Archive

by Brad Stucki

  Along the sides were interspersed view screens mounted on the wall with small tables in front and a chair. Workstations, Javin thought. At other intervals were what appeared to be storage cabinets and in one particular area was the setting of what appeared to be a kitchen, though it was strange looking one. Javin shook his head at the unbidden image of a kitchen that had flowed into his mind.

  Manos led them to a gathering of heavily padded chairs all facing each other in a grouping. He gestured for them to sit.

  “This room could use a decorator,” Javin said, taking his seat, sinking into the plush cushioning.

  Manos didn’t answer. He remained standing while the rest of them sat and were started as the chairs fold into them in an uncanny way.

  “I was told to have you focus on those deepest memories,” Manos said as they turned their attention back to him. “Those memories of our first ancestor who had the ‘Gift', who was brought to this place and shown its operation. Those memories will teach you, but you must find those memories which are the deepest, for they were embedded in a way that will surface only when they are found and released.”

  “I was told you must lay back and truly focus. Sink deeply into the memories and you’ll find them. Then you will know how you can be here and make use of this place. I will stand watch for as long as it takes.” He looked at them all expectantly.

  Kokos nodded, looked around then leaned back into her chair. It went with the pressure she put to it, and she gasped as it reclined automatically. Sauros did the same, following her example, and then Javin laid back.

  The seat was warm and folded into him like it was custom made exactly to his measurements. He closed his eyes and did as Manos instructed. Javin let his mind go blank and willed himself to sink deep, deep into the memories given him through the crystal.

  His anchor point was the brief glimpse he’d had in the transferred memory of the ‘Guardian’ standing in front of Kokos’ long removed predecessor. There! He found it, locked onto that memory and watched . . . and listened through another's eyes and ears.

  Javin watched and listened as Kokos’ ancestor was brought into the pyramid, or the ‘temple’ as it was referred to, observed as they ‘thought’ where they wanted to travel – the Archive Room --. They stepped through the archway and arrived where Javin and his group had arrived, then moved from the ‘Gateway’ room, as it was referred to, into where they now lay reclined.

  The ancestor was taken to one of the work stations and the ‘man,’ the ‘Guardian,’ if that’s who that was, gave instruction on accessing the data storage in the Archive room. Kokos’ ancestor was told to sit at the chair and reach out to an opaque half crystal set into the workstation table. It reminded Javin of the crystal embedded in his breast, what Kokos referred to as the ‘Gift’, even down to the scintillating nature of the grey threads running within.

  There was no keyboard, no other means of access, but once Kokos’ ancestor rested his palm on the crystal inset into the table, it glowed warmly, and he closed his eyes. Javin could tell a link was being formed. Javin ‘felt’ through the shared memory, that the ‘Gift’ embedded in Kokos’ ancestor’s breast was also warming and resonating with the crystal on the table, connected through the touch of his palm.

  The view screen above him activated and data began to flash across at rapid speed. This was how information was searched. Javin also had the impression the information could be downloaded in chunks. But too massive amounts of information would be dangerous to the mortal mind. He had the feeling, through that vicarious contact, that so much information was amassed; it couldn’t be contained within one person's mind without destroying it. Instead, the device was designed for storage. For access and retrieval in small bits, so one had to know what they were looking for in order to find it.

  If it operated on the same principle as the Gateways, what Javin had come to know as Portals or Archways, one merely had to ‘think’ about the information desired. In the case of the Archways, one only had to 'think' about the location desired, and if there was a 'receiving' Archway near, the Archways would configure the location coordinates and create a doorway to the desired destination.

  Kokos’ ancestor got up from the table, nodding his head. He understood the instructions. The ‘being’ that still seemed to be glowing, though not literally so, he just ‘seemed’ to have a particularly dazzling ‘aura’ about him, led Kokos’ ancestor to the ‘kitchen’ area. He showed him its functions, how to get water and procure food which was dispensed from several colored nozzles that came out of the wall near the ‘sink.’ Bowls were in the cupboard above. The food could be dispensed from the nozzles, which was a paste that varied in flavor and texture. It could be dispensed in any type of combination, thereby varying the taste and consistency and add variety to ones’ diet.

