“Look, there!” Everyone’s attention had already turned to a smaller body, passing rapidly between them and the purple world below.
“A moon,” they all realized.
“Frohee,” specified Mahhzee’s telepathic voice. “This was our world, Kahnu and its three moons, Ehoran, Ogg, and Frohee as they looked seventy million of your Earth years ago. Our planet used to orbit Alhis, your sun, between Kesra and Dahmes, the worlds you call Mars and Jupiter.”
Below, floating majestically in the dark vacuum of space, the large world was quite beautiful. Without a point of reference, it was difficult to estimate its size, but they all felt it was probably comparable to Earth’s. Occasionally breaking the otherwise uniformly white surface below, darker patches of land could be seen here and there. Approaching irresistibly closer, they soon stared in awe at the gigantic tree-like features along the shores of the single continent. They were amazed not only by their alien look, but also, and especially, by the enormity of their size.
“Klomags,” offered Jorh telepathically. “We lived in them.”
The light-brown giants towered over the icy world, their gigantic trunks disappearing down into the hazy distance below. Sporting only a handful of what could have been considered enormous branches, some of them interconnecting between Klomags, the towering trees were several kilometers tall and topped by a very large round space, open to the sky like a giant flower. Its dark shiny petals reminded the observers of the absolute blackness they had encountered in the Martian cave dwellings, but the aliens informed them those were two very different things. All around the perimeter, long protrusions, the size of tall city buildings, hung upside down. Hundreds of spherical objects, as big as small houses, dangled from them, far above the several kilometer-deep abyss below. Coming down further, they began to notice dark spots and cuts along the Klomags’ trunk. They soon realized the giant edifices were riddled with tunnels and large cavities. Inside them, hundreds of Kahnu aliens were busy moving about, going through their daily activities, unaware of the travelers. On the upper side of the gigantic tree branches, hovering crafts were orderly flying from Klomag to Klomag. The surreal scene was rendered even more spectacular by the intense contrast between the dark giants and the blinding white of the icy world below. The Kahnus and their giant tree-world rested on top of a high plateau, a good hundred meters above sea level. Still approaching, a thundering noise was building up strength down below. As the group reached the edge of the cliff overlooking the purple waters, they soon understood where the mayhem was coming from. Hundreds of ice columns were breaking off the cliff walls of the plateau, floating away into the calm purple ocean, while others were coming back to reattach themselves to the icy walls, a truly odd geological process. They couldn’t help but watch, mesmerized. Most intriguing of all, the blocks were floating standing up. Tall and thin as they were, they should have fallen onto their side or sunk into the ocean waters, yet they miraculously stood in vertically, like giant ice needles. The group could sense the ocean was not the force behind the strange mechanism, and the detaching and reattaching did not appear to follow any kind of logic or rhythm. The obvious randomness of the spectacle made it all the more fascinating. The scene followed the contour of the entire visible coast until it disappeared behind the horizon. From one end to the other, thousands of ice columns were thrashing against the cliffs, while thousands more were breaking away. The noise level was still increasing. By now, the seven human adults were covering their ears. Mahhzee’s telepathic voice spoke.
“We apologize. We just realized this must be quite loud for you. We can hear them as well, but at a much lower level than you. We are used to them.”
Not wanting to prolong their passengers’ discomfort, the aliens moved the group away, and quickly moved on toward a large mountain beyond the plateau. Leaving the ice columns and the Klomags behind, they soon arrived at the top of a tall ice-covered mountain.
“Nott,” commented Jorh.
A small cave, its mouth guarded by a large Zarfha, was growing larger as they approached. When they finally entered, the cold icy surroundings gave way to a cathedral-size space. Its walls were covered by countless shiny discs of various sizes, each baring a unique marking at its center. Toward the back of the chamber, large columns covered in large grooves from top to bottom, towered over several Kahnus dressed in colorful clothing. Seated in a semi-circle, the Elders were engaged in a heated conversation with several Kahnus standing a few steps lower in the center of the hall.
François and his friends looked at the aliens hovering over the scene with them. With eyes blinking, Jorh telepathically explained. Yes, the Kahnu arguing with the council was also Jorh, a younger Jorh, trying to save his planet long before its destruction. He and a more seasoned scientist named Ldohar, had discovered the rogue planet would enter Alhis-Ta, the solar system, within a few years, and they were certain about the monster’s trajectory. It would collide with Kahnu.
“You are speculating, Jorh. Varih-Aru is still years away. Why are you so sure it will come for us?”
“And why are you so sure it won’t?”
To that last question, the Elders answered as they always did, by first condemning the insolence of the apprentice, still too young in the field of science to present his unwarranted opinion and then scorching him for daring question the council’s decision. No real explanation needed be given. Keisha, the ancient mother, had spoken to them, and given her message of truth. No harm would come to Kahnu from the rogue space object. No more was to be said, the council’s decision was irreversible.
The observing group suddenly felt a jolt, and soon, their seats were racing. Rushing forward above the giant ice terrain, occasional protruding land masses zooming by, the small humans and their three alien guides finally came to a halt. Still surrounded by the bright white surface, they were now in the middle of a large gathering assembled in an open valley. The flat area was surrounded by a group of icy mountains and two imposing glaciers.
“This was the last great gathering of Darkuj. Look…” pointed Jorh.
Their chairs hovering invisibly through the masses, the sounds and sensations they felt were almost as real as if they had been there. Dedrick’s group, fast asleep in their suspended state of unconsciousness, was reliving a moment long lost in time, an event that had taken place seventy million years ago. As the observers watched and listened, they also felt a sense of understanding, a feeling of knowing what was happening beyond mere observation.