Land of Nod, The Artifact

by Gary Hoover

  “When I was a young boy, growing up on one of the . . . smaller farms of the west end pastures,” he began. “My father and I used to sit on the porch as the sun was going down, and he’d say to me: Son, one day I hope you’ll grow up to be strong and wise . . . and I hope you’ll know the right thing to do even when there are no easy answers.

  “Well,” The smile came again, but this time he did a poorer job of hiding it. “I think my father would be proud of what his little boy has been able to achieve.” He looked up at the vaulted ceiling and paused for a moment.

  “And if my father could be with us now - wise man that he was - one thing I can be sure of is that he would not want us sacrificing the lives of our children . . . our children . . . for the Doclotnuryians.” He made a sour expression when he said the word ‘Doclotnuryians’ as if the word itself left a bad taste in his mouth.

  “The Doclotnuryians may look like us, they may talk like us, they may share some ancient history with us . . .

  . . . But they’re not us.

  “What do we owe those . . . people?” The emphasis in his last word seemed to question if they were even people. “What do we owe a civilization that had no respect for us or our freedom? What do we owe people who killed, maimed, and tortured our bravest just to try to maintain their unjust hold over us?

  “What do we owe them? We . . . owe . . . them . . . NOTHING.

  “I have not forgotten the atrocities committed by the Doclotnuryians. Some will say that was a long time ago . . . . it doesn’t seem all that long ago to me. Some may say it’s wrong to not forgive after this time. I say it would be a dishonor to the sacrifices of our brave men and women to forgive too easily.

  “Some of those who have spoken today are very brave . . . brave with the lives of our children. None of them will be carrying a gun, you can bet that.” He smirked and paused for effect.

  “I’m a strong man, I’m a determined man . . .” His eyes drifted down and he paused. “I’m a . . . peaceful man. I will use all of my strength and my determination to maintain peace.”

  He collected his notes and returned to his seat. Jeff had to admit to himself, as much as his senses told him to dismiss this man and . . . as much as he looked like someone who was full of himself, he did make some good points. Jeff was sure that his father would always argue for peace.

  Always? Jeff wondered what his father would have said in 1941.

  A man in a black suit with a deep, booming voice stepped to the lectern. The man had made some previous procedural announcements, and Jeff assumed he was some sort of coordinator / organizer. Jeff wasn‘t sure if he was an actual councilman, but there was something in his manner - a clear, humble professionalism - that made him guess he wasn‘t. “Voting will occur promptly at 6 o’clock.”

  With that announcement there was a bustle of activity as the council members rose and milled about. Some left the chamber, some conversed with colleagues. Artimus came from his table and sat with Jeff.

  “Any thoughts, comments?” He asked Jeff.

  Jeff wasn’t sure what he wanted from him. Did he just want reassurance? Jeff felt like he was just there to be there but otherwise completely useless – like man-nipples or the football game at the end of MASH. “Your speech went great.” Jeff tried to add some enthusiasm to his voice, but he wasn’t sure that he was successful.

  Artimus smiled. “Thanks.”

  Artimus looked around the room. “I’m afraid it wasn’t enough though.”

  Alvina Royer and Goldwin Bellows joined them.

  “Great job,” Alvina said.

  “Yes, very well said,” Goldwin added.

  “Do you think we have a chance?” Artimus asked.

  Neither of them said anything. It seemed that it didn’t even need to be stated.

  Chapter 26:

  At precisely 6:00, the man in the black suit stepped to the lectern again. “We are now voting on council bill 7654G: Authorization for Military Force in the Aid and Defense of Doclotnury.” He pushed a button on the lectern, and behind him, two large signs became illuminated. One was green and labeled ‘Yes’, the other was red and labeled ‘No’.

  Jeff watched as Artimus pressed a green ‘yes’ button at his desk. The green and red signs on the far wall were both quickly counting up. After a minute or two, it seemed that the counting had stopped.

  Artimus clearly wasn’t happy. There were 42 ‘yes’ votes and 55 ‘no votes.

  “We’ll have to wait a few minutes until everyone who’s voting has had their choice, and then Duanan will announce his vote.” Artimus explained.

  “What are the chances he’ll vote your way?” Jeff asked.

  Artimus smiled. “About the same as him stripping naked, asking one of the ushers to swat his bare bottom and singing ‘I’m a Little Dandy’ . . . still we can hope.”

  Jeff thought a moment. “Hope he’ll vote your way or hope he’ll strip naked and ask one of the ushers to swat his bare bottom?”

  Artimus laughed. “Well at least the latter would be some consolation for the vote not going our way.”

  After several minutes, an annoying electric tone signaled the closing of the Vote.

  Jeff waited for Duanan to cast his vote . . . and waited . . . and waited. The room was silent and tense, but Duanan kept them waiting.

  It must all make him feel very important, Jeff thought. Jeff was beginning to wonder what Artimus liked about him. He seemed like a jerk from what Jeff could see.

  Finally, Duanan rose and walked slowly to the lectern.

  He stood at the lectern and continued the theater. He lowered his head solemnly and pretended to be in deep deliberation. Jeff assumed he was really thinking about the groceries he needed to pick up on the way home.

