Days later Clark reaches the North Pole, where he takes the green crystal and throws it miles into the distance, where it melts into the ice and begins construction of a gigantic crystalline fortress, a Fortress of Solitude. Inside Clark finds a matrix table of crystals; placing one into an aperture, he activates a dimensional communicator that reveals the preserved consciousness of Jor-El, his true father. Jor-El provides the youth with his true identity of Kal-El and takes his son on a journey through time and space to complete his maturation, educating him on the universe and on his purpose in life. When the journey ends, Kal-El has aged twelve years to the age of 30, although in the time-twisting of inter-dimensional travel the Earth has aged 22 years to the year 1978 A.D. The scene reveals the now fully matured Kal-El dressed in a red-and-blue costume with a long red cape and bearing his family symbol, ready to fulfill his purpose of protecting his new homeworld.
Among the deserted wastes of the frozen north, Clark sees the aurora borealis and throws the green crystal. A crystalline building rises up from the glaciers. Upon entering the new structure, Clark finds the green crystal, and placing it in the appropriate place on a crystalline control panel, a vision of Jor-El appears before him in this Fortress of Solitude. The spectral projection of Jor-El takes Clark on a twelve-year sojourn, breaking the bonds of time and space. On this journey, Kal-El learns not only the facts of Kryptonian life, but also Kryptonian philosophy. Jor-El emphasizes that "It is forbidden to interfere with earth's history." Instead, he must serve as a beacon, a leader for humanity. Jor-El explains, "They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason, I have sent them you: my only son." As the godly countenance of Jor-El fades a familiar figure stands before us dressed in blue, red and yellow. No longer is this a boy, but a thirty-year-old man, mature, wise, and confident with the knowledge of why he is here and what he has to do. Effortlessly, silently, the figure, amazingly powerful yet graceful, lifts off and flies directly at us, sweeping away at only the last minute. It is time to begin.
An glowing green crystal compels him to travel to the Arctic, where the crystal builds the Fortress of Solitude, resembling the architecture of Krypton. Inside, a vision of Jor-El explains Clark's origins, educating him in powers and responsibilities.
