready to depart but the female tender was still in the midst of her despair. She wailed with the voice of the last Gaber and spilled tears into the sand. "Forgive me, but I cannot fathom all that we have witnessed. I cannot keep it inside me!" The One remained and listened. "I feel their losses and their gains more fully."
"It seems unique to this plane and this world," the male said.
His companion continued and gazed deeply into the light, "I spent years upon years with whole branches of this world's tree. Generations with beings who believed in you and praised your name despite all the ills that befell them." Her visage shifted and her being became imbued with the memories of Minah Gaber. "I cannot believe that our faith was for nought!"
"I heard no pleas. I heard no praise."
"I know," she cried.
"But you did."
Was The One accusing her of failing to act? She hesitated and spoke softly, "I did."
"You aided and guided them to the best of your ability."
Again, she said, "I did."
"And the tree of this world survives. Damaged, but it survives."
For a moment, she was comforted, but anguish gnawed at her anew. "But toward what end? So many thousands are now lost forever!" Minah lowered her face into her hands and continued, "They did not aid the growth of the tree. We burned in its fires!"
Now, for the first time, the other Messenger was stirred to sympathy. He moved toward her and said, "No. I believe you are wrong." She was surprised not only by his words but also by his demeanor. "I, too, spent time with many generations of beings … I found something significant about them. Something I had not anticipated."
The female listened and turned from The One to gaze into her companion. "Go on."
"I guided and observed a line of beings that the rest would deem 'lowly.' They were poor in many ways but they were not poor in spirit or perseverance. Most noteworthy of all, I found that they contributed to the growth of the tree in unexpected ways. Momentous ways."
His companion began to feel relief. Her form returned to the blank energy of the Messenger. Her emotions teetered on a brink and she urged, "Go on."
"For generations, these 'lowly' branches of the tree existed and at the end, its scion met with the single most influential branch that remained. A century ago, I tried to guide and influence this being but he would not bend. But this young man … he journeyed far and managed to do what I could not. I had believed that fear was the greater motivator, moreso than faith. But I beheld a man who had neither. And he bent that branch."
The female pulled away and said, "Perhaps, but humanity still burns."
"You do not understand," the Messenger said. "The influence did not matter at the end of all things, but our guidance did change the outcome of those branches. Our guidance changed the growth of mankind." The being held her close and said, "Our efforts have not been for nothing. Even in its fire, the tree grew more than it would have due to our influence. Because of our influence, the tree yet grows." Now the male tender looked into The One's light and said, "I am profoundly affected by what I have witnessed. I shall keep it with me 'til the end of all time. If I can, I will use what I have learned to further the growth of all other trees here."
The female wept and said, "I am gladdened by this, but I remain saddened by the loss. I am pained that their faith and thoughts are wasted."
The male knew not how to respond and withdrew from her.
The One, however, pulled her near.
"Come with me."
From the desert, the Messenger was removed and taken beyond the limits of that planet and her own abilities. She saw Larsa, engulfed in fire and war, from high above.
"By your nature, you cannot perceive what I perceive when I look upon a world. I will try to show you as much as you might comprehend."
She was cold and felt as though she was falling, but The One held her close. The warmth of its light sated her and kept her from fear.
Larsa stretched before her and became a solid line, wrapping about its star. In the distant past, in the distant future, the fires were gone and green returned to the world.
"I do not wish to know all, though I could see it if I desired it." The Messenger grew dizzy from the motion of the globe. "But I will show you why I have come here and why you have been placed here."
The whirling of the world dissolved and a singular glow emerged from the blackness of space. The tender was fearful and clung tightly to The One's light. She was safe and the glow grew brighter. It reached toward them and sprites flew from the central stalk and began to wrap around them. She stared in wonder at the glowing lines and watched them divide and divide again. Soon, they were enmeshed in millions of divergent branches of light. When she looked up, the light continued beyond her sight.
"I have seen the tree before, but never like this," she said.
"No, not like this."
Branches formed from other branches and moved around them. Flowers blossomed, leaves unfurled and the tree grew evermore.
"These are the decisions made by a free world. A world of free, sentient minds. For each being's choice, new possibilities emerge. New choices are made possible. It is nigh an infinity of decisions. Do you feel its power?"
In her fear, the Messenger had closed herself off to the light of the tree, but, slowly, she lowered her guard. A cool breeze blew through her and she felt as though she were buoyed on a calm lake. Only in The One's care had she felt anything as pleasing as this. There was familiarity here, and power. She stared as a thick branch moved toward her and smaller sticks grew from it. Leaves sprouted near her and showered her in bursts of warmth. A flower blossomed in her face and its beauty made her quake.
