Free A Paradox in Retrograde by John Faherty Page B

read on our countenance, but
there is much work to be done in the seat of government."
He looked at Xora and asked, "Perhaps after our meal our host
may regale us with one of the ancient stories?"
    "I would be honored."
The conversation between them for the remainder of the meal
was cordial and factual, but noticeably vacant of substance. Having recognized this, Ananda was convinced there was little they
could share beyond a handful of fanciful mythic legends. This
being perhaps one of the few avenues left open to him he made a
request of Xora. "My dear Xora might you read aloud to your
guests a transcript of one of the ancient manuscripts, as Grunhuf
has suggested." To this idea Xora was most amiable toward. A
smile lit her face as she recalled the works as if they were an old
friend. "By coincidence Ananda, one of the characters in this story shares your name. I wonder if your culture had also known of
this story. I can not however vouch for its antiquity; for this story
is an ancient description of a far older epic poem that itself no
doubt had been copied many times over." From a shelf nearby
she retrieved an old tattered paperback that she had had in her
possession since childhood. Thumbing through its yellowed pages she searched for a specific reference.
    "OK, here it is", she said. She then set to reading aloud. "At the
end of a great cycle of ages, there arose in the kingdom of the sea
an unlikely spirit in the guise of a set of young princes. These
unique aberrations born within the form of a child were the embodiment of all the travails and aspirations of suffering and joy.
Of these creatures the first was Amida. He claimed to be the vessel of sacred knowledge and a great teacher unto which a new
world order would be built. As his years advanced into manhood
he had forsaken his birthright of kingship, for his kingdom it was
said did not reside in this world. In a move that both shocked and
terrified his people, he laid down his crown and vestments in exchange for the life of an ascetic. Into this void the balance that
had guided this great nation had fallen. This imbalance was personified in the son of a great warrior and a contemporary of Amida named Ananda. Both of these children were born into great
and powerful families. As children they were the closest of
friends. They attended the same schools. They were similar in
appearance, and though not related by blood they were often confused to be twins. Ananda, like Amida was possessed by a genius
of mind and spirit. So it was thought that as they were as equals,
Ananda's breeding would make him the logical choice to replace
the vacant kingship. However when the planets were once again
in alignment the world was beset by an age of warfare. From the
heavens in great shining ships our enduring enemy, the unnamed
ones came again as in times past to lay claim to this world. As
Ananda stood before the armies of the world on his great flying
chariot, he took the ancient name of Hector. For ten years he led
the armies of the world in a ceaseless string of desperate battles
that raged across the face of the Earth. Hector's genius was his
vision; he could see every move his opponents made. However
this advantage came with a great cost. In the ever escalating
scale of war, he matched atrocity with atrocity. In the end he
was prepared for the sake of victory, to sacrifice the whole of
the world in a bloody game of attrition. At long last his war of
revenge that had raged for a decade was over; the people had
grown weary of war. He had bled his nation dry and as he
looked out upon the desolation that had been wrought in his
name he could do little else. In those days, Hector pleased himself to sit despondent on his throne and preside over his nation's
demise. It was said that Hector had sustained a psychic wound
so deep as to render him insane. It was then that Amida having
heard the terrible news returned to the land of his birth. The
people including Hector's closest advisors