The Hidden City Read online

  “Basically, I have no idea, Margaret, but I want to remind you that you wanted to visit that cubic object. As soon as I lowered the anti-proton shield ... ”

  “I know, I know,” said Margaret, "I saw that big flash of light too. But my intuition was telling me that this cube or whatever it is, came for us. I really don’t know why, but I was almost spellbound by it,” she tried to find an excuse. “But looking on the bright side, look where it brought us!” said Margaret looking amazed around her.

  Philip looked at her rather confused and managed to say.

  “You are trying to say that a ship we have no idea about, coming from some distant corner of the galaxy, brought us here, probably on a remote planet and you think this is a good idea? There is too much chance that something else will happen soon, and I’m not sure we’re going to like it.”

  Margaret seemed to ignore Philip. She was looking out into the distance at the tops of the stone buildings that could be seen through the thick and tall forest trees.

  “I wonder what's in that city ...”

  Philip objected.

  “I don't think we should, Margaret. We came here against our will, and I think we should immediately look for a way to get back, safely. We have a mission to complete, remember? Maybe we should just teleport back now,” Philip said, while checking his teleporter.

  Margaret did not answer. She was carefully inspecting the area around her, trying to find any clues to their current situation. As the leader of the mission, she had to be as thorough as possible with everything and to ensure the safety of both of them, while making the best out of the current status of their mission. From the top of the hill, one could see quite well everything on a few miles radius, and the dusty road that they were on could be seen meandering lazily down into the valley, only to be lost in the edge of the trees, somewhere far, towards the ancient city.

  “I think we will find all the answers we are looking for right there, in that stone city,” said Margaret, and pointed in its direction. “This road looks like it is used quite often. I say we descend on this path, and go that way.”

  Philip looked at Margaret cautiously.

  “Are you sure? There might be animals here that walk this road. What about the mountains behind us? They are not very steep, and from what I can see from here, there are some entrances dug in them, not very far from here, like some caves of some sort. I would look for any evidence there first. It’s closer to our location, and I think it is totally safe. We can even find shelter over the night in one of the caves. On the other hand, that city looks very old and I wouldn't be surprised if it would be completely deserted.”

  “No,” Margaret said, “the city. Something draws me there. I don't know what, Phil, but my intuition says we should go there first. And since we followed my intuition the first time, we have absolutely nothing to lose now.”

  Philip lowered his head and muttered just for himself.

  “Your intuition seems to bring us in all these weird places that we really don’t know anything about...”

  Margaret had already begun to descend the slope, on the road that seemed to have been beaten for a long time, and she was already 15 feet in front of him. Her slim and toned body has always had an advantage in field missions.

  “Are you coming, Phil?” she said, from a distance, with an almost careless tone. When Margaret was that determined, Philip had to respect the hierarchy, and practically, he had no choice but to follow her. He put his gun in his holster, arranged his personal teleporter on his arm, and began descending the slope with large steps, trying to catch up with her.

  So far, the place where they were was in no way threatening. Tall green trees grew everywhere and distant bird songs could be heard from the depth of the forest. White clouds on a clear blue sky were passing slowly, and a temperature perfect for a day out in nature. Only the occasional stones that were on the path were to be avoided, but other than that, they only heard the silence of the forest, while walking down, towards the valley.

  They kept walking steadily for about 15 minutes until they have reached the valley that they saw from above. There was green grass everywhere, a lot of short bushes with colorful fruits, and all sorts of birds that they had never seen before, filling the trees that bordered the whole area. Margaret walked in front of him as if in a hurry to get somewhere, looking in all directions for any clues.

  “Wait for me,” Philip complained.

  Margaret continued to walk fast, and said, without turning her head.

  “You barely walked for two miles and now you are complaining? Come on, Phil, the sun will probably set soon. I don't want to be caught in the woods at night until we get to that ancient city. We can try to find some shelter there, at least for the night. We also have our personal teleporters, and I think they might still work in a desperate case … that is in case this planet is in the solar system we were into, and not somewhere hundreds of thousands of light-years from our last position,” Margaret muttered, just for her.

  They continued to walk on the winding path, looking around and inspecting the forest that grew around for anything that could put them in danger. After a while, Philip's attention was drawn to something thin and serpentine in the distance, somewhere in the direction of the few stone buildings that could be seen in the distance. He stopped and said aloud.

  “Maggie? Do you see that over there?” he said, pointing up at the trees in the distance, where the few towers could be seen. “Is that smoke or does it look like that to me only?”

  Margaret stopped.

  “I … I think so,” she muttered. “So someone might be waiting for us there. Let's step up, Phil. We need to solve this puzzle as soon as possible.”

  In any mission she got, Margaret was the first to fully show her adventurous spirit. Maybe that's why she always managed to complete the missions that were given to her, because she always insisted on investigating everything, leaving aside the rigidity and caution that the regular space archaeologists usually showed. They walked for another 10 minutes, on the road that was bordered by trees and large tufts of greenery, exchanging occasional ideas such as what they could do in emergency cases, and what should they look for when they will arrive in that stone-built city.

