"Why are you looking at me all weird-like?" she said.
He reached out and patted her knee. "I love you, Addy. You know that, right?"
She grinned. "I know."
"Come on, let's land the Thunder Road. Maybe we'll find some food below."
"Maybe they have hot dog trees!" Addy licked her lips.
"Addy, you say that about every planet we visit."
She nodded. "Someday we'll find it. A planet with hot dog trees. With billions of planets in the galaxy, I know it's out there. That's just science."
They landed the Thunder Road among the ruins, and for the first time in weeks, they stepped out of the cramped spaceship.
"Fresh air!" Marco said, stretching. "Fresh air at last!" He breathed deeply. "It's . . . too hot." He sniffed. "Smells a bit weird too."
Addy groaned, rolled her eyes, and punched him. "Always complaining, you. You can stay in the ship if you like." She ran in circles around the Thunder Road. "Finally I can stretch my long, lovely legs!"
"You've been stretching them all over my dashboard during the flight," Marco muttered.
He looked around, soaking in the landscape. Springy grass covered the ground, sprouting yellow blossoms and serrated leaves. Most of the city was gone, giving way to nature. The shells of old buildings peeked from the soil. Trees, weeds, and moss covered whatever structures still stood. If there had been paved streets here, they were not buried. Animals had made their homes among the ruins: furry little critters that looked like rodents, winged aliens no larger than sparrows, and scuttling insects. On many Earthlike planets, evolution took similar paths. Durmia was the most Earthlike planet Marco had visited so far, certainly more hospitable than Haven, if a lot farther. Walking here, he could almost imagine himself traveling across ruins on Earth, perhaps in humid India.
"What do you suppose killed the Durmians?" Addy said, looking around.
"Time," Marco said softly. "Like most extinct civilizations in the galaxy. Just time." He paused by a fallen column with a decorative capital. A purple snake hissed from atop the column, then fled into a hole in the ground. "As you said, there are billions of planets in our galaxy. Most have been here for billions of years. Species don't have long cosmic lifespans. Most survive for a hundred thousand years, maybe twice that long, then fade away. A blink of an eye to the cosmos. It happened to ninety-nine percent of species on Earth. It'll happen to us. A million years from now, if aliens visit Earth, they'll find only ruins."
They began walking through the ruins, exploring. For a moment they were silent.
Addy bit her lip, then finally spoke. "Dude, you're such a downer. So why even fight to save humanity if we're doomed anyway?"
"Same reason we fight for health if we get sick. Doesn't mean we'll become immortal. We just want to extend our life a little longer."
Addy raised her chin. "Well, I'm not as pessimistic as you are, Poet. We're not fucking dinosaurs or dodos. We're humans. We're smart. We're capable. We invented sliced bread, infomercials, and Sweatin' to the Oldies. We'll survive."
Marco gave her a wry smile. "Even if we do avoid destroying ourselves, we won't survive. We'll evolve. A million years from now, we won't even look like humans, no more than you or I look like monkeys. We'll probably look like, well . . . like the grays."
Addy paused. She turned toward Marco, frowning.
"You don't think . . ." Addy gasped. "You do, don't you! That the grays are just evolved humans?"
Marco's mouth fell open. He forced it closed. "No. Of course not! Time travel is impossible."
"Um, didn't the yurei travel in time?" Addy said. "Remember those sneaky ghosts that helped us fight the marauders? They were time travelers. And isn't Lailani chasing the hourglass, a time-travel device? Think about it, Poet! The grays aren't aliens. They're humans! Humans from a million years in the future. They're time travelers." She laughed. "I figured it out! I'm a genius!"
Marco wanted to scoff, to tell Addy she was crazy. But she had a point, he had to admit. True, aliens on most Earthlike planets followed similar evolutionary paths. But the results invariable ended up looking like something from Freaks of the Galaxy. Meanwhile, the grays were remarkably humanoid. Taller, yes. Their skin a different color. Their heads larger, their faces smaller. But they were still a hell of a lot more humanoid than the scum. Following the evolution of humans down its current path, wouldn't humans end up looking similar in a million years?
"But . . ." Marco frowned. "If the grays are humans, why are they attacking us?"
