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16: The Historian
"What do you mean, you don't want to be Queen?" Starsha stared at Astra terrified. "I certainly can't be queen!"
Astra smiled softly, having expected this reaction from her timid sister, "That's exactly what Sasha said too."
"For good reason." Starsha said, fear still on her face.
"I don't know who is to be Queen next, but I do know it won't be me." Astra's voice was quiet, and yet confident at the same time, something which made her sister think twice about a second dismissal.
"You're... sure...?" Starsha asked, submitting to the possibility that Astra might not really be as crazy as she had first thought a moment ago.
"More sure than I have been about anything in a long time."
At this, both girls paused and looked at each other, saying nothing aloud, but speaking plainly to one another as many twins are known to do on occasion.
"Have you told Amah and Aba?" Starsha finally asked, accepting, yet still fearing her sister's choice.
"Not yet..." Astra bit her lip, her gaze shifting to the floor, "Would you come with me to talk to them? It would mean a lot to me to have you there too."
Starsha thought about it, then said, "Okay, I'll go with you. But you're going to do the talking. Deal?"
Astra looked up at her sister and smiled, "Deal."
"This is an unusual thing, Astra." King Alexander said to his eldest child, "I take it this isn't just a spur of the moment decision. You're sure you won't regret this later?"
Astra, Starsha, and their parents were standing near a window set in the far wall of the King and Queen's chambers. The late morning light was starting to yellow as the afternoon drew near, and the colored light seemed to make the tone of the scene just the tiniest bit harsher.
"I'm sure." Astra replied, meeting her father's gaze unswervingly, the noon sun shining on her face, and casting a sharp shadow onto the floor next to her.
The King and his daughter shared a moment of silence which gradually filled with a sense of understanding and mutual contentment with what Astra had said. The shadow next to the girl seemed to dissipate a bit, the tension previously emanating from the King and Queen easing.
Alexander nodded to his child, and Astra bowed to her father in a show of respect and thanks for his acceptance of her decision and the conviction behind it.
"The will of Yahweh is sometimes a curious thing to behold." the King said, turning, as his other daughter Starsha often did, to look upon the Sea of Iscandar and watch its rippling waves glide in and out of the harbor, making the moored starships bob up and down like corks on a fishing rod. "Sometimes it takes a child to see what adults, in their ruthlessly methodical minds, cannot." Alexander returned his gaze to Astra, "I do not know what Yahweh has for our world, but in taking this step of faith, you have both clarified and concealed that future."
Astra's brow furrowed in confusion.
Alexander smiled, "I don't understand either, Astra. And perhaps I never will. Perhaps none of us ever will." the king's smile spread to his eyes, "Sometimes Yahweh asks us to challenge our own plans for the future so that He can lay down His own – plans that are infinitely better than anything we could ever have conjured up on our own."
Astra's face relaxed and she nodded, seeing now what her father was saying and relieved that he was not blaming her for obscuring the planet's future.
"Do you have anything you wish to say, Starsha?" Queen Kara suddenly asked the younger girl, completely eradicating the other teenager's hopes of remaining unnoticed and unaddressed.
Starsha took a couple of shallow breaths, then shook her head and looked down at the floor, hiding the strange feeling of dread that had come over her at Astra's forfeiture of her soon-coming queenship.
The younger girl began to silently chide herself, "What am I so afraid of? It's not like I'll be called on to take her place. Surely there is another relative much older and wiser than I who can take the throne and rule Iscandar much better than we ever could."
"Very well." Kara said, accepting Starsha's silence. Stepping over to her husband, she looped her arm around his, "We'll begin the search for another successor." Then, to reassure her oldest daughter, she reached out with her other arm and drew Astra into a short hug.
Starsha watched her parents and sister for a moment in silence, then, while the three discussed the coming decision, she stole away, heading to a place she knew would be quiet – the library.
Instead of taking the elevator, Starsha wound her way down to the ground level using the elegant, spiraling stairs that swirled down from the top of the palace all the way to a side entrance of the library. The way down was anything but boring as the stairs had been constructed between the transparent outer wall of the palace and the translucent inner wall, providing Starsha with a detailed view of everything outside from the base of the building to the Sea.
As she descended she thought about her sister's decision, wondering what would become of them and their world now. Subconsciously she knew that it shouldn't be that much of a disruption. Surely this had happened before sometime in Iscandar's history. But whether it had or hadn't, there was one person who would know. That was another reason she was heading to the library. The Historian, an expert in Iscandari historical record was always available to the citizens of the planet. The Historian traveled the planet at certain times of the year, but right now they were back at the palace, and, hopefully they were available to talk.
