At this, Solomon Chavez spoke up for the first time. “Excuse me, Chancellor. But it sounds as if a caste system has evolved in New Terra. Could you elaborate?”
Lorna studied the man closer and was surprised to see that the dark-haired speaker looked vaguely familiar. “And who are you, sir?”
“Forgive me, Chancellor. My name is Dr. Solomon Chavez.”
Although he said this matter-of-factly, this information felt like a jolt of electricity to Lorna, and every other New Terran in the room. Other than the landing party, all eyes shot Solomon’s way. Hearts began to race. The great man was actually here—in the flesh!
“We’re … we’re greatly honored to welcome you to New Terra, Dr. Chavez,” she stammered.
“Thank you, Chancellor, but you have yet to answer my question.”
Lorna was so distraught seeing Solomon in person that she was forced to think for a moment before remembering the question he’d asked. “Oh yes, you asked about our form of social status, our caste system, so to speak. We have found that it’s a comfort when people know their place in society. The average New Terran wants for nothing, with each being a valuable component in the machinery of life. Our society is based on peace and order, which is much better than the chaos that engulfed humanity for millennia.” She saw that her words were, for some curious reason, causing her guests a peculiar amount of consternation. She decided to change the subject. “There are many wonderful things to learn about New Terra. You shall meet with the Keepers and ask as many questions as you like.”
“I appreciate that, Chancellor,” Solomon said. “We have a great deal of catching up to do. The main reason we left Earth was to ensure that the human race survived the ecological perils that loomed so closely on the horizon. I’m eager to find out how that worked out.”
A sinking feeling latched hold of Lorna’s guts. The moment had finally arrived; the moment she’d dreaded since the Lord informed her of the ship’s eminent arrival over a week ago. “About that … about Earth,” she sighed, deep emotions welling within her, “I have bad news.” Their eyes were focused intently upon her, waiting expectantly. “In the year 2489, on April 3, Earth was devastated by a natural disaster. We here on New Terra are what’s left of the human race.”
•
External emotions buffeted Bram like a tidal wave. They took a backseat, however, to his personal torrent of emotions. He’d just learned that the vast majority of the human race had been destroyed by a natural disaster, and it hurt. Despite having reconciled himself to the fact that his friends were long dead, this news was gut-wrenching, almost too much to take.
The others were talking over each other, peppering the chancellor with heated questions, yet he was stunned into silence. The chancellor must be wrong … it couldn’t be true … the inhabitants of Earth gone … dead?!
Instinctively, Bram reached out with his mind, casting a psychic probe back toward the planet of his birth, hoping to register signs of life, but Earth was too far away. He knew that time and space were relative, and that his psychic powers should be able to transcend those boundaries, but he was limited by doubts. He oftentimes wondered if it was his fear of the unknown that held him back. His fear of what might be out there.
Bram centered his thoughts just as the chancellor rose to her feet and lifted her arms.
“Please, calm yourselves, my friends!” she shouted above the din. The questions and the loud muttering tapered off. “The Keepers can answer all your questions. My education centered on the political process; everything else was extraneous. About this terrible event, I was taught nothing more than the basic overview—like every other New Terran, notwithstanding the Keepers.
“If you’ll please follow Doric, she’ll take you to the Basilica of Knowledge. The Keepers will provide you with answers. Now, if you’ll forgive me, I’m feeling fatigued. My schedule is tight this afternoon, and I require a short nap to clear my head.”
Without another word, Lorna Threman strode with a regal bearing to the arched doorframe from which she’d entered the room, pressed a series of buttons located on a panel beside the arch, and quickly exited the audience chamber. Feeling nonplussed by her abrupt departure, Bram and the others glanced at each other.
“If you will please follow me,” purred the silky voice of Doric Sardis, “an audience with our Prime Keeper, Morvan Godley, has been arranged.” Spinning on her heel, she made for the same archway through which the chancellor exited.