"Beats me," Addy said. "Maybe Earth is a wasteland in a million years. Maybe it looks like this planet, all in ruins. Maybe they want Earth in our time. When it still has hockey and hot dogs and cookies. They probably don't need Bugles, though. They already have claws."
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you might be on to something," Marco said. "And that scares me more than the grays."
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Admit it, I'm a genius. Way smarter than you."
"Addy, you think that worms are just baby snakes. You told me that once."
She nodded. "They are!" She rolled her eyes. "God, Marco, they only grow scales as adults, like humans with teeth."
"Addy, they—" He sighed. "Never mind."
They passed along a palisade of columns, perhaps once lining a grand boulevard. A palace rose on a distant hill, overlooking the ruins. Once this palace must have been the city's crown jewel. Today its stone domes were scratched and pockmarked; perhaps an ancient conqueror had stripped them of precious metals. A decapitated statue stood in a city square. The head—elephantine, sprouting two trunks—lay fallen several meters away, wrapped in rusty barbed wire.
Addy gasped. "An elephant man!" She rushed toward the head. "Who would do such a thing?"
"Maybe the Pillowman got jealous," Marco said.
"Ha ha, very funny," Addy said, but then she frowned and scratched her chin. "Hmm . . ." She looked around, as if seeking pillowmen. "Nah."
"An old battle was fought here." Marco knelt and lifted a rusty canister. "This was an artillery shell." He pointed. "And see that fortress? The walls are filled with bullet holes."
Addy shuddered. "That rules out the scum and marauders. They don't use bullets. You think the grays did this?"
"I doubt it," Marco said. "Scientists believe that there are at present ten thousand technological civilizations active in our galaxy. Humans have only met a handful. Could be anyone."
"I hope Baba Mahanisha is okay," Addy said.
Marco placed a hand on her shoulder. "I don't think he is, Ads. I think all the Durmians died a long time ago."
"Well, maybe they stashed some peanuts around at least. I'm famished."
They kept exploring. They found what looked like a silo, but the birds had stolen the grains long ago. In a dilapidated mausoleum, they found skeletons. The skulls were large and sprouted tusks, and bracelets and necklaces still adorned the old bones. Faded murals covered the walls, depicting an ancient battle. The Durmians—Addy still called them elephant men—were portrayed as noble warriors, halos around their heads. They fought a race of twisted, stooped humanoids with faces like lions, ugly and snarling.
"So this is what happened," Marco said, looking at the murals. "It wasn't pillowmen after all. These guys." He pointed. "Humanoid aliens with lion heads. A great war. Presumably, the elephants lost."
Addy was looking at the skeletons. She spoke in a soft voice. "Do you think one of them is Baba Mahanisha?" She knelt and touched an amulet that hung around a skeleton's neck. "A mandala amulet. The same symbol on my book. A Deep Being amulet." She lowered her head. "They studied peace, meditation, serenity. And they got butchered." She looked up at Marco. "Is that how the galaxy works? Only the strong and cruel survive?"
"We survived," Marco said.
"Because we fought," Addy said. "Because we were strong, and we were cruel. That's how we humans are. Maybe we're no different from the scum and marauders in that regard, just anothe
r race of aggressive warriors. I came here to find peace. Did we find that peace never lasts?"
Marco raised an eyebrow. "You came here to see freaks, remember?"
She looked back at the skeletons. "I saw them. I think I saw enough."
They left the mausoleum and climbed a grassy hill, hoping to overlook the valley beyond, perhaps spot some game to hunt. Shattered statues littered the hill, mostly buried under the soil, sticking up hands and faces like corpses rising from graves. A portico of cracked columns lined the hilltop, perhaps the remains of an old temple. When they reached the hilltop, Marco and Addy stared into the valley beyond and gasped.
"Bloody hell," Addy said. "The size of those things."
Marco nodded. "I saw them from the ship. I thought they were towers. But they're statues. God, they must be taller than the Statue of Liberty."
The statues were carved of stone, but they looked like robots. Giant, hulking, battle robots. Their bodies were humanoid, but their heads looked like the heads of mechanical lions. One was male and held a stone hammer that could have flattened trucks. The other was female and held a sword hilt, its blade fallen.
