The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time
After making a brief stop in El Dorado, Gage and Arthur returned to Atlantis where they made a gold medallion to get into the temple. Even though they succeeded, they still couldn't find the artifact they were looking for. Returning to the residential section of Atlantis, they discovered that the non-natives of Atlantis were planning on escaping with the help of Padros, an exiled Atlantean priest. From him and the Windmill Keeper Amon, Gage learned that the Templars kept the Gaealith sequestered within the Inner Temple below the Main Temple. Gage gained access to it through the Windmill where they met a young Elliott Sinclair (going by the name Saros). Gage recovered the object in question and jumped back to TSA
Date: November 11th, 2329 A.D.
Place: TSA Headquarters; Appalachian Mountains, Earth
Even before he entered, Ambassador Jhessela realized he was successful in his search. "I can feel Sosiqui energy flowing from you," she said excitedly. "Show me what you have found."
Gage removed the pyramid-shaped object he retrieved from the temple in Atlantis. "This object was sheltered in one of the Temples, could it be the Legacy?"
"Yes," Jhessela replied as she took the object from him and studied it. "This is a Relic of the Elders, it bears the mark. The other inscriptions are very complex, I will attempt to translate them but my knowledge of Sosiqui is limited. We had discovered long ago that several old Earth languages were actually primitive dialects of Sosiqui. That's part of the reason why we asked Earth to join the Symbiotry ten years ago. We knew that they were heavily influenced by the Elders."
So the Cyrollans revered the Sosiqui almost as much as the Atlantians did, Gage figured.
Jhessela gasped, "Oh no!"
"What is it?" Baldwin asked.
"This is only a part of the true Legacy. The inscriptions speak of three vessels, piously guarded that hold the secrets of the Legacy. This is only one of them."
"So there are two more like this one out there?" Will asked.
"Most likely, but Gage has given us hope."
"Did you find objects like this in the other two temples?" Baldwin asked.
"No, I haven't searched them completely yet," Gage replied.
"I briefed the World Senate on what's been going on," Baldwin told the assembled group. "They've lifted the suspension and given us full sanction to search for this Legacy." Gage and Will exchanged a brief smile. TSA was back in business. Baldwin then addressed specifically to Jhessela. "You must understand, Ambassador Jhessela, TSA protocol requires that only Agents stay in the Command Room."
"I understand, Commissioner Baldwin. If you require our assistance, you need but to ask. I will devote all of my energies towards slowing the advance of the Qou'Thalas." And with those words, Ambassador Jhessela left.
"Daughton, I want you to study every molecule of this… thing," Baldwin instructed. "And run the inscriptions through our language database, we need answers."
William looked at the inscriptions that covered the artifact. "I'm going to need someone knowledgeable to help me translate then. Not to question your judgment, sir, but you just kicked that someone out."
"I need people I can count on in a crisis. The only people I can fully trust are my agents."
"Bring Michelle back." Baldwin looked incredulously at Gage. "She's an expert linguist and historian," Agent 5 quickly explained.
Baldwin almost laughed, "Agent 3? She's a criminal, worse, a traitor. She captured and imprisoned you, remember?"
"No I don't," Gage said matter-of-factly. "That memory was erased. But she did give herself up to give us this chance. Put her under house arrest, do whatever you have to do, but bring her back. We need her."
Baldwin looked over to Daughton, silently asking his opinion on the matter. Daughton's train of thought was pulled in two different directions at once. On one hand, Gage had a point, when it came to languages, Earth and otherwise, Agent 3 was the most knowledgeable in the subject of both the Deep Time Unit and the Temporal Protectorate. On the other hand, he was already in hot water from revealing the Chameleon Prototype. To further offend his boss by siding against him might be suicide. "I can't do this alone," he admitted.
Baldwin sighed in defeat. "Very well, I'll release her, but if she screws up once, she's history!" Only Arthur, watching through the camera lens in Gage's helmet on a side table, found that humorous.
"I think she might surprise you," Gage said. Baldwin raised an eyebrow, why was Gage vouching for the same person who attacked and imprisoned him? The very person who tried to frame him! If it was Baldwin himself, he wouldn't give Agent 3 the time of day, but Gage… "I'll be back when I find another of the artifacts," Gage said and turned to leave.
"You should know something," Baldwin called after him. "The Qou'Thalas has entered Symbiotry space. They are ignoring all other planets and continuing towards Earth, it is doubtful that the Symbiotry Defense Fleet will slow them down. Time is now our enemy!" Gage nodded and left.
