A Paradox in Retrograde (10 page)

"Thank you it is much appreciated." It was easy for him to forgive this perceived slight from an old friend for it was obvious
that the tensions for all involved had stretched them to their limits. "I fear I have spent too long with our visitor, for I am due
back at the capitol. Until tomorrow then Grunhuf, then we shall
see what this traveler of ours can tell us." The two shook hands as
friends and went their separate ways.

Landaus had made his way back to the station. Because of his
rank there was no need for him to purchase a ticket. Before him
upon a set of steel tracks a set of an ornate carriage cars connected in a long line pull into the station. He boarded the train for the
two hour trip back to the capitol. From here therewas but one
stop so he found his seat and settled in for the ride. After several
moments the magnetic brakes disengaged and the train began
snaking its way slowly at first, over the craggy wind blown landscape. Farther inland its speed increased as it floated within the
shadows of verdant hills that reached high into the overcast sky.
Landaus watched passively as this parade of images passed before his window. However as he moved across the land his mind
could focus only on his responsibilities. These thoughts weighed
heavily on him. How his government would strain to grapple with
these most bizarre set of circumstances, amongst the rising tide of
public hysteria still remained unanswered. As if that were not
enough, there arose other still more mysterious questions to he
could not speak of, even to those closest to him. These were held
tight within an ever shrinking circle of trusted figures in government.

The train arrived late to the dust choked mountain top town of
Tauburg. So by the time Landaus had reached the assembly, he
had missed the opening remarks. There was no line at the reception center. As he approached two armed guards stood at the
ready. Though the guards had recognized the colonel, he was
stopped at the door nonetheless. "I beg your pardon colonel, but
it's our orders. Most of the members had already found their seats
and we are not allowed to make any exceptions." He nodded in
agreement, as these were his own orders. He was made to submit
to a body search and had to sign an oath of secrecy prior to being
allowed to attend the function. Due to the secretive nature to
these proceedings Landaus would not allow any breach of protocol, even for himself. He had gone to great lengths to ensure these
meeting were held in the strictest confidence. However, these
measures did little to alleviate the palatable anxiety among the
members assembled there. Having submitted to the screening he
was cleared to enter. He made it inside just as the main presentation was about to get underway, and so he quickly found a seat
near the rear. He looked around and recognized that those there
assembled in the great hall were all the personages of power and
influence the small nation could muster. They were called there,
as they would soon discover, to this closed session of the legislature to hear a discourse from the astronomer royal. In light of
recent events, Landaus sensed the mater in question could not
bode well for Baldur.

All noise lowered to a murmur as an older gentleman Landaus
did not recognize walked slowly to the dais. He turned on the
over head projector and spoke into the microphone introducing
himself to the crowd. "Good evening ladies and gentleman. For
those of you who do not recognize me, I am Doctor Adler, the
royal representative for scientific affairs. As such I have come
before you leaders of Baldur with some news that may be
shocking, but must be taken seriously." There upon the white
washed walls of the great hall transparencies flashed displaying
star charts and images of planetary bodies. These Landaus easily
recognized from his early days of grade school when the students would call out loud, the names of the planets in order of
distance from the sun. There were some images however he
could not recognize. The old man talked on explaining his findings in terms more suited for graduates in mathematics than security officers. Despite this Landaus could recognize the trajectory described in this great arc could mean only one thing.
There was something big, perhaps a planet, approaching the
Earth. Once the meaning of his words was understood the room
grew silent. The previously raucous crowd now sat quietly in
rapt attention as the professor continued on counting down the
potential dangers. "As can be plainly seen-" using a long wooden pointer he traced the arc across the transparency. "The cycle
of this visitation brings this planet x within the realm of the inner planets for the first time in millennia. Though we have never previously documented this transit, we have been able to calculate to a high degree of certainty, the track of its present orbit.
What we have discovered is that these dangers are real. Beyond
the details of what physics can tell us, its velocity, mass and trajectory we know little about this wanderer. We can however extrapolate and predict its effects on the Earth and its celestial
neighbors." One outspoken member of the legislatureseemingly
not hearing the professor's previous statement asked a question.
"Where has this planet x come from, and when will it hit Earth?"
The professor rolled his eyes and scratched his stubby beard and
tried as best he could to relay the answer in the simplest possible
terms. "This planet x of which we have discovered may have existed in the cold attic of the Solar system since the beginning of
time or Sol may have captured it, plucked from the blackness between the stars. It's too early to tell for sure right now. To answer
your other question about a potential collision; there are two answers both with potentially grave consequences for life on Earth.
In a nutshell it's like this a direct hit we're dead, an indirect hit
we're dead. We are confident this will not happen. It is far more
likely though these worlds closest to the Sun will experience
large scale rotational and electromagnetic disturbances." The
crowd unable or unwilling to absorb the meaning of this news
seemed to let out a collective grumble. "In the best case scenario
we may experience marked increases in the frequency and severity of the earth quakes, tsunami and global scale storms of the like
we have already begun to experience."