She descended the last ten feet of stairs and walked through the arched doorway of the palace library. She always liked coming in this door much better than coming through the front way – towards the entrance to the palace. She followed a path she had traveled numerous times before, ending up in the circular area where one of the oldest copies of the Words of Yahweh was displayed. The twin displays stood back to back, a copy of the Torah carefully preserved on one side, and a beautiful copy of the B'riyt HaHadashah* on the other – the two halves of the story of the ages.
Starsha stopped at the ancient manuscripts to look at them again, as she usually did when she came to the library. Every time she looked at them she found herself overwhelmed by the thought that these were the words of Creator Himself. So many had tried to destroy the Words of Yahweh throughout the centuries, but none had ever succeeded. The Historian could attest to that truth.
Deciding to cut her visit to the manuscripts short, Starsha turned to go. She swung around to head towards another part of the library.
"Historian!" she squeaked, startled by the sudden appearance of the one she had been looking for. "I – I didn't hear you come in."
"No need to apologize." the Historian chuckled, "I was sitting over in the corner reading when I saw you come in and stop to look at the manuscripts. I love them myself. Such a picture of Yahweh's sovereignty, this Book – crafted through a millenia and a half using the hands of so many men... Only the Creator could have woven such a Book."
Starsha nodded in agreement.
"So, what have you come here for, Princess? I'm sure it wasn't just to find something to read."
"No..." Starsha admitted, "I actually came to find a quiet place, and to find you as well, Historian."
"There is no need to call me that, Princess. To you, I am Lazarus. I did not teach you for most of your educational life to be greeted so formally now." Lazarus smiled.
Starsha smiled back, a bit more relaxed at her former professor's words, "I've always wondered why your parents named you as they did."
The Historian laughed, "A woman named Lazarus is an unusual thing, I know. I'm sure they had their reasons. But you didn't come here to talk about my name, Starsha. What is it you would like to know about our homeworld's past?"
The princess's face fell a little as she suddenly remembered the question she had come to ask. "Lazarus... has there ever been a time in Iscandar's history that the heir to the throne has given their crown to another? Another who was not their successor?"
"You mean an incident where the heir chose someone to succeed them who was not their own flesh and blood?"
"Not precisely..." Starsha shifted uncomfortably, "I mean, has there ever been a time when the heir has refused to take the crown...?"
"Oh," said Lazarus, "I do not remember. Let me search the records." the middle-aged woman said, obviously running through her memory, "Come. I left my Interface with my book."
The princess followed the Historian over to a far corner. Lazarus picked up something that looked like a glove with a bunch of holes in it. The woman slipped the thing onto her left hand and held it out, palm facing up, in front of her.
"Planetary Database Interface," Lazarus ordered, "Authorization 'Resurrection Zero One.'"
"You will now be connected to the planetary database and all connected databases associated with public record and historical event and persons, including those only accessible to government personnel." a feminine voice announced from the thing on Lazarus's hand. "Please indicate your search parameters now."
"Show me any instances in Iscandar's past where the crown-prince or princess has refused to accept the crown." The Historian said.
"Searching for your designated information now." the Interface said. "Please wait."
"As if I would do otherwise." Lazarus rolled her eyes at the piece of technology, making Starsha smile. "For all the research and development we've done with person-computer interaction, you would think that our systems would say something more original by now."
The princess laughed and nodded, "I've noticed the same thing."
"Your results are as follows:" the Interface interrupted, completely disregarding the fact that someone else was also talking to Lazarus. "There are no results matching your search criteria. Please adjust your search and try again."
"None?" Starsha said, surprised.
"None." Lazarus nodded, "Apparently no one has attempted such a feat before – at least not on Iscandar."
The princess thought for a second, crooked finger poised on her bottom lip. "What about on Gamilon?"
"Hmm." it was Lazarus's turn to stop and think, "I don't know that either. That's twice in three minutes you've done this to me," the Historian smiled at Starsha again, "You've an inquisitive mind. Don't ever lose that." The woman sighed, "There is another way to find out if such a thing has ever happened on Gamilon. As the Historian of Iscandar I have access to Gamilon's historical records too. One of the privileges of our Alliance with Gamilon is the sharing of information – historical, practical, and literary."
"You can look at Gamilon's historical records?" The princess asked, again surprised at what her former teacher could do. "I knew our worlds often acted together as a result of the Alliance, but I had no idea that it had such a provision as that."
"Oh, indeed." Lazarus laughed, "I have accessed their records on a number of occasions to answer some of the more complex inquiries I receive. But you should know that I am not the only one authorized to access them. As part of the Royal House, you have that privilege as well."
