The Mechanism

“So tell me about this marvelous device.”  Albion settled himself down beside me on the dock.

“Well, the original Antikythera Mechanism is actually a bunch of corroded gears.  It was found in the remains of an ancient shipwreck in the Mediterranean about 100 years ago.  It dates to about the first century.  Archeologists have been baffled by it for years.  See….” I flipped the little gold box over.  “….it will calculate the position of the sun, moon, planets, and a few stars for any given date.  Basically, it is a primitive computer.”

“I see.”

“It is an amazing piece of mechanical engineering.  Nothing like this was seen again for at least a thousand years.  It demonstrates that the ancients were farther along technologically than we thought.   Until now, it has been thought that only one existed so it was concluded that it was an aberration… some little device created for the amusement of  an engineer.   But here’s another.  This means that there are probably more and that it was a piece of technology more widely used.  It changes how we should view classical antiquity.”

Albion remarked, “And to think it would turn up in Lemuria.”

Lemuria.  My heart sank.  That’s right.  We’re in Lemuria.  Lemuria is a virtual realm.  It’s not real.  Therefore the mechanism is not real.  None of this is real.  Not even Albion. 

I sighed.  Yet, it must mean something.  Everything in Lemuria is laden with meaning.  There is a reality for sure in that.   This device has percolated up from my unconscious.  It is a message of some sort.  It has meaning even if it is not a physical reality.

“Excuse me…”

“Huh?”

“You went away for a moment.”

“Sorry, I was just contemplating the nature of reality.”

“In the middle of loading a boat?”

“Sorry—”  Something caught my eye.  Across the street from the docks, near the carpet merchant’s stall, stood four people.  One was a man dressed in the manner of a merchant.   The other figures were covered from head to foot in gray robes.  Only their eyes showed.   Their small statures suggested to me that they were women.   The man was quietly speaking to them, frequently glancing in my direction. 

“Albion,” I said in a hushed voice, “do you know those people over there?”

To his credit, Albion discretely turned and viewed them.  He whispered back, “The man is Ahmed, one of the merchants.  The others, I don’t know.”

“What kind of guy is Ahmed?”

“A hard and shrewd business man.  He’ll sell his mother if you offered enough, but other than that he has managed to stay out of trouble.  I wouldn’t worry about him.  The others, though…..”

“I know.  They give me the creeps.”

“Do you want me to check them out?”

“No, let’s finish here and get going.  You still insisting on coming?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Well, I’m in command, just remember that.”

“Yes, Captain.”

I put the mechanism back in its box and shoved it way down to the bottom of my bag.  In a matter of minutes, we were finished.   As I untied the moorings,  I glanced back towards the stalls and saw that Ahmed and the women in gray had vanished.

A shiver went up my spine as I pushed the boat away from the dock.

L. Gloyd (c)  2008