*song* “What to Do” by Alias
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Cv3Fdm1smw&list=RD3Cv3Fdm1smw&index=1

Time and time again…the more time passes,
The more things change
The more they stay then same.
No Fortune Teller, no mystic can challenge this…
But perhaps a miracle can.

When destiny has played its course
A thousand times over, the stars align
To chance reality with a gift...

For those brave enough to chase it…
The will Forges manifestation…
For some it’s stronger than others,
For those that sit and wait…more
Waiting comes…But for those that
Chase a dream…it’s very different…
In the end, One champions all others…

“And here we will write and impart
The next story,” Varence said, as
He leaned forward with an imposing
Serious look. “It is not fiction, nor
Fantasy, only what must be told.
Spare and ignore the fool that calls
It made up…They never pay attention
To anything, however they do provide
Good…distraction.”

“Oh how wonderful.” Ceres groaned with
Her eyes down as she studied her fingernails
With boredom.” He’s going to tell it…I
Thought we agreed only brief discussion?
A brief interaction?” She asked turning
To him.

“You, they agreed.” Varence smiled. “I
Only listened.”

She rolled her eyes., “Of course.” She
Turned to me. “Just write down…The
Idiot speaks…Run…Beckon another…
You won’t like this…There’s nothing
Indulgent…Only a grim, primitive tale.”

“Thank you, Ceres.” Varence moaned,
Staring upward., “Thank you, once again.”

“I would not dare to interfere with your
Reasons,” She went on.

He grinned. “Let us begin then…” He
Pointed fast to the Notebook… “Now…
This will have to be told carefully,
In increments…1,000 years ago…
1017…The world was moved by the horse
And cart…
1117…The world was moved by the horse
And cart…
1217…The world was moved by the horse
And cart…
1317…The world was moved by the horse
And cart…
1417…The world was moved by the horse
And cart…but also of course, ships
Sailed the open seas…lands were
Charted…
1517…The world was moved by the horse
And cart…a new world, or
Rather…land…was colonized…of note.
1617…The world was moved by the horse
And cart…and ships of course…
1717…The world was moved by the horse
And cart…”
He paused to turn to Ceres… “Do you
See a pattern here?” He nodded…
“1817…The world was moved by the horse
And cart…Freedom emancipated
A continent…hmm…And soon
Technology offered engineering…
Changes…Trains, mechanics also
Began moving the world…
1917…The world was moved by the horse,
The cart, the train, the automobiles,
And flying machines…planes, as you
Call them…That is quite a sudden
Guided leap, wouldn’t you say?
And within that century rapid
Jumps would propel it further, faster…
Particularly after 1930 and 1940…
Interesting…Machines suddenly
Leapt forward and forged a new world…
There were marvels at every turn
In your timetable…Consider
The Hour Glass of this…1,000 years
Before…2,000 years before…3,000
Years before…The horse…The
Machine…which moved the world
Longer? What role did the human
Race play in this?
2017…What moves the world?
I will not point this out…it’s obvious.
Again, consider The Hour Glass
And how quickly things have
Moved…What happens when such
things move so fast…Too fast?”

“I would think…they crash.” Ceres
Interrupted.

Varence smirked and turned to her.
“I thought I was to speak and solely
To tell the story.”

“You think many things.” She smiled.
“Please, continue…Oberon.”

His continuing smirk said it all, that
Name…He squinted and raised his
Hand. “Don’t write that please…”
He studied the moving pen… “Never mind.
And now, to continue…”

“My point here is this…To convey this
Story properly one must consider
The events of time…The horse and
Cart…for how long did history
Move? Simple measures…and
Yet philosophy and science were
Barely more than theories…Stories
Told history…and wealthy scholars
Recorded their perceptions of things…

And with the more scholars you have,
The more stories you have…ideas, notions
Mixed with facts and opinions…
Is there truth there? Yes, of course…
But more so, a lot of opinions…a lot
Of ideas…The Truth becomes…a riddle
To be deciphered by a keen
Mind…logically? Somewhat…
Intuition always guides the mind
Whether they know it or not…Fact.

In your time, the greatest minds…
The greatest scholars, the greatest
Scientists and the youngest minds…
Frequently say the same phrase…
I never thought of that before…
Scary, isn’t it?

Now for something different.” Varence
Turned and withdrew that small pocket
Device of his, pointed it at the far
Wall to illuminate the view screen
And bring an image to life., “Do you
See this? Watch.”

The view screen displayed The Earth…
A view from space…Blue, green,
White…gray brown…Cloud formations
Over land and water. A familiar sight.
Then the view moved in closer past
The clouds…A continent became
Clear…That looked familiar, but…

“Yes, that’s the one.” He nodded. “A
Long time ago to you…For us a little
Less…The coast lines have changed,
But overall, it’s much the same…
Do you see it…Don’t name it…its
Name then was known as another,
ATLANTIS…

Now carefully examine how the
Surface appears…Never mind, I will
I will describe it for you…Does it appear
Natural, no…The land is quite
Intricately and widely…carved. Why
Even the mountains around the world
Are etched, carved…some even manmade.
Rivers were shaped…walled, channeled.
Even the great seas and oceans
Were manipulated…There were walls
And towers gilded everywhere…Why
There were even great walls and fences
That encircled the world, whole cities…
Continents…There was quite a lot
Of separation…Why would they do
That…Why would anyone do such
A thing…to nature?

