Here is a new chapter. I hope you like it; it has been very fun to write, so I wish to hear from you.

As most Fan fiction writers, I die for curiosity on hearing about your opinion.
Please! Comment! We are almost at the middle of the story, so there is much more to come.
Thanks for reading.

Javier Delgado

The Order of the Mortal Knights
by Elnauhual

Fan fiction, based on the characters and universe of "Oh my goddess" by Kōsuke Fujishima.

Chapter X

The tears of Hild

It was dusk in the department of Dr. Shugahara, but he was oblivious to the passage of time. He wore some advanced 3D active glasses that allowed viewing of stereographic in his computer screen. In front of him he could see, like floating in mid-air, a number of complex symbols that changed drastically with just adjusting a few parameters. He examined them with attention, and tried several combinations in order to found the best way to recover the information.

Those symbols were the runes of the manuscript of Urth. He had finally discovered the secret to extract the hidden information. It had been so easy and yet it would have been incomprehensible to anyone before the twentieth century. The runes written on paper were just two-dimensional representation of a language written in multiple dimensions. Just as the drawing of a cube is two-dimensional representation of an object in three. Those runes were representing symbols possibly from a 10 dimensional frame. And there was something marvelous, it really was possible to extract the information from the other dimensions, using relatively simple processing algorithms, and now he had gained access to the hidden information. He could extract the information they contained.

He looked at the pages of the manuscript given to him by the Professor Danielsen and smiled. True, it had instruction to translate the runes, but only in the most basic level, the level where they were the potions, the procedures and the ingredients, and while there were some marvelous formulas there, he found they were only the tip of something much richer.

Unfortunately, the author of the notes had no idea of the complexity of what he saw; even the most advanced mathematics of his time would have been useless. The concept of hyper-geometry would take still centuries to be developed.

But those notes had aroused his curiosity. He had hoped that the team of Professor Danielsen would decipher it and therefore had made no previous attempt, but now without him, he had decided to take the case personally.

Possibly a few months ago would not be able to do it, but after discovering the multidimensional properties of the extract of the Urd´s flower, he had been toying with the concepts of higher dimensions. This writing was a much richer and complex than any human system. If indeed Urd was a goddess, she belonged to a world of hyper geometry, and her writing had to be the same.

But now had several dilemmas to resolve. He had expected to found preparations, recipes, some legends and songs, and that's what was on the first level of the runes, but in the hidden levels there were much more. He had only translated some fragments, yet he had never expected something like what he had found. There were references and strange tales of a world called "Hell" and governed by Nidhogg and another which could be translated as Heaven, governed by Yggdrasil, but this was not described as the universal tree of Norse mythology he knew, but seemed to refer to something quite inconceivable for the time. Yggdrasil and Nidhogg were described as supercomputers.

There were fantastic stories about those two worlds that seemed opposed, stories that were written the certainty of someone who had lived on both. Not only that, they were also accurate, and very personal reflections. Thoughts from someone who clearly knew both worlds.

There were also references to a confrontation between those two worlds. A confrontation of such dimensions that the universe, not only this, but even other parallel universes, had been in danger, but still found no reason for the confrontation. But after all he had only seen superficially the content.

If those were the reflections of Urd, then this manuscript was something very personal and should not be read without her permission. Even more, he could not help but feeling guilty for not having delivered directly the manuscript to Urd, but due to the strong reaction of Urd to the past, he had decided to check it first. And of course, there was also her reaction to meet Professor Danielsen. Therefore decided to ensure it does not recur. Already he had two weeks with this material and finally was beginning to understand its content.

The second dilemma is that maybe it would imply to withhold his translation method from his colleagues. For a scientist the idea of withholding information from a colleague is almost inconceivable, and yet, maybe he would have to it. He could leave them the manuscript of Professor Danielsen but not the concept of multiple dimensions that was the key to decrypt it fully.

He leaned on his chair, took the cup of tea beside him, and gave a slow sip. He let the aroma and flavors to flood him a moment, and concentrate on it. That helped him to relax and meditate.

