The Cross and The Cosmos - Issue 12

Issue 12
Swords and Plowshares

and Cover Art
Johanan Rakkav
Tears of the Cat
Jarkko Pylvas
Free Fall
Cathryn Rose
He Set God's Children Free
Warren Harvey
Published by Glyn Shull
Edited by G.L. Francis
Victoria Dragon Part II
Jacob Lindaman
Glyn Shull Introduction
The Cross and the Cosmos July 1st, 2012
Greetings!
Welcome once again to the Cross and the Cosmos! I am excited about every issue we publish, but
this one is even more exciting than the last one! First up, we have the exciting conclusion to Jacob
Lindaman's Victoria Dragon, and, believe me, it was worth the wait. Next is Swords and Plowshares
by the illustrious Johanan Rakkav. Don't let the title fool you, this futuristic story is amazing in its depth
and mastery, and but the second in the series that he's submitted. Let's not forget Tears of the Cat, the
final installment from Jarkko Pylvas. If you've been with us the past year, then you know that name very
well, and already know what to expect from this amazing author. Next up, making her debut on TC2, and
the world, is Cathryn Rose with Free Fall. This heart wrenching tale will keep you pinned to your seat
and eyes glued to the screen. The issue closes out with He Set God's Children Free by Warren Harvey. I
know that you will enjoy this piece as much as I did, and it rounds the issue out perfectly.
That done, I'd also like to introduce you to the small buttons located at the end of every story. You'll
hardly notice them, they're so tiny, and I hate even to mention them. TC2 needs funds. There, I said it. The
actual cost every year is very low to run however, we do not pay our authors. Read through these stories
and tell me that they don't deserve to be compensated for their hard work. Go ahead, but you can't,
because each and every one of these stories represents hours of hard, hard labor, and that's just writing it.
Then there's the editing process that eats up so much time, and their current compensation level is $0.
Until some time next year, your donations will go to fund the ezine, provide a little advertising, and,
hopefully, provide enough funds to be able to pay our authors in advance. My eventual goal is to pay $20
per story to start with, but that's entirely up to you. It would take anywhere from $300 $500 to run the e
zine and make the improvements I want to make. If we get enough, then I will up the amount payed to
match the donations we receive. In other words, if we get more, we pay more. Fair enough? I would love
to be able to pay these hard workers what their effort is worth, and I know you would too.
The donate buttons are located at the end of every story with short explanations, similar to what I
said here, for those who, understandably, skipped right to the stories.
As always, pray for His will and work through this eZine and the stories there in. None of this
would be possible without His blessing and guidance. God bless each and every one of you as you read
these works, and may He use them to strengthen you and bless you for the next quarter and beyond.
In His Service,
Glyn
Founder TC2
Jacob Lindaman Victoria Dragon Part II
Victoria Dragon
Part 2
by Jacob Lindaman
"I had a pet once," Ven Dagen said. "His name was Ty. He was a small dragon. Cute little
guy about the size of a parrot."
"What happened to him?" Victoria asked.
"I had to let him go. I couldnt take care of him anymore. Once Fanti fell, I couldnt take
care of him. Hes probably out there somewhere flying with his friends."
The two women looked out of the cracked window at two creatures flying high above the
city. The beasts were so far away that their scaly bodies were only dots. A portion of early
morning sunlight warmed Victorias skin. The heavy fog dissipated as the air grew warmer.
"We ought to be moving soon."
Victoria nodded.
"Go and ready the tribe leaders." Ven Dagen said.
Victoria spread the word. Some of the women were worried. Others were in a hurry. As
she ran through the large building with the orders, she eventually made it to the roof. She made
her way around a grid of poles, but stopped to examine one. It was black, metal and had a little
green sheet on it. The reflection from the sun was blinding. It did not twist or turn. Unsure what it
was, she continued to the edge of the building to look down. The city was wide and open. A
valley of pavement and debris spread out before her. To each side were monstrous buildings
watching like tired mountains hoping to return to the earth.
"What are you doing up here?" A voice suddenly broke the silence. "It is not safe. The
machina will find you."
"Ofelia? Dont worry about me. Ive not seen a single machina since I got here."
"What are you doing anyways?" Ofelia asked.
"Look." Victoria pointed down the valley.
"It's like the Outlookexcept"
"Built by man not God."
"Thats it."
The two women languished at the thought of their lost homeland. The shadows traded
west for east. Below, women started leaving in large groups. They were heading out.
"We ought to go," Ofelia said. "No doubt they'll be calling for you if they haven't already."
They walked back towards the steps.
"They are sun catchers!" Victoria said.
"What?"
"These poles. They catch the sun. Look at the angle. They point south."
All she received was a confused glare.
"I was just wondering what they were. I suppose they dont mean anything."
Four days of nonstop travel afforded the refugees ample distance from the dangers of the
crumbled city. The caravan of wandering women came upon rolling green terrain with generous
sunshine. They were nearer the sea than they had anticipated, but the weather proved to be
more hospitable than deeper inland.
The nurturing swath of lush grasscovered plain was cloistered, providing opportune
defense. They began their lives anew living much the way they had before only with extra
precautions. Those who chose to be caretakers sparred to hone their skills. Each day, they
practiced with their bows to increase their strength and accuracy. Ven Dagen introduced games
of grappling to further improve their physical prowess. They raced and made bets, boasting their
skills. Their spirits rekindled their strength renewed.
"Come with me," Ven Dagen said to Victoria. "Lets go for a walk."
They left camp hiking for some time through the wilderness until the coastal winds grew
stronger. The ground turned to steep rocky cliffs. As they wound their way through, it opened to
a brown sandy beach and a splendid view of the sea.
"You have said little. Mother, what is on your mind?"
"I did not bring you to the beach to relax."
"What do you mean?"
"Look," Ven Dagen said, "do you see it?" Her arm pointed out to the water. "Look closely."
Victoria squinted her eyes but saw nothing. "What am I looking for?"
"There is something there. Look again."
Victoria focused her attention on the shining blue water. Little waves rolled up and down
until they soaked her feet. When she was hipdeep in water, she gasped. "What is that?"
"You see her then? I am not sure what she is, but she's surely seen our bonfires and
heard our praises. I first spotted her two days ago."
"Is she a mermaid?"
Ven Dagen shook her head. "I dont know. A mermaid? I would more easily believe a
vampire if I saw one."
"Do you think she's hostile?"
"If she is, we'll be safe on land unless she has friends."
"And if she does?"
"I hope we will never know."
Victoria raised her arms to wave to the creature.
"Stop it! Dont call that thing here. You endanger every woman alive."
"We will have to confront her eventually. The longer she bobs out there in the sea
watching us, the more time she has to gather allies. We may as well introduce ourselves."
At first, the creature just watched, but after a minute, she dipped beneath the surface and
disappeared.
"She goes to tell her friends. Victoria, lets leave this place. I will place extra sentries on
alert tonight."
As Victoria made her way out of the water, a spry mermaid sprawling in her own panoply
of rainbowcolored hair and fins popped up nearby in the shallows.
"Peace," the mermaid said.
"Peace indeed," Victoria said with a grin to her mother. "Peace," she said to the mermaid
and approached the waters again. She stepped ankle deep, but stopped to keep some distance.
"I am Victoria. What is your name?"
"What business have you on my beach?" the mermaid asked.
"We fled an attack. We mean you no harm. Can you help us?"
"Whom do you flee?"
"The machina."
"Machina? What is machina?"
Victoria turned to her mother. "How does she not know what machina are?"
"I have no idea. She must be from far away."
"They are machines," Victoria said to the mermaid, "who turned on their makers. They
hunt us and seek our destruction."
"I've seen these machinesthese machina. They fly through the air like a bird, but no
man pilots them."
"Where have you seen them?"
The mermaid pointed to the west.
"Do you have friends?" Ven Dagen asked.
"Along the coast, you'll find an assortment of foods," the mermaid said. "Be careful not to
stray too far, but I collect the plants so that I can eat from them. If it will help your people, you
may do the same."
"You are too gracious," Victoria said. "God bless you, friendly mermaid."
"You must be very careful. The...machina patrol the beach. If they're your enemy, they will
find you."
"How far up the beach?" The chief asked. "We live far away, but if we encountered them it
would be horrific."
"I'm not certain. I've never been carried beyond the beach."
"You have dealt kindly with us. How can we repay your kindness?" Victoria asked.
"The hour's late. I must be going. If you see another like me," she ducked under a wave
and popped up on the other side, "do not talk to her." And with that she disappeared under the
water. The sun was now low over the horizon, but the air was still warm and comfortable.
"What do you think?" Victoria asked her mother.
"She has possibly given us a great advantage. We would be wise to seek out her advice.
Let us return to camp and keep our fires low so the machina do not notice. We shall search for
her cache of goods early tomorrow."
That night Victoria could not sleep. The mermaid stirred her curiosity. Were all mermaids
as industrious as this one? Why did she leave in such a hurry? Why did she not want her to
speak to any other mermaids? What was her name? What sort of food does a mermaid eat?
Up before the sun, Victoria headed out on her own in search, not for any cache of plants
or food but for a second chance encounter with the mermaiden. Fortune was on her side she
saw no evidence of machina patrols. Instead of going straight to the beach, she stopped at the
cliffs. Years of vigorous training and physical labor had prepared her for moments like this. She
scaled the thirtyfoot high cliff in less than an hour. Grateful for reaching the top, she praised the
name of Christ between panting breaths.
Now from a spectacular vantage point, she could see up and down the coast for miles.
The wind was harsh, but it was something she had never known before. A fresh salty breeze
filled her lungs and perfumed her body. An hour passed and still she sat watching the sea.
By noontime, she noticed a group of women running along the beach with bags on their
backs. Good. They didn't need to wait for me.
They disappeared back into the interior. Her eyes returned to the sea. So peaceful, she
thought. Everything is so calm and fresh. The gently rolling waves were greeted by the wide
brown beach she was on just yesterday. Nothing but blue sky and blue water.
Half a day sitting and staring at the sea was tougher than she anticipated. She got up to
stretch her legs. The cliff was fairly large, but most of it retreated back towards a thick wooded
area. Perhaps it would be easier to forge a trail through there than climb down the cliff. As she
walked around the rim of the seafacing side of the cliff, she leaned over to peer below. Her eyes
widened. She thought she saw what she was looking for.
She looked closer. Indeed, it was. Could the rainbow colored hair and elegant fins and
tentacles belong to another? There on the other side of the cliff was a little pool cloistered from
the waves and wind of the bay. What was the mermaid doing in there? She had a bag and a net.
Was she trawling for bottom dwellers? Victoria watched as the sea maiden came up for a breath
of air then descend to work her net.
"Twenty minutes," she said to herself.
Realizing that she'd never be noticed up so high, she looked around for a quick way
down. She glanced across the bay where her sisters had been gathering. She saw them again
searching a beach heading towards a rocky protuberance sticking out to the bay. On the other
side of the rock was a flying machina followed by no less than a dozen smaller drones. Horrified,
she realized no matter how loudly she yelled, they wouldn't hear her.
She frantically flailed her arms, but the women gave no sign they saw her. She glanced
around as she fought down panic. She must act her sisters faced certain death. She would
face it with them. She took a deep breath and lunged off the cliff.
Splash!
The water was surprisingly clear, but she'd leapt from a great height. Her breath escaped
her lungs she was too disoriented to know which way was up. She tried to swim, but couldn't
muster the strength. So much had just happened so fast. She needed air but could not think
straight.
Gentle arms wrapped around her as she was being dragged. Probably, she realized,
since the moment she entered the water. An instant later, her head cleared the surface and she
gasped for air.
"Hep!" Victoria choked out. "Hep!" The mermaid looked at her inquisitively as she
coughed more water out of her lungs. "Help!"
"What's wrong?"
Victoria pointed to the beach down the coast. The mermaid turned her head in that
direction then back to Victoria, her forehead furrowed in confusion.
Of course, Victoria thought, can't see it from down here.
"The beach. Down there. You have to go. My sisters are searching for your stores of food
and plants. They're running into danger and don't know it. Machina are just ahead of them. I saw
it from up there. Please!"
The sea maiden looked at Victoria and then to the horizon. She dropped her bag and
grabbed Victoria's hand. "You come with."
Immediately, they were flying through the water. Victoria had barely enough time to catch
her breath, but this mermaid was a swift swimmer. After several seconds, they surfaced again.
Relieved, Victoria gasped for air.
"Which way?"
"Just follow the coast."
"No, if they're where you say they are, following the coast will take too long. We need to
cut across the sea, but I need you to tell me where they are on the other side."
"There was an outcropping of rock. It stuck out into the sea."
"Take a deep breath." The mermaid positioned Victoria's hands around her waist on a
leather belt that worked as a sturdy handle.
Victoria held tight as water crashed into her. The force was so great, she felt she was
slipping away. But the belt held firm.
When they stopped, they did not surface. Victoria looked up to see the mermaid slowly
rising until her head stuck out above the water. It was then that she realized the mermaid was
quite large, easily two feet taller than herself. She climbed up her back until she too was just
poking out of the water.
"Shish," the mermaid said quietly, "we're close."
"What is your name?"
"Citra."
They examined the beach closely. It was still a ways off, but they were within shouting
distance. However, there were no women in sight. The methodical humming of machina
diligently combed the beach just the other side of the rock.
"There," Citra pointed. "Your...sisters...are inland. Look closely. They're hidden by the
shade of the trees, but they are there. I'll take you to the beach. You must do the rest."
With a burst of speed, Citra hauled Victoria through the shallows and deposited her on
the sunbaked sand. The mermaid tumbled back into the cover of foam and water. Crouching,
Victoria scanned the beach in the direction of the mechanical hum. The machina would be here
any minute. She ran as a wild gazelle leaping for safety. When she reached the forested area,
she ducked underneath the blanket of leaves.
