by Barry Alder
“Once it’s done, you understand their language completely, like you were born with it. And I can still understand English as much as I did before. But that seems to be as far as it goes. It’s just the understanding of the language that’s given, nothing else. I still don’t know any more than you about what’s happened or why we’re here.”
Jason thought for a moment. Part of him wanted to jump at this chance, yet another part screamed for him to avoid it at all costs. Yet, deep down, he knew there was only one choice.
“Okay Lou. Give it to me.”
Louise moved closer and placed her hands on his head. Jason felt a slight pressure under her hands, but nothing else. After a moment, she removed them.
“That’s it?” he exclaimed. “No magic incantations or rituals?”
“That’s it. Simple isn’t it?”
“How do I know it’s worked?”
“Because now you can understand me clearly,” came a voice from behind him.
He turned to see Lara standing in the doorway, a knowing smile on her face.
“I’m glad you decided to accept the gift,” she continued. “It will make life easier.”
Jason paused for a moment as the understanding of what had just happened sunk in.
“Does this happen often?” he asked.
“No. This is the first time it’s ever happened.”
“But you seem to take it so calmly.”
“It’s a gift from our spirit guides. They have given us many gifts in the past and this is just another one. We may not act as if it is something special, but we truly feel that way and are very grateful to our guides for it. Perhaps when you have learned and experienced our connections with the spirit world, you will understand better.”
That last statement upset Jason. He had never been a religious person and had shied away from all that “spiritual stuff.” Yet he had just experienced something that was clearly beyond the normal.
“This is going to take some time to sink in.”
Lara moved close to him and took his hand in hers.
“There is one thing that you will learn from our guides, but that you need to take on faith right now. Whatever gifts they give you, it will always be for your best good and always given in love. They are there to help, not hurt.”
“That’s asking a lot.”
“I know, and if you truly feel that it is beyond you right now, then don’t believe it. In fact, don’t believe anything we say. Don’t even trust what we say. But do observe what we do. You will see the truth by our actions.”
Jason stared at her. Was she hiding something? If so, then why tell him to distrust them? She seemed to be siding with him against the rest of the village; in fact, even against herself. It didn’t make any sense, and yet he would say the same thing to someone who didn’t trust him, because he knew his actions would always display his true beliefs.
“Okay. For the time being I’ll believe you, since I don’t seem to have much choice. But I’ll be watching you and the rest of the village, and if I see anything that doesn’t ring true…”
He left the last part unsaid, mainly because he didn’t know what he would do if he found out they were being deceived. Hopefully, he thought, he’d never have to cross that bridge.
Lara waited for him to continue, apparently unaware that he had finished his threat. After a few moments, she realized he was not going to continue.
“Now that you can understand us, I’m sure you have many questions. If I can, I will answer them for you.”
He was caught off guard by her matter-of-fact tone, as though she had dismissed his last statement. He didn’t like it, but he needed the answers.
“You’re right. I do have a lot of questions. The first being, why weren’t we wakened a long time ago and why did you wake us now?”
“I can’t answer your first question, but I can answer the second. You were woken to defend our village from invaders.”
“What sort of invaders?”
“The Empire that lies to the south of us. They are moving this way and will be here soon.”
“Can you tell me anything more about this Empire?” Jason continued.
“Very little. My father would be the best one to talk to about that. He has much more information on this as he leads us right now.”
“But aren’t you in charge here?”
Lara chuckled. “No. My father is the village leader, and Mi’kol and Mona are our spiritual leaders. As for the one ‘in charge,’ we don’t work that way. Come, my father will tell you better than I.”
Jason was surprised and worried by this new information. Although the explanation explained Lara’s influence, it left him wondering whom he really should be dealing with.
He followed Lara to her father’s hut. Ka’tel was speaking with one of the other villagers so they waited outside.
“So, you’re not in charge around here?” Jason mused quietly.
“No, but being the daughter of the village leader does come with some responsibility,” Lara replied with a smile.
“No privileges?”
“Nothing that everyone else in the village doesn't already have.”
“So,” Jason continued, “this is not a hierarchy. It’s some sort of a …”
“Balance,” Lara replied.
“Balance?”
“Everyone is equal here. We balance everyone’s needs and concerns.”
“How do you ever get anything done?”
Lara laughed. “Easily.”
Jason was just about to ask what she meant when the villager left Ka’tel’s hut. Lara immediately went in, with Jason following.
“Father, Jason wants to know about the Empire and why we have woken them now.”
“I can certainly understand that, but why have you not told him?”
Lara paused for a moment. She had assumed her father would tell Jason why they had been woken. Apparently her responsibility to the soldiers had not yet ended.
