ITHOE: Bastions of the universe

I have lived eras, seen eons, and borne witness to the passage of millennia and for it I have gained wisdom and experience worth a million lifetimes.

For all that time, for my eternity, I have served, but the end of my service was here at last. It was time to pass on the mantle.

Who could be worthy though? Who would wield these powers with the severe responsibility they deserved?

I sent out my astral sense, searched through the mortal worlds. Humans had always been some of the most eclectic people; dedication was a huge part of that. I was sure I'd find someone worthy, a new custodian for this burden.

My astral sense was a consciousness beyond time and reason. It took me less than half a second to find a promising candidate. Hastily, I descended from the higher plain and approached.

I ignored the nightlife of the city around me as I rounded upon an alley in an underground motorway. Secured in a corner with a dirty and moldy blanket over him was the most luxury-bereft man I'd ever met. He sat on cardboard to keep the cold of the concrete floor away.

From his manner of posture I knew definitely that he was asleep. This was a rat, a street rat though one who didn't look to be in his teens as those who that term applied to usually were. This was a grown man who was nevertheless a street, homeless, rat.

And like a rat, I'm sure he'd swiftly wake up, spooked, once I call his name. I approached gently until I stood above his resting form.

"Clarke Chambers."

It was exactly as I'd thought. His head shot up so quickly you would have thought he'd been awake all along, waiting for me to acknowledge him before responding. But I knew it was not so, it was just a homeless man's well honed instinct responding to a possible threat.

I looked down into his green eyes as his body became tense and raised my hands in a manner that conveyed peacefulness. The gesture was such a curious thing his people, the humans, put such value and credence in. But I could understand it, showing your hands provided evidence that you held nothing that could be a threat.

The beggar's eyes went over my empty hands and still he remained tense. I would have smiled if the expression came naturally to me. But I liked his spirit, he wasn't one to lose his guard just because there was no visible proof of danger. He was indeed worthy, I'd known previously but it was nice to still be getting assurances like this that showed that he was a perfect choice.

Who would have thought, amongst all the seven billion people in this world, some of them presidents meant to lead and guide or soldiers meant to protect and stand guard against evil, but it is a homeless beggar that's the only one who was worthy of inheriting my mantle.

"Who are you?" Clarke Chambers asked me and there was no tremor to his voice. It was a sign, one I took for its meaning: he was cautious not afraid. Another assurance, I thought.

He looked a bit curious at my form. I hadn't bothered to disguise the fact that I was something of a sort of what his people would classify as an alien. My green skin was visible and I hadn't bothered with following his people's culture of adorning myself in any kind of fabric. His eyes went over my eight feet tall form, white waist length hair, lack of any visible genitals and ears, and my one single eye.

"You're not scared," I noted, admirably.

He scoffed. "I've seen malformed dogs who look worse than you and for all I know this might just be a dream."

I looked deep into his eyes to judge his true feelings. Alas I was not a Bastion of Ativ who could read the life of anyone and anything so I settled for just reading his expressions. He was very bothered about my appearance and at the same time he was not. He was, as his people would say, 'weirded out' by it, but not concerned enough to be scared about it. This was a man who had no stakes in life. He'd only continued living because he was not surviving. He'd fight should he face a fatal threat, fight with everything he has, but he'd be glad to face a threat superior to him that could give him exactly what he's wanted for years, death.

There were two types of suicidal people. The ones who took their lives, and the one who sought trouble which took their life. The former were cowards and the latter were the most daring human beings that could exist, and this beggar was one. Which made him perfect for inheriting my mantle.

"You still haven't answered my question."

There was no question as to which inquiry he spoke of. "My name exceeds the pronouncing capabilities of your vocals. Regardless, it wouldn't matter as even I have forgotten it."

Chambers looked at me in confusion, his brows furrowed. "Then how'd you know I can't pronounce it if you have forgotten it yourself?"