The first scout passed by.
When it was gone, she got up and ran deeper into the wood. Finally, she reached her
sisters.
"Victoria!" Ofelia said. "What are you doing here?"
"Shush! Be very quietyou're in great danger," she said panting. "Where's Isabel?"
"She is too far along to accompany us. The work is too burdensome for her. Many of the
pregnant women were not able to come."
"Where's my mother?"
They motioned for the chief. When she arrived, everyone was crouched down, hiding
from the unseen threat.
"Victoria? Where were you this morning? You should have been with us."
"This is no place to argue. I spotted a dozen machina approaching upon your position
here. I rushed to warn you, but it may be too late. One already passed by. It failed to detect
anyone, but there are more coming."
The chief stroked her chin. "This is not good. We are fortunate that you have warned us,
but if those things are anything like the ones in Fanti, we will be annihilated if we engage. We
must hide."
"Or escape."
"Escape?" Ven Dage said. "To where?"
"Drop your bags and come with me."
She led them back towards the beach. They moved quickly and quietly. Another scout
passed by. Every woman was disciplined enough to take cover and hold her breath. "The
mermaids advice was accurate," Ven Dagen whispered to Victoria. "We spotted a few machina
already. We were able to spy their patrols easy enough. They were timed. Their predictability
allowed us to search unhindered. How did you know machina were advancing upon us?"
Victoria pointed across the bay to the hazy cliffs. "There," she directed her attention
towards the sea. "Do you see her? The mermaid?"
"It seems you have made a friend."
"I will go with two women out to her. She can ferry them to safety. We must be quick."
At Ven Dagen's orders, two women accompanied Victoria. Quickly, she led them across
the sand into the waters.
When she stopped, Citra asked, "What's your plan?"
"Can you carry two as you carried me? Carry them to safety?"
"Two? Yes, I can, but I'll be much slower, and if one should let go..."
"Don't let go!" Victoria looked at the women, then turned back to Citra. "When you make it
to safety, come back for more. There are five others including myself." Victoria directed the
women's hands to the mermaid's belt Citra's massive tail and fins swept them away and out into
deeper waters.
Citra did as she said.
Each pass across the bay took longer. The women were not any larger in fact, the last
two dainty girls compared to Victoria herself. Citra must be getting tired, she thought.
She forced her mother to go before her. She watched as long as she could until they
disappeared in the distance. Since she couldn't see them, she counted. Last time, she counted
to twothousand. The time before that was barely seventeenhundred. When she reached three
thousand and still saw no sign of Citra, she began to worry. Where was the mermaid?
Two scouts passed by in unison. Victoria ducked under some nearby brush. As the hum
passed overhead, a dark shadow fell upon her. She peeked out from the brush. Right behind
them was the bigger one she'd seen earlier. The scouts must report to it. It was much larger and
had metallic tentacled arms swirling in all directions. An occasional blue zap popped at the ends
of the tentacles followed by a whirring noise from inside the thing.
She watched the thing float by. Just as she relaxed, the noise returned. The machina
changed course, moving away from land. It hovered over the water for a moment before it
dipped down low, swinging its tentacles through the water.
"Oh no!"
As she watched the monster comb the waters, another scout passed by. She hid again
but kept an eye on the large machina over the water. It had found something. Its arms tore
violently at it, ripping it to pieces.
Poor Citra. She is gone now.
While the machina resumed exploring the waters, Victoria noticed someone out in the
shallows watching her. She looked to the left and to the right. No sign of machina. She darted for
the water.
With barely a splash, the many graceful appendages of the sea maiden swallowed her.
"How did you...?"
"No time to explain. Hold tight."
This time Citra went deep. Very deep. Beyond the playful waters near the beach, the sea
floor dropped suddenly into darkness. It was much cooler there. And to Victoria, it was much
scarier too. She clenched tight for dear life. They had been going for some time when suddenly,
in the darkness, Victoria popped up into a chamber of air. She gasped for breath as did Citra.
"Where are we?" her voice echoed.
"An underwater cave. A secret spot no one else knows about. Well...almost no one. You
mustn't tell a soul." She was panting heavily but helped Victoria tread water in the small
chamber.
"I can't thank you enough, Citra. You have no idea what we have been through."
"Can I ask you something?" Citra said. Colorful swirls and sparkly swishes of light slowly
brightened across Citra's body. The gentle luminescence was enough to light the small cavity.
"Ask away."
"You refer to the other women as your sisters. Is this because you're all Christians?"
Victoria thought for a moment. What an odd question from an odd creature. "Why do you
ask?"
"I have a certain affinity for that word. You use it as if you were all sisters. Do you all share
the same mother?"
"No." Victoria looked around the little rocky room. Behind her was a little ledge she could
lean on. "They are all that I know. All that I have ever known."
"What do you mean?"
"The stories my mother tellsand the elders, toothey are sorrowful. They speak of a
time when the earth was filled with men. But now, we are all that is left. A few hundred
women...although I have seen that God shines his light on whom he will."
Citra looked confused.
"We may not be alone for long."
"Your words are confusing. I'll pray for your plight, but for now, are you ready?"
Victoria gave a nod. And with a twirl of her fins, Citra flipped around and pulled her up
towards a light. In a few moments, Victoria was reunited with her compatriots. Indeed, they had
reached safety. The machina were nowhere to be found.
As the women began their way back to the tribe, Victoria turned to face the sea and the
mermaid. "Will I see you again?"
"Don't forget the stores of food."
And just as she had entered Victoria's life, the mermaid departed. Passing through the
tranquil sea and into the distant blue beyond, Citra was out there somewhere.
'I will pray for you.' What did she mean by that? Victoria wondered.
As the months passed, the tribe garnered enough nourishment from Citra's meager
propagations to feed everyone including the pregnant mothers. There were several varieties of
fruit, which they were able to dry in the warm sun, but mostly they ate roots and acorns. Each
woman was grateful to have enough.
By the time the first child was born, to Brocka, the tribe had adapted to a peaceful
existence without sightings or interference of deadly machines. Although every woman wanted
to witness the miracle of birth, they all knew they could not completely relax their vigilance.
When Brocka delivered, she screamed in pain and lost much blood. Victoria saw the joy
in the woman's face as she held the first fruits of a redeemed life and a remembered people.
"He is swarthy," Brocka said when she saw him. And so she named him Bear for the
bears in that region were brown.
Throughout the month, Victoria's friend, Isabel, told her of the kicking and tossing of her
child within her belly. She watched with a smile as her friends delivered little boys and little girls
into a new world. Eventually, Isabel's time came to deliver. Victoria helped her prepare by
making sure Isabel lay in bed for two days, which had become common practice in a world
where none knew the rights and wrongs of childbirth. Not even Ven Dagen had known.
By the third day, the child still had not arrived. Victoria agreed to accompany Isabel, who'd
become restless from inactivity, when she asked to venture out. Perhaps a walk might somehow
hasten the coming delivery. They did not wander far, but just outside the village, the forest grew
thick and wild. Ancient oaks shaded them with their mighty boughs.
"Victoria, I need to rest a moment."
Victoria nodded. "I saw a pile of fallen acorns yesterday, not far ahead." She patted a
fallen tree trunk. "Rest here awhile. I'll gather some acorns. Just call out when you're ready to go
back."
Isabel sank onto the log. Her face looked pale and exhausted, her expression withdrawn.
Victoria hesitated, wondering whether she should stay with her. But Isabel shooed her away, and
Victoria left the clearing.
"Victoria!"
She'd scarcely gone from Isabel's sight when she heard her friend's frantic yell. She
hurried back then froze as she saw Isabel clutching her huge belly, which seemed to be rippling
under her clothing. There was no time to carry her back to their village. Victoria helped her
down and got ready to receive the child. As Isabel pushed, a little head crowned. A whirring
noise flew by overhead. Isabel pushed on without noticing. The noise returned and stopped just
above them.
"Shish," Victoria said. "It is a machina."
"Aaah!" Isabel pushed again uncontrollably.
The machina crashed through the leafy canopy dropping branches around them. Loud
fans stirred the air as it hovered above them. It was not a large machina, but it had many long
penetrating tentacles with pincers on each end. On the underside of the body, a large saw began
spinning with a loud hiss.
"Aaaaah!" Isabel screamed again as the baby dictated.
Victoria grabbed her bow and shot the flying machine. The arrow lodged in the gear work
near the saw, but it did not stop spinning. An arm reached out and swatted her away like a fly.
When she got up, she heard Isabel screaming but not due to labor. The pincers had
grabbed each of Isabels limbs and pulled them tight. The machina lowered itself over her and
moved its sawequipped body toward her torso.
Victoria rammed into it, knocking it off course. She continued shoving, battering at it with
her body, offering herself. But she was no match for the heavy machine. The machina gathered
its bearings and set itself straight again.
"Run!" she screamed to Isabel.
The woman was in no condition to move but she somehow managed to get to her feet
and struggle back towards the village.
The flying machine flung Victoria away just as it had before. She crashed against a tree
and sprawled dazed in the brush. The machina seized Isabel again and forced her to the
ground. The saw spun this time, it did not stop.
Victoria heard screams again, but they seemed muffled and cloudy. She couldn't see
clearly. Oh God, she thought, in the name of Jesus Christshow us your powerand your
mercy. A little strength rose within her. She stood and staggered towards her helpless friend. She
heard another scream as the saw's highpitched squeal lowered to a slower grinding sound.
Blood sprayed from below the machina onto Victorias face. Then, another great, winged shape
crashed down through the branches.
Two enormous feet with razor talons gripped the machine. The machina's blade struck
one foot, but the scales on it ground the gears to a halt. The massive toes crumpled the machina
like a tin can. In an instant, the dragon carried the enemy up through the broken canopy and
disappeared.
By then, many of the tribe had responded to the cries and mechanical noises and had
rushed to help. Through wide and shocked eyes, Victoria saw them watch the dragon carry the
machina into the sky. Their gazes turned to her bloodsplattered face and then moved toward
the disfigured body who once was a pretty, young warrior.
Several women rushed to Victorias side to offer comfort, but she was inconsolable. She
pushed them away and cried. She sat weeping for many minutes before she could bring herself
to look again upon her friend. The rest of the tribe had not moved. Partially, because they were
horrified and partially, because they were afraid of the thing that had swooped down from the
heavens and so easily destroyed their adversary.
When she looked, she saw the bloody and tangled mass of flesh where once Isabel had
been. She placed her head in her hands and wept all over again. Then, something called her
from within to look more closely. Reluctantly, she did. She saw the same thing. She could not
bear it, but she peered with watering eyes as best she could.
Something moved.
She wiped her eyes and looked again. Yes, something moved within all those body parts.
On all fours, she crawled forward. With fresh tears, she reached down to touch the mess. Many
hours would pass before the bodys heat would reach equilibrium with the environment. The
warmth discouraged her as did the colorful wetness, but she began to pick off one body part and
then another.
Another movement.
This time she reached in with both hands. From beneath the mound of flesh she lifted free
a crying baby.
A cold metallic hand rested upon her shoulder. She looked up at her mother.
"They call you Dragon now." Ven Dagen's voice was somber. "For you have summoned
the monster from Job with faith like a child. Come with me, Victoria. You are safe."
Jacob Lindaman is an aspiring writer who desires to honor Christ through storytelling. He has
written two novels and several short stories. His story "Citra" appeared in Issue #10 of The
Cross And The Cosmos. On hot summer days, you can find him eating corn on the cob, drinking
good beer and listening to the music of Mat Kearney. He and his wife, Katey, live in Iowa with
their mutt, Anni. You can find him on goodreads.com and jacoblindaman.com.
If you think that story is as good as I do, then please click that obnoxious
button there below. Your donation will allow TC2 to continue to operate, to
advertise, and to pay its authors. Also... when you don't donate, it makes
little kittens cry.
Johanan Rakkav Swords and Plowshares
The Cross and the Cosmos
July 1st, 2012
SWORDS AND PLOWSHARES
By
Johanan Rakkav
What in the name of all thats holy am I doing here?
The gentlehearted Enoshi princess asking the question had wanted to push some
envelopes in her lifespecifically as part of someones armed forces, somewhereand her
widowed father King Yuval of Trefoil thought it was a good idea, too. But the Cluster Federation,
of which Trefoil and its star system were a part, had by majority vote disavowed interstellar
warfare and proclaimed official neutrality in Galactic Politics. Neither the king nor his children
thought that a good idea, peaceloving people though they all were. Neutrality in the Ring of
Stars was for those strong enough to keep itunless they managed to be wise as serpents and
harmless as doves. So far, in their opinion at least, the Federation was neither.
The distant Kingdom of Ariel and its Lightchildren were both.
A Lightchild seeks to prevent waror if thats impossible, to end it as quickly and
honorably as possible. So Alain told me. Practical pacifism, he called it, by those called upon to
fight.
The Kingdom of Ariel had its own Deep Space Service, including the paramilitary Deep
Space Fleet, but the Fleet was open only to Lightchildren and Archons. Ariel did allow two
homeworlds to sponsor their own dedicated military services: Rayian, the capital of the Heart of
the Dog, the star cluster inhabited by the Kayaim and Senkaur, the planet on which the
Enoshim originated and from which some came to help form the Cluster Federation long ago.
Inquiries by the King of Trefoil revealed that the Kayai Pack and the Senkaur Defense
Force were cooperating on a special project. There was a Kayai Troop testing a bionic exosuit
on one of the major islands of Mahealani , one of Ariels most famous and beloved worlds, the
name of which most fittingly meant Where Heaven Is. Already there were versions of the
exosuit available for the humanoids serving in the SDF as well. Would the Kings daughter like to
participate in the betatesting?
She would.
What a time to be having second thoughts about that.
* * * * *
Who are you and how did you get into our camp? The voice came out muffled through
the filter of her helmet, which had a muzzle just like those of the canine Kayaim she was training.
