The Cartographer

by Craig Gaydas

  “Thank you, Lianne,” Calypso replied. Turning to me, he asked, “Are you ready?”

  I shrugged, no longer concerned about my personal safety with Lianne looming over my shoulder. “I guess I'm as ready as I will ever be.”

  “We have Shuttle Navetta standing by,” Jasper said. He caught sight of Satou's frown and added, “Don't worry we repaired what needed to be repaired and I promise it is ready.”

  An icy tendril snaked its way around my heart. I was angry about the needless deaths of Madoc and Crag'Dughai, but my desire to know what Kedge had to say outweighed my desire for revenge. I couldn't shake the feeling the Consortium wasn't telling me the whole story, and I believed my meeting with Kedge would provide me the opportunity to fill the gaps—at least I hoped it would. I needed to channel my anger into something productive and make sure their deaths weren't in vain.

  “It is what it is,” I replied. “Let's go.” I strolled past Gard and met his gaze. He gave me a slight nod and I felt better knowing I had a companion for the voyage.

  Calypso led me to the docking bay along with Satou. Lianne insisted on coming along but Kale was not done expressing his objections, and she reluctantly remained behind to weather the storm. We entered the docking bay and Calypso wished me luck before leaving to attend to other matters. Satou escorted me into the shuttle and took his place in the pilot's chair.

  “Be safe down there, Nathan,” he urged. “Try to get as much information as you can so we can discover his intentions.” He handed me a radio communicator. “If you need assistance, all you need to do is call us. I can promise you that we will not be far away.”

  I accepted the radio and tried to fight the sinking sensation in my stomach. If I ran into trouble with Kedge, I doubted that he would allow me the time to call for help. I remembered the force with which he knocked me back and his hateful expression before he vanished into the woods. He had a staff almost as big as me and the ability to disappear at will, what the hell could I do against that?

  As if sensing my self-doubt, Satou placed a comforting hand upon my shoulder. “It will be OK. The fact that he requested an audience with you instead of attacking us outright is a positive sign.”

  I frowned. “You keep saying things will be OK, but it seems that it gets worse as time goes on. It was supposed to be OK before Crag and Madoc were killed. Everything was supposed to be OK because the Lumagom were destroyed `long ago' but here I am about to come face-to-face with their leader.” I felt a familiar swelling in my eyes but refused to cry. My ability to be a normal, hormonal teenager had been stolen from me and it was time to become a man.

  Satou resigned himself to the facts. “I don't know what to say, all I can offer you is hope.”

  I chuckled humorlessly. It was unintentional, but it popped out nonetheless. “I hope for our sake we have more than that.”

  I entered the shuttle and strapped myself in. Satou took the controls and Gard took the spot as copilot and helped guide the shuttle out of the docking bay. Not one word passed between us until we broke the planet's atmosphere.

  “This is the Navetta requesting coordinates to land, please respond.”

  Kedge's voice boomed over the intercom. “You are cleared to land at the coordinates I have uploaded to your ship's computer.”

  I gazed at the familiar violet ocean and déjà vu took over. This time we flew over the pink trees, passed the mountain and landed in a field which resembled a wheat field. As soon as we touched down, five figures emerged from their wheat camouflage and approached the shuttle. Satou lowered the ramp and Kedge led the contingent toward the ramp to await my descent. I drew in a deep breath, unbuckled the safety harness and glanced at Satou one last time. His eyes filled with regret.

  “Good luck,” he offered weakly.

  I nodded my appreciation before descending the ramp. Gard followed me and as I walked down the ramp I felt like a death row inmate, staring at the bottom like it was the door to the execution chamber.

  The brightness of the sun blinded me temporarily when I stepped from the shuttle. I looked away to clear my vision then continued my journey forward with my hand over my eyes. Kedge stood about thirty feet in front of me and surrounded by four other individuals of various races, reminding me of my initial experience aboard the Cirrus. A reptilian character stood to his left, which I assumed to be a Tyrrian. To the right was an Orgellian and next to him was a small, badger-like alien who stared down his snout at me, his beady eyes refusing to blink. It wasn't until I set eyes on the fourth character that I fell back a step. Shock rendered me speechless. It was Madoc.

  “Oh my God, Madoc you are alive,” I blurted.

  A confused expression spread across his face and he glanced at Kedge nervously. Kedge returned the look briefly before fixing me with an amused nod.

  “I understand your confusion, but this is not who you think it is. He hails from the planet Exorg 7, which is why you confuse him for someone else. They do have a tendency to look alike.”

  I mentally face-palmed myself. “Oh yeah right, my bad. Sorry I was overcome by a bit of emotion after seeing someone who had been so viciously murdered in cold blood.”

  I stared at him, my lips forming a thin line of anger, but he did not back down and I eventually looked away. A centuries old alien would win a staring contest over a rookie teenaged wannabe astronaut any day of the week.

  “What is that?” Kedge pointed behind me.

  “That is Gard, my robotic companion. The Consortium figured I shouldn't come here alone and I guess they were correct since you didn't.” I motioned toward his contingent.

