The Return Of The Muse

“Alright, I think you’ve told us enough,” said Donald Rumsfeld as my English Professor finished imparting the tale of how the Romans got to Mars. “What you’ve just outlined is extremely helpful to me. At some later date I would like you to go through it again with one of my aides in more detail. In the meantime, we must move forward.”

            The Secretary of Defense paused for a moment and stretched the back of the neck. He bent his head over until a few vertebrae cracked, sending popping noises echoing through the quiet room. Then he gave a sigh of relief and turned in his chair.

            “Now it’s your turn,” he said, facing Dr. Krauss. “Your colleague has told us how the ancients got to outer space. Now it’s up to you to tell us what momentous event happened after they got there.”

“The next major civilization to sail to outer space were the Assyrians in 760 AD, followed by the Babylonians roughly two hundred years later. Both these people groups settled in the fertile plains of Venus, where they constantly fought for control of the planet. There were other smaller empires that they had to contend with as well. Neither of them ever won a complete victory.

            “The rest,” as you would say, “is history. The ancient Persians soon followed and colonized the moons of Jupiter. The Chinese took over Saturn’s moon Titan. The Phoenicians became outer space traders and roamed all over the solar system, with their largest colonies on Jupiter’s moon Io and Neptune’s moon Tritan. The Mayans and the Macedonians also dwelt among them.”

            “The last civilization to migrate off the Earth en Masse was the Romans from 200-600 AD. They went straight to Mars and subdued the remains of the Hittite Empire. They quickly went on to be one of the most powerful forces in interplanetary politics.”

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“This is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard!” interrupted Dr. Z, the chemistry professor. “Surely the Secretary of Defense didn’t come all the way from Washington to listen to this.”

            “You’re mistaken,” said Donald Rumsfeld. “This is exactly what I came here to hear. It has much more relevance to current world affairs than you could possibly imagine. You may continue,” he said, nodding to Dr. Somner.

            “Well, anyway, after the first Hittites landed on Mars, many more followed them. It turned out that Mars was not only habitable at that point in time, but it had a rich oxygen-carbon dioxide atmosphere and its own native varieties of plants and animals. There were large herds of mastodons that lived just south of the thick bamboo forests that blanketed the north pole. The Hittites quickly became herders of these magnificent creatures and exported their meat to Earth where it fetched them a lot of money on the market.”

            “After the Hittites discovered space travel, other civilizations followed. By about 1600 BC the ancient Egyptians had sent out several fleets in search of another planet to colonize. They were originally looking for Venus, the morning star, but ended up landing on Mercury instead. This planet too had a breatheable atmosphere, and a thick outer canopy of orbiting dust that helped moderate the planet’s temperature making it semi-habitable. Still, the temperature range was outside human limits. In the middle of the daytime temperatures could reach as high as 200 F near the equator, and 50 below at night. Fortunately, each “day” was almost as long as half of an Earth year. Thus the ancient Egyptians survived by using the ether portals to migrate around the planet ahead of the sunrise.”

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Dr. Somner eased back into his chair and began talking as the Secretary of Defense looked on.

            “The story begins over 35 hundred years ago,” said the Professor’s pasty voice. “We have no idea as to how the skypaths came into existence, or who or what may have constructed them. The first time in recorded history that they are mentioned is about 1700 B.C. They were discovered accidentally by ancient Hittite Mariners off the coast of Greece. Apparently there used to be an ether portal somewhere in the Aegean Sea.”

            “Immediately upon floating into the ether portal, the Hittite ship was sucked into a large vortex that brought them approximately 500 miles above the Earth. From up here they could see that the world was not flat, but existed as a round ball. They bound themselves to an oath stating that they would never let this secret out. They soon discovered how to descend back to Earth, and then continued on their way to their port of destination.”

            “Within the next few years, however, Hittite sailors returned in droves. They once again managed to get their wooden sailing ships up into orbit, from where they were able to circumnavigate the globe. They quickly discovered other ether portals all over the planet. They would some times use them in order to travel several thousand miles in a matter of hours.”

            “Eventually the Hittites became more adventurous and left the relative safety of the orbit stream for one of the many cross-streams that wandered deep in to space. It just so happened that this one led them directly to Mars. Thus in 1670 BC they established the first human colony on another planet.”

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Donald Rumsfeld stopped talking for a moment and looked around at us again. We all lowered our eyes nervously, worried that he might call on one of us to speak. He obviously thought that we knew something, but what exactly was even less clear now than it had been a moment ago. He was right when he said that we had experienced some extraordinary events, but surely they were nothing worthy of this great man’s attention.

