Yngve, AR - Darc Ages

by Darc Ages (lit)

  (I think Al-Masur's sources have confused Taoism with Hinduism somewhere here.)

  Then came the Steel Age, when man first learned to use artificial power to build self-propelling machines. "The early robots poured smoke into the sky, until the trees turned black and the children fell ill from breathing the air. But the people continued to feed the smoking robots, which produced ever more clothes, food, and houses for the growing population. The power of the old gods began to weaken under the rule of the robots. New prophets came - Tarwin, Marx and Spencers. They preached that the gods did not exist, that the world belonged to the humans and the robots in alliance."

  (This must refer to the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. Fairly easy to follow up to here - but then it gets all screwed up.)

  Oops, time to go to sleep. The city lamps will soon be turned off by Lord Damon himself - sole proprietor of the fusion reactor under the castle. The greedy old fellow leaves nothing but the castle's heating system and a few street lamps on. The time is - they don't use mechanical watches, but I guess the sundial is better suited for a life without offices and factories - about nine, I think. Over and out.

  Darc's English Diary, June (Iunna) 22nd, 2897 AD (940 Aw Monro):

  Today I was introduced to Bor's family. I'd better write that down, so I won't forget those weird names. Amazing, what power Bor's got, he actually ordered his wife to avoid me and was obeyed. This age might not be so bad after all, ha ha.

  OSANNA is Bor's wife - she's a few years younger than him, but in pretty good health. Is she his second? Hard to tell. Osanna's in charge of the household, but keeps away from Bor's servant robots. She seems very nice, but these people are quite formal so you don't get to know them easily.

  DOHAN is their son, seventeen years old - he spends very little time in the castle or the library. His main interests seem to be martial arts, fencing and flying around in his dad's private jet machines. Dohan's not a bad kid, just a little wild - he'll probably settle down once he gets married to the daughter of some neighbouring city-state noble-nose.

  EVELI is Dohan's kid sister. She's being raised as a lady, and it shows. One can see in her eyes that she thinks I'm a lousy commoner, an upstart who's fooled her father into thinking I'm a time traveller. Well, you can't win'em all.

  Then there's Bor's own younger sister BWYNN and her husband ANDON PASKO. Nothing remarkable about them, really - they don't speak much. There's some family feud between the Paskos and the Damons, reaching back a few centuries. Librian warned me about mentioning this to Bor - he can get nasty when he's angry.

  And speaking of family - LIBRIAN is an old widower since many years, and married to his books anyway. His apprentice, 15-year-old AWONSO is the son of a common craftsman.

  Al-Masur's history book continues in SOD IT! The lights went out. Over & out.

  Darc's English Diary, June (Iunna) 23rd, 2897 AD (940 Aw Monro):

  I must continue writing down my translation of Al-Masur...

  After the Steel Age came the Golden Age - my time, the 20th century, as these people see it. Al-Masur pours it on thick:

  "It was a time of constant change, of every day offering fantastic new discoveries - but no one loved it. It was a time of great depravity, of all imaginable excesses - but no one admitted it (sic!). Mankind fought, ate, multiplied, conquered galaxies (sic!). Billions of humans packed together on the Earth, the Moon, and Mars. From pole to pole, humans dug up all available resources to feed the robots which fed mankind. The robots began to grow intelligent, and once nearly threatened to exterminate mankind under the robot prophets Tee-1 and Tee-2 (sic!).

  "But they perished, for this was also the age of The Coming of the Goddess and the Singing King. Praise Monro, the first human incarnation of the All-Mother! Hail Vis, the first one to be possessed by the Divine Song! For it is written: Monro is the Goddess in our time. She appeared to the entire world in one instant, a million images of the One. For it is written: The King is alive, and was seen walking the earth outside the common man's home. He is all men, young man and old fat man at once. And he too showed himself to the entire world, alive to the night!"

  (No comment. If I think too much about this, I go crazy. I haven't gathered the courage to visit their church services yet - what if I laugh out loud, will they call me a heretic and burn me at the stake?)

