Tail of the Dragon Read online

  Chapter 4

  In his hand Trainer Pravuli held a small object that resembled a crystal teardrop. His finger swept down the center of the object and a panel slid open in the floor, directly under the apex of the dome. A soft buzzing sound ensued as a metallic obelisk rose slowly upward. The students’ chairs moved forward and reclined as the light in the room dimmed perceptively.

  ‘Today we are going to talk about creation,’ he began as a bright pinpoint of light appeared a few cubits above the heads of the reclining class.

  ‘The beginning of life started here, at this point. This was the prime initiation; what you might call a singularity, where the universe, as we know it, had its birth.’

  ‘And what came before? If the Kings created the universe starting here, where were they before and how is it possible that they have always been,’ a voice that Gadreel recognized as Helel’s asked from the corner of the room.

  ‘Ah, the question. I wondered who would raise it,’ said Trainer Pravuli as he swiped his finger up the length of the object he held.

  The presentation paused as the lights and chairs came up together.

  ‘You are young, Helel. And you will grapple with this question for years to come. I will not be answering it for you. I will, however, do my best to give you a framework in which to ponder it.’

  ‘The light that you saw appear above your heads a moment ago, what was it?’ asked the trainer.

  ‘A singularity,’ answered a voice at the front of the room.

  ‘True, but what specifically was it?’

  Silence blanketed the room for several seconds.

  ‘Cowards,’ he said smiling and continued, ‘It was the entire universe. All of the space that exists was held in that one bright spot that the utterance of the Kings initiated. But because it was brought into being by the word of creation, it expanded. That is what creation does, it perpetually, well, creates.’

  He swiped the controller in his hand and the spot appeared overhead and began growing. As it continued to grow, it was no longer a single light, but millions of tiny lights clustered closely together. These began moving rapidly outward in what seemed to be a giant explosion. As the cloud of light spread, the projection’s perspective zoomed out revealing a conical shape that continually expanded and changed. Soon the students could discern shapes resembling stars, solar systems and galaxies.

  ‘Now let us talk about time. What you just saw was the passage of about four thousand millennia, so what came before?’

  This time Helel’s voice intoned, ‘Sir, I believe that is the very question I asked you.’

  ‘True, Helel. It is. The answer is that there was no before because time does not exist without space. We know that there are ten spatial dimensions and one temporal dimension to the universe. Most of these appear only at the subatomic level. For practical purposes, we experience four- height, width, depth, and time. You will learn much more about how these dimensions function when you study interstellar travel, but for the sake of our discussion you need to understand one truth. Time cannot abide in a void. Therefore, before space was created by the Kings, there was no time; hence there was no before.’

  ‘But what space did the Kings occupy when they created the universe?’ Helel asked in a somewhat exasperated voice.

  ‘There is a planet in the Andromeda Galaxy that is completely liquid. All of the inhabitants of this world never break the surface of the water as its atmosphere is too dense for the creatures to penetrate. Now, imagine that I was trying to describe our classroom to some of the fish of this realm. They have neither the experience nor the intellectual capacity to conceptualize our world. That is you, Helel,’ Trainer Pravuli said with a smile.

  ‘You are comparing me to a fish,’ Helel asked irritably.

  ‘In some ways, yes. You are a powerful and intelligent creature, but that power and intelligence has its limits. You are a creation of space and time and are a captive of those limitations. The Kings are beyond space and time, so grasping how they do what they do is simply more than you can comprehend. That is why I told you that I would not be answering your question. However, knowing your limitations will aid you in wrestling with these questions, and they are questions worth wrestling with.’

  With that he restarted the presentation and the universe continued its rapid expansion. It detailed the preparation of the Orion Galaxy and the establishment of Mount Kol, which was created by the Kings. The students witnessed the creation of the first arellian representatives and the work that they did in building the city.

  The presentation went on to detail the establishment of the oldest worlds and their inhabitants. As the legions of arella grew, so did the breadth of the universe. More and more planets, filled with more and more creatures being served and guided by more and more angels.

  As the presentation came to a close, Gadreel asked, ‘OK, so after each solar system had matured and the orbiting planets were ready, more creations started filling up these new kingdoms. And soon there were hundreds of galaxies with thousands of inhabited solar systems, which means there were soon billions of inhabitants stretched across millions of light years of expanding universe. How do the Kings keep track of all of this?’

  ‘Again, Gadreel, you are thinking in a manner confined by time. Time is an attribute of the created, not the creators. They are able to take an age to examine every issue brought before them, but this eternity is an instant within time. I don’t understand how it happens either, but that makes sense since I am a created being and am able to only live one moment at a time.’

  As Ariel and Gadreel were leaving the classroom, Helel caught up with them.

  ‘What did you think of our trainer’s answer to your question?’ asked Helel as he fell into step with the pair.

  ‘I guess it’s the best he can give, but it confuses me,’ Gadreel answered.

  ‘I find it incredibly confusing, and evasive,’ Helel said.

  ‘I don’t believe he was being evasive at all. Trainer Pravuli was giving the only answer he is able to. It seemed like his example about the fish summed it up nicely,’ interrupted Ariel.

  ‘I’m not surprised, Ariel,’ Helel said and turned aside, heading down a connecting hall.

  ‘What was that about?' Gadreel asked.

  'I'm not really sure. I get the idea he doesn't like me for some reason. He looks at me funny,' Ariel said.

