| THE LORELEI SIGNAL |
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| Written by Kelly Madden / Artwork by Holly Eddy |
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| Sisters |
The great beast twisted her sinuous neck towards the darkened sky. The night was eternal. And although she did not
understand why, she knew it had not always been. A weak chirruping at her side brought her attention downward.
There was only one left now.
The wind rattled the branches of the trees overhead, once lush and verdant. There was so little food to be found. She had
stopped her questing calls as none were answered; it had been some time since she had seen any of her own kind.
They were alone now, it seemed.
She nosed the fresh excrement, urged her youngster away from it, then pushed it outside the nest and into a nearby
stream. Predators were always a threat, now even more so. She was not fooled by the silence.
They huddled together as the temperature dropped ever downward. The great light in the sky had been frightening, but the
relentless darkness and subsequent cold had proven much worse. She curled her tail twice around the small, shivering
form as the cold settled deep within her bones.
Tomorrow, perhaps, would be warmer.
#
A young woman, barely into adulthood, picked her way carefully along the stream watching for predators, of all varieties.
It called to her as soon as she had spied it glinting in the stream bed as she cupped her hands to drink. She reached down
into the water and gasped at the cold. At first she had thought it one of the sparkling stones so valued by her tribe, but as
she carefully wiped it dry she realized only the water had made it sparkle. The stone itself was dull and brown.
Nevertheless, she stowed it carefully inside one laced, leather boot. A talisman came to you as it was, a wise man of her
village had told her, and one should not be fooled by appearance.
She almost wept thinking of her home. Leaving had been the right thing to do, but the exposed tundra was lonely and
dangerous. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself. An outcast now, although it had been her own choice.
A woman, after all, did not ask to learn from the elders.
She continued to follow the stream bed as the sun peaked over the horizon, sparkling across the water’s surface. She
smiled as she felt her new talisman under her foot.
Today she would find a new place to live.
#
Lady Catherine took the seat next to her father. She sighed as the first of the combatants entered the arena. The smell of
blood, sweat, and sawdust caused her stomach to turn, but she smiled nonetheless.
It was expected from one of her station.
Her father nudged her as a knight on a huge black horse raced once around the arena and to her side. She swallowed hard
as he stared at her with cold, calculating eyes, then bowed to her sire. She took out her handkerchief and reluctantly gave
it to the knight.
He bowed and handed her a great jewel set within a ring of gold. She took it, and placed it in her lap. He scowled, stuffed
the cloth into his chest, and rode to meet his first opponent. She shut her eyes as the dark knight cut him down, screams
echoing in her head for hours afterwards.
Later that night Lady Catherine slipped quietly from her room and to the darkened stables. Her fingers were bare. A man
waited in the shadows.
“My Lady,” he whispered, soft and low.
“Catherine now,” she replied, putting a hand to his face.
He lifted her gently onto a horse and alighted smoothly behind her. She felt something placed around her neck, and turned
questioningly.
“’Tis not worth a sixpence….a stone from the riverbank where we first did meet.”
She felt tears spring to her eyes.
Catherine took one last look behind her; the castle turrets jutted into the sky like serrated knives. Matched to the dark
knight, she knew her life, for as long as she had it, would have been terrible. She clutched her necklace and smiled at her
companion.
She was not fooled. Its worth was unimaginable.
#
“It’s a million years old,” the shop owner said laughing “You’re wearing a piece of history.”
Carrie fingered the polished stone thoughtfully. She was not fooled. But it was a very good sale pitch to anyone with a love
of jewelry and fossils, even though any gemstone or rock could be in that age vicinity.
“How much?” she asked, trying not to look too interested.
The shop keeper was not fooled either, and quoted the exact price on the card set before the necklace. Carrie sighed, and
paid. It had been hers the moment she had touched it. The beautifully polished stone belied its original form, and she
smiled at the thought of wearing fossilized dinosaur dung around her neck.
Her breath caught in her throat as she stepped out into a suffocating cold. Winter had come early this year. The wind blew
icy pellets into her face as she pulled up the hood of her coat. She felt her new necklace against her chest, and wondered
about dinosaurs, asteroids, and how they felt as their environment began to fail, so long ago.
She knocked the ice off her car with a practiced hand, and blew out a puff of air in relief as the car started without
complaint. As a paleobiologist Carrie knew the beasts probably had little understanding of what was happening to them.
She fingered the necklace again. Still, she wondered what they had thought as their food supplies faded away. Had they
struggled to find sustenance? Had they gathered together in family groups? Had mothers protected their young from newly
brazen predators?
Carrie was surprised to find her eyes were moist. She pulled into a parking space and steeled herself from the cold. Her
new apartment had no indoor parking. She grabbed her groceries, locked the car door, and hurried inside.
It was still so odd to think of the tiny space as home. She put away her groceries, saw the crude yet colorful drawing on
the refrigerator door and burst into tears.
Asteroids, it seems, could come in many forms.
She took the necklace off and then put it back on again. Perhaps it would bring her luck. She smiled at the drawing, and
carefully laid the artist’s favorite snack cakes on the counter.
The weekend wasn’t that far away.
#
“It’s very old,” the shop owner said with a laugh. “You’re wearing a gem from the very heart of Old Earth -- from the
giants who shook the ground like thunder.”
Calandra stroked the polished stone lovingly. She was not fooled. The dragon lizard myths were well-known in literary
circles. But it was a very good sales pitch to anyone with a love of jewelry and ancient history.
“How much?” she asked, trying not to look too interested.
The shop keeper smiled slyly, and quoted the exact price hovering in the air over the necklace. Calandra sighed, and paid.
It had been hers the moment she had touched it. Calandra wasn’t sure she believed in the story of the stone -- great beast’
s droppings truly seemed the stuff of legend or at least a good joke -- but the Earth connection was enough for her.
She slipped it over her head, wondering who had owned it. Whatever its history it seemed to radiate strength.
And that she would need in abundance.
Calandra walked one last time along the sea of her birth, silently recording her homeland as her eyes swept across the
night sky, twin moons shining brightly. She wondered what the future held, but knew her path had long been chosen. Her
implant chimed softly, and as she slowly turned she was instantly transported into the great ship.
It was time to leave the galaxy’s cradle.
As she bedded down in her chamber her heart beat fast with anticipation, although it would be many years before she
would see her curiosity satiated. As she drifted into sleep Calandra fingered her necklace, imagining she heard a chorus of
strong, sweet voices as her soul launched into the stars.
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