  But from here on it gets real scary. Al-Masur's account of what happened in the first centuries after I was frozen, is confusing:

  "The Golden Age was blessed by the Goddess and the Singing King. Their first incarnations walked the earth and went away. And in their absence, the people grew comfortable and decadent. They ridiculed the King, and turned to false gods such as Koban-Jem the Singer Of Death. They desecrated the temples of the Goddess with filthy images of perversion and murder. And they forgot the Divine Words of Love, for the lure of Setan-Klaws. Setan-Klaws the red, bearded demon of greed, who sneaked into houses at night and poisoned the childrens' minds with a limitless lusting after dead things.

  "The children of Koban-Jem and Setan-Klaws ruled the cities like wolves, preying upon the innocent and waging war among themselves. They became creatures with neither faith nor compassion. Forever damned were they, and the wrath of the Goddess was merciless. She shook the Earth in its orbit, and let the Eternal Ice upon the world. The Ice slowly crushed the cities and froze millions to death. In one century, the Eternal Ice had covered nearly half of the world and made the oceans sink down."

  (It seems from the climate now - dry and not very warm, even here in North Castilia - that this Ice Age is still very much active. But what caused the planet's axis to tilt and started the change in the climate? Al-Masur offers no scientific explanation.

  "Billions of people fled toward the equator to escape the cold. The world's tribes crowded and fought for the decreasing food supplies, and the mighty robots were unable to stop the advancing ice. Many people starved to death, and the remaining ones turned mad with hunger and desperation..."

  I'm crying again. Thank God that the kids were gone long before this happened. I can't continue now.

  I miss my ex-wife.

  Maggie, if only you could have joined me in the freeze!

  Darc's English Diary, June (Iunna) 24th, 2897 AD (940 Aw Monro):

  It's no pleasure, but for some reason I force myself to translate Al-Masur - it's more real to me when I read it in my own language.

  "The First Great War occurred somewhere between 150 or 200 After Monro. Two or three billion people perished. The cities of the North and South attacked the cities of the Equator, and retaliation struck swift and massive. Many died when the war-robots were sent through space and fired nuclear heat upon the cities. But despite huge losses, there was still not enough food and room.

  "And the Second Great War came, somewhere between 220 and 270 After Monro. This time there were no more nuclear robots, so the city lords unleashed the plague known as Pseudo-Leprosy upon each other. Woe and curse the evil ones who let the Plague upon us! Their crime is unforgivable, for it killed many more people than the previous war and condemned countless millions to a fate worse than death.

  "Only a minority of mankind managed to hide underground, until the Plague had come to rest. When they returned to the surface, they built the fortified cities which stand to this day. The Lepers who survived the Plague were doomed to wander the earthly wastelands forever, carrying the Plague as a reminder and warning of human folly. For it is written: Praise the Goddess who spared her faithful ones, and pray for the return of the King!"

  It's a bloody shame, that's what it is. I feel guilty somehow for having escaped the whole mess - stupid, I know, but there it is. I was dumb lucky, that's all. Left forgotten for 900 years. With a little less luck, they could have thawed me up just 200 years after 1999 and BOOM!

  I've got a human maid now, but that pesky robot Lachtfot still follows me around the castle like a watchdog. As soon as I get him out of the way, I'll try to get to know the maid better.
She's a bit older than me and a bit scared of me too, but I don't care. This solitude is more than I can take.

  Darc's English Diary, June (Iunna) 25th, 2897 AD (940 Aw Monro):

  Tomorrow they'll finally let me out of this castle!

  Bor has invited me to attend the Summer Joust, which occurs every June in connection with the Summer Festival. It's a bit late in the month, but the weather isn't quite what it used to be in my own time. There is much expectation in the air - word has it that Bor's champion, his own son Dohan, is a sure winner this year too. Everyone is cheerful (except Andon Pasko), every room's been decorated with flowers and green garlands. Someone's even stuck a flower onto the head of Lachtfot - suits him right.

