Race to the Light

How can you not get up out of your bedroll when the sun smiles so sweetly down upon you? How can you not yawn and stretch and laugh when the breeze is warm on your belly and the birds sing you to life and the grass and leaves tickle your hair as you walk to the stream for your morning ablutions? How can you not live your life as best you can, regardless of cares and worries, when Spring seizes you and holds you in its loving arms?1

The water was cold, and every inch of my skin went hard and pimply at its touch, but it was sweet, and giggled to me as it ran through my fingers. The spirits of the plants don't like me to smell like an animal, so I try to wash myself whenever possible. It takes getting used to, washing every day, but when God blesses you with a gift like mine you do what you must to use it well.2

It lay in the dirt for 4000 years before any hand touched it. As it was too hard to beat into jewelry or sharpen into an edge, it was instead cleaned and polished and used as idol, in a temple dedicated to the sun. When that temple was sacked and looted, it was taken along, one more spoil of war. It next sat in a treasury for 200 years, until it was again taken as loot. For the next 500 or so years, it passed from hand to hand, sold or stolen, until it came to rest in the palace of Ur. When it was sacked 75 years later, the fires that followed buried it under piles of rubble, and it was lost to man's view for a long time. When next it saw the light, man lived on the moon, and flew among the planets with casual ease. It was taken for study, and found its way to the desk of a very unassuming graduate student in what had become the Yukon.3

Her name was Jadzemi Bokhari. The light from her computer screen lit the planes of her olive skinned face, washing it out, and glinting off her old fashioned gold rimmed glass spectacles, long since antiquated, but an affection. She pushed a stray lock of raven hair behind her ear as she tapped out a rhythm on her console. Squinting her sable eyes trying to focus on the fine print on the screen in front of her. She was trying to do some research for one of the professors, but hadn't been able to concentrate all evening. An unobtrusive bundle rested across the room, wrapped in synthesis foam. It was a new arrival to the department, and had fallen to her to do a preliminary study of the piece before deciding which lucky scientist was to be assigned it. She'd opened the carefully packaged relic to find some sort of metallic oval, it was about three feet at its widest point and was polished to a bright sheen. Early tests indicated it was forged of some yet unknown alien alloy. Something almost unheard of in this day of advanced analyzation techniques. On its gold toned surface there were symbols inscribed, etched in neat even rows, symbols she didn't recognize, something else that was unusual, she considered herself an expert on recognizing ancient scrip and languages.4

Frustrated Jadzemi took off her glasses, pinching the bridge of her nose. Then she put the glasses back on and looked over to where the object lay, biting her full lower lip. She really had other things she ought to be doing, but the mysterious artifact seemed to pull her gaze and attention like a magnet. It was alluring puzzle, an enigma that had quickly gotten under her skin. Finally with a small expulsion of air she stood, striding over to it, her fingers itching to touch the hard surface again, the research could wait.5

Slowly she ran her fingers over the strange and alienated metal. It felt good, very good and strong, yet soft too. She was filled with a strange desire to hold the piece to her body and was almost engulfed in this feeling. Slowly her eyes closed as her fingers rested on the stone. Suddenly she opened her eyes and she was amidst a forest. A forest lush and green, water babbling on a brook nearby. How could this be!!6

She looked down and her long black hair touched her body. She had on a light weight dress definitely from another place and time. A large ring sat upon her right hand almost with the same stone in it as the relic. The wind riffled her hair and she looked down her hand still on the relic. She pulled her hand away. In a flash she was back in the dark office.... her fingers tingling. She was in shock.....and amazement. She sat the relic down.7

"Truly intriguing!" she whispered, looking at the relic with more interest.8

"Come back!" the relic cried out, and she was forced to jump back in astonishment.9

"This can't be happening!" she said.10

"Yes it is, my child," a faint form appeared next to the relic.11

It was an old man in sparse clothing, a simple half tunic.12

"I am Dotyac. I am from the moon Io," He said.13

"But Io is unstable and no life is supported there," she replied in disbelief.14

"Au contra ire, it's the illusion that make you think Io is unstable. Come, my child, and grab the relic. You belong with us," Dotyac said.15

"Me, belong on Io. Impossible. I have lived on Earth all my life. I think this is a dream. I hope it ends soon," she said, pinching herself repeatedly.16

