Chapter 17: The Glory of the Ancestors
As the light and shadow flowed, and when he jumped out of the wormhole again, Neil found him and Schimer standing on a rock wall facing the sea.
The rock face is steep and sloping into the narrow fjord. The sea was stirred by the wind and crashed wildly against the rock face, and at the end of the sea, the tidal flats on the other side of the fjord could be seen covered with large white grains of fine sand that stretched to the end of the view.
The huge sun scorched the earth in the sky, accompanied by the manic waves, making people feel as if they were at the end of the world.
Schimer was silent, facing the sea as if waiting for something. Not long after, a few ragged humans loomed into the depths of the desert on the other side of the strait, staggering as if they had been on a long journey.
Immediately afterwards, more and more people flocked to the coast, including men and women, old people and children, as well as cattle, sheep, chickens, dogs and other livestock, which were densely packed on the coast for a while.
Neil noticed that the group was led by a tall old man dressed in a tattered red robe, holding a wooden staff, and with white hair.
The crowd gathered around him, shouting loudly, some shouting angrily, others crying in low sorrow.
The red-robed elder struggled to separate the crowd, walked to the shore, and fell to his knees with a thud, his hands stretched out, his face raised to face the air, his eyes slightly closed, as if he was looking into the sky and praying reverently.
The crowd gradually quieted down, and everyone's eyes shifted to the red-robed elder, some of them silently closed their eyes, trembled their lips and prayed silently with the red-robed old man, and there were still a little tears on their cheeks.
The seabirds in the sky fluttered and swirled above their heads, and the waters in front of them set off huge waves one layer after another.
Suddenly, at the end of the line, a little farther from the shore, the crowd began to stir up, and they shouted loudly and crowded forward in a panic, as they heard the sound of galloping horses' hooves, the clattering of chariots, and the sound of shouts of slaughter coming from behind them.
The crowd of fugitives began to panic again, and some even stepped into the raging sea in the face of the huge waves, ready to swim across the water in a hurry.
Neil on the other side of the strait looked nervously at the panicked crowd, and he noticed that the red-robed old man, who had been kneeling on the ground and praying, slowly stood up and firmly stretched out the wooden staff in his hand straight to the sea.
Suddenly, a black saucer-shaped spaceship faintly appeared in the clouds above Neil's head, and the spaceship flew over the sea and began to make a loud noise, at the same time, the sea water under the spaceship suddenly tumbled as if it was boiling, perpendicular to the direction specified by the old man in the red robe, and the turbulent sea water was like a peeled artichoke to the two sides, and the waves became more and more fierce, until the dark brown seabed of the seabed was exposed. It is a wall of water tens of meters high and restless formed by rolling waves.
Neil was stunned by the scene in front of him, and there was no doubt that this supernatural spectacle was a real miracle!
The red-robed old man turned around and shouted to the crowd behind him, and then he strode down the exposed seabed, walking firmly towards the opposite shore, and the others followed closely behind him into this underwater passage.
The raging waves kept rolling around the crowd, making a loud noise. If the sea deprived of the support of its mysterious power, it would easily swallow up the crowd of people who had crossed the sea, but everyone seemed to have forgotten their fears, followed the old man firmly, and walked towards the depths of the sea without hesitation.
The desert behind the crowd was filled with smoke and dust, the sound of horses' hooves and shouts of killing became louder, and a group of soldiers in chariots appeared on the horizon, about three or four hundred people.
The group of men with square scarves on their heads, naked and white linen skirts around their waists, pedaling on grass shoes, and holding spears and shields, pursued them with great vigour.
By the time they reached the shore, the people who had crossed the sea had already walked most of the strait under the sea, and the soldiers on the chariots were so frightened by the sight of the seabed in front of them that they were holding back their horses.
On the first chariot, a brightly armored officer shouted at the frightened soldiers, who then took their carved bows from their backs, mounted their feathered arrows, and shot them into the sea.
The arrows broke through the air and drew countless arcs, flying towards the group of half-crossed fugitives, but just as the arrow cluster was about to hit the backs of the fugitives at the end of the team, they only heard the black spaceship in the air buzz for a while, and the arrows shot by the soldiers seemed to touch an invisible barrier, and fell to the ground one after another behind the people crossing the sea.
The soldiers who shot the arrows were shocked, and they fired several arrows in quick succession. The leading officer waved his spear and shouted, and the soldiers began to drive the chariot down the seabed in pursuit of the fleeing people in front.
Just as the last fugitive to cross the sea climbed onto the shore and the pursuing soldiers were almost on the other side, the black spaceship in the air suddenly swirled, and disappeared into the sky in an instant; At the same time, the water walls tens of meters high on both sides of the passage pressed towards the soldiers on the seabed with overwhelming momentum, and the sea water bridged, the passage disappeared, and the hundreds of soldiers on the bottom of the sea with their chariots and horses disappeared into this world like ants under the rainstorm, and only the sea that remained was still churning and surging waves.
The frightened fugitives were like a dream. They were surrounded by the shore and could not disperse for a long time.
The red-robed old man stretched out the wooden staff in his hand to the sky, and the people around him gathered around him, kneeling on the ground, admiring the great miracle and celebrating his escape.
Someone began to shout the name of the red-robed old man loudly, and everyone echoed in unison, and the sound of cheers rose higher and higher.
The shouts of "Moses, Moses" resounded throughout the sky. As twilight slowly approached, the fleeing Israelites gradually left the coast in search of camping spots, and Schimer patted Neil on the shoulder, and Neil came to his senses from the sight.
