The Days of Peleg (3 page)

He shrugged off the thought. There was no way that a superior, vanished strain of humanity would be living isolated in these caves. Besides, how could they “watch” from deep underground?

Another young boy with similar stature to the first, but slightly taller and also with a long nose, entered his room. He strode directly in front of Peleg and pointed to the two light panels.

“Your visual handicap requires more light.”

The line was delivered quickly, as if he had been rehearsing it for some time, and the boy gave no indication that he understood the words he was speaking. Peleg began to nod, but the boy looked sharply at him and continued his recitation.

“You are to be our guest. We will provide your food and physical needs. You will complete your life here.”

The boy dropped a small parcel on the ground, turned quickly, and left the room.

Peleg yelled, “Wait!” and strained to follow, but his ankles were still fastened to the platform. He heard a grinding noise, and saw a stone panel being lowered across his doorway. As it hit the ground, there was a loud
clank
, and his ankle cuffs separated so he could remove his feet.

Peleg got up, rubbed his ankles, and moved over to the bag. Inside was a fur kilt, some leather footwear, and what appeared to be a thin bearskin blanket. He sat on the floor as waves of futility and disillusion washed over him. His research was lost. No one knew where he was, and no one even knew of these people.

A strange sounding flute began to play, echoing in the corridor beyond his cell. For a brief moment, he listened with anticipation, desperate for the slightest sensory hint of normalcy; but the unidentifiable material of the flute, and the grating, incomprehensible tuning only strengthened his sense of alienation and abandonment.

His anger and despair deepened as he recalled the excitement which had surrounded the expedition’s genesis twelve years earlier, back in the Hall of Spheres at the
Citadel
.

His journey was over.

Chapter 2

Proclamation

“The Great Awakening demonstrated beyond any doubt the boundless psychic and creative powers of the Collective Subconscious.”

P
eleg snuck into the back of the Hall of Spheres, uncharacteristically late, where Reu-Nathor,
Ul-Minister of Knowledge
, had just started his dissertation. The marble walls were tiled in stones with a deep blue glaze, and speckled with sparkling tiny-jeweled facets. The walls slanted inward towards the ceiling, conforming to the
Citadel
’s outer dimensions. Peleg had seen this hall when the lights were dimmed, and knew that these sparkling arrays outlined the constellations and were angled ever so slightly to create a soft halo above the room; which, of course, was directly below the Chamber of Heaven’s Gate.

At the moment, though, the room was brightly lit by dozens of oil-lamps along the walls, illuminating a large, suspended mobile representing the four outer planets circling slowly just under the ceiling. (The special hall for
Nabû
and
Inana
was two levels down.)

Peleg instinctively recited their names in his head.
Nergal, Nibiru, Enki, and Ninurta
. The bulges of Ninurta could be seen, although the orb was currently in the far corner of the room.

From ages before the Great Calamity, the movements of these four outer planets had long been known, but since that event, Nibiru had never been seen again. For almost two hundred years, astronomers had searched for the phantom wanderer in vain. Peleg smiled slightly as he watched the orbs move overhead.
We continue to pretend like it’s still there.

High Minister Reu-Nathor was continuing his lecture.

“…and here is where we discern the most amazing aspect of
Lifeforce
. The stagnation and lack of adventure which our forbearers demonstrated upon entering the new world stifled our intellect, and the resulting psychological and intellectual vacuum was very painful—leaving our psychic creativity with no room to grow.

“But, as is the nature of
Lifeforce
, an adaptation presented itself. Just as breeding, domestication, and environmental pressures can bring about new species or physical variations, the aforementioned mental pressures and psychic starvation brought about new intellectual variations. Humanity’s collective subconscious rebelled, and in a relatively brief moment of time, new information, new mental pathways, and new realities were suddenly made available. Therefore, almost one hundred years ago, humanity experienced what I am calling a “Punctuated Linguistic Metasystem Transition”, or PLMT, using the same processes which brought about life from the sea, and also the initial emergence of intelligence in man.”

A short pause, but not long enough to allow any applause.

“I hereby declare the quest for a rational explanation of the Great Awakening complete!”

The room erupted with a standing ovation and even some cheers—which this revered and solemn hall seldom heard. Peleg watched the ecstatic crowd and overheard a lady seated in front of him lean over and yell to her colleague, “Absolute Genius! No wonder he’s High Minister!”

Reu-Nathor waited for the clamor to die down.

“Thank you, thank you. I humbly appreciate your kind support. However, I have just one more thought in conclusion.

“The PLMT was not without its price, and, just as all life processes need trials, hardship, and death to progress, so our society was torn apart and much was sacrificed for this glorious outcome. However, the goal of
Lifeforce
is always selection and improvement, and humanity now has unlimited options and infinite paths. Since language defines who we are and how we think, new ways of thinking, new frames of reference, and even new realities, if you will, are open to us. Already explorers have migrated to establish new cultures, new civilizations, and to chart the new world with excitement and abandon as never before. The cosmos has been opened to us!”

After the second wave of applause had died down, the High Minister asked, “Are there any questions?”

A man close to the front of the room raised his hand. Peleg recognized him as Mentor Salah, a proponent of
Cosmic Plurality
. The Mediator acknowledged him, and he spoke.

“Thank you, High Minister. Your theory and accompanying explanations are, on the surface, very credible and I applaud you. As I am sure you know, there are reports and observations that the actual Great Awakening event took place in a very short period of time—perhaps overnight or even within a matter of minutes. I understand the word ‘
Punctuated
’ in your PLMT means ‘sudden’, but I seriously doubt that ‘punctuated’ could mean ‘within minutes’. Surely it
is
plausible that a change of this magnitude might require at least
some
external impetus. The idea of a jump that size in such a small amount of time without some external help strains credibility.”

