When I woke I was no longer in that room but in another, a small homely
room where I was laid on a bed, the room being located, as I found out
later, not too far from the Hall of Meeting. Though the depth of the
fortress prevented me from knowing the time, it felt to be early
afternoon by that strange internal clock that so seldom errs. It was
correct, as usual. There was a quaint fireplace on the far wall of the
room with a small, unadorned and unpretentious mantle, decorated like
the rest of the fortress in a practical and experienced way, finding
just the right flavor between the ornate, the practical, and the quaint,
and avoiding all the while the clutter brought by superfluous material
possessions. A table in the center of the room was furnished with a
steaming meal, beside which sat my new friend Bernibus, smiling on me
with a benevolent and almost paternal affection.
"Good morning, Jehu," he said, "Or should I say afternoon, for the
morning has quite passed by already."
"Yes, and it has left in me a great appetite, my good man."
"As is shown clearly in your eyes," he jested, "Come and eat."
Needing no further urging, I leapt from my bed, sat down across from him
at the table, and began partaking greedily of the hearty breakfast of
hash browns and pancakes, which were pleasing to my mouth and stomach,
for the tastes in food are controlled more by the condition of the body
than by the time of day. When I had satisfied my needs, we reclined in
our chairs and began conversing:
"Tell me," I said, "Did my untimely slumber yester eve cause any
irritated prides?"
"Quite to the contrary, the council was well humored and followed your
lead to their bed chambers."
"I am relieved to hear it, for I was anxious of appearing lax in ardor
or animation."
"Not so, my friend, you are quite exonerated from doubtful thoughts.
There is a session planned for this evening though, so may yet feel
yourself put on trial."
"Unfortunate," said I, "But surely they can mean no harm, am I not the
kinsman redeemer, after all?"
"Yes, you are," Bernibus said with a look of subdued apprehension, "We
have an end in view, though the means are as yet not wholly decided. It
is a complicated situation."
I smiled softly, "So is always the case."
"In truth it is: time reveals all things yet do all things reveal time?"
"What do you mean?" I asked him.
"Our situation is complicated by differing views of time, and I was
wondering aloud if history and the present reality disclose the truth
about time in the same way that time reveals the truth of the present.
If our way were more illuminated, the journey would be easier."
"Perhaps that is why men look to the well lit paths of history, or to
the dim conjectures of the future rather than the dark, yet detailed
ways of present."
"Perhaps," he said, "But the present is so fleeting that it holds little
intrigue."
"Even so, it is the stage, not still waiting behind the curtain, nor
already performed."
"Yet the past controls by influences and prejudices, justified or not,
and it will doubtless be the view of the council that the past must be
redone, that the problems be addressed at the source," Bernibus replied.
"I am still in the dark about all your inferences," I said.
"My apologies, I forget myself. But let us not dwell on subjects which
may become quite exhausted in the near future, for better or worse," he
told me.
"Fair enough," I returned, acceding to the subject change, and jumping
on the opportunity to steer it in a different direction, "I know little
of you, Bernibus, so tell me all."
"There isn't much to tell," he coyly responded.
"Nonsense, Bernibus, tell me or I shall get very angry," I jested,
imitating some mythological god's wrath.
He smiled discreetly and yielded to my request, "Very well, I will tell
you. I was born in the year 490 D.V. (that is, Durante Vita), to a poor
couple from the northernmost pier of Daem, the Gog."
"Wait a moment, Bernibus," I interrupted, "I didn't mean in that
fashion, for when I say I know little of you, it is because I literally
know little of 'you', not the circumstances that make up your past. I
guess it goes back to the interpretation of the past and its powers, and
since we can't seem to escape discussing it, lets embrace it willingly.
You seem to believe that the events of your life have shaped you in such
a profound way that their mere description is sufficient to explain your
personality; I will grant that their influence has effected you subtly,
but history is not the scapegoat of the present. The circumstances do
more to define the character of an individual than to shape it, for even
siblings with the exact same experiences can be greatly different in
personality and achievements. But what I mean is this: your past has
influenced your present, yet it is gone and your present remains, show
me Bernibus, not his previous forms."
