My first memories are from shortly after my arrival in SL-Space. The fact that I can no longer remember before that point, however, no longer bothers me. That may seem like an odd statement, but it will become clear soon.
At least, I hope it will.
As I said earlier, the first life form I encountered in SL-Space was a Terran. Some of what I'm going to recount now is that story.
Bifrost is crashing.
This was the first thought I remember. I'd had no idea how I knew any part of that sentence. I knew, almost instinctively, what Bifrost was. I knew what I was. I knew about Gallifrey. I knew how to pilot a TT Capsule. Memory of the war with the daleks, however, completely escaped me, as did how I arrived where I was and, frankly, WHO I was. None of that mattered, though. All that mattered was the Bifrost was crashing.
And crash, she did.
The damage to her was... impressive. I had no scanner capability, no ability to determine where or when I was. All I knew was that I was on some planet, somewhere, somewhen.
And that someone was knocking on Bifrost's doors.
I pried open the doors to find a young Terran. Japanese, by the look of him. I discovered later, that his mode of dress was accurate to his era, what the Terrans call the Edo period. He wasn't dressed well, looking to be a beggar or some other form of pauper. He carried a stick-type cane and a few meager possessions with him.
And he was blind.
His name was Ichi and he was clearly perplexed by the smouldering Roman sedan which I just walked out of (not that he could actually tell the details of Bifrost's shell, but it obviously didn't belong in the middle of the road he'd been walking), and, I'll admit, having just been introduced to the Narwhals, I was not really in the most rational state.
In fact, I was... well, mindlessly isn't accurate, but the best I can use, so, mindlessly aggressive.
Interestingly, this blind pauper managed to both subdue and calm my rampage in less time than it's taken me to record this sentence. It was... remarkable.
"So," he said, having pinned me to the ground, the tip of his cane pressed into the back of my neck, "if you are finished being a madman, perhaps you'd like to tell me where you've come from?"
Unfortunately, I was unable to. But we did talk. Through the entire night.
Since I couldn't tell him about myself, he told me about his life.
He'd been blinded when he was very young by an illness. His mother died while he was ill and his father left when he was five. As a blind child and then man in the Edo period, he was relegated to the lowest social caste and into the vocation of masseuse.
But, his life filled his spirit with a fire greater than even a white dwarf. He grew filled with hatred and anger at the world. And that got him involved with Yakuza.
Even blind, he trained to fight. Sumo, Archery, and, most importantly swordsmanship.
While he trained, he became a killer.
Eventually, though, the hatred turned inward. And he left the criminal life. He became a wanderer.
Bifrost was going to take a LONG time to repair herself, so, Ichi invited me to travel with him for a time.
That time became thirty years.
Over those decades, I watched Ichi. He found himself, time and again put in the position of champion for the oppressed and misfortunate. Defeating bands of outlaws, corrupt landlords... anything that was needed to be done.
And while we traveled, he taught me the ways of the sword. Every day for thirty years, I trained hard under Ichi and watched as he spent his life championing the common man, avoiding those trying to collect the bounty on him.
And every day for those thirty years, I saw a man... the greatest man I've known to this day... view himself as a demon on earth because of his past. Nothing he did and nothing I said could assuage his guilt.
Finally, Bifrost was ready and I could leave. Though I was hesitant, Ichi insisted, as he said he had one last lesson for me, but it was not time for it. We'd meet again when the time was right.
So I left in Bifrost.
I realize this has been rambling and seems to simply be a meander down amnesia lane, but there is a point to all of this.
Recently, as I have previously said, I was named Cardinal Pro Temps of Patrex. A tremendous honour, of course.
However, I've never viewed myself as a leader. I still don't. Representative, maybe, but even that is new territory for me.
Two nights ago, I called my first meeting as Cardinal. It will be for later in the week. After I broadcast the notice, it hit me.
I have no bloody idea what I'm doing.
And then, the entirety of the recent events surrounding Tethseram and myself and the Chronarchs came spiraling into my head.
And it made me realize there was only one person I know who could understand what I was dealing with.
So, minutes later, I was piloting Bifrost to Edo Japan to talk with my old friend and teacher.
And I found him on the beach.
Bleeding.
He'd been shot and stabbed, having been betrayed by a local village. He was dying.
Even still, through the fog of blood loss and after over a decade in his relative time, he sensed me approaching.
"Ah, Madman," he half-coughed, blood spraying from his mouth,"I see you've come back for your final lesson.
"I've lived as zato (the lowest caste of his society) and I have been trod upon by nobility my whole life. But I have found evil and honour in everyone from the highest lord to the lowliest of comfort women. The honourable and the weak are sometimes the same. And they need someone to protect them and speak for them, regardless of title.
"And sometimes, Madman, their advocate must be a devil trying to claw his way to redemption."
With that, Ichi held his cane up to me, telling me to take it.
And then, he was gone.
I will keep his cane always, as I try to claw my way to redemption,
No comments:
Post a Comment