Her exoskeleton was shaped to fit two ample mammary glands rather than eight that plus her
overall build revealed perfectly well that she was a humanoid.
Had it been any other Lightchild standing before her, the clothing he wore and the tools he
bore wouldve identified him as such to her and to everyone else present. But this one wore the
unique Cloak of Shadow, which could hide his identity and even his visibility from others to any
July 1st, 2012
depth he desired.
Why not ask your guard? He permitted me and my Sentry to enter. The Sentry in
question was presently in Contact Lens Mode, turning the Lightchilds naturally brown eyes blue.
So hes a Lightchild, then. And still the princess was too clouded in mind to follow the
thought further.
Guardian Tenai, she called while speaking in decent Kayaic, who did you let pass into
our camp a little while ago?
The Adami, you mean? He said he had followed you and your trainees while you were
running on the beach. I saw him coming behind you no mortal humanoid ever ran so fast for so
long. When he lowered his hood, I recognized him. He said he will do the same for you if you ask
him.
Very well. Thank you. Going on in Common: Please lower your hood, Lightchild.
As you wish. And once he had, there could be no doubt as to who he was. His fair face
and his barleyblond hair were familiar to practically everyone in known space by then.
Incredible said one Pack Trooper in his own language.
That explains it, said another, meaning the veil the stranger had laid upon everyones
minds.
Why has he come here?
The Lightchild raised his hands to quiet everyone. Just for the record, Troop Leader, who
are you?
You dont know? There was a smile in her voice. You, Alain Harper the Undying Singer,
renowned in this Metacosmic Realm and far beyond it for his mindreading?
Insight Within Measure at Need doesnt always tell me everything. It only told me to
follow you, this time. Ill reveal the reason in a momentif youll take off your helmet and tell me
who you are first.
The woman uncoupled her exosuits helmet and pulled it off to reveal a lovely face that on
Old First Realm Earth wouldve been characterized as Celticlooking. She had a veritable
cascade of reddishorange hair bound in a pony tailwho knew where that fit in the helmet?,
vivid blue eyes, a sweet pug nose, flawless fair skin without freckles, a perfect mouth and a
pointed chin. But it was the pertly pointed ears that got the Lightchilds attention for the
moment
Youre Enoshi!
I am indeed, she replied with a laugh. Im Princess Ashrey Chellenifer, the Splendor of
Trefoiland youre obviously a Nefi like me the way you express yourself and bear yourself
says so.
Youre rightalthough Im more theoretical in temperament than most of us are. What do
you call those exosuits youre wearing?
July 1st, 2012
Theyre prototypes being tested. We simply call them Model Ones.
Why not call them ANTs?
Beg pardon?
ANTs. Aint Nuthin Tougher. Now it was the Lightchilds turn to laugh, and he bent over
double as he did so. The Kayaim, those that knew Common well, chuckled in their own way at
his antics.
Not bad. Not bad at all! They do look rather like an ants exoskeleton, dont they? I like
the way you think, fellow Nefi. Why is my being Enoshi so surprising to you?
Alain stopped laughing abruptly and settled himself with visible effort. Because no Enoshi
has ever been called to be a Lightchild before.
For a long moment, only the sounds of the breeze, the surf and the distant birds disturbed
everyones astonishment. Of the Four Species of ManLevani Elves, Gammadi Dwarves,
Adami Men, and Enoshi HalfElvesonly Adamim had ever been called to be Lightchildren. And
even then, the Lightchildren were only one in a million among the Adamim.
You were told to bring me this message?
Almost the moment I saw you from afar on the beach, as you were passing the Academy
of Light.
How is this supposed to affect my work with the ANTs?
When youre done here, we can talk about that.
* * * * *
The acronym ANT stuckthe Gammadim developing the exosuits liked it tooand
Ashreys Troop, among others, gave many helpful suggestions for the further development of the
prototype. So did Alain Harper and Raphael Goldwing his metatechnological Sentry, once theyd
had a chance to examine an example of one.
Ashrey kept a close secret how that had happened. Shed walked handinhand with Alain
back up the beach, southward toward the Academy of Light, Mahealani Chapter. The worlds big
natural moon Konane was already up, in waxing gibbous phase its smaller artificial moon, the
Elyonclass space station D.S.S. Mahina, was sixty degrees sunward in the same orbit, and
bright enough to be seen at that distance even in daylight.
Suddenly both were on another beach on another world ten thousand lightyears away
with another sun in a different position in the sky, and with a twin world on the eastern horizon
relative to where they were.
Where are we and how did you get me here? Ashrey exclaimed in astonishment.
Were on Harpers Abode, an island on Sealand Alpha. Thats Beta on the horizon. I used
the Locus Ring on my right hand to bring us here.
July 1st, 2012
What are you going to do to me?
Nothing improper. But it certainly seemed as if it could become so quickly, as with
Ashreys permission Raphael helped Alain figure out how to uncouple the ANT piece by piece.
The Sentry had already scanned the helmet, now left behind on Mahealani now he began
modeling the form and function of the other pieces of the exosuit with his infinitely expandable
artificial intelligence. But soon Alain only had eyes for the astonishingly beautiful woman before
him, modest but alluring though she was in the formfitting jumpsuit that all users of the exosuit
wore underneath it.
You feel it too, dont you, Undying Singer?
Tell me.
We Enoshim and our cousins the Levanim have this in common: in matters of the heart,
we know what were looking for, and we know when we find it. Love at first sight is rare and
unreliable among Adamim by comparison. For us its a necessityand a certainty.
I know. And I knew I wanted to marry you from the moment I saw your face and looked
into your eyes. He chuckled. Let alone at the rest of you. But as a fellow Nefi, you know all
about that. We have high spiritual, emotional and physical standards by nature, maybe more
than anyone else does. Not every potential mate can meet them.
Such a delicate moment. How long have you waited to marry, Undying Singer?
Far, far too long. A mortal Adamis whole lifetime. Im seventyfive Standard Years this
calendar year.
Im like you: Ill always look as young as an adult can look. But Im only twentyfive years
Standard.
Thats a nice age. Its what Ive always been on the inside. But you can understand, given
my responsibilities, why we havent crossed paths beforeIm only visiting the Academy, not
studying or teaching thereand also, why Ive stayed single so long.
Ill bet all that has to do with your reputed abilities, too.
Which ones? The ones that are public knowledge, the ones that I actually have, or the
ones in the Undying Singer jokes told on every world thats heard of me from the Rim to the
Core? Alain laughed. Heres my favorite: Space is expanding because its afraid to be on the
same planet with the Undying Singer.
Ashrey laughed heartily with Alain at the absurdity. Youre not the tough guy type,
despite your obvious training. Obvious indeed: he was slender and gentle yet strong, like the
trained martial artist and swordsman he was.
I most definitely am not. Im a diplomat at heart. But sometimes Im called on to fight, and
when I am, I fight to win. We Blademasters like to say: we take up the sword so that mortals can
beat their swords into plowshares.
Except the HalfElves and Dwarves of Senkaur and the Kayaim.
By their choice and our sufferanceand the Hooded Mans sufferance, too.
July 1st, 2012
They talked about that and a great many other things. But even Nefi/Nefi enthusiasm
about anything and everything in the Realms couldnt overcome mutual romantic attraction
forever. And so in time the barleyblond Lightchild asked the redheaded Enoshi formally to
marry him, she said yes, the Lightchild kissed the Enoshi so deeply she thought shed faint, and
upon their return to Mahealani immediately after that, Alain and Ashrey started talking to the
Pack Command, the authors of Project Exosuit, and the senior officials at the Academy of Light.
* * * * *
Why do the Lightchildren allow us to do this, anyway? They say themselves that space
war is a colossal waste of lives and material. Ive always agreed with them, deep down. So what
compelled me to get in the middle of a space war? What was I trying to prove?
Certainly, space war had always been a colossal waste when the enemies of the Hooded
Man were foolish enough to take on His chief servants the Lightchildren. The Lightchildren, even
the gentlest of themand Alain Harper was among the gentlest of all at heartwerent gifted or
trained to lose.
The Kayai Pack and the Senkaur Defense Force could lose, though. Never easily, but
they could.
Ashrey calmed herself by considering the specifications of the Kayai ship on which she
now served. The K.P.S. Tanana was one of hundreds of Dire Wolfclass Hunters presently in
formation. A Hunter was essentially a battleship/carrier. Its core was a prism, 1.5 by 1.5 by 6
units in proportion, with sheets of thick armor plating on the top and bottom making the overall
proportions 3 by 3 by 6 units. At the stern was the compact matrix drive module, 3 units cubed in
proportion. Toward the bow was the weapons module, likewise 3 units cubed in proportion, with
four cylindrical towers on its four faces carrying powerful plasma cannons that could fire toward
the bow, toward the stern, or away from the ship in almost any direction. At the very bow was the
relatively slender cylindrical module, 1 by 1 by 3 units, that carried the ndimensional shield
generator and the main sensor array. The bridge was buried within the weapons module, where
it was best shielded both from outside attack and from the radiation generated by the plasma
cannons. The design was both tough and surprisingly maneuverable the lightness combined
with strength of the armor plates greatly helped there.
Three thousand Standard Cubits or four thousand five hundred Standard Feet: that was
the overall length of a Hunter. Definitely not a threat to take lightly.
The airseaspacecapable fighter in which Ashrey was sitting, fully clothed in her ANT,
was attached to the bottom of the upper plate. It and the other fighters attached to the inner plate
surfaces served as additional weapons platforms before launch and as additional assault craft
when launched.
The Kayai ships, fighters and crews accompanied the entire SDFa hundred ships of the
line with their support vesselsplus an entire sector battle group of the Deep Space Services
Fleet Wing. That meant one mobile Elyonclass Deep Space Station, the Nimbus, and all its
supporting craft: twelve Cherubclass Surveyors, twentyfour Seraphclass Warriors and forty
eight Malakhclass Corvettes. It also included a large number of Gazelle IIclass Couriers, led
overall by the Hind of the Dawn.
Alain Harpers Courier.
July 1st, 2012
Alain, like all Lightchildren heretofore, was a fleshandblood Adami given the Divine
Power called the White Hand: Nine Gifts, beginning with the Gift of Light granted by the Dove,
and then eight other supernatural Gifts attached to the normal Adami thought processes. The
White Hand granted a thousand years of agelessly youthful, temporal life in the flesh, after which
the Lightchild would inherit the eternal Destiny of Man along with his normal Adami peers.
Indeed only the Adamim, mortal or Lightchild, could inherit the Destiny of Man, as they
alone were truly created in the image of the Hooded Man. Everyone else had a different Destiny
through the Hooded Mans reconciliation, even the Enoshimlet alone nonHumans like the
Kayaim.
The difference of Destinies was striking, crucial, timelineshaping. Adamim could partake
of the Hooded Mans own divine, fully spiritual nature when their mortal days ended. No one else
could. Everyone elses kind of immortal inheritance was different by design, and that design
served a great and beneficent purpose in the Hooded Mans plans for the Metacosmos.
NonAdami mortals became dualphase immortals after death: halfspiritual, halfmaterial,
like the state of the Archons by creation. Dualphase beings could share in the ongoing physical
life of the Metacosmos in a way even the Children of God in Power did not, while yet drawing
upon formidable supernatural powers as rooted in the quantum vacuum.
By far, the vast majority of nonAdamim appreciated the Hooded Mans plans and
submitted to them joyfully their Destinies had some definite advantages. But some mortal and
immortal beings were intensely jealous of the Adamim and their Destiny, and their intended
dominion over all other living things, and were determined to overcome them and their Lords
plans for them by any means possible.
Such a group of beings was coming to meet the Combined Force at that very moment.
They commanded and crewed an unknown but very large number of Adventuressclass
Warbirds, at three thousand cubits long apiece about as large and massive as a Hunter. And the
allies military intelligencesuch as it was the Hooded Man wasnt going to just hand that
information to them on a platterhad it that a Warbird was much better armed and defended
than a Hunter, that it could go toetotoe even with a Surveyor.
What in the name of all thats holy am I doing here?
* * * * *
Why not you, Princess?
Daniel Weathermore, Dean of the Academy of Light on Mahealani, sat behind his desk
facing Alain and Ashrey as they sat in chairs before him. Daniels office was large, comfortable,
wellfurnished as befit his station, but not ostentatious in any way. It was late in the working day,
but Daniel was prepared to carry this meeting on as long as his guests needed him to.
But surely there are many other Enoshim of both genders who the Hooded Man can
pick
True, but none who were primed to bond with the Undying Singer as you did when you
met him. Theres a deeper reality behind the existence of each of you than you know just yet.
And you're not ready to hear it.
When will I be ready?
July 1st, 2012
Youll be ready when the Hooded Man opens your mind to it. I myself dont know the
secret. I only know that it exists and that its one of the most important in all creation for us
Lightchildren.
So this secret, said Ashrey, means that I and I only among my people will ever become
a Lightchild?
Yes. Youre the only Enoshi who ever can or ever will and youll understand the reason
for that in time too. This much I can say: its coupled to why Alain Harper is the heir of the
Hooded Man Himself in his office.
I see. Or I think I see. So youre saying that were destined to marry?
Yes. Its just a good thing that you can grow to love each other so deeply and
passionately and that you both recognize it. From a certain point of view, you always have. And
that parable youll understand later as well.
In the end, all of Ashreys counselors agreed: she should stay with the Kayai Pack until
her term of service was donetwo years of it all toldand then become a Lightchild bound to a
Sentry afterwards. And after that, shed be free to marry Alain and theyd both be free to spend
their Best Year, the twelvemonth honeymoon commanded in the Book of the Covenants, at
Harpers Abode.
But what if I get killed between now and then? Ashrey asked Alain afterward. As an
Enoshi, I have a fleshly agelessness of my own, but Im not deathless.
