Sitnalta
Peter had always wanted to see what lay beyond the gate, but it was forbidden. Venturing beyond the iron barrier meant certain death, they were told. Having lived all his life within the walls, he had to rely on the stories related by the elders, whose parents and grandparents had once lived on the outside.
The tales spun by the fireside at night told of wondrous things: gleaming silver castles that rose to the heavens; of magical devices that flew or sped along the ground at a breathtaking pace. At one time, people lived without walls and could travel anywhere they wished. They had even flown to the stars themselves.
That was before IT happened.
The land was tainted, he was told. Tainted by a mysterious force that had swept the planet after a collision with a gigantic asteroid. The blow had disrupted the Earth’s magnetic grids, changing the position of the axis and forever altering the face of the planet. Strange radiation emanated from the impact site, traveling along the lines of longitude until it enveloped the planet. The electromagnetic frequencies on the planet began to change; weakening and mutating into a new energy that was not compatible with biological life.
Areas where the new frequencies were strongest became ‘dead’. The old frequencies were too weak to support life in those regions anymore; vegetation died off and surviving humans were forced to move. Collecting seeds, plants and livestock in an attempt to preserve themselves and as much of their old world as possible, people migrated in a series of mass exoduses to the few regions left on Earth where the old magnetism remained strong. Several ‘power spots’ on Earth that had mystified humankind for centuries became safe havens in the face of what had the potential to be an extinction-level natural disaster.
Pockets of surviving humanity now clustered near Stonehenge, the Great Pyramids of Egypt, several temples of Mayan and other origins, Easter Island, the Hawaiian Islands and the newly located North and South Poles. Because of the polar shift, the planet’s ice caps had melted and refrozen in the areas surrounding the new poles. The movement of the ice and change in magnetics also caused the oceans to reposition themselves. Ocean floor became dry land and entire chunks of continents, including the southern half of North America, were swallowed by the sea.
It was in one of these former ocean floor regions that Peter lived. He had been born there, just as his parents had. Neither he nor his parents had ever ventured beyond the walls of the city of Sitnalta, located in the center of what had once been known as the Bermuda Triangle. The two thousand or so survivors who had colonized the site had not erected most of the buildings; the place had been a city once, long, long ago. According to the legends, it had been part of a continent that had sunk into the sea. The ruins were remarkably well preserved and served the residents well after a bit of rebuilding. The new citizens of Sitnalta built a massive wall around the majestic city. A large iron-barred gate sealed the path to the outside world. The gate was the only way through the wall. Only the Mayor of the city had the key, and he opened the gate for no one.
Peter knew that the wall was for his own protection because while the magnetic energy was strong and healthy in the middle of the Triangle, it weakened as one moved away from the site. ‘Out There’ was where the bad energy was. Peter could never go Out There because he would die. His grandfather told stories about early explorers who ventured Out There and never returned. Others had made it back to the safety of the city but they were weak and pale. They were also insane; babbling frantically in strange, disconnected words, unable to form coherent sentences. They died soon afterward.
The land outside the city was dead, and all who ventured Out There would die as well. The exact borderline between safe levels of magnetism and dangerously low levels could not be accurately measured, so the law stated that all citizens must stay inside the walls where it was safe.
Just the same, Peter longed to explore beyond the gate. From the roof of the temple, the city’s tallest building, he could glimpse parts of the world outside the city walls. It was a magical alien landscape filled with colorful rock formations, the remnants of what had once been a coral reef. Pink and white seashells covered the sparkling sand as far as the eye could see, scattered like forgotten treasure. In the distance, on the other side of the reef the mast of a ship could be seen. It begged to be explored and it was close enough to the city that it had to be safe. He dreamed of being a brave explorer, even if he couldn’t venture far from the walls.
Life wasn’t fair; he was fifteen years old – practically a man – and yet he was unable to choose where he could or could not go.
