Asteriod Vanvas: Part 6- The Epic Conclusion!!
From the desk of Vitasta Raina
Note: This is my tribute to the Star Trek Universe, which I love.
Time: irrelevant
The exciting, tragic and unforgettable ending to the epic space adventure: Asteriod Vanvas (Read online now for FREE)
Chapter 7:
I just sat on my station. Incredulous. What lengths would we go to preserve our faith, what when there is a reasonable scientific explanation for all the magic in the world. Sure, I didn’t know the exact science behind what the priest had managed to do, but the fact that it WAS science, that it was a wormhole, not some strange mystical doorway to the heavens that we were now travelling through at light-speed, surely someone saw it for what it was. How could these scientists and researchers, people who managed to grow food-grains on the sterile earth of the asteroids, the foremost minds of our rag-tag rebellion, how could they be swayed by pretty words and poetry. But that is the hold of faith, of these religions of the many worlds, the Toms, the Telepaths, Humans, all alike in their declaration of wondrous love for the First Men. I shook my head, and tried to focus on the relay. We would be in orbit around Hygeia in fifteen Earth minutes at this rate, a journey that would have taken about 7 hours through Agency controlled space. Maybe that was an act of faith after all.
I think my confusion and sense of bewilderment must have been very obvious, or perhaps my thoughts were just too loud, because Dr Franz came up behind me to my control panel and started talking to me. He was talking about the futility of the war, of how we had lost to the Agency and now stepped into a changed world. “It’s a good thing we received the message when we did.”
“Huh?”
“The message, from the First Men. I can’t imagine a world without democracy, without science”
“Sure,” I said. I could not believe he would speak of science when he himself was worshipping at the feet of the Priest. “Sure, science. But I thought the Agency stressed on scientific research.” I said. I knew the Agency had built several research stations around the solar system. They worked extensively in chemical research and terraforming planets. That, at least in my opinion, counted as science.
“Weapons!” Dr. Franz spat out disgusted. “That’s all they consider worth researching. Just vile. Just repugnant.”
“Hmm.” I nodded politely. This of course was not true. The Agency had set up so many stations of Mars too, before the war, before the dogmatic stance of the General. They did a lot of work in pollen study, in light-speed engines, in so many areas. They even set up art-schools. But it is also true that they were genocidal bigots. They had destroyed everything we ever believed in and loved. They had taken all the colour out of the sky and left us under a perpetual grey blanket. Even the stars seemed hollow and cheerless now, as they breathe under a heavy iron curtain.
“Well, we’re here.” I announced, glancing up from my control panel. I signaled Luna and Braff. We would settle in a comfortable orbit around Hygeia in a matter of seconds. Behind us, the wormhole, with its tail of gas and clouds starting dwindling and disappearing. We had successfully smuggled our way to Hygeia. But we were now more disappointed as ever, because we moved forward now with the knowledge that it was only our team, and maybe a few others scattered across the solar system, hidden among the ruins of our once great civilization, that was left of what was once the formidable rebellion. War, was over.
And yet with our resolve, with whatever faith we could manage, we stood firmly between oblivion and a life of mourning under Agency rule.
With the Warcraft now comfortably in orbit, and still behind cloak, we had safely arrived at our destination and Ram, with whatever spell the Priest had put him under was running orders to the combats. The Telepath had delinked himself from the ship and had gone to sleep. Two combats were assigned on duty around the ship, and 1 around the transmission control. Dr Franz and the scientists along with Luna and Braff would set up long-range sensors and pick up any stray transmission from Agency ships in the area, and of course intimate the landing party in case of any emergency, though detecting a cloaked Warship with cold engines was highly unlikely. I thought I was to remain on-board with the engine staff, but the Priest had hand-picked the landing party. I am still unsure of why Ram relinquished control to the Priest especially how just a few days ago he was so against even the idea that the Priest would accompany us on this mission.
The Priest picked out 2 Combats along with Ram, and then he asked me to join them. “I’m not sure how much help I can be,” I said, “maybe a radio technician or Dr. Franz should go instead.”
But the Priest quietly insisted. He took me aside and said, “You have a healthy skepticism, young Jatta, something which is lacking in them all. It will keep us grounded lest we let our faith run us astray. After all, we are all, even the First ones, who came before us, only men in the end, prone to error, prone to hubris and pride.”
