When I awoke the sun was once more out in its morning glory, at theheight it assumes at about the 9 o'clock hour, and the room was warm andcozy because of it, as it shone in through the glass walls. My firstsensation upon waking was one of peace and bliss, the feelingexperienced when you wake up late to a nice warm resting place,especially so when all the rest of the world is hard at work and you arenot. I breathed in the air deeply and contentedly while stretching myarms, legs, and back in a most relieving fashion, and then turnedtowards the table in the center of the room, from whence I smelled anextremely appealing smell, that of a hearty breakfast.
As I did so, however, my joy was sent to a bitter, premature death, forthere sitting at the table and smiling sardonically at me was the King,arrayed in all his pomp and splendor with his powerful pose, which,while it had impressed, and even to a point overwhelmed me, before, didno such thing to me now, for I was fresh with indignation at theexclusion of the humanoids across the sea from the paradise of Daem.
He saluted me in a polite manner, and I him, though there was littleaffection behind it. Then, without any more ceremony, I sat down andbegan to eat, repulsing any attempt of his to start a conversation withpersistent vigor, until I had finished, when I stood and demanded whereexactly I was to make my toiletry. He laughed and said that he waswondering how long I would last, but as I was still too unpleasant torespond with any familiarity, he showed me to a little room that wastucked off of the side of the bell that formed the entrance to the domedchambers of the upper tower. The top of the tower itself was a halfcomplete sphere, while the room only occupied the upper half, so thatthe bottom was divided between the entry way and the toiletry room. Ispent a few moments grooming and washing myself and preparing for theday, and then rejoined him in the room. He was still sitting on hischair and I took the other. The meal had been carried away.
He began the conversation by saying, "My dear Jehu, I must apologize forkeeping you in this position, but you must understand that the outcomeof this war is very serious, and I will not risk it to yoursensationalism."
"Sensationalism!" returned I, "Is that how you would describe a touch ofhumanity?"
"What do you mean?" he questioned, apparently interested in what I said.
"Well," I began, regaining myself, my former indignation being exhaustedby the spirit of my opening comments, and my normal sober reasoningreturning, "I have been observing your society, which you suppose to beenlightened, but I have seen some things, which, I am afraid, areevidences of the opposite."
"Go on,"
"For one, your common folk engage in the most violent entertainment. Isaw a vicious game being played not far from here, in the plaza below.There were two sides, and they rushed at each other in a rage andclashed when they met until one side tackled the other. This went on forsome time, the evident point of the sport being to gain points by makingit so that one of the opposing players cannot get up at the end of around. It was so brutal that I was disgusted and could watch no more."
"Yes, I see what you mean," the King replied, "I myself would muchrather that such games would be forsaken, but the people really enjoyit. I must remind you, as well, that your society had the same type ofthing, as did every other before it. It was football for you, gladiatorsfor the Romans, and so forth."
"But I thought that you had no traditions? That you were moreenlightened than those of the past? You can hardly excuse yourmisconduct by reminding one of the misconduct of another, especiallywhen you claim to disclaim the errors of history, or at least, thataltered and redefined thing that you call history."
"You are right, I have to admit," he conceded, "But let me remind youthat it is a static characteristic of humanity to confuse the ends withthe means. When an intense effort is applied, the melodramatic tendencyis to honor that effort, despite its uselessness, instead of honoringthe product of the effort rather than the effort itself. But, you areright, I admit, for we have still a few places left to refine in thecommon folk."
Feeling vainglorious at my victory, I pursued him further, "I alsoobserved that your womenfolk wear face coverings in public, which ismost certainly a thing of the past."
"I must disagree with you there Jehu," he said, evidentially regaininghis confidence and sense of moral footing, "For even in your own timethe womenfolk all wore masks and face coverings."
I was taken aback and cried, "Most certainly they did not, your historybooks may say so, but I, dear sir, was alive and would know best!"