Day after day, Peter made the trek to the gate to peer through the bars, hoping to catch a glimpse of something new. Each day the same view greeted him: rocks, sand and coral. He knew that the gleaming white bones to the left of the gate were part of a massive skeleton, from a creature called a ‘whale’ that had once lived in the water. He wanted to touch the bones to see if they were as smooth as they looked. The seashells beyond the gate looked the same as the thousands of shells found within the city walls but Peter was convinced they would somehow be better.
One day, on his usual visit to the gate, he noticed something different. The iron barrier sat at a different angle than before. On closer inspection, he discovered that it was ajar!
How? More importantly, who?
Maybe it had come open on its own. He inspected the lock. It was well oiled and appeared to be functional. No, the gate had been opened by someone with a key. The only person who had a key was the Mayor. What would he be doing outside the gate, violating the very law it was his job to enforce?
Peter hesitated, hand on the gate. This was it. Here was his chance. Did he dare?
He took a deep breath and then swung the gate wide and stepped through to the other side.
“I won’t go far,” he whispered under his breath. “Just enough to see. Just to the other side of these rocks.”
Well, maybe he would go as far as the whale skeleton, but no farther. He could touch the bones and maybe take one of its teeth as a souvenir.
His legs shook as he took first one step, then another. He saw footprints in the sand leading away from the gate. They had to belong to the person who had opened the gate. They led past the rocks, away from the whale skeleton.
Just a quick look, then I’ll turn back, he thought.
He followed the footprints past the rocks and another larger group of rocks loomed in front of him. The footprints led into a narrow crevice between the rocks. He had to follow if he wanted to see what was on the other side. He looked back. The whale skeleton was getting smaller in the distance and he considered turning back. Yes, he would definitely turn back now. Just as soon as he saw what was on the other side.
Peter eased through the narrow path, trying to step softly as his feet crunched on layers upon layers of tiny seashells that had accumulated between the rocks over the many centuries the place had been part of the ocean floor. The path twisted and turned and became almost completely dark. Once again Peter considered turning back but then he saw a sliver of light up ahead. He pushed forward and the path widened until he stepped back out into the brilliant sunlight.
The footprints continued past an outcropping of rock. Peter followed. A flash of color up ahead caught his eye. As he drew closer, he saw a small red flag, planted in the sand. As he followed the path further, he saw another flag, then another. When he rounded the corner of the rock formation, he froze.
No!
It couldn’t be.
Peter stood before another wall, much like the one that surrounded his city. Set within the wall was another iron barred gate, just like the other.
What did it mean?
As Peter approached the gate, he saw that it had a sign on it. He stopped once again when he read the words on the sign:
Danger!
Point of No Return
Peter stumbled backward and rushed back toward the crevice in the rock. He’d seen enough. Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to be back inside the walls of Sitnalta, where he would be safe.
“Young man!” A stern voice spoke. “What are you doing out here?”
An old man stood near the wall, holding a strange looking device.
Peter stammered, “I… I just… I’m sorry!”
“I was finished anyway. I will walk you back,” the man said. “What’s your name, son?”
“Peter.”
“Well, Peter, you need to understand that this is no place for you to be. There is a reason you are confined to the city.”
Peter nodded. “I’m sorry. I was on my way back. I just wanted to see…” he gestured toward the wall. “What is this? Another wall?”
“Yes. And beyond that wall, there is another.”
“What? Why?”
The old man sighed.
“I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Professor John Davenport. I am a scientist. I work for the Mayor.”
“The Mayor… he has the key.”
“Yes, he is the Keeper of the Key but that is not to say that he is the only one who uses it. I have clearance to venture outside to do my work.”
“What are you doing?”
“The same thing I’ve always done, and my father before me and my grandfather before that. I am the Monitor. My job is to monitor the electromagnetic levels, the only way possible. This device was designed by my grandfather. He lived in the old world, before IT. He remembered the old technology and the way it worked. This Gizmometer is the only means we have of measuring the energy levels to determine where it is safe and where it is not.”
“So, is it? Safe, I mean. Around here.”
Professor Davenport shook his head sadly. “No. It is not.” Seeing Peter’s panicked expression, he touched the boy’s arm in reassurance. “You are not in any immediate danger, don’t worry. But, one day in the not-too-distant future this place will be dead, just like out there.” He nodded toward the gate.
