ARC OF THE IMMORTALS/ Book 1 — Part 2
Pursuit: 30 / One of Prophecy
Recap: Touzdae left Geordae Phorae’s Needlecraft Station as a conscious spirit. As a Spirit, she visits Goto-ak a geneticist. He is skilled at duplicating humanoid bodies (not clones). She learns about immortals. She travels to the wreck of a spaceship in a nebula. Touzdae is confronted by a woman who at first does not recognize Touzdae. She exits before learning the woman’s name. She inhabits the body of a woman of royalty along with at least one other spirit nearby and the host.
“We must verify if she is the One,” an older male counselor stated emphatically.
“I am ready for any tests that may apply short of death and torture.” Touzdae stated along with agreement from the two other beings within.
“Yes, Mi Lady,” the older one opened his book.
“Don’t call me Mi Lady. I don’t remember my name,” she paused. “Do I have a full name?”
“Yes Mi Lady, you are the Venerable Makadennakitch Vera.”
“That has the ring of an honorable name, the name of a leader, am I right?”
They nodded vigorously.
“Call me Vera in the meantime. When I remember my true name you will call me by that name. Is that clear to you?”
Again, the nodding.
“Proceed with your questions!”
The older man studied his book, he cleared his throat and spoke:
“What is your last remembrance before you woke underneath the tent?”
“Light surrounded me. It was a current of electromagnetic energy — a plasma field.”
The two other advisors smiled, embarrassed by their lack of knowing.
“What do the words — ‘electromagnetic’ and ‘plasma’ mean?” one advisor asked.
She closed her eyes and took a long slow breath.
“Suffice it to say the light surrounded me. It crackled with ferocity.”
They all beamed.
“Thank… Mi — Vera for answering all my questions, is there anything you wish to ask of us?”
“This is part of the test — I know it,” she laughed. “Is there anyone on this world that views the stars in the night sky with any instruments?”
“Yes, many days to the north, a man known to be a heretic has a telescope instrument. He is a hunted man.”
“Then spread the word. This hunted man is thenceforth freed. Hunted he will not be. I wish to speak with him and peer through his telescope. Take me to this man forthwith.”
“You are the One,” the older man proclaimed. “You have answered all the questions as prophecy has predicted.”
“Do you know your revered name, Vera?” the small quiet man asked.
“I am Entu at the beginning and the end of life.” She stopped short. The words that flowed through her surprised her. “These words I have spoken are not mine.”
“Vera Entu, then,” the other man began.
She stood and with a sweep of her arm she commanded:
“No, Entu. Vera is gone and I am here. I am your survival. If the people of this world are to survive I will be the engineer of this. Then the way of Entu will unite the seven stars into a force. This force when combined with other forces will bring rising consciousness.” Entu incorporated Vera and two other beings within her but spoke not of this to anyone.
In the months that followed, Entu collaborated with the astronomer. They charted the course of a distant approaching asteroid. Together they plotted the date and the location of impact. They developed a plan to evacuate the population. Within five years the people would descend to a series of deep caves on the opposite side of the planetoid. It was a massive undertaking. The populace was informed. Only a small segment of the population had the skills to build machines and complex structures. Tasked with designing and building the underground structure, they would house ten thousand people. She introduced some farmers to hydroponics. She assisted others in building wind generators, solar collectors, and batteries. She helped engineers build an electromagnetic pulse canon.
The people did not yet have the expertise to build space vehicles or rockets.
They charted the location of impact of the asteroid. And insured the survival of the people of Ennis in the caves on the far side of the world.
Some of the people chose to remain on the surface, in spite of the warnings.
Six months before the impact date refrigeration systems were built. This implemented increasing storage of foods, especially meats.
When the asteroid grew close the electromagnetic pulse canon redirected three large fragments into a nearby star. One of the fragments broke into smaller pieces two of which struck a moon orbiting the planet El in the adjacent system.
Approximately two thousand people refused to go underground to live in the caves. Some believed they would die there. Others did not believe that there was an asteroid. About two hundred made an encampment near the entrance to the shaft. They were the skeptics hedging their odds.
The day of impact came and went. A week passed. No asteroid. Fifteen hundred people emerged from the depths relieved that their world was still intact. On the ninth day, the asteroid hit three hundred miles from the original point of impact. Only one huge fragment was thrown clear of the planet. Three thousand people perished on the day of impact. Some died in the stampede to enter the caves, while others perished in the collision. Others died during extreme weather conditions that followed impact. The wind generators made much electricity in the first one hundred days after impact.
∞ for more on Antarian civilization:
the previous chapter:
Thank you for joining me in the adventures that span lifetimes and worlds. (If you do NOT wish to be tagged, let me know, and I’ll tag you not):
Barbara Murray | K. Pearson Bradley | Dougfrombk | Rebecca Romanelli | Joseph Lieungh | Dr. Preeti Singh | Ravyne Hawke | Dr Mehmet Yildiz | Kris Bedenian | Alberto García 🚀🚀🚀 | Blaine Coleman | Lee David Tyrrell | DL Nemeril | David Price | Rip Parker | Annelise Lords | Libby Shively McAvoy |