Author’s Note:

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I hate to admit it, but yes, I have finally done what I swore I would never do, put an English assignment on the web; but hey it’s an interesting story.  If you read this please, please review it, originals never seem to get noticed!  Thanks!

Eternity’s End

            Time is a subtle thing; very much part of our lives, but something we will never see or touch.  It is that which brings about ending and beginnings, but time has limits as well and follows its own set of rules.  By these rules one can outwit time, whether by accident or intention, for deep in the strongest holds of another force, gravity, even time is slowed and the rest of the universe passes it by.  It was this which allowed one man to discover more than he ever thought possible. 

            Panas could feel it slowing.  In his mind eternity stretched out, pinning him to the cushioned form of the cryonic bed.  Each minute seemed to scrape by reluctantly before passing.  He shifted his hand with agonizing slowness, turning to see his only other companion here in the void. 

            The dwarf star glowed dully orange, coating the ship’s cabin with a tarnished golden light, turning the gleaming steel plating and machines to an ancient gold, as old as the sun itself.  It seemed to pulse as it reeled in the crippled fighter and its imprisoned pilot.  Panas forced a smile as he grimly watched it, slowly filling the view-screen. 

            Around him the beams and metal bolts groaned under the strain of gravity’s heavy hand.  Panas grimaced, as his ship gradually surrendered to the pressure, piece by piece.  The sun almost seemed to smile at him as he lay there, unable to move.  His ship would be crushed long before he ever reached it. 

            Centuries and lifetimes came and went outside of the reach of gravity as he and the sun waited for the inevitable, it slowly growing in his view until nothing else could be seen outside the tiny craft, but it’s dull, glowing surface.  

            Panas nodded to it and whispered, “Soon, soon forever will end.”  The ship quivered again and he waited for it to finally end.  Instead the sun seemed to retreat slowly and the ship quieted.  Time seemed to shift, flexible, as they neared the gravity well’s boundaries.  Finally, they reached the border and the universe seemed to waver as the power tugged at the tiny craft, pulling it through.

            Everything seemed to fast-forward and Panas gasped as the centuries came crashing down on him.  People in robes of all different colors, many fancifully decorated surrounded him, chattering happily in a language of their own.  Something seemed subtly wrong about them and he tried to move away, but couldn’t get control of his limbs.  It seemed almost as if he were moving at the speed of light, much too fast.  Someone pushed a mask over his face as he struggled, wild-eyed and collapsed as everything faded from consciousness for the first time in an eternity. 

            It was some time before he awoke.  This time finding himself in a strange room:  walls pulsed with a deep purple glow and the floor seemed almost to shift as if alive.  The ‘bed’ was a cloud of gas, restrained by a delicate field.  Panas looked above him in amazement as stars streaked by.  The room also had several unoccupied beds; much like his own.  As he reached up to touch the view-screen the door whooshed open. 

            A woman stepped through smiling shyly.  Her hair was dark, as were her eyes.  What confused Panas was the pale blue tint to her skin.   Her robes were a purple similar to that of the walls, even producing the same glowing light.  Her eyes seemed almost to glow as well, and Panas shivered as he looked into them, remembering someone he had met long ago. 

            “My name is Allys.”  She seemed to wait for something, just what, Panas did not know.

            Panas rose to his feet, wavering unsteadily.  He watched the woman who stood a head taller than him warily. 

            “My name is Panas.”  He offered his hand, careful not to touch the strange walls.  She frowned before touching his hand slightly with her own and withdrawing.  Something in the back of his mind bothered Panas, but he couldn’t figure out what it meant. 

            “It means ‘immortal’ in old earth.”  He eyed her uneasily as she continued to stare at him, waiting.  Panas sighed nervously, “What does your name mean?”  She drew back, seeming surprised. 

            “It means… ‘noble humor.’”  This time she smiled as if laughing at her own name.  Panas shifted again, rubbing the hand she had touched. 

            “What are you waiting for?”  He eyed her as she stood expectantly.

            “For you to greet me.”  She said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the galaxy. 

