The man standing in front of Daneel was tall, taller even than the giants who had inhabited Angaria in the age of the Empire. He wore robes that looked extremely old-fas.h.i.+oned, with a belt around his waist to cinch them and interrupt the flow of fabric that had become the norm in later years. Bemusedly, Daneel found himself remembering the praetorians of ancient Rome from back on Earth, and the moment the image is formed in his mind…the man chuckled.
"I see…one of my brothers one said that all of reality is nothing but a handful of sand being sieved, again and again unto eternity. What comes out has a tendency of having appeared elsewhere, already. To you, it looks silly, but to me, those Romans look grand and imposing. How did they cease to be?"
Daneel still hadn"t recovered from the shock of seeing someone appear out of nowhere, without being detected by either him or the system. So, when he was presented by another one, all he could do was open and close his lips foolishly, unable to even voice the question he wanted to ask.
The man chuckled and opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly, a rasping cough made him double over. Soon, he was spitting blood, and getting up, Daneel moved forward to help him.
It was a natural impulse that he didn"t think much about. When he reached the man and helped him to stand upright, he finally studied his features, and as soon as a flash of realization struck him… he took a step back, and blinked.
By then, the man had recovered. He had a long, angular face and the highest cheekbones that Daneel had ever seen. His forehead was broad, and his hair was short.
Seeing Daneel"s startled face, he said, "That"s right! Go on, then, Spit it out. It"s refres.h.i.+ng to not have to give a long introduction about who I am. I"ll have to thank the Mother, if I ever speak to her again…"
As his voice drifted off, Daneel said, "You"re…one of the people I saw in that vision. The rest of your race sacrificed themselves to bring down the golden lightning… but you were among those that emerged after Angaria floated to where it is now. How…are you still alive?"
With a smile, the man sat down on a block of stone nearby and motioned Daneel to another one in front of him.
"Sit down, and I"ll tell you."
Surrounded by the destruction he had caused, Daneel kept his eyes on the man while he walked to his right and took a seat. The more he watched, the more he realized that this giant was someone who shouldn"t exist. The elemental particles all floated through him, as if he wasn"t even corporeal, but Daneel could still see him when he rubbed his eyes. When he had been speaking, before, the voice had been coming from all over the place instead of from his mouth, and as for the blood he had spit out, it had sunk into the ground and vanished as if it had never been present in the first place.
The man waited while Daneel a.n.a.lyzed him. After a few seconds, he placed his hands on his legs and said, "There is another thing about me that you can guess. Take a moment, and tell me what it is."
The question made Daneel stop what he was thinking. Narrowing his eyes, he began to wonder what the man might mean, but soon, he got the answer.
"There is only one thing on Angaria that still has to be explained: the Chamber of Golden Lightning. You…are somehow connected to it."
Raising his hands, the man clapped and declared, "Two for two! Great job! Well, I"ll put you out of your suspense."
He took a deep breath, then, that made a gale of wind spring to life in the destroyed city, and with a sigh, he began to speak.
"I know the vision that the Mother gave you. It is a gift unlike no other, and it is going to help you out of your present predicament, even though I do not know how that is going to happen. I…am the last of the original inhabitants of what you now call Angaria. As you saw, this land was once a part of what you call the Mainland. It was our home, our pride, and our very ident.i.ty…but for reasons long forgotten, a war erupted between all those who lived on that vast world. Faced with defeat…we chose to sever ourselves so that we could live on in the earth that had given us birth. Listen close, young man… the Will of the World that you often connect with now is the embodiment of all those who died then. They sacrificed themselves to give birth to that new Will, and with the last of their power, they brought down the lightning that separated Angaria and set it adrift. The aim was simple: all they wanted was for their home to exist, forever. And for that…one person needed to step up. This individual would integrate with the Will of the World and sleep in a hidden place, waiting, watching for any threat to appear that might spell doom to that forgotten ideal of ours. Yes, you guessed it…that is how I know what you were thinking. That is how I know that you are from a different world…and although it puzzles me, it doesn"t matter. Getting back to it��when awakened, this individual would look for a Saviour who possessed the same qualities as the best of us, then. And of course, the most important quality… is the intent to die for the land, rather than let it be taken away. I saw you, once before, when you broke through to become a Champion. I knew I still had to wait, then, so I went back to sleep… and when the war began, I awakened once again. I laughed when you beat back the Church. I cried when I saw your wife die. And I felt proud when I saw you, here, despairing the end that you witnessed. Others would have hopelessly clung to any manner that might have ensured their survival, but you just asked for a chance…well, I"m here to give it to you. But once again…what will you do with it?"
He had been hearing with bated breath when the man told the story. The secrets that had just been unveiled were such that he would need hours to understand what they all represented, but at the moment, all that mattered was the answer, and it was ready on his tongue.
"I…will save them all."
With a laugh, the man clapped him on his shoulder and said, "That"s exactly what I wanted to hear! Well, time is short, so I"ll get right down to it. The color we loved most had always been gold…so I picked golden lightning to denote the wishes of my countrymen. I speak now with their voice. I cannot stop the destruction that will soon grace this land. I cannot stop the deaths of the millions who have given their hearts to you. The only thing I can do… is send you, and a few others to the source of this land. There, for those with the right will and determination, anything and everything is possible. But before that…you have to figure out a way to make everyone believe that Angaria is dead, while still saving everything you"ve stored here. If they come back alive, so will the land that my forebears died to protect. All your life, you"ve made all sorts of plans and schemes to get what you want. I have equipped you now with everything you need. The onus is on you to make one last plan, one last scheme…to do what you just said. You have been thinking small all this while…it is now time to think big. From now on, only think of the future. Remember, my boy…a story is only over if one believes that it is. In my opinion, there is still a lot left to yours. I will be waiting here to see the rest. Go."
Daneel listened, enraptured, devouring every word the man said like someone starved for years. And as soon as that last word left his lips… he smiled, and did exactly as he had been ordered.