            “Dr. Somner!” snapped the official suddenly. “You go first. You can start by telling us the historical legend of the skypath founders.”

            Dr. Somner looked a bit rattled. “That’s a little bit difficult,” he mumbled slowly. “There is absolutely no record of the founders of the skypaths. Now I could tell you lots about the early explorers of the skypaths.”

            “Then do!”

            “Alright!” said Dr. Somner. “I’ll tell you everything I know.”

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The Secretary of Defense cleared his throat quickly and then continued.

            “The reason I’m here at Tree Point College is because of the unusual events that have been occurring on this campus over the last three months. I have reason to believe that they are directly related to the recent happenings that have shaken our nation, and indeed the entire world. There is a mystery here, right under your very noses, which has the potential to redefine the past and future of the human race in ways you can only imagine. It is a mystery that I have been studying for the past month but have been unable to get entirely to the bottom of. So that is why I’ve summoned each of you into this room. I am trying to see the big picture-the entire puzzle if you will-and I need your help to do so. Each one of you holds an important piece of that puzzle. Now it’s time for you to give it to me.”

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            “Donald Rumsfeld!” I heard myself saying out loud. To me and most other Americans in 2001, the man was almost a folk hero. He was the one man in the government that everyone knew they could trust. It was no surprise that President Gore had appointed him to his cabinet even though he was a Republican.

            Sure enough, the door opened, and in walked the Secretary of Defense. He was every bit as serious as I thought he would be, from the grim look on his face down to the perfectly arranged brief-case that he opened on the table in front of him. He peered over his glasses to make sure that everyone was there. He glanced at me briefly as if it were normal for him to be seated at the same table with a poorly-dressed eighteen year old. When he finished his tally he addressed us with a few words.

            “I don’t think I need any introduction. You all know who I am. I know who you are too. In the last twenty four hours I’ve familiarized myself with every detail of your lives down to what’s you’re favorite color and what kind of toothpaste you usually buy. So let’s get down to business and not waste anytime getting to know each other.”

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One would have never thought that after the events of that horrific night that things would ever get back to normal. Some of us thought when that when the power went out it was a sign that the entire world had been nuked just like the moon, and that there were only a handful of survivors left. But this was not true at all. Within twenty-four hours communications were back on line, and President Gore once again appeared on the television screen telling us that everything was alright. Not only had there been no new attacks on Earth, but the firework display—according to the government—had been caused by asteroid collisions on the moon which vented a flammable gas through the lunar surface. None of us really believed this, but we all tried to really hard.

            The Thanksgiving Holiday soon came around, and many of us went home for a few days extremely thankful to have a family to go home to. Then we came back and studied hard for finals.

            One afternoon during the second day of exam week I got an unexpected knock on my door. I thought it might be Jenny. The two of us had been seeing a lot of each other recently. In fact you could almost say that we were dating. It wasn’t exactly official, yet, however, because I technically had to ask her father for permission first. It wasn’t something I was relishing.

            The newcomer, instead, turned out to be Professor Somner. I was more than just a little surprised to find him in the dorm. As always, he told me not to ask questions, but just follow him. As always, I did.

            He led me to the office of the college president. President Barnes was inside along with Professor Krauss and Dr. Z. Andy’s brother Brian was there as well. He nodded briefly when he saw me.

            “How ya’ doing Phil? I haven’t seen you in a while.”

            “I’ve been busy,” I said. “What’s going on here?”

            “Sink me if I know, but it’s got something to do with the SkyPath Scrolls. Last week I broke down and told Professor Somner about the artifacts we’ve located. I expect it has something to do with us being summoned here.”

            After we finished talking Professor Barnes motioned for us all to be seated. I took a place at the foot of the table next to Brian. Professors Krauss and Somner took the left side, while Barnes and Dr. Z. Took the right. This meant that the head of the table remained conspicuously vacant.

            “Who are we waiting for?” I asked the college president. Professor Barnes said nothing but simply held his finger up in front of us face as if I was being inappropriate.

            “Well fine, if you won’t tell him I will!” said Professor  Somner with a twinkle in his eye. “Phillip, Brian, you guys are about to meet Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense!”

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“Phillip Anderson, Wake up! Come on Phil, open your eyes.”

            I fluttered my eyelids and looked around me. I was still sitting against the wall of the furnace room with my shoulders shoved painfully into the corner. Directly in front of me was my room-mate Collin, accompanied by Jenny.

            “Hi! Glad you’re awake buddy. I’ve brought company,” said Collin, nodding to Jenny. “The two of us found you here and decided you must be uncomfortable. We thought we’d take you back to the sleeping quarters.

            “Thanks,” I said. “How long have I been asleep?”