“What are those?” Peter asked, pointing at the flags.
“Markers. They mark the spot where the energy begins to drop. As you can see, the weakness has already advanced into the second circle.”
“Second circle?”
“Yes. Remember, I told you that beyond this wall there is another? At one time, that was the wall to our land. Your ancestors could move freely about this area, just as you now do within the confines of the city. That was the first gate. As the weakness spread, our magnetic safe zone began to shrink. My grandfather advised that another, smaller wall be built to ensure that everyone remained well within the healthy area.”
“The safe zone shrunk?” Peter asked, alarmed.
“Come.” Davenport beckoned and walked back toward the gate. Peter followed hesitantly. The Point of No Return sign made him nervous.
“It’s ok. It’s still safe at the gate… for now. The levels are just beginning to drop in this area.”
They reached the gate and Peter stood beside the scientist to look through the bars. The boy gasped at what he saw. The meaning of it hit home all at once.
Flags.
Hundreds of them, as far as the eye could see, gradually advancing from some distant place to the gate where they stood, and beyond.
“Each flag marks the new border of the safe zone. Most of the ones you see were placed there by my father, then by me. When the red flags reached this wall, we had to pull back and build another one. The third wall was built about twenty years ago. In your lifetime, you will witness the building of another.”
Peter followed the professor back down the path toward the crevice.
As they passed the last flag, the scientist paused.
“This one,” he said, pointing at the flag, “I placed here today. The one before it, less than two years ago. It is accelerating. The smaller our circle gets, the faster it shrinks. We build the walls to keep everyone safe, but also to keep them from knowing the truth. We don’t want mass panic on our hands.”
Peter’s heart thudded in his chest. “What are you saying?”
“Isn’t it clear, boy? Our safe zone is shrinking. ALL of them are. The planet is dying and there’s not a damn thing we can do about it. Sitnalta will continue to shrink and we will be pushed closer and closer together until there is no more room to move. No more room to build walls. There will be no escape. When it reaches that point, it is written that the Keeper of the Key will open the gate and we will be locked in no more.”
Copyright © 2012 Mandy White
The tales spun by the fireside at night told of wondrous things: gleaming silver castles that rose to the heavens; of magical devices that flew or sped along the ground at a breathtaking pace. At one time, people lived without walls and could travel anywhere they wished. They had even flown to the stars themselves.
That was before IT happened.
The land was tainted, he was told. Tainted by a mysterious force that had swept the planet after a collision with a gigantic asteroid. The blow had disrupted the Earth’s magnetic grids, changing the position of the axis and forever altering the face of the planet. Strange radiation emanated from the impact site, traveling along the lines of longitude until it enveloped the planet. The electromagnetic frequencies on the planet began to change; weakening and mutating into a new energy that was not compatible with biological life.
Areas where the new frequencies were strongest became ‘dead’. The old frequencies were too weak to support life in those regions anymore; vegetation died off and surviving humans were forced to move. Collecting seeds, plants and livestock in an attempt to preserve themselves and as much of their old world as possible, people migrated in a series of mass exoduses to the few regions left on Earth where the old magnetism remained strong. Several ‘power spots’ on Earth that had mystified humankind for centuries became safe havens in the face of what had the potential to be an extinction-level natural disaster.
Pockets of surviving humanity now clustered near Stonehenge, the Great Pyramids of Egypt, several temples of Mayan and other origins, Easter Island, the Hawaiian Islands and the newly located North and South Poles. Because of the polar shift, the planet’s ice caps had melted and refrozen in the areas surrounding the new poles. The movement of the ice and change in magnetics also caused the oceans to reposition themselves. Ocean floor became dry land and entire chunks of continents, including the southern half of North America, were swallowed by the sea.
