Chapter 6
What? An easy way out? How was that possible?
I tried to ignore the millions of questions floating around in my mind and ask the important things.
"How could you do that?" I asked. I was dumbfounded by this creature. First it popped out of thin air and froze everything, but now it is claiming to have a ride out? Something smelled wrong here.
But instead, Ax answered. {The Ellimist is a near omnipotent power, capable of god-like feats. It can change past, future, and present. They are all powerful.} he said resentfully.
"So if I asked, you could change that D I got in math last week?" Marco asked hopefully, but with a foolish hint in his voice. That was Marco, always trying to keep the more humourous side in life.
"I do love life, and I wish to help you." the Ellimist explained. "Though I do not believe a bad mark on a test is high priority, Marco." It said.
Marco got a surprised look on his face, like it knows my name. I was thinking, if it could supposedly alter the past, then it could likely see into our pasts.
But I couldn't help but ask. "Why us?" I said simply. "What makes us so important. Ax here says you are omnipotent, which makes me believe you are also omniscient. So why us, out of the entire galaxy?"
The creature laughed. A felling that we could all feel in our very bones. "Ah yes. Before answering your questions, I will awaken your friend here." He pointed at Gordon's collapsed body.
Gordon got up slowly and groaned. "Oh, man, what happened?" He asked as he grabbed his head. He stumbled around and got to his feet.
"Good morning." Sam said.
But the Ellimist continued. "Now that you are all awake, I will tell you my story." Gordon was not completely awake, but he still did his best to listen. "Human beings are an endangered species. You may not see it, but being able to see the world without time, I can see the future. It isn't pretty, not for humans."
"What exactly are you getting at?" Jake asked, trying to confirm what we were all thinking.
Th Ellimist shook his head slowly. "The yeerks are here on earth, and you can't actually expect to win against them, even if you do rally all of earth's forces." He said simply. "You will fall, and I plan on making sure it doesn't go that simply."
"That isn't true." Gordon said. "We will win."
The Ellimist laughed again. It was weird being able to feel his emotions. "Humans. Let me show you something."
Almost instantly, we were transported from the yeerk pool into a tropical rainforest. All around us was two hundred foot tall trees. And ferns all around us. It was beautiful.
The Ellimist's physical form was gone. ALL THIS, AND HUMANS NO LONGER APPRECIATE IT, BUT I DO. The Ellimist said in a voice. He gave us a few more minutes to enjoy the calling birds, the buzzing bugs, and the general beauty of a rain forest.
Once again, we were transported to a tropical reef. But we were underwater and could still breathe, like the world around us was a hologram. Above us, schools of fish swam past us.
ONE OF THE MOST DIVERS PLANETS IN THE ENTIRE GALAXY. I WOULD HATE TO SEE THAT GO. He said in his everywhere-voice again.
Then we were teleported, for a third time. This time to a snowy mountainside. The wind was whipping gusts of snow around all over, but I couldn't feel it. Everyone looked around cautiously.
BUT THE YEERKS DO NOT SEE IT THIS WAY. THEY WISH TO ENSLAVE AND TAKE OVER. THIS IS ALL THAT THEY SEE.
We suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a factory. All around us were machines moving, carrying packages in neat lines, going from one machine to another.
The only problem was that the packages were humans. Standing upright humans, all in an assembly line, not unlike an army line. The Ellimist was trying to say we were nothing more than vehicles for yeerks, and he was right.
THIS IS ALL YOU PEOPLE ARE TO THEM.
Then we were transported to a mine in the middle of the jungle again. I could see machines working, tearing bits of rock and metals from the sides. Transporting them. To one end to another.
And if that wasn't bad enough, the jungle around was being burnt and logged. It was the kind of hell I never wanted to see myself.
PLANET EARTH IS NOTHING MORE THAN A PIRATE YEERK'S DREAM. ALL THE HOSTS THEY CAN HANDLE, AND MANY SUPPLIES TO FUEL THEIR WAR WITH THE ANDALITES. He said. I could see Ax clench his fists at this. ALL THIS FOR THE YEERKS.
We were transported to a lovely grassy meadow. All around us were forests and mountains. It was beautiful. But there was one difference. I could actually smell the air this time. It actually smelled clean.
YOU COULD CALL ME A NATURALIST, BUT I WANTED TO PRESERVE A PORTION OF THIS WORLD, SINCE IN A FEW YEARS IT WILL BE NO MORE.
"And how do you plan on doing that?" Cassie asked.
