Ruins of the Mind

by Jason Stadtlander

  The siblings agreed to leave at 7:00 the following morning.

  HEIDI WRESTLED WITH sleep that night. She continued to remember the images and hear the voices from her time with Sam’loc.

  Sleep finally found her, however, and she gave herself over to the night and some very intriguing dreams, reminiscent of her day’s encounter. She saw Sam’loc, along with an elderly woman named Ranash. The curious thing about her dream was that Sam’loc was no longer a creature with large silvery eyes. Instead, he was human, an older man of about seventy, and he was sitting in a rocking chair telling her stories of ages past. He talked about the Egyptians, the Sumerians and the Aztecs. He was telling her a fascinating story about the Pueblos, and she was admiring the detail of their simple adobe homes, when she was suddenly jolted awake by the grinding sound of the kitchen juicer downstairs. The clock read 6:15 a.m. She jumped out of bed and into the shower.

  Heidi again grabbed her backpack. Then she and Mark packed sandwiches, pretzels, grapes, cheese and water bottles before heading to the railroad tracks.

  “SO, THIS IS it, huh?” Mark asked, looking at the concrete opening, unimpressed.

  “Yep,” Heidi said, absolute certainty in her voice.

  Hearing her confident response, a bit of Mark’s reluctance fell away. “Okay, let’s do this,” he said, “and if I see a white rabbit in there, I’m holding you personally responsible.”

  Heidi responded with a light-hearted laugh. She could tell that Mark was not yet a believer, but he was willing to go on an adventure with his younger sister whom he adored, and for now, that was good enough. “Okay,” she said, “let’s go.”

  The two crawled for several minutes, crossed the junction room and then journeyed for another fifteen minutes to reach the large crack in the concrete. Just as she had told her brother, there was an opening to the cave.

  Heidi stepped through first, Mark following close behind, and both of them crouched down within the small space. Heidi flipped on her flashlight to illuminate the back of the cavern, eager to show her brother what she had found there the previous day.

  There was a wall, but only a wall…nothing else.

  “But—it was here,” Heidi protested.

  She looked so crestfallen that Mark wanted to reassure her in some way. “Are you sure? Could we have missed something?”

  Heidi turned to face her older brother. She couldn’t believe it; there was no denying that there was nothing but a wall there at the back of the cavern. Not wanting to accept that fact, however, she walked over to the wall and brushed some dirt off its surface. It felt like solid rock, cool and moist to the touch.

  It was then that she heard it, the voice inside her head. “Who is that with you?” she heard Sam’loc say in her mind.

  “Sam’loc!” she cried, overcome with relief and excitement.

  Startled by his sister’s exclamation, Mark spun around, but there was no one else in the room with them. “Who are you talking to, Heidi?”

  She pleaded with him. “You don’t hear him?”

  Puzzled, Mark strained and could only hear dripping from somewhere far away. “I don’t hear anything at all, Heidi.”

  She yelled out to her new friend. “It’s okay, Sam’loc—it’s Mark. It’s my brother.”

  As if the disappointing, cold wall were only a mirage, the wall right in front of them faded from view. To Heidi’s delight, Sam’loc stood on the other side of the threshold.

  “You are Mark?” Heidi and Mark both heard him say in their heads.

  Even though Mark had mentally prepared for this, he felt disbelief, and he stammered out his reply. “Yes—yes. I…I’m Heidi’s brother. But how did you know we were here?” Mark asked.

  “We sensed it—sensed your approach through the tunnel. Follow me.”

  The two followed Sam’loc down the long corridor toward ishkan. Mark turned to him—still trying to take everything in and still trying to believe what he was seeing before him—and asked, “Heidi told me you created humans—is that really true?”

  “That is partly accurate. Yes. We altered some of the native beings on this planet to create humans.”

  Mark saw that Sam’loc had a sort of hobbled stride, and Heidi noted that, unlike the previous day, he was now using some sort of ornately carved black cane.

