#791 Lalibela- Gabriel Teodros
Lalibela is a “Town in northern Ethiopia famous for its eleven monolithic rock-cut buildings (how they were built is unknown).”
Gebre Mesqel Lalibela is a member of the royal family, but with his powerful partner Kibra and his mind, he will help unlock great truths, technology and start renaissance. “His imagination was a threat to the establishment.” He discovers time travel by observing known physical properties. In his travels he sees the mistakes that the human race will make (have made) and although he tries to fix the doomed course of history, he feels overwhelmed and powerless. Perhaps a strong pair can be more effective than even the strongest individual.
I love when a good Sci-Fi story is deeply grounded in human history. And if you’re going to be deeply grounded in human history, what better place than Ethiopia. “Like the history of all humanity, it was buried in Ethiopia under nothing but a thin layer of dust.” The town of Lalibela is a real town and the monoliths still stand there defying historic understanding. In this story they are imagined as a spaceport, and things like a Mesqel, a religious staff, is now used also for time travel. These details help layer this story.
Although I find the concepts in this story inspirational and the ideas beautifully presented, as a short story it falls apart a bit. If Lalibela were to realize the things he did, this story should be longer. More space is needed to let this all unfold. As it is, I loved the first half, but the exposition made a promise that the denoument didn’t really fulfill. And at times, especially the visit to Gondor, year 3000, it got a little preachy for me.
As a reader and a person I’m glad this story was written, as someone trying to analyze short fiction, I’d like to see this given more time and turned into a much longer piece, or series, or a novel.
Notable Passage: “It’s like three heavens just opened up and became one. In the stars, on the earth, and within ourselves.”
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