The human race on many worlds
Has a long history of taming nature,
Of shaping it the way THEY want.

Tame and shape the wilds…
The forests, the trees…
Guide and wall the seas, rivers, oceans…
Tame and shape and recreate
All living things…The animals…
Even…people.
Create Create…let us make and
Reshape things as we see fit…We
Are the masters of things…
We will tame and shape nature
As we see fit…to accommodate our
Needs…and it will move as we
Want it to…And we will create
Things in our image…To build
The Life we want…our way…
How we choose…For we, know best.
Does any of this sound familiar?

And how does nature feel about that?
Considering an entire earlier
Advanced civilization was erased
Beyond most shreds of evidence…
I would say nature wasn’t at all
Happy with the arrogance of an
Advanced civilization…

Does that sound familiar at all?

Yes, I am making a lot of points here…
Before we get to the story…so you
Will understand why. There were a lot
Of things that have been observed over
Time…here, there, everywhere…Not
Just Earth…some things are very
Consistent with human nature…and
It is very obvious if you only stand
Back and see the big picture of it
All.”

Varence pointed to the view screen, waving
His hand around to point to places
And things only he knew…His
Expression said a lot, but he was
Too intense to read. Ceres was very
Fascinated and impressed however…

“I am telling you this…To prepare
You to understand upcoming stories,
There is no cryptic riddle to it…if
Anyone wonders…Remember, ask
Them why is there an ‘R’ in Christopher?”
He smiled at Ceres. “Perhaps I
Should have asked why are letters
Shaped the way they are…Their
Entire concept of reading will
Collapse. Too much analysis…

Onward…Back and Back we go…
Into the past, into the lost days…
What tales and epics have been
Lost over time…troubles, victories,
Love stories you never knew…
If they were unknown, did they
Matter? Because scholars and poets
Wrote them down, they mattered
More? Cheating time with fools
And incomplete ideas…with opinions
By the privileged few who could
Hold a pen? He sighed. “Some
Things never change anywhere!”

“In the last days of these civilizations
The people were not primitive at all…
The world was colonized by the
Adams and the Eves…remember
That story? They were nothing
More than lost souls looking for
Answers, building dreams…pursuing
Freedom and ideas and beliefs…
And above all EVERYONE had
Their own ideas, their own beliefs
And wanted it their way…Is it
Any different anywhere anytime?
The only thing that differs is the technology
To make it happen.

The true test of being human is
What they do with technology…THAT
Is how you judge a civilization…
Are they fair and just? How do
They treat nature? Are they over
Indulgent? Do they work to pursue
Their dreams and beliefs or do they
Want it all handed to them?”

He turned and gave a wicked smile.
“Give them all the technology they
Can handle fast…over a few
Generations and watch what happens...
Boom Boom Boom…

All of these lost ancient kingdoms
Possessed splendor…And each pursued
Their own beliefs…and each abused
Nature BADLY…They used each other…
They pursued indulgence and called
It Freedom…They wanted, wanted,
Wanted and had, had, had…

They separated and then cried prejudice…
They were wanton with pleasures
And called it Love and peace, but what
It was an amoral mess…
They wanted what they could not
Have, so they made it…how logical.
And when things didn’t go as they
Wanted, they threw tantrums
Because they could not cope, so they
Did this over and over again…I
Believe a common phrase was: if it
Doesn’t affect me…why should I
Care? So few put efforts into
Things if they don’t seem immediate
Results…some things take time…
Quality takes time…as do important
Things…

But there were some that saw these
Did not work, they were corrupt. So
They tried to change things…To put
Morals back, virtue where there
Was none…by placing more suitable
Rulers in power to be fair…But
Then people fought the changes, they
Only embraced the old ways…To
Put rules and virtue into chaos? Who
Wants that? They screamed, they
Shouted…They showed their true
Nature well…They attacked the
Very people who were trying to
Help them, crying injustice…crying
Me me me…

When the world is crying they want
It their way, that they want to
Manifest their own reality…what
You have is a chaotic mess…
Reason never listens to tantrums.
It never has…The Higher Powers
Hear the quiet voices…they always
Have…When the Calm Quiet
Ones are being attacked…when
The more reasonable ones are saying
No one is listening to me…That
Is when it’s time to listen…Do you
Think we care when someone
Screams in a fit of rage? Well,
That depends on who it is.” He
Laughed, amused at the image.

“But everyone wants to pursue
Their dreams…To find their place.
What’s wrong with that?” I asked.

“Nothing. Nothing at all.” Varence
Said. “But there’s effort that has
To be made, chances taken…Each
Day is a step to build a staircase
To get somewhere…If one step took
You where you wanted that fast…
Everyone would have everything all
The time…Consider this…Money
Or wealth should not be the challenge,
Effort to what you become should
Be…The best things take time…

Consider this, please, before the story
Continues…You can only push nature
So far before it pushes back…
When Atlantis fell…Everyone wanted
It their way…with no effort…and
No one saw anything wrong with that.”

Valiant