I sighed. Perhaps he was right, and in his own way, a lot wiser than I gave him credit for. Sometimes knowledge of science is not enough to get by in this world, if you have no compassion and kindness in you. At least that’s how my mother explained it to me when I was little and our colony at Mars was overcome by refugees from Titan. Paupers and pilgrims they were, ridiculously fanatic but desperately in need of life’s basics- food, clean water and a bed. While there was a division in opinion between how we could handle this influx of migrants into our colonies and settlements, most people where comfortable sharing resources. After all, they were fellow men, and we had enough. But when they started creating trouble in the market spaces, forcing people to accept their religion, their god, their belief-system, and that was when the control of the Agency got stronger. They would not allow this type of tyranny in the name of the First Men. And many people supported the Agency at first, giving the General more power, but things started taking a shape for the worse over the course of the next few years, and people started to find themselves in two separate schools of thought. Some preferred the Agencies strong hand, the promise of peace and prosperity, and others sided with the new men, the odd men, the men of faith and the men of compassion for all life. The coming years were tough, people were screened, alien races forced to return to their home-worlds, temples and artifices in the name of the First Men were desecrated and destroyed. And my parents, they would not stand for the oppressive hand of the Agency in dealing with the new comers, joined the rebellion forces. That was the last I remember of them, when they were forced to abandon me at the safe house with the other children, and when they died in Agency fire.
But a lot has happened since then, but there is not much left to save. Everything was destroyed, and now, we get reports that the Agency’s rebuilding effort. I think they probably feel like they erased us all, but you can’t erase memories, especially those of freedom.
“Well, young man, you will join us!” The Priest said, not just to me, he made an announcement to the entire engine room. Luna grinned at me slightly, and I gave a defeated little sigh.
“I’ll get my suit ready.” I said quietly, wanting to exit the place as soon as possible. In the corridor I ran into Ram, who gave me a confident smile and a pat on my back. I guess we were doing this. I suppose I was about to make history, if indeed we managed to find evidence of the divine First Men. Perhaps they were indeed more than just stories, and perhaps they could reverse the effects of the war. Could they bring back my parents? Reverse time and make a child again, to live out my life in happiness this time around? I shook my head. I guess I was just angry at them, for not doing anything when they should have. Sending the message now, when the Agency had already won, when all was already destroyed, what were they trying to achieve anyway? What could they possible have to say now?
We gathered at the shuttle bay, ready in our space suits, the two combats the Priest had requested, Ram, the Priest and I. Luna helped me calibrate the controls for the shuttle. We called it the Jellypad, because it looked so much like a jelly-fish.Round on the top, with tendril like fins, unlike the Warcraft, the Jellypad did not have cloaking abilities. Once we left in the shuttle, we would be detected by any passing Agency ship, so it was crucial that we timed our descent. Being the only one in the landing party familiar with the workings of the Jellypad, I quickly understood my role in the mission, of why the Priest thought it was necessary for me to join them. So much for the skeptics are good for debate hogwash. I entered the landing coordinates into the mainframe of the Jellypad, and then we made our slow and awkward descent towards the surface of Hygeia. There was no atmosphere to contend with and we made it to the surface without detection. This was partly because Luna and Braff on the Warcraft had been monitoring the radio-waves for any stray Agency ship that might be around. We had a clear window of about half-hour between Agency scanners in the coordinates and were able to pass through undetected. We made a soft landing on the surface, and I re-calibrated everyone’s space suit. Space suit was a rather fancy way of describing the atmosphere adjustment module linked to a backpack with tubes that we needed to clasp on to with our mouths. Much like scuba-diving gear, only much lighter. It made space travel much easier, but it restricted verbal communication, and so we relied on TechAI, a software developed in the late 23rd century, with the help of the Toms that translated hand signals into words, and could even be operated by pressing standard speech buttons. Now, with everyone ready, we left the Jellypad gingerly, with Ram leading the way, and the combats forming the rear. I carried the signal modulator given to me by the Dr. Franz. It was like a homing beacon for the transmission sent by the First Men. It indicated that the transmission was coming from about half a kilometer to the west. Slowly, we walked in that direction.
