"You lost me," said Kathy. "What in Poseido's name is the Terra-whatevs?"
"Terra-Track," Larry corrected her. He didn't touch the cube…er, Terra-Track. "This cube…oh, I thought it was only a legend!"
"Whoa! Hold the phone!" Darla said, raising both her hand. "Legend? What exactly is all this? Why is that cube so important? Have you heard before?"
Larry then stared at all of us. "None of you have ever heard of the Legend of the Protectors of the Universe?"
"No, not that I can remember," said Rudy.
"What is that, anyway?" Patty asked.
A huge smile appeared on Larry's face. "Oh, wow! You guys are in for a special treat! Sit down. You guys are going to love this!"
We sat down on the dusty and quite uncomfortable ground. Larry remained close to the Terra-Track, but still refrained from touching it. Its brilliant blue glow illumined the room, filling it with a sense of drama.
"Well, you see. This legend has never been heard of in Amarkia, as far as I know. The only places where I've heard of it was when I was living undercover amongst the Red Eyes, the spies whom I sent to the IEO." That stands for the Intergalactic Evil Organization. Not exactly the best evil-sounding name, but then again, they are only good at being a nuisance.
Anyways, Larry continued by saying, "And amongst the oldest and most experienced members of The Space Armies and their home planets."
"Tell us the legend!" Robert said, impatiently.
"Stop interrupting! Don't get the cart before the horse! Now…" he started pacing again. "Oh, yes. It was said that millions of years ago, at about the same time that Amarkia was founded, during the Mid-Cretaceous period, a new evil force threatened the existence of the universe.
"No one knew where they came from, how long they'd been in existence or anything about their leader. All we knew is that they were called The Great Conglomerate. But I suspect, not sure, but suspect, that they may have come from another dimension, because of the level of advancement in their technology. Even more advanced than the Red Eyes."
"What's all this got to do with the cube?" said Roger.
"It's Terra-Track. And I'm getting there. Now, it was said that The Great Conglomerate had the ability to destroy the entire universe and all the other parallel universes and dimensions. They supposedly chained the energy from a place where the past, present, and future all intersected with the fabric of space-time."
"You've been talking for five minutes and you haven't said anything!" said Kathy. I wasn't surprised since she nearly flunked her science test at the end of the year.
Larry ignored her and continued. "They never used that 'weapon' of course since it would destroy them too. And the cube was a black-red. And though the level and power of the cube was always constant, you could always control whether it was for good or for evil. Anyways, it was this fear that kept order in the universe, but not peace. Everyone lived in constant terror for their lives.
"Then, the leaders of The Great Conglomerate discovered that disgruntled members of their own council had stolen the Terra-Track. The thieves were never found and some say they are still alive amongst the oldest generations of the Space Armies. And for a while, the Terra-Track disappeared and everyone denied having possession of it. That's when the TGC began a mass universal killing and began slaughtering entire peoples, wiping out species and destroying galaxies.
"That's when the first origins of the Space Armies began. Several powerful people and their families who had been former allies of The Great Conglomerate began to assemble their own armies against them. Oh, those wars went on for eons! It was by just great chance that it was happening millions of light-years away from the Milky Way. It was the safe haven in the universe. The only place where true peace and justice reigned.
By now, he had also taken a seat next to the stand where the Terra-Track continued to contemplate us. "It wasn't until…85 or so million years later when rumors started to spread that the Terra-Track was in a planet on the Orion Arm of the Milky Way. Right where our solar system is." He took a deep breath and sighed. "And at one point, it was argued that it was right here on Earth."
He got up and started walking again. "But never did I imagine that…" he looked back the blue glow emanating from the mysterious and enthralling cube. "It was said that…if it fell into the hand of those who believed in justice, and good, and peace…then they would have to key to not only eternal energy but also to eternal peace in all universes."
We all breathed a moment of silence to grasp everything that had just been spoken. It suddenly made sense. That was the reason. That Terra-Track was why the Red Eyes hated us so much. They knew the whole time it was on Earth. In Amarkia. And they were right.
