by D. J. Holmes
Closing the refracted waves, Daniel is filled with sadness as he walks out to the beach. Treysen follows him wondering what is going on, but keeping his feelings to himself.
Pointing to the sky, Daniel states “Look at the stars, Treysen.”
Looking up to the magnificent sky he answers “Yes. They’re beautiful.”
“Have you ever seen a falling star?” Daniel asks as if he is remembering something.
“Yes, when I set in the sand on the beach I see several of them fall each night.”
“They fall quite fast don’t they?”
“They do. I’ve never seen anything go as fast as they do.”
“I have.”
“What do you mean Daniel?”
“I have… I’ve seen the same ships that I saw in the water today, fly across the sky faster than a falling star.”
“We don’t have anything that fast on Earth.”
“You do Treysen, it’s just that your eyes can’t detect anything that goes that fast. You see it takes your brain one-tenth of a second to process what your eyes have seen. So by the time that the brain receives and processes the information from your eye, it is already out of date by the time that it gets to the visual cortex where you perceive what you have actually seen… Do you understand what I am saying?”
“Kind of…”
“So the ships…the only time you will see them is when they slow down…. One thing that they can’t fly through is heavy dense smoke. If you saw one of their ships that had to slow down because of smoke, you could see it until it darted off again in another direction. And for that very reason I need you to understand these people.”
“What’s wrong with them?”
“On the surface they seem like nice people, like they could, and would like to be your very best friend. That’s what I first thought of them. But what I learned was that this type of person will never speak the truth. You see, it is their belief that it is ok to lie to anyone that is not just like them. They look at you with a smile, as they lie to your face, all the while knowing that you would never suspect that they would do anything wrong, because you don’t think that way. You would never do anything wrong to another person would you, Treysen?”
“Not unless they were trying to do something bad to me.”
“That’s what they are counting on. Because you are trustworthy, you trust… Because you are honorable, you honor… Because you are respectful, you respect all people and their belongings … Because you honor and respect FREEDOM you want all people to be FREE… Make no mistake… these people have none of these attributes. All they want is power! Never turn your back on them. They will approach you as a friend, but behind your back they will pull a weapon to kill you and your family… in essence they are cowards. They have come here as an enemy, but they never reveal who they truly are so that you can prepare yourself for the fight that they will eventually engage you in. Unless you and your people understand who they truly are, they will take over the Earth, just as they did with Gliese. You must always be prepared and never completely trust them.”
Daniel sits down on the beach; Treysen sits next to him. “After they gain your trust and move into positions of power, they will take everything that belongs to you, either by law or by thievery and they will take your freedom, little by little until… it is completely gone.” Daniel takes a deep breath. Memories of his life fill his consciousness as he watches the continual ebb and flow of the ocean waves in silence.
Finally Treysen looks directly at Daniel.
“What happened on Gliese, Daniel? Who were you on that world?”
“My name was Cuvar Offian Moriatias. I was the guardian.”
“You were a guardian?”
“Yes, a guardian…. It seems like it was just yesterday, but it was many, many years ago…. I was to guard all of the books and especially the old ones, on every subject, particularly our history. No one could see them, except me. They had taken all of the books from the people and put them in this ‘library’. They gave the people of Gliese the books they had written, containing the knowledge that they wanted the people to learn…. In these books they changed our history and what our founders used as a foundation to create our wonderful, successful world…. Our founders had researched hundreds and hundreds of years of all of the civilizations that had risen and fallen on our world so that they could create something that would last and something that would afford freedom for all our people… and these people hid all of that information…. Of course, they had to do this if they wanted to change the minds of the young and the very essence of Gliese to fit their needs. They knew that soon the older people, (the parents and grandparents) who knew the truth and could see through their lies would be dead, and with them the exact history of a world that God truly wanted for his children, would be gone. All they had to do was to wait…. There would be no need for war and no need to look like an aggressor or have any light expose the true evil that filled their souls; they could hide what they were and what they were really trying to accomplish. They could continue to trick the young with their smiles and their fancy words…. Yes, they always had fancy words, but… their evil actions were kept secret and never spoken of…. In this way most of the world would never know what they did to those who would try to stand against them; and so they continued, year after year, not caring for anyone except for their own selfish, greedy cause, to control the world and to take control of everyone in it.”
“So you see Treysen, I had the ideal job; I could read anything I wanted. I could learn from all of the old masters, on any subject. That’s where I found out the lies they had told concerning our first leaders, and thankfully that’s where I learned about time travel and how to heal with colors.”
“One day,” Daniel smiles, “I found a book about girls who became pirates to save their sisters. It talked about a magic flying ship. I became intrigued with their courage to go against men, much stronger than they were, to save their sisters; they were willing to give up their lives, if necessary…. This book opened my mind and reminded me of the courage that I had forgotten our ancestors had possessed. The lies that I had been told all of my life that I had taken as truth, was not correct in any shape, matter or form; the truth of what had actually happened at the beginning of our world had been lost, except in these books.”