After a few more sips, He took a decision. He stopped the visualization software and removed the electronic glasses. He would give all the material to Urd and let she decide. After all those were the instructions given to Professor Danielsen. He was very curious and would like to decipher it, but he should consult Urd, if she had really written it. He loved her too much and felt that it he did not consult to her, it would be like a betrayal of that love.

Then looked at the second manuscript. It was very different; it must have been a later addition to the manuscript of Urth. There was the story of how it passed from hand to hand, as they had learned some formulas were copied and disseminate them as others had been hidden. Those were the stories of several generations of keepers, to end abruptly, apparently the last guardian had died without inheriting its secrets and the manuscript was lost, to be located centuries later by the software of the doctor in the monastery. This manuscript was written in the conventional Latin alphabet and presented no problem for translation.

Those were stories of those who had the manuscript in their hands. He knew some of those stories by other references, but to see them written by those who had lived was quite different. And the pictures it had been also very special.

He had been able to read and it had been the key to understand the reaction of Urd when heard his account of the history and the impact had caused the professor Danielsen. The doctor could not keep his eyes dry at the touch of this manuscript. Maybe it would cause more pain to Urd, but it was necessary she would read it.

Finally the doctor stored the two manuscripts in a protective case, stretch his arms, and give a big yawn, he was beginning to feel the tiredness of the day. He was about to turn off your computer when an unexpected email arrived. It was from Professor Shubashini Sripathi from India. What could be? He did not remember any recent work with him. He opened it; it came in very proper English.

Dear Dr. Kenji Shugahara

Firstly I want to thank you for your hospitality and for the company of your beautiful and educated companion. Please give my regards to Miss Urd. Tell her soon I will send the texts of Medicine, I promised. But I hope not to abuse your patience; I have my doubts even write about it.

The reason of this mail is a strange story I found in a local blog from a young man who has just come to study medicine at university where I teach.

Ordinarily I would not have paid attention, except that mentions a young woman with marks on her face, very similar to those of Miss Urd. If not for that, I had not dared to call your attention to this, but I'm sure you would be interested. I annex the original direction of the blog in Hindi and attached an English translation by my hand.

I am at your service if you want to know more.

Yours sincerely

Professor Shubashini Sripathi

MAULANA AZAD MEDICAL COLLEGE, New Delhi.

Dr. Shugahara was intrigued, what interest could have him on a blog of a student with a fantastic theme? He doubted for a moment, but Professor Sripathi was not a person to make practical jokes, so he opened the attachment.

His heart jumped when he saw the image of a card which was very familiar to him. It was identical to Skuld and Belldandy´s card, but it was not just that, it was stained with blood.

Nervously he began reading the story and gradually began to feel a cold sweat that ran down his body. When finished the story was paralyzed. He experienced something he had never felt before: Terror. The woman he loved could be in danger. His brain seemed paralyzed, he could not think of anything else.

Then he tried to calm down, he needed to analyze what he had read. First he need to make sure it was real. Quickly wrote an email asking professor Sripathi to locate the author of the blog. He would have to interview him personally. If necessary, he would go immediately to India, to meet the author.

He would have to wait for the answer, but his heart was beating fast, he had to do something more, if the danger was real, where he came from? what kind of threat could affect a goddess?.

Then he remembered the palimpsest and the information he had not dared to read. He hesitated. Maybe Urd would not like what he was going to do but could not remain passive. He opened again the visualization software and instead of just poking around after he had done before, he proceeded to meticulously extract all the hidden content. It had taken more than 10 years to find the woman he loved; now, he could not run the risk that something might happen to her.

Urd was floating in front of the old television, while it spewed its usual bland content, but this time Urd not was not putting any attention to it, her eyes were closed but she was not asleep. This was something she had not done in a long time; she was in a meditative trance in order to process her conversation with Belldandy. It had affected her deeply and she needed to ponder its consequences.

Despite her words spoken with such confidence to Belldandy, her heart was filled with anguish and this had only grown with time. She now felt anguish for Belldandy, and anguish over the fate of Keiichi. That young mortal gradually had won her confidence and her heart. In the past, the premonitions of Belldandy had been quite accurate, so she knew the danger must be real, but she did not knew what form it would take... In this state of trance she began to assess the endless possibilities, extrapolating the available data and the possible consequences.