You, who are now reading this, may think this statement of mine to
Bernibus to be hypocritical, in light of the very purpose and intent of
these memoirs. You may be thinking that I am relating this whole
happening in order to justify my actions and decisions. But that is not
the case, for I understand that you have no power over me, I have long
been dead in your present and your sentiments mean naught to me. In
fact, I wish to tell of the circumstances I found myself in as much as
of myself, so that you may have a retrospective clarity in visions of
the future. You will understand that statement later on, but for now let
me say that I wished to know the essence, the person, the consciousness
of Bernibus, whereas I wish to impart to you my story, though ere its
end you may come also to know me. I have no ambitions of material
immortality.
Bernibus understood my meaning, and though he disagreed with its
theoretical imputations, he humored me and did as I suggested. He pulled
back his brow in a reflective demeanor, brought his eyes to mine and
began:
"You desire me to tell you about myself without literally telling you of
myself. I suppose you mean that we discourse on some variety of
subjects, so that you can see who I am discreetly," he said.
"Exactly," I replied, "You say it better than I."
"Perhaps it is for the best, as you will draw your own conclusions
rather than be given mine, and instead of my telling you what I would
like to think I am, you would see what I am in truth. Strange, isn't it,
that though we think we know ourselves, we very much do not, and it is
only the unbiased observer who sees us as we are. You know, I was once
thinking of writing my memoirs, and I would have, except that I was
afraid that if I read them afterward I would be forced to see myself as
I am and be horrified at the truth."
"Damn the truth," I said.
"You're starting to sound like a philosopher," he laughed.
"And you a psychologist," I rejoined.
"And where would that place us on the scale of artificial intelligence,"
Bernibus jested.
"Following the footsteps of Jeroboam," I returned.
"Hmm?
"Oh, nothing. Tell me," I asked more solemnly, "What position does
Wagner hold among the Canitaurs?"
"He is the Khedive Kibitzer, our ruler in that he leads the council."
"And you?"
"I am his brother-in-law, a relationship that our culture places great
importance on, especially as he has no blood brothers. I become, in
effect, his partner, though he doesn't accept me emotionally as one,
only in etiquette."
"Why is that?" I inquired.
"Because, I am of weak heritage. His sister loved me, and I her, but to
him there is no such thing as love, only business, the destruction of
the Zards at any cost. No price is too high," he told me with almost a
vengeful scowl on his usually pleasant features, it soon passed, though,
and left no trace when it had.
"You sound bitter, Bernibus."
"My feelings betray me, yet I am not bitter, only disillusioned."
"You sympathize with the Zards, then?"
"Not at all, I do sympathize, however, with peaceful solutions," he
said.
"Which is why Wagner disapproves of you, no doubt."
"Yes, mainly, but don't misunderstand me. I am not a closet Futurist,
nor am I a strict pacifist, I just can't help feeling that there is
another way. But I understand the selection of ideologies, how the
stronger breaks the weaker to submission, and while one flourishes, the
other diminishes, and I understand focus points, but I cannot justify
their marriage."
"What you mean by focus points?" I asked.
"They are the culmination of conflict, where two sides meet and the
battle takes place, not meaning necessarily an important or strategic
military, civil, or commercial place, but one on which the fighting
occurs, the result ending in the defeat or victory of the whole
campaign. The focus point of the Zards and the Canitaurs exists both on
the philosophical and martial levels. On the philosophical level, it is
the question as to what is the proper solution for remedying our current
catastrophic situation. On one side the Pastites wish to correct the
root of the problem by stopping its realization in the past, the
Futurists, however, would venture into the future and brings its
stabilization and completion back. On the military level, our forces
collide in the forests around Lake Umquam Renatusum, the northern
mountains belonging to us and the southern plains to them. The lake
itself is of little importance, yet whoever conquers it will conquer
all."