As we made our way over the rocky, barren terrain of Hygeia, in the darkness of the night, I wondered how anyone could survive here. There was no indication of a settlement having ever been here. But the signal was growing stronger, its red beacon light flickering faster with every step we took. Soon, we were standing atop a shallow crater. “It’s here,” I indicated to Ram, who gave the orders to stop. One combat went down to the crater to check what was there, and then, we all made our way to the crater, sliding softly down the crevice. The crater was about 50 m wide, somewhat circular, and we surveyed the edges and the rocky bottom for the source of the transmission, when suddenly one of the combats indicated that he had found something. Sure enough, he had found the outlines of a doorway. A hidden doorway to what looked like an underground facility of some kind. I studied the framing rocks of the door, but could not find any mechanism to open it. That’s when the Priest indicated that we all step aside. And then he did the unthinkable.
He removed his atmosphere adjustment mask. “Are you mad?!” I almost screamed out, but Ram pushed me aside. “He knows what he is doing,” I heard the TechAI message, and just stood back bewildered. The Priest started chanting in an ancient language, but there was no movement at the doorway. He would not survive long without his gear, perhaps only a matter of a few seconds. Soon, he was on his knees, collapsing, but continued to chant, and Ram continued to disallow me from interrupting him, even when it might save his life. Suddenly, there was a hissing sound at the doorway, and a hinge unlocked. The doorway revealed a sealing panel. I was shocked and rushed forward, first to examine the panel, and then realizing the Priest was still collapsed on the ground, I crouched next to him, and tried putting his tubes by in his mouth, but he did not want it anymore.
He indicated for Ram to join him. “This is my life’s work,” he gasped, “for this message of peace, I have fulfilled my duty. Tell them, the First Men, when you meet them, that I was a loyal servant. Peace be with you, and with you young Jatta, I go now to the celestial heavens.” He then breathed his last and died even as Ram held his head in his arms. “It will not be nothing,” He signaled to me. And I felt a warm sadness engulf us. “Can you open the doorway?” He then asked me.
“I think so, I can. The panel is an old module frequency shifter, and I can isolate the linear frequencies to open the door. But it will take me a while. Maybe 15-20 minutes.”
Ram nodded. He signaled to one of the combats. “Take him to the Jellypad. He will get a Priest’s funeral. Secure his body in the draft locker. And make sure you are alert. There could be an ambush.”
The combat nodded and made his way with the Priest’s limp body back to the Jellypad. I got to work on the door, while Ram and the other combat kept vigil. That’s when I noticed it.
“They’ve been here” I indicated to Ram, “The Agency has been here. Look at the fire marks on the panel, they tried to pry it open.”
“That could only mean that they received the signal as well. But how did they open the doorway to reveal the panel?”
“The Agency has access to ancient texts, they studied the whole myth very extensively.” I said, “They even have their own priest-like figures who are aware of the ancient ways.”
“How long before you can get that thing open? I think they might still be here.”
“It’ll take a few moments. I’m re-calibrating the frequencies. But I think I can get it to open.”
Suddenly, the combat indicated to Ram. There was movement along the outer edge of the crater. “Over here,” the combat signaled, “two Agency guards on patrol.”
Ram moved quietly across to the combat. “If there are two men here, more could be around. We need to finish this very quietly. And we’re sitting ducks here.” He motioned to the combat to get to higher terrain, while we tried to hide in the shadows. The Agency guards circled the crater, now visible, looking down. If they saw us, we would be killed instantly, or worse, taken as prisoners to be tortured and torn apart till we gave all information on the secret bases on the Asteroids. Ram pulled out his bow. He knew disrupters would be too noisy and give away our location, so he locked two arrows into his bow. He was an excellent archer, and took several training classes back at the base for the young ones. He indicated to the combat to cause a distraction. The combat then moved into visible range of the guards and pretended to fall over. Instantly the guards took bait and rushed down to the spot. That’s when Ram took the shot. He launched both arrows with deadly accuracy and hit both guards through the neck. They dropped like flies. I gulped at the superhuman ability of Ram, and then he looked back at me, and I ran back to the panel. Time now was off the essence. We needed to open the doorway and fast. The combat and Ram moved the bodies of the guards into the shadows. And I sighed with relief as I finally got one of the frequency jammers to open. “Just two more!” I signaled to Ram.