  Mark hesitated at first and then said, “I have to ask. No one—at least no one we are aware of today—knows about your people. So why now? Why choose this time to reveal yourselves to us, to communicate with us?”

  “Every several centuries we choose to talk with a few humans to evaluate them—their values, their morals, their understanding of the world around them. I have chosen you and Heidi. In total, there are nine hundred and eighty humans we will encounter around the world over the next few days. We have a purpose for talking with you this time, more than just an evaluation. Also, I was curious about you.”

  “So…you’re going to test us?” Mark asked.

  “Test? No. Not test. Talk. We want nothing more than to learn about you. And talk with you.”

  Mark continued to press Sam’loc. “I don’t understand—if you can to talk to us in our heads and read our minds, why not just do that? Isn’t that enough?”

  “Our range is limited. Discussion allows for more detail than we can retrieve by attempting to probe minds. Humans are conflicted creatures. You think one thing. You speak another. You are still developing as a species, and you have not yet reached your full potential.”

  “Our full potential as a species? And just when will that be?” Mark asked.

  “Perhaps longer than desired. It could be some time yet.”

  Heidi viewed Sam’loc’s response as evasive. “What does that mean?” she asked, somewhat annoyed.

  “It means I am not prepared or authorized to answer that question.” With that, Sam’loc turned from them and continued on his way.

  It appeared their discussion, at least for now, was over. The three walked together down the corridor within the ishkan until Sam’loc stopped abruptly and softly touched the wall. An oval-shaped door slid open as if it had been there all along, hidden from view.

  Inside the doorway was an expansive room. The ceilings stretched up over twenty feet, and there was a large oval table sitting in the middle. The room was in the shape of an oblong sphere and it emanated a bluish-purple light, creating a soothing aura.

  Three ter’roc sat at the table, not using audible words but gesturing with their hands as if engaged in conversation. They sat perched on circular stools that rose from the floor, more like an appendage than a piece of furniture.

  As Sam’loc, Mark and Heidi approached the table, three more stools emerged from the floor, some force from underneath pushing them through and causing them to change shape. Heidi and Mark looked at the makeshift chairs, unsure whether to sit or not. Sam’loc sat down while they hesitated.

  One of the ter’roc wore a detailed white cap on its head. It resembled a nurse’s hat but had textured scallops on the rim. A smoky old woman’s voice said, “Please be seated,” and the ter’roc gestured to the stools. Mark and Heidi did as they were told and took a seat.

  “My name is Ranash. I am the Shev’lar, the coordinator here. Sam’loc has told us about you. I am sure you have many questions for me.” There was a kindness to her voice, a tenor of trust that Heidi and Mark found appealing.

  “Questions? Oh yes—you have no idea,” Mark said, searching for where to begin.

  Ranash nodded slowly. “Oh, but I do. I have sat at this table hundreds of times, answering the same questions you are thinking about at this very moment. I do not mind, however. You are our children, and we wish to hear of your progress.”

  “About that whole children thing—I’m not so sure I buy into that,” Mark stated in protest.

  “You are not required to believe us. It is…what it is,” Ranash said calmly, deliberately.

  Mark decided to jump in. “First, I’d like to know—just how did you ge
t this ship or whatever it is underground? Why isn’t there some kind of a tunnel remnant left behind from your burrowing through the earth?”

  “Our technological capabilities are no doubt…difficult for you to understand. We have energy weapons that have the capacity to cut a hole through the surface in order to bury the ishkan. And there are tunnels leading down to each of the ishkan, but their entrances are well concealed.”

  “Like the rock wall in the cavern?” Heidi interrupted.

  “Exactly. Some of us must leave the planet to return home or to replenish supplies. We possess small scout vessels that we use for our exit here and our return home.”

  Mark was incredulous. “You have to realize how tough this is to take in. It’s like this whole other world exists just one step out of sight,” Mark said. “And just how far underground are we, anyway?”

