(ACSS) Dream Time

---------------Dream Time---------------


The walk to the river was not very long, so there was no need to get up early. The others in the village didn't understand why I didn't participate in the hunt. It's hard to explain the concept of vegetarianism to a group of people that are primarily hunters, not gatherers.

That difference between them and me was insignificant compared to my skin color...and height...actually everything about me physically. The tallest of these people stood at 1.6 meters. I practically towered over them at 2 meters high.

When I first arrived, almost a year ago, they wanted to kill me. Quite understandable considering the nature of my arrival. The one thing that saved me was my knowledge of a few of their words. At spearpoint I raised my hands and said "Uluru..Tjukurpa." and motioned towards the distant monolith that they believe holds mystical powers.

Indeed, the great sandstone mountain holds many mysteries, magical or not. It's what threw me off my original destination. The magnetic field around this 318m rock is even more powerful here in the past. It's interfering with the sensitive instruments onboard my craft. I have had the Aborigines help me move the craft to their village, but the interference still persists. It may be as large as the entire continent in this time period. If this is so, I may be stuck here for a very long time.

The rock is known in our time as Ayers Rock, but Sir Henry Ayers won't be born for over 3,000 years. The year I have become marooned in is 4981 B.C. I've calculated it several times, but it really does me no good. Knowing I'm several thousand years off course is a moot point when I cannot get my timeship started again.

My craft, or timeship is spherical. The outer surface is constructed of one seamless titanium shell. When it was first constructed in 2085, the titanium still had it's lustrous metallic white sheen. After several successful timejumps, the titanium gained a diffracted rainbow pattern of color. The scientists explained to me it was due to exposure to extreme temperature differences. It was because of this rainbow color, that the Aborigines thought I was a child of the Rainbow Serpent. They thought my ship was an egg from one of their gods. I hope I haven't disrupted much by being here. My name Perry Napier, is phonetically similar to their word piranypa, meaning non-Aborigine. I only hope that it is a harmless coincidence.

I was asked if to go with the tribal shaman, Yilpi today to Uluru. He said it called to him in the night. It said to bring the Rainbow Serpent child. I wanted to explore the rock, since I haven't been back to it since I came here. Gathering a few instruments from the craft, I met the shaman at his hut. His face was painted with white spirals and dots. This was an important trip for him. He was answering a call from one of his deities. I had learned much of their language in the last year. I told him how honored I was to accompany him on his journey. He smiled and said, "This is your journey."

Yilpi and I crossed the stream and he motioned for me to stop. We sat near the bank and he unrolled his leather pack. He pulled out a sharp stone tool and headed towards a clump of bushes growing near the waters edge. He dug around underneath one bush and pried it from the earth. He washed it off in the crystal clear water and brought it to me. With the stone knife, he cut the root in half and handed it to me. It resembled a potato and tasted similar. He called it "warran". The villagers had prepared them for me before, but never had I eaten it raw. It was quite delicious. After our quick lunch, we made our way towards the monolith.

Uluru's majestic form loomed in the distance. It's color was brilliant red in the setting sun. We were still miles from our destination. It would be nightfall before reaching the rock. A storm was gathering to the east. Yilpi said it smelled like rain would soon be on us. I was beginning to have second thoughts about coming. I didn't like the prospect of getting stuck out in a thunderstorm.

The rain came as we reached the base of Uluru. Yilpi pointed out a cave that we could seek shelter in. He said his ancestors used to live in the caves, until they started getting sick. They moved a few miles from the rock and settled near a big river. After they left the rock, no one got sick anymore. While the lightning and rain raged outside, Yilpi told me stories of the history of Uluru. He said that Uluru was hollow, and we were to go inside. I asked him why he never told me it was hollow before. Uluru didn't want me to reveal this, Yilpi said. He lead me to the back of the cave and a small passageway could be seen. He ducked in and motioned for me to follow.

The cave corridor was smooth, as if a thousand years of passage by human feet had worn it down. There were paintings on the sides of the wall, each one telling the story of someones life and experiences. Down we went, it seemed like we traveled for a few hours. Neither of us speaking. I felt this was a place for reflection not communication. There would be time for speaking when we stopped. Yilpi held his torch ahead of him and paused. A draft pushed the flame back, threatening to extinguish it. I had a light source, but had not shown it to the Aborigines. If the torch went out, I would have no choice but to reveal it to my guide. The flame held out and he continued on into a large cavern.

In the vast space of the cave, there was a dim glow. I asked Yilpi where the light was coming from, and he just pointed to the far side of the cave. As we moved towards the light, Yilpi told me that the Rainbow Serpent made her nest here inside Uluru during the Tjukurpa, or Dreamtime. His people spoke of an egg that never hatched. It was then that I saw it. The object that his people had told stories about for hundreds of years. An unopened timeship. The rainbow sheen of it's titanium hull glowing softly in the dark. The four landing lights were still on. A testement to to the lasting power of the fusion cells. I hesitated to open the hatch. What would I find inside? I found the recessed panel and pressed the keypad to open. *Hssssss* went the seals. The smell of timeless decay came from the capsule. There in the pilot's seat was a mummified time pilot. The badge read Capt. Otto Breckenridge. Temporal Recon Corp. The source of magnetic interference was this timeship. I reached down and flipped the phasing switch to off. Somehow, this pilot had perished during a timejump. The Aborigines must have put the timeship down here hundreds of years ago. It's power signature must have been amplified in these natural caverns. It's possible that some of Yilpi's ancestors became sick after prolonged exposure. I initiated the return sequence on the ship's onboard computer.

Yilpi had not said anything during our discovery. He watched with curiosity as I sent the timeship back to it's own time. A look of awe on his face as it faded from existence. I thanked him and told him that I would be leaving as soon as we returned to the village. He smiled and said, "I know. This was in my dream as well."

*Edited for an inconsistancy in dates.*

[edit on 4-15-2005 by darklanser]

Excellant story my friend. Not only is it good to meet the competition it is fantastic to find them so formidible. It's a good thing i'm not a judge or i'd have to vote for your story over my own

Love and light,

Wupy

That was a little strange. Good read though, now if only I could change it so my piece would win. Good luck.

Bring on the judges! MUWAHAHAHA!!!!



(great story! )

[edit on 6-5-2012 by Kushi_Master]

[edit on 3-9-1256 by Kushi_Master]

[edit on 1-5-2005 by Kushi_Master]

This is really worthy of being an actual plot line for an expanded story or production.

Good story. The first part moves really nicely, when you are first introduced to the characters. It seemed like Perry was reminiscing, and when he wasn’t was a relatively forceful jerk. The tense moved, and it felt like the person should have as well to match the actions, that would have been nice to see. The specs of the timeship seemed out of place at first, but it made sense. The ending was a bit tricky, but all in all it was a very well written story.

“Dream-time” is a well written story that weaves the ancient and future together. Nicely structured and expressive, I felt that this entry was among the best because the characters captured and retained my interest from the beginning to the finish. In addition, although the story was only a few paragraphs, it felt complete and unhurried.

sampling of the critique

[edit on 5-12-2005 by worldwatcher]

Time travel stories always get my attention, and this one was done well. No overly-drawn-out explanations that required the reader to be well-versed in the writings of Hawkings, Einstein, or any other physicist. This one just dealt with the mysteries that were found. Very well done.