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 The Crystal Enigma  (12 ratings)by Steven R. Christensen Page 2 of 4 We rounded a corner and the castle came into full view. I was shocked at the sheer size of it. The medieval castles of Earth were impressive to see, but they were dwarfed by the scale of the castle that lay before me now. I had thought, when I had seen the castle from the spaceport, that it was built on a small hill. I could now see that I had been mistaken. The walls must have been at least three hundred feet high and the towers were twice that. The possible reasons for such an immense structure eluded me. All over the walls were niches that housed more of the elaborate sculptures that I had seen throughout the city. The Castle's portal must have been at least forty feet tall. As we passed through the portal, I looked up at the sculpted beast above the entrance. Its eyes were Draconium crystals, the biggest I had ever seen in my life. They were the size of a man's head. Those crystals would power a battle cruiser for thirty years. They were also worth more than the budget of most small colonies. As we entered the courtyard, the view remained that of an ancient castle. The stone work was impressive. Walls rose up all around me and gave me a feeling of insignificance. Few modern buildings would rival the size of this castle. Most of the ones that would did not have the sheer brute strength that this one projected. In the courtyard we were met by a party of three excessively dressed men. Obviously, the fact of my arrival had been sent ahead of me. I disembarked from the carriage, and the driver left immediately without even giving me the opportunity to pay him. I thought this was very strange, but my newfound companions didn't even blink an eye. I stepped forward to greet my welcoming committee. I bowed, remembering the ancient Japanese custom, and was pleased to see approval in the eyes of the men. They returned the bow and then the man who seemed to be in charge, gauging by his more elaborate dress, began to speak to me. I pride myself on the number of languages that I have mastered. I have spent many years in training for my particular occupation. Japanese had never been my strongest language, but I had a fair working Knowledge of it. I had not paid much attention to the cab driver's ramblings, thinking that the odd speech I had heard from him was just street talk. Now I realized that I was hearing a wholly different dialect. I was not prepared for this. The Allegiance hadn't realized that centuries of near isolation would cause such a dramatic shift in nuances that the language would be completely changed. I tried to tell him in traditional Japanese that I didn't understand, but it seemed that I didn't quite get my point across. Apparently I had asked for accommodations, not precisely what I had had in mind since I wanted my stay to be a short one. My protests went unheeded, and I was whisked off to some apartments and left to myself. This was a horrible situation. I had intended to negotiate the deal and leave that very same night. Now I had put myself in a position where I was expected to stay the night and probably would not get an audience until later the next day. I would like to have called in to headquarters to get advice on what to do about the situation, but I would have had to wait thirteen years for a reply because headquarters was 65 light-years away. I would have to overcome the communication problem on my own. I spent the evening quietly with only one interruption when they brought my dinner. I tried to talk to the servant that served it, but I was ignored and the servant became very agitated when I tried to pursue the conversation. It was an interesting meal, but I was so preoccupied with my problem that I wasn't able to enjoy it as much as I would have liked to. I went through my mind trying to think of any method other than crude hand signals to be understood. In the end I fell asleep due to exhaustion from the stress of the situation. In the morning I woke up to the most beautiful sunrise I had ever seen coming in the window near my bed. I heard strange birdcalls that had the whisper of a loon's call about them. I found a feast in the sitting chamber waiting for me. Even at this early hour they had seen to my needs. These people were becoming a fascination to me. Perhaps it was the very mystery that they had shrouded themselves in. I had heard tales of true Samurai coming from this planet and now I began to believe them. Their culture was an intricate tapestry woven in the mystery of their past and their intensity beliefs. It would be a shame to have it swallowed by the Ashunta empire where it would be put in a vise and squeezed for whatever value it had, then cast aside where it would rot from the oppression. I decided that morning that whatever it would take I would save these people. Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001 Steven R. Christensen, sffworld.com. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the author. The author has submitted the work in accordance with and in agreement with the following Submission Guidelines. |
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