Guardian Cats and the Lost Books of Alexandria

by Rahma Krambo

  Why was Cicero always taking him down dark stairways? Once again, he bemoaned his decision to follow this cat. He swore that, if he ever escaped, he would go home and take his adventures from books—and only from books.

  Grumbling to himself, he ran headlong into Cicero. The absolute darkness of the place made it impossible to see, even with his exceptional sight. Cicero sat immobile, like a statue, but unlike a statue, warmth radiated from him.

  Marco took comfort in this, in spite of everything. What on earth was Cicero waiting for? And why did they need to come to this black hole of a place when there was a perfectly lovely library upstairs?

  The dense silence was suffocating. A stab of fear gripped him, and he would have bolted if only he could see where he was going. He hated total darkness. The way it closed in on him… the way it grabbed him. His throat tightened.

  A sound broke his morbidity; a sound so bizarre it would have frightened him except it was so fantastic.

  It was the sound of laughter.

  Wisps of flickering light bounced wildly around the hard stone walls, growing brighter, but not in a gradual way. Light and laughter moved down the stairs in bits and bursts. Things could not get any stranger, thought Marco.

  “It took you long enough to get here," Cicero said to the still-invisible being.

  "I found some old friends.” The voice reverberated out of the darkness. “It’s been centuries-uries,” she said in an echo-y voice.

  “We have no time for visiting, Alaniah. Not this trip."

  "Patience, my dear Cicero-ero-oh… We have come such a long way-ay-ay… You can wait a moment longer.”

  The creature emerged from the darkness and fluttered into the stairwell. Marco was certain he’d seen everything by now, but hovering above him was a shimmering creature with iridescent wings. Its voice sounded like nothing he’d ever heard, sort of singing or laughing. No, maybe it was like bells. Not the big ones, but the small silvery ones.

  “I think he sees me now-ow,” she lilted.

  “A good sign,” said Cicero. “Marco, this is Alaniah, our tour guide.”

  Alaniah flew around his head, inspecting him. "He’s very young,” she said to Cicero as though Marco couldn’t hear.

  "Yes, but I believe he's the one," answered Cicero.

  "The last one, you believed in him as well-ell,” she said.

  Distracted by her beauty, Marco paid little attention to their words.

  "Yes,” Cicero continued. “And I wasted too much time on him. Time is not something I can squander now.”

  “A bit grumpy aren’t we, Cicero-ero?”

  “Dear Alaniah, you know I am getting on in years. Even with your gifts to me, you must remember I am a mortal creature.”

  Alaniah responded with a haunted sigh.

  “Oh, Alaniah,” breathed Cicero. “I wish not to be the cause of your sadness. Your light expanded my life, and when I have ‘shuffled off this mortal coil,’ as Shakespeare said, I will have no regrets.”

  “I do not know the meaning of regret. Explain, please.”

  “How can I tell you about something only mortals suffer?”

  “This one. You feel he is trustworthy-orthy?”

  By now Marco realized something was up, and that something was about him.

  “We will discover the truth soon,” said Cicero. “Now Alaniah, please let us in."

  "By all means, as you are fond of saying-ing.” Then Alaniah folded up within herself, not unlike a morning glory folding up for the evening, but a soft glow still shone through her translucent wrapping.

  Then Alaniah burst open, transforming the dark dungeon into something almost festive, showering them with light glitter like it was the Fourth of July.

  "A bit extravagant,” teased Cicero. “Showing off for your admirer?”

  “Just being practical, Cicero. Now we can all see.”

  It was true. Alaniah hovered in front of an elaborately carved doorway. The doorknocker, a heavy bronze ring, creaked and rose on its hinge as though an invisible hand lifted it. Then the ring fell.

  The tiny space reverberated with an earsplitting, echoing sound like the peal of a church bell from inside the tower. The door shattered and fell at the same moment, sheets of small particles cascading into a heap on the floor.

  When the dust settled, his ears were still ringing, but Marco could not believe what was on the other side of the door. Now he must surely be dreaming.