Youll just have to trust that the Hooded Man knows what Hes doing in your life and will
protect you, Alain replied. Youll have me close by most of the time and I havent lost any of my
mortal charges yet. Im not about to lose you. Meanwhile, love, try not to rub your nose too
deeply in war. Itll hurt your ability to live the rest of your life in peace.
But if I become a Lightchild, then Ill still have to fight from time to time, just as you do.
And that was true enough: Alain was not only a Starbard Level Five, but a Blademaster Level
Five, a Special Ambassador and a special warrior combined.
Wait until you see how we fightespecially how I fight. Our powers and our skills have
their special strengths and weaknesses for a reason. We can do no more and no less than
whats required to help a given situation work out for the best. Minimal harm, maximal
effectiveness. We dont use the proverbial rod of iron unless we have to. When we do, we
always win sooner or laterusually sooner.
So this time with the Pack is a training ground for me. And I foresaw the need accurately
but vaguely as we Nefis can when we face a challenge. The Lightchildren, some of them, learn
war so that others dont have to. And one day Ill walk that path as wellso that my people and
the Kayaim might learn to trust the Hooded Man and His chief servants more than they do.
All fighters, this is the bridge, said a female voice in Kayaic via the ANTs internal
speakers: the Tananas First Officer. Bring your weapons online and your engines to standby.
Be ready to launch upon our command.
Acknowledged.
July 1st, 2012
Then the enemy fleets been sighted. Were going to sublight now to engage it.
The enemy fleet was enormousat least a thousand times more numerous than all the
vessels in the Combined Force that faced it. Data coming from the bridge of the Tanana proved
it.
Where in the Realms did all those ships come from?
The home base or bases of the enemy fleet was something unknown to Fleet Intelligence
and to the Fleets allies as well. With any grace, Alain had said encouragingly before the
Combined Force departed, well learn something about that when we engage the enemy.
Youre that certain well win?
I know of no sin we have thats so serious as to disqualify us from being helped by Him.
Were under His grace, now as always. Theyll have their numbers, their jealousies and their
aces in the hole. But well have courage, skill and faith on our side and our special
technologies too. And we Lightchildrenespecially mewill help protect the rest of you.
Remember: well all have no more and no less than what the Hooded Man judges we need to
win.
Ashrey smiled despite the tension within her. Those crazy Undying Singer jokes were
out there in public circulation for a reason. Some of them allegedly were not that great an
extension of the truth. Alain had given her a few examples for comparison.
Space is expanding because its afraid to be on the same planet with the Undying
Singer. That was one of his examples! He has a unique power over space, time and
causalityand thats not even his ultimate weapon At Need. How can an Adami wield such
potential power without becoming megalomaniacal?
In the very asking, Ashrey knew, and that knowledge awakened in her a longing to receive
the Gift of the Dove that Alain had and everything that went with it. It was a longing more painful
than wounding, more compelling than fear of death.
Like Yochanan haMatbil in the Book of the Covenants, I had the Dove and its Gift of
Light even in my mothers womb. I know what I am, what the Lord of the Realms is, and the vast
difference between the two. And seldom has the Lord allowed me to forget it for long. He
corrects me in love, and in just measure. And on rare occasions Hes given me just enough rope
to hang myself.
Maybe thats why some mortals are allowed to fight: in order to learn that lesson. If ever
there were a day when we could have enough rope to hang ourselves, its today. And only the
Lightchildren can save us from the noose, the Lord willing.
Ashrey blessed the name of the Lord Joshua Davidson, the Hooded Man, for bringing that
truth to her awareness. It made all her fears melt away.
They might not even know yet that Alains hereelse they might well be surrendering
already. And if they dont surrender when they learn well, deus ex machina at the Undying
Singers hands would be a bad way to end most space operas, but not a bad way to end this
space battle.
Practical pacifism.
July 1st, 2012
All ships, this is Alain Harper, said a voice that thrilled Ashrey when she heard it. The
Lord of the Realms has granted me the full power of the White Hand Within Measure at Need.
Its as I suspected: this fleet was meant only to challenge battle, not to win it. The battle is the
Lords and at the right time, Hell deliver this host into our hands. But we must fight in battle first
all the same. Our foes wont surrender this time, not even to me.
The Undying Singers words proved true when the Nimbus gave the formal challenge,
short and to the point.
Surrender or die.
That challenge always meant one thing: the Undying Singer was thereand the Power of
his Lord with him.
The Warbirds only response was to open fire with their forwardlooking laser cannons.
Only the frontline ships of their formation fired, but those alone could tear an entire sector fleet
apart in short order. And the lasers werent the most powerful weapons the Warbirds were
rumored to have.
Some Warbirds advanced on the allied fleet, firing all the way, in order to bring those more
powerful weapons to bear: the plasma cannons on their port and starboard sides. These were
parabolic dishes, three in a row per side, flush with the hull. With these they could strike enemy
ships on either side of them as they passed between them.
Dont worry, darling, Alain said on the way here. Theyll plan to shatter our formation or,
failing that, to englobe it. Once were in the midst of them, either way, their fate is sealedand
we may even get a captured Warbird to examine out of it.
All fighters, prepare to fire broadsides at the nearest Warbird.
Here we go.
The pulsed lasers of one of the Warbirds washed over the forward shields of the Tanana.
Then the Warbirds plasma beams impacted on the Hunters starboard side, where Ashrey was,
as the two ships passed. Ashrey saw the plasma beams fired by the Tanana hit the jetblack hull
of the Warbird and be absorbed by them. The lasers fired by her fighter and the others to
starboard likewise were absorbed harmlessly.
They put shacharite on their hulls? Shacharite was as black as any substance could be,
could absorb any radiation that fell on it, transmit it throughout its surface area, and reradiate it
as black body radiation. A ship so protected almost didnt need nshields, was all but
invulnerable to anything that didnt actually cause major momentum change in the target
Where did they get all that shacharite? Their growing farms alone must be gigantic. But
where are they?
The artificially intelligent computers on the bridge of the Tanana saw what happened and
adjusted immediately. The Hunters main weapons, three towers worth, quickly came to bear on
the Warbirds three starboard plasma cannon dishes and smashed them.
Thatll teach them to run with their shields up!
July 1st, 2012
But that Warbird quickly passed, and its weapons had drained the Hunters nshields
seriously. Ten more Warbirds were firing on the Hunter now with their forward lasers, while the
Tanana desperately fired back at them. Once the Hunters shields collapsed, as they would
within seconds, its foes would tear the ship to shreds. Any fighters that launched now would be
shredded too.
There was nowhere to go, no way to better the odds save perhaps by a suicide run. And
every ship in the Combined Force was now facing similar odds or worse. Even the moonsized
Nimbus would be facing a veritable locust plague of attackers by now.
A shofarthe mighty anak kind, a carved and tuned antelope hornsounded over the
intercom of every ship of the Combined Force.
In the name of the Lord Joshua Davidson: Let there be Light! Banish the Darkness!
Alain!
And just to make sure, every other Lightchild that could recited the last seven words with
him, prayerfully, powerfully. Ashrey could perceive that, through her objective Nefi intuition.
And for one unforgettable moment, the Ring of Stars turned into a negative print.
* * * * * * * * * *
Johanan Rakkav is the Hebrew pen name (anglicized King James Versionstyle) of a very
busy Nefi (ENFP on the MyersBriggs grid). Besides being a consultant in Christian apologetics,
he is the editor and copublisher of the book THE MUSIC OF THE BIBLE REVEALED by the late
Suzanne HaikVantoura (rakkav.com/biblemusic), a singersongwriter who plays the piano,
synthesizer, Celtic harp and tenstringed Hebrew lyre (kinnor), a lifelong lover of the natural
sciences (especially astronomy) and of speculative fiction, an enthusiast of personality type
models, and (as Jack Shepherd) the coauthor of the medieval fantasy/allegorical SF book
REALMWALKERS (tiaera.blogspot.com). His fictional Metacosmos is featured on several Web
sites (chiefly portaloflight.wordpress.com).
advertise, and to pay its authors. Also... when you don't donate, it causes
subterranean earthquakes that make the dwarves unhappy.
Jarkko Pylvas Tears of the Cat
Tears of the Cat
Jarkko Pylvs
Once upon a time, there was a cat with gray fur and green eyes that shone like emeralds.
This cat had sharper than sharp nails and teeth. This particular cat sharpened its nails against
the streets of the city and this cat kept its teeth sharp by hunting mice, of which there were
plenty in this particular city.
This particular cat had this specific feature in its character: When the sharpest edge of the
crescent of the new moon was seen in the sky, this cat rose up in the middle of the night, mewed
in a melancholic way, and then wandered far away from the city lights to a shadowy heath, which
was surrounded by massive oaks. Every time this cat arrived in this heath, it had peculiar habits:
first it licked its gray fur clean and then it started a melancholic mewing concert, and finally it
shed its tears: two tears from the left eye and one tear from the right eye. The melancholic
meowing concert of this particular cat was heard in almost every corner of the eastern district of
this particular city, but the licking of the gray fur and shedding of the tears of this cat was known
only by very few. And those very few who knew were especially astonished
that this cat shed tears, because cats never cry with tears the way human beings do.
When I first heard about the peculiar phenomenon of the tears of the cat, I felt a strong
need to witness this phenomenon with my own eyes. Otherwise, I refused to believe this story.
So, the next time the sharpest edge of the crescent of the new moon was seen in the sky, I, too,
walked far away from the city lights to this shadowy heath, which was surrounded by massive
oaks. I hid behind the oaks and kept my appearance by the side of the shadowy heath a secret. I
visited this shadowy heath three times. The first time I saw this peculiar phenomenon, I didn't
believe my eyes, and I thought I was dreaming. And the second time I visited this heath, I still
believed this phenomenon of the cat with tears was only a dream. But when I saw the same
thing during my third visit to this heath, I finally believed my eyes. This particular cat really shed
its tears I couldn't deny this anymore.
I visited this heath a fourth time. During this fourth visit, I gathered my courage and
revealed my appearance to the cat just a moment before the cat was going to shed its tears. And
I asked the cat a direct question: "Why do you shed your tears, two tears from the left eye and
one tear from the right eye, every time the sharpest edge of the crescent of new moon is seen in
the sky?" At the same time that I pointed this question to the cat, I took out a pen and a pad and,
in this way, showed the cat I was ready to write down its answer to my question.
At first, it seemed the cat had no intention of answering my question, because it grabbed
my pen and pad with its paws, and it seemed, at first, as if it was only playing with them. But
soon I noticed this was truly a very serious game. My astonishment was rather great, when I
noticed this particular cat started to write with my pen in front of me clear sentences on the pad
by using the language of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, which I happened to have studied among
other subjects within my academic career. Soon I learned the cat was telling me an amazing
story with these Egyptian hieroglyphs, which I later translated to English so you, my dearest
reader, could read this story and learn amazing things from it.
This is the authentic story told by the cat.
Hatred of the Pharaoh
Nowadays, I'm only a stray tomcat with shaggy, gray fur, who is searching for its daily
meals in among the garbage of the streets of the city, but I tell you now a great secret: I'm not
just any tomcat, but in fact I am the Immortal Cat, former King of the Empire of Cats in Egyptia.
My Name is Nedjem. It is an Egyptian name and means "The Lovely One." Even though my life
is nowadays only a shadow compared to my former life and I don't rule my empire anymore, I
still have my pride of the times of old. I am immortal, I have already lived thousands of years,
and there are thousands of years yet to come in my life. In the ancient times, my fur was black,
but during the centuries I have lived, it has become gray. I shed my tears for the sharpest edge
of the crescent of the new moon because it once brought me the greatest misfortune of all time.
In ancient days, I lived on the soil of Egypt, to which the river Nile gave a prosperous
harvest year after year. I lived there for thousands of years and ruled my empire of cats there in
a righteous way. Over the centuries, I saw my empire grow as mighty as the empire of men and
women in Egypt. In those ancient days, cats still spoke the language of Egypt and walked on
earth upright on two legs just like human beings. Cats formed a great nation on the soil of Egypt,
which practiced great commerce between men and women and the cats of Egypt. The
occupation of the cats of Egypt was commerce, but at the same time, the men and women of
Egypt were enslaved, occupied with agriculture, handicraft, and constructions of various kinds.
The Pharaoh ruled the empire of men and women in Egypt with great authority just as I, Nedjem,
ruled the empire of cats.
Year after year, I saw my empire grow in political power and economic riches. In those
days, I saw there was in my royal treasury diamonds and emeralds and rubies and sapphires
and pearls and jewels of practically every color known to men and women and cats. My spouse,
Bastet, the Lady of SothisStar, who was recognized in the hearts and minds of the people of
Egypt as the Goddess of Joy, had in those days the custom of bathing in a bathtub full of pearls.
The nation of men and women of Egypt respected us and were afraid of us.
There came a day that the success of my prosperous nation of cats on the soil of Egypt
started to seem more prosperous than the nation of men and women on the soil of Egypt, which
was ruled by the Pharaoh. When the Pharaoh realized this with his own eyes, hatred against the
nation of cats started to rule his heart. Pharaoh began to think there could be only one great king
on the soil of Egypt and this could only be, of course, the Pharaoh himself. At the same time, the
number of mice in the royal granaries, in which was stored crop grain that the men and women
of Egypt used for making the bread for themselves, started to increase with alarming speed.
During those days, a rather cunning idea crossed the mind of the old ruler Pharaoh, which he
decided to use in order to solve two problems at the same time. So, it happened that the
Pharaoh, the old ruler of men and women of Egypt, began to plot against Nedjem, the Immortal
Cat.
