A Paradox in Retrograde (3 page)

Charlie lifted up the bar that held the two barn doors together.
Just as he did the wind jarred them quickly open. This sudden
movement startled brownie but Landaus was quickly able to
calm her. With a gentle nudge of his heal he was able to persuade her onwards. After a moment she was cutting through the
wind at full speed. Landaus leaned in tight to brownies neck as
the wind and rain were seemingly coming at them from every
which direction. She instinctively stopped before the citadel
gates where stationed guards had put up a road block. The startled guards were surprised to see their colonel out in such a
storm. They stood silent as he strained to give the order over the
roaring sound of the storm. "Open those gates. If all goes well I
shall be back shortly. Keep a watch on this gate and be ready for
my return. Do you understand me?"

The gate opened and Brownie was again running at a great
stride. As Landaus struggled to keep his head up the rain and
wind buffeted his exposed face as they galloped off into the
darkness. The roaring sound played havoc with his senses as he
struggled to make his way. Using the faint glow of moonlight
that somehow filtered through the heavy cloud his eyes strained
to ascertain the familiar landmarks from the shadows. He held
tightly to the reins for he could not well see the ground beneath
Brownie's hooves. Despite his fear and reservations he pushed
onward. His plan was a simple one. He would first check on the
places where young Ibsen would frequent. In his minds eye he
had identified the likely places, these were however quickly exhausted. For Each time he came upon one of these usual haunts,
he was no where to be found. Despite the conditions and his
growing frustration he knew now he would need to go farther a
field. As he roved out he thought long and hard: where in the
world could his boy be hiding? Trying to imagine the reason how
he could have gotten so far off the beaten path, the scenarios
played out over and over in his head. There was, he remembered
those set of caves where they had once camped. Perhaps it was
there, if caught off guard where he may have sought shelter?
These caves were perhaps an hour's ride into the valley under ideal conditions. It would now take him considerably longer to reach
it.

There between the twin peaks that dominated the landscape lay
the central valley. Rocky and forbidding the mossy wood was
hidden, shrouded in the thick veil of night. If itwas eerily ominous to travel through this place in the light of day, it was doubly
so now in the midst of an evening gale. Howling through the pass
the wind and rain beat heavily at his back. Undeterred he moved
onward, powered forth by his sure footed and keen eyed mare. In
the darkness with Landaus leading brownie, they clung closely
onto the well worn trail. Deeper as they traveled, though the incessant rain still was falling heavily, they were sheltered from the
worst of it by the blanket of foliage around them. Even the
storm's terrible sounds were mostly baffled by the cloak of forest.

After a while Brownie came to a point where she hesitated. She
had done as she was trained to do, as they had apparently come to
a fork in the road. Observing this, Landaus shined his light onto
the road. There he came to recognize the familiar landmarks. Reflecting back in his torch light stood the naked hulk of a long
dead oak. Its presence there he had previously noted only recently. He looked down upon the pathway. He realized that any visible sign of Ibsen having passed this way would certainly have
been washed away by now. Lacking any strong evidence to the
contrary, he was forced to continue following his instincts. He
had an overwhelming feeling that Ibsen would be there waiting
for him. He would follow the path on the left. Up a ways longer
he knew that there would soon be another well worn path that
would lead to the cave entrance. With his eyes pealed he followed
the torchlight as it meandered along the ground before him. Suddenly he came upon a break in the foliage that revealed yet another path. Brownie as if tuned to his intentions, instinctively
turned onto the path. Within the space of a few hundred meters
the dark silhouette of the rising terrain began to come into view.
Through darkness, the light of a flickering fire began to shine
like a beacon. It had to be Ibsen, there could be little doubt.

