Threaded Mode | Linear Mode

"The Wolf of Afghanistan" Joshua Schuler · (11-22-2017)

A thirty-something year old man hunches over the racecar bed, the type that every boy wanted when he was a kid, tucking the six or seven year old under the covers. The boy didn’t look tired, but no kid ever wants to go to sleep at their bed time.

“It’s only eight thirty…” The child whines.

“And you always go to bed at eight thirty on school nights.” The man replies with a lack of enthusiasm, as if he has this debate every night.

“But I’m not tired!” The child says.

The man let’s out a sigh. “Okay, how about I tell you a story tonight?”

“What kind of story, Uncle Paul?”

“A story about a hero. I’ve been thinking about telling you this story for quite a while.”

“A hero?! What kind of powers does he have?!” The boy askes, raising his voice. He’s clearly interested. A story about a hero, or potentially a superhero, is much better than going to sleep at eight thirty.

“We’ll get to that. Just take a deep breath, and I’ll start from the beginning.” Uncle Paul walks towards a small brown book shelf in the corner of the room. The shelf is partially filled with children’s books, fables, and a few other large books. Paul grabs one of the larger volumes. Paul shuts the door to the room, turns off the light switch, turns on a lamp, and takes a seat in a rocking chair a few feet from the boy’s bed.

“This story is about a hero named Lacertus,” he says as he flips open the volume to the first page.

“Let me start this story by making something very clear to you. Lacertus is no mere mortal like you and I, even though he would look remarkably similar to any of the men that you see walking around every day. You see, Lacertus doesn’t experience the world the way that we do.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, it’s kind of hard to explain. Let me give you one of the many examples, and hopefully that will help you a bit. Once you fall asleep, you’ll wake up tomorrow and it will be a new day. You know that tomorrow is the day after today. And that a month from now is a month in the future. And day after day after day, you and I continue to get older. At some point you’ll turn ten and even further down the road, you will turn twenty! And some day, I will be a very, very old man.” Uncle Paul lets out a small chuckle.

“You see, Lacertus doesn’t experience time that way. Time isn’t measured relatively. There is no past and there is no future. He thinks of it as an illusion made up by various beings trying to cope with the changing world. There are no fixed moments of existence. There is just a singular moment that is happening right now. Time doesn’t change, but all the things in the world do.

That’s easy for Lacertus to say because he doesn’t age. His body doesn’t wither and break down from moment to moment. He won’t be an elderly man in the future. Instead, Lacertus is perpetually strong, and humans would think that he is immune to the workings of Father Time.

Although I don’t know for sure, I do believe that time exists. And I believe that our hero somehow is unconsciously traveling through time, from era to era, as he explores worlds that no man will ever touch. I believe that Lacertus doesn’t believe in time because he bypasses all of its rules. He jumps from past to future without skipping a beat.”

“Then what is he? Like, he isn’t a human.” The boy askes, somewhat confused. There’s almost a hint of concern blended into his curiosity.

“That’s a tough question. You see, Lacertus is a guardian of sorts. He defends some race or ancient species. At some age, Lacertus was given a quest.” Uncle Paul fixes his eyes on a quotation in the book.

The Elder of Lacertus' Tribe Said:‘Lacertus, you must be brave. You must guide us through the struggles that our great civilization faces. Clearly, we need another force to come to our aid; a loving, peaceful nation that will show our adversaries that we mean no harm. You’re our last hope. Scour the great beyond for any righteous being that will join us and invite them to the homeland. Then, only then, can we reach peace and prosperity. We can no longer settle the score with violence. That, my friend, will only lead to the decimation of us all.’

And with that message, Lacertus left with faint amount of hope in his heart.

Our hero entered the cosmos, unsure of the fate of his people. Resting in front of him are hundreds of millions of unexplored planets just beyond the stars. But our hero exits the mortal plane and pursues the counsel of deities.”

Before the child could ask for clarification, Uncle Paul turned the tomb towards him. A picture of an armored being surrounded by cloaked figures.

“Their faces are covered, as one mortal cannot process the true visual of a god. The cloaked figures listened to Lacertus’ request.

Lacertus Said:‘While I search for an ally, my people will perish. By the time I explore three galaxies, my tribe will no doubt be extinct. For this, I ask for divine intervention. I ask that the people of my world are frozen in the current moment, until I return with assistance. I pledge my allegiance to the Gods, and I will humbly serve for an eternity if you accept my plea.’

Lacertus was enshrouded in darkness. He couldn’t hear the deliberation, but he was slightly satisfied that they would at least consider his request. If denied, Lacertus must act with haste. He must quickly analyze and explore all the nearby worlds and find a benevolent race to join his cause. That would be his only hope.

Suddenly, Lacertus appeared in the center of the cloaked figures. A booming voice echoed through the chamber, coming from no particular figure or direction.

The Voice of the Deities Said:
‘Lacertus, your request has been approved – with condition. During your search for allies, we wish that you carry out judgement on evil creatures you find. With the expansion of life, we’re in need of an arbiter. A man that can see good and evil and administrate justice with the sword on your back. During your quest, you must eradicate the evil you find. On that condition, we honor your request.’

The surroundings fade away from our hero, and he finds himself in a remote desert. Sand, endless amounts of sand seem to cover miles in every direction. The air is dry, but there’s a slight wind chill.

And at that moment, Lacertus’ existence changes. In his body, he could feel a surge. He could feel a power wriggle through his veins. He could feel another entity peering through his eyes and seeing the world through his own lens. Another entity looking at the plain terrain. But then, Lacertus’ head cocked, and his eyes focused on a speck far out in the distance.

That is where Lacertus’ journey begins.”

Uncle Paul glances up from the tomb and notices that the boy is fighting to stay awake. Although there’s interest in his eyes, the weight of his eyelids becomes insurmountable. Uncle Paul marks the page, closes the heavy book, and shuts off the light. The story will continue another night.

Threaded Mode \| Linear Mode The Story Begins
Author	Message