THE ENVIRONMENT YOU ARE IN NOW IS REAL. IT IS NOT EARTH, BUT VERY SIMILAR. MY OFFER IS SIMPLE. GIVE UP THIS SILLY, POINTLESS WAR, AND LIVE ON A NEW PLANET, YOU CAN REBUILD YOUR WORLD WHERE THE YEERKS CANNOT TOUCH IT.
"And if you can make a new planet, and you don't want the yeerks here, then why can't you just get rid of them from our planet?" Marco asked.
THAT IS NOT WITHIN MY LIMITS. He said simply. WHAT I AM PROPOSING IS THAT YOU ALL, WITH YOUR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS, GO TO LIVE HERE ON THIS PLANET, AWAY FROM WAY AND INEVITABLE DOOM.
We were back at the yeerk pool, amongst the frozen figures, and ghostly silence. But then the Ellimist came back in a true form.
We were all looking around blindly, not knowing what to make of all this. But I found myself staring at Jake and Gordon, who had their eyes transfixed on something in the distance. I turned around, wondering myself what it was.
But I only saw the normal things. The hork bajir guards, the human hosts, the yeerk pool, the drop-shaft. The usual yeerk pool elements.
But Jake saw something else. I saw a glint in his eye, like he was planning something. The gears in his mind were grinding like they do so often.
But before I had a chance to ask him about it, the Ellimist spoke again. "Do you accept my generous offer?" He asked.
Nobody knew what to say at first. We all kind of looked around, blankly. "I am not sure if this is the right time to ask us." Rachel said, amongst the silence.
"Now is the only time. You are about to die in the body of the taxxon, so it is now or never." the Ellimist said simply. Unfortunately, that brought them back to reality. Apparently they were in a tight spot.
But Jake smiled. I didn't know what he was up to, and I didn't want to know, but I was sure it was good. I knew I was going to be gone when this was over anyway. "Ellimist, can we meet again? I believe this is not the time to be discussing this issue. Can you give us a day to figure it out?" He asked.
"Jake, man, are you sure that is a good idea? I mean, this guy is offering to help, and we may not live to see tomorrow." Marco said simply.
Jake nodded. "I know, but we need to take some chances."
Then the Ellimist disappeared in a wisp of smoke. IF YOU LIVE, I WILL ASK YOU AGAIN. He said. Then, as an afterthought, he repeated, IF YOU LIVE.
And with that, I was back in the serenity of the mountains.
What? An easy way out? How was that possible?
I tried to ignore the millions of questions floating around in my mind and ask the important things.
"How could you do that?" I asked. I was dumbfounded by this creature. First it popped out of thin air and froze everything, but now it is claiming to have a ride out? Something smelled wrong here.
But instead, Ax answered. {The Ellimist is a near omnipotent power, capable of god-like feats. It can change past, future, and present. They are all powerful.} he said resentfully.
"So if I asked, you could change that D I got in math last week?" Marco asked hopefully, but with a foolish hint in his voice. That was Marco, always trying to keep the more humourous side in life.
"I do love life, and I wish to help you." the Ellimist explained. "Though I do not believe a bad mark on a test is high priority, Marco." It said.
Marco got a surprised look on his face, like it knows my name. I was thinking, if it could supposedly alter the past, then it could likely see into our pasts.
But I couldn't help but ask. "Why us?" I said simply. "What makes us so important. Ax here says you are omnipotent, which makes me believe you are also omniscient. So why us, out of the entire galaxy?"
The creature laughed. A felling that we could all feel in our very bones. "Ah yes. Before answering your questions, I will awaken your friend here." He pointed at Gordon's collapsed body.
Gordon got up slowly and groaned. "Oh, man, what happened?" He asked as he grabbed his head. He stumbled around and got to his feet.
"Good morning." Sam said.
But the Ellimist continued. "Now that you are all awake, I will tell you my story." Gordon was not completely awake, but he still did his best to listen. "Human beings are an endangered species. You may not see it, but being able to see the world without time, I can see the future. It isn't pretty, not for humans."
"What exactly are you getting at?" Jake asked, trying to confirm what we were all thinking.
Th Ellimist shook his head slowly. "The yeerks are here on earth, and you can't actually expect to win against them, even if you do rally all of earth's forces." He said simply. "You will fall, and I plan on making sure it doesn't go that simply."
"That isn't true." Gordon said. "We will win."
The Ellimist laughed again. It was weird being able to feel his emotions. "Humans. Let me show you something."
Almost instantly, we were transported from the yeerk pool into a tropical rainforest. All around us was two hundred foot tall trees. And ferns all around us. It was beautiful.