Finally, the doorway opened slowly at first, released steam, and then suddenly. “Quickly”, I indicated, “the doorway will auto-close in a matter of seconds.” Ram and I rushed inside, while the combat guarded the doorway. Inside, the atmosphere matched Earth, and we could remove our Atmosphere Adjusters. The air smelled musty, like the sealed doorway had not been opened for a while. We walked through the rock-faced dimly lit corridor silently, ever alert for Agency activity. “In here!” I said, and I walked into the main control centre. “Looks like no one’s home!” The whole centre was run by automation. Then there was buzzing, and I found what looked to be a transmission cable. I connected it to the radio, and with a flash, a giant monitor lit up in front of us. On it, was something I had never seen before. Ram too was taken aback. Were these the First Men we so desperately seeked?
On screen where two figures, unlike anything I had ever come across. Giants they were, will large elephantine trunks and ears, and pale blue like the Telepaths, with fiery yellow eyes. The spoke to us in the language of the First Men, and then in our tongue. They spoke of the great first wave, of the devotion of the First Men, of their kindness and generosity and their deeds across the vast emptiness of space, and as they spoke, we realised, that they were not the ones we searched for, not the First Men, but yet they transmitted the signal. Only, the signal was not for us. They were akin to the First Men, calling themselves the Second Men, and they had come for the stranded aliens in the solar system controlled by the Agency, for they shared their mythos, and their history. They would have ships awaiting on the fifth moon of Neptune, and they were calling all the Toms and the Telepaths and every other alien left in the solar system to join them in their part of the galaxy, where there was still hope and openness. They were calling them, to firmly abandon us.
*
Epilogue:
After our encounter with the Second Men and with the knowledge that first men no longer exist, many of us began to accept the new world order. The Telepath took the surviving aliens in our system, even Braff back out to join the Second Men. Most of the older families left for Mars and Earth, to live under Agency Rule. Others, like I, Ram and Sita, chose to remain in hiding, on our bases in the Asteriods, the last refuge, to live for whatever time we can in our false paradise
*
*
Note: This is my tribute to the Star Trek Universe, which I love.
Time: irrelevant
The exciting, tragic and unforgettable ending to the epic space adventure: Asteriod Vanvas (Read online now for FREE)
Chapter 7:
I just sat on my station. Incredulous. What lengths would we go to preserve our faith, what when there is a reasonable scientific explanation for all the magic in the world. Sure, I didn’t know the exact science behind what the priest had managed to do, but the fact that it WAS science, that it was a wormhole, not some strange mystical doorway to the heavens that we were now travelling through at light-speed, surely someone saw it for what it was. How could these scientists and researchers, people who managed to grow food-grains on the sterile earth of the asteroids, the foremost minds of our rag-tag rebellion, how could they be swayed by pretty words and poetry. But that is the hold of faith, of these religions of the many worlds, the Toms, the Telepaths, Humans, all alike in their declaration of wondrous love for the First Men. I shook my head, and tried to focus on the relay. We would be in orbit around Hygeia in fifteen Earth minutes at this rate, a journey that would have taken about 7 hours through Agency controlled space. Maybe that was an act of faith after all.
I think my confusion and sense of bewilderment must have been very obvious, or perhaps my thoughts were just too loud, because Dr Franz came up behind me to my control panel and started talking to me. He was talking about the futility of the war, of how we had lost to the Agency and now stepped into a changed world. “It’s a good thing we received the message when we did.”
“Huh?”
“The message, from the First Men. I can’t imagine a world without democracy, without science”
“Sure,” I said. I could not believe he would speak of science when he himself was worshipping at the feet of the Priest. “Sure, science. But I thought the Agency stressed on scientific research.” I said. I knew the Agency had built several research stations around the solar system. They worked extensively in chemical research and terraforming planets. That, at least in my opinion, counted as science.
“Weapons!” Dr. Franz spat out disgusted. “That’s all they consider worth researching. Just vile. Just repugnant.”