"Where to now, Gage?" Arthur asked.
"Shangri-La, Arthur." Gage time jumped.
Date: April 14th, 1219 A.D.
Place: Shangri-La; the Himalaya Mountains; Central Asia
Gage materialized on a mountain path. From his position, he could see across the ravine. There were two bridges across the ravine: a small one and a large one, the same one that Gage used to climb down into the ravine.
"There's the Tibetan Monastery we saw spilled all over the ravine. I have to say it looks much better erect than wrecked."
Gage then noticed a man lying face-down in the dirt (yes, dirt). He had long dark hair and dressed in tattered clothing.
Arthur answered Gage's unasked question, "In all likelihood, that human roadblock is a Buddhist Pilgrim and judging from his appearance, he endured a difficult journey to get here. I suggest you capture his image with the Chameleon Scanners while he's not looking." Gage scanned his image and then donned it. He then went across the small bridge.
On the other side was something Gage would never imagine he would find in the Himalayas: grass. Clean cut grass, dirt paths, birds chirping, it was almost like he was back in El Dorado. How are they getting the heat to do all this? Gage turned right and almost ran smack into a couple of yaks.
"How cute," Arthur cooed, "A black and white Snuffleupagus."
"Arthur, what are these yaks doing here?"
"In Tibet, yaks are a major natural resource. The milk they produce is turned into a treasured butter product. Yak butter is used in food, tea, candles, and even used to make tremendous sculptures. So don't be surprised when Tibetans invent cold fusion from the curdled milk of yaks."
"Do they eat them?"
"No, many devout monks are vegetarians. Tibetans often left yaks in the care of monks to prevent them from slaughter, meaning somebody probably brought these beasties here to prevent them from becoming McYaks."
To the left of the yaks was a niche in which there was a green statue with markings on the bottom and a hole big enough to fit a piece of wood in. "That's a statue of Buddha," Arthur explained. "The holy man responsible for creating the Buddhist religion. Before becoming a deity, Buddha was known as Sid'Artha, a man from India who transcended worldly suffering becoming a paragon of spiritual perfection."
"What does the scripture on the base of the statue say?" Gage asked.
"Let's see… 'To Aunt Edna, hope you're feeling Buddha, Cousin Morty."
"Huh?"
"Just kidding, it actually says 'The Shrine of the Animal Realm: to enlighten the savage." Gage walked back past the footbridge. On the wall was more scripture. Gage had Arthur translate it. "All forms on the Wheel of Life suffer. The source of all misery is ignorance. The true path to deliverance is blocked by vice and falsehoods. Knowledge of the virtues will reveal the true path." Next to it was six colorful symbols. "Those symbols represent the Holy Buddhist Mantra: 'Om, Ma, Ni, Pad, Me, Hum. It means 'Om, a jewel in the lotus.'" Gage walked past and came to a wall grate. Even through his Jumpsuit, Gage could feel the heat.
"I wonder where this leads," Gage thought out loud.
"Maybe if we have time, we can find out," Arthur suggested. To the left of the grate was a white brick path. Gage followed the path around a corner and up a long flight of stairs. At the top he found a hexagon-shaped building with windows surrounding almost all of the sides. "Now this is interesting, the walls of this building are made of a slightly translucent paper to allow sun to pass through, reminds me of a Greenhouse."
"A Greenhouse in the Himalayas?"
"I know, isn't that like looking for an ice needle in a butter haystack on a very hot day? I don't think I quite got the hang of this simile thing yet."
"Nope, keep trying," Gage said as he walked inside.
The building was indeed a Greenhouse. The single room was surrounded on most sides by withering vegetable plants and small fruit trees. A big withering tree stood in the center inside a pool of water with lotuses sprinkled around it. Gage stared at the tree.
"Ooh, a new face on the mountain!" Gage turned and saw an old man holding a pruning tool. "Welcome," he greeted. "I am Imul, keeper of the Greenhouse and the shrine."
"Uh… nice to meet you," Gage replied.
"Ask him some questions, Gage," Arthur stage whispered. "Ask him if he knows his slip is showing?"
"Tell me about the Greenhouse," Gage requested.
"Gladly, Traveler," the Gardener said just before he did a quick sneeze. "To sustain the brothers of our order, we grow our own food. Heat from tunnels below the monastery sustains the crops and even allows the Wishing Tree to thrive."