Just like mine, the Pharaoh's Basoul was immortal and his Kaspirit had lived for
thousands of years. Because of this, the Pharaoh's first official ruler name was Living Horus, the
Son of Osiris, the Immortal. But the Pharaoh, the ruler of the men and women of Egypt, also had
a very peculiar characteristic. Over the years and decades and centuries of his rule, his bones
would become old and feeble and his physical body would begin to yearn for the silence of the
grave. By contrast, the Pharaoh's Basoul and Kaspirit wished to continue living and remaining
vitally and so, they transmigrated from one body to another. And so, the Pharaoh's faces
changed myriads times over the centuries just like an ancient snake which sheds its skin again
and again. Or, just like the Phoenixthe Fire Bird of the Greeks, which rises from the ashes.
Each time the old Pharaoh experienced the death of his physical body, Pharaoh's Basoul
flew like a bird. At the same time, his Kaspirit walked as a shadow next to a new and fresh
body usually the body belonging to the oldest son of the Pharaohand made its nest there. At
the same time, the Basoul of the Pharaoh's oldest son escaped from this body to Imentet, the
dwelling place of the dead in Western Lands. Because the ruler of men and women of Egypt, the
old Pharaoh, was in this way at the same time immortal and mortal, he had a second official ruler
name, Son of Ra, the Son of the Sun, because his name always withered from the books of the
living one during the evening of his old age, but also always rose with the joy of youth in a fresh
body the morning following the death of his old body, just like the Sun, which declines as old in
the evening and rises young in the morning.
Because of this transmigration of Pharaoh's Basoul and KaSpirit from one body to
another, the Pharaoh had a third official ruler name, which was each time the same name as that
of the body, where Pharaoh's Basoul and Kaspirit would make a new nest for themselves. This
third official ruler name of the Pharaoh was only the name of his mortal body and not that of his
immortal Basoul or immortal Kaspirit. At the time, that hatred against the empire of cats started
to rule the Pharaoh's heart, the Pharaoh's Basoul and Kaspirit had made a nest in the body
whose name was Pharaoh Thutmosis III.
Pharaoh Thutmosis III accomplished tremendous noble deeds and military feats of valor.
He conquered large territories, which made Egypt the most powerful empire of humans on the
shores of the Mediterranean. In those days, the empire of cats practiced only the peaceful
conduct of trade and never war. The Pharaoh could not subordinate cats under his throne,
because the mighty priests of the temples of Egypt forbade the use of violence against a nation
which did not use violence. So, instead of warfare the Pharaoh decided to employ a clever
scheme in order to conquer the empire of cats and its emperor Nedjem, me. Pharaoh Thutmosis
III asked me, Nedjem, The Immortal Cat, to participate in a bet over a matter of honor, who is the
wisest person on the soil of Egypt. Because I viewed myself as more wise than the Pharaoh, I
accepted his proposition and promised to participate in the bet.
In those days, my royal palace was situated in Memphis, in Lower Egypt, on the lower
stream of the River Nile. Likewise, the royal palace of the Pharaoh was situated in Theba, in
Upper Egypt, on the upper stream of the River Nile. The Pharaoh sent his messenger from
Theba to give his message to me in Memphis. The message was written with hieroglyphs on
papyrus, and of course, I could interpret those hieroglyphs. The Pharaoh said in his letter that he
urgently wanted to meet me in person in Theba and the reason for this meeting was most
serious. He suggested we should meet at the precise time the sharpest edge of the crescent of
new moon would next be seen in the night sky.
I accepted the proposition of the old Pharaoh and sent my own messenger to tell the
news.
Moustache or Beard?
As the time the sharpest edge of the crescent of new moon drew near, I started my trip to
Theba, the Upper Egypt, the upper stream of the River Nile. I chose to travel there with my old
friend, Sebek the Old Crocodile of the River Nile. I traveled specially on his back. During the long
trip, weSebek and Iboth were extra cautious because of the hippos, which symbolized in
those days the powers of Kaos for both men and the cats of Egypt. During our trip together with
my dear friend Sebek, I made sharp notice that the frogs were more active than usual and that
they croaked in extraordinarily loud voice.
This can mean only one thing: It shall soon rain, commented my old friend Sebek.
At Theba, our destination, where we arrived just a moment before the sharpest edge of
the crescent of new moon was seen in the sky, we found the old Pharaoh nearby his royal
palace, standing deep in his thoughts and at the same time observing and contemplating the
constellations of stars in the night sky. After we had perceived the presence of the old Pharaoh,
my old friend Sebek dove deep into the depths of the River Nile while I myself walked as silently
as I could with my silent catsteps toward the old Pharaoh. When the Pharaoh perceived my own
presence, he first looked surprised for a moment, but then greeted me in an eloquent and
friendly manner.
You the Immortal Cat, Nedjem, You who are the Lovely One himself, You whose steps
are lively and agile, your fur is like a Black Pearl polished by the Moon Beam. Your eyes are
green like the emeralds. Your moustache is white like the diamond. Your tongue is red like the
ruby. You, the more clever than the clever hunter. You who sharpen your nails to the diamond
and eat eagerly the dainty. You whose mewing makes the Star Sothis start its annual rise, You
who enchant even the stars of the night sky, Youwholovethepeacemorethananythingelse,
You the most powerful merchant of Upper and Lower Egypts, You the Noble Deity, I greet you!
I answered to him, the old Pharaoh, with the same measurement.
You, the Strong Ox who rose from Theba, You who go eagerly to battle and never
surrender, You whose hand grabs the bow and arrows and whose arrows never fail to hit the
target, You who stands out straight because of your enormous courage, You who trample your
enemies under your sandals, You whose eyes investigate all the living creatures on Earth, You
the steady ruler like the Ra on the sky, You the Golden Horus, strong in strength, The King of
Upper and Lower Egypts, Thutmosis, the Lover of AmunRa, I greet you!
I thank you, oh Immortal Cat. Now I shall share with you the secret of why I wanted to
meet you under this sharpest edge of the crescent of the new moon, said the old Pharaoh.
So tell me, O Son of Ra, I answered.
Are you aware of the debate, which has started just lately in the minds of cats and men
on the soil of Egypt, O Immortal Cat? The debate is concerned with the matter of who on the soil
of Egypt is more wise and more clever in wisdom: is it the old Pharaoh Thutmosis or is it
Nedjem, the King of Cats? Are you ready to measure the depths of this matter, O Immortal Cat?
I am fully and completely ready to take part in this debate, O Son of Ra.
So we shall compete, O Immortal Cat Nedjem. The contest shall be held with three
mysteries, three riddles, three questions. I shall ask you, one by one, the three questions and
you will have to know the right answer to each and every one of these three questions. If you will
know, one by one, the right answers to each and every question, I lose and you shall have
enormous glory. But if you fail to give me the right answers, I win and you are defeated. I assure
you that in this competition, a wrong answer is fatal each and every time. With every question,
the loser shall be brought in shame before all of Egypt, but the winner shall be prized with a
special seal of wisdom. So, are you ready for the first riddle, O King of the Cats?
I'm ready when you are, O Son of Ra. But tell me first, what is this seal of wisdom
connected to the first riddle? I answered.
The first seal of wisdom is either the moustache of yours or the beard of mine, O King
of Cats. If you fail this first contest, you will lose your moustache, the symbol of your wisdom. On
the other hand, if I fail, I will lose my beard, the symbol of my wisdom, said the old Pharaoh.
I understand. So, tell me the first of those three riddles, O Living Horus, said I.
So it shall be. Let us compete, O Immortal Cat. Take sharp notice of this: The sacrificial
flame shall soon be ignited for the god Khonsu, the God of the Moon in the temple nearby. This
shall happen exactly the same time as the sharpest edge of the crescent of new moon appears
on the night sky from its hiding place behind the clouds. This is the first riddle. Which way do you
believe: does the smoke from the sacrificial flame rise up towards the sky or does it descend
down to the ground?
The task is most delightfully easy, O Living Horus. During my trip from my palace in
Memphis to your palace here in Theba I noticed the frogs of the River Nile were croaking in the
most lively way. This can mean only one thing in my personal experience: There is a
thunderstorm coming very soon. And I also know that before the rain comes and particularly
before a thunderstorm, the smoke always descends to the ground and does not rise towards the
heights, O Son of Ra, I explained to the old Pharaoh.
Is this your final answer, O Your Highness the Immortal Cat, asked the old Pharoah one
more time.
My answer is: The smoke descends to the ground and does not rise towards the
heights, I answered the Pharoah.
Let us see, said the Pharaoh.
And at the very next blink of an eye the sacrificial flame was ignited. And soon it was
clearly seen that the smoke from this sacrificial flame did not rise towards the highs, but
descended to the ground instead.
The way I see it, O Son of Ra, you have just lost your beard, I said to the old Pharaoh.
Yes, quite right, O Immortal Cat, said the Pharaoh just a second before he quickly cut
his beard off with a dagger.
Beardless Pharaoh!, I managed to laugh a bit, but at the very same blink of an eye I
witnessed how the old Pharaoh placed the artificial royal beard to the very same spot on his
face, where the real royal beard had been situated just a moment before. After this, the old
Pharaoh said to me with a fierce look of immense rage in his eyes:
You won this time, O Immortal Cat, but the competition is not quite over yet. Let me
remind you that the next contest between us shall be held here when the sharpest edge of the
crescent of the next new moon is seen on the face of the darkness of the night sky. I expect to
see you here next time, O immortal Cat. But now I must wish you a safe trip and good night.
Right after the old Pharaoh had said this, he disappeared quickly like a ghost to the
shadowy labyrinth of his royal palace.
It wasn't long after this a thunderstorm started with heavy rain. Soon also, my dear friend
Sebek, the Old Crocodile of Nile, rose from the depths of the River Nile to its banks. Sebek had
made good use of his time by making an umbrella from the leaves of the papyrus plant, which
was found in many places on the riverbanks. I placed the umbrella over my head, grateful for the
services of my dear friend Sebek, and we started the trip back home to Memphis, Lower Egypt,
on the lower stream of the River Nile.
The Old Wizard
After few weeks from our first meeting, the old Pharaoh sent me a message of
hieroglyphs written on papyrus, which was brought to my palace and given to me by one of the
Pharaoh's most trusted messengers. In the message, the old Pharaoh told me the next riddle
was more demanding than the previous one and also that the stakes were higher this time. He
wrote: The winner shall win nine lives for each and every one of the individuals of his nation,
whether it be human beings or cats, but the loser loses his immortality and status of deity. The
competition had gone this far when I finally realized this game was truly very serious and there
was no way of turning back, because quitting now would be regarded as cowardly, and
cowardice was the one thing I could never accept in my own conduct.
I discussed this serious matter with my old friend Sebek the Old Crocodile of Nile, and he
suggested we seek the counsel of an adviser to help with the problem. Sebek told me that he
knew an old wizard who happened to live on a deserted island in the stream of the River Nile. He
said this old wizard's island was situated about halfway between Memphis and Theba, about ten
miles from the city of Khumnin, which the Greeks called Hermopolis.
I accepted my friend Sebek's suggestion. Sebek and I both thought the use of a special
adviser was allowable, because it is wise to avail oneself of the wisdom of the others. Sebek
also told me this old wizard was recognized as one of the Seven Wise Men, who inherited the
wisdom of the world in the beginning of days. No one knew how old he was only he himself
knew this. And it was also said on the banks of the River Nile that this old wizard was given
advice into his oracles straight from the god of wisdom of Egypt himself, Thoth, the Royal Ibis
Bird.
Without hesitating, Sebek and I left Memphis for Hermopolis and the island of the old
wizard. I traveled on the back of my friend while he swam against the current of the River Nile.
We arrived at the wizard's island at just about the time when the full moon hypnotized with its
pale shining all the living creatures of nature. When moonlight polished my black fur, I rose onto
the banks of the wizard's island with silent catsteps.
Suddenly I was already in front of the door of the old wizard's hut. I knocked on the door
and heard a voice from inside the hut. The voice advised me to come inside. So, I went inside
the hut, which within was decorated in the most ascetic way. I saw no furniture at all except for a
fireplace with a fire and the wizard sitting on the dirt floor next to it. The wizard was dressed in
shabby cloth, which hid his face completely. The old wizard welcomed me in a friendly way and
suggested I sit on the floor by the fireplace like him. I greeted the old wizard and sat down just as
he advised me to.
What has brought you here, O Immortal Cat?, the old wizard started the conversation.
I told him my story truthfully and also asked him for an oracle, which would give me the
right answer to the old Pharaoh's riddle. After I had told him this much, the old wizard sat in silent
peace for a moment. Then he took an Acacia twig and pricked his thumb with the thorn. Blood
flew from the wound. He put his wounded thumb in his mouth and in this way, he was given a
revelation.
Soon after the old wizard said:
The Wings of the Night fly based on reflections of the voice and not reflections of the eyes.
I thanked the old wizard for the oracle and left his hut. I walked into the darkness of the
night polished by moonlight.
Immortality
As the time the sharpest edge of the crescent of the new moon drew nearer, Sebek and I
left the royal palace in Memphis and headed for Pharaoh's royal palace in Theba, upper stream
of the River Nile. I traveled once again on the back of my old friend Sebek, while he swam
against the current. During our trip, we were extra cautious because of the hippos and the
powers of Kaos, which they symbolized. At the same time, I noticed how the bats were flying in
the air in the most lively manner this late hour of night. I also noticed the bats hunted dragonflies
in the darkness of night with utmost skill. I recollected the words of the old wizard and anticipated
that the second riddle of the old Pharaoh would deal with bats.
A moment before the sharpest edge of the crescent of the new moon was seen in the
darkness of the night sky, my old friend Sebek accompanied me to the papyrus rushes of the
banks of River Nile near the royal palace of the old Pharaoh. At the same time I ascended onto
dry land, Sebek dove deep into the depths of the River Nile. I walked with silent cat's steps
towards the palace of the old Pharaoh. This time also, I found the old Pharaoh deep in his
thoughts and at the same time contemplating the constellations of stars in the night sky. When
the old Pharaoh noticed me, this time also he seemed surprised to see me before him. We
greeted each other in a polite manner. After this, the old Pharaoh said to me these words.
