From: The Petrovskis To: Chelsea Haupenstaat; Deena Markowitz
Subject: The meeting with the Ancient
Hello Chelsea and Deena.
Having met with the Ancient who calls himself David Ages, we have much to think about now. It was good to speak with one of their kind and hear his perspective on both ancient history and the events of the past 30 years. We learned a great deal from the experience—and we think he did, too.
There were two main questions that we were considering, going into the meeting. The first was whether we could trust Mr. Ages, and the second was if we should tell the rest of the Ancients about our presence. Before discussing it together we came to the same decisions about both of these issues, so we will pass along our thoughts to you.
We had wondered for years if the Great Awakening was connected to the Ancients—and of course now we know that it was indeed caused by them. But the connection—even the potential connection—of the one to the other has long left us wondering how we should respond to the Ancients. The early Waking Guard made the decision not to awaken them at the proper time, and we are now so far removed from our own ancestors that we have long wondered if the sleeping Ancients would even recognize us as kin.
After speaking to Mr. Ages we believe we have a reasonable view, though he was very politic and cautious in his descriptions, of who the Ancients are. It seems that they are still ruled by the most powerful survivors of the ancient war that nearly destroyed the world. They have been awake for nearly thirty years and their oldest children are, like Mr. Ages, fully grown and capable of taking on adult responsibility, but still they rule the rest of their people. From what Mr. Ages told us, we gathered the impression that the older generation is not comfortable with the world as it is now, or the role that humans have taken in the long years since their people first began their sleep.
He did not go so far as to say this, but we suspect that a number of the older Ancients have an opinion similar to that of Darcy Ages, the woman who tried to destroy you both. We gathered the impression that some in their “conclave” are disgusted by human/Ancient hybrids (like you, and us, and the thousands of supers in the world) and would like to create a new world order with their kind in positions of power while the rest of us serve them.
They do not all feel this way, of course. (Thankfully, since if they did then we’re sure this would not have been our first run-in with them.) Still, many do—and it seems that it is the weakness of their expended powers, rather than any sense of morality, that stops them from doing as Ms. Ages did.
Because of this, out of concern for your safety, we have asked Mr. Ages not to tell his conclave about your (or our) existence.
We do not feel the same concerns about Mr. Ages as we do about the others of his race. For one thing, he comported himself at all times like a gentleman. We do not assume he is good at heart merely because of impeccable manners, but his behavior did bias us in his favor. As a corollary to that though, he was very concerned with allaying our fears and giving us every bit as complete an understanding of his people as we gave him of ours.
From the story he tells, it seems that he has spent much of his life under the thumb of more powerful members of his race. He (and, he believes, a significant portion of his generation) does not share his elders’ prejudices against the humans and the supers. He seems like a decent enough young man, though unfortunately he has little power at present to influence the opinions of the other Ancients.
We think he was chagrined to learn that we have no contact with other members of the Waking Guard, but nonetheless he expressed willingness to keep our existence secret from his people. He fears that they would react poorly to our presence, and because we can give them so little information about the current status of the Waking Guard, Mr. Ages is convinced that a meeting would bring about more harm than good.
It would seem that very little has come of this meeting. We will continue teaching you all you need to know to be Waking Guardians, and ironically the Ancient in our midst will also go about his daily life.
How odd it seems, to meet a member of the people whom our order once swore to protect, and to simply go about our daily lives. But so much has changed in the ages since our ancestors were first given their charge. Perhaps in time, this strange universe will right itself.
We’ll see you tomorrow. And please, remember to practice!
Yours truly,
Mr. & Mrs. P.
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