A Paradox in Retrograde (17 page)

Though Leif seemed to bear heavily the nature of the lesson
they were satisfied that the young prince had fully understood.
Aaralaat looked on the boy solemnly and asked his young son
one more a question. "Leif as our future king, do you promise to
not divulge what you have heard here today?"

"On my honor I swear it."
"It is good my son that you have grown so well toward manhood.
Now I would ask you to return to the palace and continue your
studies from last fall."

His father with a gesture excused him from the crystal room. As
he exited the temple his head was still groggy from the revelation.
To clear his head he broke into a run. As he sprinted back to the
palace, his heart and mind raced. Soon he was back at his study
and he returned to his school work. It was there just he had left it
the previous fall. To him compared to his own observations the
true length of the year seemed illogical. He tried to put this notion
from his mind and attempted to complete his assignments, but for
the remainder of that day his school work seemed hollow in comparison to what he had earlier learned. All that hehad heard that
morning had left the young prince numb. He came to the realization that most of what he had learned over the course of his
young life had been either not wholly correct, or an out and out
lie. The glory stories of battle that had once warmed his heart
now seemed like so many fairy tales. He had been happy possessing the knowledge of a child. Now his curiosity had given
him more answers than he could easily process.

As the days of summer grew longer the surface of Nibaru was
green with the growth of lush plant growth. For the first time,
Leif like the planet around him had also undergone a similar metamorphosis. His body, like those of all the adult males of his species had begun to transform in the next stage of his life cycle. He
was now possessed of a new and hideous form that was the hallmark of their species. This accelerated growth and development
had turned the young boy of April into a full grown young adult
by July. What he had seen happen was the physical changes required for the ritual of combat. Over the long spring he had
watched this transformation as his body slowly morphed into
something like that of the creature of their mythology. It is said
on Nibaru that where the body goes, so goes the mind. This was
true for Leif, for by July, the fog of reason that had cluttered his
youthful mind had been replaced by a stark clarity to which he
had not before known.
Over these months, as the soft yellow sun in the Nibaru sky
reached towards its apex, the orbits of the two planets drew ever
closer to each other. During which the high priests of the temple had continued their careful vigil. All waited now for the appropriate signs to be observed in the heavens. The time was near
for the first scout ships to prepare for the first of many leaps
across space. Many had anticipated this to be true and the anxiety amongst the people was palpable. Leif for the first time in his
short life had sensed this. He longed to take his place among the
effigies within the temple. Knowing this would require a royal
decree he summoned the courage and requested a private audience with his Father. Though he was young there was no set
minimum age for a man to take up arms in the ritual. To this he
would lean in his argument, for there had been no recent precedent for what he was about to ask. He hand however made the
mistake of confiding his intention to his doting mother. Being
naïve to the ways of court protocol, he had underestimated his
mother's influence. Though she hid well from her son how she
felt on this issue she would do all in her power to stop him. She
knew too well of the dangers in such a raid. Her own brother
had been killed at an early age under similar circumstances. She
planned then to use her considerable influence to lobby the king
to reject such a notion out of hand.

On the appointed day Leif there appeared at the throne room
dressed in his finest robes. The royal pair was there entreating
guests and conducting state business as the herald made young
Leif’s announcement. "May I introduce his Royal Highness
Leif, son of Aaralaat and prince of the realms. He entered the
royal chamber to meet there with is parents. He came before
their twin thrones and knelt before them. His mother ordered
him to rise and to come forth. "My dear prince, come now and
show the mother that bore you what is her due, your undying
devotion." He did, and despite his current loathsome appearance, she embraced him as only a mother could. This same blind
devotion could not be said for her husband the King whose presence in his warrior form, she could little tolerate. Though her
repulsion was obvious she remained by his side did as was her
duty as queen. She again spoke, "What audacious circumstance has distracted you from your studies and brought you
here before us today?"
He recognized that it was a deceptively simple question so he answered carefully. "Mother and Father, Have I dishonored you? It
is only desire to pay my portion of respect and love that is due
that I come before you. All else is secondary."

"Secondary perhaps, but there is more am I correct? There is
much for you to learn my young son for every mother knows that
each year no matter how immature their sons will ask the inevitable question; May I ride upon the silver ships?" She said mockingly. "You are barely strong enough to hold a weapon how in all
of Earth would you hope to survive the likes of Hector?"

Aaralaat, who until that moment had been reluctant to speak as it
was now difficult with the reconfiguration of his jaw, now with
some difficulty, spoke. "My Queen, as is your right as his mother,
you may question his readiness, but you should not belittle his
manhood so. He is the future king. It is unsuitable for him to be
spoken to in such a manner, even by the Queen. For that reason
alone I may be inclined to allow it. Besides, it is every boy's right
to petition the king."

Not wishing to appear as opposing the king, she tried another
angle. "My King, in my defense It is not only for the Prince I am
concerned for but also the future of the crown itself, to which I
have been sworn to protect. Who among your weak and feeble
brothers shall I select as King, if both of you are lost? Next year,
he will be a mature adult and more able to defend the crown. And
to you Leif forgive me if I have broken your spirit it was not my
intention to do so. Forgive me."

With that apology Leif's fate to stay at home for one more season
was sealed. His father now spoke to him. "My son your, mother is
wise. For the reasons she has stated I could not you allow to accompany the attack this year. Soon you shall be fully grown and
you will take your place God willing beside me." With eyes cast
downwards Leif kept his emotions in check. He did not want to
prove his mother’s points for her by some childish expression.
His only response was to bow his and turn away. He began to
withdraw from the chamber. As he walked toward the exit he was
distracted by a commotion of voices from the ranks of the priests
in attendance. He turned to watch as the chief among them came
before the king with an announcement. "My King, The signs in
the heavens have fallen into place. The time to launch the scouts
has arrived." Aaralaat rose to his feet and gave the order, Men to
your ships the time of the ritual is upon us. The relative silence
within the chamber was replaced by the raucous noise of howling bloodlust from every adult male. As the sound throughout
the palace reverberated, Leif looked on at his mother with a look
of sadness. She in that moment was bitten by a short lived remorse. She had to remind herself, it was for his own good.