"Because it is in the language of my people and that I have not forgotten and know that you can't speak even a word of."

"Ah," the man said in realization then shook his head and ran his eyes over my form again. "So you're an alien right? Like extraterrestrial?"

I nodded. "Somewhat so. Not in the sense that I come from space, but that I'm from a realm beyond the reality of this planet and this universe."

He smirked. "So not extraterrestrial really, but extradimensional?"

Now it was my turn to furrow my brow at him. It was a popular misconception, but one that was still wrong at the end of the day. "Extra Dimension would still be within this universe." He made to speak but I could guess what he was about to say and cut him off. "It is neither an alternate reality. As that would be a mirror of this reality, making it linked and thus the same reality but displaced from each other like a person and it's appearance on a reflective surface. If you seek exact words for my type of realm of origin then Extra Reality would be, not exactly accurate, but a better fit than any of the previous terms."

"I see," Chambers said, nodding. But I could tell that he didn't at all, he'd failed to grasp the essence of my meaning through my explanation. It was fine though, once he accepted my offer he'd have enough time to come to grips with all this. "So if I can't speak your name, what am I to call you?"

"Acquaintances call me Primus, some of my enemies call me the Origin. I'm better known by my eponym, Bastion of Genesis."

I stared up at the alien wondering what exactly was happening to me. Had I gotten stoned last night? No, I shook my head. I would know if I had. Then again I may have gotten so stoned I can no longer remember getting stoned. That was always a possibility.

"That isn't really what I'm truly called, but they serve as suitable translation in the lacking primary language of your people," the alien continued speaking.

"Yeah, right?" I acknowledged. My past military training was the only thing keeping me from freaking out right now and frankly I found this interesting.

Maybe whatever this was there was some danger to it. On that note: "What are you here for?" I asked the alien, Primus.

Primus visage became grim as he responded. "My time draws close to an end and I have a very great duty, one I must find someone worthy enough to pass on to."

I nodded and smirked. "Let me guess, I'm this someone." Primus nodded, making me scoff. What did he take me for? I was homeless, not stupid. "Whatever your duty is, turn around and return to it. Leave me out of it."

The alien appeared shocked for a bit. He blinked and straightened himself like the moment of surprise never happened. "I would have thought you would be highly receptive to this."

I gave him a deadpan look. "What do they say about assumption?" I teased, only to receive a look of utter confusion from Primus. Ah, yeah, I forgot... alien, I thought. "Look, do you think I'm stupid? I don't know what this is or if you're truly honest about your claims, but that's alright because I'm sure about one thing. You have the look of a man... I mean, someone. You have the look of someone who's about to bestow all his burdens and misfortune on someone else. That's the look of a Colonel leaving all the work to a sergeant even while knowing he wasn't up to task, and claiming he's doing him a lot of good, helping him advance in life."

I bit my lips to avoid using more of my past as a metaphor. I hadn't expected to go that far with the analogy. I seriously shouldn't be awake by now. I was not a morning person and was beginning to speak unchecked. It was all from lack of sleep. Could this also be a trick of my mind from that same lack of sleep?

Taking a moment I let out a deep breath to regain myself. I focused on Primus once more as he began to speak.

"I believe you misjudged me. There is no easy way to make you believe me, regardless I must tell you a story. In the primal days, after the birth of the universe, a phenomenon was engendered by the infantile universal to protect itself. This phenomenon brought about the existence of the Aeons. The Aeons are aspects and elements of the universe having adopted spirit form. Each are primal concepts, existing alongside their complementary opposites. They form the foundation of various philosophical, spiritual, and cultural frameworks that attempt to explain the nature of reality. Let me give you a brief explanation of the ten Aeons in terms you can understand."

I just nodded at him, watching him wax poetically like some ancient Greek philosopher. It was impossible to believe him and yet I did. I believed anything these days, it was a sign of my ever deteriorating mental state.

