Izikiel by Thomas Fay

the desert. Shimmering tendrils of intense heat stretched out towards them as they sheltered next to the dome. Izikiel saw what appeared to be a gigantic lake surrounding the star port in every direction.
    ‘ What is that?’ he asked.
    ‘ Solar fields,’ Te’Anne replied. ‘They are gigantic solar panels used to collect and store the energy of the twin suns. They power the dome by day and night.’
    ‘ Incredible. I have heard of solar power but this...’ Izikiel’s voice trailed off as he took in the glowing fields of solar panels stretching out as far as his eyes could see. As the twin suns’ light grew brighter so did the solar panels.
    Izikiel turned his attention back to the domed star port. The dome appeared to be an impenetrable wall of metal punctuated by glowing conduits and circuits which flowed seamlessly into a transparent force field. Tilting his head upwards, Izikiel scanned the dome from left to right. There appeared to be no way in.
    ‘ How do we get through?’ he asked.
    ‘ Leave this to Xavier,’ Te’Anne replied. Her voice was tense and her face was tightly drawn as if she were bracing for something.
    Xavier bent down and gently lowered the little girl to her feet. After making sure that she could stand, he walked over to a part of the metallic dome which was particularly dense with circuitry. Placing his hand on the metallic surface, he closed his eyes. Moments later, a section of the dome wall retracted inwards with a soft hiss of air. Xavier turned towards them. The silver tattoos on his face and neck were pulsing with a steady ambience.
    ‘ The way is open. Follow me,’ Xavier said.

TWENTY NINE
    Izikiel felt cool air wash over him as he walked through the metal opening in the dome wall. The inside of the passage glowed with complex circuitry. Marvelling at the advanced technology, Izikiel was even more amazed when he stepped out into the dome proper.
    The air was crisp and fresh. The ground was covered with a hard, black substance with various markings on it which he recognised as a road. A number of thorny plants grew in fenced off areas in-between low lying grey metallic structures. None of the buildings appeared to be more than two storeys high, with flat, featureless roofs. They looked almost identical and surrounded them in all directions. The monotony of the buildings was interrupted only by the roads leading between them.
    In the distance , he could just make out an elevated platform which seemed to be the focal point of the dome. Not far above it, the dome’s force field shimmered like an ethereal veil. As Izikiel watched, the force field wavered for a moment and then a portion peeled back to reveal the open sky. Moments later, a squat metallic object lifted off the platform and moved into the opening. As it cleared the force field, a line of fire ignited behind it and the object disappeared into the clear sky. The force field sealed flawlessly behind it. Izikiel’s eyes opened wide in amazement.
    ‘ That’s the star port. What you just saw was a ship taking off through the protective shield,’ Te’Anne explained.
    Izikiel barely heard her as he continued to stare at the force field where the ship had passed through. For the first time he knew with certainty that the Eternal Flame had brought him far into the future. A sense of wonder overwhelmed him as he watched another ship take off from the elevated platform.
    ‘ We’ll need to find a pilot and buy passage off the planet,’ Te’Anne said.
    ‘ How will we pay?’ Izikiel asked as he watched the second ship disappear into the sky.
    Te’Anne smiled as she held out her hand towards him. A large diamond sparkled in the light of the twin suns.
    Izikiel shook his head.
    ‘I cannot ask you to give up your livelihood for me.’
    Te’Anne took a deep brea th as she looked into his eyes.
    ‘ There is nothing left here for us now. We will come with you.’
    Izikiel looked at Xavier. The big man nodded his head.
    ‘Thank