“The Landarians had come to our world and told us that their world was dying and they needed to be allowed to be one with our people, so they could survive…. We were so naive.”
Daniel shook his head and looked away.
After a while, he began talking again, “We were a giving, loving people at that time and shared our world with them, giving them an area that they could call their own. We allowed them to work and to progress to stations of power within our government. Behind our backs, our kindness was looked on as a weakness to these people, and they took advantage of it by slowly taking over our world. We were blindsided. Before we knew it, they had all their people, and some of our people that had been bought off with money, power and promises for future alliances with their families in positions of importance. They made laws and treaties that were completely against what we stood for. That is when I saw what their plan was. It was at this point that I heard rumors of what had really happened on the world that they came from.”
“They had traveled to the previous world with the same story that they had told us when they first came to Gliese. They had risen to power there just as they had on our planet. After they finally took over that world, they killed all of the original people, even the ones that had helped them and that they had made promises of future alliances with. They wanted no one but their own to survive because they felt that all others were beneath them. Finally, with all their enemies gone and no one to fight against, they began fighting amongst and within their own people.”
Looking directly at Treysen and lifting his right index finger to make a point, Daniel said, “The problem is that it is in their very nature t
o fight, to deceive, to kill and to take over. In their eyes it is survival of the fittest, and they never stop… I’m not sure that they know how to.… Their children, through learned behavior have mastered their techniques. They have continued on and on, generation after generation, always taking over world after world, killing everyone and finally even their own family members so that they can be the one that survives…. They know nothing else. They have no comprehension of trust, respect, loyalty, love or freedom…. I could see that my children were learning their skills.”
“You have children, Daniel?”
“Yes, Treysen, I had two beautiful children.”
“Where are they?”
Sadness envelopes Daniel, as tears come to his eyes. Looking away, he stares in the direction of the Libra Galaxy, hoping to see Gliese.
***
With the morning ritual of singing birds, the sun rises lighting the path as the girls run to Treasure Cove.
Danielle is the first one of her sisters to reach the ship that was found in the cove.
“Look, it’s almost finished. Whoever is working on this ship is doing a great job!”
Jaimie is carefully looking at the ship. She looks toward the stern and by the time her eyes return to the bow something has changed…thinking for a moment she then asks, “Everyone, look at the stern…now look all the way along the side to the bow. Carefully remember what it looks like. Close your eyes and turn around. Count to three. One…two…three… Now turn back around and look at the ship again… doesn’t it seem like someone is working on it right now, because every time that I look at it, something has changed.”
“She’s right…Jaimie is right. It’s changing right before our very eyes.” Jaci says with excitement.
Looking around Danielle asks, “Where is Diana?”
“I don’t know,” Jaimie answers. “Why don’t we both go and get her? She needs to see what we have all just seen.”
Walking back along the shore of the cove, Jaimie notices something that none of them have seen before. “Danielle, look over there,” she says. Looking in the water where the rose necklace and all of the treasure had been found, they notice a rock path leading to the cave.
“Let’s find out what is in the cave.”
“Great idea Jaimie, the last time we were here it was high tide and this path was covered.”
Walking into the cave they find several barrels and trunks full of swords, daggers and pistols, along with several others full of more diamonds, rubies, pearls and gold coins. Helping each other to lift the trunks of swords, daggers and pistols, they walk across the rock path one by one, bringing the barrels and trunks to the shore line on the path to their village.
“The other girls can help us bring them to our village. Jaimie would you please stay with them and I’ll ask the sisters to help us.”
“I’ll be waiting for you,” Jaimie quips as she begins to look through the barrels and trunks.
Running to the shore where the sisters are waiting, Danielle waves her arm to come in her direction. She turns around and begins to run back to the barrels and trunks as the others follow her.
As they arrive, Jaimie is standing with a sword in her hand, a pistol tucked into her pants at her waist line and a dagger in her boots.
“Stop where you are my ladies, no one will pass me on this path unless you have a …let’s see,” she puts her index finger up to her cheek and looks to the sky while she thinks. “a…” finally, looking back she adds “a…rose necklace.”
All of her sisters show their rose necklaces. “Well, I guess I’ve met my match…you all may pass.”
Laughing, Danielle and Jaimie excitedly show their sisters what they found. “Look…swords, daggers and pistols!”
“Where did you find them?”
“Over there in the cave. Pick up a sword… they weigh only half as much as the ones that we have been practicing with”
“Now that’s music to my ears. Every time I would use our old swords my wrist would hurt, so I would have to use both hands just to make my sword move where I wanted it to move.”
“Now you can use two swords…do you notice anything else about it?”