"What, then," he coolly replied, with a sharp grin that reeked ofself-confidence, "Would you call all the messes of make-up and perfumeand other such things which they were virtually forced to wear? I seenothing different between wearing face coverings and transplanting anentirely new face, hair, and body on oneself everyday. In fact, ourwomen got together and decided voluntarily to do so, for the very reasonthat if an artificial covering must be put on, it might as well be onethat is easy, for why spend an hour or more a day to change one'sappearance, when it can be done in moments with a head covering? That isa great time saver for us. And why spend the resources to research,produce, and market massive amounts of facial paint to cover up the facewhen it is possible to put a covering on and get the same effect much,much easier? It is only logical.
"And in general, Jehu," he pursued, warming to the subject matter, "Ifind the oppression of women in your time to be quite appalling. Youseemed to think that the liberation of women consisted in transformingthem into loveless, materialistic thugs, into workaholics whose onlydesire is wealth, into aggression driven beings that possessed littleshred of real humanity, into, in a word, men. I think it would have beena much better endeavor to have attempted to change men into women."
I was taken aback by his eloquent defense of the treatment of women inhis society, and felt, I must admit, a little impressed by hisarguments, seeing as how it did make more sense to wear a head coveringthan to paint on a face every morning. Still, I desired to let him seethat traditions aren't all that bad, just as they aren't all that good,and, as I had still won one point out of two so far, I felt it safe tomove on to my main argument against his humanistic preponderance.
"You are right there, I admit, but tell me, your majesty," I said with aslow, scoffing voice, meant to show that I had a powerful point to make,and as if I had to go slow enough for him to comprehend the eloquence ofmy speech, "Why, if you are so enlightened and progressive, sohumanitarian and merciful, why do you keep a whole race of people, ofhuman beings, stranded on the far shore, able to see the goodness ofDaem's plush lands, but unable to visit them? How can you justify thekeeping of people in such conditions when it is in your power to relievethem?"
He sobered up more than he already was and answered in his mostdignified voice, one calculated to stop opposition by its very graces,"Their plight is unfortunate, but as they are not my subjects, it isnone of my concern."
"So you knew of them, but did not care. How typical of powerful men.What are they called?"
"Munams," he answered, "Is what we call them, though people of your timehad a different name for them, Neanderthal, if I am correct."
My intrigue superseded my conviction and I asked interestedly, "But, howis that possible? The Neanderthals were the ancestors of men in my time,and the men of my time were the ancestors of the men of this time, howcould they be living now?"
"Very simply, for your scientists and philosophers did not understandthe revolution of time, and what they thought was evolution was in factdevolution. You see, when they found all the fossils and other suchevidence for evolution, they interpreted it to mean that they hadevolved from lesser organisms. Since they didn't know that time repeatsitself over and over again, ages of time being like the years of theearth, it was actually the remains of the age before them that theythought were the remains of their ancestors. In truth, instead of agreat comet hitting the earth and destroying the dinosaurs and manyother living beings, it was the Great Wars, the nuclear wars, thatcaused all the damage. And since their p
erception of the events wasbackward, instead of the blasts destroying the dinosaurs and the whollymammoths, it was what actually created them, for, you see, after thenuclear weapons had all been used, everything in the world died, or camevery close to it, all that is, except Daem, which thrived, because ofthe delcator beetles.
"There were no 'dinosaurs', only Zards, for when the radiation levelswere still high and unstable, we grew to enormous sizes, and likewisethere were no wholly mammoths, but Canitaurs. And the Neanderthals thatappeared shortly after were not the precursors to humans at all, but theMunams, who survived on the mainland near Daem because of the correctedatmosphere, but who were mutilated more than we by the increasedcorruption across the sea. The Ice Ages, also, were not as you thought,but instead mark the position in the last age after the doom of humanitywas played out and everything destroyed. The Big Bang, also, was not atthe beginning, but at the very end, being somehow related to the onsetof the Ice Ages. Your evolutionary theories were close, but the timetables were rearranged to fit the facts, since time was thought to belinear.
