The Days of Peleg (6 page)

She dismissed her fears and allowed a wave of excitement to overtake her as she began to prepare for the night’s observations.

Perhaps the mystery of
Nibiru
would finally be solved.

Chapter 5

Alternatives

“Evidence never lies. But the eyes through which it is viewed often do.”

C
hief Advisor Sarphaxad entered the room hurriedly but respectfully.

“High Minister,” he said carefully. “It is time.”

Reu-Nathor was resting in the Heaven’s Gate chamber high atop the
Citadel
. This small room held the greatest secrets known to man: instruction manuals on differential calculus and other higher mathematics, and most importantly—never disclosed information from before the Great Calamity.

The most guarded secret (the final verse of the initiates’ song) was the knowledge that their planetary/star system contained a total of twelve objects, including the sun and this world with its moon. The outer three were too faint to be seen, (with proper instruction, the closest of these
could
sometimes be seen), but it was known which house they were in, and their cycles and paths were followed faithfully. It was also known, but had never been observed, that the colors of the outer
two
were green and blue, respectively.

To Reu-Nathor, on this evening, the most beautiful attribute of this chamber was that it was high above the traffic and noise below.

“Prepare the roof,” he instructed. Tonight’s goal was to try one more time and spot the elusive Nibiru. It should be visible within the constellation of the Twins, and the past several evenings had been spent trying to re-discover it. They had charted an unknown object the night before, and were anxious to see if it had moved relative to the fixed stars.

Nibiru was also known as the Crossing Planet, since it ‘crossed over’ or occupied the void between the smaller inner planets, and the giant outer ones. However, now that Nibiru had not been seen for almost two hundred years, ‘Crossing Planet’ had come to mean
crossing from visible to invisible
.

The section of the ceiling began to slide sideways and expose the night sky. A sharp draft of cool air entered through the opening, and Reu-Nathor stood up and headed for the stairs, pulling his cape over his shoulders.

There were now four advisors who were making preparations, and one scribe who was ready to record the night’s events.

The High Minister welcomed them all.

“Tonight we share again the opportunity to locate that which has eluded us, and to demonstrate to the world the wisdom and knowledge which we have fashioned.

“May this night be the night.”

The level of enthusiasm seemed to drop several levels at this last sentence. Nibiru was gone, possibly destroyed during the same time as the Great Calamity. It was hard to imagine something destructive marring the perfection of the heavens, but it had been seen before. He himself had witnessed the “Dancing Star”,
Ea
, which had swelled and exploded. For weeks everyone watched the shooting spikes of light from the southern constellation, The Sail, illuminate the horizon. It had happened just a few years before the Great Awakening.

He was now standing on the roof of the largest Citadel in existence. The expanse of the heavens poured over him, and he could discern individual stars in their color and clarity. He could see the
Margidda
, the milky swath of luminescence which cut through the firmament and thought of the legend of
Utnapishtim
, who rejoiced upon seeing this ‘river of the night’ again for the first time after the Great Calamity.

The advisors were talking hurriedly and excitedly amongst themselves. Reu-Nathor approached and inquired, “Is it there again tonight?”

“High Minister, you know that what we saw last night was most assuredly much too small. In fact, it will be a few more days before we can be certain that it is not a comet.”

“
It can’t be a comet!”
Inanna almost shouted at her husband. They had been watching this new tiny visitor for three days, now. “It’s
very
close to where Nibiru should be!”

“We must be patient.” Her husband reeked of calm. “Besides, this is
much
too faint. According to our charts, Nibiru should be closer to earth now than it has been in over two hundred and twelve years, and all of the oral records insist that it should be almost as bright as Nergal.
This
wanderer is barely visible.”

“The light is
still
moving against the stars, High Minister.” Sarphaxad had been dutifully recording its transit for weeks, now, and wanted to avoid jumping to any conclusions. “But, it does not increase or decrease in brightness. It certainly does not shine with the intensity needed for Nibiru. We are unsure as to the meaning of this.”

“I’ll tell you the meaning of this.” Reu-Nathor had made up his mind. Almost a month of studying its crossing had become very wearisome. “Nibiru is destroyed. We have simply discovered a remnant that has remained in its path. Apparently, it did not survive
its
Great Calamity.”

“Reu-Nathor is a fool!” Inanna was furious. “These
no-heads
simply ignore our years of research, and then vomit their ignorance throughout the masses.” This epithet was heard only among Mentors and was an abbreviation of
no-foreheads
—a racist slur directed at the non-Mentor majority and their smaller brows—and brains.

It had now been almost a month since the discovery of the tiny wanderer, and the average citizen was now aware of the new visitor and excitedly tracking its path through the heavens.

The object of Inanna’s scorn had just made his public pronouncement. The High Minister claimed to have discovered the remnant of Nibiru, but Inanna knew that his advisors had done all the work. The idea that a celestial wanderer could simply explode was ludicrous. It was obvious that something drastic had happened to Nibiru’s path, and that people had simply been looking in the wrong place.

There was one reason—and only one—why Nibiru did not have its former brilliance: It was farther away. It was her calculations that had brought them this last glimpse.

“Perhaps the charts and calculations we use today are wrong.” Her husband was being thoughtful as usual. He turned to her. “We should compare the reported brilliance of pre-Calamity Nibiru with the current intensity. We could then create a more accurate path and even determine what role it may have played in the Great Calamity.”

“I knew I married you for more than just your big, beautiful, black forehead.” Inanna broke into a huge smile as her irritation melted away. “You always know how to clarify a situation and provide a clear path where anyone else would see only confusion.” She threw her arms around him, but continued to shake her head in frustration.

