Part 8 (1/2)

At least the game sped up the progress of time. A month in game time might pa.s.s in half an hour. This made the journey through the Chaotic Era at least tolerable for w.a.n.g.

One day, after a long night that lasted almost a week (as measured by the sandgla.s.s), King Wen suddenly shouted joyously as he pointed to the night sky.

”Flying stars! Two flying stars!”

Actually, w.a.n.g had already noticed the strange celestial bodies. They were bigger than stars, and showed up as disks about the size of ping-pong b.a.l.l.s. They moved through the sky at a pace quick enough for the naked eye to detect the motion. But it was the first time two of them had appeared together.

King Wen explained, ”When two flying stars appear, it means a Stable Era is about to begin.”

”We've seen flying stars before.”

”Yes, but only one at a time.”

”Is two the most we'll see at once?”

”No. Sometimes three will appear, but no more than that.”

”If three flying stars appear, does that herald an even better era?”

King Wen gave w.a.n.g a frightened look. ”What are you talking about? Three flying stars ... pray that such a thing never happens.”

King Wen turned out to be right. The yearned-for Stable Era soon began. Sunrise and sunset began to follow a pattern. A day-night cycle began to stabilize around eighteen hours. The orderly alternation of day and night made the weather warm and mild.

”How long does a Stable Era last?” w.a.n.g asked.

”As short as a day or as long as a century. No one can predict how long one will last.” King Wen sat on the sandgla.s.s, lifting his head to gaze at the noonday sun. ”According to historical records, the Western Zhou Dynasty experienced a Stable Era lasting two centuries. How lucky to be born during such a time!”

”Then how long does a Chaotic Era last?”

”I already told you. Other than Stable Eras, all other times belong to Chaotic Eras. Each of them takes up the time not occupied by the other.”

”So, this is a world in which there are no patterns?”

”Yes. Civilization can only develop in the mild climate of Stable Eras. Most of the time, humankind must collectively dehydrate and be stored. When a long Stable Era arrives, they collectively revive through rehydration. Then they proceed to build and produce.”

”How can you predict the arrival and duration of each Stable Era?”

”Such a thing has never been done. When a Stable Era arrives, the king makes a decision based on intuition as to whether to engage in ma.s.s rehydration. Often, the people are revived, crops are planted, cities begin construction, life has just started-and then the Stable Era ends. Extreme cold and heat then destroy everything.” King Wen now pointed at w.a.n.g, his eyes sparkling. ”Now you know the goal of this game: to use our intellect and understanding to a.n.a.lyze all phenomena until we can know the pattern of the sun's movement. The survival of civilization depends on it.”

”Based on my observations, there is no pattern to the sun's movement at all.”

”That's because you do not understand the fundamental nature of the world.”

”And you do?”

”Yes. This is why I'm going to Zhao Ge. I will present King Zhou with an accurate calendar.”

”But I've seen no evidence on this trip that you can do such a thing.”

”Predicting the sun's motion is only possible in Zhao Ge, for that is where yin and yang meet. Only the lots cast there are accurate.”

The two continued on through the harsh conditions of another Chaotic Era, interrupted briefly by a short Stable Era, until they finally arrived in Zhao Ge.

w.a.n.g heard an unceasing roar that sounded like thunder. The sound was generated by the numerous giant pendulums that could be seen all over Zhao Ge, each tens of meters in height. The weight of each pendulum was a giant rock, suspended from a thick rope tied to a bridge that stretched between the tops of two slender stone towers.

All the pendulums were swinging as groups of soldiers in armor kept them in motion. Chanting incomprehensibly, they rhythmically pulled ropes attached to the giant stone weights, adding to the pendulums' arcs as they slowed. w.a.n.g noticed that all the pendulums swung in step. From far away, the sight was awe-inducing: It was as though numerous giant clocks had been erected over the earth, or colossal, abstract symbols had fallen from the sky.

The giant pendulums surrounded an even more enormous pyramid, standing like a tall mountain in the dark night. This was King Zhou's palace. w.a.n.g followed King Wen into a low door at the base of the pyramid, before which a few soldiers patrolled in the darkness, noiseless as ghosts. The door led to a long, narrow, dark tunnel going deep into the pyramid, with a few torches along the way.

As they walked, King Wen spoke to w.a.n.g. ”During a Chaotic Era, the entire country is dehydrated. But King Zhou remains awake, a companion to the lifeless land. In order to survive during a Chaotic Era, one must live in thick-walled buildings like this one, as though one were living underground. It's the only way to avoid the extreme heat and cold.”

After a long time in the tunnel, they finally arrived at the Great Hall at the center of the pyramid. Actually, the hall was not that big and reminded w.a.n.g of a cave. The man sitting on a dais and draped with a particolored hide was undoubtedly King Zhou. But what drew w.a.n.g's attention was a man dressed all in black. The black robe blended with the thick shadows in the Great Hall, and the pale white face seemed to float in air.