"This is how I perceive this world. This is why you are here. You guide these beings that they may yet live and may make new decisions and have new thoughts. You guide the branches and help the tree grow. This is precious to me. Humanity is, therefore, precious to me. I will return and harvest this energy at the end of this realm."
So enraptured was she by the glory of the tree that she did not respond. The One sensed her ecstasy and decided to return her to her own plane. In the desert, the male tender patiently awaited his companion. When she was placed on the sandy floor again, he beheld a being far different than the one who left his side a moment ago.
"This world persists. These beings persist. Continue to shepherd them."
"We will," the male answered.
A moment later, the warming light of The One vanished from Larsa.
For a moment, the male was depressed at the loss of that presence, but he recovered and turned toward the female. She smiled and still reeled in the pleasing mania of her voyage.
"Are you well?"
She paused and then turned to her companion. "Very."
The Messenger was discomfited by her condition and said, "Were you s
hown the impact of our guidance?"
She nodded and said, "Oh, yes."
The beings began to drift from the desert and he asked, "And your earlier concerns? Have you come to some conclusion on the matter?"
"Yes." She thought and smiled. She remembered the love that Minah Gaber and her children and her children's children felt and expressed. She remembered the feelings of despair that were overcome with simple whisperings or quick thoughts. She remembered the joy that they experienced at the mere mentioning or thought of his name. And then she recalled her own elation and comfort felt in The One's presence. The Messenger said, "God is love."
The male was confused by this. He shook his head and said, "You know the nature of it. You know The One does not have love, as we know it, for humans." The light began to fade from her eyes and he added, "The faith you have employed is a tool."
Her reverie fell away and she said, "It is. But my feelings remain."
Eager to change the subject at hand, the male tender turned his attention to the south and said, "The Draco is millennia away from returning. There are many thousands who need guidance on the southern continent for now. Shall we go?"
She nodded and began to move over the sea. "Yes."
As they traveled, the male wondered again at his comrade's time with The One. He turned to her and asked, "What do you have now that you lacked before its visit?"
She smiled and said, "I have hope."
END OF PRELUDE
COMING SOON
Filling in the blanks between Lords of Kobol and the TV series Caprica and Battlestar Galactica …
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & CONTACTS
First off, many thanks to Ronald D. Moore, David Eick and everyone else involved with Battlestar Galactica and Caprica. Needless to say, their work is among the greatest ever produced for television and has been inspiring. Also, thanks to Glenn Larson for creating the original series, giving rise to the whole universe.
Thanks also to Bear McCreary and his gang of musicians. His soundtracks for Galactica and Caprica, while over thirteen hours long, provided many weeks and months of enjoyment and mood setting. When rereading this book, there are some chapters I can't look over without hearing that iconic music.
Thanks also to the following authors and their books: Wheelock's Latin (Frederic M. Wheelock), Classical Myth (Barry Powell), The Science of Battlestar Galactica (Patrick DiJusto & Kevin Grazier - thanks also to Kevin for occasionally answering my questions personally), Caesar: Life of a Colossus (Adrian Goldsworthy), and Beyond Caprica: A Visitors Pocket Guide to the Twelve Colonies (Bob Harris).
Kees de Graf's essay on "All Along the Watchtower" was very helpful. It must also be noted that some quotes of Bob Dylan's from a 2004 60 Minutes interview were used as dialogue.
Special thanks to Latin teacher Jason Tiearney for his help with my "Tiberian" words and phrases.
Website-wise, several sites were helpful, including the ancient Greek and ancient Roman sections of BehindTheName.com, the detailed maps available at NationMaster.com, Wikipedia.org, and BattlestarWiki.org.
Lastly, thanks to the many thousands of readers who enjoyed the trilogy and kept asking for more. Why you wanted more, I'm not sure. Regardless, I hope you've enjoyed reading it half as much as I've enjoyed writing it.
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Blog: ety3rd.blogspot.com – This blog serves as a kind of "DVD Special Features" section for my books. You'll find art, stories about the writing of the novels and much more.
OTHER BOOKS BY EDWARD T. YEATTS III:
Lords of Kobol – Book One: Apotheosis
Lords of Kobol – Book Two: Descent
Lords of Kobol – Book Three: The Final Exodus
Displaced
Diary of a Second Life
8 Days
The Art of Death
Sexcalation
The Red Kick
Lords of Kobol - Prelude: Of Gods and Titans Page 89