  I was surprised to learn that there are actually knights in shining armor in this age - their armor has to shine very bright, to deflect laser-beams. Each knight has a crew of pages, who do nothing but polish armor all day. The feudal lords, such as Bor Damon, are sworn to protect their city-states against attacking enemies - that's why they have knights.

  What enemies? The city-states are heavily fortified, with laser cannons posted all around the outer walls. The cities are placed 50-100 kilometers away from one another, and quite self-sufficient despite the alliances between them - with the empty wastelands surrounding the cities, what is there to fight? "Al-Masur" hints that the cities were isolated to shut out the Lepers - survivors of the artificial plague that almost wiped out mankind 500 years ago. Just once I tried to ask Librian about the "Lepers" - had he ever seen one, or even a picture of one? He got too scared to answer, so I'll avoid that taboo until I'm sure it won't get me into trouble.

  And speaking of armor and robots, now I understand why these people use technology in such limited ways. A telling example:

  Early this morning, the servant robot Vhustank broke down. Bor sent for a couple of craftsmen to repair him. Five specialized mechanics came to the castle, armed with an arsenal of instruments and carts loaded with old reference manuals. They put on dust-protective coats, and placed the broken machine in a dust-free, inflatable tent. While two of them tinkered inside the tent, they handed little notes with queries to the remaining three technicians. The three men outside read the notes, and leafed through several thick volumes to find an explanation. When they had looked up a possible reference, they copied it onto a small hand-written form, which they passed into the tent.

  After many hours of consulting and checking - I didn't stay around all day - the specialists found the source of the malfunction and sent for the correct spare part. The robots' delicate spare parts are manufactured by a special guild of craftsmen, who work in small, specialized workshops - the spare part happened to be in stock, but it had taken about one year to put it together correctly!! Finally, they had Vhustank up and running. "A record short time," the specialists boasted. "Once we had to go over a robot for seven months before we found the fault."

  I asked them, "Why can't you just build spare robots, and let them replace the broken robot while you work on it?" The five mechanics stared at me like I was crazy - then they laughed, thinking it was a joke. Young Awonso explained it to me: each single robot is the product of three cooperating guilds, and takes about ten years to build - they are often inherited within the family, and Vhustank goes back at least two generations. Small wonder then, that only the nobility can afford robots!

  And there's more: it seems that all knowledge they have of technology is inherited too. The robots, the aircraft, the fusion power - everything fragments of a glorious past, painstakingly copied and passed on from the time when people cared to invent new things.

  No factories - no scientists - no change. These are the new Dark Ages.

  (I hope the maid won't return to my room tonight. I'm too tired.)

  Chapter 7

  Trumpets sounded through the morning air, signaling to the citizens that this was the day of the Summer Joust. The Summer Festival was to take place the very same day and evening; with dancing, singing, and drinking lasting beyond midnight.

  From five neighboring cities, prominent guests and competitors arrived to Damon City. Their sleek jet vessels painted the sky with lines of colored vapor, before they sank down onto the landing-space outside the castle. And the guests walked down from their ships, dressed in splendid colors and decorated with their most expensive electronic ornaments. A myriad tiny, multicolored lamps blinked in the metal braids and collars of the wealthy, beautiful noblewomen. When the ladies took off their traveling-cloaks, they exposed straight skirts reaching to their ankles, with gold- and silver-embroidered family patterns.

  The Oriental-featured Yotas, one of the most powerful families of North Castilia, was accompanied by little glittering thin-legged robots.

  The Paskos, though impeccably dressed, wore little jewelry and brought no servant machines - their resources were being directed elsewhere, which they kept silent about.

  The minor, but highly admired Fache family was represented only by its champion Lord Azuch Fache and his servants. His absent wife was, as always, sick in bed.

  And half an hour late as always, Lord Orbes and family landed on the field and came laughing down the ship ladder. They were the Damons' close allies, and it was expected that one of Orbes's sons would marry Bor's daughter Eveli in a few years.

