by Pedro Urvi
“Getting into trouble without me?” a familiar voice mocked him.
Ikai stared at the rider.
“And where did that really hideous spirit come from? He looks a lot like you, brother.”
“Kyra!”
Chapter 18
The delegations began to make their way into the chamber in the opposite order to the ring they represented. Adamis, together with Ariadne and Sormacus, as part of the delegation of the Fifth Ring, went in with the first group led by Prince Saxti of the House of Water, The High Chamber, where the Five High Kings gathered for important ceremonies, and where they hibernated, was spotless. On the round walls of old gold there shone symbols of Power engraved in silver. The transparent floor allowed them to appreciate the unparalleled beauty of the calm turquoise ocean. The black marble ceiling formed the base of the Great Monolith, which rose above the chamber.
Adamis remembered that regal place well. He would never forget the last time he had set foot in it: during the Ceremony of Vivification, when he had nearly lost Kyra. This building had always impressed him; it was one of the greatest achievements of the Golden, the very center of Erenal, the Eternal City, which was fed with Power by the Great Monolith.
They arrived before the Five High Kings. Adamis shrank into himself and bent his head as he felt the immense power which emanated from them. Their all-powerful majesties waited on elaborate thrones set on a round dais which hovered ten feet above the floor. Adamis glanced at them for an instant, his face hidden by his hood. All wore elegant robes whose color symbolized the element their houses represented, decorated with elaborate gold embroidery. Their jeweled crowns marked them out as High Kings of the Golden. Around their necks hung the five ancestral medallions which proclaimed them as Lords of the Elements.
From left to right, he recognized first His Majesty Edan, of the House of Aru, the House of the Fifth Ring. He had always liked the Lord of Water, who was cautious and reasonable, his Father’s main ally. Sitting on his right was His Majesty Lur, of the House of Idnem, House of the Fourth Ring. The Lord of Earth, on the other hand, he had never fully trusted; he was hard and selfish. He was a fellow-conspirator of the House of Fire and usually followed its lead. On his right was His Majesty Kaitze, of the House of Aurez, the House of the Third Ring. The Lord of Air was shrewd and knew he occupied a privileged position. The alliance between the Houses of Ether and Water on the one hand and the Houses of Earth and Fire on the other left him in a useful position when a tie in the vote needed to be broken, something he took full advantage of in pursuit of his own interests. On his right was His Majesty Gar, of the House of Aureb, the House of the Second Ring. The Lord of Fire was ruthless and brutal. He stopped at nothing to reach his goals, and little by little his was becoming the most powerful of the houses. And finally, on Gar’s right, was His Majesty Laino, of the House of Eret, the House of the First Ring. The Lord of Ether, his own father. Before a whirlwind of emotions could overwhelm him, Adamis shut his eyes and made an enormous effort to stay calm.
The Five High Kings greeted the group with a slight nod. That simple gesture gave forth such power that Adamis and the others in the entourage had to bend double at once to pay their respects. Edan, Lord of Water, gave them permission to rise. When he did so Adamis could hold back no more and glanced at his father. Seeing him on his throne, so regal, powerful, unshakeable, such desolation came over him that he forgot all the suffering he had gone through. He would gladly have gone up to him, embraced him, let him know how much he had meant for him, how much he had always loved him. But now nothing was the same any longer, and that embrace would never take place, for his father had ordered him to be executed: he himself, his only son. Sorrow mingled with the sadness, and his sense of loss was so deep that for a moment he could not breathe. How much I regret that our paths have driven us to these extremes. He took a deep breath and sighed, trying to let out all the sorrow and sadness. I hope our destinies do not cross again, Father, for both our sakes.
The entourages of each house entered and placed themselves in order, following the established protocol: Each one before their High King, showing absolute respect. Adamis remained hidden in the anonymity granted him by his group. But seeing the Princes of the Houses and other nobles he knew so well pass by was putting his nerves to the test. He remembered the time when he had been a Golden Prince, when nothing and nobody might touch him. How far away those days were! Once I was a stupid prince like them, unable to open my eyes and see what my people really are: cruel, ruthless and self-worshiping. Luckily Kyra opened my eyes. And I shall never close them again.
At that moment he saw the Prince of Fire strutting about in front of his father. Asu was behaving with staggering pride and haughtiness, even for him. For a single instant hatred overcame Adamis, so that he wanted to unsheathe the weapon Aruma had given him and run him through with a clean stroke. Luckily his common sense prevailed and stopped him. It was folly. He would never manage it.
Adamis saw Notaplo passing and gave him a curt nod. He could not risk sending him a mental message, not in the presence of the Five High Kings, since it might be intercepted. And if his Father were to do that, he would recognize him. The mental messages of each Golden had a unique voice, an unmistakable signature. He could not take the risk. Ariadne and Sormacus, who were at his side, had already warned him of this. As long as they were in the presence of the High Kings, they could not risk keeping in contact. Dear old Notaplo was so absorbed in himself that he never noticed.
