by Kip Hartzell
The Atlantean Chronicles
Shadows of Enlightenment
Chapter One: Reunion
Another tremor shook the cave, as rocks began to fall. Jay was on his back wiping blood away from a superficial head wound, when a strong hand reached down and picked him up. A man, resembling his Grandfather, swished away rocks, like a person swatting away flies. He half carried, half dragged Jay through the bright doorway, where, as soon as they entered, all was calm. The doors shut quietly to a massive room.
Jay felt the coolness of the smooth, polished floor on his face. A group of shadowy people stood over him. He couldn’t make out what they were saying over the ringing in his ears. He managed to roll over. A large shadowy creature loomed large in his view, and suddenly backed away. His vision started to clear and the ringing subsided. Again, a person much like his Grandfather knelt beside him.
“How is he, Rhe-A?” The Grandfather figure asked.
The person he was talking to, was holding a device over him. “Slight concussion, minor lacerations.” She stood up. “He’ll survive, so, now should I inject the memory inhibitors?”
“No, not yet.”
“John, you know we don’t bring Cousins in because of their limited intelligence and inability to accept things outside their norms. Madness ensues, and creates a whole other round of problems. You’re going to need Council approval.”
“I know the rules. It’s just...I think he’s here for a reason. How did he know where to find us? There’s something more here.”
“You act like you know him?” Rhe-A asked, as she moved closer to him. She hesitated in recognition.
“I do, I think, I mean, he called me Gramps. I believe that’s a term of endearment. I also feel, I know him.”
“Hello, I’m right here,” Jay said, rolling over, and rising to his knees. He wiped blood and dirt away from his sun-tanned face. He pushed his sandy colored hair out of his eyes. “What’s going on?” He stood up and became dizzy. John steadied him.
Rhe-A reached over with an injector and stuck it to his neck for a second. He immediately felt better and his head cleared.
“Gramps, you look so...young.”
John looked at him oddly. His hair had been graying for centuries. They knew they were no longer immortal, and the longer they stayed out of the Temporal Storage Device, the more they aged. Its accumulative affect was evident on his middle-aged face. Without the high concentration of agoam crystals, they were all doomed to grow old and die, eventually.
“I’m sorry, who are you?”
Jay felt as though he had been stabbed in the heart.
Rhe-A moved her handheld over Jay. “Sub-DNA confirms he’s related to you. He’s from the United States.”
“Hey, stop talking as if I’m not here. Who are you people?”
“Rhe-A looked at him as if acknowledging his existence for the first time. “We are Atlanteans.”
Jay waited for the punch-line. They all looked serious. “Bullshit.” He heard footsteps behind him, he turned to see the biggest bipedal creature he had ever seen. The bull-man looked down at him with infinite black eyes.
“What an odd expression.”
Jay stumbled backward into a very tall Atlantean woman, pale, black long hair, the bluest eyes he had ever seen, he was drowning in them, then she smiled showing two large fangs.
“Ahg,” he screamed, and ran to the center of the circle of people, and darted around like a cornered animal. “I’m losing my mind,” Jay said as he stumbled around, “Yah, I hit my head, hard, or I’m simply dead, no, I’m dying of hypoxia. Yah, that’s it. I need to wake up and get out of this cave.” He felt a gentle touch on his shoulder, he quickly turned. “Grandma!” He hugged Athene-A tightly. “Please say you know who I am.” He pulled away. “Why are you so young?”
“I’m actually quite old, by your standards.”
“You know me? Right?” He looked at John, then back at Athene-A. “I don’t feel so good.” He leaned down and put his hands on his knees.
Rhe-A moved toward him with an injector. “Shall I administer the memory inhibitors, now.”
John stepped between them. “No, there has got to be a reason he is here. I think we should investigate.”
“Your name is...Jay,” Athene-A said, slowly studying his face. “I used to call you...JJ.”
John looked at the two. “Your name is John Jay Rodgers...right?”
“Yes, yes, you remember me.”
“Only fragments, dreams.”
Rhe-A ran her handheld over Jay. “The sub-DNA structure is uncannily close to both of you. I would say he’s related in some cosmic crazy way. If we’re going to keep him, let’s go to the infirmary to continue this family reunion.”
John and Athene-A gently took him by the arm, and guided him away. Jay’s head and eyes darted around. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, the difference, his Grandparents were his size, but most everyone around towered over them. He recognized all manner of mythical creatures, from Minotaur to Centaur. Paintings on the walls showed spacescapes so real he thought he might fall into space. Spaceships battling each other, all types of creatures from Earth’s passed. Statues of Greek and Roman gods, Architecture was that of ancient Greece. He began to compose himself and realized this was not his imagination. His imagination wasn’t this good.
The door to the infirmary was open when he walked in behind Rhe-A, and in front of John and Athene-A. Jay’s vision was clearer, now, and he tried to focus on one thing at a time. He focused on how tall Rhe-A was, with her gray deep shimmering jump suit that could pass as a tight scuba outfit.
Rhe-A tapped on a table and said, “Sit here, we’ll have you checked out in a second.”
