CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
ALONE WITH THE ELDERS
‘We have asked you to come here because we think you should know a little more about us,’ began the Chief of the Elders, stroking his white beard.
I sat on a cushion in front of three elders. On the left of the Chief Elder sat another man with greying hair and a pale face, from which peered two small grey eyes. I recognised him from the Council meeting. At that time he had not spoken. On the right sat the woman who had introduced the newborn child at that meeting.
Michu had accompanied me to Chamber 13, told me where I was to sit, and had left immediately. I had waited only a few minutes before the elders entered the chamber.
‘You have spent six days here,’ the Chief Elder continued slowly, measuring each word. I believe you have enjoyed your stay.’ He looked straight into my eyes and held my gaze for a while. Then he smiled and his eyes sparkled.
‘I certainly have, Sir,’ I replied as respectfully as I could.
‘Good! Michu has been diligent in her duties as your guide.’ Here he looked at me again and I turned a little red.
‘You have seen some of the natural wonders of our planet, and also some of the artificial ones. You have understood a little of how we live here. Isn’t that so?’
‘Yes Sir.’ I began to sweat a bit. This man is powerful, I thought. He read my mind and smiled kindly, I think to put me more at ease.
‘Everything you have seen, everything you have been told, everything that I am about to tell you, must be treated as strictly confidential. Is that quite clear?’
I nodded, unable to form the words that came to my mind.
‘Say yes!’
‘Yes Sir,’ I managed to say.
‘Good! You will understand that if anyone on Earth becomes aware of our existence, it will be the beginning of the end of our way of life.’ He looked at me sternly.
I nodded again. I began to wonder why I had been brought here if the risk was so great.
‘It is important for your planet that you were brought here. Not just important, vital.’ He stressed the last word. ‘And we believe that you will not say a word when you go home tomorrow. You know you are leaving tomorrow, don’t you?’
‘Yes Sir.’
‘And you know why, don’t you?’
‘Yes Sir.’
‘A security risk, you understand. It is better to nip it in the bud, as you say in English.’
I nodded and the knot in my throat was there again.
‘You suspect that we Martians came here from another planet, isn’t that so?’
‘Yes Sir.’
‘You don’t have to keep calling me sir. My name is Zeris.’
‘Yes Sir, I mean….. Zeris.’ It was hard for me to call him by his name.
‘And do you know which planet we came from?’ he asked, leaning forward and staring into my eyes.
‘No Sir.’
‘Guess!’
‘I don’t know Sir.’
‘Just have a guess.’
‘No idea Sir.’
‘Earth, my friend, Earth!’
‘Earth?’ I whispered.
‘Yes, Earth. Does it surprise you?’
‘Yes Sir. But it kind of adds up.’
‘We look like you, we speak your languages and so on, right?’
‘Yes Sir, Zeris.’
‘Let me tell you how we came here and why.’ He settled himself on his cushion and began.
‘At school you have learnt something of the pre-history of your planet, is that right?’
‘Yes Sir.’
‘Your last ice-age lasted from about 100,000 years ago until about 20,000 years ago. I use Earth years when talking of Earth matters. Twenty thousand years ago the Earth was very different from what it is today. Glaciers covered most of North America and all of Northern Europe. England north of the River Thames was solid ice and where New York City now stands was beneath a thick glacier. Most people lived in equatorial regions, where it was warmer. Most of the land that was not ice-bound was covered by forests. Many prehistoric animals roamed the land and mankind was basically a hunter.’ At this point Zeris paused and stroked his long beard.
‘But not all. Living alongside a primitive majority there was one very advanced civilisation. In the Atlantic Ocean, I shall not say where, lay a group of islands. It was densely populated, both onshore and in the ocean itself.’ He stopped to gauge my reaction. I listened intently but said nothing.
‘The people making up this civilisation were a mixture of races, brought together by a common bond. Do you know what that bond was?’ He waited for a reply and as there was none, he continued. ‘It was scientific advancement. They had already developed advanced living conditions and used power sources that humans are even now are only beginning to use, such as wave power, wind power and of course solar energy. We had also discovered the secret of crystal power. Those who lived under water lived in structures that extracted oxygen from the water, much like fish do, with the use of artificial gills. Heat was derived from water seeping through layers of hot rock.’
I studied the face before me. What I was hearing hardly seemed credible.
Zeris went on speaking. ‘For hundreds of years this society flourished. But scientific development was all very well. There had to be something else. A group of people got together and decided to find this ‘something else’. Pure materialism cannot satisfy the human soul. Of the total population of half a million, a growing number joined the new movement. When the number reached about 20,000, the National Governing Council decided that it was becoming too powerful and it had become a threat to the their authority. You see, as so often happens in society, leaders become too powerful and they become jealous of any opposition. This is what happened. They decided to ban the movement altogether. Many of the less committed members drifted back into mainstream life, but a few decided to fight for what they considered were their rights. They were exiled.
I squirmed on my cushion. I could see where the story was leading.
