The Guardian of Jebel Jais
The Guardian of Jebel Jais
by Andrés Carlos Martell
Synopsis
Surrounded by a vast wasteland of mysterious towers, the people of Jebel Jais believe they have created a regenerative society over the past three generations. At the center of the city rests The Aegis Instrument, a singular exception to the reclamation cycle. When a solar flare silences the universal intelligence that ensures their sustainability, the future of Jebel Jais hinges on a choice amidst the complex dynamics of environmental sustainability, individual creativity, and the limits of human physiology.
Note: The word ‘aegis’ is rooted in Greek mythology and refers to acting under the protection of a powerful, knowledgeable, or benevolent source. In religion, Aegis is often represented as a shield against evil or harm. Modern military innovations have used the term as a name for defense systems.
Side A
Expedition to the Outside
Scene 1
The Shattered Precipice
“This is how it ends.” thought Rashid, crouched atop the tremoring obelisk. He could see the lush mountainous community of Jebel Jais from the corner of his eye, a stark contrast from the limitless towers blanketing the southern horizon.
The distant view of home rotated away as the gravity beneath his jacketed boots pulled him down into an avalanche of debris. Back peddling on hands and feet, he watched in disbelief and amazement as the superstructure split, sending massive shards into the abyss, and him, sliding down the freshly cleaved face towards the emerging precipice below. “Another chance” he begged, eyes closed, grasping at the fragmenting form, digging his heels, wishing to be buried alive rather than flung off the side. Violent stillness thundered through his body, his eyes opened just in time to see the green of Jebel Jais before whipping head first into a bright flash of light. Silence.
“Are you satisfied, Rashid?”, a voice spoke softly from inside his helmet. He lay buried, legs crossed - broken - below the surface, arms stretched out to either side, his visor cracked forming a distinct trichotomy. Through the first he saw the sun setting behind a cascading array of obelisks far below. Through the second the Aegis Instrument at the center of Jebel Jais, glowing with a haunting brilliance as the city came alive with evening ceremonies. Isolated fires strewn across its expanse like stars across the sky. Through the third he saw what remained of the peak towering far above. The stratified face revealed a surface like the end-of-cycle material flows of Jebel Jais, but ancient and disorganized. The constituent parts were vaguely familiar but incomprehensibly large. “I am not satisfied”, uttered Rashid, awestruck by the beauty from his tenuous perch. “I will bring you home” whispered the voice.
Scene 2
Reclamation Night
The sun was already high when Rashid awoke. Hunched forward he impartially watched his legs lumbering forward across flat ground, carried by the suit’s mechanical gait, while its sedative administered relief. Lifting his head, he could see that he was now surrounded by the obelisks, thousands to the east and to the west, possibly millions to the south, the greatest upon which he nearly died. “When was my accident”, Rashid asked. “54 hours 33 minutes ago”, replied the voice in his helmet, “I sedated you to ease our descent, you’ll never walk again, Rashid”.
The moon was high when Rashid passed through the gates of Jebel Jais, he could hear the cacophony long before he arrived, hundreds of sound-engines and engineers reveling relentlessly. The outerlands were ablaze with scattered burning forms - art of different sorts that had reached expiration. Voices passed through his consciousness, “...because you too will create… if not… the outside world”. It was Reclamation Night. Rashid loved this ritual of meticulously dismantling or incinerating the work of imagination. His suit lumbered on as he flagged down an anomalous vehicle overflowing with masked citizens of Jebel Jais. It came to a slow stop and disappeared, enveloped by a sand storm. He staggered forward, boarding without anyone taking notice, collapsing into a throng of people. He dreamt of the fires that consumed the art, the books, the music, the technology… he imagined the millions of towers ablaze with knowledge and meaning. The vehicle would return to the central nexus - eventually - he was home.
Scene 3
Flare and Focus
Rashid woke to the harsh sound of a motorized saw dismantling his suit, and the early morning sky filled with waving green lights. It was not immediately clear which was more preposterous.
“Solar flare, biggest in generations!” said a dusty jovial saw operating man. “We need to get you out of this suit before the tech seizes…”. The saw and man’s expression dropped at once as the lower half of Rashid’s suit fell away, exposing the devastation to his legs. “Medic!!”, the man let out a primal scream.