She knew there were many strange coincidences. Including how she had met Kenji. But there were others. There was also some similarity in the aura of Keiichi and Kenji. She did not know any other human being with that kind of aura ... Or maybe she did? She remembered Sentarō. He was still very young so that his aura was not fully developed, but it began to have distinctive colors and they began to look familiar. Following the logical consequence, this would mean that there were three special mortals in love with three goddesses. It was impossible to be a coincidence! Did this mean that they too were in danger? This idea provoked such a wave of anguish and fear that Urd broke her state of meditation.

Then she opened her eyes. She knew she did not have enough information. It could be just wild speculations, but then recalled the Belldandy´s words; the mere possibilities filled her with fear. She was beginning to have the same feeling. She needed to get more information.

She took a crystal of her own earrings and began to display the information it contained. Taking advantage of the confusion of Belldandy she had made a copy of Keiichi´s file, but she had gained nothing.

She had no doubt about Keiichi´s report being generated by the predictive defense programs and it imply only them could have more information about the threat. But they had been designed to not disclose that information. Belldandy had not succeeded. But Urd was still was the sysop of Yggdrasil. She would have to enter into the core of program´s instruction in order to extract the information, no matter how many rules were broken in the process.

But she did not want to go to heaven and draw attention, at least not yet. Eventually, if necessary, she was willing to put together a hell in heaven in order to protect her sister, Keiichi and everyone she loved. Not to act in time had caused Fafnir´s death, and that would not going to happen again.

Then she saw the laptop Kenji had left to carry around a log of their work.

Maybe it would be more convenient to use the backdoor she had installed on the system. It was a pseudo website, which allowed access Yggdrasil from earth. She smiled, no one in heaven knew that, but with such access she may enter into the system without anyone knowing. Earlier she had been using the Keiichi´s computer, but the doctor's laptop was much more modern and powerful.

She Turned on the laptop and enter the domain WWW_Yggdrasil_hvn. She wrote her name and personal password, but never occurred to her check the access logs, or would have discovered Keiichi´s access. Finally she activated the console and her mind went into direct communication. She looked around the admin screens projected by the computer directly to your mind. Her mind and Yggdrasil had been created for each other. The administration screens were even much more complex than those Keiichi had seen. The system had several hundreds of thousands of concurrent processes; after all, it was responsible for maintaining stable the whole frame of the multiverses.

Some processes were simple, but others were incredibly complex. Every being in the sky had a special connection with Yggdrasil, through which he or she received his share of energy and sustenance. Thanks to that she did not need to eat or get power from another source. Also it regulated the magic levels, the permissions and levels were above all, was responsible for maintaining stable the universes. Without it, the universe would become unstable and collapse. But among those thousands of processes and functions at this time she was only concerned with one in particular.

She began to search for the daemon process of the predictive system, but instead found many unknown processes and many known process were missing. That would have required a very high level maintenance, and no one had reported her something, plus she was the one to provide such authorization.

She kept searching and searching, but could not able to locate the predictive software. Normally it should be a dozen of concurrent task that multiplied it´s number in times of crisis. Could it be they have entered in a stealth mode? Then it would be very difficult to find them without having to reboot the system and that could only happen with orders from above.

Then she tried to run the original program code, and immediately reported a run-time error. She did a quick check and found the program code was corrupt and there seemed no intact copy available. That was abnormal, but it was not all too weird. Maybe a technician had tried to update a routine and had damaged it. It would not be the first time. In the past she had managed to do such damage a couple of times while toying around with the system, that is how she had become an expert on that. Perhaps this time and unknown technician may be looking frantically for the original developer requesting an original copy.

But something told her this was not the explanation, although she would like to believe it. Urd felt a shiver at the thought of an alternate explanation. Could it be that something was deeply wrong with the system?

Urd was slowly closing the information screens while pondering what to do. She could not communicate her concerns directly, since did not want them to know she had an unauthorized access door. But she could not ignore this. She would need to go directly to Heaven and put any excuse on the administrators of Yggdrasil, to pretend that she was just discovering this problem.