"Me?" The girl asked, her eyes widening. "I can do that? But I don't have an Interface."
"A problem easily fixed." The Historian said, "We have two more of them here in the Library. We've kept them in the vault, with other such technology not readily available to the public – such as the original Rophi-shamayim and the instructions for its construction and use. If you would like to have one of those Interfaces, I would be happy to take you to the vault and retrieve it for you."
"Oh yes. That would be wonderful!" the girl's eyes lit up at the prospect of being able to search for her needed information without outside help.
"Alright, we can go right now if you wish."
"Yes. Yes, I do." Starsha couldn't remember a time she had been more excited – at least, not recently.
Lazarus nodded and gathered her things before leading the princess down into the underground levels of the palace.
The two arrived at the vault in no time and were greeted by the guards on duty there. When they saw Lazarus they bowed and let her and the princess pass without question.
The vault was gigantic, but despite its size and underground residence, the area was clean and well-lit, giving it the appearance of one of the meeting halls higher up in the palace, just without windows. And then there was the Rophi-shamayim.
Starsha stared at the machine that had reportedly healed their world from the onslaughts of the Cometines all those years ago. Iscandar had been close to death, its beautiful blue and green surface reduced to red clay, rock, and dust. The only clean water had been deep underground and the air had been polluted by the enemy's weapons. All hope had been given up when someone had dared to contact Gamilon for help – something unheard of in those days. The Leader at that time had agreed to help them and sent his best scientists to Iscandar to help the people construct, first an effective defense against the invaders, and then the Rophi-shamayim to restore Iscandar to it's former beauty.
As she looked at it, Starsha noticed that the old machine was still gleaming – a sign of good cleaning staff as well as a show of respect for the past.
"It is a beautiful piece of work." Lazarus interrupted the princess's musings. "I've come here on occasion just to study it – to find out how it works."
"Have you discovered its secret?"
Lazarus laughed again, "No, Starsha. I haven't – not entirely at least. I don't know if anyone aside from the original creators have ever truly understood it. The instructions include everything needed – except for one vital thing, the heart of the Rophi-shamayim. There have been speculations about what the Heart is precisely. Some think it was a special mechanism designed specifically for that one use and then discarded. Others have said that it was actually a person who sacrificed their life to allow the machine to complete its task."
"What do you think, Lazarus?" Starsha asked.
"I have come to the conclusion that the Heart is something unique to Iscandar. In order to truly restore our world to what it once was, the Heart would have to be an actual piece of the planet. To my knowledge, there is only one thing in all of Iscandar that could uniquely represent our world."
"The Iscandarium core!" Starsha said, her eyes bright.
"Or at least a piece mined from one of the many deposits of it we have found all over Iscandar."
"Why has no one ever thought of that before?" Starsha asked.
"Perhaps because it is not needed." Lazarus replied, "Iscandar is thriving. We have no reason to believe that such an invasion will happen again in the near future. Many citizens of Iscandar are very short-sighted and such a thing as the Rophi-shamayim, which has not been used in a hundred years is of little interest to them. Why do you think I am in such high demand? People have forgotten the past and the lessons it teaches. They enlist me to find the answers to questions that they could find themselves if they only took the time to sit down and look. I have few real questions these days. Most of the requests I receive are genealogical – something easily found. The questions I enjoy most are the ones like yours that seem to have obvious answers, but in reality have so much more to them. They are the ones that send me on the hunt, and with the help of the Interface I can often find portions of the answers, though often I have to actually dig further on my own without the assistance of an A.I.
"And speaking of the Interface," Lazarus continued, "The extra two are this way." She gestured to the left and started walking. Starsha followed.
They came to a wall of thick glass broken up into what looked like bricks, but upon further study, the princess discovered that they were not bricks, but boxes. The glass was translucent so that the contents of each box was not readily visible, although you could tell by looking at the boxes which ones were filled and which were vacant.
Lazarus passed by many columns of empty boxes and a few full ones before stopping in front of one column in particular. Then, the Historian tapped out a strange sequence on the front of one of the boxes. As Starsha watched, the box slid out into Lazarus's waiting hand. Inside it were two more of the strange glove-like devices that the Historian had used earlier.
Lazarus removed one of the Interfaces and replaced the box in the wall. The glass melted back into place, looking like it had never been disturbed to begin with.
"Here you are, Starsha." the Historian offered the Interface to the princess.
She accepted it, handling the tool delicately. "How do I use it?"
"Just put it on and follow the instructions. The Interface will recognize you as a member of the Royal House and take you from there. The search process is the easy part. Piecing together what you find accurately is more difficult. And," Lazarus pulled out her communicator, which was blinking, "My services are required upstairs, so I will not be able to assist you further. Feel free to stay here in vault as long as you wish."
