Chapter 4
Days later Javin paused, staring at the solid wall of foliage barring his way. He edged closer using his hands to gently separate the branches and peered through. Nothing immediately caused alarm. Then his eyes grew wide at what he saw. It wasn’t the small clearing he’d come to expect. Instead it was a broad chasm, the far side hazy with distance. He stepped through and stood on the edge of a precipice. It was deep; almost as deep as it was wide, with sheer cliffs and green growth dotting the sides. His breath caught in his throat. At the bottom lay a city. It was overgrown with jungle. No one moved about. He could pick out roads, smaller blocky buildings, and at the center, five giant pyramids. Four relatively smaller pyramids sat at each corner point with the largest, half again larger than the others, sat in the center of the ruins. The rest of the city seemed oriented around that central square. This is what Javin had been searching for! A place he might find some answers.
To his left he noticed a path that lead down. All other directions were overgrown with the thick foliage. The mist overhead still obscured what might be the sun. It was a brighter patch in the wispy covering, moving along a set path until setting at night. It must be the sun, if indeed he was on a planet and not some artificial construct.
Javin was amazed he knew these principles. He’d been aware and surviving in this environment for some time using knowledge he didn’t know he possessed – until he used it, or it popped into his mind. It didn’t make sense. How did he know?
He’d found water in small pools condensed out of the air during the cool of the night. When the sun rose, he’d slake his thirst. Larger pools would last throughout the day, though he’d learned not to approach them casually. Other animals used them too, and he didn’t want to chance running into another of the big lizards.
There was plenty of vegetation he could eat. He'd watched what other animals had eaten and guessed they were safe. Small animals he'd trapped for protein. He ate the meat raw. Starting a fire was impossible with everything so damp. And that’s another thing that irked. He’d known about fire. Even how to start one. Little good it did.
The skins of those small animals he’d fashioned into a rude loin cloth and a small pouch to sling over his shoulder. He filled it with food and tools he’d made out of wood and rock.
He hadn’t really needed the loin cloth. The air was warm enough day and night. For all he knew, he’d always been naked.
Right.
Early on Javin had decided to follow the path of the sun -- or whatever it was. He’d traveled pretty far and if he were in a sealed chamber, it’d have to be awfully big, especially now after seeing the chasm and the city at the bottom.
Now a new thing nagged at him. The pyramid shapes were familiar, like he’d seen them or something like them before. Maybe he'd already been here -- then knew he hadn't. He didn’t know how. Just that he knew. Javin grit his teeth.
How long would it take to reach the valley floor? It depended on the path. Probably take him at least the rest of the day. Then it looked like it would take several hours to walk in to the central plaza from the edge of the city. Javin lifted a hand to shade his eyes from the glare overhead. It was just past mid-morning.
He needed answers and this was a place he might find some.
Better get started.
Javin took a deep breath and turned down the path.
It did take the rest of the day to walk down the ridge then the next morning, after spending his usual night in a tree, he followed the road to the central pyramid. His sense of great age was confirmed as he passed through the buildings. The jungle had claimed more than he’d seen from the ridge. Thick vines wrapped in and around cracks in the stone. Bushes pushed up through breaks in the road which was made of an incredibly hard paving material. Kneeling, he examined broken shards, hefting them. They were light, but from the texture, dense and strong, obviously long lasting.
He took the time to go through several of the smaller buildings. There were no doors, just openings where a door would have hung, and window openings with no coverings. They were building shells with no clues left of the former inhabitants; no chairs, tables, not even a shard of pottery saying anyone had ever lived there.
Construction without wood, such an abundant natural resource, was extremely advanced, especially seeing the architecture up close. It was as if some power had softened the stone into a moldable state, then put it in place and bonded it together, hardening it into the finished product. Pale colors had even been annealed into the stone that hadn't dimmed with age. Javin thought at first it must be concrete poured into place. Upon closer examination, realized it was all built from solid stone. Nothing else it could be. Where did the stone come from, the cliff face? It didn’t appear to be as easily available as wood. And how did they put it into place so precisely, having it last all this time?
He didn't know how he knew to look for these things just that the knowledge was there, like it was a part of him. Try as he might, he couldn't force anything else out.
Then again, where were the inhabitants? Why was the city empty?
The answers weren't readily apparent. Javin continued to the central square he'd seen from the ridge above. The four smaller pyramids ringed the plaza, each on a corner with a peaked top. The centerpiece was the giant pyramid, half again the size of the others. Its peak was flattened off, with another building constructed at the top. The familiar shapes nagged at him.
The base spread wide, leaving a broad road traversing around all four sides, with the front being widened into an open plaza Javin supposed was used for gatherings. A narrow set of stairs led from the base of the central pyramid up to the building at the top. That was the only place he could make out openings.
It had had the feeling of a temple -- something used for a special purpose. The people probably gathered around the plaza while the priest-chief-prophet addressed them from the heights above and conducted ceremonies in the building at the top.
Javin was tired, but the mystery pushed him on.
The steps were narrow and steep. It took several rest stops before he reached the apex where the building beckoned. Catch basins of water ringed the landing where he quenched his thirst. The day was nearly over. Still, he didn’t want to abandon his search. It should be safe enough here for the night. Besides, the building didn’t look that big.
The investigation began. The structure stretched about three times as high as he was tall. He walked around, measuring about one hundred paces to a side. There were no other openings other than stark, open doorways front and back entering into narrow hallways. Javin took a few steps inside the dark and was surprised to find it dimly lit from an unseen source. He moved further in and examined the walls and ceiling. There was no indication of where the light came from. It wasn't natural. The air just seemed to be illuminated in a subtle glow.