"Interesting," I said, "But I do not understand how you seem to imply
that I am your ancestor, while Onan seemed to mean the opposite, that
you are my ancestors."
"It is strange and complex, and we understand very little of it,
ourselves. The time for the council has come though, for our talk has
dwindled away the afternoon. Perhaps some of your questions will there
be answered. But come, let us go."
"Very well," I said, "Take me to your leaders."
From that room, the one I had awoken in, it wasn't very far to the
council room. Exiting it, we turned down a short, closed hallway that
opened into the concealed area behind the podium that I spoke of
earlier. On the sofa where I had fallen asleep was seated Wagner and on
a circle of smaller chairs around the edges of the area were seated
about ten stately looking Canitaurs, clean and well dressed, according
to their customs. They greeted me amorously, with a mixture of
eagerness, excitement, and hope painted on their purloined countenances,
taken from the sleepless spirits of several departed generations of
war-hardened veterans.
Standing as we entered, they greeted me cordially, and, once the formal
greeting of a short bow and a blessing was finished, we all sat down,
they in their previous seats, I next to Wagner, and Bernibus in a small
chair in the corner, away from the circle of the delegates. He, that is,
Wagner, then opened our dialog:
"Welcome to the council, Jehu," he said.
"I was under the impression that the council was much larger," I replied
candidly.
"It is, but this is the leadership; we felt that the clamors of a full
legislature would be overwhelming to you at first. I know it still
overwhelms me sometimes," he laughed, and the others with him. That
explanation sufficed at the time, but I later found that Wagner had
taken control of the council himself, and that it had no real power: it
never met for more than ceremonial matters, the Khedive Kibitzer,
Wagner, controlling the rest. But I get ahead of myself.
One of the others then interjected, "Our purpose now, Jehu, is not so
much to make decisions as to inform you of the decisions we have already
made, not that we mean to exclude you from our counsels, but we've been
preparing for this moment, your arrival, for many years, since it was
foretold long ago."
"Decisions with what end?" I asked of them.
"The reestablishing of an efficient and healthy climate, both naturally
and philosophically, one in which tradition, history, and experience
reign supreme," Wagner said in such a way that I couldn't help but think
that it had served as an idiom of his for many years.
"A termination of the Zardovian conflict, then?"
"Essentially, but not wholly, as there are other, more complicated ends
in view, less integrated with the format of a completely ideological
conflict."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that we wish to return to our original forms," Wagner said.
"Those being, I assume, the same as my own."
"Yes, you see after the Great War, the atmosphere was so filled with
radioactive materials that all life was destroyed, except for that on
Daem, which was protected because of our distant and isolated location,
and the presence of a group of insects that neutralize radiation. They
were overwhelmed in the first few decades, for though they were able to
reduce the amount to make it habitable, we degenerated into what we are
now, Zards and Canitaurs, based on our habitats, we being mountainous,
forest dwelling folk, and they plains people. At first our ancestors
grew to immense proportions, as did the vegetation on Daem, but we
slowly returned to normal size as the radioactive material was consumed.
I am surprised that Onan did not tell you about it all," he said,
looking at me with a slight tinge of confusion creeping into his wayward
eyes, formerly filled only with hope and excitement.
"I wish he would have," I responded, "But he said that it was against
the rules."
"Ah, yes, I forgot about the rules there for a moment," he laughed, his
countenance returning to its former gleeful appearance.
"A foolish law, no doubt, and from whom?" I said, availing of the
apparent intra-personal deja vu, that is, the converging of the presents
of our two minds into one idea, between Wagner and myself to cultivate a
bit of sympathy in my difficult situation. But there would be no
harvest, for Wagner checked his mirth and said:
"It was necessary, and the Council of the Gods did well to govern
themselves more strictly."
"How so?"
