Long time coming, long piece coming.
Chapter 7[/u]
There was just one last flight of stairs to go, and yet, for the life of him, Bosch simply couldn’t do it. Leaning heavily on the support pillar next to the stairs, Bosch paused for a moment, letting out an exasperated sigh. Ahead of him, Gibson glanced back and saw him. Turning to the others, he called out to them, catching their attention. Both Sargo and Venson were already on the last flight of stairs, but weren’t too high up yet. They both paused and turned to face Gibson.
Gibson simply raised his right hand and indicated for them to take a five minute break here. Venson took one glance at Bosch before looking back at Gibson and nodding. Taking a seat on the stairs, it seemed like he didn’t mind the break one bit. Judging from his own tiredness and the effort it had taken to get here in the gravity, Gibson knew how Venson probably felt. Yet still, when Gibson looked to Bosch, he knew that the hardships of his journey here was nothing compared to Bosch’s. At least, the environmental suits had blocked out the cold, and they had been moving about in the gravity longer. Bosch didn’t have any of these advantages, and furthermore his right arm was now in a cast. How Bosch had managed to survive so far had been nothing short of a miracle; to say the least, and Gibson couldn’t be gladder at the fact.
Turning back to Bosch, Gibson approached him at a slow walk. However, when he noticed how heavily Bosch was leaning against the wall despite Sargo’s support, Gibson started jogging, reaching there less than a second later. He was careful not to move too fast, lest he fall down the series of stairs that led to the floor below.
Once he was within a few feet of Bosch, he glanced to Sargo before looking directly at Bosch.
Bosch wasn’t looking back and instead was focused more on the ground. He was leaning with his back to it; his breaths irregular and almost to the point of gasps. His face was pale and from the looks of it, he wasn’t doing too well at all. Perhaps Gibson had thought a little too soon….
Placing a hand on Bosch’s shoulder, Gibson tried to get his attention. “Bosch! Are you all right?!” his tone filled with concern. He was extremely surprised at how far Bosch moved with just the weight of his hand; his body nearly limp and almost fragile as glass. Rather than risk hurting him some more, Gibson withdrew the hand and instead glanced to Sargo. Sargo simply looked back and shook his head. Obviously, Bosch had had a very hard time on the way.
It was then that Bosch replied, not looking up. His voice was raspy and came out between gasps, but was able to clearly say a few words at least. “I’m fine. Just need a minute.”
Gibson was about to reply when Bosch finally did look up at him. His face was almost a deathly white and was covered almost entirely by snow and frost. As Bosch looked up though, he made eye contact with Gibson for a second.
In that brief second of contact, Gibson could almost see the pain through Bosch’s expression and his eyes. The man must have been in agony from the pain in his arm, not to mention the cold. Yet, Gibson could only stand there, at a loss for what to do. They were all helpless in this case - they didn’t even have a way to help themselves right now, much less be able to aid Bosch. Yet; when Gibson looked further, he could make out something else lurking behind those eyes. It was one of simple and sheer determination, driven onwards by….something…..Gibson couldn’t be sure what that something was; but it was definitely there if Bosch had managed to push himself so far.
Then, Gibson realized, the only person that could help Bosch in this case would be himself.
The moment passed, and Bosch looked away. His message had been clear – he wasn’t giving up here – not when they were so close. Gibson only nodded. They would wait here for a few minutes before pressing onwards.
********
Nearly 10 minutes had passed since they had stopped and yes, Bosch was still rather uneasy about continuing onwards. The intense pain from his right arm clouded his mind in a fog not unlike one they had just come out of. Although it wasn’t as cold as before, the lingering feel of its touch was still there. All this when coupled with his physical exhaustion posed a significant problem to Bosch. It was almost at a point where Bosch doubted he’d actually be able to survive climbing the remaining steps up.
But then….we’re as good as dead anyway. Bosch thought to himself, remembering their current situation and why they had come here in the first place.
No. Bosch thought; reminding himself – too many lives had been sacrificed so that they could get here, most of it at his own hands. He had to continue – their goal was almost within reach now. The NTF rebellion, the run past the Colossus, the crusade into the Nebula and then, the ultimate sacrifice of the Iceni – all of it masterminded to get him here and now – just so that he could give up so close to the objective? Never! All he had to do was climb a set of goddamn stairs and he’d be there.
