Margaret’s temper began to boil over once again.
‘I’m, why, I’m not close-minded! How dare you suggest that! I’m an atheist, and a scientist! I use the tools of observation and peer-reviewed studies to shape my world view, thank you very much! And, what’s more, I’m a lesbian, sir! Something that in your culture, is probably still regarded as a perversion or a dirty sin or—’
‘I have no culture!’ the General roared in a vociferous eruption of volcanic wrath, jumping up from his seat and slamming a fist onto the table. Once again the white-hot chemical fire surged forth, crackling and burning with a wild madness in his eyes. ‘Do not presume to know anything about what I believe or where I come from, you petulant infant! I have seen the human world grow while the animal and plant worlds have died! I have seen empires rise and fall, I have been there at the moment of their births and have lived through their deaths! I have endured through countless human lifespans! You, you have been here for a mere forty-eight years! Do you realise how insignificant a drop of time that is to me?! Can your tiny mind even begin to comprehend that?! Now youwill sit there, andyou will listen, and you will stop presuming to know anything about me!’
Margaret cowered in fear, feeling the inferno of the General’s wrath radiating out from his ebony skin as if his entire being were aflame with the heat of an exploding star. Dr Ogilvy and Dr Teixeira sat in tense silence, each staring coolly at the ground. Margaret’s usual quick temper and haughty defiance were uncharacteristically cowed by the overwhelming intensity of this being, this creature who towered with an awe-inspiring grandeur before her, and it was all she could do to maintain the barest semblance of composure, and keep herself from wilting in fear before his gaze. However, once again he forced the fury back inside himself, and he sat down and breathed in a drawn-out, calming breath before speaking again.
‘My culture, as you would have it, died around two-thousand years ago. You see, this city, this palace in which we now sit – this is where I was born, in a very different life, a very long time ago. These stones that surround you, these ruins, they are all that remain of what was once my culture.’
Margaret swallowed slowly, noticing only now how dry her mouth was.
‘But … I … I don’t understand,’ she murmured.
The General’s wrath subsided completely, and his voice took on a gentler tone.
‘No, of course you don’t, and how could you? I will tell you, but I do not expect you to believe any of this, at least not for the time being. Perhaps when your mind has opened up more, perhaps then you will start to grasp but one or two of the cooling embers at the edge of the great bonfire that is enlightenment. Perhaps then, perhaps then…’ The General sat down again and clasped his hands together, staring at the surface of the table all the while. ‘The ruins of this city, which we have been restoring to its former glory over the past few decades, are the last remnants of what was once my culture and my people. T’Kalanjathu was once the capital of a vast empire of the ancient world. In the days when Rome was still in its infancy, we were flourishing. We traded with Egypt at the time that the Egyptians were first starting to build their pyramids. We sent ambassadors as far afield as Europe to the north and India to the east, and we even sent ships down the Congo River to the Atlantic. Indeed, some of our ships, after much trial and error with design, were able to cross the ocean. We made contact with the Mayan civilisation in the very final days of our empire, when the Mayans were in the infancy of their rise to power in Central America.’
Margaret took a few moments to process this information before she responded.
‘That’s really fascinating,’ she murmured eventually, possessed of a genuine sense of wonder and awe. ‘But … what happened to your people’s empire? And what part did you have to play in all of this?’
As soon as those words had left her lips she stopped and thought about what she had just said.
Whoa! Hold up there Margaret? Are you actually starting to believe the crazy, schizophrenic bullcrap this guy is spouting? Yeah, he’s managed to fool you somehow with his little ‘turning into an elephant’ trick, which must be caused by some sort of hallucinogen he’s secretly feeding you, which he can somehow trigger at will – but these claims that he’s a few thousand years old?! Come on now! Don’t get sucked into this garbage. You’re an intelligent woman, a scientist and a sceptic. Absolutely none of this can possibly be true. None of it, not a shred! But … what about the feeling of having my mind read? That certainly felt real enough. And how does he know what he seems to know about my deepest and most intimate secrets? Oh Lord, this is all so confusing. It can’t be how he says it is, it just can’t be! Well, look – it’s best at this stage to just play along. Plans for escape will come later. Right now, don’t rock the boat! Stop challenging him! He’s obviously got an awful temper and some sort of scary god-complex thing going on, and you’ve got no idea of what he might be capable of if pushed. Play polite, play the believer. You have to survive this!
‘What happened?’ she asked.
The General laughed softly and shook his head. ‘What happened is that we went the way of all human empires. First, we innovated, then we expanded, then we conquered and colonised. We were at the top, for a while. After that we overextended, we fell into excess, hedonism and complacency …
