Bak'tuhn - Mahima Pushkarna

Bak'tuhn
By Mahima Pushkarna

It was a primitive race that found it's heat in the lava-like deliquesce metal and it's breath in a solar winter. Mankind had gone though one complete darwinian cycle, leaving one sole known survivor from Earth, location unknown. The concept of fire was as alien as the understanding of the erratic behavior of the sky and the land and the wind and the rain. Every single day the land became hotter and the sky colder, and every day was longer than the previous. No such thing as paranoia existed anymore; it have given way to hysteria, and that had slowly faded into a curiosity of what would happen next. A small rock fired past me and straight into what used to be Africa. Zimbabwe was reduced to, if possible, more fused metal and radiations. Some debris broke off the continent and floated into a warped orbit around earth. I turned and continued searching for an approximation of my earth-home and scanning for any glowing verterenoscere. I, R4P70R-v2 am one of the three successes of the Eden Capsule. When the world as we knew it was coming to an end, I was volunteered to be a part of the capsule that was only still in beta mode. One man, one woman, and two children would be exposed to selective radiation mutations that would destroy their natural DNA, and would then capacitate the body to produce engineered DNA. DNA that would comprise of all the knowledge in the world and all the virtues of the world and everything that was positive about each human being. This genetically engineered DNA, was a result of an intensive study of each individual possible and the research would have spanned over close to a century. The atmosphere had been diminishing at a constant rate, and exposure to the harsh heat of the sun had been growing. After 300 solar years of it, a sudden cloud cover replaced the bright harsh sun for a year. Little did we know that this was the start of our sun dying. We had a dying atmosphere to protect us, and our only source of energy was consuming us. I woke up one morning in the radiation room which was fondly called the "garden". 28 hours later, four capsules were launched into space. The last thing I can remember is a blue and brown planet erupting into flames, eating away one capsule. Over eight centuries later, I'm still wandering in space hoping to find the other two capsules of the Garden of Eden while faithfully going about the duties etched into my synthetic genes. A seemingly familiar patch in the clouds appeared- A lunar verterenoscere. Mankind on earth had discovered a little bit more about itself. This mankind that I speak of, are primitive and only in the initial stages of their evolution- biologically, socially, emotionally. They live in trenches and steeled themselves in troughs formed from various collisions; some nooks and corners would be cooler than the others, more suitable for such a life form. They live in tribes of sorts, scavenging for food and knowledge, and an understanding about themselves. I focused and my eyes zoomed in towards the glowing verterenoscere. I had been wondering how long they would take to discover it. Recording and Documenting was this particular verterenoscere's teaching. Man would now have the ability to develop and preserve a first-hand account of the afterlife of his kind. I hit the twelfth and last green panel. I turned away towards the solar reflector to gaze at the sun, as the capsule started processing the data being sent by the verterenoscere with a gentle, soft purr. My name's Tohil, pronounced to-khwal. Today is March 26, 2407 AD. This date may be absolutely nugatory to you, but not to my mayan ancestors. Today is the day that the 14th baktuhn comes to an end. 20,16,000 days past the 13th baktuhn, Dec 21, 2016 AD. Popularly known to humankind as doomsday, armageddon, the end of days. It signified the end of our calendar. If time ceased to exist, how could the time-keepers exist? Before the sun grew, I used to be an archeologist. The aroma of the earth used to be my refuge from the acrid fumes of industrial metal that seemed to be clogging the air, a lot like the thick layer of dark, dense oil that clouded water bodies when the oil rigs exploded in the east. That was the starting, but we somehow managed to avert it. I can't seem to remember the exact event that exterminated all of us- except me. I suffer from Lacunar Amnesia. I have no recollection of the end of the world as we would know it, yet I remember everything else. I woke up with shattered metal around me. I do feel changed; modified. I know more than ever before, more than I could possibly ever even dream of. I wandered across the north pole. The only reason I know it is the north pole, is because the UNNPCAMP (the united nations north pole center for advanced measuring practices) ruins served as my shelter. The camp was set up when natural calamities caused changes in all our measuring systems, and unprecedented errors caused a complete collapse of all human-installed systems on the planet. The main purpose was to constantly gauge the change in measurement systems so that we could find patterns and determine the next change, the next calamity. But we were far too slow. I continued walking, trying to keep the camp in sight. It was as bad as being on the moon- scorching in the sun, and sub-zero in the shadows, and lava-like earth everywhere. It has been 80 days that I have been walking in search for another human. My foot slipped as the earth below me crumbled. Death was no longer my worst fear, but slowly drowning in a river of searing, amalgamated metal. I tried looking at my final destination downwards, but all I could see was a cloak of darkness enveloping the dimming light from the sun. What was worse, hyperthermia or my skin dissolving in red-hot metal? My brain was too fuzzy to decide, and my eyes were watering with the increasing speed. The gravitational pull was getting stronger as I fell deeper. THUD! I crash-landed in powdery snow. The slightest buzz in my head stopped after a couple of minutes, and slowly and carefully, I propped myself up on my elbows, looking for wounds and pain. Three fractured fingers on my left hand, I must have fallen on it. But where was I? Snow? It was quite impossible, there was hardly any water left? Hyperthermia was decidedly better. At least there was water. I gingerly lifted an assemblage of snowflakes, and took a quick lick. This wasn't completely water-snow. It was lined with artificial snow, molten chloride, known to be used as a coolant in nuclear reactors. That would mean... I fiercely started kicking around in the snow, hoping to find something. I went from wall to wall. This could not be earth. If this was true, I would not be the only human on this planet. I walked backwards gazing at the ice-lined walls, and a glint of light caught my eye; a similar frequency as light that has been totally internally refracted. I squinted at the object; An oddly shaped pyramid of snow. It wasn't completely pyramidical- it had 14 sides, and was flat on the top, only to be attached to a crystal pyramid with 3 sides, hoisted up with a cylindrical object. My eyes could not be deceiving me. It was the key to next mayan calendar; a rumor that has been a part of my culture since we have existed. Could this mean that I have found time again? I reached out towards the key. The ice fell, as though it were merely a spider web. I walked through the ice, and I heard a sound behind me. I spun around. Nothing. Slowly, I dusted the powdery snow off the key, and tried to read the inscriptions. The inscriptions were set within the ice-crystal pyramid. Touching it would cause it to melt; I had to be very meticulous in handling it. I picked up two milky white ice blocks from the ground, and used them as handles, slowly pushing the crystal down. The sound again. I turned around, and took a few steps forward. I could see a patch on the ground. I got down my knees; two drops of water had fallen in the snow. I looked up. The walls had turned sweaty; I started running back to the key, and light clouded my eyesight. I tripped and I fell; my head hit something very hard and my adrenaline ran through my blood. A slight tingling sensation tickled my ribs; I touched my heart, the intensity of the light blinded me. Mankind was going to be ok.
(end)