The Return Of The Muse

Two hours had passed in the telling of Professor Krauss’ story. It was now one o’clock in the afternoon and some of us were getting hungry. But none of us wanted to take a break. Every moment that the professor’s account became more interesting in its marathon plotline, we couldn’t help but feel the adrenaline rising in our bloodstreams. We knew that somehow this was relevant to what Donald Rumsfeld had come to talk to us about, and we couldn’t wait for her to finish and let him talk. We hoped that now he would spill the beans on what had brought him here. That’s why we were disappointed to hear what he had to say next.

            “Excellent story Professor,” the Secretary of Defense conversed rapidly. “But it was a little bit too-lengthy if I say so myself. Still, I appreciate the comprehensiveness of what you told us. Many of the insignificant details will become important later.”

            “Now, on to the next order of business. There are five of you in this room-excluding me and Professor Barnes-and only two of you have participated yet. That means there are three left. I think it’s time to let one of the students talk.”

            “Phillip Anderson!” he said nodding to me. “It’s your turn now!”

“The Romans looked on in horror as the Klarons fell upon Mars and began destroying cities. The few Roman ships that didn’t have their hands full fighting the Persians, managed to drop atmospheric depth charges contrived of clay and shrapnel on the Klaron invaders. This defensive mechanism was very successful, and destroyed most of the initial wave of spaceships. The Klarons had many units in reserve, however, and it seemed like they would eventually win as a matter-of-course.”

            “But the tide of battle quickly changed with the arrival of thousands of Chinese sailing ships from Saturn. The newcomers defeated the Persians who had begun to capture large swathes of the ether orbits. Now the Roman counterattack was able to reach its full strength, eliminating the Persian threat. The combined Roman and Chinese fleet then turned their attention on all of the Klaron cruiserships within catapult range. They destroyed many vessels including the Klaron mothership. The survivors limped back to Jupiter at 1/4^th their previous strength.”

            “That was not the end of the war, for the Klarons were not completely destroyed, but it turned the tide of battle back to the humans. For the next fifty years sporadic fighting raged between the humans and the aliens until eventually the Persians were able to turn the tables on their conquerors, and retake the moons of Jupiter. In 1062 AD a handful of remaining Klaron spaceships activated their powerful warp engines and began the long journey home to their native solar system.”

            “After that, the human occupied planets lived together in relative harmony. Marcus returned to the surface of Mars where he married Princess Shelah in a ceremony attended by Chinese Chen. From this point on the Romans and Chinese were allies, and vowed to never again jeopardize the safety of the solar system for their own personal gain. It turned out after all was said and done, that the Chinese Chen had never been interested in the princess Shelah. He had recognized from the beginning that she was much too young for him. Instead, he married Marcus’ older sister Sophia who gave him seven children and much happiness.”

            Professor Krauss’ lips became the object of our attention as she neared the end of her story. The narrative had drawn us in ever deeper as it approached the climactic show down in the orbit streams around Mars. Even Professor Somner who already knew the conclusion seemed completely taken in.

            “And then as the Roman fleet reached the peak of its strength, the Persian attack came surging through the orbit streams. The battle was fierce and for the entire night the outcome was in doubt. But the Persian advance, whether successful or not, was only a sideshow for what was about to happen. Klaron cruiserships finally ventured into firing range, and began descending on the planet in force.”

“And so, as Marcus and the Princess descended into the mountain, they discovered a beautiful sight,” continued the Professor. “Inside the peak—which was the oldest volcano on Mars—they discovered a room completely coated with glass. Light from outer space entered the room through volcanic vents that had crystallized into transparent diamond lenses thousands of years ago. The result was a naturally constructed telescopic imaging chamber. Scenes from millions of miles away were recreated in the middle of the room as floating holographic images. This was the very opportunity that the Roman emperor was waiting for. He now had a way to spy on the Klarons.”

            “As the two of them walked around the room they obtained a very clear view of what was happening out in space. For one thing, they noticed that the Klarons were finally preparing for a major assault on Mars. For another, they discovered that their allies the Chinese were finally preparing a surprise counter attack from the ether spoke that led to Saturn. Their friends and enemies would both be coming at the exact same time. The moment for combat had arrived at last.”

Time began slipping slowly away as Professor Krauss continued telling her story. She had started her speech with concise sentences avoiding superfluous descriptions, but over time her tale began to morph into some kind of fairyland epic. I could tell that the Secretary of Defense was getting impatient with her. I saw him glance down at his wrist-watch on several occasions, and finally he interrupted her.