His prayers had been answered. Framed there within the opening of the cave Ibsen saw the image of his father atop of old
Brownie. In that instant all fear and anxiety that had so possessed the boy had dissolved. Landaus carefully led the horse
into the cave and stepped down off the saddle. Ibsen upon seeing his father's outstretched arms ran toward his embrace. "I'm
sorry father. I was caught off guard by the storm. I came here
for shelter." The reunion was one of relief. There would be time
for repercussions later. For now the knowledge that he was safe
and sound was enough. "It's alright boy, you did the right thing.
All that matters now is that you are safe. I couldn't bear the
thought of losing you. Ok son this storm is not going anywhere
for sometime so we can't wait here for it to end. So let's stop
wasting time and get out of here. What do you say boy?" He
gave him the spare set of rain gear. He put his foot back in the
stirrup and lifted himself up in one movement. "Put this on and
let's get a move on." Ibsen finished fastening the snaps and
pulled the hood of his coat up over his head. "Are you ready?
With a nod Ibsen acknowledged that he was. His father lifted
him up onto the horse. "Hold on tight son I don't want to lose
you again if I can help it." When he felt his arm holding tight
around him he knew all would be alright. The rest of the journey
would be but an inconvenience.

For three days and nights the inhabitants there witnessed havoc
unleashed. Beset by high winds, heavy rain, and storm surges
the island was pummeled. This storm unlike any in memory had
in that short time caused much physical disturbance to this fragile coast. From the roiling waters a great churning at the sea bottom had brought forth many things once lost in the depths. On
the forth day the clouds had lifted and the morning sun again
arose. The people too arose from there hiding places. Soon it
would be business as usual. For the time being however there
would be much work left to be done.

That morning unknown to his father, Ibsen had awoken early and
made his way out towards the beach. While the skies were still
dark he braved the early chill as the last of the churning sea subsided. He stood there before the purple darkness with the sounds
of crashing waves filling his ears. As he searched, his way was
made easier by dawning of the new day. The sun on this day had
crested the horizon and had begun to paint the world in golden
swaths of light. To his amazement, he could easily see where upon these reformed beaches now lay the remnants of items long
ago lost to the sea. There about his well tanned feet were lain the
debris of a hundred ship wrecks. Some bits of worm burrowed
wood, blacked by ages and other bits seemingly untouched by
time were there intermingled. For a while he wandered there. His
excitement grew as he spied with his keen eye what could only be
the unmistakable glint of coinage. He ran toward it only to discover as he drew closer that his eyes had tricked him. It was not a
coin at all he had found there, but rather a small shining piece of
a larger object still locked beneath the sand. Confident he had
made a significant find, he made the risky choice of leaving it
behind to fetch his father. He knew he would not be pleased, but
this he thought would be worth the trouble. So he ran up across
the beach then on to the cobbled roadway. He did not stop until
he had reached his house. There he found his father as he prepared himself for his day at work. As Colonel of the guard he also
held the position as an assistant to the royal governor. He took
great pains to look the part as his duties would require it. He was
startled then as Ibsen ran in and spoke excitedly, "Father I've
found something on the beach."

"You have? What could it be I wonder?" Father said playfully as
he stood adjusting his waistcoat in the mirror. Ibsen sensed from
the tone in his father's voice that he did not understand what he
had meant. So he spoke again though this time with more clarity.
"Father you must come with me right now, I have discovered
something like I have never seen before. We need to dig it up
right now before someone else finds it!" Landaus having noticed
upon his sons young face a look of excitement the likes of which
he had never before seen. Now he was prepared to listen. "You
say you've found something? What is it?" "You mustsee." Ibsen
said. He continued to pull insistently on his father's shirt sleeve as
he spoke. This last bit of theatrics did the trickand soon he was
following after his young son as he made a mad dash back to the
site of his discovery. So taken was he by his sons pleas, he had
forgotten for the moment all about his busy work schedule.

By this time morning had come at long last with all its fullness.
There now about the beach as was the custom after such a
storm, these island inhabitants began combing the beaches,
looking for those bits of treasure that were periodically freed
from the depths. There they found littered many a strange and
exotic item. This storm unlike any other had brought forth an
unexpected bonanza. Many of these odd objects separated from
their context, were unidentifiable. Despite this, these items were
well sought after. These trinkets had for centuries been collected
and traded. Over the years some of the more remarkable of these
strange objects had made it into the hands of museums and collectors. Oddly many of these pieces were devoid of a history. To
most this only added to their allure.

