Legacy
Prologue 1 – Death
I do not own Farscape…yet
I am not profiting from this in any material way
"This is amazing". P'au Zotoh Zhaan was so in awe that her statement was little more than a whisper as it echoed around the chamber. The sandstone walls, covered in unintelligible text and drawings, surrounded the companions as they slowly entered what must have been the temple.
"Long ago…" Zhaan explained. "This world was full of life, peace and harmony. Then a terrible tragedy rendered the planet uninhabitable". Now it was one endless desert; not one drop of moisture fell from the sky. "To think that once these walls held hundreds of worshipers, a world united in peace, bonded by purpose".
"Yer…it's pretty amazing". Astronaut John Crichton held his hands in front of his face, taking imaginary pictures with an invisible camera as he walked beside the Delvian priest. He remembered once, as a child, he had been taken to see the Pyramids in Giza. He hadn't been very excited by those either, still they needed the distraction after the incident with Maldis…Zhaan more than most.
Crichton noticed that she had been even weirder than usual of late, avoiding the rest of the crew…especially Rygel…as if afraid that the simplest contact would result in her hurting them. She meditated 24 / 7 (if the term still worked in the Uncharted Territories) and John wondered if she had even eaten anything. Her shade of blue was indeed paler than usual. The astronaut considered for a moment what she must have felt when she tapped into herself and released that part she had thought removed. She had rekindled the forgotten knowledge that no matter how much she followed the teachings of the priesthood she had dedicated her life around, the camouflaged evil would always be there waiting for the time to strike…
John shook as his imagination ran wild and quickly returned it to the strange drawings, picking out familiar shapes. They were similar to hieroglyphic, inscribed by what appeared to be a bipedal race, only larger and muscular with a frame more in line with a Luxan than a human. Colour, they loved colour in their clothes, in their world. Their technological knowledge seemed to be very advanced, and yet they chose to ignore it in preference of a simple life of prayer and order.
God…Earth could learn a lot
As he moved further away from the small entrance he activated his torch, the light scanning the walls and floors, penetrating the cloud of shadow and dust to land on the beginnings of a flight of stone steps, leading up to a hole in the wall.
The stairs took John into a small room roughly the size of two phone boxes, as high as one. It was void of any decoration save for a striking statue. The alien race in their full glory, this was obviously a replica of the female with the naked body carved to the finest detail. It was completely bronze save for a crimson ruby the size of John's clenched fist, glistening from its position just under the thorax.
Must be the location of their heart John thought as he ran his finger along it, hypnotically following its edges. Loose sand, knocked away by the first disturbance in centuries, fell to the ground in a fine dust, and the ruby started to come away from its recess, falling into John's palm.
He held the ruby up to eye level and shone his torch upon it, studying how the edges reflected his face back to him in hundreds of angles, sizes. It was truly a thing of beauty, without flaw in its design despite hundreds of cycles. As he studied it the ruby seemed to grow in his hand, fill his vision.
So completely absorbed was he that the astronaut almost didn't hear the sliding of the stone as the stairs disappeared behind him and he became trapped in the room.
"Um…guys". He called to his companions, hoping that they could hear him through the thick stone. "Guys, slight situation".
A strange damp feeling made him look to his feet…and he found that he was standing in an inch of water pouring from gaps formed just under the ceiling…rising to his knees…his waist.
"Aeryn? D'Argo?" Remembering everything computer games had taught him he tried to put the ruby back into the recess it had fallen from, but it was as if the ruby HAD grown…no matter which angle he tried it would not return to it's resting place.
The water was at his torso now…his neck…and he swam up to the ceiling…peddling in the water as he pushed at the ceiling, tried to push it up, push the door…anything…he had to get out.
No air…water surrounding him. John sank as the water engulfed him. He began to feel cold, numb. His mind foggy.
I'm Dying
His torch gave out and the world became one dark shadow. To his surprise, he lacked the amount of fear he had expected when the end finally came for him, but instead he felt a strange acceptance. His curiosity as a scientist was forefront.
I wonder which species got it right…did anyone get it right?
The water echoed with the force of the explosion, and then rushed with incredible speed, spreading out into the new wider space. John was thrown down the steps, landing hard on the sandstone flooring. Voices called his name and a hand grabbed him, feeling his clammy neck for a pulse, but John didn't feel it…
He didn't feel anything.
He saw no more.