That explains the vegetation and grass, Gage thought. "What is the Wishing Tree?"
The Gardener gestured to the tree at the center of the Greenhouse. "This is the Wishing Tree. It is very old and sacred. The fruit it bears is a treasure, said to grant you any request. However, the tree has been sick lately. I think the roots may have been afflicted."
"What's wrong with the roots?"
"I don't know, the tree should've grown fruit weeks ago. I went into the tunnels to inspect the roots and I found that they were rotten and sickly."
Imul seemed almost ashamed at this so Gage decided to change the subject. "What kind of crops do you grow here?"
"We grow a wide variety of fruits and vegetables here," the Gardener explained. "However, the crops have been sick lately." He sneezed again, this time harder. "I'm sorry, but my cold seems to be getting worse."
"In this place, I'm not surprised," Arthur muttered from inside Gage's helmet.
"How did you catch your cold?" Gage asked.
"I have not been able to give the Pretas their offering. I know that is why the crops are dying. The hungry spirits have been offended. They blame me for this failure and given me this cold."
"Who are the Pretas?"
"One of the Six Realms of Unenlightenment is the Realm of the Pretas, torturous spirits damned for gluttony in previous lives. These ghosts live in our world, constantly tantalized by material possessions. It is the duty of our brotherhood to alleviate all sufferings, especially those in the Realm of the Pretas."
Gage noticed a yellow Buddha shrine at the opposite end from the entrance. "Is that the shrine you were speaking of earlier?"
"Yes, the Shrine of the Pretas, the hungry spirits, is in this Greenhouse. I am charged with making offerings to the ravenous spirits."
"What do you offer them?"
"I offer them the fruit of the Wishing Tree."
"Interesting, do you mind if I look around?"
"Certainly."
"Okay, let's see if I got this right," Arthur said. "The Pretas are angry that the Gardener has not been taking care of the Wishing Tree and are now punishing him by rotting away the crops and giving him the cold. I'd still like to know where the dancing Chihuahuas fit in all this."
Gage chuckled and studied the Wishing Tree. Just like the Gardener said, it looked very bad. The trunk was gray and peeling away. There were no signs of life anywhere on the tree. Gage spotted a grate to the right. He opened it and climbed down the metal rungs that served as a ladder. Once he was deep underground, he dropped his Chameleon disguise and studied the very thin roots.
Arthur said it best, "They look a little sickly to me."
Gage nodded, if only there was some way to heal… heal, that was the answer! Gage removed the pitcher of healing water he got from Atlantis. He poured it into the roots. The roots grew strong and healthy.
"Nice work, Gage, lets check to see if our labors bore fruit." Gage re-donned the Pilgrim's image and climbed back up into the Greenhouse. He went around and climbed up a ladder placed up next to the Wishing Tree. On top of the ladder was a map of the tunnels that ran underneath the monastery and a gardening knife (the same one the Gardener was carrying when Gage arrived). Gage took both of them. The tree had produced an apple-like fruit. Gage took that as well. He then went around to the yellow Buddha shrine. Unlike the green Buddha shrine outside, the yellow one had a clenched fist with the other hand holding a metal plate. There was Buddhist markings on the bottom. "The Shrine of the Pretas Realm," Arthur read. "To sate their eternal hunger."
"Let's see what happens if one were to make an offering to the shrine," Gage said. He took the fruit from the Wishing Tree and placed it on the plate. There was a flash of yellow light and the Buddha's clenched hand opened to reveal a yellow orb.
"I don't know what this is, but it might come in handy," Gage said studying the orb.
"Maybe we could give the Qou'Thalas that instead of the Legacy."
"I don't think they would accept that, Arthur. Let's check out the steam tunnels." Gage placed the orb in his temporal pocket and descended into the steam tunnels once again.
Through a dark tunnel, Gage came into a cavern. Steam ascended from pockets of magma down below. There were two tunnels leading in different directions.
"Gage, don't panic, but I think we stumbled into a Turkish prison," Arthur commented.
Gage took out the steam tunnel map and studied it. He took the tunnel at the far end of the cavern. This tunnel was illuminated by yellow liken. He came to a fork in the passage, or at least the map showed a fork, but one of the extensions was cut off by a boulder. There was a stick suspiciously placed in between the boulder and the open passageway. When Gage pulled it, the boulder slid in front of the other passageway. Gage decided to follow the passageway that was now open. Gage went down the passageway, through another steam vent, and up to another intersection. Gage kept following the open passageways until he came to a dead end, there was nowhere to go.