“Hmm.” I nodded politely. This of course was not true. The Agency had set up so many stations of Mars too, before the war, before the dogmatic stance of the General. They did a lot of work in pollen study, in light-speed engines, in so many areas. They even set up art-schools. But it is also true that they were genocidal bigots. They had destroyed everything we ever believed in and loved. They had taken all the colour out of the sky and left us under a perpetual grey blanket. Even the stars seemed hollow and cheerless now, as they breathe under a heavy iron curtain.
“Well, we’re here.” I announced, glancing up from my control panel. I signaled Luna and Braff. We would settle in a comfortable orbit around Hygeia in a matter of seconds. Behind us, the wormhole, with its tail of gas and clouds starting dwindling and disappearing. We had successfully smuggled our way to Hygeia. But we were now more disappointed as ever, because we moved forward now with the knowledge that it was only our team, and maybe a few others scattered across the solar system, hidden among the ruins of our once great civilization, that was left of what was once the formidable rebellion. War, was over.
And yet with our resolve, with whatever faith we could manage, we stood firmly between oblivion and a life of mourning under Agency rule.
With the Warcraft now comfortably in orbit, and still behind cloak, we had safely arrived at our destination and Ram, with whatever spell the Priest had put him under was running orders to the combats. The Telepath had delinked himself from the ship and had gone to sleep. Two combats were assigned on duty around the ship, and 1 around the transmission control. Dr Franz and the scientists along with Luna and Braff would set up long-range sensors and pick up any stray transmission from Agency ships in the area, and of course intimate the landing party in case of any emergency, though detecting a cloaked Warship with cold engines was highly unlikely. I thought I was to remain on-board with the engine staff, but the Priest had hand-picked the landing party. I am still unsure of why Ram relinquished control to the Priest especially how just a few days ago he was so against even the idea that the Priest would accompany us on this mission.
The Priest picked out 2 Combats along with Ram, and then he asked me to join them. “I’m not sure how much help I can be,” I said, “maybe a radio technician or Dr. Franz should go instead.”
But the Priest quietly insisted. He took me aside and said, “You have a healthy skepticism, young Jatta, something which is lacking in them all. It will keep us grounded lest we let our faith run us astray. After all, we are all, even the First ones, who came before us, only men in the end, prone to error, prone to hubris and pride.”
I sighed. Perhaps he was right, and in his own way, a lot wiser than I gave him credit for. Sometimes knowledge of science is not enough to get by in this world, if you have no compassion and kindness in you. At least that’s how my mother explained it to me when I was little and our colony at Mars was overcome by refugees from Titan. Paupers and pilgrims they were, ridiculously fanatic but desperately in need of life’s basics- food, clean water and a bed. While there was a division in opinion between how we could handle this influx of migrants into our colonies and settlements, most people where comfortable sharing resources. After all, they were fellow men, and we had enough. But when they started creating trouble in the market spaces, forcing people to accept their religion, their god, their belief-system, and that was when the control of the Agency got stronger. They would not allow this type of tyranny in the name of the First Men. And many people supported the Agency at first, giving the General more power, but things started taking a shape for the worse over the course of the next few years, and people started to find themselves in two separate schools of thought. Some preferred the Agencies strong hand, the promise of peace and prosperity, and others sided with the new men, the odd men, the men of faith and the men of compassion for all life. The coming years were tough, people were screened, alien races forced to return to their home-worlds, temples and artifices in the name of the First Men were desecrated and destroyed. And my parents, they would not stand for the oppressive hand of the Agency in dealing with the new comers, joined the rebellion forces. That was the last I remember of them, when they were forced to abandon me at the safe house with the other children, and when they died in Agency fire.
But a lot has happened since then, but there is not much left to save. Everything was destroyed, and now, we get reports that the Agency’s rebuilding effort. I think they probably feel like they erased us all, but you can’t erase memories, especially those of freedom.
“Well, young man, you will join us!” The Priest said, not just to me, he made an announcement to the entire engine room. Luna grinned at me slightly, and I gave a defeated little sigh.
“I’ll get my suit ready.” I said quietly, wanting to exit the place as soon as possible. In the corridor I ran into Ram, who gave me a confident smile and a pat on my back. I guess we were doing this. I suppose I was about to make history, if indeed we managed to find evidence of the divine First Men. Perhaps they were indeed more than just stories, and perhaps they could reverse the effects of the war. Could they bring back my parents? Reverse time and make a child again, to live out my life in happiness this time around? I shook my head. I guess I was just angry at them, for not doing anything when they should have. Sending the message now, when the Agency had already won, when all was already destroyed, what were they trying to achieve anyway? What could they possible have to say now?
