A Paradox in Retrograde (15 page)

Again they rode down along the edge of the cliff by means of the
pilot less conveyance and soon found themselves within the citadel. There they entered beneath the heavy doors of the great hall
to find a platoon of royal guards standing in wait.

The captain of the guard sent word to one of his juniors to inform
Landaus that their guests had arrived. The officer found Landaus
and Grunhuf deep in discussion and so begged their pardon.
"Forgive me Colonel, I was told to inform you that your guests
had arrived."

"Thank you, you are dismissed. Landaus wasted little time and
approached Ananda immediately. He presented him his hand and
they exchanged their obligatory greetings. "Good day to you traveler, I hope all is well."

"I cannot recall being the recipient of any hospitality that could
rival the graciousness that has been offered to me here in Baldur.
I am forever in your debt."
Landaus responded with all sincerity, and then as was his nature
he got right down to the brass tacks of his purpose there. "It is
our honor to extend to you this hospitality. However there is a
growing mystery within this realm, to which the timing of your
arrival here must be more than a coincidence." Ananda responded patiently to this assertion knowing full well that Landaus had
hit the nail right on his head. "My gracious Landaus There is
much I have discovered about myself in the last two days since
my arrival here among your people. Part of which would answer
this question to the affirmative. However if I was to tell you the
purpose for my arrival you may think them the mad ravings of a
lunatic. So for the time being until we can determine the nature
of this mystery to which you have eluded, you must be satisfied
only to know that your assertion is true. It is by no coincidence
that I find myself in the here and now."

Landaus and the other were shocked by this forthright admission. For a moment Landaus was at a loss for words.Grunhuf
spoke up feeling the need to fill the void left by his comment.
"My dear Ananda, You forget who is holding the cards here.
You are our guest as long as we see fit to have you as such. You
could just as easily be our prisoner."

"Dear friends there is no need to resort to threats, I am here to
help you. There soon will come the day where you shall thank
your lucky stars that I did come as I did. So if you would indulge me, we may help each other. You spoke of a mystery?
Once this has been revealed I feel my purpose here will become
self-evident."

Landaus then spoke. "Alright we can play it your way. Ananda
why don't you take a look around here and tell you what you
make of it?"

With the contingent of guards looking on Ananda made his way
around the room. There presented before him on long wooden
tables were the hundred or so artifacts. These artifacts he could
immediately tell were not a product of this culture. However he
did recognize a good many of them as remnants of his own technological past. He ran his hand along the items as he walked. As
he did he experienced a feeling of nostalgia. He thought to himself that surely these had been excavated nearby or washed upon
the shore as he had been. This feeling remained there just under
the surface. Then he came upon something that did not fit. He
lifted up to the light a rather ungainly metallic object. It was
round and hollow and its surface made a perfect reflection. It took
him a moment to recall from the dark recesses of his mind, a jagged memory. In the process he came to recognize that which he
was looking upon was a battle helmet of his enemy. He lifted it
again up to the light and its shining metallic surface gleamed as if
it were made yesterday. He realized that this was no relic of an
ancient battle. This realization sent a familiar shiver down his
spine. He turned toward Landaus and asked him. "Did you find
the owner of this helmet?" Landaus lifted from the table a box
and placed it on the table before him. Then he said, "As a matter
of fact I have. If you would be so kind, please take a glance of the
contents of that box." Ananda unlatched the hasp and slowly began to lift open the lid. There within was the sight he had most
dreaded. This was confirmation of what he had hoped not to see.
His face grew somber and he spoke out to those assembled there
in a most serious tone.

"They are here among you. Even as we speak our time is quickly
running out" He closed the lid and turned to Landaus. "When and
where did you find this helmet?"

Landaus by the look upon Ananda's face had almost given in to
this demand. However he instead soberly gathered his thoughts
and refused to take the bait. Landaus was looking for answers
and he would not be denied. So he stood his ground. This had the
effect on his guest that he had anticipated. Ananda's voice rose
louder and more demanding as he again spoke. "Did you hear me
man? There is little time to waste we must act accordingly." As
they had been instructed no one there responded. To this he reacted with a disagreeable demeanor. He continued on heedless with
what developed into a condescending rant. "You small people
have no idea to what dangers are in store for you. Will you stand
there and stare at me like children? Unless you begin to follow
my advice all will perish." Landaus could now speak freely as
his guest had broken all decorum in his outburst. A weight had
been lifted off his chest as the rules of hospitality had been broken. Now as he stared upon his guest the look upon his face contained a devilish smile. "My dear guest, you seem tohave forgotten that you are not a prince in this land and you have no say over
the doings of its people. Also your words taken in a certain context could be construed as an unambiguous threat. We are a civilized people Ananda. However there are limits to the amount of
abuse that we will tolerate. You sir have come awfully close to
reaching that limit. It is time now that you tell us what you know
so that you can stay within our good graces."

At this point a group of several guards came forth from their
ranks and assembled there with weapons ready. Their sharp
threatening pikes now stood but a short distance from him. He
was not unaccustomed to threats of personal danger so he was
not hastened to give up so easily. He did however respect the
point of a spear and admired their pluck in presenting such a
show of force. He again spoke this time his voice was tempered
with some humility. "Dear Sirs I assure you that this show of
force is unnecessary." He touched the gleaming tip of the spear
closest to him and said, "However I do get your point." Lady
Xora having seen all she cared to from both sides was now intent on doing something. She stepped from her place through
the crowd toward them. She placed her body between Ananda
and the guard's weapons. Landaus had not anticipated such a
move and so was not prepared for what happened next. In a
loud and commanding voice she spoke in a voice loud enough
for all there to hear. "My dear gentlemen as the keeper of the
books, within these doors I am the highest ranking official present. You must by law and tradition defer to my wishes. You
must lay down your weapons for there is important news that
Ananda must share. And as for you princes of Baldur you
should not be so dense as to bite the hand that feeds you." She
turned to Ananda and said, "Your way has not worked well at
all. You are no longer a king here or anywhere. This you must
accept. There is a common goal here which is being lost within
the intrigue that is being played out. So please lay out to these
men what you know. They will listen, I promise."

