A Paradox in Retrograde (41 page)

The ship after having completed the jump across space had been
captured into the orbital tide of the Earth. While still moving at
tremendous speed, dozens of retro rockets fired simultaneously as
the ships attitude was automatically adjusted for atmospheric insertion. As a result the mighty ship's velocity had begun to slow
considerably. Through five inches of shock impervious crystal
the awestruck crew watched from the cockpit as the blackness of
space was illuminated by the shining orb of the Earth. It cast its
glow on them seemingly filling every inch of the cramped space
within. They seemed to hover there mesmerized, basking in its
light for what seemed an interminable time. For them the streams
of white cloud and azure shining sea passing by below must have
been the most beautiful site they had ever seen. Then the ship
having lost some its momentum as it collided with the atmosphere began to slip slowly downward. The color of the atmosphere quickly changed from a cool blue to cherry red as the friction of their descent seemed now to set the atmosphere ablaze.
From below the ship could be observed now with thenaked eye
as a streaking shaft of light and smoke. Now as they drew nearer
to the ground those aboard could see details forming below.
Against the silver veil of sky the sinuous pillar of alabaster that
was Breideblic rose abruptly in contrast. Rising high from its
craggy hillock it served as a beacon to both friendand foe.

The ship then began the process of reconfiguring its orientation to
one required for a landing. With great sound and fury the descending ship had made its presence known as a setof sonic
booms crashed across the sky. With its return now evident to
those below, a crowd began to assemble in the large field adjacent the walls of the temple complex. There the throng stood by
and watched in awe as the mighty engines slowly and gracefully
lowered the ship down to a three point landing.

Back at the temple, within the inner sanctum of the crystal room
Ananda had once again reawakened its primal energies. There
coursing through its matrix, a surge of energy manifest in a
frightening display of light and sound. Great ribbons of plasma
arched across its width and length. There the crystals resonating
at distinct frequency rung out like a million church bells. Within
this maelstrom two glowing spheres of energy materialized.
Slowly from the ether their forms were becoming more and more
distinct. The intensity of show of light and sound rose to a crescendo. Then as suddenly as it had begun it had stopped. A moment later as the crystals within still glowed in a glossy shade of
amber. There about the floor the two figures for the moment lay
motionless. From unconsciousness they were now drawn by the
furious noise of the returning rocket that seemed to shake air
from their lungs. Its telltale sound was the subject of their first
thought as at roughly the same time the two men awoke. They sat
up and took note of each other. For a moment they just stared at
each other. For the first time in a long time their memories had
returned intact. "It has been a long time my brother. I am happy
to see you whole again and safe."

"Only for the moment I'm afraid my dear Amida. I fear already
we are being called to action. Hector made an uneasy attempt to
stand and soon found his footing He reached out his hand in assistance to his brother. Amida soon was on his feet. Together
they walked down the corridor and out into the early morning air.
They looked up in time to see the rocket's gracefuldescent. As
they stared in wonder, Amida drew again life givingbreath into
his lungs for the first time in millennia.

By now the medical devices that had been used to treat Landaus's
injuries had done their work. His blood cells had been cloned,
replicated and replaced. All that was left of his injury were the
biodegradable sutures. "All engines stop." He declared as he
powered down the thrusters. They were glad to be home once
again safe on the Earth. Grunhuf still strapped to his seat looked
out upon the rising sun as he had not before seen. "Never before
have I been so glad to see the new day."

"Come now Grunhuf there is little time to waste."
"Yes Captain."
"That's Colonel."
"Not until we step down from this ladder."

A great cheer arose from the crowd as the first of the crew
touched onto terra firma. Ibsen being first down the ladder was
initially confused by the cheers and fanfare that they received
there. "Father, I do not understand why they are bidding us this
welcome? The last time we were here we were desperate to escape with our lives."

The sergeant major first offered his apology. "Please excuse us
Colonel for we have just been delivered from some kind of collective spell under which our duties and allegiances had been neglected. Forgive us colonel and we will make it right."

"Rise up, all of you, and listen. None here including ourselves
have been immune to the siren song. Let this be the last discussion on that matter. It is all of our fates however that we shall join
once more in battle. Even now three ships of our enemy shall
soon be upon us. If we act now, together we shall defeat them." A
cheer again rose from their ranks. Landaus walked to the sergeant
and put his hand on his shoulder. "Have the guard gather their
swords and muskets and any extra they may have and distribute
them to any citizen who may volunteer. We shall defend this citadel one last time or die in the attempt. Gather together the small
cannon and array them along the high wall toward these approaches. Instruct the fusiliers to begin their volley the moment
their ships have landed. Ok, do you understand your orders? The
sergeant gave him a wide grin and saluted. "Yes sir."

The many years of training and discipline had induced in these
men a duty and spirit that was unparalleled by any force now present on the Earth. Landaus and his men were exactly at the right
place and time to deflect this incursion. With any hope they
would be victorious. Hector and Amida for the moment stayed
out of sight watching from the periphery as the preparations got
underway. Although there was little time for preparation the ancient citadel was a formidable defensive position. They hoped
that this advantage may for a while go unrealized by their blood
thirsty enemies.

From a distance Hector and Amida watched and listened as this
all had unfolded. Hector was moved by what he heard there.
"Amida, I see now why you have placed such confidence in this
young man. There may yet be hope for one last victory."

"Perhaps but we must first offer ourselves and services up to
them. We however must be cautious if we are to undothe damage you've created. They have no reason to trust us.