At the end of the entryway, about ten paces inside and three wide, there were five different corridors running every which way. It reminded Javin of a maze, though the building was small enough he didn't think he'd get lost for long.
He decided to explore. This building was probably the most important in the city. If there were any answers chances are they'd be here.
Javin picked a corridor at random and wound around through the corridors, coming to several dead ends and had to backtrack before being able to proceed again. Finally, after many tries, he noticed a pattern. Each time he took a left intersection he would eventually run against a dead end, no matter how many right turns he took previous or after. Javin experimented, choosing the right most passage at each intersection. Sometimes the halls seemed to wrap around the inside of the entire building then it would double back onto an intersection where, again, he chose the right-most passage. There were no more dead ends.
The eerie nature of the light kept him from realizing how long he’d been moving thr
ough the maze. It seemed a long while from the way his legs felt.
Javin finally rounded the shortest corridor so far which opened into a large inner chamber. It was brightly lit compared to the dim passageways.
He took a cautious glance into the room. It was at least thirty paces on a side. There were three levels that moved down in equal steps to the lowest portion in the sunken center. Scattered about in seemingly random fashion were large rectangular slabs of stone in different heights and sizes, some on end others on their side or flush with the chamber floor like a scattered seating area. In the low center tier was a free-standing stone arch a little higher than he was tall and just the right width to be a doorway.
Javin couldn’t detect any danger so he stepped across the threshold into the room. A tingling hit like he’d passed through a barrier. He turned to look at the roof and walls of the corridor. Nothing. The feeling was gone as suddenly as it had come. Carefully, he stepped back through. Still nothing. He shrugged and stepped back into the chamber, looking closely at the doorway as he did so. He couldn’t see a thing until he got close. There, a tiny seam of blue-white light traversed the circumference of the doorway. He had passed through a barrier. What had it done? Carefully, he checked himself. He didn’t feel any different. There were no marks on his skin. Javin shook his head and turned back to the room.
For the first time he saw the ceiling. It was deceptive, feeling low and cozy, but looking directly up it was twice as high as he'd noticed from the outside.
That can't be. I didn't feel any incline in the maze. Still, he couldn't argue with his eyes. He must have descended several levels without knowing.
There was something else peculiar about the ceiling. It was open to the sky! He could see blackness associated with night-time, and he could make out twinkling pinpricks of light that must be stars.
Wait a minute! What about the mist? I've never seen stars on this planet, especially at night! This isn't what it seems.
Javin gazed at the ceiling until his neck began to ache. It never changed from the serene appearance of a peaceful night sky. He moved down to the center landing in front of the arch and looked back over the room, trying to discern any patterns that might mean anything.
When he looked back, the center of the arch had gone dark. Pitch black!
What's happening?
Javin reached up a hand and started to place it against the plane of the arch. So far there wasn't any resistance. Because it was so black, he wasn't sure whether it was a hard surface or had just become a "doorway."
Now why did I think that? He didn't know, but was getting used to strange thoughts popping into his head.
He moved his hand closer until it met resistance. Was it the surface? His hands didn't feel anything. It was as if his hand went as far as it could go then couldn't be pushed further. Not a solid surface, but a barrier. Javin skimmed his hand along the plane. Faint ripples flowed out as his hand moved. Still, he couldn't press through.
"Pop!"
Javin jumped back. Something had sparked, like a circuit closing. The arch had changed again into a smooth, reflective surface. He drew closer and saw his reflection.
Since waking, he hadn't given much thought to his appearance, mainly focusing on jarring his memory, remembering who he was, why he was here. His appearance might give him a clue.
Javin stood full on. He noted with wry humor he was a good looking man, on the younger side of being middle aged -- whatever that was for him -- with dusty brown hair and curious black eyes that made him look twice to make sure. His frame was bronzed from being in the open though not burned by the mist-sheltered sun. Ropy muscles tending towards lean and supple were well proportioned with a sense of quickness.
Not bad for an old man . . .
Javin caught himself. Why did I think of myself as being old? I'm clearly not. I didn't even mean it that way. It was just a joke. He rubbed the growth of long stubble on his face. I've got to find a way to shave. He didn't like the beard. It itched.
He had recognized himself but was disappointed it did nothing to jar his memory. Strange to recognize yourself and still not "know" who you were.
Javin turned and moved over to sit on the nearest slab. He was hungry and tired. The skylight hadn’t changed. He'd been in the pyramid a long time.
Pulling a fruit from his pouch he chewed as he studied the arch. Nothing he’d seen so far helped him know who he was or why he was here.
The glow of the room was still a bit unnerving. He still couldn’t detect a source of light. Everything about this place was odd.
An impression flowed into his mind.
I needed to come here.
Strange, he hadn't felt any draw towards this location. It'd seemed completely random.
"Oh well,” he sighed. “Add that to the mystery.”
He lied down on the stone, resting his back on the cool slab, staring into the skylight. It was hypnotic. The stars' glistening points soothed his nerves. Tired, stiff muscles loosened. He felt himself drifting off.
May as well sleep here as anywhere.
Javin turned his head to catch sight of the arch one more time. It was clear again, just an empty arch sitting in the middle of the room. He chuckled, shook his head.
Drowsiness continued to overtake him, his consciousness slogging. A faint image flashed in his mind. A bright place. Voices . . . Javin frantically struggled to grasp the memory and hold it, but his mind continued to spiral down, scattering the memory in the bliss of sleep.