Three of the ‘elders’ approached and Thao asked that I address them in French, and loudly enough for everyone to hear. I believe I said; ‘I am very happy to be among you and to be able to admire your wonderful planet. You are fortunate people and I, myself, would like to live among you.'
This speech released a concert of exclamation, not only on account of the language, which most of them had never before heard spoken, but also for the sense of what I had said, which had been telepathically communicated.
Biastra signalled we should follow the three ‘elders’, who led us into one of the dokos. When the seven of us were comfortably installed, Thao began; ‘Michel, I would like to introduce you to Lationusi.’ She held her hand towards one of the three and I bowed. ‘Lationusi was, about 14 000 of your years ago, the last King of the continent Mu on Earth.’
‘Don’t look like that, Michel. I just meant to jostle you a little. Now, in the presence of Lationusi, I am going to explain one of the mysteries that elude many experts on your planet - who, I might add, would do better to devote their precious time discovering more useful things. I am going to unveil not one, but several of the mysteries which obsess them.’
‘As I already explained during our journey to Thiaoouba, the Bakaratinians arrived on Earth 1 350 000 years ago. Thirty thousand years later came the terrible cataclysm that gouged out seas and caused the emergence of islands and even continents. I made mention also, of an enormous continent which arose in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
‘This continent was called ‘Lamar’ but is better known to you as the continent of Mu. It emerged virtually in one piece, to be shattered 2000 years later, by seismic shock, into three principal continents.
‘With the passing of years, vegetation established on these continents, large areas of which were located in equatorial regions. Grass grew, forests established and, gradually, animals migrated across the very narrow isthmus that bound Mu to North America.
‘The yellow race that had better managed to come to terms with the disastrous consequences of the cataclysm, were first to construct ships and explore the seas. About 300 000 Earth years ago, they landed on the northwest coast of Mu, where they eventually founded a small colony.
‘This colony barely grew over the course of centuries as there were difficulties in expatriating, which would take too long to explain and which does not concern us now.
‘About 250 000 Earth years ago, the inhabitants of planet Arèmo X3, on which we stopped to take samples during our journey here, embarked on an interplanetary voyage of exploration penetrating your solar system. After having skirted Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Mercury, they landed on the planet Earth in China, where their spacecraft caused considerable panic among the populace.
Their legends refer to ‘fire dragons’ descending from the sky. The fear and mistrust of the Chinese, led them eventually, to attack the aliens, who were forced to use violence in order to defend themselves. This they hated, for they were not only technologically advanced but also highly spiritual people who abhorred killing.
‘They moved on, continuing their exploration of the planet. It turned out, that the continent of Mu had most appeal for them for two main reasons. First, the continent appeared to be virtually uninhabited and second, by virtue of its latitude, it was a veritable paradise.
‘They had become particularly cautious since their confrontation with the Chinese and felt it would be wise to establish a base to which they could retreat, should they encounter further hostilities of a serious nature from Earth people. I have not yet explained that their reason for exploring Earth was their intention of resettling several million people from Arèmo X3 - a planet that was becoming uncomfortably over-populated.
This operation was much too serious to take risks of any kind. Thus, it was decided that their base of retreat would be set up, not on Earth, but on the moon, which was quite close and considered very safe.
‘Fifty years were spent establishing the lunar bases and it wasn’t until they were ready that emigration to Mu began. All went well. The small Chinese colony that had existed in the north-west of Mu had been totally destroyed some decades after their first visit, so in effect, they had the entire continent to themselves.
‘Work began immediately on the construction of towns, canals and roads, which they paved with immense flagstones. Their usual means of transport was a flying chariot, not unlike our Lativoks.
When she told me about all those imported animals, I remembered how astonished I’d been to see pigs and dogs on that famous planet during our earlier visit. Suddenly, everything was very clear to me.
‘In height, these people averaged 180 centimetres for the males, and 160 centimetres for the females. Their hair was dark, their eyes of a beautiful black and their skin lightly bronzed. You saw some of their kind when we stopped at Arèmo X3 and I believe you have already guessed them to be the ancestors of the Polynesians.
