After a short walk through the agora accompanied by a good number of their contingent, they came upon the central tower of Breideblic looming high above the other buildings clustered there. Standing before the tall wooden doors that marked the entrance of the great building they paused to complete some symbolic or religious gesture. Xora commented, "It is a prayer for good omens for no one should look upon the oracle light heartedly." The large doors swung open easily to reveal the interior of this fine building seemingly painted in a lustrous sheen akin to pearls and diamonds and adorned with all manner of carvings made from the most precious materials. They entered into a grand portico and from there he was escorted by Xora as a lone attendant into the darkened inner sanctum. There behind a finely woven floating tapestry he was made witness to the most delicate and ornate creation of art he had ever seen. There stood a chamber of crystal that glowed with its own light. Seemingly cut from a single crystal it was not only a singular work of art but, as he would soon learn a masterwork of sublime engineering.
All he had seen until that point had been derivative and their culture as a whole was seemingly pieced together from borrowed parts. However this technology before him was advanced even farther than his own. He watched as images flashed across the surface and sounds echoed from within. "These were no mere projections there was something akin to living thought present." He looked at her in surprise and asked, "Where did you discover this place?" The lady Xora attempted to answer as best she could. "I will answer this question of yours with a story. Long ago by nature, our people were forced from their former lands. By necessity we were made to find a new one. For the greater part of a generation in a great flotilla we roved the seas like vagabonds, in search of a new home. Early on at every landfall our meager ships, some filled with the sick and dying were turned away. Just as our hopes would were diminishing we by fortune were delivered onto this land. Our journey came to its final ending here on this shore. In a great storm our battered ships were tossed. During the storm one of our intrepid captains spied through the darkness a shining light. The order was given for the ships to move in close as the light was perceived as signal of safe landing. Before the next day had dawned, the ships had run aground upon the rocky coast. Miraculously not a soul was lost. This was taken as a clear sign of our salvation. With the ships mostly destroyed we set out to make this place our home. In the full light of day here on this spot we were delivered this great boon. Since that time this great object known to us as the crystal room, has been venerated as a gift from God. Since that time we have prospered greatly. From then till this present time we have been masters of the seas thanks to the guidance of the crystal room."
"Why was the citadel built atop and around the object?" "Over the centuries we have had to defend that which is both our symbol and savior, from others who would attempt to benefit from its wisdom. That is the fable and the history of it; however now as we have lived in relative peace it serves as a repository of our cultural and historical knowledge. Tuned like a musical instrument it is designed to hold indefinitely the unique oscillating frequencies that are fed into it. Through meditation one can sift through the cacophony and become one with any element of knowledge you so desire. It is easy to see how this could have helped our ancestors. With each encounter its database of experience grows deeper." Ananda tried to focus on sounds that to him resembled the wind chimes of his youth, but soon became disoriented and nauseous as the air around him then seemed to vibrate. He had in fact become overwhelmed by waves of thoughts and images that had rolled unrecognized over his consciousness. Sensing his distress Xora said, "May I assist you?" he nodded his approval. With a ceremonial gesture and by the power of her mind she narrowed the focus of the emanations to match those for the capacity of a child's. And then she said, "You may ask your question now."
Ananda stood pressing against his temples and his mind wandered. Soon he was relaxed as the sounds of the chimes spoke to his mind and nestled him softly into a state more pliable to suggestion. Once there the chords of his imagination were plucked in such a way as to render thoughts as sensations and a stream of imagery that filled his consciousness. Her voice again entered within the sphere in which he found himself and she was brought to his attention "The reactions elicited by the device are visceral in that the recipient often felt in a real sense as if the experiences were his own and not mere echoes. Do you have a question?"
"I'm sorry, I'm still trying to get my sea legs", he said. She with a puzzled look about her said, "Sea legs? He put a thought to her query and the explanation was made evident to her without the exchange of a word. "Ah I see" she said, "Of course, it seems you have gotten quite steady. You're getting the hang of it." "How does it work?" He asked. His mind welled with schematics, images and simple diagrams while text was read aloud to him. He then began to feel as if he were living within the skin of another, sensing their emotions and sensations. "Wow that is quite an unusual sensation," he said abruptly.
"That was the inventor of this device; He was the very first among us to imprint them self upon the crystal." Another voice came to them but it had the quality of an echo or a ghost not a true consciousness. "I am James. I too am lost here, a prisoner in time. For untold generations I have lived only to help answer questions posed by my fellow travelers all without sensing time's passing. It would appear that I am not really here, but here I am nonetheless."
Xora spoke, "That's him. This unlikely and unexplainable glitch can be a useful to those untrained like you." Ananda seemed confused and said, "Are you talking about that voice? Perhaps I am unfamiliar with the ways of your culture, but does that not seem a bit rude to speak of one's elders in such a way?"