Schimer whispered in Neil's ear, "This is the history that really happened, and I really hope you can reproduce the glory of your ancestors." Then he walked down the mountain road to the beach below, Neil silently following Schimer.
On the coast, Schimer no longer does Neil's ideological work, and Neil doesn't want to ask Schimer anything more.
Two people, one high and one low, were silent, standing together in the direction of the sea. Faced with the raging ocean, Neil's mind is also as chaotic as churning waters: tall and strong aliens, a strange world thousands of years ago, Neil feels like he has nowhere to run, and he doesn't know what he can do other than agree to Schimer's request.
It quickly darkened, and Schimer took out some small white rounds and handed them to Neil, who realized that he hadn't eaten or rested in a long time.
"This is manna," Schimer said,
"After you've eaten, take a break. Neil, this trip I want you to take back to the ancient earth, what I want you to see, what I want to say to you, that's all of the above. Whether you think about it or not, tomorrow morning, I will take you back to the moon. Neil, relax, trust me, I won't force you to do anything from beginning to end. Schimer gently handed the cake to Neil, the corners of his mouth turned up, and a smile that made Neil shudder in his eyes...... Neil and Schimer stood silently facing the sea, like two silent stone statues.
All Neil saw in his eyes and heard in his ears was the churning and roaring waves. At this moment, he finally has the opportunity to reflect on everything that has happened in the past few days.
The foot he stepped on the moon was like a switch, triggering everything that was absurd and bizarre.
Neil wished it was a dream, and he could return to the lunar module with a shake of his head, and when he turned around, he could see Buzz sitting beside him, but at this moment, he was standing awake in this dream, and he could never wake up.
A hundred thoughts flashed through Neil's mind, but his feet remained in place, he didn't know what he could do as a weak human other than follow the guidance of the powerful Drowin in front of him.
He already knew in his heart that everything he had experienced was arranged by the Dzorkins, who were not benevolent elders or enthusiastic guides, and at the end of this fantastic journey, they finally threw what they wanted to Neil clearly—
"As a human god, return to the earth"! Neil couldn't imagine what that meant, but he told himself in his heart that it would be a disaster.
Even if the other party is a god who once created himself. At this moment, Neil finally experienced more deeply the confusion and absurdity that Schimer felt when he described the longing of the ancient humans who were taken to work on the moon to stay with the Dzorkins for a long time, because of the walk with God
"Glory", he already felt it at the moment. The return of our god to earth is so beautiful by Schimer, but is this really what humanity wants?
If a dog is attached to its owner, what is the mood of a wolf? Or is it a person?
As much as we often pray to God, do we really want God to be there for us, to herd our bodies and guide our souls like shepherds to their flocks?
Oh, my God! Neil didn't want to think about it anymore. As a human being, he knew very well that he did not want such a life, no matter how merciful the shepherd was, even if he was the head of the flock.
Calm down and analyze carefully, there are still many doubts in the whole thing that Neil can't understand. Neil believes that with the level of science and technology of the Zolgins, it should not take too much effort to conquer the humans on the earth, so why do they have to take great pains to choose an individual who represents all human beings, and take great pains to explain to him the ins and outs of the past and present lives between the Zolgin and humans, and they must uphold the spirit of an elegant gentleman and take the trouble to conclude a so-called agreement with him?
Are they really such a noble race that hates stupid wars and gratuitous killings?
If this is the case, then if you refuse to make this agreement with them, can they easily give it up?
Also, why did this happen only after I landed on the moon? If returning to Earth wasn't a whim decision by Schimer or the other Drowkins, then why hadn't they been seen doing anything in all the time they had been on the moon, and had the event triggered the moment they landed on the moon?
In addition to that, Neil once again thought of the mysterious chamber he had fallen into when he had just landed on the moon, and the strange sound that penetrated his brain.
Most of what the voice said at the time had been forgotten by Neil, but he vaguely remembered that the voice had mentioned that everything lost would eventually be lost, and while Neil was completely confused, it also showed that the background of the moon must be far from being as simple as Schimer described...... All of this turned Neil's mind into a mess, and he couldn't figure out a clear idea.
Neil and Schimer stood like this for an unknown amount of time, until the sun had long since sunset, and the surroundings were completely covered in darkness.
Neil looked up at Schimer beside him, the robed counterpart resembling a giant white ghost in the darkness.
Do you want to just ask him for these doubts? No, my inner instinct told Neil not to confess his secrets to Schimer, he was a god above himself, with means and ends beyond himself, and he was not a friend to whom he could be trusted.
At this moment, all Neil can do is be silent...... When Neil opened his eyes again, the sun had just glimmered in the east, and he had fallen asleep at some point last night, and had another night of strange dreams.
Schimer was lying on his side next to him, his right hand on his head, his eyes slightly closed, and his nose snoring slightly, presumably asleep before waking up.
Neil sat up straight, the thought of running away flashed through his mind, but he immediately vetoed himself: if he escaped and was caught by Schimer, the situation would be even worse; And even if he managed to escape from Schimer, would he just stay here and be a prehistoric human for the rest of his life?
Neil's gaze unconsciously turned to Schimer's wrist, but he could only see the wide sleeves of his robe.
Neil smiled bitterly and turned his gaze into the distance, where the morning sun shimmered against the sea, and several long-legged seabirds were looking for food on the shore, and suddenly, Neil's eyes flashed, and he was surprised to find that on the beach in the distance, two strange-looking people were bouncing towards him.