  Ranash looked purposefully over at Sam’loc and the other creature, consulting silently. Their mirrored eyes glanced back and forth at each other, blinking in silent but sure communication.

  “We are approximately six miles…beneath your surface here.”

  Mark doubted this. “Six miles? No way we walked six miles!”

  “Not all that you see is as it seems,” Ranash responded in an understated but serious tone.

  Sam’loc clarified. “You actually stepped through a portal between the cavern and the ishkan.”

  “But I don’t remember stepping through any portal,” Mark said.

  “Oh, but I assure you—you did. You see, we must keep the ishkan hidden deep enough that there is no risk of it being located. Also, the temperature here is more comfortable for the ishkan, and we can easily sustain ourselves here with the energy emitted by the planet’s core.”

  “OK, fine. Tell me something else—where is your world?” Mark probed.

  “We are originally from a world called Nirgal, but we have come to think of your earth as our home since we were the first sentient species here. You see, Nirgal was similar to your world, but its atmosphere was destroyed long ago by a space rock.”

  “Space rock—you mean asteroid?”

  “Yes, asteroid. It devastated our planet. We continue to have several million living completely underground there. They can no longer live on the surface.”

  “How far away is your world—Nirgal?”

  “It is located here in this solar system. Your planet and ours share the same star.”

  “Wait a minute—how could another world of living creatures exist without us knowing anything about it?”

  “You do know about it. You just do not know its name.”

  Mark sat staring at Ranash for a few seconds. Then he looked at his sister, but Heidi was clueless and simply shrugged in response.

  “We are from the fourth planet,” Ranash continued, “which was once a sister planet to this one.”

  Mark suddenly understood what they were saying. “You’re not telling me you’re from Mars?” Mark asked, more than a little skeptical.

  The ter’roc looked back and forth at each other, probably talking telepathically.

  “Yes. Mars.”

  “Martians? Oh, come on now—I’m beginning to feel as if I’ve stepped into some B movie episode of The Twilight Zone. You’re not serious?”

  The ter’roc sat expressionless, looking at Mark, not really acknowledging his statement. They seemed as if they were waiting for him to elaborate so they might understand fully.

  Mark’s gaze dropped to his hands. He needed a reality check, and at least his hands appeared human—and normal. He then looked at his kid sister, yet another piece of normalcy, someone he had known his entire life. But this?

  “You doubt the validity of our answers,” Ranash stated finally.

  “Your answers do seem…well, far-fetched. Then again, I’ll admit so does the idea that I’m sitting in some alien spaceship twelve kilometers underground.” Mark just didn’t know what to make of it all.

  Ranash folded her four-fingered hands methodically, patiently. “Perhaps if I showed you, it might be easier?” she inquired.

  “It might. But how—how are you going to do that?”

  “The same way Sam’loc showed your sister,” Ranash explained.

  Mark looked at Heidi for her okay, wary of whatever it was they were about to do.

  She nodded. “It’s okay. It won’t hurt,” Heidi reassured her brother. “It’s just sort of…weird.”

  Mark paused for a few seconds in consideration. He trusted his sister. “Okay,” he agreed. “Let’s do this.”

  Ranash entered his mind that very second. Mark saw her and himself standing in a white space with no boundaries—no ceiling, walls or floor, and everything was a pure bright white.

  “Where am I?” he wondered aloud to Ranash.

  “You are in the Compound. From here, I can show you the past, the present and the future. First, however, I will show you your actual location.”

  The space around them faded. They were now levitating in a tube of stone with a smooth surface. Mark temporarily lost his bearings and his balance until he realized that, despite his levitation, he was standing on a solid surface. He and Ranash continued levitating within this tube as it expanded downward and upward. Suddenly, the bottom became piercingly bright.