Jay looked at the high table and hesitated.
“Do you need some help?” Rhe-A asked, in a condescending way.
“No, I can do it,” Jay blurted back, and hopped on the table, not quit as elegantly as he had wanted.
“If there’s one constant in the universe, it’s the male ego. Now, be still.”
Jay was trying to shake out the cobwebs, when he stopped and studied Rhe-A. “I know you, but...younger, and blonde. Rhea Wilkenson!”
“Rhe-A, you knew us in our external dissociated form?”
“Apparently, you don’t read reports, either. I wasn’t absolutely positive until I finished my scan, but, yes, I was there at the end.”
“How did you know?”
“The computers are tied into the primitive world network, it’s designed to look for external dissociated travelers. As an experiment, I tracked you for a couple of years. When you got sick, it afforded me the opportunity to examine you up close.”
“Was it you who extended my life?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“It seemed to me that you had...unfinished business.”
“Did you know me?” Athene-A asked.
“No, you had long passed, before I became aware of John’s existence. Only now do I realize who you were. Although, I should have deduced it. You two seemingly, travel in pairs. I have yet to ascertain why.”
“Another mystery,” John said, as he looked at Athene-A, thinking he might know the answer. Perhaps, love was a force that could transcend time and space, or even death.
Jay sat there in silence, and within ten seconds, Rhe-A knew everything about his physiology. She reached over and gave him another shot.
“I’m not going to forget, am I?”
“Not yet, but we do need a Council meeting.”
“He is integral to the past and future,” Pandor-A sai
d, in her Inquisitor voice.
Jay saw another, younger looking, tall dark haired woman in the doorway. She was wearing much the same type of outfit.
“How?” John asked.
“They don’t know, exactly, but it seems he holds some vital information, maybe subconsciously,” Pandor-A said, in her own voice.
“I can have all his memories extracted,” Rhe-A commented.
“Whoa, wait a minute, you’re kidding, right?” Jay said nervously.
“Yes, Jay, she’s joking. I won’t let anything happen to you,” John said, as he came around the table to face him. “We need to catch up. Rhe-A is he fit to go?”
“He is now. But I’m not sure how he’ll handle the experience.”
“I think he’ll be fine. Jay, come with me and I’ll show you a world you’ve only imagined, or only heard about in stories. Pan, see if our guests can give us anything more than cryptic sayings. Athene-A, shall we give our Grandson a tour.”
Athene-A was wiping the blood away that had clotted on his head and face. The wound was almost gone, while she combed his hair back with her fingers. Suddenly, she stopped, and wondered why she was doing this parental task. She stepped away. “Come JJ, are you hungry?”
He hopped down with no pain, and realized he was not hallucinating. When he passed by Pandor-A, he recognized her from the story. He slowed as they made eye contact, and then moved into the main hallway, Jay couldn’t believe the acoustics. There was no echo in such a large place, no sense of grandness, it was as if you were standing in a normal room. He couldn’t help but stare at the number of creatures that moved about with a purpose. Some, he recognized, others, he did not.
“Who are you, really?” Jay asked, as he marveled at the technological heart of the complex.
“We’re Atlanteans,” John answered without hesitation.
Jay stopped. “Those stories my crazy Grandfather told, I mean, you told, were true?”
John smiled. “I’m really not sure what I told you. The external dissociation trips are pretty rough on our memories.”
“You told me of escaping a planet called, Terrah, circled a star called Celeste. It went super nova and you escaped, only to be confronted by many other challenges.”
“Yes, that’s true, but I’ve never known anyone to remember so much outside the temporal storage device. This is not a coincidence. “Let’s get something to eat and sit down.”
They sat in a large common area, Jay thought, looked like a cafeteria. He darted his head around to see all manner of beings staring back at him. He had always been a little self-conscious about being the center of attention, even during his college party days. He was usually good at blending in with the crowd. When he sat at a table, he jumped up when the 3-D menu popped into view in front of him. John and Athene-A suppressed a laugh. Jay sat back down trying not to look any more foolish.
“Just, touch what you want, or just tell it. It will adjust to all known languages,” Athene-A told him putting her hand on his to calm him down.
“Uh, thank you.” There were thousands of selections, he would never get through them all. “Uh, ham and cheese sandwich, on white bread.”
“What type of cheese would you like?” a sultry female voice asked.
“Uh, Swiss, please,” he said, a little louder than he intended. The table opened up and presented a dish with the desired sandwich.
“Would you like something to drink?”
“Uh, yes, water, cold, please.”
“You don’t have to say, please. It’s a machine, kind of like an automated drive through, or a-”
“Because you fought a war against machines, and you put inhibitors on them, right?”
“Yes, but, how did-”
“I told you, Gramps told me the story of your trip here.” It was Jay’s turn to smile. He began to relax, and eat as he took in his surroundings.
“How did you know to come here?” John asked.
“Mostly by coincidence.”
“Too many synchronized random events to be coincidence.”