  Kedge chuckled. “If I wanted to kill you, Nathan Chambers, I would have just destroyed your ship.” He circled around Gard. “And honestly, I am not sure your companion would be much defense against the five of us.”

  “So what do you want with me?” I asked, my anger rising.

  Instead of answering he turned toward his group. “You can leave us now. He didn't come alone, but he didn't come with the security force I anticipated either.”

  The group walked toward the mountain and disappeared among the trees. I folded my arms across my chest and tried to maintain the fiercest scowl I could, but failed miserably. Kedge's aura of power wilted me like a decade-old flower.

  “I suppose you are wondering why I asked you here?”

  “It's crossed my mind,” I retorted.

  “That is what makes us unique,” he chuckled. “Our sense of humor. Never lose who you are, Nathan Chambers.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  Kedge waved his hand dismissively. “Never mind, let's return to the task at hand. I called you here because you and I are the only humans among the stars. We have achieved greatness. We are the last of our kind.”

  I shook my head. “I told you there is a whole planet of humans on Earth.”

  It was his turn to shake his head. “When I left you, I returned to my ship and accessed the Consortium's planetary files. After our conversation, you had me intrigued to say the least.”

  “How did you manage that?” I asked skeptically.

  “I have my ways, but never mind that. I looked up your `Earth',” he muttered, his gaze distant.

  “So you know I'm right,” I interjected.

  He held up his hand. “Now wait a minute, I found something of interest. Something you may have missed, or didn't have access to.”

  I sat down on a nearby rock and peered at him, awaiting the great revelation he had for me.

  “While I was scanning the data on their computers I learned that you are their new Cartographer. I guess I should offer my congratulations eventually, but we have more important matters. This means that you have access to the universal map and I assume its function have been explained to you?”

  I nodded.

  “Good, so that saves us some time. Anyway, Ales Banda was the designer of the map, and during his travels with the Explorer's League he discovered wormholes on each planet.”


  I waved my hand impatiently, indicating that I was aware of all of that. Kedge didn't appreciate my impatience and fixed me with a hard look.

  “This is how I know for sure you're human. Impatience is one of their many faults.”

  “I'm sorry,” I lied.

  “Mars had two wormholes. Ales led a team through the first one which led to the planet Caelum. The discovery of a wormhole that led directly to the Consortium's home planet was indeed quite a find. Ales' assistant led a second team through the other one, and their discovery dwarfed the first wormhole in comparison.”

  “Well, where did it lead?” I prodded.

  “It led to Mars.”

  “That was quite a find indeed,” I responded sarcastically.

  “700 years into its past,” Kedge clarified.

  “What?”

  “The second wormhole led to a point in the planet's past,” he said. “That was the single most important discovery in the history of the universe. Prior to that time travel was thought of as impossible.”

  “Wow,” I exclaimed, genuinely excited with the news. “But how did they know they were in the past?”

  “Through scientific research and carbon dating,” Kedge replied. “Once news of the discovery reached Ales, he made it his primary focus to tap into the power of that wormhole.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  Kedge jammed his staff into the ground and sat on a nearby rock. “In the beginning his intentions were good. He wanted to see if it was possible to go back into the past and stop events that would impact the planet negatively. For example stopping a war, or bringing a modern vaccine into the past to avoid a biological epidemic.”

  I scratched my head and thought of the endless possibilities. What atrocities could I have prevented if I could return to Earth's past? Could I have stopped Hitler–or maybe stop cancer with medicine from the future?

  “I can see by the look in your eyes that you believe as Ales did. In the beginning, his intentions were noble, but after the destruction of his planet he went insane with rage and used the knowledge to fuel his vengeance.”

  “How do you know all of this?” I asked, searching his eyes for signs of deception. They were cold and calculating, yet genuine.

  Kedge looked at Gard but my robotic companion was consistent when it came to looking at people with cold, emotionless stares. He didn't reserve them for me alone and I found it rather comforting. Kedge, however, looked away nonchalantly.

  “I was in his company for a long time,” he replied. “During long journeys through the recesses of space we had a lot of time for—how shall you say—conversation.”

  “What do you want with me,” I prodded. “Why have you called me down to the planet?”

  Kedge stood up and pulled his staff from the ground. He ambled toward Gard and for the first time since our initial encounter I noticed he moved with a slight limp. His left leg dragged ever so slightly and I wondered if it was an old war wound, or perhaps a side effect of being implanted with the biological device keeping him alive. It was of little comfort to know that even though he had been alive for centuries, he was still mortal and could be wounded…or perhaps even killed if the need arose. I decided to file that nugget of information away for a later time, in case I needed it. He parked himself next to Gard and towered over him menacingly and I became concerned for my robot companion's safety.

  He lifted the staff and caressed the side of Gard's head. Gard followed his movements but made no move to defend himself. Perhaps the robot did not perceive Kedge as a threat, as I did.

  “Hey what are you doing?” I shouted.

  Kedge looked over his shoulder. His eyes were dark yet intense and caused me to lose what little courage I mustered.

  “How do you turn this off?” he motioned toward Gard with a look of contempt.

  I suddenly got a sick feeling in my gut, afraid that I would lose my only source of defense. “W-what?” I stuttered.