Little by little as the evidence mounted the gravity of their situation now was made plain to them. A panic among these usually
sober men set in, as all decorum within the chamber was lost. A
flurry of questions from the galleries fell deafly to the floor as a
cacophony of voices strained to out shout their neighbors. Landaus having seen enough rose from his seat and left the chamber.
He knew there were other more pressing matters that needed his
attention. As he walked out he mumbled something to himself
under his breath, "They don't know the half of it."

What he knew he could not share even with those closest to him.
For within the number that had been there present at the great
hall, a small subset that was privy to even more startling news.
The unsettling facts promised to be so profound as to potentially
disrupt the civil order. This secret was known only by threat of
death to several key functionaries within the government and a
select corps of trusted service men. Among the rugged hills of
Baldur, there several weeks before the discovery of a strange airship that had apparently crashed had been made. Despite the great
lengths taken to ensure this discovery's secrecy it was only a matter of time however before word of the incident would leak out to
members of the legislature and the general public. Somehow
they had managed to keep it that way.
On a high mountain pass late one night some casual sky watchers were shocked to see a trail of fire race across the sky. Landaus had been called and he dispatched a group of armed guards
to secure the site until he arrived there. Landaus from his town
home had traveled by cable car up the side of the craggy mountain. Though the sky had darkened as dusk approached the disrupted earth and twisted metal were plain to see in the fire light.
Landaus stepped from the cabin of the cable car and was immediately hit with the acrid smells of smoke and fire. As he approached he found the captain of the guard rallying a bucket brigade. The fire had been raging since the guard arrived hours earlier. Due to their dogged efforts the fire was now under control.
Landaus approached and spoke to the captain. "You've done
quite a job here Captain Jagger." The captain saluted Landaus.
"Thank you, sir."

"What is it? I know I wasn't called all the way up here to see you
put out a forest fire. Is it more forerunner stuff?" "I think not",
replied the captain. Landaus expression drew blank as the Captain replied, "Why don't I show you, it might be easier?"