I have invited you here to take part in truly a superb competition. O Immortal Cat, the
winner of todays competition shall win nine lives for each and every individual of his nation, but
the loser shall lose his immortality and the status of deity. Are you ready to compete? Are you
ready to hear the second riddle, O Immortal Cat?
I am ready, O Living Horus. So, tell me the second riddle, I answered.
Suddenly the old Pharaoh snapped his fingers and next his servant brought a bundle of
cloth to us.
After this the words of Pharaoh were:
I know your eyes are sensitive in the dark, indeed you have night vision, O immortal
Cat! For your emerald green eyes night is as clear as the brightest day. But look at this, O
immortal Cat! This bundle of cloth contains a bat, a spirit of the night, which my servant has
caught alive. The eyes of the bat have been blindfolded with a tight bandage so the bat can't see
anything. When the sharpest edge of the crescent of new moon is seen soon in the sky, my
servant will open the bundle of cloth. My second riddle is: Do you believe this bat will rise on its
wings and catch a dragonfly from the air even though the bandage has not been removed from
its eyes? What shall be your answer, O Immortal Cat?
I recalled the words of the old wizard and answered:
I believe you, O Immortal Horus. I know bats have a mysterious skill. The wings of the
night fly based on reflections of the voice and not reflections of the eyes.
Is this your final answer, O Immortal Cat?, asked the Pharaoh one more time.
My answer is: The bat, whose eyes are blindfolded with the bandage, will easily catch
the dragonfly from the air.
Let us see, said the old Pharaoh.
At the very next second, the sharpest edge of the crescent of new moon showed itself,
appeared from its hiding place behind the clouds of the night sky. And at the very same moment
the servant of the old Pharaoh released the bat from the bundle of cloth. Both of us, the old
Pharaoh and I, saw next how the bat first rose on its wings and soon after hunted a dragonfly
from the air successfully.
I have won!, I pointed out to the old Pharaoh with my heart full of relief and joy.
Truly, O Immortal Cat. You have earned nine lives for each and every individual of your
kind, the nation of cats in Egypt, said the old Pharaoh.
Now you say the word of truth, O mortal Son of Ra. Your words are truthful just like the
moon, which first increases in size and then accomplishes its full and brightest figure, but finally
disappears behind the shadows. Your words are just as truthful as the fact the sun will sink
beneath the blue line of the horizon. They are just as truthful as the fact one day your physical
body will start to long for the silence of the grave, and very soon after that, you will experience
how your Basoul shall depart from your body like a bird and how your Kaspirit will follow this
bird like a shadow next to it. Together they will journey the inaccessible trip to the Imentet, the
dwelling place of the noble dead in the Western Lands. If you accomplish this long and difficult
trip to the Imentet, your Basoul and Kaspirit will be united with Basoul and Kaspirit of the
Immortal Osiris. But beware, O mortal Son of Ra: If I'm by your side, when your Basoul departs
from your body like a bird, you will see I will seek to catch this bird, because it's in the nature of
cats to catch birds!
Your words are all trustworthy and truthful, O Immortal Cat. My bones are already very
old because of the decades they have seen and I know I don't have much time in this old and
wretched body anymore. But nevertheless, I tell you now our competition in wisdom is not over
yet. There still remains the third riddle, which I will reveal just a moment before the sharpest
edge of the crescent of the next new moon shows itself next time in the darkness of the night
sky. I ask you to be here again at that time so we will be able to finish this business once and for
all. Now I wish you a safe journey and good night.
When the old Pharaoh had said these words, he disappeared quickly like a ghost into the
dark labyrinth of his royal palace. Soon after this, my old friend Sebek, the Old Crocodile rose up
from the depths of the River Nile onto its banks. I rose up on the back of Sebek, and we started
our trip back home my palace in Memphis. The bats were still flying in the air in the most lively
manner. The crescent of the new moon had risen in the darkness of the night sky and we saw
the bright Sothis Star, which the Greeks called Sirius, had risen high and was in a very visible
position.
Second Oracle
A few weeks after our meeting, the old Pharaoh sent me the third papyrus letter, which
was brought to me in my palace by the old Pharaoh's most trusted messenger. In the letter, the
old Pharaoh told me the third riddle was even more demanding than the previous riddles and the
stakes were greater this time than before. The Pharaoh wrote to me with Egyptian hieroglyphs:
"The winner of the third contest wins absolute victory over the kingdom of the loser and
absolute power over all of Egypt, which none can deny, and under the winner's throne are placed
all of the cats and men and women on the soil of Egypt. But the loser loses all of his empire with
all of its fortune and wealth. This is in addition with the fact that the loser shall have to become a
servant in the winner's household."
Sebek and I did not waste even a second after I received the old Pharaoh's letter, and so
we left my palace in Memphis for the old wizard's island near Hermopolis. Sebek swam against
the stream of the River Nile while I sat on his back quite hypnotized by the bright full moon high
above us. The old wizard again welcomed me in a friendly way and I told him truthfully again
about my problem. When I asked for an oracle, the wizard again took a twig of the Acacia tree
and pricked his thumb with thorn so blood flew from the wound. Then he placed his wounded
thumb in his mouth, which resulted in a revelation again this time.
Then the old wizard said to me:
Left side silvery dimishes, right side golden increases.
I understood immediately what the old wizard meant by his oracle. And so I shouted out :
The Moon!
This was because I happened to know quite well that, in the land of Egypt, the moon was
always white on the left side when it was diminishing its visible appearance while, on the other
hand, the moon was white on the right side when it was increasing its visible appearance. It had
been this way on the soil of Egypt from the beginning of ancient days and so it was today. So, I
figured out, all by myself, the last riddle of the old Pharaoh would concern the phases of the
moon. I felt great confidence that the victory was mine. I thanked the old wizard for the oracle. I
was already leaving on my way from the wizard's hut, when at that very same time the wizard
added something to his previous speech. I remember always, what he said.
These were his words:
Beware, O Immortal Cat. Beware, that you don't stumble with your own cleverness.
These words echoed in my mind while I kept lookout for hippos as Sebek swam along the
current of the River Nile.
Power in Egypt
When the moment of the next new moon came closer, we, Sebek and I, left my royal
palace in Memphis and headed via the River Nile to the old Pharaoh's royal palace in Theba, the
Upper Egypt. Once again, I traveled on the back of my old and trusted friend Sebek, the Old
Crocodile of Nile. During our trip, we were extra cautious because of the hippos and the powers
of Kaos which they represented. I observed carefully the phenomena if the night sky, but at the
time we were traveling toward the upper stream of the River Nile and the Upper Egypt, the moon
was hidden behind clouds. But I had made some exact calculations and knew the moment of the
sharpest edge of the crescent of the new moon was most certainly very close.
Swim faster, My friend! Swim faster, because the moment is close!, I rushed my friend
Sebek. So, faster he swam.
During my trip with Sebek, I started to speculate upon the second oracle of the old wizard.
The more I pondered the matter, the more doubt attached to my ponderings. I asked myself over
and over again: Could the old Pharaoh be so naive and simplehearted he would ask as the third
riddle the simplest of all questions: On which side does the crescent of the new moon rise, is it
the left or the right side? Could it be the Pharaoh would ask such a simple question when the
stakes of the game were this time the highest?
The more I thought about it, the more I started to sense plotting on the part of the cunning
old Pharaoh. What if the old wizard was in league with the old Pharaoh what if the old wizard
was also conspiring with the old Pharaoh? Could I truly trust even my old friend Sebek? Maybe
the Pharaoh, who was known to be an initiate in magic, had used his magical powers in order to
turn the revolutions of the moon to the direction opposite the moon's natural direction? This is
how I pondered my situation as Sebek and I came closer and closer to the Pharaoh's palace in
Theba, Upper Egypt.
Just a moment before the appearance of the sharpest edge of the crescent of the new
moon in the darkness of the night sky, Sebek and I arrived at the papyrus rushes by the side of
the banks of River Nile near the royal palace of the old Pharaoh in Theba, the Upper Egypt.
Once again, it was my turn to disembark onto banks of the river Nile while Sebek dove deep into
the depths. I walked with such silent steps as only a cat can walk towards the Pharaoh, who I
soon found standing alone in front of his royal palace. He was fallen deep into his thoughts
while, at the same time, he also closely observed the phenomena of the night sky and the
constellations of the stars. But this time the Pharaoh did not look surprised at all when he saw
me alive in front of him. We greeted each other in a polite, formal way. I can assure you, there
was most certainly a certain amount of nervous tension in the air surrounding the old Pharaoh
and myself when we met for the third time in order to compete in wisdom.
O Immortal Cat! Tonight we shall resolve the fates of our kingdoms and kingships!
Come closer, O Immortal Cat! Listen to the last one of the riddles! Or are you afraid?, said the
old Pharaoh in a bombastic way.
No, I'm not afraid, I answered the Pharaoh, Tell me at last the final riddle, please.
I shall, I shall! O Immortal Cat, direct the vision of your emerald eyes towards the highs
of the night sky. Look closely, because the sharpest edge of the crescent of the new moon
emerging. Your final task is to tell me which side of the crescent of the new moon will emerge
tonight: Is it the left side or the right side? How do you plea, O Immortal Cat?
I could smell the plot of the old Pharaoh like it was a rotten fish. His voice was full of self
confidence. I was now absolutely certain the old Pharaoh had used magic in order to change the
natural order of things and, in this case, the natural direction of the revolutions of the moon.
So, these are the words I chose to use:
It shall emerge from the left side, O Son of Ra. The moon shall emerge from the left
side, while the right side dwells in shadow.
Is this your answer, O Immortal Cat?, asked the Pharaoh one more time.
Yes, truly it is: The moon shall emerge from the left side tonight.
Let us see, said the old Pharaoh.
Suddenly the clouds started to clear away and at the same time, myriads of thousands of
hundreds of stars showed their melancholic twinkling eyes for me. The brightest star in the night
sky was the Star Sothis, the Sirius of the Greeks. But the moon was not seen in the sky it
seemed like it had disappeared.
Have you put a spell on moon, so it would not be seen?, I asked the Pharaoh.
Most certainly I have not. I believe the moon shall be seen in the sky in no time,
responded the old Pharaoh.
Suddenly the sharpest edge of the crescent of the new moon appeared behind its hiding
place, the masquerade of clouds. My astonishment was truly great when I noticed the golden
crescent of the new moon was on the right side. The left side of the moon was dwelt in shadows.
So, the old Pharaoh was not guilty of disturbing the natural order of things with magic and the
natural order of things had not been broken.
Then the old Pharaoh said:
As you see, O Immortal Cat Nedjem, the crescent of the new moon emerges from the
right side. Left side silvery diminishes and right side golden increases. Because of this natural
order of things, O Immortal King of Cats, you have now lost all of your empire and your kingship
and the all of the wealth of your empire for the benefit of me myself. Because this is the order of
things from now on, you and your spouse are obligated to serve me in my royal palace in Theba
starting from this very night and ending the day my mortal body dies. After that date, when my
BaSoul departs from my mortal body and my Kaspirit journeys as a shadow next to it, you shall
be free again, O Immortal Cat.
Oh no!, I cried.
Because I now have supremacy over all cats in both Egypts, I shall now give my first
royal ordinance concerning the cats of Egypt. My first command is that cats shall not be
permitted to walk on Egyptian soil with two legs nor shall they be permitted to be merchants.
From this day on, the cats of Egypt shall walk on all four legs, which I consider more fitting for
their present task. This is because from this day on, the task of all cats is to live in the
households of human beings. There they shall chase and catch mice, which are the true
nuisance of both Egypts. You, Nedjem the Immortal Cat, I will make the general of the royal
palace's mouse hunting. What do you have to say about that?
Oh no!, I cried for the second time.
If the master or mistress of the cat dies before his or her time, the cat is free to go
wherever it pleases. But whether or not the cat is member of a household of men or women,
whether it is free or not, it is always obligated to hunt mice. And cats will absolutely not be
allowed to speak the language of the human beings of Egypt, because otherwise they would
most certainly use this skill to gossip with each other concerning the matters of human beings.
But concerning cats' skills in interpreting the Egyptian hieroglyphs, I do not have such a stern
order but nevertheless wish for cats to keep this skill a secret from everyone for three thousand
years, no more and no less.
Oh no!, I cried for the third time.
But you can keep your immortality, O Nedjem. And because cats were once in a
powerful position in Egypt, I will give my royal ordinance that the lives of the cats shall be
respected and protected at all times. And all members of your nation, the nation of cats, shall
keep their nine lives, which you earned for them in fair play, but if a cat loses its last, ninth life, its
Basoul will yearn to go to Imentet, the dwelling place of the dead in the Western Lands. But if a
man or a woman takes the ninth life of a cat, he or she shall be punished with death and even
memory of him or her shall be erased from all the books of life. Woe to this damned person! This
shall be the Maat, the Law and Order of the land of Egypt from now on.
After the old Pharaoh had said all this, he was silent. And silent also was I.
Suddenly the sacrificial fire was ignited for the Khonsu, the Egyptian god of the moon.
Thoth and Prophecy
At that very moment, I dropped from my standing position on two legs down to four
because of the royal ordinance of the Pharaoh and at the same time understood I would be
walking on four legs for the rest of my days in immortality. The facial expression of the Pharaoh
seemed very pleased at that very moment, when he was stroking his royal artificial beard. The
very next moment, the old Pharaoh and I saw the old wizard with his shabby cloth miraculously
come out from the smoke of the sacrificial fire and walk straight towards us. When the old wizard
arrived in front of us, he undressed the cloth which had hidden his face. And so the Pharaoh and
I witnessed his secret Ibisface.
