Beyond the Valley of Mist Read Online Free

there can be no life.”
    “ Maybe Sun is the Father
God,” pondered Arber. “And Earth is the Mother God. But how can
that be, when Earth is so much bigger than Sun? We can see the sun
go into the earth each evening, and we watch Mother Earth give
birth to a new Sun each morning.”
    Zor questioned, “If Sun is
the father God, and Earth is the mother God, then what are the moon
and the stars? Are they the children of Sun and Earth, or are they
gods also?”
    “ Why does it matter? Why do
you need answers to these foolish questions? No man can know the
answers.”
    “ I think we can know the
answers, but we are afraid to ask the questions.”
    “ Why do you think we can
know,” Arber asked, “and how will it help us to know?”
    “ I once noticed that the sun
goes south when it gets cold, and then it returns to the north, and
it gets warm again. I wanted to know how far south it goes before
it starts back.”
    Arber shook his head in
disgust. “You see what I mean? That's a foolish thing to ask. No
man can know the answer, and what good is it?”
    “ I did not find out where it
goes, but I found out how far it goes by watching where it went
down each night for two summers,” Zor replied.
    “ How did you do
that?”
    “I went to the top of a
steep hill, and I placed two pointed rocks in a line that ran east
and west. By standing behind one of the rocks and aligning both
rocks with where the sun went down at the beginning of each phase
of the moon, I could tell how far the sun moved during each phase.
By watching the movement of the sun for two summers and placing a
rock where the sun went down at the end of each phase, I was able
to tell when the sun began its trip back north.”
    “ What a foolish thing to do.
How did that help you?”
    “When the Lalocks ask me
when they should plant their crops, I could tell them. You say I
cannot know, but I do know, and that's because I was curious enough
to want to know, and I took the time to find the answer. I think
there are answers to all questions if we will take the time to find
them. We need to overcome our fears and quit pretending to believe
the things the priests tell us when they themselves don’t know—they
only pretend to know. When we ask them to explain, they cannot
explain; they tell us to have faith. I do not believe faith helps
us to know. I think faith prevents us from looking for the truth.
The truth is knowable if we have the courage to look for
it.”
    Zor stood up and looked
into Arber’s eyes. “When my son was born, I placed a rock beside
the cave, and each summer I placed another rock on the pile. In
that way, I could remember how many summers my son has been here.
Now I know how many summers it takes a baby boy to become a man.
There are many questions for which I myself will not find answers,
but I think that someday, someone will find answers to all the
questions. I feel compelled to tell the men in our town that they
are worshipping a false god.”
    “ But why tell them
that?”
    “ It is not just the fact
that the men are worshiping a false god that bothers me; it is that
they are allowing innocent people to be sacrificed to that false
god. If they know that Fire is a false god, maybe they will stop
the priests from killing people and pretending it is God who is
doing the killing. The priests are doing a horrible wrong, and we
are allowing them to continue doing it. I think the men should know
the truth.”
    “ There is so much we don’t
know,” Arber said, shaking his head.
    “ I would like to know how
far it is to the ends of the earth,” Zor answered. “I want to know
if Sun goes into Earth at night. I believe Earth is round and that
Sun goes around Earth. Why does the wind blow only occasionally?
Where do we come from, and where do we go when we die? I'm sure we
did not come from Fire.”
    “ Those are all interesting
questions, Zor, but I’ve got to go home now. Again I caution you,
do not tell the men that Fire is not