"Paradox (story 2): The Backward Journey (Chapter 1)" by Steven P. Love

Chapter 1

         Obsidyanna was still unconscious when the Doctor disconnected the blood transfusion machine.

         “She should awaken from the sedative in a few moments,” the Doctor reported as he moved the device away from her bed.

         “How is she,” her father asked while looking at his slowly stirring daughter with concerned eyes.

         The Doctor led Obsidyanna’s father out of the room and onto the balcony overlooking the Vekolth city. As they both looked out at the illuminated spires of the massive metal and glass structures Obsidyanna’s father turned to the Doctor with foreboding in his eyes.

         “The good news is that the synthetic blood transfusion did flush the toxins from her system,” the Doctor explained. “But the genetic degradation causing her Liver and Kidneys to fail is accelerating; it’s only a matter of time before her body rejects the synthetic blood we’re using to clean her system. I’m sorry, King Trekell.”

         “All of our magnificent technology,” Trekell lamented. “We have explored our solar system, freed ourselves from the drudgeries of daily life, created astounding art and literature, harnessed the power of the crystals we mine from our second Moon, and yet our science cannot find a way to reverse this curse upon the essence of our being.”

         “The genetic damage has been discovered in everyone across the planet,” the Doctor reminded Trekell. “In all our history the medical and scientific community has never seen anything like this. Even you and I are affected.”

         “But our symptoms are minor,” Trekell said.

         “Each of us has a unique genetic code,” the Doctor explained. “This disease…, if it can be called a disease, seems to affect those with a certain code more severely than others. Some of us may only suffer from sterility or arthritis while others may have life threatening organ failures.”

         “Like my daughter,” the King acknowledged sadly. “How long does she have?”

         “I honestly don’t know,” the Doctor admitted. “It depends upon her own immune system and how it reacts to the medicines and synthetics we’re using to keep her alive. Her body could turn on her at any time.”

         “Thank you for your honesty, Doctor Avra, that’ll be all,” Trekell said without looking at the Doctor.

         Doctor Avra bowed respectively and turned to leave.

         As the King looked up at the midnight sky tears welled up in his eyes.

         “I’ve never been a religious Vekolth, never really believed in your existence,” Trekell admitted in a kind of desperate prayer. “But if you do exist, I plead with you, save my daughter.”

         “I’ve never seen you pray before, father,” Obsidyanna observed as she came out onto the balcony behind her startled father.

         Trekell quickly wiped the tears from his eyes before turning to greet his daughter.

         “I felt that it would not hurt to try,” Trekell said with a smile as he gently embraced Obsidyanna. “How do you feel?”

         “Better than this morning,” Obsidyanna replied. She then expressed resignation. “I heard you and the Doctor talking, I’m dying, aren’t I?”

         “Don’t say that,” the King told her as he choked back his grief. “The Doctor will find a way to reverse the damage.”

         “Father…, the Vekolth are dying,” Obsidyanna said with a pessimistic sigh. “Half of the females are sterile; those that can lay eggs are producing eggs so fragile that very few of the embryos survive to hatch. Many of the adults have physical deformities. There is no denying it; we are doomed.”

         “Then why don’t you marry Prince Kupa,” Trekell asked. “You should spend the time you have left being happy.”

         Obsidyanna scoffed. “I would rather not. He is unattractive and more concerned about pleasing his own mother. I’ll never understand why you agreed to betroth me to him.”

         “It’s an old tradition, Obsidyanna,” the King reminded her. “It has been used for millennia to bond and unite previously adversarial kingdoms.”

         “I’m just thankful that I have the last word on the matter,” Obsidyanna said.

         Trekell chuckled. “I cannot tell you how many times Queen Tarnara has tried to get that little clause removed from the Treaty between our Kingdoms.”

         Obsidyanna smiled as she turned to look up at the night sky at her father’s side. “So, do you think that he’s real,” she asked.

         “Who,” the King asked.

         “The Great Maker of the Universe,” Obsidyanna said. “You believed in him once, didn’t you?”