A heartbroken pall hung over the landing party as Bram and the others followed their guide to the exit. He could sense that his shipmates were overwhelmed by the news about Earth and, like him, they couldn’t help but wonder what form of calamity had befallen their former home. The two guards standing on either side of the dais fell in behind them.
“I noticed that we’re not leaving by the same exit through which we came,” stated Solomon, glancing back at the guards. “Am I correct in assuming that your Keepers work in this same building?”
Doric finished typing a code into the panel beside the arch. Solomon’s question appeared to puzzle her. “No. The Basilica of Knowledge is located on the other side of the city.”
Until she entered the last number into the control panel, the room on the other side of the arch was completely dark. With the code entered, the room suddenly lit up, and the landing party walked inside. As Bram passed through the arch he felt a gentle, twisting sensation in his solar plexus. Unsure what to make of this, he glanced back at the archway. When the two guards, who were following the landing party crossed through, the light in the audience chamber went dark. The blackness of the audience chamber was complete—which was unlikely, since there’d been a number of high-placed windows located throughout the room. It didn’t make any sense: Bram should be able see something on the other side of the arch, even if only dimly lit.
“Welcome to the Basilica of Knowledge, my friends,” he heard a full-throated female voice behind him joyfully say. “My name is Morvan Godley, Prime Keeper of New Terra.”
Bram turned to see a six-foot tall, excessively thin woman, with sunken cheeks, a pointed nose, and a chin to match. Her long, auburn hair was styled in a braid that hung down her skeletal back. For clothing, she wore a golden-yellow, diaphanous shift that stopped midway down her stick-thin thighs, leaving little to the imagination. The transparent nature of the shift changed, turning opaque near the woman’s crotch and breasts, covering her private parts. Normally, Bram would’ve enjoyed seeing a woman in such a revealing outfit, but on her, it looked bizarre.
Morvan Godley beamed with happiness as she approached the group. Her smile seemed genuine and, despite her emaciated appearance, her skin tone was a healthy pink, not sallow as one might expect from someone so thin.
Bram glanced around the high-ceiling room, with its row of columns on either side and its windows of stained glass, and realized that it looked remarkably like a cathedral, a basilica, only without the pews. That’s when the Prime Keeper’s statement hit him: “Welcome to the Basilica of Knowledge,” but that couldn’t possibly be true.
Bram wasn’t the only one who was rightly confused. The admiral stepped forward as Morvan Godley placed her palms together and bowed, saying, “I don’t understand. Ms. Sardis told us that the Basilica was located on the other side of the city.”
With this, Morvan Godley straightened up and cocked one eyebrow, giving Admiral Axelrod a peculiar look, as though she was studying a mentally deficient child. “That is so, Admiral. You are now in the Basilica of Knowledge. Welcome, I have much to show you and—”
“Forgive me for interrupting, but I still don’t understand where we are,” said the admiral, a note of impatience in her voice. “How can you say we’re in your so-called Basilica of Knowledge when we’re obviously still inside the chancellor’s residence?”
Morvan Godley and Doric Sardis gave each other questioning looks. The Prime Keeper’s eyes abruptly went out of focus.
“Ah, yes. Now I und
erstand your confusion,” she said. “In your time, foldways had not yet been invented.”
“Foldways?”
“That is what we call our primary means of transportation.” She walked over to the archway and entered a code into an adjacent control panel. The darkness within the arch was replaced by the chancellor’s audience chamber. Godley entered a different code and the image changed. They were surprised to see what appeared to be a living room with a couch, chair, coffee table, and assorted bric-a-brac throughout the room.
“This is my apartment … I apologize for the mess.” As the landing party stared in dumbstruck fascination, Morvan Godley entered another code into the control panel. The image changed once again, this time displaying an idyllic city park, with green grass, benches, rolling pathways, and happy visitors enjoying the fresh, outdoor air. “This is Calvary Park, where I often go during my lunch break … or just to clear my head after a long day of work.”