Focusing on that thought, Bosch drove himself onwards. Raising himself to his feet carefully, Bosch turned to face the flight of stairs. Gibson had been seated next to him, and was caught somewhat by surprise when Bosch did get up, and moved to follow. Standing up and waiting to his left, Gibson simply asked: “Ready, Sir?”
Bosch didn’t look back, instead focusing on the top of the stairs, trying to discern what may lie beyond it. At the moment, he could see only the top of the canyon wall, along with a bit of the structure’s top, as well as the central beam that met it. No; its secrets would not be divulged that easily, meaning Bosch would have to work for it.
Bosch simply nodded. “Time to go.” He replied.
To his right, Sargo took up position to support him, while Venson stood on the stairs ahead of him. It was only a short flight of stairs, yet it was also the steepest – each step being nearly a foot in height and width, nearly double that of the lower flights. It was also significantly longer that the others; nearly 20 steps in total. But yet, the fact that it was the last series pushed him onwards.
Venson nodded and turned around, climbing the stairs as quickly as he could. Behind him, the entire group slowly followed in slow formation; taking as long as was required to conquer each step up. Bosch focused on this; going one step by one step, trying his best to ignore the jolt of pain that coursed through his arm that came with each one.
When he reached the 10th step, Bosch nearly cried out as the pain jolted through his entire arm and shoulder, clearly undoing what healing it had undergone over the past day. His knees buckled, and if it weren’t for Sargo and Gibson catching him from either side, Bosch would have probably collapsed right then and there itself. For a moment, he felt like he couldn’t go on anymore. His strength had already reached its limits and crossed it, depleting itself to the point that he had little left to him now.
It was in this moment of weakness; of pain and despair that he heard it. Looking up, at first he thought it was Venson calling down to them, asking if he was all right. Then he heard it again.
Bosch didn’t know exactly what it was; faint as a whisper in the wind, Bosch could have sworn it was calling to him – but from where exactly he couldn’t make out. Neither could he make out what exactly it was trying to tell him. Looking back, Bosch tried pinpointing the source, but failed miserably.
Hallucinations Bosch thought to himself, somewhat alarmed. The fact that he was hearing things simply meant that his condition had deteriorated to an extreme amount.
Yet, Bosch knew, deterioration or not, he had to continue. Taking a few gasps of breath, Bosch regained his balanced and continued onwards. He kept repeating the same thought over and over in his head – not now, not ever! The thought focused his mind, driving him onwards, step by agonizing step, towards the top.
Throughout the struggle, Bosch kept his focus solely on the ground – he knew if he lost focus here, it would be the end of him. He could almost feel the shadow of death over him, and one small slip would cost him his life.
Then, as quickly as it had started, the entire ordeal was over. After what seemed like an eternity, Bosch cleared the final step up and upon seeing no more directly ahead of him, he looked upwards.
When he saw it, Bosch could only smile. Through the exhaustion and the pain, Bosch could only smile when he saw the sight ahead of him. It was this that proved his hard work and determination had paid off, and he knew that his efforts had not been in vain.
The sight ahead of him could be best described as simply glorious. As amazing the sight of the pyramid had been from below, the one he was seeing now of it’s main entrance far surpassed it in quality. Indeed, it was difficult to even begin describing it. The ancients that had built this place had gone to extreme care to make sure each section was ornate in a unique and different way. The nearest and most notable were the railings that formed the boundary of the entire top floor, ending only on either side of the staircase. The railings were gold in color, shining through in the dim sunlight without a single piece of dust on them, showing none of the age that came with being untouched for millennia. On the railings nearest to Bosch, he could glimpse small writings all over it, symbols of a language long forgotten; a language only he and a few others knew so well.
The entire floor itself had a somewhat irregular shape; it opened up in front of them to either side, encompassing a large courtyard of sorts before rapidly narrowing to either side of a large set of doors. The edges of the floor were lined clearly by some sort of fluorescent substance that could probably be able to glow in the darkness - a safety feature as well as a decorative one and functional one. This fusion of the three was prevalent in most of the ancient structures that Bosch had studied to date; yet those were mere ruins and almost non-existent in a sense. They held none of the glory or wonder of the fully constructed and completed structure Bosch was seeing now.
What appeared to be some benches and tables were scattered throughout the courtyard; carefully arranged towards the sides of the courtyards so as to be nearly inconspicuous. The chairs themselves had ornate designs that glimmered in the faint sunlight, and within the designs, each carving and etching glowed faintly in a different shade of the sun’s color. When the sun was being blocked by the Gas giant or the station above, Bosch could imagine that the benches and floor combined would cast the entire top floor into an eerie twilight of sorts; ensuring that it would never completely be in darkness.