  At one point, they heard distant repeated chop-like noises. They walked carefully and saw someone maybe 50 feet ahead of them. He was quite tall, dressed in a long orange robe, and he seemed to be working the land, in a forest opening, with a long tool.

  “What are we doing now?” Margaret gasped, stopping behind a tall tree, with a frightened face.

  Philip did not have time for this, especially now.

  “I can’t believe you are backing down now. Don't tell me you are scared of this man. Now at least we have a chance to see why we are here,” Philip said, trying to comfort her sudden anxiety, with a hand on his Stunner.

  The man seemed to hear them from a distance, as he turned slowly with a hoe in his hand, and waved to them as if he had known them for a long time. Then, he quietly returned to what he was doing.

  Margaret turned at Philip in astonishment.

  “He just waved, he looks like he doesn't seem to care the least about our presence here. Now that’s a curious attitude,” she said a little surprised. “I think we’d better go, then.”

  She walked the distance between them and the man cautiously and approached him.

  “Hello, we are … “

  The man turned, nodded with a friendly face, and answered them in the purest English.

  “Hello, friends! We were waiting for you. Just give me a few minutes to gather my tools and we'll leave. My workday is over anyway, and the Elders are waiting.”

  The tall gardener seemed to notice her state of surprise and added.

  “You have no reason to be alarmed. We are friendly people here and, as far as I know, you were expected today. You will receive all the answers that you both are looking for when we will arrive in the City. I am only a gardener here, I don't h
ave the necessary rank to talk to you about Everything.”

  The man began to gather his gardening tools, patiently, and after he put them all in a ragged bag, he took them on his shoulder and said.

  “Let’s go. The sun will be setting soon.”

  Chapter 3 - Explanations

  The three left, walking in silence, on the beaten road filled with dust, that led in the direction of the city that they had seen from above. The sun cast its last faint rays from the west, through the thickets of the trees, leaving big shadows in the openings of the forest. The journey to the city took almost 25 minutes. Even though they walked a few long miles from the top of the hill, they seemed not to be tired at all, and the silence between them made Margaret feel somewhat safer, seeing how undisturbed the man in the long orange robe was walking beside them, with his tools hanging on his shoulder.

  The first blue-gray buildings of the city appeared in the close distance, among the tall trees that bordered the road on either side. The first buildings that appeared, were almost twice as tall as the green trees and had cylindrical towers, which rose upwards to form spheres, that turned smaller and smaller in diameter as they went up, ending in a sharp cone form. Upon that cone, there were displayed big flags, in green and white.At some point, Margaret could not bear the silence and said.

  “So, this city is actually inhabited, right?” she asked awkwardly, trying to finally break the silence. He turned his head toward her, smiled, and nodded.

  “Yes, it actually is. There are many of us here. You will be amazed once you discover our city, but you barely got here,” he said, with a serene voice. He paused for a few moments and added.

  “We almost reached the western entrance gate. After we enter, we have to walk a little bit more to get to the Council Building, and then you will meet our Elders, I don’t know any more than that,” said the old man, with a kind and respectful voice. Margaret looked at Philip, who looked back at her with a face that meant he had no idea what he was talking about. They continued to walk in silence until they finally arrived near the first building of the city.

  Margaret was looking surprised at how the stones had been cut in such a perfect manner. And it wasn't just that: the visual effect had also been taken into consideration, as the stones had dozens of different shades of gray, blue, and dark green, and on each of the buildings, where rows of stones of different colors were alternating, giving a very pleasant visual effect. On every building she saw, Margaret also noticed that large inserts of translucent green stones were put just above the main doors, cut in the shape of triangles, which followed almost the same geometric pattern, in each building. As they went deeper and deeper into the city, they started to meet some of its inhabitants who were passing by, nodding, and greeting them kindly. Margaret was quite impressed by their attitude, all seeming to be very quiet and respectful.

  “We're almost there. The building where you two need to go is that one which has a pink hue, with a simple white flag on top,” said the old man, pointing at a rather tall and large building, seen in the distance.

  He paused and looked at them both with admiration.

  “You’d better go now, they're waiting for you.”

  The old man greeted them and turned left, walking on what appeared to be a smaller side road of the city. Margaret and Philip were now alone in the middle of what looked like a fairly large city square, cobbled with perfectly polished stones, and bordered by houses of all kinds, built one next to each other, where locals were passing by, in different directions. Philip looked at Margaret with an undecided look and said.

  “If they are waiting for us, I think we’d better finally see what this is all about, Maggie.”

  She looked at him and nodded. They headed for the tall building, built with pink stones. Margaret was walking steadily, but in her mind, she had many unanswered questions: who were these people, who were these Elders, and what did they want with them? And after all, why would two simple space archaeologists deserve such a kind reception? Margaret and Philip knew they were moving right into the unknown, but it was too late for them to back down now.