"Let me explain," Dotyac offered.17

Dotyac began his story,18

"Many eons ago we were a strong and growing civilization. Very much like your present day Earth. Our Io was lush, green and technology was decades beyond your own. We however choose to stay with the traditional king and queen rulers. These rulers were fair, loving, mystical and brave. Our most beloved of all rulers were King Charmont and Queen Tess. We loved them and they loved us in return. Queen Tess was however an adventurer and was constantly getting herself lost or trapped. She has a mind link with the great king. This link always got her out of trouble, not that the King ever let her travel alone. He did however give her all of the freedom she wanted, this freedom was precious to her and to our world. I can remember many of mornings I would drink my coffee, and read of Queen Tess's next adventure. Ionies were kept up on her ever move.19

"However while Queen Tess was on another world she found a rare and unique stone , much like the one before you. She became enthralled with it. Spending hours with the stone and at the castle which was unheard of , why she was a traveler. Now with this stone she traveled no more. Sometimes in my paper they were sad as they said they hadn't see the Queen leave the room in days.20

"As a prophet and also a doctor this is when the King called for my services....21

"King Charmont was worried, more worried than he'd let on to the general populous. Tess had quickly become obsessed with the stone and spent hours communing with it. She ate but rarely and slept even less. The moment I arrived the King himself led me to the chamber the Queen spent most of her waking hours, the room with the stone. 22

"It was clear to me there was something terribly wrong, our fair queen was a vibrant and extroverted soul, always moving, always asking questions and searching out answers. When I saw her she was just sitting with the stone cradled to her, rocking back and forth, humming to herself tonelessly, her gaze quite vacant, as if she were somewhere else entirely. She allowed me to examine her, so long as I didn't try to take the stone from her, and I could find nothing obviously wrong, that a few good meals and some sleep wouldn't fix, and yet, there she was, gaunt, frail and quite mad."23

Dotyac shook his head sadly, the pain of the memory clearly evident in his lined face. He sighed before continuing. "I told you before that The King and Queen had a strong mental link, well, it seemed that was the key to the Queen's state. I spoke at length with the King and he told me of the disturbing dreams he'd been having, images of fire coming from the skies and consuming whole worlds, death and destruction on an unimaginable scale. I examined him too, and only after further questioning did the Charmont admit that he'd also lost all contact with his precious wife. Normally he could find her mental presence anywhere, on Io, but now, even when he was in the same room with her the link they had, was but a whisper. A truly disturbing thing for the King, who'd come to depend on the link as much as Tess had. It seemed all was lost, and I could shed no light on it. Until..." 24

He paused, looking deeply into Jadzemi's sable eyes, an unfathomable look in his ancient gaze.25

"Until?" She prompted, not quite able to believe she was speaking to a ghostly apparition, but unwilling to be left hanging, she never could abide an unsolved riddle.26

"You must come, you must, "he begged.27

Jadzemi said, "Not until you tell me the rest, then I will decide.28

"Very well," he said sadly. "From the sky, a fire ball hit between the King and Queen....the stone was the only thing left...and an apparition of you appeared with directions from a voice I did not recognize. It said, "FIND THIS WOMAN, SHE IS A LOST MEMBER OF OUR SOCIETY AND ABLE TO RESTORE IT. YOUR QUEEN AND KING ARE NOT DEAD, BUT THEY ARE TRAPPED. ONLY THIS WOMAN CAN HELP YOU FIND THEM. HER MENTAL LINK IS THE SAME AS THEIRS.""29

I took up the stone and it changed into the form you see right now.  "Quickly, my child, come with me. Simply put the relic on and it will take you to Io."30

This was almost to much for me...Why I was just a assistant to great team of scientist.. not a real scientist!!! What would I do!? It was really disturbing to me that this man thought I was someone I was not. I was just me an assistant, a woman...a..a..a.. adventure! Hmmmm .. this was a rather quick and disturbing discovery to me at this moment. I felt my heart racing,,I had to decided what to do! Right now, this moment..no delays.31

"Hurry child! Even now as we speak Io is suffering!"32

My hands trembled as I very slowly reached for the stone...33

"Hi, Jadzemi!"34

She started, shocked by the sudden voice, so close and clear, and her hand twitched. The relic, now merely the size of a gemstone, was knocked aside and tumbled to the floor. She gasped and looked up. A figure stood outlined in the door. Her heart thudded in her chest as the person entered the room.35

"Why, Jadzemi, you are so pale! Are you alright?"36

She put her hand on her breast as if to deaden the trip hammer sound of her raging heartbeat. What had happened? What was going on?37

