A Paradox in Retrograde (23 page)

Soon they were just inside the outer gate. Landaus then gave
another order. "Sergeant I'll need you to subdue this crowd before something ugly happens. But first I should tell them something. Alright open the door." The massive wooden door began
to slowly open outward on its stout hinges. There between the
open doors Landaus stood facing them.

As the doors opened the small crowd pushed forward. Landaus
with the back of his sheathed sword pushed back into the crowd.
The guards formed into a wedge and followed in closely behind
him. The sergeant pointed his pistol into the air and fired a single
shot. This concussion seemed to get their attentionand for a moment the shoving that was about to get out of control, had
stopped. Landaus seized the moment and began to address those
standing there. "I know curiosity has brought you all out here tonight. Now however, it is not the time. In due course, announcements will be made in which certain details will be revealed. For
the time being I can tell you only that there is evidence that Baldur may soon be under attack by foreign aggressors. If I could
give you one bit of advice, it would be to make ready what weapons you may have."

Suddenly there came a sound akin to a sustained crash of thunder. For an instant it startled those standing by, causing them to
duck in fear. Looking up they witnessed falling gently a descending cone of light. Against the backdrop of the starlit sky this object at first possessed the brightness of a new moon. It grew larger in both size and intensity the closer it drew toward the ground.
At a point of about a hundred meters from the ground the ship
fired another set of rockets. The effect of which was sufficient to
bring the ship to a sudden stop. For a few seconds it hovered
there motionless in the sky. From this position the ship then began to reorient itself into its landing position. Extruding from the
vehicle sides two sets of landing legs were deployed. At this point
from their vantage on the ground details could begin to be seen
by the onlookers. From behind the shroud of fire Landaus could
make out that this silhouette was of one of the alien ships. Together in fear and awe they stood back and watchedas the stream
of fire from the retro rockets lowered the giant craft gently toward the ground.

The people there could barely believe their eyes. They held
their collective breath for none on Baldur had likely ever seen
such a wonder of technology. The ship was long and sleek,
shaped like a metallic winged arrow. A platform and an accompanying set of stairs extracted itself from the body of the ship.
All eyes were now fixed on the door of the craft. They could not
be quite sure who to expect as the door slowly opened. Silhouetted there by the ship's internal lighting two stark figures were
illuminated. Unsure if this one was the ship that was earlier captured Landaus reached for his pistol. Finding only his empty
holster, he remembered he had left it in the hall. He would have
to make do with his saber. As his eyes adjusted to the light he
discovered to his surprise and relief that it was Ananda. The
second figure to their astonishment was a captive alien. As
Ananda and the strange creature descended the stairs, Landaus
studied the alien's appearance. Though diminutive, this version
of the species held the same traits and attributes as its larger
cousin. Landaus wondered as it drew nearer, "Is this a child?"
The crowd stood back clearing a swath as the two travelers
walked past them. The men guarding the gate opened the great
doors as the two figures approached. Following Ananda the majority of the crowd entered into the citadel. The guards close on
their heels followed suit, abandoning their posts.

By now the crowd had all but dispersed. Landaus had watched
passively as the stranger among them paraded his captive within
the gates. This was to him an unsettling scene. He was troubled
now by something intangible. He having fancied himself as being a keen judge of character took notice that something had
subtly changed about Ananda. Perhaps it was Xora's abbreviated
warning that triggered in his mind a second look. There was
something different about him, that much was true. He however
could not put a finger on it. It was in his eyes; though it had likely been there all along, he had not before seen it. In this he felt
he was alone for all of the others seemed too captivated by the
prisoner to notice such trivialities.

Though the prisoner that Ananda held in tow was a mere child,
he had a wild and fearsome look to him. Landaus could feel only pity, for the captive was their enemy, he nonetheless was just
a child. Of those gathered there who had in their hearts sworn to
defend their world and families against a mighty enemy, had not
imagined this one so young. With arms tied behind its back, and
seemingly helpless, he struggled vainly. The bound slave though
he had much heart had not the strength to break his bonds. With a
loud screeching sound he made his protests known.