Landaus stood before his men orchestrating their defensive plans
when he began to notice that on the periphery of those gathered
there that some kind of disturbance was taking place. He watched
as an empty swath began to open within the midst of the crowd.
All eyes were now seemingly fixed upon the two approaching
figures, whose menacing appearance had encouraged the skittish
crowd to instinctively step back.

As the two men stepped forward they immediately drew Landaus's ire and his stern gaze. The sergeant major and a few select
guardsmen with weapons ready came forth and placed themselves
between their leader and the pair of strangers.

The grizzled Sergeant Major being a veteran of many a campaign
did not hesitate to draw his sword first. In one quick fluid motion
he presented mere inches from Hectors face the sharp end of his
blade. Then he fixed his steely gaze onto Hector and spoke. "We
will no longer require the services of the likes of your lot. I suggest you turn around and go back to where you have come before
I order these men to cut you down where you stand." Hector did
not once flinch for he had been so threatened innumerable times.
Though he returned his adversaries glare with an equal intensity.
Though Landaus may have in his heart wished that the Sergeant
major had followed through with his threats, his even headedness
would prevent this from happening. "Sergeant major, do not yet
kill the prisoners. There may yet be useful information in their
possession that we may use to our advantage in the coming battle.
So tell me Amida is that your real name? And what of this Ananda or Hector will he again attempt to control our minds and actions as he did before?"

Hector stood silently as Amida responded. "Landausit is I, Amida who recently had been allied to you on Nibaru. Isee no reason
why this relationship must now change for we despite our differences, face the same foe. We, my brother and I have long fought
this enemy. We now know that if this battle is won, you shall see
no more of them."

"Yes Nibaru the dark planet of our enemies, I had nearly forgotten about that. Where pray tell have you taken it. Have you
shrouded it in the mists of our imaginations? Have you painted a
black hole on the canvas of the universe for it to fall into?"
"Oddly enough as ridiculous as that sounds to you there is more
truth in that than you can know."

"More than I can know. Is that not a bit presumptuous of you?
Why don't you give it a try and perhaps I will be inclined to listen
further to your story."

"Very well, I will do as you ask." He paused a moment and let his
mind wander about the ancient redoubts. He turned back to face
Landaus. As he began to speak, there still present upon his expression was a glimmer of this distant memory. "This place
through the dark ages of my memory has seen many days like
today; each struggle seemingly had become more desperate than
the one before. As a testament to your survival you do well to
venerate it. However here in the fullness of time an age defined
by the entangled destinies of these two planets has come to its
natural end. I ask you all now to trust your senses and know what
I say is the unadulterated truth. Nibaru the shadow that has
stalked your nightmares has gone. And this war with its ebb and
flow of fortunes will now see its final battle."

Sensing the break, Landaus raised his hand so to claim his chance
to speak. "Amida you have done us service in the things we have
seen you do, but these things you tell us now are well known to
us. What we need to know to make sense of all this how and why
these circumstances have come to be."

"There is but one way to tell this story. Thereforethough I promise to be brief, I must start at the beginning. Once in another life I
was a man not unlike you. I had a family and a career. As you
may have already guessed Hector and I originated in the age your
people have ascribed as that of the forbearers. Unlike yours, our
lineage did not as far as we know originate from a far off star.
Despite this the world of our origin was remarkably similar to
your own but with one major glaring difference. The world from
which we came knew not of Nibaru, for it did not exist. I was a
scientist. Our society, our nation, our world for generations had
been prosperous. However the state of our technology had been
such as our advances had outpaced our ability to process their
implications. It was because of this that the fates of Hector and I
were bound to those of that accursed planet. In our scientific
studies we began the arduous work of mapping the quantum superposition of thought. What happened next though wholly unforeseen was in fact elementary. In our zeal we dared to unlock
the unknowable. By negating the boundaries that separate one
from the other our two universes collided with devastating effect.
From a third set of probabilities one in which Nibaru existed it
was drawn into our reality. It was then that the two destinies were
intertwined. Between these two fates myself, my brother and the
crystal room are the sole anomalies existing in both and all simultaneously. Since that time your world has suffered repeated trauma of Nibaru’s cyclical visitations. My brother and I as if cursed
have been made by circumstance to live out these incursions."
He took another moment to allow those there a chance to digest
what they had heard. Xora took the opportunity to speak what
the other dared not say for fear of appearing ignorant.

"Amida, forgive me but I don't understand. How can these things
be so, no man could exist for so long?" He could little believe
how at this point that they had not yet figured it out. But these
people had not endured the countless centuries as they had. They
had had the luxury of time for its understanding tobecome clear
that these people had not.

Hector now for the first time felt the need to speak. "It's quite
simple really. On that long ago day our thoughts reached out into
the void. There our consciousness's were splintered in time and
cast out into this world to live out this event over and over again.
Now that the cycle has perhaps come to its naturalend I would
beg you not to deny us our chance at closure, and perhaps redemption."

The city state of Baldur having once dominated its part of the
globe had a long and proud history. Outward from its ports and
libraries, its influence had sent ripples of prosperity where ever
its trading ships made landfall. There however was little trade
anymore, as the ships had all but stopped coming. In fact there
had not been a foreign ship in its harbors for months. It now
found itself alone in an increasingly insular world, which was just
as well for their dwindling resources would be far too dear to
trade.

Something was happening out in the world beyond. Though to
some extent these conditions had been mirrored at home, no one
could adequately fathom how these things had come to pass. The
changes had happened so subtly that none could have identified a
point in time or to an event that could have been called its genesis. Despite the lack of knowledge regarding its inception, its
moribund effects were smoldering just below the surface. One
fact remained that the state of its civilization and by extension the
world had for centuries been slipping imperceptiblyinto a slow
decline from light into darkness.