Unforgettable journey to other planets

“South America and the USA are now seeing a northern lights: does anyone in this room have an explanation for this?”

Mr Dordain was approached by the ESA’s chief analyst. He shook hands with Jean-Jacques, sat down next to him and switched on the microphone.

“Good afternoon, my name is Claudio Sianti. I have an answer for you.”

The room froze.

“Right now, we are observing an area on the surface of the Sun with a surface temperature of about 20 million Kelvin,” he saw that there was no reaction. “That’s a lot. We are now witnessing the largest coronal mass ejection in history. So what are the consequences of that?” he thought for a moment. “Northern lights? Yes. And also disruption of electrical appliances, navigation equipment, radio signals.”

“That’s clear. What’s next? What should we prepare for?” shouted out one of the military men grudgingly. “Can the planet withstand this pressure?”

Dr Sianti nodded, understanding the question.

“Yes, I see your point. What does this mean in the long run, that is the question? Well,” he pondered his answer, “it threatens termination.”

The whole room let out a questioning exclamation, “Huh?” Some recoiled back, and some started pointing at the screen with their hands. Monsieur Dordain and Dr Sianti turned to the screen. The graph showing the signal activity from Voyager froze.

Jean-Jacques Dordain was whispering to a running assistant.

“Are you sure this is accurate?” he switched on the microphone and clarified. “Gentlemen, the signal has stopped broadcasting. No one can register it even close to the quadrant.”

“So, is it over?” someone from the audience asked.

“No,” answered Dr Scianti and pointed at the number of the absolute luminosity which had jumped up two points.

Part 3 – Chapter 34

Dandin walked ahead. He was pensive and sad, occasionally glancing at the travelers.

“What is with him?” Debby asked David in a whisper.

“I don’t know,” David shrugged, “maybe he’s still upset about the fall?”

Debby wanted to go up to the light-haired boy and ask him what was wrong, but she held herself back. She looked around at all the travelers for support. Dr Capri caught her gaze. Debby shifted her eyes to Dandin and turned back to the doctor. Dr Capri nodded.

They walked down a long corridor that seemed to have no end. Sometimes they turned and there were golden walls again. There were no pictures or objects on the walls, only a fine geometric pattern that mottled them from floor to ceiling, making them look like a honeycomb. Dr Capri approached Dandin. He signalled to the travelers to slow down and leave them alone.

“Dandin, is something worrying you?”

Dandin came out of his reverie and looked at the doctor in confusion.

“Huh? I was just wondering. My master once asked me if I wanted to get married or to serve him. At that time I confidently chose service,” he pursed his lips in an attempt to find the words and added quietly. “But today, when I saw… perhaps I was rushed?”

Dr Capri looked at him good-natured and lowered his eyes, remembering something.

“That’s all quite normal,” the doctor said, smiling. “How old are you, Dandin?” he asked.

Dandin hesitated for a moment and then said:

“According to your timeline, it’s about two million.”

The doctor coughed and blinked rapidly.

“I’m 17 here,” Dandin smiled.

“Good,” laughed the doctor. “It’s all right. Don’t think there’s anything wrong with you. Love gives us strength. You see,” he pointed to the statue that represented a beautiful woman, “and here once were…” he did not finish and stopped beside the sculpture.

The others caught up with them and looked at each other in bewilderment.

“Hey, that’s the statue we saw when we entered the palace,” David said grudgingly.

“Yes,” Dandin replied calmly and walked over to the large door that led to the center of the palace. “We just walked around our King’s chambers.”

“What?” said Jean-Pierre with a frown. “You took us around in circles for about an hour?”

“It is our tradition,” Dandin smiled, taking hold of the door handle, “to think before we speak.”

Everyone gathered in front of the door. Only Debby stared appreciatively at the statue of the woman near the entrance to the king’s chambers. She lowered her gaze to her feet: they were not touching the ground. The two images combined in Debby’s mind. She smiled to herself and whispered:

“Nika of Samothrace.”

“Debby,” came Jean-Pierre’s voice, “keep up, please.”

The doors opened. Everyone felt a bright light pour in from the inner hall. They squinted, and Dandin and Van lay down on the ground in a deep bow. As Dandin rose, the travelers’ eyes began to adjust to the bright light. Doctor Capri was peering into the chambers, a huge circular hall with a tent in the center of it. Light spread out from the center of the hall in all directions. Yulia began to stare, trying to see what was the source of such bright light.

Dandin stepped forward, inviting the travelers to follow him. Jean-Pierre looked around, studying the surroundings, and after some thought, stepped behind Dandin. His hands involuntarily clenched into fists.

Debby was the last to go, she looked up and saw an inscription above the door in an incomprehensible language. She tried to make it out, but the letters were unfamiliar to her. They reminded her of Arabic script. Suddenly the inscription came to life and the pattern of letters began to change. The inscription turned into an English sentence, “Know thyself and give to others.” Debby turned to draw attention, but realized that everyone was engrossed in a much more surprising sight: the travelers had found the source of light.

In the center of the hall was a low platform on which sat a man in a lotus pose. His skin let in a dim but perceptible light. The glow radiated from his body in waves. Above his head hung a dome that was coated with glossy gold on the inside. The light gathered in this hemisphere and turned into a bright stream that shone directly on the top of the seated man.

The travelers came even closer and saw that the floor of the podium was made of something transparent, like glass. The light was falling from above, and the shadow that should have appeared from below did not appear dark, but bright as fire. It fell down through the glass and turned into the very column of fire that had almost killed the travelers hours before.