  'That's hardly surprising. You are funny looking,' Gadreel said, chuckling. 'But seriously, why do you believe we were created? If the Kings are capable of running things without us, what are we doing here?’

  ‘I think we are here because it is the nature of the Kings to create, and we help them in the ongoing process,’ Ariel answered.

  ‘And so as the highest created life forms, we serve the Kings directly?’

  Ariel considered for a second before answering, ‘Yes, but the point is that in serving the Kings we serve those who are less powerful than ourselves. We are the tools that the Kings use in order to serve, preserve and assist the numerous creations throughout the universe.’

  The two telmid exited the building and strolled across the courtyard. They stopped by a large tree and each picked a large piece of fruit. The air was cool in the shade and they sat, leaning against the rough bark and watching other students pass by.

  ‘Do you understand the relationship of the Kings?’ Gadreel asked, changing the subject.

  ‘With us, or with each other?’ asked Ariel.

  ‘With each other. The trainer kept talking as if everything they do is one thing, but what if they have different ideas about what to do?’

  ‘I think it is kind of like the air glide teams. A good crew has members who are all dedicated to working together, as one, to navigate the course. The Kings work that way. Because their essence is to create, they are perfectly in tune and balance to fulfill that nature. A rower who decides that he doesn't want to pull is no longer fulfilling his function, his role on the ship. Because they are who they
are, they do what they do. Each serves a role in the common mission and because they are all knowing, that purpose is always in harmony,’ Ariel answered.

  ‘But what separates them? Gadreel continued.

  Ariel took a bite, staring at the red starfruit in his hand. He paused, considering for a moment before answering, ‘This tree gives us shade and sustenance. When we talk about it, we wouldn’t say that the roots gave us this fruit, although without them, the tree would not grow this delicious starfuit. The same holds true for the leaves and the branches. All of these parts allow it to fulfill its nature, to grow and produce, or you could say create. I know it's a rather simplistic explanation, but it's one way for us to make sense of their relationship. A branch is not a leaf, but both are interdependent on each other and together they make a tree.’

  ‘Maybe you should be a trainer at the academy, my friend. I don’t know if you are right, but you certainly make it sound as if you are,’ Gadreel laughed.

  They finished eating their lunch and headed over to where their class was beginning. They met a group of about forty others on a flat grass plot that lay adjacent to the first bocket path. Waiting were ten trainers that divided them into groups of four. Gadreel and Ariel stayed together and joined their trainer at an edge of the field, where mesh bags containing balls the size of a fist were placed.

  Gadreel recognized the slender arella that they had observed playing the day before as he approached.

  ‘My name is Tyrel and I am here to help you learn the greatest game in the universe,’ he greeted them enthusiastically.

  He began grabbing balls from the basket and tossing one to each member of his group.

  ‘This is a driving bocket. Feel how smooth it is. This means it has very little aerodynamic drag. It is also fairly heavy, as far as bockets go. This will maximize distance and limit the amount of effect that the wind might have.’

  ‘Yesterday we watched you curve one of these at least twenty cubits over there,’ Gadreel interjected pointing out at the first path.

  ‘I thought I had an audience. But you are mistaken.’ He reached into a bag on the ground, pulled out a slightly larger bocket, and tossed it to Gadreel. ‘What difference do you notice between the two?’ he asked.

  Gadreel studied it carefully and answered, ‘It has deep ridges on it. And it is lighter.’

  ‘Yep. And those factors allow me to make it spin and move in specific directions, when struck properly. But first you need to learn to kick one straight,’ Tyrel replied with a smile.

  He turned his attention to the rest of the group. ‘Eventually you will learn all about the various types of bockets and shots that you will need to maneuver through the courses you play. Today I want you to kick long and straight,’ he said and flicked the ball up into the air in front of him, took one step forward, and kicked it powerfully down the field before them.

  Gadreel, who had been studying him carefully executed a strong kick and watched with satisfaction as it flew on the same line as the Tyrel’s.

  ‘Looks like we have a natural bocket player with us today,’ Tyrel said and slapped Gadreel on the back.

  Ariel’s first attempt, however, was a bit humbling. He flicked the ball properly, but kicked it off the side of his foot and it skidded sideways, rolling only a few cubits.

  ‘Nice try, Ariel, but you must watch the bocket closely until you make contact with your foot. You were looking up to see where it went before you even kicked it,’ Tyrel said.

  After a few tries he began to kick the ball further and further with only a few shanks off the edge of his foot. Fairly soon he was able to consistently kick the bocket at least 200 cubits; however, he still struggled with keeping it straight and had a tendency to angle the ball to the left and miss his target by a wide margin.

  Gadreel built on his initial success and was sending his kicks out in a beautiful arc of more than 250 cubits.

  'Who created this game?' Ariel asked.

  ‘Bocket is one of the oldest games that we play. An angel named Michelian came up with the concept after he had been studying the physics of rotating spheres. He created a variety of the balls that we use before he had even considered using them in a sport. Eventually he began trying to kick them into baskets around various obstacles. This led him to create this course, which is the oldest in the kingdom.’

  ‘So the game was first played right here?’ asked Gadreel.

  ‘It was. This is a very natural course using native elements such as trees, water and bushes. There are others that are much more difficult, utilizing extravagant obstacles both manufactured and technological such as arches, walls and plasma fields. These days this old relic is used primarily to train new initiates to the game. Personally, I am rather partial to natural courses, and this one in particular. Next time we will go out and try those budding skills on the paths, but for now, our time is up,' Tyrel said and excused himself.