Craning his neck, Adamis tried to catch his attention once again, but the one whose head turned was his own cousin Atasos. He lowered his head at once and the sudden fright left him breathless. If his cousin recognized him he was lost, and if he saw him he would certainly recognize him. He had been with him a short while ago during his exile at the Secret Temple of Eret, on the continent. A thousand thoughts passed through Adamis’s mind, devious thoughts. There was a long moment of tension. Ariadne touched his hand, and he looked up very slowly. Her eyes told him the danger had passed. He saw the entourage of the First Ring taking their place before their High King. I must be more careful, he scolded himself.
The Master of Ceremonies spread his arms wide and called out:
“Welcome, all, to the Ceremony of Intellectual Enlightenment, a key festivity for the advancement of our civilization and which all the Houses proudly honor. Today intellect, brilliance, wisdom, and above all the eagerness of our civilization to excel and conquer new and unthinkable goals, receive their reward. This is the basis of our Power. This is what enables us to rule over the known world, since there is no other civilization so advanced and powerful.” The members of the five delegations began to applaud in the Golden style by slapping their calves. Adamis smiled as he remembered how strange he had found Men’s way of applauding.
The Master of Ceremonies went on: “As is traditional on this important date, and in the presence of their all-powerful majesties, the Five High Kings …” He turned and bowed deeply to the Golden rulers. They did not bat an eyelash, so the Priest turned again toward the delegations, who were watching him expectantly. “Every House will have the opportunity to present the most important technological advances they have achieved before their Majesties and before the representatives of the other Houses. Each achievement will be accepted or rejected according to the merits demonstrated and by approval or rejection according to their Majesties’ criteria.
“Let the First Erudite of the House of Aru, the House of Water, present the achievements of the illustrious House of the Fifth Ring!”
The ancient Erudite, who was nearing his nine-hundredth year, first greeted Prince Saxti and the entourage, then walked to the center of the chamber with slow steps, leaning on a blue staff encrusted with white ornamentation. He bowed deeply before the dais of the Five High Kings. The Monarchs watched him attentively.
“By your leave…” he said, and the inflexion of his mental message revealed the wise man’s advanced age.
> “You may proceed,” said Edan, his High King.
“On this day which is so important for all of us, the Erudites in particular, and all the Golden in general, I will now show the most significant achievement of our venerable house.”
The High Kings nodded their permission for him to continue.
“It is an achievement linked to our sacred duty as Golden Erudites to find the key to the attainment of immortality. After hundreds of years of study and trial, we have achieved a very important advance in the technique of prolonging life through assisted freezing. We call this technology Frozen Hibernation. Allow me to demonstrate.” He signaled to two of his helpers. The two pupils brought a pod to the middle of the chamber and placed it on end. Its back was metallic and bluish. The front was of glass, revealing a man inside. He was completely frozen, covered with a layer of white frost.
“This specimen has been frozen for a hundred years. We froze him at the age of twenty. He would now be a hundred and twenty, and therefore being a man he ought to be dead. Yet he is still alive. And not only that, he has not aged a single day. Let me show you what our wonderful technology allows us to do.” He maneuvered several levers on the sides of the pod, and a blue flash issued from the cracks around the glass lid. There was a metallic click, and the Erudite waited patiently while the process of thawing came to an end. Everybody there was watching with great attention.
At last the pod opened. A white mist issued forth and settled heavily toward the floor. The two helpers brought out the man and held him firmly to keep him on his feet. He appeared to be asleep, but his color was now normal, he was no longer frozen. The Erudite placed a disc over his heart and used his Power. A golden light ran through the body of the slave from head to foot. Suddenly the sleeper opened his eyes wide in a grimace of horror. He took in a rapid breath of air, but swallowed too much, too soon, and started to cough and convulse. The two helpers held him firmly, keeping him on his feet.
“As all of you may observe,” the Erudite went on, “he is alive and in perfect condition,” One of the helpers seized the slave’s hair and pulled his head back so that everyone could see his face. “This is the face of a man of twenty. He has not aged a single day.”
The Master of Ceremonies turned to the Erudite. “Do you testify to the authenticity of this experiment, under sentence of death and dishonor for your house in case of perjury?”
“I do so testify,” the Erudite answered with complete serenity and confidence.
“Very well. So it shall be written in the records of knowledge.” With a sign he indicated to the Eyes-of-the-Gods that they should write down the achievement.
High King Gar bent forward. “How long will he live?” he asked. Such was his Power that the simple mental question burnt the mind of whoever received it. Adamis had to shake the thought from his mind.
“Our studies indicate that he will live an existence which is normal for his race. He will reach old age and die of natural causes. Freezing has no secondary effects on his organism.”
“How many tests have you successfully performed in order to be sure of this one here today?” Gar asked.
“My Lord, more than a thousand that were not successful since the beginning of the experiments. But the last hundred of them have been successful. Everything has been documented in our source of knowledge.”
High King Gar gestured half-heartedly for the Erudite to proceed. Adamis, who was feeling profoundly troubled, took a deep breath. More than a thousand men must have died or suffered indescribable horrors just for the discovery of this advance in our technology. They use people like animals for their experiments. That is something that cannot be permitted. It is cruel! Barbaric! But for the Golden, men were no more than ants to do whatever they wanted with and to be trodden underfoot when they were no longer necessary.