"That is where our main trouble lies, Jehu, for through geological andbiological evidences, even more advanced than those collected duringyour times, we can tell that something happens at this very period ofhistory that will wipe all life from the face of the earth for a longperiod of time, many thousands of years, until somehow they start toreproduce and grow once more into what they are now. Something verypowerful happens, even more devastating than the nuclear wars, when allthe nations of the world used their entire stock of weapons. Our problemis how to prevent it, and a great problem it presents, indeed. You see,while we would wish to be confident of success, since we know generallywhat to expect, we know through research that there have been many, manyages before us in which the same thing has happened. That is why thegeological layers have always been found to be strangely misaligned,with fossils from an earlier period here and with a later period there.That is why things like tree fossils are found in coal mines, where theyshouldn't be, and why in general, the evidence found in the grounddoesn't fit a consistent pattern."
As he finished, I could say nothing, for his revelation was sobering tome, bringing me suddenly back to the realization that our doom wasimpending, that every decision I made had the potential to either bringus to safety, or to supply the necessary force to hurl us viscously offthe cliff of mortality. He was silent as well and allowed me a fewmoments of meditation to turn his speech in my mind. As is my tendency,I looked abstractly out the window as I thought, fixing my subconsciousfocus on the road that ran from the northern gate down through the city,the road which formed half of the plaza beneath the temple. A moment ortwo passed like a solemn parade of mourning, then, suddenly, or at leastquite unexpected by myself, a party of Canitaurs came walking down thenorthern road, unharassed and unescorted through the heart of the city.Since they came freely, I knew that they were not prisoners, but still Iwas perplexed at how a party of them came to be allowed in Nunami at allunder such pretexts, especially as they had attempted to bring it toruin but a few days before.
The King saw their coming and my interest in them, and said in a way ofexplanation, "There is to be a council today between the Zards andCanitaurs, with you present, of course. Our war has rampaged for quitesome time, but we are forced to peace in light of our impending doom,brought by circumstances outside of ourselves. We will decide tonight,or tomorrow, what action to take. It is a grim time, you can be sure, mydear Jehu, when Zards and Canitaurs meet in peace, a grim time indeed."
He said that very importantly, with an air of fright in his voice, asone who knows his end is near, for both him and his loved ones. Therewas another moment of silence as he reflected on the meaning of hiswords, and then he rose and beckoned me to follow him. We made our waythrough the bottom half of the room and down the long flight of stairsthat wound down the great tower in the Temple of Time. When we reachedthe bottom, we went again into the long room with the bookshelves, thetable, and the altar to Temis. Already there waiting for us were theCanitaur emissaries, Wagner and Bernibus.
They rose to greet me, bowing low in a deferential manner, more out offorced respect than awe, at least on Wagner's part, and after thecustomary blessing that followed, we all sat down at the long woodentable that stretched lengthwise through the room. Wagner and Bernibustook their chairs on one side and the King and myself on the other, heand Wagner being opposite each other, and Bernibus and me being thesame; the King and I were facing the altar and the White Eagle that heldit.
There was a moment of silence as we took our seats, and it continued foranother moment as everyone sat in an awkward situation. As there was noone else in the room besides the four of us, and as Wagner seemeddisinclined to begin, the King opened up our conference with thefollowing statement:
"Well, dear sirs, what can I say, except that I am glad that you havefinally condescended to seek a mutual agreement on the actions which areabout to ensue, and that I hope that our conference will be productiveand informative. Before we begin, I will outline the rules of the debateand of the conference, which were agreed upon before the military actionof the recent past," here he looked at Wagner with the look of a judgewho supposes himself morally superior to the criminal in his holding,"And by which we will still govern the council, despite the suddenchange in circumstances. The rules are as follows: The decision shall bemade by the votes of the three parties involved, namely the Zards, theCanitaurs, and Jehu, the kinsman redeemer. A majority of two votes isrequired to decide which of the paths will be taken: the Futurist or thePastite. As is clearly obvious, my dear Jehu, I shall vote Futurist, andWagner shall vote Pastite, and it is up to you to cast the decisivevote. You are the kinsman redeemer, and for all intents and purposes,you will be the sole decider of the fate of humanity. It is a greatresponsibility, but one that you were chosen for by the child of Temis,the God of Time. Wagner and myself will each make our cases, though youknow them by now, and then you will have all night to decide and youwill tell us your decision in the morning," thus concluded the King'sopening address.
