The door was enormous and ornately carved. The solid wooden surface was covered with ancient Brunnen-G symbols some I recognized and others were a complete mystery to me.
"It is a record of our history from the very moment when we first became aware of ourselves as a people. Look here." The elder Kai pointed to a symbol that I knew well the Iris, sign of the Divine Order. It appeared again and again in the record almost always alongside the symbol for a name I recognized, Kai.
The elder Kai pointed to the symbol "Here is my story. I was 75 years old when Duha'naur was destroyed. It was a stroke of luck that the insects chose to attack during the Festival of the Time Prophet. Most of the warriors who lived there had left to make the journey to the lands of their birth clans as was the custom, the city was mostly deserted. But the destruction was more than the Brunnen G would tolerate, our blood cried out as a people to fight back. And we entered the war."
I remembered my classes as a child on Brunnis 2. I recited the history every Brunnen G child had learned, "Duha'naur, the political and cultural hub of the Brunnen G warrior caste was attacked and destroyed by the insects just prior to Brunnis entering the insect war. It was the destruction of Duha'naur that finally moved the Council of Matriarchs to enter the war.' We were taught that Brunnis would have broken out in civil war if they had refused."
"It was war either way. Fight the insects or fight each other. The warriors had been petitioning the council for 25 years to join the war. The artists were arguing for peace and the politicians were sitting on the fence. We knew it was only a matter of time before the insects attacked Brunnis. Many had convinced themselves that if we just kept our heads down the insects would leave us alone. When they attacked Duha'naur it proved that we warriors had been right all long, it also stirred so many people to scream for revenge the council was left with no choice.
Warriors left Brunnis and traveled to distant worlds. We brought with us the insect based technology that we had developed. That technology and the fact that we understood the insects turned the tide of the war. 50 years later only a handful of insects survived. Many wanted to declare victory at that point but the warrior caste knew that they would rise again if even one escaped. A handful of 'romantic fools' as they were called, set off to hunt them down.
Then the last two insects in the Dark Zone were hunted down, one you would call Gigashadow and a nymph. Those romantic fools almost succeeded in their mission. The young one escaped into the Light Universe. But the Gigashadow was destroyed along with the fractal core that allowed the young one to escape. The cost was high. No warrior who left on that mission ever saw Brunnis again except in the Dream Zone. It was the end of that cycle of time."
"You were one of those romantic fools? You died hunting them down."
"Yes and no I was one of the 'romantic fools' but I died destroying the fractal core the young one escaped through. When I destroyed the portal The Gigashadow was attempting to follow its offspring into the Light Universe. I destroyed the fractal core, The Gigashadow and myself. I managed to send a message back to Brunnis telling of the existence of this fractal core seconds before my 'death'. It is why the scientists on Brunnis were able locate one and make plans to escape when it became apparent that our world was dying." The Elder Kai closed his eyes for a moment remembering. "I destroyed the Gigashadow but I also gave the scientists the information that led our people into the Light Universe where the struggle would continue."
He pointed to another spot in the history "That cycle is your story, the destruction of our people after they had totally forgotten who they were. All except for a handful of Newborns had turned out to be completely worthless. The 'leader' of these young people was the rebellious young Kai, who dared to venture beyond the planetary shields. Who tried in vain to rally a bunch of decrepit old farts to find the backbone that they had lost. What were you, 35 years old? None of you were over 40. Even before the Scientists unlocked the secret of immortality the average life span of a Brunnen G was 200 years. You were children dying like blooded warriors while your elders died like cowards. This cycle has finally ended."
I pointed at the Iris that appeared after the end of my own story. "The Divine Order remains? Why?"
The Elder Kai thought to himself how naïve are the young. "The Divine Order in some form has been there since the beginning of time, just as the Brunnen G have been there since the beginning of time. The names may change over the eons but it is still the same two entities battling for the universe. You are the last of the first bloodline to face the insects. You also allowed the insects to escape ultimate destruction. When the Light Universe was destroyed a presence came through the portal with the LEXX. It was called Mantrid. This is the story yet to be recorded, the next battle between mankind and insect. The struggle now continues. That is for the future, for now you must face your past. She is waiting for you inside. The huge door slowly swung open.