By now Xora had approached at the mouth of the great hall and
now stood in witness as the spectacle was paraded by. As Ananda approached, she wanted to look into his eyes to feel what evils
she had been warned about. Suddenly she felt a tugging upon her
long dress. She looked down to see young Ibsen staring up at her
with a look of fear. She looked up again and Ananda had by then
already passed. She put her arm around young Ibsen and followed
them through the citadel. The wailing of the prisoner continued as
the procession made its way down into the lowest levels of the
citadel. There the long unused dungeon awaited its newest occupant. One of the guards opened wide the heavy cell gate. The
boy then was thrown still bound, into the dank cave like cell.
With a loud clang the gate heavily shut behind him.

Left to his own devices, quickly he struggled to release his
bounds. In short order he had thrown them off and was then racing headlong at them. There he discovered first-hand the hard
truth of the steel bars. He bounced off the cage door and fell hard
onto the floor. As he did a raucous laughter rose up from the
crowd egged on by Ananda. Dazed the boy rose again to his feet
and charged again, though more carefully this time. Ananda
stood before the howling beast and said to those in attendance,
"Look now onto your enemy. Do not feel pity, for if he could he
would drain the life force from your bodies." He turned toward
those assembled and gestured up towards the heavens. "There on
Nibaru your enemy awaits. In a thousand ships like the one in
which I came, they will descend and strike a death blow. They
will not stop until the human race has been extinguished." They
were captivated now by his words as he walked among them.
Wishing now to further stir their emotions so to spur them on, he
would continue to push them. "Though they are formidable, the
means to their ultimate destruction is within our grasp. Upstairs
we have in our possession, all that we need to create an array of
weapons the likes of which the earth has not seen in thousands of
years. The very same technology that allows their ships to leap
across space can be harnessed into a weapon. With such a weapon we will unleash the collective power of a sun in one brilliant
flash of destruction. It is here on the rocky plains of Baldur that
we will ransom the life of this young prince and so lure their
fleet of ships to their destruction. Let us go now and proceed to
that end. Who among you now will join me on this crusade?"

The crowd, once paralyzed by fear and confusion had been galvanized by his mere words. Their collective energy so honed
seemed now to hum of its own accord. Ananda seizing the moment and personally began leading them back up the dungeon
stairs and into the great hall where at last the work would commence. The entire group seemed now to move of one purpose.
Xora could see now how such a man could steal the hearts of
men. Having stood there painted in the blood of his enemies his
words formed a tune both ancient and familiar that would draw
them inexorably toward a war of his own making. Observing
those listening she noted that all there seemed affected although
to varying degree. "Here is the man who I have been warned of;
for this is too awesome and dangerous a power for one man to
long possess."

Ibsen had looked on as a quiet witness when those around him
stood mocking the captive child. He immediately had felt a
wave of sorrow for his would be enemy. For in his plight he saw
his own. He could not help to think that he and this alien had
much in common. Like himself, he was an unwilling victim of
those bigger, stronger, and louder. Ibsen seemingly had a level
of maturity that was out of sync with his young age. The fact
that he found the behavior displayed by his elders was unbefitting their status was a testament to this. Ibsen was fearful, and
wanted no more to do with this rabble. Still holding tightly onto
Xora's hand he looked up to her as to ask her why.

Without a word spoken she shook her head for she had no answer for him. Staring into the cold blackness of his captive's
eyes, he saw there mirrored dimly an image of fear. Ibsen however could not tell what emotions if any, were hidden there behind his fearsome expression. Studying him so, he had not noticed that the majority of them had returned to the great hall.
Only Xora and his father remained. "Are you alright son? It's
time we got ourselves upstairs" said Landaus as he placed his
hand gently upon his son's head.
He turned towards his father and with a subdued expression on
his face said "I'd like to stay back here awhile, if that's alright?"