But up.
There were metal rings embedded into the wall. Gage climbed them and exited the tunnels into a small tent. A man with long dark hair and dressed in fine robes was studying something on a desk.
Gage gasped audibly which caught the attention of the man who turned around and slugged Gage temporarily disrupting his Chameleon image. Gage threw his arms out to grab something. He did grab something, but it wasn't enough to keep him from tumbling back down into the steam tunnels.
"Gage, are you all right?" Arthur asked.
"I think so, I don't feel anything broken." Gage looked at the object he grabbed just before he was hit. It was a long red sword.
"MY SWORD!" A voice cried which Gage heard through the speakers that were tied in to the Translator Biochip. Gage saw the grate open.
"Uh… Gage, can I make a suggestion? LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!"
"Good idea," Gage said and took off back the way he came. When he came to the intersection, he quickly pulled the lever rolling the boulder in front of the passageway he just came out of. Gage heard pounding and a voice cry out like a wounded animal.
"That was a close one," Arthur said. "Who do you think that guy was?"
"I don't know, but he clearly doesn't belong in Shangri-La." Gage could still hear pounding so he decided to take the passageway that was now open. He came into a small room. There was a Buddha statue on his left and a mural right in front of him. The mural looked like schematics of the inside of the Buddha's body.
"It's nice," Arthur critiqued. "But I prefer the Bull-Leaping Buddha on black velvet."
"Can you tell me anything useful?"
"This mural is a representation of the Buddha, much like the statue on the left but this one is apparently depicting the inside of the Buddha's body. Hmmm… I wonder where they keep the x-rays of the smoking Buddha?"
"Can you at least translate the writing on the wall?"
"Loosely translated, it says 'channel your energy to obtain the enlightenment you seek.'"
Gage put his hand on the statue. It was sticky. Arthur analyzed it and concluded that the statue was made of yak butter. Unfortunately there was nothing else he could do so he traced his way back to the Greenhouse.
Emerging into the Greenhouse, Gage was met by the Gardener who all but hugged him. "Buddha be praised!" He cried. "The tree has been healed and the crops have been saved!" He sniffed, "Why even my cold is gone! Someone must've appeased the Pretas."
"I'm glad everything worked out for you, Imul, I must go now."
"Farewell, new friend, I hope to talk more with you later."
"Wow, Keith Richards hasn't changed at all," Arthur commented as Gage left the Greenhouse.
Gage returned to the spot where he landed. Once there, he went up the steps into the Gatehouse. The Gatehouse was basically one big room with stair cases leading up to platforms. Gage went up one of them and came face-to-face with a large monk wearing an angular shaped hat, orange and purple robes and carrying a quarterstaff.
"Greetings, stranger," the monk said bowing. "Do you wish to cross the bridge?"
"Yes."
"You must give the offering of the initiate before you can cross the bridge and enter Shangri-La." Any doubts Gage had about whether or not this was Shangri-La went out the window.
"What kind of offering are you talking about?"
"It has always been the tradition for an aspen seeking induction into our order to give the offering of a silk scarf before he can cross the bridge."
"The man has a taco for a hat and now he wants to add a silk scarf to his ensemble," Arthur cracked. "Look at that black eye, no wonder the other monks beat him up."
Gage realized that he did have a silk scarf, the one he got from the Egyptian boat in Atlantis. He took it out of his temporal pocket and handed it to the Gatekeeper. "Does this scarf allow me to cross the bridge?"
The monk studied the scarf for a minute before saying, "Welcome to our Order, Initiate. Go back down the steps and I will extend the bridge for you. For the protection of Shangri-La, I must retract the bridge after you cross. If you wish to cross the bridge again, ring the bell on the other side. Once you cross, seek Lama Dalsden for instructions immediately."
"Where would I find this Lama?"
"In the Prayer Hall, go there and he will teach you."
"Thank you," Gage said and after scanning the guard's image, went downstairs. "Arthur, who was that guy?"
"From his uniform and square shoulders, I would say that that guard is a warrior monk known as a Dob-Dob. Tibetan monasteries allowed Dob-Dobs to practice the art of war for protection. A lot of good he'll be once the Cyrollans and the Qou'Thalas show up." The Dob-Dob was true to his word, the two halves of the large bridge connected and Gage walked across it. Once Gage was safely across, the bridge was parted.
