Mission Beyond The Stars: Book #1 of "Saga Of The Lost Worlds" by Neely and Dobbs
Page 51
CHAPTER 39: Cronul
Jazon grasped the huge ring of one of the heavy beast-headed door-knockers, raised it slowly, then brought it down with a reverberating impact. As if somehow aware of his presence, the door creaked opened, sluggishly, yet apparently of its own volition. The widening gap gradually presented a view of lush gardens, winding pathways, and bubbling fountains. Dwarf trees only marginally higher than his head stood silent sentinel, dancing eerily in the flickering light of widely spaced braziers.
He entered and found himself alone, accompanied only by a nagging sense of confusion and unease. Creaking its protest, the gate slowly closed itself solidly behind him. Already wary, he turned and was doubly startled to find that the door’s design seemed to make concealment of any closing mechanism impossible. Jazon added this to the count of mounting mysteries.
Paths led away in several directions, but something in his heightened awareness intuitively whispered that every path led to the enclosure’s central region. He sensed that the massive wall through which he had just passed completely encompassed the entire compound. Anxious to move on, he chose the path which appeared to lead directly from the tightly closed gates into the enclosure’s interior.
Along the path, the trees increased in size and number, interspersed with fragrant flowers. The lush foliage, fluttering in a gentle breeze, revealed the glow of more braziers spaced ahead along the twisting and turning path. The braziers failed to reveal colors clearly, but he imagined the blossoms spanned the entire visible spectrum. As he walked along the winding path, he noted it was simply compacted soil, like the roads of Farthing, yet the luxurious vegetation encroached nowhere onto this pathway.
With a final sharp turn, the path opened into a large circular clearing paved with what seemed to be native stone. In the center of this paved area were several wholly ordinary pieces of rustic lawn furniture, including a rough wooden table laden with food.
Next to this table, facing Jazon, stood a wizened sage. His advanced age was attested to by sparse snow-white hair, translucent skin, and gnarled hands heavily traced with prominent blue veins. The hoary top of the man's head would scarcely reach Jazon's chest.
Smiling, the sage spoke in a graciously lilting voice, “Come in! Oh, yes! Come in, Jazon! We are delighted you have accepted our invitation to meet with us in person. We have prepared a selection of simple but delectable delicacies. Come! Do sit down and enjoy our humble repast!”
Jazon approached cautiously, keenly scrutinizing the diminutive figure.
He wore a simple slip-over tunic and loose fitting trousers, both of a rough beige material. Around his neck, on a simple strand, hung a round pendant from which dangled a small stone and what appeared to be two feathers. Had this figure been seen in the distant fields, he would have seemed merely another simple worker of the soil. At these close quarters, however, this being radiated a commanding confidence and easy assurance— with a hint of something less benign. The deep penetrating eyes riveted Jazon. Power lurked behind those eyes!
Jazon unsuccessfully attempted to speak, then cleared a throat gone suddenly dry. “Are you the Hoga…I mean, are you Hoga?”
The slight figure brightened further and smiled broadly. “Yes! Oh, yes— either way! Either with ‘the’ or without it. The one who stands before you is Hoga, and the entity of which we are a part is also the HOGA!” His deep-set gray eyes now twinkled with childlike merriment, amused by Jazon's futile attempt to hide his astonishment. “So either way is correct. But, please, do not make it sound so imposing!” He paused to release a delightfully musical laugh at some private amusement. “The natives who work the fields outside this enclosure always apply the article— those few who know our name. But none of them yet have had the honor granted to you of visiting with us. Now, come. Come! Your trip has been long. Are you not hungry and thirsty? You must have something to eat and drink.”
A thrill of suspicion crossed Jazon's face.
The little man, his alert eyes missing nothing, acquired a querulous and faintly hurt expression. “Here, here. You need not worry! There is nothing amiss with this food. You will find these comestibles to be delightfully delicious and nourishingly nutritious.” Chuckling happily to himself, Hoga selected a few of the several varieties from the table, placed them daintily into his mouth, and chewed with obvious enjoyment. Encouragingly, he motioned Jazon to do the same.