Picking it up and stretching her hand to touch the end of the blade Stacey says, “Yes, the blade is longer.”
“Exactly, it’s not even half as wide and its blade is seven inches longer. Can you believe what an advantage that would give us?”
Danielle adds, “Look at these pistols. There are so many that we could each have several to use. We could create some type of holder, either on each side of our hips, or something that hangs across one shoulder and down to our hip.”
Jaimie adds, “There are daggers also. With all our weapons anyone would be really stupid in challenging us,” she says with a smile.
During all this time, Diana is in her hut fast asleep, in the middle of a life like dream from Daniel.
“Diana, I have just finished the ship. Because the storm has connected our two dimensions, your ship in the cove and the one that I am building here in the laboratory will be finished at the same time.”
“So, you are the one that has been fixing the ship?”
“Well, actually I have been building a new ship from the measurements that you put in the book, that I found in our ancient libraries…the book that you will write later in your life.”
“So as you build the ship in your dimension, it is being refurbished in my dimension?”
“…Exactly.”
“I am thankful for all that you have done Daniel, but do you remember when you told me that Gray Wolf would be my friend?”
“Yes.”
“It is because of him that our little island sisters have been taken by Black Beard.”
“What?”
“Black Beard, the famous pirate, took our little sisters and is going to sell them. It was Gray Wolf who helped him.”
“What? Gray Wolf is not that type of person.”
“Will, that little boy, Gray Wolf, as you call him, who was supposed to be our friend, told Black Beard when my father’s ship left our island. Then Black Beard sailed to our island thinking that he would steal the treasure from my father while he was away. Because my mother said that we didn’t have any treasure, he took the little island sisters so he could sell them and make some money…Gray Wolf did nothing, except what he was told to do by Black Beard.”
SILENCE… “Are you there Daniel?” SILENCE was all that Diana heard. Then finally she hears a soft “shhhhhh.”
A moment later, Daniel begins to speak. “I’m sorry. The guards of my laboratory are making their rounds. Diana, I don’t have time to explain everything right now, but I have two very important things that I need to tell you. My time is short, please listen.”
“Are you going to be all right?”
“Hopefully… First of all I will tell you again…Gray Wolf is your friend, remember that. No matter what has happened, he is your friend… Second, I have added something to the ship that I need to explain to you.”
“I’m listening Daniel.”
“When you board the ship go to the Captain’s cabin. Usually the Captain’s cabin is in the stern, but this room is in the front of the ship, in the bow. It’s there for a good reason. By the windows there is a table. On the top of the table is an oil lamp that is secured. Reach your hand around the back of the base of the lamp and you will feel a button; press it down. It will release the lamp from the table. Lift the lamp and the table top will slide open from the middle; a hidden lever will rise up. If you push the lever forward, the ship will raise so that it lifts above the water, and at the same time it begins to fly forward. The further you push it forward, the faster the ship will fly. Experiment with the speed. You will learn what is best for whatever circumstances you are in.”
Daniel continues. “To your left is a switch. Push it up and a green light will go on. This is what gives your ship power to fly. To your right is a silver round knob. When you have extreme wea
ther, push it down. The knob initiates a program that will keep the glass clear so that you can see out of it at all times. If the sun is strong the glass will darken. If there is ice frozen on it, it will melt the ice. If there are torrents of water hitting the glass, it will create a film that will make the rain immediately slide off, so that the glass stays dry. There is another blue knob to the right of this knob. By pressing it, the cylinders begin to turn in your masts so that your sails are automatically rolled up. Your sails won’t be able to stand the speed that your ship will be able to fly. Do you understand everything that I have told you?”
“I think so. It all seems so strange to me.”
“Yes, I would imagine that in your time of the Earth’s history, it would seem quite strange. All of these things are used in the future. I have given them to you now so that you will be able to find your sisters.”
“How did you know that I would go to find my sisters?”
“I read the book.”
“Ah, yes… the book that you said that I am going to write.”
“You will write it Diana. You are a great deal like your grandmother, Diana. You know that you were named after her, but did you know that she also wrote a book about her life?”
“No. I didn’t know that.”
“It’s important for you to read it. In fact, it is important for you to read it to all of your island sisters, since you are all related to this great woman through her children. She and her children were all exiled on the island that you live on.”
“What does exiled mean?”
“In this instance it means that they were cast out of their society to live on this island alone.”
“Were they bad people?”
“No, Diana. Read the book and you will understand.”
Reminiscing Daniel continues, “Did you know that when she died, the next day the clouds were pink. Everywhere there was a pink hue that bounced off of the clouds covering the earth. And in the sky there was a cloud in the shape of a cornucopia and off to the right, there was a pink round puffy cloud by its self. It was just like an island. And on this cloud was a rose proudly standing, tall and straight as if to say, ‘I’m alright’… It was so spectacular.”
“I have never seen anything like that Daniel.”