O Thoth! The Royal IbisBird! The Lord of Wisdom!, the Pharaoh shouted out with great
emotional turmoil.
I myself could not respond to this sudden turn of the story by any other means except for
a miserable meow, because I had lost the skill to speak the language of Egypt. And next Thoth
directed these words to me, Nedjem.
Woe you Immortal Cat! Did you not listen to the voice of wisdom? Look, what you have
done to your fate! Truly, you stumbled with your own cleverness. Once you ruled a great empire,
but now its gone the way mist disappears in wind. You are like the Morning Star, Son of the
Dawn: You tried to rise even higher than the sky, but your fate was to eclipse down to the
ground! Most certainly you have fallen from your high position! Your eyes are sensitive in the
night, but do you not see, what clearly happens right in front of you in bright daylight? Did you
not know the powers of the old gods are waning? We can no longer influence to the fates of the
celestial bodies. The old gods of Egypt have now became weak.
And when the time is right, there shall be given birth a new God, young and powerful,
Lion from the kin of Judah. He will rule with great authority in the communion of the gods. The
rulers and kings of this world shall hate him, the priests and the high priests will condemn him to
death, they will cause him to die, and he will journey to the land of the shadow of Death. But he
is more clever than his enemies, he is more skilled and he will trick even Death. He is True
Human and True God, his strength will not end. His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living
God.
After the god Thoth said these words, he walked back to the smoke statue and
disappeared.
This is the authentic story told by the cat. And when he had told me his story, he shed his
tears.
Two tears from the left eye and one tear from the right eye.
Jarkko Pylvs is a university student in in Western
Central Finland and a journalist. He's studying World
history and Semitic languages and cultures and, as
such, has studied Hebrew, Coptic, and Greek, as well
as theology and exegetics. One of his latest articles
dealt with Human Rights in Russia, namely the
Freedom of speech, or lack there of. He has written
several other articles on the environment and other
Human Rights issues around the globe.
advertise, and to pay its authors. Also... when you don't donate, it makes
little kittens cry.
Cathryn Rose Free Fall
Free Fall
by
Cathryn Rose
------ eyes only ------
------ eyes only ------
------ eyes only ------
THIS DOCUMENT CLASSIFIED
HIGHEST SECRET
CLEARANCE A-A-3 REQUIRED
Stellar Federation official records
2717-06-30
Department of Trade
Department of Xenology
Department of Defense
Following transmission alleged from Triplanetary Corporation Gas
Mining vessel Cassiopeia, in orbit around planet GG-475 Calypso, 2714-
10-11. Communication captured by automatic comm logging systems aboard
trading skiff Starla's Pride, T. S. Markovitch owner, passing one
hundred seventy-three light-hours distant from Calypso while en-route
from Vega-7 to Sol-5. Impounded on trade violations at Old Earth
station V7.
Loss of Cassiopeia crew member Landry, Roberta M, EV-243-A
(Maintenance group 7), confirmed.
Loss of Cassiopeia Command/Control Director Tanner, Shirley K, CC-
7455, confirmed.
Loss of Triplanetary Corp. shuttle Cass-C5, confirmed. Assumed
theft by Tanner, Shirley K. Witness affidavits archived in this file.
No further details.
------ transcript follows in its entirety ------
"--sun-side hull plating at section R-seven-two-B. Recommend
replacement during next docking refit."
Thank you Ops, this is Control. Recommendation approved. Please
send the work order to my screen at your earliest convenience."
Roger, Control. It'll be in your next duty list."
Okay, next. Data, Control here. Regarding your request for
seventeen additional...uh, G-twenty-three-type memory units for crew
file use--"
<<< A loud bang is heard on the transmission at this point >>>
"What in the worlds was that?"
"Control, this is Comm. To whom are you directing--"
"Emergency Break! Control, this is Telemetry. Sensors indicate a
sudden two-point-three degree per hour roll sunward."
"Roll? What the--? Okay, all stations, this is Control. I want to
know what that bang was, and I want to know now! Nav, get us back to
our original orientation. Comm, feed me reports from all stations,
starting with--"
"Break...Control...It's me. It's Bobbi. Uh, Roberta Landry,
maintenance tech EV dash two-four-three...I think that was me."
"Maintenance, get me the work order."
Control, Maintenance here. It's coming onto your screen now."
"Technician...Landry, did you say? EVA Maintenance, current order
PV dash A four seven two nine. What do you mean, you think it was you?"
"I was EVA, replacing the backup gyro on the Earthward array. I
had just buttoned down the box when something blew."
"'Something', Landry? Can you give me some specifics? Ops, this is
Control. Get me a full system scan on my screen ten seconds ago!"
"Control, Ops. On its way, Shirley."
"Control, this is Landry. I think it was the control circuit for
the forward starboard sun-side jets, near where I was working. I can't
turn to see for sure though. I'm drifting."
"Holy--! Did you say 'drifting', Landry?"
"Yes Ma'am. The blast sheared my suit tether and pushed me away
from the hull."
"Telemetry, please tell me she's wrong."
"Telemetry here, Control. Sensors show a human-reading, one point
four klicks planetward of the starboard fore-deck, retreating at seven
klicks per hour and accelerating."
"Blast!"
"Control, this is Comm. Repeat, please?"
"I was swearing, Comm. Write me up in the logs if you need to.
Okay, Telemetry, don't lose her. Tight-beam it if you need to, just
make sure you keep her in your scopes. Shuttle Bay, can we get a ship
to her?"
"Control, Landing Bay. We can get a ship free in...forty minutes,
but it'll take another thirty-three minutes to position it for a
recovery. We're on the wrong side of Mama to get planetward any
faster."
"Blast again! All right...all right, Nav, can we rotate this ship
planetward and bring the Bay in-line with the planet in less than forty
minutes?"
"Control, Nav. Negative in that time. Best we can manage for a
one-twenty-one point three degree roll and yaw maneuver Calypso-ward is
fifty-two minutes."
"Make it happen, Nav! Landing Bay, prep that shuttle. I want it
out the door as soon as we complete the roll."
"Roger that, Control."
"Roger, Control."
"Control, this is Ops. We confirm the loss of forward starboard
jet-control circuit AA dash two three. Auxiliary has kicked in."
"Landry, this is Control. How are your suit systems? Can you run a
check?"
"Control, Landry. My visor display is out, so I can't see which
systems are on-line. I hear no leaks and my O2 feels good so I'm pretty
sure life support is still okay. Vapor control is good. Visual
inspection shows no obvious cracks in the armor."
"Which suit did you take?"
"I know what you're asking, Control. I took a sun-grade C-level
suit, since I would sometimes be sun-side and was to be tethered. So,
no suit thrusters."
"Okay, Landry. Stand by."
"What else can I do, Control?"
"Good girl. Okay, all Systems, this is a Priority Red command. I
repeat, Priority Red. I have a maintenance tech in free fall toward
Calypso and we can't get a shuttle to her. I want ideas and I want them
now! I don't care how ridiculous you think it is. Send your input to
Comm. Comm, get people on it. I want the top three ideas on my screen
in sixty seconds!"
"Roger, Control."
"Ops, Control. Give me a breakdown of the sun-grade C-suit."
"Control, Ops. Sun-grade C has life support for three standard
days of--"
"Skip that, Ops. Give me the heat rating."
"Uh...Heat rating is...seventy-eight hundred at max shock."
"Data, Control here. Dave, what do you estimate her speed at if we
don't get her before she hits atmosphere?"
"Shirley, this is Dave. Wait one...Best guess is seven thousand
plus meters per second at max shock."
"Okay. Good. Her suit'll take the heat no problem if it comes to
that. Whether that's a blessing or not will have to be seen. Okay,
Comm, what have you got? How are we going to save my tech?"
"Control, Comm. Shirl, I hate to say it, but we've only got one
idea down here and it's wacko."
"Spit it, Chen. If there's a chance it'll save my tech's life, I
want to know what you have."
"Okay, here it is. Atmo skimmer G nine two is within seventeen
klicks of her projected atmosphere entry point. We can position the
skimmer so she falls within a couple hundred meters of it. If we
shorten the tube, the intake end will be directly in her path just as
she passes it. You know how long those flex-tubes are and how much time
it takes them to catch up after a skimmer maneuv--"
"I know how it works, Chen. I also know if that intake is in
Bobbi's path she's going to punch a hole through it. How is this going
to help her?"
"The idea is if we get the intake to pass directly overhead the
moment she passes, and we have it running full power, we can suck her
into the tube. Then we ease the suction until we hold her in stasis."
"Chen, that's not just wacko, it's insane."
"Control, Telemetry here. Tech Landry is currently fifty-three
point two klicks from atmosphere, falling at nineteen point seven
kilometers per hour, increasing at ten point two meters per second
squared."
"Control, Data. We confirm Telemetry's numbers. She'll hit atmo at
seven thousand, four hundred sixty-four meters per second. If the
intake misses her she'll hit the surface at--"
"Stow that, Dave!"
"Sorry, Control."
"Okay, all stations, this is Control. Get that gas skimmer in
position to catch my tech. Make this work, people! Comm, Telemetry and
Nav, I want you on a group channel and I don't want a moment of silence
between you! Anything important comes straight to me as soon as you
think it."
"Roger Control."
"Bobbi, this is Shirley. How are you holding up?"
"I'm scared, Shirley. It doesn't feel like I'm moving at all, but
if I look away from the planet for a minute and then look back, I can
definitely see it getting bigger. I'm so scared."
"I know, Bobbi. Hang tight. We're going to catch you."
"Control, Telemetry here. Atmo skimmer G-nine-two is moving into
position. ETA five point nine minutes. The tube should be over tech
Landry two point two seven minutes later. Data and Nav confirm both
those numbers and tech Landry's projected position and velocity."
"You hear that, Bobbi?"
"I hear you, Shirley. Roll out that vacuum cleaner and suck this
dust bunny up!"
"Now don't get giddy on me, Bobbi. I need you to stay focused."
"Sorry, Control. I'm just scared."
"I know. Just hang on. It's going to be a seven-minute waiting
game. Can you see the skimmer below you?"
"Not yet, Control. The planet takes up the whole sky right now. I
can just see space at the edge of my vision. Starting to make out high-
level cloud formations. Wait...I think I see the skimmer. It's off to
my right but moving fast along the cloud tops. It's so small! There's
no way it'll be close enough to catch me."
"That skimmer is two and a half klicks long, Landry, and we've got
every expert on this ship running the numbers. Trust them. The
skimmer'll be ready for you."
"If you say so, Control. I still don't think this has a prayer of
working."
"You religious, Landry?"
"I am now, Control. I haven't stopped praying since that bolt
blew."
"Me neither."
Control, this is Ops. Skimmer is approaching technician Landry's
projected atmo entry point. Once past that point it will begin a slow
curve northward which will bring the vacuum tube into position to pick
up Landry the moment she passes the intake."
"Control, this is Landry. I can see the skimmer below me. It looks
a lot bigger now. I never realized how wide those intake tubes were. "
"Data, Control. Give Bobbi the specs, will you? I think they'll
make her feel a whole lot better."
"Technician Landry, this is Dave in Data. The G-series atmo
skimmer has a single intake tube seven hundred meters wide, adjustable
from one to seventy-two kilometers long. The tube is a flexible,
rudder-controlled suction device capable of processing up to six point
eight million cubic--"
"That's good enough, Data, thanks. You catch all that, Bobbi?"
"Yes, Control. I see the skimmer turning northward now. The tube
is following behind it, kinda like a snake hanging off the end. It's
getting a lot bigger. Man, I'm moving fast! Calypso must really want
me."
"She's not going to have you, Bobbi. We're taking you back."
"Control, Telemetry. Tech Landry will pass the skimmer in twenty-
seven point two seconds...Mark."
"Looks like I'm going to smash right into it!"
"You won't Bobbi. Have faith."
"Control, Telemetry. Tech Landry will pass the skimmer in seven...
six... five... four... three... two...... Mark!"
"Confirmed, Control. I just fell past it. The tube is beside me,
maybe two klicks away. I can just make out that it's getting closer,
snaking in my direction. I'm moving really fast, and I can just feel
the atmosphere starting to brush against my suit. I have a feeling this
ride's going to get a lot bumpier before too long."
"Just hang on tight, Landry. Your suit can handle the heat, and
the inertia dampers should help the worst of the buffeting, but you're
going to be a shooting star until the skimmer intake grabs you."
"Control, Telemetry. Tech Landry will intersect the tube intake's
trajectory in fifty-two seconds. Intake will reach that point precisely
zero point four three seconds later."
"You hear that, Bobbi?"
"I hear, Control. I'm getting banged around a lot more now. It's
hard to see clearly, but the tube is really close beside me. How fast
am I going? What if I hit the tube?"
"Stay calm, Bobbi. This is the most powerful suction device ever
made. We've scooped up sky-cows from a klick and a half away. We have
more leeway than you think. Close your eyes if the buffeting makes you
dizzy, and just hang on, okay?"
"Okay, Control."
"Control, Telemetry. Here we go. Tech Landry passes intersect in
fifteen seconds."
"The tube is too close! I'm going to hit it!"
"No you're not! Hold on!"
"Telemetry here. Tube intersect in six... five... four... three...
two... one... Mark!"
"It's working! I'm slowing down!"
"Control, Ops. Skimmer suction is maximum plus five."
"Do we have her? Is she in the tube yet? Somebody talk to me!"
"Oh God, I'm being shaken apart!"
"Control, Telemetry. Skimmer tube extension increas--"
"Skimmer suction max plus seven."
"Control...Control, this is Bobbi. I'm still falling. It didn't
work. Oh God, I'm going all the way down. Oh God oh God oh God!"
"BLAST!! Hang on, Bobbi! We'll think of something else, just hang
on! Ops, get me everything we have, now! I want to know how we missed
her and I want another solution on my screen in ten seconds!!"