“It is difficult to know where to begin,” she started. “Our legends tell of a time when two great forces were at war. One of the forces placed groups of soldiers into a deep sleep to be awakened after the other force had won. For what reason, the legends do not say. All of the other sleeping groups of soldiers were wakened at their appointed times, but our group, you, were left to sleep. The legends are not totally clear on this, but it seems something unexpected happened and the person responsible chose not to wake you when you should have been.”
“Your legends are correct about the two warring forces,” Jason replied, “and about why we were placed in stasis, sleep.”
This information seemed to please Lara and her father.
Lara continued.
“We are the descendants of the group responsible for your sleep. We were given the responsibility of keeping you secret from the world until it was safe to awaken you. I am sure that, at one time, the reasons for keeping you asleep were very clear, but many years ago they were lost and all that was left was to continue your safekeeping. We knew what you represented even though we did not know exactly what you were. For many generations, the need for soldiers did not exist, and so we let you sleep. But things have now changed.”
Jason had suspected something like this all along, so the last statement did not surprise him. Still, her story left many things unexplained, but his most pressing questions were being answered, so he did not interrupt.
“Over the generations, we have developed a way of life that embraces peace and cooperation. We are not on any of the trade routes and our seclusion has allowed us the freedom to be as we are. Our village is well known to those around here and, apparently, to some far away. We get visits, occasionally, by strangers seeking our knowledge of peace, which we gladly share. Most of the time, they take this knowledge away when they return to their homes.”
“The point,” Ka’tel interrupted, “my daughter did not mention is that, in some places, we are viewed with an awe and reverence that we do not
seek. We have tried to discourage this from happening, but it has occurred nonetheless, and that has raised our ‘importance’ to a level we neither deserve nor wish.”
“That is true,” Lara continued, “and that is why we have woken you now. About ten years ago, a great ruler arose in the lands south of here. He is widely known for his cruelty, and has gathered many dark forces to his side. His kingdom is spreading, and those forces are now within a season of us. We have been told that he plans to destroy our village and our way of life. Apparently he sees us as his enemy, although we do not know why.”
Jason chuckled quietly, shaking his head. This caused both Lara and Ka’tel to stare at him, their faces asking what he meant.
“I don’t know exactly how long we’ve been asleep, but it seems our foes are as present as ever. The forces we were battling were also known for their cruelty and control, and were feared by all those who valued peace and freedom. I understand this man and what he wants.”
Lara felt a chill run through her. She sensed a decision point was being reached, one that might hasten the destruction of her way of life. Jason also sensed her sudden apprehension.
“He fears you because you would question him. You would be a source of hope for those he would enslave. Your very presence would make him appear weak and that’s something he can’t have. His empire is based on fear, distrust, and physical power. I suspect your quiet nature embodies a strength that allows your followers to overcome many difficulties and I’m sure he sees that as a potential source of discord within his empire.”
Lara looked at her father before continuing. He seemed as unmoved as ever, patiently waiting for whatever to happen. Finally, she looked back at Jason.
“I believe you are correct in all you say. His armies spread much destruction and he takes many crops in payment each year. Those who live under him live in poverty and fear, and few dare to resist him. Those who do are publicly tortured and killed. Unfortunately, as you suspected, many have been ones who have taken on our way of life.”
“And,” Jason said, “you expect us to defend you against these invading armies?”
“Yes,” Lara replied. “Our legends say that you have great weapons you can use, and we believe you can defend us.”
Jason looked down at the ground, shook his head and then gazed directly at Lara.
“Even if we had all of our equipment, which we don’t, we wouldn’t be able to stop them forever. As it is, we know nothing about them and what they possess, and we don’t have much of our equipment. Hell, we don’t even know how much time we have or if it’s even possible to defend this village.”
He was almost shouting at her, and she was visibly shaken by the outburst. Jason was unapologetic though. They had no right to put him and his team in such a situation. They didn’t know what the team had been put together for, and it certainly wasn’t for taking on an invading army head-on. Still, he did feel something for them. If they had been left in the stasis chambers for much longer, they would all be dead.
“Okay,” he sighed. “I’ll see what we can do, but I’m not promising anything.”
“Thank you,” Ka’tel replied eagerly. “We are very much in your debt. Lara, please see that Jason gets whatever he needs to help us.”
To Jason, it was apparent the discussion here had ended and he was about to thank Ka’tel for his support when Mona entered the hut.
“I believe I have something of importance to you,” she said haughtily to Jason.
“And what would that be?” he replied, startled but trying to remain as cool as she appeared to be.
“I am sure,” Mona continued, “you would like to know what happened to your world since you slept.”
Jason nodded. Yes, this was a piece of information that he greatly wanted.
“Come with me then.”
* * *
Mona was the first to enter the hut, and went to a large box at the back. After a few moments of rummaging through it, she gave Jason a small package tied with a string.
“This contains letters that I believe describe what happened to the world after you went to sleep. The letters were created by our ancestors in the years following the great change. Unfortunately, we have lost the knowledge of how to read them, but I believe you can.”