In that moment, the old phone of the temple started ringing. Still immersed in her thoughts, Urd floated to answer it. It was Dr. Shugahara! It was strange that he called; they had been together just a few hours ago.

- Kenji, hello, this is a surprise, I did not expect a call from you. Is something wrong?

- I hope nothing is wrong, but I have to leave for several days, I need to go to India with Professor Sripathi. Remember him?

- Of course, a very nice person, He promised to send me some books of Hindu traditional medicine. But why so suddenly?

- There is a discovery I need to verify. It may be very important. But I prefer we talk on my return. I hope it will only for a couple of days.

- Are you going to leave your students alone? It must be very important.

- Believe me, it is, but I cannot speak about it without checking.

Urd laughed a little, the need of the doctor to verify everything, sometimes seemed an exaggeration.

- Okay, I understand. You simply need to verify this personally.

- Urd. You do not know how it much I would to be with you. I. . . I. I love you and want you to stay well. I'll be back as soon as possible.

The doctor hung up, and Urd was stumped, the doctor seemed very upset and what was all that about she wanted her to be right? Definitely something was not right. But the absence of the doctor would allow her to make a friendly visit to Peorth, the current administrator in charge of Yggdrasil.

In an alley in New Delhi, a small vehicle moved with breathtaking speed, taking into account the many obstacles in its path. It was one of those small and modern taxis that now flood the city. The doctor was traveling along Professor Sripathi towards one of the slums of the city. They were in a small three-wheeled green machine that would have fascinated the Motor Club members, but to the doctor it was extremely fragile for the treatment it seemed to receive. Although it could really not reach a high-speed, the agility of the vehicle to avoid pedestrians, bicycles and other obstacles, made him feel that speed was higher. While New Delhi had no population as big as the large Japanese cities, the poverty it was perceived in some places made the doctor to feel oppressed.

Finally they arrived to a decrepit building. They had hardly said a word along the way. Professor Sripathi still did not know why the urgency of Doctor Shugahara for contacting the student, and he was not eager to explain. Yet he respected him and accepted his silence.

They climbed to the second floor, and the Professor knocked on an old door. There was a brief exchange of words in Hindi with the occupant before the door opened. The doctor found a young face that inspired confidence. The young Somasindhu looked with apprehension to this man from abroad, he could not understand the insistence on speaking with him, but trusted professor Sripathi so let them enter.

The room had improved significantly since the young man had begun to receive his scholarship money. There was some new furniture and the cardboard boxes had disappeared. The cot had been replaced by a real bed, and the content of a small book-shelve implied the youth was interested in more things than just medicine. It was far from being a luxurious place, but there was order and cleanliness.

The young man and the professor exchanged words incomprehensible to Dr. Shugahara, but when Sripathi produced a printout with the content of blog he was obviously agitated. The doctor attempt to judge the young man. Was he stirring up for feeling guilty of having made it up? Or was he nervous about the incident.

Shugahara finally decided the young man inspired confidence. So he approached him. He move back nervously as the presence of the stranger make him feel uneasy. Then Dr. Shugahara took his card holder and drew two cards. Professor Sripathi smiled, the Japanese ritual of the cards always seemed fun to him, but the reaction of the men to the cards offered by the Dr. amazed him.

He looked and the cards with surprise and took them with a trembling hand. He examined them carefully, then looked at the doctor and tried to speak, could not articulate any word, his body trembled and his eyes were wet...

Dr. Shugahara was able to feel his pain, so he leaned over him, and despite not speaking his language, he spoke trying to reassure him. The reaction of the men at the cards of Belldandy and Skuld convinced him that the story was real.

The young man recovered, he returned the cards and then slowly walked toward a small altar on the wall that the doctor had not seen before. Then took something from there and with great reverence gave it the doctor. The doctor was shocked, the card was identical to Belldandy and Skuld´s, except it was in Hindi. He already knew the translation and the name: Giörel, first class goddess. But this card was stained. He touched the stain and felt a wave of emotion so he knew the card was authentic, he had felt the same wave of emotion when he had touched the tears of Urd.

With care, because he now understood what it meant to the young man, returned the card. He put it back on the altar, then placed his hands together and said a prayer. He returned to the doctor and spoke broken yet comprehensible English:

- Do you have a Devi?