            “You tell me. It’s three in the afternoon now.”

            “Six hours at least,” I muttered. “What’s been happening? Is there any news?”

            “No,” said Collin. “Everything is still off-line from the attacks. We think there may have been an EMP launched locally at the precise moment the moon was nuked. Everything looks alright outside though. The plants are still alive and the sun is shining. You wouldn’t know anything had happened.”

            Collin and Jenny helped me to my feet. My shoulders were so sore that I couldn’t help but groan.

            “Could you guys leave me here?” I said. “I don’t want to go back to that crowded hallway. Just bring my blankets and stuff.”

            “I’ll get it!” Collin volunteered. “I’ll let Jenny look after you in the meantime.”

            Collin left quickly leaving the pretty girl sitting next beside me. I took the time to size her up. She was beautiful: small and dainty, but everything I could want. She had a certain toughness to her as well, a pretty kind of toughness that made her even more attractive. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

            “Well I’m back,” said Collin. He had been gone about fifteen minutes. He laid the blankets down beside me as Jenny helped me lay down again. “What were you guys talking about?”

            “Personal stuff,” I said smiling at Jenny. Her face turned red as a beet, but she managed to keep quiet. The truth of the matter was that we hadn’t talked at all.

            “Well if that’s the case I’ll leave you two alone again,” said Collin. “I’ve got some things to do. I’ve got that term paper to work on.”

            Collin sauntered off again as quickly as he had come. I saw him glance behind himself and winked at me before he turned the corner. I wondered if Jenny minded being set up.

            Jenny stayed beside me the entire rest of the afternoon. For the next hour neither of us spoke, but both of us were happy to be together. Finally I got the courage to ask her how she was doing.

            “Good,” she muttered, “All things considered.”

            “I know,” I said. “I’m feeling good as well.”

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“They’ve just nuked the moon!” shouted the professor through his respirator.

            It was an odd scene indeed, something out of a classic science fiction novel. Professor Z and I were standing on top of the lifeless concrete steps beside the classic architecture of the chemistry building wearing white chemical suits that almost seemed to glitter in the starlight. Up above us at the end of our stares the moon gave off a radioactive glow surrounded by a circle of smoke that looked a little like the rings of Saturn. We were both carrying cases of glassware and chemicals in our gloves that made the spectacle seem that much more surreal.

            “It’s beautiful!—in an ugly way,” said Professor Z. It could have been our imagination, but somehow the surface of the moon looked different now. It appeared darker in places reminding me of the speckled look that certain species of bird’s eggs have. Some spots looked completely white, but others appeared to be burnt like a marshmallow.

            The professor and I returned to the fall out shelter as quickly as we could. News of our escape preceded our arrival. The radio and TV had just blacked out and no one knew what had happened. There was a general consensus that there had been another attack somewhere, and some people were worried that the two of us would never come back.

            So when we walked through the door alive everyone started cheering. They waited impatiently for us to take off our suits and reveal our skin. I think some of them expected to see us covered with radioactive sores or something. There was a general sigh of relief when it was discovered that we were OK. Everyone started clamoring for answers. We quieted them down the best we could and told them what we saw.

            “I can’t believe it!” professor Barnes, the college president said. “They nuked the moon! Why would Al Qaeda nuke the moon?”

            “I don’t think it was Al Qaeda!” I said. “There’s something else going on here besides Islamic terrorism, and we all know it. It wasn’t terrorists who bombed those cities, and it definitely wasn’t terrorists who planted nukes on the moon. Whoever it was is a lot more powerful and a lot more scarier.”

            “That is enough!” shouted the college president. “Will you listen to yourself talk? You’re spreading fear here. Who do you think it is? Aliens? Do you think it’s aliens?”

            “Maybe it is!” I said. “But it doesn’t matter whoever it is. There’s nothing we can do against that kind of firepower. That attack was just a show of strength. Next time we won’t be so lucky.”

            “I said that’s enough Phillip Anderson!” The president’s face became grim and he stared me straight in the eyes. Suddenly I regretted what I had said. His features bore a tough exterior, but down near his eyelids I could see tear-drops welling up inside. That’s when I knew that he didn’t think it was Al Qaeda either.

            There would be no sleeping for the rest of the night. Throughout the tunnels no one spoke or rested. Most of them were quiet and sullen, some were crying. I tried to locate Jenny, but I couldn’t find her in the crowd. I retreated to a corner of the furnace room and tried to hide from everybody. I was ashamed of myself: not only because of what I said, but because of what I saw.

            Eventually morning came. I didn’t really know how that was possible. I just assumed that the sun would never rise again after a night that horrible.

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