Clark I
The Fortress was smaller than the one his father crystal had made, simpler, less like a cathedral than a simple temple to some god that had no name on this planet. A temple to Rao perhaps. But then, did Rao still have dominion on Kryptonians who considered themselves more human than not? He had his doubts. It was something, Kal-El decided, he should discuss with Father Daniel when, and if, he got back to his own time-line.
One thing that was at least similar to his of fortress. There was a raised central console, only this console held the spherical navigation module as its centerpiece instead of the father crystal. The module glowed with a comfortable yellow light that was more than sufficient to light the interior of the crystal construction. Surrounding the spherical module were a set of metallic blocks. Memory modules?
“It’s beautiful,” Clark said, looking around. “Is this what Krypton looked like?”
“Well, the Krypton I was born on did, sort of,” Kal-El said. “They grew their buildings, re-engineered their planet. They were too proud to recognize they didn’t control everything. They couldn’t believe their own sun could betray them.”
“Except for Jor-El,” Clark said. “And here, somebody must have listened to him, because New Krypton was founded.”
Clark stepped up to the console and placed one hand on the navigation module. A holographic image of a tall, slender man wearing a white tunic bearing the sigil of the House of El appeared in the space in front of the console.
“Kal-El, I know you do not remember me. I am Jor-El. I am your father,” the hologram announced.
It wasn’t the same white haired man Kal-El had seen in his own Fortress. This man was younger, thinner than his own father. But he still had a distinguished look about him, with a shock of white hair that was held back from his face by a silver headband. His almond shaped eyes were a warm brown.
“On the console beside the module that guided your ship to Earth, are memory modules covering the scientific and cultural facts of the twenty-eight galaxies known to our scientists,” the hologram continued. “Here you may ask questions so that we may explore the answers together.”
“Tell me about the colony of New Krypton,” Clark asked. The hologram smiled.