  Chapter 13: “More things in heaven and earth… “

  On the other side of the door was a massive room, although ‘room’ was too small of a word to describe the space. As large as one of the enormous halls above ground, it was certainly not what Marco expected to find at the bottom of some dark, dank stairs. Illuminated by orbs of moving light, which Marco discovered were hundreds of creatures like Alaniah, it was hard to tell where the walls or ceiling began or ended.

  Cicero breathed a deep sigh of contentment and stepped over the pile of debris that had been the door. Alaniah fluttered through, and Marco barely made it before the door began magically reassembling itself.

  They descended marble stairs into a vast cavernous hall.

  "Welcome! Welcome!" Approaching them eagerly was a young olive-skinned man in a green tunic, accompanied by a gray cat. “Welcome Cicero, Alaniah!” He reached down and petted Cicero lovingly. “It is always too long between visits, isn’t it? I trust your journey was pleasant enough, yes?”

  “It went well, yes,” Cicero said.

  “And who do we have here?” asked the young man, smiling down at Marco.

  "Introductions, Cicero." Alaniah bubbled rather than spoke. Marco loved listening to the fairy-like creature, who seemed to take nothing seriously.

  "Of course," said Cicero. He scratched his head, and Marco recognized his action as cover for his embarrassment, but Cicero quickly returned to full posture and spoke clearly. “I'd like to present to you the Keeper of The Book of Motion, a noble Librarian, Guardian of the Guardians, Keeper of the Sword of Knowledge—”

  "Greetings, Marco,” the man, interrupted, holding his hand up to stop Cicero. “Cicero gets a little carried away sometimes. My name is Akeel." He reached down and scratched Marco's head and neck. "Welcome to our Library.”

  “You have a new addition, Akeel,” said Cicero, nodding at a spiral stairway. The stairs were transparent and reflected the colors of the room. They were also not attached to each other—or anything else, for that matter.

  “This is our latest addition. I am most excited about it. Come. I will show you,” Akeel said, walking towards the far corner where the stairs began. “They were designed by one of our brightest new mathematicians. It is based on the Golden Spiral, and the invisible support structure is established on principles that would take months to explain. We have been studying Sacred Geometry, and this project was the result of our studies.”

  The crystal blocks formed a wide, sweeping curve from the floor. As they rose higher, they turned inwards on themselves in a small circle. Two people stood halfway up the ramp; one, a young boy and the other, an older bearded man. Marco reached out to touch the luminous step.

  “They’re made of crystal,” Akeel said in a voice close to reverent. “Magnificent, isn’t it?”

  Marco, who couldn’t contain his curiosity, began climbing the steps, but Akeel called him back.

  Marco reluctantly obeyed, but he kept looking upwards to see where the stairs ended.

  “You are observant Marco, but there’s a reason you cannot see where it goes,” Akeel said. “The Golden Spiral stairs have no end. They continue into infinity. When a climber reaches a certain point… well… they pass into another dimension, but that’s a trip for another time.”

  Marco felt light headed just thinking about what Akeel said.

  “Come. There are many things to see in the inner Library, and I would love to give you a tour.”

  Akeel led them down a hallway of towering doorways and Marco imagined the closed
doors hid wonderful secrets. Through one of the opened doors, Marco observed men and women moving in slow, dance-like motions. Through another, he saw bearded men on low cushions, reading or dozing. Several rooms were full of children busily engaged in reading or playing. Marco had to run to catch up with Akeel and Cicero.

  Akeel talked as they walked. “Above ground are the treasures of the world, the great discoveries and inventions made by humans. They are looked after by, how do I say… by our more conventional Guardian Librarians.”

  “Here below is the Library within the Library, which holds treasures from a higher realm. Books holding knowledge from beyond this world. The humans you see here are in training to be Guardians of these Sacred Texts.”