  Okay, so there’s variety and the most basic of nutrition, probably, Javin thought. At least they’d have what they needed to sustain life, probably indefinitely. But they weren’t planning to be here long.

  Next, the being took Kokos’ ancestor back through the main corridor they had come through. They stopped in front of one of the closed doorways. It slid open to reveal simple sleeping quarters and sanitary facilities so they could wash and clean, and that’s it. The other doors opened to the same thing. This facility was geared to a pretty small number of occupants. Not many more than they had right now. His assumption of this being a utilitarian base of some sort was correct. The whole function appeared to support data storage and retrieval.

  Kokos’ ancestor was then taken back to the Gateway room and they stepped back through to the ‘Temple.’ In the large inner chamber of the pyramid, beside the now dormant Archway, the glowing being instructed Kokos’ ancestor to mark his memory well, as at some future time one of his descendants would have need, and the information found there would either save the galaxy or condemn it. And that his descendant would know what to do at that time, as plans had been put in place to help them know – without knowing too much.

  With that, the glowing being faded from sight, just vanishing, leaving Kokos’ ancestor to stare in wonder. The marked memory ended . . .

  Javin blinked his eyes, and started to feel his body again. He'd been so deep into the memory he hadn't moved a bit. Through tensing and stretching his limbs he sat up, seeing Sauros, and then Kokos doing the same.

  Chapter 22

  "You both get that?" Javin asked, turning on the seat and facing his compatriots.

  Sauros nodded, rolling his shoulders and his head from side to side. Kokos nodded also. She was rubbing her eyes and then stretching out her arms. They had all been so deep in the memory their bodies were reacting the same way.

  "What now? Shall we try to interact with the Archive?" Sauros nodded to the workstation they'd seen in the memory. His tone of voice said he'd rather not, but knew it was what they needed to do next.

  Javin looked at Kokos who was staring back at him. Javin looked at Manos.

  "How long were we out?"

  Manos stared at him a moment, confused. "Oh, you mean how long you were unconscious?"

  "Yes, unconscious," Javin said.

  "Several spans," Manos said. "No one moved the whole time. I kept checking on you to make sure you were all breathing at least. I didn't dare touch you for fear of interrupting whatever you were experiencing. You three look exhausted. What happened?

  "We saw how to operate the Archive," Kokos said, trying to stand. She fell back onto the couch that immediately conformed to her body.

  "You should all rest before you do anything else," Manos said moving to stand by Kokos. "I took some time and explored while you were . . . 'out.' There are rooms for sleeping and refreshing yourselves. Get some rest. I'll stand watch. When you are refreshed you can begin what you need to do. It will be better."

  "On that, I agree," Javin said, slowly pushing himself to his feet, swaying, but not falling back. Sauros nodded and stood also, slowly. He didn't stagger, but was being v
ery deliberate in his movements. He smiled at Javin, who returned his wry grin.

  We'll each find a room then meet back here when we're rested enough. I don't know how long that will be. How about we all agree we won't do anything with the Archive until we're all together again?"

  "Yes," Sauros said.

  Kokos nodded as she was helped to her feet by Manos.

  They all moved back down the corridor. Javin moved a little ways down so Kokos and Sauros could have the nearer rooms. From his 'memory', he knew to stand closely in front of the door. It swished open and a light came on in the ceiling just like the lights throughout the facility. Inside it was just as he remembered from the memory. Another wave of exhaustion hit him and he staggered inside, found the bed and fell upon it. The cushion was the same as what had been on the couch and it immediately conformed to his body, giving him comfort, and subtle warmth. Javin wondered if it was the material or something in the bed itself that knew to heat it to just the right temperature.