"Statues of robots?" Marco said.
"They look like giant samurais," Addy said. "With lion faces."
"They're the species that destroyed this planet, I think," Marco said. "Remember the murals in the mausoleum?"
"Yeah. The old war between the lions and the elephants. But there's nothing left of the elephants here. And I just see two giant stone lion robots. Why do you think they carved these statues?"
"Don't know," Marco said. "Maybe they were idols."
Addy shuddered. "You don't think they still have powers, do you?"
He smiled wryly. "They're just statues, Ads. There's no such thing as gods and magical powers."
"Yeah, well, tell that to the Ghost Fleet you found, to the starwhales you rode, and to that goddess the grays speak of." She raised her chin. "Besides, I'm a goddess and you believe in me, right?"
"You're no goddess," he said. "You're more a devil."
"I probably am." She nodded.
A light flared above. A whistle sounded.
"Incoming!" Addy shouted. They leaped back and flattened themselves onto the hilltop. A shard of metal slammed onto the hill, fire blasted, and soil flew. A shock wave scattered stones and uprooted a tree.
When Marco and Addy stood up again, they stared at the wreckage. It was a chunk of metal—a piece of the saucer they had battled in orbit.
"Well, I'll be damned," Addy said. "The fuckers almost had final revenge on us."
Marco approached the wreckage. The metal shard was the size of a hubcap, and it was still sizzling hot. He knelt before it, shielded his eyes, and stared.
"There are hieroglyphics on this thing," he said.
Addy knelt beside him. They looked together. Ibises, ankhs, suns, and snakes were engraved onto the metal. Addy pointed at the snakes.
"Look, adult worms!"
Marco narrowed his eyes. "Fuck me. These are Egyptian hieroglyphs. I used to know how to read them. When I was nine, I had a box of hieroglyph stamps and a booklet explaining how to write with them."
"Nerd," Addy said. "When I was nine, I was playing hockey."
"Yes, well, once we encounter an alien species that challenges humanity to a hockey shootout, I'm sure that'll come in handy." Marco pulled out his phone. He had no web access here, but he had downloaded most of Wikipedia Galactica—including, thankfully, the entries on hieroglyphs. "I can translate this."
Addy snorted. "I already did. It says: Worms are baby snakes, let all who doubt this wisdom be crushed under an elephant with two trunks."
Marco ignored her. He worked at the translation, brow furrowed. There wasn't much of the wreckage left, but he could make out a few words. He spoke softly.
". . . with blood and fire, the children of Nefitis shall return to Earth, their promised land, and their ancestors shall serve as slaves, for the glory of the goddess is . . ." He let his voice trail off.
"Is what?" Addy said. "Are they talking about me?"
"That's all it says," Marco said. "The rest burned up."
Addy shuddered. "Nefitis. The grays spoke of her, didn't they? Their leader. I knew it. They want Earth. Fuckers."
"And they want their ancestors to serve as slaves," Marco said. "That seems to confirm my theory that they're evolved humans from the future. We're the ancestors."
"Your theory?" Addy placed her hands on her hips. "Marco, your theory is that snakes don't have babies. I'm the one who figured out who the grays are."
He bristled. "I never said that snakes—" He groaned. "Enough about snakes!" He sighed. "Let's take this piece of metal with us—once it cools off a bit, at least. I want to show this to President Petty."
"If he's not a slave by the time we return." Addy hugged herself. "Fuck, Marco, another war is coming. A big one. And I never even got to see the elephant baba."
"Maybe we should go back home," Marco said. "To Earth. To help fight. We're good fighters."
Addy stared at him, and her fists clenched. He saw her thoughts in her eyes.
We fought enough, her eyes said. We deserve to rest. We deserve some peace.
But then Addy nodded. "You're right. But first, we need some food. I see a river down there, and we have clotheslines to make fishing lines. Let's dig up some baby snakes for bait."
They were walking downhill when they noticed the smoke rising from the mountain.
It was a thin plume, barely visible from the valley, and still kilometers away.
"You see that, Ads?" he said.
She nodded. "What do you think it is? A campfire?"