Dr. Shugahara nodded, took the briefcase he was carrying and from there extracted a drawing. It was Urd´s portrait from the palimpsest. The young man's face became filled with tears when he saw the beautiful face and its facial marks. After a brief pause he continued speaking.

- You must protect her! Rakshasas are lurking, you must protect her. I promised to say nothing, but the life of your Devi is more important.

The doctor felt a shiver hearing this. He looked at the young eyes and saw his sincerity. He slowly began to speak to him in English.

- Help me to protect her. Tell me everything you can remember.

Somasindhu nodded and then began to tell a longer version of what he had written in his blog. His English was not very good, but enough to tell his story. Periodically he stopped to ask Professor Sripathi for some words, so Dr. Shugahara was able to understand almost everything. Finally he asked several questions, until he was satisfied and spoke to him:

- Somasindhu. I do not know how to thank you for this. I have been told your passion is medicine, but above all, to help other people. There are people I want to know. Soon you will hear more from me. Thank you.

He was deeply moved, and bowed to Somasindhu with a seriousness and ceremony that caused a profound impression on the young men. Finally the two men left the room. Somasindhu felt some relief, after all this. If he could protect from danger other Devi, he would not feel so guilty about breaking his promise to Lind. He hoped she could forgive him.

Shortly after, Dr. Shugahara and Professor Sripathi were back on the small vehicle. The doctor had not said a word, he was immersed on his thoughts, but this time, Professor Sripathi would not avoid to demand some explanations.

- Doctor Shugahara, what is all this talking about a Devi? Are you referring to Miss Urd? That drawing you showed to the boy seems ancient, yet it´s her same face. Is she a Devi?

Shugahara looked surprised to professor Sripathi. After the strong rejection by Professor Danielsen, he was surprising at the ease with which Sripathi seemed to accepted the idea

- Yes, I am convinced that she is, and I think she could be in danger.

- A Devi! a real Devi!. Surely there was something very special about her and her sisters. Her beauty is almost supernatural, her knowledge, her ability to speak other languages as if they were their mother tongue. She is not like my gods and yet there is something divine in her.

Dr. Shugahara still could not believe the words of the professor. - I do not understand. You seem to accept it very easily. Professor Danielsen immediately rejected the idea when I told him.

Professor Sripathi could not help laughing.

- Ah yes, those Westerners, seem to me that having only one god make them very close minded. Or maybe having so many gods in mine religion, makes me very open-minded to allow me to easily accept the existence of a true goddess on earth. But do not think I'm a superstitious fool, or you will underestimate yourself. I know your work and reputation. I know when you accept something, it's because you have verified it leaving little place for doubt. If you say that Urd is a Goddess. I accept it.

Dr. Shugahara nodded humbly. It was hard for him to accept that people could trust him so much.

- I thank you for accepting my word.

- And now, what you will you do? How will you protect her? What can we do, we mere mortals to fight back such powers?

The doctor had been thinking about it. How could he face something like that? The beings described the boy seemed terribly powerful and inhuman.

- I confess I do not know. But meanwhile I will ask you for favor. This young man. Will he be a good doctor?

- I have known him just for a few weeks, yet I have no doubt about it. In these few weeks I have seen in him a total commitment to his career, as if he were on a divine mission. Also he has a mysterious talent to feel and detect sickness that I do not quite understand. I wish I could do something for him; he deserves something more than our small college.

- So will you approve if I take him to Japan? I know the right people and could get him a good scholarship for one of our best universities.

Professor Sripathi was surprised; he had not expecting such a proposal

- Of course it would be great, that young man is worth much, I really appreciate it.

- Please, do not thank me. I will do it for my very own and selfish reasons. Maybe I will need him and his testimony. When I return to Japan I will begin the arrangements.

- It does not matter what are your reasons, you will do a lot of good. This young man deserves it. But returning to our problem, how to protect Miss Urd? What can we do?

Dr. Shugahara was silent and closed his eyes. For the first time in his life he felt useless and helpless. He felt all his knowledge was useless. So he tried to think on all he knew.

