p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Your story sounds fantastic… Yet I am inclined to believe you," Dejah Thoris said./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The survivors were huddled up in a basement chamber. A single portable radium orb illuminated their tired but tense faces and the vaulted ceiling of their shelter. Overground, the sandstorm raged. The noise was punctuated by crashing sounds, as the remaining walls of the city crumbled and collapsed under the assault of the roaring winds./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Diana of Themyscira sighed with relief. She had briefly recounted her story – her childhood and education, her sudden transit to a strange and alien landscape when she stepped upon the red stone… But her audience was most captivated by the description of the magical island surrounded by mists and wine dark sea. To the inhabitants of Barsoom, arid and dying, the image of an endless water mass and towers overgrown with lush vegetation sounded like something out of a dream. The civilians listened with wonder, and, perhaps, Diana's story and calm, warm voice eased their pain and anxiety. Only Xab Valor (hastily appointed captain of the royal guard, after the death of all higher officers in the recent ambush) remained suspicious./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Dejah Thoris spoke again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""I can put forward two hypotheses. Number one: you, Diana of Themyscira, hail from the distant past of our world. Your archaic speech patterns and mannerisms can all be accounted to that. But first and foremost, the description of the environment. Where we live, our arid deserts, are but the basins of the long lost seas of our planet. We know this from the legends and chronicles, many of which are recorded in my grandfather the Jeddak's library."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The Princess of Helium spoke in a low, well-modulated voice, with an air of authority and profound learning. Her subjects nodded with approval./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""The red stone you mentioned… Could be an experimental device connecting your time to ours. But to you this stone it seemed alien and unusual. It seems strange to me that your scientists had developed such technology, yet kept it secret from you, the princess, whose education encompasses all fields of knowledge and skill."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""It could be something of greater antiquity," Diana proposed. "We Amazons respect the secrets of our island – Themyscira is like a mother and protector to us all. Our sciences are much concerned with the development and healing of body and mind, but don't pry into the hidden things."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Yet you slipped out of your room in the darkness and went poking around," Dejah Thoris noted with a smile./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""True… I am a curious creature. Nosy, even, as my mentors say. But it wasn't just my own curiosity that led me. However strange this may sound, I was drawn to that place."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Perhaps your motherland wanted to reveal one of her secrets to you," Dejah Thoris said, very serious again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Both princesses sank into stillness, pondering this possibility. Finally, the silence was broken by a young Heliumite woman, Ulvia, whose face was barely visible under the bandages./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""My Princess, would you share your second hypothesis?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Dejah Thoris stirred./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Yes, indeed. The first hypothesis is based on a distance in time. The second – on a distance in space. Princess Diana's Themyscira can be in a far-away location, one we have not explored yet. Our world is vast and unknowable. There are hidden valleys, gigantic underground caverns. And we cannot rule out a correlate of this 'other space' theory. Themyscira could be on a completely different celestial body."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Thuria or Cluros?" Ulvia interjected meekly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""According to the knowledge of our ancestors and my recent investigations show, that our twin moons are as barren as our home," Dejah Thoris answered. "No, Ulvia, I refer to the more distant planets of Jasoom and Cosoom. Very little is known to us about them. My polished glass contraptions are not yet strong enough to provide insight. But both appear to be covered by whirling masses of water. And the different environment, variances in air pressure and the pull of the ground, could explain the physical prowess and mind-bending leaps of the Princess of Themyscira as well."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Diana stared at Dejah Thoris with amazement./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""We call our planet Gaia, but, who knows, perhaps it is your Cosoom or Jasoom. You know so much about the world – this world, and others, too."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""I aspire to be a scientist," Dejah Thoris said. "But I have so much more to learn. Our current expedition was dispatched by the Jeddak to rechart the air currents, and to take atmospheric density tests. In a way, we already failed. The sandstorm caught us unaware. A better understanding of the air currents could advance our meteorological prediction capabilities. And…"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Dejah Thoris paused, then continued in a voice less authoritative and more personal./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""I must confess that I had other things on my mind too. My loyal subjects know about my deep fascination with the ancient cities of Barsoom."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Ulvia nodded several times in quick succession./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""I introduced a small deviation into our designated course, to fly our vessel over one such city. This very ruin we are sheltered in currently. You could say that I got what I wished for: a chance to get to know this place better…"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Diana smiled, and placed her hand lightly on Dejah Thoris's shoulder./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""It looks like we princesses share the trait of curiosity."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"But Dejah Thoris wasn't ready to ease up on herself./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""You see, Princess of Themyscira, these cities fascinate me. For me they exude a magnetic allure akin to what drew you to the red stone. They are remnants of a different age. We steer clear of them. They are dangerous places, where Green Martians, White Apes and other monstrosities roam. But I am certain that these places hold memories… and great treasures! I don't mean things of value – we have enough of those in Helium, most prosperous city of Barsoom!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The proud Heliumites hummed words of approval./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Treasures of science!" added Ulvia enthusiastically./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Indeed," Dejah Thoris nodded. "We've only just begun to regain the knowledge and technology that had been lost with the fall of the Old Cities. Yes, our ships soar in the air. But what do we know the operation of the atmosphere plants? Nothing! They remain a secret to us. We are just children, relying on our aging guardians. We must grow up! We must learn not just how to exploit, but how to create these machines, and new ones!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The wave of authority and charisma emanating from Dejah Thoris swept over her audience. Diana felt it too. A powerful presence. Not a princess, she thought, but a queen in the making, a leader of her tribe, a visionary./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The Heliumite survivors jumped up and cheered, and for a short time, their voices overpowered the furious storm./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Then came a thundering crash. The vaults and walls of the basement shook. A cloud of dust and sand pushed violently into the room./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Xab Valor grabbed the radium orb and ran to the archway. Through the veil of dust, he peered out onto the ramp that they had descended before, when seeking shelter in the city. Then he turned back to the survivors./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""Heliumites! The passage collapsed! We are trapped!"/span/p