  Bor Damon and family arrived, bidding his esteemed visitors welcome with much good-hearted cheer. For this occasion, Bor wore the heavy electronic collar with his name inscribed, which worked as a portable computer and loudspeaker; it amplified his voice and carried shortwave commands to his robots. His beautiful and popular wife, Lady Osanna, escorted the noblewomen to the castle gardens for refreshments, while they waited for the men to prepare for the main event.

  The young ladies-in-waiting tried to linger close to the young knights, as their mothers jokingly urged them onward. Tharlos tried to catch the eye of the graceful Lady Okono Yota, but she remained aloof. Several ladies eye-flirted with Sir Dohan as they strolled off, giggling.

  The competitors of the five families greeted each other apart from the crowd, formally but with no visible hostility. Their elders, retired champions and noblemen, retreated to the castle with Bor Damon. Because they had trained armored combat since they were children, the knights had learned to control their body movements with the utmost calm. Their armored suits were more than just metal - they were exo-skeletons. Responsive, powerful, and natural extensions of the knight's fighting abilities. Through T'ai Chi and other arts, the knights had mastered harmonic body control.

  This early in the day, a few hours before the actual duelling, the fighters wore light, loose-fitting clothes covered by tunics in their family colors. Like their fathers, they mostly had crew-cut hair.

  Sir Dohan Damon wore blue, red, and black in large checkered patterns. His short beard was as ruddy as his stubby hair, his eyes pale blue. Dohan behaved in a relaxed and friendly way; he mostly knew his competitors from last year, and they knew him.

  Still, Dohan kept a careful eye on his arch-rival Tharlos - wearing black, orange, and yellow - who remained silent as the others exchanged jokes and boasts. Tharlos' dye-yellow hair made an eerie contrast to his dark, intense eyes that promised no friendship.

  Lord Azuch Fache - wearing white and green - was the oldest of the champions, having remained at the top to the impressive age of thirty-seven. Though he rarely won the first prize nowadays, the younger knights looked up to him for advice on techniques and weapons care. Azuch had several tiny scars on his dark face and hands, from battles and jousts in his glorious past. His black eyes sometimes seemed to bury themselves in some secret memory, especially when he heard the sound of jet engines. Rumor had it that the battle against the Lepers of 930 A.M. had scarred his soul as well as his skin.

  The Orbes family had as many as two young competitors: the adult champion Sir Saburé and his younger brother, the contender Sir Kensaburé. They looked very much alike, though - both being squat and blond. Their colors were checkered
blue and black. Of all the competitors, the Orbes's were ranked the least competent fighters, but compensated in good humor their lack of skill and control. The presence of the Orbes members was much appreciated at festivities and competitions - if not in battle.

  Sir Kamo Yota, the shortest of the fighters, wore red and white. He was about Dohan's age, but was already regarded as a future joust champion in spite of his short experience. Lord Yota had personally trained him toward perfection. Vhustank, Dohan's personal servant robot, served the competitors non-alcoholic drinks as they sat chatting on the marble benches next to the parked ships. Only young Kamo refused to drink.

  He smiled courteously at his host and said: "Excuse me for not drinking, Sir Dohan. I am in need of deepest physical concentration, and must not disturb my body with foreign substances."

  "You are excused," Dohan replied casually.

  He decided, out of politeness, to change subject. Scanning the Yotas's sleek black aircraft, Dohan nodded thoughtfully. It had a very low profile, and a long rear flap instead of the standard snub-tailed rear ports of the other vessels. In length, it measured about fifteen meters. The craft also had three instead of the customary two jet tubes.

  "Say, Kamo, that is an impressive new ship your family has built this year. How fast does it go?"

  Kamo smiled again and bowed his head slightly, his half-shut eyes revealing little of his swelling pride.

  "I should ask my esteemed father," Kamo said humbly. "He recently took it for a test flight, and when the ship reached maximum speed, the sound bang could be heard from miles away. Thus he named our ship 'The Roaring Wind' ."

  Murmurs of approval came from the impressed guests: reaching the speed of sound was very rare, even for the best jet ships.