            “Get to the point!” he demanded as she was describing to us the magnificent palace that used to exist in the Roman citadel on Mars. “Just tell us how it ends!”

“When the allied fleet of wooden sailing ships finally approached Mars, they discovered that the planet was already under siege from a combined Persian-Klaron assault. The Persian sailing ships had barricaded the ether spokes leaving the Martian orbit streams, while the sophisticated Klaron cruiser ships lurked hungrily out of range, waiting for a chance to slip past the defense perimeter. Every Roman ship available was in orbit around the planet waiting for the fight to begin. There was no rush to fight however, because their ruler was gone and there was lots of food on Mars.”

            “Finally Marcus and the allies were able to break through to them, resulting in much rejoicing. The inhabitants of Mars were happy that the Egyptians, Chinese, Babylonians, and Assyrians had come to their aid. But they didn’t seem much concerned about the coming invasion. It never occurred to them that they could lose the battle.”

            “Once back on Mars, Marcus took full control of the planet’s defenses. He knew that it was only a matter of time before the Klarons invaded, and he didn’t know how he could possibly mount a counter attack. Even if he could defeat the Persians, it would be impossible for him to drive them away, because that would leave Mars unprotected by the fleet in the ether orbits, allowing the Klarons to slip between the web.”

“After a few days the council reached an agreement and the lunar treaty pact was signed on the 20^th day of March 1100 AD. Their combined fleet of sailing ships set out from the moon straight towards Mars. Unfortunately for them, a giant comet blocked their path. They decided to sail past it without stopping upon the insistence of the Chinese Chen from Saturn, who seemed almost as eager to save Mars as the Roman ruler Marcus. They managed to survive, but only just barely. They lost 40 ships to plasma discharges and head on collisions with rocks.”

“The council was in an uproar when the English arrived on the moon. For once the delegations took a break from criticizing each other to deplore the fact that the Byzantine king had sent foreign mercenaries rather than come himself. Travers, however, stood in the center of the chamber and threatened to fight them if they would not listen to why he had come. He told them that they were all idiots for behaving like a pack of animals when the enemy was almost at their doorstep.”

            “After rebuking them, the gigantic English knight took a step back and vacated the center of the room. At that precise moment his best warrior Alfred broke down the door leading into the chamber in a show of strength and burst inside with the beautiful princess Shelah behind him.”

            “After seeing the princess, the kings decided to work together. They knew that whomever performed the best in battle would get to marry her, and that fact in and of itself was more than enough motivation for them.”

“Meanwhile on Earth, word of the alien incursion reached the ear of the Byzantine king who ruled in Constantinople. His realm was considered the last of the ancient dominions, still referring to itself as the Eastern Roman empire. He wanted to personally go to the moon to meet the Roman king, but he was busy fighting the crusades on Earth. So instead he sent a couple ships full of English crusaders led by two knights named Travers and Alfred. He also sent along his teen-age daughter.”

            “When the English knights arrived on the moon they discovered that the council was bogged down in petty politics. The two main powers were the Romans and the Chinese. The Chinese fleet had actually been on its way to attack Mars when the Klarons conquered the Persians, and only some spectacular last minute negotiations via a Macedonian trader from Neptune’s moon convinced them to meet the Romans at the council. It was actually fortunate that they had been on their way to invade, because otherwise the Persian fleet would have blocked their attempt to sail from Saturn to Mars.”

Click here to read the SkyPath Epic Poem

“The events leading up to what is commonly called the SkyPath Crusade began in 1099 on the 13^th of September. Up to that time the human knights who lived and fought in outer space on wooden sailing ships had little or no contact with alien species. But that all changed in a minute when a nation of aliens called the Klarons descended on Jupiter after spending decades traveling at light speed.”

            “The king of Persia, whose domain extended to most of the moons of Jupiter, was completely unprepared for the attack. Fortunately for him, the alien technology could not penetrate the protective barrier of the ether streams. Thus his fleet was safe. Unfortunately they still had the element of surprise on their hands and were able to land on the Persian-controlled moons with little resistance. The king and his fleet were forced to surrender to their wishes or face the extinction of their cities.”

            “So the Persians and the Klarons began to work together. The immediate goal of their alliance was to vanquish the powerful Roman Empire on Mars, and then the rest of the solar system. If they had succeeded in this attempt they would have likely have conquered Earth.”

            “Fortunately for our ancestors, the Romans recognized the threat before the Klarons could strike. They set a heavy guard of catapult triremes in orbit around Mars. Then they sent out diplomats to every corner of the solar system and told all the other kingdoms to meet them at once for an emergency council-meeting on Earth’s moon.”