Sumeru - 10. Chapter 10

The Asuras left.

Azrael contacted Supreme Command and, in his function as a Devas representative, demanded information on the planned procedure. He was told that decision was delayed until the wounded Earth man had recovered from his injuries. The other men were refined to their quarters. More interrogations were scheduled. Azrael wielded his influence and finally Supreme Command gave permission for a meeting between Tamiel and Rob. The talk would of course be carefully studied by Supreme Command and recorded to the archives. Azrael wasn’t pleased, but it was all he could arrange.

Naamah activated his underground network. Finally, the network was of use. His group met in his quarters and locked themselves up. Naamah explained the details.

“I could imagine they’ll send them to Garada,” he said.

Garada was a space hub in the neighboring system and was used as an educational center, as it was commonly called in Sumeru. It was in fact a jail.

“We must find out when the flight to Garada is scheduled. We’ll send a group to Garada. They will meet the Earth men and then we’ll send the men home,” Naamah explained his plan. “We must of course wait for a certain period of time before freeing them from the place, until interest in the Earth men has faded. Garada is a forgotten place. No one wants to be reminded of its existence. It’s a witness of a dark past and, as we know, scarcely populated. It has all the comforts anyone is used to, but connection to the outside world is cut. That’s the punishment for the traitors.” Naamah paused. “And other criminals, of course.”

Garada had been the home to the Asuras after the unfortunate war with the Devas. The Devas had escaped unscathed. This was the main reason for the hatred the Asuras held against the Devas to the present day.

Not everyone was of Naamah’s opinion, but in the end, after a long and heated discussion, the group agreed on helping the humans and they set to devise a plan.

Four days went by. They had been interrogated every day. Nothing new came to light and finally the interrogations ceased. The men were getting desperate. Azrael and Naamah had not returned. Rob told them, however, to be confident. He had had a meeting with Tamiel on the third day and the Asura had reassured him, albeit only by furtive remarks.

The door opened. Two security men stepped in. A Sumeru commander followed.

“I will take you to the medical center. Your comrade will soon awake from his sleep. He will be glad to see familiar faces,” the man said. He waved at the door.

The men followed the Sumeru commander. A teleporter took them to the medical center. The commander led them down a corridor, stopped in front of a door and pressed a button. The door slid open and they entered.

Pete was lying on a bed. His eyes were closed and he breathed steadily. An item was placed on his forehead and another on top of his head. The objects were the only signs of some form of treatment. No doctors were in the room and they saw no medical equipment.

“Pete,” Dan called out and made an effort to rush to the bed, but he was stopped by Sumeru security.

The Sumeru commander pointed at a couple of chairs.

“Sit down, keep quiet and watch him,” he said. “Don’t forget you’re being monitored at all times. We’ll intervene if we must, but this would only endanger the treatment.”

The commander and the security men left the room.

The men went to the bed. Pete’s face was peaceful. Dan reached out to touch Pete’s hand, but James stopped him.

“Don’t,” he said. “We must comply. Let’s sit down and wait until he opens his eyes.”

A few minutes went by. It was quiet in the room. The men’s eyes rested on Pete’s face. Suddenly, Pete’s eyes flickered. He let out a sigh and then opened his eyes. Pete was staring at them, his mind blank, but then his memories returned. He looked confused.

“What happened? Where am I? Are we back home?” he asked.

John told him that he was in a medical center. Pete looked even more confused.

“You lost conscience. We’ll tell you what happened, but all at a time,” John said.”

“What happened in the control center, Pete?” Dan asked.

“The control center? Oh. The building at the end of the runway,” Pete said. He tried hard to remember. “I touched the screen and a console. I don’t know what happened. I felt like on fire and my head was spinning. It was only an instant, I guess, but it felt like hours. And then all went black.” He smiled faintly. “I’m glad you guys found me in time and took me back home,” he said. He was thinking. “Was I unconscious all the way back or how did you manage to get me back to Earth?”

“We’re not on Earth,” John said.

Pete’s eyes widened as his mind processed John’s words.

“On the planet? There’s a civilization after all?” he asked in disbelief.

“On a space hub,” Dan said. “They call it Sumeru. The aliens have captured us, Pete.”

Pete’s chest heaved heavily. James jumped from his chair. He felt Pete’s pulse and calmed the man.

“This was idiotic,” Rob hissed at Dan. “Whatever you say, you always make things worse. Why don’t you just keep your tongue and think of something productive?”

John raised his hand. “Quiet,” he said in a sharp voice.

Rob turned his eyes away and Dan slumped in his chair.

The door opened. Commander Saar entered.

“Supreme Command has decided. You will be taken to Garada,” he said.