Side B
Testimony and Legacy
Scene 1
The Ministers of Jebel Jais
Rashid sat erect in a wheeled chair, his mangled legs crossed in front of him, the soles of his feet pointing up, as were his palms resting gently on his knees. His ministers formed a crescent in front of him, assembled to report on the consequences of the solar anomaly. The crown prince spoke, “What is our status, how are the people?”
The Minister of Reclamation & Regeneration spoke first, “All contact with The Guardian has been lost. We expect this to be restored in full when the effects of the solar flare pass.”
The Minister of Energy spoke, “Kinetic energy harvesters remain intact, the people are embracing them. Though load balancing and storage systems remain offline. We are unable to capture surplus and are tapping into our three generations of power reserves, which will be quickly replenished when the solar flare passes.”
The Minister of Transportation spoke, “All critical transport remains intact. Funicular systems are maintaining all aerial lifts and cable cars, both overground and underground, are at full capacity. There are a number of vehicles stranded in the outerlands, though reports say they are in good spirits.”
The Minister of Water & Food spoke, “No impact. Wind systems are maintaining water purification and agriculture at full capacity. Three generations of water and food are secure below ground.”
The Minister of Communication spoke, “Complete disruption, your highness. However community networks are delivering messages to us and amongst each other on regular intervals. We know what is happening across Jebel Jais.”
The Minister of Care & Safety spoke, “Low impact. There seems to be numerous reports of broken bones, people stumbling to see the lights caused by the flare.The people remain self-reliant and are caring for one another. You experience this first hand, your highness. The bodies of our dead continue to be reunited with our end-of-cycle organic material flows without disruption.”
The Minister of Structures & Geology spoke, “No impact. Housing remains intact as does the integrity of our largest legacy buildings. The rolling hills of our ancient technology burial grounds continue to provide sufficient circular resources for extraction and new innovation.”
The Minister of Records spoke last, “…your highness, we are experiencing an anomaly.”
Scene 2
Piercing the Veil
“Your highness, our records contain more than three generations of data.” The Minister of Records was pale. “So delete it, immediately.” Rashid responded with customary disdain for culled information. “It would have been done, your highness, the trouble is that it keeps regenerating. Your remembrancers have been sent away.” the Minister looked down, ashamed. “Sent away?” Rashid questioned, himself unsure of the correct protocol. “Three were archiving data when it commenced. They have been quarantined to preserve the credibility of their findings.” said the Minister, reconstituting his composure. “How far back have they... how far back does it... take me to them. I will bring them comfort.” Rashid was coming to terms with the implications.
Scene 3
The Beyond
“Leave me”, Rashid’s command was resolute as he stood before the first cell. “Yes your highness”, said the custodian sorefully.
Rashid knocked gently on the door, “May I enter”. “Yes your highness”, pleaded the voice behind the door. Rashid entered to see a fearful man with brimming eyes, tears streaming down his face. “We left them!”, the man burst out uncontrollably, “Humanity exists beyond Jebel Jais. We closed our gates leaving them to a path of relentless progress and self destruction. We received their calls and did nothing. Jebel Jais is entombed from anything that remains of humanity.” The unifying wisdom of generations rejected the veracity of unchecked development. When inventions outlived their inventors, they were identified by The Guardian and ritualistically culled. Rashid imagined the idea of not being alone - everyone had - but it was an absurd thought. The nature of Jebel Jais was kind, inclusive - free. It could not be founded on exclusion.
“Is the data current, when were we contacted?” Rashid's voice was tight, strained by anticipation. “They never stopped.” cried out the remembrancer. “We are not the 3rd generation but the 213th of Jebel Jais. Humanity does not flourish beyond the great towers. It still hungers for progress.”
Scene 4
The Return
The abdication of progress made the keeping of history irrelevant, but acknowledgement of the sheer magnitude of the passage of time was daunting. 213 generations meant Jebel Jais was not a century old experiment, but a refuge existing for millenia.
The crown prince entered the cell containing the second remembrancer. “We are the left behind”, said the stoic remembrancer without waiting to be addressed. “Before the founding of Jebel Jais, factions of humanity reached to the stars. Some were driven by greed, seeking to attain the vast resources orbiting our world; others were pilgrims seeking dominion over their own planet; and there the high minded seeking the wisdom of advanced civilizations. Whatever their reason, they left us.”