“Is this technology applicable to our people?” Kaitze, High King of Air, asked suspiciously.
“I am glad that your Highness should ask me that question. Let me reply with a demonstration.” The Erudite gave another sign to his helpers. They took away the slave, who was now shaking from head to foot. A moment later they came back carrying another pod, identical to the previous one. Following the same procedure, the Erudite opened it and the helpers brought out the subject. But this time it was not a man who appeared but a Golden. There were several cries of surprise, followed by murmurs of disagreement. Several voices rose, protesting at such an outrage.
The Erudite attempted to calm the audience. “Let me show you,” he said. He hastened to put the disc on the Golden’s chest. He made use of his Power, and a golden light ran throughout the frozen body. Suddenly the sleeper opened his eyes, his face showing utter surprise. As he struggled to breathe normally and stop trembling with the aid of the two helpers, the Erudite explained: “Allow me to introduce you to my assistant Erreka. He has been frozen for a hundred years, and as you can see, he is alive. In a few moments he will be completely recovered.”
“You risk too much, Erudite. The life of a Golden is sacred,” said High King Gar.
Before the Erudite could respond, Edan, High King of Water, intervened.
“My Erudite knows the law perfectly well. He would not dare experiment with a Golden and put his life in danger if the technology were not safe.” The two High Kings were challenging one another in a battle of wills. Gar had to pull back, since the assistant was alive and the law had not been broken. He made a sign of acceptance, but his eyes gleamed with resentment.
“My assistant knew the risk. He volunteered. Without risk there is no gain. That is the first law in the development of new technology.”
“Will we be able to use that technology?” said Lur, High King of Earth. “I have been informed that we cannot use it, that the Power will keep consuming our bodies.”
“Your information is correct, your Majesty… Our Power continues to feed on our organism even in the state of Frozen Hibernation, and hence even in that state we go on aging. But we have managed to make progress… considerable progress. Now we are capable of slowing down the pernicious effects of the Power during the process of hibernation, and in the process significantly reduce the deterioration of the body.”
“By how much?”
“We have managed to reduce the deterioration suffered by the body during hibernation by half.”
Kaitze, Lord of Air, intervened at this point. “In other words, you are saying that while we remain frozen, our bodies will age by half as much. If I freeze myself for a thousand years, will I have aged five hundred years when I wake up?”
“Yes, my lord, that is correct.”
Gar, Lord of Fire, said in a markedly contemptuous tone: “I do not see the use of it. Why would I want to freeze, only to wake up five hundred years older?”
“You would be waking up in a new millennium, my lord…”
“Nonsense. Unless the degree of aging is significantly reduced, it makes no sense.”
“But if we manage to reduce it to a tenth,” said Edan, Lord of Water, “then we would be practically immortal. We could live thousands and thousands of years hibernating between millennia. And remember, during that time we would continue our search until we found a way of avoiding aging during Frozen Hibernation, or even rejuvenate ourselves. That is what we are pursuing: reversing the process, being rejuvenated while we hibernate in a frozen state.”
There was a silence as the High Kings took in the implications of this. At last, Laino, the High King of Ether, gave his judgment.
“Very interesting, and with considerable possibilities. It has my approval.”
The comment caught Adamis’s attention. If his father gave his approval, it meant there was potential in the idea. Interesting. I will have to speak to Notaplo about it. The High Kings of Earth and Air too gave their approval. The only one who did not accept it was the High King of the House of Fire. The Master of Ceremonies gave a sign and the Eyes-of-the-Gods made a note.
He beckoned the next Erudite to conti
nue with the Ceremony. “Let the First Erudite of the House of Idnem, House of Earth, present the achievements of the illustrious House of the Fourth Ring.”
The Erudite, also ancient, saluted his own people and then, with great solemnity, came forward to salute the Five High Kings.
“What my colleague of the House of Water has exposed is undoubtedly fascinating, and I could not agree more with his vision. Nevertheless, I do not share his method of reaching immortality, or to be more precise, his technology. We in the House of Earth have been working with a similar aim but with a far superior technology: Carbon Freezing. Let me demonstrate to you.” He signaled to several helpers, who brought in what appeared to be a great black tombstone. When they set it on the floor on a trestle, Adamis saw that it was really a rectangle of carbon with a slave frozen in the strange alloy. He appeared to have been trapped while attempting to flee.
“How long has he been like that?” asked Kaitze, High King of Air.
“A little over two hundred years, your Majesty. We have managed to keep him indefinitely alive with an influx of Power into the graphite. We have performed controlled tests with a Golden and the results have been wonderful.”
“And what advantage does this have over the technology of the House of Water?” asked Gar, the High King of Fire.
“Well, you see, your Majesty, we have managed to reduce the deterioration which the body of a Golden suffers during the stage of freezing in carbon to a third.”
“It is still a very high level of deterioration,” Gar protested. “Unacceptable.”
Lur, Lord of Earth, spoke in its defense. “It is lower than the technology of the House of Water,”
“And the disadvantages?” asked Edan, High King of Water. His eyes were half-closed, as if he already knew there was some problem.