         Trekell chuckled. “That was a very long time ago.”

         “But you did, though,” Obsidyanna reminded him. “What changed your mind?”

         The King sighed. “I don’t think I ever really believed.”

         “When I was a child you once told me that mother saw the Maker’s Avatar just before she died and that he was unlike any being known to the Vekolth,” Obsidyanna recalled.

         “Your mother was very ill at the time,” Trekell said. “She saw many things that weren’t real.”

         Suddenly, the night sky over the city flashed for a split second.

         “What was that,” Obsidyanna asked with surprise as she and her father looked upward and around for the source of the flash.

         “Perhaps it was a meteor,” Trekell speculated.

         The King was about to walk with his daughter back inside when the sky lit up again. This time the source was visible; a swirling vortex of luminescent clouds high above the city. Arcs of lightning leaped off of the vortex edges as its center flashed repeatedly. Crackling thunder-like sounds reverberated throughout the area.

         “What is that,” Obsidyanna asked with an expression of amazement and apprehension.

         “I have no idea,” Trekell admitted with equal uneasiness.

         Suddenly a streaking meteor-like object shot out of the vortex. It flew across the sky leaving a glowing wake of plasma followed by a sonic boom. Obsidyanna and her father watched with wide eyed awe as the mysterious object crashed in the distant forest beyond the city’s wall. A mushroom cloud of dust and fire could be seen rising from the crash site.

         “Wow! Let’s go find it,” Obsidyanna yelled with burning curiosity as she ran toward her chamber’s entrance.

         “Obsidyanna, wait,” the King called to her desperately. “You’ve just had a blood transfusion!”

         The Royal hovercraft was slightly smaller than the city hovercrafts used for public transportation, more for pleasure travel than official business. It was the only craft that Trekell actually liked to pilot.

         “I still think you should have given me time to summon the Doctor to accompany us. You could have another seizure,” the King grumbled while working the controls.

         “I feel fine, Father,” Obsidyanna said sounding annoyed while sitting in the co-pilot’s seat. “Besides, I’ve never seen anything like this fall from the sky before. I want to be there to see it as it really is before the scientists haul it to their labs for study.”

         “You may be risking your health for a common meteorite,” Trekell told her.

         “Perhaps, but I’d rather be out here exploring a crashed meteor than be kept in bed by an overprotective Doctor and Father.”

         The King sighed. “You have always been head strong.”

         “Just like you,” Obsidyanna teased.

         “Don’t remind me,” Trekell quipped.

         A display on the navigation screen started flashing red indicating that they were closing in on their target area.

         “That must be it over there,” Obsidyanna said while peering out the forward window. “Wow, look at that crater!”

         “Whatever made it was no meteor,” Trekell noted with curious suspicion as he steered the craft in a low circle around the impact site.

         The alternating electromagnetic field of the craft’s drive engine caused the soil on the surface to vibrate as it came in for a landing a short distance from the crater. As the engine powered down the boarding ramp lowered between the landing struts. The King and Obsidyanna slowly walked down the ramp with hand held spot lights to guide them in the darkness.

         The King seemed apprehensive. “This is Thunder Hunter country. We should have brought some Guards with us.”

         “Too late for that,” Obsidyanna stated sarcastically as she walked slightly ahead of the King toward the edge of the crater.

         Some small brush fires still illuminated the crater’s edge in a dim orange glow. When they reached the edge and shined their lights down into the pit they were astonished at what they saw.

         “Is that some kind of…, Vekolth,” Obsidyanna asked with amazement.

         “I don’t see how. There are no missing aircraft,” Trekell said with equal amazement at the sight of what seemed to be a Vekolth shaped being lying at the bottom of the crater. Even with their lights it was still difficult to make out any details of the being below them.

         Obsidyanna climbed over the dirt edge and began sliding down the steep slope of the crater wall.

         “Obsidyanna,” the King yelled. “Get back up here!”

         “It may be a Vekolth that needs our help,” Obsidyanna yelled back.