Although he could see the engravings clearly, he was unable to make out what it meant. It appeared to somewhat similar to the language of the ancients, but at the same time it was significantly different – perhaps a different dialect altogether. It could be entirely possible; after all, the GTVA only had a few samples of the ancient’s language from which to analyze and translate; and a few samples rarely suggested anything about the various dialects and sub-dialects in any society’s language. But still, with further study it would probably be possible to translate everything.
The only other main features of the top floor were the pillar above them; which went over the top of the structure, connecting at a large overhanging before going behind it, forming an elegantly covered veranda of sorts. The roof of the structure was extremely thick as well, probably containing the systems for opening and closing the doors. The other were the doors directly ahead of them.
The doors themselves were massive, to say the least. Spanning several meters in height and width, they shared much of the same engraving that was present in the other articles in and around the courtyard. Yet, this engraving was more of a generic design than anything else, covering the door’s edges and concealing the direction it actually opened. There was also a strange symbol in the centre – if one could call it that. It was similar to the lower half of a pentagon of sorts, the lines forming a simple tub-like structure with a single offset square hanging above the right end. Both ends of the line had knobs on them, and in the intersection between the right line and the base line, a smaller line erupted at an angle exactly half of the intersections. The entire symbol was placed on what appeared to be a lock at the centre of the door; it was hexagonal in shape and at the exact centre of the doors. There was no visible way to manipulate it directly – which meant it had to be controlled by a panel somewhere else on the door.
Venson was the first to speak out, pointing to the door’s right corner, where there was a brightly colored panel glowing in the shadows.
“There! That’s the control panel I found.” He slowly started to move towards it, Bosch and company in tow. Bosch moved slowly compared to the others; taking in the enormity of the sights and sounds of this. This place…this temple….what purpose could it have served? It was a mystery that was tugging at his mind; the innumerable number of questions that his research on the Ancients and the Shivans only multiplied with their actions and this structure. This was all without figuring the additional mystery of the structure directly above them.
Time for some answers then. Bosch thought to himself. He had come too far and worked too much for this – he would get his answers, one way or the other.
Clearing his throat, Bosch caught the other’s attention. When Venson turned around, Bosch was quick to speak, nodding at the control panel first.
“Any luck with the panel, Venson?”
Venson simply shook his head. “No luck Sir. I couldn’t figure out the symbols or how to get the door working. We checked the entire balcony the last time we were here – there isn’t anything else here except for what we see.”
Bosch nodded. “And the doors on the floors below?”
“All locked Sir. We tried them on the way up when we came here earlier. The locks may just be controlled from here though.” He nodded towards the control panel, and then moved aside to let Bosch approach the panel.
Bosch simply nodded. He approached the panel as fast as he could, his pace being fueled by a insatiable curiosity and a need for answers. The others gathered behind him to watch either from the side or from over his shoulder. Although it was somewhat uncomfortable, Bosch couldn’t blame their own curiosity and simply ignored it.
Focusing on the control panel; he studied it carefully. It was around a foot or so in width and half a foot in height. It’s perimeter was outlined by several artistic symbols and shapes forming an elegant border around the display. The display itself was split vertically into two, with a clear menu and context feature. It was similar in fashion to the regular human displays, but at the same time, even similar to the Shivan displays in a completely different way. At the moment, most of the menu options on left hand panel were dark, while the right had panel simply displayed some text. The language of the text was similar to the engravings, but Bosch was able to translate this dialect better. It was much closer to the mainstream language than the other engravings had been.
“Do you know what it says, Sir?” Gibson asked from behind him.
“Yes, I can loosely translate it.” Bosch replied, his tone calm and calculative. His mind was busy remembering all the articles he had read on the ancients and their language, not to mention trying his best to translate the text. Less than a minute later, he was able to finally do it. Grimly, he looked up and considered what it said.
Bosch simply shook his head grimly.
“It’s a message, Gibson. It appears that it was left behind by this ring’s inhabitants before they evacuated it….” He didn’t go on; instead pressing one of the buttons on the menus, removing it completely. When Gibson motioned to ask what it may have been, he simply raised his hand, asking for silence as he worked. The message had gone across clearly – Bosch would rather not talk about it – at least, not now.