"There is nothing else, Shirley. That was my only chance and you
know it. Dear lord I don't want to die!"
"That's not going to happen if I have anything to say about it!"
"For--forget it, Shirl. It almost worked. I started to slow down.
I could feel the suction pulling on me, but then I broke free. I think
I rolled away from the tube a little. It was instinct, I couldn't help
it. It came right at me and I just twisted-- I'm...I'm going all the
way down."
"Blast it, Bobbi, I'm not giving up!"
"You have to, Control. Even I know you can't get a skimmer this
far into the atmosphere. Call this one a loss. I'm sorry about the
suit. You can take it out of my pay."
"To Pluto with the suit! Ops, where's my solution?"
"I'm sorry, Control. We have nothing that can reach her in time,
and even if we did, none of our vessels have the precise levels of
control we'd need to--"
"Can it, Ops. I get it. Bobbi, I--I don't...I can't--"
"It's okay, Shirl. I'm okay now. Scared as hell but okay. I knew
this wasn't going to work. It's out of our control. Only thing I can do
is tell you what I see on the way down."
"Bobbi, I'm--I'm sorry. I failed you."
"No you didn't, Shirley! You did everything you could, more than I
expected. It almost worked. Will you do me a favor?"
"Anything I can, Bobbi."
"My family back on New Titan. Make sure they know I love them. And
I...I'll be watching over them, okay?"
"Of course."
"I wish I could kiss my son goodnight one more time."
"Bobbi, I--"
"Okay. Okay, I'm still on duty here. I can still give you status.
The air feels--"
"Bobbi, forget that. You don't have to--"
"Please, Shirley. I need to talk. If I'm talking, I'm not
thinking, okay? Please?"
"Okay, then, Bobbi. Fire away. We're listening."
"The air feels like a dozen jackhammers pounding against my chest.
I'm falling spread-eagled. Not that it helps slow me down at all, but
it feels slower doing it this way. The friction glow around me isn't as
bright as I thought it would be. I can still see through it. The clouds
are pretty down here. They have a sort of a yellow-orange shine to
them, like sunset on New Titan. Unless that's just me making them
brighter. Hey, maybe I'll see a sky-cow on my way down!"
"Not likely, I'm afraid. We've never seen more than a single
mating pair of them in proximity. Our best estimates on population
density are about one in every three million cubic kilometers."
"I think my speed's reached its maximum now. It doesn't feel like
I'm accelerating any more. Any idea how fast I'm going? No, don't tell
me. It doesn't matter. Boy, the clouds here sure are pretty! Like
painted cotton balls all tumbled against each other."
"Wish you had a camera on that suit, Bobbi. I'd love to--Wait a
minute. How bright is it down there?"
"Well, my own friction glow is pretty bright and a little hard to
see through, but I'd say it's like an early evening back on New Titan."
"Data, this is Control. Where's the terminator in relation to
Landry?"
"Control, Data. Two hours past. We were slightly nightside when
she fell."
"What the--? Bobbi, you can see clearly? It's not dark?"
"Negative, Control. Except for my friction glow, I can see
everything."
"Ops, this is Control--"
"Ops here, Control. I know what you're going to ask. Her friction
glow should prevent all vision. Nor would it be enough to illuminate
her surroundings in any case. Not to the extent she says she's seeing.
We have no explanation, unless there's some sort of prism effect
refracting the sunlight to where she is. But that would last a few
minutes at best."
"I've been seeing clearly all the way in, Control. Wait... Oh
wow!"
"What is it, Bobbi?"
"I just passed a sky-cow! I never realized how big they are! Had
to have been fifty meters long, with a seventy-five meter wingspan!
Beautiful! I passed it close enough to see its eye. It saw me, too.
Hold on a minute!"
"What, Bobbi? What's going on there?"
"It's following me! I flipped onto my back in time to see it tuck
its wings and turn nose down. It's deflating, and catching up to me. It
must be expelling gas to make itself go faster!"
"Data?"
"What she's describing isn't any behavior we've ever observed in
them, Control."
"It's taking huge gulps of air to fill itself up, then it must be
pushing it out like a jet engine. Every time it does this, it gives a
flap of those enormous wings. It's nearly down to me. Please tell me
these things aren't carnivorous!"
"Negative, Landry. They process the atmospheric gases, as far as
we can tell."
"It's here! Right beside me. Oh, she's beautiful! Her eye is as
big as I am, and it sparkles! The iris is a big purple and blue oval.
Oh, she's gorgeous!"
"'She', Landry? How can you tell?"
"She just feels like a she, Control. She's not inflating and
deflating anymore, just staying very streamlined, and she's using her
wingtips to gently guide her--Sweet Saturn, there's another one right
beside her!"
"A second cow, Landry?"
"Yes! I didn't even see him approach, I was so busy looking at the
first one! This one is slightly smaller, and his eye is more red than
blue. I'm sort of between them."
"How can they be keeping up with her? Telemetry, how fast is she-"
"Control, there's another one! Another female, small. But it's
keeping up with me too! And here comes another one! Oh wow!"
"Four sky-cows? This is unheard of, Landry! They must really like
you."
"Oh, they do! I can see it in their eyes! They do like me, I can
feel it!"
"Easy, Landry. I was only joking. They're just animals, they can't
love like we do."
"But they do, Shirley! I can feel it. There's more of them now.
Maybe eight or nine, all around me, some above, some belo--"
"What is it, Bobbi? What do you see?"
"Shirley...there are hundreds of them down there!"
"Control, Ops. She shouldn't be able to see--"
"Bobbi, say that again, please."
"Control, there are hundreds of sky-cows below us!"
"And you can see them? How far below?"
"Best guess, ten, maybe twenty kilometers. And yes, I see them
clearly. And I think I'm slowing down."
"What?!?"
"There's no more friction glow. The air isn't beating on me, just
maybe a stiff breeze now. I think my new friends are doing something to
slow me down."
"Control, Communications. We're starting to lose her transmission
signal. She's too far below the--"
"Bobbi, listen carefully. None of this can be happening. You
shouldn't be able to see through the clouds, you shouldn't be slowing
down, there shouldn't be any light to see by and there sure as shooting
shouldn't be hundreds of sky-cows in one place. I don't think there are
hundreds on the planet."
"But there are! Heh...maybe I'm already dead and this is Calypso's
version of heaven."
"Don't go loopy on me, Bobbi."
"I'm not, Shirley. I'm just incredibly happy and alive right now.
It's the sky-cows--oh, you lovely, wonderful creatures! It radiates
from them, Shirley. That's what makes them float, not the atmosphere
gases."
"Control, Data. That's not scientif--"
"Bobbi, what are they doing? The sky-cows below you?"
"They're dancing! You should see it, Shirley! It's beautiful!
There's a pattern to their movement, the way they're flying and
circling. It's a dance of life! They're celebrating life! I'm barely
fall...now. We're so close...them. It's...redible!"
"Comm, what's happening?"
"We're losing her signal, Control. Atmo is interfering. I'm
pushing the antenna gains well past their safeties--"
"Shirley, everyone. I think....be okay. Still scare......not sure
what's go......on't mind. I think...safe. ......prayer......be all
righ......"
"Comm, get her back!"
"Nothing I can do, Control."
"Shirl.......Calyps.........heaven......come find.............am
okay........................."
"Bobbi! ...Bobbi! ...Technician Landry, I order you to answer me
now!"
"Comm here. I've lost her, Control."
"Telemetry, do you still have her position?"
"Negative, Control. We lost our signal seventy-three seconds ago."
"No..."
Control, Data here. What do you want me to put in the logs? I
can't put all that stuff she said. She had to have been hallucin--"
You write her words exactly as she spoke them, Dave! That's an
order. Shuttle bay, prep that shuttle for launch. I'm goin--"
<The transmission is garbled for seventeen point three seconds at
this point.>
--shuttle ready now! To Pluto with your regulations!"
"...Control? ...Her channel is still open. ....Control, this is
Ops. ...Are you there? ...Acknowledge, Control. ...Say something,
Shirl--"
------ end transmission ------
------ end transcript ------
------ end record ------
Cathryn Rose lives in New England and can't think of a better place to do
so. She may work with software, but she plays with stories and her
playground is as boundless as the universe. "Free Fall" is her first
published work.
advertise, and to pay its authors. Also... when you don't donate, demons
get their wings.
Warren Harvey He Set God's People Free
He Set God's Children Free
Or An Ode To Liberty
By
Warren Harvey
In a temple ruin, a scroll was found
and it was brought to me
to ascertain within this writ
what secrets there might be.
The writing was of a bygone age,
strange etchings on a page,
but soon I saw upon this scroll
a message from a sage.
Deciphering this ancient text
took most part of a year
its length was long, its letters odd,
and the words seldom clear.
After months of tedious work
on all the scroll concealed,
the tale told on vellum sheets
I can now reveal.
I am just a temple scribe
Of meek obscurity
I keep records, that is all,
Of no great import to me.
Upon one day, I sat and worked,
writing on this scroll,
a voice spoke and said to me,
"Scribe, write what you are told.
"You will record each word I say
of this bit of history.
Its message must ne'er be forgot
or lost to antiquity."
On this scroll, I've done just that
with this piece of history.
With pen and ink, I now describe
how God's children were set free.
An evil demon ruled the world
with brutal tyranny,
but in the heart of every man
was yearning to be free.
Though tortured, beaten, and enslaved,
they struggled to be free.
Though jailed, they never once forgot
God's gift of liberty.
A hero came from simple stock,
raised in humility,
grown strong of arm and stout of heart,
and blest with bravery.
Three things were written on his heart:
Faith, Hope, and Charity
and in his soul, his sacred vow
For allliberty.
One day he heard a Voice that to him did say,
"My child of liberty,
climb this mountain for at the top
is something there for thee.
So climb he did o'er rock and rill
through rivers, forest, fen and field
until he reached the top and found
armor, sword, and shield
Of the finest metal they were made
and on each piece a word:
Truth, Righteousness, Faith, Salvation, Peace,
And Spirit on the sword.
Then the Voice spoke and said,
"I have chosen thee.
Take these weapons and defeat
what evil there may be.
"At this mountain's foot," the Voice went on,
"awaits a fearless steed,
a stallion with a noble heart,
and blest with lightning speed.
"You'll ride unto the rising sun
and on to victory,
take to task the evil lord,
and set my children free."
He left upon the early morn
and rode until midday,
until a wall and an angry cloud
stood and blocked the way.
Lightning flashed and thunder rolled
forth came a stench most foul
the smell of death and rotting flesh
and voices screeched and howled.
From the cloud, a phantasm stepped
in a form alike a man,
who spoke with a voice of forty men
and said one word, "Stand.
"Three questions I will ask of you
and in the answers lie
how I will judge and decide
do I let you live or die.
"This god that you believe in
has promised to provide
yet you toil and work for all you get.
Perchance to you, he lied."
"Demon, I work for what I eat
in that, my God provides
the strength to work and with his word,
I follow as he guides."
"That he does love you, as you claim,
is perhaps another lie.
Climb up and jump off this great wall
he will catch you before you die."
"God does not serve meI serve him.
Avarice is not my creed.
This selfish act you'd have me do
is pure vanity and greed."
"I will make you emperor,
the king of all you see
the only act you have to do
is bow down and worship me."
"Demon, I know your vile words
are nothing more than lies
I will not bow and worship you
and now, foul beast, you die."
"Fool," the demon hissed and growled,
"I feast on those I kill.
I'll eat your flesh I'll drink your blood
my stomach will have its fill."
"No, foul beast, you will lose.
I will win the victory
you'll return to your home in Hell
and God's people will be free."
Fire shot from the demon's eyes
as they began the fight.
Lightning flashed and thunder rolled
as they battled through the night
Until at last, whence came the morn,
the man could not go on.
His body was broken, twisted, torn
his strength was nearly gone
The demon raised his sword on high
to drive the mortal blow.
"I am your God," he bellowed and roared.
The Voice thundered one word"NO!"
Then in his heart, the Voice told him,
"You fight to set men free.
Reach down deep into your soul
and you'll find energy.
"For on your heart are words of power:
Faith, Hope, and Charity
and ever strongest is your vow
For allliberty."
He found that tiny spark of power
and raised his own sword high.
He slammed it into the demon's heart
and then the hero died.
The demon loosed a grotesque scream
as he breathed his last
he was consumed by a fire from hell
and to it, he was cast.
The demon's power was now undone
and it no longer held the wall
it crumbled, broke, collapsed, fell
and great was its fall.
When the people saw it was o'er,
they wept, they cried and prayed.
God had heard their painful call
from evil, they'd been saved.
They gazed in wonder on the man
on churned and bloodstained ground,
his lifeless body, bruised and burned
but the sword could not be found.
He was a stranger to them all
no one knew his name,
no one knew of his life
or from whence he came.
They dug a grave and buried him
where he had been slain
and built a temple 'round the place
where he had been lain.
Then bards and scribes with pen and ink
wrote new history,
and troubadours with lute and harp
sang out new melody.
This is the ending of the scroll
delivered unto me
and the tale recorded by a sage
in hopes that all will see
how a stranger faced a demon lord
and fought for liberty,
made his life a sacrifice
and set God's children free.
###
Dedicated to all single parents who, alone and in silence, face the slings and arrows of
outrageous fortune.
Warren is currently unemployed, single, and has a BA in music. He sang in
Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center. He is also the father of two adult
sons. Following brain surgery for epilepsy and the end of an abusive
marriage, He has taken up writing and this is his first published work. He
now lives in Sacramento, CA, and goes to the Luthren Church Of The
Good Shepherd and sings in the choir.
If you think that poem is as good as I do, then please click that obnoxious
advertise, and to pay its authors. Also... when you don't donate, a million
puppies bark impulsively. Forever.

The Cross and The Cosmos - Issue 12

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Issue 12

Swords and Plowshares

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