‘About five hundred souls were exiled, exiled to a place where the Council thought no-one could survive. Do you know where that was?’
‘Was it Mars Sir?’
‘Mars, exactly!’
‘They could have executed all of you, Sir.’
‘They could have, but they didn’t. They sent us off to Mars in thirty bubbles. These bubbles had been in existence for many years but it is certain that the Council believed these bubbles would not serve us adequately in our new home. There was a group within the Council that wanted us to have a sporting chance at survival and they must have persuaded the hardliners. Anyway, we arrived here over 13,000 years ago….and we survived, as you can see.’ He smiled.
‘Of course it was not easy at first. There were many challenges. We had to find enough water and oxygen and we had to keep warm. We had our faith and that kept us going. The bubbles kept us alive but they needed further development to make them suitable for Mars conditions. We also brought with us another valuable science, crystology, the knowledge of crystal power. You have seen the crystals which light our cavern I suppose.’
I nodded. ‘I wondered how they produced light. So they are not natural!’
‘Crystals were used for many years by our civilisation. Unfortunately the knowledge of crystal power has been lost to Earth humans. I say unfortunately because it is a renewable source of power that is non-polluting.’ Well, once established on Mars, we increased in number over the centuries and we spread out. Now there are about 100,000 souls altogether, living in scattered communities like Similaria.’
Zeris smiled and sat back on his cushion. I was not sure what to say.
‘And you counted your years from the day you got here,’ I ventured.
‘That is right. We are now in the year 7445.’
‘And, Sir, what happened to the civilisation back on Earth?’
‘A good question and I am about to answer it. It survived for another few hundred years. But like all
civilisations, it had to end one day. They quarrelled among themselves and eventually a civil war broke out. They destroyed themselves. Then one day hundreds of years later, a huge asteroid struck the Earth. Then after another 2000 years an even bigger one landed in the Atlantic Ocean. The devastation was so great that most of the species on Earth were wiped out. There were earthquakes and a skyscraper high tidal wave that washed over America, Europe and Africa. Volcanic activity broke out all over the planet. There was a sudden increase in temperatures and the glaciers melted at a rate never before experienced on Earth. All that water flowing into the oceans caused the sea to rise more than one hundred metres over a few thousand years and much of the low lying land was lost under the sea, including the islands from which we had come. Billions of tons of water evaporated into the atmosphere due to this very rapid rise in the temperature and for decades, torrential rain swept across the Earth. There are many legends about a devastating flood, the story of Noah’s Ark being one. Nothing now remains of those islands to show where that great civilisation once flourished.’
He stopped speaking and looked up to the ceiling of the chamber. I was trying to digest the horrifying picture that he had put in my mind. At last I was able to speak.
‘Human beings survived, at least some must have,’ I said.
‘Homo sapiens is a very resourceful race. They soon bounced back and tremendous advances were made over the next few thousand years. All other humanoid races, like homo habilis and Neanderthal man were not smart enough and became extinct. But you know what?’
‘Sir?’
‘Mankind is about to make the same mistake. He is putting scientific advancement above every other consideration. It is a dangerous game.’ Zeris fixed me with a powerful gaze. ‘And that is where you come in.’
‘Sir?’
‘You will be part of the solution.’ You would rather be part of the solution than part of the problem. Am I correct?’
‘Yes, Sir.’
‘You will go to University and become well qualified. You will take your place among those on your planet who want to preserve it for future generations. We are there to help. As you know, we have several Martians working on Earth at this very moment. You will meet some of them.’
‘Yes Sir, I was told, about five hundred.’
‘Good, now there is one other thing I need to say to you. The other evening at the meeting it was mentioned that we face a very serious situation here in Similaria. We hope we shall not alarm you too much but to come straight to the point, our survival is threatened.’ He paused and studied my face. ‘We see that you are concerned and it is understandable. You have made friends here and you fear for their safety.’
I needed to say nothing. He read me like a book.
‘The threat comes from another Martian community living far over to the East in a region you have called Utopia. Coincidentally we call it Zeronera, which in Kisoro means a perfect place. You understand the word Utopia of course. They are more numerous than we are, in fact the biggest clan on Mars, about 3,000 souls and the population is increasing, so much so that they are in urgent need of additional resources, which at present they don’t have. They are in an expansionist phase. Do you see where I am leading?’
‘Yes Sir, I think so. They want what you have.’
‘Right! You are intelligent, Bill. They want all that we have built up over thousands of years, and they will stop at nothing to get it.’
‘Have you tried diplomacy, Sir?’
‘Of course yes. We have ourselves provided children for their clan and they have done so for us too. So you see we are interrelated. At this point I should explain something. The populations of our clans are small and to keep a healthy stock we do not interbreed. A Similaria girl will look for a father for the child she wants from another clan. The child stays with the mother’s clan and is brought up as a child of the community rather than as a child of the parents. The father stays with his own clan. This system has worked very well for us.’
‘So there is no marriage here.’