It was in one of these former ocean floor regions that Peter lived. He had been born there, just as his parents had. Neither he nor his parents had ever ventured beyond the walls of the city of Sitnalta, located in the center of what had once been known as the Bermuda Triangle. The two thousand or so survivors who had colonized the site had not erected most of the buildings; the place had been a city once, long, long ago. According to the legends, it had been part of a continent that had sunk into the sea. The ruins were remarkably well preserved and served the residents well after a bit of rebuilding. The new citizens of Sitnalta built a massive wall around the majestic city. A large iron-barred gate sealed the path to the outside world. The gate was the only way through the wall. Only the Mayor of the city had the key, and he opened the gate for no one.
Peter knew that the wall was for his own protection because while the magnetic energy was strong and healthy in the middle of the Triangle, it weakened as one moved away from the site. ‘Out There’ was where the bad energy was. Peter could never go Out There because he would die. His grandfather told stories about early explorers who ventured Out There and never returned. Others had made it back to the safety of the city but they were weak and pale. They were also insane; babbling frantically in strange, disconnected words, unable to form coherent sentences. They died soon afterward.
The land outside the city was dead, and all who ventured Out There would die as well. The exact borderline between safe levels of magnetism and dangerously low levels could not be accurately measured, so the law stated that all citizens must stay inside the walls where it was safe.
Just the same, Peter longed to explore beyond the gate. From the roof of the temple, the city’s tallest building, he could glimpse parts of the world outside the city walls. It was a magical alien landscape filled with colorful rock formations, the remnants of what had once been a coral reef. Pink and white seashells covered the sparkling sand as far as the eye could see, scattered like forgotten treasure. In the distance, on the other side of the reef the mast of a ship could be seen. It begged to be explored and it was close enough to the city that it had to be safe. He dreamed of being a brave explorer, even if he couldn’t venture far from the walls.
Life wasn’t fair; he was fifteen years old – practically a man – and yet he was unable to choose where he could or could not go.
Day after day, Peter made the trek to the gate to peer through the bars, hoping to catch a glimpse of something new. Each day the same view greeted him: rocks, sand and coral. He knew that the gleaming white bones to the left of the gate were part of a massive skeleton, from a creature called a ‘whale’ that had once lived in the water. He wanted to touch the bones to see if they were as smooth as they looked. The seashells beyond the gate looked the same as the thousands of shells found within the city walls but Peter was convinced they would somehow be better.
One day, on his usual visit to the gate, he noticed something different. The iron barrier sat at a different angle than before. On closer inspection, he discovered that it was ajar!
How? More importantly, who?
Maybe it had come open on its own. He inspected the lock. It was well oiled and appeared to be functional. No, the gate had been opened by someone with a key. The only person who had a key was the Mayor. What would he be doing outside the gate, violating the very law it was his job to enforce?
Peter hesitated, hand on the gate. This was it. Here was his chance. Did he dare?
He took a deep breath and then swung the gate wide and stepped through to the other side.
“I won’t go far,” he whispered under his breath. “Just enough to see. Just to the other side of these rocks.”
Well, maybe he would go as far as the whale skeleton, but no farther. He could touch the bones and maybe take one of its teeth as a souvenir.
His legs shook as he took first one step, then another. He saw footprints in the sand leading away from the gate. They had to belong to the person who had opened the gate. They led past the rocks, away from the whale skeleton.
Just a quick look, then I’ll turn back, he thought.
He followed the footprints past the rocks and another larger group of rocks loomed in front of him. The footprints led into a narrow crevice between the rocks. He had to follow if he wanted to see what was on the other side. He looked back. The whale skeleton was getting smaller in the distance and he considered turning back. Yes, he would definitely turn back now. Just as soon as he saw what was on the other side.
Peter eased through the narrow path, trying to step softly as his feet crunched on layers upon layers of tiny seashells that had accumulated between the rocks over the many centuries the place had been part of the ocean floor. The path twisted and turned and became almost completely dark. Once again Peter considered turning back but then he saw a sliver of light up ahead. He pushed forward and the path widened until he stepped back out into the brilliant sunlight.
The footprints continued past an outcropping of rock. Peter followed. A flash of color up ahead caught his eye. As he drew closer, he saw a small red flag, planted in the sand. As he followed the path further, he saw another flag, then another. When he rounded the corner of the rock formation, he froze.