Before anyone else could follow it up, I interjected, "But I was sent byOnan to do his work on earth, wouldn't it only make sense for me tochoose the way of Onan?"
The King answered me, saying, "You were sent by Temis, the God of Time,Jehu, for Onan and Zimri are his children who do his work for him, butthey only have the powers that he gave them. Onan is the only one ableto speak to mortals, for he is in the past, while Zimri is in thefuture, but Onan also speaks for Zimri, because he is told what to sayby Temis, whose agents they both are as much as you are Onan's. Isn'tthat so, Wagner?"
Wagner sighed in the affirmative, and when he had done so, I asked himpointedly, "Why didn't you tell me? You led me to believe that Onan wasthe one who sent me, and by his own power."
Here the King put in, "He merely wanted to prejudice you to his ownside, Jehu. He attempted to by-pass our peace treaty of long ago when hetried to attack us and capture this very temple for his own plans. Weagreed twenty-five years ago to do it this way, because enough blood hadbeen shed, and no good had come from it. He violated it when he took youinto hiding, using our pursuit after his treachery as justification. Butcome, in the face of impending doom we cannot squabble over past wrongs,but must move to prevent future disaster from striking."
"What is so important about this Temple of Time, though?" I asked.
Wagner and the King mumbled together that "It was an essential part ofthe restoration of Daem", but would not elaborate, saying that it wasunimportant to the present troubles. They looked guilty as they said it,though of what I did not know. I was reminded of my indignation at theirignoring of the sufferings of the Munams and became once more impatientwith their self-importance, so I yielded the floor and they began tomake their cases. In order to decide who went first, they drew lots, andas the shorter was drawn by Wagner, he went first. His speech is asfollows:
"The past is constant, Jehu. It has happened and is secure in
its place,explored and known. The traditions and customs of our people aresteadfast and immovable, for they have survived the ages like a mountainthat is untouched by the weather. They have lasted so long not becauseof the mere namesake of tradition, but because they work, because theyhave worked thousands of times before, and because we know they willwork a thousand times in the future. What was good enough for thegenerations before us is good enough for us and our children. Atradition, or taboo, is not formed by the decision of some contemporarycouncil as a means to control others via social restrictions, for if itwas it would never have lasted, instead it is formed because ofexperience, because when something goes beyond it the result istemporary pleasure, the nectar of the fruits of rebellion, but when therebellious desires have faded, what is left is rotten and decayed.
"It brings only more desires for rebellion and more thirst for theforsaking of traditions, and it will not be satisfied. Then anothertaboo will be broken, but this also will not quench the desires of therebellious, who do what they do not for any independent purpose, butonly from a desire to break traditions and taboos and to be differentthan their forebears. But there is no satisfaction in rebellion, only inobedience. Obedience not to some alien divinity, not to some socialsupremest, not to the blind devotion of parental mandates, but obedienceto common sense, to practicality, to morality. For a taboo is not formedby any one person, instead it is slowly built up upon the experiences ofmany, experiences which show that when one thing is done, suffering iswhat follows, and when another thing is done, happiness is what follows.Of course there are a few, isolated taboos that are based instead onhuman prejudices, but that doesn't translate into the abandonment of allthe experience of precedents. What comes when there are no longer anytaboos and traditions to break? Destruction. For as is seen time andagain, the rebellion of societies gains momentum, and while theirconsequences are slow in gathering, in the end they multiply and forcethose societies over the edge of power, bringing only suffering andruin.
"And not only are the experiences of the past wielded together into thateuphoria that eludes the rebellious--wisdom--but its constant statecontrols the present and the future. What men have seen in the pastleads them in their future actions, and as a result, it is not thefuture that controls the present and defines the past, but it is thepast which controls the present and defines the future. What sense isthere in abandoning the mountain of wisdom that the past has built upand leaping blindly into hazy, unknown actions and institutions? Thepast is steady, Jehu, and it is known; it is the only sensible way."Thus spoke Wagner.