The Ellimist's physical form was gone. ALL THIS, AND HUMANS NO LONGER APPRECIATE IT, BUT I DO. The Ellimist said in a voice. He gave us a few more minutes to enjoy the calling birds, the buzzing bugs, and the general beauty of a rain forest.
Once again, we were transported to a tropical reef. But we were underwater and could still breathe, like the world around us was a hologram. Above us, schools of fish swam past us.
ONE OF THE MOST DIVERS PLANETS IN THE ENTIRE GALAXY. I WOULD HATE TO SEE THAT GO. He said in his everywhere-voice again.
Then we were teleported, for a third time. This time to a snowy mountainside. The wind was whipping gusts of snow around all over, but I couldn't feel it. Everyone looked around cautiously.
BUT THE YEERKS DO NOT SEE IT THIS WAY. THEY WISH TO ENSLAVE AND TAKE OVER. THIS IS ALL THAT THEY SEE.
We suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a factory. All around us were machines moving, carrying packages in neat lines, going from one machine to another.
The only problem was that the packages were humans. Standing upright humans, all in an assembly line, not unlike an army line. The Ellimist was trying to say we were nothing more than vehicles for yeerks, and he was right.
THIS IS ALL YOU PEOPLE ARE TO THEM.
Then we were transported to a mine in the middle of the jungle again. I could see machines working, tearing bits of rock and metals from the sides. Transporting them. To one end to another.
And if that wasn't bad enough, the jungle around was being burnt and logged. It was the kind of hell I never wanted to see myself.
PLANET EARTH IS NOTHING MORE THAN A PIRATE YEERK'S DREAM. ALL THE HOSTS THEY CAN HANDLE, AND MANY SUPPLIES TO FUEL THEIR WAR WITH THE ANDALITES. He said. I could see Ax clench his fists at this. ALL THIS FOR THE YEERKS.
We were transported to a lovely grassy meadow. All around us were forests and mountains. It was beautiful. But there was one difference. I could actually smell the air this time. It actually smelled clean.
YOU COULD CALL ME A NATURALIST, BUT I WANTED TO PRESERVE A PORTION OF THIS WORLD, SINCE IN A FEW YEARS IT WILL BE NO MORE.
"And how do you plan on doing that?" Cassie asked.
THE ENVIRONMENT YOU ARE IN NOW IS REAL. IT IS NOT EARTH, BUT VERY SIMILAR. MY OFFER IS SIMPLE. GIVE UP THIS SILLY, POINTLESS WAR, AND LIVE ON A NEW PLANET, YOU CAN REBUILD YOUR WORLD WHERE THE YEERKS CANNOT TOUCH IT.
"And if you can make a new planet, and you don't want the yeerks here, then why can't you just get rid of them from our planet?" Marco asked.
THAT IS NOT WITHIN MY LIMITS. He said simply. WHAT I AM PROPOSING IS THAT YOU ALL, WITH YOUR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS, GO TO LIVE HERE ON THIS PLANET, AWAY FROM WAY AND INEVITABLE DOOM.
We were back at the yeerk pool, amongst the frozen figures, and ghostly silence. But then the Ellimist came back in a true form.
We were all looking around blindly, not knowing what to make of all this. But I found myself staring at Jake and Gordon, who had their eyes transfixed on something in the distance. I turned around, wondering myself what it was.
But I only saw the normal things. The hork bajir guards, the human hosts, the yeerk pool, the drop-shaft. The usual yeerk pool elements.
But Jake saw something else. I saw a glint in his eye, like he was planning something. The gears in his mind were grinding like they do so often.
But before I had a chance to ask him about it, the Ellimist spoke again. "Do you accept my generous offer?" He asked.
Nobody knew what to say at first. We all kind of looked around, blankly. "I am not sure if this is the right time to ask us." Rachel said, amongst the silence.
"Now is the only time. You are about to die in the body of the taxxon, so it is now or never." the Ellimist said simply. Unfortunately, that brought them back to reality. Apparently they were in a tight spot.
But Jake smiled. I didn't know what he was up to, and I didn't want to know, but I was sure it was good. I knew I was going to be gone when this was over anyway. "Ellimist, can we meet again? I believe this is not the time to be discussing this issue. Can you give us a day to figure it out?" He asked.
"Jake, man, are you sure that is a good idea? I mean, this guy is offering to help, and we may not live to see tomorrow." Marco said simply.
Jake nodded. "I know, but we need to take some chances."
Then the Ellimist disappeared in a wisp of smoke. IF YOU LIVE, I WILL ASK YOU AGAIN. He said. Then, as an afterthought, he repeated, IF YOU LIVE.
And with that, I was back in the serenity of the mountains.