Landaus nodded to the guards assembled there and they stood
down accordingly. "Ok Xora we'll do it your way, but he had
better start talking and soon or things may get ugly." There was
logic to her words. He was no longer king, and his kingdom no
longer existed. And he was certain he could not wage this war
alone. "Alright I shall tell you what I know."
"What know you of the song of Hector? A child's song perhaps,
how does it go again?" He looked around the room to see only the
look of confusion. "Those enemies in their silver ships that came
to make war in ancient times, these are your enemies. What you
have stumbled upon is most likely one of their advance scouts.
You were lucky to capture it."

"We must return there and scour the mountain. There may be
more ships and more of these creatures. We have to stop them
from reporting back to their planet before we have had a chance
to prepare."

Ananda responded, "It is the newest star in your sky. Surely your
astronomers have noticed it by now." To this Landaus only nodded to the affirmative. "My friends, that which you have all by
now seen, is the planet Nibaru. It is an intermittent visitor to this
region of space. Every 13,000 years this wayward planets orbit
brings it within the range of its space fleet." In unison a look of
disbelief came upon the faces of those assembled there. Sensing
this rising rumble of discord, he wasted no time in correcting
their ignorance. "Surely you must be aware of the histories regarding manned space flight? In my time we frequently traveled
about the planets. Long ago we had colonies on Mars and the
moon. These too were wiped out to a man by these invaders."

"What is it that they want?" One in the crowd asked. Ananda
stood there with a sober look of anguish on his face, as he told
them what they wanted to know. "They are here to take your
lives. It is their way. It is their nature. As surely are the comings
of the seasons on the Earth, so comes the season of the blood ritual."

Having finally completed its solar year, from across the gulf of
space Nibaru had like in ages past, emerged from the icy embrace of the nether regions. This wandering planet having completed an orbit that comprised its great ellipsoid arc, was closer
now to the sun than it had been in nearly 13000 years. In doing
so it had come again into the realm of the inner planets. Having
long slumbered, with the light of this new dawn, this ice world
would transform itself as it had so many times before. Across
the face of the world these changes came rapidly. Its glistening
surface had begun again to become flush with a ruddy glow of
the season. Soon below all manner of life designed by nature to
endure such conditions would again burst forth from their long
hibernations.

Due to the length of its orbital track around the sun, Nibaru's
year was equivalent in time to many thousands of those on
Earth. The harsh reality of life on such a world was that though
its winter journey had been long and arduous, the coming warm
season would be comparatively brief. Therefore the period during which these inhabitants could live and breathe as men of
Earth do would last for only several short months. For this reason
there would be little time to waste. To those who had survived the
long winter's journey and its icy hibernation out of night, their
awakening would soon begin.

Within the shadow of the crater the enduring darkness had been
until now reluctant to release its grip. Looking down into the
lonely crater from the palace walls one could see, the rising sun
beginning to illuminate the metallic hulls of the dormant space
fleet parked there below in great long rows. The silvery gleam
cast up through the darkness seemed to paint every shuttered window and locked door with its warm light. This dappled reflection
seemed to grow brighter with each passing minute. This rare light
of the sun due to its proximity now radiated unhindered onto the
barren landscape. Dormant gasses released from their frozen state
began again to expand into the thin atmosphere. Powered by slow
but dramatic shift in ambient temperature, this pace of change
would increase. Soon the ground shook as concentrated gases that
had previously been trapped deep within the permafrost, began to
rise up from the frozen ground in great plumes. There high into
the razor thin atmosphere these plumes swirled about in great
tempests.

Within the great halls of the crystal palace there too the rising sun
cast its light. Its rays shone brightly between the colonnades and
illuminated the white limestone walls. Here within these walls lay
alongside one another in patient slumber the great king Aaralaat,
and his consort Nivia. There beneath their crystalline sarcophagi
they have remained still and unchanged these many centuries
awaiting the arrival of these first glimmering rays. Slowly the
stark veil of light that separated the shadows began to diffuse the
darkness. As if responding to some ancient signal their bodies on
cue began to respond to the life giving light. It began to warm
their frozen cores. Through the mottled view of Aaralaat's sarcophagus the ball of the sun now glowed brightly. The effects of
the fluid that sustained then during their long dark night had worn
off. Aaralaat though still semi-conscious, could feel its warmth
coursing through his body as the temperature rose higher within.
In his first awkward movement, He lifted his pale translucent
hand up to the dim light and for the first time inages, he felt the
movement of his sinewy hand. It would take several more hours
for the effects of atrophy to subside. During this time he lay agonizingly still as the engines within his dormant cells fired one
by one back to life.

Still groggy Aaralaat's senses were startled when he heard a
wrapping sound coming from outside the sarcophagi. His eyes
still blurry he squinted to see through the milky haze before him.
He carefully opened the lid to his sarcophagus which hung on
heavy spring loaded hinges. As the opaque crystal rose upward
there he found standing his son Leif. The image of Leif's face
there before him, brought a smile to his face. Leif who was only
a small boy when he had gone to hibernation had grown taller
and more manlike. This much pleased the king for Leif would
stand in his shoes one day and he would need to be strong as
well as wise. He reached his hand out toward him and caressed
his cheek. The boy reached inside and embraced his father. The
father responded heartily and said,