John instantly inquired about the place, but Commander Saar refused to answer his questions.

“You will live a good life there. You must understand we cannot let you go back to your planet of origin. Supreme Command has long discussed, but the decision was finally taken unanimously. Your species is young and not matured. The time has not yet come for them to learn of Sumeru,” he said, warmly, albeit with a stern look.

Dan’s face flushed. He snorted but suppressed his rage for Pete’s sake. Pete looked stressed and confused, close to lose conscience again. James spoke to him silently and didn’t pay attention to what was going on.

John protested and Rob inquired, but Commander Saar refused to answer.

“It’s all said. I said more than I was ordered to say. You will live a good life in Garada,” he said in a reassuring voice. He looked at Pete. “I was told the man is all right, tired, but he can get up and walk. He’ll join you in your quarters. You will leave Sumeru in two hours. Your flight is scheduled and the ship prepared. Commander Endad will accompany you to Garada. And security, of course. I’ll take you back to your quarters now. Get a little rest.”

The commander turned to the door. It slid open. A security man waved his hand. James helped Pete from the bed and placed his arm around him.

The men left the room, shaken. They had exactly understood what the commander had said. They were taken to a jail. It was over. They would never return to Earth.

Garada - Home of the Fallen Gods

Garada was an artificial structure, one tenth the size of Sumeru and not as old as the ancient space hub. Garada had been built in times of turmoil, when Sumeru had faced a serious war. It was the last war Sumeru waged, but the most disastrous. The third race, almost as old as the first, had stood up against Sumeru’s dominion. The parties battled against each other with all their force. The war stretched in space over four star systems. Planets went down and moons were shot from their orbits. The cosmic order was heavenly shaken. A darkness fell that was deeper than the blackness of space. The light of the gods was endangered. The Lords of the Vault, as the attackers were called, had broken with Sumeru and left the heavenly abode of the gods. The gods were reminded that they were not immortal.

The war waged for more than a century. Garada was built during this time. The captured renegades were taken there, banished forever from the seat of the gods. They never returned to Sumeru. While Garada was in fact a space station, it became the symbol of everlasting punishment in the generations to come. Garada was pictured as the darkest place in space, a place no one could leave again once he had entered it. Much like a black hole, but far more terrifying. A black hole was a feature of the space-time fabric that the species had learned to deal with, but Garada was a man-made place designed for the gods who had failed. Garada was the home of the fallen gods. And it was said that not a single one had escaped.

The imprisoned renegades had in fact been released a couple of years later and without much ado. Garada had become an almost deserted place. Criminals were taken there and individuals who were picked up in space and could not be returned to their home planets because they had seen and heard too much and time had not yet come to invite the species to Sumeru. Life on Garada was comfortable. The inhabitants were provided with everything. One thing they got not, however. A communication system was denied to them. The criminals fared fairly well with the treatment. They were released sooner or later anyway. The individuals picked up in space, however, had a hard time to come to terms with the situation. Many coped, but some did not. They took to suicide instead.

From the Garadagatha or the Songs of Fate:

Fair is our lot

Fair is our lot
Hear now the Song of the Dead
One from the ends of the earth
Thus said the Lord in the Vault

Thy face is far from this our war
O goodly is our heritage!
Lord, Thou hast made this world
I was the staunchest of our fleet

The earth is full of anger
The Cities are full of pride
Challenging each to each
Slower to bless than to ban

Now for this debt I owe

Garada

A medium-sized ship took the men to Garada and Sumeru became just a name. They had not seen much of the space base but their quarters, a couple of teleporters, a few corridors and the medical room. Azrael and Naamah had not come back and Tamiel had not arranged another meeting. All hope was gone. They had to give in to their fate and face whatever lay ahead.

The ship had a sophisticated warp drive. A security man had told them that Garada was located in the neighboring system. They reckoned with a long journey, but the space trip ended after only two hours. A week ago, they would have been stunned, but now they barely noticed. Even Rob had lost all interest in the achievements of the advanced civilization.

They left the ship and were shown to their quarters, wide rooms that looked futuristic and had an odd beauty. They were told to rest and compose themselves. They would be informed of their new life soon and they would be assisted to adapt and cope with the new situation. The men complied with everything they were told. They asked no questions and simply nodded. Finally, they were left to themselves.

They could no longer block out their desperation. Dan had no energy left to fly into anger and instead he wept like a child. The others let him be. They each found a place in the wide rooms where they sat alone and quietly. They felt banished from the world to a hell-like place, despite the beauty and the promises of a good and comfortable life. Earth had also become just a name and only memories were left to them. They felt desolate. They had been taken to the darkest place of the universe. All light had faded. Garada was what it always had been: the home of the fallen ones, the home of the banished, the home of those who would never return. The Vault, as it was called on Sumeru, was their home from now on.