‘So they established settlements throughout the length and breadth of the continent, including 19 large cities, seven of which were sacred. Small villages were also numerous, for these people were highly skilled farmers and graziers.
‘Their political system was modelled on that of Arèmo X3. They had long ago discovered that the only way to govern a country properly was to place at the head of government, seven men of integrity, representing no political party, but sincerely committed to doing what they could for their nation.
‘The seventh among them was the Supreme Judge whose vote on council was worth two. If four were against him and two with him on a particular issue, they were at deadlock, and hours or days of debate would ensue, until at least one of the seven was persuaded to change his vote. This debate was conducted within a context of intelligence, love and concern for the people.
‘These high figures received no great material benefits for leading the nation. It was their vocation to lead and they did it for the love of serving their country - this avoided the problem of hiding opportunists among the leaders.’
‘The procedure was as follows: In a village or district, a man of integrity was elected by referendum. No one with a record of bad conduct or a tendency towards fanaticism could be chosen - the chosen one would have demonstrated integrity in all spheres. He would then be sent to the nearest town, along with other representatives from neighbouring villages, and there, further elections would be held.
‘For example, if there were 60 villages, there would be 60 men elected by the people for their integrity and not for promises which they made, but couldn’t keep.
‘Representatives from all over the nation would meet together in the capital city. They would be divided into groups of six and each group assigned a particular conference room. For the next ten days the group would be together - holding discussions, sharing meals, enjoying shows and, eventually, they would elect a group leader.
So, if there had been 60 representatives, divided into ten groups, there would be ten group leaders. Of these ten, seven would be elected by the same process, and from the seven, an eventual Supreme Leader would emerge. He was given the title of King.’
‘The King was elected in this way only if his predecessor died without having nominated a successor, or if the successor was not unanimously accepted by the council of seven. He was given the title of King, first because he was the representative on Earth of the Great Spirit, and second because nine times out of ten, he would be the son or near relative of the preceding King.’
‘Yes indeed. However, if this King manifested the slightest tendency towards dictatorship, he was overthrown by his council of peers. But let’s go back now to our emigrants from Arèmo X3...
‘Their capital city, given the name Savanasa, was situated on a plateau overlooking the Gulf of Suvatu. The plateau was 300 metres high and, except for two hills - one in the south-west and one in the south-east, this was the highest point on the continent of Mu.’
‘I’m sorry, Thao - may I interrupt❓ When you explained the cataclysm which knocked the Earth off its axis, you said that refuge on the moon was not possible because it didn’t exist - and yet now, you say that safety bases were established on the moon for these emigrants...’
‘There was no moon at the time when the blacks populated Australia, or for a very long time afterwards. There had been two very small moons much earlier - about six million years ago, which revolved around Earth, eventually colliding with it. Earth was not inhabited at the time so, although terrible cataclysms followed, it didn’t really matter.
‘About 500 000 years ago, Earth ‘captured’ a much larger moon - the one which exists now. It was passing too close to your planet and was attracted into an orbit. This often happens with moons. Further catastrophes were provoked by this event...’
‘It could have crashed indeed, but that doesn’t often happen. A moon is originally a small planet revolving around its sun in a spiral that becomes increasingly tight. The smaller planets spiral more rapidly than the larger ones, because their [7] inertial force is less.
‘Their spiral being faster, the smaller planets often catch up to the larger planets and, if they pass too closely, the gravitational attraction of the planet will be stronger than that of the sun. The smaller planet begins to orbit the larger one, still in a spiral, which will sooner or later result in a collision.’
Thao continued. ‘When that happens - when the moon collides with the Earth - that will be the end of your planet. If the people of Earth are not sufficiently spiritually and technologically advanced at the time, it will mean a holocaust; but, if they are, they will have evacuated to another planet. Everything in its time though, Michel - for now, I must finish off my story concerning the continent of Mu.