The Record of Unusual Creatures

Stuck alone and forgotten in the deep parts of the Vault – Hao Ren could not imagine what it was like to be in the old man’s position, but he could glean some details of the latter’s life over the past nine centuries from the things he saw inside this tiny room. He had once followed through his job through strict discipline and steely determination, because he was one of the brightest on the ark; he had once given up caring about everything, wasting time and supplies provided for him in this tiny room, because he was only human; he had then left the insincere self-discipline and meaningless squandering behind, and used the last few decades of his life to record everything he knew and all the history of his people, because he was the last “parent” of his civilization.

“I truly woke up in the later half of my life, so I had to work that much harder to make up for all the wasted time.” The old man mumbled softly. “The only encouraging fact was, I am free of the disease. Our medical experts were right. I could live a long and healthy life. This life of mine should have been used to rebuild our society, but I was stuck in this room. Hence, I spent nearly 20 years to write all those things. Our history, our culture, our traditions, where we came from, why we left our home planet … That was the longest moment of clear-headedness that I had. I worked day and night, and dreaded every new white hair that sprouted on my scalp. I nearly went mad, but I daren’t go back to the hibernation pod, because I don’t know if I would ever wake up again … I grew older and older. In the final few years, I spent nearly half an hour every day looking out that window …”

The old man pointed one trembling finger towards the side of the door. There was a small window by the door on the wall. In the days when he repeated his cycle of returning to and awakening from hibernation, that window was his only view to the outside world.

“I looked outside, and sometimes I hallucinate. The pods would open up suddenly, the children would all jump out, healthy and alive. Other times, I saw terrible things … The pods would fell onto the bridge. Blood seeped out of the pods. I completed the last of my writings while I was in this condition, and thought that it was time to rest.” The old man looked with glistening eyes towards that corner of the room, where he had spent hundreds of years in hibernation. “So I went back inside, and did not set a time to wake up this time. My flesh is already 103 years old. There was no need to wake up again.”

This was the life of the last “parent” on the ark.

When the ignorant children awoke in panic and rushed for the residential area of the sanctuary, their “parent” was still sleep. When the children were trying their best to survive in the empty city, their “parent” could only guard the empty hibernation pods. The first community started in the city in the sanctuary; the first generation of newborns arrived; the first country was created; the first division in the people happened; the first systems failure occurred; the first power failure occured; the first deep winter came; the first artificial gravity failure … When all of that happened, the last guardian of this civilization was stuck in this place, overcome by helplessness, fear, resentment, and then finally struck by hope and determination. He left records of their people’s history on the walls, starting from when he was but a young man, until he advanced into adulthood, and then into middle age, and then into old age …

In the residential area of the sanctuary, the children and their descendants lived hard lives, and in the course of 800 years had come to forgot about their origins. The only thing that connected them with the guardian in the Vault was the name of the fusion reactor at the ends of the world as they knew it – the Furnace of the Ancestors.

“Why write them on paper, and on the walls?” Lily asked curiously. “Don’t you have any specially prepared teaching material?”

“This is to preserve them longer.” The old man forced a smile. “No one is maintaining the facilities outside for so many centuries. They will break down one day. However, the writings on these papers can survive for a thousand years, and the writings on the walls can survive for 10 thousand years. As long this room remained sealed, perhaps they can survive even longer … I always believed that the children are still alive, that it was only the mainframe used to awaken them had a glitch. When they finally awaken one day, and I was long dead, they would still have my writings at least.”

The old man went quiet for a long time after he was finished. Finally, he looked at Hao Ren and broke the silence. “I’d like to ask again, are they still alive?”

“Their descendants are.” Hao Ren answered carefully.

“Oh, so it’s like that … So, many generations have came and went …” The old man nodded slowly, already having an idea of what was to come, but still he asked, “Then, are our civilization and culture still preserved?”

Everyone else in the room exchanged uncomfortable looks, until Vivian spoke through the awkwardness. “Many generations have passed … You can imagine what would happen.”

The old man was silent. He walked slowly towards the manuscripts on the desk, and declined help from both Hao Ren and Nangong Wuyue while he quietly organized and stacked all the papers together in proper order. He then tried to lift the stack, but found that he lacked the strength.

“Let me help you.” Lily rushed forward and grabbed the huge stack of papers from him. “Where to?”

“Show me … Show me the descendants of the children.” The old man looked at Hao Ren calmly and said in a neutral voice.

“You will be disappointed.” Vivian said.

The old man’s reply was simple. “I am dying.”

Hao Ren nodded. He produced a life-support collar from his dimensional pocket and passed it to the old man. “Put it on. We’ll be passing regions with high radiation. This will keep you safe.”

The old man stepped out of the room for the first time in 900 years. The moment he stepped out the room, his body shook visibly, but he declined Nangong Wuyue’s offer of support. He muttered almost stubbornly, “I want to see them myself.”

In front of the Furnace of the Ancestors, more and more people were gathering.

The Blood Wardens had sounded the alarm throughout the kingdom. Strange rumours such as the legend of the “Witches of Fire and Ice” began to spread in the military and amongst the civilians. The royals and nobles panicked. Scholars roamed the libraries and the ancient altar in search for answers. Large groups of people came from the kingdom and gathered at the empty space in front of the Furnace of the Ancestors.

The marks left on the ground by freezing air and plasma flares commanded deep respect from this ignorant and superstitious community. The strange noises coming from the Furnace of the Ancestors troubled them to no end.

When Hao Ren led the old man out of another control station high above the ground, the latter saw a sea of people before him. The people in the sanctuary formed a dense crowd in the clearing down below. They argued, worshipped, and prayed, like believers waiting for a sign from their Gods.

The huge power generator inside the Furnace of the Ancestors was fixed. The autonomous bots waited for their next instructions. Hao Ren sent a signal towards the power station. Immediately, they heard a low rumbling sound from the Furnace.

The rumbling grew louder and louder, until it finally stabilized. The people gathering at the clearing were alarmed by the sudden noise and broke into a commotion. Suddenly, the dim lights around them turned bright again. The enclosed space was illuminated. The two huge iron wheels far in the kingdom gradually started spinning. The people realized what was happening – the heart of their world had started beating again.

All of them fell to their knees, including the generals and ministers. Everyone kneeled down earnestly at the Furnace of the Ancestors, praising the arrival of light and warmth.

Beside Hao Ren, the old man watched in stupefaction. “What … What are they doing?”

“Praising the heart of their world for beating once again, praising the Gods for their gifts.” Hao Ren sighed quietly. “Vivian said that you would be disappointed – these people no longer know about the ark. Their entire world is this 100-kilometer expanse. They lived here for many, many generations, and had reverted to more primitive ways of life. The society is split into four kingdoms that are constantly in dispute. The people believed that their world is created by God, that beyond the ark is the sea. They even believed that their world was built on top of a huge tortoise …”

“Tortoise … Back in the days, in order to soothe the children, we used to tell them that the ark is like a tortoiseshell, keeping us safe.” The old man spoke softly. “At least they still remembered that.”

Hao Ran was quiet for a few seconds, but he could not help offering his opinion as an Inspector, “It is regretful, but your civilization is gone.”

The old man did not reply. He watched quietly at the people below, turning his head to the side to listen closer at the voices of these savages in ragged clothing. Suddenly, he smiled, happy as a child. “They’re still speaking in the language of their ancestors, aren’t they?”