The two walked closer into the smoldering remains of what appeared to be some sort of crashed aircraft. Though this was unlike any craft he had ever seen. He took noticed to how about
the ground was strewn bits and pieces of metal and glass of a
type he had never encountered. The surface qualities to these
materials were unusual for although they shimmered in the waning sunlight there was no reflection cast. He bent down and
picked one piece of paper like metal from the ground. He examined the odd metal strip and discovered that despite its thin and
flimsy appearance, its integrity was superior. He tried as best he
could to tare with his hands the foil like substance, to no avail.
The material gave easily as he twisted and crumpled it. Though
the shape yielded to the pressure placed upon it, it snapped
quickly back to its previous form once the exertingpressure was
released. "Interesting" He walked another few pacesand found
another shape of metal this time however it had marking upon
its surface that appeared to be letters or numbersof a language
he had never before seen. "That's odd." The captain then said. "I
can show you something odd sir, come with me." Hefollowed
behind the young officer as best he could as they left the area of
the smoldering earth to another area where a makeshift camp had
been erected. The captain came to the entrance of a tent, before
which were standing a pair of armed guards. He gave the guards
the order to stand down. "That will be all for now, take a break
and return here in ten minutes. As the Captain unzipped the door
of the tent he said, "You might want to prepare yourself. This is
some rank stuff." Landaus looked down on the ground. He was
shocked by what he had seen there. There on the ground were
what appeared to be three tarp covered bodies. With Landaus
now standing before the corpses, the Captain kneeled down and
pulled back the cover on the body closest to him. These charred
remains of these creatures were obviously humanlike. They were
tall, pale skinned, with long locks of frosted amber hair and black
doll like eyes. There arms and fingers were substantially longer
than those of humans. The Captain of the guard bent down next
to Landaus to show him one additional curious feature. He lifted
up the left arm of the corpse closest to him and said, "Colonel if
you would please take a look at what I discovered here on this
fellow." Landaus looked down to see spanning from the wrist to
his waist a large flap of skin that formed a membrane. "What in
heaven, Wow that looks like a wing." As He spoke these words
the seemingly dead creature's head turned towards them. It cast at
them an empty glance with its deep set eyes as it let out a terrifying scream. The startled captain fell back in fright and the creature with the speed of a tiger was on him. The captain was
fighting for his life before he had even figured what had happened. The captain fought to release himself from his grip as the
creature's long incisors drew nearer to his naked throat. Landaus
withdrew his sword and stepped back the length of one pace. He
knew a sword thrust might kill the captain. Thinking quickly with
his free hand he drew his flintlock pistol. With steady hand and
deliberate aim he raised the gun up square with his shoulder and
fired. The hammer slammed down with a crash and concussion of
the pistol rang through the rocky valley. A horrible sound issued
out then was silenced. From behind the dissipating billow of
white smoke appeared the creature's broken skull, its contents
spilled onto the visibly traumatized Captain. The creature however had not yet known it was beaten for with every ounce of fight
it had left, it tried to rise up and face Landaus. With his sword
ready he swung a broad pass of his blade across itstorso. The
creature this time fell to the ground quite dead. The captain
made it to his feet bloodied but largely intact. By the time the
guard had responded to the commotion. The Colonel gave the
order, "Burn these bodies! I want nothing left for the crows, do
you hear me?"

There along the high promontory, the light of the mid-day sun sat
heavily upon its limestone walls. Standing there Ananda peered
far out onto the shining sea. Since the previous night the tantalizing vision of that jagged dream set his mind reeling with questions. Though the view he stared upon offered an unparalleled
vista, he knew his answers ultimately would not be found there.
He also knew he was far adrift from his embarkation though he
could not begin to fathom by how far. These holes in his memory
he thought must somehow be key. He sensed these holes would
soon be filled by something or someone waiting within that crystal room. So Ananda then was anxious to return there to complete
some unfinished business.

There he was visited upon again by that unknown tune that hung
there raggedly in his throat. Rolling disjointedly over his tongue
it floated in the distilled ether of his own memory just beyond his
reach. He longed to know the words as he had once known them.
Xora was approaching, so he turned from the wall toward her and
said, "If you must know the state of my mind, then we should not
waste another moment. We should return to the crystal room at
once." With a look of disappointment on her face Xora responded. "Have you not enjoyed our hospitality, Ananda?" He looked
into her eyes, and could tell she was somehow put off by his impatience. But was there something else he sensed? He thought
perhaps she was infatuated by his manner. He decided he would
not play the cad. He would need to be more sensitive for he did
not want her to feel trifled with and thus alienate his greatest
ally. He moved swiftly to ease her emotions. "What is the matter
Lady Xora, have I said something to upset you? I do apologize
if I have said or done anything to show disrespect. I have wished
only to unburden you. I suspected this business with these gentlemen friends of yours to have distressed you. I can't help but
think it was my presence here among you that may have caused
your trouble. I wish only to relieve you of this distress, and be
on my way." She was surprised by his keen insight and was now
embarrassed by how much she may have inadvertently shown
this stranger. "No you have been a perfect gentleman. I imagine
I was enjoying the flow of this day so much that I had completely forgotten that there was real business to take care of. Do forgive me? Come, we shall again look upon the oracle and receive
its blessings."