Jason undid the package and unwrapped the letters. There were about twenty of them, some short, and others many pages long. As he finished each page, he passed it to Louise.
They soon discovered that after the war, the rule of the Mason Faction had been every bit as bad as they had earlier discovered, but the faction had not lasted long. Six years after the war ended, a major earthquake occurred in California and most of the state disappeared into the sea. This caused tremendous economic and social upheaval and forced the Mason Faction leaders to change their tactics of brutality. In the following three years, major earthquakes of an unprecedented scale occurred all around the planet, causing the breakdown of the world economy. On almost all continents, seashore was dramatically lost, partly due to the earthquakes and partly due to the rising ocean levels. These were the result of huge icebergs breaking off in the Arctic and Antarctic, and the rise of new landmasses in the oceans.
The situation in what was left of North America quickly deteriorated as communication and travel generally disappeared. Local kingdoms rose to replace the national organizations that had once existed. However, North America had fared much better than some parts of the globe. Most of Europe was gone, as well as much of the other developed areas in the world. Civilization as they knew it was gone.
Jason was stunned. If what he had read was true, then he and his team were totally lost. Even their history was gone.
Louise was equally affected. She sat staring at the papers, saying nothing.
Mona and Lara waited patiently for Jason or Louise to say something, but soon realized they were lost in what they had just read. After a long while, Mona broke the silence.
“I know that much has changed since your time and that it will take a while for you to come to terms with that. I suspect you will want to tell the others what you have found. If you wish, this can be done in private.”
Jason pondered this for a moment and then looked to Louise.
“We need to tell the others. Can you get them all to the meeting area as soon as possible?”
It was evident from her face that Louise was still absorbed in what she had read. She nodded slowly and left the hut.
Jason’s mind was in turmoil. There was too much to make sense of right now and he had to pull himself together. He needed something concrete to hang on to, and that was the task they’d been asked to do.
“I don’t know what we can do to defend you,” he said, looking at Lara, “but the first thing we need to know is what we are up against. What can you tell me about the Empire?”
“I don’t know much about them,” replied Lara, “as I’ve never traveled far from the village, but there are others who have. Perhaps you should speak with them.”
“Good idea. We’ll do that after I let my team know what we’ve found.”
* * *
When he arrived at the meeting area, Jason saw the anxious faces waiting for him. As they settled, he began.
“One of the villagers gave me some papers outlining what happened to the world. They fill in some gaps, but are by no means complete.”
He went on to tell them what he had read, and gave them the papers to read themselves. As they were reading, he continued.
“I’ve also found out why we were awakened now. There’s an invading army on its way here, part of an expanding empire. This empire is not unlike the Mason Faction, and I’ve told Ka’tel that we would help them. Unfortunately, he knows very little about the military side of the Empire. Until we find out what they have, there isn’t much we can do to prepare properly. Raphael and I are going to see if there’s anyone in the village who knows about them. Hopefully we’ll be able to fill in some of the missing information.”
/> “But what if no one knows anything more?” asked Velma. “What then?”
“Then we gather the information ourselves. But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“Do you think we’ll be able to find out more about what’s happened to the world?” queried Rick.
“I don’t know,” Jason replied. “There may be more, but I don’t know. That knowledge may lie outside the village. And for right now, it doesn’t change anything.”
He paused for a few moments, scanning the faces of his team, and saw that most were still absorbing what he had said.
“Any more questions?” he asked.
There were none, so Jason let the rest continue to read the documents. Once done, he took the papers back, and he and Raphael began their search.
* * *
Over the next couple of days, Jason and Raphael spoke with many of the villagers. They were all friendly toward them and didn’t take the soldiers’ sudden acquisition of their language with any surprise, a fact that both Jason and Raphael noted to each other. But in the end, they discovered very little about their new foe. It seemed most of the villagers stayed close to home and those who did travel had not traveled far south. Much of what they were told was second or third hand stories that could not be verified.
Frustrated, Jason went to see Ka’tel.
“Your people have been very accommodating, Ka’tel, but they haven’t been able to tell us much. We’re going to need a lot more concrete information if we’re to help you.”
“I don’t know what other help we can provide,” he replied. “Perhaps if you tell me what you want, I can help.”
“We need to know their strengths, how many soldiers they have, what sort of weapons we’re up against, where they’re camped, how fast they move. Things that’ll help us develop our own battle plan.”
“I see.”
Ka’tel paused for a long moment.
“We are a peaceful people. Much of what you want to know is outside of what we are familiar with. I do not know of anyone who could help you. Even the villages we have contact with may not have that knowledge. You must understand that we have lived in peace for many generations.”
“You mean there hasn’t been any conflict in all that time?”
“Oh, of course there have been disagreements, but those were settled amicably. There was no violence involved.”