  He opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. How would he turn out the light? There wasn't any mechanism he'd seen in the memory. He was too tired to move anyway. It was then the lights went out. How? He'd just thought about it. That must be it. The portal activated with the power of 'thought'. The Archive was the same way. So he guessed it was a pretty simple thing to have the lights turn off when you thought about it.

  Javin smiled to himself as he drifted off to sleep. Something about a 'Clapper.' came into his mind as he drifted down into darkness. The image of an old lady in pajamas clapping her hands and lights turning off. "A commercial," came the thought into his mind. It was another of those random images which came, and he understood what they were, but didn't have any memory context. Javin would be angry if he wasn't so tired. With that last thought he floated into the abyss of sleep.

  Chapter 23

  Javin woke to darkness. He lay still, trying to remember where he was. Then it came: The Archive base. His room. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling thinking it would be nice to have the lights come on but only dimly until his eyes could adjust.

  The light above flickered at a dim setting and as his eyes adjusted they slowly grew in intensity.

  "Brilliant!" he said to himself and moved to sit up and dangle his legs off the bed. The stiffness and lack of energy were gone. He was now ravenously hungry. And he needed some facilities to refresh himself.

  "No problem on both counts," Javin said, standing and moving to the further part of his room where the facilities were located.

  It was only a few minutes before Javin joined the rest of his party in the main gathering room. They were all there, sitting at one of the furniture arrangements; bowls in their hands filled with multiple colored pastes Javin knew had come from the kitchen dispensers.

  "I see you all waited for me," Javin said with a smile. Sauros only nodded. Manos started to stammer an apology but Sauros touched his arm.

  "It is his strange sense of humor. He meant nothing by it."

  "Let me show you how to operate the food," Manos strode to the kitchen area and pulled down a bowl, handing it to Javin. It seemed Manos was still a bit anxious and certainly wanting to help. Clearly he felt the lack of having the 'Gift'. At the same time, he accepted his role and wanted to do all he could to be part of whatever was happening. Javin could appreciate that.

  Javin filled his bowl at random, wondering how it would taste. Manos had drawn him a glass of clear liquid. Javin thanked him, tested it and found it was water, then moved over to join Sauros and Kokos and sat. Manos took a seat also.

  "How's everyone feeling?" Javin asked, taking a finger full of paste and putting it to his lips. It tasted a bit minty and sharp, but good. He put it all the way in his mouth and was surprised at the smooth texture and how good it tasted. He dug in again, this time with two fingers. "Don't suppose there's a spoon in the cupboard?"

  "What's a spoon?" Kokos asked.

  "It's a utensil used for eating food like this." Javin said. The image of a spoon surfaced in his mind, but since he'd awakened on Sauros' world, and now Kokos' world, he'd not seen one. Again, it was an esoteric image from his past that was blocked, except for these random images without any context. But he always knew what the images where and how they fit in to life, just not any associated with memories.

  Sauros turned to look at Javin. "I think I could 'see' what you were meaning when you were thinking it."

  Javin looked first at Sauros, then at Kokos. "You too?"

  "I wasn't trying. Do you think I will be able to read your mind? Would it be because of the 'Gift' and our sharing?"

  "Could be," Javin said. "Sauros and I could always 'feel' a bit of how the other was feeling once we both had the crystals. It's stronger, now, after the sharing. So probably. It would be interesting to find out how detailed we can get and over how long a distance. This ability will be valuable, I think."

  "We should strengthen it," Sauros agreed, "but for now, perhaps we should focus on the Archive and see what we can learn."

  Ever one for the direct line to a goal, Javin smiled at Sauros.

  "You are correct my friend. Is everyone rested enough?"

  "I feel strong and relaxed," Kokos said. Javin 'felt' Sauros was ready.

  "Rather than just jump on the Archive, maybe we should agree on what, specifically, we're looking for. My sense is that the Archive is broad and deep enough unless we narrow things down we won't be able to find much of use."