"Dr. Ialenta, you startled me," she commented, bending down to retrieve the fallen artifact. Her head was swimming. When she had first touched the relic, it had been a plaque, half a meter square and heavy as a desk. It had been wrapped in enough synthfoam to make a bedspread out of. Now it was no bigger than her thumbnail, and when she looked at the packing it came in she saw it was no bigger than a handkerchief. She shook her head. She must be losing her mind!38

"You don't look well, are you sure you're OK?" he asked, crossing to place his hand on her forehead. "I was on my way to the solarium to get some light when I passed the office and decided to say hi." 39

He unclipped his med-eye from his belt and casually placed it on her bare arm. The shock of its coldness only heightened the sense of weirdness she was experiencing.40

"Why, Jadzemi, you're blood pressure is so high, and your blood chemistry is elevated. What have you been doing?" 41

She could hear the concern in his voice. He looked in her eyes, frowning. 42

"You know, I haven't seen you in the solarium for weeks, and now that I think of it, you skipped your last checkup. I think you're been working too hard."43

"You could be right, Doctor," she admitted, putting out a hand to steady herself against the table. She looked down at the relic, resting so light in the palm of her hand. The markings were now so small she could barely make them out. When she turned it over, she saw with a shock that there were curved prongs on the back, bent to form an open band. How could she have missed that?44

"What's that?" Ialenta asked. He pointed his med-eye at it.45

"Just a new artifact I've been sent to classify," she replied, but before she could say more his eyebrows jumped on his forehead.46

"Whoa! I wouldn't handle that if I were you," he remarked, looking at the scanner's readout. "I don't know where that's been, but it's got some sort of psycho-active chemical on the surface. You probably got some on your skin, and that's why you feel weird." He whipped a handkerchief out of his pocket and gently pried the artifact from her strangely unwilling fingers. As he set it down she felt an unbidden and unwilling sense of relief.47

"Look," he said taking her by the shoulders and looking in her eyes, "I'm headed to the solarium. Why don't you take a break and come down with me? You look like you could use a good rub-down, and I can count that as your obligatory checkup, OK?"48

She nodded numbly, and followed him out, pausing only to close the door. As she did, she looked back at the relic, sitting on the table. For a moment she thought it shimmered, but as she watched it nothing happened. She closed the door behind her and followed Ialenta down the hall.49

Jadzemi dreamed away and all seemed pleasant. She was walking Io enjoying the foliage and the beautiful creatures all around. Then, she heard screams ahead, so she ran to see what it was. The sky was raining fire and people were disappearing left and right.50

"JADZEMI, HELP THEM. TAKE THE STONE! GO NOW!!"51

And at that she ran from the solarium and back to the stone as Dr. Ialenta shouted, "What are you doing?"52

But the room faded and she was surrounded by the lush forest again. Ahead, stood a man.53

"Who are you?" Jadzemi asked.54

"Why child, I thought you knew. I am Dotyac," he replied.55

Dotyac was old in his faint image when he contacted her, but now he was young, almost in his late 20s.56

Jadzemi was baffled.57

"The time between Earth and Io are far apart. I simply appeared as I would if I was a Earth mortal," he answered.58

Jadzemi felt the warmth around her as she laid in the cave that Dotyac lead her. There was a huge fire burning in a hand made oven and the room was filled with fragments that she had never smelled before. Or had she ,,slowly she slept and dreamed. In her dreams she was reliving her life as an immortal. Dreams filled with other immortals.. playing in valleys, filled with mortals. Laughter flooding through open windows as the wind blew the sheer curtains over marble floors. Jadzemi smiled in her sleep as Dotyac watch.. He knew what was happening because it was he that cast the remembrance spell.59

He questioned how Jadzemi had gotten to earth and how she was so far from her true self. He was lucky to get her to Io before the doctor did more test on her. Why all immortals had high temperatures and blood pressure. They had two hearts what could one expect! If the doctor had put her under test the truth would have been revealed!!! That would have been dreadful.. Dotyac served the room ,, it was perfect the sleep potion cooked on the stove and the incenses were all there to bring back Jadzemi memories. Suddenly Jadzemi was moaning almost crying in her dreams. Dotyac slowly massaged her face and started to sing a soft song that was meant only for the gods. Soon Jadzemi was sleeping soundly again. It was uncertain to Dotyac how long this would take to bring her to her true self!!!...60