”This is Fu Xi.”19 King Zhou introduced the man in black to w.a.n.g and King Wen. He spoke as though w.a.n.g and King Wen had always been there, while the man in black was the newcomer. ”He thinks that the sun is a temperamental G.o.d. When the G.o.d is awake, his moods are unpredictable, and thus we have a Chaotic Era. But when he's asleep, his breathing evens out, and thus we have a Stable Era. Fu Xi suggested that I build those pendulums you see out there and keep them in constant motion. He claims that the pendulums can have a hypnotic effect on the sun G.o.d and cause him to sink into a long slumber. But we can all see that so far, the sun G.o.d remains awake, though from time to time he seems to nap briefly.”

King Zhou waved his hands, and servants brought over a clay pot and set it down on the small stone table before Fu Xi. Later, w.a.n.g found out that it was a pot of seasoned broth. Fu Xi sighed, lifted the pot, and drank in great gulps, the sound of his swallows echoing like the beating of a giant heart in the darkness. After he was halfway done with the contents, he poured the rest over his body. Then he threw down the pot and walked toward a large bronze cauldron suspended over a fire in the corner of the Great Hall. He climbed onto the edge of the cauldron and jumped in, stirring up a cloud of vapor.

”Ji Chang, sit down,”20 King Zhou said. ”We'll eat in just a little while.” He pointed to the cauldron.

”Foolish witchcraft,” King Wen said, glancing contemptuously at the cauldron.

”What have you learned about the sun?” King Zhou asked. Firelight flickered in his eyes.

”The sun is not a G.o.d. The sun is yang, and the night is yin. The world proceeds on the balance between yin and yang. Though we cannot control the process, we can predict it.” King Wen took out his bronze sword and drew a yin-yang symbol on the floor, dimly lit by the fire. Then, he carved the sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching around the symbol, the whole composition resembling a calendar wheel. ”My king, this is the code of the universe. With it, I can present your dynasty with an accurate calendar.”

”Ji Chang, I need to know when the next long Stable Era will come.”

”I will forecast it for you right now,” King Wen said. He sat down in the middle of the yin-yang symbol, his legs curled under him. He raised his head to look up at the ceiling of the Great Hall, his gaze seeming to penetrate the thick stones of the pyramid, until it reached the stars. The fingers of his two hands began a series of rapid, complex movements, like components of a calculating machine. In the silence, only the soup in the cauldron in the corner made any noise, boiling and bubbling as though the shaman being cooked within was dream-talking in his sleep.

King Wen stood up in the middle of the yin-yang symbol. With his face still lifted to the ceiling, he said, ”Next will be a Chaotic Era lasting forty-one days. Then comes a five-day Stable Era. Thereafter, there will be a twenty-three-day Chaotic Era followed by an eighteen-day Stable Era. Then we'll have an eight-day Chaotic Era. But when this Chaotic Era is over, my king, the long Stable Era you've been waiting for will begin. That Stable Era will last three years and nine months. The climate will be so mild that it will be a golden age.”

”We have to verify your initial predictions first,” King Zhou said, his face expressionless.

w.a.n.g heard a loud rumbling from above. A stone slab in the ceiling of the Great Hall slid open, revealing a square opening. w.a.n.g s.h.i.+fted his position and saw that the opening led to another tunnel going up through the center of the pyramid. At the end of the tunnel he could see a few twinkling stars.

Game time sped up. Every few seconds in real time, two soldiers flipped over the sandgla.s.s brought by King Wen, indicating the pa.s.sing of eight hours in game time. The opening through the ceiling flickered with random lights, and once in a while a ray of sunlight from the Chaotic Era shot into the Great Hall. Sometimes the light was weak, like moonlight. Sometimes the light was very strong, and the incandescent white square cast against the ground glowed so brightly that the torches in the Great Hall paled in comparison.

w.a.n.g continued to count the flipping of the sandgla.s.s. By the time it had been flipped 120 times or so, the appearance of the sunlight through the square opening became regular. The first of the predicted Stable Eras had arrived.

After fifteen more flips of the sandgla.s.s, the flickering light through the opening became patternless again, the start of another Chaotic Era. Another Stable Era followed, and another Chaotic Era. The starting times and durations of the various eras were not exactly as King Wen had predicted, but they were close. After the conclusion of yet another eight-day Chaotic Era, the long Stable Era he predicted began.

w.a.n.g kept counting the flips of the sandgla.s.s. Twenty days pa.s.sed, and the sunlight falling into the Great Hall maintained the precise rhythm. Game time slowed down to normal.

King Zhou nodded at King Wen. ”I shall erect a monument for you, one even greater than this palace.”