The prayer hall turned out to be the monastery where Gage found Michelle's time code but now, it was extravagant. The room was about the size of a basketball court. Pillars led up to a huge blue Buddha statue. As with the others, there was scripture on the base of it: "The Shrine of the Human Realm: to humbly contain our pride."
A man was in meditation in an alcove. The alcove had hundreds of shelves and each shelf contained a stack of paper sandwiched between two rock-hard bound covers. That must be the Lama the Dob-Dob was talking about, Gage thought as he scanned the Lama's image.
The Lama looked up and saw him, "A new Initiate, welcome to Shangri-La. I am Lama Dalsden Giopa. I will be your teacher as you begin your path to Buddha. We lead simple lives here, dedicated to alleviating the suffering of the Unenlightened. We constantly meditate to improve ourselves so that we may one day find Nirvana. It is a hard existence but a good one. You undoubtedly have questions."
"Boy does he," Arthur muttered.
"Who are the Unenlightened?"
"Those who are still trapped on the Wheel of Life, those that die and do not reach Nirvana are sent to one of the Realms of the Wheel to be reborn."
"What is the Wheel of Life?"
"When a person dies, karma forces the spirit to enter one of the six Unenlightened Realms. If the person led a life of vice, then he or she will enter the Realm that embodies that vice. If the spirit does not reach Nirvana, then it is fated to wander; to be reborn again into another of the Unenlightened Realms. The Wheel always turns. Only by learning the virtues that deliver us from the different Realms can one escape and reach Nirvana."
"What is Nirvana?"
"Excellent question, Nirvana is a state of mind, a location of being. It is reached when one has achieved the intellectual perfection of the Buddha. It takes enormous focus, but the reward is eternal peace. We strive every day to reach Nirvana. Now, Initiate, explore the Monastery and pay respect to the shrines to begin your new trek for inner peace."
Gage left the prayer hall and sat on the front steps. He had already visited four out of the six shrines: the yellow one in the Greenhouse, the green one on the mountain path, the black one in the steam tunnels, and the blue one in the prayer hall. That meant there were two more out there, two more that also have scripture on it. Gage descended a small flight of stairs into a small plaza. The temple could be seen nearby along with a small tent and a red Buddha shrine. The text at the bottom read, "The Shrine of the Asura's Realm: to guard the Titans from themselves."
"That small tent seems a little out of place," Arthur observed. "If my history serves me, that yellow flag is Mongolian and if history serves me further, the Great Horde of Genghis Khan was terrorizing Asia about now. Well there goes the neighborhood."
Gage carefully walked up to the tent. A man with broad shoulders, long dark hair, and a long moustache was reading some scrolls.
"Gage, now don't try to panic and try to act natural," Arthur warned. "But that man is wearing the garb of a Khan, a great one at that. I'm sure that's Genghis Khan!" Genghis Khan, one of the most ruthless leaders in history was in Shangri-La. Such a fact was implausible; then again, it wasn't out of the question. But what was he doing here? Even school children knew that Genghis Khan wasn't exactly the picture of tranquility. Yes, what Arthur said earlier was perfect: "There goes the neighborhood."
Gad only had time to scan Khan's image into the Chameleon Jumpsuit's database when Khan looked up and saw him. "Insolent worm," Khan insulted. "You think you can just walk up to the great Khan and be granted an audience? Get out before I feed you to my horse!" Gage was reluctant to leave but the last thing he wanted to do was anger Genghis Khan. He turned to leave. "Wait," Khan called back. "Turn around, let me see your face." Gage turned around and Khan gasped upon seeing Gage's (correction: the Pilgrim's) face. "I recognize you. You're the man who stole my sword! I shall kill you for performing such a treacherous act against the great Genghis Khan!" And with that vow, Khan lashed out at Gage.
Main Cast
Gage Blackwood, Agent 5: Jerry Rector
Arthur: Matt Weinhold
Jhessela: Connie Terwillinger
William Daughton: David Fenner
Jack Baldwin: Daniel Mann
Shangri-La Cast
Pilgrim: Ping Wu
Gardener: Arsenio "Sonny" Trinidad
Dob-Dob: Khin-Kyaw Maung
Lama: Koji Kataoka
Genghis Khan: Fancisco Viana