In the long flight to India he had been reading the stories contained in the manuscript of Urth. He learned there had been a conflict between two powerful forces, earth and other worlds had been compromised. The conflict had been so terrible that seemed some parallel universes had been destroyed before peace had been achieved. The danger threatening Urd and her sisters could come from that conflict. The forces unleashed were unimaginable. Then he blinked: Forces? Was this the answer? If he had understood well, maybe some of those forces still remained on earth. Could he found them? It was a long guess, but it gave him some hope. He already knew to some of the best scholars on earth. It was a long guess but...

- Professor Sripathi, Are you an expert in the traditions of northern India?

- Why? Yes, if you recall, my specialty are the traditions from the Dekkan traps zone, I have traveled for years along that area. There are ancient traditions, surviving tales from some of the first people who settled on the area. Do you know the place? It is a place that still feels primitive; there occurred one of the greatest cataclysms on earth. It left a layer of more than six thousand feet of lava. The hugest volcanic eruption from all times.

- Yes I remember it. I recently read a narration about that cataclysm

Professor Sripathi was incredulous.

- A narration? But that was 60 million years ago! It was almost at the same time that the Chicxulub crater that wiped out the dinosaurs. It must have been a terrible time.

- Terrible! Yes. Like all wars. - The Professor looked at him amazed! What he was talking about? - Please for the moment do not ask for details. As soon as I finish understanding all this, I will explain to you. But I need to ask for a very serious question. Is there a story or legend in the area that relates to something that sounds like "Hild's tears"?

Professor Sripathi froze and then gasped. His face began to fill with fear and disbelief.

- Where did you hear that? It has never been put in writing. Not by my nor by any other of my colleagues. They are very old legends, so terrible I barely dare to repeat them.

The doctor looked at him full of hope, and then he took the professor by his shoulders.

- So you really know them? By the description, it is a crystal, it may look like a jewel with a tear shape, yet it is not of any known substance, it must have a very strange crystalline structure. And above all, it has an unknown power. I am not sure what on what power, but I can assure you, the Dekkan traps and the Chicxulub crater, were not by natural causes.

Hearing this Professor Sripathi screamed something incomprehensible. He took a while to recover and suddenly gave an order to the taxi driver, he looked surprised and after a brief exchange of words stopped and parked the vehicle. Professor Sripathi appeared to be in the midst of a dilemma, he saw the doctor and seemed about to say something. But interrupted immediately. After several false starts, finally he decided to speak.

- Why did you want to know about "that."?

It seems clear, he did not want to mention the name of the object, but obviously he knew what they were talking about. The doctor opened his briefcase and pulled out some printed notes and offered them to the professor.

- This is a story I found in a manuscript of over a thousand years ago, yet it refers to an event that occurred millions of years before. A confrontation between powerful forces, and the earth became briefly a battlefield. I believe the forces behind the goddess murderer come from there. And "that" is a remnant of those forces.

- Those are terrible forces, ancient, inhuman and incomprehensible. Are you really prepare to awaken them?

- If Urd's life is in danger, I am ready.

The man breathe deeply after hearing the answer. Closed his eyes for a moment, and began a swift prayer. Then smiled as if he were to accept something inevitable.

- I was afraid you were going to say that. And I must be crazy to listen to you. Yet I confess I am infected with a very westerner curiosity to find out about this. I already said I'm not a superstitious person, but still, there are legends that make me shudder. I have not even dared to write them down, nor my few colleagues that also know them

- Will you help me?

- Help you protect a goddess? a Devi?. It sounds a like a legend in the making... - He laughed nervously- I have been studying legends all my life and here I have an opportunity of be part of one, even if I may be only a footnote to that legend. But we should talk about this here. This is not the appropriate place. We will go to a special place, then we'll talk and maybe, a mystery will be revealed to you, but I do not promise anything.

Dr. Shugahara wanted to ask more, but despite the brave words of professor Sripathi, there were signs of panic on his face that convinced him that he should not push him more. The Professor instructed the driver, who began a series of protests and swearing, but after that what seemed a hard negotiation, he continued his way.

