SARGASSO SAILS
INTERLUDE
-Time can be folded. What you call hieroglyphs were originally hearoglyphs...Listen.
I thought this statement was interesting and waited for Akviro to continue. He didn't just then. He paused to see if I was processing his words. As I waited, I began to hear music. It wasn't coming from an audible source...it was in my head. Somehow, Akviro had telepathically transmitted a wave file into my brain. The music was slow and and noble, and came in phrases shaped like lapping waves. 'Akva Regeno...Majesta Bela Sireno'.
As the music flowed through me, I conjectured. What would Akviro know about Einstein or any of the modern theories regarding time warps and black holes? Then I remembered. He had referred to the ancient Aquanauts as being air travellers. I had originally thought that they made air balloons or simple flying machines like Da Vinci had proposed. If they were in contact with extraterrestials, that would explain a lot of the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle. But I was getting ahead of myself. What did that have to do with our current situation?
-It was so long ago and I've tried to forget and get on with my life. We were masters of the sea and air. We lived in harmony with the primitives of this planet. We had come to Earth, not to conquer, but to colonize. We tried to share our technology with the primitives here. The Golden Shell was not simply a throne, but was a power base from which the energy was controlled.
He paused again to see if I was digesting all of this. Then he continued as another veil of sadness crept over his face:
-I was young then. I had decided to climb the mountain that day... the one with the twin waterfalls at Atalantoll. It was much higher then. From the top I could see past the White City all the way to the sea...panoptical place. I was tired from my climb and rested for a while. I awoke some time later to a tremendous rumbling sound that was shaking the mountain. Beyond the White City, I could see smoke on the flats. And then the flats opened up and started spewing great balls of fire thousands of feet into the air. It was terrifying...the sound...the smell. In a matter of minutes, a great menacing cone emerged from the flats, building upon itself until it was hundreds of feet high. Then it exploded. The winds came. I held onto the mountain for dear life. And then the sea rose up in a mighty vortex and swallowed the White City, and with it, my mother... the Queen.
We stood silently together for a long time. Some of the Islanders had begun to stir from their sleep. They were hearing the music as well. They looked intensely at Akviro. For the first time, I noticed there was something foul in the air.
-I'm very sorry, I said. But what does this have to do with me. You were speaking of time being folded.
-After the flood, all that remained was the volcano and four little islands. The White City was submerged. The Golden Shell had been useless against Mother Nature. Why she turned on us, I'll never know. Perhaps she was jealous of the Golden Shell.
-I remained on the mountain for many years, nourishing myself from the Enchanted Springs. Gradually, the sea calmed down, but the vortex continued to this very day and still carries the Summerlands on a perpetual journey from pole to pole. As you know, the sun never sets. It makes its voyage to the Green Flash and then back over the Summerlands to the Mist. You might have surmised that we are in a time warp. What may take years, as you call them, on the other side, might be just an instant in the Summerlands. Akviro continued:
-Regardless, I watched as the Primitives evolved. They were delightful, innocent creatures. I encouraged their simple pursuits, but made sure that none knew of the powers of the Golden Shell.
The mystical melodies were still floating around my head. I don't think I had ever heard anything so beautiful. I asked him if the Konkers had always been evil.
-No. There were octopi, squid, cuttlefish, and every kind of gastropod you could imagine. They didn't bother anybody until Oopslop came. Akviro continued:
-Oopslop was born here but claims he has been to the other side of the Mist. He returned through the Green Flash and was hailed as some sort of visionary. He then began to organize the Mollusks under the banner of the web that had washed ashore. He eliminated many species of cephalopods until he was in complete control.
By now, all the Islanders were awake and listening to Akviro. I could tell that they were hearing the music too. The air was becoming fouler by the minute. I still didn't know what any of this had to do with me until Akviro said:
-So we had all lived in harmony until Oopslop's return from the other side. He came back talking about force and treachery, and the power of manifest destiny, and was using all sorts of terms that were never heard before in the Summerlands. And then you came...none came before. You keep saying that you are a passive bystander, but there must be a reason for you to be here. Think hard, Akviro finished.
The music suddenly stopped and all eyes were on me. Why was that name familiar? And then it hit me. Years ago I had an aquarium. In it was an algae eating snail. I had named him 'Oopslop'. Back then I had named all the trees and plants in my yard, in a Zen-like effort to become one with nature. Why I even played music for them. I had named the snail, 'Oopslop', to be original. I had heard a story the J.M. Barrie had invented the name, 'Wendy', for his Peter Pan novel, and that the name had caught on. Even Frank Zappa had named his kid, 'Artie Deetoo', or something. I had hope that maybe 'Oopslop' would catch on. The concept seemed innocent enough at the time. The scary thing was, Oopslop had gone missing. Was it possible to consider that I had created this monster? Had I intentionally been transported through the Mist to deal with this problem?
The Islanders all looked anxious now. The sulphureous wind was carrying an ominous chant and a new sound. We all rushed down to the beach to witness a horrendous event.
ON TO CHAPTER 11 "OOPSLOP AND THE KONKERS MARCH"
GET ME OUTTA HERE...I NEED TO CLEAN MY FISH TANK