‘Correct. But let’s get back to what I was saying. Zeronera not only wants to throw us out of Similaria but they want to rule Mars. They have not said so in so many words but we suspect it is true. Of course we could unite with other clans that are in sympathy with us and we could fight a war against Zeronera.’ Zeris frowned and put on a pained expression. ‘Unfortunately Zeronera has friends, powerful friends.’ Zeris stroked his white beard before continuing. ‘The planet Zogg circles Altair, a star about seventeen light years away, relatively close in galactic terms and in the same arm of our spiral galaxy. Zogg is another world where science is God. They have pursued a line of research that your Earth scientists have been doing since Einstein. One of their major achievements is the discovery of a particle that travels very much faster than the speed of light. You have been taught that the speed of light cannot possibly be exceeded. Well the Zoggs have proved us all wrong. They have harnessed that particle and can now travel enormous distances in a very short time. No Martian could possibly travel to Zogg in a lifetime but the Zoggs, the Zoggs could be here in a matter of months. Imagine! Not that they are interested in Mars as such. Mars does not have anything more to offer them than they have on their planet. But it would suit them to have allies in our solar system. We suspect what they are really interested in is the Earth.’ He paused and locked his grey eyes on me.
‘Oh no!’ I whispered. I stared back at him. ‘They want to conquer Earth!’
‘We have no proof of this. Don’t be too alarmed. Of course Earth is a very rich and wonderful planet, possibly one of the most beautiful in our galaxy. Who would not want to own it?’
‘What would become of us?’
‘Perhaps I should not have said anything about it. Put it out if your mind. We do admit that we in Similaria are becoming too alarmist about these matters. Now, you see our problem. If Zogg invades Mars and helps Zeronera to rule the whole planet, we are in danger of disappearing, or at least becoming slaves of the Zeronerans.
I pictured Michu in chains, working in a gang, while a burly Martian with a whip stands over them menacingly. I didn’t like the image one bit.
Zeris went on, ‘Like Zeronera, we need friends. Earth would make a useful ally for us. We ourselves have no wish to involve Earth in a galactic war but we fear it could come to that anyway. Let us explain why we see it that way. As the population of Earth increases and pollution worsens, people will look to other worlds. Mars would be first, perhaps within a hundred years from now. Then, once space travel becomes routine, mankind will look further afield for cleaner worlds. The inhabitants of those worlds will not give in without a fight. We don’t want that to happen. We don’t want Mars polluted like the Earth. Neither do we want to see Earth deteriorate so much that it becomes uninhabitable. That is why we are helping you to solve your enormous environmental problems. It is in our interest as well as yours.’
I could see the picture very clearly now. What did he want from us? Did he want Earth to help fight the Zoggs?
‘We want you to dedicate your life to saving your world. Do you see my point? We are prepared to do all we can to see that you succeed.’
‘It is my mission in life. I see it clearly now,’ I said.
‘Good.’ Zeris smiled a warm smile. ‘Now, there is another thing. Earth faces another threat, one that your people have studiously ignored up to now, apart from a few enthusiasts.’
‘What is that Sir?’ I asked.
‘Comets and the remains of comets.’
‘Sir?’
‘There are many huge chunks of rock orbiting the sun in highly elliptical orbits. They are the remains of enormous comets which have been slowly disintegrating for thousands of years. Many of them cross the Earth’s path, and I may say also the path of Mars too. One day one of those asteroids, let’s call them that, may possibly, I only say possibly, strike the Earth, with terrible consequences. It is vital that your astronomers mount a continuous wa
tch on these asteroids and develop the technology to deflect them before they collide with the Earth.’ Zeris paused and fixed his gaze on me.
‘How do you know this?’ I asked.
‘Mars is in similar danger: it is in our interest to know. We have tried to sensitise your politicians on this issue, with little success so far.’
I sat and digested his words. The thought was frightening.
‘Tomorrow you will leave. You have our blessing.’
‘Thank you Zeris, Sir. But I was told you would help me explain to my parents where I have been these seven days.’
‘I was coming to that. Your parents will not know you have been away.’
I looked at Zeris with a puzzled expression.
‘You will arrive home only thirty minutes after you left.’ He smiled.
I was not sure I understood him.
‘Does that mean I will travel back in time seven days Sir?’
‘I hope it will be no more than that, otherwise you will arrive home before you have even set off for Mars.’ All three elders enjoyed the joke.
This was the biggest surprise of my entire trip to Mars. They actually know how to travel back in time.
‘What do I have to do Sir?’ I asked.
‘Michu will advise you, don’t worry,’ he said. ‘And now our meeting is ended. May the Almighty guide you and protect you. We may not meet again.’
All three elders rose and bowed. Then they filed out of the chamber, leaving me alone to digest the contents of the meeting. I must be dreaming. I’ll wake up and find myself at home in bed. My mother will be standing over me, telling me it is time to get up and not be so lazy. I pinched myself but nothing happened, except that a little red mark showed on my arm. It was no dream. This was real, REAL.