She responded with a smug smile, "I told you it is merely a malfunction." to which the voice responded solemnly, "You too Ananda, one day may fail to see me as I truly am. For all I know she could be right. Let us not waste any more time then, for there is much I wish to share with you." Ananda thought it truly odd that a disembodied persona of apparently unlimited resources, should take such an interest in some one he had just met. "But perhaps there was more here than what was first apparent." As he pondered to himself, his thoughts began seemingly to move at the speed of light.
James reached back into to the depth of time, as he understood it. The imagery accessed there was as fresh as the day it was recorded. Referenced and cross-referenced he searched the memories of those who had stood before him. "There are four hundred and thirty nine references to Atlantia, a city state on the western continent. Samantha of Atlantia made the last known entry. According to the index this entry, it is well over ten thousand years old." There before him an Image of his beloved Samantha appeared. Though older than he recalled he could still make out her gentle features. It seemed for a moment by some strange alignment that her visage as if alive, had recognized that of his image. Then as if specters in some cruel hoax the two spirits across time reached out one to the other. As these images drew closer a slow grumble rose up from beneath them as the room began to shake. The intensity of this disruption was so strong as to cause the unlikely connection to be severed. The effects of this disturbance on Ananda left him staggering from the room. He found himself disoriented and again in the presence of his host, Xora. "What did you see there? She asked. Speaking with a renewed clarity he said, "It would seem I am not the first of my kind to reach these shores. That much is plain, however the facts and events have not yet been made clear to me. But this was a good start. I should like to be availed again to this repository. As for now I have grown weary. Could I suffer you to oblige me once more?"
"Of course how can I assist you?" She answered.
"May it please you for me to be guest in a warm bed that I might sleep?" "The arrangements have already been made. You shallbe a guest at my villa. I am happy to assist you in any way you like. I hope to learn from you as well for we have not encountered strangers from another land in some time."
Xora as the keeper of the books was fas
cinated by this forlorn traveler. His strange manner and odd clothing was one thing but the manner of his arrival was another thing entirely. Everything about this stranger seemed to speak of a mythic nature she had always read of, but never experienced beyond the pages of her books. She wanted to learn as much about him as she could. She sensed he was somehow connected to these forerunner objects. He may even be one of them himself. So she for now would keep a close eye on him until she could learn more about this connection.
In a pilot less conveyance they made short work of the meandering path along the rocky cliff side that marked the way to her home high above the sea. Once there atop the plateau the vehicle settled onto its landing pad in time for them to see the last tendrils of daylight slip over the horizon. He stood there for a moment and looked out onto the now featureless sea, looking for any telltale signs that might show him the way. Only the bright glint of the sun reaching over the edge of the water could be seen. Xora escorted him up a set of marble stairs to the guest cottage that overlooked the cliffs. "There are clean linens on the bed. I took the liberty of having a light meal prepared for you. I hope you enjoy it" She bid him good night and left there with the setting sun. He was quite hungry and quickly consumed what her servants had prepared for him. By the time he had finished his meal, the sun had slipped away. There, sitting in his bedroom through the window he watched as the sea seemed to shine in the moonlight. Within its cool rays the luminescent creatures feeding on the abundant plankton created a delicate and subdued light show. Lying down he kept this haunting image in his gaze until as if by the seas motion he had once again drifted him to sleep.
Chapter 3
Ananda, in a dream wandered heavily upon the plane of Thera. There he stood awash in the debris of fallen cinders and yellow sulfur that had rained down for days uncounted. One of the few sounds to be heard was the soft noise of this gently falling ash. Its incessant patter muffled all other sound save for the distant wails of dogs and the cries of children. As he walked upon the blanket of porous silt at his feet, the dim light filtering through the ochre veil of the sky cast there no shadows. For sometime he wandered. As he roved the he recognized the silhouetted hulks that were once the familiar landmarks of his youth.
As if having been blind to the calamity, he stood staring in shocked amazement at the wretched scene. All he could do was wonder to what strange evil had befallen this world, once flush with verdant olive and laurel. There too upon farmed tracts vast fields of barley had once swayed ever so gently. Now it lay barren and lifeless, a mere echo. Observing there what was to be seen left him with an odd feeling. He could not say for sure, but he had a suspicion that he somehow possessed a dormant memory. And in this memory unknown even to himself there resided a cornel of a most obscene story.