"And now…what? Now that we've rediscovered this…holy grail of the universe?" Lilia asked.
Larry kept on a straight face. "I don't know. Now, Amarkia could enjoy complete security and an endless supply of energy. But it also raises our risk factor a thousand times. It won't be long before the IEO and the Red Eyes find out. And when they do…they will do absolutely anything to get it back in their possession."
"How long do you think it will take for them to find out?" Rudy asked.
Larry just shrugged. "I have no way of knowing. Like I said, all that stuff was supposed to be legends. I never was an eyewitness to any of those events. Just hearsay. But it could differ. Anywhere from minutes from now to thousands or even millions of years from today."
"I vote for the latter," said Dimetroodon.
"Well, we have to be careful," Larry warned us. "It's been a long time since anyone knew how to use this thing we have to-Greeny don't do that!"
When I saw what Greeny was about to do, my heart stopped beating completely. He was reaching out to touch the Terra-Track! With his hand!
"Ow!" His screaming resonated in the room walls and in my brain. I rushed over to him, not caring for a moment that I stepped on my girlfriend's hand. I grabbed Greeny's hand and examined it. "It burned me!"
Then my fear became confusion. I saw no burn marks or any signs of injury.
Larry read my thoughts, because he said, "Maybe it's some sort of thermal burn shield this thing has."
We suddenly heard a loud grinding sound and the ground shook violently. The fluids in my inner ear started rushing and I immediately started getting dizzy. Greeny grabbed on to me, burying his face in my shirt. I placed my arms around him to protect him from whatever was coming.
Dust filled my nostrils and I started coughing loudly, bringing spams of pain to my chest. I felt a sudden rush of cold, fresh wind blowing right into my face. Then, when the grinding noises halted, there was the sound of night air.
I opened my eyes and saw the mountains in the background, the forest in front, and the waning full moon in the sky. "Did…did that thing just…"
Larry nodded, also in complete awe.
"You mean…it can do things…with just one touch?" said Darla.
"We just saw a demonstration, didn't we?" said Roger.
"So this is how they got out," I said, standing up, but staying near Greeny just in case something happened. And something did. This is going to sound weird, so hang on. Once we all started exiting the room and stepped back into the forest, the Terra-Track started floating upwards in the air, then it moved by itself towards us and it landed inside Larry's pack! Then, the blue blow faded to a dim light.
"Wow! I think it just decided to make us its new owners," said Robert.
"You know, by the way this thing is acting, I say it's not impossible that it has, over the millennia, created a mind of its own," Larry said.
About a half hour later, we found our way back to the camp. You can only imagine how we felt after all the events of that day. Once everyone else was asleep in our tent, Larry crawled over to my sleeping bag with the cube in his hand and whispered, "I just remembered something about this thing."
I looked around just to make sure no one listened. "What?"
"This thing also is indestructible and can destroy anything. The most powerful weapons imaginable can be made from it. Like giant plasma lasers. Those can destroy even the strongest force fields. Maybe even the ones the Red Eyes use."
"Wow! Really?"
"Yep."
"Where does it get all its energy?" I asked.
"Well, I'm not sure, but my Higher Intelligence Power tells me that all its mammoth energy is because it was created in a super-large black hole. IN other words, this cube is really just small singularity. It has the capability to rip the fabric of space and time."
I felt my entire throat go dry. Bone dry. "This thing can…rip the fabric of space-time? The fabric that makes up the universe?" He nodded. "And what would happen if it did that?"
He shrugged. "Oh, maybe shortcuts, wormholes, or even involuntary dimension-travel. That makes at even more important to keep this thing under the lid, if you know what I mean."
My eyes fell upon the cube as I laid my head back on the pillow and Larry turned out the lamp, with the cube's flow in my face. As the minutes passed, the glow faded slowly until there was nothing left but a small, white dot in the center. Holy cats! This thing really does have a mind of its own. It even goes to sleep when we do. How does it know it?
My father always said, "Keep on asking questions, son. Even if it's the same questions, or about the same subject. You will eventually get your answer."
I had a gazillion questions at the moment.
But some I would have to learn the hard way.