  Ranash pointed below. “That is the interior of your planet. It is what you call the mantle, and it is nine kilometers below us. We chose this location on your planet so that we could harness the geothermal energy that yet remains hidden from humans.”

  Next, Ranash pointed above them to a pinhead-sized light. “That is the surface,” she said.

  “Where are we exactly? I’m confused—is this imaginary?” Mark asked.

  “This tunnel actually exists several hundred meters from where we are. We use it to leave the ishkan in our scout vessels.”

  “And how do you prevent the lava from escaping to the surface when you exit?”

  “We use an energy barrier. The technology is beyond your understanding…at least for the moment,” she said as the room faded back to its original pure white form.

  Mark sought further understanding. “You said before that you know the future?”

  “Time is not linear like you perceive it,” Ranash said. “Past, present and future exist simultaneously—together, and in harmony. One dimension cannot exist without the other. It is similar to good and evil. The future cannot be defined without having the existence of a past.”

  Mark pondered this for a moment and then said, “Before you show me anything else, I want to ask a question that keeps coming to mind.”

  Ranash slowly folded her arms, looking awkward due to her lengthy appendages and overly sinewy legs. Apparently, this was a comfortable pose for her. “Very well. You want to know why we do not interfere with the actions of humans that are often less than admirable.”

  “Sort of,” Mark said. “I want to know why you tolerate the horrible things people do to each other on this planet—how do you explain allowing the horrors of war, the starvation of innocents and the cold-hearted mistreatment?” he asked incredulously.

  “It is not our place, nor our right, to interfere with the development of the children. To be a creator…a…parent? It is one thing. To interfere with the development of the child does not help the child grow.”

  Ranash paused, considering her words for another moment, and then continued. “We see you as an evolution of ourselves. We believe that when your species reaches its full potential, a millennium from now, you will be capable of much more than we could ever be. It is our job to watch over and nurture you, but the purpose of a civilization—any civilization—is personal and collective growth. We cannot simply destroy that which is bad or that which harms humanity on a small scale because that harm is ultimately a teacher of sorts. Even if the learning comes at great cost, it is more important than you could ever understand.”

  Mark was agitated, and his tone took on a combative quality. “Small scale?” he argued. “Millio
ns die from hunger and the ravages of war all the time.”

  “Yes. Hundreds of millions. On a planet where there are almost seven billion people, this is an acceptable percentage. Humanity must learn to help itself over time in order to continue on and make more effective, humane choices. Our interference would do nothing whatsoever to teach humans how to cope with their own problems. It is, in part, the ability of the positive to balance out the negative that encourages a civilization to evolve. Hunger and strife are part of the equation for effective evolution. Ter’roc have these struggles in our own civilization, as do most others. As long as you are individuals of free will and capable of making your own choices, there will be conflict. That conflict, however, is a necessary and vital part of your growth.”

  Mark was bordering on anger. “No. I refuse to believe that it is impossible to achieve peace in this world and experience growth at the same time. We are an intelligent people, after all.”

  Ranash considered his response. “World peace? It is a pleasing thought. However, global peace can ultimately be achieved only through world domination, and even then, there would be peace only for those who dominate, not for those who are dominated. World peace…it is nothing more than an illusion. Striving to achieve world balance is what is doable and what is important—the ability to handle the good and the bad in stride, always moving forward and growing toward a more highly evolved species.”

  Mark considered her perspective, easing up a bit in his resistance. “I suppose you have had more time to think about all this than we have.”

  “Yes, we have. Our people—our culture—is ancient by your understanding.”

  The space surrounding Mark turned suddenly to emerald-green grass with massive trees unlike any he had ever seen. These heavy trees had twisted, curling branches and instead of leaves attached to the ends, they had something resembling feathers splaying in multiple directions.

  A comforting breeze began wafting about Mark and Ranash, and a deep turquoise sky rolled overhead. To his nervousness and delight, they were levitating high above the ground and continued lifting to a height of over eight hundred feet, soaring above the trees.