Pressing a few of the new controls that popped up, Bosch identified the main controls for unlocking the lower level doors, as well as opening the main upper-level one. He’d leave the lower level ones alone for the moment, and open the one they were next to now instead.
His hand hovered over the control for opening the main door, hesitating for a second. Bosch had read the message, but he still didn’t know what would happen if he opened the door. There was nothing malicious, from the looks of it….but still; it made Bosch just a little spooked. But then, where else was there to go? The only way to go now was forwards; and his answers were almost within reach…this had to be it – he couldn’t go back even if it was possible – the entire fate of humanity could just well depend on what they did here and now. After all, was this not why he had gone on this mad quest in the first place?
It was then Bosch made up his mind. The hand plunged downwards in a smooth motion, pressing the control almost immediately.
The reaction was equally immediate. A large rumbling sound came from all sides of the doors. Bosch nearly jumped backwards in surprised, and the others took a few steps backwards. The ancient mechanism made loud noises as the door neatly divided itself into half both vertically as well as horizontally. The symbol in the centre parted as each corner of the door withdrew into its corresponding corner on the door frame. The exact mechanism must have been extremely complex, as their didn’t seem to be enough space inside the frame to accommodate the doors completely.
As it slid apart, Bosch could see that it actually consisted of two layers, with a separate internal one as well the external one they were seeing now. He could also see a large corridor reveal itself as the doors parted; almost as wide and high as the door itself, it went inside for several dozen meters or so before rapidly narrowing into the darkness, near where the back of the pyramid might be. Lights came on just inside of the door, but the rest of the corridor remained dark.
Bosch looked to Venson and Sargo and then glanced back at the corridor. From the looks of it, it seemed well insulated and suitable for shelter. At the least, they could probably move to the lower rooms, if nothing else.
“Venson, Sargo; go back to the shuttle and get the others. We’ll set up our base camp here. Gibson, you’re with me, lets check out this corridor.”
With that, Bosch slowly walked into the corridor, with Gibson in tow. Both Venson and Sargo looked to each other first before turning around and descending the stairs, towards the transport.
As Bosch stepped into the corridor, more lights started to come on, but the end of the corridor remained in darkness till they were less than 4 meters away. It was only then that a light came on directly above it; revealing what appeared to be a small, circular elevator hidden neatly in a slightly larger alcove. Facing them to one side was a control panel; while inside the alcove was another facing away from them and towards the centre of the lift. Bosch glanced at Gibson before moving forwards and stepping on it, mindful of the gap in-between. Gibson stood back, somewhat hesitant.
“What about the others, Sir?” he asked.
“We’ll be done before the others come in. If not, we’ll come up first to help them set up camp.” Bosch merely replied. Gibson seemed to be satisfied with this and got onto the elevator. Manipulating the controls, Bosch activated the lift. A beeping sound came from nowhere, and the lift started to descend downwards slowly, before picking up the pace.
And so it begins…our descent into hell Bosch thought to himself, his mind full of thoughts of the message left behind by this place’s creators.
****
Had anyone known the language the ancients spoke or wrote; they would have been easily able to decipher the message that once again flashed on the console near the main doorway. The creator of the message might have seemed delusional, or even insane at the time, but still, it delivered it’s intent effectively enough from that perspective. If one were to know the language, and read it, they would be able to see the following text quite clearly:
We were once a proud people, as well as the strongest;
We created this world from the pride and dreams that carried our civilization forward;
We hoped it would remain as a monument of our achievements;
But little did we realize, we were merely trespassers in this land;
For the universe would have its divine retribution for the agony we inflicted;
And it passed its judgment upon us.
We would pay the ultimate price for our sins; one far worse than death itself….
Its verdict was final, and as we witnessed; its execution would be swift and unstoppable.
Nothing is left for us – fate has already decided the future of our species;
We are to be wiped out, forever removed from the land we violated;
None of us will be left, nor will we ever step on this land again;
And so, we shall fade away, much akin to those races which we subdued and destroyed.
But even though our species is doomed; we know our legacy shall not.
And so we leave our legacy in this ring;
To those that come upon it ages from now:
We beg upon thee; to enter this monument…this tomb…to bear witness to the legacy of a once-glorious race; and to the tragedies that we inflicted upon countless others, and then upon ourselves.
Know the mistakes we made and the horrors we suffered for it, and be wise to never repeat them, lest invite the wraith of an angry cosmos...