Jazon relaxed enough to recognize his own hunger, then capitulated with a smile. “I am truly sorry…I didn't mean to be rude. It’s just that I find this— all of this— so strange. I'm sure that if you wanted to do away with me you could find easier ways than poison.”
Hoga merely smiled contentedly and merrily resumed eating.
They ate lazily for an indeterminate time, while some of Jazon's earliest memories were gently stirred yet again by the familiar nature and homey taste of the simply prepared food. Thoughts of his favorite aunt and uncle returned and, with them, memories of the food he had so relished on his occasional visits to their home.
The wavering light of the braziers played over the vegetation and the compound’s immediate surroundings with a soothing— almost hypnotic— rhythmic effect. The whole atmosphere evoked an unhurried, low-key comfort so contrary to the high-tech, high-speed lifestyle to which Jazon had so rapidly become re-accustomed. He had the vague feeling that every aspect of this encounter had been planned for his benefit, to put him at his ease. Or is it intended to distract me from the primary purpose of my visit?
Feeling derelict in the pursuit of his mission, he decided he could no longer wait for Hoga to initiate discussions. “ADIZ, my AIDD— the machine intelligence you spoke through? His message indicated you had important information you could provide.” He looked to Hoga, a plea in his eyes.
Hoga made a palms out, pushing motion with his hands. “Patience, Jazon, patience! Oh, yes! Be patient, please! Here time stands still! We therefore have no need for haste." He smiled sagely. "Our higher self, a much wiser collection of experiences than this humble self speaking to you, sent us to you and arranged this meeting.” He paused again, quietly cackling at the sudden dilation of Jazon's pupils. Of this Hoga said nothing, but the twinkle of his eyes seemed luminous as he continued. “Yes. Oh, yes! To be sure! This one you now meet with is little more than a humble carrier of a message.” Seeing Jazon shaking his head, about to challenge this statement, Hoga hurried on. “Oh, no…it is true! Very much as your ADIZ served as a messenger for us.
“However, to transmit our full message requires much more than mere words could ever convey. You must understand that we are not capricious. Had a verbal transmission been sufficient, we would have directed your AIDD to provide that. And though time stands still here, duration is required to impart the whole of our message. Do you understand?”
Jazon was willing to concede this much, yet— through his growing awe— a lingering concern still gnawed at him. “Your message to us contained one mystifying point, and it seems to have some bearing on your cryptic references to time. You implied that the Wasp is saved and yet isn't. Lives are at stake if that is true, so you will forgive me if my concern is pressing.”
Hoga's smiled widened. “Have no fear, Jazon. You were the key. Since you have come, your people’s safety is now assured.” Seemingly unconcerned by the strangeness of his pronouncement, he shifted his gaze to the starry vault above. “What an enduring delight! Look up, Jazon. Oh, yes! Look up and behold the heavens! Your people have exploited the theories of your scientists to develop an audacious method of travel between such distant points of twinkling light. Those tiny points of light are, of course, giant stars, many with attendant planets circling about them. And your people have been so cleverly bold about developing rapid travel through space…but what of travel through time? Have you never pondered the enormous possibilities whic
h such a simple ability could open to you?”
Thrown off balance by the word “simple,” Jazon replied cautiously. “Some of our scientists believe our current means of dimensional travel must contain some hidden solution to the difference in time flow which Supra-Luminal Travel entails.” He paused, frustrated, then asked hotly, “But does any of that have anything to do with the saving of the Wasp?”
Hoga smiled quizzically. “Of course! Indeed! Why else would we have raised the question? In fact, now that you are here, I can offer you a promise: You will see, first hand, whose action saves the Wasp…and how!”
Jazon felt as if he were drowning in this deepening puzzle. He breathed deeply and pressed again, “Is there nothing more specific…more revealing…you can tell me?”
Hoga made a polite gesture of submission. “Jazon, we will share with you what you need to know to ease your fears about the Wasp.” For the first time since they had met, the child-like smile on that aged face dimmed noticeably. “And something about your other problem.”
