The Pole Shift

The Wizard

Tomorrow came, a year had passed . Two young limbs raced. There was occasional snatches of laughter, as their toned legs sought to out leap and outpace. Their physical exertions together conveyed much more than words, like singing together bonds strangers. Son and the girl from the earth bunkers paused before the ruined building. The girl's face faltered at the gapping maw that had once been a heavy door.

"What broke this building?" Sand blew suddenly and they covered their eyes.

"The Giant, don't you know your stories?"

"I don't care for them, The Giant this, the Witch Woman that! The Sun and Moon are more comforting to me and The Lord Vet, Toorak, he was kind - we knew it." She had blushed when she spoke Lord Vet. Son thought of her words, it was as much as she had spoken and affection bloomed unexpectedly. Suddenly he realized he didn't know her name. He asked in a shy way and she looked away as if not wishing to answer, then whispered:

"She. There was another name but it is forgotten. A name that was a place in the Old World. I know other girls are called She or Her." Son nodded, not liking the name . He said:

"I will ask the Wizard your old name, he will know." With that Son strode confidently into the destruction. She followed, and soon they arrived at the tunnel that had been bored smooth. They both ran their fingers across the surface.

"We crawl for one thousand heart beats, then we arrive at the bottom room. It is a strange place with carvings of Gods on the walls. There is a warm river. The Wizard will greet us and ask questions. Think of a question to ask him, then we will leave. I think he wants us to like him." Son wanted to talk more but was shushed by She. They entered the tunnel and felt a sudden warm breeze. Soon they arrived. Son wanted to ask how many heart beats she counted but saw in the thin illume she either did not count, or could not be bothered. Her eyes widened in the orange glow and she took a few steps into the room alone. Son put a finger to his lips as she went to speak. She walked to each carving and scrutinized the figures in fear. She paused at the woman holding the bone carved wolf. She suddenly said:

"The Witch Woman!" Instantly the room lit up with a blaze of orange. From the depths of the cavern a figure stood as if erected by unseen mechanisms. Menace paced at the two, eyes anciently wicked yet tired. The figure arrived at the quailing teenagers. Dangerous eyes burned at the girl, the old man's tongue lolled out in the style of a dog. It seemed a great attack was about to commence then the Wizard turned to Son and instantly peril fell away.

"You frightened me!" Said the old man in the style of a criminal blaming his victim. She had cowered to the floor, all thought of intrigue and promise gone in her. She sobbed in terrible fear and Son felt protectiveness surge as his affection had earlier.

"Wizard!" He spoke as sternly as he could muster.

"Yes?" The Wizard spoke back in the same tone.

"I have returned as promised! A year has passed!"

"And you brought a present? A follower of the Witch Woman? A She? A sacrifice?" Cunningness crept through slit eyes. It seemed the old man's hair curled of its own accord, snail shell curls that wound one way then another.

"No, we came for her name, and for, "Son grasped for reason, "For news! The Lord Vet is dead. You revealed a secret through me to him. I come as promised, you said you wanted a friend." The old man was regaining composure. Son had the impression of embarrassment and annoyance.

"I have frightened you both. My sleep is often very deep where I battle many, demons. Forgive me, I do want a friend." Son felt that he alone had been addressed. She still shuddered on the stone floor, unable to cast away her sobs. The old man strode away and looked at the stone carvings. The menace that he had woken with fled to the dark corners of the cavern and was replaced with tranquil quiet. He continued to look at the Gods, humming and nodding. He did not look at the woman holding the bone carved wolf. It became obvious he was waiting to be spoken to. She had regained composure and spoke.

"Once I had a name, but it is forgotten by all. A name place of the Old World. What is it?" The old man turned to her an expression of gratefulness touched his now kind eyes, as if he had been given a second chance he did not deserve. He paced slowly to her as if she were an animal he had once harmed. He knelt and touched a quivering hand. He mumbled something, and both Son and She were reminded of Toorak's commune to Crystal Ear. A pricking sensation commenced where the old mans fingers touched.

"Haplogroup U4, native European. Old lineage." The Wizard seemed surprised and looked at the girl with fresh eyes. He looked at her tangled chestnut hair and seemed to calculate the degree of angle in the curls. Quickly he moved on and spoke many words that made little sense. Finally he said:

"Sassafras. That is what you were named." Whether it was the journey of words to the name, or some young memory, She leapt upon the answer with a broad smile.

"Yes! Sassafras." Sassafras stood, gave Son a look that was hard to fathom then raced away. Both watched her leave with discomfort born of different reason. The old man was reminded sharply of trouble, and Son of promise. The old man's eyes half lidded. He said:

"My name is Perez, not Wizard or Old Man. Perez. My ancestors were the cave painters of Europe. Yon girl holds nearly ten percent of my race's genome. That was rare when there were billions of you. How strange." Son had no idea what had been said except to learn a name.

"Perez Wizard, what is the secret of Egg?" Perez laughed.

"Boy, I will sleep less from now. We need to arrange our friendship. It will start with small understandings before the big. Return to your people, Lord Vet, improve them beyond measure, then return here to begin our alliance."

Son felt cheated but Perez had returned to the dark corner and had laid himself down. Son returned to his small home. He lay himself on the bed, confused. At first thinking of Sassafras, then of Perez. At last he whispered:

"The people, I will guide the people before all else. I will make my people great."