Episode 8: The Prophecy
"Though many will tell you differently, we Globinians are not the original creators of this great city. In the olden days we were a troop of roaming scavengers. We merely stumbled upon this empty city near the rock quarry, and decided it would be a nice place to put down roots, as it were. I happen to be one of the few remaining citizens who was there in the early days. I was a mere teeny tiny blobling when my parents made their home in this city."
"When we first found the city it was in pretty rough shape. But, rough was still a large step up from our nomadic lifestyle. Over the years I watched our people slowly build up the city and learn to use the various technologies left behind by whoever originally created this oasis."
"I'm not seeing the connection to the prophecy," interrupted Theovelt.
"Patience." The oracle continued, "After cleaning up the city we found a stone carving buried in the center of town." The oracle motioned to the slab sitting on his pedestal, and the group walked over to examine it.
The gray slab of stone was the size of 42 skarggle units, which to Theovelt converted to 0.72 x 0.38 Mars Meters, which he also knew as 2.37 x 1.24 Earth Feet. (Earth Meters were a thing and were the exact same as Mars Meters. However, those in power making the decisions about Mars during the move from Earth would only consent to using meters over feet if they were called 'Mars Meters' to make it seem like they created something new and weren't wrong for still using feet to measure things in the first place. Why they were called, 'Mars Meters,' and not, 'New Earth Meters,' is a whole other story that could be a book of its own. A one word summery of the book would be, 'Politics.') An intricate scene was carved into the rock. Its beautiful lines were filled with a chalky substance to bring color to the slab.
The scene depicted on the tablet showed the edge of the city near the violet lake. Rising out of the lake was a giant purple wall of water advancing towards the city. A teal bipedal creature was projecting what appeared to be a yellow force field out of the fibers of their hair while a second bipedal creature, holding a staff, was speaking to a crowd of green bushes in what could be interpreted--as best as a visual snapshot of a conversation can be interpreted--as a comforting manner.
"Once found," Rheumik continued, "this prophecy was thought to be a warning and piece of hope depicting the potential destruction and salvation of our people. My father was assigned to thoroughly study it and decipher its full meaning so that we would be prepared when the wall of water came."
"Your grandson mentioned something about the prophecy giving details of our arrival. I don't see that depicted here?" Theo questioned.
"Ah, yes. Later, there were two smaller stones found that we believe accompanied the primary prophecy. One depicted the teal figure falling out of the sky in a metal bowl, while the other stone depicted the figure holding the staff simply appearing out of nowhere and knocking on our doors. Sadly, those stones were destroyed shortly after being discovered by the leader at the time who did not believe in things such as prophecies. All that is left of them is my father's sketches and notes from what he could see as the stones were being smashed to bits and eaten by our leader."
"My father gave up his research due to increasing public ridicule. Thankfully, he never got rid of his notes, and after he died I picked up where he left off. From my studies, I believe that this prophecy was given to the people who lived here before us but was truly meant for us. No one knows for sure where the people who made this city went, but my guess is that they suffered a similar fate to what we will suffer if you do not save us. Based on my, admittedly failing, memory of the state in which we found the city, I believe it may have been a wall of water that destroyed its inhabitants before we found it."
Since seeing the stone, Val had been quietly listening, but more thinking to herself. Finally, she couldn't contain the questions rattling around in her mind and blurted out, "How exactly do you believe we are to stop a tsunami from destroying the city? The stone shows me creating a shield with my hair. That isn't something I can do. I do have technical capabilities beyond most organic life forms, but a force field out of my hair is not one of them."
Theovelt considered her question before asking, "Your translator was damaged in your crash along with some of your memories. Is there any chance that you have more abilities than you remember? Or maybe because they are damaged your system has forgotten their existence?"
"Interesting," Rheumik commented.
Flubbert stood off to the side, out of notice, enjoying his grandfather's stories and these strange new visitors whom he helped rescue.
"I-I don't believe so. I guess it is theoretically possible that a pathway somewhere has been disconnected, and I lost memory of some of my functions. I'm not sure it is likely, but I'll concede. It may be possible."
"Remember, prophecies are finicky things and tend to happen a little differently than they looked like they would, but afterwards, they look exactly like they happened."
Theo and Val's faces scrunched up with a look that led Rheumik to say, "What I mean is, when we look at a prophecy before it has happened, things don't always play out how we think they will. However, after the event, the prophecy always clearly shows what happened. Don't get too hung up on the shield coming from your hair, or even exactly how you will do things. Simply work towards the goal, and I believe the prophecy will work itself out."
"The goal is saving the town, right?" said Theo. "So, where should we begin? Do you know where the tsunami will hit the town? Maybe we could start there."
"That is an excellent idea. Sadly, I am not positive exactly where the scene depicted in the prophecy is located. However, I have a few guesses, and there aren't many that it can be. In the morning I believe we will have some luck finding the location where the water will meet the city. Until then, though, we must all be getting some rest. Especially you," he said with a wink to his grandson who chuckled and grinned. "Come, I have a spare bed for you, Theo, and a better solar room set up for you, Val. In the morning the real work begins."
| |
 |
|