Bram could barely believe what he was seeing and sensed that his colleagues felt the same. All were speechless, except for Lt. Commander Albans, the ship’s science officer, who whistled and ran her fingers through her short brown hair. “This is amazing!” She tore her gaze from the tranquil scene and faced the Prime Keeper. “You called this device a ‘foldway.’ Does that mean you have the ability to fold space?”
“Oh, yes,” Morvan Godley replied with a smug grin. “Humanity has been using space-folding technology for well over two thousand years. In fact, that’s how we arrived on this planet in the first place.”
•
Solomon was thunderstruck. He could barely believe the human race had developed such an advanced form of technology. At the time of the Arrow’s departure from Earth, the concept of folding space was a mere pipe dream, not one of practical consideration. He knew this because he’d charged his best scientists with solving the problem, hoping that space-folding technology would allow the Arrow to bypass the light-speed barrier. After years of fruitless research, Mona Levin herself had thrown in the towel, conceding that humanity needed another thousand years of technological advancement before the concept could bear fruit.
“If you’ll follow me,” said the Prime Keeper, “I’ll show you to my conference room. We can relax there, and answer each other’s questions.”
As she strode away, the admiral fell in line beside her. “Please forgive me, um—”
“Keeper Godley.”
“Right.” Katherine hesitated, unsure how to pose her question. “Forgive me, but I was wondering about the chancellor—”
“What about her, Admiral?”
“Well … ah … she mentioned hearing the Lord’s voice, and I was wondering if she’s been hearing this voice for a long while, or if it’s a more recent occurrence?”
Morvan Godley stopped at a plain, wooden door and waved the four, spiky-haired Minders away. “Is this a joke?” Holding the door open, she stared pointedly at the admiral.
“I assure you it is not, Keeper Godley,” Katherine replied. “Your chancellor claims that the Lord speaks to her.”
“That’s not what I meant, Admiral.” The two women followed the landing party into the conference room. “I wanted to know if the question itself was a joke,” she grumbled. “Of course the chancellor hears the Lord’s voice, same as every other New Terran … including myself.”
The admiral stared at her blankly. “Excuse me?”
Everyone stopped in their tracks. Solomon and a few others looked over their shoulders, while the rest turned completely around. Except for Doric Sardis, all were gaping at Morvan Godley, thrown for a loop by her outrageous comment.
What had they gotten themselves into? Solomon wondered. It was not uncommon for people to talk to God, but God never talked back … unless the person hearing His voice was psychotic. He noticed that Morvan Godley’s gaze went out of focus for a few seconds, in the same manner as the Chancellor’s.
A sad smile formed on the tall woman’s angular face. “I have been reminded that humans of your era were conceived and delivered in sin, and thus do not have the advantage of communing with the Lord. I apologize. If you’ll please take a seat, I’ll include this aspect of our culture in the presentation I’ve designed, which will bring you up to speed on events, ranging from twenty-five hundred years ago to the present.”
Fourteen plain, wooden chairs were spaced evenly around a circular conference table, one for each member of the landing party, plus two for the Prime Keeper and Doric Sardis. All of them took the proffered seats, except for the security personnel, who stood near the entrance with their backs against the wall.
Morvan Godley eyed them suspiciously as she scooted her seat up to the table. “There’s no need for your guards to remain standing, Admiral,” she stated.
Admiral Axelrod looked over her shoulder and nodded, directing the security personnel to take their seats.
“If you’re worried about security issues, Admiral,” Godley sighed, “I can assure you that the city is well protected.”
“I’m sure it is, Keeper Godley. However, if you’ll forgive my bluntness, my security officers are here because I would be a fool to walk into an unknown situation without them. Until I learn more about you and your people, I must take precautions. I hope you understand.”
Godley frowned. “Do you perceive us as a threat, Admiral Axelrod?” There was a brittle edge to her voice.
The admiral shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know what you are … as of yet. But don’t get me wrong; I’m hoping for the best. You and the chancellor have been more than welcoming, and that’s a good start.”
