The Revolutions of Time | Page 9

forebears. We are called the Pastites because
of our beliefs, because of our tradition based lives that instill in us a reliance on history,
on the events of the past as a light by which to guide our own actions, as a road paved by
the flesh and blood of our forefathers which leads to happiness and peace."

Bernibus paused for another moment, as if in contemplation once again, before he
continued, saying, "The Zards are followers of the future, or Futurists as they are called.
They believe that the past is just that, the past: the ignorant and selfish times of the
unenlightened who were too shrouded by prejudices to understand the world clearly.
Instead they place their faith in the scientific and philosophical ideas of the day, believing
that while history and the past were delegated to the control of the unsophisticated whose
ways were superstitious and outdated, the present contains truth in its pure form. Reform
and revolution are their watchwords, for they tinker with the very foundations of society
and life in an attempt to cultivate it. Zimri is their Lord, of the Future, and they follow
him loosely, for he doesn't require the strict adhesion that Onan does, which suits their
independent and relaxed world view very well."
He went on, in summary, "In a word, the Pastites believe that history, the reality of the
past, governs the present and the future, while the Futurists believe that the future defines
the present and the past."
"I begin to see the differences," I replied in a humble, questioning manner, "And yet they
seem to me to be passive, secondary differences, the kind that result in a conflict of subtle
disagreements here and there, argued over dessert like tariffs or taxes, not at all violent.
How is it that they take such a prominent role in everyday life that they can only be
resolved by force? What is it that takes it from the fireside to the battlefield?"
Here I was slightly taken aback by the expression on Bernibus' face, it was one of
surprise mingled with apprehension and questioning. He said, "Then you do not know?"
"Know what?"
He laughed, "I take it you do not." Becoming solemn again, he continued, "Our land,
Daem is on the edge of ruin, and has been for all of my life and those of many
generations before me. About 530 years ago there was a great war on earth, one in which
no restraint was used, no mutually assured destruction, for nuclear weapons came into the
hands of those who cared not for any life, not even their own. Tensions were high for a
decade, and in the following segregation, the peoples of the earth lost their personal
connection with their enemies, and, as always happens, ceased to view them as equals,
but instead as evil ones bent on their destruction. Things came to such a crisis that at last
a little flame was lit and it grew and grew until it became a full scale nuclear war. The
destruction was total: no one was exempt, as almost everything, and everyone, was
destroyed. The only surviving place was this island, which is the sole habitat of the
delcator beetle, a small insect that digests nuclear waste and neutralizes it. The first few
decades were horrible, before the atmosphere recovered enough to return to normal, and
in that time things mutated and grew gigantic. The trees and foliage, as you see, are an
example of this, even the redwood trees of old were nothing compared to the trees of
Daem. And the Zards and Canitaurs grew and changed as well, and, as we lived on either
ends of the island, as we do now, our forms morphed into the separate forms that they
now take.
"And that is where our conflict turned violent," he continued, "For it is our desire, on
both sides, to return the earth to its previous state. The Pastites want to return through
time and stop the destruction before it happens, because we believe that the past is what
must be changed in order to change the present and future. It is the actions of the past that
brought about the present woes, and it is they that must be undone. For their part, the
Futurists want to change the present through the future, to go into the future and bring

back its completion, in the form of restored RNA cells, which is congruent with their
belief that the past is the past and all that matters is that which is yet to come, that which
still has the hope of existence."
I looked at him as he finished and said, "But, why not do both. Wouldn't that be more
effective than fighting each other? How can continued