It was then the King's turn, and he said as follows:
"The past is the past, not the present nor the future, its time has beenspent, its part in the theater of life is over, it is extinct. Jehu,Wagner speaks of us as rebelliously breaking taboos that were formed byour forefathers, but that is not true. In the present more is known thanwas known in the past, they had outdated views and opinions, and theirideologies were vulgar and unsophisticated. At present we are moreknowledgeable, more refined than what has gone before. The people of thepast waged unjust wars. They had superstition and prejudices thatclouded their visions of morality, and the product of that is a largeamount of taboos and precedents and traditions that are immoral ormeaningless. Now is the age of enlightenment, now and never before isthe future at hand, mixing with the present as we learn more and moreabout our world. We are progressive, learning and growing in philosophyand lifestyle.
"If those of the past were so upright and wise, than why are they notstill among the living? If they were so powerful, then why are they nowextinct? The past is gone, but the future is yet to come, it still holdstangible pleasures, not memories, it has promise and potential, whilethe past is only the ruins of the same. When the past is looked backupon, it is small and immaterial, it is like time crumpled up into a wadof memories, and a time yesterday or a thousand years ago looks thesame, for it is past, it is no more. Life is not short, but inretrospect it seems to be, and its memories are distant, as they floatlike fish in the oceans of time, lacking both definition and scale, andhanging lifelessly around in random arrays. Every moment is of the samelength, but a moment in the past is nothing, its thoughts and emotionsare nothing, they are gone and useless to the present, while a moment inthe future is long and touchable. A thought that is past is as nothing,and it is forgotten, for the past and the future are like a one-waymirror, you can look forward into the future, but looking into the pastyou can see only the present reflected back at you. What good are thejoys or sorrows of yesterday? They are as far removed as those of athousand years ago, but it is the joys and sorrows of tomorrow that loomthe largest. Why look into the past for completion, when it is foundonly in the future?" Thus spoke the King.
Once both of them had finished there was a short pause, each reflectiveand absorbed with his own thoughts. At last the King broke through thestill waters of the moment and sent his rippling voice across itsformless surface, which revived at once and was joined by many others,until the outward expression of consciousness sent the waters of themind again into their complex and interwoven dances. He spoke in thedepartment of host and concluded the short session with these words,"Now the cases are stated, though but briefly, for they were alreadywell-known. As planned prior to the infractions of the treaty, we willadjourn for the night, and in the morning Jehu will deliver his verdict,whether we undo our problem through the future, or through the past."
We all rose and Bernibus, my only friend on the island, came up to meand warmly embraced me, while Wagner and the King conversed formally afew yards away. When they were not looking and our backs were turned tothem, Bernibus slipped me a piece of paper that was rolled up into atight scroll. Seeing his caution and secrecy, I quickly stashed it inthe inside of my shirt, where it could not be seen. I was alarmed at themomentary expression of his face, which showed that he was greatlyworried about me, and made me very interested in what the paper wouldcontain. His face quickly returned to its original countenance, animpermeable barrier to his insides, and no one except myself had anyinclination about what had happened. The other two turned towards us,and quickly made their farewells, Wagner and Bernibus departing fortheir quarters, and the King to escort me back to my prison.
He took my arm in his genially, though only superficially so, for hestill had a subdued sense of distrust about him, and we went through thedoor to the long, circling stairway from whence we had come. As weascended we engaged in small talk, the usual meaningless pleasantry,which I assume you have probably had enough of in your experiences toallow me to dispense with relating it, for it was of no weight in any ofthe circumstances that I found myself in, and I especially was notinterested in it, as the paper given to me by Bernibus claimed my wholeattention, and filled me with an anticipation and mystery of what itmight contain. I kept up the small talk with the King merely to allayany suspicions he might have had, though he had none. After a seemingeternity we reached the top, and once there I stepped into my chambers,as the King jestingly called them. We bade each other goodnight, whichwas followed by the metallic click of the door locking, and the soundhis footsteps as he descended and made his way to his palace.
Chapter 11: The Land Across the Sea