memory of that period until I saw two short forms coming towards me in
the distance. They walked slowly and methodically, as if they were not
hurried on by any physical concerns. As they drew near, I saw them to be
Onan and Zimri, the Lords of Past and Future. When they arrived I was
awakened from the trance that I had fallen into, and I gave them a
slight bow, for I was still standing upright. The look on their faces
was one of sorrow, for no matter how many times they had seen the
destruction of humanity, each time it brought only fresh, poignant
sorrow.

Onan was the first to speak, breaking the silence with a long, hopeless
sigh, "My dear Jehu," he said, "This age has come to a close."

I could say nothing, for Bernibus' face was still gazing at me in my
memory.

"Do not be saddened by grief or guilt, Jehu, for it is what has always
happened. It is not your fault, for the events that you have witnessed
do not have their roots in your time or in this one, but in the very
foundation of the world. It is not your actions that caused this, but
rather the accumulated momentum of all the ages of humanity, for they
are history, and history reigns by influence. There were no right
choices and no wrong choices for you, for the power of the kinsman
redeemer is not in himself, but in the way that those around him react
to what he signifies. In every age before this you have done the same,
as you will in every age after this as well. You were humanity's last
chance, yet it is not up to you to change their course: it is up to them
to change their own."

Here I raised my head from its dull droop and looked questioningly into