After some time Landaus spied Ibsen's shock of black hair and
white tunic shining in the distance. Upon seeing his father, Ibsen
began waving his arms wildly and calling to him. Landaus began to walk briskly and then trot as his son's exuberance was
catching. A moment later he was there. On his knees Ibsen using his hands as a shovel in the soft wet sand. "What do we
have here then?" said Landaus. Without saying a word Ibsen
proceeded to dig through the sand. For a moment his father
watched as Ibsen's small hands moved the earth in a fevered
pitch. Caught up in the frenzy of his son's discovery Landaus
dropped to his knees and joined him. Not before very long, was
there summoned from below the surface of the sand, the outline
of a highly polished metallic object. From what could be seen
they could not easily identify it. "By Jove Ibsen I do believe
you've found something here." His father told him in a prideful
tone. By this time a group of curious onlookers began to assemble there. In their growing excitement or curiosity the crowd
was now coming too close for comfort. Landaus sensing the potential value of such a discovery began then to look upon them
with concerned suspicion. Wishing not to alarm young Ibsen to
the danger he now sensed, he grasped onto his arm and calmly
got his attention. With a clear and distinct voice he spoke to
him. "Ibsen my boy be a good lad now and run along to the
guard station by the lord mayors office. I need you to tell them
that we may have a situation here of national importance. Tell
them I will need several armed guards here right away. Tell them
it's by order of the royal governor's office."

"I know you did, and it was good work finding it too. It's just that
I think you found something really important and we're going to
need help here. Do you understand son?"

"I think so father."
"Ok then do you remember what I told you?"
"Yes father I do."

"OK then lets be a good little boy and high tail it." He gave him
a swat on the rump and he was off as fast as his legs would take
him. The crowd there spurred on perhaps by the promise of fortune seemed to edge closer. Landaus looking into their steely
eyes foresaw there a tide of greed and mayhem rising around him.
He feared his words would not long hold them back. When Ibsen
was out of earshot Landaus removed from his vest pocket a small
pistol. Staring blankly into their greedy eyes he pointed his weapon at them menacingly. With all the sound of authority he could
muster, he ordered them back. "By order of the royal governor's
office I order you all to stand back and disperse. As if startled
from a trance, the shocked crowd began to heed his warning.
Some among them who perhaps needed more convincing saw
there by the expression in his eyes, that he had meant business.

For a tense moment Landaus could not be sure if his threat would
be heeded. He however would not slacken his resolve. Then Landaus heard the familiar sounds of marching feet moving in quick
step order, growing louder in the distance. Another moment later
a contingent of guards that had followed closely behind on Ibsen's heals had arrived. Landaus, without hesitation gave the order, "Push these people off the beach." There the guards soon
made their presence known by pushing back the crowd, cordoning off, and securing the area. One among their number stood out
from the rest. The Sergeant fresh from official duties was still
dressed in his ceremonial uniform when he answered the call. He
was, stepped to attention before Landaus and spoketo him.
"Sergeant of the guard, at your service sir, what else can we do
for you?" To which he crisply responded, "At ease Sergeant
Wren and thank you for arriving so quickly. I was worried there
for a minute. Now I'm going to need you to assign some of your
men to gather shovels, ropes and tackle. Have them return here
as soon as possible." The sergeant nodded, clicked his heels and
said, "Aye Colonel."

After a little while the tools had been gathered and with clock
work precision the sergeant began dividing the labor amongst
his men. The men responded in kind. Several of them ran back
in the direction of the citadel to retrieve the needed tools, while
others set up an armed perimeter. In all the excitement Landaus
had not had an opportunity to examine the object as closely as
he would have liked to. Now as order had been imposed, he
stood with Ibsen at his side peering with curious eyes onto what
they had found. There within its sandy grave lay a shiny metallic cylinder. With the layers of sand removed they could get a
proper look at it. Landaus reckoned that it was perhaps six meters long and roughly one in circumference. Its seamless surface
was unmarred by the passage of time. They watched the sunlight
dance upon its surface as it gleamed with the reflective quality
of liquid mercury. Ibsen knelt down again and placed his hand
upon the object feeling its surface. It was warm to the touch and
it seemed to emanate an almost in audible low frequency hum.
This sense intensified when one was in direct contact with it.
Ibsen spoke excitedly, "Father you can feel it sing." To this
strange statement Landaus thought it prudent to investigate. Upon laying his hands upon the object, he too felt its shifting resonance. He turned to Ibsen smiling and said, "It did feel as if it
were singing."