“We are not so innocent. Perhaps they will choose to return” Rashid lowered his gaze, contemplating the expedition required to find what remains of humanity. “Prophetic, your highness. A faction among them vowed to return in six millenia.” Rashid calculated as the remembrancer went on, “It is unimaginable. Will we sustain for that long or will our innovative nature drive us to extinction? In just my life, I have seen the rate of creative expression accelerate. The magnitude of music, art, and innovation… we adhere to the reclamation rituals prescribed by The Guardian, but is it enough?”
“And what of their intentions?” Rashid asked quietly, concealing his remorse and urgency. “To scour the planet for those who have found a way to co-exist with all of humanity. We have done that, your highness, all remaining humanity lives within Jebel Jais. We must only survive - temper our impulses to create. Do you think this news will be welcomed by the people?”
Scene 5
Hard Coded
Standing before the third cell, Rashid took inventory of the resources that would be required for an expedition and concluded there were not enough. The ritualistic culling of innovation must be suspended. The creativity of Jebel Jais must be unleashed, it was the only way to venture out and reunite humanity - his legs, a minor setback.
He entered to find a slack jawed man, sitting clumsily on the ground, and oscillating between bewilderment and incredulity. Silent, then scoffing. “How are you keeping” Rashid whispered. His impulse was to console, but his mind raced with the implications of what lay ahead. How could he share these revelations with his ministers, and with the people? How could he muster such an exhibition?
“What did you see?” Rashid asked with compassion. “I saw the source code of The Guardian. It is not a universal intelligence, it is our creation. It was unveiled at the founding of Jebel Jais to maintain our existence as we relinquished the reins of history and progress. But we are too clever, your highness - or not destructive enough. The Guardian guides us to cull our ancestors' creations, but does nothing to curb the ingenuity and initiative of our citizens. We designed it to be unwavering in its assignment while not infringing on our agency. It had to find a way to preserve harmony as we began to create more than we destroyed.” The remembrancer looked up to meet Rashid's eyes, “Your highness, if society creates faster than it destroys, what happens?”
“It runs out of resources”, Rashid responded in a dry tone. “Unless what?”, the remembrancer was looking down now. “We become more efficient”, Rashid was not following this elementary line of questioning. “Your highness, we are being engineered into efficiency, maybe extinction, I don’t know”, the remembrancer's voice cracked, shaking. “Speak simply” Rashid commanded.
“The Aegis Instrument. It too is of our creation. It was created not before, but after our founding. The Guardian excluded it from the reclamation cycle. It was designed - we designed it - to diminish the people of Jebel Jais - to diminish ourselves - not in numbers, but physiologically in stature and mass. It was the only way to prolong a stable state while retaining our creative agency.” Rashid’s silence became deafening. “Radiation, nanotechnology, epigenetic modification - your highness, it is unclear by what means it operates, whether it is active, and if so, for how long. We must halt all creation and radically increase our rate of purging…” the remembrancer was becoming frantic, “...what I don’t understand is the carrying capacity of Jebel Jais. The code describes a population of 1 million at our founding, but we exist today with a population that exceeds 100 million. How far are we from our founding? At what cost have we grown?”
Scene 6
The Choice
In his chamber, daylight gave way to dusk as the lights on the various displays came alive. Rashid reflected on his time with the three remembrancers and contemplated the future of Jebel Jais. The consequences of his decisions - or indecision - would be immense. To do nothing meant the eventual doom of Jebel Jais by further rounds of biotransformation that would eventually reduce his people, presumably to the atomic level. To destroy the Aegis Instrument, or reengineer it to reverse its effects would be the only way to launch an expedition with any chance of success and simultaneously set in motion a series of events that would rapidly exhaust the reserves of Jebel Jais. The thought of seeing the obelisks at a different scale somehow excited him.
Rashid hinged from his hips, his legs folded neatly beneath him forming a seat. His forehead leaned forward to touch the monitor embedded in the floor. He had many questions for The Guardian.
“Are you satisfied, Rashid?” The Guardian was back online.
“Your highness”, a voice echoed from the chamber entrance. “There is an outsider at the gate.”
FIN_