  “I want you to shut him down,” Kedge clarified. “I don't like to take chances.”

  “Chances with what?” I asked.

  “I don't want to take the chance that he is recording.”

  “Are you afraid you might end up on YouTube?”

  Although he had a puzzled expression, Kedge didn't respond to my comment. He motioned toward the robot and lowered his hand to his head. He made it abundantly clear the choice was mine and it would be up to me if I wanted to hear what he had to say. Eventually, curiosity overcame concern for my personal safety.

  “Gard, shut down,” I muttered.

  After an audible click, his eyes went dark and his chin rested on his chest. I looked toward Kedge, half-expecting him to pick up the staff and strike me down with it. Instead he plunged it into the ground again and leaned against it.

  “Good,” he beamed. “Now we may begin.” He folded his arms across his chest and looked across the field toward the shuttle. His eyes were distant but he seemed focused on what he had to tell me. He continued staring at the shuttle silently.

  “Um, are you going to tell me today or should I come back another time?” I quipped.

  He didn't take his gaze off the shuttle, but when he spoke his voice matched the distant look in his eyes. “I summoned you because I need what you have.”

  “What I have?” I repeated.

  He turned toward me. “I need the map.”

  “I thought you the copy that Ales stole?”

  “Yes, what we have is centuries old. You see, Nathan, the Lumagom are not like the Consortium. They had no time for updating maps and charting new worlds because Ales' primary focus was on destruction and the desire for exploration and discover no longer burned within him. He became a locust rather than an explorer.”

  “And you aren't?”

  He folded his hands in front of him and looked toward the sky. His eyes were veiled with sadness and magnified by the brightness of the alien sun. “I admit my plan is risky, but it is one I'm willing to take.”

  “Like what kind of risks?” I asked.

  “The Lumagom would destroy me, Nathan. They believe that I'm seeking you out in order to infiltrate the Consortium and destroy them from. This would allow us to continue Ales' mad quest to destroy life in the universe and replace it with sentient beings dedicated to worshipping his insane gods.”

  “And that isn't the case?” I asked skeptically.

  He chuckled. “I understand your doubts, but ever since I learned of the time holes, I have yearned to travel back to Mars' past in order to save it. I had never shared their religious fervor.”

  “Time holes? That's a pretty clever nickname for them,” I said. “But I thought you said that these were like doors, and since the planet is barren I assumed the wormholes had been destroyed.”

  “They were,” he replied. “But Earth has one.”

  “Yeah, but that one leads to another planet.” I countered.

  “There is another,” he continued.

  “Yeah but the one you are referring to is beneath the ocean and inaccessible. How do you know it leads to the past? It could just lead to another planet.”

  “According to Ales' journal of the map he was positive that the second wormhole traveled to the past. If I can confirm his findings, we have the technology to bring the necessary equipment through the time hole and build a vessel capable of reaching Mars. That is all we need to warn Mars of the impending attack.”

  “But you said the Lumagom would destroy you if they knew what you were doing. Wouldn't they try to stop you?”

  He shrugged. “You let me worry about that.”

  “What if the time hole doesn't go far enough back in the past?” I countered.

  “Let me worry about that also.” He smiled and I took no comfort in it.

  I frowned and he recognized the frustration in my face. His monocled eye studied me.

  “You are the new Cartographer,” he said matter-of-factly. “I know about the safeguards that the former Cartographer p
ut on the map. I also know that the Explorer's League has been unable to unlock it since his untimely death. You are the new Cartographer, therefore you must have unlocked it. I need that information.”

  “OK,” I sighed. “If you already know where the hole on Earth is, why do you need the map?”

  “It pinpoints the exact coordinates of the time hole. I only know the general location.” He stood up and pulled the staff out of the ground. He looked across the field and made a V gesture with his hands. I followed his gaze but saw nothing.

  “Wait a minute, what are you doing?”

  “Just letting my people know we are finished here.” He placed his hand on my shoulder and it was like someone set a block of ice there even though the temperature on the planet was about seventy degrees. The icy sensation originated from an ancient, unnatural being that should have been dead long ago.

  “Hey, I'm not done,” I bellowed.

  “I will let you think about what I said,” he said, ignoring my outburst. “I will give you two weeks and after that time I will contact your ship offering peace, but only on the condition that I speak to you one last time. This will allow you the opportunity to bring me the map.”

  “OK let's say I decide to go along with your plan, how would I get the map to you? The map is on a computer and I can't bring the whole damn thing with me, it would look a little suspicious don'tcha think?”

  “The map is actually a small disk, no bigger than a coin. It is probably attached to the computer via a port. I am confident you will find it.” He turned and walked away, leaving me alone among the blades of wheat like a human scarecrow.

  The shuttle loomed in the distance and I wondered if Satou could see us. I felt like Kedge's request was treasonous even though his intentions were noble. I had to admit it affected me personally because it was the human race he was trying to save. I approached an emotional crossroads and a decision would have to be made. There was no procrastination allowed on this one.

  “Gard activate,” I said and his eyes lit up. He turned his head toward me and although I know he didn't hear our conversation, I still felt the burden of guilt bearing down on my soul.