  "Why would we jump on the Archive?" Kokos said. She looked confused. "Did you see something different than I in the memory? I thought we'd access it by the crystal at the desk. My ancestor put his hand over it and 'thought' what he wanted to find."

  Javin laughed. Sauros shook his head.

  "Yes, I meant to access," Javin said. "How about we decide which things we want to search, and then we'll be a bit more organized and productive. Hopefully, the information we get will lead us to other things we need to know.

  "Agreed," Sauros said. "I think we need to know more about the Guardians. We also need to know about the crystals and what they do and how they can help us."

  "I would like to know how our world fits into the End Times and what we are supposed to be doing to prepare and prevent our world from being hurt." This came from Kokos. She had finished eating and set her bowl on the floor. Her hands were in her lap.

  "And I would like to know if there's a way to unlock my memories," Javin said. "I know it may sound selfish, but I have a feeling if I had my memories back, there may be something there which could help us know what's really going on . . . like the big picture."

  Manos looked at Kokos, who shrugged. "Are we looking for a 'big picture? Why would that help?"

  "Ahhr!" Javin growled. "Sorry. I meant that if I could have my memories back, it may tell us more about what is happening and what is expected of us.

  "I think we've got a good idea of the initial questions. And we know how to . . . 'access' the Archive. I'm ready to try it, unless either of you two wants to do the honors?"

  "I am always up for 'honor,'" Sauros said. "I will defer to you, however."

  "I too will defer to you, Javin," Kokos said. "I think we all have some good ideas of what we would like to search, and perhaps we can each take a turn to see if we can all add to our knowledge."

  "I will stand guard," Manos said. "You all will want to watch with each other, I'm sure."

  "Yes, and thank you," Javin said standing and taking his now empty bowl and glass back to what passed for a sink. He set the bowl inside and rinsed it, cleaning it as best he could and left it to dry. He got more water in his glass and sipped it, swishing the liquid in his mouth, cleaning his teeth then swallowed.

  He moved over to the work station of the Archive and had a seat. He was joined by Sauros and Kokos standing behind on either side, anticipating his accessing the Archive and being able to watch on the screen as it found the information 'thought' about.

  Javin sat straight,
took a deep, relaxing breath, and placed his hand over the crystal embedded into the table. He spoke aloud as he did so to aid Sauros and Kokos in knowing what to expect on the screen above.

  "How do I unblock my memories? Why are they blocked?"

  Javin looked up at the screen. So did Sauros and Kokos. It remained blank. Javin lifted his hand. The crystal was still inert.

  "Maybe the Archive has no information on that," Sauros said. "Try again."

  "Okay," Javin said, placing his hand back over the crystal. This time he closed his eyes to better concentrate, but still spoke his query aloud. "Who are the Guardians?" He thought he might be more successful if he stuck with one question at a time.

  He looked up. The screen was still blank. The crystal was still inert when he again lifted his hand to look.

  Javin put his hand back on the crystal. "What is the 'Gift'? and how does it function?" This time Javin was sure something would surface. Surely the Archive would have something on the crystals. Still nothing showed on the screen overhead. Javin sat silently, trying to remember from the images he'd seen in the memory if he were doing something wrong.

  Nope. He was doing everything he knew to do.

  "Could it be it's no longer functioning?" Javin asked.

  "Why don't I try," Kokos volunteered. "Maybe it is because you are not of our world?"

  "It might also be that your 'block' is hindering the function as well," Sauros said.

  Javin sat a moment, frustrated. He had been hopeful he could finally figure a way past his block and get some answers. He guessed that was not going to happen, at least right now. Standing, he switched places with Kokos who sat and carefully put her hand over the crystal. It seemed to glow with her touch as it had in the memory. She bowed her head and spoke her query.

  "Tell us how my world fits into the Time of Trouble." It wasn't a question, but Javin supposed it was a command. That should work also. He quickly remembered his own request this morning in the room, bringing up the lights slowly. How come the lights worked for his 'thought' command, but the Archive didn't?