A Paradox in Retrograde by John Faherty Read Free Book Online Page A

The sounds of crashing waves and of crackling
embers created a symphony as he stared into the rising plume.
Suddenly into his field of vision flew a craft of unknown design.
His ears now were full with an obnoxious sound of its motor. He
could feel its base rumble in the pit of his stomach as the craft
passed speedily overhead. He abruptly stood and ran off into the
direction of the trailing lights of the speeding craft. He followed
it, running and waving his arms, along the ring of the beach until
he ran out of land. He stood there, hyperventilating, knee deep
in water and watching its taillights blink until they disappeared
into the distance. Glowing there at the edge of the horizon were
the telltale lights of civilization casting its illumination far out to
sea. From his belt he removed his binoculars as to estimate their
distance. With careful observation he correctly assumed the lights
to be of a medium sized coastal town perhaps thirty kilometers to
the west. He determined now he would have to make the journey
across the water. Returning to his capsule he spent the night looking up into the stars until he fell asleep dreaming for the first time
in millennia.
    As morning arrived he wasted little time and began to cannibalize
the capsule. It was then he noticed something he had not before
seen. In contrast there upon the sarcophagus under a heavy patina
lay in gold inlay a set of symbols. He reached out his hand and
traced with his finger over the surface of the script. As his fingers
moved the sounds these symbols represented rang in his latent
mind a distant chord, both familiar and mysterious. He could not
tell for sure what strange meaning was held there, for he spoke
the words that formed in his mouth "Hector the King." He shook
his head in denial while turning away from that which he had no
capacity to remember.
    With a renewed sense of urgency he removed from the capsule
the metallic cloth which was used to raise the capsule. From it he
began fashioning a rudimentary sail to hang from a make shift
mast that he lashed to the capsule. He did not bother with supplies for he thought with luck it would take a day at most to sail
across the portion of sea that separated him from those distant
lights. With his preparations complete and without much ado, he
pushed the dark capsule back into the blue surf and pushed off
from the beach with an oar he carved from a bambootrunk.
    The sea was mild and the warm breeze ruffled the sun lit fabric as
the tiny craft plied the gently rocking waves. Sheltered from the
sun beneath the fronds of palm he rowed out into the open sea in
hopes of catching a favorable wind. Before long his sail had
caught the westward wind. Our traveler watched as the day grew
older and the outlines of the distant city grew more distinct on the
horizon. By the early evening before him the great body of the
sun sat heavily over the lands of the western islands. As the sunlight faded he took a moment to write another note in his journal,
"Day two: I have in my makeshift raft reached overthe horizon to
the city on the far side of this expanse. I know not if I will find
there descendants of our experiment, or a rabble of pirates. I
have little choice but to assume this is my best chance at finding
the truth."
    To those who witnessed this image from the shore, the visage
of the golden sail shining like a mirrored orb afloat upon the
placid sea, were much impressed. The craft was still some distance off the shore as the sun was swallowed into the horizon.
He grew chilled in the darkness as the cool night air caressed his
sun burned skin. From exhaustion he drifted once again into
unconsciousness. After an interminable time he was jarred
awake by the shock of an abrupt landfall. His craft had run
aground upon a course of white sand. Still groggy from his long
ordeal and exposure, laden in his somnambulist's armor, he
stepped reluctantly into the tepid water. Leaving behind his
makeshift craft he walked up the slope