It was a long trip; the professor was constantly giving instructions to the driver. They left the city and crossed a dirt road. It seemed that was seldom traveled. The small car was not the appropriate vehicle for that kind of terrain, but finally they arrive to an old and ruined temple. The doctor examined intrigued. He was not an expert in Hindu art, yet knew it was not a common temple; it looked archaic, and did not fit into the architecture that he knew.

The professor talked to the taxi driver, who seemed very nervous and ready to leave them there, but the promise of an abundant pay convinced him to stay.

- Come here doctor, but do not ask questions. We should not be here, and maybe this is crazy.

They entered the temple, it was old, but somehow it showed it had been kept repaired. He perceived a powerful aroma of incense; the temple was still in use. Then several men approached them menacingly. They did not seem to like the presence of a foreigner.

- Professor. Where are we? I think we are not welcome.

- No, we're not. This people are the last survivors of the one of the first one who populated India, before being displaced by the Aryans, and later by my ancestors. Yet a few of them stayed here. You asked me about an old legend? They have it and I think they should listen to you.

The professor spoke to them in a language that was definitely not Hindi. The doctor listened carefully. To his trained hears, there were sounds that were familiar to him, it should have Indo-European roots, maybe much more ancient than Sanskrit.

The men looked at the doctor severely, but finally nodded, one of them went away meanwhile the others were taken them to a back room filled with ancient relics.

They waited a while and another man arrived. He was wearing simple clothes yet it bear authority, he was old, and definitely did not look Indian.

-Doctor, let me introduce you to Mai-m-min, Shaman and wise man of the Mîr people. There are less than a hundred people. I found them looking for old legends and stories. They do not like strangers, since they know they are a dying group. There are so few of them that there are genetic diseases due to inbreeding. Unfortunately the fail to understand that only if they agree to mingle with the rest of the population will those diseases end. But at least I managed to contain some of the worst symptoms, such as hemophilia, and that thanks to the medicines you have developed and they are grateful.

- You have talked them about me?

- Yes, about the mighty sage who has prepared those wonderful medicines that I have given them.

Dr. Shugahara thought to protest, but finally decided that maybe this would be the strangest occasion to take advantage of his fame.

- But what are we doing here?

- As a child I heard some legends of a strange and powerful gem. My grandfather told to me about it, and when I grew and became a scholar, decided to find the source of that story. But as I found more old stories, the legend became more and more strange and there was always the mention to something malignant. I was educated in the Western style and was very skeptical, but then started to convince me that there was something real in those stories. They spoke of a jewel that had powers, but that any attempt to control the powers would yield people mad, but even so, those powers were so great people still were looking for it. Finally arrived with Mai-m-min and his people. They were very sick and I help them, so they trusted me with some of their old legends. They did it because the feared they would be wiped and nobody would carry their duty, I was then when I realize oh old were those legends. They were already old at the time of Mohenjo Daro.

- So he could tell me about the crystal?

- They know about it... and they know the crystal is malignant. I've felt its power once, do not ask my why. Doctor, Understand this. I do not think there any other man on earth to whom I can reveal this. If I didn't know you want to protect a Devi, I would have said no. But maybe this is what you need. But first you need to talk to these people.

- What do you want me to say?

- The truth.

The old man had been patiently watching the exchange between these two men. Finally he went to the talk to the professor and asked several questions in his strange language. The doctor could not understand their words, but managed to hear when the professed utter the word "Hild" and the man drew back frightened. Then began a rapid exchange between the two. The professed repeatedly pointed to Dr. Shugahara. Finally the old man approached him and looked at him with an expression mixed with respect and fear. . He bowed before him, then took his hands and said something. The professor translated:

- He is asking you to tell your story. He says touching you will know if you are lying, and I think he can.

The doctor didn't knew where to start, but finally decided to start with the discovery of the palimpsest. It was a long story, the professor translated as best but he was not sure the old man could understand it. After all, to him the computers were not very different from magic. After he finished, Mai-m-min looked to them in the eyes, and nodded implying that he accepted what he had said.

There was a long pause while the old man was thinking: This sage, who had created the medicine that had relieved the suffering of his people, had been using strange magic to delve in the past, and now he wanted to protect a Devi he was in love. He must be very powerful. The old man became excited and began to speak. The professor hardly could translate.