The Hall of Spheres was bathed in gripping silence. Questions of the High Minister of
Knowledge
happened rarely. Challenging him happened even less, and then, only a Mentor would dare. Mentor Salah had just declared the High Minister’s new solution to be impossible—
in public
, and the attendees waited to see what academic disciplinary action was forthcoming.

Reu-Nathor scowled down at his feet, pondering, and then raised his head, regarding Salah with a kindly, paternalistic smile. It was the kind of loving gaze a father gives to his little boy after his son has just proclaimed that the wind is caused by trees, because when it blows, he can see branches moving.

“My friend, Salah. How good of you to come today.”

Salah nodded back politely as the High Minister continued.

“I respect your wisdom and certainly your age. I even understand the great thought that goes into many of your historical scenarios.” The
word
he used was ‘scenarios’ but his inflexions made it sound like he had said ‘imaginary friends’. “But I must remind you, and those assembled here, that you have not had the benefit of the latest education
or
current advances in scientific deduction.”

The woman in front of Peleg turned to the man beside her. “The High Minister is so caring and humble,” she muttered.

“You’re right,” the man replied. “And patient. Mentor Salah should be
sanctioned
!”

Reu-Nathor continued.

“We of the
Citadel
have dedicated our lives in the pursuit of
Knowledge
and the elimination of superstition and myth. Much violence was done in the name of such erroneous beliefs prior to the Great Awakening, and our administration has seen the great learning and research that can be accomplished when we rid ourselves of the shackles of history and the ineptitude of subjectivity.”

He paused to look around the room, encompassing everyone before he looked back at Mentor Salah and continued.

“Mentor Salah, I will now give you four complete and separate answers to your question. Each answer is capable on its own merits to dispel your doubts, and I am sure you will be enlightened and edified; while those in attendance will rejoice with you as we all learn and grow.

“First. Documentation from that time is sketchy and suspect, and often impervious to translation. The ensuing chaos left no clear records pertaining to actual times and durations. Relative to the great scope of cosmic time, the Great Awakening
was
instantaneous, but in all actuality it probably covered many weeks or even months; and, in fact, continues on today as we are constantly developing new lexicons and vocabularies.

“Second. Individuals who actually experienced the Great Awakening may have noticed the effects immediately and assumed it happened to others around them at the same time. I’m sure that small pockets of people acquired their new abilities simultaneously, but this certainly does
not
mean that the overall phenomenon happened all at once.

“Third. None of us know the depths and resources of
Lifeforce
. This sudden mental and informational shift was probably inevitable.
Lifeforce
abhors stagnation, removes it by any means necessary, and knows no inhibitions when it comes to achieving its goals. There are more than likely millions of other events which
could
have happened
instead
of the Great Awakening. We are most fortunate that the actual event carried with it a long-term beneficial change and not something far worse.”

He stepped from behind the podium and moved towards the front of the stage, never taking his eyes off of Salah.

“Finally, you ignore all of the submerged activity and hidden causes that were accumulating prior to the Great Awakening. You question credibility, and say that the Great Awakening was highly improbable. I agree. Such an event could never happen suddenly and completely with nothing but random causes. But this great mountain of improbability can be scaled by all the small and seemingly insignificant actions, thoughts, and desires of all those leading up to it. This great accumulation of millions of small, invisible events finally culminated and gave us the psychic explosion we now call the Great Awakening! Believe me. We have done the calculations, and I assure you this
is
the case!”

He finished with exuberance and aplomb, smiling warmly and raising his arms. The applause was immediate and decisive. The High Minister certainly had all the answers. Peleg wondered if “We” meant the High Minister and his Academicians, or if “We” referred solely to himself and his office.

Mentor Salah’s hand went up again, quieting the clapping; and without waiting for the mediator, he spoke.

“Excuse me, your Honor, but I was
there
.”

Embarrassed silence gripped the auditorium. History was generally an avoided subject that was only discussed in the most clinical, scientific environment. Well-mannered people didn’t sit around discussing what happened in years past. It was much more socially acceptable—and expedient—to discuss and plan for the future. But worse than that, discussing one’s
personal
history—and where one used to live—was just plain vulgar and was the height of ego and self-aggrandizement.

Reu-Nathor’s eyes snapped towards Salah. There was nothing paternalistic about his countenance now. Without the slightest pause he said, “Then you are a victim of a backward education and received your instruction in a tongue which Nature saw fit to eradicate.”

His normally white face reddened with outrage, clashing with his thin, sandy hair. His angry gaze stayed fast on Salah.

“Our research proves conclusively that all events in society, history, and pre-history occurred without the need or benefit of your ‘Other Worldly’ intervention!”

This last was projected toward Salah with pure venom. It attacked the core of his
Cosmic Plurality
, and was meant to portray him as living in the pseudo-scientific fringe. The crowd winced. No one ever spoke like that to a Mentor. But there was also a sense of relief since they had all known it was deserved—especially in light of his tasteless outburst.

“That was just plain
gross
,” the lady said to her friend, referring to the Mentor’s rude personal history remark which obviously reflected his lack of modern social values.

“Serves him right,” the man responded. “I don’t care if he
was
a Mentor.”

The awkward pause continued over the audience, but Reu-Nathor raised his arms, embracing the entire assembly with a sudden warm smile.

“Friends. We are not here to divide or make enemies. We are here to celebrate new discoveries, delight in new answers, and look forward with anticipation to tomorrow’s visions, taking advantage of the latest findings to make preparations for future investigations and research. The world is ours! To that end, I now present a proposal. A project of global proportions which is now possible and takes advantage of the diversity and opportunities afforded us by the Great Awakening.”