  “And I,” he finally spoke, “vote in favor of peace. . . I vote NO.” He lowered his head and walked slowly away as if he had just made the most difficult, solemn decision of his life, but Jeff thought he could sense the absolute JOY that Duanan felt at that moment.

  The man in the black suit stepped to the lectern one last time. “Session dismissed,” he said in a booming voice, and the assembled crowd started to file out.

  Jeff began to get up, but Artimus put his hand on his arm. “It will be a lot easier if we just give it a minute to clear out,” Artimus said. Then he turned away and shook his head. “Damn,” he said under his breath.

  Soon the chamber was nearly empty and Jeff and Artimus made their way out. Artimus was uncomfortably quiet. Jeff felt tempted to try to make small talk just to break the silence, but he wasn’t sure if it was appropriate.

  They walked in near silence back to Artimus’ office.

  Artimus sat heavily behind his desk. Jeff took a seat in a chair off to the side. Artimus sat for a few moments just staring, and Jeff was getting more and more uncomfortable. He had never seen Artimus like this. Since he had first met him, it seemed that Artimus was always smiling, joking, laughing. Now he looked as if his dog had just died.

  “I’m sorry,” Artimus said after several minutes. “Let me just check my messages, and we can head home.”

  He tapped on a screen that was built into his desk, and the light flickered on his face. His fingers tapped around the screen in what seemed like a random pattern, but Jeff assumed he was typing out some quick responses.

  After about 10 minutes, he turned off the screen, pulled a protective panel over it and got up. “Okay, ready to head back?”

  “Sure,” Jeff said.

  “I’m headed home, Codi,” Artimus said.

  “Good night,” Codi’s voice said over hidden speakers.

  Artimus led Jeff back into the garage, and the car doors opened right on cue.

  “Sometimes I just wonder if it’s all worth it,” Artimus said as he got in behind the controls. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be bothering you with this . . . it’s just frustrating. Maybe I should relax and let them all go to hell.”

  Chapter 27:

  Once Artimus was in
the kitchen, he quickly returned to his old self. As Jeff sat at the table and tried to stay out of the way, Baldwin, Nahima and Artimus were having a towel fight. Baldwin and Nahima had teamed up against Artimus and were coming at him from both sides, but Artimus was holding his own.

  “Okay, I have a philosophical question,” Nahima said as she snapped her towel at Artimus who deftly side-stepped it.

  “What’s that?” Artimus asked. “Owww. . .”

  Baldwin got a good shot in at the back of Artimus’ neck as he was distracted. Artimus turned his attention to Baldwin, but kept one eye on Nahima.

  “You and mom knew each other since elementary school, right?” she asked.

  “Yes . . .” Artimus got a quick shot in at Nahima and then turned his attention back to Baldwin.

  “So if you looked at an old photograph when she was a little girl, and thought that she was attractive . . . would that be romantic . . . or really creepy?”

  There was a strange beeping sound. At first Jeff thought it was some sort of timer for their dinner, but then realized it was a telephone – or something very similar – ringing. Artimus dropped his towel on a chair and headed over to a wall panel shaking his head.

  “I don’t know where you think of these things.” Artimus pushed a button on the panel. “Yes?”

  Jeff could see a small video image of the councilman he had met earlier - Goldwin - on a screen in the center of the panel.

  “Turn on the video events channel,” Goldwin said.

  “What’s going on?” Artimus asked, “Something about today’s vote?”

  “I’m not sure if I can explain,” Goldwin said. “Why don’t you check it out for yourself, and then I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Sure,” Artimus said. “I’ll talk to you later.” He pushed a button and the image disappeared.

  The four of them headed to the other room.

  “Video on,” Artimus said in a clear precise voice, “link 37.”

  A small projector popped down from a hidden panel in the ceiling and began projecting an image of a news show on a blank wall.

  An attractive woman was talking to an older gentleman. “Is there any chance these images have been faked in some way?” she asked him.

  “That’s certainly a possibility that we have to keep in mind. We generally haven’t thought that they would have the technology to fake these images . . . but, of course, we wouldn’t have thought they had the technology that they seem to show in the video either, so one way or another, they have technology of which we were previously unaware,” he answered.

  “Let’s show our viewers that video one more time.”

  Jeff’s stomach clenched into a tight knot. He was looking at the creature from his dreams . . . a pheerion.

  The pheerion was speaking . . . in the same wheezing, croaking voice Jeff had heard in his dream the night before. As he spoke, subtitles crawled across the screen translating: “We have strengths that you do not yet know.”

  Jeff realized that, as in his dream last night, there was something in his mind that seemed to be translating the words for him. He felt that he could understand the words even without the sub-titles, but he was sure it wasn’t an actual audible translation. It was in his mind. He closed his eyes just to see if he could still understand without reading the words.

  “We ask for immediate unconditional surrender. If our demands are not met. . .”

  Yes! Yes, he could understand even without the subtitles. He opened his eyes and was looking at a grainy image of a forest.

  “We will now demonstrate the power of our ultimate weapon.”