"I'm thinking another piece of that saucer crashed on the mountain," Marco said. "Maybe with more hieroglyphs. I say we check it out."
Addy scrunched her lips. "All right. But only for the chance that it's a campfire, and that somebody is roasting hot dogs." She nodded. "I'll need a walking stick and a rake."
It was a long hike up the mountainside. They could not fly up; they'd have no place to land the Thunder Road. A trail zigzagged up the mountain, perhaps once used by the Durmians. Marco was soon winded and sweaty. The heat didn't help—nor did Addy, who kept jumping onto him, begging for a piggyback ride.
"Addy, get off." He shoved her down.
"But I'm tired!" She groaned. "There better be a Dairy Queen on top of this mountain."
Finally, wheezing, they reached the mountaintop.
The ruins of a temple rose ahead. Much of it had fallen, and bricks and shattered columns littered the mountain. A colossal statue lay across a slope, as large as a warship, depicting a Durmian monk. An orphaned archway stood among the ruins, the walls around it gone. Beyond the archway, Marco and Addy found a courtyard overgrown with weeds. A domed temple rose ahead, dilapidated but still standing. The smoke rose from a chimney.
Marco and Addy glanced at each other.
"Somebody's alive in there!" Marco whispered.
Addy nodded, eyes wide. "Maybe it's a pillowman roasting hot dogs!"
They approached the temple. The door was open. They stepped inside, froze, and gasped.
The room was sparse. A fireplace crackled, and candles shone in alcoves. A mandala of colored sand sprawled across the floor. Behind the intricate artwork sat a Durmian.
A living, breathing Durmian.
The alien was the size of a true elephant. Two trunks grew from his face, decorated with bracelets. His skin was milky white, his body rotund, and four arms grew from him. He wore red robes. The fabric seemed ancient, worn and faded but well maintained, any tatters lovingly mended. His eyes were closed. He was sitting cross-legged, his four hands upon his knees, deep in meditation. Marco recognized him from the photo on his book.
"Baba Mahanisha," he whispered.
The Durmian opened his eyes. He nodded.
"Hello, my friends."
Addy gasped. She hopped with excitement. "Baba Mahanisha! I'm a big fan of you
rs. I have all your books. Both The Way of Deep Being and Frea—" She gulped. "Actually, just that one book. I'm Addy and this is Marco. We've come from far away, hoping to learn wisdom."
The baba nodded. "I saw your ship, Addy and Marco. You two are humans. I am familiar with your kind, and I have taught your people before. What questions have you come to answer?"
"All the big ones!" Addy said. "Are worms baby snakes? And do you know any pillowmen?"
Marco rushed forward, grabbed Addy, and pulled her back. "Forgive her, Baba Mahanisha. She fell on her head as a child. Repeatedly. Then had elevator doors close on it. We've come to learn the way of Deep Being, to seek its wisdom and serenity."
Addy whispered, "Ask him if he has hot dogs."
Marco shushed her.
Baba Mahanisha gazed at the sand mandala on the floor. He spoke softly.
"I labored for many months to create this mandala." His voice was rich and sonorous. "I planted seeds of many colors, lovingly tended to the plants, and plucked the berries when they were ripe. I collected stones, ground them into dust, and dyed them with the berries' juice. I placed the powder into funnels and gently, grain by grain, created an intricate work of art. Circles within circles. Dancing figures. Suns and stars."
"It's beautiful," Marco said, admiring the mandala. It spread as wide as a dining room table, a true masterpiece made of colored sand.
Baba Mahanisha nodded. "Yet all our toil, our dreams, our art—the wind blows them all away." The guru leaned forward and blew air from his twin trunks.
Marco gasped in horror. The guru was destroying his mandala! All those beautiful figures and symbols, intricate creations of sand—all blew around their feet. Addy and Marco stared up at the guru, shocked.
The Durmian rose to his feet. For a creature so large, he was surprisingly graceful. He stepped over the scattered sand toward Marco and Addy, his robes swishing.
"To learn Deep Being, you must let its wisdom be like the wind. Let it blow away all that you have learned in your lives. You must begin on a clean floor."
Earth Honor (Earthrise Book 8) Page 6