            “What do you mean?  I already have haven’t I?”  Panas frowned, confused and afraid he had already offended his rescuers. 

            She shook her head, smiled and reached out her pale, blue tinted hand.  It began to glow as she touched his temple.  Panas jerked back as he felt something enter his mind, but Allys moved with him and he was unable to break the contact.  It seemed almost as if he were back in the gravity well as it moved slowly before his eyes.  She smiled and closed her eyes.  Panas could feel his own eyes closing against his will.  As the room faded her glow seemed to increase until it was the only thing he could see.

            “This is being greeted, Panas.  Now, I knowyou.”  He stared at her, agape.  This couldn’t be possible, he couldn’t believe it.  His life began to play back before his eyes.  It started with the neutron star and went farther back.  He hired onto the merchant fleet as a guard pilot, he graduated from flight school, and he held his dying sister as the soldiers marched around him.  Finally they arrived at his earliest memories of childhood, back when things had been perfect. 

            “You are sad.  Things long ago were so different.”  He once again saw Allys in her glowing dress, tears sparkling in her eyes.  “Now things are much different.  I cannot imagine how you lived then.  It was so barbaric, so brutal.” 

            Panas worked to form words of his own here in his mind, “Can I greet you?” Allys nodded encouragingly. 

            “Well done, Panas.  You learn quickly, but now that I know you, I realize you cannot great me.  You must be trained first.  We have given you our language, but the rest must be learned with time.”  She seemed to fade and Panas opened his eyes to the brightly colored room again. 

            “How did you do that?”  He stepped forward wonderingly.

            “It is how we live.  If we know one enough as well as this we do not fight.  We are no longer barbarians such as yourself.” 

            “But how is it done?”  His curiosity would not allow him to leave it at that. 

            Allys shrugged, “What does it matter how it is done, as long as it is done?” 

            “But…”  She cut him off as he started to explain his question.

            “Come it is time for you to meet with the Keeper.”  She touched a lighter square in the wall and a door opened.  Panas could think of nothing better to do so he followed her.  It all seemed like a strange dream.  For that matter it was entirely possible it was a dream and he was still alone, dying in the star as time passed him by. 

            The corridor was lined with plants, each blooming in a multitude of different colors.  Immense arches rose above them, framing a pale blue sky, not unlike that which he had left behind.  Everything seemed to glow with the same radiance as his room. 

            “How did I get here?  And for that matter, where is here?”  Panas eyed a particularly active flower that reached out after them with some distaste. 

            “Our explorers picked up your signal in the gravity well.  We used a flux tractor beam to remove you and your ship.” 

            “How…how much time has passed?”  He dread the answer to this question, for if the agonizing slowness of the star’s field was any indication everything he had ever know was gone and had been gone for centuries.  Certainly he recognized nothing he had seen so far. 

            “We weren’t entirely sure, but we think that it has been two thousand years.”  She said it lightly, but Panas stopped, stunned. 

            “Two thousand!  But how can I even relate to you?”

            “Well, if you are thinking biologically, there have been some changes.”  She gestured to encompass her blue skinned form.

            “Probably self inflicted.” 

            “Yes, we chose this, but I wouldn’t call it inflicted.  It allowed us to improve.  We stopped injustice and wars by being able to link.  The changes just facilitated the link.”  Her voice took an explaining tone. 

            “But what can I ever do?   Nothing is the same, I’m outdated.”  Panas glared at his hands as if willing them to be something more.

            “That’s your greatest benefit.  You are old, in fact you are ancient.  You can share with us our history.  Things have changed, we have changed.  It would be wonderful to know who we had been.” She grinned, “Maybe it will tell us who we will become.”

            “Huh, if you’re anything like what I left, I’ll be disappointed.” 

            “How so?  Don’t you love your world, your people?”  This seemed to disturb Allys deeply.

            “I loved some of them, my family, and my sister.  But you know what happened to her.” 

            “I do.”  She touched his arm in sympathy, but Panas ignored it.  He had borne the pain for years.  He wouldn’t let it take control of him now.

