by A. D. Nance
upper platform near the caldron opening slipped and nearly fell in to the magma pit. The hot gases were flaring and throwing out chunks of unstable material from the furnace. Jalon saw him dangling from the edge of the platform of this burning nightmare. He was near so he ran up there to try to pull him up from incineration. He was able to pull him up to his middle section, then – KABOOM! A tremendous explosion rocked the shaftway and entire Incubus.
Jalon heard a crackling sound. He felt ropes around him. When he opened his eyes, he could only see a yellowish smoke or haze. Then he blacked out again. There was a pinching or tightening of the ropes, and he awoke. He ached all over, his head was spinning, but he realized something. He was alive and high above the main shaftway chamber. He was entangled in some kind of tree roots that were bunched up at the ceiling. And they were gradually lowering with his weight. Later when he could think, he understood what had happened. The platform he was on went straight up and provided some protection. Then the root bunch was like a cushion when he hit the ceiling, holding him without doing too much damage to him, mostly to his clothes.
At this time when Jalon was being lowered by the root vines, it was over two hours since the explosion. A group of workers along with the Zaffroy, the head of the Incubus were surveying the damage. It was a serious accident. Three were dead and several injured. The Zaffroy was very religious, as were many of the elite of that civilization. He had everyone gather around the debris of the smelding machine. Then, looking upward, they started a chant for help from their mountain-top god. Just then a piece of a root in the melted mess popped and shot straight up. The glowing blob faded out of sight as if taking their message to their deity. Almost immediately after that, Jalon became visible out of the shadows, dropping lower and lower. Screams of shock and surprise rang out because of the timing of Jalon's appearance. Also to this group of fearful, superstitious survivors, especially Zaffroy, it was a sign of help from on high. The roots were becoming more relaxed and elastic as Jalon got lower. He grabbed on to the longest two and bounced lower. Finally he held just one vine as he was dangling above a pile of debris. Some of the workers came to his aid and helped him onto the debris and carefully to the ground.
Since that event, Jalon was looked upon as a 'savior' of sorts. He was treated as one specially blessed and appointed by the deity. He was given more responsibility and rapidly rose in the ranks there with the hope that he would help bring in some kind of new era. He did live up to many of the expectations and greatly improved safety measures and working conditions for everyone. He worked alongside the Zaffroy for about five years, then was called to the High World – the outside, on the mountain.
In the High World Jalon is trained in the jeweled fortress that surrounds the Mountain with the shining castle on its peak. His training involves beautification and defense. Finally he is given his 'wings' in a transformation ceremony. He could then fly just like an eagle of ancient Earth legends.
It is only then, in flight around the majestic mountain castle, that he becomes aware of the convergence of times and dimensions. The explosion in the Incubus years before corresponded in timelines to the explosion of the Okron star, but in another time and space. It also happened at the same 'time' as the malfunction on the seemark line. This was verified by the historic records of both civilizations. The vision, or teleportation to the mountain climb with his son, corresponded to his 'climb' inside the mountain with flash views of the future where he is now.
All this he realized as he flew to the perch at the castle. The king approached and knighted him. The attack began. He was urged to defend the mountain castle. This glorious and yet perilous future awaited him.
Eldon now looked at the chronometer. It read 12:03. He was not sure what he had done at his desk that morning. But he knew what he had seen in his 'visions' of the past few days in his working at the seemark assembly plant on Cona-3-Cha. Someone out there wanted him to see his future and perhaps to guide him.