"First we have the most primal Aeon," Primus began his explanation of the Spirits of the Universe, "Genesis, the Beginning, the spiritual form of the state of origin of everything within the universe. And then there's Genesis' complementary opposite, Finire, the End. Both represent the boundaries of existence, creation, and destruction. Next there is Tryggr, the Universal Spirit of Order and Treta, the Universe Spirit of Chaos. Tryggr and Treta embody the struggle between structure and disorder, harmony and randomness. After them there's Lihtine, the Universal Spirit of Light and Kimmerien, the Universe Spirit of Darkness. These Aeons are in a flux, a steady flowing relationship, symbolizing knowledge and ignorance, good and evil, and the eternal interplay between illumination and obscurity. Amongst the Aeons we have the most adversarial pair: Ativ, the Universal Spirit of Life and Zid, the Universe Spirit of Death. Ativ and Zid are a pair that have been in conflict since their genesis, and they are primal forces that attempt to contend with each other with every given opportunity. They're the fundamental cycle of existence, where birth and growth are balanced by decay and transformation. Finally we have Noyanu, the Universal Spirit of Unity and Xim, the Universal Spirit of Duality. These two Aeons are very linked to Genesis, possessing aspects of origin and continuation respectively, reflecting the tension between oneness and separation, wholeness and fragmentation, and the interconnectedness of all things."

I wanted to take out a pen and paper to write this down so I'd never forget. Admittedly, I must credit Primus, he was a better lecturer than any I'd ever met. His voice, choice of words, and mysterious air grasped my attention in an enveloping hold. I could see myself envisioning each facet of the story.

It was a fascinating tale. One that had me seriously hooked, but I didn't know the purpose of it. Why was he telling me this?

"Eh, Primus?" He gave me an enquiring look, prompting me to go on. "What is the essence of your story?"

He shrugged. "You would have grasped it if only you were patient enough with me to let me tell it to its fullness."

"Ah," I said, feigning an enlightened look. "So in other words, it's your own fault for not knowing as you didn't shut up and let me finish. Understood, carry on."

The alien appeared bewildered. "I never meant to be so hostile with my response. Apologies if you perceived any hostility from me."

I sighed and shook my head. He made it so hard to be mad at him. I just waved him on, "get on with it."

Primus nodded and indeed carried on. "For eons the Spirits of the Universe did what they could to take care of the universe, but they were lacking in capabilities. These are primal forces who work on instincts, there's no truth to them as you would find on a living organism. They had life but lacked ordinariness, for that they lacked simplicity. Their methods for caring for the universe and seeing to its needs were as primal and complex as their nature and that of the universe itself. When the universe felt empty, Aeon Genesis brought forth the existence of matter and energy. For a long time everything existed together but the universe felt too compacted so Xim brought about separation, and working with Genesis they both engendered space after that. Not long after the universe was too full with all the matter Genesis provided and all the Aeons decided to provide their assistance. After Genesis everything existed in infinity so to lighten the universe's load, Genesis created the concept of continuous expansion. For Finire's contribution it erased infinity and gave everything an end so the universe would never be forever abound. Tryggr brought about arrangement so that everything could have its proper place to make the fullness more understandable and easier to deal with. Treta brought randomness so there can be differences to the abundance, thus giving them uniqueness and lightening the load they placed on the universe by making them interesting due to variations. Lihtine introduced knowledge and light so the universe could best understand its abundance and gain enlightenment of how to exist with it. Kimmerien, after that, bathed the universe in darkness so that it would be blind to the full scope of its abundance, creating a medium for which the universe could ignore its fullness. Ativ introduced vitality and life into the universe so that vitality could strengthen it and life could help it look after its abundance and shoulder some of the fullness with it. Zid brought about mercy so that life would never shoulder the burden of the universe for all of its existence, then it worked together with Treta and Finire to introduce destruction, so that if the fullness ever overflowed it would face partial, but continuous, destruction. Noyanu made it so that there was density, compressing the load that the universe bore not to make it lighter but smaller and more manageable. Xim worked to enhance the effects of some of the other Aeons, he gave continuity to all their effects and engendered continuity for the universe's freedom so that its load will be forever lightened."