We gathered at the shuttle bay, ready in our space suits, the two combats the Priest had requested, Ram, the Priest and I. Luna helped me calibrate the controls for the shuttle. We called it the Jellypad, because it looked so much like a jelly-fish.Round on the top, with tendril like fins, unlike the Warcraft, the Jellypad did not have cloaking abilities. Once we left in the shuttle, we would be detected by any passing Agency ship, so it was crucial that we timed our descent. Being the only one in the landing party familiar with the workings of the Jellypad, I quickly understood my role in the mission, of why the Priest thought it was necessary for me to join them. So much for the skeptics are good for debate hogwash. I entered the landing coordinates into the mainframe of the Jellypad, and then we made our slow and awkward descent towards the surface of Hygeia. There was no atmosphere to contend with and we made it to the surface without detection. This was partly because Luna and Braff on the Warcraft had been monitoring the radio-waves for any stray Agency ship that might be around. We had a clear window of about half-hour between Agency scanners in the coordinates and were able to pass through undetected. We made a soft landing on the surface, and I re-calibrated everyone’s space suit. Space suit was a rather fancy way of describing the atmosphere adjustment module linked to a backpack with tubes that we needed to clasp on to with our mouths. Much like scuba-diving gear, only much lighter. It made space travel much easier, but it restricted verbal communication, and so we relied on TechAI, a software developed in the late 23rd century, with the help of the Toms that translated hand signals into words, and could even be operated by pressing standard speech buttons. Now, with everyone ready, we left the Jellypad gingerly, with Ram leading the way, and the combats forming the rear. I carried the signal modulator given to me by the Dr. Franz. It was like a homing beacon for the transmission sent by the First Men. It indicated that the transmission was coming from about half a kilometer to the west. Slowly, we walked in that direction.
As we made our way over the rocky, barren terrain of Hygeia, in the darkness of the night, I wondered how anyone could survive here. There was no indication of a settlement having ever been here. But the signal was growing stronger, its red beacon light flickering faster with every step we took. Soon, we were standing atop a shallow crater. “It’s here,” I indicated to Ram, who gave the orders to stop. One combat went down to the crater to check what was there, and then, we all made our way to the crater, sliding softly down the crevice. The crater was about 50 m wide, somewhat circular, and we surveyed the edges and the rocky bottom for the source of the transmission, when suddenly one of the combats indicated that he had found something. Sure enough, he had found the outlines of a doorway. A hidden doorway to what looked like an underground facility of some kind. I studied the framing rocks of the door, but could not find any mechanism to open it. That’s when the Priest indicated that we all step aside. And then he did the unthinkable.
He removed his atmosphere adjustment mask. “Are you mad?!” I almost screamed out, but Ram pushed me aside. “He knows what he is doing,” I heard the TechAI message, and just stood back bewildered. The Priest started chanting in an ancient language, but there was no movement at the doorway. He would not survive long without his gear, perhaps only a matter of a few seconds. Soon, he was on his knees, collapsing, but continued to chant, and Ram continued to disallow me from interrupting him, even when it might save his life. Suddenly, there was a hissing sound at the doorway, and a hinge unlocked. The doorway revealed a sealing panel. I was shocked and rushed forward, first to examine the panel, and then realizing the Priest was still collapsed on the ground, I crouched next to him, and tried putting his tubes by in his mouth, but he did not want it anymore.
He indicated for Ram to join him. “This is my life’s work,” he gasped, “for this message of peace, I have fulfilled my duty. Tell them, the First Men, when you meet them, that I was a loyal servant. Peace be with you, and with you young Jatta, I go now to the celestial heavens.” He then breathed his last and died even as Ram held his head in his arms. “It will not be nothing,” He signaled to me. And I felt a warm sadness engulf us. “Can you open the doorway?” He then asked me.
“I think so, I can. The panel is an old module frequency shifter, and I can isolate the linear frequencies to open the door. But it will take me a while. Maybe 15-20 minutes.”