Later that evening the rockets were made ready for the great
leap. They had been stocked each with enough fuel supplies to
last through the first stage of reconnaissance. Now the crews
having made ready their silver ships fired the mighty engines.
Through windows placed high upon the palace walls they
watched as the first of the scout ships blasted off into the midnight sky. The bright flash of their rockets illuminated the night
and their sound rolled like thunder over the land. In the three
long silver ships, each was manned with perhaps a dozen battle
readied men that had been chosen by lottery. Leif knew that
surely, their captains could be heard offering salutes to both
Aaralaat and to Hector. He longed to be among them. It was
then in secret, as he watched in amazement the fiery rockets
climb higher into the atmosphere that he resolved solemnly that
he would be among those who rode out on the next ship.

Within the chamber of the great hall stood the entire compliment of the royal guard under Landaus's command as well as
many able bodied volunteers. There too among them mingled a
select few handpicked government types and scientists. Together
these men and women derived from the ranks that represented the
full spectrum of Baldur society, had been called there to fulfill
their civic duty. Some of them were learning for the first time of
the coming danger; all of them were sworn to secrecy.

Ibsen had watched with great curiosity as these people there assembled. This congregation in and of itself may not have caught
his attention, but for the simple fact that the object to which he
had claim to, was center stage. Though Ibsen had remained silent
on the subject of his discovery on the beach, he nonetheless
would closely follow the goings on around it. So hewas well
aware when it was hastily moved into the great hall. He was
close to his father and he knew how he worked. He also knew
that his dad, though not reckless often moved with the subtlety of
a ram. So to him the doings here seemed all too reminiscent of his
father's handiwork. His experience told him that something serious was happening, despite what he had been told by his father.
Ibsen now had serious regrets about the object; for he was in
truth unwilling to relinquish his claim on it. Because of this, he
now felt compelled to closely follow these proceedings.

Amongst the commotion involved with the moving of such an
object into the space of the great hall, he was easily able to slip
unnoticed into the hall. He having many times been allowed to
wander these halls alone as his father worked; he knew well the
out of the way places within. He was therefore able to easily
find a hiding spot. Working his way to a disused section of the
hall he began to climb unnoticed up into the rafters. Soon he
was quietly stepping among the high joists until he was a mere
dozen meters directly above the men assembled there. He listened in bewildered silence as the stranger who had arrived
among them told a terrifying tale. Ibsen knew that despite the
outlandish pronouncements and their dire consequences, the
facts laid out before them all fit logically with the evidence.
There was something other worldly about both the object, and
the stranger. This fact now lent a degree of credence to his bizarre story. The stranger came to the fore among them and began speaking. As Ananda's story unfolded, he watched a look of
fear come about the faces of these generally sober minded men.
For fear of discovery, to this however Ibsen did not dare react.
Eventually the conversation revolved around to include that
which he considered his. He listened intently as Ananda again
began to speak.

Ananda approached the object and ran his hands over it. The
others stood observing as a there appeared upon its mirrored surface a haze of purple light. This ephemeral energy seemed to
dance harmonically in response to his touch. Ibsen watched in
rapt attention as this relic rescued from the sea seemed as if by
some strange magic, to come to life. Never in all the time he had
spent in the presence of the object had it responded in such a
manner. He came to a conclusion, though he could not fathom
how that the object and the stranger were in some way intimately tied together.

Ananda now had there attention, and all listened intently to what
he now said. "This device that is displayed here before you is
like the rest of these things, a relic of my lost age. As you can see,
despite its antiquity it is still in working order." Landaus was not
as impressed as the others by the light show. He had questions so
as they might be answered he did not hesitate to interrupt him.
"Yes that we can see, but what we want to know is what in the
blazes that thing is. That goes also for the rest of this junk. We
have been puzzled by it now for generations. As far as we knew
until you laid hands on it, that that thing was no more than two
tons of scrap metal."

Though Ananda could recognize the object in question to be a
product of his own culture's technology he could only guess to its
purpose. Scan as he might he could not yet in truth fathom from
his memory an idea to its use. To this seemingly minor conundrum he was quite vexed. This he thought was rather odd that of
all the things there arrayed, only this one remained within his
blind spot. There was a hidden working to this he was sure but he
would do his best to hide this fact from those there assembled. So
he was happy to for now evade such questions and supply a diversion while doing so. Long ago Ananda had become a skilled
master at the art of subliminal suggestion. By only the subtlest
modulation of his voice, he would move armies.

With the look of stark seriousness etched upon his face, he gestured toward the objects there arranged and answered him, "Oh I
assure you, that this object is much more than that, as are all of
these things. This, though you may not yet see it, any of these
may be our salvation. However here without benefit of the technology of my own age and its specialized tools, I can only guess.
However amongst these scattered items, there is much here that I
can immediately recognize as being of potential use. So for now
I suggest we take advantage of those things that we can make present use out of and leave the study of these anomalous objects for
another time. There however is an alternative. From what you
have revealed to me I feel there may be far more important objects among the wreckage still there high up on the mountain.
There is the potential that weapons may be among the spoils.
Therefore I would advise you that our priority must be to make
our way back into those hills. Once there we shall have a fresh
look at this craft you have discovered. It is still early enough to
where we should have good light for several hours. If we are to
take full advantage we must make every effort to get there as
soon as possible. Landaus do you have access to an air ship?
Would that not be the fastest way?"