- He says nobody knows where "this" came from, but some say that it came within the fire from a volcano and that his ancestors discovered that it had powers to control other men and it had some strange magic. They tried to use it, but only attracted misfortunes to their people. Those are the legends that I heard. But there is something they do not say these legends. When they understood what had been happening, they decided to hide "it" and prevent its use. It was the only way to redeem the rest of their people from the curse it had attracted his people. So a village was chosen to be guardians. They became its guardians. From the beginning they were not many, but now soon they will disappear. They believe you have been sent to liberate them; they have "it" and hand it over to you, if you show that you have power.

- Power? But I'm a scientist. I have neither powers nor magic.

- For them both are the same, your medicines are powerful, for them it is magic. They wait a demonstration.

The doctor was thinking. He did not like the idea of making a representation. He knew some tricks and had learned some real magic form Urd, but he really did not consider them as magic, but technology. And he knew they expected something magical. Then he remembered the extract of Urd´s flower. Maybe a reaction with it could convince them.

He took his small metal case and from there produce a small bottle which contained a few crystals. Then, to his surprise he realized they were glowing. But it was not the soft glow that normally had, instead it was clearly visible. As if reacting to the presence of something. The doctor placed it on the palm of his hand and approached Mai-m-min. Then he noticed it began to shine more brightly as he moved along the room. Mai-m-min began to look pale and back off frightened. The Dr. was unsure of what he was doing, but began to move the bottle with crystals along the room and found that there was a part where the brightness was stronger.

Finally he approached a statue of an unknown and archaic god. It had something around his neck. He brought the crystals nearer; the brightness increased to an intolerable level and then heard a scream...

Mai-m-min was screaming and his people began to arrive at his call. There were almost a hundred people, men and women of all ages and many of them were clearly sick. Mai-m-min started talking and telling to them about Dr. Shugahara and the crystal, and soon all began to cry, a cry that slowly became a song. They were singing to him. It was a sad song, sad and yet liberating. Then each of them approached to the astonished doctor, who was still holding the bottle with crystals. One by one, they approached him, and spoken to him unfamiliar words, but seem they were greeting him and then went away, until only Mai-m-min who was crying, was left. It was a cry of joy. The doctor finally realized. He had relieved them from a duty of centuries, and now they could now be free and join the rest of humanity.

The professor was so amazed, as he realized his desire to become part of a legend began to come true. Finally they were alone and the doctor could finally examine what hung on the statue.

It was a gold jewel. It seemed very old, the symbols had resembled to those of the old seals of Mohenjo - Daro. The doctor took it, and felt it was hollow. Then carefully opened it and felt it.

It was a powerful force, the room was lit with the sparkle of a crystal, it was beautiful, it symmetrical faces seemed to radiate a thousand flashes, but he could not see it. Instead he became overflowed with emotions he had never felt before. Fear, envy, greed, hunger for power, hatred, lust... The crystal was putting into his brain a message: "Use me, I'll give you power to satisfy all those emotions, serve me, and you will be rewarded."

The doctor fell to his knees. He had no idea those emotions could be so powerful. Suddenly he realized the terrible forces that had moved to the great tyrants of humanity. The horrors that lie deep in the soul of man had been revealed to him. Any mortal man would have succumbed, but he had something that no men have had before.

He had the love of a goddess.

And he grasped to that love, to those all years loving Urd. He grasped to her memory, to his love for her, to his desire to protect her, and maybe even stronger, to the memory of her tears. All this helped him to overcome the emotions aroused by the crystal. And then, making a supreme effort, he closed the jewel. And suddenly all disappeared.

The doctor felt to the floor like a helpless child, and began to cry.

End of chapter X

Notes:

Dekkan Traps: It is one of the most impressive volcanic formations in the world. A lava flow that reached nearly two miles high. It was a huge volcanic eruption and with the meteorite that fell near Yucatan, was one of the causes of the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Hyper-geometry: Once you have the concept of spaces more than 4 dimensions, is relatively easy to extend the geometric concepts to any number of dimensions. These concepts are called hyper-geometry. The mathematics is not complicated, but to imagine them, is another and very different thing.