Ram nodded. He signaled to one of the combats. “Take him to the Jellypad. He will get a Priest’s funeral. Secure his body in the draft locker. And make sure you are alert. There could be an ambush.”
The combat nodded and made his way with the Priest’s limp body back to the Jellypad. I got to work on the door, while Ram and the other combat kept vigil. That’s when I noticed it.
“They’ve been here” I indicated to Ram, “The Agency has been here. Look at the fire marks on the panel, they tried to pry it open.”
“That could only mean that they received the signal as well. But how did they open the doorway to reveal the panel?”
“The Agency has access to ancient texts, they studied the whole myth very extensively.” I said, “They even have their own priest-like figures who are aware of the ancient ways.”
“How long before you can get that thing open? I think they might still be here.”
“It’ll take a few moments. I’m re-calibrating the frequencies. But I think I can get it to open.”
Suddenly, the combat indicated to Ram. There was movement along the outer edge of the crater. “Over here,” the combat signaled, “two Agency guards on patrol.”
Ram moved quietly across to the combat. “If there are two men here, more could be around. We need to finish this very quietly. And we’re sitting ducks here.” He motioned to the combat to get to higher terrain, while we tried to hide in the shadows. The Agency guards circled the crater, now visible, looking down. If they saw us, we would be killed instantly, or worse, taken as prisoners to be tortured and torn apart till we gave all information on the secret bases on the Asteroids. Ram pulled out his bow. He knew disrupters would be too noisy and give away our location, so he locked two arrows into his bow. He was an excellent archer, and took several training classes back at the base for the young ones. He indicated to the combat to cause a distraction. The combat then moved into visible range of the guards and pretended to fall over. Instantly the guards took bait and rushed down to the spot. That’s when Ram took the shot. He launched both arrows with deadly accuracy and hit both guards through the neck. They dropped like flies. I gulped at the superhuman ability of Ram, and then he looked back at me, and I ran back to the panel. Time now was off the essence. We needed to open the doorway and fast. The combat and Ram moved the bodies of the guards into the shadows. And I sighed with relief as I finally got one of the frequency jammers to open. “Just two more!” I signaled to Ram.
Finally, the doorway opened slowly at first, released steam, and then suddenly. “Quickly”, I indicated, “the doorway will auto-close in a matter of seconds.” Ram and I rushed inside, while the combat guarded the doorway. Inside, the atmosphere matched Earth, and we could remove our Atmosphere Adjusters. The air smelled musty, like the sealed doorway had not been opened for a while. We walked through the rock-faced dimly lit corridor silently, ever alert for Agency activity. “In here!” I said, and I walked into the main control centre. “Looks like no one’s home!” The whole centre was run by automation. Then there was buzzing, and I found what looked to be a transmission cable. I connected it to the radio, and with a flash, a giant monitor lit up in front of us. On it, was something I had never seen before. Ram too was taken aback. Were these the First Men we so desperately seeked?
On screen where two figures, unlike anything I had ever come across. Giants they were, will large elephantine trunks and ears, and pale blue like the Telepaths, with fiery yellow eyes. The spoke to us in the language of the First Men, and then in our tongue. They spoke of the great first wave, of the devotion of the First Men, of their kindness and generosity and their deeds across the vast emptiness of space, and as they spoke, we realised, that they were not the ones we searched for, not the First Men, but yet they transmitted the signal. Only, the signal was not for us. They were akin to the First Men, calling themselves the Second Men, and they had come for the stranded aliens in the solar system controlled by the Agency, for they shared their mythos, and their history. They would have ships awaiting on the fifth moon of Neptune, and they were calling all the Toms and the Telepaths and every other alien left in the solar system to join them in their part of the galaxy, where there was still hope and openness. They were calling them, to firmly abandon us.
*
Epilogue:
After our encounter with the Second Men and with the knowledge that first men no longer exist, many of us began to accept the new world order. The Telepath took the surviving aliens in our system, even Braff back out to join the Second Men. Most of the older families left for Mars and Earth, to live under Agency Rule. Others, like I, Ram and Sita, chose to remain in hiding, on our bases in the Asteriods, the last refuge, to live for whatever time we can in our false paradise
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| Space. The Final Frontier. |
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