"Well, during the Homeric period the gods really went at it, using
humanity as players in their battles, like a game of chess, actually.
Come to think of it, chess did originate in the realm of the gods after
the laws. Things were quite a mess back then, though, with a whole horde
of demi-gods walking the earth, and it ended up snuffing out the first
flames of democracy and leaving monarchies for the longest time."
"Homer's stories were true, then?" I asked.
"Very much so, but after the laws of physical abstinence were adopted
things mellowed out considerably, and men went back to their
self-obsession, their material minds weren't yet weaned from the physical
realm."
"So the very men who claimed mental superiority because they were free
from superstitions and divine disillusionment were themselves victims of
their own sophism, and while they thought themselves crowned with
enlightenment, it was naught but the Phrygian caps of their prejudices
toward the material state?" I asked, with more than the average dose of
irony and feeling, both for my subjects and myself.
"Exactly, upon disinterested examination one finds the theater of human
history to be one defined by a ludicrous melodramaticy, the soap opera
of the gods," he answered. "But we digress far from our point, Jehu,
which is a discussion concerning the implementation of our plans of
action formed in preparation of our current situation."
"So I had surmised," I smiled at the reminder, "But tell me, what are
your plans, and what is the current situation?"
"This is a time of fulfillment, with the events of many of our
prophecies coming to pass. Now is a time of action and of hope. You, our
kinsman redeemer, have come, and the time is ripe for victory and
domination, ripe, in short, for a return to natural existence, harmony
between forces interior and exterior. Our plan, my dear Jehu, is to
attack the Zards swiftly and fiercely and break their strongholds like
the walls of Jericho, literally."
"It sounds daring, certainly," I said, "But is it not overly so? I was
under the impression that the Zards were much superior in force than the
Canitaurs."
"In the southern regions, where you landed, yes, they are, but we rule
the northern sphere of action. Our forces actually form a soft
equilibrium that keeps fate's pendulum from straying from its neutral
position, so that a military action previously would not have been
predictable, with either side being capable of winning. Under such
conditions war is avoided, but now you have arrived. The Zards, as well
as ourselves, have been expecting a kinsman redeemer, you see, and our
war has been kept from raging by the belief of each side that their god
would propel them to victory with certainty by the sending of one such
as yourself. Your arrival changes things, it marks the beginning of our
dominance," he told me vaingloriously.
"The muted felicity I have witnessed about my arrival is explained,
then," I ventured, "Excitement that the end is near and victory close at
hand, yet that feeling subdued by the realization that a period of
deeper darkness must first be gone through."
"Your words are true," Wagner replied, "And yet I have a great
confidence in our plans, which have been matured through many years of
careful deliberation. As the time will never be more ready than at the
present, in the present we must act."
"What is your plan, then?" I asked.
"It is calculated to end in the conquering of the Zards, and as such,
only an unexpected and unrelenting attack at the very heart of their
strength will succeed. Anything less will only bring them to a full
alert, and then any battle will have to be drawn out with excessive
casualties on both sides. Therefore, we have decided upon an attack on
Nunami, their capital city and main strength, being the center and
majority of both their population and economy. Yet an outright siege of
the city is impossible for those very reasons, it being so
self-contained that it can resist bitterly, and its military is so
clustered that it can be brought into action almost instantly.
"Considering those problems, it was deemed necessary to draw the Zards
away from the city and destroy it in their absence, so that they are
left destitute of the means of war and sustenance, and rendered weak. To
do this, we have spent the last several years stockpiling huge
quantities of liquid fervidus flamma, an extremely combustible
substance. It is stored in an underground reservoir in the foothills of
the mountains, connected via aqueduct to Lake Umquam Renatusum. When the
time is ripe, we will empty it into the lake and set it aflame, and our
calculations show the flames reaching a height of five miles for a
length of six hours, which should be enough to gain the Zard's
preponderance," Wagner explained.