            “In my time Earth was dirty, crowded and torn by wars both new and ancient.  My home was in an area two groups thought to own.  There was never much of a lull in the fighting.  You’ve really done a good job of cleaning it up.”  He gestured to the plants surrounding them. 

            “No, this is not Earth.  We left it long ago.  We assume it was because of those wars you mentioned.  We call this Azibo.”

            “What does that mean?”  Panas ran his hand along the smooth stone wall of the corridor marveling at the beauty around him.

            “It’s an old word, older even than you.  It means Earth.  This is our home now, our world.  It was changed as we were.” 

            “I can see that.  Where is it we are going?” 

            “I am taking you to see the leaders of our world.  The guide our people and keep us just and help us to live our lives as best we can.  They also guide us to improve ourselves.”       

            “And how do they become your leaders?  Are they elected?”

            “No, the greatest leaders in science, art, and leadership are selected by a group.  In this way we ensure our leaders know what is best for us.” 

            They reached an ornate set of doors.  They stood out simply by being dark in the center of the glowing walk and plants.  Sold black with only the tiniest hints of silver they seemed to draw the eye inwards and down to the center.  As they approached the doors swung open, slowly but with a reassuring certainty. 

            Panas rubbed his hands together.  He hated waiting.  It reminded him too much of the ordeal he had just survived.  Inside it was almost as dark.  On a raised dais sat six figures.  They were robbed in dull silver so that only their eyes glowed faintly in a variety of colors. 

            “Is this the ancient one?” the voices asked together as one.

            Allys bowed her head, motioning for Panas to do the same.

            “Yes, Keepers.  He is the one we found.” 

            “We decree that he shall learn of us so that he may tell us the story of the past in a context we will better understand.  In this greeting him and knowing him is not enough.” 

            “Yes Keepers.” 

            “Do not influence him; only follow; to keep him out of trouble.  At the end of the day return him to us so we may find his thoughts.”  Something about the last phrase caused Panas to shiver.  Allys led him out the far door. 

            It opened onto a city of lights.  It was more beautiful than anything he had ever seen.  A rainbow of colors filled the plain as far as he could see.  Most of it was the muted colors of the plants, but far from him were brilliant reds, yellows, greens, and blues that lit the entire night sky.  Even at this distance he could see sleek machines floating majestically through the busy streets. 

            “What do you think?”  Allys came to stand beside him.

            “It’s amazing.  I cannot believe what you have done.”  She turned to face him and looked him directly in the eye. 

            “I cannot speak to you again.  You must form your own observations.”  She seemed almost hesitant, as if upset about a coming task.

            “Allys?  What’s wrong?”  After the feeling he had gotten from the Keepers she worried him.  Unfortunately Allys already seemed bound by her promise and refused to even acknowledge him.  Panas sighed and began to trudge down to the city bellow. 

            Here was a world of light.  Most beings were like Allys, tall and colorful.  A few he saw were dull, but they seemed to flinch whenever he came near.  They also didn’t stop to speak to any of the others.  Buildings that looked almost like stores surrounded the streets.  Some were small like the flower shops and cafes at home.  Others stretched so high they seemed to penetrate into space. 

            Everyone seemed to understand one another.  There was no arguing, no disputes or violence on these streets.  Most wore clothes that nearly blinded Panas.  It was so much that he felt almost destitute in his dark green pilot’s uniform.  It reminded him of how proud he had been the day he had received it. 

            It also reminded him of the promise he had made never to allow himself to trust to much or let himself be betrayed by another.  The last time it had cost him his sister.  They had been going home after school.  She had been studying for an entrance exam to a wonderful scientific school while he had been just finishing his piloting classes.  They had asked a friend for safe passes through the junction.  The passes identified them as friendly in the soldiers’ scopes.  Unfortunately the friend hadn’t been as trust worthy as they had thought.  By eliminating rivals that stood in the way of a powerful leader’s own children the friend had been well rewarded.  Holding his sister in his arms as blood ran from his own wound in his shoulder Panas had thought differently.  The soldiers had been very sorry afterwards, but that changed nothing. 