Startled, Jazon instantly went on full alert. This was the first mention of “other problem.” The SDs? Or some other, unknown problem I must face?
Before he could voice his puzzled thoughts, Hoga continued with a brightly restored smile. “We will arrange for you to learn through direct experience what is happening to your star systems. Know, however, that no monstrous ‘Invader' threatens your people as you have imagined. Remember, also, that no lives are endangered by the passage of time during your visit here with us."
“For now, the rest must remain for you to learn. And you will learn much, Jazon. Oh, so very much more than you could now imagine. Your new knowledge will come not solely as increased information. You surely will gain experiential knowledge. Oh, yes! Even surprising insights into events outside yourself." His eyes seemed to physically penetrate Jazon." So very much is possible... so much more than you can now envision! The full composite of your new knowledge will be vastly greater than the sum of its component parts.”
It took several moments for Jazon to realize Hoga had ceased speaking. He looked down for a moment, then again locked eyes with his host.
Hoga spoke gently. “Allow yourself to rest now. Your tomorrow is more distant than you think. Come! Come with us and we will show you a place of sublime rest.”
Together they strolled down a path Jazon had not previously traversed. After only a short distance, they came to a tiny cottage nestled among sheltering trees. A dim light glowed tentatively through one window. Hoga opened the door and, with a flourish, ushered Jazon through and into a cozy little living room.
“The door opposite this one leads into the bedroom…and to an excellent bed that may revive meaningful memories.” Hoga's smile beamed. “Oil lamps provide all of the light in this cottage. Such elegantly simple devices! To extinguish them, turn the small knob that projects horizontally from the narrow neck separating the lower reservoir from the upper combustion chamber. We will extinguish the one in this room for you when we leave. You may do the same in the bedroom when you are ready to retire.”
Jazon stepped into the doorway to view the bedroom. Behind him, the living room immediately darkened and Hoga quietly left the cottage.
As he surveyed the bedroom, he pictured the room through which he had just passed. The walls were decorated with a tightly woven material. It contained a pattern resembling a manicured garden, with images of flying birds and pools of water. Again, his memory tugged. Doesn’t that description fit something in Uncle Ned’s comfortable home on Colbanno?
His attention shifted to the room he now occupied. It was furnished with a plain wooden chair and a small table next to a large four-poster bed on which nightclothes were laid out. The bed’s high wooden headboard and massive posts were intricately carved in deep, flowing designs. A small nightstand supported a burning oil lamp, and a multi-paned, curtained window in the back wall let in faint gleams of an outside brazier's light.
Another door, unmentioned by Hoga, was in the wall to the right of the bedroom door where Jazon had entered. He mentally reconstructed the outer appearance of the cottage and concluded the new door must lead outside; there just wasn’t sufficient space in the little cottage for an additional room. He considered going through the door and exploring outside. But for what? Except for this cottage and the clearing where Hoga had been waiting, Jazon had seen signs of nothing but well manicured paths leading between the garden-like settings. If there had been something of interest close by that Hoga wanted me to see— or to stay out of— he surely would have mentioned it.
Feeling not so much tired as frazzled by the unusual and puzzling events of the day, Jazon slipped off his dusty shoes. sighed and started to sit down. Long years of discipline kicked in. Almost without thinking, he pulled a cloth square from his pocket, picked up his shoes, and quickly wiped the thin film of loose dust from them. He put them back down neatly by the chair, sat down and sighed. What a day!
The thought reminded him that it was—in more ways than one— a notable day. It's New Years Eve... at least on Kepren. I wonder if Sabanda and Kyell will even bother to celebrate it?
He stood up, pacing, wishing he could be with them. Soon he was lost in thoughts of past holidays they had shared— including the New Years on Earth when Kyell had shattered the rural silence at midnight with a loud yell and a celebratory blast from his trusty shotgun.
He shook his head sadly, sat on the bed, then— appreciating its comfort— lay back on it. He closed his eyes, picturing what it might be like next year, hoping the Alliance's problems would be resolved, forever behind them, so the entire family could celebrate together.