  They arrived in front of the imposing wooden door of the building, which looked rather tall and massive. The door was carved with impressive detailed and intricate motifs, in the shape of animal heads that looked like lions, and had an iron part in the middle, which was probably used as a bell of some sort. Philip waited for a few seconds and used it, beating a few times. After a few long moments of waiting, the door opened slightly inside, and in its frame, an old man appeared. He was rather tall, with a long face and a long white beard, perhaps 10 inches taller than them, dressed in a long robe, that was similar to those that they have already seen, but this time created in layers of white, blue, and indigo sheets of smooth satin-like textile, where the white color was predominant. As soon as he saw them, his face lit up and he quickly said:

  “You are finally here! You are right on time, as I expected. Come with me!”

  Margaret and Philip looked at each other puzzled, nodded, and followed the old man with a white beard in. The interior of the building was rather humid and cool, and one could see inserted in the high ceilings, a few feet apart from each other, small but powerful lights, that clearly belonged to a much more advanced technology than the two had anticipated. On the floors there was a thick rubberized carpet, made of a soft and transparent composite material that seemed like silicone, colored, and decorated with white and indigo motifs, that reminded them of the intricate patterns of the Arab mosques, slightly lighted from below the floor. They walked straight ahead on a corridor that was at least 80 feet long and then turned right, arriving in a dimly lit hallway, lighted from above with many little orange lights. The old man led them to the first door and stopped.

  “Here it is. You are expected.”

  The 10 feet high door opened slightly and the two entered, shyly. Inside, a fairly large square room, a long brown wooden table in the middle, and about 20 people sitting around it, all dressed in white robes and talking slowly to each other.

  “They arrived!” announced the old man, with a clear and unmasked joy in his voice.

  Everyone at the table stood up at his words, leaning slightly forward, and then sat down slowly, again. There was an eerie silence in the room, and the two still didn’t know what was going on.

  “Take a seat here, next to me, here are 2 places, especially for you.” The old man pulled two chairs and encouraged them to sit. Margaret and Philip felt like this whole kind attitude of everyone they met so far was clearly stretching their patience. The old man sat down reverently, at the head of the table.

  “Let me introduce myself first,” began the old man after a few long moments of silence, “I am Prival. Prival Kalir. I have been leading the Council of Elders for some time now, and I represent the Emerald City. I presume you are Margaret,” and then he turned his head towards Philip, “and you are Philip. Welcome! I hope that our reception was quite hospitable because we wanted to compensate for the shock that all those who come to us have when they wake up all of a sudden in another place,” he said, giggling. “I don't think you've experienced anything like that before, so please excuse us for the almost primitive way in which we brought you here,” he added.

  “Y ... yes ... no problem at all,” Philip muttered and then he cleared his throat. “After all, all these things can make sense, somehow … and that's why,” he added, a little more firmly, “we'd like to know if it’s not too much trouble to ask, why are we ... actually here?“

  The Elders looked at each other, smiled, and nodded. The Elders were quite tall, maybe over 6.8 feet each, and most of them had long, white beards and white hair, all dressed in thick colorful robes where white predominated, over which a necklace with a large shiny and transparent green stone could be seen. Margaret was beginning to have the feeling that whatever she did and said, nothing could change the way of these calm inhabitants of the stone city.

  “Let's focus on why
you're here, first,” Prival began lightly, and upon hearing these words, all the others fell silent and took a solemn position, each looking straight in front of them. Margaret could hardly be herself, and Philip stared into Prival’s eyes, who instantly felt his worry and smiled warmly and understandingly.

  “Let's just say you're here … because you're unique.” Those at the oval table had probably heard this many times and they certainly knew everything in the smallest details. There was an eerie and truthful silence in the whole room and the warm presence of each of them was easily felt.

  “U … unique?” Margaret murmured. “I do not understand.”

  Prival had heard her well. He smiled and turned to her.

  “Yes, unique!” continued Prival, with a lot of joy in his voice. “Imagine that there are billions upon billions of beings in this Galaxy. I think we all can agree with that,” he said, trying to ease the curiosity and anticipation that Margaret and Philip were in. A murmur of acceptance came from the Elders that were sitting calmly around the table. “Imagine that there is a complex Machine that could scan the Galaxy far and wide, of course on a finite radius, after all, using a dynamic set of parameters, carefully selected, which would return all sorts of bits and pieces of information about the living beings it encounters. It happens that we, here, in the Emerald City, have something like that.”

  Philip was left with an astonished expression on his face. All he saw coming here was an old city built in stone, and now this man was claiming that he has a Machine that was capable of scanning most of the Galaxy? That was already too much for him.

  “But that would mean ... “

  “Yes, Philip, that's right!” said Prival, with a clear and upright voice.

  Philip’s thoughts were racing through his mind. “He knows my name, and they also speak pure English. Where are we, and who are they? Are we actually dreaming? Are they purposely taking us away from our mission? Is this maybe a diversion from our plans?”

  Prival looked at him with understanding and put a hand on his.