Deus Ex

Four men sat within an ancient building, one of many that were scattered around the central plaza of this deserted world, known only as XLIV-A3. The world orbited around a red-yellow sun, one of millions of main sequence stars that had been discovered and catalogued in this section of the galaxy. From a planetary standpoint, there was nothing particularly unusual about this world; that is, except for the complete absence of life on an otherwise habitable planet. Three of the four men had been on the planet for approximately six months; the other had arrived within the past week. The three original explorers consisted on a planetary geologist, a biologist, and a linguist, who also happened to be a rabbi. The newcomer was an anthropologist who was also a Catholic priest. “From what we can tell, Father, all life seems to have perished at about the same time some two to three thousand years ago,” said the geologist. “We’ve been trying to determine the events that might have caused all life forms to vanish, but so far, we’re drawing a blank. We’ve examined the planet for any obvious signs of a major cataclysm, such as massive earthquakes, climate change, meteor impact, and we’ve come up with nothing. “Dr. Watson has attempted to find samples of plant or animal life that have been preserved, but so far has only been able to trace fossil records from millennia ago. Those records indicate that life proceeded in much the same way as in any of the thousands of other planets that we have visited and catalogued, and that all life abruptly halted a few thousand years ago. I’d say we’re stumped—I’m certainly out of ideas.” “Well you might be, Dr. Grimes, but I think we should apprise Father Burke of the manuscripts that we’ve found,” said Rabbi Lev, as he glanced at the red-haired priest who sat listening to the explanations he was given by the three scientists. “You see,” said the Rabbi as he tugged his beard, “we’re presented with a riddle. We have a manuscript that purports to explain some of the events that happened on this planet. It is a very interesting manuscript, but my colleagues question its veracity, as well as its explanation of events. That’s why we requested that the Foundation send an anthropologist to examine this manuscript and some others that we’ve found. I must admit that I was surprised when they offered to send a Catholic priest, but when I found out that it was you—well, I felt much better.” “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Asher. I’m glad to be working with you again. Before we get ahead of ourselves, can you tell me if you have solved the problem of the language?” “I think so, Thomas. I’ve been able to translate about ninety to ninety-five percent of the words in the texts; I’m worried about the syntax and word construction, however; it’s somewhat unusual. Together, we’ll probably be able to come up with a passable translation. “The bigger problem will be the context of the text. I warn you, it will cause you some sleepless nights. I haven’t been sleeping too well lately, I can tell you that.” The priest looked at the two scientists and the rabbi, one after the other. The two scientists looked somewhat bemused, almost skeptical; the Rabbi looked distraught as he absent-mindedly drew pictures in the sand. “Asher, does the text contain new scientific discoveries that will somehow cause us to reevaluate some of our basic scientific assumptions concerning the evolution of life-forms that have developed over the past few years?” “No, Thomas, it doesn’t.” “I see; then why do you look so concerned, while our colleagues look skeptical? What does the text contain?” “I suppose the best thing is to share it with you. Do you mind if I read it aloud? I must warn you in advance that you will be disturbed by its contents—maybe even more than I was, although. . .no, I take that back, we were the chosen people after all. You might be equally disturbed.” Burke looked at Asher Lev’s face trying to gain some sort of clue as to the contents of the manuscript from Lev’s expression. In this, he failed. Sighing, adjusting his beard and phylactery, Asher Lev took a scroll from what looked to be a leather case, and proceeded to read.