“I see your point. All my life, I heard you tell stories, but none so vivid as near your...death.” Jay noticed the term didn’t bother John at all, as if, he had heard it before.
“You talked about Atlantis, Terrah, I have the whole thing recorded. Funny, I came on this archaeological dig to get away...and now, here I am.”
“How did you know to come, here?”
“You gave me a set of coordinates before you...I recognized them while I was surveying the area.”
“You mean there’s going to be a dig sight, here?”
“You cannot let them dig here. It’s imperative this facility remain secret.”
“Yes, I do understand.”
“Sorry, It’s really important. If I led you here, then you’re here for a reason. We must determine what I was trying to tell you, consciously, or subconsciously. Oh, and we are going to need that recording. There might be something on it that can help.”
“So, you guys are aliens?”
“We’ve been here since before countries, or written language. We could consider you alien.” John smiled. “Nevertheless, we prefer, extraterrestrial.”
“You’re not going to stick a probe in my butt, are you?”
“Uh, no, that’s something the Destroyers do.”
“Perhaps,” Athene-A said, while thumping her finger on her chin, “we can tie our brain functions together with the facilities computer. It might be able to correlate the things we have in common. Maybe we can narrow down the list of possible reasons for this reunion.”
Pandor-A unceremoniously sat down at the table and spoke without invite, “You are linked,” she said in the Inquisitor voice, “A solution must be found. Time is short.” Her eyes refocused on the group.
“You know, that is really creepy,” Jay said, without thought.
“You should be in my position,” she replied in her own voice.
“I believe,” she continued, “that they are saying you should start at the beginning, and sift through the past in order to discover the future.”
“Great,” John said, “now, you’re starting to sound like them.”
“I think I can narrow down some parameters that link us together, maybe it will shorten the time connected to the data link,” Athene-A said.
“Sounds good. When can we start?”
“I’ll need some time to program the computer, with Pandor-A’s help.”
“I probably should get back to the dig sight, before they send someone to find me.”
John and Athene-A looked into space for a brief second. “We have a Council meeting. But, with this new information, I believe we will be able to proceed. Stay here, while we take care of Council business.” They got up and John waved a Minotaur over. He gave him some quick instructions, and they walked off.
Jay sat there and stared at the bull man, that sat across from him. He no sooner finished his sandwich, when John and Athene-A came back.
“When can you get back?” Athene-A asked.
“As soon as I can, without drawing suspicion.”
“The Council approved all our requests, but it is imperative that this remain a secret, JJ, or else it could have dire consequences. Do you understand?” Athene-A said, as if talking to a small child.
“I understand, Grandma.”
Getting up from the table, he was led to the tunnel entrance.
“We will be ready with the program within a day. Be cautious, JJ. The Destroyers have eyes, and ears everywhere.”
“I will Grandma-Athena-or how about, Anita.”
“It’s alright with me, whichever you chose.” She smiled.
“How do I get back?”
“The same way you got here. The tunnel’s been cleared and reinforced,” John explained.
Jay was excited about his discovery, even though he couldn’t tell anyone. He rifled through his backpack to find his flashlight, gathering up his surveying equipment, he marched of
f into the starry darkness.
John and Athene-A stood at the mouth of the tunnel and watched him go.
“Can we trust him?” she asked.
“I feel he has important information that we need. We need to trust him. I just hope we’re not too late.”
Chapter Two: If We Don’t Look
“Where the hell have you been?” the old man screeched, as Jay walked into the well-lit camp.
He dropped his equipment, with little regard for delicacy. He started toward his tent, when the old man intercepted him. His tan dungarees and floppy hat, lightly ruffled in the breeze. “Aren’t you going to answer me young man?” he gruffly asked.
“I got lost after the earthquake, professor Snodgrass. Now, I’m tired, and I would like to get some sleep.”
The Professor eyed him suspiciously. “For someone who has always had a keen sense of direction, I’m not sure I believe you. What did you see out there?”
Jay hesitated. “Nothing, just a wild goose, the one you sent me on, to get me out of your hair.”
The old Professor’s jaw slacked. “That’s not true, I, I needed that information to correlate settlements.”
“There’s nothing there. Since I have your attention, I’m going to need the next couple of days off.”
“Out of the question. I need you to help excavate section B-214.”
“I really need the time off.”
“If you leave, don’t come back.”
Jay mellowed, if he was fired, he wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on them in order to keep them away from Chrysalis. “Alright, but I’m going to need some time off, soon.”
“We’ll see.” The old man turned toward his own tent and marched away.
Jay turned and almost bumped into Shelly. The woman was almost as tall as Jay. Her blue eyes sparkled in the camp lights, while her dirty blonde hair shifted in the light breeze. Her fare skin had been tanned by the outdoors. “Oh, hello, Shell.” He started to go around her.
“Jay, are you going to quit again?”
“Maybe.”
“Is it because of me?”
Jay smiled at her self-importance. “No, not this time.”
“Look, I know you’re angry with what happened between us and Amy Mae, but I can’t change things. We were drunk, and Amy was playing grab ass with that intern from the financial backer’s family.”