            Here he hoped it would be different.  These people understood each other.  They had changed and were better.   Things like that would not happen again.  They had finally become more than there human predecessors.  It almost made him afraid his memories and past would contaminate this glowing city. 

            He watched a mother showing her daughter the mobile flowers.  The little girl laughed and stroked one of the blue petals.  The plant responded by curling around her arms.  The mother hugged her daughter, promising her they could bring it home. 

            He walked what felt like miles until light showed on the far horizon and the sky became a delicate pink.  Allys touched his shoulder, for the first time making her presence known and lead him back the way they had come.  It was some time before they reached the distant hilltop.   

            “What did you think?”

            “Amazing.”  Panas couldn’t tear his eyes away.  “Your world is amazing.  Your people are amazing.” 

            “I thought you would like it.  I know you now.”  She smiled nervously.

            “What did the Keepers mean by ‘taking my memories’ Allys?”  Panas turned away from the lights to watch her face.

            “It’s nothing.  You will help us like none other.” 

            “But what happens to me?” he protested, slowing as they approached the dark door leading to the Keepers’ chamber.

            “You should be fine.  They just want to know you.  It’s almost like the way I know you.  You trust me don’t you?”

            “That’s the hard part.”  Panas shook his head.

            “But what else would you do?  You must come.”  She drew him inward towards the shadows.

            “I suppose you’re right.”  The room seemed even darker now than it had before. 

            “He is ready?” The voice echoed in his mind.  The silver forms were barely visible at the far end.

            “Yes and your promise.”  Allys approached them now, her hand out held.

            “Yes, your reward.” One of the silver robbed Keepers stepped forward and touched her hand.  Allys shuddered and when she opened her eyes they glowed much like those of the Keepers. 

            “You are one of the elite now.  Rise and take your place among them.”  Allys hurried out, throwing a semi-apologetic glance in Panas’s direction, but continued out through the doors.  Panas sucked in a breath and looked for a way out.  This was all to reminiscent of a friend he had had a long time ago.

            “Now ancient one, become one with us.  Thus we may learn of the past and plan for the future.” 

            “The future or yourselves?”  His voice was harsh with disappointment.

            “Azibo needs us to be strong. Allys needed you to make her strong.  This is the way of things.” 

            “My friend long ago needed my sister’s life to make him strong in the political realm.  You are no different from what I left.  Technology and time haven’t changed you or helped you to grow.  You are exactly like those I left beneath it all.  You just hide it better.” 

            “Wait!” The voices were loud as he spun, racing for the door.  Panas threw himself against it, but fell back.  The Keepers recoiled at the violence of his action.  Panas threw himself at it again.  This time it yielded.  He burst forth into the bright sunlight.

            Panas ran down the hill through fields of tall glowing flowers.  Near the edge of the city was a large smooth plain.  If he was right it housed his ship and those of the people inhabiting this world. 

            He skidded to a halt before the gleaming metal machines.  He spun around wildly, unsure if the Keepers would follow him.  He hoped that they would not pursue, but he doubted they would let him leave, with all their talk of improving the people. 

            The betrayal of Allys still hurt as he clambered into the battered hulk of his ship.  It seemed the systems had been repaired, perhaps by those who thought of it as a collectable or a museum piece.  As it lifted off and rocketed into space Panas slumped into the cryonic bed, strapping himself in.  On the charts was another star much like the one he had left.  He wanted a return to the slow ebbing of time and to eternity.

            Perhaps in this way he would live up to his name, immortal, above time.  Here he had learned that people do not change.  Everything identifiable about them could but deep inside they were still human.  They still had the same flaws and dark secrets.  It was too much pain for Panas.  Only in the void, alone with time could he escape that which time could not change.  Maybe this would be an end, floating forever in a place where time is too slow to measure, or maybe another would pull him from his sleep.  Maybe then change would finally come and people would be transformed.  Until then the only companion he would have would be thought and the endless progression of the universe.  There he would find eternity’s end and change’s beginning.