From the Garadagatha or the Songs of Fate:

What comfort can I find?

We are the Dead
We shall not sleep
What comfort can I find?

God is not mocked
In all my dreams
A devil's sick of sin

And we were young
Ardent for glory
Although bereft of You

Here dead we lie
Unfathomable deep
To see the passing of the year

The darkness crumbles
God is not mocked
What comfort can I find?

The days dragged on. They were introduced into the facilities, but they had no eyes for them. There were gardens under an artificial sun, flowers and bushes, and birds nestling in trees, singing melodious songs. They had all they could ever have wished for on Earth, comfort, luxury even, and access to devices that were futuristic to them. They had found and were now part of an advanced extraterrestrial society, albeit as prisoners. The men didn’t care. What kept them going was Pete. The man had recovered from his dead-like state, a miracle that bordered magic, the impossible had come true, merely a dream for mortals like the humans were ones.

Pete had changed. He was balanced, never lost his nerves, and never gave in to desperation. He assured them he knew their fate would change. He said his heart had told him. He kept them going and, as the weeks passed by, they recovered from the shock. Finally, they enjoyed an hour in the artificial garden and actually forgot about their lot.

They had just returned to their quarters when they heard a commotion in the corridor. Rob opened the door and looked out. A cry of joyful surprise escaped his mouth. Tamiel entered the room.

He greeted them. “You’ve probably thought we’ve forgotten about you, but we had to wait until the dust had settled. We arranged all secretly, though,” he said.

“How did you manage to get in here?” Rob asked. “Did they let you in?”

“We Asuras have a special connection with this place,” Tamiel said. “Do you know it is called the Vault, the home of the fallen gods?”

The men shook their heads.

“A long time ago, Sumeru waged war. The besieged were taken to this place. The Asuras who lost the war against the Devas on Earth were also taken to Garada. They were kept there for many years, but ultimately they were released. They moved to far-away worlds, but they left us something, the Songs of Fate or Garadagatha as we call them,” Tamiel said. “We can talk about this later, if you like to. Now you must come with me. Naamah arranged a ship for you. Security in Garada is somewhat lax. They don’t really care if you stay or go. Azrael arranged their assistance,” he said with a smile. “Come now, the ship has come to port. I’ll tell you more in short.”

The men, albeit stunned and surprised, complied and followed Tamiel quickly. Tamiel led them through halls and corridors. They entered a teleporter that took them to the spaceport. Naamah awaited them there. He greeted them.

“Greetings and best wishes from Azrael. He couldn’t go,” he said. “I have arranged a ship for you. It will take you to the edge of your star system. You’ll continue the trip with your own spaceship once our ship has dropped back into real space. Your ship is on board of ours. There’s something else you must know, but I’ll tell you on the trip. Tamiel and I will accompany you. We’ll return with the Sumeru ship.”

The men were overwhelmed. They had a thousand questions, but Naamah silenced them.

“We can’t wait. The sooner Tamiel and I get back to Sumeru, the better for all of us,” he said.

They got on the Sumeru spaceship, a disc-shaped vessel, that was designed for far distance journeys.

“How long will the trip take?” John asked Naamah. “We traveled five months.”

Naamah smiled. “I think we won’t need that much time. Three hours and forty-nine minutes exactly, if we take-off in time. This is a fast ship.”

“Three hours and forty-nine minutes,” John echoed lamely. He swallowed hard. “Well, that’s in fact not a long travel time.”

They entered the ship. The pilot introduced himself, then sat down at the console.

“One man only?” John asked in disbelief. “This ship is vast.”

“It’s actually a small ship,” Tamiel said. “ How about we sit down and talk one more time and probably for the last?”

Naamah showed them to a lounge. They sat down, provided with food and drink from a food processor.

“Don’t you fear they monitored you?” Rob asked. “They could arrest you upon return to Sumeru.”

“Naamah’s networkers have all arranged,” Tamiel said. He cast Naamah a glance. “Good you planned long your ways as a traitor,” he said with a smile.

Naamah waved his hand. “That’s past history now,” he said. “But it actually helped in the matter. Anyways, there’s something else you must know. You’ll arrive on Earth almost six years after take-off.”

“Time dilation?” John asked in surprise.

“No. We’ll jump into the future, like you would say. We’ll rearrange the space-time fabric upon dropping back into real space to ease your return to Earth,” Naamah said. He paused and measured them. “And we’ll train your brains, of course.”