Return of the Anasazi

PROLOGUE

The sun circled his tiny planet four times. Owl Man waited for a vision, a voice to tell him what to do. He had been sitting on High Plateau wearing a loincloth and a turquoise squash blossom necklace, which identified him as a leader. He had eaten only dry meat and had taken sips of spring water.

Temporary planets such as the one he and his people lived on usually disappeared every thousand years. Planet Anasazi was more than nine hundred years old, and he reasoned it must be time to return to Mother Earth. The promised Ultimate Leader would come. He would be called Eagle Leader, and he would lead them home.

Owl Man called upon the Great Spirit to enlighten him. He sensed time was running out for his people and their planet. He smelled piñon pine and sage as a gentle breeze blew across High Plateau. Closing his eyes, he felt the hot desert sun. An owl made hooting sounds, encouraging the man to continue his meditation.

Suddenly Owl Man could see and hear a gigantic wave, building itself as it reared up from the ocean floor. With no warning, it roared and rolled toward land, climbing higher and higher. The white, sandy beach was crowded with people lying in the sun on colorful blankets, playing with all sorts of toys, and infants squealing and running in the frothy water close to shore. In the water, men bobbed about on boards. They didn’t see the tsunami coming until it was already upon them. It hurled them at the land.

"Run!" Owl Man cried out, even though the people couldn’t hear him. He was horrified by the absolute power of the wave as it carried destruction and death ashore. The wave reached skyward, towering higher than the people had ever seen. It crested, crashing on the beach, killing people and leveling their structures.

Shaken by the sight of a killer wave, Owl Man’s vision continued. Next he saw a beautiful mountain island surrounded by blue waters. As he watched, smoke came from the mountaintop. The smoke grew in mass, and its color changed from black to orange to a fiery red. Then came a powerful roar as the mountain exploded. From its bowels flowed red-hot molten lava. Ash and destruction spewed into the sky, swept by ferocious winds. He could smell the sulphur, and it made his eyes water.

Owl Man felt the ground beneath him shake. He wasn’t sure which was shaking -- the Earth of his vision, or the Earth of his planet. He knew that both planets were in trouble. He wanted the prophecy to end. He wanted to go to his wife, Little Deer. He wanted to share all he was seeing.

He could end it by opening his eyes . . . yet he felt compelled to finish the images. A deep cry escaped his throat: "No more, please!"

Destructive winds blew across the land, ripping trees up by their roots and tearing roofs from buildings. Torrential rains came, and rivers swelled to overflowing, pushing houses, people, and animals into the murderous waters. He heard their screaming as the muddy waters rolled over their homes. The water’s momentum made the river unstoppable.

The Earth shook again. He was pulled into the images, and now he could hear the sounds of nature’s rage and smell the smells of an environment gone wild. "Great Spirit, make it stop!" he cried aloud. Owl Man did not want to see any more, yet he stayed with the vision.

Abruptly, he was pulled away from the catastrophe and was thrown into deep space. The Earth became a small blue ball spewing smoke and red flames; it seemed to tilt at an awkward angle.

As his view of space expanded, he could see a blazing red mass with a long, white vapor cloud trailing behind. The fiery red ball, he realized, was an enormous asteroid racing toward Earth.

"Great Spirit, you show me Mother Earth being destroyed. How are we to return? What do you want me to do?"

He could look no more. He opened his eyes, shaking as he fell forward to his knees, then raised his face toward the sky. His palms turned upward to receive, and he cried out, "Great Spirit, what can I do? Please help me."

A calm, resonant voice replied, "Remove Earth men and their structures from Mother Earth. Release rivers from their dams. Remove the concrete that man has poured on her surface, for she cannot breathe. She was created to breathe. Earth is a living entity. Because ores and gases have been pulled from her center and because of overbuilding, her weight has been displaced. This will cause her to tilt into a collision course with an asteroid.

"Owl Man, you have thirty suns to move them and their edifices to a new planet called Earthalike. Leave native tribes on Mother Earth. Everyone and everything else must go. Thirty days, Owl Man."

"Wait!" Owl Man called desperately. "I don’t know how to do that. How can I do what you ask? Great Spirit, don’t go. Tell me how to do what you ask."

In answer, Owl Man heard only gentle breezes and hooting from his owl companion.

Overwhelmed, Owl Man shook his head as if to clear his thinking. He did not know what he could do. If he could accomplish the mission, he would surely achieve his dream of becoming an exalted leader, and he would get to spend eternity with the Great Spirit. He would lead the Anasazi home.

If he failed, Earth would be destroyed.

His stomach growled, and he felt weak. I must return to the village to talk with Little Deer. She can help me.

Owl Man stood up, stretching his long body. "Goodbye, my owl friend. I must go back to the village. Somehow I must learn how to complete this assignment. If I fail, I will never gain eternal life with the Great Spirit, and my people will die."