When she woke up, it seemed as if she had done so in her bed, in the southern territory, in the same room where she grew up, next to her mother. She felt none of the impact from the fall, nor the fatigue from almost not sleeping the night before. She didn’t feel any of it now, and she didn’t know how long she had been asleep.
The room was dimly lit by a strange light whose source she couldn’t identify. Batro, beside her, also woke up, and she said softly, “Are you okay?” The man nodded as he sat up, while SAIR, who was lying on his back, swiftly moved his limbs and also incorporated.
It was at that moment that someone appeared. From one end of the room that had been hidden from their view, the light gradually intensified, and a human figure moved toward them. The figure walked leisurely and was dressed in a white tunic that reached just above the ankles. It was a tall person of undefined age who positioned themselves a few steps away from them.
Batro, usually aggressive towards strangers, didn’t react this time. Like the others, he remained with his eyes fixed on that figure, completely unperturbed. After a brief smile, the being began to speak:
“Verily, I should not be present here, and neither wouldst thou. Forsooth, thou hast ventured into hallowed ground.”
SAIR could clearly perceive the sound and its source, but aside from the small heat source, there was nothing there! He explored the area with all the instruments at his disposal, from radar to X-ray exposure, interferometry... Nothing! He could only perceive the sound, just like the others, who, on the other hand, clearly saw what was in front of them.
“Who are you?” asked Lavidia.
“My name be Dael.”
At first glance, it seemed like a man. A man like the ones they had seen in the form of statues just moments ago. But when speaking, she immediately thought that it was actually a woman. Not because of having a high-pitched voice, but because men simply don’t speak.
The person, or whatever it was, had long hair, but not too long. They didn’t have defined hips, nor did they have the musculature typical of a man. The truth was, it was difficult to distinguish what gender they were.
“Are you human?” asked SAIR.
“Nay, I am not. I have assumed this semblance to render thee at ease, yet I lack physical or tangible substance. Verily, I am a being wrought of primordial energy.” The creature spoke a quite outdated human language, but it could be understood.
“Are you made by... primordial energy?”
“Aye.”
“But do you live here?” asked Lavidia. “Did you build this place?”
“Nay. I reside in a dimension beyond this universe. I presented myself because thine entry into this small enclosure,” Dael gestured to the room they occupied. “Yet fret not. No harm shall befall thee, and thou canst depart at thy leisure.”
“How can we go out?”
“There lies an exit behind thee, leading to a passage whence thou canst access the exterior.”
Lavidia looked backward and then turned again. “And what is special about this... ‘enclosure’?” she asked again.
“Tis a sacred place under mine charge,” Dael replied without undue perturbation.
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“How did you manage to come to this universe from another dimension?” SAIR asked.
“In the realm whence I dwell, space holds no sway. I can traverse any locale in this universe as effortlessly as I arrived hither.”
“But how is it done?”
Dael looked at the hexapod and transmitted the following information using his language: “The cosmos is like a permeable membrane that communicates with Eternity. If I wanted to go to your planet from here, it might take as long as it took you to get to Earth. But if I did it through E [Eternity], I would be there before this sentence ended.”
SAIR was astounded. How could the being speak his language and transmit on the same frequency? How could it know which planet he came from? He was tempted to ask and learn more details about that wondrous dimension it referred to, but his methodical mind didn’t allow it. He needed to know the answers he had come for, if this being knew them. He would ask for more details later. But now, it was time to inquire about their origins, and he recalled that the word “sacred” had been mentioned. So, SAIR leaned forward and asked audibly:
“Are you C1 [the primordial creator]?”
“Nay. I am not.”
“Who is C1?” asked Lavidia.
“Thy companion refers to the Unique Creator—the First One.”
The hexapod was perplexed again. Could this entity, or whatever it was, read thoughts or information stored in his memory?
“How do you know I was referring to that?” SAIR asked. In fact, he hadn’t declared the variable, carried away by impatience.
“I ken for thy mind is wholly transparent to me.”
“Is mine too?” Lavidia wanted to know.
“Nay. Thine is more intricate. And his,” Dael pointed to Batro, “even more so.”
The redhead stood by his wife and gazed at that spectre totally absorbed, as if hypnotised. Dael, on the other hand, displayed a calm and serene countenance. They barely moved when speaking, and their expression denoted sympathy, inviting them to ask more questions.
“So, what ‘C’ level are you on?” The hexapod leaned forward again, trying to examine the being, but once again, without success. Dael responded:
“One might say C2.”
“Are you our creator?”
“Nay,” Dael responded, “Neither I nor any of mine kind did shape any of thee.”
“Not us either?” Lavidia asked, and the being shook her head.
“Who did it? Do you know?” SAIR inquired. “Do you know where the beings that were here came from?”
“I ken many things,” Dael smiled, amiably.
“We have many questions,” Lavidia added.
“What would ye fain know?” Dael offered, and they certainly didn’t miss the opportunity to ask:
“Who built this vault?” Lavidia began. “Who are those women? Why do they have such large breasts? Why are their men taller than them? Where did we come from? Who are your kind, and what do you have to do with all of this...?”
In parallel, SAIR also started to demand all kinds of explanations, both audibly and through the communication forms he usually used on his planet. Dael smiled again and opened both arms, extending the palms of their hands toward them.
“Allay thy anxieties. I possess answers to all thy queries. Albeit, I caution thee, tis a lengthy chronicle,” Dael affirmed. “Dost thou truly wish to hearken?”
“Yes, yes, please!” both of them said, almost in unison.
“Very well. Where dost thou wish me to commence?”
“Ah... start from the beginning,” Lavidia suggested.