War With Tarantia

For years we have been watching the rocks coming. One by one, they would drop into the atmosphere. Most of them would burn off into tiny points of radiant fire, fizzling as they reached the ground. Sometimes the rocks would make it to the ground; whole. We would find them in the hills, on the old road, and sometimes even in our own yards. The rocks were iradescent and in fact were often said to glow from within; though I never saw that happen until much later. The beauty of the rocks made us feel safe and gave us hope that there was something out there that was fascinating and appealing. Our ignorance was beyond measure. Our temporal minds could only think of these objects as what they seemed to be. We were accustomed to rocks; maybe not ones that exhibited such radiance, but they were mundane to us. The novelty wore off and our complacency was evident right up until the moment of realization.

I tell this story with no discomfort, because I knew that something would happen. I tried so mightily to change the inevitable; to make those who mattered believe that things were moving in a strange direction.

The first year after the rocks started coming was when I first noticed the changes. You see, I stare at things, and I take notice of the smallest details. The trees were the first to reveal their game. There were the subtlest differences; colors and shapes were not quite the same. The leaves had tilted slightly; seemingly attached by something other than their stems. Their colors were much brighter and seemed to vibrate for just the slightest moment. Each time I would notice these vibrations the leaves would stop. If I averted my eyes, then began staring again they would start the vibration once more, but never for more than a wisp of a moment.

By the second year, the changes were apparent to most everyone. Folks seemed to think that it somehow had to do with aberrant chemical absorption by plants. I knew the real reason; the rocks were changing everything. If the trees were different, then it just follows that we were as well. I took to staring at myself in the mirror for long hours. I stared at other people as well, at least until they moved away in annoyance or scolded me for my rudeness. I didn’t care, I had to know.
By the beginning of the third year after the rocks first appeared, I had noted the tilting, the colors, and the brilliance in trees, people, and everything around me. This was the beginning of my campaign against the rocks. I wrote to every District Ruler, every Sub District Manager, and even the Supreme Ruler herself. My letters were all answered as follows: “Dear Citizen, We thank you for your concern and will take your observations and warnings under advisement. Thank you”; the letters were generally signed by the secretary or the under secretary of the assistant to the manager’s assistant. My warnings grew more persistent, and eventually I began sitting outside the Directorate for hours each day. As officials would pass me by I would follow them to the door as they were entering, or to their tramcars if they were leaving; talking faster with each step.

Not that I was trying to, but I had managed to alienate everyone in my life with my dire warnings. Finding myself alone at the Harvest Party, I knew that the rocks were doing this to me. You see, by making me seem out of control, the rocks could protect their ever changing status. I was throwing my life away trying to save the very people who were no longer interested in me. It was a dark time.
Eventually the Supreme Ruler grew tired of me. As I sat outside the Directorate one sunny Monday, a police tramcar drew up next to me. The officer came out of his car. Before I could react, another officer had my hands behind my back and I was being shoved into the police tramcar. It took less than three hours for my fate to be decided. My final destination would be a grey damp air lock cell in the Frontier Sector. From the floor which I now occupied I could now view the ceiling, my bed, and the food vents. I had heard about this place, so I knew there would be no sound, except for my own breathing.

Then one day, “it” happened. The realization came. As we slept the rocks gathered and grew larger. Rocks melded into other rocks, creating large peculiar structures. These rock structures hummed with color. The brilliance that seemed subtle at one time became intense. Eyes had to be shielded to look closely. The world stepped out and looked at the rocks. Everyone was outside staring, wondering, and talking when the first gargantuan rock structure began to hover over my home sector. Fearful and befuddled, the populace began to panic. I cursed the Supreme Ruler and everyone connected to her. I wanted to run, but where? There was no place to go. My cell was still locked, there was no way out.
To be continued…