"Wow, that's so poetic," I said, finding myself hooked. At least he was providing me with free entertainment content. I was invested in hearing this story to the end. "So you said you are a Bastion of Genesis? What does that mean exactly?"

"It means your future, Clarke Chambers," the alien said.

I tapped my chest, quirking a brow at him. "Me? How does this concern me?" I asked in bewilderment.

The alien seemed to gather himself and when he spoke it was with a tone of certainty.

"You, Clarke Chambers, are a Bastion of the future."

I couldn't help but scoff. "Such a fancy title for a nobody like me," I said in amusement. "What even is a Bastion?"

Primus seemed to have been expecting that question for he was quick to answer. Or maybe it had been fielded so much that it was now on auto. "The Aeons we too complex to see to the detailed needs of the universe which need nuanced touch, for that reason Ativ and Genesis gave life sentience and together all the Aeons gave the first sentient being enlightenment so he could see from the beginning of the universe to his birth. It was enlightenment to understand his purpose for existing. With that enlightenment he understood and was blessed by one of the Aeons. He became the first Bastion, a caretaker of the universe, and have worked since then to provide Bastions for the other Aeons, founding an order of protectors and agents spanning the entire universe."

There was something I was missing about that last part. I went over it again in my head. Primus hadn't talked about this first Bastion like he was dead. Shouldn't someone who was the first actual sentient being be long since dead by now? Then again it might be the powers that were given to this first Bastion that made them so long-lived.

Wait a moment, I thought. First Bastion...wasn't that what Primus meant? First?

"You're the First Bastion, aren't you?" I asked the green alien and received a nod from him. "And you believe I'm your what? Some kind of successor?"

He nodded again and I shook my head. If I was already seeing him and this was madness then I was already trapped in it, there was no reason not to plunge deeper into it so I shrugged. "Do whatever you want, dude. This is insane. I hope it at least makes things interesting enough for me."

"That's it?"

The alien sounded surprised which made me smile. How many humans could claim to have shocked an alien? In fact, how many humans could claim to have seen an alien? I wondered if I had broken a Guinness World Record with this. Then that would be several records: first to shock and alien, possibly first to see an alien, first to speak to an alien, first to smile at an alien, first to be woken up by an alien, first to see an alien with one eye, first to see a green alien, first to see a bipedal alien, first to hold a conversation with an alien, first to be visited by an alien, first to be told a sort of grecian bedtime story by an alien, first to see a naked alien, first to see a naked alien without a ding dong.

There were so many possibilities as to the amount of records I'd just broken or even started by just being in the presence of Primus, I thought in amusement. Though that last one could also earn me several medical accolades and therapy sessions. I shuddered again as I looked below Primus' waistline.

It would have done us both a lot of good if the alleged Bastion had taken to Earth's fashion culture as he clearly had to its language.

I sighed when I realized I still had to respond to him. I looked him in the eye and shrugged as I've found myself doing several times now since I met him. "If what you say is true then you are powerful beyond imagining so there's no way I can stop you from saddling me with this burden. Why bother, especially when this might not be real?"

Regardless of my conviction that this was real, I mean it looked so real, I still felt that there was a possibility that it was not. There was a possibility to the validity of the deniability of everything, that was something I'd learned from a friend who studied philosophy and was an avid Pyrrhonist.

Primus seemed contemplative at my word. "You, indeed, cannot," he said in thoughtfulness and then he was gone.

I stopped myself from blinking before I could. He didn't teleport, move so fast I saw nothing, or fade away from my senses. He just was there and then wasn't. Like he was suddenly deleted from not just reality but existence altogether.

I exhaled as deep as I could and shut my eyes. It was finally over. I'd gone mad.