  "They must go through rigorous training before they are accepted as defenders of these treasures,” Akeel said. “Hey, Chuluum, there you are.” Akeel reached down to pick up the gray cat Marco had seen when they first arrived.

  Chuluum smugly examined Marco and Cicero from his elevated position in Akeel’s arms. He began to hiss, but Akeel was too quick.

  “Be nice, Chuluum. They are my friends,” Akeel said, chuckling at his petulant cat.

  Akeel motioned for Marco and Cicero to follow and led the way into a room full of books and dozing cats. But they passed through until they reached yet another door. Marco had never seen so many doors in one place.

  "Do you think he’s ready?" Akeel asked Cicero.

  "I suppose it’s time to find out,” Cicero answered.

  Akeel dropped Chuluum out of his arms and opened the door to reveal what looked like a large closet. Alaniah entered first, casting light in the small space, empty except for a single table.

  Akeel waited until they were all in and approached the table. Marco hadn’t noticed the wooden box until Akeel leaned over and blew on it. The box disappeared, dissolving into a cloud of fairy-like dust, which settled into piles. The disappearance of the magical box exposed a fairly ordinary book. Akeel blew more dust off as he picked it up.

  Cicero was on the table, nuzzling and purring against Akeel’s arm.

  "This is the reason we came,” Cicero said. “You needed to see the book in its original time and place."

  Skeptical but curious, Marco jumped up to join the others. There was nothing special about the book that he could see, but Alaniah was creating a distraction by flitting back and forth like a hummingbird.

  “Alaniah, please hold still,” Akeel requested.

  They waited until she calmed down, hovering above them in more or less the same spot.

  “The Book of Motion!” Cicero announced to Marco in a grand manner, as if he were announcing the arrival of a noble prince.

  Marco was perplexed. He knew he was supposed to be impressed, but it was a long way to come for a book. What was the big deal about motion? Waking from a nap and walking to the food bowl or stalking a mouse. That was motion.

  Then Marco wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him. The book seemed to quiver and sort of exhale like some kind of living, breathing thing.

  Okay, maybe not such an ordinary book, Marco thought.

  Cicero tried to explain. "Motion can be as simple as getting from point A to point B, but it can have far deeper implications. The modest title is a bit misleading, but I think it’s to protect the importance of what’s inside."

  "You are right, Cicero," said Akeel. "We are talking about motion on an entirely different level—the subatomic scale, which no one can see, even with special instruments…”

  "Speak for yourselves, poor earthlings," Alaniah interrupted.

  Akeel glanced up and smiled, but didn’t miss a beat. “…where things move very fast. Did you know the velocity of electrons can reach up to two million meters per second?”

  “Um…”

  “Even faster,” Cicero added. “Some travel three hundred million meters per second… the speed of light.”

  Marco cocked his head, trying hard to look like he understood.

  “Of course, this will not become common knowledge until your time.”

  “Of course,” replied Marco, feeling it to be a safe response.

  “In your time,” continued Akeel, “scientists will begin to grasp some of the ideas in this book. That door will open for them, but unfortunately, some will lack good judgment in using it—being responsible with its power.”

  Akeel paused, looking a bit distressed. “And they will have learned nothing without this insight. Even quantum physics, quarks and all, cannot explain the whole picture. Only this small book, The Book of Motion, holds the key to understanding the grand scheme of things.”

  Marco sighed, suddenly overcome by a wave of homesickness, wherever home was.

  "I’m sure you wonder why I have brought you here," said Cicero. "And while you might not understand, you will have to trust me—trust us."

  If that was supposed to soothe him, it didn’t help, because Marco thought it highly unfair. A sudden itch begged to be scratched and he took his time in order to gather his senses.

  Cicero and Akeel paid no attention, absorbed in their discussion. They seemed to be sharing threads of the conversation as though they possessed the same mind.

  "Everything is in constant motion,” Cicero was saying. “Electrons whirl like dervishes around their nucleus, planets whirl around their sun and stars whirl within their galaxies. This book is simply the ultimate guidebook to understanding everything in its natural state of motion.”