"Thank you." Starsha said, still carefully examining the Interface. "Thank you so much." she looked up at the woman she had known since she was little and suddenly felt the urge to give her a hug.
Lazarus returned the girl's gesture and then left the princess alone with her thoughts and her newly acquired tool.
Once the Historian had gone and she was sure there was no one else around, Starsha went back the way she and Lazarus had come, ending up back in front of the Rophi-shamayim. There, she found a bench, which, like most things in the vault, was also made of thick glass. She sat down, wondering exactly what she should ask the Interface. Slipping the thing onto her left hand, she did as she had seen Lazarus do and held out her palm, face up.
For a moment nothing happened, then the Interface began to glow with a soft white light. It hadn't done that for Lazarus.
"Hello Starsha, second of that name, second-born princess of the Royal House of Iscandar. This Interface has now been imprinted with your genetic code. No other user may gain access to Interface-only information through this device."
"Interface-only information?"Starsha thought. "What is 'Interface-only information'?"
"IOI requires a security clearance of twelve or higher. Only the Historian, members of the Royal Houses of Iscandar and Gamilon, and Mossad have that clearance level."
At the mention of the Royal House of Gamilon an idea popped into Starsha's head, "May I see a list of the members of the Royal Houses of Gamilon and Iscandar?"
"Your request will be completed momentarily."
The princess held her breath as she waited for the results of the search.
The Interface began to recite, "The living members of the Royal House of Iscandar are as follows: Alexander, present King of Iscandar; Kara, present Queen of Iscandar; Astra, crown-princess; Starsha, regent-appointee; Sasha, royal princess. The living members of the Royal House of Gamilon are as follows: Deun II, present Leader of Gamilon; D – There has been an error, please exit the system and retry your search again."
"What just happened?" Starsha asked the A.I.
"I am unable to read the file you requested. It has been partially erased."
"Erased?" A strange feeling began to rise in Starsha's heart.
"Correct." the A.I. affirmed, "Please try your search again."
Starsha repeated her query only to be cut off at exactly the same spot as before, so she tried a slightly different question, "May I see a list of all of the recently deceased members of the Royal House of Gamilon?"
"Your request will be completed momentarily."
Starsha nervously tapped the bench, waiting.
The Interface began speaking again, "The deceased members of the Royal House of Gamilon from the past fifty years include: Leader Desslok I, whose death occurred fifteen years ago; Lady Daratina, who was declared dead eighteen years ago; Queen Talonka, whose death occurred six years ago; Leader Deun I, whose death occurred one and one half weeks ago."
"Lady Daratina? How old was she at her death?" Starsha asked, puzzled, as she had never heard anyone mention a "Lady Daratina." Perhaps she had been a cousin of the Leader or some other more obscure relative.
"Age at time of declared death was seven years."
"Seven years old..."Starsha thought, "Such a short life... No wonder she's never mentioned."Out loud she said, "Repeat the previous search again."
"Searching living members of the Royal House of Gamilon. Your request will be completed momentarily."
"Don't programmers ever get tired of hearing that phrase...?" she thought ruefully.
"The living members of the Royal House of Gamilon are as follows: Deun II, present Leader of Gamilon; De – There has been an error, please exit the system and retry your search again."
Starsha shook her head and sighed, "Well, this will get me nowhere."then she realized that this third time, the Interface had pronounced not one, but two letters of the name of a second member of the Gamilon Royal House, a "d" and an "e." Then the answer hit her, "There's someone else! There's someone else who could take Deun's place and he's trying to hide it!"
"Sire, the second phase of the experiment is ready for your inspection." Yeshin bowed before Deun. "The man we found to replace Garen Krenshaw until we are able to bring him in has just informed me of his progress."
"Finally!" exclaimed Deun, unhappily, "It's been several days since you assigned him this task, Yeshin. He should have been ready within twenty-four hours. Instead, I have to wait more than three and a half times that long. This is unacceptable."
"My apologies, Sire. We did everything we could to make him work faster short of causing him harm."
"Well, perhaps a little harm would have motivated him a bit more quickly." a dangerous light was sparking in Deun's eyes now, and though he hadn't yet exploded in anger, Yeshin knew that this look could be much more dangerous than a tantrum.
"I am sorry for the delay, Sire. Please, come this way." The Regent attempted to diffuse some of Deun's wrath by making the trip down to the palace sub-levels quickly and quietly. They descended far underground, Yeshin careful not to look back at the Leader any more often than he had to.