“Hmm … I forget that ancient Earth was still suffering from paranoia. We here in New Terra are a bit more trusting of one another. Over the millennia, we’ve learned that cooperation is the key to survival.” She waved a hand over a small electronic eye embedded in the table. “With that in mind, we shall begin.”
Located in the center of the table was a shiny, black, three-inch dome. Encircling the dome, at a distance of nine inches, was a thin ring made of the same material. A holographic image sprang to life and hovered at eye level over the dome. The image was a remarkably real likeness of Earth. More than a few sharp intakes of breath emanated from those in the landing party.
Albans immediately spoke up. “I see that you’ve developed true holographic technology,” she said appreciatively.
“Our entertainment programs are also quite good,” Godley boasted. “Feel free to enjoy the HV systems in your individual rooms. As you can see, what we have here is a holographic image of Earth. As the image grows larger,” which it did, “you can see that the focus shifts to the North American continent. I ask you to brace yourselves because what you are about to witness is the beginning of the end of the world you once knew.”
The image of the globe was replaced by the familiar shape of America. Each person sitting around the table was viewing the exact same image. What they saw was akin to an HV camera falling through Earth’s atmosphere. It slowed and came to a stop over Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, above Yellowstone National Park.
“In the year 2489, the Yellowstone caldera erupted, sending massive amounts of smoke and ash into the atmosphere.” The image showed a plume of molten lava erupting from the colorful Yellowstone landscape. “This is an actual recording of what took place, though the time frame’s been sped up due to time constraints.”
Staring in abject horror, the landing party watched as the fiery destruction of Yellowstone evolved into something worse. The massive devastation caused by falling debris and earthquakes was accompanied by a localized pyroclastic flow, which morphed into a roiling cloud of smoke and ash that spread across the eastern half of America like an unstoppable demonic horde. Soon, half the continent was covered in a thick layer of heavy ash. As the caldera continued to spew its hellish contents, the HV camera rose through the atmosphere until the entire globe was visible to the breathless viewers. The super-volcano’s smoke and ash spread out, crossing oceans
and far-flung continents, until a gray haze blanketed the majority of the northern hemisphere.
“My God,” Solomon gasped.
“All those people …” sobbed Karen Albans. “They’re all, they’re all dead.”
“Well, yes … but technically, they’ve been dead for over three thousand years,” Dr. Singh muttered. He stared wide-eyed at the scene, failing to notice the sharp, angry glares cast his way.
“What caused this tragedy, Keeper Godley?” the admiral pointedly asked, her stricken face a mask of pain.
“From our historical records, we know that the Yellowstone caldera erupted fairly regularly, approximately every six hundred thousand years or so,” she replied. “The caldera was well past its due date, and had been building pressure for hundreds of years; therefore, we’ve determined that it finally reached the point of no return and popped its cork, so to speak.”
“But it shouldn’t have been that destructive,” Solomon countered.
“Regrettably, that part of the historical record is incomplete,” the Prime Keeper responded.
The scene faded and was replaced by a ring-shaped mechanical structure.
“This, my friends,” announced Morvan Godley, glancing at Solomon, “is the Burnham Space Portal, named after Dr. Frederick Burnham, the foremost scientist of his age. Incidentally, he was employed by CIMRAD, Dr. Chavez.” This last bit of information was said with an almost biting tone, bordering on accusatory. Solomon took note, but kept his eyes on the hologram. “Dr. Burnham’s discovery of space-folding technology allowed humanity to escape total destruction. According to our records, the Portal Initiative was in development long before the Yellowstone caldera eruption. In the year 2457, the first blind probe was launched, using a precursor to this technology. It carried a payload of engineering nanobots to this very solar system. I say ‘blind probe’ because the scientists of that era could only approximate where the probe would end up, and could not pinpoint the exact location. Luckily, it didn’t appear inside an asteroid or moon, or our sun.” She was the only one who chuckled. “Anyway, the probe was equipped with a tachyon transceiver, which it used to relay the message of its safe arrival. That’s when—”
Solomon's Arrow Page 22