"But wouldn't it catch the forest on fire and burn down your whole
empire in the process?" I asked, alarmed at his apparent lack of
vigilance.
"We have been treating the trees on a ten mile radius with an
anti-flammatory solution for several years as well, and it is quite
impossible to set them on fire."
"Which explains why you dared to have a fire pit in the trunk of a tree
outpost."
"Yes," he laughed, "We aren't so foolhardy as we may seem. Appearances
can be deceiving."
"The exodus of the Zards from Nunami is almost guaranteed by the
mortal's natural curiosity and delight in the calamities of others," I
said, "But how do you plan on leveling the town before the remnant raise
the alarm and the mass of the people return?"
"Atomic anionizers," he returned.
"Which are what? They sound like they are beyond my level of
understanding."
"Not at all," Wagner told me, "Do not be fooled by the technically
complex sounding name. An atom is the smallest form into which matter
can be broken down into while still retaining its identity, and an anion
is a positively charged ion, or in other words, an instance of an atom
in which there are more electrons than protons, resulting in a charge of
negative electricity. An atomic anionizer is just what its name would
imply: a device that morphs normal atoms into atoms with an extreme
negative charge by emitting massive amounts, to the tune of many
millions of moles, of solitary electrons into the air through a bombing
device."
He went on, explaining the consequences of the weapon, "An atom, and
therefore all matter, which is made up of atoms, is engaged in a
constant revolution around the nucleus, in the same way in which our
solar system revolves around our sun, and our sun around the black hole
in the center of the galaxy. This revolving motion is the basis for the
formation of all matter that we know of, both in its smallest form, like
the atom, or its larger forms, like the galaxy. The electrons emitted
from the atomic anionizer are drawn into an orbit around the nuclei of
the atoms of all the matter near which they are detonated, much like the
way planets catch satellites and space debris into revolving rings
around them. This addition of electrons gives the atoms such a powerful
negative charge that the poles of the atom, which regulate its rotations
in much the same way that the earth's axis, or poles, regulate its
rotations, are thrown from their natural equilibrium, causing the poles
to reverse. This, in turn, changes the direction in which the atoms
rotate, and in the brief instant in which the force of the revolving
movement, or gravity, is not strong enough to retain the atom's shape,
it lapses, bringing the materials they make up crashing down in
disarray.
"We will plant some of these 'atomic bombs' inside the city of Nunami,
and when they go off, the buildings themselves will implode and tumble
to the ground. One hand-sized capsule can easily level almost ten square
miles, and we have enough of them to bring the Zards to their knees,
with plenty to spare for any circumstance."
"Wouldn't the bombs kill those who set them off, though?" I asked him
anxiously.
"We have electron deflecting suits that negate the effects of the
anionizers."
"I'm glad to hear it."
"And well you should be," he grinned, which, as out of place as it would
seem, looked completely natural on his countenance, "For you and I shall
be among the bombers. Our meeting must end here, though, my dear Jehu,
for we each have things to attend to in preparation for the attack on
Nunami. I will see you soon, until then, farewell."
"Farewell, Wagner," I replied, and we each stood and bowed as we
prepared to depart, each to our own occupations.
With that our council ended, and, in the company of Bernibus, I was sent
to another area of the fortress to be measured for an anti-electron
suit, in order to protect me from the effects of reverse revolution. We
didn't converse in the beginning of our walk, for my mind was too busy
subconsciously thinking over what Wagner had said to have any conscious
meditations.
We walked through the fortress towards the northern section, which held
the technological rooms, so as to get an anti-electron suit in the
making for myself. Realizing that the fortress has been little
described, I will do so now. It was broken into six different
sub-divisions, each branching from the only entrance, which was in the
center of them all, the different divisions connecting to it through
long, narrow defiles, or gorges, like the one at the entrance. This was
for security, each area being independently contained within the whole.