Landaus and Xora proceeded to climb the stairs to join the others
on the main floor. Soon they came upon the large wooden door
that opened out into the imposing space that was the Great Hall.
There they found Ananda who once again was displaying his
great ability to be all things to all people. He stood there before
the assembled crowd while tinkering away at an alien device that
seemed to open like the leaves of a book. However unlike a book,
its brightly illuminated pages were projected as a hologram into
thin air before them as he flipped through its pages. None there
save for Xora who had unlimited access to the crystal room had
before seen such technology displayed. There as the leaves were
paged through many a chart and diagram of great complexity
were displayed. He was looking for something. No one there
could possibly help him find what he was looking because it all
seemed so unfamiliar. After a few moments he seemed to have
found whatever it was. He pressed the pages down flat and
stepped back. Floating there above the in three dimensions was
an animation of three intersecting shapes in motion. Once those
assembled had gotten over the initial shock their minds began to
focus more intently on the dialogue that describedthe imagery.

"Gentlemen and ladies, here is what I wanted to show you. However I would firstly make note that what I am about to tell you
may be new to your science. Though the concepts represented are
on the theoretical edge of your current knowledge the technology
however is not. We are dealing with a learning curve that far exceeds anything you may have before experienced. I am realistic
in my sense that some of you may not ever fully understand these
concepts. I know from your number a core group will raise to the
challenge. That being said let me now proceed. This seemingly
simple set of forms is a model representing the potential flow of
super-heated plasma constrained within a volume of an electromagnetic field. While suspended under intense electromagnetic
pressures an iota of matter within the plasma are bombarded by
the simultaneous firing of multiple streams of subatomic particles. In order to do this properly, one must first master the maelstrom of super-heated plasma within." The animation glowed
revealing in pulsing colors of eddies and the temperature variations that must be overcome. Using a pointer he highlighted
these areas and described them. "Here you can see that even at
these temperatures and pressures the field is imperfect. One then
must endeavor to identify and isolate the appropriate toroidal
coordinates. For only a perfectly calibrated and precisely synchronized firing will create the optimal conditions required for
the desired reaction. If these conditions are met and if the integrity of the plasma containment field can be controlled and maintained, a resulting implosion will result in the fusion of this plasma into a new element. In doing so an enormous amount of energy, far more than is put into creating the reaction is released.
Furthermore if during the course of this reaction the pressure
and the supply of plasma can be maintained this reaction could
in theory be maintained indefinitely. It is in this controlled manner by which our enemy's ships can muster the energy required
to leap effortlessly across the gulf of space." He walked to the
table upon which the book sat and momentarily closed it. The
image vanished. He turned back to his captivated audience and
again began speaking. "I can tell by the look on your faces that
this seems from your perspective, perhaps a little far-fetched. I
assure you this technology and others perhaps even more
astounding, are real. These artifacts as you call them are merely
tools of a technology you have not yet mastered. In time, I will
teach you that there are unlimited peaceful uses for these technologies." As was his intention, their faces glowed with emotion
as they contemplated those promises. He paused another moment and returned to the where the book lay. For a moment he
stood thumbing through its pages. He again opened wide its
pages and looking down towards it his face was painted in an
intense red and orange glow. The image again there in midair
was projected. All there now witnessed an image they could little understand yet were innately drawn to. In the animation a
stark image was portrayed. There upon a desert plain a bright
flash in an instant lit the darkened twilight to daylight. Rolling
out from the epicenter the shock wave that followed, moved out
across the naked plain at a speed that defied practical belief.
High into the atmosphere a singular white plume rose. Illuminated from within, the roiling cloud rolled onward to the roof of the
sky. Gently the cloud broke and a black rain fell down onto the
fiery hell below. Of those who stood as witness to this display
there were awestruck as if they were looking upon the very power
of the gods unleashed. Seeing their reaction he looked out upon
them. Again he spoke and as he did he was possessed of a most
ominous expression. "What you have just seen here is how by
using virtually the same technology; a reaction of an entirely different sort can be obtained. This sort of chain reaction is not in a
practical sense any more difficult to achieve than the peaceful
variety. In fact this kind of reaction involves a skill set more suited to our crude abilities for there being no need to contain the reaction. We need only to maintain the pressure long enough to ignite the chain reaction."