  The camera panned back, and Jeff could see a large gun. The ‘barrel’ of the gun was about 10 feet long, and 12 inches in diameter. While it didn’t look like a traditional gun - it had hoses and tubes and other electronic devices attached to it - the general size and shape were immediately recognizable as a cannon of some sort.

  The pheerion stepped behind the gun, grasped two handles and plugged some sort of key into it. The gun hummed to life. The pheerion swiveled it toward the forest, pushed a button and . . .

  . . . A spectacular wave of energy erupted from the gun. The energy beam caused a blurring and distortion of everything that they had previously seen clearly beyond it. It was like looking through water that had waves moving through it.

  The distortion stopped, and was replaced by a cloud of debris. As that debris slowly settled and cleared, Jeff’s mouth fell open.

  The forest - acres and acres of trees - had been completely . . . FLATTENED.

  Jeff looked at the others to see if they were as shocked as he was, and, if anything, they seemed MORE shocked.

  Artimus was just staring at the screen. He was intently focused on it, seemingly oblivious of everything else. Nahima and Baldwin had similar expressions.

  The pheerion spoke again, but this time he wasn’t on screen. He likely didn’t want his image to distract from the devastation. “We would prefer to settle all this peacefully, but if we have no choice, we will use this weapon.”

  The video ended and the woman and man came back on screen.

  “Volume 2,” Artimus said and the volume dropped. “Well that’s . . . dramatic,” he said.

  He seemed to be thinking. Nahima and Baldwin weren’t saying anything. They were looking at each other, then at Artimus, then at the screen.

  “Let’s have some Dinner,” Artimus said, breaking the silence. “I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a busy day.”

  Chapter 28:

  Dinner was uncomfortably quiet.

  “After dinner,” Artimus said without raising his eyes from the food he was working on, “I’d like to show you something, Jeff.”

  Nahima and Baldwin looked at each other. Jeff had the definite, uncomfortable feeling that everyone else knew something that he didn’t . . . actually, he knew there were many things that they knew that he didn’t, but, in this case, he felt that it had something to do with him.

  They went back to eating in silence, and the silence began to gnaw at Jeff. What’s going on? What is Artimus going to show me? Damn it! Why am I the only one who doesn’t seem to have a clue what’s going on?

  After several minutes, it was really getting to him. “What are you going to show me?” He finally asked.

  Artimus stopped eating and made eye contact with Jeff this time. “It’s . . . complicated. Let’s just relax and enjoy our meal.” He smiled.

  . . . A smile that seemed too forced to Jeff, but he didn’t know if he had any real choice but to keep eating. He couldn’t demand that Artimus tell him now . . . could he?

  He still felt a little guilty for lying to them about himself as long as he did. Now it seemed he was getting a taste of his own medicine.

  He tried to finish his food, but his stomach was twisting and he found it hard to eat. Did it have something to do with that news report? It certainly seemed to shake everybody up. But why did Artimus have something specifically to show Jeff and why did the others seem to know what was coming?

  Jeff found himself looking around the table, and the marked lack of eyes that were willing to meet his just put him more on edge.

  Eventually, everyone finished. And they all looked around at each other waiting for the next step.

  Artimus finally broke the silence. “Would you two mind cleaning up?” He asked Baldwin and Nahima. “I’d like to fill Jeff in on some of those other details.”

  Nahima and Baldwin nodded and began collecting plates.

  “Jeff. Come with me. I think you’ll find this interesting.”

  Chapter 29:

  Artimus led him to a room Jeff had not previously seen. The first thing Jeff Noticed was that this particular room was FILLED with the decorative ovals that Jeff had noticed all over the house.

  Artimus led him to a desk, grabbed a thin panel in the desk and slid it out. There were 14 bulleted sentences / paragraphs.

  “These,” Artimus said importantly, “are the 14 pro
phecies.”

  He ran his hand down the sentences and then stepped back to give Jeff some time to read them:

  1. When times seem most dire, the Raja will fall from the sky.

  2. The Raja will have strength and vision that even he won’t recognize.

  3. The Shaman will die for the one he loves, but his actions will come far too late to save the one he loves from the same fate.

  4. At the end of the great, human/pheerion war, pheerion and human will be ready to share the planet and live together in peace and harmony.

  5. While The Raja will wield great power, he will require the guidance of the Shaman to reach his destiny.

  6. Few will recognize The Raja for who he is.

  7. As the most fearsome battle rages, The Raja must go to the heart of darkness. The heart must be killed to stop the beast.

  8. The Raja will bear the Numino.

  9. When humans fight humans, they risk all, but the battle can’t be avoided. Some will sacrifice all, and their sacrifices must not be in vain. The Raja must remember this and not be too distracted to help those whose hearts are true defeat those who betray their own.

  10. The Raja’s compassion and trust will earn him allies. Those allies will be keys to victory.

  11. Only The Raja has the power to wrest the Numino from the Warlord.

  12. The enigma will baffle all but The Raja. To him, it will be a child’s game.

  13. Only after they have fulfilled their destiny will the Child and Raja depart.