Their one hundred and twenty-third anniversary was two months away and they were still the perfect team. In fact, they had been on a trip for their twentieth anniversary when they had awakened the next morning, unaware they were speaking to each other in a new language. They hadn’t even noticed it until she tried to read the research notes she had written the day before. It had been strange translating her own research from a language of which she had no memory. Inanna shook her head. She had known couples who had awakened to find they spoke
different
languages.

“Ishrah…” said her husband. Ishrah was his pet name for her—a diminutive of
Ishtar
, her pre-Awakening name—and also the goddess of love. “With your mathematics confirming my theories, nothing can stop us. I have a hunch, but I’ll wait until you begin some preliminary calculations.”

He paused and thought for a moment. He tried to apply the dictates of
Cosmic Plurality
to the situation. The basic premise of
Cosmic Plurality
was the impossibility of the number ‘one’. If a phenomena or event happened once, nothing could prevent it from happening again; in fact, it was almost certain to be a regular occurrence throughout the cosmos. Cosmic Pluralists were often accused of believing in “space beings” and “life among the stars” without regard for the deeper principles and tenants. If life happened once, it must have happened many times; and he was convinced that a ‘plurality of worlds’ existed and that this pattern was reflected throughout the universe. It most certainly was a mistake to think that life here was an isolated exception.

He had opposed his wife’s theories on the basis that, although the ancients had some amazing technologies, they most certainly were not able to make the kind of voyage she envisioned. His mind began to formulate a new synthesis. What if they had outside help?

If there
were
sentient beings on Nibiru with such capabilities, then perhaps the vanished Watchers
had
left. Perhaps they could have been rescued by the inhabitants of Nibiru if its path were elongated enough to allow close passage. Inanna would not be happy to give up her
Suen
theory, but hopefully, if he introduced it gradually enough, she would be satisfied to retain a portion of it.

“As you continue your calculations and research, keep this in mind,” he encouraged his wife carefully. “Since Nibiru is
currently
much further away than people thought, it must have been much closer two hundred years ago. In fact it must have a very eccentric trajectory. Also keep in mind, that no matter how far away it is, it will return someday.” He hoped to nudge his wife in the direction of his new theory, but allow her to conceive it on her own.

Inanna nodded, suddenly concerned. She loved her husband dearly, but it wouldn’t do to have his meditations and ‘hunches’ revising her theories.

“I’ll get to work on them immediately.”

Chapter 6

Mission

“Is the Universe to be understood or enjoyed? Either option implies purpose.”

P
eleg awoke to the clanging of the large bell suspended above the door of his living quarters. He swore quietly—this was his day to sleep in. He looked groggily around the room and wondered where he had placed his cape. His wives were no doubt singing and playing math games with the children who were still too young for formal education. When they were older, they would be removed to boarding schools if they qualified—just as many of his older children had been. This opportunity was available because of his position in the
Citadel
. The drawback was that he would lose track of those selected children as they continued their studies, since the
Citadel
education demanded that all family ties be broken. Every parent knew that their children, in order to be successful, had to join a trade school of some sort. The earlier a child left home and began his or her sequestered training at an appropriate boarding school, the better it was for the community—and of course for the child. Every parent’s first choice was the
Citadel
, but such positions were very rare, and entrance requirements were very difficult. But there were training schools in just about any discipline: Law, music, masonry, and finance were among the other options. Usually a child could find admittance to one of these before they reached their late teens. But at that time, the relieved parents knew they were probably saying farewell to their child for the last time.

Most family lines had been lost during the Great Awakening anyway. Peleg had never known who his parents were, and besides, the
Citadel
taught that family dependencies inhibited the acquisition of
Knowledge
.

The bell clanged again, and he grabbed a robe and went to open the door.

Serug was standing there with a big dumb grin on his face. Peleg hoped he hadn’t been drinking at this hour.

“Have you seen the Duty Assignments?” Serug was hopping from one foot to the other and talking way too loudly. “Your name is on one of the lists! You’ve been assigned to the
Urbat
!”

Peleg continued to wake up. It was not a
great
surprise, but he was slightly relieved. It would have been embarrassing
not
to be selected.

“What about you?”

“No. Not me. I haven’t even finished my education, yet. I’m only forty-two.”

Peleg was sure there would be some men that young on this venture but said nothing. He knew Serug was disappointed, but he didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

“Come on!” said Serug, “You’ve got to report to your duty master—although we already know what your job will be. Imagine: ‘The mighty explorer, Peleg; Chief Cartographer for the
Urbat
!’”

“Whatever you say.” Although Peleg was renown for teaching Cartography, and excelled in math, he had never really exercised his skills in the real world, on a real expedition mapping unknown lands. His secret concern was his uncontrollable fear of heights.

“Let me get dressed, and we’ll head on over.”

The shipyards and dry-docks were in a state of frenzy. It had been four months since the High Minister’s proclamation, which left only three months to complete the building and outfitting of four seaworthy vessels and supply them.

These fine vessels would also need crews, and it was up to him, Ninazu, to get everyone organized, and make sure that all crewmembers and scientists were taken care of. Someone had conferred upon him the title of Admiral, the Lord of the Waters, but once his current task was complete, he would not sail with the any of the boats in the expedition. Today he was dealing with the new Chiefs.

“Excuse me.”

A man with dark skin and sharp indigo eyes was staring over the desk in his open-air office.

“I’m here to report for duty. I’ve been assigned to the
Urbat
.”

Ninazu was going to spend twelve hours every day for the next three days repeating this exchange.