         Trekell growled with disapproval as he rushed to catch up with his head strong daughter. They both ended up on the crater bottom at the same time. They were astonished at how some of the sand was fused into thin glass that cracked and crunched under their shoes.

        “If it was a ship it must have completely disintegrated. I don’t see how any Vekolth could have survived this,” Trekell surmised as he scanned the area with his light.

         Suddenly, Obsidyanna stopped in her tracks. “Father….,” she said nervously. “I don’t think that is a Vekolth.”

         Their mouths dropped open in complete awe at the sight of the naked Vekolth-shaped being that was unlike any Vekolth they had ever seen. It had smooth pinkish tan skin and hair on its head instead of the normal grayish tan scales of the typical Vekolth.

         “He’s definitely a male,” Obsidyanna noted while shining her spot light slowly across the length of the Stranger’s body and momentarily focused the light on the Stranger’s genitals. Trekell sighed at her disapprovingly. Obsidyanna smirked in response.

         As Trekell momentarily turned away to look for any other signs of life in the crater Obsidyanna stooped down next to the Stranger.

         “Father…,” Obsidyanna said as she reached down and cautiously picked up one of the mysterious being’s hands. “Look at this!”

         Trekell shined his light at Obsidyanna as she placed her four fingered hand against the mysterious Stranger’s.

         “He has five fingers,” she noted with an astonished voice.

         “Don’t touch him,” Trekell ordered in a firm voice.

         Knowing that stern tone in her father’s voice Obsidyanna complied and laid the Stranger’s hand back down. She then stood up and went over near his head. She marveled at his smooth skin and the short dark hair on his head. This fascinated her since Vekolth males were bald with only a single layer of scales on the tops of their heads. She stooped down and looked closely at his face.

         Suddenly, the Stranger’s mouth opened and he gasped for breath.

         “He’s alive,” Obsidyanna screamed as she jumped back startled.

         Suddenly there was the roar of a large animal in the distance.

         “A Thunder Hunter,” Trekell said with concern. “It’s not far away from here. We need to leave.”

         “We can’t leave him,” Obsidyanna protested while gesturing at the Stranger.

         The King sighed in frustration.

         It took them several minutes but they did manage to drag the unconscious Stranger from the crater on a narrow cot-like medical lift. Just as they reached the crest of the crater’s edge the Thunder Hunter appeared from the trees. It let out a deafening roar from its massive dagger toothed mouth.

         “It sees us,” Obsidyanna cried out.

         The King and Obsidyanna hastily carried the Stranger toward the boarding ramp. Obsidyanna was now feeling the stress of her medical condition. She stumbled and fell, dropping her end of the lift. She collapsed just a few feet from the ramp, unable to continue. The Thunder Hunter was closing in on them. The ground near the ship shook with each impact of its massive reptilian feet.

         “I knew we should have brought a couple of Guards with us,” Trekell growled with frustration and fear as he put his end of the lift down and pulled out his hand held particle projector weapon. He marched out in front of Obsidyanna and aimed it at the rapidly approaching bipedal reptile. “This Hunter is a big one! I may not have enough fire power to stop it!”

         “I’m sorry, Father,” Obsidyanna apologized between hard gasps for air.

         Just as the Thunder Hunter reached the edge of the ship the King and Obsidyanna were startled by a strange electrical-like crackling sound from behind. When they turned to look they were shocked to see that the Stranger had awakened and was standing at the edge of the ramp holding what appeared to be a sphere of white sparkling light in his hand.

         The Stranger said something in a language that they could not understand but when he raised his hand holding the sphere of light the King and Obsidyanna knew instinctively that it was not a gesture of friendship. Trekell protectively covered his daughter with his own body as the Stranger hurled the ball of energy directly at the Thunder Hunter. Upon impact the giant reptile burst into super heated flames and disintegrated into a pile of smoldering ash.

         The King and Obsidyanna gaped in astonishment at the rapid demise of the Hunter. They looked back just in time to see the Stranger collapse to the ramp unconscious.

         “Woooow,” Obsidyanna exclaimed in awe.