No!
It couldn’t be.
Peter stood before another wall, much like the one that surrounded his city. Set within the wall was another iron barred gate, just like the other.
What did it mean?
As Peter approached the gate, he saw that it had a sign on it. He stopped once again when he read the words on the sign:
Danger!
Point of No Return
Peter stumbled backward and rushed back toward the crevice in the rock. He’d seen enough. Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to be back inside the walls of Sitnalta, where he would be safe.
“Young man!” A stern voice spoke. “What are you doing out here?”
An old man stood near the wall, holding a strange looking device.
Peter stammered, “I… I just… I’m sorry!”
“I was finished anyway. I will walk you back,” the man said. “What’s your name, son?”
“Peter.”
“Well, Peter, you need to understand that this is no place for you to be. There is a reason you are confined to the city.”
Peter nodded. “I’m sorry. I was on my way back. I just wanted to see…” he gestured toward the wall. “What is this? Another wall?”
“Yes. And beyond that wall, there is another.”
“What? Why?”
The old man sighed.
“I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Professor John Davenport. I am a scientist. I work for the Mayor.”
“The Mayor… he has the key.”
“Yes, he is the Keeper of the Key but that is not to say that he is the only one who uses it. I have clearance to venture outside to do my work.”
“What are you doing?”
“The same thing I’ve always done, and my father before me and my grandfather before that. I am the Monitor. My job is to monitor the electromagnetic levels, the only way possible. This device was designed by my grandfather. He lived in the old world, before IT. He remembered the old technology and the way it worked. This Gizmometer is the only means we have of measuring the energy levels to determine where it is safe and where it is not.”
“So, is it? Safe, I mean. Around here.”
Professor Davenport shook his head sadly. “No. It is not.” Seeing Peter’s panicked expression, he touched the boy’s arm in reassurance. “You are not in any immediate danger, don’t worry. But, one day in the not-too-distant future this place will be dead, just like out there.” He nodded toward the gate.
“What are those?” Peter asked, pointing at the flags.
“Markers. They mark the spot where the energy begins to drop. As you can see, the weakness has already advanced into the second circle.”
“Second circle?”
“Yes. Remember, I told you that beyond this wall there is another? At one time, that was the wall to our land. Your ancestors could move freely about this area, just as you now do within the confines of the city. That was the first gate. As the weakness spread, our magnetic safe zone began to shrink. My grandfather advised that another, smaller wall be built to ensure that everyone remained well within the healthy area.”
“The safe zone shrunk?” Peter asked, alarmed.
“Come.” Davenport beckoned and walked back toward the gate. Peter followed hesitantly. The Point of No Return sign made him nervous.
“It’s ok. It’s still safe at the gate… for now. The levels are just beginning to drop in this area.”
They reached the gate and Peter stood beside the scientist to look through the bars. The boy gasped at what he saw. The meaning of it hit home all at once.
Flags.
Hundreds of them, as far as the eye could see, gradually advancing from some distant place to the gate where they stood, and beyond.
“Each flag marks the new border of the safe zone. Most of the ones you see were placed there by my father, then by me. When the red flags reached this wall, we had to pull back and build another one. The third wall was built about twenty years ago. In your lifetime, you will witness the building of another.”
Peter followed the professor back down the path toward the crevice.
As they passed the last flag, the scientist paused.
“This one,” he said, pointing at the flag, “I placed here today. The one before it, less than two years ago. It is accelerating. The smaller our circle gets, the faster it shrinks. We build the walls to keep everyone safe, but also to keep them from knowing the truth. We don’t want mass panic on our hands.”
Peter’s heart thudded in his chest. “What are you saying?”
“Isn’t it clear, boy? Our safe zone is shrinking. ALL of them are. The planet is dying and there’s not a damn thing we can do about it. Sitnalta will continue to shrink and we will be pushed closer and closer together until there is no more room to move. No more room to build walls. There will be no escape. When it reaches that point, it is written that the Keeper of the Key will open the gate and we will be locked in no more.”
Copyright © 2012 Mandy White