The words rose up from his subconscious mind, and again he pushed these words from his thoughts before his mind could again assemble them. Trudging onward through pungent clouds that blanketed the air, he came upon a familiar place. There he could make out the smoke tinged faces of children he seemed to vaguely recognize. They stood there silently with the black pits of their eyes glaring blankly. The words again welled up. He tried to speak but the stifling clouds again descended before he could utter a word. On his tongue he rolled a sound to which his mind was not conscious of. A word, a name if only one were to speak it aloud the world would again come crashing down. He tried to speak it but as his mouth moved to form the word it faded again from his memory. Just then he was startled from this vision as again the sound of chimes, like those he had heard in his childhood filled his thoughts. This time they resounded more distinctly than before. He followed their sound and as he did it grew louder. The sound then abruptly stopped. There in a clearing he came upon the darkened silhouette of a man. Recognizing his outline he called his name. He saw again in his mind’s eye the words he had seen emblazoned upon his capsule, and he spoke them aloud, "Hector the King." As the name rolled off his tongue a wave of incandescent light surrounded and consumed them both. As quickly as it had appeared this bright glow had dimmed to an ember, and there in its place stood the silhouetted image of Hector. The edges of his armor glinted like a coronal eclipse of an artificial sun. There seemingly the two figures were now as if forged into one.
He leapt in panicked disarray from his slumber and fell writhing to the floor. A moment later he awoke to find himself naked and alone. He ran toward the billowing curtains of his open window and screamed out in a terrible cry. Though his heart was still thumping wildly from the visions of his dreams, it took him only a moment to realize he had been dreaming. As this revelation began to sink in, the image of the morning sun shining through his window filled his eyes. Its sudden appearance there, in contrast to his dream seemed to calm him. A moment later a rap upon his door signaled the arrival of an attendant. She announced herself then entered the room presenting a tray of breakfast, and a change of clothing. She found him hiding himself modestly behind the drapery, still a bit shaken up. He was quite a sight. In fear of this stranger she avoided the subject of his bizarre outburst that she had heard only moments before. So in speaking to him she was careful to avoid looking into his eyes and spoke in a reassuring tone, "Good morning to you sir. How is the day finding you?"
For her benefit he quickly managed to pull himself together and responded, "I am well." "That's good, sir. If I may suggest, I'm sure you're by now ready for a hearty breakfast and a change of clean clothes." Averting her eyes, she draped the clothes over the back of a chair. "I took the liberty of estimating your dimensions. I think it will be a good fit."
"Thank you." This gesture and his changing demeanor seemed to put her more at ease. "Lady Xora informed me to tell you she will be joining you shortly." He nodded to her in acknowledgment. She took this sign to mean she was excused. "Well then, if there will be anything else, please be sure to ask me." she said as she exited, closing the door behind her.
After she left the room all modesty fell away as his attentions were now drawn to the delectable smells of his meal that swirled about him. Until that moment he had forgotten that the acute pain he was feeling in his gut was that of hunger. He sat down at the small table and quickly devoured his meal. Though he finished the plate of food before him he was not satisfied. His body had suffered an ordeal and he seemingly was burning calories at a terrific rate. He would need to be mindful of this. Pushing the tray away he stood from the table and retired to the adjoining bath. There were other needs beyond his immediate sustenance that also needed his attention. His ordeal also had him left anxious to wash clean his body and change into fresh clothing. Within the ornately tiled room he found a bath recessed into the landing. It was filled with fresh clean water that flowed directly up from a heated spring deep in the earth. He watched as the water flowed over the edge of the basin into the drain.
He caught in his eye, his own image standing before the bath held captive there within the frame of the full length mirror. Staring back at himself this was the first time he had seen himself since he had laid down in his capsule so many years before. His image though familiar, was somewhat shocking to look at. He had almost forgotten how his own likeness had appeared. His head and face were covered in long hair. His hands and body were blistered and burnt from his day of exposure upon the water as well as those marks borne by body armor that held him for so long in a state of suspended animation. Exposed from beneath his armor his pale waxen skin appeared translucent. His naked skin shivered as it was exposed to the chilled morning air. He stepped carefully into the volcanic water and it warmed him.
With a sponge he brought the water to his head and face to erase the ages of grime that had accumulated there. The water in rivulets poured down over his neck and chest. Washing away this accumulated crust he felt renewed and invigorated asif symbolically baptized to his new life. Having arisen from the bath he dried himself and examined the clothes that were left there for him. With decreasing hesitation he was adjusting to this new environment. He
donned his vestment. Gazing into the mirror he looked on in surprised admiration of what he saw there. He was also pleased by the look and feel of the natural fibers as they were as comfortable as any he had ever worn. He was refreshed. His robe was regal and elegant and it suited him. As he stood there admiring himself, the attendant knocked again upon his chamber door interrupting him. "Kind Sir, your guests have arrived. They are awaiting your presence on the observation deck."
A Paradox in Retrograde Page 5