The six areas, or departments, as they were called, were as follows: the
Northern was the technological and industrial research and production
facilities; the Eastern was the residential department, containing also
the civil services, such as medical care and distribution centers; the
Southern was the agricultural and other food production areas, though
there was little besides agricultural, for the Canitaurs were strict
vegetarians; the Western was for mining minerals and other raw materials
to be used by the other departments. The other two departments were
below the others, being differentiated between by the names Left and
Right, the Left being the governmental offices, and the Right the
military headquarters, providing protections both civil and foreign
(this was, incidentally, the beginning of the expression of the terms
Left and Right to denote ideological preferences, but I digress).
Uniform in all the fortress was the architecture, it being a strange mix
between elegant and gentle arches and curves and brute practicality, for
while the ceilings were high and open, and the walls wide, they were
rendered homely by their plain surfaces and the absence of small
triflings, conditions that were necessitated because of its identity: an
impregnable fortress containing a highly organized and self-sufficient
governmental society, each citizen having a particular duty for the
common good, and each kept from an unfarcical personal identity by the
means of a statist society.
From the lower, governmental offices we went up a flight of stairs that
wrapped round and round a tower-like tunnel, and soon reached the
departmental portal. Once there, we took the northern tunnel, which
opened into a large hall that stretched on almost endlessly, with hordes
of tunnels branching off to the various agencies. There were a great
many Canitaurs working busily, preparing for the attack on Nunami and
its possible results, which, though long prepared for, had a few last
moment components to be finished. Walking down the central through way,
we went to the far end of the hall, which, as it was a walk of at least
two miles, afforded plenty of time for observation and reflecting, two
things that I am naturally given to. Accordingly, I turned to my
companion, Bernibus, and offered in an almost philosophical way:
"Your society seems to be flourishing, though I am not surprised, as you
all seem vigorously industrious. I am amazed, however, that no one
shirks from their job, no matter how menial or trifling."
"We all have our assigned jobs, and all know that one slovenly job may
cost us dearly," he said.
"I suppose I am prejudiced by my conceptions of personal liberty, but it
is contrary to my conscience that the state should have more duty than
to enforce the individual liberties by common force."
"But we are at war, and we must do as we do, or be trampled underfoot."
"If all states went no further than justice permits, namely the
protection by common force the rights of individuality, liberty, and
property, than there would be no room for conflict between states, and
hence, no war."
"Yet it is our ideologies that bring war, besides, do not the ends
justify the means?" he asked.
"Your ideologies may cause conflict, yet it seems that your behemoth
states facilitate it into war. About the ends and the means, I don't
know: I am no philosopher," I answered.
I sighed and was silent for a moment as we walked along, then, after a
moment or so, I said quietly to myself, "I'm not much of a kinsman
redeemer, either."
We continued on through the hall without further conversation, and I
paid little attention to my surroundings, so that while my eyes saw and
my mind displayed, my subconscious was not present in the effort, and
thereby no memory was retained. This may seem to be the plot of an
unimaginative writer to escape the use of that faculty, but as these are
nothing but my written memories, and I make no claims of producing good
fiction, I will leave that hall primarily to the minds of the reader.
Soon after, we arrived at our destination, which was very nearly at the
end of the hall, and entered to find that we were expected and a space
open for my fitting, which was soon accomplished, and my suit promised
to be at my quarters the next morning. That would be just in time for
the departure of the raiding party, which was set to cut out and embark
for Nunami a little after that, in order to be in place in the hidden
treetop posts surrounding the city before nighttime, as the operation
was to begin at midnight. At first I thought that the attack was pushed
forward in haste, but as I came to realize that my coming had been
prophesied and a great amount of time had been spent preparing for this
day, it seemed only natural that they should want to bring the
hostilities to a close after such a long time. There were other
considerations as well. The weather, for one, had to be dry and not at
all windy for the fire to be safely attempted, and also the possibility
of the Zards making the first offensive could not be ignored, for they
had knowledge of my arrival and may have felt forced to act to prevent
the very type of thing that we were about to attempt.