  Marco had no idea what an electron, a nucleus, or a dervish was, but he did know something about the stars.

  Akeel set the book back on the table. “No one knows its true origin, but it appears to have come from some other world. The Book of Motion is the most amazing book in the library; unlike most scientific explanations of life, this one leaves room for God. No, that does not do it justice.” He tried again. “The Book of Motion is more like an affirmation, as though sent by a Higher Power to show us what is possible.”

  Akeel rubbed his hands over his face. “I’m afraid I am not explaining this well and I know the Book better than anyone.”

  “You are troubled Akeel, and not just about explanations.”

  “Yes,” he replied as he began pacing the room. “It’s about the reports I’ve been getting. There have been burnings and lootings in distant village libraries. A new force seeking to gain power is creating disturbances, spreading rumors about us, about the Library. I fear that they would like nothing better than to see us buried for good.”

  Akeel sighed. “The Guardians have already been driven underground in order to protect these treasured books.” He looked out through the open door towards the other rooms full of books. “But what will become of all those who openly thirst for knowledge, both worldly and divine? This small but ill-intentioned group sees everything as black and white and they are forcing their views on others. They even perceive God in this limited perspective, as if He were some trifling old man who exhausted himself creating the universe and has been taking a long nap ever since.”

  Akeel was clearly agitated. “They spread black clouds over people’s minds so they can carry out their dishonorable deeds and seize power under the cover of darkness. Even worse, they believe they can blot out our memory of the mysterious, our divine origin! How is it possible that others believe these pitiful notions? But their influence is growing, and I fear this grand idea which has become the Library of Alexandria has reached its zenith.”

  A deep sigh escaped from Cicero and resonated like a wave through the room. Marco could not help joining the sigh. Cicero moved to Akeel’s side and nuzzled his head against him. This was a softer aspect of Cicero that Marco had not seen. At home, the old cat rarely interacted with the librarians, preferring to keep to himself and his books.

  “Yes, I see why it needs to be guarded,” Marco said, thinking he was starting to understand and wanting very much to contribute to the conversation.

  “But you don’t,” said Cicero, a little harshly. “
Not yet, anyway.” The old cat jumped down and began pacing in step behind Akeel. “There is something worse that can happen to it…” Cicero glanced up at Akeel’s back. “The very people who want to suppress knowledge are the ones who know how powerful it is. They foolishly believe it is something they can own. Something they can hoard away like gold.”

  Marco sighed quietly. He sat alone on the table watching man and cat pace in sync around the small room.

  “I do not know yet whether they seek to destroy us or dominate us, but if they ever acquired The Book of Motion…” Akeel dropped his head into his hands.

  “What?” Marco couldn’t help asking, even though he figured it was a dumb question.

  “Marco, the most important thing you need to know is that The Book of Motion was a gift…” He paused. “Bestowed upon humankind for our understanding and benefit. But like anything, it can be used according to the intentions of its keeper. Take a carpenter’s ax for instance. It can be used to fell trees and create, to build dwellings for families. Or it can bludgeon the life out of someone.”

  Alaniah darted about the small room. “Cicero! Akeel!” she sputtered, showering them with microscopic light crystals.

  “Yes, Alaniah? What is the matter?”

  “Get on with it!”

  “What do you mean?” Both Akeel and Cicero looked perplexed.

  “Too much talking-ing.”

  Cicero and Akeel looked at each other, then at Marco. Brilliant minds suddenly clueless.

  “Oh, mortal beings, you are so dense.” Alaniah whirled in front of them. “You must show him the Book! Isn’t that why you brought him here-re?”

  “You are right, Alaniah,” said Akeel. “We have been caught up in our own thoughts. Poor Marco.” Marco welcomed Akeel’s quick caress and stretched out for more. Instead Akeel stepped over to the book, leaving Marco lying on his back.

  He scrambled to get up as Akeel said, “You have traveled far, my young friend. I will make it worth your effort.”