As they walked, a sense of unease began to permeate the air around the zealot, making him jump at every shadow he saw. The fear he was feeling was so uncharacteristic of him that he became even more nervous as he descended further into the depths of the palace's subterranean levels.
Finally, after what seemed like an hour, but was really only ten minutes, Yeshin and Deun reached the door to their "guest's" laboratory. Yeshin unlocked the door and preceded the Leader into the dingy grey lab.
"Leader!" the skinny, unkempt scientist – obviously suffering from lack of sleep – exclaimed in horror upon seeing Deun enter, "It is not ready to be tested yet! Please! I only told the Regent that the second phase was done!" the man fell at Deun's feet begging the Leader not to test his work yet for fear it would meet with failure.
Deun kicked the scientist in the chest, sending him toppling backwards. "I will test what I please, whenever I wish it." he hissed at the man. "Do not try to dissuade me."
The scientist, from his place on the floor shook his head fervently as he shivered in fear, "No, no of course not, Leader. I am sorry."
"Now," Deun walked over to a glass-enclosed, cylindrical chamber anchored to the far wall and floor, "is this the proposed test-chamber?"
"Yes." the scientist answered shakily, unsure if he had given the correct answer.
"Hmm." Deun said thoughtfully, "Yeshin, please come over here; I need you to examine something."
Yeshin obeyed and was quickly at Deun's side. "What is it that I should ex – " his question ended in a scream as Deun shoved the zealot into the test chamber and locked it securely behind him, sealing the door so that it could only be reopened from the outside.
Deun turned to look at the scientist. The little man was standing up now, staring in true terror at the man now trapped inside the test chamber and the teenager who had trapped him.
"Load a sample." Deun ordered coldly.
When the scientist didn't budge, Deun repeated more loudly, "Load a sample, now!"
"I – I can't – "
"Oh yes, you can!" Deun roared, marching over to the other man and forcibly dragging him over to what looked like a storage unit for sample canisters. "Get it."
The scientist, now afraid for his own life, took out a canister containing a sample of the latest version of his work.
"Now load it." Deun ordered, pointing towards the test chamber.
Amid Yeshin's muffled screams of terror, the scientist loaded the canister.
"Now release it." Deun said, a hard edge in his voice.
The scientist stood, finger poised above the switch that would release the substance. One of Yeshin's screams caused the scientist to look up at the helpless victim.
"Do it!" Deun commanded.
The scientist just stood there, staring at Yeshin, petrified to disobey the Leader, but too terrified of his own conscience to throw the switch.
Suddenly Deun shoved the man out of the way and flicked the "Open" switch, releasing the substance. He watched in twisted pleasure as Yeshin's body began convulsing and he fell to the floor of the chamber, writhing in pain.
Then, the Regent's appearance began to morph – a side effect that Deun had not anticipated and would have to have his "guest" scientist remove before the substance's actual deployment.
Yeshin's skin began to wrinkle; his hair fell out in clumps, littering the floor around him as he vomited from the intense pain.
The zealot's skin changed from its normal blue hue to a sick purple as his eyes bulged and became blood-shot.
Suddenly Deun flipped another switch, clearing the chamber of the cruel substance. Then, once he was sure the chamber was clear, the young man unlocked and opened the door to the test chamber.
Yeshin did not rise from the floor.
Deun smirked at the zealot then walked into the chamber, carefully avoiding the putrid mess he had left.
"Get up." Deun ordered.
The traumatized man, whose appearance was now twenty years older, looked up at Deun in confusion, "Who – who are you? And where am I?"
The Leader gave the man a stout kick to the back of his legs, "You're my servant! And you're in my palace. You will address me as 'Sire.'"
"Y-yes, Sire." Yeshin fumbled, struggling to get to his feet.
"Follow me." the teenager said, "We have other things to attend to." Deun walked out of the chamber and back out of the laboratory without a second look.
"Yes, Sire." Yeshin followed stupidly like an obedient sheep, locking the lab door behind him.
"It appears to be coming along nicely," Deun thought, "Now to make it a bit more... subtle."
The scientist, still reeling from what had just transpired in the past couple of minutes, stared into the now-empty test chamber, wondering if what he had just seen had indeed actually happened.
He walked slowly around to the inside of the chamber and stood in the very center of it. The evidence of Yeshin's ordeal still littered the floor.
Satisfied he wasn't going mad yet, the scientist left the chamber and sealed it. Then he collapsed into a chair and passed out, catching up on some much needed sleep.
Perhaps if he had examined the area more closely, he would have noticed a number of small cracks that had begun to grow in the base of the test chamber.
* B'riyt HaHadashah – The New Testament of the Bible – Matthew through Revelation